#like I have a degree I walked I wanted to die I’ve done the college leave me alone

[juceynightmare]

give me your forever (18+) - hook x reader songfic oneshot

my masterlist

hook masterlist

pairing(s): hook x fem!reader

warning(s): swearing, time skipping, underage drug and alcohol use, use of pet names, unprotected sex, creampie, daddy kink, breeding kink, praise kink, degradation kink, hints of jealous!hook at one part

genre(s): fluff, smut, established relationship, multi-media fic.

word count: 11,454

summary: the day has finally come where y/n graduates college. however, y/n is more nervous about the fact that today is also the day when she gets to introduce tyler as her boyfriend of 8 years rather than her “good friend since elementary” to her parents. she's so nervous, in fact, that she texts tyler during the ceremony and the two go down memory lane.

song: give me your forever by zack tabudlo

[y/n] AHHHH

[tyler] woah there missy. don’t you have a ceremony you should be paying attention to?

[y/n] you’re not even paying attention

[tyler] actually, i am. as soon as they pan the camera over to your family and me, i’m lifting up this giant photo of you they gave to me

[y/n] WHAT FUCKING GIANT PHOTO

[tyler] it’s literally your head on a stick

[tyler] but what’s wrong? i can feel your distress all the way out here

[y/n] i’m nervous

[tyler] all you have to do is walk across a stage, grab your diploma, shake some hands, and you’re done

[tyler] you’ve done it before

[y/n] not that

[y/n] i’m nervous about telling my parents

[y/n] i’m shocked they’re not even questioning that you’re here

[tyler] we’ll be fine

[y/n] you know how they are

[y/n] they’re gonna freak out when they find out you’re my BOYFRIEND of EIGHT YEARS

[tyler] you remember the rule, don’t you?

[y/n] blah blah, no dating until i get my degree because boys will distract me and i’ll fail school and become a drug addict

[tyler] and what are you about to do

[y/n] ??? idk ??? die ?????

[tyler] im the one who dropped out of college to make a living out of beating people up but here you are not even able to connect the dots. i’ll answer for you.

[tyler] you’re about to get your degree.

[tyler] you proved them wrong. you’re not a drug addict and you’re graduating college with a degree in computer science.

[tyler] might i add that you’re also at the very top of your program :) my smart girl

[y/n] still doesn’t mean they won’t flip out

[y/n] yeah i proved them wrong but what if they don’t accept us? accept you?

[tyler] we’re going to be okay, mamas. i’m not going anywhere. nothing is going to happen to us.

[tyler] i promise you.

[tyler] i’ll take care of you.

[tyler] i’ve always taken care of you, mamas. haven’t i?

do you remember? when we were young you were always with your friends wanted to grab your hand and run away from them

“that’s a stupid fucking rule.” tyler muttered, a joint hanging between his lips as he cupped his hand around the end so he could light it.

“you tell me! like, do they really have that little faith in me that they think i’ll fail school all because of a boy? how idiotic is that!” y/n huffed angrily, kicking tanbark up into the air.

tyler was sitting alone at the end of the stairs of the play structure when y/n walked up to him and sat beside him, already beginning to ramble her little head off. it truly bewildered tyler how a girl could have so much trouble with her parents when they were both only eighth graders. then again, tyler was certain his dad would beat his ass until he was bruised and bloodied if he found out the type of crowd that tyler's been involved with, and the shit he was currently doing.

“i think they’re just protective of you and that’s why they have that rule in place.” he answered, inhaling and holding the smoke in his mouth before pulling the joint away from his lips. he held it out for y/n to take, although he knew that she wouldn’t take it. as the girl shook her head politely, tyler inhaled the smoke into his lungs and held it there before blowing out into the air.

“yeah? well i think they’re irrational. god, i wish i could just prove them wrong so that when the day comes that i graduate college, i can laugh in their faces like, ‘jokes on you! i had a boyfriend the whole time!’” she groaned frustratedly, pulling out her phone when she felt it start to buzz. y/n answered the call and held it up to her ear. “yeah, mom. i’m at the same park i always wait at for you to pick me up… yes the club’s good… no i’m not alone, i’m with tyler… you know, my friend from elementary? … mom, he’s not my boyfriend! … no, he’s not a bad influence he’s -“ she took a second to glance over at tyler, watching the boy take another puff from his joint and covering her nose as the wind blew the puff of smoke towards her direction. “he’s just a normal middle school boy, mom. … no, i already told you he’s not my boyfriend! … what do you mean stay away from him? i’ve been waiting at this park every day since i’ve started middle school and he’s been here every day making sure no creep talks to me. he’s a good guy, mom! mom?” she huffed as she shoved her phone back in her pocket, realizing her mom had hung up on her.

“you know, i like the idea of you proving them wrong and laughing in their faces.” tyler pitched in after he blew out the smoke into the air. he looked over at the girl, catching her gaze. “what better way to prove your parents wrong than by dating the ‘baddest boy’ in school, as everyone calls me. your mom seems to think that i’m a bad guy too.” he mused, watching the way y/n seemed to think over tyler’s words.

“are you asking me out?” y/n asked, her eyes suddenly widening at the implication of tyler’s agreement.

he shrugged his shoulders, flicking off the ash at the end of his joint into the tanbark below them. “you’re my friend. you’re cute. i think i’ll be more than okay with dating you. besides,” he began, reaching out to sling his arm over y/n’s shoulders to pull her into his side. “you’ve said it yourself. i’ve been here every day since we’ve started middle school because i know you have your little after-school clubs and would most likely be waiting alone. i’d hate it if some creep came and took away my friend.”

“what’s in it for me?” she asked, feeling her face warm up from being so close next to tyler. she could smell the cheap cologne that clung to his skin, and y/n tried not to lean against him.

but tyler had his own plans, as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to the girl’s forehead. “you get to experience life outside of textbooks and strict parents barring you from parties. i’ll help you sneak out and take the blame for everything.”

she blinked up at him once he pulled away, and y/n wondered how she never noticed tyler’s dimpled smile before.

“you’ve got a deal, senerchia. but i get to make the rules.”

“that’s fine. but don’t think that i won’t take care of you, y/n. you’re my girlfriend now, and my mom taught me how to treat my woman.”

i knew it that it was time to tell you how i feel so i made a move, i took your hand my heart was beating loud like i've never felt before

[y/n] yeah you have

[y/n] even before we started dating LOL

[tyler] can't believe you had no idea i had a massive crush on you

[tyler] what fucking loser just sits around a park and waits for a girl who has after school clubs

[y/n] you. you're the loser.

[tyler] there was another dude

[y/n] jackson??? i remember him being there in the beginning of seventh grade

[tyler] he had a crush on you, that's why he was also waiting

[y/n] you're lying. why am i just now hearing about this?

[tyler] yeah, i told him i was your boyfriend and he backed off and never waited for you again

[y/n] well, at least you didn't punch him like that dude at lisa's party

[tyler] you said it was fair game

[y/n] i didn't think he'd have to go to the hospital because he got concussed!

[tyler] he touched what's mine.

[tyler] you told me i could punch him once, and i made sure it counted.

[tyler] besides, i got pussy afterwards so it's a win

[y/n] oh calm your ego.

[y/n] i can literally SMELL the testosterone radiating from the crowd and it smells like YOU.

[y/n] WAS THAT YOU THAT JUST "AWOOOOO"'D HELLA LOUD

[y/n] HONEY??

[y/n] oh my fucking GOD I SEE MY GIANT ASS HEADS

[tyler] i got that dawg in me

[tyler] woof. (with rizz)

you were smiling at me like you wanted more i think you're the one i've never seen before

"i want to go home." she whispered, her voice almost getting lost amongst the sounds of the bustling party if it wasn't for the way tyler focused on only her. he was so attentive that he'd be hyper fixated on her whenever she'd take a breath.

"everything okay, baby?" tyler asked quietly, taking her cup away from her and setting both of their cups down on the windowsill beside them. he guided her to wrap her arms around his neck before pulling her in by her waist and ducking his head so that she could speak directly into his ear.

the two of them had come far from being eighth graders waiting by a playground for their parents to pick them up. they were now sophomores juniors in high school, if we consider the fact that sophomore year just ended and they were now at a grad party for a friend of tyler's that had just graduated high school. tyler had gotten significantly taller, and his voice had deepened in a delicious manner that sent y/n's head reeling whenever he'd talk to her. y/n for the most part had stayed the same, but the baby fat on her face had started to slim down and tyler tried his best not to let his gaze trail down further to where she had began to look more... womanly... for lack of better words.

they hadn't ever talked about the way their relationship started. from what was once something that y/n had entered to spite her parents had now blossomed into a full blown relationship with tyler that she cherished above everything else in the world. and for tyler? well, the boy had always had a little crush on y/n whether he wanted to acknowledge it or not, and now that she is his, tyler couldn't be any happier.

and the best part? no one knew but them. well, people had speculations and they'd whisper, but y/n and tyler would only ever be so touchy at parties. at school, they didn't even talk to each other because of their different social circles and classes. and when they were asked what they were to each other...

"oh, yeah. she's/he's been my friend since elementary school." followed by either a "my parents told him to make sure i stay safe at parties, that's why he's always with me." or a "we all know she's too innocent for the party life. i gotta make sure no one taints her, you know?" depending on who was answering.

"you know how you stepped away to get us drinks?" she asked softly, feeling him nod his head. y/n took a deep breath, stepping closer to tyler and feeling his arms wrap around her waist. "that dude to the right of us in the flannel walked by me and full on grabbed my ass."

tyler didn't know if it was the disco lighting, but he suddenly saw red at y/n's words and he felt as though he sobered up in a second. his head snapped in the other boy's direction, his jaw clenching and his eyebrows furrowing in concentration as he made out the stranger's frame. tyler pulled her closer to him until she was completely pressed against his front, dipping his head back down to ask her, "what else did he do?"

tyler noted how the other boy had glanced over at where he and y/n stood once he returned, and now tyler knew why. it was taking everything in him to not walk over there right now and plant his fist square in his- "well, he didn’t do anything else besides that. i guess i should be more specific about how he did it though. he like... you know the thing you do? where you put your hand in my back pocket and spin me into a kiss? yeah he tried that and tried smooth talking his way with me. i don't think he was gonna back off until he got pulled away by those two girls he's talking to right now."

if looks could kill, tyler was certain that he'd have burned a hole through the boy's chest and killed him without even needing the other boy to notice the murderous look in his gaze. "can i punch him?"

"tyler!"

"i'm not joking. he fucking touched you, y/n." tyler rested his hands firmly on her hips so he could pull her back from him. he held her gaze, and it as then that y/n could feel her heart get caught in her throat.

tyler looked more than ready to kill for her. she had never seen him this angry before, and if she was being honest, her body seemed to have quite the reaction. "just one." she breathed out before she could even think about the consequences of unleashing tyler on the poor, unsuspecting boy who had made the mistake of trying to hit on the wrong girl.

"sick."

she had already felt slow because of the alcohol in her system, but y/n was certain that even if she was sober, she still wouldn't have been able to process the next minute. "don't fucking touch girls without their consent, asshole!" tyler's voice rang throughout the house, so loud that it could be heard over the blaring music. the next sound that followed was a loud smack as tyler's fist collided with the boy's jaw and laid him out flat on the floor. before she knew it, tyler was already dragging her out of the house while people around them were whispering: "do we call an ambulance?" "he's out cold..." "man, it's a good thing i didn't shoot my shot with her. i would have been in that position." "he's sorta hot for doing that, isn't he?" "that's tyler? no wonder why he's popular with the ladies."

"let's get you home, baby." tyler muttered into the air as he walked down the street to where his car was parked, his hand still tightly holding hers as he practically dragged her along with him.

"wait, slow down." she begged.

he grunted out in frustration, turning on his heel and sweeping the girl off of her feet. tyler carried her bridal style the rest of the way to his car. "i'm fucking pissed. little boy thinks he can touch up on my girl? god, i'm sorry for leaving you alone, baby. never again, i promise." he angrily huffed as he set her down on her feet once they reached his car.

"you're sorta hot when you're angry." she admitted softly as tyler unlocked his car. he was about to open the passenger side door for y/n when she suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck to stop him. she stared up at him, her eyes wide and her lips pulled into a soft smile. “it’s like i have scary dog privileges.” she giggled, crinkles forming by her eyes as her smile grew wider.

his hands were quick to find her waist, feeling his breath get caught in his throat as the moonlight hit her just right to give her a slight sparkle in her eyes. and suddenly, his anger had faded away just as quickly as it arose, replaced with the need to have her in that moment. “we’re not in a rush to go home, right?” he asked softly. he tapped his finger against her side, a sign for her to hop up and wrap her legs around his waist. he hooked his arms under her knees to support her once she did so, and he pinned her to the side of his car.

a blush rose to her cheeks, craning her head to the side as tyler’s lips pressed against the side of her neck. “you know the rules. as long as you get me back before my parents wake up.” she whispered into the air, her eyes fluttering shut as he suckled against her skin.

“that’s more than enough time.” he mumbled against her as he pulled away from her neck so that he could crash his lips against hers.

i want you to know, i love you the most i'll always be there right by your side ‘cause baby, you’re always in my mind just give me your forever (give me your forever)

[y/n] IM SORRY??

[tyler] i accept your apology

[y/n] ugh, weirdo

[tyler] helping with your nerves, mamas?

[y/n] a little

[y/n] do you remember when you first called me mamas

[tyler] of course

[tyler] on your 18th birthday

[tyler] and i got to fuck you raw for the first time because we were both like "AH FUCK IT WE'RE 18, IF WE HAVE A BABY THEN OH WELLL"

[tyler] but then we bought the plan b beforehand just to make sure we wouldn't make a baby

[tyler] s tier sex by the way

[y/n] IT WAS AFTER THAT

[tyler] no, i called you mamas while fucking you

[tyler] and you nearly came from me just calling you mamas even though i just put it in

[y/n] i do not recall

[y/n] this is fake news

[tyler] ok if we're talking nonsexual

[tyler] then yes it was after

[tyler] after you came back to your senses once i filled you to the brim

[y/n] HONEY I CANNOT BE HORNY RIGHT NOW

[y/n] ARENT YOU SITTING NEXT TO MY PARENTS?

[tyler] they're about to find out that i've been fucking their daughter for years and raw dogging her too.

[tyler] also, i'm already sporting a semi out here

[tyler] thinking about how shy you got after i called you mamas when you came down from your high

[tyler] how giggly you got

[tyler] so happy and fucked out

[tyler] never stopped calling you mamas after that, and no matter how many times i call you mamas, you still have the same reaction

[tyler] you're blushing and smiling right now, aren't you?

[y/n] SHUT UP

[tyler] if i remember correctly, i think i told you "you feel amazing, mamas.” the very first time i called you mamas

[tyler] but then after i got you cleaned up and dressed, i told you “i love you, mamas” and you literally melted in my arms it was so cute

[y/n] you remember all this but god forbid you remember where you parked your car in a packed parking garage

[tyler] that's not important

[tyler] i worship you

[tyler] i commit everything that is about you or involves you to my memory

[y/n] there aren't enough words in the universe to explain how much i love you

[tyler] just give me your forever. that’ll be enough.

[tyler] i love you mamas

[y/n] i love you too, honey

[y/n] i can’t wait to spend forever with you

i want you to know that you’ll be the one and i’ll be the guy who’ll be on his knees to say i love you and i need you and say i’d die for you (just give me your forever)

he was kneeling between her spread legs, one of his hands rested on her hip and the other wrapped around his length as he pumped himself slowly. their chests rose and fell in time as breathy sighs filled the room. tyler lined himself up with her entrance, keeping his gaze locked with hers as he spread her arousal over his tip. he pushed in slightly, just so that his tip was nestled in her warmth. the slight intrusion making y/n’s eyebrows furrow together.

he leaned over her body, his hands reaching for hers so he could lace their fingers together as he kept her hands pinned to the pillow besides her head. he held her gaze as he pressed his hips flush against hers slowly, his jaw dropping open at the feeling of her walls clinging around him without a thin layer of latex separating them. once he bottomed out, he stayed there for a moment, his eyes threatening to shut as he felt her walls pulse around his length.

“you feel amazing, mamas.” he whispered, the new pet name falling from his lips so effortlessly. and suddenly, y/n was bucking her hips up against his and squeezing his hands tightly, her mouth dropping with a drawled out whine that tyler knew all too well. he grunted, feeling the familiar feeling of her walls convulsing around him, but the experience had been heightened with the lack of protection separating them. “fuck, you like that, don’t you? you like being called mamas.” he mumbled, pressing a quick gentle kiss to her cheek. tyler pulled out until just his tip was left in her before snapping his hips back into hers.

“feels so good, daddy. give me more.” she moaned out softly, her legs wrapping around his waist as if to pull him in deeper into her.

tyler repeatedly thrusted himself into her, picking up speed as he felt her legs begin to quiver at his sides. he glanced down between their bodies, catching a glimpse of the slick wetness that coated his length whenever he’d pull out of her. his gaze snapped back up to hers as he felt her legs squeeze at his sides in warning. “already close, mamas? daddy’s just getting started.” he grunted over her breathy moans, adjusting his position slightly so he could directly hit her g-spot. when a particularly load moan was pulled from her throat, tyler covered her mouth with his own to swallow her moans.

she knew that fucking without a condom would feel different, but she didn’t expect it to feel like this. y/n could feel the drag of his length inside of her with every thrust, and she struggled to kiss him back. instead, she was focused on the way she could actually feel his length pulsing inside her, and the way the head of his cock kissed her cervix with every thrust.

it wasn’t long before she was shaking her him, her hands squeezing his hands tightly as she moaned loudly against his mouth. her walls clenched down on his length tightly, and the feeling was so intense that tyler had moaned against her mouth. he pulled away from her mouth, focusing on chasing his own high as he let go of one of her hands to guide her to rest her legs up on his shoulders. tyler folded her in half with his body weight, his hand finding hers again as he jackhammered into her.

“you’re such a good bitch for daddy. cumming all over my fucking cock. fuck, i’m so close.” he gasped out, his hands squeezing hers tightly as the familiar knot in his stomach began to tighten. “beg for me, mamas. beg for daddy to fill you up.”

“please daddy. please cum in me. i can’t take it anymore, it’s too much. i just want your cum in me. please daddy.” y/n cried out as she begged for tyler, her back arching off the mattress as he continuously rammed himself into her. tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as her body continued to shake under him with every thrust sending waves of pleasure through her body. “breed me, daddy.”

with a few more thrusts, tyler was burying his face in the crook of her neck, spilling his seed into her with a whimper as his hips sporadically continued to buck into her with each rope of cum that painted her walls.

eventually, he stilled and the two of them were left breathing heavily in time as he fell limp against her body, letting go of her hands so he could hook his arms under her body and wrap them completely around her mid-section.

she wasn’t given a moment to catch her breath before tyler was already pulling out of her and flipping her around. “face down, ass up, mamas. you didn’t think i was just gonna fill you once and be done, did you?” he asked from behind her, helping her lift her hips up and get on her knees. his hand trailed along her spine, watching the way she instinctively arched her back and pushed her hips back against him. “you asked daddy to breed you, so that’s exactly what daddy’s going to do.”

“i feel it dripping.” she whined out in complaint, biting down on her bottom lip to bite back a scream as tyler’s hand came down roughly on her ass.

“don’t worry, mamas. i’ll fuck it back into you.” he grunted, reaching for her hands and pinning them behind her back. tyler watched as his cum continued to drip out of her and onto the mattress, the sight instantly making his head foggy with lust. he rubbed his fingers over her clit, watching as the girl’s pulled away from him from overstimulation. he laughed as he pressed his other hand on the small of her back to keep her in place as he continued to rub circles over her clit, collecting more of his dripping cum on to his fingers.

“oh god.” she cried out as tyler pushed two of his fingers into her, curling them right up into her g-spot.

tyler thrusted his fingers in and out of her, his other hand smacking her ass roughly as she tried to crawl further up along the bed away from him. “god’s not here.” he grunted, grabbing at her thigh to keep her from crawling away from him as he scissored his fingers inside of her and making her cry out in pleasure. “cry all you want, bitch. he can’t save you now.” he huffed as he pushed his cum deeper into her, eventually pulling his fingers out of her and lining his cock with her entrance before ramming himself into her once again.

she didn’t know how many times she came that night, or how many times tyler had filled her up. all she knew was that this is the closest to ascending to the heavens that she’d feel in this lifetime. her whole body felt light and tingly, and a fuzzy feeling fogged up her head in the best way possible. a light smile was permanently etched on her face and tyler would tell her that she’d have the most beautiful after-sex glow that he’s seen on her.

he dressed her up after he cleaned her with a towel and gave her the plan b to take. afterwards, tyler peppered kisses over her every inch of her still exposed skin, whispering praises as he did so. and when he made it back up her body and hovered over her, tyler caught her lips in a gentle kiss and kissed her languish manner.

he pulled away and laid down beside her, pulling her into his chest and pulling her blanket over their bodies before wrapping his arms around her frame. “i love you, mamas. happy birthday.” he whispered into her hair before pressing a kiss to the top of her head. tyler smiled as he felt her melt in his arms, her body falling limp against his as her arm draped across his midsection.

she lifted her head, pushing herself up to peck his lips before falling flat against him and closing her eyes. “i love you, honey.” she whispered, her voice hoarse from screaming and moaning into her pillow because she couldn’t hold back her moans by the time tyler was fucking her through her third orgasm.

the next day, after tyler would pick her up just a few hours after sneaking out of her room once she had fallen asleep, he’d laugh in her face as she’d pull out her phone to read the message she typed out for him. “i lost my voice so i can’t talk.” she‘d slap his arm playfully in response, but she’d still smile as he greeted her with a kiss when he was at a stop sign away from her house.

“you should call me mamas more.” was the next message she typed out for him as they were waiting to be seated at a restaurant with her friend group that tyler didn’t know all too well.

“i wasn’t planning on stopping.” he typed back his response before sneakily handing her phone back to her so that her friends wouldn’t see the exchange between them.

as far as her friends were concerned, tyler was tagging along because he’d known y/n the longest out of them and she wanted him to be there. they didn’t mind, because tyler never seemed to talk much during these birthday breakfasts for y/n, and because of that, it made it easy for them to continue on with their antics.

they did, however, find it odd that whenever y/n wanted to speak but couldn’t because she somehow lost her voice - it was tyler who she’d have read out her typed messages.

i never knew it would be possible for you to be with me ‘cause you loved someone else back in ‘73 i was so jealous seeing you with him

[tyler] i can’t wait to put a giant rock on your finger

[tyler] so that when you go to your next 5sos concert, luke hemmings will know you’re taken

[y/n] you’re still on this ??

[y/n] it was like first year of college when i had a massive 5sos phase

[y/n] that’s already so long ago

[tyler] ok and

[tyler] every time you talked to me about how hot luke was, i thought you meant an actual dude you knew named luke that you met here in college that i just didn’t know about.

[y/n] i literally told you it was 5sos luke

[tyler] no you didn’t

[y/n] YES I DID

[y/n] i do think it’s funny that

[y/n] you snapped at me while pacing in a parking lot at the arena

[tyler] it is very funny, i’ll admit that

[tyler] it’s still on sight if i see him too, btw. you better hope i don’t see him when i’m out in la

[y/n] honey

[y/n] i only need you

[tyler] that’s right, mamas

[tyler] you only need me.

oh, baby, i know that i can treat you better back in those nights oh, you wouldn’t cry from his stupid lies oh, baby, i was there watching wishing you to be mine

“luke this. luke that. who the fuck is luke?” tyler finally snapped as he ran his fingers through his hair, frustration laced in his voice as he paced back and forth outside of the arena where all of the aew talent’s rental cars were parked. he was dressed in only a pair of sweats, having been previously getting warmed up and pumped up for his appearance tonight when y/n suddenly called him and he excused himself to answer her.

he’d always answer her. unless he was working, then tyler would simply call her back as soon as he could. even though her calls would range from “serious” reasons to call him (such as, what he’d like for a holiday gift, when he was coming home and if he needed a ride, letting him know she was flying out for a show etc.) to simply telling him about her day or complaining about something that troubled her or just random thoughts she wanted to tell him, tyler would always answer.

between training to wrestle and shadowing his dad and following him on the road with aew, tyler wasn’t home often and he suddenly went from seeing y/n everyday to seeing her once or twice a week. this was the main reason why tyler would always make it a point to answer her calls.

however, for the past week, tyler has been hearing nothing else besides stuff about this luke person and “how hot he sounds” and “ugh i miss when he had his lip piercing.”

he wouldn’t ever think y/n was cheating on him. after all, she was speaking so openly about this luke person that tyler knew that it couldn’t have been someone she was seeing behind his back. but for the life of him, tyler couldn’t remember who the fuck luke was in her friend circle and he thought he knew all of their names.

when the line fell silent on the other end, tyler let out a huff, “hello? love, you still there?”

it was then that he heard her chuckle on the other end of the phone, and she asked him, “woah there angry man. you don’t remember?”

she knew tyler would only ever call her “love” if he was irritated. it was his way of letting her know that although he was most definitely irritated, he still loves her and that she shouldn’t question his feelings for her during their argument.

“clearly i don’t, and for the past week you won’t fucking shut up about this luke guy. do i need to remind you that the only man you need in your life is me?” tyler paused for a moment, even taking a second to stop in his tracks as he ran his own words over in his head. “well, and the other men in your family… and your close friends… but that’s besides the point.” he grunted before continuing to pace back and forth, his hand repeatedly smoothing and ruffling his hair out of habit.

“honey, what do i want for christmas?” she asked him, trying to help him jog his memory.

“ugh. those concert tickets for that one band you’ve liked since middle school.” he answered quickly, reminding himself to make sure he got the time off for when the concert date rolled around so he could tag along with her.

“smart boy. now, what’s the band called?” she asked again, and tyler could practically hear the wide smile that adorned her face.

“fuck if i remember. something with time and a season.” he grunted, stopping in his tracks and pinching the bridge of his nose. tyler squeezed his eyes shut as if it’d assist him in thinking harder.

“5 seconds of summer.” she answered for him with a hum, “i’m going to assume you don’t remember the names of the members even though i’ve pointed at them individually and told you there names and forced you to listen to all their songs with me.”

“why the fuck would i remember shit like that? i remember stuff about you like how these 5 seconds of summer guys are your favorite band. that doesn’t mean i have to remember who they are.” tyler groaned out, feeling his irritation start to bubble over. “where are you even going with this?”

“luke’s the lead singer. remember? the blonde one with the hair like you but he actually knows what a comb is.”

tyler fell silent at her words, and he felt his irritation shift into something else unrecognizable that made his entire body run cold. he opened his eyes and let his hand drop from his nose as he resumed his pacing. “i know what a fucking comb is, mamas.” he grunted, and it was then that y/n blessed his ears with a whole-hearted laugh that had tyler grinning.

y/n apologized softly, “sorry for talking your ear off about him, honey. they released a new-”

“released a new album and you’re very excited about it and judging by how much you’ve been talking about him, you’ve probably gone on your little fangirl spree and watched a bunch of videos, yeah i know.” he finished for her, and he heard her gasp out a soft “ok, maybe you know me a little too well” that had him chuckling. “sorry about getting all snappy with you, mamas. i thought you were talking about some dude you met.”

“what was the thing you said earlier? the only man i need is you?” y/n asked, although she already knew the answer.

“yeah.” he answered.

“you’re right, honey. when it comes to my partner for life, the only man that i need is you. i love you. i’m sorry if i made you feel insecure.” y/n’s tone changed. her voice grew soft as if to let tyler know that she truly was sorry for making tyler feel irritated and potentially insecure with her rambling about another man to him without clarifying that the man she was talking about was simply a celebrity.

“i love you, mamas. and for the record, i’m not insecure. i’m sure i can take that luke guy on anyway. i beat people up for a living.” tyler defended himself as he made his way back inside the arena.

her laugh coming through the speakers was enough for a wide dimpled smile to stretch across his face.

i want you to know, i love you the most i’ll always be there right by your side ‘cause baby, you’re always in my mind just give me your forever (give me your forever)

[y/n] the period at the end of the sentence scares me

[y/n] in like a

[y/n] “i can hear you say it in my head all possessively and i’d really like to kiss you right now” way

[tyler] good

[tyler] i’d love that

[tyler] too bad you’re about to get your diploma and i finally get to post you

[y/n] post me?

[tyler] it’s sitting in my drafts right now

[tyler] on all my social medias

[y/n] lies you only use instagram and tiktok but your tiktok is private and you’ve already posted me on there since i’m your only follower

[tyler] as i said, all my social medias

[y/n] wait i wanna see before you post

[tyler] respectfully, no.

[tyler] i can’t wait to tell the world about you

[tyler] the girls in my dms are about to have a field day

[y/n] LMAO

[y/n] you literally posting an average looking woman on your insta while you have literal models in your dms

[tyler] tf you mean average

[tyler] you’re beautiful mamas

[y/n] you tell me everyday, honey

[y/n] do yk the adam sandler speech?

[tyler] jog my memory for me

[y/n] “i’d like to give a shoutout to my fellow nominees, who will now be known as the guys who lost to adam fucking sandler”

[tyler] classic

[y/n] that’s how i’m going to feel once you post me and all the girls and guys who were tryna shoot their shot at you realize you have a girlfriend

[tyler] LMAO

[tyler] didn’t you also feel that way that one time

[y/n] WHEN HAILEY WAS ALL UP ON YOU

[tyler] see, i don’t even remember her name

[y/n] i do

[y/n] her face when she realized that you weren’t lying about having a girlfriend

[y/n] and then the double take after seeing my average ass

[tyler] not average

[tyler] you’re the most stunning woman in the world

[tyler] that’s why she did a double take

[y/n] ok yeah let’s ignore her snobby ass “you’re dating her” with the disgusting tone when she referred to me

[tyler] she can’t see properly with all the cum in her eyes from all the dudes she blows just to feel wanted

[y/n] TYLER

[tyler] what

[y/n] you’re so mean

[tyler] you love it when i’m mean

[y/n] yeah to ME in BED not to OTHER PEOPLE

[tyler] damn

[tyler] that sucks

[tyler] i hate humans

i want you to know that you’ll be the one and i’ll be the guy who’ll be on his knees to say i love you and i need you and say i’d die for you (just give me your forever)

senior ditch day happened to fall on the week before graduation. their class had decided to all go to a beach that was about an hour out from town. y/n and tyler had planned to hang out with their respective friend groups, but made it a plan to come back to the beach during the summer for their own date - preferably when their entire senior class wasn’t there.

their groups ended up next to each others on the beach, which tyler and y/n clearly didn’t mind because they could admire each other from afar. while tyler’s large friend group set up the large canopy they brought as well as laying out various towels and setting up tables, y/n’s small friend group was putting together their cozy beach pop-up tent complete with fairy lights and multiple towels for them to lay on.

later on, while her friends were all off towards the ocean, y/n had stayed behind to watch their stuff and just lay on her beach towel and rest. tyler’s friends all seemed to have the same idea, all of them already running off to the water with various water guns and other toys. y/n had let them know that she could watch their stuff for them and they were all game.

it had only been about 5 minutes since everyone left when tyler would return - still damp and covered in sand from having jumped into the ocean. “hey pretty lady, this seat taken?” he asked, gesturing to the spot beside y/n as she pushed herself up on her forearms slightly.

she smiled, laying back down and patting the spot beside her for tyler to join her. “it isn’t, but i’ll have you know: my boyfriend kills people.” she warned.

tyler laughed, laying down beside her and scooting in further so that he’d be under the shade. he lifted her head, sliding his arm under her head before setting it back down. “damn really?” he asked, watching her nod her head.

“why aren’t you out with your friends? i offered to watch your guys’ stuff, you know.” she said, turning her head towards tyler to find the man already looking at her.

“hailey got annoying.” he admitted with a sigh. “she ‘slipped’ and ‘lost her footing’ or whatever and fell on me and we both fell to the ground. which, you know, would have been fine if it was actually an accident, but when i tried to get up, she was practically trying to push me down and then i noticed she was trying to kiss me. so, i pushed her off, said i had a girlfriend and came back here.” tyler grunted.

y/n had known of her, but she had yet to put a face to the name. with hailey’s advances towards tyler, she had heard a lot about the girl. “which one is she?” she asked as she looked out at the area where hers and tyler’s friends mingled.

“uh.” tyler followed her gaze. “the one that is angrily walking over right now.”

“tyler! what do you mean you have a girlfriend? i asked the boys and they all said that you don’t have one!” hailey screamed while tyler and y/n sat up. tyler sighed, feeling y/n tense up beside him. he glanced over at y/n before looking up at hailey. “do you mind? i’m trying to have a talk with tyler here.” hailey suddenly turned her attention to y/n, who seemed like she wanted to be anywhere but here.

before tyler could speak, y/n rolled her eyes and said, “whatever you want to talk to him about, you can say it in front of me.”

“what does it matter to you? it’s a private serious conversation between tyler and i. tyty, let’s go somewhere else to talk.” hailey spat, taking a step towards tyler and reaching for his hand before y/n quite literally smacked her hand away.

“it matters what you want to talk to my boyfriend about without me being there.” y/n fired back, her eyebrows furrowing in anger as she stared up at hailey.

tyler knew better than to get between a cat fight, so he simply kept his mouth shut and slung his arm over y/n’s shoulders to pull her into his side in silent support.

hailey looked between the two of them, switching between staring at y/n’s fiery gaze to where tyler wasn’t even meeting her eyes because he had buried his face into the side of y/n’s neck to hide his amusement. “you’re dating her?” she gasped out, something like disgust dripping down her chin as she addressed y/n. “tyler are you blind? she’s a fucking nerd who doesn’t even know the first difference between lip oil and lip tint. tyler, you’re far too good looking to be with someone like her!”

y/n looked over hailey, acknowledging that the girl was near model status and could easily make it big if she got scouted out. “it’s sad that you got so angry over finding out your crush is dating me that you had to go after my looks because you know you lose in every other category.” she sighed, offering hailey a sad apologetic smile. “look, sorry or whatever it is you want to hear from me. but tyler’s been my boyfriend since the eighth grade and i don’t have any plans on breaking up with him at all. what about you, honey?” she suddenly asked tyler.

he shook his head, pulling his face away from her neck so he could smile at her. “hell no, the fuck? i’d be a fucking idiot to let the most stunning girl in the world go.” he hummed, knowing that it’d piss off hailey more.

y/n rested her head on tyler’s shoulder, watching as hailey seemed to lull over her thoughts in her own head. “fine. what can i do then to prove that i’m better than her?” hailey asked, seemingly determined to get with tyler.

“nothing.” tyler answered quickly. “there’s no one better than y/n for me. but i know people have their opinions and that’s why no one knows yet that it’s her i’m dating. she doesn’t deserve this shit that you’re giving her right now just because you think she doesn’t fit me based off of looks alone. although, i do suppose it‘s a good way of weeding out the fake bitches that i call my ‘friends’.” he paused once he saw a flicker of guilt seem to wash over hailey, before it was quickly replaced by the anger that was once there. “look, hailey, if you truly are my friend then you’d walk away right now and leave us be. i’m happy with y/n and in every universe, even if i were to meet someone first or if there was someone else in the picture, i know that i’d choose y/n every time.”

hailey looked between the two of them again, and this time it was y/n who had her face buried in tyler’s neck to hide the blush that had crept up on her face. “whatever.” she huffed, rolling her eyes and flipping off tyler. “your fucking loss. i hope the two of you last for another two weeks.” she swore before she stormed off, heading back towards the group so that she could get her mind off of being so wholeheartedly rejected by tyler.

“you know that one adam sandler speech?” y/n broke the silence that fell over them once hailey left. she pulled her face away from tyler’s neck, cupping his cheek and turning his head so that he could look at her.

“which one?” tyler asked, leaning in so that he could peck her lips quickly.

“the one after he won that award” she answered, smiling as tyler repeatedly pecked her lips.

“oh yeah, you show it to me all the time.” he hummed, his arm dropping to wrap around her waist as he hauled her into his lap.

“that’s how i feel right now, knowing that you’d choose me even though you have drop dead gorgeous girls willing to take my spot.” she admitted, straddling him and wrapping her arms around his neck as his free hand cupped her breast over the fabric of the bikini she wore.

“they’re pretty and all, but they’re nothing compared to you, mamas.” he whispered. “you look so fucking good in this bikini. the guys won’t stop staring over at you whenever you walk by. they keep asking me why i’m gatekeeping my ‘hot nerd friend’ and all of your other hot nerd friends when they ask me to introduce them to you guys and i say no.” he mumbled before pressing his lips against hers and kneading her breast to make her gasp against his lips. he glided his tongue across hers, swallowing her soft moans as he let his hand reach under her bikini top.

she giggled, pulling away from his lips and opening her eyes to look at him. “we’re in public, honey.” she scolded him, watching a pout form on his lips as his hand dropped from her breast to circle both of his arms around her waist. he dipped his head, pressing a kiss between her breasts and pulling his head away after. “also, i don’t get it. the girls in your group are way prettier.”

tyler shook his head. “different aesthetics. the girls in my group are your average mainstream hot girls in those teen movies.” he muttered. “but you? hot sexy nerdy girl with an ass and tits that’s finally being shown off because all you usually wear are sweats and a baggy ass hoodie. you’ve just got a different aesthetic. the guys and i have a type, and we all agree that hot nerdy girls are the best.” he mumbled, leaning up to kiss her cheek. “too bad i’ve got the baddest bitch of them all, though. isn’t that right, mamas?”

she leaned down to peck his lips before shuffling off of his lap and standing up. “all yours, daddy.” she muttered just loud enough for tyler to hear. the cocky dimpled grin that tugged at his lips had let her know that he did hear it. y/n held her hand out for him to take, helping him stand up before letting their hands drop. “i’m not driving and my friends don’t drink. think you can pour me a shot before everyone comes back?”

tyler laughed, wrapping his arm around her waist to pull her in for another kiss while his hand fell down further to grab her ass. “anything for you, mamas. want me to mix you something up, too? i just learned how to make a lychee drink just for you since i know you love lychee.”

do you remember? i was on the aisle waiting for you, babe

[y/n] oh shit they’re gonna hand out the diplomas

[y/n] fucking finally

[y/n] 4 years and thousands of dollars to walk across a stage, get a piece of paper and shake some hands!!!

[tyler] i’ll make sure to scream so loud i lose my voice tomorrow

[y/n] don’t you have work

[tyler] mamas

[tyler] i don’t even talk for tv most of the time

[y/n] true

[tyler] thank god you’re near the beginning, i ain’t sitting through all these other fuckers

[tyler] i just want to kiss you already

[tyler] my pretty mamas

[tyler] OH YOU’RE LINING UP

[tyler] I SEE YOUR SHORT ASS BETWEEN THE TWO REALLY TALL DUDES

[y/n] SHUT UP

[y/n] putting my phone away now!

[y/n] take lots of pictures and videos for me

[y/n] thank you for being my number one supporter

[y/n] i love you so much, tyler

[tyler] i love you the most, y/n

[tyler] and for the record

[tyler] i’m your number one supporter for more reasons than just being your boyfriend

[tyler] if it wasn’t for you

[tyler] god knows where i’d be right now

[tyler] thank you for supporting me even though i’m a college dropout who’s trying to make it big in wrestling

[tyler] congratulations, my forever lover

[tyler] i’ll see you soon

saw you in your gown i was crying all my tears i told myself that you are the one (you are the one)

tyler didn’t know why he suddenly felt emotional, but seeing her hug her parents with her diploma grasped tightly in her hands while she still had her cap, gown, and stole on was doing something to him. he wiped away a tear that had suddenly fell from his eyes and shifted awkwardly on his feet as he waited for her to greet him.

“are you crying, tyler?” she asked as soon as she let go of her parents and turned her attention to tyler.

“just a little.” he admitted with a laugh, spreading his arms out wide for her as she jumped into his arms. he wrapped his arms around her midsection as she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. he spun her in a circle, burying his face in the crook of her neck. “i’m so fucking proud of you, mamas. congratulations.” he mumbled into her neck before setting her back down on her feet gently.

“thank you, honey.” she whispered, unwrapping her arms from around his neck and taking a step back from him. she turned to face her parents who were already looking at them questioning what they just saw. “mom, dad. do you want to take photos? my boyfriend can take them for us.”

before she could give them time to react, y/n was already shoving her phone into tyler’s hands and taking her spot back between her parents. she threw her arms over their shoulders and pulled them closer to her, smiling widely with a loud “cheese” while her parents simply stared at her and screamed “boyfriend?”

the flash of her phone camera caught their attention, and soon they were all smiling and going through a variety of different poses while tyler took their picture.

“how long have you and tyler been dating? i thought he is just your best friend?” her dad asked beside her while they posed.

“since eighth grade.” y/n answered sheepishly.

her parents echoed her words loudly, both of their heads snapping to look towards her while tyler held back a laugh as he captured the moment.

“i got my degree in the end, didn’t i? he wasn’t a distraction at all.” y/n pointed out, reminding her parents of the rule they set. she grinned widely as tyler continued counting down “3, 2, 1” as if it were a mantra between each photo he took.

a moment of silence fell over them that left y/n feeling uneasy while her parents seemed to think over her words. it was her mom that’d cut through the silence. “she’s right, darling. we can’t say anything now. our baby’s all grown up, has her degree, and now we don’t have to worry about taking care of her anymore, she has her own man.” her mom laughed, hooking her arm with y/n’s and resting her head on her shoulder.

y/n’s dad sighed in defeat, standing behind them and wrapping his arms around the both of them. he rested his head on top of theirs and said, “at least it’s tyler. the kid isn’t too bad, and he’s already making money and doing his own thing. you just come to me if he starts any trouble.”

y/n giggled, turning around in her parents arms after tyler snapped the photo so that she could hug them. it certainly went better than she pictured, as she expected her parents to put up a little more of a fight rather than give up so easily. she felt them hug her back and she sighed in relief. “i’m going to be honest. i thought you guys would kill me for keeping him from you for so long.”

“if you told us this at your high school graduation, then we would have definitely sent you far away for college even if you didn’t want to go.” her dad admitted with a laugh. “but your mother’s right. we don’t have a say in who you date now. the rule was that you couldn’t date until you got your degree from college because you’d get distracted and fail school. but you managed to graduate all while having a boyfriend and proved us wrong, so who are we to suddenly break you two apart?” he continued, pulling away from the hug and taking his wife’s hand in his.

her mom looked over at tyler who had stopped taking photos to pull off the hoodie he wore and was in the process of shoving the hoodie into his backpack he always had. she laughed, covering her mouth with her hand and nudging her husband with her elbow. “darling, look at tyler.”

y/n and her dad both looked at tyler’s direction just as he slung his backpack back over his shoulders, a wide smile on his face as he proudly wore his “i love my girlfriend” shirt with a photo of y/n on the front. “honey, what is that?” y/n screamed, her face burning red with embarrassment.

“my new favorite shirt.” he answered without missing a beat. he took a step forward, holding out y/n’s phone for her dad to take and his own phone for her mom to take. “can you take our photos, please?” he asked, already reaching for the signs of y/n’s heads so that they could pose with them. he thrusted one of the signs into y/n’s hands before wrapping his arm around her shoulders and guiding her to step back with him.

y/n’s mom happily got into the rhythm of taking photos for the two as they posed, clearly having been silently hoping for years that tyler wasn’t just her daughter’s “best friend”. mother knows best, after all, and y/n’s mom wasn’t a stranger to the way tyler has been treating her daughter. she’ll admit she did find it odd when her daughter was in middle school that tyler would always be with her when she came to pick her up, and had once caught a whiff of weed in the air that she knew just had to come from the strange boy. but as tyler seemed to become a permanent fixture in y/n’s friends that she’d hang out with in high school, she chose not to bring it up again simply because she knew her daughter was still at the top of her class. she also chose not to make it known that she had once peeked out the window when she knew tyler was dropping y/n home after asking to take her out with him for his birthday dinner and just so happened to see them kiss in his car.

y/n’s dad on the other hand hesitated for a moment, simply taking the time to observe the way the two interacted. he had never wanted to assume anything was going on between them in the years he had known tyler, and y/n was still excelling in her academics in a way that he thought she wouldn’t be able to if she had a boyfriend. clearly, he was wrong. and as he watched tyler carefully handle her as they posed for each photo, he knew he didn’t need to worry. after all, if y/n’s been dating him since eighth grade, he was sure he didn’t have too much to worry about. he taught y/n to never settle for less, after all. “let’s get a photo of you two kissing so i can post it on facebook and give everyone in the family a heart attack.” he called out as he stood beside his wife, pulling up y/n’s phone to snap a photo as the younger couple stared at each other with red faces.

y/n’s mom cheered loudly as tyler and y/n kissed for the photo, tyler’s arm circling around her waist and dipping her as y/n’s hand came up to cup his cheek.

i want you to know, i love you the most i’ll always be there right by your side ‘cause baby, you’re always in my mind just give me your forever (give me your forever)

“straight to my house, tyler. no funny business. do i make myself clear?” y/n’s dad asked, his hand still firmly gripping tyler’s hand. although tyler was taller than him, tyler couldn’t help but feel as though he were six feet shorter just from the way he knew that if he fucked up now, the older man would certainly have his head on a stick… literally.

“yes, sir. no funny business.” tyler reassured him, ignoring the giggles from the two women that were standing behind him.

the four of them were all in the parking garage, already ready to head home so that they could continue the celebration with family that was already waiting at y/n’s house. y/n had asked if she could have tyler drive her to their house, and after a little hesitation, her dad agreed.

y/n was already showing her mom all the photos she and tyler had taken together throughout the years, and her mom wouldn’t stop gushing over the fact that her daughter had such a handsome boyfriend who was making a name for himself in the wrestling business. tyler eventually walked over to them, his hand finding its place on y/n’s hip.

“drive safely, tyler.” y/n’s mom told him, pulling him in for a hug. “see you later, baby! don’t do anything in the car that should be saved for the bedroom.” she teased before going off to join her husband in making their way to their own car.

“fucking finally.” tyler breathed out, turning his full attention to y/n as he planted both of his hands on her hips to pull her against him. he dipped his head down as y/n’s arms came up to wrap around his neck, pulling him down further and meeting him in the middle for a heated kiss. “one pair of parents down, one more to go.” he mumbled against her lips as he backed her up to press her against the side of his car.

she parted her lips, allowing tyler’s tongue to slide against hers and whimpering against him. y/n pulled away, not wanting to let themselves get too carried away. “wanna call them now?” she asked, unwrapping her arms from around his neck so that she could cup his face in her hands instead. she reached up further, running her fingers through tyler’s hair in an attempt to calm the mess, although in all the years she’s been with tyler - she already knew that was nearly impossible.

“no need. already sent them the photos while we were walking here. just waiting for them to reply.” he laughed, leaning in quickly to peck her lips once more before taking a step back. “i’ll post on my instagram tonight. i’m afraid that the longer we stand here kissing and not driving, your dad will actually kill me. i’m certain he was just being nice because there’s so many people here.” tyler said, taking a step back and letting his hands fall from her hips. he waited for her to step out before pulling the door open for her, waiting for her to slide into her seat before shutting the door and jogging around to the other side.

“let’s get you home and celebrate with your family, mamas.” he said as he slid into the drivers seat, quickly starting the car and pulling on his seatbelt.

“at least this time, when my aunts and uncles all ask me if i have a boyfriend, i get to pull you around and be like ‘here he is!’” y/n laughed as tyler leaned over the center console to give her one more kiss before pulling out of the parking spot and driving off. of course, they kissed at every red light and stop sign as they were unable to contain their excitement of being finally able to freely and openly love each other.

i want you to know that you’ll be the one and i’ll be the guy who’ll be on his knees to say i love you and i need you and say i’d die for you (just give me your forever)

tyler had retreated to y/n’s room two hours into the party. after being bombarded with loads of questions from y/n’s relatives, he needed some time for himself. but he also needed to answer his mom and dad’s facetime call, so he used that as an excuse to be up in her room.

“hey mom! hey dad!” tyler greeted as soon as he picked up the call, laying back in y/n’s bed and kicking off his shoes.

“since eighth grade?” taz asked, clearly in disbelief at the fact that tyler had managed to successfully hide his relationship from them for so long. especially since tyler had just started working with him and was on the road with taz.

“yeah. been going strong for years and years. not one break up or nothing. mom taught me how to treat my girl right.” tyler laughed, as he opened up his instagram app, already heading to his drafts so that he could add a few more photos and videos to the post he had already typed up.

“where is she? i miss y/n, i haven’t seen her in so long ever since you started working with your dad. now it makes so much sense why you’d always have her over when we haven’t even met your other friends!” tyler’s mom asked, seemingly happy that her son had a girlfriend that she had already met and thought of highly.

“i feel so dumb. she’d sometimes fly out to our shows and tyler would just be like ‘oh i just miss my best friend, you know. been around her my whole life and now i can’t walk down the street to see her.’ i can’t believe i took that ‘best friend’ story and believed it.” taz gasped out in disbelief.

“she’s downstairs with the rest of her family. i think she’s drinking with her cousins right now. i’m up in her room because her aunts and uncles have been asking me questions nonstop. some of her uncles are apparently fans of you, dad. they went real crazy over it.” tyler hummed. he switched apps to his messaging app and opened up the group chat he had with his parents. “i’m about to post her on my instagram since we can date openly now. i’ve been waiting years to show her off. do you think she’ll be mad if i post this one?” he asked them as he sent a photo of y/n in a sports bra and tyler’s ring gear, with her hands taped and everything. she even had the ftw championship slung over her shoulder, and for effect, her hair was tousled and messy. y/n was pulling off her best “mean mug” face although she was failing horribly.

his parents laughed as soon as they saw the image, and taz joked, “she makes the championship look better than you do.”

“i don’t think she’ll mind, baby. but your dad and i are going to go have dinner now. behave yourself and for the love of god, don’t have a kid. we just found out you have a girlfriend of eight years, we don’t need to be sent to the hospital because we had a heart attack over news of you getting her pregnant.” his mom said.

tyler said his goodbyes to his parents. once the call dropped, he went back to his instagram app to continue editing his post.

“honey? you in here?” y/n’s voice rang throughout the room as she peeked her head in.

“hey mamas. just about to post you. is it cool if i include this photo of you cuddled up against my chest even though there’s a big ass hickey on my collarbone?” he asked, holding up his phone for her to see although she was still in the doorway.

she felt her face heat up as she walked further into the room, shutting the door behind her and sitting at the edge of the bed. “sure, why not? let’s give your die hard fans even more reason to be angry at me.” y/n laughed.

“god, i’m so happy i get to hear that laugh forever. hold these hands forever. kiss these lips forever. love you forever.” tyler admitted softly, his gaze locked with hers as her hand came up to cup his cheek. she leaned in and tyler met her in the middle, capturing her lips in a sweet kiss and tasting the alcohol that lingered on her lips.

he grimaced once she pulled away, his tongue peeking out to swipe at his bottom lip. “what the fuck are you drinking down there? is that jd?” he asked after tasting the alcohol, pushing himself up so that he was sitting up on the bed.

“there’s henny if you want that instead. but come down soon, they’re already asking about you again.” she hummed as tyler’s arm came around her from to wrap around her waist. she leaned into his chest as he kissed her, moaning against him as his tongue wrapped around hers. y/n placed her hands firmly against his chest, pushing him slightly as she pulled away. “later, daddy. if you convince my parents to let you stay the night.”

“even if they didn’t let me, i’ll just sneak back in, mamas.”

just give me your forever

[spookclimber]

okay rant/mini(large words of) mental breakdown below

i walked to my car for a lunch break i didn’t want to take and discovered i have a parking citation, because my plates are expired, which i fucking forgot to do a few months ago because my life was falling apart and now it lowkey feels the same. i have rent, other monthly bills and now this that i have to fucjing deal with and also not park anywhere that could be bad until i get my plates renewed, which idk how long that’ll be.

on top of that my new job that i was fairly excited for is fine, i guess, but it’s it and pays not nearly what my college degree says i’m worth. i cannot handle sitting at a desk doing actually nothing until someone asks a question like this one i saw today, “should i click this ‘you have 3 new viruses’ popup.”

i feel like i used to be able to do things, and now i’m always exhausted and this stress is piling up again cause i need to do things and i CANT and i need to buy i really can’t which makes me feel like shit and worse and it’s a circular system.

especially when i haven’t been able to fall asleep normally until it’s past 2 am or something at the earliest, which just leaves me even more tired. on friday i was sick for my second day at the job and once i called it in i proceeded to then sleep, after my night sleepof like 12-7:30 am, from 9am to 11 fucking 30 pm, then was up for a couple hours before sleeping until 5 pm on saturday. this isn’t sustainable and it’s terrible and because of that i struggle even more when i need to try to work towards the financial issues but I CANT and i’m almost crying at work right now ranting this out because i have to get some words out and try to articulate what i feel.

the. another smaller thing but it still weighs on me is i’m like the only person wearing a mask at my work and yeah it’s it and cubicles and shit but covid still is going strong and people don’t seem to give a damn

i used to be able to do things i applied for and worked in two great internships in college why now am i having a meltdown over an objectively easier job that pays less well maybe that’s a part of it but god fucking dammit am i so stressed and, i don’t know, fucking out of it all the time in ways that don’t help me fix the problem at all.

oh another thing that isn’t fun is i was enjoying being nonbinary with my friends and all but i’m terrified to idk be that publiclally so once more i’m cosplaying my worksona except i flinch every time i see my dead name all around me and people call me by it so like why do i do this for a job that will barely make me rent and will bore me out of my mind? oh wait it’s cause i literally was unable to get any other position and i even almost got scammed in this process by someone who posed as a hr hiring person and put me through a written interview and all that jazz and got me hyped up before eventually i concluded with help it was a scam. applying for jobs fucking sucks but i guess i need to do it again between trying to make money outside of work and also at work which i’m not sure i’ll be able to juggle everything in addition to trying to get enough sleep and at least some time for me to decompress (but i’ve been needing more and more of that recently to work out and it’s related to previously stated issues) so i’m just losing it.

ido honestly believe i’ve been making strides in regards to my mental health and identity but es problema es capital as they say but i’m having such issues of motivation and getting things done that it’s a huge problem and my apartment is too much rent because i couldn’t move out when i lost my roommate because i definitely wasn’t capable of it and that roommate taught me i will literally die if i live with basically anyone that isn’t a very small specific group but because of that i’m stuck with an apartment with no food, a broken dishwasher that i’m too scared to call the landlord to fix, double rent and such.

like i knew i had some issues but my cascade of emotions once i saw the ticket on my break that id been forced to take i guess shows me that i’m really not doing well with the massive stress just hanging over my head

well i guess that’s all the words i have now. if you read all that i’m impressed and sorry i guess, but maybe i’ll find a way to dig myself out of this hole. maybe

[otakumagicmusicgamer]

Just had a dream that I was taking a math final and I didn’t finish it. Like I was halfway done and time was up. And I was left with the familiar feeling of frustration and gauging if I failed this it’ll tank my grade from an A to a C or worse. And have woken up to that feeling of sadness and inadequacy cuz I failed my math final in my dream.

I’ve been out of school for 5 years now.

[ofhouseadama]

could I dm you this? yes. but also asks are fun even though this question is mean so. how do Ed and Lorraine react to the Vietnam war?

Okay so my Ed and Lorraine are absolutely Kennedy Democrats, are both very excited and enthusiastic about the first Catholic president, but both are against the Vietnam War and US military intervention from the start. Ed's already fought in one imperialist proxy war, he's got the PTSD to prove it, and Lorraine just is truly repulsed by violence of any kind.

And also like, to go completely left field for a minute -- I've been thinking a lot about how teenage Lored were effectively trapped at 17-19 years old. Mostly financially, and in different ways. in 1951, Lorraine wouldn't have been able to have her own bank account. Women wouldn't have the right to open their own bank account until the 60s or have a credit card until the 70s -- her money would have been her father's, effectively. and while probably not maliciously, since she was a young woman she likely wouldn't have had much access to her pay checks unless she was cashing them directly. Ed, meanwhile, while trying to survive a negligent/abusive household, absolutely would have been spending money on things most teens wouldn't have to in order to survive... and that's before getting the draft notice from the Selective Service, which took away even more control of his own life.

So I see Ed and Lorraine getting married young (even for the 50s, they're a few years younger than the median, though the war was actively driving that age down) mostly out of making the most out of what they could together. Ed putting Lorraine on his bank accounts and asking her actively to manage them while he's away, and her depositing her paychecks into his account would give her more financial control in her life than most women of the era. Lorraine's engagement ring (the size of that goddamn rock) is even an insurance policy most women her age and demographic didn't have -- often when women fled marriages, it was only with their jewelry to sell. It's half about Ed's possessive streak, half him showing he's not afraid to give her the money to run, if she needed to.

Anyway -- the trauma of their late teens and early twenties is entirely rooted in the rising Cold War anxieties and the locus of harm done to women in the 50s and I fully see their pursuit of demonology and the supernatural as something Lorraine initially started while working as a secretary for the Diocese, something she did to stay late at work and help people she could physically reach while Ed was away at war. She initially started staying late on the days she knew Father Gordon would be bringing in a scared family or terrified couple or frightened soul in through the back door hours after everyone had left, staying to pray and keep herself nearby, to be an observer to a fight she could be party to. Father Gordon figures her out quickly, of course, asking what interest she has in demons and exorcisms, and figures out she's clever with records and archives, almost to an uncanny degree.

And then figures out to exactly what uncanny degree.

After Ed came home and became the husband instead of the boyfriend, it turned into something Ed could throw all his metaphorical demons onto and a healthy way to exercise his control issues and fear and anxiety that doesn't (generally) affect Lorraine because she's fighting with him side by side in this, when before they were separated by thousands of miles -- the beginning everyone's favorite Catholic battle couple very much rooted in Ed and Lorraine parsing out who brought home metaphorical demons from the war, and who brought home literal ones, and bringing them to Father Gordon when necessary. Rooted in Ed needing to be useful, to dusting off his Catholic school Latin and reading everything he could get his hands on so that he could continue to help, continue to fight.

Lorraine would have been pregnant with Judy during the heightening tensions with Cuba and as Kennedy is sending more and more military "advisors" to Vietnam and Cold War tensions flared the hottest they'd get in the 1960s and I can just see both of their control issues revving up, especially with a few-months-old baby in the mix. Just the two of them laying bed, looking down at their three month old baby girl, wondering if they'd all get nuked tomorrow. If war would be declared tomorrow. If they'd all be dead, if they brought her into the world just to die violently. It's like taking guns off the street. They can't control the White House, or the Soviets, or Cuba or China or or or -- but they know about demons, they know about spirits, they know about taking these bombs off the battlefield, in the war of good against evil, and this is a war they can be foot soldiers in together.

Lorraine would get a bit of relief in the March of '63 when Kennedy dropped married men with children to the bottom of the draft pool, and then dropped the age of the draft pool to 26, aging Ed out of the Selective Service entirely. And then in November, JFK would be assassinated, and the photo of Jackie Kennedy covered in blood, leaving the hospital hand-in-hand with RFK, would be on the front page of every newspaper in the country. It would be a jolt for both of them -- but it wouldn't fully hit Lorraine until seven years later, when she'd have her first vision of Ed's death and fully understand Jackie Kennedy's weary, "I want them to see what they have done to Jack."

After the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in August of 1964, they fully throw themselves into taking cases almost full time. As the war heats up, Ed pulls back from teaching art classes at the VA. If he spends too much time there, he has to face how pointless the violence has been. If he spends too much time there, now, he has to face that he still doesn't know why he survived. Why he lived, and everyone else on board the ship with him died. Because he still doesn't know, he still is fighting to make his life matter in a way that makes sense to him. All he has is his sense of duty, a couple of college credits, and his hands. On good days, he knows that he's loved -- that Lorraine loves him so much it makes it hurt to breathe, that he's a good father to his daughter, who will never be afraid of him.

Ed has a complete PTSD relapse in 1966, with the beginning of the ground war and the full-throated resurgence of the American propaganda machine and military recruitment. He's back in the guilt spiral, the "I never had it that bad, I was only in the Navy for two years, I never had it that bad," just feeding into "why did I live when everyone else I fought with died," back and forth until he can't sleep, can only sleep when Judy sleeps, accidentally ends up adapting himself to her nap schedule and has to sleep with his hand on her chest, feeling her breathe.

Lorraine calls in Chief, after Ed can't get out of bed for 72 hours and misses mass for the first time in his life. Chief, who comes up from Brooklyn to remind Ed of the time their entire ship exploded and Ed treaded water for eight hours and everyone else died. How they spent the next six months getting drunk whenever they weren't on duty and picking fights they couldn't get out of, and that one time they got thrown in the brig because Chief struck a superior asshole and Ed just followed him into the fight. (No, Lorraine does not know about that time Ed and Chief ended up in the brig. She will never know about that time. Judy will at some point in her early 20s learn about that time, when she needs to learn about how her parents are people, who have absolutely made mistakes in their lives.) "You and I spent six months drunk," Chief says, bouncing Judy on his knee in the kitchen over a cup of coffee, Ed refusing to look at him as he deep cleans the stove. "And then your dad died, and your sainted wife handled everything for you, and we realized we couldn't send you home to her like that."

"I still don't know why I lived."

Chief shrugs. "It doesn't matter why, son. The same reason any of us live, and any of us die. It doesn't matter. You have a little girl now who depends on you. She matters more than any goddamn reason -- you live for her, and your saint of a wife, and for all the people that you help. So that you can look them in the face, say you've been down in the hole that they're in now, and you know the way out."

Lorraine calls in Chief, because she absolutely picked a fight after mass that day without Ed, with Judy on her hip. Overheard Dorothy O'Malley running her mouth in the pew in front of her sounding like a national security ghoul and didn't even think before she opened her mouth and unloading the full force of her anxiety and anger on her. Only stops because she feels a gentle hand on her shoulder and Father Gordon murmuring in her ear, "Okay Mrs. Warren, you've made your point," while leading her away. It's the "Mrs. Warren" instead of the familiar "Lorraine" that jolts her back to herself, kissing Judy's head as she tries to shake herself out of it.

"Thank you," she tells Father Gordon, defeated.

He shrugs. "You don't come to confession until before Friday night prayer service. I didn't want you stewing on this all week." Pausing, he takes a moment to fondly tug on one of Judy's pig tails, making her laugh. "If Ed's not... feeling well, I know about that."

Lorraine bites her lip, knowing full and well that Father Gordon served as a chaplain in World War II. That seeing the violence of the Nazis firsthand is what convinced him that the Devil was more than a metaphor, that evil truly walked the Earth. Sent him on his own path, chasing darkness.

Lorraine nods.

"I could talk to him," Father Gordon says. "But it would likely come better from someone he served with."

When she gets home, she finds Chief's number in their phone book, and calls Brooklyn for the first and last time. He comes up the next day, and shoos her out of the house to do something for herself for the first time in months, telling her that he's more than equipped to look after a single three year old.

Ed goes back to teaching at the VA a few months after that, teaching art to the new round of mentally scarred children returning from war. He concedes to group therapy, and a few sessions with the VA psychiatrist to get something to take the edge off. He teaches at the VA until the troop withdrawals in 1970, reducing his class load as he and Lorraine take on more and more cases -- verging towards a hundred a year -- for the Catholic Church, and the media attention that comes along with that, the publicity engagements that help keep their bills paid, the articles and academic talks.

Even still, Ed occasionally brings home someone for dinner, just to make sure that they've only brought metaphorical demons home from war with them, not literal ones.

Sometimes it's literal ones.

[brodingles]

Happy Birthday, Kokonut!

Not to get sentimental on main, but I'm about to get sentimental on main, because I haven't done that in a while and this is very important to me.

tw/cw: suicide mention, dementia mention, hospital mention

I drew this 2 weeks ago because it was important for me to have it done, but I’m posting it on April 28th, his actual birthday, as a gift.

April 28th is also the day I graduated from college with my first degree. It was the close of an important chapter in my life. It was the first few years I was ever fully alone, and he was there with me through it.

A lot happened in that time. Some of it is outright devastating and I don’t like thinking about it. I still have nightmares sometimes.

I know it might seem a bit silly in the current landscape of things given how the years have gone, but his character was really important to me when I got into DR. I know we joke about comfort characters now, but he really was that for me. I hadn’t run into characters that thought so much like me up until that point (and to some people that may be concerning-- it’s less so than you may perceive) and I didn’t feel as alone in myself.

Of course, with the behaviors we shared that I liked, I found a bunch that I didn’t like too. Some of them I still do. Some of them I still struggle with. But I know they’re bad now. And I’ve had time to work on them and I’m still fighting every day to work on them.

There were other things that were the same that were outright terrifying. In hindsight, even seeing some of the discussion of them was and still is a little triggering. I have to type this part a bit slowly, because I’m trying to navigate those past feelings safely-- I was in and out of the hospital a lot around this time. I mean a lot. So, so much. My head was rattling, I was so exhausted and weak and I was forgetting so so much. I kept a journal and I reread some of the entries and I was so scared. I still get scared now.

I was diagnosed with a few things around that time, but between the scans and tests and visits, one day my doctor told me something that chilled me: 

“I don’t mean to alarm you, but that sounds like dementia.”

It sent me down a spiral. I was so scared. I remember breaking down and crying a lot of nights because I was worried I would die.

And that was very specific for me. A lot of people completely gloss over this section of his character. Whether they believe he was telling the truth or not was a big contest and I had to stay out of it. (I think at the very least he was diagnosed. But with how his luck goes, who knows what’s actually happening) For me it provided comfort. To have had the wild life up to that point and to be told that specifically when you’re so young. I was young. We were the same age. He may have even been older.

We still don’t know what’s wrong, by the way. I’m about to go back to the hospital.

I started having self destructive thoughts around this time. They’d been dormant in my head for so long, but suddenly they were so much louder. I started posting more ‘vent’ art. It helped. It helped to write someone else saying them. Someone else who COULD say them. He would say stuff like that and it would be no big deal. It was like putting me somewhere more manageable.

I cut my hair for the first time that year. I drew sketches of him with shorter hair to make it less scary. My hair was long and wild and curly just like his was. It made me feel happier to have it. I had always liked my hair but...something about that made me feel more comfortable.  We had the same hair.

but... somewhere in that gaggle I got too attached. So I HAD to cut my hair. I had to cut all ties with him. I had to burn every tie I had to this character to the ground because I couldn’t do it anymore. It became a sore spot. I don’t remember why. I think I was in the middle of a crisis and I had to destroy someone and this was the closest to destroying me I could get.

It’s even longer now than it was back then. I don’t think I’ll cut it again. At least not for those reasons.

Even though it’s ridiculous now, and I’ve definitely moved on to greener pastures, I have to thank this madman for helping me through so much. I don’t know if I’d still be alive if he wasn’t there. I would’ve definitely been so alone. I wouldn’t believe that I deserved better or could ever be better than I ever was if it wasn’t for him.

It made me so happy at the end of the Hope/Despair Animes that Komaeda was doing better, even if he still had his quirks and everyone wasn’t suddenly on his side. I nearly cried by that alone. Because there was hope for him that meant there was hope for me. That one day I’d find my friends and one day I could be free and happy, even if it wasn’t perfect and there were still things to pick up. It made my heart swell. So I wish him happy birthday.

This is very long. I’ve learned that about myself too, haha-- I also like to ramble! I guess some habits die hard. I’m trying to say that ironically, just by existing and getting better he brought me hope like he wanted.

Thank you Kodaka and the Spike Chunsoft Team for the game! I don’t know where I would have been without it! I want to honour your wishes and make something more because you’ve inspired me! Just like you wished!

I want to thank a lot of the characters that I had growing up for shaping me into a better me. I thank them for walking with me through my roughest times when I didn’t have anyone else to. I have more friends now. People who exist IRL to talk to and to bond with. I don’t need my comfort characters so direly anymore. But I still need them sometimes. And I’ve started writing my own! I made my own characters! I’ve grown!

I hope to make someone’s guiding light one day. To make things for them that they have for a season in their lives, and can look back and thank in the future. I have moved past that stage. But I would not be past it without them.

Happy Birthday, Komaeda.

[after-witch]

(Horrorfest) ‘Don’t Fall Asleep’ Dream Demon Dabi x Reader

Title: Don’t Fall Asleep (Dream Demon Dabi x Reader)

Synopsis: Inspired by A Nightmare on Elm Street. ‘Whatever you do... don’t. fall. asleep.’

Word Count:

Notes: Kinda-yandere, horror, violence, implied assault

You nervously chew on your bottom lip. You hate this habit, because you think it makes you look like a ridiculous schoolgirl. It reminds you of the many pasts that you left behind, the old versions of yourself that you shed like old coats when you first started college, then again when you graduated, and once more when you moved to  a new city. Always running, always on the move, at least until meeting actual friends and landing an almost fulfilling job in a city thriving with life and culture made you set down roots.

Roots which were currently threatening to wear thin, to rot and mold underneath your feet. All because of your dreams... all because of Dabi. 

“(Y/N)?”

You look up, and realize your friend had stopped talking a while ago. What was she saying before? Something about her job and--

“Are you okay?” Her tone is more annoyed than concerned, but you can’t exactly blame her. You’ve been drifting off so often lately, finding it hard to focus at work, at home, and even with your closest friends.

“Sorry,” you spit out. “I’m just--” You want to tell her, but you’ve told her before, and you knew she didn’t want to hear it. Not after the bad dreams had stopped for a while and everyone went back to a nervous, egg-shell type of normality.

They were so worried about you, but you were better now, so everyone was relieved; there were no more frustrated group calls and secret group chats where you were left out of events because no one wanted you to nod off and wake up screaming in the middle of a board game session.

You sigh and play with your ponytail. “Really stressed with work,” you finish, lying through your teeth. A look at your friend makes your stomach drop. She knows you’re lying. She’s going to make you tell her everything and--

“Oh,” she says. “No worries. So anyway, like I was saying…”

Her words feel muted as she repeats whatever story she’d been telling. She knows you’re lying, you think, she knows the dreams are back and you’re terrified and alone and--she doesn’t want to hear it.

You nod occasionally while she speaks, keeping up the pretense of conversation in the hopes that it will help you stay awake.

**

If someone were to hack into your phone, they wouldn’t find anything very strange. Unless they wandered into your alarms and wondered why in the hell anyone needed alarms set every 30 minutes or so.

The alarms are your saving grace. You started setting them when you realized that you could get sleep.. you just had to be careful not to sleep enough to dream. Experts said it took an hour or 90 minutes to dream, but experts weren’t being chased by some terrifying monster every time their brain decided to shift into REM, so experts could stuff it.

Truthfully, you feel proud of yourself for thinking of the idea in the first place. You weren’t going to let that bastard and his dreams keep you from sleep--no, you’d get sleep and keep him from you. Ha-ha, two birds, one stone--and one infinitely wise (Y/N).

Tonight, you decided that you’re going to get a few naps in before the sun rises; you have an important meeting at work tomorrow and the naps will help you brain feel a little refreshed. You still felt foggy, but nap after nap was better than no sleep at all. So you make your bed, cozy but not too cozy, double check your alarms, double check the sound on your phone, and fluff your pillow. Your eyes close easily and it’s not long before your conscious thought slips away.

You jerk awake, sudden and harsh, to the the sound of an obnoxious unknown ringtone you’d selected solely for its ability to annoy the fuck out of you. It was a true, cobbled together shitshow of a tune that you loved to hear, because it meant another successful nap.

You check a text message on your phone, then look over at your cheap dimestore clock you’d pinned to the wall, before glancing in the mirror. Check, check, and check. Everything was normal. Your phone worked right, the clock was working, and you could see your own reflection. You weren’t dreaming.

Your stomach grumbled. You hadn’t eaten since that afternoon--catching up on late work earlier had left you frazzled and you worked right through dinnertime just to make your extended (and oh so late) deadline. 

It was too late to order in, but you did have a frozen pizza somewhere in the back of the freezer. Happily, you got out of bed, pulled on your warm robe, and walked out of your bedroom into an dingy boiler room with peeling concrete walls and a roaring furnace making the floor and walls and air heavy with heat.

Wait.

Your heart pounds ferociously as you spin back, reaching helplessly for a bedroom doorknob that isn’t there. No, no no no--

“Did you have a good nap, (Y/N)? Did you get some sweet shut-eye?” The voice is taunting and cruel and absolutely terrifying. You screw your eyes shut and repeat the mantra you’d drilled into your head: “I am dreaming. I recognize that I am dreaming. And I want to wake up. I am going to wake up. I am going to--”

A voice, harsh, low, and right in your ear:

“That’s not going to work, you dumb bitch.”

The whimper that leaves your lips is unlike any noise you’ve made before. Helpless and hopeless, like an animal caught in a trap. Tears are streaming down your face as your force yourself to open your eyes, coming face to face with your tormentor. Dabi. The name and face that was etched into your memory from the first time you’d dreamt of him, years ago, when your life still felt normal and sane.

His face is partially scarred, and you cringe at the sight of bright, silver rings lining his eyes and cheeks; with Dabi this close, they practically glinted.

“IwantowakeupIwantowakeupIwanttowakeup--”

His hands are suddenly on you, harsh and hot and burning you as he shoves you against the wall. Your back collides with the concrete and you cry out at the searing pain that shoots through your legs.

“You’re not going to wake up. At least not for a while.” His grin is practically feral as he brings up one of his scarred hands to your cheeks, stroking it with a deceptive gentleness. “You’ve been asleep since this afternoon. Poor little (Y/N) fell asleep at her desk…”

You shake your head rapidly. “No--no, I set my alarms, I’ve been up, I, I--”

The slap to your face is sharp, light, and humiliating. “I-I-I,” he says, mocking and cruel. “Nah, sweetheart. I tricked you good though, didn’t I? Let you think you actually got something done for once, let you think you weren’t a total fucking failure.” 

He leans in close, practically whispering; his breath is acrid, like smoke, and his entire presence radiates an uncomfortable heat. “Can’t say I’m going to be as nice later on, though…”

You jerk your shoulders, a pitiful struggle makes him smile for a moment, but when you don’t stop trying to get out of his grip he pulls you forward and slams you back into the wall. Instead of hitting heavy concrete you feel yourself falling, falling--then landing with a surprising bounce on something soft.

You look to the side and see you’re on a mattress. Dabi is above you, both arms pinning your shoulders down with a firm force. He leans in close, as if to kiss you. Your entire being lurches at the thought.

“No!” You say, kicking your legs. “Get--get off, don’t--”

Dabi chuckles and pulls his face back. “Don’t worry, I’m not that fast. You’re not here for that, yet.”

You stare up at him. Your body feels numb, tingling in fear. You finally manage to whisper out: “Then what do you want?”

He tilts his head slightly before his eyes roam up and down your prone form. His gaze lands on your chest. His hands press on your shoulders and you can feel stinging, like running your hands under hot water in the kitchen sink.

“We’re going to play first.”

**

You wake up at your desk, your real desk, your real home. Your entire body aches as you force yourself to move, to jump around, wave your arms, as the tears blur your vision nearly entirely. You do your checks but realize it could be another trick, it could be--but Dabi would never have let you go, not at the moment when you finally pulled yourself out of the dream.

Suddenly, the elation at being awake, at being free, at being alive turns into searing pain; your chest hurts, it hurts so bad. You pull your shirt down--and scream.

You think, faintly, vaguely, wildly, as you call for an ambulance: well, at least they’re second-degree burns. I can still feel the pain.

**

You turn off the cold shower tap, trembling and shivering in the frigid air. They were brutal and sometimes painful, but they kept you awake, and that’s all that mattered. You quickly dry yourself off and slip into a thin nightgown before grabbing your toothbrush.

The bathroom mirror has never been a more unwelcome sight, but you force yourself to stare into it, to stare into your own, tired eyes. You look sick. You look older. You’re so sleep deprived that you honestly, truly think you might die from it. 

But you know that won’t happen, not really--because Dabi would certainly kill you before the sleep deprivation could. And his version of your death would not be nearly as merciful. If he would even kill you at all. Could you keep you forever, dead or alive, but dreaming all the same?

The thick burn scar running across your chest aches as you considered it.

You grab another handful of caffeine pills and swallow them, hard and bitter, chasing them with a chug from your lukewarm energy drink. God willing, you won’t sleep… at least not tonight.

[topsytervy]

Hello ~ Rafe Cameron

This is Part 2 to Goodbye cause I had the thought in my head and I didn't want to write it only for it to sit in my docs so you can read Goodbye (aka Part 1) here.

Blurb: A lot can change in five years.

Word Count: 3,677

Warnings: swearing, mentions of drinking, smoking, cocaine, spelling/grammar mistakes, i think that's it.

Small note: I’m 19 and have never planned a wedding. I’ve been to my fair share of weddings as guests and my only experience with a wedding would have been when my sister got married, however, her in-laws are kind of assholes so her wedding was really lowkey and shit, like it took place in my sister backyard lowkey, cause her mother-in-law was like 'Im not paying for anything cause you guys wont last but I'll pay for your sisters weddings' so like I’m winging half of this shit if not most of it. I’m sorry.

~~~~~

It was 5 years later.

You were 21, along with the rest of the pogues, and able to legally drink and purchase alcohol. So no more hassle with a fake ID.

Nothing had changed except for college and jobs. You and JJ had broken up after two years of dating and, much to everyone's surprise, it was like nothing had ever happened between you two.

It was insanely easy to slip back into the friend zone with JJ, despite both of you thinking that it would be awkward. Both of you fell back into old habits fairly quickly. Sure there were the first couple of weeks where you two felt as if you had to force normality but after that, it was like nothing happened. Sure, JJ still called you princess and you still found yourself hiding into his side during scary movies, but those were habits you two had prior to dating, and old habits die hard.

The only other difference was that John B and Sarah were getting married.

They were planning on getting married at The Lodge at Bear River in fall which meant a ferry to the mainland and then an almost 8-hour road trip to the venue. 

You, Kie, and Wheezie were bridesmaids, Kie being maid of honor, and Pope, JJ, and much to John B's displeasure, Rafe were groomsmen, JJ being best man. 

You and Pope were walking together which left Rafe and his half-sister to walk together. 

Rafe looked at his sister and John B, trying to stay as unphased as possible. "Y/N's gonna be a part of the wedding party?" He asked, taking a drag from his cigarette from his spot by the pool. 

John B and Sarah were outside at the patio table with their wedding planner, going over guests and the wedding party. The three looked over at Rafe and Sarah nodded.

"Why wouldn't she?"

"No reason. If you need someone to walk with her, I'll do it." He told her as nonchalantly as possible. 

"She's walking with Pope." John B responded. Rafe made a face as he brought the cigarette back up to his lips and John B narrowed his eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry. Is there a problem?" Sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"No. No problem. It's your wedding."

John B rolled his eyes before turning back to the wedding planner. 

Rafe stood up and walked inside, flipping John B the bird as he walked by. He felt as if John B was put on this earth just to make him miserable at this point.

Rafe walked over to the bar and fixed himself a drink, Wheezie rolling her eyes from her spot on the couch in between Rose and Ward, who were currently scrolling through formal wear for the wedding. 

"Dad, Rafe's day drinking... again." The now eighteen-year-old piped up.

Rafe glared at her. "Just wait Wheezie. This will be you in a few years." He told his half-sister with a smirk.

Wheezie scrunched up her face in disgust at the sight of her brother holding his cigarette in one hand and drink in the other.

Rose, a glass of wine in her hand, rolled her eyes at her stepson as Ward, a gin and tonic in his hand, just sighed. "It's five o'clock somewhere, Wheezie." 

Rafe clinked his glass against his father’s as he made his way upstairs to his old room that he was temporarily staying in since his apartment building had taken some damage during the latest hurricane and was currently getting the necessary repairs done, and closed the door behind him. He sat down at his old desk chair and looked at the corkboard above the desk where a couple of polaroid pictures of you hung. The pictures were the first thing Rafe went looking for when he had gotten back to his apartment, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw the little lockbox he had stored the polaroids still in the closet and completely unscathed. Rafe downed his drink as he swiveled his chair back and forth. 

Of course, John B wouldn't pair you and him up. That would be helping a brother out. Rafe did everything he could to show that he changed once he heard you and JJ broke up.

 He quit cocaine and took up cigarettes instead. He went back to college and got a business degree. He was currently working and getting along with his father. He had his life together, mostly, and on track. The only thing missing from his life was you.

He had barely spent more than 5 minutes in a room with you since the breakup because you were either by JJ or you retreated as far from him as possible. He'd casually bring you up in conversation with John B and your friend would just roll his eyes. 

"We don't bring you up in conversations, Rafe." John B told him one day.

That cut the blue-eyed man deep.

Especially since this was after Rafe gave John B the money he needed to buy Sarah an engagement ring. 

Some wingman John B was.

Rafe stood up with a sigh and walked downstairs, deciding to bring the entire bottle of whiskey upstairs since he could already tell it was going to be one of those nights. He halted by the patio door though when he heard his sister and John B start talking.

“Would it be that bad to pair Rafe and Y/N up for the wedding? I highly doubt Wheezie wants to walk with him. At least Y/N won’t whine about it.” She asked as she placed a hand on his arm, the wedding planner nowhere in sight.

Rafe leaned against the wall, biting his lip as he waited for John B’s answer. If Rafe was being honest, he was kind of surprised that his sister would even consider asking John B that since she could care less about what Rafe wanted.

“Sarah, I love you but you did not see her that day or the day after or the following month and a half after that. Do you know how hard it was seeing Y/N like that? Heartbroken. Not wanting to get out of bed. Thinking she did the wrong thing and that caused him to go over the edge. Do you know how many times JJ, Pope, Kie and I caught her reading the obituaries to make sure Rafe’s name wasn’t in there?” John B looked at his fiancée. “I’m not pairing them up together without her permission. That’s that.”

“Then ask her.”

"What?" 

"Ask Y/N if she wants to walk with Rafe?" Sarah saw the 'are you kidding' look in John B's eyes. "I'm serious John B. Rafe's changed a lot and, despite what you think, you cannot keep her from talking or seeing my brother all your life."

"I can try." The curly-haired boy stated, crossing his arms.

"You know what, JB? You are acting like a damn child. It is not going to break Y/N/N if you ask her one small question that contains the name Rafe, okay? I'm sure she can hear his name and not break down or something. It's been long enough. Let him have that 5 minutes he needs to talk to her cause, yeah I do not doubt that Y/N took their breakup hard, but what about Rafe? Hmm? Believe it or not John B, but my brother has fucking feelings too, okay. He probably took that break up just as hard and Wheezie and I witnessed it. So stop acting like even whispering Rafe's name will break her and just fucking ask her if she wants to walk with Rafe or Pope."

"Fine. If it makes you and Rafe happy, I'll ask her." John B huffed.

Rafe didn't stay to hear the rest, just turned around and walked back to his room, the whiskey bottle long forgotten. 

****

Fall had come quickly and the wedding date came even faster. It was like Rafe blinked and then he was on the ferry two days before the wedding, sitting next to you, very awkwardly might I add, his leg bouncing up and down as he played with his fingers. It was like he didn't know what to do with his hands. After all these years, the most natural thing to do with one of his hands was still to place it on your thigh and the amount of willpower it took to not do that exact thing was unbelievable.

Rafe had told his dad that he was going to rent his own car because eight hours in a car with his family was a hard no for him. 

So there he was, walking over to the car he rented and opening the door before stopping and watching you get in a car with Pope, Kie, and JJ.

You glanced up just before you got in, making eye contact with him. You gave him a small smile to make it a little less awkward and Rafe returned the smile before hopping into the car. He watched you guys pull away and pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh before putting the key into the ignition and starting the car. 

This was going to be the longest three days of his life.

***

He was happy for the long-ass drive of day one considering once everyone got to the hotel, there was a silent, collective decision to all just turn in for the night. 

Day two was a little less chill. After being awoken by a panicked banging on the door of his hotel room, Rafe got out of bed as quickly as he could and opened the door, only to be greeted by Sarah who roughly pushed past him into his room.

“Yeah. Come on in. Good morning to you too.” He deadpanned before shutting the door.

“What the hell am I doing, Rafe?” She asked out of the blue, causing a look of confusion to settle on his face.

“I don’t know. You tell me.” He stated.

He watched as Sarah sat on his bed and ran her hands through her hair, letting out a breath. “Is this too soon? Am I getting married too young? Like, I’m 21, Rafe. I should be out getting blackout drunk and having hookups and having regrets but instead, I’m doing the exact opposite.” She rambled.

“Okay. I see what’s happening now.” Rafe walked over and sat down next to Sarah. “Sarah, trust me when I say that marrying John B will not hurt any of that. I guarantee that you and John B will get blackout drunk together and call someone for a ride. I guarantee you will be having hookups, it’s just that all of them will be with John B. And you will have regrets. What those regrets are, I have no fucking clue but life is full of them. Trust me, I have a lot of regrets and I’m only 24.” Rafe told her. “But, I don’t think marrying John B is going to be one of your regrets. Canceling this wedding would be. After all, the venue does say no refunds.”

Sarah snorted slightly and Rafe bumped his shoulder against hers. “Believe me, Sarah, if anyone is ready to get married at this age, it’s you. You came down with a damn binder filled to the brim when you were like seven and placed it in front of me and dad on the coffee table and told dad to start making connections with everyone in that binder, right down to the dress designer.”

Sarah smiled before turning and wrapping her arms around Rafe. “Who would’ve thought you could give a pep talk. And liked John B.” She said.

Rafe slowly wrapped his arms around his younger sister. “Apparently you because you came to me. However, this does not mean I like John B. I am not going to start canceling shit just to have some one-on-one time with that curly-haired surfer dude. Okay? I simply tolerate him because he somehow makes you happy.”

After breakfast and lunch that he spent with Wheezie, last-minute plans when he walked to your room to ask you to lunch only to knock and have you answer the door which caused him to quickly abandon that plan and say “Whoops sorry. Room 202 for Wheeze,”, the rehearsal dinner came quickly. 

In all honesty, Rafe wasn't really paying attention to the dinner at all. How could he when you were right there, quite literally within his reach, laughing and smiling?

The actual wedding day itself was stressful leading up to the ceremony but after everyone got where they needed to be, it was smooth sailing. Rafe and Wheezie walked out after Kie and JJ. 

Rafe watched you walk down with Pope and couldn't help the pang of jealousy he felt in his chest. He also couldn't help but imagine himself as the groom and you in a white dress, walking down the aisle towards him.

He quickly shook the thought from his head though, watching you take your place next to Wheezie before turning your attention towards the door to watch his dad and sister walkout. 

You glanced over at Rafe and smiled slightly when you saw him bring a hand up to his cheek, wiping away a tear. You turned your attention to John B before Rafe could look over and catch you staring.

You saw John B wipe his hands on his trousers as subtly as he could. You caught JJ's eyes and he shook his head, mouthing 'fucking whipped' to you.

You nodded and moved your eyes between Sarah and John B before settling them back on JJ. 'Obviously' you mouthed back before the pair of you stopped before someone caught you.

In all honesty, Sarah did and she saw Rafe catch the interaction as well, noticing him swallow hard.

The ceremony went smoothly with no objections -Rafe fought back the urge to object just to mess with everyone but he knew his entire family wouldn't appreciate the humor- and after pictures, everyone moved inside for the reception as the sun began to set.

Dinner and drinks were served, toasts were made -JJ had made sure to include a few of John B's stupid and most embarrassing moments, much to Rafe's pleasure-, and then the dancing began. 

Sarah and Ward had their father/daughter dance and then John B and Sarah had their first dance before everyone else was encouraged to join them on the dance floor.

Wheezie walked over to Rafe and Rafe looked at her. "I am not nearly drunk enough to get out on that floor and dance with you Wheezie."

Wheezie just rolled her eyes. "You have a shot right now to go ask Y/N to dance and no one will even notice you. Take it." Rafe ignored her. "Oh, okay. So you can sit there and stare but you don't have the balls to walk up to her and say 'wanna dance'?"

Rafe glared at his half-sister. "Watch your mouth, Wheezie."

Wheezie took one last glance at the dance floor and shrugged. "That's fine. Looks like someone else did."

Rafe had never scanned a crowd faster than he did right there and sure enough, there you were, a cousin of his with his hands on your waist and yours on his shoulders, moving slowly around the dance floor.

"I'm going out for a smoke," Rafe muttered before getting up and making his way out of the building. 

He stood outside and brought out his pack of cigarettes, along with his lighter, and opened up the little carton. He withdrew a cigarette before closing the pack and shoving it back into his pocket, placing the cigarette between his lips. He heard the song from inside end before another one started back up as he flicked the spark wheel a couple of times, his thumb landing on the fork before a flame appeared.

He cupped his hand in front of the flame and brought the flame to the cigarette that rested between his lips, making a mental note to buy a new lighter since his was running out of juice.

Rafe heard the door open and close as he shoved the lighter back into his pocket and inhaled. He blew out the smoke before looking over to see who had joined him and was a little surprised to see you.

Of course, Rafe knew at some point you'd duck out of the party for some fresh air considering in social situations where they were tons of people, you needed to get away for a bit and recharge your social battery. He just didn't expect you to do that so soon.

You both stared out in front of you, not saying anything and Rafe brought the cigarette to his lips again, taking another drag.

"It's beautiful out here." You breathed out, trying to start some conversation.

Rafe nodded as he exhaled. "Yeah, it is."

"I wouldn't mind getting married here." You added absent-mindedly.

If Rafe had a drink right now, he would've choked at your words. He nodded nonetheless. "Yeah. It's a pretty nice place to get married."

You looked over at Rafe. "You gonna be okay over there, big guy?"

Rafe turned his head to look at you, confusion written all over his face. "What are you talking about?"

"I saw you wipe a tear away, bub." Rafe's heart sped up at the nickname that you used to use on him. "When Sarah was walking down the aisle. You gonna be okay or should the same reaction be expected at Wheezie's wedding too?" You smiled as Rafe groaned, tilting his head to look at the almost pitch-black sky.

"Don't even mention Wheezie getting married. To me, she's still that annoying thirteen-year-old that was always eavesdropping and snooping through shit." 

"Awe, Rafe. You got a soft spot for your sisters now. That’s so sweet." You cooed, knowing that when he was 19, the only thing he did was complain about the two Cameron girls. "Seriously though, I think it's sweet that you walked with Wheezie and that you shed a tear today." You told him.

Rafe couldn't stop the words that tumbled out of his mouth. "I wanted to walk with you but you told John B you'd rather walk with Pope."

Way to go, dumbass, he thought to himself.

"What are you talking about?" It was your turn to look confused.

Rafe sighed, taking another drag from his cigarette and letting the smoke pour past his lips as he spoke. "I offered to walk with you and John B said no. I overheard him and Sarah talking a bit later and Sarah told him that it wouldn't hurt to ask if you wanted to walk with me or not. And I think you know the rest."

He might as well fess up about it since his mouth and brain already decided to rat him out anyway.

You shook your head. "I don't know the rest because John B never asked me who I wanted to walk with nor did he ask if I wanted to walk with you."

Rafe looked over at you, his eyes locked on yours. He knew when you were lying and this was not one of those times.

He chuckled before shaking his head. "God. He's such a dick."

You ignored his comment about one of your best friends and walked closer to him. "You seriously wanted to walk with me?"

Rafe nodded, looking down at the ground. He was in way over his head, admitting that after half a decade he was still thinking about you and wanting to be with you. Even if it was for like a 20-second walk down an aisle.

You felt a blush grow on your cheeks as you looked down at your hands, playing with your fingers.

A beat passed before you spoke, keeping your head down. "If it makes you feel better… I would've said yes."

Rafe looked at you. "Yeah?"

You nodded and he took another drag from his cigarette.

"Can we start over?" He asked.

"What?" Your Y/E/C eyes lifted from the ground to meet his blue ones.

"Can we start over?"

You bit your lip. "Yeah. Sure."

Rafe cleared his throat before placing a small smile on his face and giving a little bow. "Hello. I'm Rafe."

You breathed out a laugh before giving Rafe a slight curtsy. "Hello, Rafe. I'm Y/N. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Rafe shook his head. "Oh no. The pleasure is all mine."

Your heads both turned to the building when the song changed once again to a slower song and Rafe took Wheezie's advice on seizing an opportunity. 

"You still like this song?" You nodded once more and Rafe put out his cigarette before extending his hand to you. "Would you like to dance?"

You smiled and took his hand. "Of course."

He placed his hands on your waist and yours looped around his neck, him starting to sway you two slightly.

"You look amazing by the way." Rafe complimented, taking in the lavender color of your bridesmaid dress.

"Thank you. You look rather dashing yourself." You took your hands from his neck and straightened his tie before returning them to where they previously were.

You moved closer to Rafe, resting your head on his chest as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Rafe?" You mumbled towards the end of the song.

"Mhm?"

"I missed you." You admitted.

Rafe smiled before placing a kiss at the top of your head. "I missed you too, Y/N/N."

"Rafe?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you maybe wanna ride back to the ferry together? 8 hours is a long trip.  Especially when you're alone and I have to deal with JJ, Pope, and Kie." 

You heard Rafe’s heart speed up a bit before it calmed back down as he took a deep breath. 

"I would love that."

~~~~~~~

[winterrose527]

The Favor, Part 2: Rome, Italy

(Part 1 can be found here)

Rome, Italy

“I totally could’ve been a gladiator,” Theon determined as they left the Colosseum.

Jon nodded, “I can see it.”

Robb turned to look at him, “You can?”

“Oh yeah,” Jon agreed, readily, “I often have daydreams of Theon being eaten by lions.”

Robb chuckled as Theon and Jon circled one another.

He had no idea how either of them had this much energy. They’d taken well advantage of the Roman nightlife last night, and hadn’t gotten in until the sun was rising. And what a sun it was. It had to be over a hundred degrees out here, sucking all of the energy right out of him. That mixed with tourists.

The fact that he was one didn’t temper his disdain for them.

He didn’t like to complain, but he couldn’t wait to get to the seaside. They had a train to Naples the next day, and from there they’d go to the Amalfi Coast. They’d stay there for a few days, before flying to Ibiza to meet up with some friends. He was then heading to London to start his new job, and the boys were flying home.

This trip was a bit of a farewell tour to their youth. Or, that’s how he felt now but he always got a little dramatic when he was hungover.

They’d graduated in the spring and thanks to all having their next steps lined up for the fall, had one last carefree summer. Theon was heading to law school, Jon to work for Mormont, who he’d been interning with since his freshman year, and Robb was off to London to put his degree in international business to good use.

When he’d made his decision to take the offer, Theon had suggested a bit of a Eurotrip to send him off and Jon had readily agreed. Since he’d only ever been to France, on a trip with his entire family when he was seventeen, he had jumped at the opportunity for a proper send off.

They’d been making the most of their travels, Theon falling in love with a different girl every night, he and Jon certainly having their heads turned from the sights as gorgeous European girls walked by them arm in arm.

“I need to take a piss,” Theon informed them.

“Me too,” Jon said and then clapped Theon in the chest, “Let’s go to that café, I need another espresso or I’m gonna die.” He looked at him, “You want anything?”

Robb rubbed his temples, “Just a water – flat. FLAT FLAT FLAT.”

Italy’s obsession with sparkling water was the only thing he didn’t like about it.

“I believe you mean agua naturaaaale,” Theon informed him.

“Dude, stop trying to speak Italian,” Jon sighed, “You get laughed at every time.”

“Pardon me for trying to break the Ugly American stereotype,” Theon argued.

“You literally are wearing American Flag shorts as we speak,” Robb pointed out.

“You come for my Chubbies you make me question our entire friendship,” Theon all but shouted at him.

Jon held him back and then pushed him across the street, the two of them nearly getting hit by half a dozen cars on their way over. People were honking, tourists were pointing.

So much for overcoming the Ugly American sterotype.

He looked up at the Colosseum. It had been one of the places he was most excited to see, though he knew that was pretty cliché of him. He couldn’t help it, though. He’d always been fascinated by the bloodier bits of history, and sure, yes, maybe seeing Gladiator had been a defining moment in his youth.

It was unbelievably impressive, structurally, obviously, but as he had walked through it he hadn’t been thinking about that. He hadn’t even been thinking about how gruesome it was.

He’d honestly been thinking of how he would have performed.

Most likely he would have gotten eaten by lions as well as Theon but maybe –

“Excuse me?” an American voice interrupted his thoughts.

“The entrance is over there,” he pointed.

“Yeah the um, line of people sort of tipped me off,” she joked and he turned to her.

Her voice was familiar, but that was only a passing thought when he took her in. She was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen.

A bonafide All-American beauty.

She looked familiar, too. Is she a model? He wondered if he’d seen her in a commercial or in one of Sansa’s magazines. She had the face for it, though admittedly she was a bit short. She hardly even came up to his shoulder.

“Do I know you?” he asked.

She shook her head, “I don’t think so but listen okay so this is going to sound crazy – I actually can’t believe she talked me into it again, but um… can you just – um… please don’t… I can’t even ask…shit.”

He was sort of overcome watching the cutest panic attack he’d ever seen, when all of a sudden she was kissing him.

Oh.

He knew her. Of course he knew her. She had dominated his thoughts for the entire summer in between his junior and senior years of high school. In fact, when he’d shown up for his freshman year of college, he’d have been lying if he hadn’t looked around, hoping to see her at orientation. Though it had been years since he’d thought of her apart from a passing memory.

While he was sorting all of this out, she was kissing him and his arms had wrapped around her without thinking about it.

“Thanks,” she smiled as she pulled away.

“Got it!” a voice said off to the right, “Come on Ella, we’ve got to go!”

“Ella,” he smiled, drinking her in.

“That’s me! Anyway, thanks for your help,” she said, and started to walk away, “You’re a really good kisser. So um, well done.”

He laughed, watching her walk away. A brunette girl going and linking her arm through hers, the pair walking away from the main line of people to a shorter one.

“Wait!” he called, realizing that this was happening again.

He’d made a mistake letting his Mom pull him away last time. He should have gotten her number. Her full name. Her agreement to be his forever.

“Ella-,” he called, but she’d disappeared in the throngs of tourists.

Damn this hangover.

He started moving through them, determined to catch sight of her. She wasn’t in line, but then he heard a laugh that had to be her and he looked through to see her walking into the Colosseum with a smaller group.

There was a guard posted at the entrance she must have gone through.

“Uhh… ciao um… yo necessito, fuck no that’s Spanish,” he sighed, the guard looking at him, “Look I need to get in there really quickly.”

“Private tour,” he shook his head.

“I know, I know I’ve already been in I don’t care about the Colosseum -,” the guard looked at him like he’d just insulted his mother and he shook his head, “No I do it’s great but there… did you see the beautiful girl that walked through here? Blonde? About this high? She is… very very bella,” at this point he was wondering if his butchering of the Italian language could be considered a hate crime but she was now nowhere in sight, “Please can I just go in for one minute.”

“No,” the guard said in a bored tone.

“Look,” he sighed, “Do you believe in love at first sight?”

“Fuck off, man!” the guard shouted at him.

“Alright, alright!” he backed up.

He went around the large line of people and found Theon and Jon looking around for him.

“Where the fuck did you go?” Theon asked as Jon handed him a bottle of water.

“We need to get you guys out of the sun,” Jon said, “It makes me uncomfortable when I’m the one in the best mood.”

“Shut up for a second,” Robb told them, looking around for more exits, “Look, she’s here.”

“Who is?” Theon asked, “That crazy girl from Prague?”

“No! No, her. The girl who kissed me in Paris, do you reme-,” he started.

He was cut off by the groan heard around the world.

Theon shook his head, “I’m not going through this with you again, man.”

Jon was rubbing his temples, his eyes wide but on the ground, “I really thought we were past this.”

“No, shut up, listen to me, she is here. It just happened again,” he told them. “I was just standing here and she came up to me and she’s even hotter than she was then and she just kissed me.”

“Did she know it was you?” Theon asked.

“Um I don’t think so,” Robb answered.

“And where is she now?” Jon asked.

“In there,” Robb pointed to the Colosseum.

“Okay, so let’s review,” Theon said, “This girl has twice now come up to you - a total fucking stranger and asked you to kiss her. Neither time has she in any way tried to prolong your acquaintance. How do you know she isn’t doing this to a different guy in every city she goes to?”

“Don’t talk about her like that,” Robb warned.

“Don’t do this,” Jon shook his head, “I am not listening to you moon over her for the rest of this trip. I will chuck you over the cliffs of Ravello.”

“So help me find her,” Robb pleaded. And then without warning shouted, “ELLA!”

“Dude!” Theon warned.

“Seriously security is eyeing us,” Jon noted, looking around.

“Guys - ow stop pulling me!” he ordered as both Jon and Theon had grabbed an arm and were currently dragging him away.

“Wouldn’tve lasted a day in their man,” Theon shook his head.

He looked back, as though she might be peering at him through the ruins even now.

*

The next day as they were on the train to Naples, his heart stopped every time he saw a blonde walking by.

“You’re torturing yourself,” Jon told him.

“I should have waited,” he shook his head.

Jon and Theon shared a look, which to his eyes looked a bit guilty – which they should since they all but carried him away from her – and leaned forward.

“Look, if she’s the one, you’ll see her again,” Jon promised.

“And in the meantime, you’ll meet a good English bird and forget all about her,” Theon suggested.

Robb scoffed.

As though any girl in the entire city of London could hold a candle to Ella.

[id-rather-be-an-outsider]

Pick Your Poison

Pieck Finger x Porco Galliard,

Pieck Finger x Zeke Yeager

word count: 1531

summary: Pieck is the receptionist for the science department at Marley U, Zeke is a professor in the same department. Porco is an intern who’s finishing up his degree to get on the faculty there as well. That is all. No story here, not at all.

a/n: I like college AUs, die mad. nothing horny here, just... aftermath. And just for clarity the behavior Pieck and Zeke exhibit as mentioned in this fic are NOT BEHAVIORS I CONDONE so if u do this I will berate you for it like a very disappointed mother

masterlist

“Fuck you.” I say as I put my clothes back on.

“You just did.” Porco says to me, “And don’t act like you didn’t like it.” He smiles like we’re in high school again and not newly hired university staff.

“I told you not to come over. Zeke’s gonna be here any minute.”

He scowls. “Oh, right, I forgot you’re only with him so your parents think you’re dating someone they like.”

I scoff. “Zeke is responsible! And mature, and thoughtful, and-“

“-Don’t forget using you for his own personal gain, purposely hiding your relationship from the general public so he can cheat on you-“

“Shut up.” I snap as he starts listing shit off on his fingers. “He’s only supposed to look the part, I never told him he had to act it.”

We rush to put clothes on in silence until he says, “Are you just expecting to date him until your parents die or something?”

I throw my hands up in the air. “Porco I don’t know! Are you expecting me to date you?”

“I’m just saying,” He deflects, “You know they won’t be satisfied with you and Zeke breaking up eventually. And considering you’re making attempts to hide us from him, you must know that Zeke feels the same way. And you’re catering to his feelings.”

“I am not.”

“Are too,” He insists, “And if I’m being honest, you need to figure it out. You know how I feel.”

I say, “And I told you, if you find someone you like better or are just interested in, you don’t need my permission to pursue them. Just don’t fuck me after that.”

“I know.” He says. “But maybe there is no one else who can pique my interest quite as much as you do.”

“You only like me because I’m unavailable to you, so it’s naughty and scandalous.” I roll my eyes.

“Maybe that was the case at first, but things change.” He admits, pulling on his shoes.

“What do you mean?” I ask, brows furrowed.

“What do you think I mean?” He counters. “We’ve been doing this, hanging out and stuff, for a long time. Don’t tell me you can’t think of one redeeming quality about yourself beyond just the sex that I’ve stuck around for.”

I can feel the heat coming to my face at his remark. “Well, not to be humble or anything, but I don’t really think about myself in that way all that much. So you’d have to tell me.”

“Oh, so you like it when I say nice things about you?” He says, standing up and walking over to corner me. “Didn’t know that.”

“That’s not what I said!” I argue.

He lowers his voice. “But don’t act like you don’t secretly like it. I know you too well for you to play me like that, Pieck.”

A knock comes from the door. My eyes widen. Zeke’s here. “Gimme a minute!” I call, then whisper to Porco, “You have to leave!”

“Off the back porch? But your neighbors will see me.”

“How else? And like they’d care, they have threesomes over there.” I punch Porco’s arm when he gets a look in his eye. “No. I don’t like sharing.”

“And I like it even less than you do.” He states, wrapping me in a quick hug and kissing my forehead. “See you later. Have fun with your Professor.” And climbs down the balcony as I run to the door.

“Zeke!” I exclaim, “I’m so happy to see you.” My warm smile falters when I see his face. He knows. I usher him in as I stare at the ground and close the door.

“I know that was Porco.” He says simply. Flatly.

“Y... yes....” I say, not sure exactly what to say.

“How long are you going to keep this charade up? Presenting me to your parents like we’re madly in love, meanwhile having him in your bed almost every night. Hm?” He asks me, not in an aggressive way, but definitely not gently.

I protest, “I could ask you the same, with all the panties I’ve found in your apartment.”

He sighs, rubbing his hand against his face. “Pieck, I only strayed when I suspected you and Porco. Not saying it’s an excuse,” He quickly defends, “But I think we both can agree the blood’s on both of our hands.”

“I didn’t start fucking him until I found the evidence against you anyways!” I scoff, knowing he’s full of shit. “And what about hiding our relationship from everyone and their mother?”

He looks surprised. “Well. Then I misjudged your relationship with him... partially. Anyways, why wouldn’t I? Everyone on staff thought you and Porco were together even before we started dating.”

“Zeke, you know all the rumors are just Connie wanting to feel included. He’s a temp worker for a reason.” I remind him.

“Well. What’s done is done, then. But... I have something for you.” He gets down on one knee, producing a small box from his pocket. He doesn’t open it, but I can tell what it is.

“Zeke, what is this...?” I ask, extremely confused as to why he would propose after confirming Porco and I were having sex behind his back.

“I won’t ask you that question, because it isn’t fair of me. But.” He pauses, intentionally making eye contact. “I can’t be alone forever. You know my... condition, makes me a ticking time bomb. If I were to propose to you, it would be under the assumption that we would end our scandalous behaviors and be committed solely to each other. I love you, Pieck. I know you feel something for me. But I also know you care for Porco. If you come to my apartment tomorrow and tell me you’ve cut that attachment off, then I’ll propose to you. If you tell me you couldn’t do it, then I want to part ways. I want to find myself a stable marriage. A loving marriage. One where I can raise my children with my wife, with the picket fence, with the house that looks like a cottage, and maybe a few dogs padding around. When I die, I want to feel like a piece of me is left in this world, not that the woman I married is going to forget me and run to the footloose rebel her parents never wanted her to hang around as a kid.”

I smile sadly and gently push his hand down. “I understand.”

He nods, putting the ring box away. “Thank you, Pieck.”

Zeke’s always been very precise with his words. That’s why he makes such a great professor. That speech is probably the longest spiel he’s been on outside of the classroom. As the science department’s receptionist, I’m better at listening than talking, myself.

I mull this over as I walk to Porco’s apartment, only knocking once before he opens the door. It’s almost like he has a Pieck satellite.

“That was a short visit. What happened?” Porco asks.

“He uh... well, he didn’t propose, but he posed the option.” I say awkwardly.

“And...?” He pushes.

“I turned him down. I told him about this hot intern who caught my eye, and that the university wants to hire them permanently after they get their doctorate.” I laugh.

He smirks, “Well, I sure am glad I managed to catch the eye of the cute receptionist in the science department. What do you think the faculty are gonna say about an inter-department relationship?”

“Oh, they’ve been shipping Piecko forever. I’m more worried about what my parents will say.” I half-joke.

He actually looks worried for a second. “What will they say?”

“Probably something along the line of, ‘You’re an idiot for giving up money like that!’ But I don’t mind being an idiot if it means I’m happy and in love.” I smile and hug him. “You know, Zeke’s vision of our life together was very cookie cutter.”

“Told you he wasn’t right for you. You, Pieck, are no cookie cutter kind of gal. But for curiosity’s sake, what kind of life would that be?” Porco raises a brow, patting the seat next to him as he sits down on his sofa.

“He wanted...” I pause to gather my thoughts. “Dogs, kids, a picket fence - the whole package.”

“Oh, dogs would never do for my Pieck,” Porco says dramatically. “Everyone knows you’d want an African Grey and a Komodo Dragon!”

“Don’t forget a Pixie Frog!” I add, now grinning from ear to ear.

“That too. And your fence would have to be scary, like fake heads on pikes and barbed wire to ward off your enemies.” He suggests.

“Exactly. Why have a protective barrier if it isn’t cryptic enough to keep intruders out?” I say in a tone implying that should be obvious.

“If only the science department knew they had such a weirdo running their front desk.” He jokes, “They’d hunt you down with Tiki Torches.”

“If they did, I’d curse Connie’s mom to be a giant monster, then turn into one myself.”

Porco leans in to softly kiss my cheek. “The faculty wouldn’t stand a chance against you.”

[rudypankwow]

can we be friends? | jj maybank

not my gif! (posted by @rudypankows​)

inspired by (can we be friends?) by conan gray, in which you fall in love with your best friend

requested: nooo i should do those though

warnings: swearing?

word count: 1.6k

masterlist

a/n: this kinda became a 4+1 kinda think but like it’s fine. it’s still cute and i like it. i might do a part two but i’m not sure?

could you be my best friend? let's hang out every weekend go driving every night stare at people that we like

jj didn’t have a car, but you did.

“hey, wanna go for a ride?” you said to him over the phone. code for “my parents are yelling and i need to get out of the house.”

“of course, i do,” he says. you can hear the smile in his voice.

“okay, meet me in ten minutes.”

you’d lived in the house next door your entire life. when you were little, you used to hide in the bushes between your houses, ignoring the calls from mean parents for hours. you were there when his mom left, when his dad got bad, when john b disappeared. and he was there for all your shit.

you’re pretty sure you’ve been in love with him since you were eight, but you’d never tell him that.

you walk out your front door ten minutes later, and jj is already leaning against the car door. let’s get one thing straight, your car was shit, but it was a car. it had wheels and an engine and that was all that really mattered.

“hey, buddy,” jj says, reaching out his closed fist for you to bump with your own. it was tradition.

“sup, pal,” you say back, walking around to the driver’s side of the car door and sliding in, jj doing the same.

you never really had a destination. sometimes you guys would stop at a drive thru and get snacks or something to drink. sometimes you’d just drive around the island until the early hours of the morning. you took turns playing music, and, if you were feeling up to it, you’d occasionally let jj drive. (he was known to be a bad driver.)

you’d belt out whatever song was on the radio, and he’d grab your hand to use it as a fake microphone.

you laugh. “ugh, i don’t want to go home,” you said, glancing at the clock. two am.

“who says we have to?” jj says. “let’s stay out all night.” he laughs.

you protest, but he wins. he always wins. you’re wrapped around his finger in the best kind of way. you drive to the beach and sit there for a while, smoking and laughing and dipping your feet into the cold water. jj convinces you to let him drive after that.

you guys stay out until the wreck opens up, stopping in to grab coffees and say hi to kie. she laughs as you tell her stories from the night, the music, the beach, the cold water. and then you go home.

he calls you later that night. “wanna go for a drive?”

could you be my best friend? i'll tell you all my secrets i'll tell you all the times that i wish that i could die

even now, you sometimes hid in the bushes between your houses. you were too big to really fit now, but you guys somehow managed to squeeze, usually laying on your backs on either side of the stump.

“i just don’t understand,” you say. “how am i supposed to get off this island if we don’t even have the money to pay for the college applications? and my parents don’t care anyway.” you sigh. “i just really don’t want to get stuck here, jj.”

“i know, bud,” he says, pinching your knee, the same way he always does. “but you’re the smartest person i know,” he tells you, “even smarter than pope, but don’t tell him i said that.” you laugh. “you’re gonna figure it out.”

“i don’t know that i am,” you say. “we don’t even have hot water right now.”

the difference between jj’s dad and your parents was that yours meant well. they tried their hardest. but your dad couldn’t hold down a job and your mom didn’t have a high school diploma. you sometimes felt bad complaining, knowing what jj endures from his dad, but he always reassured you that he didn’t mind listening.

he sighs. “i have no idea how college works,” he says. “but there’s gotta be someone that does, there’s gotta be a way you can apply.”

“i don’t-”

“no,” he stops you. “you’re gonna go to college. you’re gonna get a degree. and you’re gonna move far away from here. and you’re gonna have a better life than you have now.” you nod. “and you’re gonna come back and visit me.”

it was a sore subject. you wanted to get off the island, but jj didn’t. even more so, he was convinced he couldn’t.

“no,” you say, and he looks back at you, confused, “i’m taking you with me, pal.” 

he laughs and you punch his arm. “we’ll see about that one.”

and if anybody fucks with you they fuck with me so, if anybody fucks with you i'll knock their teeth out

it was early october, you had dragged jj with you to meet pope and kie at the wreck to do some homework. you knew he wouldn’t do work, but you’d hoped if everyone around him was, he’d be somewhat inclined.

it didn’t work.

regardless, you were all sitting at a table doing work. there was a group of kook boys sitting a few tables over. none of them really stood out to you. you’d definitely seen them around, but not enough to know any of their names. they seemed relatively harmless, so you weren’t paying attention to them.

“why is he walking over here?” jj said, his eyes zeroing in on the boy making his way over to your table.

maybe you’d assumed wrong, because he was right, one of them was walking directly toward you guys. he pulled up a chair from the table next to yours, and sits directly next to you, way too close for comfort.

“hey, babe,” he says to you.

you visibly cringe. “um, hello?” you say back. “is there something i can help you with?” you move your chair away from his, closer to jj’s.

“oh there’s plenty you can help me with,” he says.

you hear jj mutter, “what the fuck?” under his breath, and you shoot him a look, stay out of it.

“okay, well, i’m kind of in the middle of something,” you say, “so maybe you can,” you pause, pretending to think, “leave me alone? and while you’re at it, never talk to me again.”

“excuse me?” he says, getting up from his chair. “who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?” he takes a step toward you.

“okay, we’re done here,” jj says from behind you, standing up. “why don’t you head back to your little friends?” he’s in his face now. you try to grab at jj’s arm and pull him back, not wanting any trouble, but he pulls away from your grasp.

“hey, you two,” kie’s dad yells from behind the counter. “go back to your tables or get out,” he says.

“next time, you’re dead,” jj says, pointing his finger at the other boy’s chest. he sulks back to his table, motioning to his friends, and they all get up and leave.

jj sits back down in his chair. “i had it under control,” you say to him.

“sure you did, bud,” he says, smiling and patting your shoulder. “but now he really knows not to mess with you.”

you roll your eyes, choosing not to bicker today, and go back to your work.

could you be my best friend? can we be friends?

and you realize you’d been in love with him since you were a little girl, since he pinched your knee as you guys hid in the bushes between your houses, hiding from scary loud parents, that you didn’t understand but didn’t want to. you’d been in love with you since he punched the boy who sat behind you in second grade for flicking your ear, since the first time he let you wear his hoodie when he was cold and the first time he slipped you a $20 to get gas for your car.

but he was your best friend, and you were torn between wanting more and not wanting to ruin what you had.

you had been acting weird. you knew it, jj knew it, kie knew it, pope knew it, people walking by on the street knew it.

“car ride, now,” jj says over the phone, you regret answering. you grunt, slipping on your shoes and grabbing your keys. he’s waiting by the door.

“hey, bud,” he says, extending his fist as always.

you tap your fist with his. “hi, pal.” you’re trying to act as normal as possible, and you’re convinced it’s not working.

you drive for a few minutes, finding comfort in the familiar songs on the radio and the sound of jj’s singing. it feels right.

“hey, pull over for a second,” jj says. you do. he reaches over and turns down the radio. “so,” he turns in his seat so that he’s facing you, “what’s going on with you lately?”

“i don’t know what you’re talking about,” you try to deflect, swallowing a lump in your throat.

“no, no,” he says, shaking his head. “(y/n), you’ve been my best friend since we were four. i know something’s wrong, i just don’t know why you don’t want to tell me.”

“you really wanna know?” he nods. “i love you,” you say, under your breath, looking down at your lap.

“okay, i love you too,” he says, clearly confused.

“no, jj,” shake your head, rubbing your face. you look up at him, your heart is pounding. “like, i’m in love with you.”

he pauses. “are you serious?” you nod. without saying another word, he grabs your face pulling you over the center console to connect his lips with yours. you melt into him, all the tension in your body disappearing. you exhale into him. he pulls away and tucks a piece of hair behind your ear. “i’ve wanted to do that since we were twelve.”

“hmm,” you hum, “you definitely should have.”

[tchallasbabymama]

M’Baku’s Love- Chapter 2

Sorry, had to repost it. For some reason it was all blacked out on mobile? Idk, it’s weird and I’m still trying to understand tumblr.

Anywho, here’s Chapter 2 of M’Baku’s Love. Check out my masterlist HERE to read chapter 1 if you haven’t already, and take a look at my other stories as well. As always, let me know what you think or if you want to be tagged in anything. Enjoy!

Word count: 2689

M’Baku pulled up to the Outreach Center a little earlier than necessary on Tuesday. He got out the automated car and leaned against it, crossing his arms as he scanned over the building and its surroundings while reflecting on the mission at hand. If they were successful, thousands of Black children, millions if they expand, would be given a better education and connected to their old, pre-colonizer ways.

He smiled at the thought and turned to grab his things, when he noticed a small rainbow dash from the other side of the parking lot into the building. It took him a moment to process what he saw, but he realized it was Miss In a Hurry, rushing yet again. He smiled fondly and shook his head before heading towards the Outreach Center, opening the door and heading inside the cool, air conditioned building.

Once the chief settled in his office he went over the assistant files one more time, preparing for their interviews. He went over his upcoming day in his head and remembered that his meeting with the head of the Arts Department was at 11. He smiled to himself, dreamily, at the thought of her bright teal hair and her deep dark eyes, but shook himself out of it when he was interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Mr. M’Baku?” a tall, slender man who looked to be in his early twenties stood in the doorway dressed in slacks and a button-down.

“Yes, who is asking?”

“Deontae Greene, I’m here for my interview,” the young man introduced himself. They shook hands and the interview began. Truthfully, M’Baku didn’t need to interview the other candidates, he had already decided on hiring Deontae the moment his interview ended. He went through the motions of the second and third interview, focusing on the clock more than the interviewees. As soon as his third interview ended, he called Deontae to offer him the position, then went for a quick walk around the center to stretch his legs.

M’Baku found himself outside one of Shuri’s STEM courses, watching as the middle school aged children learned coding languages. She waved him in, and he tentatively stepped inside.

“Everybody, this is M’Baku. He’s the leader of the Jabari tribe in Wakanda.”

A chorus of “Hi M’Baku” erupted from the room, and he smiled before greeting them back.

“Mholo, children. What are you working on today?”

A little girl in the back with braces and pigtails was the first to answer.

“Princess Shuri is teaching us how to make computers work by telling it what to do in different computer languages.”

M’Baku looked at Shuri in confusion and she waved it off to explain later.

The large chief walked around the room to get a look at what they were doing, but quickly made it back to the front of the room when he caught a glimpse of the clock on the wall.

“I have a meeting, or I would stay longer princess.”

“Go, and don't be a stranger to this side of the center. Technology isn't all bad,” Shuri said with a wink as he left and shut the door behind him.

M’Baku’s long legs carried him back to his office in record time, where he was met with the sight of the head of the arts department sitting cross-legged in the chair outside his office, writing in a notebook.

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, I wandered down to the STEM wing and lost track of time,” M’Baku rambled on until she looked up at him. Today she had on gold wire-rimmed glasses instead of her red cat-eye frames from the day before, and he liked that he could see her eyes better with this pair. When their eyes met his heart thumped a little louder and his skin felt a little warmer. He watched a small smile brighten up her face as she set her notebook down before unravelling her legs to stand up.

“I wasn’t waiting long. Plus it was your turn to be running late this time,” she responded. M’Baku gestured for her to enter the office first and she obliged before perching cross-legged in the chair across from him. He rounded the desk and sat down, looking into her eyes.

“I do not believe we were properly introduced to one another,” he held out his hand to her, shaking it from across the desk. “I am M’Baku, as you already know from yesterday.”

“Monae Johnson. It’s nice to officially meet you, M’Baku. And my apologies about the other day, I accidentally took a nap and woke up with barely enough time to- I’m rambling, my bad, I do that sometimes.” She rubbed the back of her head..

“It is no problem, really,” more than anything, M’Baku found her adorable.

“So did you end up trying the place I suggested?”

“Yes, I am actually glad you ran into me. I loved The V Spot. It was an excellent recommendation, thank you.” M’Baku had to give props where they were due and this woman definitely knew food. “You must tell me, what else is good in the area?”

“There’s so much! What do you like?”

“I am new to most cuisines, but I am open. Our meeting ends around lunchtime, would you care to accompany me and show me something I might like?”

Monae’s chest tightened up at his seemingly unintended double entendre. The man before her was fine as aged wine and she was having a very difficult time concentrating on the conversation, instead wishing she could see how soft his lips are. She looked down at the ring on her left ring finger and sighed, knowing she’d regret her decision.

“I’d love to.”

______

“You’re a vegan, right?”

“Vegetarian, but vegan is fine.”

“Ever tried Indian food?”

“I cannot say that I have.”

“Come on, there’s a place around here with some really good lunch specials. I hope you like it.”

“Well your last suggestion was superb, so I trust you,” he said with a wink. Monae blushed and turned away, but not before he noticed. M’Baku fought to contain his smile and cleared his throat. “So are you from Oakland?”

“Nope, I’m from Nashville. A southern girl at heart,” she said with her best southern debutante affectation. “I came to Cali for college and just never left.”

“What made you stay?”

“Honestly? It never gets cold here, not the type of cold that seeps into your bones anyway. The worst I’ve felt here is chilly. I’m not made for anything below 50 degrees.”

“As chief of the Jabari I must say I am a little offended, Miss Johnson.”

Monae’s face twisted up, but then softened when she saw the glint in his eye. Was he flirting?

“My apologies, your highness,” she said with a curtsey. “But I’ll admire it from afar.” Her ring flashed in her line of vision, but she shook it out of her mind.

“Besides, you are wrong. Anything over 40 degrees is unfit for habitation. The weather here makes me want to crawl into my refrigerator.”

Monae shivered at the thought.

The two of them arrived at Bombay Palace and since he trusted her judgement, she ordered for the table. The waiter took their menus and quickly brought their waters with lemon slices.

“Are you a vegetarian as well?”

“Um sometimes. I don't eat red meat, but I still eat fish and poultry on occasion. I’m mostly plant-based though. I read that the Jabari are pescetarian, what made you switch over?”

“You have been reading about us, eh?”

“Well I like to know who I’m working with, and I imagine that over the next few months we’ll be seeing a lot of each other, so yes I read about the Jabari.”

“Yes, I would hope so,” M’Baku said before taking a sip of his water while watching her. He noticed her shiver under his gaze and adjust herself in the booth and he smirked, knowing he was getting to her. “And I just do not like the taste of fish very much. Earlier you mentioned having a dance background, do you still dance?”

“I’m so busy I barely have enough time nowadays outside of teaching a class at the center here and there.”

The waiter returned with their samosa appetizer and Monae danced in her seat a little, making M’Baku crack a smile at her endearing antics. They both dug in, M’Baku immediately thanking Hanuman for the food he had received. The familiar yet unfamiliar tastes swirled around in his mouth like a gold medal ice skater at the winter olympics, and he couldn’t get enough.

“Mmm, what is this?”

“Samosas.”

“I could eat this for the rest of my life and die a happy man.”

Monae giggled and almost choked on her food, “This is just the first course, wait until you taste the paneer.”

The two of them continued to talk as more food came out, not watching the time at all.

“How does your family feel about you living so far away?”

“Well my little sister is in college at NYU, living her own life, and my parents died six years ago in a car crash, so they don't feel much of anything anymore.”

He was torn between laughing at her joke and feeling a deep sadness for her loss.

“What’s your family like?”

“I am the oldest of ten-”

“Ten?!”

“Yes.”

“Your poor mama...”

M’Baku’s laughter roared through the restaurant and forced a laugh out of Monae as well. Of course his laugh was as big as he was, and her mind briefly wondered if everything about him was proportional to his size before she was pulled out of her daydream by a ringing telephone. She looked down and her face dropped when she read the name on her screen. “Shit. Uh, sorry I have to answer this- Hi honey...yeah of course...uh-huh...no, just out at lunch with a colleague-”

He couldn’t believe his ears. He knew for a fact that she was flirting with him, yet here he was talking to her “honey.” He wanted to roll his eyes, but instead returned them to his bowl and kept eating.

“Hey, D, can I call you back? We’re just about done here...Ok, bye.” She hung up the phone and cleared her throat.

“Boyfriend?”

“Fiance actually,” she said, showing off the ring on her finger.

“Interesting…”

“What is?”

M’Baku leaned back in his chair and looked into her eyes as he spoke.

“I was not aware you were already spoken for.”

Something about the tone of his voice made her face heat up and she crossed her legs tighter.

“I have my ring on, what would make you think otherwise?”

“That right there,” he gestured to her flushed skin and fidgeting lower half. “You are awfully flirty for someone who is betrothed.”

Monae had hoped he wouldn’t notice and they could carry on like earlier, but the moment was ruined.

M’Baku looked at his watch, realizing they spent almost two hours at the restaurant. “We should get back to the center, I am sure we are missed.”

“M’Baku, I’m sorry to lead you on, but that wasn’t my intention, I just-”

“There is no need to explain, Monae.” He flashed her his gap-toothed smile and called for the waiter to bring their check. He paid, not without plenty of arguing on her end, and they headed back to work.

Shortly after he made it back to his desk the king and prince barged in.

“Soooo…?” N’Jadaka tried to get the conversation going, but M’Baku wasn’t following.

“How did it go?” T’Challa added.

“How did what go?”

The cousins looked at each other in exasperation, and yet again the hot headed prince pushed the issue further.

“Your date nigga! We saw you and Monae walking all close and shit.”

“It was not a date,” He loved the Udakus dearly, but Hanuman, they could be an annoying and intrusive bunch. “She is engaged.”

“Barely,” the cousins said with an eye roll.

“What do you mean ‘barely’?”

“My friend, she has been engaged for three years now with no wedding plans in place and he is almost never home. Like we said: barely.”

M’Baku would never knowingly break up a happy home, but he saw her body language on the phone and she didn’t seem to be as into her fiance as she was into him. Yes he was shiny and new, but the exasperation in her voice at his interruption told him what he needed to know.

“Far be it from me to advocate for adultery, but-”

“It ain't far from me, cuz,” N’Jadaka butted in. “Bak, that beautiful fairy of a woman likes your big ape ass for some reason. Fuck that nigga, she was looking at you like you’re already daddy.”

M’Baku looked over to T’Challa who was nodding in agreement. He had watched her during their department head meeting and every time M’Baku spoke she perked up and the tension fell from her shoulders. She was definitely feeling him.

“I have met this fiance just once and did not get a good vibe from him. I am not sure what it is yet, but there is something-”

M’Baku cut him off before he could even finish. He knew if he let them continue they would end up hatching a plan and roping him into it, so he nipped it in the bud.

“Do not worry about it, I would prefer to remain unattached for the short while I am here, anyway. Now if you know someone who would like something more casual, I would not mind meeting them at some point.”

“I’ll keep an eye out, brother”

“I think the newest history teacher is single, or at least there's no ring on her finger. I can’t remember her name though, is it Keisha? Naima? Whatever it is, she’s fine as hell,” N’Jadaka’s hands outlined her voluptuous body for him, which caught his interest. “I’ll see what I can do. We gon get you some pussy bruh, on Bast.”

T’Challa simply nodded in agreement again.

“Thank you both for your concern,” M’Baku responded dryly. “Now if you gentlemen would excuse me, I have to meet with the social studies department head in a minute.”

“We understand when we are not wanted, but please at least let N’Jadaka set you up. You need to get back out there again, it’s been more than enough time,” the king patted his friend’s shoulder before leaving the room, his cousin doing the same.

______

M’Baku’s last meeting didn’t end until 5 pm, and he was more than ready to get home, cook dinner, and watch a little more Fresh Prince. He packed up his things and headed out towards his car, when out of the corner of his eye he spotted Monae on the other side of the parking lot struggling with several boxes. He jogged over and took them from her hands.

“Here, let me.”

“How are you everywhere?” She laughed.

“You are just lucky, I guess.” He flashed her his million-dollar smile and she was hooked again. Derrick be damned.

“Yeah, I guess I am...um, thank you M’Baku...well uh, I should go. Busy day tomorrow with the open house and all.”

“Ah yes, what exactly is an open house?”

She chuckled at his naivety.

“Basically people from the community get to come here after hours to see what we offer. Think of it like a mass tour.”

“Interesting, well since I have nothing to show them on this tour I am sure I will have time to help if you need it.”

“Thank you, M’Baku, I just might take you up on that.”

“Good. Well, you should go home and rest for the big day ahead. I will see you tomorrow Monae.”

“Get home safe!”

It warmed his heart to hear her caring about his safety, even if it's something she said to everybody. A dreamy smile parted his lips and he felt as if she had just kissed his cheek and sent him on his way.

“You as well, Monae. You as well...”

Next Chapter

[heymacy]

Macy Macy Macy, it is I, the one and only Howl at your service to bring you your Howl’s Question Friday questions!! @howlinchickhowl Please don’t look behind the curtai— stop what are you doing!!! Ok it’s Stas don’t expose me!!! Go back to the other side of the curtain!!

Happy Spooky Season!! 🎃👻🍂🧛 Do you have a favorite Halloween costume you’ve ever done? Have you and your wife ever done a couples costume? Do you plan on dressing up as anything this year? (shut up this is totally one question idk what you’re talking about)

When you worked at Starbucks, were there any drinks people would order that you hated? In other words, what are your Starbucks pet peeves from the perspective of a barista? (i.e. “Hi can I please get a latte with no foam?”)

If you could choose one song to play for every person in the world simultaneously like you had the AUX cord for the globe, what song would you play for us? 🌍 (Let’s pretend people have the option to mute it if it’s lyrically or sonically upsetting to them, so don’t stress that part.)

oh hello howl!! (*quietly* hello stas!) 👋🏼

first off, i love that it's becoming a thing now to refer to me as "macy, macy, macy" because in my head i hear 50% scolding and 50% proud-friend, so it's quite the experience for me. y'know, emotionally speaking 😌

1. happy fucking spooky season oh my god!! i've been waiting for this since our first 90 degree day back in...april? i literally live in hell. to answer your question(s): yes, i do! a few years ago, after like 15+ years of talking about doing it but never following through, my family dressed up as the cast of Hocus Pocus. my two sisters and i were the Sanderson sisters (people have always likened us to them during this time of the year, especially me as Winifred lmao), my brother was Billy, my parents were Billy and Thackery's headstones (their costumes needed to be minimal so they could efficiently play host and hostess at our halloween party lmao) and i made a cardboard replica of Winifred's book and made my wife wear it (our reasoning being that Winifred's one true love is her spell book). i even did SFX makeup on their face to match the costume, which they weren't too pleased with. that was my favorite costume of my own and of us as a couple. this year we're dressing up as Michael and Janet from The Good Place because after 8 years of incessant pleading, i've finally broken them, and now they actually enjoy halloween.

2. oh my god okay i might be going back to starbucks soon, i'm just waiting on a phone call to confirm it. but regardless, i could talk about this for literal years. don't get me wrong i actually genuinely love working at starbucks, because people who work at starbucks are literally amazing (i met like 80% of my current friends there). but the customers....the customers!!! the worst in the fucking world, and i've worked in every type of service job imaginable.

here are the dumbest fucking things you could possibly order/do at starbucks:

no foam/light foam cappuccino. a cappuccino is BY DEFINITION primarily foam. a light foam cappuccino is a latte. a no foam cappuccino is a no foam latte you fucking imbeciles. if you don't know what it is don't fucking order it goddammit and don't try to fight me on it either

anyone who blends the dried fruit into their drinks - i hope you choke on a nickel 😌

"absolutely no foam like literally not a drop of foam, i want straight up hot milk over liquified beans because i've never been told no in my entire life" get fucked get fucked get fucked

[car full of teenagers/college kids pulls up to the DT window] "hi! *giggles* oh my god shut up guys i'm trying to order! [laughter] hi! uh, i was -- SHUT UP! -- i was wondering if i could get -- SHH! [laughter] -- if i could get uh, four venti caramel ribbon crunch frapuccinos with extra, extra caramel?" i will curse your fucking bloodline not only are you wasting my fucking time FOUR FRAPUCCINOS? AND THE MOST COMPLICATED ONES? AND EXTRA //EXTRA// CARAMEL? please do not reproduce 😌

extra caramel is fine. extra extra caramel, alright i like you a little bit less. "caramel walls" i will stab you 🔪

if you ask for a pour-over during rush, choke. if you ask for a pour-over during rush of a type of coffee we already have brewed in the urns and ready to go because you "like a stronger brew", die.

also please note: none of the pet peeves apply if you're nice. if you're really, really nice, if we like you, it doesn't matter. if you're needy and picky, acknowledge it. make fun of yourself for it. apologize every time. we may not love you, but if you're nice to us, we'll like you. and we don't fuck with people we like, so, it's in everyone's best interests lmao (except the last one - go straight to hell you sick fuck)

oh one more thing THE SECRET MENU DOES NOT EXIST!!! IT DOES NOT EXIST!!! IT’S ALL MADE UP!!! I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT WHEN YOU ASK FOR AN “ARIANA GRANDE FRAPPUCCINO” I LITERALLY HATE YOU

alright now on to the angelic, godlike behaviors:

if you order an iced chai tea latte at any point in time but especially during a rush, i will kiss you on the mouth. (with consent, of course, and proof of vaccination. this is a plague after all)

if you leave a tip, even if you just toss your change in the tip jar, i will hug the fuck out of you. tips aren't great at most stores, but sometimes the $27 i got in tips for the week was what fed me, so it makes a difference

black coffee drinkers 😍 or coffee drinkers who put their own cream & sugar in their coffee at the condiment bar 😍 but especially, especially coffee drinkers who put their own cream & sugar in their coffee at the condiment bar and clean up after themselves, oh my god. angels. heaven-sent. i worship you.

if you say something like "hi! how are you?" or "what's up?" or "good morning!" when you order instead of just walking up and being like "can i get _____" i will fall in love with you.

3. Cotton Eye Joe, because i'm a slut for chaos.

this was fun, and it’s very on brand of me to get angry & emotional and not know when to shut up, hmm? howl & stas my beloveds i hope you’re both having amazing days 🥺🥰💛

[forgive-me-your-highness]

Your highness demands questions to be answered.

This fool would love to appease Her Majesty

1. You just opened up a web browser. What is the first site you visit?

First thing that opens for me is Ao3

2. You just walked into a bookstore. What section do you go to first?

Sci-fi

3. You are hanging with your closest friends. What are you most likely doing?

This!

4. You just turned your car on. What station is the radio tuned to?

80’s on 8 LMAO

5. You have just woken up for the morning. What is the first things you do?

I go back to sleep

6. Complete this phrase: You cannot buy happiness, but you can buy____.

Shiny gloves

7. What would you do if you woke up as the opposite gender?

I’d text my friends that I have big dick energy

8. Are you more likely to cook for yourself or buy food from a restaurant?

Cook for myself

9. If you had to lose one of your senses, which one would you rather lose?

Smell

10. If you could relive any one year of your life, how old would you be?

I’d go back to 7 or something

11. Would you take a bullet for anyone you know?

Many people

12. Would you rather be rich and dumb or poor and extremely intelligent?

Extremely intelligent

13. What TV character do you most relate to?

I watch a solid 1 show right now and as a fellow nd I relate to Dr. Shaun Murphy

14. You just walked into a supermarket. What section do you first go to?

Dairy

15. Is sex before marriage wrong?

FUCK NO, like buddy there’s worse things to worry about than where someone sticks their dick before they sign a paper

16. You just won the lottery. What is the first thing you do with your winnings?

Depending on how much I’ve won, help out my mom

17. If your best friend admitted that they have a crush on you, how would you react?

I’d be over the moon

18. Will the USA ever have a female president?

I just want to drink my hot cocoa in peace…

19. You are carpooling with your friends. Are you more likely to be the driver or a passenger?

Hands down a passenger. I sleep through any drive

20. How short is too short for skirts and dresses?

If you, the person wearing it, are uncomfortable with the length then it’s too short. If you like it then fuck yeah rock that skirt!

21. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, without any consequences, what food would you choose?

Shit man probably chicken noodle soup

22. It’s Saturday night. What are you most likely doing?

Either relaxing with Lulls or sending her some fun ideas

23. You go on a blind date. Your date is extremely beautiful and physically captivating, but you hate their personality. Would you want a second date?

No thank you, if we don’t get along then I’ll respectfully turn them down

24. How strict should gun laws be?

If it means I don’t get shot while studying then I’ll praise the goddess

25. Would you rather be the worst player on the best team or the best player on the worst team?

So long as we’re having fun I don’t mind

26. How well do you work with others?

Depends on who I’m working with

27. You have the ability to cure only one fatal disease and eradicate it forever. What disease do you choose?

If cancer isn’t a disease then I just made myself a fool

28. If you could go back to college and choose a different degree to study, would you?

I’m good with not thinking of that

29. Where do you see yourself ten years from now?

I hope I’m not dead

30. Are you pro-life or pro-choice?

Sir this is a Wendy’s

31. Would you attend a same sex wedding if invited?

HELL FUCKING YEAH I WOULD AND IT’D BE MINE (or some close friends!)

32. So far, what has been the greatest day of your life?

I’m saving the best day of my life for the future

33. Has anyone you know ever been arrested?

Yup

34. If it could be one season year-round, what season do would you want it to be?

Winter

35. What is your biggest regret in life?

Didn’t get to say goodbye to a friend

36. If you could bring one celebrity back from the dead, who would it be?

Robin Williams

37. What offends you the most?

I’m pretty hard to offend (Skyward Sword is a bad game, it was a GOOD GAME OKAY?)

38. Would you rather have an ugly hairstyle or be bald?

Ugly hairstyle because that’s mine everyday

39. At what age did you have your first alcoholic beverage?

3 (don’t @ me I know, bad parents)

40. What do you think happens to us when we die?

Don’t make my religious crisis worse

41. What do you think is the best way to quit smoking?

This just unlocked memories I forgot about

42. If you could take home any one animal from the zoo, which animal would you choose?

FISH, any kind

43. We’re humans created or did we evolve from earlier species?

Prob evolved

44. What scares you the most?

The list goes onnnn

45. What personality trait turns you off the most?

Lack of boundaries

46. You got offered a job to do something you hate, but the pay will make you rich. Do you take it?

If it means being able to live comfortably then yes

47. If today you only had what you were thankful for yesterday, how much would you have?

Fireworks

48. How often do you get mad or upset at yourself?

More often then I should

49. If you could choose one celebrity to be your parent, who would you choose?

I don’t even know any

50. If you could only listen to one musical artist for the rest of you life, who would you be listening to?

Ah a tie between Unlike Pluto and MISSIO

51. Have you ever used you cell phone while driving?

I’ve seen it go wrong so that’s a hard no

52. Had anyone you were close to die way too young?

Sir this is a WENDY’S (ex boyfriend)

53. Is world peace possible?

God I wish

54. You go on a blind date. You date is extremely ugly and physically appalling, but you are madly in love with their personality. Would you want a second date?

Oh my god if we get along then hell fucking yes

55. How did you discover that Santa Claus isn’t real?

Aged out of it lmao

56. Do you believe in God, or some form of higher deity?

Please I beg of you I can’t answer this

57. If you could save someone you deeply cared about, but it meant breaking a law, would you do it?

Will do

58. What is the dumbest thing you’ve ever done for money?

25 year old wanted to date me and he still buys me video games :/

59. If you were to make a YouTube video about what you know most about, what would the subject be?

Either LoZ or Service Animals

60. What do you think is your greatest personality flaw?

Oh damn where do I start?

61. If your friends spoke to you the way you speak to yourself, would you still want them as friend?

Considering it’d be rambling then sure

62. Have you ever “woke up like this”?

You guys wake up?

63. You got offered a job to do something you love, but the pay is one of the worst out there. Do you take it?

HELL FUCKING YEAH

64. What do you think is your best physical feature?

I have nice tits lmao

65. What do you think is your worst physical feature.

I’m too soft :(

66. Do you know anyone who has committed suicide?

Mm ex

67. What is the nicest thing you’ve ever done for someone you don’t know?

I helped a lady find her camping spot, and when I realized it wasn’t safe for her I let her stay at my camping spot with me. She was very nice and had lots of good stories to tell

68. Have you ever had a night’s dream come true?

Sort of? I heard a voice and the next day someone said it word for word and it shook me hard

69. How would you reject a date offer from someone you didn’t like?

Done it many times and I try to respectfully turn them down

70. Which do you think is worse: Failure, or never trying at all?

Failure :/

[afriendlyblackhottie]

Ransom Drysdale Must Die (Chapter One)

Summary: Ransom Drysdale is a serial cheater. The only way to get him to pay for what he’s done is for him to die. Or at least be extremely humiliated. As long as you don’t fall for him.

Pairings: Eventual Ransom Drysdale x black!reader, Ransom Drysdale x Multiple OC’s

Warnings: Swearing. Eventual smut.

(Author’s Note: I was watching John Tucker must die and it made me think of my favorite sweater wearing murder daddy.)

Tags: @night-of-the-living-shred​

Word Count: 2.0k

It's not that you were invisible. You preferred to think of it as keeping a low profile. Growing up, you didn't really have a choice but to keep things to yourself. What was the point of trusting people if all you were going to do was leave? You couldn't make friends or keep them if you'd be moving in another four to six months anyway. Not that it was your choice.

It started at a really young age. Technically before you were even born. Your mom had been a teen parent. Your dad didn't stick around which was all you knew about him. It didn't take long for you to get used to the myriad of men walking in and out of your life. Then you got used to seeing your mom, your only constant, getting treated like garbage over and over and over.

She never had an issue with dating. It was them sticking around that was apparently tricky. The problem is that when it would happen the same thing always happened. She'd binge on chocolate. Use you as a shoulder to cry on. Then you'd be moving to flee into the next city. It was kind of fucked up.

While she cried over the hundredth guy your nose was either buried in a book or painting which had been your only escape. You never wanted to judge your mom. She didn't deserve to always have her heartbroken. But, you also didn't deserve having a mom that wanted to pack up at the first sign of trouble. She didn't seem to get that.

As an adult, you promised yourself that you would find one place and stick to it. It might have hurt your mom a little to watch you go, but she understood that you had to go away for college and stuff. Which is how you ended up in Boston. You kind of remember living in Boston once back in the day. You liked the winters surprisingly and the way the trees looked in the fall. You remembered being happy which is why it sucked so much to leave.

You’d gotten your degree, but finding a job had been difficult. Which is how you ended up working at this country club. Though you could live without all the snobby rich people being total assholes, at least they tipped well. You mostly waitress in the clubhouse where it was usually the older crowd and the families that sucked up to them for the inheritance.

It was also how you first noticed him. Hugh Ransom Drysdale. From the moment you laid eyes on him you could tell he was dangerous. Just like those men, your mother would fall for that would inevitably break her heart. That same air of arrogance hanging over him like a cloud, except much better looking with a trust fund to go along with it.

He insisted everyone in the clubhouse call him Hugh. Which according to everyone is what he insists the help call him. God, he's a fucking asshole.

You remember the first time you talked to him. He was so enchanting. It was annoying. He was like Gaston come to life. Just as handsome, just as charming, just as scummy. Sure he made those white polos he wore to play golf look like he'd just stepped off a shoot for GQ. His gaze was enough to make any woman swoon. Even you as much as you hated to admit it.

It'd been one of the few times you'd worked at the bar. Someone had called out and being the new girl you were told to take their spot. "Sweetheart, be useful and get me a bourbon," he'd said in this rude tone.

"Not even a please?" You muttered under your breath as you turned your back to get a glass.

"What was that?" He asked, with a quirk in his eyebrow.

You kissed your teeth before turning back to him,  "Excuse me?" You plastered a sweet smile on your face.

"You got something to say? Say it." He challenged.

You shook your head. "I didn't... I didn't say anything."

He chuckled. "Okay, lo-"

Your jaw dropped as you put your hand on your chest. "Oh my god, Sir, if you're already drunk I can't serve you. You'd be a liability."

"That's a big word. Did they teach you that in community college?" The glare in his eye was intense and you couldn't help it as a smile spread across your face.

"Actually I think I learned it from where you get your trust fund."

You were surprised when he laughed. But, not that little sarcastic chuckle. Like an actual laugh. "Usually I'd call the manager over and enjoy them firing you in front of me, but lucky for you I'm in a good mood and kind of enjoying this. Now get me my bourbon."

"One bourbon coming up." You shrugged.

You talked with him for the rest of your shift surprisingly. The conversation going from hostile to surprisingly pleasant. He’d told you about some issue he’d been having with his grandfather that he hadn’t told the rest of his family he laughed at the idea of them finding out. Said he couldn’t wait to see the look on their faces when they found out everything was going to the nurse.

It was the trashy rich people drama that you craved.

“I know there’s gonna be a lot of bullshit when they find out they aren’t getting that house,” he’d scoffed, looking up at you from his drink.

“I’d be pissed too,” you replied. “I’m sure that house looks like a museum. I’d love to see it.”

“It’s insane.” He nodded. “Imagine like a horror museum with one of those escape rooms.”

You laughed. “So like plastic spiders? Cobwebs? Ghosts!” What a turn around this had been from the initial conversation the two of you were having.

“Not at all,” he said laughing. “It’s more like everything he’s ever thought for his novels, he just adds to his home. Like he needs the visualization. He has a secret window and a chair with knives. It’s insane.”

“That actually sounds pretty cool. Your grandpa sounds like a pretty cool guy, you must admire him a lot.”

“I mean... yeah, but I’d never tell him that.”

“Why not?” You asked with a chuckle.

“It’s complicated,” he answered, before bringing his glass up to his lips. “Like, I love him, but....”

“No. I get it.” Of course, you did. Your mom was a complicated figure in your life, but you could never not love her.

“I’ve done a lot of shit.” He shrugged. “So, I think it’s mutual.”

“At least his house sounds interesting. Like a work of art. I’m kind of a sucker for art.”

“Do you paint? Draw? Doodle on an iPad.” The way he smiled up at you, you would have never guessed that he was the giant asshole everyone made him out to be. There was this softness there even if it was hiding under his arrogant exterior.

You chuckled. “I paint. Though I do partake in the doodling on iPads.”

“I’d love to see your work sometime,” he said. “Do you sell?”

“I haven’t,” you replied. “But, I’m open to it. I guess. I’d show you now, but I’m not allowed to have my phone on the floor.”

“Oh so I’m not worth risking being fired for, I get it,” he joked, shaking his head as if he was offended.

You laughed, tilting your head back. “I know right. I’m already risking it by even talking to you. Harrington is so strict.”

There was this squint on his face as he kind of looked you up and down. It felt like he was studying you and it made you feel like you were under a microscope. “You’ve got a cute laugh you know that?”

No. Don’t give in. You had to tell yourself. You didn’t want to get involved with anyone you’d have to workaround. Besides, it was Ransom Drysdale. You’d just seen him with a woman yesterday. “Thank you,” you brushed him off. “Can I get you another drink?”

He sighed, checking the time on his phone. “As much as I’d love to stay and chat. I have to get going. Maybe I’ll stop by soon so we can talk again. Maybe show me some of your work?”

“Sure.”

He’d left you a forty dollar tip. You were not expecting that.

You’d left work that night feeling pretty good. Not that you were expecting him to fall in love with you or anything. Or for anything to happen at all. It was just a nice encounter with the guy everyone was obsessed with here. Besides you promised yourself you’d never, ever fall into the same trap as Mom had.

It’s not that you didn’t date. You were picky, though. The few relationships you’d had were okay, but you didn’t want to get hurt so you never wanted to get in too deeply.

Then the next day you had come to work, he’d walked in with Marissa on his arm. That stopped any and all thoughts you may have had. It was during that lull between when they'd stopped serving breakfast and brought out the lunch menus. You weren’t surprised that a man like Hugh Ransom Drysdale would be dating a woman like Marissa Clermont. She was exactly the type of woman men like him go for. You know a model IT girl type of deal.

It wasn’t just because he’d been dating Marissa. Of course not. It was because the day before you he’d just come in with Amber Taylor. The daughter of a retired Boston Celtics player. Also, a beautiful woman (also a model you think) who clearly didn’t know her boyfriend was two-timing her.

“Fascinating isn’t it?” Your co-worker, Britt, interrupted your thoughts as she’d come back from taking their drink order. Her arms were crossed as she tried to not make it too obvious that was she looking over at them. “He comes in here with different women and none of them have any idea.”

You frowned as you saw him whispering in her ear, making her giggle, probably telling her the same thing he told Amber just yesterday. “Yeah, I see that,” you replied. “How does he get away with it?”

“Ladies! Back to work!” Harrington, your manager, barked towards the both of you which made the both of you scurry off before she even had the chance to answer. You didn’t even get to talk to her because her shift was over soon then you were off the next day. You weren’t even sure why you cared so much.

When you got back to work it was during that lull time. Ransom was there of course with a different woman. Chloe Daniels. A blonde that had been the sole heir to her husband’s entire fortune no matter how much his ex wife or adult children tried to fight it. You were happy you got to witness the drama for that.

“He messes around with girls that don’t talk to each other,” Britt was finally able to explain. “So, they never find out. At least, that’s what the story around here is.”

“Wow he has a whole system worked out...” you crinkle your nose. Ugh what a fucking pig.  Just like your mother and those douchebags she dated.

“I mean, I kind of get it,” Britt said. “He’s hot. I might put up with being treated like trash for that much. Hell, I’ve put up being treated like trash for much less.”

You held in the laugh you wanted to let out as you could see Harrington lurking around, waiting to say something to the two of you. He never missed his chance to give out orders.

For as long as the couple sat through you couldn’t stop staring. Britt was right. It was fascinating.

[writings-of-a-daphodil]

Fire Keeper: Chapter 14

Douxie x fem reader

Chapter 1

Masterlist in bio!

Series Summary: You are Jim’s older sister who is taking a break from college and has moved back home to Arcadia. You end up joining Jim and his friends on their adventures.

Chapter 14 summary: You and Douxie go to Bulgaria to try and stop Morgana.

“Ya know, I can’t decide if I’d rather spend fourteen hours on an airplane or fourteen seconds in a gyre,” you mumbled as you walked out of the airport. It was a long and boring flight, but you had gotten to spend a lot of time with Douxie so that had been nice.

“Me neither,” Douxie admitted, stretching. You got into the rental car and Archie settled onto your lap.

It was a silent car ride as you enjoyed the lovely scenery. The day was chilly and you were glad you packed for it.

You arrived at the hotel just as the sun was setting and you checked in. Once you got to your room you went to call your mom to tell her you were safe.

“Hi, mom. We made it safe and sound. How is everything over in Arcadia?”

“Y/n, I’m so glad you called. Jim and I were just talking about you,” your mom said in her ‘you are so busted voice.’ You wondered what you could have possibly done.

“Heeeeyyyyy mom, what’s up?”

“So, when were you gonna tell me about your magic?” She asked and you gasped. However, you weren’t like your brother, so you weren’t going to try and pretend like you didn’t know what she was talking about.

“How’d you know?” You asked.

“I remembered, I remember that night. I remember you showing me your sparks of orange magic. I remember that it was beautiful and I remember being so proud of you.”

You chuckled. “So you aren’t mad?”

“No, well, I was scared and worried at first, but Jim calmed me down. I’m still scared and worried, but I trust you.” She paused. “He also told me about why you’re really going to Bulgaria. Please stay safe, Y/n.”

“I will, Mom.”

“Good, I love you so much.”

“I love you too mom.”

She didn’t say anything for a second and you wondered if she was still there. “Sorry, Jim wants to talk with you. I’ll give you to him,” she eventually said.

“Okay,” you mumbled, not knowing if she could still hear you or not.

You listened to the background noise as the phone was exchanged. You were surprised to hear Claire talking to who you believed were her parents.

“Y/n/n? Hey, how are you?” Jim asked and you smiled.

“I’m good, we got here safe and sound.”

“Good, good. I’m glad you’re safe,” he paused. “Listen, I’m sorry I never listened to you about telling mom. She is actually being really cool about everything.”

“I told you so!”

Jim chuckled. “You did. But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. It’s a long story, but to get to the point: Claire was temporarily stuck in the shadow realm and she had visions.”

“What kind of visions?” You asked, concern and curiosity consuming your thoughts.

“She’s okay and she said she saw visions of my amulet and that we have to break it to find a map to Merlin’s tomb and in the tomb we will find his staff.”

“Wow, that’s some vision.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m assuming you’re going?”

“Mhmm. We won’t let Gunmar get the staff.”

“That’s my little brother! You go out there and save the world. I believe in you!” You cheered.

“Thanks Y/n, it means a lot having you by my side.”

“Of course, Jim.” You were about to hang up, but Jim interrupted you.

“There’s something else you should know. Gunmar has Aaarrrgghh.”

You froze. “What?” You whispered. You were not prepared to lose Aaarrrgghh.

“It’s okay. We are going to save him,” Jim promised and you nodded even though he couldn’t see you. You noticed your phone was about to die.

“I know you will and I want you to call me or text me if you need anything. I’ve got to go soon.”

“Okay, I will. Be safe.”

“You too,” you said, then you hung up. You were incredibly worried about your friends, no, your family, but you also knew you could trust them to take care of themselves.

You heard the door to your room open and you turned to see Douxie. “Hey Y/n, I got us some food.”

“Thanks, I could really eat.”

“What’s wrong?” Douxie asked as he took a seat on his bed.

“Jim called,” you explained and then you began to tell Douxie everything you knew. By the time you were finished voicing everything and all your thoughts dinner was over.

“Wow, I guess it’s finally time.” Douxie chuckled. “Merlin had said Jim would be older.”

“What do you mean?” You asked, but a yawn took over the last half of your question. Jetlag, so much fun, right?

“Merlin could more or less see the future,” Douxie explained. “To a degree, he knew what would happen.”

“Precognition,” you mumbled. You had read about Merlin having it.

“Yeah, that,” Douxie said, yawning.

“We can talk in the morning, yeah?” You asked.

“Mhmm,” Douxie said, but you could see he was already drifting into sleep.

~~~~

You met up with Douxie in the lobby. He was already there with Archie.

“Hey,” he greeted. “Did you get everything?”

“Food, water, a blanket, money...” you listed all you had packed.

“Good. I guess we’re ready then,” Douxie said, but he didn’t move.

“It’s going to be okay. We’ve got this.”

“You’re right,” Douxie agreed.

You smirked. “I know.”

The three of you left the hotel and you drove to the harbor. This time the drive wasn’t silent, you had questions.

“So, I thought the battle of Killahead happened in England, by Camalot.”

“I had to move her,” Douxie explained. “Everyone knew where Merlin had trapped her so I had to move her to Bulgaria.”

You nodded. “That makes sense.”

“Merlin knew what he was doing,” Douxie said.

“What was-sorry-is Merlin like?”

“Wise, confident, tough, eccentric, stubborn, but overall he’s a great master.”

You smiled at Douxie. “It must have been nice to be trained by the Merlin.”

“I’ve learned a lot from him.”

“Any wisdom you’d like to pass on?”

Douxie smiled. “Wizards don’t make mistakes, we make unexpected possibilities.”

~~~~

Eventually you made it to the boat rental place and you and Douxie went into the shop to get a boat. You let Douxie do all the talking while you read some brochures with Archie.

You weren’t really paying attention to the conversation, but then the manager said something that caught your attention. “You and your girlfriend have fun!” He called much to your embarrassment.

You didn’t exactly mind being called Douxie’s girlfriend, but you didn’t know if Douxie felt the same way. Hence the warm cheeks and avoidance of eye contact.

Douxie didn’t seem to miss a beat though and he put an arm around your shoulder. “We will. Have a great day, sir.”

Douxie led you out of the office and to a boat slip. He had apparently managed to acquire a sailboat and you had to admit you were impressed. It was a nice, yet small, boat. You only had one concern.

“Do you know how to use this?” You asked, doubtful of Douxie’s abilities.

“Nope,” he said in a way that worried you. “However, I do know how to use magic to make it look like I can.”

“If we die I will kill you,” you threatened, embarrassment forgotten. Now, you were much less fond of the idea of sailing out to an island that nobody knew existed.

“Relax, I’ve been using magic to sail for centuries,” he soothed, which calmed you somewhat.

You truly felt much better about getting on the boat when Archie whispered, “He’s taken lessons in the past. He;s actually pretty good.”

You smiled and clutched the framilier close to you as you stepped on. The boat swayed and you gasped. Ariche let out a strained meow, but you managed to steady the both of you.

“Are you alright?” Douxie asked, reaching out for you.

“We’re fine,” you said as you set Archie down.

“Good,” Douxie mumbled as he began to pull some lines and sheets. He raised the main sail and then went to untie the boat.

“I’m gonna need you to put away the fenders,” Douxie called, gesturing to some plastic cylinders that hung over the side of the boat, protecting it from bumping the dock.

He pushed out of the slip and took a seat at the tiller while you took care of the fenders. “Do you need me to do anything else?” You asked.

“Nope, you can just relax. We’re out of the harbor and it should be mostly smooth sailing from here.”

“Mostly?”

“It’s pretty choppy out,” Douxie informed and you felt the wind biting into your skin.

You watched Douxie as you settled in. He seemed to really know what he was doing.

You pulled a blanket out of one of your bags and took a seat next to Douxie and Archie came and curled up on your lap.

“So, why don’t you brief me on what we have to do?” You requested.

Douxie began to explain and you listened intently to his plans. You could tell he was worried by the way his voice shook a little. You knew he just wanted to make Merlin proud and you worried that Douxie was putting too much pressure on himself. Even though you were struggling with magic, you promised to do all you could to help him.

Eventually you could feel your stomach growling so you pulled out some sandwiches that you had packed. You passed one to Douxie and the two of you ate in silence.

As you ate, you admired the water. It was a cloudy day, but that didn’t diminish its beauty. The way the water dipped and swelled made it look like it was in the midst of a dance.

Freezing wind picked up, increasing the speed of the dance and making your boat rock. Some waves crashed against the hull and if you leaned too close to the side you would get some of the mist on you.

“How do you feel about working on your magic? I know a great spell to teach you that would ease you back into magic,” Douxie suggested after you had finished eating.

You reached into your bag to give Archie some smoked salmon. “I’m up for it,” you said as you settled back into your seat.

“Alright let's work on your astral projection then,” Douxie announced.

“Just tell me what to do.”

“Alright, it’ll probably be easier for you to lock onto a person, so focus on Archie. Close your eyes and imagine that you are sitting there in front of him,” Douxie instructed. You did what he said, and as you focused on being with Archie you felt something shift.

“Well done!” Douxie cheered and you opened your eyes to see you standing in front of Archie, but it wasn’t you. It was an orange outline of yourself that mimicked your movements.

“Now what?” You asked and your projection mimicked you.

“Try sending a projection a little further away, at the bow of the boat.” You did as Douxie asked and soon enough you saw another orange outline of yourself appear.

As the trip dragged on, Douxie had you do different exercises and slowly your magic along with your astral projection got stronger. Though it still hurt to think of Vendel, you were proud of your work.

“How far do you think you can project yourself?” Douxie asked.

“Let’s see,” you pictured Jim who you knew was in Ardennes Mountains in Belgium, looking for Merlin’s staff. You focused on his aura and when you felt the shift you opened your eyes to see the Trollhunting gang plus an old man battling a current of water.

Jim was using his sword to divert the path of the water and before you could say anything, you felt yourself flicker. It felt like a rubber band had snapped and suddenly you were back in Bulgaria, in the middle of the Black Sea, with Douxie and Archie.

“Where’d you go?” Douxie asked.

“I went to see Jim,” you said excitedly. “I think they found Merlin. As in the actual sorcerer, and he was standing with them as Jim diverted a bunch of water.”

“Nuclear!” Douxie exclaimed and you smiled at the way Douxie’s eyes lit up. Boy, were you falling fast.

You shook yourself out of those thoughts and yawned. “How much farther?”

“You can rest if you want, we have a ways to go and that was some strong magic you just attempted,” Douxie said and you nodded. The sail boat wasn’t that big and it was cold so you snuggled up next to Archie for warmth who was coincidentally right by Douxie. It was almost no time before you were fast asleep.

~~~~

You woke up to find yourself wrapped in Douxie’s sweater. You slowly sat up, keeping yourself wrapped up in the warmth and you saw Archie curled up at your feet and Douxie sitting right next to you, humming something.

He hadn’t noticed you yet so you spoke up, “Nice tune.” Douxie jumped a little and you smiled at his reaction.

“We’re almost there,” he said, gesturing to a growing speck on the horizon.

You nodded as a large wave hit your boat. You yelped as you slid into Douxie. He caught you and held on as he readjusted the boat. You were determined to hide your face, so you picked up Archie.

As you sat back down you grabbed the bag with the snacks and grabbed some smoked salmon for the framilier and he gobbled it up gratefully. As you focused your attention on Archie, you found you could feel the aura of the Island.

It was a thousand times worse than the darklands was and as you tried to seal it out of your mind, it fought back. It was like cold black daggers were stabbing your mental wall. You cried out, falling backwards into Douxie.

He helped you into a comfortable position as you clutched your head. You tried to fight the darkness, but one of the daggers burst through your mental wall.

You whimpered at the painful sensation and you heard Douxie say something, “Come on, Y/n. Fight it! I know you can.”

Hearing Douxie gave you strength and so you pulled yourself out of your mind and you put up your shields.

You felt so exposed to not be able to sense auras, but you knew you could allow yourself to be attacked by those daggers again.

“What happened?” Douxie asked, concern shining on his face.

You took a deep steadying breath. “The island’s aura attacked me,” you stated simply. Douxie’s hand reached for your face and he wiped away tears that you hadn’t known you’d shed.

“Are you alright?” Archie asked, nuzzling your hand.

“Yeah, it hurt a lot, but I stopped myself from sensing auras,” you explained. “It’s just something I subconsciously do. Sensing auras was the first thing Vendel taught me and it’s become something I always do.”

Douxie nodded sympathetically and went back to his spot next to you while Archie curled up back into your lap. You tried to focus on the water again and it mostly succeeded, but had you been paying attention you would have realized that Douxie was still clutching your hand. Instead you just let the up and down movements of the water calm you.

As you got closer to the island the water got choppier. You had to hold onto one of the lines and Archie as the boat bobbed up and down. It was honestly terrifying as the sky rumbled. It began to rain and you were glad you had put the bags below deck.

Water continued to fall from the sky, but eventually the waves evened out and the water was like glass. The sudden shift gave you goosebumps, but you were already on edge.

You put the fenders on and Douxie steered the boat into an old dock. He showed you how to tie a cleat hitch and you took your time. You would readily admit that the island and it’s cave looked terrifying.

Embarrassment was barely a second thought as you clutched Douxie’s hand. He led you to the entrance to the cave where you saw a gigantic skull with horns. Vines grew through it, and these weren’t the vines that grew on the side of a quaint country manor, these vines were evil. The whole place was evil.

Douxie stepped up to the skull and closed his eyes. He almost immediately sank to the ground panting and you ruched to him.

“What is it? Are you okay? Is Morgana doing something to you?” The string of questions burst out of your mouth as Douxie fell further. He clutched his head and you realized what was happening. He was looking for Morgana’s aura and the island’s had attacked him.

“Come back to me Douxie, you can get through this,” you soothed. For a moment he seemed to grow stronger but his strength faded just as fast. You began to sing a lullaby spell and that was when Douxie’s eyes cleared and he grew stronger.

“You have a lovely voice,” he mumbled.

“Your flattery won’t stop me from getting mad at you.  You saw me get crippled by the island’s aura why would you open yourself to that kind of torture?” You asked, gently slapping him.

“I thought that since you’re more sensitive to auras I wouldn’t be affected as much,” he explained as you helped him to his feet.

“You should have asked me, my mind would have been ready to handle the onslaught,” you lectured. “What were you even looking for?”

“I was looking for Morgana, I was worried when she didn’t show up. She would have taken every chance to gloat or make fun of me.”

“So, what you’re saying is Morgana isn’t here?” You asked, scoffing. How could this have happened. The witch was already out.

“I know, I know. I’m so sorry. I really messed up. I-I-” Douxie ranted.

It broke your heart to see him blaming himself. “Stop, Douxie,” you said, trying to stop his guilt parade, but he just kept talking.

“Hisirdoux!” You yelled as you stepped in front of him, forcing him to meet your eyes. This time it worked. “Listen to me. So what? You made a mistake and Morgana exploited it. What’s in the past is in the past. Douxie, we will figure this out. You said that wizards don’t make mistakes and that they make unexpected possibilities. Well, someday you will look back and realize what possibilities bloomed from this.”

“Y/n...” he trailed off and you hugged him, he really needed one.

“It’s going to be okay, Douxie. We will fix this,” you whispered, meaning every word. You would find a way to fix everything. Douxie shouldn’t have to bear the weight of the world and you weren’t going to let him.

****

Yay! It's out! I love this chapter and there will be a half chapter coming soon which will be placed after this chapter while they are in Europe and it will be super fluffy! I really hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Have a beautiful day/night and stay safe!!💖💖💕💕

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P.P.S. I'm totally open for requests on fluffy half chapters! If you have any ideas for the half chapters send them in and I'll do my best to include them.

[fancywasmyname1]

Harden My Heart (1) Part One

Warning: Language

IF YOU WANT TO BE TAGGED, LET ME KNOW! 

“We’re doing this for your best interest, Caroline.”

I stared at the piece of paper, pulling at the edges. “It’s not only the best thing for you but it’s also going to help our family out as well.”

I stayed silent as I listened to my mother try to plead her and my father’s case. I thought I was coming home for a nice family dinner, but I was instead dropped in the lion’s den, preparing to be ripped to shreds. “He’s a good boy, Caroline.” My father spoke. “He’s going to take very good care of you, better than any other man can.”

“I’d rather slit my wrist and bleed out on the street than go with that man.” I muttered, earning looks of disapproval from my parents.

“Don’t say things like that, Caroline.” I looked up at my mom.

I wanted so badly to tell her off but I knew that she and my dad were under enough stress. They didn’t need me mouthing off to them, even though it would make me feel a little better.

“Now-“ She spoke as she stood up from the couch across from me. “Reggie will be here any minute and you’re still dressed like a slouch.” I looked down at my baggy shirt and gym shorts. “You need to go upstairs, shower, and make yourself look presentable.”

“Presentable?” I questioned.

She let out a huff, her nerves hanging on by a string. “Presentable, Caroline-” Her voice filled with annoyance. “Like every blushing bride-to-be should look.” _________________________________________________

“I’m gonna throw up.”

I stared at myself in the mirror, the Ivory gown staring back at me.

“Just take a couple deep breaths, Caroline.” My eyes drifted to my mom’s reflection, her purple dress hugging her small feature. “It’s just nerves.”

Just nerves.

I had been hearing that phrase for the past two weeks. Meeting a man that I was to marry in less than a week… Just nerves. Planning a wedding for over 300 guest… Just nerves. The day finally being here and my life being signed away forever to a man I don’t even know… Just nerves.  

Today was the day that I had been dreading since my parents dropped the nuptial bomb. When you’re a little girl, you dream of your wedding day. You dream of the beautiful dress, the fancy reception, and the man of your dreams standing at the alter waiting for you. You basically have it all planned by the age of 10, but fate has a funny way of fucking it all up. Never in a million years would I have guessed that I would be in the situation I’m in now. I never imagined that I would be standing here, wearing a beautiful wedding dress, waiting to walk down the aisle to a man that I didn’t know or even love for that matter. I would be sharing the biggest and supposedly happiest day of my life with a room full of strangers and maybe a dozen of my own family and friends. When I pictured myself getting married, this wasn’t how it was supposed to go. I was supposed to be happy. I was supposed to be in love.

“Reggie is gonna die when he sees you, sweetheart.”

Reggie Kray.

There’s not much to say about Reginald Kray, seeing as I barely know the guy. The few times that I had any interaction with him, he seemed cold and uptight. Almost like a stick was shoved up his ass and he had no way of getting it out. He didn’t talk much, which was okay by me. From what I heard from my parents, Reggie was a twin but never spoke of his sibling. It was all a big mystery when it came to Reggie Kray. He walked around with an entourage of guys, all dressed in suits, black suits. There was always one main guy with him at all times, almost like he was afraid to be by himself. The guy was just as uptight and cold as Reggie. He never spoke the couple times that I was around him. He just stood there like he was a fixture of the house. Was it going to be like this when Reggie and I were finally married? Am I getting a two-for-one kind of deal?

“Five minutes before show time!”

I snapped out of my thoughts as the wedding planner barged through the door. I watched as the stylist placed her finishing touches on my mom’s hair, giving her a smile in the mirror. Everyone in the room buzzed around, fixing stray hairs, touching up makeup, and grabbing anything they needed.

“Is the bride ready?”

I stayed silent, watching as everyone scattered around me. I felt like my world was closing in on me. My chest felt tight. My throat felt like it was closing. I wanted to rip this fucking dress off my body and throw myself in the nearest river. I wanted to be anywhere but here!

“She’s rea-“

“Why me?” I cut my mom off. “Why do I have to do this? Why do I have to marry a man I don’t even fucking know?!” I yelled out, tears threatening to spill from my eyes. “There’s a million girls out there that he could have picked. What’s so fucking special about me?”

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and stared at me. I could see pity in some of their eyes, while others looked at me like I was insane. If they were in my shoes, they would be freaking out too. “Caroline-“ My mom barked. “You need to calm down!”

“No!” I started tugging at my dress. “I want to know why he fucking picked me?!”

The wedding planner began ushering everyone out of the room, leaving my mom and I alone.

“I’m taking this dress off-“ I reached my hands behind my back, searching for the zipper. “I’m leaving.”

My mom suddenly turned into the Flash, swatting my hands away from the back of the dress. “You need to get your shit together, Caroline Taylor!” She seethed. “You have a church full of people waiting for you and you’re throwing a fucking hissy-fit. Do you know how ridiculous you are sounding right now? You know how many girls would kill to be in the spot you’re in right now?” 
I stayed silent.

“You wanna know why Reggie Kray picked you?” She spoke. “You need to ask him yourself. You need to speak to that boy like he’s your husband. He’s the one that came to your father and I. He sought you out himself and your father and I agreed that he would be the best match for you.”

“You don’t even know him, mo-“

“You don’t know him either, Caroline!” She pressed. “You’re not even giving him the time of day. You need to get to know him because you’re gonna be with him for a very long time.”

“I can get it annulled or filed for divorce.”

My mom glared at me, “No daughter of mine is gonna get a divorce.” Her voice was serious and low. “You’re going to learn to love that boy, you hear me?”

Before I could answer, the wedding planner popped back in, telling us that it was time to start. I felt like my life was failing. At that moment, I knew that I couldn’t back out. There was no way my mom would let me leave this church without Reggie beside me and the name Kray behind Caroline…

The Bridal Chorus was a song that caused butterflies to erupt in everyone’s stomach. It meant that the event was finally happening and the bride would be ushered down the aisle to her awaiting groom. It was a happy moment for everyone, everyone except me.

As my dad and I started making our way down the pathway, I looked around at all the guest in attendance. I didn’t recognize half the people there, and those I did know, looked at me with so much hope and happiness. I wonder if they could see emptiness and sadness when I looked at them? I took a glance ahead at the alter where Reggie was standing. His three-piece suit hugged his body like a glove, his hair slicked back perfectly. He looked very handsome. As we grew closer, I my eyes connected with his. Heat flooded my core as his eyes burned into my skin, his eyes examining my front top to bottom.

“Who gives this woman to this man?”

The music stopped as the priest’s voice rang throughout the venue.

I felt my dad’s arm tighten around mine, “Her mother and I do.” He spoke proudly.

The priest nodded his head, giving him a small smile. I turned toward my dad, his hands reaching for my lace veil. I wanted to burst into tears as I locked eyes with him. He gave me a reassuring smile as he lifted the veil away from my face, placing a kiss on my cheek.  
 “I love you.” He whispered.

I remained silent as he pulled away, reaching for my right hand, leading me towards Reggie.

“Take good care of her, son.” My dad spoke as he placed my hand into Reggie’s left. Reggie simply nodded his head before turning back toward the priest, pulling me with him as he ascending back up the small staircase.

His grip on my hand felt firm but not too tight. It almost felt comforting. Once we were in front of the priest, he ran his thumb over my skin in a reassuring manner, before softly releasing my hand. My hand felt like it was on fire, a good kind of fire.

“We are gathered here today to join this holy union between Reginald Kray and Caroline Taylor.”

I started to block out what the priest was saying after that first line. Here I was, standing in front a church full of people, marrying a man I’ve only known for two weeks. I didn’t know his favorite color, sports teams, what he liked, disliked. I just noticed that his eyes are green! I didn’t know what he did for a living, if he had a college degree. I’m not even sure how old he is but yet here I was. If I really wanted to, I could have left. I would have pushed past my mom, told everyone to kiss my ass, and got the fuck out of Dodge. That’s what I would have done if I wanted to leave. That little fighting spirit was still inside me, telling me to kick off the heels and run out of the church but I stayed. I can’t tell you why I stayed but here I was.

“Reggie, Caroline-”The priest spoke. “Please face each other for the reading of the vowels and ring exchange.”

We were soon facing, able to take each other in fully. He was a lot taller than I remembered. Frankly, he was even more attractive close up. The features that I should have noticed the first day I met him were in the spotlight as stared up at him. His chiseled jaw looked like it was carved by Michelangelo himself. His lips were full and the perfect shade of pink. His eyes were green, with little hints of blue and brown floating around. He was fucking perfect.

“Reggie, please repeat after me.” The priest began. “I, Reginald Kray, take thee Caroline Taylor, to be my lawfully wedded wife.”

“I, Reginald Kray, take thee Caroline Taylor, to be my lawfully wedded wife.” His English accent floating through the air like a warm breeze.

“To have and to hold, through sickness and through health, for richer and for poorer, until death do us part.”

“To have and to hold, through sickness and through health, for richer and for poorer, till death do us part-“ He slipped the diamond wedding sent on my left ring finger. “I promise to always protect you no matter what.” He spoke the last part, his eyes boring into mine.

My heart fluttered as I took in the extra vow he threw in. By the audience’s reaction, I wasn’t the only one who was shocked.

“Caroline, please repeat after me.” My eyes stayed connected with Reggie’s as the priest started speaking.

“I, Caroline Taylor, take thee Reginald Kray, to be my lawfully wedded husband.”

“I-“ I stopped short.

Every thought that I had about this wedding came crashing down on me once again. I was a couple words away from being married. A few little words separated me from a life of unknowns.

“I, Caroline Taylor, take thee Reginald Kray, to be my lawfully wedded husband.”

It was as if a sense of relief not only flooded through the priest, but Reggie and the entire church.

“To have and to hold, through sickness and through health, for richer or poorer, until death do us part.”

“To have and to hold, through sickness and through health, for richer or poorer, until death do us part.” I placed the silver band on his finger, his finger wrapping around mine once the ring was placed.

“I now have the pleasure of pronouncing you man and wife, Reggie, you may now kiss your gorgeous bride.”

I watched as he started leaning forward as I felt myself leaning back. Before I could get far enough away, his arm stretched behind my waist, bringing me flush against his hard body. In that moment, we were in our own world. He was looking at me and I was looking at him. Without further hesitation, he crashed his lips onto mine.  Shock was the first thing I felt but as the kiss deepened, pleasure and want replaced the feeling.

“Get a room, you two!”

Reggie was the first to break away, leaving me wanting more. When I finally came back to earth and realized that we were still in front of my parents, his parents, and especially the priest, embarrassment coursed through me. I just had a fucking make-out session in front of a priest, my parents, strangers, and God.

Reggie Kray was already turning me into a completely different person...