#me and my lonely ass sitting in a coffee shop reading about happy couples

[emotinalsupportturtle]

Scrolling through AO3 in public places seems somehow illegal

Me aged 13; reading smut on my phone, hiding it from my mom, praying she doesn’t find out what I’m doing

Me aged 23; reading azicrow coffeeshop au, whilst sitting in a coffeshop, hoping nobody asks me what I’m reading

[alwaysmychoices]

Landry Olsen Finding Out About Ethan and f!MC (Charlie) - Headcanon

for a long time, I’ve been meaning to make a fic about Landry finding out about Ethan and MC, and after reading @utterlyinevitable​‘s amazing HC, I was encouraged and inspired to finally write my HC out. Her characterization was incredible - truly wanted to punch Landry. 

Also, for me, MC is Charlie. I kept writing Charlie by accident, so MC is just Charlie now. 

It had been 10 years since Landry Olsen moved to Boston – and 7 years since he left.

Landry Olsen finished his residency at Mass Kenmore successfully but quietly. He did well but never distinguished himself. He was, at best, an upper middle candidate – good but never as good as the greats who walked the hall beside him.

Never as good as Charlie.

Charlie ended her residency at the helm of Edenbrook with a permanent position on the bolstered diagnostics team. Within a month of her completed residency, she had dozens of research offers, job opportunities, and even a handful of speaking invitations. She was the face of medicine.

It wasn’t fair, of course.

She was just lucky. She caught all the right breaks.

She didn’t work for it like Landry did.

At 29, Landry took a job in Chicago, determined to make a name for himself.

He worked hard. He did research. He stayed late, missing big events and dates. He neglected everything but his work. He was his job.

He wasn’t always the best. Sometimes, a star protégé would step in and outshine him, and he grit his teeth through every second. Usually, he tried to win favor by staying later that night or taking on bigger and better cases. Occasionally, he dipped back into old habits of sabotage, but he promised himself it would be the last time.

He earned his place. He earned this career. Hell, he deserved more!

It wasn’t his fault that he had missed all the biggest breaks.

Landry didn’t like being back in Boston – too many bad memories of disappointment and disgust.

He wanted to limit his time in Boston as much as possible. He was here for a conference, and as soon as it was over, he would be on a plane back to Chicago.

But he couldn’t help himself.

He had to see Edenbrook.

It looked… the same.

Even with a new sign and a new name, it was the same place.

A place of disappointment – of regret.

As Landry bought a cup of coffee from a nearby bodega, he imagined running into Charlie. He wondered what she looked like. He wondered if she still hated him.

Landry tried his hardest to stay away from the rumors about Charlie.

When he worked at Mass Kenmore, they were inescapable. She was magic back then. She cured a senator, survived a deadly bioweapon, and saved the hospital while she was at it. She even earned Ethan Ramsey’s friendship in the process.

Landry knew the rumors about them. According to all the best informants, they were always together, curing unknown diseases and steering medicine’s future. Occasionally, Landry heard hints of affection on Dr. Ramsey’s side. Once, he heard that she had been seen carpooling to work in the early hours of the morning.

As much as Landry wanted to know everything, he gagged when he heard about their partnership.

Landry should have been Ethan’s partner, not her.

And their friendship? Disgusting. Unethical, even. He never paid much mind to the rumors of romance. He knew Dr. Ramsey would never break so many rules. Nonetheless, Landry hated hearing about it.

But did any of that matter now?

It had been 7 years.

With a twinge of satisfaction, Landry liked to think that Charlie’s magic had worn off. A magical intern wasn’t a magical attending.

Maybe she ran out of luck.

As Landry walked the familiar path from Edenbrook to the nearest train station, he let himself daydream about Charlie struggling like he did. It made him feel more accomplished and self-assured.

It was during these musings that Landry Olsen saw Dr. Ramsey, his idol, for the first time in nearly a decade.

Ethan Ramsey sat outside at a nearby coffee shop, a medical journal in one hand and espresso in the other. He was older now, probably close to 50. His hair had greyed, and he wore a pair of glasses on his nose.

Landry lost his breath.

Even after Landry left Edenbrook, Ethan had been Landry’s hero. Landry read all of his research, even if he hated occasionally seeing Charlie’s name next to his under the title.

And Landry wanted to talk to him.

He wasn’t sure what exactly he wanted to say.

All he really knew was that he needed to clear his name. He needed to prove to Dr. Ramsey that, despite his transgressions during his intern year, he was a successful, competent doctor. He wasn’t just a dumb kid who jeopardized a whole hospital for his vengeance.

He imagined approaching Dr. Ramsey with a respectful yet cordial greeting. Maybe Ethan would remember him. Maybe Ethan would invite him to sit so they could discuss his career. Perhaps Landry could convince Ethan to join his latest research venture.

Maybe, after all this time, Landry could still make a good impression.

Maybe, one day, he could be Dr. Ramsey’s right-hand man.

Landry jammed the crosswalk button frantically, hoping to get to Ethan Ramsey as soon as possible.

Then, he saw her.

Charlie.

She looked the same, just a little older.

And with her, she carried two children. The first, a girl, was old enough to walk alongside her mother. She looked exactly like Charlie, same hair and same nose. The little girl giggled the entire time, making the small boy in the stroller laugh with glee.

Charlie had a… family.

Landry hesitated at the crosswalk and stared as the small family crossed his path.

He was so busy being astonished that Charlie had children that he missed all the clues.

Well, that was until the little girl broke free of Charlie’s grip and ran across the sidewalk a screaming, “Daddy!”

She ran to Ethan.

Ethan left his chair and kneeled on the sidewalk just in time to catch his daughter as she flew into his arms. Ethan exclaimed something about how happy he was to see his little Lori, and he spun the little girl around to make her laugh.

That’s… his daughter, Landry felt frozen.

Charlie followed her daughter, chastising her for running away from her in such a busy place. She approached Ethan with ease. She stood next to him like it was the most natural thing in the world.

And then…

And then, she kissed him.

Landry watched from across the street.

Ethan accepted the tender kiss happily before greeting the baby in the stroller, who cooed his approval.

When Ethan put Lori down, he wrapped his free arm around Charlie’s waist and pulled her close.

They were…

They’re together, Landry realized.

Now, he could see the glitter of their wedding bands and the comfort they shared in each other’s arms. Ethan whispered something to make Charlie laugh.

They settled into the café chairs and kept a close eye on their children.

Ethan held Charlie’s hand across the table.

They were happy.

Landry felt a rush of shock and horror.

How could they be romantically involved?

Was that why Charlie did so well? Had Dr. Ramsey really just favored her because he hoped to secure her affection? Had Charlie just gotten ahead because she was willing to pursue her boss? How many ethical lines had they crossed?

Had they exchanged favors in exchange for Charlie’s burgeoning success?

Landry fumed.

He had to work his ass off, and all this time, Charlie got the easy route because a respected diagnostician wanted to father her children.

Landry hated them. He hated the entire system that let them exist. He hated that they got to win and be happy.

Everything clicked together in the worst of ways.

He wanted to confront them. He wanted to tell them precisely what they did wrong and what it had cost him.

He imagined how they would react. They wouldn’t understand. They would think he was crazy and vindictive. Walking away, he would seem like he was wrong when he was really the injured party. Later that night, while Landry was alone in a hotel room, the couple would probably talk about him at dinner, sharing complaints and theories about his behavior.

They would be on each other’s side, and Landry would be alone.

In fact, Ethan would always be on Charlie’s side…

Landry paused, watching as the crowd around him peacefully crossed the road. He didn’t join them.

Because Dr. Ramsey picked a side.

No matter what Landry did, Dr. Ramsey would never be his friend. He would never honor Landry with accolades or collaboration.

To Dr. Ramsey, Landry was just the asshole who betrayed his wife nearly a decade ago. At best, he was a forgotten memory. At worst, he was a representation of disappointment and pain.

Landry might look at Dr. Ramsey as a hero, but Ethan looked at Landry like he was a rat.

The streetlights changed, and the crosswalk closed to Landry. Across the street, the innocent family ordered two coffees and a hot chocolate for their young daughter, who was now in her mother’s lap and scribbling in a coloring book.

They had no idea Landry Olsen watched them, and they had no idea when he looked away and left.

And wasn’t that better?

If Landry Olsen was always going to be the rat, he might as well be a rat out of sight.

He couldn’t stomach watching Ethan’s eyes widen with recognition and then harden with hatred. He couldn’t fathom being his idol’s enemy.

It’s what he deserved.

Deep down, beyond all his whining and entitlement, he knew that they were right about him.

He was just a mediocre doctor bullying someone else for being better than him. But he hid it well. Strangers never suspected him, and he was so skilled that he even fooled himself.

But he still knew… In those quiet moments when he reflected on his mistakes, he knew.

Landry Olsen was a rat – and a lonely, hated one, at that.

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[lets-get-kraken-boys]

FatGum (Taishiro Toyomitsu) X Chubby! Confectioner/Baker! Reader: Sweets and Treats~

(Description: Woo, I’m so excited for my first story on this account! This inspiration came to me after thinking about our one and only, favorite chubby pro hero and me wanting to see some puppy love for you two. Also, the title says Confectioner/Baker, I want to clarify that Reader isn’t truly a baker but I feel like “Confectioner” wouldn’t reach as large of a crowd as “Baker” would, not a big deal but just FYI. I hope my first fic is enjoyed by those who choose to read, thank you for the support.)

~

Fanfiction Lingo

(Y/N) - Your Name

(H/C) - Hair Color

(E/C) - Eye Color

(F/C) - Favorite Color

~

“Normal speech.”

‘Inner thoughts.’

~

Requester: No One!

Reader Gender: Female (She/Her)

Style of Story: Oneshot // Entirely fluff, a pinning love on both ends, and a happy end to boot! There is one little heartbreak moment, but it’s over in a second.

Word Count: 4.5K Words

WARNING(s): None, unless you see adorable, tooth-rotting fluff as a crime!

~

“Morning, Tammy! Lovely day, isn’t it?” you greeted your employee with a bright smile as she stumbled through the door into your bakery.

She huffed, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes, “Sure, but I’ve hardly been up long enough to notice it. How are you always so peppy this early?” She pointed to the mechanical clock ticking from the left wall that read ‘4:04 AM’. You glanced outside and saw hardly anyone walking through the streets, except the occasional drunkard or lonely soul.

You bashfully shrugged your shoulders, “Well, after years of suffering waking up at three in the morning, you kinda get used to the torment! But, hey, so happy we got the shop far away from the center of the city, you can actually see the sunrise from here!” you tried to help her look on the bright side as you handed her one a cup of one of your homemade coffee brews. She took a sip of the drink and let out a content sigh through her nose, a small, but thankful smile on her face.

“You know, for being a confectioner, you make some pretty solid coffee. What is that?” her eyebrows furrowed as she asked, taking another swig to figure out the secret intense flavor.

You giggled, “That’s probably the nutmeg I added. Is it good?”

“More like fantastic, (Y/N). Trying out new recipes again?” she asked over her shoulder, hanging up her light jacket that protected her from the early morning breeze while grabbing her apron. Though, it being July in Japan, she probably wouldn’t need it again for a while.

“Yeah, I think this one will really please the early risers. It gives a special sort of kick to the taste, don’t you think?” you asked while gently sliding open the glass case that held all of the beautifully decorated pastries, grabbing a pair of tongs and a small floral ceramic plate, carefully placing a fresh Apple Strudel onto the plate, and setting it down on the counter.

“Totally. Hey, can I have a--,” Tammy stopped mid-sentence as she turned around to see the delectable treat already waiting for her.

“Your breakfast awaits, m’lady~,” you slurred out in a fake British accent with a cheesy smirk and a dramatic bow.

She scoffed, “You dork. Am I really that predictable?” she asked, scarfing down the pastry in a matter of seconds as she leaned on the counter.

“Yeah, you kinda are,” you joked as she playfully shoved your plush side.

“You know,” she continued, looking down at the gooey food, “It’s a shame you aren’t more popular with the people. You have a great location, an amazing personality and work staff, if I do say so myself, and don’t even get me started on the incredible stuff you make,” she praised.

“Oh, stop it, Tammy. You’re gonna make me blush,” you flushed from her sincere words, “Besides, I’ve only been open for two weeks, it’s going to be slow for awhile. It’ll ramp up eventually.”

“Yeah, I guess, but you can’t deny that your baked goods are better than most of the others in the country! One day, when people get their heads out of their asses, these little gifts of magic are going to make you RICH!” she threw her lanky airs up into the air and around your shoulders. She spun your smaller frame in a circle while the two of you laughed.

“Ha! Yeah yeah, I know! Now, stop your messing around and come help me fill the rest of these Cream Horns.” you concluded while you pat her taller shoulder. She groaned at the request but gave you a tiny nod. Tammy turned around while tying her short, brown hair into a messy bun, readying herself for the busy day ahead. You smiled while she retreated to the kitchen but before you went to follow her you decided to look out the window again.

Shuffling your legs over to the windows, you got a clear view of the rising sun and all its glory, the hints of yellow, orange, pink, red, and even blue from the night's previous dark veil still clung onto the brightening sky. Somehow you had this weird feeling that today something life changing was going to happen. You didn’t know if you should be excited or worried, but you decided to push those thoughts aside and continue on to the back of the shop where you could already hear the clutter and clang of falling pans, no doubt Tammy’s handy work.

Oh, if you only knew how right your hunch was…

~

~ Timeskip to a little later in the day and a P.O.V change to FatGum ~

~

“How much longer do I have for patrol?” I asked myself, pulling out my phone to check the time. The time read ‘9:12 AM’ and I huffed, still a couple more hours to go. Putting the device back in my pocket with a grimace but quickly faked a smile as I continued down the bustling street. The active community, excited civilians, and eager children usually never fails to put a smile on my face, but today everything just felt like a drag. I was sluggish, unfocused, and I couldn’t understand why. I shook my head, get your head in the game, Taishiro. You don’t have time to let your mind wander on duty.

After what seemed like hours, but was more than likely only 15 minutes, I felt my stomach let out a rumbling growl which made me groan. I stopped walking on the sidewalk and took a second to consider the situation, wandering the city for a couple of hours with nothing too exciting to do really works up an appetite, and I do need to keep up my strength. I’m a hero after all, and denying myself is like ignoring my civic duty to protecting the people! At this point, I’ll take any excuse to get out of this pointless shambling. But the REAL question is, what to get? I glanced around the street and noticed a few shops further down the block that looked to be food related. I smirked, perfect.

I wove through the few people occupying the area, past a few excited teenagers who asked for autographs, and eventually made it to the shops. Looking around I saw some insurance shops, an enticing Pad Thai sit down, and few others, but the one that caught my eye was a cutesy, (F/C)-painted bakery named, “Queen of Tarts”. Chuckling at the interesting name choice, I looked inside the establishment through the plexiglass windows.

The inside carried a light, fluffy atmosphere, pastel colored walls combining with the checkered tile floor caused a small smile out of me. A few small tables with delicate iron chairs here and there, but the real prize were the copious amounts of sweets that were displayed in the glass cases. Each were different colors, sizes, but they all looked delicious. Feeling my stomach grumble, I grabbed the door handle, flung it open, and walked into the scrumptious smelling shop. After walking in, the tiny jingle of bells alerting the workers of my presence, I finally saw the most stunning sweet of all.

“Hi, welcome to the Queen of Tarts, how may I help you today?” the gorgeous woman at the counter asked but it didn’t register in my brain because I was already lost in thought. Her adorable (H/C) hair framed her face to show her soft, chubby cheeks, her eyes glistened in the sunlight, and her smile, oh, it completely lit the room with its radiance. Curves in all the right places, I felt my cheeks heat up as I let out a nervous laugh, cursing my inner self for not holding it together. Seriously, I can face the nastiest of villains but throw one pretty lady in front of me and I fall apart? Fantastic. Realizing I wasn’t answering, I quickly stepped forward and cleared my throat.

“Uh, yeah. Hi,” ‘Wow, so smooth, Taishiro,’ I criticized in my head, “I...haven’t seen this store here before, you new?” I offered a smile, which she returned tenfold, making me even more flustered.

“Yes, actually! I set up shop here only a few weeks ago, finally settling in with the hustle and bustle of city life.” she finished, leaning in closer against the marble counter with her arms crossed.

“City life? You didn’t grow up here?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she shrugged, “Grew up on more of the countryside style of life. I love the city though, do you?”

“Yeah, you gotta get used to it when you spend all your time protecting it.” I let a hint of boasting attitude out, hoping she’d realize who I am.

“Ha, I hear ya! I do my own share of ‘protecting’ around here too. Well, if you count making goodies, that is.” she giggled, standing up and walking over to the glass containers. I deflated a little, guess that wasn’t going to work this time. I shuffled over to where she was standing and looked down at the treats they offered.

“So, kind stranger, what is it you’ll be having?” she asked after a minute of me inspecting the pastries. The problem with not being picky about what you eat, means there are tons of more options than that of others, and when all the items look equally as delectable, you get a little overwhelmed. Plus, the fact that a beautiful woman whom I would very much like to not embarrass myself in front of is waiting for my answer doesn’t help.

I gulped, “I don’t know, they all look amazing. What’s your favorite?” I asked, hoping to know a little more about her.

“Oh, gosh, let me think…” she pouted, resting her head on the palm of her hand while looking deep in thought at the treats. The adorable crease of her eyebrows scrunched together, the tip of her tongue poking out in concentration, her lovely, curvalicious body...that’s it, I’m so screwed.

“I think I’d go for the Chocolate Cream Puff,” her answer drawing both me and her out of our distracted states, “My dad taught me years ago this amazing chocolate ganache recipe and I drizzle that all over the tops of homemade pastry puffs and the whipped filling, ugh! It’s to die for, seriously!” she finished, a sparkle in her (E/C) eyes that fueled the fire in my gut. She spoke about food just as passionately as I did! She’s perfect.

Without thinking, I quickly said, “I’ll take ten.”

~

~ (Y/N) P.O.V ~

~

“Alright, there you go, 10 Chocolate Cream Puffs. Have a wonderful day, sir!” I said with a bright smile.

“Please, call me Taishiro. And you are..?” he asked.

I flushed, I’m such a klutz, “(Y/N), pleasure to meet you, Taishiro. I hope you enjoy them and come back to visit m...us! Come visit us again!” I hastily fixed my wording.

As he smiled and waved goodbye, I rolled the tension out of my shoulders and breathed a sigh of relief. It’s okay, he was nice...and cute...and...really handsome. Wow, I am I sweating?

“HOLY CRAP!” I jumped as I heard Tammy squeal out behind me, I spun around to look at her standing in the doorway to the back, watching the leaving guest with an awestruck face.

“What?! Where’s the fire?!” I shouted running up to her, grabbing the edge of my apron.

“(Y/N), look at me,” she grabbed my shoulders and forced me to stare into her hazel eyes, “Do you know who that was?”

I shrugged my shoulders as best as I could under her vice grip, “A customer, right?”

“A custom--ugh, curse you for not keeping up with the media,” she yelled while flinging her arms to the sky in exasperation before shoving them back on my shoulders, “(Y/N), that wasn’t just any old customer! That was the FatGum!”

I blinked, “Uh, who?”

“Aarrghh! The rank 58 Pro Hero in Japan! What did you say to him?!” I paled as her words sunk in. My legs felt like jelly and I wanted to lie on the floor and die of embarrassment as she raved on about my ignorance.

‘Oh, so I’ve fallen for a Pro Hero. Awesome.’

~

~ Timeskip to a few weeks later, same P.O.V ~

~

Who knew meeting a Pro Hero and potentially having a crush on him could be so amazing? After Taishiro, who is apparently a hero named FatGum, left the store, he personally posted on his main platform of media about the shop and how incredible the desserts were! Of course, to get a compliment from a hero who's Quirk is literally based around food, who’s eaten hundreds of thousands of different dishes, for him to specifically point out your’s brought the media swarming. Business went from nearly dead to tons of people coming in at all open hours! It was fantastic, and the handsome gentleman kept his promise of continually coming in and buying heaps of pastries.

You sighed, leaning against the marble counter after helping a few beautiful ladies buy some tarts, watching their desirable, attractive forms leave the shop and walk past the window. Looking around the busy lounge area, all of the customers were stunning, unique, and most of all thin. You glanced down at yourself, insecurities filling your mind about your appearance and unsurprisingly flickering back to the man plaguing your thoughts. You poked the chub, would he? No. He probably already has someone and even if he didn’t, why would he go for you? You’re a no one to him, someone who just sells him baked goods to fuel his Quirk, nothing more.

“Hey, boss man, what’s up?” Asher, a friend and employee of yours, asked while spinning you away from the counter to face him, drawing Tammy’s attention from her place on the stool behind the counter.

“Oh, it’s nothing, Asher. Just distracted is all, I’m fine!” you sighed and faked a smile.

Asher pulled a skeptical look and without looking at Tammy he said, “She’s thinking about him again, isn’t she?”

Tammy, like it was her sixth sense to pick up on gossip, flung herself to Asher’s side with the same skeptical look, “Yep, it’s so obvious.”

“I-It is?!” you yelped, pulling your hands up to your cheeks to hide your growing blush.

“What are we gonna do about them, Tam?” he asked, still not looking at her but instead grabbing your chin and tiling your head from side to side to inspect you.

 “I don’t know what else to do, Ash. He so likes her back but both are too scared to make the first move. Truly a dilemma.” she said, twirling a lock of your (H/C) hair.

“Wait, he does?! How do you know?” you pleaded but they weren’t paying any attention to you anymore, making you puff out your pudgy cheeks in frustration. Opting to ignore them, you listened to the aimless chatter of the seating area. The ambiance of the confectionery made you smile because it was exactly how you’d pictured it as a little girl, the sweet smells, the laughter, it finally felt like home after all these years in the making. All your hard work was paying off in the end. Suddenly, the ringing bells of the door opening drew your attention. Glancing back, you caught a glimpse of a familiar yellow and orange clad figure whose head almost touched the ceiling. You gasped and shoved your friends off of you and to the backroom, spun around, and greeted your favorite customer with a bashful smile.

“Taishiro! How lovely to see you again,” but you quickly noticed it wasn’t just him. Two teenage boys, one with striking red hair and a warm smile and the other trembling and hiding inside of his cloak’s hood, were by FatGum’s side, which made you ask, “And who is this with you?”

“(Y/N), this is Eijirou Kirishima and Tamaki Amajiki, they are training under me for hero internships. I wanted to bring them here so they could try your wicked sweets!” he finished, making you blush even harder.

“Aw, that’s so sweet of you, FatGum! It’s a pleasure to meet you, boys.” you finished, holding out your hand for them to shake.

The red-headed boy, Kirishima, shook your hand with a gentle, but strong grip, “Same here! I’ve heard all about this place because of the news, sorry I couldn’t come sooner!”

“Oh, that’s alright, and it’s wonderful to meet you, Tamaki.” you held out your hand, but all you got from him was a curt nod as he shrunk further into his suit.

“You’ll have to forgive, Amajiki, he’s sort of shy.” Taishiro chuckled, rubbing his hand behind his head.

You pulled your hand back with an understanding smile, “No problem, I totally get social anxiety. Happens to the best of us, I’m afraid.”

“No way,” you suddenly heard Tammy mumble behind you, no doubt to Asher, “He brought his kids to see her. Did not expect that. I respect the flex.”

“Isn’t that a little far for first base material?” Asher whispered back to her. You proceeded to shoot them a terrifying glare and subtly kick both of them in the shins, a symbol for them to scram. They gulped and hobbled off to the back to avoid your wrath while you huffed and whipped your hair out of your face with a smile.

“Anyways, since the three of you are here, what would you boys like? It’s on the house!” you confidently boasted.

Taishiro gasped, “(Y/N), no. I can’t do that to you, we’ll pay.”

“Ah, ah, ah, Taishiro. You are by far the most paying of customers and since you’re my favorite of all I want to give this to you. Call it, uh, thank you present for all the publicity you’ve given my store! I couldn’t have made it this far without you.” you grinned.

He sighed and, though it could have been your imagination, blushed a little, “At least let me pay for my portion. I get considerably more than them.”

“Nope, it’s already been decided! Kirishima, what would you like?” you changed the topic before Taishiro could argue with you again. He rolled his eyes, clear girl.

“Hmm,” Kirishima thought, “Do you have anything with strawberries?”

“I got just the thing for you. How about a Strawberry Turnover?” you directed him over to the case with the pastry. He took one glance and excitedly nodded his head and you smiled, grabbed the sweet with a clean pair of tongs, placed it on a napkin, and handed it over to the young man. He grinned and shoveled the pastry into his mouth without hesitation. 

“Thanks so much, Miss (Y/N)! It’s delicious!” he praised through a mouth full of food, making you giggle at his silliness. Walking back over to the registrar, you saw Tamaki looking at you. When he was caught, he gasped, quickly spun around, and hid himself away from you by pressing into FatGum’s body.

“What would you like, Tamaki?” you patiently asked. Taishiro looked at you with doubt and started saying something but you quickly shushed him and continued to wait for the teen’s answer.

Knowing that you weren’t going to give up, Tamaki quietly mumbled out, “D-D-Do you...have anything with...b-black raspberry? I-If you don’t that’s fine too, I-I didn’t mean to sound too rude or--”

“I believe I do,” you quickly interrupted so he didn’t go into a spiraling haze of self doubt, “Would a Black Raspberry Lychee Cake suffice, Tamaki?”

“Y-Yes, Miss (Y/N)...” he sighed in relief, glancing at you with tears in his eyes. You gave him a reassuring smile and grabbed the treat for him, handing it to FatGum so he could hold on to it for Tamaki.

“And now, what’ll you have, kind stranger?” you grinned as he chuckled.

“I’ll take my usual then, 10 Chocolate Cream Puffs, please.” he concluded while giving a sweet grin.

You snarked, “You always get the same thing every time, Taishiro. Don’t you wanna try anything else? I promise they’re poisoned.” you smirked.

He quirked an eyebrow at you, “Are you sure about that?” he joked.

“Taishiro! What kind of business would I be if I poisoned all my guests?” you laughed at him.

“Okay, okay, I’ll try something different, ma’am. Do you have anything with pineapple?” he asked with curiosity.

“You betcha. How does a Pineapple Poke Cake sound, sir?” you interrogated. You saw stars glisten in his eyes and you giggled at his excitement.

“How many?” you joked.

“I’ll take 12!” he concluded, blissfully staring off into space.

You packaged up his request in a cutesy (F/C) box with your confectionery’s logo and, biting your lip in apprehension, decided that if he wasn’t going to make his move then you would. You quickly wrote down your phone number on top of the box in Sharpie and signed off your name with a small black heart. As you finished the lettering you stared at the box and thought about your previous insecurities. There was still time, still time to take out the pastries, put them in a new box, and forget the whole number thing ever happened.

“Hey, don’t you dare take out those treats and put them in a new box, you hear me, girl?!” you heard a tiny male voice whisper above you. Startled, you looked up to see Tammy and Asher peeking through the window that let the customers see into the back of the bakery to watch the baking happen. You glared at the two, so they had been watching you try and confess your feelings to the fluffy hero in a discreet way.

“What am I supposed to do? What if he doesn’t like me and all the signs I’ve been getting from him are me making up a love story that is never going to happen between us?! What if by doing this I ruin our relationship and he makes sure the business tanks?! This is my life's work and I’m putting it on the line for a stupid chance at love!” you whisper yelled at them, the familiar feeling of fear and pain coursing through your system from previous failed love confessions.

“You really think a sweet man like that is going to make your life’s dream completely fall to pieces?” Tammy questioned and you exhaled, shaking your head ‘no’.

“Then go out there and get yo mans! You have to at least try and snatch that, I have to see my OTP become canon!” she sent a determined glare at you, grabbed the box, shoved it in your hands, spun you around, and pushed your forward. You stumbled and almost tripped onto the floor but caught yourself on the marble counter. Standing up tall, you took a deep breath in and urged your legs to move forward. Getting to the registrar, you smiled at Taishiro and the boys and handed over the box to FatGum after giving a subtle cough.

“Thank you for everything, Taishiro, you’ve helped me in ways you could never imagine. Now, I hope you boys come back sometime!” you spoke to the teens, Kirishima grinning at you with his shark-like teeth.

“Will do, Miss (Y/N)! I couldn’t stay away from this place even if I tried, your desserts are the BOMB!” he laughed, punching his fists together in excitement.

“...Thank you, Miss (Y/N).” Tamaki shyly whispered, giving you half a grin before cowering away once more.

“Don’t mention it, loves! Now, Taishiro, remember that I said this is on the--whoa! Are you okay?” you asked the man. His face was almost as red as his student’s hair, his eyes wide and unfocused as he stared at the top of the box, where your number neatly sat. You gulped, maybe it was the wrong decision after all.

Waving a nervous hand in front of Taishiro’s face, it seemed to break him from his spellbound state as he glanced at your eyes, “Are you...feeling okay, Taishiro?”

He looked at you with a shaken gaze as he laughed off his nerves while saying, “Y-Yeah! Just, um...yeah...you...let’s go, boys! Gotta get back to the patrol! Bye, (Y/N)!” he said while ushering the confused boys away from the counter and to the door. You felt your heart shatter into dozens of pieces as you turned your head down to conceal your sorrowed expression from the rest of the lounge area. You felt your eyes wet with tears but you used the sleeve of your white button down you dry them, you have to stay strong. At least you got it off your chest. Sniffling, you turned your head back up only to see FatGum’s face, only he was suddenly a lot more chiseled in the face and body and wow, did it just get hot in here?

“I forgot one thing.” he said with a flustered smile. You, less heartbroken then before just more confused, shrugged your shoulders in question. He then grasped your shoulders, tilted his head to the side, and planted a loving and firm kiss on your right cheek. You felt your face melt into a puddle of red as he held the kiss for a few seconds longer than anticipated but eventually released your cheek, staring back at you with the same expression as you.

“Did you really think I was going to leave without paying you back, cream puff?” he chuckled with a grin.

“I-I, um…” no longer sorrowed, your brain couldn’t catch up with the fact that he most definitely liked you back.

“Heh, you’re cute when you’re flustered for me. I’ll text you later, okay? Keep on the look out for me!” he said, backing up from the counter, only to grow immensely in size as he returned to the state you had met the hero in. He waved goodbye as he walked back to Kirishima who was practically bouncing off the walls in his excitement.

“Congratulations on the relationship, Miss (Y/N)!” the teen sang out as the three of them left the store to patrol the streets for their hero duties once again.

The entire restaurant was silent as they watched your chubby form turn into a puddle of emotions and ditzy giggles, the only thing that was heard was a loud, “YES! IT’S CANON, BABY!”

~

~

~ The End ~

[blouisparadise]

Here are some amazing bottom Louis fics posted or completed during the month of July. We really hope you enjoy this list and that you give these fics a lot of love.

Happy reading!

1) Your Good Time | Explicit | 3070 words

Louis nodded along with what the guy was saying, apparently his arousal taking over his brain to mouth filter as he said, “Who would want to hide a fit bloke like you? That guys an idiot.” Louis scoffed, dramatizing the word ‘idiot’, giving the guy a sly smirk. The guy leaned an arm against the bar, turned his body to Louis and fixed him with a curious look before he held out a hand.

“M’Harry.”

Louis and Harry meet in a bar when Harry's date is an ass. Inspired by Temporary Fix by One Direction.

2) I Push You To The Limits | Explicit | 3846 words

Louis is a brat who likes seeing his boyfriend get jealous and possessive over him.

3) Overkill | Explicit | 4354 words

Louis was never going to get over how fucking attractive Harry was. How glorious his big, tall, curvy body was. The feeling of Harry behind him, hot and heavy, trapped on the tube after they’d been somewhere during rush hour. His thick hands, full of pretty rings sometimes, handing Louis a cup of coffee, then getting one for himself.

4) Too Nervous to be Lovers | Mature | 6445 words

Louis doesn't want to spend quarantine with Harry, his straight roommate, who doesn't even acknowledge his existence.

5) Fratboy In Love | Mature | 6830 words

Harry Styles was a frat boy who loved to sleep around and flirt with boys and girls. Louis was a good uni student who loved to stay in and study and wasn't much of a partier.

Insert his best friend Niall who talks him into going. Louis gets drunk and ends up sleeping with harry. The next day he leaves before Harry wakes and tries to avoid him at all costs. Thinking Harry wouldn't care since Louis was just another conquest. But what if Harry did care. And actually have a crush on Louis. Read and find out

6) My Sunflower | Mature | 7057 words

Louis would rather be sunbathing at the beach with his friends, not slaving his spring break away in his father’s flower shop.

7) Waiting | Explicit | 8023 words

Louis Tomlinson was Harry’s omega, of this Harry had always been sure. Unfortunately for Harry, Louis seemed to think they were just best friends. The six weeks that Harry has to live with Louis were going to be rough.

8) Shine Light Upon Your Ground | Explicit | 8506 words

Note: The fic pairing is Louis/H, which the reader can picture as Harry or Henry Cavill.

Louis sighs again and fiddles with the bracelet on his wrist, twisting the charms around and petting the fake diamonds.

“How much for a night?” A deep voice suddenly asks him. The man who approaches him is already pulling out his wallet and flicking through a bundle of bills. Louis, who had been sitting at the bar completely innocent and minding his own business, lets out an offended, strangled sound.

“Excuse me?” He demands, straightening up in his seat. The hem of his dress creeps further up his thigh but he pays it no mind.

9) Glistening Under The Sun (You're My Honey Soaked Love) | Mature | 8996 words

“Oh Petal,” he picks her up nuzzling the top of her head with his cheek as she nibbles on the lavender, “How lucky are we? I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy, the only thing we have to be sad about is that soon I won’t be able to hold you like this,”

10) Connected To The Heart | Explicit | 9059 words

Note: This is an coda scene for this fic.

“Your stage cue is way too close for you to be wearing that look you’re wearing,” Louis informs him. He can’t stop himself from looking up at Harry through his eyelashes, the silk of Harry’s dress shirt brushing against the backs of his knuckles.

“Twenty minutes,” Harry agrees. His breath is minty from the gum he was chewing earlier, fresh and warm. “Twenty minutes can be a long time, baby.”

This time, Louis has to force himself to roll his eyes. “Not nearly long enough for the way you always want to fuck me.”

11) Fuck U Betta | Explicit | 11438 words

There’s something about having Louis like this, exposed and desperate, that makes a primal urge bubble up from deep inside Harry’s chest. Desire mixed with something else, something unquantifiable. It’s the thing that makes them want this, need this. Nothing else will satisfy them or quench their thirst.

OR the one where Harry likes the thrill of the chase, Louis likes to be chased, and everyone gets what they need… in the end.

12) Kiss Me In Your Chevrolet | Explicit | 11569 words

"Yes, Lou?" Harry asked, rubbing his tired eyes. A gust of wind came through the open windows, sending chills down Harry's arms as a light rain began falling outside. He closed his eyes again and let his head fall back to the couch arm rest.

"Can we go there?" Louis asked, probably pointing somewhere. Harry opened his eyes and felt his heart jump in his chest, a magazine page a couple of inches away from his face. Startled, Harry closed his eyes and breathed heavily, trying to collect himself.

Harry blinked a few times to focus his eyes on the page Louis still held in front of his nose. "You want to go to the Grand Canyon?" He furrowed his eyebrows, tilting his head to the left to look at Louis' face.

13) Pull The Trigger | Explicit | 12007 words

Note: This fic is a sequel to this fic, which is #16 on this list.

Louis has never been alright with killing. Will that change when he learns what it's like to be the one holding the gun?

14) Open All Night | Explicit | 12537 words

It’s six in the morning when Harry finally makes it back home.

Harry's a bartender, Louis' got a nice ass and a shit taste in men. They make it work.

15) Among Other Things | Explicit | 16073 words

“Harry, it’s 7:45, oh my god, my class starts at 8:15,” and Louis wants to cry. Harry’s busy under the bed trying to find the tiny silver key but Louis knows that fate just hates him and he needs to find a way to get up. “Harry, I—fuck,” Louis whines. Harry stands up in a rush.

“I can’t seem to find them. It. The key.”

Or, Louis’ the teacher of Harry Styles’ daughter. Their paths shouldn’t cross like this. This meaning Louis showing up to school handcuffed to a headboard.

16) A Bullet And It's Gun | Explicit | 18156 words

Note: The sequel to this fic is #13 on this list. 

Louis’ parents arrange his marriage with Harry. He’s fully ready to accept that he’s going to be a sad and lonely person for the rest of his life. But then Harry starts proving himself as more than just an asocial man with money.

17) By Such Slight Ligaments | Explicit | 26764 words

Note: The fic pairing is Louis/Henry Cavill.

A late night visit to a patient sets off a series of events that will turn Louis' world upside down.

... Here there be monsters.

18) At Your Fingertips | Explicit | 27384 words

He finds himself wrapped up in sheets in bed on Thursday night, staring at the familiar name on a new story that was posted the night before.

His fingers twitch, ready to hit play and surrender to his impulses, saving the regret and turmoil for later.

And still he hesitates, internally praying that he’ll somehow gain the strength to exit out within the next few moments before he inevitably loses his patience and hits the button.

Three…

Two…

One.

Play.

19) Forgot My Roots Now Watch Me Bloom | Explicit | 28334 words

Lonely transit worker Louis pulls his longtime crush, Peter, from the path of an oncoming train. At the hospital, doctors report that he's in a coma, and a misplaced comment from Louis causes Peter's family to assume that he is his fiancée. When Louis doesn't correct them, they take him into their home and confidence. Things get even more complicated when he finds himself falling for Peter's brother, Harry. Loosely based on the movie "While You Were Sleeping".

20) Push You Out, Pull You Back In | Explicit | 31544 words

Harry hates feeling vulnerable. Louis is set on breaking through his tough facade.

21) Baby Blue | Explicit | 39439 words

Harry Styles takes his time coming out to greet them. Louis only knows what he’s seen on file and what he’s heard them talking about, but he fully lives up to the image he had inside of his head.

He saunters down the front steps of the farmhouse in his Levi’s, brown snakeskin boots curving out from underneath the denim Louis’ sure he had specially made. He’s got on a plaid button-down tucked into the jeans because of course he does, curls spilling out from either side of his cowboy hat around his sunglasses and country-tan skin.

“Harry Styles,” he drawls, extending a hand to Louis’ manager, “Pleased to meet ya’ll.”

22) Lidocaine And Palm Trees | Explicit | 44653 words

Heat, fake tans and lots of traffic.

Harry never expected to earn his living this way when he moved to LA.

Louis didn't think he could ever be the same after his divorce.

A lighthearted story about two guys trying to find themselves in the vibrant, sprawling city of Los Angeles, with a side of technical porn industry stuff.

23) Sleeping On Our Problems | Explicit | 67369 words

Louis sleeps with Harry and they have more than just catching feelings to worry about.

24) Truth Would Be | Explicit | 91869 words

“You want me? I’m not a… a thing to be owned!” Louis stuttered, still very angry and confused.

“Hmmm…” The alpha tapped his lips as if he was contemplating something. “Last time I checked, the debt was paid off and the only thing I had asked in return was… you. So technically I do own you.”

“You are crazy…” Louis muttered as he began to back towards the door. Harry’s impossibly green eyes turned a shade darker, but his tone was still teasing and light when he said, “Maybe I am…”

The I-paid-off-all-your-debt-so-you-are-mine AU in which Omega Louis wants to be left alone by Alpha Harry but it's super complicated when he starts to not hate the alpha all that much.

25) Collision | Not Rated | 224594 words

Note: This fic was finished in 2018, but two new epilogue chapters have been added.

Mythology/Fairytale!AU in which Louis is a dainty fairy with a temper who wants to be intimidating and Harry hurts people. Naturally, they hate each other.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

You can find other monthly roundup fic rec lists here.

[bleh-bleh-blehs]

Forgotten

Peter Parker x Reader 

__________________________________

Summary-  Your worst fear was of being forgotten and no matter how hard you try you were always forgotten.

Warning- Angst, child loss, major character death.

A/N-I’m sorry if the ending sucked. I was tired when I was writing it. Please leave feedback, Thank you for reading. 

Word count- 1.7k

____________________________________

 Friends are supposed to be the best thing that ever happened to us right? The answer is no, they are not. How can these people be your friends when they do the worst thing you are afraid of. The fear of being forgotten. They forgot you, didn’t they.

Your crush on your best friend doomed you. He didn’t feel the same way as you did, which led all of your friends to ignore you. You didn’t know why, but they always cancelled your plans on going out together. Stopped inviting you on study dates, movie nights or any other plans that included you.

It hurted you because you thought they would never leave you. Your heart broke when Peter and Mj started dating but they were still your friends right? You were happy for them. Why can’t they see that.

Peter started to ignore you first, then Mj and then Ned and Betty. You tried to talk to them, tried to resolve this but it’s like they never heard you, like you never existed. They didn’t notice how you stopped sitting with them, never noticed how you stopped trying.

______________________________

“You sure you invited them” your husband asked you or more like mocked you. You were embarrassed because you told everybody that your friends will come but they didn’t. They must have forgotten about your wedding too. And they’re not even your friends because your friendship ended in high school right?

You were now married, you knew they would never come to your wedding but you still invited them in hope that they were your best friends at least Peter and Betty were.

You were still hoping to find any familiar face but there was none. You wished you would never ever meet them again. But your wish was not granted. You met him again. 

___________________________

“Y/N” you turned around to see who called and saw him standing behind you, eyeing your belly as you protectively put your arm around your growing child, you were now divorced and five months pregnant. You were at a science exhibition, looking through the projects college students had made.

“Peter” you barely recognized him, he was taller and more muscular than before but his eyes were the same. “I-I didn’t expect to find you here.” You gave him a soft smile. He is still old Peter who can’t help but stutter while talking. “This is an open exhibition Peter, thought might look at the wonderful creation these students made.” You reasoned, which is true  because your parents were worried about you because you haven’t gone out for a while other than your workplace.

“Congratulations on your wedding and baby” he gestured to your belly. You let out a bitter laugh, as he looked at you curiously.”I am divorced now Peter.” How dare he congratulate you now, he didn’t even come to your wedding. 

“Oh, I’m sorry Y/N. May I know why?” Why does he wanna know. “He was cheating on me.” You said bluntly. “I’m sorry Y/N. I-I don’t know what to say.I-I..” “Then don’t Peter. You don’t have to say anything to me, I don’t want anyone’s pity anymore.” Ouch that was rude But Peter was more hurt because of the harsh look on your face. 

He was speechless, he saw that you were on the verge of having a breakdown. He wanted to do nothing but hug, make up for the lost time. He slowly opened his arms, gesturing for you to come closer and you did, you hugged him back, you let your guard down. You need him even when you act like you didn’t, but needed your best friend, needed him to be there for you.

 “I am here for you Y/N, I’m here.” he said and you believed him.

___________________________

Everything was going fine.It’s been two months since you met Peter in the exhibition. You and Peter became friends again. Like high school never happened. Peter took care of you, he was there for all your needs, you and your baby became his top priority. 

He took you shopping and he even asked you to move in with him which you happily did. If an outsider saw you both they may think you both are a happy couple, expecting your first child. You always politely told everybody that you both are friends and that this is not his child. But you wished it was true, that this was his baby and that you both loved each other.

Peter never told you how he felt for you and you never had courage to ask. You were at the clinic today for your routine check up. You were waiting for Peter to come but he was nowhere to be found. That’s odd because he never missed your check ups at least since he met you again.

Peter has been distant lately. He was ignoring you and you were not sure why. Were you too clingy, did you become too emotionally dependent on him. It was like high school again. Why is he doing this again? You were taking a lot of stress because of the sudden change in Peter’s behavior.

You waited for him to come home and talk to him, tell him how you felt. Peter showed up late at night again. He saw you sitting on the couch with your head resting on your palms. You looked tired and more importantly sad. You sat up as you saw the front door open and Peter getting in.

“Where were you?” Peter looked at you totally confused, why were you asking him this? ”Don’t ignore me Peter, I am tired of being ignored” you were starting to get angry. “I was out with my girlfriend.” ouch! This broke your heart. If he already had a girlfriend then why was he treating you like one. 

“Why didn’t you tell me about her?” Peter started to grow annoyed now. “I don’t need to tell you everything. Do I?” You looked him in the eye and then he saw the tears in your eyes, the hurt look on your face. “So, all these days, when-n you-u were ignoring me, you were with her.” You were trying not to let your break.

He said nothing and was just standing there. You took his silence as your answer. “Why do you keep doing this to me, hun.” you were angry now. “KEEP DOING WHAT EXACTLY?” How dare he shout on you. “KEEP IGNORING ME, JUST LIKE HIGH SCHOOL.” You were furious now. You had to let out everything out of your heart now.

“WHAT ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL?” “WHAT? YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW BAD YOU AND MJ AND NED AND BETTY IGNORED ME BACK IN HIGH SCHOOL. YOU GUYS ACTED LIKE I DIDN’T EVEN EXISTED. AND IT WAS ALL BECAUSE MY STUPID CRUSH ON YOU. You shouted it all out. Peter stood there in shock.

“WE DIDN’T IGNORE YOU AT ALL AND EVEN IF WE DID. WHY DIDN’T YOUR LONELY ASS FOUND SOMEONE ELSE?” Peter instantly regretted what he said. “Y/N I-I am sorry.” 

“Get out.” “Y/N please” “I SAID GET OUT AND DON’T COME BACK. AND ONLY COME BACK WHEN YOU REALISE YOUR MISTAKE.” “FINE BY ME” Peter still hasn’t realised his mistake he made in the past.

You sit on the couch again, rubbing your belly. You hear the front door slam shut, making you aware that Peter has left. Silent tears were going down your face. 

You cried yourself to sleep until you felt a sharp pain in your lower abdomen. You let out a shriek as the pain only seems to grow every second. After what seems like 5-8 minutes of trying, you finally stood, only to feel a pool of water and blood under your feet. The pain increased even more now.

You took out your phone and called Peter because he was the last person you called. But Peter didn’t pick up your call. You tried to move forward only to slip on your own blood and hit the back of your on the coffee table. You cried in pain, now it was impossible for you to get up. You just laid there in pain and waited for someone to help you, but nobody did. Because you were forgotten .

___________________________

After what seems like an hour Peter returned. He didn’t come home to say sorry, he came because he wanted his stuff and to tell you that he was moving out

He didn’t find you on the couch, so he thought you had gone to sleep. But then he saw you laying on the floor, he saw the blood and he definitely noticed your unmoving body.” Y/N oh my god. Y/N open your eyes .” Peter was scared now. Is this why you called him? Peter immediately called the ambulance. This was all his fault. 

The ambulance arrived and took you to the hospital. You were separated from Peter. And now it was time for Peter to wait. And he did wait for you. He waited for the doctor to say you were fine. The door opened and Peter looked up in hope of any good news, but the sad look on his gave it all away.

“Mr.Parker, Ms L/N went into premature labour, I think that the labour was so sudden that she couldn’t push the baby out and the baby died, she had also lost so much blood that I don’t think she will survive.”  “Please, please don’t say that.” “I’m sorry Mr.Parker, you say your last goodbye to her.” You can’t die like that, you can’t leave him like that. Peter slowly entered the room looking at your almost lifeless body.

“Y/N I’m so sorry, please don’t leave me, please Y/N. I can’t live without you.” Peter cried as he sat beside you, taking your hand in his. He took in your features, they were not radiant anymore but you still looked heavenly to him. How can he be so idiot,how can he have never noticed  your love for him? He thought. You were now looking at him and his whole focus was on you. He wanted to know your last words desperately.

“You know how to live without me Peter,” and with that you left him. Peter let out a choked cry. You were dead because of. He always left you but now you were the one who left him forever.

[personasintro]

My Tiny Secret | 13; Not Welcomed

𝑴𝒚 𝑻𝒊𝒏𝒚 𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒍𝒆 | 13; Not Welcomed

⏤𝒔𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒑𝒔𝒊𝒔; Pretty face doesn’t make it up for an ugly personality. And Kim Seokjin is the perfect proof of that.

⏤𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈: seokjin x reader

⏤𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: angst, smut, mistress au, unexpected pregnancy au

⏤𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔: toxic relationship, strong language

⏤> 𝒇𝒊𝒄 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒙

buy me a coffee?♡

The packages looks exactly the same for him, the only difference is various kinds of brand and pictures decorating the same thing. He can’t even tell the difference between those sizes — just another thing that makes him frown and groan in frustration.

“How the fuck am I supposed to know which ones are right?” he asks through clenched teeth, muting his voice down when a woman with toddler attached to her hip passes by his frustrated and puzzled figure.

If Namjoon could see him right now, he would laugh his ass off. Never in a million years he thought he would be standing in this kind of aisle, completely confused and so out of place.

“I showed you the package!” you exclaim at the other side, your sigh of disbelief booming through Seokjin’s phone speakers.

“I fucking know that!” he exclaims back while a woman that’s grabbing one of the packages from the aisle gives him a glare, but he could care less. He looks away with coldness in his eyes, rubbing his eyes with his free hand that’s not holding his phone.

You specifically showed him the exact diapers package he needs to buy, even described it when he had it in front of his face. It caused him to snap at you ‘I’m not an idiot for fucks sake, I get it’, that’s what he told you. It turned out that he didn’t get it and is, an idiot after all. You would like to point that out, but you bite into your lip in amusement at his distressed tone. It kind of makes you wish you were there to witness it with your own eyes.

“I’ll send you a photo of it,” you sigh at the other side, the rustling sound can be heard before Yoojin’s soft whimpers follows right after. “I know baby, you’ll have to wait. Your daddy can’t remember a single package.”

He hears the amusement in your voice, the way you try to hide a giggle but he ignores it at the name you called him. Daddy. It’s so weird hearing that. It’s been a month since he became a father, but it still comes as shock that he can never fully recovers from. Still, the corner of his mouth twitches at the new nickname, a weird tension clenching his chest.

“You’re coming with me next time.” he grumbles before he can fully dwell on that new feeling, shifting on his spot as he stares at the baby that’s on one of the diaper packages.

Yoojin is cuter, he thinks as he hears you humming in agreement before you curse under your breath.

“Someone’s knocking, I’ve to go.” he hears you mumbling, the same rustling sound reaches his ears and he wants nothing more than to grumble in annoyance, but his eyes widen instead.

“What-- no-- what am I supposed to do? Send me that damn picture.” he stutters over his words, face red with frustration.

“Ask someone.” you quickly tell him before the line is dead, his eyes closing as he tries to calm down himself.

You were his only hope and now he’s stuck in the middle of grocery shop in front of diapers, babies on the packages looking at him. Fuck, he never felt so ridiculous. He’s starting to regret his offer of buying diapers for Yoojin once you found out there are only few left. Something he noticed is, that small babies use a lot of diapers throughout the day.

“Hello, sir. Do you need some help?” A cheerful lady with a name tag on decorating her red shirt reaches him. She must’ve seen him struggling for the past ten minutes that he’s been standing in the same spot, glaring at the various types of diapers. Ten tremendous minutes that he’s been too cocky not to call you straight away, since he thought he won’t need your help. It turned out that he did need it and well, still needs it since you declined the call.

“Err, yeah.” he says, preparing to embarrass himself in front of her as she keeps smiling at him — too much for his liking. Doesn’t her cheeks hurt from all that smiling?

“Well, what size do you need?” she asks, understanding that he’s looking for the right package and size.

How can buying a diapers be hard? Yeah, he thought. That’s what he gets for being too cocky and confident.

“Well-- I-- I’m not sure.” he mutters, scratching the back of his neck as he avoids her big eyes.

“It’s okay,” she smiles, “How old is your baby?”

He already feels annoyed by the amount of questions and her overly cheerful expression that she’s obviously faking just because it’s her job. Still, she’s his only hope.

So with that thought, he sighs and gives her an answer. “He’s newborn. Well, one month old.”

Wow, is he already one month? He wonders as she nods and already reaches for one of the packages.

“This one should be perfect.” she says, handing him the item before he takes it and examines it with curious eyes.

He looks at the price, not surprised she gave him the more expensive ones but he doesn’t care. As long as it the good size, he’s going to pay anything.

“You sure? He’s really tiny.” he says, turning it around to read the description that’s written on the backside.

The saleswoman smiles at him while he’s busy reading the back of package with a small frown settled on his thick brows. “Well, if it’s wrong you can always return it. Just don’t forget to take receipt with you.”

He barely manages to thank her before she disappears behind another aisle, leaving him alone with diapers package in his arms.

Fuck it, he thinks as he goes with the one she handed him while he makes his way to cashier.

The timing of the knock couldn't be worse, considering the unstoppable wailing that comes from the baby in your arms as you try to open the door with him in your arms.

You mumble repeated apology to your son, your lips brushing over his soft hair as you finally open the front door with a sigh of relief. The person behind the front door has a raised hand, probably ready to knock again since you took your time answering the door. But you don't have enough time to think about it for too long, surprised by the sudden visit you've never expected.

Your best friend stands in the front door, which brings a complete shock to you since his first and last visit was the day you moved it. You haven't seen him for weeks, at least in person, only through the screen of your phone.

Missing Hoseok is daily part of your life, especially during times when Seokjin goes home. Back to the times when you were living together, you never felt lonely. Not in the way you do right now.

He hasn't changed much, he looks exactly the same way he always does and you almost blurt 'what are you doing here' but stop yourself at the very last minute. It might sound rude and you're nothing than happy to see him standing in front of you.

“Hobi,” you breathe out, a large smile spreads across your chapped lips. “You're here.” you say with disbelief and happiness in your voice while he gives you a soft smile.

“Yeah, dropped by the last minute. Am I interrupting?” he asks, hiding his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he eyes Yoojin squirming in your arms.

He probably thinks he does at the sight of your bare exhausted face with baby crying while you pat his back to calm him.

“No! Of course not! Come in!” you say quickly, opening the door wider for him as you watch him cautiously cross over threshold.

He doesn't hug you, silently taking off his super clean sneakers to yours which makes you slightly frown. He's acting weird and considering he came to visit you, the lack of enthusiasm makes you feel tense. Maybe he doesn't miss you as much as you miss him, maybe he's glad he doesn't have to take care of you anymore.

Yoojin's wails turn into loud cries and you cringe at the volume, a look of distress dominating over your exhausted face when you look at Hoseok. “He's hungry. I have to feed him.” you apologize to him.

“No worries, I'll wait.” he gently says, fingers running through his lock that seemed to be longer and you wonder if he plans to grow it out.

“Thanks,” you smile at him, bouncing Yoojin as you're ready about to step into the bedroom before you turn around to look at him. His eyes are already on yours, their warmth lacking of something. “You can sit down or anything you want.” you tell him causing him to nod in appreciation before you're rushing to feed Yoojin.

It takes only ten minutes until he burps, his cries no longer existing as you step into the living room where Hoseok patiently waits and sits on the couch. He's occupied with his phone, his brows slightly furrowed in concentration before he looks up meeting your eyes.

His eyes soften at the sight of Yoojin and it makes you slightly relax, just a tiny bit. “He grew up so much.” he comments as you make your way to him to sit next to him.

“Really? Seokjin says he's tiny.” you say without realization, until the words leave a weird taste in your mouth as you look in alarm at your best friend.

He doesn't seem to react, his eyes focused on your son as he stares with look of adoration.

“Do you wanna hold him?” you ask softly and he nods with no hesitation which makes you smile.

He carefully takes him, supporting his head and back before he's pressed against his chest. It's nice to see him remembering all the important facts. Despite of his sudden visit, and mostly weird behavior, you smile at both of them finding the sight in front of you adorable and touched. But as you carefully eye Hoseok you know he doesn't came here for a simple visit, since he sort of avoids your eyes.

Over the years of knowing him, you just know there's something else that bothers him and you've no idea what that is. The only option is to ask and for couple of minutes in utter silence,  you're trying to find the guts to do it.

“I didn't know you were planning on visiting. I would've bake you your favorite cheesecake.” you nervously smile, your voice thick and complete contrast to the silence between you two.

He looks up, causing your breath to hitch at the weird look in his eyes. His throat moves each time he gulps while his face twitch in the weirdest grimace as if he was in the pain.

“I didn't plan it.” he decides to speak, his tone dry as he cringes at it.

Is he trying to be cold to you for some reason? Because he's doing an awful job at it when he seems to be regretful right after he opened his mouth.

It's unusual to see him being so distant, but it's enough to create a weird lump in your throat.

“What--”

“Open it.” he cuts you off, pulling out a folded paper that's wrinkled by the pocket of his jeans.

He throws it on the couch, the paper landing just couple of inches from your thighs as you give him a look of utter confusion. But you don't question him any further, reaching towards the paper. As you slowly unfold it with knitted brows, your eyes widen as you finally read what's written on there. Opening your mind, you're not sure what you're about to say, you just know you've to explain it.

“What the hell, Y/N?” he asks, brows furrowed so much that you've never seen him being so angry – at least not to you.

He never looked at you this way and it only makes you want to shrink and hide.

It's a printout of his bank account, coming and incoming transaction as the huge number on the paper screams at you.

You surely knew he wouldn't be happy once he finds out, but you never expected him to come here and be so angry with you. Nevertheless, you don't feel like you've done something wrong.

It was a few days back when you finally got the time to sit down and transfer the money Seokjin gave you, to Hoseok's bank account. You've wanted to do it ever since he gave you the money, to repay your best friend for everything he has done for you and Yoojin. If it weren't for him, God knows how would everything turn out.

You completely forgot that you've sent him that money in the first place and judging by Hoseok pissed off look, he probably found out just today.

“Hobi--”

“I'll transfer that money back.” he cuts you off, his jaw tightly set as he pats Yoojin's back.

“What? No!” you protest right away, scowling at your best friend which mimics your expression.

You've never really got into fight with him, there never was a reason to, and you surely believe there isn't right now.

“The money is for you. I told you I would pay you back and honestly, this is the least I can do for you. You deserve them, Hobi.”

“I don't want them. You should have them. Buy something for Yoojin, yourself or just leave them in your bank account. I don't care, I don't want any money from you.” he's determined, his eyes burning yours as he makes sure to emphasize every word.

“We don't need them.” you tell him softly, scooting closer to him as you place your hand over his knee.

It makes you realize how much you've missed his warmth and proximity. He is the only person who would embrace you in a hug, the only person that makes you feel loved and appreciated. Feeling him even through the fabric of his jeans is enough to make you emotional, because you miss your best friend. You miss having him close and cuddle to you while watching boring movies and TV shows. You miss living with him, not caring that his apartment isn't as big as yours and not fitted for three people.

Even Hoseok himself, seems to relax under your touch while his eyes stay on yours. But there's still that irritated darkness in his eyes.

“We're fine.” you assure him, his eyes leaving yours to look around.

His eyes set on the picture of you and him, that's been there from the day one. It brings a soft smile on his lips, enough to make you do the same as he sighs.

You and Yoojin are really fine. And by that you mean you're being taken care of well.

Seokjin makes sure there's nothing missing for his son. He visits more often, mostly during weekends and later in the evening after he's done in the company. You even went for a small walk in the nearby park together, which was really awkward at first. To walk side by side with Kim Seokjin while pushing Yoojin's pram, in front of neighbors who couldn't help but turn around with shocked expression every time you passed by them. It felt awkward, weird but nice at the same time.

There's nothing much you both talked about, the only topic of your conversation was Yoojin himself. It surprised you, because Seokjin took a huge interest in his son as he asked the most detailed questions. You answer all of them casually, although you were freaking out inside.

“I-- it's a lot. I can't take it.” he manages to choke out, his eyes widely open once he looks back at you.

It's a lot – but still enough for everything that he has done for you.

“You can and you will.” you smile up at him, your eyes boring to each other with so much intensity to see who will budge first but you're stubborn to do so.

“Half,” he decides to say. “I'll take.. only half of it.”

He doesn't look comfortable with his own proposition, showing discomfort on his face but you can happily agree with him. It's a progress he even agreed to take the money – at least some of it. With cheerful squeal, you hug him as much as you're allowed considering he's holding Yoojin. He shakes his head at you, a playful grin shining your way at your stubbornness while he pulls you closer to him with his free hand. You both sigh in happiness, the familiar scent of his favorite cologne is like a peaceful smell for you.

“I've missed this.” you mumble, boring your head into his chest as your nose nudges Yoojin's small hand.

“Me too, I missed you guys,” he says back immediately, hand caressing your shoulder in calming manner as you feel him snuffling your hair. “It feels lonely without you.”

He's talking about his home, causing your heart to shiver at the way he says it. It makes you sad that you've left him and although, you can't complain about how you live right now, you still miss him. That will never change. You both got so used to living together that now it feels lonely and weird. But you both always knew that time will come.

“I miss this baby pumpkin.”

As you look up, you see him admiring your son with heart-shaped eyes but you see the slightest glimpse of sadness in them. “You should visit more often.”

“Mhm, maybe I should.” he hums, kissing the top of your head as you giggle, the both of you grinning at each other. God, you missed him.

Hoseok has always been very affectionate, the both of you are to each other. It's just the way the two of you are – not anyone would truly understand it. Not everyone would get the fact that you're comfortable with each other.

“What the fuck?”

The loud booms between the walls, breaking apart the two of you as you jump away from Hoseok in shock. Seokjin stands between the living room and corridor with a huge look of disapproval and anger, his eyes deadly set on Hoseok. You can't seem to bring yourself to check on Hoseok, your eyes focused on the father of your child and his growing scowl. He looks intimidating, causing your throat to go completely dry for some goddamn reason.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” he impatiently asks, the intensity in his voice is much bigger now as he stares back at you – sending daggers your way.

It's only now when you notice the huge package of diapers in his arms and if it were under different circumstances, you'd laugh at the rare sight in front of you. But you can't find anything amusing, especially right now when Seokjin looks like he's planning Hoseok's death. This is what you wanted to never happened, the two of them meeting since you're pretty aware of the grudge they hold against each other. It completely blew out of your mind that Seokjin is supposed to come here.

“Seokjin, please--” You're not sure what you're begging him for, but you don't want him to cause a scene even if there's just the three of you. Plus Yoojin, who luckily doesn't seem to be affected by the sudden loudness.

“Why the fuck is he holding my son?” he growls, taking a few steps forward as you're quick to jump on your feet.

Before he can truly charge at your best friend who seems to be awfully quiet about the whole situation, your hand is firm against his hard chest as you stop him.

“Our son,” you remind him with a frown and stern voice as he looks down to take a glance at your irritated gaze. “And stop making a scene. Hoseok is my best friend and he came to visit us, whether you like it or not.” you speak slowly, but firm and loud enough for everyone in the room to hear you.

You really want to check on Hobi, but your eyes are set on Seokjin as he challenges you with his firm and dark eyes. His jaw clenches and unclenches, complementing with himself.

“You told me this is my home,” you speak, the darkness of his eyes shifting between yours. “If I want him here, he's going to be here. If you have something against this, I can pack my stuff and leave.”

“Are you threatening me?” he scoffs.

You've no idea what's going on in the man's head, but he probably thought of it as you taking Yoojin away from him which is ridiculous, because you don't live together. Maybe he thinks you won't allow him to see him, which is again – ridiculous. You wouldn't do that, at least not now considering how they've just started to bond together more. Yoojin brings a different side of Seokjin, unrevealed and new one.

“I'm informing you.” you correct him and it causes him to scoff again, but he holds his ground and slightly relaxes underneath your palm.

Forgetting that you never moved your hand, you cautiously do with a sigh before you turn around to glance at Hoseok who stares at your interaction with unreadable gaze. He stands up, careful not to drop Yoojin as he smiles down at him before he walks closer to the both of you. Your breath is caught in your throat while you cautiously watch him, slowly handing Yoojin to his father. He drops the packages onto the floor with a huge smack, greedily taking Yoojin from Hoseok's hands.

“Hey, kiddo. It's daddy.” he doesn't forget to emphasize, glaring at Hoseok while you glare at him for making unnecessary comment. Hoseok is more than aware of Seokjin's position in Yoojin's life, there's no need for him to remind everyone around him.

“I'm gonna go,” Hoseok speaks with soft voice, hand caressing your touch as he draped an arm over your shoulder to bring you to a faint hug. You're about to tell him he doesn't have but he only shakes his head at you, smiling at the distress and determination on your bare face.”I'll come later, yeah?” he assures you and with a weak nod, you smile at him.

He leaves, your heart dropping when you hear the front door closing as you glare at Seokjin. “Was that necessary?” you snap, irritated when he only looks at you with a pleasant look.

“Actually, I think it was.” he mutters sarcastically, hinting at something with the roll of his eyes which you're not sure what's that about.

Your blood boils inside of you, angry from what has just happened and the fact Hoseok must've left because there was no choice. He could stay but it wouldn't do any good and you know he made the right decision to leave. You just feel angry that he felt like he's not welcomed here, thanks to Seokjin.

“It wasn't. Hoseok is my best friend and he'll get to see Yoojin whenever he wants to. He was there for me during my pregnancy and after it. He has done so much for the both of us,” you glance at Yoojin before you continue. “So stop acting like a fucking prick.” you snap at him.

“If you just told me about your pregnancy in the first place, I could've been the one who would take care of you.” he snaps back, glaring at you.

“You mean, before you tried to buy my son from me or after that?” you mockingly ask him, a shame flashing in his eyes as he looks away with locked jaw.

Bingo.

“Look, it doesn't matter now. All I want for you to act decent if the two of you are going to meet in the future. It's for Yoojin's sake as well. He's too little right now but I don't want him to grow up and see the hate between you two.”

The fact that you don't scream at him and not letting your frustration to get the best of you says a lot about your patience. But you need him to understand this. He isn't stupid but he's Kim Seokjin. Nothing is ever easy with him.

He's silent, cuddling to Yoojin as his plump lips touch his soft hair. You try not to melt at the pure sight and not let your guard down as you stare at him with intense glare. His eyes shift between you and the wall behind you as the wheels are running in his mind. But you don't budge, lifting your brow in waiting manner as he rolls his eyes.

“Fine.” he doesn't say anything else, nibbling on his bottom lip to calm down himself as you sigh in relief.

You're on your way to the kitchen to cook the chicken soup, knowing Seokjin will stay for lunch before you pause and call out his name. “Oh, and stop being fucking possessive about me or Yoojin. You don't own anyone.”

And with that, you leave into the kitchen with satisfied smirk on your lips.

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(comment on the most recent chapter to be added)

[stereksecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, flynnifox!

For @flynnifox <3

Read On AO3

*****

Have a Cup of Christmas Cheer

Stiles had stopped counting all the times he had heard 'All I want for Christmas' today. It seemed like all the shops and all the streets and even the freaking Sheriff's station when he had gone to say hello to his dad at lunch time, all had the same freaking playlist going on loop and in all honesty Stiles was quite fed up with it. All of it.

He sighed, irritated and annoyed at the sound of some overused Christmas song and just kept standing in line in Reyes' Coffee Shop with a blank expression on his face.

He was dead on the inside. He hoped coming here was going to turn his day around. The barista, Erica, was one of his best friends in high school. It had been a few years, college and all that, but he still considered her a friend even if these days they only saw each other in the professional setting of her coffee shop, him being the client, and her serving him in daily doses of caffeine. She was wonderful enough to usually be able to brighten his day, even the worst of the worst when his boss at work had been a total pain in ass like he had been today.

There was just something about this time of year, Stiles wasn’t really sure Erica was going to have enough Wonder Woman power to make his life not seem bland and unappealing under the plastic mistletoe they had hung up just above the cash register.

She spotted him after a while and smiled one of her bright smiles. Her long curls of blond hair stuck out from under her Santa hat. Yeah because if the songs weren't enough to create the goddamn Christmas atmosphere they also had to add visuals to really be festive. She didn't seem to mind.

Stiles would really like to throw up.

Jackson freaking Whittemore, his actual real life nemesis from high school now turned into the CEO of the number one rival company from Stiles' job, bumped into him on his way out of the coffee shop.

Karma was a bitch like that.

Jackson snorted, “Seriously, Stilinski. I don't care what you do with your miserable life but could you cheer up a little ? You're killing the elves with your Grinch vibes.”

“You're killing the elves with your face.“ Stiles retorted.

It was not his best come back but he was a little out of it these days. He fidgeted and bit his lip out of annoyance.

“Wouldn't be surprised if you made the naughty list this year.” Jackson gave him a deprecating shrug.

Stiles was one hair away from just punching the smirk off his stupidly symmetrical face. He couldn’t do that though, not in Erica’s coffee shop. She didn’t deserve that, and he wasn’t rich enough to pay for any broken furniture, so instead he just said, “Fuck off.”

Jackson rolled his eyes and started whistling along 'Jingle Bells' on his way out.

Could Stiles’ day get any worse ?

It was not that Stiles hated Christmas. He didn't. He sort of liked it, accepted it at least. He didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Christmas was everywhere.

He could have gone on into details about how Christmas could never be what it used to be when he was little but there was no real use. He missed his mom, sure, but he missed more than that during this time of year. He missed... something he never really had. He missed not feeling so lonely.

He had his dad. He had Scott. Only, it wasn’t the same. Scott was married now, (wow way to make Stiles feel like an old bachelor at twenty five) so there wasn’t any Bro-Christmas anymore. And going to Scott’s house for Christmas was worse than being alone. Seeing the happy couple, the happy baby, the happy everything. Stiles could already feel the anxiety building up in his gut.

He was a great Uncle Stiles, but he didn’t have it in him right now. Not when he wanted it to be him. He had been ready for that, had been wanting that for even longer than Scott had. Stiles had been ready to find the love of his life when he was sixteen when Scott was still going from girlfriend to girlfriend until he finally found the one. Stiles… Well, things didn’t seem to be moving along as easily.

He couldn’t even blame it on his career because he was not that career oriented. He was still just in some stupid entry-level job at his office.

He didn’t care.

What Stiles wanted was to the happy husband with the happy baby in the happy household. Having enough money to make do was enough for him, he didn’t wish to live in a castle or drive a Porsche like his nemesis Whittemore. He wanted to stroll through the decorated streets with the intent of buying presents for people he loved, he wanted to dress up as Santa and eat some cookies and milk at midnight, he wanted the disastrous burned ham and the scrubbing of the ruined dishes before joining the love of his life in bed on Christmas night. He wanted the whole thing.

It was hard to settle for less.

He finally got to the counter and ordered his coffee. Black. No sugar.

“As dark as your soul,” Erica grinned as she wrote his name on a to-go cup.

Stiles grimaced what he hoped looked like a smile, which earned him a small laugh from Erica. She looked like a real Christmas angel when she laughed. Maybe he had been right to come here to cheer himself up a little after all.

His fake smile turned into a real one when Boyd, Erica's boyfriend, came out through the kitchen door. Strong tall dude with a red apron around his waist and sporting a Christmas hat : the perfect figure of manliness.

“Looking good, dude,” Stiles nodded in his direction.

“I know,” Boyd answered as confident as ever. Erica winked. Stiles’ tiny frozen heart melted.

Erica quickly shooed him away. The line had to keep moving. He would have liked to stay just a little longer but it was part of the business side of things to keep things going.

Now all he had left was to go back to his tiny lonely apartment and wait for the next few days to be over.

Stiles went to stand a little way off to the side to wait for his drink. He looked to the side, silently sending a prayer for Boyd to take his time preparing the drinks. He watched the bright garlands, let his eyes wander and follow their paths arching over the doors and on the walls. The red ornaments had been hung there with sticky tape, it wasn’t delicate by any means but it did the job.

He couldn’t  keep the deep sigh from escaping him. His love-hate relationship with Christmas was still going strong.

His eyes then landed on a guy just a few feet away. Stiles hadn't noticed him before. Then again he hadn't noticed much of anything except Jackson being his usual douche-bag self.

Now Stiles was actually looking. The guy seemed to be waiting for his drink too, fidgeting a little as he put his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. He must have been in the line just in front of him. It really spoke volumes about his current state that Stiles hadn’t noticed a guy that hot. He usually noticed these things. Not that it usually amounted to anything because Stiles really wasn’t a one night stand kind of guy. Stiles was a romantic and most importantly what he craved was intimacy and comfort. He didn’t really care about dick.

Oh but that jawline was definitely cut by the angels. Falalalaa blessed be the lord.

Even with dick out of the question, Stiles’ eyes could only rejoice in the pleasing aesthetics this guy brought to the world.

“Derek ?” Boyd called out, putting a cup down on the counter, before quickly turning to prepare other drinks.

The guy, Stiles’ guy, stepped forward. Okay, Derek. Derek. Stiles almost tasted the name on his tongue. Yeah, he had to agree, Derek seemed to fit that hot guy perfectly.

He didn’t have the time to analyze anything more than that before Boyd came to put another cup on the counter and called, “Stiles !”

Stiles jumped a little at his name. That was fast. He quickly made his way back, ready to talk to Boyd for a couple of more minutes before it was actually absolutely mandatory for him to either leave or find a place to sit. He planned on leaving, he didn’t want to sit all alone in the busy coffee shop. He wasn’t a hipster trying to find a vibe, he just wanted a couple more minutes to hear Boyd tell him one of the stupid things Isaac, their employee, got up to or something. Anything.

Okay so Stiles was a little desperate. Just a little.

“Excuse me,” a voice said behind him.

Stiles turned around so fast, he almost heard his neck creak. Derek, the hottest guy Stiles had seen in a long time, was standing there, frowning down at his cup.

Why was he still standing there ? That was definitely not proper coffee shop etiquette. Someone should tell him because no matter how hot a guy was, he was supposed to be moving along when the drink was retrieved. That was how a coffee shop worked. Stiles was supposed to be the only one allowed to loiter, that was his friend privilege.

The guy frowned again, and it seemed directed at Stiles this time. He leaned in a little closer. Stiles swallowed audibly. Now was not the time to get flustered but it had been a while since anyone had come close into his personal space. What was this man doing all of a sudden?

“Excuse me,” Hot Guy Derek said again. “I think you have my drink.”

What ?

It was Stiles’ turn to frown now. (The frowning contest is on, mister!) He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck with his free hand, “What?”

Stiles barely had the time to take his cup but he definitely had time to notice Erica's cursive handwriting unmistakably spelling out his name in black sharpie. It was not every name that could be mistaken for ‘Stiles’. What was this dude on about ?

He threw a quick glance in Boyd’s direction only to find him gone. The bro code really wasn’t what it used to be.

“Stiles,” Hot Derek said.

Stiles' brain short-circuited a minute, only able to gape and stare at the wonderful scruff on that man's face. Stiles would very much enjoy hearing his name coming out of that mouth somewhere more private. Somewhere in between some sheets maybe, under a duvet, safe and warm on a Sunday morning.

“Stiles,” He said again.

Stiles shook his head and blinked a little to meet Derek's eyes. Oh wow. Those eyes. Yeah Stiles’ brain wasn’t back online yet. Later he would be able to express in a lot more words how beautiful these green eyes looked under the cozy coffee shop lighting.

Were the twinkles in there only the reflection of the Christmas lights?

The whole street was covered with the red and green lights. Their glow was flickering through the large wall of windows.

The town was floating in the Christmas spirit and if Stiles had to put a face on a feeling, he might want to choose this face right here.

Here was a reason to accept Christmas a little more.

Wait. Hot Derek's eyebrows twitched. They were clearly trying to tell him something. Stiles followed his line of sight down to the cup he was holding. Derek's cup... which also had a name written in that same handwriting in black sharpie, except that instead of Derek's name, it was Stiles' name written there.

It was all there from the capital S to the lower case s, as if it had been copy-pasted from his own cup, except that on this one the i of his name has been dotted with a heart instead.

“Huh ?” Stiles said intelligibly.

“You have my drink.”

“Huh.”

Derek probably thought Stiles was a moron. Maybe it was not too late to act like a foreign exchange student or a tourist. Excusez-moi no hablo English? No, even better, Stiles was almost ready to unearth his fake polish accent even if he hadn’t spoken a word of that language since the last time he went to visit his Babcia with his mom and dad when he was eight.

“You ordered a black coffee.” Derek said simply. To prove his point, he slowly uncapped his cup to show the wonderfully black liquid inside. Dark roast, Stiles’ favorite. “You want me to guess what’s in your cup or is that enough proof?”

“Listen dude!” Stiles started a little too loud.

Stupidly, Stiles was ready to start a fight. He was fed up with everything today : work, stupid Jackson, stupid Christmas, stupid coffee shop messing up orders for no reason. He didn’t need an attractive guy getting in his face now because of some coffee ordeal. He just wanted to go home and wallow in his misery. It was a thing people did ; going home just to be free to be miserable without having the world there to look at them. In this case, Stiles was people.

Stiles just really wanted to be left alone.... or to be hugged or something.

So yes, he had spoken a little too loud, making some heads turn to look at them. He didn’t really want to cause a scene. It was a reflex more than anything. It was such a reflex that he hadn’t come up with the rest of the sentence.

He cleared his throat to find some composure. “I’m sure this is just a mistake.”

Way to state what seemed obvious.

Though… Now that he thought about it, Stiles knew this wasn't a mistake. He quickly glared in Erica’s direction. She was way too careful with her business to make a mistake like that. Plus the little heart on the i was definitely giving her away. She never put hearts on his cup.

His eyes met Boyd’s for a second and the playful glint in his eyes was enough to confirm Stiles’ doubts. Fuckers. Both of them.

Stiles just hadn’t been miserable enough that they had to come and mess with him on this goddawful day.

“Oh god, I hate them. I’m so sorry.” Stiles let his head fall. “They think they’re hilarious. It’s just, yeah, they’re sort of my friends, though clearly they shouldn’t ever have earned that title. I should only have nice friends. I should only have all the nice things. I don’t deserve this? All of today. I don’t deserve that. And they know I don’t like Christmas time! They’re just… ugh.”

He hit his forehead with his fist, wishing so badly he could just transport himself some place else. Stiles hated everything right now. Erica and Boyd had had to go find the hottest guy in town and pull a prank? And they called themselves friends? What a travesty.

“Why would it be funny?” Derek’s eyes weren’t leaving Stiles a second.

It was almost uncomfortable. Hot guys rarely paid attention to him so Stiles lacked the proper defense mechanisms to help him cope with what was happening right now. Without thinking he brought what he believed to be his cup to his lips and gulped down a disgustingly sweet mouthful of what he guessed to be a white chocolate drink. The sugary feeling stuck all the way down his throat. It was so bad, he choked.

Heads turn in their direction again because Stiles was nothing but a discreet guy. God, could he please just disappear instead of making a fool out of himself?

Derek’s hand was on his arm, holding him upright, brushing down to his elbow almost like a caress. Stiles was definitely imagining the look of concern on the other man’s face. There was no way this was happening right now.

“Here!” Stiles all but shoved the burning hot cup of white chocolate in Derek’s chest. “That’s definitely yours.”

Derek let go of his arm, his fingers brushing against Stiles’ as he moved to catch the cup Stiles was handing to him.

Every touch felt like burning, Stiles was that touch-starved. Sure he shook hands with his colleagues at work but that was not the same. Shaking hands with people he barely tolerated definitely didn’t bring out any Jane Austen type of vibes in his heart. Here though, he could very well be named Elizabeth Bennett, he wouldn’t be the wiser.

Derek almost smiled, just a tiny smug curl on the corner of his lips. Stiles’ eyes widened as he realized that he basically had drunk in this stranger’s cup just before giving it back. That was definitely not proper coffee shop etiquette. Germs and all that.

Stiles was a disgusting twenty-something spreading his disgusting saliva all over the place, and by all over the place Stiles meant this thirty-something God of beauty.

There was just a tiny hint of grey, salt and pepper in the scruff. So incredibly endearing for some reason. He never really knew he had a type until today but he might just have had his revelation moment. Or maybe someone like Derek was just so beautiful that he would be anyone’s type. What are the chances that a guy like that would be gay or bi or pan or any of the sexualities that would give Stiles the slightest most tiniest chance? Zero, null, void of any chance that was what it was. Either that or he was married or a Jackson Whittemore type of douche bag.

Though he didn’t feel like a douche bag.

He felt sort of soft. He felt like someone who would accept to be the big spoon.

Stiles was about to reach for the cup again but was stopped short by Derek who pointedly stared at him straight in the eyes as he slowly brought the white chocolate to his mouth, took a sip and let out a small moan of satisfaction before licking his lips. Slowly, oh so slowly.

What the hell was going on here? Stiles frowned at him, mouth half open. It felt like the whole universe was out to get him. This shouldn’t be as sexy as it was.

Hot Derek looked up at him, smirking. He knew what he was doing. He knew.. He knew he was hella attractive, he knew how to use it. This was terrible. So so terrible. If germs had to be exchanged, why not a full on make-out in the back alley under the twinkling lights? Stiles could be down for that.

But all of this was just a joke, a prank. This wasn’t just a random guy meeting him a random way. This was a prank pulled by people he hadn’t seen outside of this coffee shop for years. He called them his friends but, really, maybe they were just acquaintances. He didn’t even know what Erica and Boyd got up to outside of the small walls of this coffee shop. For all he knew, Derek could be one of their friends, in on the joke, here to make Stiles miserable, really turn him into a Grinch for real.

“Can I get you a, uh, drink?” Derek asked. Stiles hadn’t expected that to be what came out of Derek’s mouth.

“I already have a drink,” Stiles narrowed his eyes and pointed at the hearted-Stiles cup.

“Right. Of course. There you go,” Derek handed him the cup.

Stiles took it, pulled it closer to his chest as, cradling it as if to bring comfort to the cup or to himself. He was not really sure. He didn’t seem to know much of anything right now. The only thing he knew was that Derek was not moving. He was not going away. He only stood there, looking at Stiles for some reason.

“Are you here with someone?” Derek asked now, taking another ostentatious sip of that Stiles-germ-filled drink.

What was Stiles supposed to say, did it look like he was here with someone? Would he be standing there with a hot stranger if he had anywhere else to be?

Yeah probably.

That guy was built like a Greek God, chiseled and beautiful. And he also smelled good, Stiles could tell. He didn’t know what brand of cologne it was or maybe it was just the pheromones in the air, but Stiles was swooning just a little bit. Not drooling, definitely not drooling.

The good question was why Stiles wasn’t leaving. He had his drink in hand, the deal was done. The cups had been exchanged. Stiles should go and save himself. He probably enjoyed being ridiculed. That was the masochistic low-self-esteem acting up again.

More importantly, why did the thought of leaving make him feel so weird inside? It felt like a little Christmas elf was in his chest using his heart as a punching bag.

Derek’s face did another of its twitches. Dude, this guy knew how to use his face to communicate like you wouldn’t believe. It was a little terrifying. Stiles got the message loud and clear that he had been silent a lot longer than politely acceptable.

That was a rare occurrence. Stiles was a talker. Everybody complained about it, he talked talked talked. Not always about the things that mattered though. That was one of his problems, wanting to keep face in all circumstances, not wanting to be a burden. That was why he never told Scott about feeling lonely. So he talked, he talked about Star Wars and he talked about the Mets or anything, talked about Lacrosse if he wanted to have the chance to have a two way conversation instead of just a monologue.

“No, I’m singl- alone ! I’m here alone.”

Stiles scrunched up his nose. That sounded bad. So. His anxiety was going to make him think about this for days and he might even wake up in the middle of the night four years from now thinking about how bad this had been. Smooth Stilinski, so smooth.

The soft cling of dishes being deposited on the counter pulled Stiles out of his never ending inner monologue. Derek turned around too,his eyes finally letting go of their hold on Stiles’ soul.

Saved by the bell as one would like to believe, except that when Stiles looked up he found Erica standing there behind the counter with some sort of wolffish grin on her face. It was more terrifying than being faced with an actual predator.

“On the house, boys. Enjoy!” She announced, her tone ringing like wind chimes.

Stiles glared. Her cheerfulness sounded just a little too forced under the circumstances.

He wanted to strangle her. She was only saved by the fact that there was a counter between them and about twenty people there to witness it. All he could do was glare, curse her with his mind, make it very obvious that he was not happy with her right now.

Still, Stiles was about to tell her off when Derek grinned and stepped forward to grab the two small plates of red velvet cheesecake with one hand.

Oh no, now Stiles was thinking about Derek’s hands.

“Thank you,” Derek said softly.

Derek seemed to accept what was happening without any trouble. What was up with that? Stiles still felt like he was living one hallucinatory scene in a movie or maybe one of these hidden camera gags. He was still ready to bolt, to dash out of there and leave them all to never return. This was a betrayal of the highest order. Reyes’ Coffee Shop was supposed to be a safe space. It was supposed to feel like home. Yes a home with stupid Jackson Whittemore as a guest sometimes but a home nonetheless.

“Your friends really are pushing this,” Derek huffed out, sounding amused. “If I had any criticism, I’d say she could have cut the cheesecake in the shape of a heart and given only one piece with two forks. This is really amateur work.”

Stiles couldn’t help but laugh. It came out a little hysterical, a little loud. Again. His nervousness always had the best of him. He was a mess, and now he was obviously blushing. The hot flush moved on his cheeks and ran down his neck. When Derek smiled, Stiles stopped breathing entirely. The smile didn’t feel mocking. Surprisingly.

“Dude, it’s not too late, you can still put that in the suggestion jar!” Stiles said, pointing to a piggy bank next to the cash register.

Derek frowned, “Isn’t that for tips?”

Stiles only shrugged. That would be a sweet revenge. Derek rolled his eyes.

“Let’s go sit.” Derek offered, before looking down and adding, “Unless you don’t want to?”

It came out as a question. Shy. Stiles could laugh again because this amazingly beautiful man in front of him was acting insecure as if Stiles had the upper hand here.

Derek’s ears were turning bright red. The color fit perfectly with the theme of the season. And again Stiles thought about Christmas. It would be such a shame if anyone was ever to reject such a heartwarming Christmas spirit.

Stiles’ heart skipped a beat or two at the sight of Derek who was now looking up at him.

“It’s my birthday today,” Derek confessed.

“It’s your what?” Stiles exclaimed.

“My birthday.”

“Yeah I heard you the first time, but, man, I don’t understand why you would tell me these things?” Stiles was almost getting angry now. “Because if it’s your birthday… it’s even more terrible! First it means you’re a Christmas baby which means you might hate Christmas even more than I do. Or love it wholeheartedly. I don’t know which is worse. But also if it’s your birthday and you’re here by yourself and my friends decided it would be fun to pull this stupid plan to get you to what? Meet me? Because oh my god, that’s some bad karma. I thought my karma was a bitch but dude , yours might be even worse! Imagine karma doing that to someone on their birthday… Jesus fucking Christ.”

When Stiles finally stopped his grand overly dramatic speech, he found Derek only looking at him, soft crinkles on the corners of his eyes.

“Is that it? Are you done?” Derek asked.

“Yes. You gotta admit I’m right though, but yes, I am done.”

“Are you always this stubborn?” Derek shook his head slowly. “The question is only rhetorical.”

Stiles snorted. He crossed his arms in a way he hoped to be manly. It failed as he had to be mindful of his coffee cup (the one Derek had uncapped but hadn’t bothered putting the lid back on earlier because apparently Hot Derek didn’t care about hot liquid hazard).

“Let’s make this easier on both of us.” Derek huffed out. “You’re single. I am too. It’s Christmas Eve, it’s my birthday, and I spent all day working. You’re cute,” he stopped a second to smile at Stiles’ shocked face. “You’re also ridiculous, but in a good way. Your friends are meddlers-”

“The worst kind of meddling meddlers.” Stiles had to agree.

“Who clearly care about you enough to pull something like this. That has to mean you are at least a decent enough person.”

“I’m a great person!” Stiles felt the need to correct. Look at him finding some sense of self worth when needed!

“Well, I’d like to be the judge of that.” Derek smiled. “If you’d let me.”

“What?” Stiles’ brain might be short circuiting again.

“Say yes, Stiles!” Boys shouted from where he was standing in the kitchen doorway.

“Fucking Hell Stiles!” Erica added.

Derek was full on grinning now. The dude thought all of this was wonderful. This whole mess of life Stiles had, it didn’t seem to scare him or push him away.

“Let’s go sit and enjoy some cheesecake.” Derek didn’t wait for Stiles to agree and just led the way to an empty table close to the window.

The lights twinkle again, illuminating the small wooden table as Derek unceremoniously dropped the small plates of cheesecake on the tabletop.

Stiles reached for him before Derek sat down.

“You say that like it’s easy but you say 'cheesecake' and I hear a lot more than that.” Stiles admitted.

He was a little breathless. That mean elf in his chest had taken to squeezing his lungs now, stomping on his heart too.

“If the cheesecake is good, that might mean a date or two.” Derek was acting casual about this.

“Again. You’re doing it again . Because when you say-“

Derek cut him short, leaning in to kiss him, swallowing down soundless words.

“I think you heard me just right.” Derek smiled again. “Tomorrow is Christmas and I’m driving back to my hometown to be with my family. I’m going to assume you’re not up for that yet. My sisters, huh, they’re a lot to handle. But tonight… Tonight, I’m all yours.”

Stiles let out a small surprised breath. His heart was growing so big all at once, all the air was being pushed out. Derek knew what he was doing. Derek fucking knew. There was so much implication in what he was saying and yeah sure Stiles definitely didn’t feel up for an official meeting with the family tomorrow (what the hell?) but who knew? Maybe next year?

“Wait, I just need to-“ Derek said before leaning in once more, raising Stiles’ chin an inch to angle him just right to capture his lips again.

This time Stiles felt more prepared, he didn’t just take it, he kissed back. They were keeping it chaste, it was a first kiss. They were still in the middle of the coffee shop. But Stiles couldn’t help it, he had to taste more. He ran his tongue softly on the underside of Derek’s upper lip. Stiles needed just a little more time and a little less audience to dare slip his tongue inside and -

“Yeah,” Derek breathed out, pulling away. He nodded, seemingly satisfied by the result of what he had 'needed to'.

“You don’t know what you’re signing up for. I’m no piece of cake.” Stiles needed to warn him.

“Can’t wait to find out.” Derek said before turning serious. “If this is the fine prints of some imaginary contract we’re signing, I probably have to disclose that I'm not perfect either.”

“I’m loving your business talk so much.” Stiles snorted.

“You say business but I hear a lot more than that.” Derek’s tone was serious but his face absolutely gave away how proud of himself he was.

“Shut up,” Stiles couldn’t help but smile. His grin was so wide it actually hurt his cheeks.

“Do you actually want to eat that cheesecake or should we get out of here?” Derek asked, his wonderfully endearing blush back in full force.

‘All I Want For Christmas’ was coming back on the radio and Stiles could actually laugh now. He still couldn't believe any of it was really happening.

“Race you to the door!” He grinned before starting off like a lunatic.

He could hear Derek follow him quickly but bumping into someone and apologizing before reaching Stiles again, his hand finding Stiles’ lower back as they tried to both squeeze in the entryway.

“Get it Stiles!” Stiles heard Erica shout out as they were about to open the coffee shop front door to head out. “Get it.”

“Bowchickabowwow!” Boyd sing-songed, slapping Erica’s ass with a dish towel.

Oh for fuck’s sake.

Stiles sent them the middle finger. They were going to hear him next time he comes in. He was not going to let them live it down. They probably won’t either, especially if their stupid prank actually worked. Stiles was probably not going to survive this.

Erica laughed. She knew she'd won.

“It’s not Valentine’s so I can’t be cupid but who says I’m not up for saving Christmas?! Thank me later!” She called after him.

Stiles wanted to retort, but Derek’s hand just found his, their fingers intertwined.

And yeah, this right here, this was a true Christmas miracle.

[nialledfromfics]

The Dating Game | Chapter Eight

~~

Joey awoke later that morning with a splitting headache and the wet tongue of a tiny dog licking at her face. Her eyes could hardly open; puffy from her crying and unable to adjust to the brightness of the sun streaming in through her bedroom window. Rolling onto her other side in a quiet yawn, Joey wasn’t surprised to see that she was alone, she half expected Niall to leave before she woke up considering she had done the same to him weeks back. But it still caused an ache in her chest as the thoughts of being in his arms, feeling his body against hers and the calming steady beat of his heart, came rushing to her head. 

She let out a sigh as Sadie started to whine, nudging at Joey’s cheek with her cold little nose. “I guess I should get my pathetic ass up now, huh?” she said to Sadie, pulling the pup into a hug and kissing her on top of her head. “How about we go for a walk? I could use some coffee and a big fat glazed donut.” 

The dog started to jump around on the mattress at the mere mention of one of her favorite words, and Joey giggled as she sat herself up, combing her fingers through the mess of her red hair to tame it back. Slugging her body out of her comfy bed, Joey hopped into a quick shower and got herself dressed before she headed out of her apartment with Sadie. The little dog happily trotted along as the two walked through their neighborhood and down the street to the quaint bakery and coffee shop that Joey loved to frequent. She knew the head barista well, and as soon as Joey would walk in, the polite young lady would have her order already in the making. They also allowed small dogs on the premises, so that was another plus for Joey. 

Paying for her medium mocha latte and her oversized glazed donut, Joey took a prancing Sadie back outside the shop to sit at one of their patio tables along the sidewalk. Sadie sat at Joey’s feet, watching pedestrians walk by as Joey picked off pieces of her breakfast and quietly ate. Her mind was still reeling; going over what had happened with Ross, how she had been so blind and so stupid to fall, yet again, for a man’s charade. Peering down at her half eaten confectionery, Joey cradled her forehead in her hand. She almost couldn’t describe how foolish she felt, even more so knowing that Niall had seen her in the state that she was in that night. She was nothing but a joke.

Why was finding someone so hard? Why was dating built to be this medivel structure of constant torture, where you find yourself trapped and falling for things that you shouldn’t, only to be disspointed over and over? Relying on friends or family to constantly lift you back up and get you going again. Joey not only felt like an utter fool for how she had been roped into Ross’ scheme, but also a burden to the people she cared about most. She had to get out of it. She had to figure out how to just be happy alone, because that was all she was ever going to have. 

Herself and Sadie. 

Peeking down at the little dog, she tucked some hair behind her ear and ripped off a piece of her donut. “Should we head to the dog park?” she asked her sidekick, feeding her the treat. Joey gathered up her things as she stood up, making sure to have a good hold on Sadie’s leash before they started to walk a few more blocks down towards the neighborhood dog park. 

The young woman mindlessly scrolled through her phone as she let Sadie play with her buddies for about 20 minutes, until the last bit of her coffee was cold and she felt that it was time to head back towards their apartment. The wind had begun to pick up, billowy clouds shifting overhead to cover the sun and they had only made it halfway back when Joey felt a vibration in her back pocket. She yanked her phone from her jeans and glanced at the screen as it rang. 

Niall. 

Joey’s brows wrinkled. Niall rarely called her. Only a handful of times since they had known each other, their correspondence typically was done through texting or even the odd facetime. Pulling in a deep breath, Joey answered the call and put the phone up to her ear. “Hello?”

“Hey, Jo.” 

She tipped her head down, her stare watching Sadie’s little legs go a mile a minute as the dog walked next to her. “Hey.” 

There was a slight pause on his end of the phone and Joey peered back up as she stopped to cross a street. “I just wanted to call ya to see how you were doin’...” 

Niall’s voice was low as he spoke, almost teetering on a whisper and with the wind picking up around her, Joey could barely hear him. “I’m, uh,...I’m okay,” she replied, “just out taking Sadie for a walk.” 

“Oh..oh, that’s good.” 

“Thank you...for last night, for...being there and everything,” Joey then added. “It meant a lot to me.”

“Of course, petal,” he said, “but uh, so, there’s other reason that I’m callin’,” Niall paused, clearing his throat, “I wanted to let ya know that...I’m gonna be headin’ to London tonight–”

“What?” Joey said loud into the phone, not sure she had heard him correctly. “Sorry, the wind is blowing like crazy out here.” 

Niall chuckled. “I’m gonna be goin’ to London tonight for a few weeks. Gotta, um, get some work done on me album.” 

“Oh,” Joey breathed out, her shoes halting on the sidewalk. 

“So...I’ll give a ring when I get back into town, yeah?” 

Chewing at her bottom lip, Joey peeked down at Sadie who was staring up at her in confusion. She nodded her head, as if Niall could even see her and started to walk again. “Yeah, of course.” 

“Cool,” he mumbled, “I’ll talk to ya later, Jo.” 

“Bye, Niall. Be safe.”

Hanging up her phone, Joey’s mind went crazy, thoughts whirling around like a cyclone in her head. Why was he going to London all of a sudden? Why hadn’t he told her before that he was going? Was it really just for work? Was it her? Was it something she did, said, didn’t say? 

A billion different thoughts and emotions crashed through her all at once, she couldn’t even grasp onto one single decent one if she tried. It was like a handful of sand, the grains slipping through her fingers and she had no idea how to stop it or what was really going on. But one thing she knew for sure, it looked like she was going to have to get used to being by herself, and the next few weeks were going to be as best as time as any to do it. 

•

Joey coasted through those next couple weeks like she was on some kind of autopilot. And not the good kind of coasting where everything was easy and flowed without a hitch, oh no, it was the disastrous kind of coasting like the world was whizzing past her at high speed and her reflexes couldn't keep up, as if her brake lines had been severed and she had no ability to stop. She just went through the motions; day in and day out, not thinking, not hearing, not talking, not feeling much of anything. 

She went to work and pretended like everything was fine, smiling through Alexis’ boring rambling before classes started, and barely replying to Carter’s few texts that he had sent her. It just didn’t seem to matter to her. Joey had thought that it was going to be easy, she had been single before and other than a lonely night here and there, it never phased her. But this was a far cry from just a lonely night, she felt entirely, all-consumingly...alone. 

And mostly because she hadn’t heard from Niall at all. 

Not a text, not a call, not an email or facetime. He also wasn’t using his social media as regularly either, so creeping on him wasn’t helpful or even a solace. She had no lifeline, no tether or connection to him and she wondered if maybe that was on purpose. Maybe he was just busy with work, or maybe...he had grown tired of their friendship, of her. Joey knew she could very well be acting overly dramatic about the entire situation, two and a half weeks of no communication wasn’t that big of deal, but something inside her just felt strange. It was all so peculiar and she really didn’t know what to make of it. 

Joey had barely left the apartment outside of work, camping out in her living room with Sadie and a folder of papers to go over. Catching up on whatever new crime documentaries had popped up on Netflix, stuffing her face with any carbs and sugary treats she could get her hands on, while dwelling on her less than ideal situation. Not only had she been treated poorly and been royally fucked over by a guy that she had hoped was different, but she was also forgotten by one that she knew was different. And that made everything that she was feeling, just that much worse. 

Nearing the three week mark that Niall had left LA and went to London, Joey woke up every morning hoping to see a text from him that he had landed back in town. Of course she was bitterly disappointed each time her eyes blinked open to see a blank screen. Alexis, on the other hand, wouldn’t stop texting her. Every night she’d send Joey something, a stupid joke or just to check up on her, and every time Joey would leave her on read. 

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk to her, it was more that Joey didn’t want to talk to anyone. She was still sulking in her misery about how bad she had been played by Ross, how the ordeal had dredged up feelings from her past and with Niall up and leaving unexpectedly, she just couldn’t get over how lost she felt. And that in turn made her feel like a complete idiot. Something she very much did not want to admit to Alexis. 

That following Saturday was like any other Saturday for Joey. She took Sadie to the dog park late morning, grabbed herself some lunch on the way back home and as she wrestled with the little dogs’ leash that had gotten wrapped around her back leg while stepping up to her front door, she was surprised to see a fairly large box sitting on her door mat in the hallway. Joey wrinkled her brows, peeking over her shoulder as if she was going to catch the culprit who had left the box before she picked it up with a shrug and headed into her apartment. 

“What could this be, Sadie?” Joey mumbled as she slid the box up onto the countertop in her kitchen. Taking a moment to unhook the bouncy little pup from her leash, the young woman hung it up next to the door and took off her light jacket before stepping back over to where the box was waiting for her. It was long and sort of thin, but upon checking the label, Joey wasn’t sure who or where it had come from. The only thing it had printed on it was her name and address. 

That in itself should have been suspicious, but she was curious and grabbing a pair of scissors from her junk drawer, Joey carefully started to open the box. Her heart flipped in her chest as she peeled away at the cream colored tissue paper. Inside was the most gorgeous bouquet of flowers she had ever seen. 

Blush pink and white roses surrounded by colorful wildflowers. 

Lifting the flowers from the box, Joey held them up to her nose and inhaled deeply, immersing herself in the fragrance of the mixed bouquet before she noticed a small card attached to the inside lid of the box. She gently laid the flowers back down and plucked the card from the cardboard and opened it. 

      “Just thinking of you, 

                                    Love Niall”

Joey’s lips fell to a part before she swallowed hard, her eyes becoming hazy as she lifted her stare from the blurry print of the tiny card in her hand to the flowers laying on her countertop. Wildflowers. She should have known. A smile tugged over her lips, the first genuine smile that had graced them in the last three weeks and for a split second, she felt good. Like really good. 

Finding an old vase hidden in the back of a corner cabinet, Joey slipped the flowers down inside with some water and arranged them slightly before setting them right in the middle of her small dining table. It was the perfect spot for it, she could see it from whatever room she was in and it gave her place an instant brightness, a light that she really needed. She was still perplexed as to why she hadn’t heard from him at all, but the flowers, the thought behind them provided her with a smidge of comfort. 

•

Later that evening, after Joey had settled into her pajamas and consumed nearly a whole pot of spaghetti, she was just about to curl up on her couch with Sadie when there was a knock at her door. The small dog jumped up from her place on the sofa barking as she ran towards the sound. “Shh, Sadie,” Joey scolded her, following her over to the door. “That’s enough.” 

Easing the door open, the redhead was brushed to the side as Alexis barged into her apartment. Joey pushed out a breathy chuckle and slowly closed the door. “Hey,” Alexis blurted out, turning to Joey and hooking her hands on her hips. The young woman let out a soft sigh and scraped her teeth across her lips. She knew by the slight scowl on Alexis' face and the tension in her shoulders, that the avoidance of her best friend might have caused a bit of an issue for the blonde girl. 

Rubbing over her arm with her hand, Joey peeked down at her bare feet, not really sure what to say. “Hey,” was all she could get out in a low voice. 

Alexis pushed out a groan and Joey glanced up at her, watching her shoulders slump forward in a defeated eye roll. She had already given up, never one to hold a grudge towards Joey for too long and the blonde spun around on her heels and started to walk over to the dining table. “Oooh flowers,” she mentioned as she got closer to where the bouquet was set up, “these are gorgeous. From Ross?”

Joey winced upon hearing his name out loud and she crossed her arms over her chest in a quiet huff. “No, Niall,” she told her with a shake of her head. 

“Niall,” Alexis mimicked with a wrinkle of her brow. She bent over slightly to sniff them. “Interesting…”

Tipping her chin up slightly, Joey’s eyes stayed glued to her friend as the blonde turned back around to face her. “So, what’s up, Lex?” 

“Really? You’re gonna ask me that like you don’t know why I’m here? I wanna know what the hell has been going on with you lately!” Alexis started, pushing out a sigh as she held out her hands towards her friend. “You’ve been so distant and weird, even at work. We’ve barely talked or hung out, you’re ignoring all my texts...is there a reason you’re avoiding me?”

Joey swallowed hard at her friends’ obviously frustrated words and she dropped her stare. “I dunno,” she muttered towards the floor, faintly shrugging her shoulders, “I’ve just been feeling off the last couple weeks. Just needed to be by myself, I guess.” 

“Are you okay?”

Rolling her eyes in a low huff, Joey shuffled over to where her friend was standing by her kitchen table and pulled out a chair, plopping herself down. Her gaze remained focused at her lap, but she could see the shadow of Alexis situating herself into the chair next to her. Joey took a moment to gather her breath before she spoke up again. “I slept with Ross.” 

“You did?” Alexis replied, her brows pulling in by the tone in which Joey was emitting, “That’s...good, right?” 

Joey shook her head, peering up at her best friend. “It was horrible, Lex, one of the worst experiences of my life and afterwards he told me that he had a girlfriend, a girlfriend! And that he pretty much just sleeps around with a bunch of different girls whenever she’s out of town. He was just using me.” 

“Oh God, Joey. I’m so sorry.” 

“No, it’s not your fault.” 

Alexis pulled her face in. “I set you up with him,” she scoffed, “I am somewhat to blame, but I honestly didn’t see him as being that big of a douchebag.” 

“I don’t blame you at all,” Joey said, tucking some hair behind her ear, “I didn’t see it coming either. He was so...nice and charming and smart, like, there were really no red flags, that I noticed anyway. But...I dunno, I guess it just...fucked me up a little bit. Kinda...pulled me back to being with Jake.” 

“Oh shit,” Alexis whispered with a sympathetic slump of her shoulders. 

Joey shook her head slightly. “I mean, I know it's nothing compared to what Jake put me through, but the feelings that I felt, it just-...it shot me right back to-..to him, to being with him.” Alexis reached out and rubbed her hand down the slope of Joey’s upper arm, the red head peering down into her lap. “Thank God Niall came over that night and took care of me, ‘cause I don’t want to even think about what could’ve happened if he hadn’t been there.” 

“Wait,” Alexis paused, narrowing her eyes at her friend, “Niall came over? That night after you slept with Ross?” 

Joey nodded. “Yeah, he came over and I was a total mess, crying like an idiot, trying to drown myself in a bottle of gin but he was just...really sweet and listened to me and just held me all night and, I dunno, it was nice to have that.” 

“Well, I’m glad he was there for you,” Alexis stated. 

“Me too.” Glancing up at Alexis, Joey noticed the slight smirk adorning her lips. “What?”

The blonde raised a brow. “Joey, sweetie…why didn’t you call me?” 

Joey’s mouth parted. “I...dunno, I-...,” her eyes shifted away from her friend as her answer jumbled off her dry tongue. “it was late and Niall, he…he was the first person to pop into my head, I guess.” 

Alexis’ head fell to the side. “And he was able to make you feel better?”

“For the night, yeah,” Joey said, catching the girl’s stare again. “But these last few weeks, I haven’t been able to shake these overwhelming feelings I have about what happened. I just feel so…stupid.” 

The blonde rolled her eyes in a low sigh. “You are not stupid,” she told Joey, raising her brows, “just like I told you with Jake, Ross is complete trash. Joey, he doesn’t matter at all. And he never deserved you.” 

“Yeah, I know,” Joey chuckled. 

“And hey,” Alexis went on, reaching over to rub the petal of one of the white roses, “you got these beautiful flowers from Niall to cheer you up. How’s that for romantic?”

“There is no romance behind those flowers,” Joey snorted.

Alexis pushed out a groan, throwing her head back to her shoulders. “For the love of God, woman, are you blind?”

“No.” 

“Than what it is gonna take for you to see that this guy is fucking in love with you?” she said,

Joey shook her head, peering over at the bouquet sitting in the middle of her table. “He’s not in love with me.” 

“Yes he is,” Alexis insisted, “I haven’t even met the guy yet and I know he has feelings for you.” 

“Were just friends,” Joey replied in a soft voice, looking back over at Alexis, “besides, I haven’t even talked to him in weeks. He’s been in London, doing...whatever it is that he’s doing, I’m sure I’m the last thing on his mind.” 

“These flowers beg to differ,” the blonde scoffed, slapping her palm down on the table top, “listen to me, I can tell just by the way that you talk about him, by the way your face lights up any time his name is mentioned or when you see his text come through your phone. I have never in my five years of knowing you, seen you this way with anyone.” 

A sigh left Alexis’ lips and she leaned closer to Joey. “I can tell by the look in your eyes as we sit here talking about him right now that you have serious feelings for this guy, Joey, and if you don’t put your fucking big girl panties on and tell this man how you feel...well...I just won’t be your friend anymore.” 

Joey pushed out a giggle. “Oh that’s mature, Lex.” 

The blonde gave her a shrug and Joey sighed lightly, plopping her elbow up on the table to cradle her cheek in her hand. “I just feel...I feel like I’m done, Lex. Done with dating, done with men, done with dealing with their bullshit and I dunno, maybe I just need to be alone, ya know?”

Alexis sat back in her chair, her stare falling over her best friend. She could feel the hurt in her heart, see the pain behind her eyes and the only breath of relief she noticed within Joey was the moment Niall’s name got brought up. That told her all she needed to know. “Maybe you’re right, Joey,” she began, catching her friends' sullen stare, “maybe you do need to be alone, but I just want you know, that friends...they don’t cuddle each other all night long in bed. Friends don’t send friends flowers for nothing. And when I look at you? I can see that you have more feelings there than just being his friend. You should tell him how you feel.” 

Joey lowered her gaze to her lap, Alexis’ words resonating through her and causing a knot to tangle in her tummy. “Just think about it, okay?” Alexis went on, “You might be surprised…”

•

Four more days passed before Joey got the text that she had been impatiently waiting on for the past three weeks and a half weeks. She had just gotten back from the grocery store, bags still sitting unpacked on her countertop when she heard the tone go off in her purse. Grabbing her phone from the pocket of her bag, Joey sunk her teeth into her bottom lip as her eyes glazed over the single text Niall had sent her. 

N: hey love , I’m back in LA . Hope you’re doin okay 

Joey felt her heartbeat start to pick up in her chest. And it wasn’t until that second, that Alexis’ words really started to churn in her head. She had attempted to shut Niall out of her thoughts, to forget about the flowers he had sent her, to how he had made her feel that night, to stop worrying so much about if he was ever going to contact her again. But the moment his name popped up on her phone screen, it was like everything else disappeared. 

She felt an inkling of warmth swell through her bones like a bleeding fire. She felt a sliver of happiness expand from the tips of her toes to the apples of her cheeks. She felt like the past nearly four weeks hadn’t even happened, that it was but a faint memory and everything was slowly going back to normal again. The way he would look at her, his blue eyes swimming over hers, the way he would touch her, the heat of his skin wrapping around her body as if it was the only thing that could keep her warm. The way he made her laugh, the way he made her feel alive and real and good. She felt complete when she was with him. Whole and absolute. And just like a strike of lightning, she felt this wave of unconditional longing for Niall, a hunger, yearning and consuming her body and her soul. Her entire ethereal being wanting to be filled with him. Just him and only him. 

And all of that, it made her stop and really think. Maybe Alexis was right, maybe she had a point. Maybe through all of the waiting, the searching, the wondering...maybe she really just needed to open her eyes and admit what was going on deep down inside her: she had full on, mind altering, body crippling, devastatingly real feelings for Niall. 

She was in love with him. And she didn’t know what to do with that. 

Joey sat on her heavy hearted revelation for another five days. Five long, excruciatingly frustrating days. She hadn’t heard from Niall apart from his first text to her when he had gotten back in town, and that bit confused her as she was certain he would have wanted to hang out or get some dinner or something along those lines, but that invite from him never came. Joey could have invited him herself, but the nerves coursing through her body every time she went to shoot him a text were unbearable and she knew that to be able to move forward with Niall, she would definitely have to tell him her feelings first. 

And the only way to do that was in person. 

•

It was a rainy Sunday evening, the sun had just begun to set and Joey had spent the entire day pacing around her small apartment, weaving between her furniture and over her dog who kept getting underfoot, gearing herself up for what she was about to do. Niall had no idea she was planning on stopping by his house, but Joey had seen just an hour earlier from an Instagram post of his, that he was indeed home and was watching golf on TV. It was the perfect time. He was most likely alone, Chris usually up at the bar on weekend nights and he wasn’t in the midst of writing music or anything that she could distract him from. 

But trying to calm her nerves was the least of her worries. 

The entire car ride to his house, Joey went over in her head at least a million times what she was going to say to him. Her best plan? To just spit it out. Tell him point blank that she had feelings for him and that she wanted to be with him and she really hoped he felt the same. It seemed easy enough, but it was probably the most daunting thing Joey had ever done. She had never felt for anyone the way she felt for Niall, and to just...air all her thoughts and feelings out there for him to see, to rebuff, it left her panicky and sweaty and just a downright mess. 

But the red haired girl pushed past the lump that was settling in her throat as she pulled up in front of his house. Parking out by the side of the privacy fence, Joey got out of her car and  pranced through the drizzle of rain to his gate, entering in the keycode. Making her way to his front door, Joey stood on his stoop, finally out of the rain, and attempted to fix her waves of long hair that had stuck slightly to the side of her face. She inhaled deep, hoping the jitters of her fingers would stop as she tucked them into her palms and hung them idle at her sides. 

Swallowing hard, Joey eased her eyes closed, replaying the words she had prepared over in her head one last time before she slowly reached up to ring the doorbell. Her heart was beating in the back of her ears as she waited for him to answer the door, it seemed like hours, and after only a handful of seconds, the door swung open. 

His light blue eyes locked instantly with hers and it felt like there was no more air to breathe. Like all of the oxygen had been sucked from the atmosphere, replaced by rose dust and fairy floss and glittery night stars. Her chest stopped, her lungs purging and her heart swelling, a heat stinging across her skin at the sight of him and that gorgeous smirk that was spreading over his mouth. 

Holy fuck, she was so in love with him. 

“Joey?” he greeted, his brows raising in surprise as he dragged his stare down the length of her body. “Hey!” 

Joey bit the growing smile off her lips. “Hi, Niall,” she replied, forcing herself to take in a breath, “Can I come in?” 

Niall reached up to rough his hand through his hair as he peeked over his shoulder. Joey’s eyes fluttered as she kept her gaze glued to him, a dreamy haze enveloping her. She cleared her throat as he looked back over at her. “Uh, yeah, sure,” he said, stepping back and widening the doorway to let her into the foyer. “It’s good to see ya.” 

Joey pulled her hair over her one shoulder as she stepped closer to Niall. “It’s good to see you too,” she told him, her voice soft as she forced herself to dive quickly into the reason she was there, “actually I’ve been kinda thinking about things.” 

“Oh yeah?” Niall said, his head tipping to the side slightly as he planted his hands on his hips. He drifted his eyes over hers, seeing the slight apprehension and a tinge of concern came over his face. “You doin’ okay?”

Nodding her head, Joey peeked down at the floor and carefully pulled in a sharp breath. “Um, so…” she paused, scraping her teeth across her bottom lip as she caught his stare once more. “There’s something that I needed to tell you–”

“Babe!”

A high pitched, bubbly voice came bounding into the room, attached to a beautiful skinny blonde who walked right up to Niall and wrapped her arm around his waist. “Oh…hi,” she said to Joey. 

But the redhead was left wordless, motionless, breathless. Her heart seized to beat in her chest, dropping like a rock to the pit of her stomach as that lump in the back of her throat felt like it had burst, a trillion little shrapnels of glass slicing down her esophagus and filling her entire midsection in blood. Glancing from Niall to the pretty blonde hanging off of him, Joey fought to keep her chin from trembling. 

Niall could see the change in Joey’s face, see the color drain from her cheeks as her pouty lips fell to a drooping part. Her hazelnut eyes were wide as saucers, stuck on the girl next to him and Niall swallowed hard before bowing his head to nervously run his fingers up through his dark hair. “Uh...Joey, this is Lila,” he mumbled, peering back up at Joey. Her eyes were on him now, darting anxiously across his face as he spoke. “Lila this is...my friend, Joey.” 

“Hi, Joey,” Lila chirpily greeted in her British accent, “it's always nice to meet Niall’s friends.” 

She had a soul stealing, brightly white smile and the face of a goddamn model and Joey wanted nothing more than to burst into tears at the sight of her. Swallowing hard, Joey held back her urge to cry, forcing a less than mediocre grin on her face. “Yeah, n-nice to meet you too.” 

Lila shifted her attention over to Niall. “Hun, we better get going if we are gonna make those dinner reservations.”

Joey watched as Niall nodded his head. “Yep, yep, um...I’ll be right there.” 

“Okay.” Lila grabbed around Niall’s chin and turned his face to hers, pushing a kiss to his lips before walking off back into the kitchen. 

Moving her stare away, Joey folded her arms over her chest and choked back the tears that were readily filling the brims of her eyes. Niall stood there, hands stuffed down into his pockets just staring at her, not knowing what to say or what to do. His heart was thumping in his chest, a sweat breaking out over his forehead and he dipped his tongue out to run across his dry lips. After a minute of excruciating silence, Joey finally brought her eyes back up to his. 

It nearly knocked the breath from him. 

“I should...I should probably go,” she whispered. 

“W-wait…” Niall stuttered, “um, I thought ya needed to tell me somethin’?” 

Pressing her eyes closed, Joey faintly shook her head and forced a smile. “You know what...it’s not important.” 

“Joey…”

She spun around, stepping towards the front door. “Have fun,” she mumbled, not even looking back at him. 

“...Joey…” 

Opening his front door, she remained quiet, needing to be out of that house as quickly as she could before she collapsed on his floor right in front of him. Just as she stepped through the threshold with the door inching closed behind her, she heard his soft voice whisper out one last little plea.

“Jo…”

And that was all it took for her knees to buckle and the tears to roll down her cheeks.

[shewritestheblues]

You Know I Love You II

ONE

Erik Killmonger x Reader

Warnings: None 

Part 2/2 - I may or may not do a part III to this. I have some other stuff I wanna write. But thanks so much for reading. excuse any typos. I wrote this while wine drunk. :)

**

Erik has kept his eyes on you. When you went to work, the gym, the grocery store. How do you think he knew when you made it back to your apartment with the flowers? When you found out about his ‘side piece,’ he felt… foolish. He knew he messed up. He knew you weren’t the type to sit around and cry about stuff. You gave yourself maybe an hour after he left that night to cry your eyes out and you pulled yourself together. You didn’t chase people. You spent a bulk of your existence doing that and that’s not who you were anymore. You would move on because that’s what life did. Time kept going regardless and you vowed to do the same.

You were sitting at your favorite table at your favorite coffee shop. You had your headphones in, completely zoned out trying to finish up your latest blog. A cup appeared on your table and when you looked up, the person standing there took your breath. She was taller in person. The high pony she sported really brought her round face. You could see your reflection in the gloss on her lips. She looked nervous. You sat silently, glaring up at her waiting for her to say something.

“Um,” she started, “I think you know who I am. Can we talk?”

You clench and unclench your jaw and she could see the conflict in your eyes. You could politely say no and go back to working, you could stand up and punch her in the throat or… you could hear what she has to say. Option one was out the door. It was either fight or listen. You chose to listen.

“Sure.” your eyes travel her form up and down. You don’t bother moving any of your things to make room for her. She was invading your space after all.

You stared at her blankley. She needed to start talking before you changed your mind and start dragging her through this shop. You clear your throat and she took a deep breath before beginning to speak.

“I’m Leah.”

You continue to stare at her with the most unbothered expression. She wipes her palms on her jeans and perks up like she’s been hit with a sudden burst of confidence.

“Me and Erik have been dating for a couple of months now. He didn’t tell me about you at first.” your face didn’t change as she continued on. “Anyways, I just wanted to tell you that you need to leave him alone now.”

You scoff at that. “Wow.” you mouthed. You look around you to make sure that she’s really talking to you.

“I’m being dead ass girl. He’s mine now and you need to move on.”

“Me? I need to move on?” you were in disbelief. Erik has been blowing your phone up and sending you gifts every single day since you put him out. Yet, his-- whatever she is, is here bothering you. Before you could continue, Leah’s eyes move passed you at something behind you. You feel a large presence glooming over you and when you look up, Erik is standing just inches away from you with his dark eyes glaring at Leah. Leah smirks at him. His eyebrows connect with a scowl.

“The fuck are you doing here?” he spat at her.

She opens her mouth to speak but you beat her to it. “She was telling me how happy y’all are and that I need to move on and leave her man alone.” you end your word with a smile.

Leah didn’t add or deny anything that you said. She seemed content with your reply.

“I’m not your man. I never fucking was.” he grabbed her arm, bringing her to her feet. “You need to go.”

You watched confused. At this point you were wondering how in the hell did either of them know where you were. The realization hit you like a ton of bricks. Erik had been watching you. Leah had been watching him, watch you.

“I’m not leaving, Erik.” Leah snatched her arm away and folded her arms over her chest. “You need to end this now.”

“End what?”

“You and her.” she pointed between the two of you.

“I’m not ending shit with her. You need to get that through your thick ass skull. I been told you I was done with you. The fuck you keep crawling back for?” Erik was now hovering over Leah’s slim body, snarling at her.

Her eyes began to water. She tried to blink it away but she was shaking. “What about me, Erik? You think you can just fuck me and that’s it?” she was yelling now and causing attention to be casted onto the three of you. Erik was pissed. Her eyes grew big, sensing the danger she was in if she didn’t back down. You swiftly began packing up your things.

“That shit was one time!” he barked. “And I shouldn’t have done that. You crazy bitch!”

You stormed passed the yelling duo. You had so many feelings rushing through you right now and you just wanted to run. You had walked to the coffee shop since it was only a few blocks from your apartment so you began power walking back home. Tears were filling the brim of your eyes as you walked.

“Y/N!” Erik calls out to you. He jogs to catch up to you. “Baby, can you please hear me out?”

“What Erik! What is it that you have to say?” You’ve had enough. You just wanted this to be over already. Your mind was already made up. You were sick of Erik’s bullshit.

“Y/N… I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry? That’s all you have to say?”

Erik pulled you to the side, out of the way of passing people on the street. “Of course not. You know I love you, Y/N. I just--”

“Spit it out, Erik.” a lone tear had began to fall and Erik rubbed it away with his thumb. You didn’t even have the energy to move away.

“I’ve only been in love once before you. You know that. That didn’t end well and I guess--”

“Really Erik? So I’m supposed to suffer because that bitch had a baby on you? That’s not my fault. I’ve been nothing but good to you. I’ve loved you. I helped you heal.” You let the tears fall as you let out a deep, shaky breath. “I’m supposed to be your wife, E.” That last part came out low. The pain in your voice traveled through Erik’s entire body. His chest became tight seeing you hurt this way.

“It was one time.” his large hands cup your cheeks. He was pleading with you now.

“One time doesn’t make someone believe that y’all are together. She clearly was keeping tabs on you to find me.”

“I swear, it was one time. I know this isn’t an excuse but this whole wedding planning shit was getting heavy. Seeing it all made it real and I got scared. I didn’t want to get all the way there and then my heart gets broken again.”

“Do you really think I would ever do anything to hurt you?”

“I know you wouldn’t. I was being stupid and letting people get in my head.”

You shake your head. You wipe your face of your tears with the sleeves of your hoodie. You were done crying. He doesn’t get anymore. “No,” you look him in the eye. “I’ve been nothing but good to you. I was actually thinking about forgiving you. But this bitch really had the balls to approach me. I don’t need that in my life Erik. I need to know that the man I’m going to marry is honest with me. That he won’t be out here just fucking around on me and disturbing my peace.. OUR PEACE.” Erik tried to get a word in but you wouldn’t allow him. “How do I know this bitch won’t quit? How do I know that when another major event happen for us, you won’t get scared and pull some shit like this again? Huh?”

“It won’t!” his voice was laced with the need to get through to you.

“Yeah, it won’t.” You dug into the front pocket of your purse and pulled out your engagement ring. You placed it in his palm and you could’ve sworn you heard his heart break. Erik’s breathing was heavy and his palm was hot. “I did everything right and it still wasn’t enough for you, Erik. I love you. I swear I do, but I don’t deserve this.”

You made your way back onto the sidewalk to continue your journey home. Erik called out to you. The hurt in his voice almost made you turn back to him… almost. But you had promised to never be that person again. You wouldn’t put someone else’s hurt before your own. No one was worth your sanity. Not even your husband to be. Like you did two weeks ago, you could give yourself time to feel this but you would bounce back. You always did.

Tags: @chaneajoyyy @raysunshine78 @alexundefined @elaindeereads @tgigoldie @shaekingshitup @soufcakmistress @ohliyaxoxo​ @steampunkprincess147​ @soulfxll​ @dangerous-history @abeautifulmindexposed @itsjustshanie @keiva1000 @rbhp 

[dalamjisung]

this christmas ❃ jackson wang

genre: christmas fluff!

word count: 2196

pairing: reader x jackson wang

description: every hallmark of your relationship happened on christmas. what happens when he has to leave?

(suggestion: read with THIS CHRISTMAS by OH WONDER playing --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0TT3GTguB8)

You weren’t sure if it was the snow, the cold, or the memories that sent goosebumps down your body. You had a mug of hot chocolate in your hand,– a tradition you never gave up on,– as you look through the window, watching the people run to take shelter, and the cars carefully speed through the street. It was your favorite time of the year, and yet, it wasn’t the same.

This was your firs Christmas alone in three years, and you felt as lonely as one could. Your friends offered to come over, but you rather be alone, if not with him. Your parents offer too, but they never really liked Christmas much. Then there are your neighbors, your boss, the bartender that hits on you at the coffee shop, even your old college roommate reaches out and invites you out for a Christmas celebration; they all offer you company, and that just it, isn’t it? You don’t want an offer; you don’t want a half meant invitation to hang out, because you want to be with someone that wants to be with you, too. 

You sigh, tiredly rubbing your sore shoulder, and your eyes follow a couple walking down the street, and you are sure you can hear them humming a familiar song– one that you also used to hum. 

“Wake up, love,”

“No,” You groan, turning to face him and hide your face on his chest. “Five more minutes.”

“It’s never just five minutes with you,” He says and you can practically hear his smile. Suddenly you gasp, feeling his ice cold hands on your back, under your shirt. “Come on, Y/N, get up, my love.”

“Jackson,” You whine, moving away from his hands. “Noooo.”

“Yeeees,” He says and grabs your waist, bringing you closer to his body again.

“I’ll get up, I’ll get up,” You laugh, a bit more awake.

“Finally,” He mumbles, eyes locked on your face as you faced him. He was smiling a wide smile you loved very much– one he reserved just for you, in mornings like this.

“…only if you sing to me,” You say, grinning wide and laying back on his chest. Your arms go around his frame and you hold on tight– you never know when he has to leave again.

“Any special requests?”

“You know the one,” You mumble.

And he really did. His voice was like raw honey in the morning, and you allowed it to overflow onto your body, warming you down to your toes. You remember falling asleep as you hummed to the song. 

Funny how things work. You two always promised to spend Christmas together, for not only was your favorite time of the year, but it was how you two met, after all.

“Y/N,” Your friend whined. “Please come with me.”

“Why would I want to go to a corporate party during Christmas?” You ask her, slightly uncomfortable with the idea of not knowing anyone there. “I don’t even work with you!”

“You’ll be my plus one,” She says, rolling her eyes. “And you say ‘corporate’ as if it’s a bad thing-“

“It is a bad thing!” Your shriek, laughing incredulously. 

“I work for an entertainment agency,” She defends. “Think of all the hot idols, and the good food, and the expensive drinks.”

She did have a point.

In the end, you go– bot for the hot idols, or the good food, or the expensive drink; but for your friend. She is not really a fan of the season, and just to see her happy and wanting to celebrate made you happy and wanting to celebrate. More.

It’s almost midnight when you notice him, and of course you know who he is. Jackson Wang. But you don’t really focus on that, instead choosing to laugh at his choice of attire; similar to you, Jackson chose the ugliest Christmas sweater he could find, and like that he went to the party. Maybe it was because you were too loud, but he looks at you, and his eyes instantly light up.

“Oh!” He shouts, and pulls his friend towards you. “Look Jinyoung, look! She’s also wearing an ugly sweater.”

Trying to make up for the lack of manners of his friend, Jinyoung smiles and introduces them both. Soon, he leaves the talk, but you didn’t notice at the moment. It is only when Jackson tells you that story again during your first date that you remember Jinyoung was even there. 

You see a yellow taxi zooming through the street and you can’t fight a smile blooming. You wonder who is trying to get home; and you wonder if they have anyone waiting for them, just like you were– sitting on a chair, looking out the window, with a, now, lukewarm mug of hot chocolate. 

“You’ll wait for me, won’t you?” Jackson asks for the up tenth time, butting his lips in nervousness before looking at the boarding gate.

“Hey,” You call softly, squishing his cheeks in the enduring way you know he hates. “I’ll always be waiting for you to come back, yeah?”

“What if that changes?” He mumbles, and your heart hurts when you see tears in his eyes. “I mean, it must be a fucking pain in the ass, always having to wait for your boyfriend to come home from tour… months apart and all.”

“It is a pain in the ass,” You shrug, kissing his pouty lips. “But is my pain in the ass. And please refrain from making jokes right now.”

He chuckles. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Wang,” You say lightly tapping his butt, and ignoring the shutter of the cameras around you. It’s a talent, really, the way you could just pretend they weren’t there. “Now go break some hearts.”

“That’s not what we do!” He whines, allowing Jaebeom to pull him away from you. 

Just as you are about to turn around, you hear him scream your name, running towards you, and you brace yourself. One last kiss, you think, and there it is. His mouth on yours, moving, pleading.

Wait for me, it says. 

Always. 

You chuckle, remembering the amount of tabloid links you received the next day. Your friends always make fun of you for being on gossip magazines, but you would shrug and say that it is a small price to pay for a Jackson Wang. Even when you are pissed at him; when you want to slap some sense into him– it’s still a very small price to pay. 

“Are you fucking kidding me, Jackson?” You shout, marching inside your shared apartment. 

He sighs. “Please lower your voice, I-“

“Don’t,” You sneer, and he knows better than not listening to you. “You promised me.”

Fights with you two were always like that; you losing it and him trying to be composed. He hated seeing you upset, really, but he knew there was no avoiding it. No relationship would survive without a few fights here and there. 

“It’s not like I have a choice!” He defends himself. “It’s not like I looked at JYP and said, ‘hey, please book our last show on Christmas night!’”

“But did you even contest it?” You ask, trying to calm down. “Did you even try?”

“I-“ He chokes on his words. “I don’t know what you expect from me, Y/N… it’s my job.”

“Yeah,” You say, holding back sob. “It is, isn’t it?”

“Babe…” He sighs. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” You say, and turn around, mindlessly walking to kitchen. “Go pack. You leave tomorrow.”

“Y/N,” He pleads. “Please. I don’t wanna leave you for three months with this in between us.”

“It’s fine, really,” You say, defeated. “I was overreacting. It’s just Christmas. It doesn’t really matter.”

And he didn’t know what hurt the most; hearing you say that, or finding you sleeping in the couch in the middle of the night. 

Truth is, you regretted that night. Yes, Christmas is important for you– always was, always will be. When you were little you would always build the tree by yourself, and put the present under them so that you could wake up to a ‘surprise.’ You always loved the idea of Santa Claus, still do, because at least that showed you that there was still something good. 

You met Jackson when you were going through a rough patch; you had been fired, and for a while, you couldn’t look forward to anything besides Christmas, so meeting him on that fateful day could’ve only been the universe saying ‘here you go, something worth looking forward to.’ And he knew; he knew about all of it and that is why he only officially asked you to move in with him a year later, on Christmas day. It turned into an unsaid thing in between you two; important things would always be announced on Christmas. So the fact that he isn’t there with you on Christmas Day shattered you, but you knew there is nothing he could do. It was his job, after all; but you’ll be damned if you say you wouldn’t give anything to have him there, sitting with you on his lap, drinking hot chocolate and listening to Christmas songs. 

You’d give all the snow and sleigh bells to hear him whisper in your ear how much he loved you; all the cold and mistletoes, just to have his arms around you. You’d give anything. 

With a sigh, you start waking up your body; your first move your arms, and then you untuck your legs from underneath your body. You’ve been sitting there since the morning, and when you try to call Jackson, the fight just another looming insecurity over your head, he didn’t pick up; so you’ve been waiting for him to call you back ever since. You know his last show of the tour is tonight, but it’s had been over for hours, now, and still nothing from your boyfriend. Even his members called you…

Just as you are about to stand up and take your empty mug– and the filled one, standing on the window sill– to the sink, you notice another cab, slowing down as it comes down your street. You chuckle, but it dies as soon s the cab stops in front of your building. 

No, you think. A lot of people live here. Don’t be an idiot, Y/N, he comes back in two days-

But your line of thought is cut off upon noticing a strangely familiar mess of limbs and hair and jean jacket exciting the car in a hurry. 

“No way,” You mumble, squinting out the window still. “No way, no way no way-“

“Way.”

You turn around so fast that the armchair even tips a little bit backwards, making you squeal as he runs to you. When he embraces you, you are already sobbing. You can’t believe he did this.

“I tried,” He mumbles softly in your hair, squeezing you to his chest. “I really did, but this is the best I could do. I’m sorry Christmas is almost over, love.”

“You’re here,” You breath in his scent, hands wondering over his arms, and shoulders, and finally grabbing his face. “You’re really here, on Christmas.”

“Yeah,” He chuckles, mouth kissing you quickly. “Not the whole day but-“

“Fuck that,” You kiss him again; slowly this time. All of your frustrations, all of your hope and sadness, everything suddenly dissipates as soon as he pulls you closer. “You’re here, Jackson. I love you.”

And at that he pulls away, with an animated ‘ha!’ And runs to his backpack discarded by the door. 

“Turn around.” 

“Why?” You ask.

“Because I’m asking nicely,” He laughs, and tells you again. “Turn around.”

You roll your eyes and do as he says. You are back to your original position, sitting on the armchair, looking out the window; and then he says it again.

“Alright,” He chuckles and is that nervousness that you hear? “Turn around again.”

“Jackson, what the-“

You choke on whatever else you were going to say. In front of you is him, the love of your life, on one knee, holding a ring. You are still on the armchair, hiding behind the backrest, crying silently. 

“I’m here, love,” He says, and there it is, the nervousness you hear before. “I’m here, and I don’t want to leave again and even though I will have to, I want you to come with me. Always.”

“Jackson,” You breath out, smiling behind your shaking hands. “You know what I’m asking,” He says. “So get up and come here.”

You have to crawl to him because your legs don’t work. 

“We still have,” He looks at his watch. “One hour of Christmas. So marry me, Y/N. Let me spend every single Christmas with you. Fuck it, let’s get married on Christmas!”

“Yes,” You mumble and his eyes go wide, as if he didn’t expect you to say yes. “Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. I’ll marry you. I love you.”

One kiss and fist bump later, Christmas really begins; with the man you love in your arms, and promises of Christmases to come. 

---------

jackson is the softest member of got7, i swear 😭 what did you think? let me know! :P

[zontiky]

Okay but au where they're not all related and five is a mysterious orphan Diego keeps running into at odd hours of the night and then him just being like "fuck it he's like 13 he can't be out alone at night" and then just takes him home like a godamn stray and five is THRIVING under the positive attention he never had I beg of you please feed my soul. Also sorry if this doesn't make sense I've had 2 hours of sleep and like 8 coffees today

i think i’ve read a fic similar to this but FUCK YEAH let’s do this (sorry im so late btw i havent been feeling bullet points lately fksjdfks) ALSO HEY OP PLEASE DON’T DIE I HOPE YOU’RE OK??? 

so diego is still a cop and he’s patrolling or doing whatever it is that cops do, and then he sees a kid sitting in an alley

obviously he pulls over like “hey kid you okay?” and the kid is like “shut up go away bootlicker” and diego is instantly “okay then come on im taking you to get food”

the kid doesn’t want to go but at the same time diego can tell he knows that there’s really no better options. this child looks hungry

so the kid and diego go to griddy’s and the kid says his name is five when asked

“that’s not a name”

“is too”

diego+fam have a long history of trauma and reginald called them by number which was their birth order or something? idk OH SHIT WAIT YOU SAID NOT ALL RELATED OK OK COOL SO

luther is a mechanic who diego knows because he’s the dude who’s often the one repairing his car, they’re on pretty good terms and go out for coffee sometimes because luther hates alcohol and diego’s body is a temple so he doesn’t drink

diego is diego he’s a cop but he’s highkey broke and i really don’t know how much cops get paid? hm

ok google says from 34.6k - 89.4k a year and numbers mean nothing to me so lets say he’s just a gremlin who lives in a boiler room because it’s efficient

OR he’s still dating eudora and lives with her

you know what that’s probably the better option i’m gonna go with that. they don’t have as much childhood trauma even though none of the “siblings” come from exactly good homes? but none of them were raised by reggie mcfuckface so it’s less like,,, bad even though they’re all fucked up

WAIT DO THEY HAVE THEIR POWERS

HELL YEAH THEY HAVE THEIR POWERS

ok ok so luther is a mechanic who uses his super strength and endurance to just fucking carry cars around his garage and i know NOTHING about mechanics as a profession but but but luther is good at what he does

diego is a cop who lives with eudora and throws knives like a boss. he also throws tennis balls really hard because stabbing people on duty isn’t advised

you know what? i’m gonna say allison ISNT a movie star, shes a smaller actress with minor roles here and there because she’s a mom and spends time with claire. she doesn’t use her rumor as much because honestly she doesn’t see a reason to? like sometimes she’ll go “i heard a rumor you gave me a free shot of coffee” and like,,, that’s it shfskd

her and patrick are still divorced but that’s because they did it the healthy way. they knew they were drifting apart but instead of rumoring him they broke it off mutually and they still meet up for coffee. they’re friends ok. claire loves her parents

klaus! klaus has problems but because im a soft bitch dave is here in 2019. he’s… also a mechanic…. they all know eachother but dave knows luther and diego pretty well. luther via work and diego via luther

yes klaus! so klaus has a history of drugs and addiction, because while he wasn’t shoved into a mausoleum ghosts screaming at you all the fucking time doesn’t help with staying sober

but because he has a support network he can fall back on he’s doing well, he’s a barista in a coffee shop that allison and patrick & diego and luther frequent

shoutout to klaus

five is an orphan he’s 13 and small and kind of a genius? fuck what if as a kid five accidentally time-traveled to 2019 and thaT’S HOW HE BECAME AN ORPHAN 

galaxy brain

so five is this kid in the wrong time living on the streets not knowing how things work

i mean he does obviously because he catches on quick and he’s smart but really he doesn’t know how some shit works ok. he’s clueless when it comes to technology and pop culture and shit

ben!! ben is alive!! he’s a part time writer and a full time librarian!! he knows klaus because during his homeless days klaus stuck around the library because free bathrooms and also reading to take his mind off the ghosts. they become really close and ben gets klaus to move in with him and then he’s trying to get sober and then ben’s car crashes and that’s how they meet luther and dave OHHHH

additionally: klaus illustrates some of ben’s books because he knows how to draw yay

vanya! she’s first chair in the orchestra and she’s dating helen cho because i say so

so vanya kicks ass at violin, she’s being gay teaching lessons all that good shit what more is there to say

harold isn’t here because there was never an umbrella academy

hmmm back to the,,, actual plot,,, im sorry sksfhdjsk

SO DIEGO FINDS FIVE RIGHT

AND HE’S LIKE “oh no this child is awakening my paternal instincts oh no i have to take him home with me now”

eudora opening the door to see her husband boyfriend with an angry looking teenager at his side: dear god what did you do this time

eudora instantly bonds with five and i mean INSTANTLY like she lays eyes on him and goes “child?? small?? looks lonely?? must protect” and five looks at her like “badass looking lady she probably knows what shes doing might as well ask for info and stuff” but hes actually thinking “oh dang she looks like she knows what she’s doing RESPECT” and yeah ksdjhsdkf

then five expects them to be mean or just get tired of him and kick him out but?? they dont??? wack

diego is instantly like “kid where do you live”

‘um’

“you live somewhere right???”

‘UM’

they find out he’s legally dead and thats another can of worms entirely

so they register and foster five

diego and eudora are registered foster parents you cannot change my mind alright

then five is introduced to luther and dave, and also ben and klaus because theyre hanging around the shop bc it’s their off day

so five instantly has 4 more people giving him instant love and validation and he’s like “woah”

THEN ALLISON AND PATRICK

claire too,, claire immediately adopts five as her older brother

this entire time five is like “i can’t stay im gonna leave soon you all know this right” and eveybody is “yep ok sure” but they all know hes gonna stay

hhHHHH GAME NIGHTS

five beats everybody at scrabble

diego beats everybody at darts, even though everybody calls him out for cheating

vanya beats everybody at musical chairs. she levitates the chairs so nobody can sit down

luther beats everybody at outdoor games. do not play tag with this man you might not make it out alive

allison is the QUEEN of blurt! 

ben is so good at charades it’s unfair

klaus honestly sucks at board games, but he always wins uno and nobody knows how (its the ghosts skfhsdkf)

five is so confused because its obvious all of them are cheating but??? nobody cares?? what

“it’s because it’s fun nobody is actually upset”

whaaaaaaat

so they have to explain to him that they dont play to win they play to have fun and its just a fun thing they do to spend time together and bond

five: mind blown

THEY TAKE HIM TO AN AQUARIUM

BEN JUST CHILLS WITH THE OCTOPI THE ENTIRE TIME

FIVE BONDS WITH CRABS

THEY ALL LOVE SEALS

five gets exposed to modern culture!! klaus and ben teach him memes is what i’m saying 

five goes to school!!! he makes friends!!!! they have nice sleepovers and diego and eudora make them cookies :’)

i want to say. okay so.

reginald exists and he had made grace eariler as preparation for the children he was going to adopt, but he died before he could buy any babies

so grace exists! and!! she knows the “siblings”!!!

so five has a grandma because im not going to lie grace is basically all of their’s mom

she lives in the mansion but she can go outside and DO THINGS and she makes them COOKIES and she LOVES HER KIDS and GRANDKIDS and five ADORES her ok

basically five is happy with his pseudo family that’s it thank you for your time

wait no actually he figures out how to time travel safely and he does go back and forth

sometimes he pops in and he’s like “hey we ran out of milk” and then a second later he’s like “for the love of god wait until tomorrow to get milk dont ask why you dont wanna know” and its obvious that he came back from the future and HHHHHH YES

the commission can’t do shit because found family love is simply too strong

hazel and agnes are the nice couple who run griddys and birdwatch

five is fond of them too honestly like he just loves going to griddys because it has so many happy memories for him and its where he met diego (sorta) and also yay hazel and agnes!!

SO YEAH BASICALLY: FIVE IS HAPPY AND THIS AU IS GOD TIER THANK YOU

THIS IS A GOOD ONE I LIKE THIS AU THANK YOU

[max-is-tired]

And It’s Too Late (You Believe In Fate)

Pairing: Analogical, hinted Royality, brotherly Logicality

Characters: Virgil Sanders, Logan Sanders, Roman Sanders, Patton Sanders, Remy “Sleep” Sanders

Words: 1.549

Warnings: Some swearing, some very light Logan angst that lasts for like, two (2) paragraphs -past name-calling and bottling up his feelings, mostly- the rest is pure tooth-rotting fluff

Notes: IT’S APRIL 30th I AM NOT LATE- Hello everyone! This fic is part of an April exchange hosted on Discord, and this is my gift for @logicallycrofters -sorry it took me so much to get this out!! I hope you enjoy this fluffy Analogical, have some nerds being gay!!

Thanks to my amazing beta @tigertigertigger who makes sure the English language doesn’t kick my ass to hell and back, you’re the absolute best!!

Hit me up if you want to be added to the taglist and let me know if you liked this, reblogs, comments and asks are always very welcome and much appreciated! And if you consider buying this broke college student a coffee, you’ll have my eternal gratitude and a thank-you ficlet of your choice, so there’s that

Buy me a Coffee!!  Join my Discord server!!  Read it on AO3!!

Virgil knows something is wrong the moment he steps into the living room.

“... what?” he asks, slowly taking his headphones off and throwing a wary glance towards his two roommates -as great as an actor Roman can be, that excited grin is never a good sign and the amused glint in Remy’s eyes just serves to cement Virgil’s uneasiness.

“Virgil, my favorite Emo, my Dark and Stormy friend-” Roman starts, jumping down the couch with far too much pep for Virgil’s liking- “I have great news!”

Virgil blinks, clearly taken aback by Roman’s enthusiasm. “Nope-” he says, shaking his head and slowly stepping backward- “whatever you did, I want no part in it. Bye, auf wiedersehen, au revoir, ciao, I’m out of here.”

“Virgil, c’moooooon-” Roman whines- “at least hear me out! I promise it’s nothing awful.”

“Not by your standards, maybe,” Virgil grumbles, rolling his eyes.

“I really think you should hear him out, gurl,” Remy comments, always the helpful one, “I have a bet with Damien on how long will it take you to kill him, so please be a dear and settle it for us, mh?”

“Wait, why should I kill him?” Virgil asks, startled, before snapping his head towards Roman with a glare, “what the fuck did you do now, Princey?”

Roman looks at him like a deer caught in the headlights, enthusiasm now gone and replaced by a sheepish smile and a hint of fear in his eyes, “I assure you, it’s nothing bad or terrible-”

“Cut the chase, sir Sing-A-Lot,” Virgil hisses, eyes narrowing as he takes a threatening step forward, “Spill. Now.”

“I… might have set you up for a blind date? Tomorrow?”

“YOU DID WHAT??”

Remy sips contentedly at his coffee, watching with amusement as Roman lets out a yelp and bolts out of the room for dear life, Virgil not far behind.

This is going to be fun.

+++

Meanwhile, in another house not so far away from theirs, a similar scene is currently taking place.

“Lo, come on! It’s not that bad, is it?”

Logan pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to keep his annoyance at bay -he knows Patton only means well, but he still does not appreciate his brother going behind his back like that and setting him up for an activity he has not previously agreed upon.

“You want me to meet someone I know nothing about in the hopes that, during the outing, we develop some sort of… bond that could potentially develop in mutual romantic attraction?”

“Lo, you make it sound like we’re sending you off to meet a complete stranger!” Patton exclaims, features morphing into what Logan identifies as a pout, “Virgil is a good guy, I’ve met him a couple of times and I really think you two would get along great if given the chance.”

“Why do I suspect you will not let this go until I agree to this outing?”

“Pretty please?” Patton asks, bringing out his infamously adorable Puppy Dog Eyes™ -Roman’s words, not his. Still, even Logan finds himself unable to deny his brother’s pleading -and in all honesty, he's kinda curious about this Virgil he keeps hearing about.

He’s really going to agree to this, isn’t he?

Logan sighs, shoulders sagging in defeat. “Very well then, I guess I will give this whole ‘blind date’ thing a chance -just one outing though!”

Patton lets out a squeal at Logan’s words, a grin spreading from ear to ear as he moves to tackle his brother in a hug.

“Thank you thank you thank you!!” he exclaims, far too enthusiastic for Logan’s liking, “I promise you won’t regret it!”

As Patton spins them around the living room, Logan can't help but feel his annoyance at his brother’s actions start to lessen, a small smile tugging at the edge of his lips.

He may still not be sure about his opinion to the whole “blind date” ordeal, but if it’s going to make Patton happy then Logan is willing to give it a try.

Who knows, he might even end up enjoying himself.

+++

Virgil is having a dilemma.

What is new, you might say. Well, he’ll tell you what is fucking new. What is new is that there is a very fucking gorgeous guy sitting in front of him, sipping at his black coffee -same order as Virgil, a man after his own heart- while rambling animatedly about something astronomy-related, his eyes sparkling as he goes on with the subject.

Virgil’s little gay heart can’t take this, nope. He’s gonna have a fucking heart attack right here and now, all because apparently cute nerds are just what his last, lonely brain-cell needs to permanently fuck off into oblivion, leaving him completely unable to not make a fool out of himself.

To be completely honest, he doesn’t know if he wants to thank or murder Roman for setting this up.

“-rgil? Virgil, are you well?” Logan suddenly asks, dragging Virgil out of his internal gay crisis, “is this subject not of your interest? We can talk about something else if you would like.”

“No, no, it’s okay!” Virgil says, vehemently shaking his head in embarrassment, “I’m sorry I zoned out I just- I was not expecting to enjoy this ‘blind date’ thing so much, yeah.”

Logan blinks at him for a moment, clearly shocked by his words -having those blue eyes staring at him makes Virgil’s insides do one somersault after the other, cheeks blushing a pale red against his will.

“Neither did I, I suppose,” Logan finally admits, gaze shifting to the side as he takes another sip of his coffee, “honestly, I would have never agreed to this if it wasn’t for my brother insistence. He can be… quite persuasive, when he really wants to.”

Virgil lets out a quiet chuckle, nodding his head in understanding. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure no one can actually say no to Patton.”

“That is quite true,” Logan hums, a small smile tugging at his lips -why, hello there butterfly in the stomach, it’s been a while- “though I’m glad he tried so hard to convince me. I find myself quite enjoying this outing, even if I ended up losing myself in pointless ramblings more than once.”

“I don’t mind them!” Virgil blurts out, the words leaving his mouth before he can stop himself. “I mean, your ramblings, I don’t mind them. They’re- they’re interesting, and…”

“And?” Logan asks, raising an eyebrow as Virgil trails off and looks away, blushing.

“I, I find it kinda cute,” Virgil admits with a mumble, cheeks beet red, “you get filled with this- this kind of quiet excitement, and your eyes just light up and, well, it’s really endearing.”

Logan finds himself at loss of words for the second time in less than five minutes, mind drawing a blank as he tries to process Virgil’s words.

During all of his life, Logan has heard all sort of commentary directed to himself and his mannerism. He has been called boring, cold, unemotional, too nerdy, too much, not enough. He has learned to live with it, to let the insults wash over him and just go on with his life. He has no time for those foolish people.

And now, for what feels like the first time in a long while, there is someone calling his tendency to ramble -something people have always belittled him for- endearing and, most surprisingly, cute.

Something warm and fuzzy starts blooming in Logan’s chest, and strangely enough, he doesn’t feel the need to grab those feelings and lock them in the darkest corners of his subconscious to never see the light of day again.

“I’m… glad you think so,” Logan finally hums, “there are very few people who would agree with you on that statement.”

“Then those people are idiots,” Virgil shrugs, leaning back on his chair as something determined burns in his gaze, “you’re a great guy, Logan, and anyone who isn’t able to see it must be a complete moron.”

“Thank you, Virgil,” Logan chuckles, cheeks warm as a small but sincere smile appears on his face, “I really appreciate it.”

After that, their conversation just flows, exchanging quips and the occasional chuckle filling the air.

What the two don’t notice, wrapped up as they are in each other, are the two figures inconspicuously staring at them from a table in the back of the coffee shop, twin grins on their faces as they watch the scene unfold.

“Ten dollars they kiss before the end of the date,” Patton whispers excitedly, barely keeping himself from letting out a squeal.

“Please, as if those two disasters would ever be able to make the first move,” Roman counters, trying to keep his laugh contained.

Patton raises an eyebrow, grin morphing into a smirk as he puts out his hand for the other to shake.

“Wanna bet?” he asks, winking.

Roman simply raises an eyebrow, his confidence unwavering as he firmly shakes his boyfriend's hand. “Deal.”

(And if Roman owes Patton ten dollars by the end of the night, well, he can’t really bring himself to care all that much -not when his friends look so content, staring into each other’s eyes with the softest smiles Roman has ever seen on both of their faces.)

[serahsanguine]

Vacation Series Pt. 1 - Let The Games Commence. Ch, 3

This is the first book in a two-part series. This book is a six-part story which will be upload daily for the next week. After that, it will be Book two following the same pattern. it was originally made for the Summer Fanfic Exchange.

Tumblr - pt. 1, pt. 2  All chapters can be found Here on Ao3

This Chapter Rating; PG-13

*************************************

              Chapter 3: Day Two - The Village.

Scully woke up, in a tangle of sheets. She hadn’t worn much to bed as it was too warm even at 11 o'clock at night. The sun shone brightly through the folds in the blinds. If she were to take a guess, she would say it was around 9am. She had forgotten to set her alarm the night before, but she didn’t mind losing all sense of time. She sat up, the smell of fresh coffee and something else: breakfast maybe. She stepped out of bed, her legs slightly heavy as they hadn’t been used for a few hours. She walked through to her wardrobe grabbing her black silk kimono and wrapped it around her before descending down the stairs.

She stopped halfway to find Mulder listening to the radio and singing along to it. From what she could hear it was Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley. Then she looked around the room to find the table had been set with plates, cutlery, even a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. It looked like he had cooked her a full English breakfast: bacon, eggs, mushrooms, sausages, tomatoes, beans, hash browns. 

She descended the rest of the stairs, making sure nothing was in Mulder’s hands before speaking just in case she made him jump. 

“I didn’t know you cooked Mulder.” 

He jumped a little and then turned around to face her, his eyes lighting up at the sight of her, his smile covering his full face. 

“It’s one of my many talents, it’s just no fun cooking for one.”

“So, in all those years I have known you, why haven’t you cooked for me?”

“You’ve never asked, Scully,” he was serious but not full of conviction.

“Touche.”

“Anyway, sit down. Breakfast is served, madam and if you would like a coffee, I just brewed a small pot.”

“Thank you, Mulder, but you didn’t have to do all of this.”

“Of course I do.” There was a short pause. “You deserve the world, Scully, ”  he whispered. 

His eyes told her he meant it. 

“Tuck in, Scully, before it gets cold.”

An hour later the food was eaten, and she enjoyed every last piece of it. He was an exceptional cook. He added spice and herbs and the food had never tasted so good. She nursed her coffee waiting for it to cool down 

“What is on the agenda for today, Mulder?”

“Well, I thought maybe we could wander through the village, and possibly try out their homemade ice cream.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,”  she soon finished her coffee and went upstairs to get changed. Soon after Mulder did the same. 

He shut his bedroom door, leaning against it and thinking about that morning events over and over again in his mind. But spending yesterday with her, he lost all resolve to keep his emotions in check, and guarded. She unintentionally was breaking those walls around his heart. But in doing so he felt like she was also letting him to hers. 

He walked to his suitcase, he still hadn’t unpacked, and his clothes were hanging out the sides. He found the brown shorts he was looking for and also the grey tank top. He quickly showered and changed before heading downstairs to wait for Scully.

30 minutes later and some more of his book read, he was sitting on the cushioned Wicca sofa when he heard Scully stepping down the stairs. He placed a bookmark where he had stopped, and placed the book next to him on the table. He shifted in his seat and looked around to see her. She was stunning, wearing a yellow long skirt and a white tank top.   Her hair was in a messy ponytail and she was wearing a straw kind of hat to keep the sun from burning her face, she had already slightly caught the sun yesterday as her normally pale skin was a tad on the pink side. 

“You ready to go?” he asked enthusiastically.

“Yes I am, but I can’t find my sandals, have you seen them?” He watched her look under the sofa, then around the front porch, then in the kitchen. 

“Scully have you tried on the back porch? ” he watched her walk out of the french doors staring at her ass. ‘One of these days she's gonna catch me staring, and when that day happens I'm done for” he smiled at the thought and watched her re-enter the room. 

“Thank you, how far is it to the village?”

“About a 20 minutes walk, 5 minutes on the beachfront, straight across the bridge and 5 minutes walk to the village.” 

She beamed a smile in his direction. 

“You might be able to see the wild horse as we walk, a little blonde bird told me they were in the area.”

He didn’t know it was possible but her smile got even wider. He knew how much she liked horses though she had never told him herself, he remembered the story her mother told him while she was missing of how her father took her to horse riding lessons whenever he was on leave. And it’s something the two of them shared until she was well into med school. 

//

The walk to the village was pleasant, she didn’t see the wild horses but she didn’t mind, spending time with Mulder was enough, he made light conversation, made her laugh telling her stories of the lone Gunmen and the pranks they pulled on each other. 

They stopped at local shops, they were so beautiful on the outside. There were brownstone buildings, wood buildings, flowers as far as the eye could see on each side of the road: blues, yellows, whites and so much lavender. She could smell them mixing with the sea air. 

When they were done browsing the local shops, they found a small restaurant on the main street looking out onto the marsh. She stood outside reading the sign  AJ’s on the creek. She walked inside and instantly smelled the seafood. She followed Mulder to the table and looked around. The tables were covered in crisp white linens and topped with paper napkins and bottles of hot sauce. She pulled a menu up to her face but causally lowered it a little so she could study her partner. He had definitely caught a tan, he was a lovely golden bronze now. She could see the sweat forming on his brow trickling down his nose. 

“What looks good Scully?”

“Hum…” 

“Scully?” 

Mulder looked at her with confusion. She looked back at him realising that she had been staring and daydreaming for the last 5 minutes about her partner. And she had been caught in the act. 

She started blushing, hoping he hadn't noticed, and if he did, hoping to put it down to the sun catching her Irish skin. 

“Oh the Seasonal soft-shell crab, served fried on platters, and a romaine salad is with a zesty citrus Caesar dressing, Parmesan crumbs, and crisped bread sounds delicious.” 

“The way you just made it sound, makes me want that exact dish.” He raised his eyebrows, in a mock teasing way. And she instantly knew there was a double meaning behind the first part of that sentence.

Their meal arrived and it was just as incredible as it sounded on the menu,  while she waited for him to finish she thought about a few things 

Her feelings for her partner were becoming so clear to her now, but she didn’t want to give in to them, she was scared of losing him, the friendship, their partnership.  He was slowly becoming everything to her. Like he was a part of her and no way in hell she would risk it. But damn she just wanted to kiss him, pull that bottom lip of his in her lips and bite it hard. She soon suppressed such a feeling and carried on.  

“I have a small surprise for you before we go to the ice cream shop.”

“Mulder, you know I don't like surprises.”

“Well, Miss, I know, but you will love this one, I promise. ” 

“Sure, fine, whatever.”

Mulder paid for the meal and started leaving her following close. Just before she stepped out, someone stopped her by gently tapping her on the shoulder.

“You have a lovely husband there, he is definitely a keeper.”

She didn’t know how to respond, she didn’t want to correct the poor woman. But she didn’t have an answer for her. So she simply nodded and left the restaurant. 

30 minutes later and both of them were standing outside a quite large building looking at the sea.

“What are we doing here, Mulder?”

Before he could answer and an elderly gentleman came up the gate. He was dressed in blue levis and a black and red checkered shirt. 

“Mr and Mrs Mulder?”

 Again they were mistaken for a married couple, twice in one hour. She sighed, not saying anything again and Mulder didn’t correct the man either. Instead, he nodded at the old man.

“Ok, then, this way. They’re going to need to be brushed, before you go on them. But they are both beautiful.”

Mulder nodded again and looked at her utterly confused face. He just gave her a wide grin while he guided her to a stable. There were two beautiful pedigree horses: one completely black and another, white and brown. 

“Oh, my God, they are beautiful Mulder; but I still don’t get it?”

“Yes they are Mrs Mulder,” the old man interrupted her. “And they are just ready to go out. Just before I leave you two alone, Mr Mulder said you didn’t need any training to ride the horses and both of you have previous experience.”

“Yes, thank you.” 

With that, the man left them alone.

“How did you know I used to ride? And, more importantly, how did I not know that you do too?”

“First, your mother told me. And second, I learnt with Samantha on the vineyard. She loved horses and she didn’t want to go alone because at first, they scared her.” 

Scully saw the pain in his eyes, but there were also small hints at happiness from the memories.  

“Why did you never tell me?” she asked moving towards the black horse.

“I suppose it just never came up.”

// 

Mulder saw the delight in Scully’s eyes as she trouted along the beachfront: she was truly enjoying herself. Her hair was like fire against the blue of the sea and the black of the horse. 

“Mulder, I’m so glad we did this, it’s been a very long time since I rode a horse.”

“My pleasure Scully. We really should be heading back if you want to try that ice cream.” 

“Ok, race you!” she suddenly yelled and took the horse into a full gallop, leaving a cloud of sand dust in her mist. 

“Cheat!” he shouted, but she was gone

Mulder clicked the rains and went into a full gallop after her. When he finally caught up to her, she was stroking her horse waiting for him. 

“What took you so long?” she was trying to stifle her laugh. 

“You do know that cheaters never prosper,” he looked at her and she was still holding her laugh back.

“And Foxes don't win.”

“Wow, Scully, below the belt.” 

He was teasing her and she knew it. He picked her up off her horse and brought her close to his body before putting her on the ground, rubbing her a little too much against his body.

She pulled him close, lent up on her tiptoes, and whispered in his ear. 

“I know that’s where you want me, and I want it too.” 

She turned around on her heels, grabbing the horse’s reins, and walked towards the stable. She erupted with laughter, leaving him dum-stuck, unable to speak or even breathe. He finally managed to remember how to breathe and grabbed the reins on his horse finally walking to put him back in the stable while contemplating what she had said to him. 

Did she really mean it? I’d be over the moon. But what if she was teasing me? Just playing my game? Those three things kept running over and over again in his mind. 

He hitched the horse on the wood, closing the stable door. Scully was waiting for him just like always. The elderly gentleman thanked them and told them to enjoy the rest of their holiday. Mulder placed his hand at the small of her back and lead her towards the ice cream shop.

They arrived soon and stepped inside. It was a small but beautiful place, with light wood everywhere, something straight out of a magazine beautiful. The sun was setting, bouncing orange beams around the shop's white walls leaving a shimmering glow.  

“What ice cream are you picking, Scully?”

“I’m having a double cone: one side filled with chocolate, and the other, rum and raisins.”   

“Sound’s yummy.”

She ordered her ice cream and turned around to him. 

“What flavour are you having?”

“I was thinking of chocolate orange.”

“Now that sounds nice, Mulder, I can’t wait to try it.”

She had confused him again, but he caught the look in her eyes. It was a wicked look full of mischief.

Their ice creams were soon devoured and Scully had got closer to him. He hadn’t realised he had some ice cream on his chin and kept wondering why Scully was staring at him. She leant in close and whispered.

“I meant what I said earlier.” 

She kissed his cheek and then his nose, they were so feather-like, her lips barely touched his skin. His heart was hammering in his chest and again he was left gasping for air. He looked into her eyes, knowing if he looked he would know if she was teasing. He looked into the warm blue and was lost there. But he saw everything he had ever wanted, the whole truth. She loved him and meant it. Her lips caught him by surprise as she pressed them against his. Her tongue was seeking entrance and he opened up gladly. Their lips were gliding against each other, their tongues exploring every crevice in each other’s mouth. His eyes had shut, enjoying the feeling of their mouths touching. She let go and he sighed missing her already. 

“Chocolate orange does taste nice,” she said giggling like a schoolgirl.

“And chocolate and rum and raisin taste even better.”

They left the restaurant hand in hand, both content with the moment neither wanting to push. Just enjoying the simple pleasure of each other. 

**************************

Tagging; @skullsmuldon @today-in-fic @baronessblixen @peacenik0

[9uk]

From The Bottom of My Heart

cr

⌲ summary : maybe you and Jungkook, through heaven or hell, have always meant to stay close to each other.

⌲ pairing : bully!jungkook x reader

⌲ word count : 3.6k

⌲ genre : angst, fluff idk

⌲ warnings : mentions of past abuse, xoxo

⌲ a/n : this is what y’all hoes wanted hehe, so here it is. Happy New Year’s in advanced! also, happy birthday taetae <3

**Spin-off from my series Let Me Stay Close To You. If you haven’t read it, I’d suggest you read it first to have a better understanding of the context of this story. Read it here.

It's that time of the year again—where gifts are exchanged and gingerbread houses are made, where evergreen conifers are decorated with ornaments hung by the overly-excited children and the smell of Ceylon tea, baked  potatoes and ham fills the kitchen. Everyone gathers around the fireplace and share their strange or ridiculous encounters over the year, laughters bursting and smiles everlasting while the star ornament sits on top of the Christmas tree gently, shining.

At least that's what you think Christmas is like, and should be.

In the sad world of reality, you have always spent the festive occasion coped up in your mother's café, selling log cakes and butterscotch cookies, telling kids to be careful with the hot chocolate you have just created and handed over to them.

It's the season when the shop is exceptionally busy, with overflowing customers who have foam gathered on their upper lips as they chat with joy over a cup of peppermint mocha latte.

It's supposed to be a wonderful period—well at least for you this year.

You are thousands of miles away from that crusty coffee place your mother runs, and you have completely forgotten about everything you've painstakingly memorised on the Christmas menu.

When you first received a hug from Sooyoung in what seemed like decades, the gesture ignited a small thought at the back of your head, that Christmas this year was going to be a little less lonely and spiced with fun instead. Who would have thought that friendships can appear as strong steel bridges of bonds, but yet so easily snap like a wooden plank.

With the money you received from your parents and the pay you get at that greasy restaurant, you were able to rent a not too shabby apartment a few streets from the university. But the fact that you are now living alone, that's the part that creeps into your late night thoughts at times.

You clearly remember Jungkook bugging you with an undefeated persistence to get your ass to the Christmas party Taehyung holds every year.

"C'mon, it will be fun. I promise, you have me!"

He knows what you have in mind, that all your friends have left your side and you would feel like a total loser and loner at the party.

Ex-friends, you mean.

If it weren't for them, you wouldn't have attended a single party at all.

He continues nudging your arm and whining for what seems like the nth time. "Please-"

"Okay, okay."

He looks at you with those big round glossy eyes you can't say no to. "I'll go."

And that is why you are currently freaking out over what to wear to the party. If only Sooyoung was—nevermind, screw that.

You fish out a random black dress from your closet and headed out before you changed your mind.

Being alone is no obstacle to you. It was being alone at a party that frightened you, it was a place where you are supposed to enter with friends—to be able to slowly fit into the crowd and be comfortable with the atmosphere in the house.

However, you were feeling jittery—much more than when you are called out to present your answer in front of the whole class. You didn't realise how accustomed you were to Sooyoung's constant bubbly presence beside you, not until this day. The party had just begun a while ago, and you hoped your entrance would hold the least significance to anyone in there, and you brushed off the thought of everyone's eyes on your weird form. That brat Jungkook had told you that he'd be waiting for you inside, and made you come to the party all by yourself.

What were you so afraid of anyway?

Maybe a couple of rumours had been spread between the ladies, and they would send you judgemental looks—but you were very used to it since the start, so why are you being so self-conscious right now?

Nonetheless, you picked up the phone and decided to dial someone—correction. The only one who you acquainted with in this college and is still on good (but strange) terms with you.

It was clear as day and green as grass that Namjoon has begun to harbour an interest much more than just physical attraction for you. During occasional study dates and the tutoring he offers you, you never once failed to catch him staring at you at least twice. You were pretty sure that there weren't any vegetable stuck between your teeth or crumbs on the corner of your lip though.

"What?" You look up to meet his eyes.

"What?" The both of you chuckle at the same time when he immediately shoots the question back at you.

"Why're you looking at me like that?" Namjoon is rendered speechless, it was almost as if all the excuses for him gawking at you in this manner had transformed into useless brain juice.

You were so far the first and only person who didn't judge or criticise him based on his looks. You even thought he was handsome and told him that straight in his face, and it made him wonder if you had standards lower than hell. "Nothing much, I-I think you look gorgeous today." He quickly averts his gaze to the homework before him, pretending to scribble somehing just to avoid your eyes and hide his blush. You shift your chair closer to him and lean in towards his face. "So...you mean only today?" You purposely pout.

His head shoots up, flabbergasted and he instantly corrects his words. "No! I mean—"

A cheeky smile grows on your face to replace the initial pout and you reassure him, "I'm just kidding, relax."

Namjoon's lips part slightly before he shakes his head and grins at your antics.

Namjoon informs you of his boredom and agrees to go with you to the party.

As expected, the house is filled with people for the alcohol here is free. In the stressful life of books and papers, who wouldn't mind a shot of tequila or two?

Namjoon is the gentleman that he is, offering you a ride to the venue but you politely decline. Instead, you choose to make your way over alone and meet him at the party itself. Having him accompany you was more than enough.

Your hand is on the handle of the front door to Taehyung's house and you cannot help but shift your weight nervously between your two feet. For some reason, the loud noises travelling from the inside are making your breath quicken and the overthinking to get to the better of you. You really hoped that not a single person would be attracted to your tiny appearance at this major party. It was then you realised how much Sooyoung and friends made you feel comfortable attending a huge party like this, they held your hand and gave you the much assurance you needed—that you were not alone.

And now you're back to square one.

What if everyone was playing games and having fun but suddenly upon your arrival the music dies down and all heads would be turned towards the main door with faces glaring at you?

Even though that is something that least likely would happen, you still prepare yourself for an unfortunate event like the aforementioned, or the worst that could happen. Right, just retreat and go home to the comfort of your laptop and bag of chips. And probably never face anyone in school ever again. Jesus Christ, the more of you think about it, your grip on the door handle is beginning to loosen and you would really be in bed in no less than a second. And your hesitance would result in a disappointed Jeon Jungkook.

Wait no, your meekly absence would never disappoint anyone.

You're not that important in such annual affairs.

You're not Regina George or something.

Now you feel stupid in this over-planned outfit and your makeup feels too extra.

You're just a loser with like barely any friends. Get it together. Why did you even agree to come? Just because Jeon Jungkook begged at the minimum? And he's nowhere to be seen. Just text Namjoon you're not feeling well, perfect excuse. You should have just remained at home where-

"Y/N!" The dark oak door suddenly flies open causing you to jump a little. His eyes are wide and shining with excitement, the dimples and wide grin supporting the assumption.

"How long have you been standing there? Come on in!" Namjoon is acting more like the host of the party than Taehyung is with the lovely invitation.

After he takes a proper look at you, his tongue darts out to wet his lips and he reaches out to intertwine his hand with yours to pull you into the house.

To say that you were merely overthinking would be an understatement.

Everybody was minding their own business, whether you stepped foot inside or not.

No one even acknowledged or is aware about your presence.

Except for a certain someone.

Namjoon is still holding your hand in a gentle yet possessive way, and he is different today for an unknown cause.

His confidence is exceptionally striking today and is clearly radiating off him. He is finally able to raise his head to meet the eyes of people with ease.

The way he waves and firmly greets an acquaintance walking past him and makes his way through the group of people in this place— makes you smile involuntarily, for you recall he first time you met him, when he didn't even have the courage to lift his head to face you.

He leads you to an empty spot and cages your head between his both palms fixated onto the wall. Namjoon looks just about ready to devour you whole there and then.

"Someone's...confident tonight." You quirk a brow up and place your hands on his hips to pull him a little closer.

Nothing but an innocent gesture.

Teasing him was fun and you both enjoyed it. Your touch sends him groaning softly to himself and he tries to resist from kissing you there and then.

"Look princess," He calls lowly, "Let's take things slow tonight."

It was the first time he has ever called you by that pet name and you must admit you're rather turned on—no, taken aback, you mean. Right, just surprised.

The feeling of someone intensely staring is doing nothing but growing stronger with every inch Namjoon is gradually closing between your faces. It felt like sharp daggers shooting right at the both of you at that moment and it made whatever you were doing become uncomfortable.

For you were under the predatory gaze of someone.

Suddenly, when Namjoon's lips finally bump into yours, you felt like he was too close for your liking.

You had no idea why you were feeling and acting this way, but you pushed his body away from yours. He panics and questions if he has crossed the line worryingly. "No, no, sorry I need to excuse myself to the washroom. " You desperately wave both hands to assure that it had nothing got to do with him—but you.

It didn't feel right at all.

And with that, you hastily left his side, dashing upstairs to god knows where.

You're in search of a balcony or some sort, a quiet area that gets your fresh air and being alone.

Maybe it was too much to take, with how Namjoon was acting so boldly, and how things would escalate to another level once you give him consent. You also did not wish for the friendship to be left in shattered pieces after the both of you do something friends should not do.

Maybe he was stepping on the line, and you were decisive enough to push him further from it—but not enough to tell him. It would bring his well built self-esteem down. If you were going to reject him, you would have to do it properly and respectfully.

[20:44] Me: hey joon, i'm sorry. i needed to leave because something cropped up at home. the next ben & jerry's will be my treat. see you ard

You switch off your phone and tuck it away into your small bag.

You had just so happen to find a balcony when you randomly entered one of the rooms upstairs. Lucky for you, there weren’t any people banging the life out of each other in the bedroom you selected. You quietly shut the door close behind you as your eyes roam around the four walls.

On the dresser, there is a picture frame of Taehyung with his family at highschool graduation. You waltz your way over to the family portrait and pick it up carefully.

You swipethe layer of dust coating the glass with your finger and Taehyung and his family smiling brightly can be seen clearly.

He hasn’t changed much, boxy grin and cresent eyes still intact.

There is a sense of longing and envy blooming in your heart, and it clenches tightly, sourly.

You never had the blessing to be able to spend your graduation day with your family, the entire school is clueless that you even have a father. You lived your teen years in shame and hiding. It’s a pity because you did not have the opportunity to take pictures like Taehyung did in the open field, throwing his hat up to the sky and receiving flowers from his parents. Placing the frame down gently, you went to the balcony and closed the curtains for privacy in case anyone happened to come in to disrupt your moment of peace.

“What the hell are you doing?” Taehyung snatches his wrist away from Jungkook’s hard grip. He slams the door shut and confronts Taehyung. “Were you the one who invited that Namjoon guy?”

He furrows his brows at his friend, beyond agitated.

“Who?!” Taehyung questions back. “I don’t even know who-”

“Then do you know where Y/N is?” Jungkook prompts again, desperate.

“And how would I know that? You were the one secretly staring at her ever since she came in.” Taehyung had a point. But right when he saw Namjoon approach you, and you willingly went along to wherever he brought you—he couldn’t bear to just watch and not be able to do anything. Just then, a random girl went up to him and tried her luck—but obviously to no avail. After he shrugged her pestering, you were nowhere to be seen. Namjoon too, had disappeared somewhere else and he started growing worried. Had Namjoon managed to get you to his place?

“Ah…” He plops down onto his friend’s bed and tugs at his hair in frustration. The thought of Namjoon having his way with you and all to himself makes him boil in anger. He thinks you don’t deserve Namjoon, who has tried his shot with almost every girl—yet at the same time he thinks he is unworthy of you as well.

There is an inner conflict going on between his heart and mind. Was it really right to have someone he did not deserve at all? Will he even manage to get closer to you, open up your world and heal the both of your broken hearts together? Jungkook is capable at countless things—except you.

You were the enigma in his life, so forbidden and mysterious that he really wants to connect and share a special bond with you. He doesn’t say it aloud, but you meant a lot to him in a way or another.

“Something bothering you?” Taehyung probes, folding his arms trying to figure out his bestfriend.

“How…How do you confess to someone?”  

The question comes out as a shocker to Taehyung, but he is willing to help his friend out in a time of crisis for such a matter.

“Ha! You’ve came to the right person.” Taehyungs face beams with delight. “First,” He reaches out to grab Jungkook’s hand and interlace his fingers together with his. “Hold her hand. Properly, tightly. To show that you’re genuine in your confession. Also, to show how serious and certain you are about her.” Jungkook’s face contorts in disgust at the sight of Taehyung being a cheesy romantic. “Then,” He pulls Jungkook up from his bed and leans into his ear. “Look her in the face and tell her every word from the bottom of your heart. The words you’ve been wanting to tell her but never got the chance to..” Jungkook is frozen stiff with his bestfriend demonstrating on him. But Taehyung doesn’t stop.

He leans in close and pulls Jungkook into a tight hug. “Hug her! It must be tight as well, so that she can feel the affection you are trying to show.” Taehyung squeezes Jungkook and squeals happily for him. “Get off me! You’re squashing me dude!” Jungkook almost couldn’t breathe and Taehyung pats his back before stepping away. “That’s about it, there can be bonus if you want.”

“Nope, I’m good.” Jungkook smiles and pushes Taehyung to at least an arm’s length away.

“Back to real talk though, it’s Y/N isn’t it?”

“Did someone call me?” You emerge from the curtains through the balcony sliding doors, pretending to be oblivious. Jungkook presses his lips into a line and looks down at the floor, embarrassed to the sky. Taehyung notices and quickly announces that he has to host the party.

You carried on with your act, seeing as to how flustered Jungkook was becoming.

“I thought Taehyung called me.”

“No.” Jungkook hides his hands into the pockets of his jeans to appear collected, but truth is he was hiding how shaky and nervous he was around you—and the possibility that you had just heard their entire conversation.

“Is that so?” You doubt. Jungkook doesn’t reply, only giving you a nod of affirmation. “Well if that is so, I’ll make my leave.”

You smile at him and head for the door. Jungkook’s mouth open slightly.

“Wait, Y/N!”

The feeling of his fingers softly wrapped around your wrist is unexplainable—unlike the past, this time he holds you with care and a mindfulness to not hurt you in any way.

You spin around to face him.

“Uh, yes?”

Jungkook had always known you were decent looking, but this time you looked extraordinarily beautiful. The way you looked at him through your long lashes, the faded cherry lip tint you had on, your rich long locks falling over your shoulder and the mini black dress that hugged your figure so perfectly your cures were on display—you were the epitome of perfect, looking so endearing in a simple outfit as such and he swore to the heavens he would take immense care of you if you were ever in his arms. The scar doesn’t go unnoticed by him, and his stomach twists in an unpleasant manner at the sight of it. He is still unable to accept how he treated you in the past, and he hates himself more than anything for it—he wishes that you would at least grant him a chance to make up for his wrongdoings.

There is a need surging throughout his body, into his legs; stepping closer to you, into his hands; coming up to run his fingers through your hair and hold your face in place, and his face; diving in recklessly to smash his lips onto yours.

Maybe you thought that he would go according to Taehyung’s plan—confess then give you a a warm hug. But this wasn’t what you were expecting at all. 

Jungkook kisses you like it was the last time when it’s only the first, he tilts his head and meld his lips feverishly with yours. It feels like forever with the way he is kissing you, so slow and intimate yet so hasty and desperate. You are able to feel the feelings he is trying to convey through this intimacy—filled with regret, want and a sense of belonging. You belonged to him. Back then, now and in the future. Always. 

You wrap your arms around his waist and pull him in closer, mouth opening to grant his tongue access. He smiles into the kiss for a split moment before his tongue is darting out to swirl messily with yours, causing you to moan softly in his mouth. His grasp on your jaw doesn’t loosen and he bites down onto your lower lip before reluctantly pulling away.

A glow of red starts creeping onto his cheeks when the both of you look at each other, faces shy yet hearts pulsating with happiness.

You are the first to break the silence, smiling up at him, “That was…” You couldn’t bring yourself to say it. Everything between you and Jungkook had gone through mountains and seas, but this time—it escalated quickly to a whole new level. It was too much to accept at the moment, but it felt great with him for some reason. The both of you, so unfamiliar with each other’s worlds, yet understanding them to a depth no one outside can reach. There was still much to learn about each other, but you already felt this inseparable connection with the man standing before you.

You allow yourself to bury yourself into his chest and muffle your giggles, and he encases you in his muscular arms in a way never before. Hugging him made you feel complete, like two hearts that were finally pieced together as one. It provided you with a warmth so peculiar and never felt before. It felt surreal, almost akin to a dream.

He strokes your hair lovingly and places a firm yet chaste kiss on the top of your head. “Let me stay close to you Y/N,” He nuzzles his face into the crook of your neck. “For a long, long time…I will love and take care of you all my life.” 

You smile and flutter your eyes close, waddling aimlessly around the room with arms around each other basking in the shining moonlight—never wanting to let go of each other.

[lostinamazon]

You can't say you hadn't see that coming. You're not surprised. You saw the signs maybe even before Kara did.  Hell, even before Maggie and that's saying something. She's your little sister, after all. Your best best friend, your family, your hero. You know Kara like the back of your hand, she always wore her heart on her sleeve, her emotions easily readable through her facial expressions and body language.  And she can't hide the fact that she's completely in love with Lena Luthor. Not anymore. But of course, you already knew that. . "Clark's in National City!" You look up just in time to see Kara sliding inside your lab, her red cape flowing graciously behind her and you try to stifle a laugh when you notice she's trying her best to not start jumping up and down in excitement.  "Yeah, I know, I just saw him outside remember?" You respond with a light chuckle. "And I still think he s-" "Stop talking about my cousin's smell!" Kara quickly cuts you. "He asked me to help him, can you believe that? I'll visit Lena Luthor with him later to see if she had anything to do with the Venture explosion." You frown at that because... well, you don't exactly trust the Luthors. You were there when Lex tried to kill Superman for the last time almost three years ago with the blade made of kryptonite, his war suit making him almost as strong as Clark. Fortunately, the DEO was there and they managed to get him in jail for the rest of his miserable life.  But still, your sister was Supergirl and there was a Luthor in the city. Of course you were worried.  "Just be careful, okay?"  Kara smiled and kissed your cheek. "Always." Then she walked out. Later that evening she texted you saying that apparently Lena was clear, and she had a feeling the young woman was really just looking for a fresh start for herself and her company. Plus, she was really pretty. Agent Danvers [18:46]: And how does that make her innocent?  Lil' Sis [18:47]: It doesn't! It was just a comment, Rao... You only roll your eyes at your sister. . Lena Luthor shot Corben to save your life. So not a villain. Maybe. Kara decided to become a reporter and you're very happy for your sister, because you know she can't be a superhero 24/7, and the whole gang celebrates her first article about the Luthor alien detection device with a special Game Night. "She talked about Lex today." Kara says after you both start to clean her kitchen.  "What?" You raise your eyebrow at Kara from your spot at the sink. "Lena. I went to visit her at her office." You see the way she bites her bottom lip nervously, as if waiting for you to yell at her for going there, but when you don't, she keeps saying, "She was adopted too. She said Lex was such a good brother and now... she looks so lonely." You don't say anything because you don't now what to say. Kara has always taken people's burdens as her own, but this time you realize it hits very close to home. Then she smiles and suprises you with a tight hug. "Thank you for being such a incredible big sister!"  . For the next couple of weeks you don't have too much time to think about Lena Luthor, and about how Kara was right when she said she was very pretty, because you already have too much in your hands trying to get the alien fight club down with another pretty girl.  Wait. You didn't mean that. Detective Maggie Sawyer was insufferable! Completely insufferable... and okay maybe a little pretty, but only a little! You're surprised when Kara says she asked for Lena's help to get the next fight club location, because you still don't know how to feel about Lex's sister. You don't think she's a threat but she's still a Luthor.  But then again, you have all those new feelings inside you and you need to talk with your sister about how lost you are and about how you think you're in lo- And Lena Luthor gets in your way. Again. And... maybe you're not as straight as you think you were, but did you just spot the gay in Lena's eyes as she glared at you? "She's my sister." Kara says and Lena visibly relaxes when she looks back at your sister with soft eyes. You're so silly.  Just because you realized you're a lesbian it doesn't mean every woman you'll meet is too.  After that, you're very glad to hear from Winn that Lena saved everyone's asses (including Kara's) with her field generator. He and Kara keep gushing on and on about how smart and brave and pretty she was in that black dress and you pretend you didn't see the way they blushed after agreeing to that.  You also pretend you're not heartbroken because you didn't get the girl, but that's just life. . You totally get girl. You're here and you're queer and you've never felt so happy in your entire life because you have a girlfriend! A very hot and very badass girlfriend. You walk in Kara's apartment without knocking like you usually do to give her the news, but she's not expecting you like she usually is after hearing your familiar heartbeat from the corner of the street. She's distracted as she types away a text on her phone, giggling when she reads the response. "Kara?" She suddenly looks at you with widen eyes.  "Alex! I didn't hear you coming." She pats the spot beside her and you move to sit there as Kara types something quick in her phone with a small smile, before leaving it on the coffee table. "Who were you texting?" You ask with a smirk because you know your sister and her silly smiles.  "Oh! No one!" She replies too quickly and too loudly for you to believe that. "You're a horrible liar." You say with a chuckle and she blushes. "Was that Mon-El?" You know that not too long ago Kara finally got over James and you're happy they're still good friends. (You're happy you didn't have to punch his face.) You see the way the dexamite keeps staring longingly at your sister and how she sometimes stares back, as if thinking about the possibility that that could be something, that she could have what Clark has. Maybe Mon-El wouldn't be your first choice for someone you'd want your sister to fall for, actually you don't think there's anyone worthy of Kara, your precious innocent baby sister, but you're in love and you want her to have it too.  "What?! No! That's not Mon-El!" Kara says, scrunching up her nose. "Okay..." you bite your lip. "James then?" "What are yo- no! It's not James. It's Lena." Oh.  Unexpected.  "Lena Luthor?" "Yes." She admits. "We traded numbers after the police sent her mother to jail. I wanted to thank her for saving the entire alien population in National City. I mean... I told her Supergirl told me that, because... you know." You nod. You were ready to tell Kara 'I told you' when Lena surprised all of you, including J'onn, by betraying her mother.  She saved hundreds of innocent lives and Kara was the one with a smug smile after everything. "How is she?" "She has been better. She sent her mother to jail, so it wasn't easy, but she told me she's glad no one died because of a Luthor this time."  You notice Kara's very proud of Lena for that, if the smile she's trying to hold back it's any indication, and after everything Lena did for the the past few months, you decide to give her a chance from now on, after all, Kara trusts her. "Anyway, you wanted to talk to me about something?"  You smile. "Guess who got the girl?"  She squeals and wraps you in a hug. . All of the evidences tell Lena's guilty. But Kara is having none of that. You've never seen your sister defend someone so much to the point of going against everyone, punching cement blocks all over the training room.  And that's how you find her. "Kara." She's breathing heavily and you approach her slowly, looking down at her hands closed in fists.  "I don't want to talk right now, Alex." You cross your arms over your chest, but you don't leave. And she's not pushing you away either, so that's something.  "You need to calm down." She smiles bitterly, surprising you, because the last time Kara acted like that she was under the influence of Red-K. "You want me to calm down? Lena is inocent and now she's stuck in a cell all alone because your girlfriend arrested her without even letting her explain and you want me to calm down?!" Kara yells, pointing a finger a you. "Hey!" You yell back. "Maggie was only doing her job, she has nothing to do with it! "She has everything to do with it!" "Kara!" She shakes her head, moving to sit on a bench, elbows on her knees as she rubs her face with her hands.  "She's innocent, I know she is." Kara whispers. You sit next to your sister, trying to calm down too, before wrapping an arm around her shoulders.  "Everything's gonna be fine." But you don't know that. Not when later Kara flies after Lena without even considering Metallo might explode everything around him.  Of course she succeeds and carries and injured Lena in for the DEO doctors to check on her. Through the infirmary's glass you see the way your sister's running her hands carefully through Lena's hair and how she caresses the CEO's cheek with the tips of her fingers, before walking away with a pained expression, probably so Lena couldn't see Supergirl if she woke up. You're not sure why you feel like you're intruding in a very intimate moment.  (In the back of your mind, you know why.) When you visit Kara the next day after reading the amazing article she wrote about Lena being innocent, it feels like you just stepped inside a flower shop.  There are so many flowers. You're very confused when Kara tells you later she kissed Mon-El. .  Game Night was full of tension that week. Kara still refused to share a full sentence with Maggie since the day she arrested Lena, and both of them were too proud to be the one to say sorry first.  Mon-El had been all over Kara and yet, somehow, she didn't seem all that interested anymore. You remember seeing him move to kiss her mouth and she quickly using her superspeed to turn her head and laughing at something Winn had said, the dexamite planting a kiss on her cheek instead. When you're alone in your apartment with Maggie after everyone leaves, you feel your girlfriend poking your ribs to get your attention. "Babe, I have a theory I want to share with you... but brace yourself because it might come as a shock." You frown. "O...kay?" Maggie took a deep breath for the drama effect and you can only smile at your girlfriend's antics. "I think little Danvers has the hots for little Luthor!" She says quickly. You blink. "Oh. That." "What do you mean 'that'? It's a big deal, right? Wait..." Maggie gasps. "You knew already!" "I had a feeling." You confess. "But she's with Mon-El, so... I'm confused." Maggie chuckles. "I'm not. You Danvers girls and the gay panic walk hand in hand apparently." "Hey!" You shove her away playfully and Maggie gives one of those laughs that shows off her dimples, making your heart melt deliciously.  "Seriously, though. She wants nothing to do with that outer space man child and I still feel like she might split me in two with her laser eyes. And I'm pretty sure I managed to see her planning a date with Lena through a text." "They're trying something called kombucha." "It's a lesbian drink, honey." You laugh, leaning in against Maggie and letting her wrap her arms around your body. "I just want her to be happy." "I know, baby." You're both not surprised when Kara sends you text not even ten minutes later saying she broke things off with Mon-El. . Your head moves from side to side as you follow Kara pacing around the training room.  "She has a boyfriend!" Kara grumbles. "Ex-boyfriend." You say. "They were together for five years!" She whines. "But only dated for two."  "They made science together!" "Are we talking about science or se-" "I don't like him!" Kara interrupts you. "And I don't trust him! I know he's up to something and I'll find out what it is." She started to pace again. "He won't fool me with that beard of that hair or those eyebrows. Lena deserves better... but the way she looks at him..." You can't stand it anymore. "Kara, do you want to tell me something?" She looks surprised at you, like only now she understands her own words and how she just spilled them out for you. "I-I... No." Then she walks out of the room, bumping against J'onn on her way out.  You've never seen him uncomfortable, not even when he had to pretend to be Kara as Cat's assistant, but the way blushes all the way to the tips of his ears when he looked in shock at Kara's back... You're just so grateful you're not psychic.  . Getting kidnapped and almost dying wasn't in your plans.  But you can't help but feel happy when your sister and your girlfriend join forces to save you. You really have the best family. It takes a week for you to fully recover and go home, and all of your friends celebrate with Game Night, like always. Only this time, Lena Luthor is there too. "Agent Danvers." She greets you after walking inside your apartment, offering you a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  "Oh, I'll give Kara those..." "No, please... these are for you." She says, cheeks turning pink. "Kara told me you got injured on one of your missions, I'm glad to see you're okay." You can't say you're not surprised, but before you open your mouth you feel Maggie's hand on your waist. "Trying to steal my girl, little Luthor?" Maggie says and you're glad Lena smiling, raising her hands in surrender.  "Wouldn't think of that." "Get a Danvers to yourself." Maggie winks at her and this time Lena doesn't say anything. "Lena!" Kara walks out of the bathroom and quickly wraps her arms around the CEO tightly. "I'm so glad you came!" "That's what she says." Maggie mumbles feigning a cough.  "Maggie! Behave." You say, pointing at finger at her. "Yes, ma'am." You observe Lena through the night. She surprises everyone by paying for the food (the best pizzas from the most expensive Italian restaurant in National City), and you giggle as you watch James and Kara teaching her how to eat her slice with her bare hands and not with a fork and knife. Maggie loves the vegan flavored ones the CEO bought specially for the two of them, saying they could be best friends forever, and you almost choke when Kara accepts a piece of the spinach pizza Lena offered her. (Kara and healthy food? Yeah, right.) You notice your sister's hand touching Lena's tentatively as they eat in silence and how they talk in soft whispers, smiling brightly as they look into each other's eyes. You've never seen Kara this happy.  "Babe..." Maggie mumbles after you're both under the covers.  "What?" "I ship it." "Go to sleep, Maggie." You say with a smile.  "Yes, ma'am." . "Do you want to get lunch together?" You ask Kara after a training session. She offers you an apologetic look, already taking off her cape.  "I'm so sorry, Alex. Lena's finally free today, since she's been busy with this new project, so I'm having lunch with her. But we can totally have a sister night, if you're up to it?"  You nod. "Yeah, sure." Kara folds her cape slowly and carefully, and you recognize the famous crinkle between your sister's eyebrows. You know Kara wants to tell you something but she keeps chickening out in the last moment and changing the topic, and you don't want to pressure her. You don't want he to admit something she's not ready to. Kara sighs loudly, and you pretend you're busy checking your gun.  "Alex." She finally says. "Yes?" Kara folds her arms over her chest, approaching you nervously. "I... I just wanted to... I-I mean, there's this thing..." You can't help but smile and touch your sister's shoulder, before pulling her into a gentle hug. She's such a baby sometimes. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" You say, holding her tightly. "Relax." "I'm scared." She mumbles against your shoulder. "Scared of what?" You ask, pulling away to look into her blue eyes. "I think I'm in love with Lena."  Finally. "You think?" You say with a small smile, and she relaxes, clearly relieved you're not biting her head off. "I am in love with Lena." "Well, you just won me fifty bucks. Maggie was betting it would take you much longer to admit it." She gasps. "You knew?" "Kara, when Lena's around you, you're not very subtle." You laugh. "You stare at her boobs like... a lot." Kara has the decency to blush brightly at that. "I do not!" "You do, and I don't blame you. Maggie thinks she has amazing boobs too." "Hey!" Kara points a finger at you, but she's smiling. "But they really are amazing..."  "And she makes you eat kale." "It tastes disgusting." "She listens N'Sync with you." "She's amazing at lip sync." "And she's in love with you too." She blinks.  "You think so?" She asked, eyes shining with hope. "I know, Kara. The way she looks at you sometimes..." You smile. "Wanna tell me about her?" Kara offers you a lovesick smile.  "She's so beautiful, Alex! And so smart... when she talks about science it's so full of passion! But she also loves poetry, classic music, and kids, oh Rao she loves kids! She says they're curious and honest and have the brightest minds, and I'm so in love with her!" You laugh when she finishes almost out of breath, because you're very happy for your sister. "I think its time for you to get the girl." . Clark and J'onn are holding Kara back using all of their strength as she screams loudly, trying to get away from them, trying to fly straight to Rhea's ship consequences be damned.  Lena is up there. "GET OFF OF ME!" "Supergirl, you need to calm down!" J'onn screams back. You see Clark squeezing her arms tightly as he makes her look into his eyes. "Kara, listen to me! We're getting Lena back, I promise you!" She groans loudly, the veins around her eyes making themselves visible before she's hitting Superman with her laser eyes, throwing him away against the DEO's wall and managing to get away from J'onn's grip.  Clark shakes his head from his spot on the floor, before standing up and superspeeding towards Kara, breaking through the wall to the other side of the bulding. They're hitting each other so fast you only see blurs of red and blue, a glimpse of a punch here and there, flashes of quick heat vision, Kara kicking Clark in the chest so hard that the vibrations sends everyone to the ground.  Including you. Before you know what's happening, Clark has Kara on her knees, trapped in his arms as he holds her from behind, and you run to your sister when you realize she's crying. "Kara..." You whisper. Superman finally releases her from his grip and Kara falls with her hands against the ground, tears running down her cheeks. "Lillian was right... she'll hate me, Alex... she'll hate me when she finds out..." And you finally understand. You understand what she meant when she told you she was scared. She was scared Lena wouldn't love her back after realizing Kara was in fact Supergirl.  "She won't. You're her hero, remember? She won't hate you, sweetheart." . Clark brings Lena back as promised. And Lena saves the world with Lillian's help. The city is destroyed, but you can't go another day without making sure Maggie is yours and you're hers, so you ask her to marry you. That's your happy ending.  But not Kara's.  Mon-El was a man child, but he was still their friend and she let him go. And she's been avoiding Lena since Clark carried the CEO back safely to the ground. You're not sure she should be alone right now, so you pay your sister a visit, but someone's already there. "Lena, please..." you hear Kara's voice through her door. "So you lied to me?" Oh shit. "N-No... I-I'm sorry..." "You've been lying to me since the day we met and now you're sorry?" Lena spits out, her voice trembling. "You made me feel like I could trust you, like I meant more to you than just my name but you were the one who couldn't trust a Luthor!" "Lena, you got it all wrong, of course I trust you, please, believe me!" "And why would I believe you?" "Because I love you!" You gasp. "Well, now is too late." The door opens and suddenly a teary-eyed Lena is standing in front of you, before she briskly walks past you towards the elevator.  You walk inside Kara's apartment and she's sitting in her couch.  "Kara..." "Just.. don't." . Maggie tells you it's better to wait for them to figure things out on their own, and you agree to wait. You wait for three months. And then you're walking inside Lena's new office. She doesn't take her eyes away from her computer screen until you're standing right in font of her desk, but apparently she's not surprised to see you there. "Agent Danvers." Lena greets you, sitting up straighter in her chair, one of her eyebrows raised. "Lena." You say back. "I don't remember seeing you on my schedule." "There are some perks of being a federal agent." You smile smugly. "Except you're not a federal agent, right?" Lena asks defiantly. You sigh and decide to make yourself comfortable on the chair in front of Lena's desk, before looking right into those green eyes that seemed to have the power to scan her like Kara did. "I'll be honest here, Lena." She scoffs and you ignore her. "Kara lied to you. I lied to you. We all lied to you." She looks away but you keep going. "But we also cared about you. I still care about you." "Then why did you lie to me?" She asks in a small voice, vulnerable.  "To protect you!" You say. "And it is lame, I know, but Kara..." Lena's eyes flicker to yours at the mention of your sister's name.  "I got kidnapped for being Supergirl's sister. I was tortured and almost died because of Kara. And to this day she still hates herself for it. And I know she wonders sometimes how my life would've been be if she wasn't here. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if something happened to you for the same reason." Lena closes her eyes for a moment and you reach over her desk to rest your hand on top of hers, and you're surprised when she holds your hand back. "But I'll tell you how my life would've been if Kara wasn't in it: it would've been be miserable." A single tear runs down Lena's cheek. "I said awful things to her." You smile. "She understands why you were angry. But you still can make things right." "How?" You reach inside your pocket and offers Lena your first wedding invitation. . Your wedding was amazing. Your wife is amazing. The honeymoon... amazing. You're almost sad to come back from Italy, but you want to see your sister. And Lena.  You remember seeing the CEO finally approaching Kara by the end of the party and both of them slow dancing together, sharing a few whispered words every now and then. But you were too busy thinking about the honeymoon.  (And how someone anonymously gave you a full paid honeymoon in Italy as a wedding gift.) You share a kiss with your wife before walking inside Kara's apartment only to immediately step back, tripping against Maggie and making her scream in pain. "ALEX!" Kara screams, quickly sitting up from her spot under Lena and covering their very naked bodies with a blanket.  "Jesus FUCKING Christ!" You yell, covering your eyes. "Where are your clothes?" "Oh my God..." Lena mumbles, hiding her red face behind Kara's back. "Don't you know how to knock?" Maggie looks at them over your shoulder. "Thank you for the wedding gift, little Luthor." You want to punch Maggie because now it's so not the time. "And add amazing ass to that list, by the way."  "Hey!" Kara yells. "Let's go home." You grab Maggie's hand and drags her out of Kara's apartment, because your job's clearly done here. "Yes, ma'am." ▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪ ORIGINAL ON AO3! ENJOY!