#looks like according to the queue this will actually go up the day before we leave. so‚ to you guys‚ i'll be heading out tomorrow

[front-facing-pokemon]

[thetriumphantpanda]

Delicate - Chapter Two: Maroon

3.7k / pairing: joel miller x f!reader

Series Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

summary: despite some last minute reservations about meeting Joel, you throw yourself into the date, but it doesn't go according to plan.

A/N: Ahhhhh oh my God - @hellishjoel and I are so excited to bring you the second chapter of Delicate! We're having the best time with this little pairing already and we hope they manage to worm their way into your hearts just like they have with us! We're taking turns in posting the chapters of this - so please make sure you're following both of us to keep up to date!

warnings: mentions of being a single parents, rom-com vibes, foul language, a bestie who is nothing but trouble, Joel being terrible at dating in general, a lil smattering of angst, mentions of food & alcohol consumption.

There’s a flow of peace that settles across you when the door to Noah’s room clicks shut. You love him, he’s the best thing that ever happened to you, and he keeps you afloat every day, but these moments, when he’s finally asleep and you can stop thinking for a minute, are the moments you crave each day. 

You settle down on the couch, mug of tea in hand, with the TV playing quietly, just for background noise more than anything, as you pick up your phone for the first time that evening. There’s a few emails, mainly about shopping sales and holidays that you think you should book but never do - those are quickly deleted to stop any temptation of spending money on something that isn’t essential. There are a few messages from your mom, just confirming that she’ll pick Noah up from school tomorrow, what she’s planned for them to do and what she’ll feed him. You shoot a message off in reply that it all sounds good and that he’s excited for some quality time with his grandparents, because it’s true, and then you set your phone down on the coffee table and try to ignore it for a while. 

You finish your tea and queue up a few episodes of a show you’ve been meaning to catch up on - something mindless that people at work always seem to talk about. So mindless that it actually sends you to sleep. You wake with a jolt a few hours later. The house is still quiet, which means Noah hasn’t decided he’s still got too much energy and needs to burn it off by jumping on the bed or pulling some of his toys out. You sigh, checking the time to see it’s almost midnight. 

You gather your stuff, put the mug in the sink to deal with in the morning before trudging up to bed. There’s a moment at the top of the stairs, where you think it would be so easy to flop down on the bed and forgo the rest of your responsibilities, but you’ve got your mother’s voice in the back of your mind, something about wrinkles and pores and how bad it is to sleep in your makeup, so you turn left into the bathroom, cover your skin in serums and creams and then finally, just after midnight, you fall into bed. 

Knowing it’s bad to look at your phone this late at night, once you’ve set your alarm, you click open the godforsaken Hinge app that Dixie had insisted on setting you up on. So far, after six months, you’d been on a fair few first dates, three second dates and had a God awful one night stand, but nothing had been sticking, no-one seemed to be exactly what you were looking for. You’d promised her that you’d try though, so as had become a nightly ritual for you, you set about giving away your daily likes, not really paying a huge amount of attention until he pops up for you. Joel. 45. From his first profile picture, the exact kind of man you’d been searching for. Rugged, handsome, 

Of the few photos he had on his profile, he was often donning a flannel or a simple short-sleeved shirt that curved around his biceps and broad shoulders. He always wore the same tilted smile, with dazzling eyes and dark hair with licks of silver. He was a handsome lumberjack of sorts. 

He looked to be an outdoorsman, at least two of Joel’s pictures were of him hiking a trail accompanied by a young girl, surrounded by greenery and tall rocks with the sunshine peeking through the branches. His face was glowing and tan from the light, his handsomeness so natural. Beautiful, even. 

Joel’s “Typical Sunday” consisted of a black coffee in the morning, followed by making burgers on the grill for him and his family before settling down to watch a Dallas Cowboys football game. That was a typical Sunday for a man, but it showed how he liked to unwind and that he was a family man. 

First, the mention of a family, plus that beautiful young woman in almost all of Joel’s pictures - a daughter, perhaps? Older than your own boy by quite a few years. He must have been on the younger side of having children if any of these assumptions were even correct. But there was something about knowing he also had a baby to be thinking of felt familiar, comforting, as they would always come first. 

 And it turns out that talking to him is pretty easy too. He’s charming, a slight insomniac like you, and from what you can tell from the slight back and forth you managed to have before you go to sleep, able to flirt a little with you too. It’s why when he asks to take you out you say yes without hesitation, it could be fun, he could be the one, who knows? 

Mornings are always chaos. Half-eaten bowls of cereal on the table, a mug of coffee made with the best of intentions but sat to go cold, a rush of getting Noah dressed and in the car with everything he needed for school and then the annoyance of getting stuck in traffic on the way to drop him off, all coalesce to make you stressed as you help Noah out of the backseat. 

“Remember granny is picking you up this afternoon okay?” You ask, bending down to kiss his cheek as he fiddles with the straps of his backpack. 

“I know, mom.” He groans, using the back of his hand to wipe the kiss off his cheek. 

You smile, ruffle his hair a bit, because no matter how much he might protest, he will always be your baby, “Behave for her, okay?” You warn lightly with a smile, “She’ll bring you back home tomorrow.” 

Noah spots some of his friends across the playground and steps around you to make his way into school. You turn, hold your hand up in a wave and shout at him to have a good day. Noah turns, walking backwards to look at you, waving right back. 

“Have a good day, mom!” 

Underneath the way he’s growing up, he’s still the sweet little boy you knew you could raise on your own. You sit back in your car, picking your phone up to make sure you’ve got enough time to go to the store and stock up on some groceries, when you notice a notification from Hinge. It’s Joel. 

Just checking you’re still okay for tonight? 

For some reason, you sit and stare at it for a few minutes, fingers itching to type something, to confirm, but there’s that usual seed of doubt that appears after all this time that makes you want to tell him something’s come up, you’ll have to reschedule. After months and months of trying to find someone, to failed first date after failed first date, you wonder if it really is worth it, no matter how good of a match Joel Miller seems on paper. Is he really going to be worth getting dressed up for? You sigh, type out your usual message of I’m sorry, I think I might have to reschedule, when the screen is filled with the face of your best friend, trying to call you. 

“Hello?” 

“Hello sexy mama!” Dixie’s voice immediately soothes you, “How are you this fine morning?” 

“I’m okay,” You speak softly, plugging the phone into the car so you can speak to her as you drive, “Just dropped Noah off at school.” 

“How is my favourite man?” She asks. 

“Yeah, he’s good, he’s staying with my mom tonight so I think he’s just pleased to be away from me for a while.” 

“It’s like the universe read my mind!” Dixie exclaims on the other end of the phone, “Do you want to go out and get wine drunk tonight?” 

You stutter for a second, because you could, you could cancel with Joel, go out and drink cheap wine and dance with your friend, but before you can say anything, Dixie picks up on your hesitation. 

“OH MY GOD!” She all but screeches, “Do you have a hot date tonight?!” 

You grumble a little, because how is she always so attuned to you like this? 

“Yeah, although I don’t know if I’m gonna go.” 

“Why not?” 

You sigh again, “I don’t know if it’s worth it anymore?” You offer. 

“Girl, get outta here with that attitude!” She chastises, “Is he hot?” 

You grumble a little again, but you can’t deny it, Joel is hot, “Yes.” 

“Well then,” You can hear her clap her hands in the background, clearly having you on speaker so she can go about her business, “If he’s hot, then there’s no harm in it, forget me and my wine, go out, drink wine with your hot mystery stranger and get fucked, girl!” 

“Dixie!” You screech, “I’m not fucking him.” 

“Whatever you say, girl!” She shouts down the phone, “If you cancel, I’m kicking your ass, okay?” You sigh, once again, something you’re getting more and more used to these days, “Have fun and be safe!” 

And then all you can hear is the dial tone from where she’s hung up on you. You think about it all the way around the grocery store, she wouldn’t know if you did cancel, would she? But you’ve known her long enough to know she’d sniff a lie out of you in seconds. So, when you settle down at your desk, you pull out your phone and send Joel a reply to confirm the plans you made last night, and then spend the rest of the work day trying not to work yourself up about the whole thing. 

You don’t think that the anxiety of waiting for a date to show up will ever get easier. Stood just inside the doorway of the restaurant Joel had chosen, you’re chewing at the skin around your thumbnail. Did you dress right? Do you look okay? When he turns up will he look like his pictures or not? Will he lean in for a kiss on the cheek? Do you give him a hug? You’d like to think of yourself as a seasoned pro at this now, but those first few awkward moments always made you anxious - there was no second chance at first impressions. 

You needn’t have worried about Joel though. When the door opens and he stands in front of you, he is exactly the man you’d studied on that app. Taller than you, broad and big. Scruff, peppered with gray across his face, though it’s neatly kept, just like this hair, although more unruly, it’s still peppered with grays and it suits him. He’s wearing dark jeans, and a flannel that you think must be saved for best. You step closer, open your arms. Joel leans down, and does indeed press a kiss to your cheek, one of his wide palms pressed lightly on your lower back as he hugs you back a little. 

“Nice to meet you, Joel.” You smile when he pulls away. 

“You too, ma’am.” He smiles back at you, and you can tell he’s nervous. 

“What have I told you about that?” You tease as you step towards the hostess, Joel giving her his name, you hope the slight teasing will put him at ease, you remember just what it was like when you started dating for the first time, and as much as you want to have a good time, you want to make sure Joel is having a good time too. 

She picks up two menus, leads the two of you to a table at the edge of the restaurant. Joel pulls your chair out for you, pushing it gently under you as you sit down. The light is low, and there’s a thrum of chatter across the whole restaurant as you open the menu, glancing your eyes over the choices. 

“Do you want to share a bottle of wine?” You ask, finger skimming the list of wines available. 

Joel nods, “Sure thing, darlin’.” 

You smile, looking down at the menu, deciding you much prefer darling to ma’am, especially in that sweet southern drawl of his. When the waitress returns, you both order food and a bottle of wine, which is quickly brought to the table, uncorked, with the dark red liquid poured into two glasses. The waitress leaves the bottle on the table as you raise your glass, Joel following suit, clinking them together before you take a sip. 

You’re watching as he does the same, a smaller sip than you, and then watch as his nose crinkles and he coughs a little. It makes you laugh, putting your glass down to cover your mouth a little. 

“Dunno why I said yes,” He shakes his head, “Fuckin’ hate wine.” 

You can’t help but properly laugh now, hoping that it puts him a little at ease. You reach over the table, lay your hand on his wrist just a touch, “What would you prefer to drink?” 

You don’t miss the way he subtly drags his wrist back from your touch, covering it by scratching at the skin on the side of his hand, but you don’t let it bother you. You’re a touchy person, it’s what makes you feel at ease mostly, but that doesn’t mean it works for Joel, so you fold your hands back in your lap. 

“Usually beer,” He mumbles, flagging down the waitress as she walks past to ask for just that, “Or whiskey.” 

“I don’t mind a beer,” You offer, trying to make light conversation, “But whiskey makes my throat burn.” 

He doesn’t offer much of a reply apart from a short hum from his mouth, his attention moving from you to the room around you, letting the table fall into silence. You look down at your lap, trying to think of things to say whilst you wait for your food. 

“So, Sarah, right?” You ask after his daughter, it’s something the two of you have in common at least, “You must be super proud of her, medical school is incredible.” 

“Yeah,” He says simply, “She’s a very smart girl.” 

You expect him to ask after Noah, ask him a little about what he’s like, maybe what his favourite subjects are at school or whether he’s in any sports clubs or anything, but he doesn’t offer anything else to you, doesn’t ask any questions. 

There’s a lull in the conversation, saved by the waitress dropping your meals in front of you, fresh tomato pasta with chicken for you and steak and mashed potatoes with asparagus for Joel. You swirl your fork through the pasta, scooping some into your mouth as Joel cuts into his steak. Your eyes are trained on him, watching how he eats - it’s one of your big tests, table manners, and to be fair to him, he passes with flying colours - sure he eats a bit fast, but it’s nothing off-putting, and he seems to be able to use a knife and fork properly and chew with his mouth closed, which is a far cry from the last person you’d been out with. 

“You look really good tonight,” You offer, setting your fork down for a moment, “The flannel is very Texas.” 

You think in the dim light you can see him flush a little, and you’ve not said anything that isn’t true, he does look good. Fucking great actually. Joel finishes swallowing, takes a swig of his beer. 

“Thank you,” He tips his head towards you, “You look nice too,” He brings his hand up to his face to motion, “Rosy cheeks.” 

You try not to let your disappointment show, it is a compliment after all, so you put all your focus back down into your meal, the two of you finishing your food in a rather awkward silence - you willing Joel to ask you something, to start a conversation, anything really. You watch as Joel pushes the asparagus around his plate after eating two of the spears, finishing off his steak and potatoes but leaving the rest of the greens. 

When the waitress comes back to clear your plates, she asks if you’d like the dessert menu. You look to Joel, who tips his head in a way to say it’s up to you, but this has quite possibly been the most excruciating few hours of your life, so you drain your glass of wine, tip the last of the bottle into the glass and sit to wait for the bill. 

“Listen,” Joel starts, dragging your attention from the bottom of your glass to him, a look of slight regret on his face, “I ain’t too good at all this,” He tries to explain, “It’s been a long time and I’m a little rusty.” 

You kind of want to wring his ass for it a little, but underneath his apparent disinterest, you can still see the nerves of the guy who first walked through the door, and you get it, you think you’d been similar when you first started dating again, but you don’t think you’d completely lost the ability to think of a single question. 

Joel insists on paying the bill and you don’t fight him for the privilege of splitting it - you think it might upset some of that southern chivalry he has and for someone else they’ll love that. It’s a silent affair as you both stand up, gather your things. 

“How are you getting home?” Joel asks, holding the front door open for you. 

“I can just grab a cab,” You smile, “How about you?” 

He points to a truck, “Only had one so I can drive home,” He explains, “Do you mind if I wait with you for your cab?” He asks, “I’d feel better knowing you get in one safe.” 

“Of course,” You smile, “The hostess called one for me, so it shouldn’t be long.” 

There’s another lull in conversation, thankfully your cab arrives quickly, saving the silence from falling into awkwardness again. Joel beats you to the door, opening it for you. 

“I would say it’s been nice meeting you,” He speaks, “But I feel like I made this real difficult, and I’m sorry for that.” 

Going to step into the cab, you stop, leaning down to put your bag in the back seat, pausing a little before you turn back around to him, meeting his eyes. They’re striking, dark brown and beautiful, and trying to tell you just how much he knows he’s messed up. It makes your heart sink because you feel that sadness too, knowing he had so much promise, that he understood you in a way you thought other people didn’t, without even needing to talk to you, he’s a single parent, he gets it, like other people don’t. It frustrates you, makes your breath catch in your throat and your eyes glass over. 

You bring a comforting hand to his shoulder, “It’s okay,” You add a smile at the end, “It takes some time to get used to this all again, I was the same,” You look down at your shoes,  “It’ll get easier each time you do it, I promise.” 

His head dips, regret flashed across his face, like he wishes he could go back and do it all over but better this time. 

“M’sorry, again,” His tone is low, morose even, then he dips, presses a soft kiss to your cheek, “Get home safe.” 

You flop down on your bed, hand running over your face, wondering at what point it had gone wrong. He’d had so much potential, had seemed like he could be so right for you, so what went wrong? 

No sooner have you sent the ‘home safe’ message to Dixie, do you feel the soft vibrating of your phone. You answer, put the phone on loudspeaker and set it by your head. 

“So, how did it go?” 

You groan, “He had so much potential Dix,” You let out a pained noise, “I don’t know where it went wrong?!” 

“Oh honey,” She coos down the phone, aware more than anyone how much you wanted to be done with dating and finally have someone you could spend time with, “What happened?” 

“I don’t even know!” You exclaim, “Like, I could tell he was nervous, and this was his first date in years, but it was like he’d never spoken to a woman in his life, it was so hard!” 

You can hear her sucking on her teeth on the other end of the phone, “Are you being too hard on him?” She asks, “You always say the cocky men are no good because they’re rehearsed, maybe he just needs time to warm up?” 

“Dixie, I’d need a flamethrower to warm him up!” 

That gets a giggle out of her, “Mama, listen to me,” She goes into serious mode now, “Not everyone is as seasoned as you at this, and if this was his first date in years and he comes face to face with you? Of course he’s going to be nervous, you can’t write him off just for that honey.” 

That’s when your truth really hits out, “But what if I spend all that time warming him up and it’s a waste of time? He could turn out to be no good for me and then I’ve wasted so much time instead of trying to find the right person.” 

“Honey, respectfully, you’re forty, not at the end of your life, I promise that maybe spending some time trying to unravel someone a little instead of writing them off immediately might actually be worth it.” 

“I don’t know, Dix…” You trail off. 

“Just sleep on it, okay?” She offers, “See how you feel when you wake up before you send him the ‘thanks but no thanks’ message.” 

“Okay, I promise.” 

The two of your say goodbye to each other, you stay led on the bed for a while before you push yourself up, plug your phone into the charger, noticing the notification from Hinge when your screen lights up. You can see it’s Joel’s name that sits on the front screen. You sigh, sitting on the edge of the bed, weighing up whether to read it or not. Deciding that if you do read it, you’re likely to make a decision against what Dixie told you, so you leave the notification sitting there, get yourself ready for bed and then will yourself to sleep without going over every second of the date wondering what you could have done differently.

[izpira-se-zlato]

Milan, 27.03.24

Gig report! Can't believe there's only two to go after this one :o (for me)

I showed up at 4:45pm (bc I'd chosen to get food at the station) and was still a lower number than in Munich at 2pm. Yeah.

didn't really queue thus, which always makes gigs a bit… different. I miss chatting with people before gigs, but I hadn't wanted to fly (even though after the venue move that would have been even easier. But also catching a 7:30 flight the morning after a gig. Yeah, no)

the queue kinda fell apart because you needed a membership card to get into the venue. We didn't have to pay. But they had to handwrite it for us. Emotions ran a little high

the venue was. Something. Sorta a… festival tent? Not quite outdoors, but definitely Interesting

due to the proximity to the airport, the radio frequencies from planes kept interfering with the equipment. Bojan attempted to explain it to us, but he didn't know it himself and thus mostly listened. I feared for the worst at that point, ngl. They didn't look particularly angry to me, but Bojan was like, "Don't be angry, Jan!" so I was like 😬

Bojan tried to get Jure and then also Nace to jam while they were figuring out their tech issues (Always Something Problem), but it meant Jan couldn't hear himself enough and so we just watched him wander on stage while Bojan tried to entertain us

We got ASTP and Proti Toku for soundchek. My first ASTP in 12 gigs on this tour! Curious to see what we'll get today

Bojan repeatedly called Jan "Jenzo" and then later claimed "Just so you know, Jan's Italian name is Jenzo!" with which the crowd disagreed (and let him know that it should be Gianni)

soundcheck was pretty cold and I almost regretted not having taken my jacket (but it did warm up)

the opener was a brass band. Unexpected but actually fun. Fit the gig, somehow

they played a lot of medleys of known songs and the crowd was pretty into it

JC! God, I barely can believe that it was the second-to-last tie I saw him live like that. I love his acoustic set a lot (in particular the first and last songs xD)

He accidentally unplugged his guitar last night. Kinda a funny moment

pretty sure the hype list was changed. Dirty Little Secret made it into the cut, and to our surprise, Zitti e Buoni didn't. Weird choice, Primož (or so I assume)

Actual gig!

We got Jan in a capybaster shirt and Nace in the cosy sweater and Bojan in a buttoned shirt he got gifted during soundcheck and Jure in the gorgeous metallic sweater and Kris in another cozy sweater

The Jance was off the fucking charts, jfc I hate them idk what was in the air. Probably hadn't seen each other all day (I'm not actually complaining)

We got SSOL opener into… Ne Bi Smel into Ona into Tokio

During Ne Bi Smel Jan was standing in front of Nace's mic so Nace had to push him away to sing the backing vocals (grinning all the while)

Bojan went, "This night is gonna be multilingual" so I was like, oh, Tokio, but no! "We had English, then Slovene, now we're gonna add some Serbian!" Changing his quips for the final stretch, huh?

Nace singing fucking "Dok tebe sunce greje, mi amore" at Jan. I hate him (While the sun warms you up, my love, according to lyrics translate)

They also played at each other during NBS because of course they did

Jan back on Jure's snare drum for the end. Multi-instrumentalist

Tokio! I didn't catch it on video, but Nace leaned in and bumped his nose into Jan's breast? Kissed his coat? I have no clue what he did but I was like ??? Nace?

At the end, they chased each ohter in circles again, and Nace either went down on one knee in front of Jan or almost did so. When the lights came back on, Nace patted Jan's chest while laughing (couldn't make out Jan's expression)

before NGVOT, Nace was thrown bread. A plushie? Actual bread? I don't know

Nace kept looking over at Jan during NGVOT, and when Jan finally met his gaze, he turned to him so they played at each other. Jan was making a mock-surprised grimacing face and playing? And then they just. Turned back to the front. What the fuck, guys

they just. kept looking at each other. Jan looking at Nace while Nace was doing backing vocals. Nace looking back as soon as he was done. Them swaying in sync while Nace smiled smugly about it. And at the end, they did the swaying like. In opposite cycles? So both sawying in and both swaying away, until Nace turned and bent his knees a little and yelled up into Jan's face. Yeah idk.

we didn't only get Bluza but got it before Šta bih ja

Kris came over to hug Jan during Bluza 🥰😭

Jan's expressions during the ending were. Something 😂

more silliness from Jan and Nace during Šta bih ja

Bojan: "This is a new song! Why do you know it"

also uh. Synchronised hip thrusting while facing each other at the end of the song. Yeah. Jfc remember you're on a stage, guys

Jan either messed up the opening of Demoni or his guitar gave out for a hot second but he was wearing a very oops expression

Jan grasped Nace's shoulders during Demoni and I think spoke the words at him? Or said something else? But that wouldn't make sense? Nace nodded and patted Jan's chest in turn

Got the Demoni scream

PiJano Padam. Bojan looked really tired during that song. Jfc get this man to take a break

Intense staring at each other at the beginning of Umazane until Nace said something to Jan and then both grinned and Nace wandered off

Nace was pretty silly at the start of the karaoke bit and like. gestured at Jan theatrically and then mimed falling over. Dork

We got the OG OG Umazane Misli chorus. The one Bojan wrote in a hurry the first time they performed it. Made my night -- and Kris's because it's where the very smiley/laughing Kris pics during UM came from

@kurooscoffee/@jokeroutsubs had prepared UNO reserve cards to make the boys sing. Which made the rounds already but gaaah it was !!!!!!

Jan declaiming the verse because "[he] can't sing so [he's] not gonna sing. [He's] gonna interpret it." And interpret he did😂

Nace with the "oh oh" before he started jfc the dork

Jan ducking under Nace's arm to play his bass after he failed to catch Nace's attention to offer, and then just. Going for it.

Nace slinging an arm around Jan

Nace singing "morning smells like you" right at Jan while Jan keeps looking up at him from playing chords on Nace's bass

Kris "Jan! Play, play the melody, I need the harmony!" (and Jan did)

god we need more Kris singing plssss

Kris sang the verse mostly at Nace

Jure going "oooh fuck!" and not knowing the entire lyrics 😂😂 Jance this and Jance that, but that made my night

I didn't see Bojan at barricade cheering his band mates on but he was and just. Gah. It was such a wholesome thing I hate them

Nace posed for pictures with a silly expression, and then Jance posed for a combined heart for someone

Plastika saw Bojan caress Nace and then hug Jan from behind (no choking tho)

During Novi Val, Jance stood off to the side being Jance for quite a while, while Jure had his hand weirdly on Bojan's back?

They looked really exhausted by the end which. Mood.

Post gig:

The venue had a scrolling LED screen that scrolled "Everybody's Waiting At The Ball" (thanks, Kris, for the restory!)

Had a chat with Dean (lovely) and JC Stewart (also lovely) and learned that JC and Conor used to live together which is why JC was out with Conor to be introduced to the boys (allegedly before Christmas, though JC wasn't 100%)

hung around the gate after the show even though it was pretty clear they wouldn't say hi, but it gave us a chance to see Mark (who'd surprised the boys with a visit) as he was waiting for someone to let him off the venue grounds. "Well, they'll have to open this at some point, they ordered McDonald's!"

Spoiler: they did not open the gate for McDonalds. Primož tried to scale it, which almost worked but looked dangerous, and so the delivery person threw it over the top. It was a spectacle

by that point, Mark had been let out the old-fashioned way though

[watchmegetobsessed]

THE SUN WILL RISE (part 2)

A/N: im so glad you guys liked the first part! i hope i'll be able to live up to your expectations with the rest! also, pls don't ask about my alleged posting schedule... i don't have one lol, im just going with the flow

PAIRING: College!Long-hair!Harry X Reader

WORD COUNT: 5.1k

SERIES MASTERPOST | SUPPORT ME!

“So how is living with Harry going?” Iris asks, drumming on her text book, avoiding to finish her ready. The two of you are sitting at a picnic table near the library. Originally, you planned to go there, but it’s such a beautiful day. Iris is great at not studying, that’s why you usually prefer to be in the library, because there she can’t really talk. You need all the extra study time, law is hard enough on its own, especially for you since you don’t actually want to study it.

“Um… It’s fine,” you mumble, highlighting a line without looking up, but you notice how you stiffen up at his name.

It’s been three weeks of living together with Harry and three weeks since he made it clear the two of you will never be friends. You allowed yourself one night of self pity before you told yourself that it’s not worth it. If Harry doesn’t want to be your friend, then that’s his loss. You don’t need him, you’re fine with knowing someone doesn’t like you. It happens, right?

Living together has been actually neutral. Both of you have been living according to what you discussed that night. Harry doesn’t queue at the bathroom and he lets you know when he leaves or has arrived back, even if it’s just with a knock on your door. One weekend he slept at someone else’s on Saturday and he left a note for you saying that he would be back late Sunday. 

You constantly hear him when he is at home, you haven’t been able to not listen to him. His footsteps, the way he makes dinner or the soft music he listens to when he is studying. All in all, he is a good roommate. Not messy, or at least not outside his room, he cleans up the kitchen after he cooks, you haven’t found hair in the sink after he shaved and he is quiet, makes sure his music is never too loud. You can’t complain about him.

But he is still as cold as an ice-cube towards you.

“Just fine? Where are the dirty details? How many girls has he brought up?” Iris pushes some more and you give up, dropping your pen to your textbook.

“None. He is a good roommate, we have rules,” you simply say.

“No girls?” she raises her eyebrows. “I always imagined him to be a huge womanizer.”

“Yeah, me too,” you agree. You haven’t really paid any thought to it, but Iris is right, you’ve always thought that Harry is popular amongst women and he uses it to the fullest, but now that you think about it, you never actually saw him with anyone. No making out at parties and you don’t remember him leaving early from a party to hook up with someone.

“Maybe he is just testing the waters. One night, you’ll wake up to moaning,” she chuckles and you frown at the thought.

“I hope not, I’m not interested in hearing that.”

“You never thought about how he is in bed?”

“What?” you cough at the unexpected question.

“Come on, he is obviously good looking, don’t tell me you haven’t thought about having sex with him.”

Of course you did. But you’re not gonna just admit it.

“Umm…” you breathe out nervously and Iris continues.

“The tattoos, the rings, the long hair, I bet he is good in bed, a guy like him just simply can’t suck looking like that.”

“Iris, are you trying to tell me something? You might be having a crush on Harry?” you ask, arching an eyebrow.

“Crush? No,” she chuckles. “I’m just not blind. But actually, I used to think he was into you.”

“Me? What made you think that?” you ask, unable to hide your shock. 

On the outside, it’s not that obvious that Harry doesn’t like you. Your other friends just think the two of you are not that close, they don’t feel the passive hatred you do radiating from Harry. But to think that he was ever into you? That’s unexpected for sure. 

“I remember when we first met him, at that party. He kind of always positioned himself close to you, I caught him staring at you a lot of times and he looked like he was very interested in you, just didn’t know how to approach you. I saw that look on his face a few more times, but not lately though,” she shrugs as you process her words.

Harry? Interested in you? He made it clear he is everything but interested, but could it have been the situation in the past? You remember the first time the two of you met, you found him good looking, but you didn’t see what Iris did, mostly because you were trying not to be a creep and stare at him. And now you find out that all along it was him who was ogling you? That doesn’t add up, not with how he acts towards you these days.

“I don’t think there was anything behind that,” you say and Iris just shrugs before turning back to her book, successfully planting the seed of something unknown into your mind.

You were expecting a call from your parents, but you still jump when your phone starts ringing one afternoon when you’re in the living room studying. Your dad’s name appears on the screen and you reach for the phone taking a deep breath.

“Hi dad,” you greet him, answering the call. 

“So you are bringing your partner to the wedding?” he says without as much as saying hello. Judging from the voices coming from around him he is working. It took him almost a month to call you, that’s how much it concerns him what’s going on with you.

“Well, yes. I’m bringing someone,” you say. Even though he is not in the room with you physically, you straighten your back as if he could see you and tell you off for having a bad posture. 

“I hope he is not some random hook up, it’s your sister’s wedding, not a fraternity party.”

You grit your teeth at the belittling voice he is using, like you’re just a child. He is treating your sister’s wedding like it’s the queen’s coronation, he wants everything to be perfect down to the smallest bit, including your plus one and he’s afraid you might bring someone who wouldn’t fit into the picture.

Well, he will surely have an opinion about Harry’s tattoos and long hair, so choosing him is kind of your way of rebelling against his expectations.

“He is not a hookup,” you quietly answer. 

“Great, bring him home for Christmas so we can approve of him,” he says, your eyes widening and before you could even protest he ends the call.

Holy shit. Your father is expecting you to bring Harry home for Christmas, but there is no way you can convince Harry to do that, but if you show up without him… You can already see the disappointment in his eyes, your throat is closing up and your eyes are watering even though it’s just the end of September. 

“Hey, I’m leaving–Uh, you alright?” Harry asks from the door and you jump at his voice, you didn’t realize he came out of his room. Breathing heavily you rub your eyes and clear your throat before looking at him.

“Yeah, I’m fine. What were you saying?” you ask, knowing well you look anything but fine and Harry is not stupid. But he just stares back at you with that unreadable look on his face before speaking up again.

“I’m leaving,” he repeats and you nod.

“Okay. Bye,” you say, busying you with your textbooks again, feeling him staring at you from the door for a couple more moments before he turns around and leaves. 

Your lips are wobbling as you hear him open the front door and then shut it. You weren’t expecting him to sit beside you and comfort you, but the way he just left without another word was just beyond. He keeps proving again and again that he really does not want to be around you.

Yet you still feel a kind of pull towards him that you can’t explain. 

You try to focus on studying for a while, but it’s practically useless, you remember nothing from what you’ve been reading all along.

Huffing angrily you pack up everything in the livingroom and decide to just order something to eat and call it a night. But when you walk past Harry’s door you find yourself stopping and playing with the idea to peek inside. You even reach for the doorknob, but then you let your hand fall. You will not violate his privacy like this, no matter how he acts.

You ditch the idea to get food, just take a speedy shower and go to bed only to lie in bed awake, thinking about everything that’s been stressing out. Hours go by and you’re still up when you hear the front door open and close, footsteps echo in the hallway as Harry is walking around, doing his business. You hear him take a quick shower, then a short trip to the kitchen and when you think he is about to lock himself up in his room, it sounds like he has stopped at your door. 

You sit up in your bed, trying to listen to his movements outside, but you hear none, which makes you think he is standing at your door. Just when you’re about to check what’s happening, you hear him walk away, out to the kitchen and then into his room, the door finally closing. He really was standing at your door, but why? Maybe he was just checking something on his phone and happened to stop there on his way as he typed, or he just saw something on the floor.

After the way he just left earlier, there’s no way he wanted to check in on you. He doesn’t care about you.

You lie back and force your eyes closed, slowly drifting to sleep finally.

When you wake up in the morning, you feel like a truck has hit you, your sleep was anything but relaxing last night, woke up several times and you had some weird dreams that left an uneasy feeling in your chest. Rubbing your eyes you head out into the kitchen to make a coffee for yourself, hoping it would give you enough energy to leave for your morning class you’d rather skip, but if your dad ever finds out you skipped class because you were tired, he would disown you right on the spot, so it’s not an option for you. 

Your eyelids feel like deadweight as you keep blinking the sleep away, walking into the kitchen. You’re heading to the espresso machine in the corner you bought last year to fuel your caffeine obsession, but then you notice something on the counter.

There’s a big takeaway cup from your favorite café that’s just one street away, your name written on the side of it in pretty cursive letters. You eye it with suspicion as you walk closer to inspect it, there’s no note, no nothing, and you definitely did not leave it there. Taking the lid off you inhale the scent of your favorite coffee beans, you can tell it’s what you always order whenever you have enough time to pop in for a drink.

You definitely did not buy it, but that only leaves one person who could have gotten it for you.

Walking out into the hallway you see that Harry’s sneakers and keys are gone, so he has already left for school. It’s hard to believe that he went out of his way, woke up early and got you your favorite coffee before leaving to his class, when he’s made it clear you’ll never be friends. 

This is something friends do, which Harry doesn’t want to be.

Pushing the initial shock into the back of your mind you take the coffee and finish it while getting ready for the day, you keep the gesture in mind, surely planning on asking him about it later.

Around lunch time you meet up with Vivian and Tanner at the cafeteria and just as you settle at an empty table Harry walks in, joining the three of you. It’s the first time you see him since yesterday when he obviously saw you having a breakdown following your call from your dad. He sits next to you like everything is going as normal, he mostly engages in the conversation when Tanner asks him, but otherwise, he is silent. 

When Vivian and Tanner get into a bit of a fight on their own, you finally decide to bring up the surprise coffee this morning.

“Hey, um… thanks for the coffee,” you softly say so only he can hear you, though your friends are way too busy arguing with each other. Harry glances at you just for a split second before his gaze returns to his plate and he nods.

“No problem,” he hums.

You have so many more questions for him. Why did he bring it to you? How does he know it’s your favorite? But you don’t want to push your luck and just enjoy this moment of positivity that’s the first one in your relationship with Harry… probably ever. 

This one little gesture showed you that there might be hope, that maybe you and Harry could actually be friendly towards each other. You just had to be very careful.

Following the coffee incident it seems like the wall Harry has built between you and him has shattered and light is not peeking through the holes. The day after he asked if you needed anything from the grocery store. Whenever he left he didn’t just throw a bye at you, he usually told you when he was coming back. He washed the plate you once left in the sink because you were in a hurry and when you forgot to wash a shirt you wanted to wear he offered to wash it with his load. Tiny little gestures that were slowly but surely melting the ice. 

In return you’ve been trying to be super nice to him as well. Every time you order takeout you always ask him if he wants anything, so far he took up on the offer once, but that’s something too. You’ve returned the coffee favor too, you learned how he likes his, black, no sugar, no milk, and you’ve brewed him a cup a few times when you woke up before him, leaving it on the counter with a post-it note to let him know it’s for him. 

It no longer feels like you’re living with a ghost and he only had to see you cry once to be nicer. You’ll take it as it is.

On the first Friday of October Iris convinces you to go to a party. You’ve been dodging the invitations for a while, saying that you need to study, but she only accepts this excuse a handful of times before she refuses to let you rot at home for another evening. 

So when you’re done with your classes that day, you squeeze in a quick study session before getting ready for the party. Harry arrives home when you walk out of the bathroom in your fluffy bathrobe and your hair up in a towel turban. 

“You’re going to the party tonight?” he asks, walking towards his room, meeting you halfway as you head to yours.

“Yeah. You’re coming too?”

“Yes. Want to Uber there? Tanner said he would pick me up, but I know he wouldn’t drive if it wasn’t for taking me there.”

“Sure,” you nod, your mood already brightened from even the suggestion. 

“Cool. Let me know when you’re ready,” he simply says before disappearing in his room.

Just that interaction alone made you want to go to the party a hundred times more. This could be the end of the “we are not friends” era, when Harry finally ditches the cold act towards you and maybe, just maybe, you might even ask him about Christmas. You still haven’t figured out how you’re gonna work things out with your dad’s request to bring Harry home for Christmas, if he could join you even just for one day you’d be saved. But you know you would have to butter him up for that. 

Even though you live in the same apartment, sharing a car feels way more intimate for some reason. Maybe because he offered to do it, he willingly let you share the ride with him when your living situation was more of a must situation. He needed a place to stay at and you had one. 

You pay for the ride and as always, Harry asks if you want him to Venmo you his part.

“No need,” you shake your head. Something flickered through his face, but you couldn’t catch it before it was gone. 

Walking into the party with Harry by your side might make the two of you appear like friends. Your gaze meets several girl’s envious stares and you’re not even touching Harry in any way. The conversation you had with Iris pops up in your head and you wonder if he has ever hooked up with any of the girls that are throwing deadly glares in your way. It really is unusual that you have never really seen Harry with girls, not a girlfriend or a hookup when he obviously has the looks. 

“Want to ride home together too?” Harry asks, leaning closer to your ear as you make your way inside and a shiver runs down your spine as his hot breath hits the shell of your ear.

“Sure,” you nod, already feeling dizzy and you haven’t even had a drink.

The almost friendly act you’ve been having with Harry has been affecting you way more than you’d like to admit and you’re definitely not used to having him so close to you.

You part ways soon, joining Iris and Vivian while he mingles in the crowd and finds his own little group. It’s just another frat party, nothing special and you nurse the same drink for hours, not quite in the mood to get drunk. Sometime around eleven Vivian disappears with Tanner, as always, so you and Iris decide to watch the intense beerpong game that’s taking place outside. You spot Harry on the other side, standing with some guy you’ve seen him with several times before, a red solo cup in his hand and he has a lazy smile stretched across his face as his dull eyes are following the game. He has definitely had a few drinks already, more than you, that’s for sure.

God, he looks so good, his hair pushed back with a pair of sunglasses, his tattoo covered arm flexing as he gestures around while speaking, he shouldn’t look this good, not when he’s acted like a dick for almost two years. 

“Y/N, hi!” you hear someone behind you, a gentle tap on your shoulder and you realize that you’ve been staring at Harry. Turning around you find Curtis, you had Roman law with him in your first year, you sat next to each other for two semesters and even studied together for the exam. You always joked around that Roman law brings people together the most. 

“Curt, hi! Long time no see!” you grin as you share a quick hug. Curtis is now a year behind you, because he spent last year in France on an exchange program and he couldn’t get all of his credits accepted, so he has to do a bunch of sophomore classes now.

“Ah, you know, I have a lot of catching up to do now that I’m back,” he chuckles.

The two of you engage in a conversation about his year in Paris and what he missed while he was away. You listen to his stories with envy as he tells you the countless times he and his mates lounged on the grass at the Eiffel Tower or when he was drinking fine wine on a balcony that looked over a busy street. He also mentions a guy he met, Henri, and judging from the blush on his cheeks they did more than just eating croissants in bed. 

The beerpong game is now long forgotten, you go back inside with Curt and join him and his friends in the kitchen, they are sophomores so they ask you about classes and professors they can expect for their next year.

Hours pass by and you barely even notice, only snap out of the conversation when Vivian and Tanner appear, looking for you. 

“Everything alright?” you ask, seeing the concern on their faces.

“We have a bit of a situation,” Vivian frowns. “Harry has had one too many drinks.”

“Oh, is he okay?” 

“Fine, just shitfaced,” Tanner sighs. “But we should take him home. Unfortunately, he keeps saying that he needs to leave with you, because he promised.”

Your heart skips a beat. Harry is thinking about you when he is drunk out of his mind, even though it was a simple agreement he could totally ignore, but it seems like he took it way more seriously than you thought.

“Okay, where is he?” you breathe out nodding. 

Your friends lead you out to the backyard and straight to a lounge chair where you see Harry sitting sideways, he is leaning onto his knees, his head hanging low so his hair hides his face like a curtain.

“Hey man, brought you Y/N, can we go now?” Tanner squeezes his shoulder to catch his attention and he lifts his head, his glassy eyes almost immediately finding you. 

“Y/N! There’s my roommate!” his face lights up and he grabs your hand, staring up at you, surprising you with the physical touch. The warmth of his hold is setting your skin on fire, he has never touched you for more than just half a second when he brushed past you for example, so having his hand holding yours is a whole new experience. 

“Tanner told me I have to leave,” he slurs, still holding onto your hand as he looks around. “But I told him I’m only leaving with you.”

“That’s nice of you, Harry,” you smile. “I’m here now, we can go home.”

He nods and attempts to stand up from the lounge chair, but he falls back before making a second attempt which finally succeeds. He curls an arm around your shoulders and puts part of his weight on you, Tanner seeing this moves to be Harry’s support, but you just shake your head.

“It’s fine, I got him,” you say, while pulling out your phone and calling an Uber quickly.

“I’ll pay for this ride, I swear,” Harry groans from beside you when he sees the app open on your phone. 

“No need.”

“Fucking hell, Y/N. You are so annoying!” he huffs, but he is quick to explain himself. “Not in a bad way, I mean,” he adds, his words melting together, his accent now a lot heavier than usually. “I didn’t mean to be a dick,” he says and you have a feeling there was more behind his words.

“It’s alright,” you tell him. 

It takes some time and extra help from Tanner to get him out of the party. The Uber arrives just on time and it’s a struggle to put Harry into the car, but you finally manage.

“I’ll take it from here, you guys just enjoy the rest of the night,” you tell Tanner and Vivian.

“Are you sure? You’ll need to get him upstairs too,” Vivian points it out. 

“I can do it. Thanks for the help,” you smile at them before getting in the car too.

“Did I mess up your night?” Harry sighs, his head falling against the back of the seat, eyes barely open as the driver heads to the address you gave him.

“No, I was getting tired anyway,” you tell him.

“But you were with that guy… Are you dating him?” he asks and you give him a confused look, though he probably can’t see it in the dark car and through his blurry vision. 

“What?”

“That guy you started talking to at the… beerpong table. You seemed to be close,” he sighs, closing his eyes fully.

“Harry, please don’t fall asleep, I can’t carry you up the stairs. And are you talking about Curtis?” you poke him, stopping him from falling asleep. It seems like drunk Harry might be your key to find out more about him, so you are not letting this chance go to waste.

“Curtis, whatever his name is. You’re dating him? Thought you needed a boyfriend,” he snorts, finding himself hilarious as you’re just staring at him, shocked at how chatty he is.

“I’m not dating Curtis and I do need a boyfriend, which I have for the wedding. You.”

“So… you need me?” he asks, his green irises appearing glassy, but the way they bore right into your soul leaves you breathless. 

“I do,” you answer quietly with a nod. The passing street lights dance across his face as he stares at you for one, two, three minutes before his eyes fall closed and he stays quiet for the rest of the ride.

When you arrive at your building you shake him awake gently and he groans, but climbs out of the car with just a little bit of help. He leans onto you as you make your way up, one arm over your shoulders as you take each step, one after the other, careful not to trip. When you finally make it to your apartment, Harry leans against the wall while you unlock the door, but you can feel his lazy gaze over you, his eyes traveling up and down your body in such a shameless way like never before.

“Come on, you need to rest,” you puff out some air, pretending like you didn’t notice a thing as you help him walk inside, shutting the door behind you. 

“Bathroom,” he breathes out.

“You need to use the bathroom? Are you feeling sick?” you ask, hoping he won’t puke right in the hallway.

“No… I wanna shower,” he slurs and you nod with a sigh. He really does smell, he could use some soap, but you have no idea if he can do it on his own. 

Reaching the bathroom Harry starts stripping out of his clothes as if you weren’t even there, he pulls his shirt over his head revealing his toned back and you can’t help but stare before you snap out of your trance. 

“O-Okay, you think y-you can manage on your own?” you ask, clearing your throat. Harry just hums and when he starts unbuttoning his pants you decide it’s your sign to leave. 

You close the bathroom door with a hammering heart and stay there in the hallway, listening to him shuffle around until the water starts running. Walking into your room you grab a makeup wipe and start taking your mascara off while listening closely to what’s happening in the bathroom, in case Harry might fall or something, but you hear nothing else but the running water. 

Fifteen minutes go by, then twenty and twenty-five until the water finally stops. Sitting on the edge of your bed you’re waiting for him to come out so you can make sure he made it to his bed, but the door doesn’t open. He’s been in there for almost an hour when you decide it’s been enough. 

Knocking softly on the door you wait for a response, but it’s just dead silence. You knock again and call out his name.

“Harry? Are you alright?”

No response. Chewing on your bottom lip your hand hovers over the doorknob before you decide to go inside. You crack the door open, the warm, misty air that was stuck in there after his shower escapes past you. Stepping inside you find him sitting on the toilet, the lid closed and luckily he managed to at least put on a pair of boxers, but he is leant against the sink next to him, arms crossed over his chest, snoring softly.

You tell yourself now is not the time to ogle his thighs and the tiger tattoo you’ve only caught tiny glimpses of until now, the way his biceps are stretched underneath the inked skin, his hair curling in damp strands. God, he looks so good, even when he is drunk out of his mind.

“Harry, you need to go to bed,” you softly shake him awake, his eyes pop open and he stirs as he looks around, taking in his surroundings. 

“Y/N?” he asks, looking at you through glassy eyes.

“Yeah. Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

He just nods and lets you help him up from the toilet before making his way to his bedroom, walking in a zig-zag. You pull the comforter off and help him get comfortable on the mattress before pulling the covers over him.

Returning to the bathroom you grab his clothes from the floor and bring it back to his room. You slip his phone out of his pants’ pocket and put it on the charger on his nightstand. You’re convinced he is fast asleep already, so when his hand grabs your wrist you almost scream at the unexpected move.

“Do you need anything?” you ask in a whisper as your eyes meet his tired gaze, his hand still wrapped around your wrist. 

“I’m sorry, Y/N,” he answers, ignoring your question and you just know he is not talking about his drunken state and how you had to bring him home like a kid. It’s beyond that.

“Okay,” is all you manage to say. His hold lets go of your wrist and your breath hitches in your throat when his hand gently cups your cheek, his thumb caressing the soft skin underneath your eye. It’s dark in the room, but you catch him staring at your lips, the intensity of the moment making you shudder. 

Is he going to kiss you now? Would you let him? And do you want him to? The way you don’t move back proves that you’d definitely let him, the thought of feeling his lips against yours has your blood rushing through your veins. 

“Y/N, you’re…” he breathes out, as if he is lost in his own thoughts, but you ache for him to finish, to hear what he wanted to say. 

But it never happens. He presses his lips together, swallowing hard before his hand drops from your cheek and just like that, the moment is gone. He is clearly still drunk, his eyes close and you bet a moment later he’s already asleep. 

With a disappointed sigh you walk out of his room and get ready to go to bed.

Thank you for reading, please like and reblog if you enjoyed and buy me a coffee if you want to support me!

[bellamyblake]

Part 39 of the single!dad Bellamy fic is posted! Here are the people who asked to be tagged (if you want to be removed please let me know): @pendragaryen, @takamurasposts, @star-sky-earth, @blakecholls, @theturquoiseoillady, @sarcasticcommentsetc, @peggysousfan, @whiteoleander, @chickens474; (I unfortunately can't tag everyone as some new Tumblr rule forbids me to do so! Sorry!)

(moodboard by @star-sky-earth​​​​):

Aurora notices it when they’re in the mess hall where the queues are shorter and more desks worked.

“Sit down, come on-” she urges him to one of the metal benches near the big tables. His breathing is uneven and his face is white as if he’s about to pass out any moment now, but it looks like his cough isn’t the problem this time but rather the pain in his leg.

 “Rest while I get this, alright?” he tries to sit up and protest but she pushes his back against the table and says something that he can’t make out because his ears are ringing.

The pain is suddenly overwhelming like it usually was only either early in the morning or late at night when he came home. He forces himself to move closer and pull his pant leg up to look at the bandage on his cut that seems fine-there was just a little bit of blood in the middle but when he touched it carefully it didn’t hurt.

Or perhaps he couldn’t actually feel any of it?

He’s so lost in his pain and thoughts that he doesn’t realize Aurora’s came back.

“What’s that?” she asks when she drops all the stuff she bought on the table and sits by his side “You got hurt?”

“It’s just a scratch. I’ve cleaned it and patched it up.” he brushes her off and pulls his pant leg down moving on from the subject before she can keep prodding. He looks at the other big brown bag that was much bigger than what he thought it’d be and she pulls it down between them opening it up a bit for him to see.

“Got two boxes of Formula, some tomatoes and bananas, more coffee for you, bread, an actual big loaf of bread, some eggs and a small pack of jerky as well as corn and pea cans since I assume you’re tired of the beans.”

“Mom, that’s too much, we can’t-”

“Yes, you can!” she insists “Gus and Clarke will need this now, to get their strength back and so will you. You have to eat well and I won’t take no for an answer, Bellamy.”

“What about you?”

“I have enough.” she nods at the two bowls of algae that were her rations for the day.

“That is not it!” Aurora ignores him and stands up, motioning for him to get going. He’s slow on raising himself up this time and he staggers despite the crutch by his side so she wraps her hand around his other arm and helps him walk. 

He feels weak, too weak for her liking and on the way home she asks him how long has it been since he slept or ate, which took him a while to remember. He worked all night long, almost over ten hours, went through hell with what happened with Miller and then Gus and Clarke so it has been over a day since he got any actual rest.

When they make it back in, they find the room thankfully warm enough for Bellamy to start sweating. Electricity was full back on and according to the announcements on the station hallways that they heard on the way home, it wouldn’t be stopped for three days apart from a few hours at night which was more than gracious from the chancellor or more like just a measure that secured Factory people wouldn’t protest.

What startles him is the crying coming from the bed. When both of them make it in, they see Clarke sitting up and holding a wailing Gus in her arms, trying to soothe him.

“I want dada!” the kid was screaming his guts out, crying out loud like when Bellamys only heard of him as a baby “I WANT DADA!”

“Shh, it’s okay, it’s fine, Gus, it’ll be okay.” Clarke tried holding him up in her arms but the kid screamed and kicked, tossed and turned in her arms and she was unable to do absolutely nothing to stop him.

Gus had kicked off the blankets and Bellamy could see that the bandage they’ve done on his foot was undone, probably from all of his kicking and the hustle of trying to get away. 

“Dada! I want DADA!” he kept screaming. Clarke looked up when she saw them by the door and shook her head just barely at Bellamy who pulled away from his mom’s embrace, let go of his crutch letting it fall on the floor instead of leaning it on the wall like he usually did and tried to basically run to the bed, almost falling off in the process.

“Gus!” he called out, trying to keep his voice steady “Gus, dad’s here!” the kid turned his head around and Bellamy could see his red blotchy face, the fear in his eyes, his desperate cries. 

He manages to sit down and open his arms for his son, letting Clarke maneuver him gently over, though he kept kicking and screaming.

“Quiet, shhhh, quiet now, I’m here, son, I’m here-” Bellamy pushed him to his chest and started rubbing his hand up and down on his tiny back-he was warm, finally, nothing like what he had been before but Bellamy still pulled one of the blankets and covered him with it. “Shhh, shh, dad’s here, I’m right here, baby boy.”

“Dada!” he cried and buried his face in his chest “Dada, dada...”

“It’s okay, it’s alright.”

“You were gone.” Gus cries out and Bellamy looks at Clarke who’s still sitting up there at a loss for words, panicking that she couldn’t do anything. “You...gone...you-”

“I’m so sorry, I had to go get you some medicine, okay?” Bellamy explains kissing the top of his head while the kid kept wailing in his arms-he seemed inconsolable, crying because he was confused and maybe in pain rather than just because his dad was gone-he was scared, too many things were happening all at once and he woke up delusioned in Clarke’s arms when the last thing he remembered was the coldness of the bathroom and Bellamy saying goodbye to him.

“What happened?” Bellamy asks when he lifts them up and starts walking around the room, gently swaying Gus in his arms, trying too sooth him, the kid wouldn’t stop crying, sobbing, his voice was hoarse as he kept wailing for his dad, even though Bellamy was already holding him.

“I don’t know, he just...we were sleeping and he woke up a minute or two before you came in. He was scared, I tried to talk to him but he wouldn’t listen.”

“Dada! DADAAAA!” he kept yelling and sobbing in his arms, he was drooling on his chest and fisting his shirt with his tiny hands as he did so-it was exactly how he looked like as a baby when he was wailing for his mom after she’d been gone. 

“He’s scared.” Aurora chimes in, dropping all the food on the table and coming by Bellamy’s side, rubbing Gus’ back as well and calling out to him “Turn him over, like a baby, give him your finger to suck on.” she instructs and Bellamy has some trouble doing so but finally he manages to twist him around with much shooshing and reassurances and then as Gus keeps wailing and tossing so hard that Bellamy was afraid he may drop him, he shoved his index finger in his mouth and the kid suddenly stopped.

He started sucking on it, calming down.

“There you, there you go, good boy, I’m right here, alright? Just calm down, dad’s here, do you see me?” he asks and Gus’ eyes widen-up until that point he had no clue that he was in his father’s arm-he was just panicking, thinking they were passing him from one person to the other but now, now he was calming, breathing heavily and he was staring up ahead at his father with recognition.

“Dada?” he asks when Bellamy pulls his finger away once he’s sure he’s calmer. His body relaxes in his dad’s but it’s shaking from all the stress he’s just experienced. 

“I’m here, kiddo.” Bellamy promises and carefully walks to the chair by the table and sits them down, propping him up a little and kissing his forehead, his cheeks all over while also holding his hand and never really stopping the soothing little rocks of his arm. “You’re not alone, I’m here, grandma’s here and Clarke too.” he tells Gus and the kid looks around finding the others in the room as well. Aurora sits on the chair next to them and Clarke moves in bed but Bellamy doesn’t miss the way she coughs as she does so. 

“Do you remember what happened last night?”

“The...the electwicity stopped.”

“That’s right-” Bellamy knew a way of helping anxiety was to take the mind off the panic and talk about something “And dad had to go out to help fix it. I left you here with Clarke in the bathroom, do you recall that?” Gus nods a little and turns his head to Clarke.

“She kept me warm.” he said and Clarke smiled at his words softly, carefully standing up and picking Rainbow from the bed, staggering herself until she reached them and handed him the toy, which Gus wraps in his arms right away as he rests his head against Bellamy’s chest. 

Aurora sees how unstable she is on her feet, so she stands up and pushes a chair for her to sit on by Bellamy’s side. Now all three of them were essentially circled around Gus who was the middle of their tiny universe, in a desperate attempt to show him their love and that they weren’t going anywhere.

“You kept me warm too, sweet cheeks.” Clarke says rubbing his knee with her hand making him smile a little.

“Did you fix the engine, dada?”

“We sure did, son.” Bellamy says carefully “Do you not feel the warmth?”

“I guess...” Gus shrugs a little but shivers again in his arms and Bellamy looks at Clarke and his mom in panic. Clarke senses it and reaches to touch his elbow.

“It’s normal. He’d probably feel cold for a day or two until all senses come back to him.” she assures and Bellamy exhales a little even though he’s still scared.

“Do you hurt somewhere?” Bellamy asks him and Gus in a fashion much similar to his father, shrugs a little, making Clarke roll her eyes at the stubborn Blake men. “How about your foot? Your toes?”

“They huwt, yes.” he admits “What happened?”

“You got some frostbite on your toes and foot-” Clarke explains patiently as she leans closer to him “It happens when you’re in a really cold place like we were last night. I wrapped it up but your dad went to get more medicine so you can heel faster.”

“Will I lose my toes like Frankie, dada?” Gus asks confused, panic rising to his voice again “Will I get them cut off?”

“No!” Bellamy assures even though he has no way of knowing what exactly will happen “We just need to bandage them and make sure you stay off your leg for a while until you recover, okay?” Gus doesn’t seem too convinced, so Bellamy nods at his mom to take out the medicine and shows him the paste they got as well as all the bandages and how Clarke would fix him right up.

“Okay?” Bellamy asks.

“Okay...” Gus agrees and lets Clarke take off his sock and undo the bandage. His eyes get fixated on it so Bellamy calls out on him, forces him to look up. 

“Hey, it’s alright, it’ll be fine. I know it hurts a lot but you don’t have to hide-you can cry if it does. In fact, you need to tell us when you do so we can help out, okay?” Gus nods.

“You won’t weave, right?”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Bellamy promises.

“No work?”

“No, it’s a day off for us a all and I’ll have the next few off as well, so I can be with you and Clarke, okay?” Gus’ eyes lit up at that and he seems to feel a tad better when he hears it but he still buries his face in his dad and holds on tight while Clarke takes care of his foot.

When she’s undone the bandage and takes the paste Bellamy and Aurora bought Gus starts pulling his foot away whenever she touches him.

“It urts!” he cries out quietly “Dada, it urts.”

“I know, I know it does but Clarke has to put some cream on it to get better and you have to give her a moment, alright?” Bellamy insists holding his foot in his hand trying to prevent the kid from moving. “You have to be strong like when she gives you your vaccines, okay?” Gus whimpers and Aurora leans in too and reaches for his hand.

“Hey, you know your dad was hurt like this too.” she says softly and Gus stares at her curiously, forgetting for a moment what Clarke was doing even if his foot still jerked back involuntarily. 

“Weally?”

“Yes, he was still a baby and he cried a lot too but he got better.” Aurora assures “And you will to, my boy, I promise.” she leans closer and kisses his forehead “You just have to listen to what Clarke and dad say and you’ll be fine.”

“Okay...” Gus agrees and then looks up at Bellamy who’s nodding gratefully at his mom “But you won’t let me go, right?”

“Never.” Bellamy promises and holds him while Clarke separates his toes and has to gently cover each one with the paste. Bellamy can’t take looking at them-it just hurts him too much to see his son in so much pain, so he just focuses on holding Gus and talking to him, telling him a story about a greek god of war called Ares who was too angry for the world to handle. Gus was half-listening but his attention was on his dad despite feeling the pain and trying to get free of Clarke’s expert hands. When she’s done with the bandage he’s exhausted and he relaxes against his dad’s embrace, starting to doze off a little. 

“Now your leg.” Aurora tells Bellamy surprising both him and Gus. “Put it on the chair, let Clarke fix that bandage of yours.”

“But-”

“Dada, are you hurt?” Gus asks perking up a little, worry peppering his face and Bellamy throws his mom a look suggesting she really shouldn’t have said anything about this. Gus already had enough on his plate. 

“It’s just a scratch.” Bellamy lies stroking his head “Dad fixed it up himself.”

“Poorly, I’m sure.” Clarke huffs as she pats his leg “Move it up, I have to see it.” Bellamy groans frustrated and then stretches his leg out but the truth is that he can’t move it up on his own and he gives Clarke a look suggesting that he just can’t do it which breaks her heart. She carefully takes him by the ankle and moves him up making him groan in the process. It’s a little hard to maneuver himself, so that he can keep holding Gus and not be in any more pain than he already was but it worked somehow and when Clarke pulled his pant leg up and undid his bandage, Gus perked up a little and stared at his cut.

“Dada you and I both are huwt.” he says looking up and Bellamy nods as he cupped his cheek.

“Yes, we are.” Gus mwhms sadly and stares down at Clarke while she fixes Bellamy’s leg, cleans up the cut and mumbles about it needing stitches despite Bellamy refusing to admit so. He has to hold onto himself and not pass out when she starts piercing his skin with the needle but he still jumps a little much like Gus did when she was treating him. 

“Youw so stwong, dada.” he mumbles then “You don’t huwt.”

“Yes, I do, baby boy. I just am used to handling it.” Bellamy says when he rubs his nose against Gus’.

“Gus has to be laik that too.”

“No, you don’t.” Bellamy shakes his head sternly “I don’t ever want you to think you need to handle pain. You won’t be like me, okay?” Gus seems to be too tired to understand so he doesn’t answer, he just snuggles up in his dad’s chest and rests his tiny hand against his heart. “Hey...you hungry, little man? How about some food, huh?”

“No.” Gus shakes his head “Now hungwy.”

“Gus, you haven’t eaten since yesterday.” Bellamy scolds and Aurora reaches to cover Bellamy’s hand with her own.

“Neither have you. I’ll make him some formula, I think he’s too exhausted to eat anything else and I’ll wrap something up for you too.” 

“Mom, we-”

“And then you go to bed.” she insists and gives Clarke a look “He hasn’t slept in over a twenty hours.” she nods just as she’s wrapping up his bandage and moves her hands up to his knee.

“He’s also in pain.” she adds and Bellamy rolls his eyes and huffs at them worrying over him but when Clarke squeezes his knee and he jumps in his seat, stirring Gus in the process, making him cry out because he’s just fallen and was suddenly startled, Clarke almost regrets it.

Almost.

“Bed-” she huffs “Now!”

“Hey, you’re no better either, miss I’m-coughing-my-lungs-out!” he cuts her off as he rocks Gus up and down to sooth him and kisses his face all over to calm him down while Clarke helps him up and they start walking to the bed. 

“I’m just imitating mister I-already-hacked-my-lung-out.” he can’t help but laugh a little at that and of course it turns into a cough just as they settle down and Clarke pushes him and Gus against the pillows. The kid is wrapped up tightly in his dad’s arms, hands fisting his shirt and Bellamy is half sitting, half slumped on the pillows but she could see he too, was barely holding onto consciousness. 

While the night was awfully hard and horrible for Clarke, at least she and Gus got some rest, though the kid was exhausted now and nodded off on his dad’s chest, curled up in a baby-like position but she had actually no clue what happened to Bellamy, how he got hurt and the hell that he’s been this entire time.

She made a mental note to ask him all about it later. 

But for now she helped him lay down and covered him and Gus with their blankets.

“Clarke-” he reaches for her wrist and manages to clasp it in the last possible moment, pulling her back with sleepy tired eyes.

“What is it?”

“You should...you should...rest.” he mumbles, his voice barely a whisper, wind-like as he coughed a little but kept Gus tight in his embrace and adjusted the blankets on him.

Her heart warmed for him-despite it all he still put everyone else before him, even when he was barely awake, he wanted to make sure he’s fine.

“I’m good, I promise.”

“Clarke-”

“I’m fine, Bellamy. Nothing hurts and I’m actually warm enough now-I want to help your mom out. You have been working all night-just stay here with Gus and let us take care of you, okay?” he stares in her eyes for a long moment and then manages a small nod but not without adding.

“But after, you’re resting too, okay?” she smiles and reaches to cup his cheek, softly running her thumb under his tired eye. He leans into her touch like Gus leaned into him and it made her heart grow sizes. 

“When will you ever put yourself first, Bellamy Blake?” she whispers leaning closer and brushing her lips against his forehead. 

“Never.” he whispered back moving his hand up and wrapping them around her wrist again, mirroring her thumb movements on his own over her pulse before pulling it closer and giving her a small kiss there. “I’m not important.”

“You and I are going to fight about that when you’re better, okay?” he smirks.

“Can’t wait, princess.”she kisses his cheek before turning around only to find Aurora looking at them from her place near the stove as she stirred something in a pot.

Clarke immideately looked away blushing but she still commanded herself to be strong-they were after all, grown people, they couldn’t hide forever, so she willied herself to walk to Aurora and when she figured out the woman was warming up Gus some formula, she felt purpose-less and simply lingered there for a moment.

“I uh-” she began, feeling the sweat come down her back “Bellamy and I, we...”

“You’re together, I know.” when Clarke dared to take a look, she found Aurora smiling softly at her as she kept stirring the milk. She was surprised when she reached for a small jar full of a dark yellow-red substance and peppered Gus’ milk with it and she cocked her eyebrow at that. “Something to help his wounds heal faster and get him to sleep peacefully.” she explained and Clarke nodded, making a mental note to check on it later.

The Blakes and Factory overall had various little tricks when it came to healing their own wounds and she often wondered what some of the things in the tiny jars Aurora kept on the shelf above the sink were. One time she asked Bellamy and he simply said it’s spices but for healing or boosting the system yet he didn’t know the names of them, just what they do. When she asked them how they got them he shrugged and said-we pass them around. 

“Did he tell you?” Clarke asks in a whisper and Aurora nods.

“More like I am good at observing what’s happening around me, so I kind of guessed.”

“Aurora, I-” she reaches for her and squeezes her arm gently yet tight enough as she tried to prove her point.

“Don’t worry.” she looks into her eyes “I’m happy for him, for you.” Clarke relaxed under her warm smile “Couldn’t have asked for a better person to love my son.” Clarke blushed again but nodded solemnly, still somewhat shy.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me-love is hard.” Aurora counters as she takes the milk off the stove and starts filling Gus’ bottle with it, twisting off the end carefully but then jostling the concotion up and down in her hand before settling it down, making the milk appear more yellow-like rather than white now. 

“Help me with the bread and the tomatoes, you guys have to eat.” she nods at the big loaf that was right before Clarke and she carefully undoes the white and red plaid towel it was wrapped up with. “Thin slices, this has to last you a few days, okay?” she warns and Clarke nods-she was still new to everything here.

Her Alpha upbringing made all thoughts about saving absolutely non-existant. The other day when she was trying to help Bellamy set dinner, she poured herself and him so much of the bean can that Bellamy’s eyes widened and he shook his head, standing up softly and taking half of his back in the can for tomorrow. He wouldn’t touch hers though she wanted to do the same but he simply squeezed her arm and told her to eat-she was weaker, she’d need time to get used to this way of life. 

And god did she feel bad-she never used to worry about food before or how much she ate, in fact she often couldn’t finish her big dinners and would send everything back on a trey outside that the hallway maids collected in the morning and brought back to mess hall. Sometimes she’d even throw bread or cheese away, or half her meal simply because she didn’t feel like eating it. 

Here everything was saved for later, carefully wrapped in towels, pieces of cloths to preserve it. Bellamy didn’t need a fridge-every night the electricity stopped, so if he needed something to stay cold he’d simply shove it in one of the cabinets under the sink but they mostly had cans that couldn’t go bad. 

Things like tomatoes and what resembled butter that Aurora got from somewhere, were rarity and appreciated as special-day meals.

“Put them here to warm it up.” Auora gestured at the still hot plate where Clarke managed to put three of her slices and she quickly figured the woman wanted to make some sort of toast for the boys. “Are you sure you’re up for it?”

Clarke ponders on the words-she knows that answering just like that wouldn’t be an honest answer and that maybe, in a way, Aurora was testing her too, to see what she’d say and if she’d admit to being ready even when she probably wasn’t.

“I don’t think anyone ever is.” she finally says back keeping her voice strong as she turns on the slices slightly darker on one side now “As you said, love is hard, relationships are hard, God knows ours won’t be any easy because of the places we both come, because of the circumstances but-” she glances at Bellamy and Gus’ soft figures and smiles, her eyes beaming and that gives Aurora all the answers that she needs “For them...I am willing to try.”

“You love him?” Aurora prods gently, motherly in a way Clarke’s never felt before-not in any accusing, warning or worried way but with warmth and support.

Clarke blushes when she looks up at her and nods slowly, There’s a beat and then Aurora places her hand on her shoulder squeezing it tight.

“Good. As I already told him, I couldn’t wish for a better person to have in his or Gus’ life.” Clarke blushes even more at that “Well, we have to teach you how to go around here since you obviously can burn even a toast.” Clarke suddenly remembers the bread and realizes it’s smelling worse, the hot plate was obviously too warm after being on for a while and she jumps in her place, reaches for the bread but Aurora pulls it away swiftly with her defty hands and transfers them on a plate. 

“Sorry.” Aurora waves her hand in the air and picks up the butter, spreading it evenly on all three slices.

“Have you talked about how you’ll tell Gus?” Clarke shakes her head at that while picking the tomatoes and cutting them in small halves per Aurora’s instructions. 

“We wanted to wait a little, give ourselves some time.” Aurora hmms at that and takes the small bowl of tomatoes from her, putting the tomatoes on top and reaching for more of her precious herb jars above the sink, some of which were obviously spices as she spread some on them and then added some jerky. 

“I think he’ll be happy.”

“Yeah?”

“He told me so.” Clarke whips her head in Aurora’s direction making the woman smile even brighter. “The other day at the playground, he said that having you home was nice and he asked me if one day you’ll be his new mom.” Clarke’s eyes fill with tears at that “I told him I didn’t know yet but if you were, would that be okay for him and he said yes, that he loves you and you’re very warm and kind.” 

“He...he really said that?” Aurora nods as she rubs her arm softly.

“Kid loves you, Clarke. Bellamy’s an amazing dad and I try my best but he’s always missed a mom. I’m not saying that you have to be one, that you need to fill in those shoes especially if you and Bellamy aren’t ready for it but just you being around, your presence...that means a lot to him.” she feels herself blush again and Aurora nods to her to grab the plate as she takes Gus’ bottle and two cups of tea as well as the cough syrup and they go to the bed where Aurora pushes a chair and places all of the stuff down there, essentially using it as a small table. “Come on now, make them eat, I’ll start on the laundry. Kid needs boxers or he’ll be walking around the house in his bare butt.”

“I’ll help too.” Clarke says but Aurora shakes her head and mouths “Later.” which Clarke isn’t too happy about seeing as she was already spreading herself thin and wanting to help her and learn more about how to do things around here in a way that doesn’t completely show off her privillege but for now she focuses on Bellamy and Gus.

She reaches out for Bellamy’s wrist and squeezes it softly.

“Hey-” he opens his eyes right away and it takes him a second to realize what’s happening but when he does, he smiles back and looks at Gus who’s asleep in his arms, face still buried in his chest. “Time to eat.” she points at the trey and picks up Gus’ bottle which he insists he takes on himself and gently pushes in the kid’s already parted lips. He starts sucking on it immideately obviously hungry again and Bellamy smiles as he watches him.

She doesn’t waste any time though and picks up his toast bringing it to his lips.

“Come on, you too.”

“No, we can wait.”

“We’re not waiting, come on, eat, you don’t have any color to you.” she insists but he still doesn’t open up and instead gives her a stubborn look.

“So what?  You feed me while I feed Gus? Am I a baby too?”

“Absolutely.” she cuts off and he groans which she uses as an easy way to shove the bread in his mouth and he takes in a good bite from it, munching from it in his sleepy tired state. “Good?”

“Great.” he slumps lower on the pillows as he keeps sneaking glances at Gus who every once and then would jump a little in his embrace or kick his good leg out. “He’s...I think he hurts.”

“I know...but it will pass, the paste will soothe his leg.” she assures “Come on now, more.” she doesn’t stop until he finishes his toast and he eyes the rest in the plate.

“You too-” he insists.

“No, first you.”

“Clarke-”

“Bellamy!” she grunts back “Two for you and one for me, okay?”

“No way!” he argues moving up a little making Gus whine at the sudden change of positions forcing him to immideately lay back down and keep the now almost empty bottle steady. “You have to eat too.”

“She will, I’m bringing in soup as well!” Aurora chimes in from her place still near the stove and Bellamy looks back at her, trying to argue but she shoots him a look that suggests he won’t win this and Clarke envies that she can actually do this where she still failed. 

Clarke crosses her arms and picks up the other toast as she takes the bottle away from him and tries to hand it over to him but his hands that are still blistered and burnt but now without any bandages probably because they shed last night while he was working, can’t hold onto it and he almost embarrassingly drops it. She grips his hand and takes it from him, feeding him herself again and she can tell he feels bad about it because this time he doesn’t protest, he simply grows quieter and munches on the bread and tomatoes that he seems to absolutely love. 

He never stops coughing but some of the color returns to his cheeks when he finishes his toast but then glares at her until she picks her own and starts eating too, refusing to keep on until she got some as well which made her heart clench with love. 

“Here you go, some of my famous corn and carrot soup for you and Clarke.” Aurora brings in two steaming bowls and pulls up another chair by the bed and reaches for him, touching his forehead and cheeks.”You’re a little warm.”

“It’s okay.” he says and watches her pass Clarke the cough syrup bottle and a spoon “No, we should keep this for Gus and you Clarke.”

“You need it most now.” Aurora insists and he opens up his mouth to fight again “This isn’t going to be an argument, Bellamy.” he grumps but when Clarke brings in the spoon to his lips he takes the syrup and is surprised when she pours him another, tries to fight her on it and has to be glared down by his mother again before he takes it too, very unhappily. Clarke almost laughs-he’s adorable, just as grumpy as Gus was when he had to wake up for school in the morning and she can’t help but smile at him.

“Okay, I’ve made enough to last you till tomorrow. Please all three of you eat well, okay?” she instructs as she stands up and swipes her hand through Bellamy’s curls in her typical motherly fashion after which she leans down and places a kiss on Gus’ forehead too. 

“You’re going?” Bellamy asks a little surprised but Aurora just nods curtly.

“I have clothes to mend, dresses to make. I’ll come by tomorrow again to check on you guys, okay?” he nods but seems worried about her and the fact she’ll go back to working while he was slacking, lying in bed doing nothing. “Don’t let him leave this bed, okay?”

“Great...now you’re all ganging up on me.”

“Damn right we are.” Clarke huffs as she adjusts the blanket “If we don’t, you’d be back to work tomorrow even if your boss gave you days off.” Aurora nods in agreement and kneels closer by his side.

“Bellamy, if I find out you’ve been pushing yourself when you clearly need the rest, I’ll come here and tie you to the bed myself, I don’t care what I have to do, do you hear me?” Clarke herself almost shivers at Aurora’s stern voice but she is aware that with her threatening him like this and him knowing she’ll follow through, he won’t argue about it and that puts her at ease-arguing with him about his well-being could be exhausting sometimes. “If you have to get up, you’ll use the crutch and you won’t strain yourself, okay?”

“She has to rest too, she did spent the night out in the cold for the first time.” he argues throwing the ball in Clarke’s yard making her grumpy in turn. 

“I swear, there are three children in this room, not just one.” Aurora smiles a little as she too squeezes Clarke’s arm and gives her a motherly look.

“He’s right, though, you rest as well, okay? I’ll come tomorrow.” and then before Clarke knew what was happening, she leaned closer and kissed the top of her head as well.

She blushes but it doesn’t feel awkward, on the contrary, it’s nice and it spreads a warmth through her that she had only known when her father hugged or kissed her.

It made her miss him too. The one thing from Alpha she was desperate for, was her dad. After Jackson and everything that happened with him, she only ever wished to be able to run into his arms and be held by him.

But this...here with Bellamy, it was good too. It was more than good really-she watches Aurora leave and then turns to him finding him observing her carefully, like he could read her thoughts and what was going on in her head. He reaches over and takes her hand, squeezing it briefly. 

“You okay?” she nods and shakes her head of all thoughts about her dad, taking in the soup bowl and bringing in a spoon to his lips. He’s not happy about it but lets her feed him though once she’s done he stays awake until she finishes her ration too, though he’s barely there.

“Come on...come here, let’s sleep.” he pulls her down once she places her bowl away and she willingly complies-she hadn’t really done anything today but the cold from yesterday left her exhausted. As if she has spend hours in the operating room saving lives. 

He puts Gus in the middle and she carefully adjusts on the inner side watching as he tugged the blankets over them. She didn’t miss the way he winced with every movement or how he still coughed despite the syrup but even as he fought his need for sleep that was pushing down at him hard, he reached over, cupped her cheek and pulled her close, right over Gus who's curled up between them on his side. 

“You okay?” he asks and her heart bursts again with love for him.

She can’t help herself, she moves closer and kisses his lips softly-she needs to taste him to show him how much she loves him and his eyes, god his eyes they were so deep, so full of warmth and love despite the cold reality of their world.

“I’m good.” she whispers back and she means it-despite everything so far, this is the first time, she realizes that they all go to bed fed and warm enough and strangely, though this life is new to her, though she’s went to bed in Alpha happy, content, warm and fed many times, she finds herself happier now than ever before. 

Maybe it had something to do with the man who had wrapped his arm around her waist, pulled her closer and kissed her forehead or maybe it was because of the little boy curled up between them sleeping soundly, droolng on his dad’s arm that he used as a pillow or maybe it was because of herself and the choices she’s made who didn’t, even after last night, feel wrong.

[silversdragonemporium]

❛ i am at your mercy, your grace. ❜ 

Ship: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Byleth Eisner (female)

Prompt list

He was staying up late. 

Again.

Byleth restlessly walked around the room, the book she had been reading long finished and the candle by her side more puddle than candle. If she had to guess, she’d say it was the early hours of the next day.

Byleth obviously cared that Dimitri was overworking. But what really made her feel restless was that she wasn’t even allowed to do her own job these last few moons. Despite having the title of archbishop and being married to a king, Byleth wasn’t used to a life of leisure. Even her usual pastimes were starting to bore her.

“This is all your fault, you know?” Byleth said to the sizable growth of her belly. 

According to Manuela, Mercedes and basically every healer Byleth had consulted, she was expecting twins. This fact was obviously great news, but it came with the unwanted side effect of everybody immediately deciding that she needed to ‘take it easy’ and ‘not overexert yourself’.

It really wasn’t fair that Dimitri got to still work and live his life as if nothing had happened, whilst she was forced to take a break.

Just as she had decided that she was cross at him, she heard footsteps going down the corridor. Dimitri and Dedue’s voices were muffled, but even if she could have heard them clearly she’d have no idea what they said, as they tended to use Dedue’s language when it was just the two of them.

Byleth took that as her queue to pose right in front of the door with her best glare ready.

The door opened, and Dimitri’s eye widened when he walked in.

“Beloved? You’re still awake?”

And although she had decided she was angry, now she decided that she was actually sad. So Byleth cried.

“There, there,” Dimitri immediately walked over to her and gave her a hug. “Is something wrong?”

“E-everything is wrong!” She sniffled. “I’m tired of being pregnant! My feet hurt, my back hurts, and I’m bored!”

“I… I will take my leave, your Majesty, your Grace.” Dedue said, before hurriedly turning around and fleeing.

“E-even Dedue doesn’t like me!” Byleth unreasonably complained with tears in her eyes. She knew she wasn’t making much sense, but she was just too tired to care. 

“It’s been a long day and he needs to rest,” Dimitri said. “Aren’t you tired?”

“We h-haven’t even had sex since my last checkup!” She sniffed. “Do I look that weird and ugly to you? Do you not love me anymore?”

“Byleth,” Dimitri broke the hug and looked at her in the eye. “I love you. Everyday, I am grateful to know that I married the person that I will love every single day of my life.”

“Dimitri…” she hiccuped. “I’m sorry, I’m just… it’s been a very long pregnancy. And I’m so bored, I can’t even do work and I feel so awkward and huge!”

“I think you look very cute,” he reassured her, and  and took her hand to give it a little kiss. “And unbelievably beautiful.”

“Really?”

“The thought that you’re carrying my children…” Dimitri’s voice lowered to a seductive growl. “You have no idea of how much your very presence affects me… If I hadn’t been strictly forbidden from overexerting you, the things I’d do to you…”

“I don’t mind.” Byleth immediately said, every single part of her body enflamed with a need to be loved by the man she desired and that desired her.

“Well, I can’t be too rough… I don’t want to hurt the babies. But I have something in mind that shouldn’t be too hard on you,” Dimitri smiled. “What do you say?”

“Stop talking and just get to it,” Byleth demanded, pulling him to the bed.

Dimitri laughed, but followed her along. He even bowed at her. As if he were her sworn knight.

“I am at your mercy,” Dimitri looked up at her with a mischievous glint in his eye. “Your Grace.”

[crinkled-emotions]

ok ok ok here we go. Lemme set the stage... Hangman is late to class (which nEVER happens right?? jk yes it does). He comes running, literally running and frantically eating his microwaved breakfast, into the classroom right as Maverick starts lecturing. Then Pete is like "kk fam we're doing aerobatics maneuvers today so suit up ASAP." Hangman tries to scarf down his food, Bad Idea #1, then go up in the jet and do all sorts of crazy shit, Bad Idea #2.

BOOM. TUMMYACHE.

(I have had too much coffee this morning but tbh I regret nothing)

......w*termelon s*gar

*sobs* watermelon... s*gar... I'm fine.

I asked Hangman what he thought about this and dude pretended to be dead and I was like well damn that's a vibe but also- dude, the world's not gonna end... or is it?

Anyway it's nearly midnight but my little brain says you didn't work today use your noggin for something useful and here we go!!

No listen I'm thinking of that one story about the jet, and the puke, and it all- I won't share the whole thing. It's on youtube. Sorry Glen lmao. (time stamped link!)

-

Despite being in the US Navy, where scheduling was key, things tended to be a little up in the air a majority of the time. The Daggers had come to rely on some very basic facts that would get them through everything mildly unstable or the rapid changes in their day to day lives;

The first, Rooster was the mother hen of their group and according to Maverick, he got it from his dad. For a man who had once upon a time almost punched Hangman for making a comment about his two fathers, he was incredibly docile a majority of the time and tended to have advice or a hug for those who needed it.

Phoenix always started the day by throwing an arm over Bob's shoulders at breakfast and stealing his hashbrown from his plate at breakfast because she wasn't quite hungry enough for a full meal but she was indeed hungry enough to eat them every morning. He'd started asking for extra in the queue and the kitchen staff found it hilarious.

Payback and Fanboy, once an inseparable duo, had now roped Bob in with them and the three of them spent a lot of time tossing a football around or talking about something nerdy. Bob preferred Red Dwarf to Star Trek and apparently Fanboy had never heard of Red Dwarf so they were watching that in their spare time. Payback, ever the supportive pilot, always made the drinks and snacks for their viewing sessions.

Lastly, Hangman was never late. Ever. Not even to a doctor's appointment on the other side of base, or to a gathering at Maverick's a few weeks back when he had a dentist appointment right before. Rooster asked him about it once, the first time they went through TOPGUN, and Hangman had shrugged, claiming he'd been raised that being late was never a good look.

-

Yawning, Maverick stood near the lecturn and reached for his paperwork, grimacing.

"Why are we still doing roll call? What are we, twelve?"

"Thirteen, actually Mav, I think I'm getting my first chest hair," Rooster deadpanned which earned snorts of laughter. Maverick sighed, leaning on said lecturn and grimacing.

"Bradley, please, now is not the time to be talking about your delayed-"

"-I'm sorry I'm late, sir. I had to- never mind."

Hangman came rushing into the room, some kind of microwaveable burrito in his hand as he took his seat at the front of the room. Maverick watched him for a moment, shock written on his face, and then he cleared his throat.

"Don't worry about it, I hadn't said anything important yet. Uh, okay, so if the email didn't send last night, a recap of what we're doing today-"

"-what email?" Phoenix asked, confusion on her face, and Maverick blinked for a moment.

"I can't tell if you're fucking with me or I didn't send it right."

He looked to Bob for support but Bob shrugged, staying silent.

"Alright then... I guess we'll go over it. This morning we're getting straight into hops, we're fixing some manoeuvres I wasn't so sure of last week, and then the rest of today we should be- Bagman, you wanna give yourself a moment to breathe before you choke on that poor burrito? What'd it do to you?"

Maverick had been watching Hangman out of the corner of his eye since he came in, surprised to find him scarfing down his breakfast. The younger aviator blushed, tentatively putting down his burrito.

"Sorry, sir."

"Mmhmm. Okay guys, off you go, get your pre-flight checks done and let me know if you need anything. Bradley we'll talk about your sass later."

"Sure thing, Mav."

-

Honestly, the breakfast burrito hadn't even had time to settle as Hangman scrambled into his flight suit. He could hear Bob struggling with his zippers as usual and glanced over his shoulder at Rooster, who was humming along to whatever song was in his head.

"Hey, mom, you wanna help Baby on Board into his baby grow?"

"Suck a fat one, Bagman, I don't see you getting into yours so easy," Bob replied dryly, yet he extended his arms for Rooster to help him. Rooster huffed at Hangman, but chose not to respond. Hangman grimaced, feeling his stomach cramp, and put his ass back on the bench for a moment to recover.

"Oh shit, you're gonna blow chunks before the hop?" Payback scoffed as he rounded the corner from his locker, heading to the exit. To Hangman's surprise he was actually talking to Fanboy, who was bent over the sink and not looking so hot.

"Man, those fuckin' 'ritos, I swear to god I get sick every time I eat them."

Hangman's body temperature suddenly dropped and he shivered, swivelling toward the sinks in the locker room.

"Hey, Fanboy, what did you mean?"

"I was super hungry this morning but I got to breakfast late enough that there were only burritos left."

Oh, fuck.

-

"Okay, split into two teams. Coyote, I want you to spend some time working with Rooster today, you and Hangman are completely in sync but you and Rooster seem to be ever so slightly out."

"Yes sir," Coyote replied easily, navigating back toward Rooster's jet.

"Hangman, today I really want you to focus on communicating with... everyone, really."

His stomach was cramping again, and he could feel bile building in his throat. He swallowed it down, one eye on the air and the controls while he frantically searched for the puke bags. He'd just restocked them, he was sure-

"You got that, Hangman?"

He didn't have it, but he agreed anyway.

"Yes sir, I got it. Hey, do I get bonus points for taking out Rooster?"

"Sure, why not."

"What- hey! Mav!" Rooster protested. The Daggers could hear Maverick laughing.

"It'd be nice for you to be quiet for five minutes, so sure, you two compete against each other first. The first person to get tone wins, we'll wait over here."

"Fight's on!" Rooster called, clipping his mask on properly. Hangman furrowed his brows, chasing him through the clouds. They were matched neck-for-neck, but then Rooster pulled the move Maverick had taught him and let Hangman pull up to his tail, trying to get tone. Right at the last second he pulled up and settled behind Hangman, tone sounding immediately.

"God damn it," Hangman hissed whilst the others cheered. He could hear Rooster laughing through the comms and swore, ripping his mask off to catch his breath.

"Alright you two, knock it off. Hangman, sounds like you just earned yourself 200 push ups."

The rest of the Daggers cackled. Hangman winced, pinching the bridge of his nose as his stomach grumbled.

Oh, hell, seriously-

"Alright, everyone invert, we're going to-"

His stomach cramped and then he felt the bile rising again, but this time it was coming up. Reaching for where the sick bags were supposed to be he found nothing and cursed himself, one hand navigating his jet while the other covered his mouth just in case.

"Who is that gagging? Is everyone good?" Maverick asked. When the other Daggers called back that they were okay, Maverick cleared his throat.

"Hangman, I think you should go back to base, yeah? Get back on solid ground."

"S-sir, I- Mav-"

Too late.

-

"Guys, I'm so- fuck- I'm so sorry."

"It's not the worse we've seen, but your jet is out of commission for the rest of today at least."

The ground crew peered into Jake's jet, matching grimaces on both of their faces at the splashes of puke all over the controls and his seat. He was still sitting on the wing, a bucket in his arms as Maverick watched from the ground. His hands were on his hips and his aviators were staying over his eyes, but neither of these things hid the concern on his face.

"How long have you been feeling sick?" Maverick asked, shielding his face from the sun with his hand.

"Uh, think it was the breakfast burrito. Fanboy wasn't so hot either."

He buried himself back in the bucket, puking up what little he had left. Maverick grimaced, watching the rest of the Daggers coming over from where they'd all abruptly landed to see what was going on.

"Did anyone else eat the breakfast burrito?" Maverick asked them. When they all shook their heads, he facepalmed.

"You're all excused. Jake, get down from there, I'll take you home."

"Mav I'm not going anywhere until the wing stops spinning."

"Fair enough. Scoot to the edge, you can pretty much slide on to Rooster's shoulders."

"Hey-"

"-what-"

"-shut up you two, just work together for once. Rooster, go and stand by the wing."

"Yes sir," Rooster huffed, Payback going over to give him a hand. Hangman passed the bucket down to Coyote who seemed mildly disgusted and then scooted to the end of the wing. He managed to slide down, wrapping his arms around Rooster's neck. Rooster caught his legs but then proceeded to pretend to drop him. It was enough to rekindle the nausea and Hangman buried his head into Rooster's shirt. In seconds it was damp and he couldn't believe he'd just puked on his frenemy. He was never going to live this down.

-

[heliads]

Lisa, my love, I would like to extent my sincere thanks for you taking my Seacat request, especially when you have half a million things in your queue already. That said, here we go!!

Okay, so I would like to request a Seacat + male Reader. The Reader is not a biker or surfer, but he has a punk aesthetic that goes a bit further than the bikers', to the point where most people are a bit scared of him and he doesn't really have any friends. However, he's actually really quiet and sweet, and has an amazing singing voice, but most people refuse to spend enough time with him to realize this. But since Big Mama looks at him as something like a son, he spends a lot of time at the restaurant, helping out around the place.

One night, Seacat gets to Big Mama's before the rest of the surfers when they're supposed to hang out, and he hears the Reader singing while wiping down tables and is just... blown away. Seacat, who's actually had a crush on the Reader from afar for a while now, insists that everyone should get to hear the Reader sing, but the Reader is too used to people being scared of him and doesn't really want to. Eventually, though, Seacat and Big Mama together manage to convince him, and the Reader performs the next night at the restaurant, and once everybody hears how beautifully he sings and realizes what a sweet and nervous person he actually is, they start to warm up to him more.

And then the fic ends with the Reader thanking Seacat for helping him gain some confidence, and they have a really sweet confession? If you don't want to write this, though, that's totally cool! Thanks and have an awesome day/night, and I hope you're doing well!! 🖤🖤🖤

yes yes yes teen beach movie + jordan fisher my beloved

masterlist

Seacat typically prides himself as someone who has always been able to figure people out. Give him thirty seconds and a good solid stare, and Seacat has a hold on anyone, down to the last item on their bucket lists. The only exception to this rule came with the whole surfers versus bikers dilemma of the past few years, but no one was able to see through that, so it’s not like Seacat was any exception.

It’s quite disappointing, then, that Seacat finds himself looking straight at a dead end. There’s a kid in town who’s neither surfer nor biker, some sort of strange third option that has never really existed before in all of Seacat’s knowledge. Everyone around here is either a board shorts beach kid or a slicked back scrambler, no in between.

It makes no sense. Absolutely no sense whatsoever. Maybe that’s why Seacat is so fascinated with figuring the guy out, and so deeply frustrated that he can’t seem to manage it.

He thought he was being pretty cool about not letting his desperation to sort this boy into categories show, but evidently Seacat’s wrong on another front. He’s barely walked outside the doors to Big Momma’s with a crew of surfers one sunny morning when he’s confronted with the truth.

It’s another hot day out near the surf, and Seacat and his friends had retreated inside for a few minutes to grab some cold drinks. Now, they’re lounging near the entrance, waiting to finish their drinks before hitting the water again. Seacat is leaning against the wall, regarding the odd boy out with what he thought was a barely perceptible interest.

According to his best friend, Tanner, however, Seacat’s eyes are practically bulging out of their sockets. The other surfer takes one glance at Seacat and starts to laugh.

“Listen, what’s your deal with Y/N? Did he accidentally get chewing gum on your board or something?”

Seacat blinks in surprise. “No, what are you talking about?”

Tanner shrugs, evidently not as consumed by the mystery of just who Y/N L/N is as Seacat. “Figured he had to have done something, or you wouldn’t be staring at him like that. I mean, yeah, he’s a little weird and all that, but the rest of us have given up on him.”

Seacat frowns. “But what if he’s not just weird? What if there’s something that all of us are missing that actually makes total sense?”

“Like what?” Tanner asks, dubious. 

“Like how we all hated the bikers until we realized they were just like us?” Seacat hazards. 

Tanner groans in acknowledgment. “You’re not wrong there. But look, Y/N is different. He’s not a biker at all. There’s no understanding him.”

“No,” Seacat says, staring out across the street towards where he can just make out the silhouette of Y/N disappearing around the corner, “but that doesn’t mean I can’t try.”

In all honesty, Seacat can understand why Tanner doesn’t seem willing to give Y/N a shot. None of them are, not really. Seacat can’t even remember whether Y/N started out as a surfer or a biker, he’s been his own guy for as long as anyone can remember. 

Seacat supposes the best description of the enigma that is Y/N L/N would be a punk. Studded jacket, dark and deadly stare, the works. He’s too edgy for the surfers and too unique for the bikers, and thus Y/N stays by himself, always on the fringe of both groups, never truly a part of either. 

He’s been poking up on Seacat’s radar for some time now, but Seacat has never been called to action on the matter until recently. It’s been a slow burn of impressions, attentions, and near misses, all contributing to the gradual sense that everybody in this entire town is skipping over something about Y/N, something big. 

Seacat is determined to figure out what that something is. He doesn’t know why, but he has to figure it out. He’ll never rest until he does. For now, all he can do is keep staring, keep watching, and hope for the moment in which Y/N’s tough as nails demeanor drops and Seacat finally gets to see the real person inside. 

As it turns out, Seacat’s golden opportunity might come a little faster than he had hoped. Barely a few days have gone by since that conversation with Tanner before Seacat finds himself strolling down to Big Momma’s again, this time later in the afternoon. The surfers are all going to hang out here tonight, maybe have a dance or two before skipping on down to the waves.

Seacat had nothing better to do other than twiddle his thumbs, so he decided to walk over to the restaurant a little early, just because. Maybe he can help set up or something; they all owe Big Momma that much for letting the surfers and bikers crash there time after time.

It looks as if Big Momma already has a helper here, however. Seacat has barely breezed through the doors before he stops dead in his tracks. There’s another boy half hidden in the shadows of the place, wending in and out of Seacat’s line of sight as he cleans off tables and gets the place ready for the day.

It’s Y/N. What’s more, seeing as Y/N believes himself to be alone, he’s singing along to some old tune rattling out of a banged up CD player on a nearby chair. He’s got a good voice, anyone could admit that, but Seacat is so startled to hear it coming out of a boy like Y/N that he’s blown away even more.

Seacat doesn’t know how much time he spends standing there, just looking, just watching. It reminds Seacat of the sunrise on an early morning, empty beaches as far as the eye can see. No one else sees the crystal clear blue of the water, just you. No one else hears the fact that Y/N L/N might be the best singer in the entire town, just Seacat.

He could have stayed there until the end of time, he thinks, but of course no pure thing can stick around here forever. Eventually, Y/N loops casually around a table, putting him at just the right place to look up and spot Seacat standing there at the entrance. Although it’s been wonderful to listen to Y/N sing, he was only allowing himself such freedoms because he was working and supposed himself to be alone. There’s no reason he would ever continue if he knew he had an audience.

Seacat knows that in an instant, even before the boy looks up, startled, to lock eyes with him. Instantly, Y/N looks away again, speaking in a gruff voice so as to discourage any possible thought of conversation.

“Place doesn’t open for a while,” he says, “might as well head out again.”

Seacat shakes his head slightly. “I hardly want to leave now. I didn’t know you could sing so well, Y/N.”

Y/N chuckles, barely a trace of humor evident in the sound. “Didn’t think you and your friends had the chance to figure it out. You never came close enough to try.”

Seacat winces. “We were wrong for that. I can see it now.”

Surprised, Y/N glances back over at him. “You mean that?”

Seacat nods solemnly. “As much as I mean that you should sing more often. This whole town should hear you.”

Y/N arches a disbelieving brow. “Did you hit your head on that surfboard? This town doesn’t want to even see me, let alone hear me sing.”

“I want to hear you,” Seacat says quietly, “Isn’t that enough?”

“You think one person is enough to make a sort of change like that?” Y/N asks, grip lazing on the side of his broom. 

“Yeah,” Seacat says, unsteady at first but gaining strength as he goes, “Yeah, I do. Say, you should have a concert right here. Maybe it could happen next week. People would come, I’ll make sure of that. You’ve got a gift, Y/N. It would be a crime to let people forget that.”

Something like a smile appears on Y/N’s face. It softens the hard lines on his countenance, turning a jagged stare bright with light. 

“You really believe in this whole idea, don’t you?” Y/N comments. It doesn’t sound like such a hard no as before. In fact, it almost sounds like a yes. 

Seacat just nods, and that’s all it takes for Y/N to nod back at him. 

“Alright, then. If you’re so sure of yourself, let’s do this. I have to ask Big Momma though, it’s her place and she has the final say.”

He’s scarcely voiced this thought before someone instantly calls back to him from the direction of the kitchen. 

“Don’t even think twice about it! We’re doing the show, no doubt about it.”

Seacat and Y/N stare at each other for a moment in the resulting silence, then start to laugh. It appears that Big Momma may have been listening in to their conversation. At least she approves of the whole idea, right?

Then again, it’s not like she would have ever said no to something like this. Y/N has been all but adopted by Big Momma for a long time. When the rest of the town turned their backs on the boy, Big Momma was the one who stood up and offered him a home. Now, Y/N has been a permanent fixture at this happy seaside eatery, so of course it makes sense that Big Momma would want to do anything to give him a better shot. 

With this final benediction, Seacat is clear to get the concert in order. He organizes friends, grabs decorations, and basically does everything in his power to make sure this is going to work. 

In some secret part of his mind, Seacat is terrified that it won’t. What if this town is so used to its preordained rules of right and wrong, its norms and traditions, that it refuses to let Y/N into the limelight even when he shows his capabilities?

Even now, Seacat can predict how that would go. It would crush Y/N for good, and probably take Seacat down with him for attempting something like this. At the same time, so what? Seacat has been wanting this for a while now, even if he didn’t know it would come in the form of a concert. If this is how he’s kicked to the curb, fine. At least he’d be in good company. 

Seacat’s fears, however, turn out to be unfounded. Surfers and bikers alike roll up to the concert in record breaking waves, all eager to see the show. They’re earnest about their intentions, too, not a spark of scorn in sight. 

As they should be, in all honesty. From the moment Y/N takes the stage and starts to sing, a hush falls upon the entire restaurant. Everyone, biker and surfer and cook alike, is silenced by the sheer force of their awe. Seacat knew Y/N was good, but that was when he wasn't even trying. This is something entirely different, something special. 

The concert is over before he knows it, before it really should be in Seacat’s opinion. Y/N is immediately flooded by a rush of well wishers the second he steps off the stage, and for quite a while, the only thing Seacat can see of him is that brilliant, dazzling grin. 

Eventually, Y/N manages to shake the crowd long enough to make his way over to Seacat. 

“Well,” he says in his best attempt at a casual voice, “you might have been right about all this.”

Seacat grins almost as broadly as the other boy. “You mean it? You had fun up there?”

Y/N laughs. “Could you tell? I’ve never felt better. Doing all this, seeing all those people actually listen, it felt like I was living for the first time.”

“Well, I didn’t see a single person who wasn’t enjoying themselves,” Seacat says, “so clearly, your idea of living is right up there with everyone else’s. I’m glad you did this, Y/N. Really.”

“So am I,” he whispers, “but can I tell you something?”

At Seacat’s questioning nod, Y/N continues. “I didn’t just do this so I could be welcomed in by the rest of the town or whatever. I did it for you.”

Seacat’s brow furrows. “What? Why me?”

“It made sense to me,” Y/N smiles, “You were the one who was so excited about it. You haven’t seen me as a threat for quite some time, I’ve noticed that about you. Maybe I wanted to prove you were right about me. Yours is the only opinion I’d care to keep.”

Seacat looks at him, really looks at him. There’s no need to disguise his staring any more, each and every one of his glances Y/N’s way can be treasured to the utmost. “I wanted to do this for you,” he says unsteadily, “Guess it makes sense that we were each doing it for the other person.”

A shout from the other side of the restaurant; people are calling for encores, anything to get Y/N back up on that stage and singing again. The moment is stolen away again, but Y/N lingers just a little longer.

“You’d be surprised what I would do for you,” he says, and then vanishes back into the crowd, a shadow slipping away through this sea of friendly faces. Seacat stands there, breathless, and slowly, gratefully, begins to smile. He’s beginning to get an idea as to Y/N’s character, he thinks, and this time, he’s right.

disney tag list: @rogueanschel, @lovesanimals0000, @thatfangirl42, @amortensie

requested by @starlit-epiphany, i hope you enjoy!

[thessalian]

Thess vs Boxing Day

Huh. You learn some really interesting historical shit, and a fair bit about how low your country of residence has stooped, when you look up a simple little thing like “How did Boxing Day start?” to add a little historical sidebar to a Tumblr post.

Well, for starters, I always kind of wondered which were the twelve days of Christmas, specifically. Well, apparently we should be getting or giving turtle doves today, because it is the second day of what is liturgically known as Christmastide.

Anyway, Boxing Day started here in the UK, and mostly you’ll find Commonwealth countries ceiebrating it today, and some other parts of what were considered part of the British Empire (except for the US, who apparently yeeted that into the harbour along with the tea or something, I dunno). In Europe, it’s St Stephen’s Day. Now, here in its country of origin, Boxing Day is a Bank Holiday, which means reduced shop opening hours, reduced bus service, and everybody stays home and eats leftovers, basically. Most of the countries I know about, though ... whether or not they call it Boxing Day specifically, it’s a shopping holiday; kind of like Black Friday, just with a different sort of historical revisionism attached. I mean, when I was a kid, my father told me that we called it “Boxing Day” because we boxed up all the gifts we didn’t want, picked up the gift receipts, and headed out to exchange them. That never quite rang right to me - I was pretty sure that Boxing Day existed before gift receipts, at least - but I never bothered to look up what it actually meant. Until today.

Boxing Day is supposed to be a day about giving to the poor, servants, or any less fortunate. It’s a day where people gave a parcel to their household staff, postal worker, errand boy, people like that. But before that ... aaaaaaaand now I know what the Christmas carol Good King Wenceslas is all about. The church would give alms to the poor on St Stephen’s Day (or the Feast of Stephen), and the ‘Good King Wenceslas’ of the carol is based on an actual person - Saint Wenceslaus 1, Duke of Bohemia, who was canonised for his generosity and charity after his death. According to legend, he was assassinated by his brother, Boselaus the Cruel. Apparently Wenceslaus is some kind of Arthur figure, complete with myth about his resurrection and discovery of Very Important Sword (under a stone, though, sensibly enough). Gotta love the Czechs.

Anyway, point is that today’s supposed to be a day of giving to the less fortunate, and in this country at least, to those who worked so hard for you all year, for far less than you make. And what’s happening today? Massive queues outside Selfridge’s as people hunt for bargains, and strike action by public transport workers who don’t want their jobs downsized to oblivion and maybe to be paid enough to live on. Honestly, I don’t blame anyone for wanting to get the things they need as cheaply as possible at this point, and insane Boxing Day sale prices are probably the only way a lot of people can afford some things. But while Boxing Day hasn’t been about giving for a long time, the fact that it’s currently a day to claw just anything needful away from those who have been taking from us all year just to add to their hoard of money so large that it’s functionally meaningless ... it makes me really sad.

So there you have it: another historical snippet and piece of socioeconomic commentary by everybody’s favourite tick in the “Other” box crammed into human form, Thess. Happy Boxing Day, or St Stephen’s Day, or whatever you celebrate. I may not be able to give you all a parcel or meaningfully provide a tangible gift, this is supposed to be a time for appreciating those who work hard with little or no reward for the ultimate benefit of others. So I’m going to appreciate you guys; everybody on this hellsite. You don’t do this for profit. You don’t do this for fame. Yet you provide stories and songs and artwork and fun trivia facts and tutorials on everything from science to history and way, way beyond. You provide support of the emotional variety so often. You give what’s so often taken for granted - enjoyment, comfort, carefully-researched facts, and ... I guess hope? Hope that not everyone in the world is a complete shitbird. So thank you, Tumblr and those who lurk within. For being you.

[the-seer-of-the-faithful]

Chapter 1: Boys will be Boys

A couple weeks after school started, things got a bit less hectic. Chancellor Knox called me in to personally make sure I was settling in the best way possible.  Those were the most uncomfortable 15 minutes of my life. Gladly for me, Cole and Tea were waiting outside her office so we could go for lunch.

Wednesdays were the most exhausting part of my week. Full block of physics with Watts, full block of history with Coleman. Then lunch, then it was Atkins, and I had to finish my day with musical expression with Prof. Gallagher. It was a nice wrap of the day, considering that was the only class I could actually pick for myself this term, but it still was exhausting having to study both physics and history the same morning.

Making our way to the dining hall, Cole trailed off to the jocks. He had made it into the lacrosse team by the skin of his teeth; I had never quite realized how brutal the competition truly was. We made our way to the queue.  Today there were an assortment of prepared meals I wasn't big on, and sandwiches with refresher drinks. We barely took anything, and made our way to an empty table. As soon as we were seated, Tea let out a contemptuous sigh. "Well, at least we know he's blending in with them."|

While it was true, it gave me an odd feeling. "What do you mean?"

She looked at me, half trying to dodge the question, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to get off the hook that easily. After a small staring contest, she finally caved in. "It's always been Cole and I. We're not precisely loners, but everyone has a massive group of friends, and then there's him and I -- so I'm glad he's finding a nice place for himself within them."|

I seriously wondered if she was all that alright.  "You know amount never beats quality, right?" I pointed out, taking a small bite out of my sandwich.  She merely replied with a shrug.

After a rather long time of Cole bantering with Blake, Mason and the rest of the team, he finally decided to join us. Don't get me wrong, I was more than glad he was making new friends, and he was fitting in with the most popular people at school. However... According to Teagan, they had been friends since they were 5 or so. And by the looks of it, it had always been just the two of them. So now, leaving Teagan with the newbie for his new friends every single day, weekends included -- well, it did seem like a rather upsetting thing to do.

"Hey guys, sorry that took a minute. Blake invited me over to his place for the Bolton homecoming party, can you believe it?" He excitedly took a bite of his now-cold food.

Tea was ecstatic. "That's amazing C, when is it? What should I wear? You think Jemma's gonna go? I should..."

Cole gave Teagan a slightly sad look. I was slightly taken aback, could she be... "I'm definitely gonna ask him if you can come, you too Sage, that party's gonna rock."

It was more than obvious how all of Teagan's excitement left her. "Oh, don't worry, you go for me, have an amazing night. I hear Sierra will be attending as well," she coyly joked. Cole couldn't have made it more obvious how uncomfortable that girl's name made him. The bell rang before Cole could even get a second bite of his food. He ran off with the guys we assumed were the jocks for practice.

Meanwhile, Teagan and I shared that one class with Atkins starting today -- something about a mix up in her schedule.Atkins was rather cheerful' the hour and a half passed by in a blink while we talked about organic chemistry. Teagan had the rest of the day free. As for me, well, musical expression was waiting for me on the 4th floor. That day, we were supposed to present a piece on our most admired classical musician. As I knew most things regarding the subject, I chose Tchaikovsky.  Most did Mozart or Beethoven; there was one guy who did Bach.

Prof. Gallagher pulled me aside after class was over. "So here's the thing, you really don't need this class.  So how about I make you a monitor? That way you could skip tests on details I'm substantially sure you won't be needing if you'll be pursuing a career in music." I accepted her offer and left her classroom.

Coming out of the Bastion, I ran into Teagan; she was by herself listening to music. After approaching and slightly pressing two fingers against her shoulder, she turned to me. "Oh hey Sage, wanna hit the town? Cole will be on training for most of the afternoon with the new guys, maybe we can grab a bite."

I gave her a nod. "Why not? Let's go." The ride in the car was filled with music from Dua Lipa, Harry Styles, Camila Cabello, and some others whose names I couldn't remember. I found their music boring, especially Ariadna or Ariana something. Teagan was certainly not amused by this, but she let it slide, considering I even cracked a couple smiles when Dua Lipa was playing.

By the time we got there it was already 4PM; we headed to  a café called Taylor's. It looked cozy, kinda vintage; I loved the look. "I've been coming here forever, you're gonna love it, especially if you're into cold brew. Taylor still serves other drinks, but cold brew's his specialty."- She took my arm, the bracelets on her wrists making a slight noise.  She dragged me a bit through the street until we entered the place. It definitely looked better inside than out -- leather sofas, metal chandeliers, yellow lights, wooden walls and a serious amount of posters.  I hadn't the slightest idea as to what their contents were, band names I figured.

Heading to the bar, Teagan drew out her phone and typed something. A few moments later the guy on the counter turned about. Late 20's, pitch-black hair, hazel eyes, considerably buff. "Hey Tea, same as usual?"She laughed a bit, nodding at me. "Oh sorry, I'm Taylor, the owner. I know, shocker -- I couldn't come up with another name for the place." I gave the guy a half smile and a handshake.

"So I'll be getting your special, and..." Teagan said, and  looked at me.

"I'm guessing I'll just take whatever you recommend." If there was something I had come to learn the hard way, it was that if you go somewhere, always ask for their specialty or recommendations; there will be time later to try everything else.

"Got it, your spot's right there, I'll ask Octavia to bring your order."

I followed Tea to a table far off in the corner. Talking with her made me feel rather comfortable, which I found rather odd. "So anyways," she began.  "I barely know anything about you; what was life like back in London? Left any girl behind? A boy? Spill."

While she was being way more forward than I liked, she had a way of making you want to talk. I felt a bit at ease. I took off my black denim jacket and fixed my hair; the light brown ruffles were ruthless, however I managed.  "So I was born and raised there, close to parliament. I attended Ridgestone Middle School; I wasn't all that popular, nor did I have many friends. There was this one person I was interested in, however... well, things didn't go as expected, and something blew up. Coincidentally, my father was about to move here anyways -- the firm was opening a branch close by. So here we are." I avoided several details around the story, like what the thing was that exploded. Or the fact the branch still wouldn't open for another month.  But I just wasn't there yet.

"Well, I used to live in New York.  When I was 7 my parents moved here, to the house next to Cole's. Our parents have known each other since High School, we're both Laguna Legacy. We used to hang out with this Luca guy, but I don't really know what happened; he just drifted away and eventually left. And day to day might be slightly boring, but every now and then something will happen that stirs everyone's interest." Teagan toyed a bit with her phone after sharing that memory with me

A white blond girl came up to us with two drinks and a couple of snacks; I figured she would be Octavia. "Home-baked, enjoy."- The cups were made of glass, a curious choice.

Tea dug into her cold brew drink as soon as Octavia left, giving it a nice swig before putting it down. "this always lightens me up." She smiled brightly and took a bite of a piece of bread-based snack; it sounded a bit crunchy, and made me slightly hungry. I took my drink.  It was hot; I gave it a small sip. Bitter and sweet tastes came to me in waves, like it had something salty in it, but it tasted amazingly good. Tea offered me a bit of her pastry -- the taste of hibiscus and orange filled my mouth as soon as I bit it. It made quite an interesting combination, one I would have never expected."Looks like you like it; ask for what you want. Taylor owes me a favor." It wasn't like I couldn't afford it, but the gesture from Tea was nice, so I didn't argue.

Half an hour and several baked goods in, during a conversation about who was the better actor -- Robert Downey or Chris Evans -- some people came into the shop."Oh shit, turn around," Teagan whispered. We faced the window like it was the most interesting thing we had ever witnessed. "That's Mason," she mouthed. I was slightly intrigued, although I wasn't about to crane my neck over to them and watch like a bird of prey.

"Who was he with?" I asked.

She shrugged, then laughed. "I knew you had a crush."

My face blew up in a red hue, reaching even my ears. "Oh shut it," I hissed, tossing a napkin at her which she brushed off.

"So he's dating now... curious."

That comment piqued my interest a bit. "What do you mean?"

She looked at me in awe, almost forgetting I wasn't from around. She made sure Mason had left, and pulled me to her side. "When Mason was lacrosse team captain a couple years ago, he had a fallout with his best friend, Cato, over someone.  They never made it clear who that was; he's always been discreet about his love life. Anyways..." She took a smaller sip of her coffee.  "Some people say that it was a girl from Westview, our rival school, who was flirting with both at the time and manipulating them, so they would turn on each other and make us lose the finals that year. Which in the end did happen, there's even a video about it." Teagan pulled out one of her air pods and handed it to me, playing the video. A younger Mason appeared on screen.  There were people from the other team giving them a mischievous grin; others didn't quite understand what was going on. Mason and that Cato guy went at it.  People from both teams tried splitting them apart, which they instantly regretted, after getting sucker-punched or tossed aside like rag dolls by the mad men those two were in at that moment. Cato landed a couple jabs on Mason, that is, after pinning him on the floor. The screen went black after Chancellor Knox and Chairman Genesis of Westview came about to split them apart

"So, as you can see, there are a couple shady things here and there that make it look like it was Westview in the end, but nothing was solved. And just like that, we lost the match on grounds of violence. Chancellor Knox didn't take it well, and it seemed like Cato was expelled right before graduation." She paused after hearing the door, carefully turning about to see if Mason was back. Lucky for us, it was just Prof. Atkins with Coleman and Watts.

"Isn't it a bit early for the professors to be out here?" I shrugged, sipping my drink once more.   "This is amazing, you know? This drink is nothing short of glorious."

She laughed at my remarks, and she dug deeper. "So tell me, any special someone left behind in London?"  She nudged me with her elbow. "Oh come on, you're handsome, slim yet strong, your hair is quite beautiful, you have very nice skin, and those sapphire eyes of yours are truly charming."- Teagan winked at me, making me feel slightly uneasy. "Also, I love your style -- that jacket and jeans make a great match. I'd change those Vans though, not a nice color in my opinion" She carried on for a bit about fashion. I didn't get most of it.

I left my drink on the table; I was used to getting criticized for my attire, but never got complimented on it. "I think that's about enough, Teagan." I scratched the back of my neck, looking like a nervous wreck. "I did leave someone behind, part of the blow up I told you about. I'm just not quite ready to talk about it. Not even my parents know about it."  She gave me an understanding look.  "Oh and about my attire -- I just take what my parents expect me to wear, and use it in a way that's more me than the crafted image they expect me to project."

Her eyes gleamed. "Next time we come here, we're definitely going shopping." She grabbed my hands sort of in a sisterly manner.

Time went by, then Cole joined us. "Hey hotshot, Sage, what's up?" He gave Teagan two kisses and sat, looking sharp in casual t-shirt and jeans attire.

"You won't believe what just happened." Teagan filled Cole in about what had happened with Mason a couple hours earlier.

He was astonished to say the least. After asking a myriad of questions we most certainly didn't have the answers to, and a massive latte, he caved in. "So he was here with someone... Let's hope Westview has nothing to do with this, I'd hate to see Mason go through what happened to him once more." He turned to look at me, as if he were about to explain.

I stopped him."Teagan filled me in.  Anyways, I was thinking maybe..."

I was interrupted by a hand on my shoulder. "Well well well, look who we have here, fresh meat who wants a drink"- The bully from my first class at Lacuna gripped my shoulder so hard I could feel it crushing beneath my skin. "Listen up, you might be whoever you think you are, but you outsiders will never be welcome here, get it? You'll just fade away while everyone ignores you."

Teagan stood faster than lightning. "Who do you think you are, Jax?"

He released my poor shoulder and walked up to her. "You should seriously consider what kind of people you surround yourself with, Riggs." The emphasis on her last name was something definitely not to my liking. "And you, Mercer, perhaps Blake should reconsider your place in the team; we don't want anyone getting all cozy with outsiders."

Teagan was about to knock the living hell out of Jax.I stood up, fed up with all of "Listen, whoever you are, your trust issues and fear of loneliness just show  how afraid you are to be alone. It's no surprise you're so undesirable. I won't stand by and watch some self obsessed idiot treat my friends like the piece of rubbish they themselves think they are."

Jax took a few steps towards me, clenching his hand. At that point I was more than ready for the blow, perhaps to my face. I closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable, but nothing ever happened.  "Hey newbie." Mason Drake had immobilized Jax." Sorry for this idiot, I'll see to it he won't bother you again."

Mason gave me a smile while Jax protested. "Yo Mason, wait up, who do you think you are? My father will hear about this; you're done, you hear me?"

Mason dragged him out of Taylor's and then came back. "Sorry for that, he's a bit touchy with anyone who didn't grow up in Lacuna." I merely pursed my lips, trying to let him know it was OK. "I'm heading out, perhaps you guys wanna come along?"

Teagan passed her hair through her hair, before speaking "Well I'm done for the day, thanks Blake.  You two go if you feel like it." Cole plummeted in his seat listening to her.

Teagan looked at me, noticing me visibly uncomfortable.  "Perhaps next time, I told Sage we'd go to my place later, mother's making sweet madame for dinner.  Sorry Mason." He looked visibly disappointed, but what else could I do?  It would've most likely been something like a frat party and I don't do those.

I gave Mason one apologetic look. He stood up and left, leaving me feeling kinda down.  " Don't sweat it, those parties tend to be too much, even for us,''. Teagan reassured me. I drank the last of my drink and asked Taylor for the bill.

After splitting and paying we made our way to the parking lot. "So Sage, I've been meaning to tell you, we have that group assignment for Atkins; wanna do it together?"

Cole's invitation caught me by surprise;, I had completely forgotten about it. "Of course, come over tomorrow, we can do it then."He agreed, and with that we all left for our respective cars.

Once we took off, Teagan kept a thoughtful look in the car. "What's on your mind?" I asked.

She stopped at a red light and turned to look at me. "Oh it's just... Cole hates group assignments.  Why was he so eager to do it this time?"

I pondered; Cole had seemed rather cheerful. These past 2 weeks we had been spending far more time together than I had spent with anyone in the last couple years. He was a nice guy, kept looking out for me and even making sure I ate. "Well I find it sweet; perhaps you could ask?"

She turned to me, looking like she just had an idea."Well, I'll figure it out later, for now let's drop you off."   And with that, we carried on with the road to my place.

[bonesandthebees]

i saw on twitter that you were in wilburs button video!! HOLY SHIT!!! congrats :D

what was that like? how did that even happen??? any details you wanna share? that looks like so much fun and i’m curious about it :D

lmao I was visible for like .2 seconds before I died and I never even pushed the button once :/

but it was a lot of fun! basically if you're subbed to wilbur on twitch you can join his discord server, and if you have your twitch acc linked to your discord it'll give you access to the subs only channel. one night one of the admins (josh, if you've seen a lot of the 100 player videos he's mentioned a lot) sent out a thing to the sub only announcement channel telling us how to whitelist ourselves on the event server. then the next day josh sent out another announcement saying that they were going to do an event in roughly an hour. he sent the server IP and it was just a matter of joining and seeing if your computer connection got you in or not lol

wilbur didn't stream this challenge, he was talking in a discord stage and we were all just listening in. once you were in the server it randomized everyones place in a queue, and then your number in the queue determined if you got into one of the rounds or not

it was really funny bc if you weren't in the group currently having their round with the button, you couldn't see what was happening since wilbur wasn't streaming it. so a bunch of us were just running around the main server space and listening to wilbur talk about whatever was going on in the round but had zero context for any of it. watching the video was funny for me bc I finally got to see what was actually going on in the other rounds

overall: pretty fun, only lasted for like a minute and a half in my round before i died but definitely worth it. if you have a wilbur sub I def recommend trying to get into one! according to all the mods in the discord there are going to be more 100 player challenges from now on so hopefully more people get to pop up in them!

[mattsunnn]

title : Not Complaining

character/s : Aizawa Shota

warning/s : dom shota, fingering, squirting, overstimulation, cunnilingus, n s f w in over all

a/n : saw a manga panel where the male’s just doing things✨ to his gf and i thought of this guy😃

This wasn’t what you expected.

But you’re not complaining, are you?

You were very much delighted when Shota called you right after lunch, telling you that he will go home earlier than the actual time. You prepared his favorite snack, which is mostly the juice packs he really likes and some baked goods you’ve been baking to cure your boredom. You also put on a movie for the two of you to watch and to cuddle in the sofa, seeing this opportunity to spend some more time with the busy Pro Hero.

Aizawa came home with his usual tired look plastered on his face, greeting you as he gave you a kiss on the cheek before changing his clothes to a more comfortable ones. He thanked you for the snacks, for even considering to get his favorite juice packs, and the movie that was playing. You savored the praise, proud at yourself for helping the Pro Hero relieve some stress.

The day was closed to finishing and you were glad that it was going smoothly according to your plan. Just one last step, which is to give him a warm bath, and everything is done! You two would be sleeping right now snuggled up to each other.

But why are you now laid back on the sofa, legs opened and a head in between your thighs as a tongue lapped up your juices, alternating in sucking your clit then going back on thrusting inside you?

“You always taste so good, Kitten.”

You whimpered, a hand combing through his hair and gripping on it tightly when he suddenly inserted two fingers in your core, immediately curling it up with expertise as he watched your face contort into a pleasurable expression. He leaned down and kissed your puffy clit, causing you to twitch slightly due to being sensitive. He rubbed against your walls, his fingers absorbing your warmth as he tried to find your sweet spot, using the pads of his fingers to rub against it once found.

“I have a goal today, baby. I’m not stopping until I achieve it.” He said, latching his mouth on the flesh of your inner thigh before sucking harshly on it, probably leaving a mark. There are towels under you that you questioned their purpose. Why are they there? We don’t usually use towels when we do these things. You didn’t question it out loud, too busy focusing on the way Shota’s tongue move around and in you.

You are whimpering, squirming against his hold as he continued his ministrations despite making you cum three times already with just his tongue. You tightened on his fingers, telling him that you are nearing yet another orgasm. He used that as a queue to fasten his pace, focusing more on your g-spot as well as using his other thumb to rub against your clit, putting pressure and rubbing in rapid circles.

“Sh-Shota! Too much!” You arched your back, trying to push his hands away but he was way more stronger than you. He used his forearm to push you back on the bed, both of his hands still rubbing and thrusting in and out of you without stopping. You felt the familiar knot appearing closer and closer, but this one felt more intense, an overwhelming sensation that somehow feels like an urge to pee.

“Shota! I’m-!”

“Go on, kitten. Cum.” He urged, planting a kiss on your inner thigh before you exploded. Gushing around his fingers and wetting the towels as well as his chest. “That’s it, Baby. You’re doing good.” He stared at your pulsing cunt in amazement, his ministrations never stopping as you continued to cum, squirting out your juices that has you twitching your legs uncontrollably.

When you finished, you were gasping for air, trying to grasp what just happened previously. He pulled out his fingers, licking them to taste your arousal which had you rubbing your thighs together at the sight.

“What was that?” You quietly asked, looking down in embarrassment. He chuckled, going up to meet your face. He pressed his lips against yours for a deep kiss, letting you have a taste of yourself before pulling away with a smirk.

“I just made you squirt, Kitten. Feels good, doesn’t it?”

Let’s say that it is now his goal to make you squirt whenever you two have an intimate time with each other. He just loves the sight of you creaming and gushing around his fingers with that lewd face of yours.

I wrote this out of excitement🤣 that panel really got my mind imagining things😌 thank you very much for reading!

stay safe and stay hydrated!

goodness lord😨 i hav never thought this will hav more likes than what I expected😨 thank you so much everyone🥺 i rlly rlly hope u guys enjoyed this🥰

Omfg you guys🥺 it’s 400+!! And the reblogs!! Eye—— thank you so much😭

IT’S 600!!!😭😭 thank you so so much😭😭

ilysm🤧❣️✨

[nurse-buckley]

Vaccination Day

Fandom: 9-1-1  Word Count: 1,422 Pairing: Eddie x Reader  Warnings: Mentions of the pandemic and needles.  Summary: You get nervous when it’s yours and Eddie’s turn for the vaccine, but he’s right there by your side.  Tagslist: @firemedicdiaz, @fireladybuckley, @pupandangelscoffee, @winterreader-nowwriter, @dayrin085  Written for my lovely @firemedicdiaz​ and beta’d by the amazing @evanbuckos​

“Hey, I thought I’d find you here.” Eddie announces as he pokes his head around the doors to the open ambulance. 

You were busy taking stock and restocking the rig after the last call you’d been on. You were hoping Eddie would forget about your appointment later that day, but unfortunately for you, you weren’t that lucky. 

Deep down, you knew that you needed the vaccine, and it was one step closer to being back to ”normal”, whatever “normal” would be after the pandemic dies down and life returns to normal. 

“I spoke to Bobby, told him we’re going for our vaccines this afternoon and he’s given us the time off,” he smiles. He’s been excited ever since he got the notification through that the pair of you could book in for your first dose. He was constantly scared of passing on the virus to Chris or abuela, and knew this was the first step in reducing that fear. 

His smile falters when he sees your expression. You’re refusing to meet his eyes, focussing on the task at hand. “Y/N? I thought you’d be excited.” 

“Yeah? Excited to be stuck with a huge needle, I’m thrilled,” you snap. You immediately regret your reaction, softening your features as you finally meet Eddie’s gaze. “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for.” 

Eddie shook his head, stepping closer to you and joining you in the rig. “Want to tell me what’s going on in that head of yours? You’ve been quiet all morning, you’re not acting like yourself.” 

“I’m just stressed and anxious. The pandemic, the endless calls, the covid anxiety.” 

“Shh,” the firefighter soothes as he takes your hands in his. “Take a deep breath for me.” 

You do as he says, following the deep rise and fall of his chest as he exaggerates his breathing for you to follow. You follow his actions for a few minutes, feeling slightly more relaxed as you continue the breathing exercise. “Good girl,” he soothes, smiling as your breath comes slightly easier. 

“Is there anything else that’s bothering you that you want to get off your mind, maybe I can help.” 

You sigh, deciding how you were going to explain your anxieties, knowing yourself they’re not always logical, but anxiety often overrules logic. 

“I know, scientifically, exactly how this vaccine works. I also know statistically that the odds of a serious reaction are less than 0.04% yet my brain won’t stop screaming at me, ‘you’re going to be that 1 in a million’ Eddie,” you choke out the last statement, as the tears begin to fall freely.  

“Mi amor,” he began, moving your chin so he could meet your eyes. “That isn’t going to be you. Logical Y/N knows that, we just need to convince anxious Y/N as well.” 

“It’s going to take a horse’s dose of Ativan to get me through that door.” 

“We can sort that. We’ll get you something to calm your nerves, and we’ll go from there okay? Baby steps.” 

You nod, breathing a little easier now you’d voiced your fears and shared them with Eddie; no longer having them constantly swirling in your head. 

You walk through the doors to the clinic, stopping short as you see the small queue of people in front of you signing in. Eddie senses your hesitation, guiding you forward with a hand on your back, gently coaxing you forward without feeling like you were being pushed into the situation against your will. 

Despite the hand guiding you forward, your feet stay planted on the ground. Eddie takes your hand, moving you to the side for some privacy. He leans down to meet your gaze, placing his hands either side of your arms to ground you. “You’ve got this, I’m going to be right with you the whole time,” he whispers, leaning in close and pressing a kiss to the side of your head. 

He can see the tears welling up in your eyes, threatening to spill over and his heart breaks. “Cariño, nothing is going to happen, I promise.” He says in attempts to comfort you. 

“Do you want me to go first?” the firefighter asks. 

You nod fiercely, not trusting yourself to speak. 

Eddie holds out a hand to you, giving you the option to take it. You do, holding on tightly as if your life depended on it. He guides you to the check in, signing you both in with the volunteer on the front desk before moving to the waiting area to take your seat. 

The way your knee was bouncing up and down didn’t escape the other man. He places his hand over your knee to stop the bouncing, his large warm hand covering your knee and bringing you some comfort. You grab his hand in yours, squeezing it tightly in return. 

“What do you want for dinner after this? We can order in pizza or get takeout from that place you like?”  

You knew what he was trying to do, and you thanked him for the distraction and incentive to get through the vaccination. A few minutes after discussing what the pair of you would be tucking into when you both got home, you were called forward to the nurse who’d be administering your vaccine. A volunteer made an attempt to split you up, but after seeing the death grip you had on the man, they relented, sending you both to the next room that had been freed.  

The nurse's eyes crinkled over her mask, clearly smiling if it weren’t for the PPE obscuring her features. “Alright, who’s going first then?” 

Eddie smiled, raising his free hand in the air, “that’ll be me.” 

“Actually....” you speak up from beside him, “Can-Can I go first? I’m afraid if I see you go first I’ll run.” 

Eddie lets out a chuckle at your confession, but gives you a look to show how extremely proud he was of you for stepping forward of your own accord. He holds out a hand for you, guiding you down into the seat. “Do you mind if I stay with her? Hold her hand, we’re a little nervous.” 

The nurse smiles, shaking her head, “of course, don’t be silly. You’re not the first and definitely not going to be the last who’s anxious today!” 

Eddie kneels beside your chair, turning your chin so you’re locked on his eyes. “Just focus on me, alright? Nothing else matters.” 

You suck in a shaky breath as you hear the nurse beside you uncapping the syringe, no doubt drawing up the medicine. He continued his distraction, talking about everything and anything that popped into his mind. He wished he had Buck with him at this moment, his endless useless knowledge and facts would have been great, but he isn’t completely inept when it comes to trivia. 

“A little cold,” you hear the nurse from beside you as she lifts your shirt sleeve and swipes the cool alcohol swab over your exposed skin. 

Eddie smiled, “just look at me, alright. Deep breath.” 

“Little pinch,” the nurse announces, waiting until you exhaled to insert the needle. 

Before you know it, you hear the clink of the empty syringe being placed into the sharps bin behind you and a plaster being placed over the pinprick. 

“There we are, all done!” the nurse announces. 

You shakily release the breath, smiling at Eddie letting out a small giddy laugh. You knew better than anyone that anxiety often made simple tasks seem insurmountable, but just as Eddie had promised, he stayed with you the entire time. 

The nurse smiles at the interaction as she cleans up and prepares the next dose for Eddie. Allowing you to calm down from the ordeal before she asks for Eddie to take a seat. You swap positions, knowing he didn’t need it but held Eddie’s hand through his vaccination, just like he’d done for you. 

The nurse gives you your appointment cards for your scheduled second doses along with the information leaflet from the vaccine, covering any side effects you should look out for. Eddie takes them both, pocketing them, knowing if you were to look at them you’d likely work yourself up. The pair of you are sent out into the waiting room, with instruction to wait for ten minutes to ensure there were no side effects. When the ten minutes are up, you and Eddie walk out hand in hand, your thoughts on the delicious meal you were going to reward yourself with when you get home.

[maladaptive---daydreamer]

Fake it till you make it

You were never really one to receive post from home. Your parents would send you a letter every once in a while, sometimes a small care package towards the end of term, but they would come in black lidded boxes tied together with red silk ribbon. This was the precise reason why you were so confused when a school post owl dropped a crushed brown box in front of you and flew back to the owlery.

“What the hell is that?” Your best friend, Draco, asked, voice laced with disgust.

“I have no idea” you replied, cautiously picking the box up looking for a clue as to who the sender was.

“Well open it, don't leave us in suspense, Y/N” Daphne urged.

You ripped the brown parchment off the box to be greeted with a cake box from a bakery in Hogsmeade. You lifted the crumpled box lid off to reveal a small square carrot cake. It had been decorated with white icing, and a note had been piped on with orange icing.

“Go out with me?” Daphne read. “Oh my, you’re getting asked out! Does it say who the sender was?”

Draco looked at you suddenly interested in this delivery.

“No it doesn’t, and I’m glad it doesn't because I definitely don’t want to go out with the owner of this cake.” You replied, pushing the box away from you and returning to your breakfast.

“You don't mind if I take that do you, Y/N?” Crabbe asked, licking his lips.

“Go ahead, Crabbe.” You pushed the box towards them and both him and Goyle reached for the cake.

“Acting as though you’ve never seen a cake in your lives, you disgust me the pair of you” Draco sneered. He picked up the parchment the cake was wrapped in with two fingers and began to stare at it.

“What are you doing?” You asked, looking up from the page of the Daily Prophet you were reading

“I’m checking to see who sent it.”

“I already did that, there was no name on it.”

“You might have missed it”

“I can read, Malfoy”

“Well there doesn't seem to be a name on here, a shame really, I would have enjoyed watching you turn him down and embarrass him in front of the whole school”

“Who said I would have turned him down?”

“You did, just now,”

“I only said that because its an anonymously sent cake, it could have been poisoned for all I know. Had I known who the cake was from I would have reacted differently”

Draco looked confused for a second before getting up, announcing he was going to make his way to potions. You and Daphne did the same a few minutes later and met up with him again in the queue outside the classroom. You had potions with the Ravenclaws, which according to the sorting hat was its next choice for you, but it believed you’d be better suited in Slytherin. It meant that you managed to get along well with some of the Ravenclaw students. Before long, Slughorn called you all in and you took your usual seat at the back, taking up a four-seat bench with you, Daphne, Draco and Blaise. Today's lesson was about sleeping potions, Slughorn announced he would be pairing you up rather than you working with the person you sat alongside. He began reading off a list, pairing Daphne with your friend, Alicia, Draco with Marcus Belby and you with Terry Boot.

You reluctantly got up and moved to a station near the front of the room.

“Morning, Y/N” Terry greeted, oddly giddy for a Tuesday morning

“Morning, Terry” you replied, giving him a small smile. You read through the instructions in your textbook and began to chop up your ingredients.

“Anything interesting happen this morning?” He asked, looking up from the valerian root he was chopping.

“I did get a weird package at breakfast.”

“Oh, you did?”

“Yeah, someone tried to ask me out, bit stupid though they didn't leave their name”

“I did! it was on the inside of the lid”

“Pardon?”

“Erm yeah sorry about that. What I meant to say is that I sent it.”

“Oh, right, well” You were honestly speechless, you had maybe spoken to Terry once, apologising for Draco’s remark about his mother.

“It's just you’re so beautiful and smart, and you’re nice”

“Terry I’m flattered but I’m just not interested”

“You think I’m ugly don’t you?”

“No- I”

“Don’t lie to me Y/N”

“No I swear, it's just” Your mind raced at a million miles an hour to try and come up with a passable lie. “It's just that I’m actually going out with someone already. We just haven't told anyone, you know how-”

“Who?” He cut you off, his face twisting with anger.

“I don't see how that’s any of your business” The sheer cheek of him was enough to make you angry as well,

“Well, then you’re lying, if it were true you’d say who. You do think I’m ugly”

“It’s,” You paused, blurting out the first name that came into your mind. “Its Draco”. You were already kicking yourself for spluttering his name out. Any Slytherin boy would have done fine, but you just had to say his name.

“Oh, right. Makes sense, you two are inseparable,”

An awkward silence had fallen over you and he barely spoke another word the whole lesson. Slughorn had administered each pairs sleeping potion on a cornish pixie, the pair who managed to keep their pixie asleep for long enough was due to receive a prize the next lesson. You returned to your seat at the back and grabbed your things.

“What’s wrong with you?” Draco asked, pulling the back of your robe

“Huh? what-”

“You look ill, do you need me to walk you to the hospital wing?”

“Walk the long way with me to defence against the dark arts?”

He nodded and the two of you left, splitting off from Daphne and Blaise.

You walked in silence for a bit

“Are you going to tell me what the matter is?” He stopped and faced you for a second

“I found out who sent me the cake” You admitted, continuing to walk

“And?”

“It was Terry Boot.”

Draco started to laugh.  “You’re lying”

“I swear but this isn't even the worst part” You were beginning to explain but he wouldn't stop laughing. “Draco, I’m serious! stop laughing there's more!”

He calmed down after a few seconds and you continued.

“I tried rejecting him nicely, but he just didn't take it. So I lied and told him I’m going out with someone”

“Oh? whos the unlucky bugger?”

You slapped his arm. “It's you”

“Me?” He looked genuinely shocked.

“I’m sorry it was the first name that came into my mind. But I just wanted to give you a heads up because he’ll probably tell his friends and the whole school will probably find out! Ugh I’m sorry Draco”

“Sorry for what?”

“Well that everyone’s going to think we're together”

“They could think of worse things, Y/N. Plus I don't care what they have to say about me,”

“you're not angry?”

“Of course not, people thought we were going out anyway.”

“Thank you, Draco, seriously”

“You know, we might as well make it believable, just until he moves on, something tells me Boot isn't going to let this drop.”

“What do you mean believable?”

“Like act like we’re a couple. Hold hands, you know all of that”

“But what about all your admirers”

“I could care less about them, your happiness and safety matters more than the opinions of the mediocre witches and wizards in this school”

You felt your heart swell a bit, you honestly didn't expect Draco to prioritise you like this. “So we should just fake it until he gets a girlfriend?”

“Exactly, just follow my lead”

You two ended up being a minute late to your lesson. He took your hand in his and the two of you walked in after everyone had taken their seats.

“Mr Malfoy, Miss Y/L/N, you are late to my lesson” Snape stated.

The whole class turned and looked at you, noting your hand clearly being held by Draco

“Sorry professor, we accidentally walked the long way from potions” Draco explained, swinging your hands.

“Two points from Slytherin, take your seats.” The two of you sat down.

“You and Draco?” Daphne hissed, knowing how long you had been crushing on him.

“Mind your business, Greengrass” Draco replied, sitting back in his chair putting his arm around the back of your seat.

“I'll explain later,” You promised, not wanting to piss off Snape, by talking in his lesson, any more than you already had.

For the rest of the day, you were ogled at like some caged animal in a zoo. Students from every year glanced and immediately dissolved into whispers with their friends. Word clearly travels fast around Hogwarts. You walked out of your last lesson with Daphne, getting ready to head to the Slytherin common room before dinner.

“You better be getting ready to explain this whole thing to me.” She said, pulling you away from the other students

“Yes, as soon as we get to our dorm-”

“Mind if I steal my girlfriend from you, Daphne?” Draco interrupted, appearing from what seemed to be nowhere.

“Yes I do actually,” She replied, pulling you further from Draco.

“Too bad, I’ll be taking her anyway”

“I swear I’ll tell you daph-” You explained apologetically, pulling your arm from her grasp.

Daphne stomped her foot like a toddler and turned to walk to the Slytherin common room. You, on the other hand, were stood with Draco, getting, even more, stares because the two of you were finally stood together, giving feeding truth into the rumour that was swirling around the school. He put his arm lazily around your shoulders and the two of you began your stroll to a more quiet part of the castle.

“I know you want to tell Daphne everything, but do you think that's wise?” He asked quietly

“Yes, she's my best friend, why wouldn't I?”

“I thought I was, I’m hurt”

“You are, you mug, but she is too”

“You know what a big mouth Daphne has, not to mention you know what she’s like once shes had a bit to drink, she might let it slip.”

You pondered what Draco had said. It was no secret that Daphne Greengrass liked to gossip, but it was also no secret that she couldn't handle her alcohol, spilling some of her families darkest secrets after a few shots. Not to mention had she slipped out that you lied about dating Draco it would be embarrassing for not only you but him.

“Ugh I hate that you’re right”

“When am I not?”

“But what am I supposed to tell her when she asks? She knows when I’m lying”

“Well we did spend basically the entire summer together, we’ll just say it happened then.”

“This is all so stressful! Why couldn't I have thought of another excuse? If I knew this was going to be the outcome, I would have agreed with him and said I found him ugly,” You dropped your head onto his chest. He wrapped both of his arms around you, swaying side to side.

“I know, love, but its too late to go back now”

You and Draco had been in this exact moment before in your friendship, only this time it felt different. You felt like you were more than two best friends consoling one another, it was almost as if you were just two teenagers in love. Only for a short while before reality came crashing down on you, it was all just fake.

The two of you went back to the common room to drop your school bags and robes before making your way to the hall for dinner. Despite it being late, there was still a large proportion of students sat down to eat. You took a deep breath as Draco’s hold on your hand tightened and the two of you walked in. Every single pair of eyes in the room were trained on you, it felt like an eternity before you finally got to your seats on the Slytherin table.

“Finally, you have no excuse not to explain yourself to me now, Y/N” Daphne scoffed.

“Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Greengrass. Were going out, that's it, what more do you want?” Draco retorted.

“Id like to know when, how, where. All of the details, Malfoy”

“Well we started going out in the holidays-” You began to explain before she cut you off.

“Pardon, the summer? As in 6 months ago? You have been hiding your relationship from me, your best friend for 6 whole months?” Daphne’s voice began to rise.

“Daphne-”

“Watch how you talk to my girlfriend, Greengrass, otherwise you'll find you can't speak another word.” Draco practically snarled at her, he looked as though he was about to rip her head off.

“I wanted to tell you, Daph I really did, I just wanted to keep it between Draco and I for a while, just in case it didn't work out, so it wouldn't be awkward.” You explained calmly.

“Hm, I guess that's a valid reason, you’re forgiven for now. But from here on out, I want to know everything. Did you at least find out who that ghastly cake was from?”

“Terry Boot”

She almost choked on her rice. You filled her goblet with some water and slid it to her.

“He confessed to me in potions, I tried to say I wasn't interested but he basically forced me to admit that I had a boyfriend”

“You poor thing,”

She had quickly forgotten and moved onto the next piece of Hogwarts gossip that took her fancy. Draco was engrossed with his own conversations and it hit you, your new reality was Draco Malfoy’s girlfriend, that was until Terry Boot managed to get his own one. It was something you had wanted since the second year, you felt as though you should have been over the moon, one of your most wild fantasies was playing out right in front of you, but you weren't. It wasn't going to last, you were sure he didn't even like you that way, he was just being the kind but overprotective Draco you had got to know over the past few years.

Once you had filled yourselves up with dinner, you and your friends made your way back to the common room, Draco's hand found yours and he held it as you walked down to the dungeons. Once you had got to the common room, Blaise forced a group of fourth years off the sofa in front of the fire and pulled out his deck of exploding snap, which you all played as a group. The warmth of the fire coupled with the comfort of the sofa made you want to curl up and fall asleep, you could feel your eyelids drooping as you tried and failed to suppress a yawn.

“Tired, love?” He asked, tilting his head.

“A little bit, I think I’ll head up to sleep in a bit” You responded, another small yawn passing your lips.

He nodded and simply pulled you into his side, your head falling on his chest and his arm around you resting on your hip

“God, you two are disgusting” Pansy grumbled as she walked past, taking note of you and Draco in your loved-up state.

“We all know you're just jealous you’re not in Y/N’s place” Crabbe laughed.

“Shut up Crabbe,” She snapped, trying to hit him around the back of his head but failing.

Your whole group laughed as she stomped away. You only managed to last another hour before you really were going to fall asleep, though you were reluctant to move from your position, you got up and announced you'd be heading to bed.

“I think I’ll join you.” Daphne yawned, getting up and stretching.

You made a move to leave but were pulled back by Draco.

“Gonna leave without saying goodnight were you?” He smiled

You laughed, “of course not, goodnight, Draco”

He kissed the back of your hand, sending a jolt of electricity from where his lips touched right to your brain, “goodnight, princess”

You smiled and headed up to bed, feeling as though you were floating on cloud 9.

Over the next few days, you had fallen into a routine, he’d wait at the bottom of the stairs from your dormitory for you to come down every morning, as soon as he saw you, he’d chirp a “good morning, love” before walking you to breakfast. He would walk you to and from every lesson that you didn’t have with him, he even went as far as waiting outside the girl's bathroom for you so he could walk with you back to the library. You had to admit it, Draco Malfoy was the best fake boyfriend.

One cold Wednesday afternoon, you were in the middle of a potions lesson, Slughorn was going on and on about the properties of belladonna, he even hinted it would come up in your exam, but all you could focus on was the contractions of your uterus. The first two days of your period were the worst, horrific cramps, bloating, tender boobs and hot flushes. Madam Pomfrey was aware of how debilitating your period was and would always send owls to your teachers informing them you would be absent from lessons, you didn't even care that Snape would find out about your period, all you wanted was to lie in bed. You tried your hardest to ride out the pain for the next 40 minutes of the lesson before you could go to the hospital wing and get something for the pain.

“Just ask Slughorn to leave early,” Daphne whispered.

“This is going to be on the exam, I can't just leave now”

“Y/N, you are literally dying, I’ll give you my notes, just please go to the hospital wing”

“I’ll be fine,”

You took a deep breath and shrugged your robe off you in an attempt to cool down. Draco slide you a note

‘Everything okay?’

‘Yeah, just my period, nothing to worry about :)’

‘Are you sure? I know how bad they get’

‘I’ll be fine, focus on the lesson!’

‘How can I focus when you’re in pain’

‘Oh shut up, I’ll be fine, I’m a big girl’

Draco read your last message and slid the sheet of parchment into his textbook. Another jolt of pain ran across your abdomen, causing you to squeeze your belly in pain. Draco’s arm shot up almost instantaneously.

“Professor, Y/N isn't feeling well, may I escort her to the hospital wing?”

“Of course m’boy”

You glared at Draco before collecting your things. and trying to discreetly leave the classroom without disrupting the lesson further.

“Do feel better Y/L/N” Slughorn called from the front of the room.

“Thank you, professor” you mumbled, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“Here give me your bag,” He said, going to grab your bag off your shoulder.

“I’m on my period, Draco, not dying”

He held out his hand anyway and you handed him your bag. He knew you hated being touched too much, it made you feel hotter, so he linked his pinky with yours.

“The corridors are empty, you don't need to hold my hand,” you stated, looking around

“I don't need to but I like to, your hands are soft” You saw him blush slightly as he said it. You simply smiled as the two of you walked into the hospital wing.

“Ah, miss Y/L/N, I’ve been expecting a visit from you” Madam Pomfrey went into her store cupboard and produced a violet potion and measured a dose. “You know the drill, come back tomorrow after breakfast and I’ll give you more, I’ll send an owl to your teachers, what’s your next lesson?”

“We have transfiguration” Draco answered for you while you finished downing your medicine.

“Right, well I’ll tell Professor McGonagall you'll both be absent from the lesson, be sure to catch up with the missing work Mr Malfoy”

You thanked Madam Pomfrey before returning to the Slytherin dormitory. The boys had managed to disable the charm that prevented them from coming up into the girls' dorms, so Draco followed you up.

“Draco, honestly I’m fine.” You signed, dropping onto your bed

“You don’t look fine,” He crossed his arms and looked down at you.

“I just need to get into some comfy clothes and lie down and I’ll be fine, I even have chocolate in my trunk.” You crouched down and opened your trunk and fished out your slab of Honeydukes chocolate. surprised to find that you only had 6 squares left.

“That’s hardly enough, wait here.”

“Dra-”

He turned and went down the stairs, leaving you alone. You changed out of your skirt and into some comfy trousers and were about to unbutton your blouse when Draco returned with a full slab of Honeydukes chocolate and his old quidditch jumper.

“I remember you saying how soft this was, I don't need it anymore, you're free to keep it,” He said sheepishly

“Thank you, Draco, seriously” He smiled at you and just stood there, looking at you. “Erm, I need to change,”

He slowly turned around and you unbuttoned your blouse and unhooked your bra throwing it on your bed before putting the jumper on.

“I’m done,”

He turned around, his eyes immediately landing on your black lace bra on your bed, you followed his gaze and quickly snatched the bra and stuffed it back in your trunk.

“I had you pegged for a cotton bra girl myself,” He smirked

“If you think that's scandalous, you should see what I wear on the bottom” you replied, winking. You got under your covers and began to open the chocolate, Draco sat awkwardly at the foot of your bed.

“Why are you sitting like that?”

“I’ve never been in your dormitory before,”

“It's literally the same as yours, come, sit” You moved a bit to the side and he came and sat next to you, stretching his legs out. At this point it was a reflex, his arms wrapped themselves around you as you buried yourself into him.

“Draco,”

“Hmmm”

“Thank you,”

“You’ve said that already”

“I mean it, honestly,”

“Anything for you, princess”. You two fell into a comfortable silence as you lay on his chest, being lulled to sleep by his chest rising and falling.

You were awoken by a loud squeal, you blinked and slowly opened your eyes.

“You two are just the cutest!” Daphne shouted.

You looked around confused for a moment until you saw what was in Daphne’s hand. She handed you a small bouquet of roses with a note attached that read:

I didn't have the heart to wake you, I’ll bring you dinner if you're not up to coming down, I hope you feel better, love - D x

You smiled as you conjured up a small vase filled with water. It was time to admit it, you were deeply, truly and utterly in love with Draco Malfoy

A Hogsmeade trip had been planned for that weekend, at first, you were planning on skipping it, but after some convincing, you decided you’d go. You decided to replenish your potions store, as well as getting some more quills and ink. Draco treated you to some sweets from Honeydukes, before you and your group headed into the three broomsticks to grab a butterbeer before you returned to the castle. You sat in a booth with Blaise, Daphne, Goyle and Pansy, choosing to squeeze yourself right in the corner. Blaise got up to order the drinks returning a few moments later with six butterbeers in his hands. The six of you fell into a discussion about the quidditch tournament, the boys getting heated over Ravenclaw’s win over Slytherin in their last match. After a while Daphne excused herself to go to the bathroom, only to run back a few moments later.

“You will not guess who I just saw snogging Hannah Abbott in the women’s toilet” Daphne yelled, sitting back in her seat at the end of the table.

You all looked at her, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“Terry fucking Boot!”

The whole group looked at you and Draco. At that moment you felt a million different emotions, recently it had felt like you weren't faking anymore, you had tricked yourself into thinking that it was all real, forgetting about your deal with Draco. But you knew that this revelation meant it was all over, you and Draco would fake an amicable break-up and remain to be best friends and the thought of that killed you.

“Well, at least now he won't get hexed for looking at my girlfriend” Draco joked.

You smiled and took a sip of your butterbeer. Once you had all finished your drinks, you returned to the castle and settled in your spot in the common room. You were sat with Draco but all you could think about was how this little bubble you were in was going to burst soon. You practically zoned out, your eyes losing focus as you stared at the fire.

“Are you quite alright? You look as though you’ve been stunned” Daphne asked, looking confused.

“Mmm I don’t feel too good, I don't think being out in the cold was a good idea” you mumbled, blinking slowly.

Daphne came and felt your forehead.

“You do feel a bit warm, why don’t you go lie down for a while”

You agreed and went up to lie in your bed for a while. You ended up skipping dinner too, you played up your symptoms to Daphne and she left you alone out of fear that she’d catch whatever you had. You didn’t end up getting out of bed until the next morning, barely having the energy to brush your teeth before you trudged to the great hall for breakfast in your pyjamas. Draco saw you come in and his eyes lit up, he was worried after Daphne told him you were sick. As soon as you sat down he began to pile food into your plate.

“Whoa calm down, I’ll barely be able to eat half of that” You pushed his hand back to the bowl of baked beans prompting him to drop the spoon back into the bowl.

“You haven’t eaten since yesterday, you must be starving, love”

You shook your head reaching for a cereal bowl instead. He looked at you concern filling his face. He kept glancing over at you while you ate, making note of your unusual silence. Once he had noticed you stopped eating your cereal squeezed your hand under the table, you pulled your hand away and acted as though you were scratching an itch on the side of your neck.

“Y/N why don’t we take a visit to madam Pomfrey, just to make sure you’re okay”

“I’m fine Draco, it’s probably just a cold”

“Draco’s right, you should make sure it’s nothing contagious or something” Daphne agreed

“Fine, let’s go then” You dusted your pyjamas off and got up, defeated.

You followed Draco out of the great hall. He began walking the opposite direction to the hospital wing and pulled you into a deserted part of the corridor.

“Are you okay?” He asked immediately, his tall frame towering over you.

“I’m just tired Draco, that’s all”

“You can’t lie to me, I’m your best friend”

“I’m not lying, I’m just tired, I haven’t been sleeping well the past few days”

“Has someone said something? Threatened you? I swear if I get my hands on them”

“No ones done anything. You don’t need to keep the overprotective boyfriend act up anymore, we’re alone and Terry has a girlfriend now”

“Act?” His face had fallen and he turned to look away

“Draco?”

“You really thought it was all an act?”

“Was it not? You said it yourself, we were faking it until he got a girlfriend so that he wouldn’t try and make a move on me”

“How can you be one of the smartest witches in our house but be so dense at the same time. “

“Excuse me,”

“It wasn't an act for me”

Your heart stopped.

“What?” you honestly couldn’t believe what you were hearing

“It wasn't an act for me. I didn't do all that just because I wanted Boot to back off, I did it cause I’ve fancied you for a while” Draco began pacing, as he explained himself

“but-”

“You said you would have gone out with the sender of that cake if it wasn't anonymously sent. I don't know why, but it didn’t sit right with me. I didn't like the fact that you were willing to go out with someone that wasn't me.”

“So you waited for me to find out who did send it, so you could propose this crazy idea?”

“I didn’t expect you to find out, hell I didn't even know I was going to say it, but once you agreed to go along with it, I felt like maybe you’d see that us being more than just best friends wasn't that bad, and maybe you'd be willing to give me a chance.”

“Can I let you in on a little secret?”

He stopped and looked down at you and nodded,

“I've fancied you since second year”

He smiled and grabbed both your hands

“And since we’ve been fake going out, I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you now,”

“Say that again”

“I’m in love with you Draco,”

“Say it again,” he said, placing his hands on your cheeks and staring into your eyes with adoration.

You laughed “I love you”

“I love you so much more, princess. Way more than I can even explain”

You beamed up at him, you felt like you could honestly explode at this point. all those years of crushing on him and wishing you could tell him how you felt, and here you were.

“I'm going to kiss you” He whispered

“I think it's about time you did”

He moved slowly before giving you a sweet but passionate kiss. His lips were softer than you thought they'd be.

“At least now we don't need to worry about telling our friends,” You joked, resting your forehead against his.

He laughed and kissed you again. Something you know you would never get tired of. As cliche as it seemed, you did it, your best friend was now your boyfriend. It was just you and Draco, safe in your perfect bubble.

[stellar-imagines]

SCENARIO REQUEST: ❝misgendered.❞

[ Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia ] [ Characters: Bakugou Katsuki ] 

「Bakugou with a genderfluid reader who’s having a boy day, but they get misgendered and Bakugou gets protective. 」

BAKUGOU KATSUKI

It took you quite a while to actually reveal that you're genderfluid. Your friends had only assumed that you really liked dressing up differently each day and never thought too much about it. The girls seemed to like your fashion sense on the days you identified yourself as a female. They never really assumed your gender that much and you often had 'girl days' when you're in UA.

Explaining to your friends what it feels to be gender-fluid wasn't that easy. Sure there are these types of people like that in the world but it wasn't that often. One day you're a woman and the other day, you'd be a man. You didn't know you were gender-fluid until you began to feel confused when someone would ask you what your gender is. Biologically, you're female but when you were young, you didn't really care how you dressed. You often acted boyish, loud, and a bit too active. 

It was difficult. You thought that it was weird to identify yourself as a boy and girl on different days. You want to be consistent and have a single, unchanging gender. You consulted your parents and a few of your old friends who were very accepting when you finally settled with the fact that you're gender-fluid. You dressed androgynously most of the time outside of school. At first, you weren't ready for your classmates to know. Because even back then, people made comments whenever you didn't wear your boyish clothes like you did every single day. You were afraid of dressing according to the gender you felt each day.

Lucky for you, the people in 1-A were super supportive and accepting. On the days you felt like a female, the girls would bring you out shopping and have a girls night, gossiping about random things just for fun. The same goes for the days you felt like a boy, the guys would drag you to training and have some stupid competition for fun. They were all very nice and fun people. They always defended you whenever someone misgenders you and comforts you when you're feeling upset about it.

Today, you felt like a boy. Kaminari and Kirishima were eager to invite you out. It was nice out too, a cloudless sky and it wasn't too hot either. The two boys thought that it was a good day to have some fun in the amusement park. You had to admit that all the stress was starting to get to you and how you really deserve a break from all that hellish training. You dressed comfortably in a loose hoodie, sports shorts, and your favorite sneakers. Kaminari has suggested bowling which you didn't see any problem with.

"Will you quit being so pouty, Bakugou? Loosen up and have some fun." you nudged the blonde who had been grumbling the entire time about being dragged along into this mess.

"Darn, my shoes are a bit too loose. I'm gonna go change them and get some drinks, you want anything?" you questioned as he remained seated, watching the other boys struggle with the controls. You approached 

"Excuse me, I want to change my shoe size into something smaller."

"A bit too loose huh? Well, not many girls use that size." the clerk said with a smile, taking the shoes you placed on the counter and handing over a new size to you. Your lips quirked a bit when you were referred to as a female, you weren't supposed to feel like that, they probably just didn't know. 

You stopped yourself from saying anything. The clerk didn’t seem to have noticed that they’ve misgendered you but judging from the way she’s behaving, it seems like she has no idea at all. The bubbly woman behind the counter hands you a new pair of shoes, telling you to come over if you had any problems. You reminded yourself that it was something unintentional and to move on. Before going back to your friends, you decided to queue up to buy some drinks.

While you were in the line, you looked through your phone to pass time. It shocked you when someone bumped into you when the line wasn't even moving at all. You turned around and examined his appearance for a brief moment. He was much taller than you are and seemed like he was around your age or even slightly older than you are. Next to him were 2 other people you assumed to be his friends. 

"Oh, sorry about that." 

"Um, no worries." you were a bit confused at the fact they bumped into you when the line wasn't even moving to begin with. It bothered you how you could hear them whispering behind your back, you weren't sure what they were talking about specifically but you had this feeling that they were talking about you.

"So, why are you queuing alone?"

What you feared most, some random person starting a conversation with you assuming that you're a girl. You tried your best to not appear rude or anything and attempted to tell him that you're not interested. Honestly, you're more offended by the fact that you've been misgendered.

"How about you and me.....get a cup of coffee sometime?" he asked.

"Um....." you looked away awkwardly. 

"Hey, losers. The hell you crowding around him for?" Bakugou stood with confidence just oozing out of him and you had never felt so relieved to see him.

"Him?" they seemed confused for a second and at that moment you realized that they assumed you were a girl this entire time. Bakugou, being the guy he was, casually flashed his middle finger at the group of college guys and grabbed your hand.

"Stop bothering my little brother." he said before bringing you back to where everyone else were waiting. 

Bakugou was always subtle and looks after you at the most unexpected times. Most of the time, it would take some time to realize that he was actually being nice. Other times, someone would have to point it out to you. He walked right next to you, ensuring that both your paces match. Of course, he doesn't Ashido was the first one to spot you both, waving and motioning you to come quickly.

"Thank you, Bakugou. I feel like you're always looking after me." you smiled gently, fiddling with your fingers.

"I wasn't looking after you at all. Shut up." Bakugou muttered to himself. You let out a small laugh, lightly punching him on the shoulder. The male let out a noise of annoyance before taking a seat behind you. Like you said, Bakugou never liked admitting that he was looking after you.

Total: 1111 words Published: 02.06.2021

Thank you for requesting! ｡٩(ˊᗜˋ)و*｡ Its been a while since we posted. ― author Lou

Thank you for requesting! We’re just trying to clear the ask box for now. ― author Natsuki

Requests are closed! Matchups are closed!

Please do not mind the grammar mistakes and typos.

[mmvalentine]

The Pianist pt 4 | Jurdan

Modern AU. Part 1 part 2 part 3 part 5

Jude woke up with a bad taste in her mouth and cotton wool in her brain. She groaned, groped around on the night stand for her phone and had to look at the screen through one eye because the light hurt her.

Does Cardan wake up like this every day? Jude wondered. And if so, how was he not dead?

Cardan. Shit.

Jude had a vague memory of kissing Cardan at Locke's party, but she was not entirely sure that she hadn't dreamt it. Fuck it. Cardan had been with so many girls she very much doubted one drunk kiss at a party would even register for him. Jude refused to be embarrassed.

In fact she was pretty sure that what she was actually feeling was annoyance, since he a) had managed to get under her skin even though she absolutely didn’t want him there and hadn’t invited him and b) was now striking up some exercises on the piano that sounded like he was playing them on the inside of her skull. Since when did Cardan start anything before lunch?

Jude tried to roll over and go back to sleep. Luckily for her, this was her one day a week off from all three of her jobs. Unluckily for her, Cardan was only just getting started.

Twenty minutes later, there was a pause. Jude sighed her relief as the infernal exercises finally stopped- only for a furious Baroque piece to begin. “No no no no,” Jude yelled. She flung back her covers, still dressed in the black dress from the night before, with bed hair and yesterday’s makeup, and stalked out the door barefoot.

Through the fire door, up one flight of steps, and down the hall to Cardan’s flat. She hammered her fist on his front door.

"Cardan!" she barked. "Cardan you insufferable ass!"

The piano stopped, and before he could get to her she yanked the door handle. It was unlocked, and Jude opened the door to a very surprised Cardan who was himself just reaching for the knob.

"Jude?"

"Yes Jude, hello it’s me your downstairs fucking neighbour who cannot sleep through this racket!"

Cardan just stood and stared at her. Some quiet part of Jude’s mind was sure she looked like a madwoman, but the louder part ignored it and continued the tirade.

"I mean for fuck’s sake Cardan what do you have against sleep?" She flung the words at him. “You keep me up all through the night because you refuse to operate during daylight hours like a normal person, and then the one time I want to sleep in, the one time- Cardan do you know I never ever ever sleep in? And then this one time I think maybe I’ll just relax a little, here you are like you’ve got some kind of personal vendetta against me getting a full eight hours!"

She paused to draw breath, and still Cardan just stood there. It was infuriating.

"Well?" She demanded.

And then Cardan put both his hands around her face, and pulled her mouth to his.

The heat was instant. Jude burned up under it in for a second, then realised what was happening and cut the kiss off.

But Cardan was having none of that. He pulled her right back to him, and Jude did not have enough willpower to break away a second time. The shocking fever of it wiped out all logical thought and the next thing she knew she was folding her arms around his neck. Cardan wrapped his own around her waist, stooping a little to reach her and then pulling her up against his body. He took a step back and Jude let him lead her into his apartment, the door closing softly behind them.

Cardan moved his mouth against hers and when his tongue lashed out she was only too eager to meet it. She scraped her nails against his neck as his hands slid into the tangle of her hair.

Jude took another step forward, and Cardan backed into a lamp. It toppled over noisily, but he didn’t let her stop the kiss. Just moved them to the side, where Jude’s back hit a shelf and two books fell out. Cardan didn‘t seem to care at all. Pushed her further into the wall while his teeth found her bottom lip, and knocked a frame down as his hand hit the plaster behind her.

Jude tugged him closer at the waist, and returned every one of his kisses. She might have kept kissing him all day, he tasted so good, but then in between one breath and the next he whispered her name, and she realised.

She was making out with Cardan.

Jude shoved him away, hard, and stormed out the door without a word.

////

Cardan didn't see Jude for a week after that.

It was strange, they had been in each other's proximity for a long time now and not had a lot to do with each other but now, somehow, he was quite sure she was avoiding him.

He didn't know quite what to feel about that kiss.

In his defence, she had started it. That night of Locke's party- no, before that. The night she started singing him to sleep through the air vents. She had floated into his life through his ears and now her absence chafed like a burr in his shoe. Of course, in the past days there was no singing. Not even when Cardan lay there for an hour, waiting to hear her voice.

Locke had seen her.

In spite of the mess that had been that party, and the morning after, it seemed that Jude had taken on Cardan's advice and agreed to meet with Locke for the play.

And according to Locke, things were going very well. He raved about Jude's voice, which irritated Cardan to no end. He had put his ear to the carpet just to hear her, and now he had to share her with Locke? Prick.

Locke, as always, had an easy time of assembling the rest of his cast. Cardan did not think him a bad writer, but he did suspect the queues for his casting call had more to do with who his father was than with his skills as a playwright.

He had been auditioning for a couple of weeks now, and with Jude in place, he was ready to call his first cast meeting. Cardan, Nicasia and Valerian were expected to attend too- Nicasia and Valerian never missed a chance to be on stage, and Cardan was invited for his "musical ear."

So there they all were, on a Friday evening, in the old theatre Locke's dad let him use. Waiting for the last few people to arrive. When Jude walked through the door she nodded to Locke, but avoided Cardan's gaze.

Fine, he thought. If she didn't want to talk to him, he certainly wasn't going to force her. He thought of the rant she had loosed on him that morning last week, and figured it was probably better this way.

Finally, Locke called them all to attention, and Cardan sat in the back row with Nicasia and Valerian as Locke addressed them all from the stage. Cardan put his feet up on the chair in front of him, and let Nicasia doze on his shoulder while Valerian picked things out of the soles of his boots with a pocket knife.

"So without further ado,' Locke was saying, may I present to you our stunning leading lady, Taryn."

Cardan looked up. The small group were politely clapping as a tall, thin woman stood and nodded at them all. She was all blonde hair and heroin chic, just Locke's type. But what about-

"And of course our vocalist, discovered by yours truly and pulled from the bowels of the subway tunnels, Jude!"

The group applauded mildly again, but Jude did not stand up. Locke continued. "Jude is going to provide the singing voice for Taryn, although I haven't decided whether we're going to pre-record or get her to sing live backstage."

What?

"What?" Jude demanded. The cast went quiet. "You want me to sing for Taryn?"

"Yes, of course," Locke said. "You've got a lovely voice, Jude, but Tarym looks more the part, don't you think?"

"Well you didn't fucking tell me that when I agreed to do this, Locke."

"Jude," Locke held up his hands. "Please stay calm. I'm sorry if you misunderstood."

"If I misunderstood? You lied to me. Why in the hell would I want to stand around behind a curtain so that someone prettier than me can get the credit?"

"Aw come on, Jude. It's not like that. This is a very common practice in show business," Locke insisted.

Now that the drama was amping up, Nicasia and Valerian were suddenly paying attention.

"Yeah come on, Jude," Valerian called down. "It's a compliment, you have a great face for recording!"

"Darling, these are all Juilliard trained performers," Nicasia added. "You didn't actually think you were going to be on stage did you?"

"I didn't ask to be here," Jude said, picking up her bag. "Fuck this, and fuck you guys slowly with a fork."

She strode out the door, right past their row.

"Jude, wait," Cardan said, scrambling out of his seat.

"You stay the hell away from me," Jude hissed, then the door slammed behind her and Nicasia burst into hysterical laughter. Cardan looked back down toward Locke, who was shaking his head tragically.

"This is why you never hire amateurs," he said sadly, and in that moment, Cardan hated them all.

****

Hooo boy okay a lot happened in this chapter! We are in a two week lockdown after a COVID break out so I guess you get lots of writing this weekend. Someone please hug them for meee

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