#my cousin that’s over was checking out my room earlier and he got super excited about my creeper plush

[apollos-boyfriend]

i love the qsmp but also it’s become my biggest fear because before, despite Also being into minecraft/mcyt, i knew my younger cousins wouldn’t know the same servers/creators i did due to them only watching brazilian creators, and therefore i did not have to worry about the possibility of Brainrotting over something they were just normal about. now, with a lot of them being teenagers, they are in Prime age range for the qsmp, and the possibility of them also watching it is Not zero

[silverlightqueen]

Ozone 🦋

‘I need some reasons to live, maybe you could show me some.’

Phases - Hwang Hyunjin X Chase Atlantic

Rating: M (heavy angst, fluff, slightly suggestive)

Warnings: substance abuse, drug addiction, depression and discussion of suicidal behaviours/thoughts, toxic relationship, mention of alcohol, strong language

Word Count: 9.3k+ 

a/n: and here is the third (and my favourite) part of phases, my hhjxchaseatlantic series! please proceed with caution because this fic contains some serious and potentially triggering topics! I really hope you guys enjoy this, lmk what you think and hmu if you wanna be on the taglist! the biggest thank you to the loml @silverlightprincess for proofreading this, love you sis xo

taglist 🦋: @diue @shesfuckedinthehead @danyxthirstae01 @linours @titleisyettobemade @jikooksgirl19​ @straytannies​ @silverlightprincess​

‘I’m so sorry, Chaer, I gotta go, they’re blowing up my phone, I-’ ‘It’s okay, y/n, don’t worry about it. I’ll finish my story after,’ Chaeryeong says softly, patting the other girl’s shoulder comfortingly, and she mirrors Chaeryeong’s smile as she gets up from the table, trying to leave without Lia noticing her. She needs to be quick because she doesn’t wanna miss anything, so she slips around the edges of the room, hoping not to get caught in a conversation with one of Lia’s drunk uncles.

The sun is just beginning to set, the sky streaked with the most beautiful pastel colours, and a gentle breeze blows, kissing her exposed skin. The dresses Lia chose for them are so gorgeous – sea blue layers of floaty chiffon with thin straps and leg slits – and they’re perfect for this warm summer evening. The doorman offers her his arm to help her, and her heels click against the front steps of the manor house that Lia’s family have rented. She continues walking, right onto the grass, to make sure she’s stood a sufficient distance from the front door and the staff, not wanting anyone to overhear her conversation.

‘Where the fuck are you guys? The speeches are done, they’re about to serve the starters, and you idiots still aren’t here!’ she hisses angrily down the phone, Jisung silent for a moment before he says, ‘If any of you had answered your phones, then you’d know where we’ve been. And anyway, don’t blame all of us. It’s your idiot boyfriend that’s the problem.’ She takes a deep breath, already feeling her eyes fill with tears. ‘He’s not my boyfriend.’ ‘Okay, well, whatever the fuck he is to you.’ ‘It doesn’t matter what he is to me – he’s your best friend. But anyway, what’s he done?’ ‘He’s blown out his mind again. Taken so many xans that I’m surprised he hasn’t passed out.’

She takes a deep breath, trying not to scream, and closes her eyes for a moment to compose herself. ‘Where are you?’ ‘At your place. We went straight there after the ceremony, to pick up the present like you asked, but he decided to pop a few while he waited in the car. They haven’t fully kicked in yet, so we’re waiting for him to get over the peak.’ ‘No, you can’t wait. You’re gonna have to just bring him.’

‘…y/n, are you insane? He’s gonna be higher than a kite in, like, 30 minutes!’ ‘I know, but you can’t miss this! You already missed the speeches, and Lia will start asking where you guys are soon. Our table is literally right at the front of the room, and there are four empty seats. It’s very noticeable, and very embarrassing that four of her closest friends are a no-show at her wedding!’ ‘Yeah, but we can’t bring him while he’s like this!’ ‘We’ll leave him in the car and take turns to look after him until he’s come down.’ ‘Seriously?’ ‘Yes! It’s better than you guys missing her wedding! Get here now.’ ‘Okay, okay, we’re on our way. We’ll be there in 20.’ ‘Make it 15.’ ‘y/n-’ ‘I’m not kidding, Sung!’ ‘Fine, 15. You’re paying any speed tickets, though.’ ‘Fine, whatever, just get here.’

The line clicks off and she blinks a few times to clear her vision before heading back up into the big ballroom, slipping back to her seat. ‘Where are they?’ Yeji asks the second she sits down, all of them waiting for her answer. ‘Hyunjin got high, so they were waiting for him to come back down before they came,’ she says quietly, embarrassed at his behaviour, and all of her friends look furious.

‘Is he fucking kidding? On Lia’s wedding day? How fucking selfish can he be?’ Ryujin hisses angrily, and all she can do is nod in agreement. ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with him. But I told them to come anyway, and he can just wait in the car. It’s not fair that the other three should miss Lia’s big day because of him,’ she says softly, none of them wanting any of the other wedding guests to hear.

‘I swear to God, y/n, you need to drop him. He’s a fucking waste of space, and I’m sick of his bullshit,’ Chaeryeong says, and the other girl doesn’t say anything, looking at the empty seat beside her with thinly veiled misery. ‘Um, he’s our friend,’ Minho says, the girls turning their irritated gazes to him. ‘He’s our friend too, but it doesn’t mean what they said isn’t true. He is a waste of space, and we are sick of his bullshit,’ Yeji says softly, the boys exchanging glances before nodding in agreement. ‘Yeah, I guess. We just… feel bad for him,’ Changbin says, and Yuna scoffs. ‘Yeah, I did too. When we were in high school. We’re adults now, and we all have our lives together. He’s the only one that doesn’t. He needs to grow up like the rest of us,’ she says drily, everyone on the table in agreement that he’s a total mess.

It’s all too much for her, hearing all of this out loud, and she gets up from the table suddenly, all of them turning their gazes to her, guilt and concern appearing on their faces. ‘y/n, are y-’ ‘I’m fine, I just… gotta… go,’ she says faintly, getting up and heading towards the exit, stumbling out into the corridor with tears filling her eyes again. She makes her way to the bathroom on shaky legs, smiling weakly at Lia’s aunties that are congregated by the mirrors, gossiping about so-and-so’s dress and so-and-so’s new haircut.

She locks herself into a cubicle and checks Jisung’s location on her phone, breathing a sigh of relief when she sees his little dot moving closer to her own. She takes a minute to calm herself down, trying not to let their words about the boy she’s in love with replay in her mind, but she can’t help it. He is selfish, and a waste of space. It may be hard to hear, but it’s all true, and he’s never done anything to prove otherwise, never even attempted to show everyone they’re wrong about him. He’s a mess, and he knows it just as well as everyone else does.

She doesn’t know how long she’s sat on the lid of the toilet, watching Jisung’s dot on her phone, but when she finally leaves the cubicle, the bathroom is completely empty and eerily quiet. She stares at herself in the mirror for a while, and a small but genuine smile appears on her face at her reflection. She woke up super early this morning to make sure she looked especially nice, and she definitely achieved it – her makeup is flawless despite the tears that have threatened to spill twice already today, and her hair is perfect, unaffected by the slight breeze that’s been blowing since this morning.

She rolls her shoulders and neck to release some of the tension in her body, the crack of her bones echoing in the empty room. She puts her phone on the side, washing her hands with the expensive jasmine hand-soap, and just as she finishes drying her hands, the door opens. ‘Ah, y/n! My darling, you look gorgeous!’ Lia’s grandmother says with a big smile, the girl letting out a little exclamation of excitement as she wraps her arms around the small woman. ‘Thank you, Mrs Choi! And you look gorgeous too!’ ‘Oh, thank you, dear! Lia chose this dress for me – it seems she has an eye for good dresses, doesn’t she? You all looked so lovely stood beside her in your beautiful dresses earlier.’ ‘Not as lovely as the bride herself, of course.’ ‘Of course, of course! She looks stunning. I feel like I’ve been on the verge of tears all day,’ Lia’s grandmother laughs, and the girl truly means it when she says, ‘me too.’

‘It is an emotional day indeed. I look forward to the day that you get married, y/n. I’ll be able to spend the day getting a little too drunk like your grandmother has today,’ Mrs Choi gossips, the two of them giggling together. ‘I look forward to that day too, Mrs Choi. Lia’s wedding has just made me so much more excited for my own. I can’t wait.’ ‘Well, I don’t think you’ll have to wait too long.’ ‘Um… I’m not so sure about that,’ the girl says, getting a suspicious look in response. ‘Don’t tell me you and Hyunjin have broken up.’ ‘We’ve never been together, which isn’t even the start of our problems. He’s… just an idiot.’ ‘All boys are idiots, y/n. The sooner you come to terms with it, the better.’ ‘He’s more of an idiot than the rest of them, Mrs Choi. He’s not even my boyfriend, and I’m just fed up of him,’ she vents, Lia’s grandmother raising an eyebrow at her.

‘Sweetheart, does somebody need to have a word with the little shit? Because if he’s going around behind your back, Mr Choi will s-’ ‘No, he’s not… going around behind my back. He just hasn’t got his life together and it’s starting to really affect our relationship, if I can even call it that.’ ‘Oh, dear. Maybe you’re better off without him.’ ‘I am better off without him.’ ‘Well, I’m glad you know it. The day you decide to actually do something about it, let me know. Lia’s got some single cousins an-’ ‘Thank you for the offer, Mrs Choi, but I don’t need you to matchmake for me.’ ‘You say that now, but just wait,’ Lia’s grandmother says with a mischievous grin, the girl rolling her eyes amusedly. ‘We’ll see.’ ‘We shall. Now you go back and join your friends, sweetheart. I’ll catch you on the dancefloor later,’ the old lady says with a little shake of her hips, the girl bursting into laughter as she heads out of the bathroom.

She checks Jisung’s location again, and he’s only a couple minutes away, so she heads back out to the front of the manor house, admiring the vast grounds with its high trees, vibrant flowers and clear lake as she waits for them to arrive. As soon as she sees the car, she heads towards the driveway, the doorman helping her down the steps again. The second the boys start getting out of the car, she begins fussing about them. They all look dishevelled, and she’d rather not know why.

‘Don’t any of you know how to answer your damn phones?’ Felix says with half-hearted annoyance, letting the girl tighten his tie around his neck. ‘Lia’s family were doing their speeches, and then everyone was coming around and greeting us, so we couldn’t exactly start talking to you idiots on the phone.’ ‘We’re not the idiots, y/n,’ Seungmin says drily, standing still to let her straighten the flower on his lapel. ‘I know,’ she says softly, not even wanting to look in the car and see him. ‘How is he anyway?’ ‘He’s at his peak, so he should be near sober in about an hour, hour and a half,’ Jisung says, rolling his eyes as the girl fixes his hair. ‘Right, fine. We’ll come get him in an hour then. Let’s go.’

‘Woah, woah, hold on. We can’t just leave him in the car by himself,’ Seungmin says, and she raises an eyebrow at him. ‘Why not? If he doesn’t wanna be left in a car by himself, he shouldn’t get high before our best friend’s wedding reception.’ ‘Yeah, I get that, but what if he does something stupid?’ Felix asks, the girl sighing. ‘What do you suggest then?’ ‘We’ll… take shifts watching him. I’ll go first,’ Jisung says, and she shakes her head with wide eyes. ‘Are you insane? You need to go in and say hi to everyone, and then send someone else out, one of the boys. I’ll keep an eye on him for now,’ she says reluctantly, the boys exchanging a glance.

‘If there’s anyone that shouldn’t do a shift, y/n, it’s you.’ ‘Yeah, I know that, Jisung, but no one else is here, so it’ll have to be me. Just go, stop wasting time. If anyone asks where he is, say he’s really ill and he’s sleeping it off in the car,’ she says quickly, taking the car keys from Seungmin and shooing them away, watching as they head up towards the house. ‘You look very hot, by the way! As always!’ Jisung shouts over his shoulder with a grin and she rolls her eyes at him, flattered but most certainly not in the mood. ‘Miss, would you like me to take the car around to the car park for you?’ the valet says, suddenly appearing by her side, and she jumps slightly in surprise. ‘Um, actually… my friend’s still in the car – he’s not very well so we’re just gonna get him to sleep it off and take turns keeping an eye on him. Is there anywhere we can park the car where it’s closer to the house?’ she asks, and the valet thinks for a moment. ‘There’s a little clearing over this side of the house, Miss. I can drive the car there if you’d like,’ he offers, the girl nodding and handing him the keys.

She follows behind the car, walking carefully along the gravel, and thanks the valet profusely as he hands the keys back to her. She wonders whether or not she should get into the car, but the decision is made for her when Hyunjin rolls down the back window, looking at her with an unreadable expression, the whites of his eyes discoloured with red and his bottom lip split. That explains why the boys were all looking dishevelled – they must have gotten into a… scuffle with him. She doesn’t say anything, looking away from him after a moment, and he chuckles. ‘Don’t I get a lecture?’ he asks amusedly, and she doesn’t even dignify his question with a response. ‘Silent treatment?’ ‘Shut the fuck up, Hyunjin.’ He just chuckles in response, and she wants nothing more than to land a heavy punch on his annoyingly perfect face. Instead, she leans against the car and looks down at her phone, scrolling unseeingly through the pictures that Jeongin took of the girls earlier.

‘Why are you always so high-strung, babe? Just relax. Take a xanny,’ he says, smile audible in his voice, and she looks at him with pure disgust. ‘It’s not funny. Not one thing about this is funny.’ ‘It’s a little bit funny.’ ‘You’re fucking sick in the head,’ she spits angrily, and he looks taken aback for a moment, quickly smoothing out his features into that arrogant expression he wears all the time. ‘Wow, that’s harsh. What have I done to you? It’s Lia’s wedding – she’s the only one that can be angry with me,’ he says amusedly, and she feels her eyes filling with tears again. ‘No, actually, I can be angry at you too. It’s fucking humiliating having everyone look at the empty seat next to mine, your empty seat, wondering where the fuck my dirtbag of a boyfriend is!’

‘I’m not your boyfriend,’ he says quickly, the girl letting out a humourless laugh, furious that that’s the thing he decides to address. ‘Yeah, you’ve made that pretty fucking obvious.’ ‘Listen, y/n, I don’t get why you’re so upset that the seat next to you is empty. Just… move seats,’ he grins, as though it’s simple, and she wants to rip his soft black hair out of his stupid head. ‘That’s not the problem, Hyunjin. It’s a lonely feeling.’ ‘You’re sat with your best friends. They’re keeping you company. How can you say you’re lonely?’ ‘They’re all sat next to their boyfriends and girlfriends. The only empty seat on the table, now that the other three are there, is the one next to mine. It’s lonely because they all have their significant others there.’ ‘Well, maybe you should get a boyfriend then. It’s not my fault that you’re single,’ he smiles serenely, and she feels her heart break.

He just called her single. They’ve been messing around since high school, and never have either of them said that they’re single. It was always ‘it’s complicated’, or ‘yeah, we’re kinda together’, or even ‘I’m seeing someone’. Never that they’re single. And he knows that. He’s saying it on purpose, to hurt her – she’s sure of it – and she’s never hated him more than in this moment. Her eyes shine with tears and he just looks back at her smugly with his slightly bloodshot eyes. His body is so accustomed to being high that it’s only ever his eyes that change. His body is never slow or sluggish, his words are never slurred, he never becomes uncoordinated or dizzy. The only sign of him being up in the clouds is his eyes being tinged with a little red.

Changbin appears, almost out of nowhere, and he looks between them with silent concern. ‘Does Lia know anything?’ Hyunjin asks, directing the question at both of them, but the girl ignores him. ‘No. She’s not stupid, though – she’ll realise soon enough,’ Changbin says with no warmth or kindness, and Hyunjin almost looks guilty when he asks, ‘Are you gonna cover for me?’ ‘We’re not gonna ruin her wedding day. So… yeah, we’ll have to cover for you,’ Changbin answers quietly, and the girl lets out a little humourless laugh. ‘You fucking owe us one, you piece of shit.’ ‘I owe you all more than just one. Especially you, y/n. I owe you hundreds. You never stop doing things for me,’ he says with a grin, as though it’s something to be proud of, and it makes her feel sick – it’s like he’s mocking her, making her seem like she’s just his little fan, who follows him around and does whatever he asks.

‘You head back inside, y/n. I’ll stay with this dickhead,’ Changbin says softly, putting a gentle hand on her arm, and she nods, not wasting another moment before heading towards the front of the manor. ‘Tell whoever’s on the next shift to bring me a bottle of vodka!’ Hyunjin calls after the girl and she bites down on her lip, to stop herself from both screaming at him and bursting into tears, feeling that Changbin’s ‘shut your fucking mouth before I shove my fist in it, you fucking moron’ is more than enough of a scolding.

When she re-enters the ballroom, the atmosphere has livened up considerably, the guests beginning to mix between tables, the music a little louder and the lights a little lower. She heads back to the table with her friends, Lia sat there, and she feels a little bit of panic when Lia spots her, the bride’s eyes narrowing. ‘What’s going on with him?’ Lia asks the second the other girl sits down, and she waits for her response with a raised eyebrow, the others on the table silent. ‘These guys already told you, right?’ ‘No, they didn’t. They’re saying that nothing’s wrong, which is bullshit. What’s going on, y/n?’ The girl decides she’s not gonna lie for him, she’s not gonna cover for him anymore, and she takes a deep sigh before saying, ‘he’s high, Lia. I’m sorry.’

Lia shakes her head disappointedly, sadness in her eyes, but there isn’t one hint of surprise in her reaction at all, which hurts. No one’s ever surprised by his behaviour. No one ever expects anything better of him. No one ever thinks he might make a change, but it’s probably because he never will.

‘I even told him he could get high after my family are all gone. They’re leaving at 9 and then we’ve got the place to ourselves all night. He just had to wait a few more hours,’ Lia says angrily, the others all shaking their heads in mutual disappointment. ‘Where is he? I wanna speak to him,’ she says abruptly, getting up from her seat without a second’s hesitation, and all her friends exchange alarmed glances. ‘Woah, Lia, hold on. Changbin’s with him, but you can’t go. It’s your wedding – you can’t just disappear,’ Yeji says, and Lia looks like she’s debating it with herself.

‘I… I wanna go and speak to him so bad. I don’t know whether I wanna knock him out or give him a hug, but I just need to see him,’ she says distractedly, as though her thoughts are too loud for her to focus on her words, and the others look at her with incredulity. ‘You wanna hug him?’ Jeongin asks disbelievingly, voicing all of their thoughts, and she lets out an exasperated sigh. ‘You guys are all so quick to get angry at him. Do you never stop to wonder why he’s always high or drunk?’ she asks, sitting back down again, and everyone rolls their eyes.

‘Lia, it’s nice of you to be concerned about him, but I really wouldn’t try and think about him in a psychological way. He’s too far gone for our help now. I mean, it’s literally your wedding day, and he couldn’t stay sober,’ Ryujin says slowly, and Lia’s eyes widen. ‘But that’s what I’m trying to say! It’s my wedding day… and he couldn’t stay sober. Why has nobody stopped to think about that? What is hurting him so much that he couldn’t stay sober for his best friend’s wedding?’ Lia says slowly, her friends silent as her words sink in, and their anger is quickly replaced by panic and guilt.

‘y/n, has he… spoken to you at all? Mentioned anything to you? I know you two aren’t exactly… well, I don’t even know what you are, but he confides in you more than anyone else,’ Minho says gently, and the girl tries to quieten her concerns, thinking back to anything she should’ve noticed. ‘I can’t think of anything. I mean… there’s the usual stuff he’s talked about since high school – how he gets high to get rid of the pain – but nothing… out of the blue. Nothing bad enough to make him get high in the middle of Lia’s wedding,’ she says quietly, desperately wracking her brains but coming up empty-handed.

‘Maybe we should try and speak to him about it? Try and get him to talk?’ ‘He doesn’t talk, Lix. He won’t talk, to any of us. Except y/n,’ Chaeryeong says gently, all of them silent as they try to think. ‘Will you speak to him, y/n? I’m just worried now that Lia’s said that.’ ‘Trust me, Yuna, I’d love to speak to him, but I don’t think I’ll be able to get anything out of him. I was just with him and… he was horrible to me. Worse than he’s ever been before. I told him it isn’t a nice feeling to be sat in here with the seat next to me empty, and he said that maybe I should get a boyfriend, and it isn’t his fault that I’m single,’ she says quietly, all of them gasping in shock.

‘That’s it. I don’t give a fuck if he’s struggling or going through something difficult – that’s no excuse to be a dick.’ ‘Jisung, please, calm do-’ ‘No, Lia! How many nights has she stayed with him? How many episodes of his has she stuck by him through? How many times has she saved his damn life? Everything she’s ever done for him, and he thinks he can speak to her like that? It doesn’t run! I’m gonna kick his ass!’ Jisung says angrily, standing up, and all the others start panicking and stand up too, trying to get him to calm down. ‘Jisung, if you don’t sit your ass down and shut up, I’ll kick your ass,’ Lia hisses, all of them suddenly conscious of the stares they’re getting from the other wedding guests, and they all quickly sit back down.

‘You don’t get to choose how we deal with him. y/n does,’ Lia says calmly, all of their gazes turning to the girl in question, and she hesitates, taking a few moments to think about it. She wants nothing more than to see him get his due, for being such a dick to her for so long, but she loves him too much to abandon him, or hurt him, at a time when he could be hurting more than he ever has before.

‘We’ll carry on doing the shifts until he’s come down... and then, I’ll speak to him. Only when he’s sobered up. The next person to go out needs to take his drugs off him, if he has any – I don’t want him to take more while he’s coming down. I’ll bring him in after speaking to him,’ she says, telling them the best plan she can think of, and they all nod. ‘Okay, y/n. That’s what we’ll do. I’ll take the next shift,’ Chan says, the others volunteering themselves to look after him, and she feels herself zoning out, worrying about him again. ‘Hey, y/n. Stop stressing. We’re gonna look after him, okay? Team effort to… save Hyunjin,’ Felix says softly with a small smile, and the girl nods, convincing herself that they’ll be able to do it. That they can save Hyunjin.

‘My eyes must have been deceiving me all night, because I haven’t seen you step foot onto that dancefloor,’ Lia’s father says from where he’s appeared behind her seat, and she smiles up at him. ‘Hey, Mr Choi.’ ‘Hi, sweetheart,’ he says, sliding into the empty seat beside her. ‘Why the sad face?’ ‘Oh, I’m not sad. I’m just… reminiscing. It feels like the end of an era,’ she says, glancing over at Lia and wondering when she grew up so much. Wondering when all of them grew up so much.

‘I’ve been thinking the same thing. I can’t help but wish the time hadn’t gone so quickly. I miss those old days. When you girls would play outside for hours each day, all summer long. It feels like just yesterday that me and the other parents waved you all goodbye on your first day of high school, and here we are. At Lia’s wedding,’ he says with a sad smile, both of them watching Lia dance with the biggest smile on her face, looking radiant in her beautiful dress. ‘It feels surreal.’ ‘I completely agree. These years have just flown by – it just feels wrong that you guys are getting married and settling down. Make sure you don’t get married for a long time, y/n. I’m not ready to see you get married yet,’ he says with a grin, the girl bursting into laughter.

‘I can’t wait too long. You’re starting to get old an-’ ‘You cheeky little-’ he exclaims, hitting the girl with a napkin. Lia’s old aunties shoot them dirty looks and they try to stifle their laughter, but it only makes everything funnier, the two of them giggling into their hands like little schoolkids. ‘You might be joking, but I’m afraid you’re right, y/n. We are getting old, so don’t wait too long. I think… in ten years should be fine,’ he says with a grin, her mouth falling open. ‘Ten years? I’ll be ancient by then!’ ‘Watch your mouth,’ he says warningly, an amused glint in his eyes.

‘If I’m being totally honest, I can see you getting married next. I think someone out there will have enough sense to put a ring on you soon,’ he says, trying to sound all mystical, but he makes it sound like a threat instead, and she can’t help but laugh. ‘No, I don’t think so. I feel like I’m destined to just be a bridesmaid for the rest of my life.’ ‘Oh, don’t be ridiculous! You’ll find the right one. Maybe it’s that boyfriend of yours,’ he says tentatively, as though testing the waters, and when she remains silent, her smile slipping a little, he backtracks.

‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought him up.’ ‘No, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it. It’s… silly.’ ‘I don’t think things are ever silly with you and that boy, y/n. You two seem to have problems that are more serious than any other couple I know. And you’re not even married!’ ‘We’re not even together at all, Mr Choi. He called me single today,’ she says with a sad smile, and his mouth falls open. ‘Where is he?’ he says, clenching his hands into fists menacingly, and she laughs, shaking her head. ‘No, no, it’s okay. I’ll get over it,’ she says, but he’s distracted, looking around the room.

‘Okay, seriously… where is he? I haven’t seen him all night, and I can’t see him now. And this is supposed to be his seat, right?’ he asks, obviously picking up on how the table settings in front of the seat are untouched, how he’s the first person to have sat in that seat all night, and she nods reluctantly, the man shaking his head. ‘Where is he, y/n?’ ‘He’s been an idiot, and… we’re dealing with it,’ she says vaguely, and he raises an eyebrow.

The kids have managed to hide Hyunjin’s addiction from all of their parents for years. The parents have their suspicions, of course, but it’s never been confirmed to them, because they’ve never seen him do drugs. They’ve seen him whilst he’s high, without even realising – he’s pretty much himself when he’s high, just a little hyper or chill – so he’s managed to get away with his addiction for years.

Before Mr Choi can reply, Seungmin’s voice comes from behind them. ‘y/n. You’re up,’ he says gravely, and she takes a deep breath. ‘He’s definitely okay for me to talk to him?’ she asks, Seungmin nodding. ‘I’m sorry to leave you, Mr Choi, but I gotta…’ ‘Don’t worry about it. You have my phone number so call me if something happens. Okay?’ he says, obviously wanting to intervene but not wanting to overstep, and she nods with a small smile.

The walk to the car feels like it stretches over a lifetime, her nerves growing and her legs feeling weaker with each step. It’s past sunset now, but there’s still the warm glow of a beautiful dusk over the manor grounds, the cooling air making her shiver. When she approaches Seungmin’s car, she sees that Hyunjin is sat on the boot, looking towards the lake with a blank face. She feels relief flood through her when he turns his gaze towards her and his eyes aren’t red anymore. This is him sober, or as sober as he’s been in a long time. Lia wasn’t exaggerating when she said that he’s always high or drunk – he even showed up to the ceremony this morning with the faint scent of vodka on his lips.

Neither of them say anything as she joins him, settling beside him on the boot, making sure her dress isn’t touching the floor. ‘That dress really suits you. You look… amazing,’ he murmurs quietly, looking back at the lake. ‘Thanks. And you look handsome in your suit,’ she says softly, feeling her heart flutter a little when his lips quirk up at the corners and he turns his head away with embarrassment.

He’s dressed in a standard black tux with a white shirt underneath it, but the outfit’s simplicity doesn’t stop it from accentuating his lean and slim figure nicely, the colour setting off his honey skin. His soft black hair falls over his forehead into his eyes, and silver rings adorn his long fingers. The tie hanging from his neck is the same blue as her dress, and it reminds her of when they matched his tie and her dress at high school prom all those years ago, the memory bringing a fond smile to her face.

‘Thanks,’ he says quietly, and they fall back into silence. A sudden gust of wind blows, carrying the lilt of faint birdsong, and the trees lean from its force, their leaves brushing against each other. She shivers, bringing her arms around herself, hands clutching onto her own shoulders, and he instantly begins to shrug off his jacket, handing it to her without looking in her direction. She thanks him softly, taking the jacket and pulling it around herself, feeling the echo of his body warmth in its inner lining. He rarely wears any aftershave or cologne – his natural scent is more than enough to make him smell good – but the scent of the Dior spray she bought him for his last birthday fills her senses.

‘I’m really sorry,’ he says suddenly, eyes still on the lake, and she lets out a gentle laugh. ‘It’s not me you need to apologise to. It’s not my wedding – it’s Lia’s,’ she says gently, no anger in her voice at all. She can’t be angry at him when he’s all subdued like this. ‘I know, and I owe Lia an apology too. But… I’ve owed you an apology for a long time, y/n. For so many things.’ She doesn’t say anything, not quite sure what to say, and he takes her silence as a sign to continue, neither of them looking at each other.

‘I… I’m sorry I said to you that you should get a boyfriend. I shouldn’t have called you single – it was nasty, and it wasn’t true. I don’t really know what we are, but we are something,’ he says in a small voice, sounding earnest, and she just sighs. ‘Then… why did you say it? Why did you… want to be nasty to me?’ she asks shakily, tears welling up in her eyes again, and he’s completely silent, showing no sign of answering her question.

‘I don’t understand. Every time you do these things to me, all I can think is that I just don’t understand. I deserve better than you – that’s what you say – but no matter what you do, I still want you, and I don’t understand that either. Why do I keep coming back to you when you treat me like shit? I’m doing it right now. Look how you spoke to me earlier, and I’m sat out here with you instead of being with Lia on her wedding day. Why do I do this? And why do you do this to yourself? You run from the person you need the most. No matter how much I think about it, I just don’t know why you do it. But it has to stop, Hyunjin. It has to stop,’ she says tearily, sobs breaking up her words, and he feels his heart breaking as he listens to her.

He wordlessly moves closer to her, pulling her into his arms, and she rests her head on his chest, trying her best to calm herself down as he comforts her, running his hand over her hair soothingly. ‘I was good this morning. Yeah, I took a couple shots before I left the house, but they were just to give me energy after the pills I took last night. But I was good, I was happy,’ he begins, voice quiet, and she feels a glimmer of hope at the prospect that he’s finally gonna open up to her, tell her something of substance rather than the usually vague things he tells her (she wanted to slam her head into the wall that time he spent ages building up to a big confession for it to be ‘I stay high because I don’t like being sober’).

‘And then, after the ceremony, while you guys were taking bridesmaids pictures, I overheard your parents talking to Ryujin’s parents. They were talking about how happy they are for Lia, how beautiful she looks, and then the conversation changed to you,’ he continues, tears appearing in his eyes and the girl waits nervously for the rest of the story.

He relives the moment as he tells her about it. How he heard her name come up in the conversation, his heart skipping a beat just at the mention of her, and he started listening a little more eagerly. How he couldn’t help the smile on his face when they spoke about how beautiful she’ll look on her wedding day. How he felt like he’d had his heart ripped out when her father mentioned his worries about who his daughter will marry, and how he hopes it won’t be her ‘no-good deadbeat failure of a boyfriend’ because he feels – no, he knows – that ending up with Hyunjin will mean she’ll end up heartbroken.

She bursts into tears as soon as he finishes telling her, and he’s so endeared by her reaction that he can’t help but chuckle, holding her just a little closer as the tears spill down his face. ‘Hyunjin, why didn’t you just tell me?’ she asks quietly once the sobs have stopped forcing their way up her throat. She sits back up, their shoulders touching, and he intertwines his hand with hers, a sad smile on his face. ‘What was I supposed to say? ‘I overheard your dad talking about how much he hates me and my first good mood this entire year is ruined because of it’? That’s not exactly a great conversation to have at your best friend’s wedding.’ ‘Yeah, but it’s a better conversation to have than the one we’re having right now,’ she points out, and he chuckles, nodding in agreement.

‘I know this probably won’t change anything, but you should know that my dad’s opinion on you doesn’t matter to me-’ ‘But, y/n, it’s true. He’s right. I am a no-good deadbeat failure. My life is meaningless. I don’t bring anything to the table. I don’t contribute anything positive to your life, to anyone’s life. You probably would end up heartbroken if you married me. Which is why you can’t marry me. You can’t be with me, y/n. I know I say this all the time, but you do deserve better than someone like me. I wish I was more of a man, but I’m not. All I do is neglect you, and put myself above you,’ he says softly, and she just stares at him with such an intense mix of emotions – anger, sorrow, guilt, hurt, confusion, longing – that she doesn’t even know what to say.

‘But I love you,’ she whispers eventually, and he brushes back her hair with an affectionate smile. ‘And I love you too. More than I have ever loved anything. More than anyone has ever loved anything. You are my entire life, y/n. And that’s the problem. My life is you, drugs and alcohol. You have so much more in your life – you have such a potential for success – but being with me will only drag you down. It’s what I’m already doing to you – slowly dragging you down.’ ‘But Hyunjin, you have such a potential for success too! You could have so much fulfilment in your life. You could be so much more.’ ‘But I’m not, and I don’t think I ever will be. I don’t think I’ll ever get sober,’ he whispers hesitantly, fear in his eyes, and it’s so clear to her in that moment that he hates this. The thought of living like this for the rest of his life scares him, but he feels like there’s nothing he can do to change that.

She’s silent for a moment, debating whether or not she should say what she wants to say, but she throws caution to wind and decides to contradict everything she and their friends have been saying to him for years. ‘You don’t have to get sober,’ she says slowly, his eyes widening. ‘What?’ ‘I know I’ve been saying that you need to get sober, but I’ve been thinking about it, and… it’s like weight-loss,’ she says, the boy laughing. ‘Getting sober is like weight-loss?’ ‘Yeah! Think about it; if you go from eating junk food every day and never exercising, to never eating any junk food and working out for three hours every day, it’s just not gonna work. You have to do it slowly, you know? Make lifestyle changes instead. Slowly incorporate exercise into your daily routine. Learn healthier recipes and make better choices with food that you buy.’

He processes her words, holding back laughter at her metaphor, and asks, ‘So you’re saying… I need to just slowly start taking less drugs?’ ‘That’s exactly what I’m saying! We shouldn’t expect you to get sober overnight – it probably won’t work if we try to do it like that. But if you just start taking less and less, then it’ll be an easier process. And I don’t even expect you to get completely sober. A couple xans or a joint at a party, or even a couple lines wouldn’t kill you. That’s what the other boys do. It’s about moderation. It’s about not getting high again as soon as you feel yourself coming down,’ she says pointedly, and he lets out a sigh.

‘It sounds like a great idea, y/n, but… the drugs keep me alive. They might be slowly killing me, but they’re also keeping me alive. As soon as I feel myself coming down, it all comes back. The hurt, the trauma, the self-hatred, the loneliness and the crippling pain of my life. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but there’s something very wrong with me, because when I’m sober, I want to die. When I’m sober, I don’t have any reasons to live,’ he confides in a gentle voice, holding her hand tight, and her heart sinks at his admission. ‘Well… maybe I could give you some?’ she whispers, his lips curling up into a small smile, and he puts an arm around her, pulling her close and pressing his lips to her temple. ‘Maybe you could, angel. I should at least let you try. But I can’t promise it’ll work,’ he murmurs against her skin, and she feels her heart lift with hope. This is more than he’s ever let her try before.

‘Okay. We’ll start with trying to… fix you tomorrow,’ she says, and his eyes widen. ‘Tomorrow?’ ‘Yes, tomorrow. If we keep putting it off, we’ll never get around to it. Tonight, you can go inside, say hi to everyone and apologise for your… antics, and when all of Lia’s family have left, you can get high with the boys. Then, after we see Lia off on her honeymoon, we’re starting with… ‘Operation: Help Hyunjin’. Okay?’ she asks, and he nods with a small smile. ‘Okay.’ ‘Promise me you’ll try. If I show up to your house in the morning and you’re not there, like all those other times, I’m gonna be really upset. I love you, but I can’t put up with you running from me for much longer. So I want you to actually try this time.’

‘I promise I won’t run from you. And I promise I’ll try, for you.’ ‘No. It’s not for me – it’s for you. It’s for your happiness, your future. The motivation for this needs to be you. You owe it to yourself to live a better life. Nobody else but you.’ ‘Okay. I’ll promise I’ll try. For me,’ he smiles, tilting her head up to press a gentle kiss to her lips, making her heart flutter. He chuckles at the dazed look on her face, jumping down from the boot of the car. He puts two big hands on her waist and helps to lift her down, leading her back up to the wedding.

‘You look so cute in my jacket,’ he chuckles, and she instantly begins taking it off. ‘No, angel, it’s cold!’ ‘My dress is so pretty, though. I don’t wanna cover it up. And we’re going inside now anyway,’ she says, handing him his jacket back, and he pulls it on as his eyes trail up and down her body. ‘I guess the dress is pretty. Not as pretty as you, though,’ he murmurs, and she rolls her eyes, unable to hold back a giggle. ‘That was a terrible line.’ ‘Who says it was a line? The only lines I do are coke.’ ‘…Not funny, Jin.’ ‘Sorry.’

They walk towards the front door of the manor holding hands, their fingers interlaced, and Hyunjin spots a little flower bush a few feet away. ‘Hold on,’ he says, letting go of her hand and picking one of the flowers. They’re blush pink, the same colour as the corsage he bought her from prom, and he holds it up to her with a grin, a small smile on her face as he lifts up her hair to tuck it behind her ear. It might not match the dress, but he thinks she looks beautiful, and she’s so touched that he remembers such a small detail from so long ago. Pink peonies have been her favourite flowers since he bought her that corsage, because every time she sees one, she thinks of him.

‘You look perfect,’ he murmurs, pressing his lips to hers again, and she sighs gently into the kiss, his lips curling into a smirk as he wraps his arms around her, pulling her closer. ‘Wanna come back to mine tonight?’ he asks once they break apart, and she rolls her eyes. ‘Really?’ ‘Yes. Your dad doesn’t want us to get married? Cool. He never said anything about us having a kid,’ he grins, and she laughs. ‘Very funny.’ ‘I’m kinda not kidding,’ he says with bright eyes, and her mouth falls open. ‘Seriously?’ ‘Yeah. I’ve always wanted a kid with you. They’ll be the most amazing kid on earth,’ he grins, the girl still not sure whether he’s joking or not, and she’s silent for a long few moments. ‘Fine, I’ll make you a deal. You get to some form of sobriety, and then I’ll get pregnant. How does that sound?’ she asks, and he lets out a whoop of joy, sweeping her up into his arms and spinning her, their laughter carrying in the wind. ‘Sounds perfect to me, y/n.’

The bridal march begins suddenly, the guests all falling quiet, and her bridesmaids make their way in one by one. Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong and Yuna all have genuinely happy smiles on their faces, wearing matching dresses the same colour as the blush pink peony bouquets that they all hold, bouquets designed by the bride herself. The flowers are a main point of decoration – no matter where you look in the room, you’ll see a pink peony within your peripheral vision.

Hyunjin feels anticipation building inside him, unable to keep the smile off his face when his son enters after the bridesmaids, throwing pink flower petals with a mischievous smile on his face. You’d think he’d resemble Hyunjin, and he does in a way, with his soft fluffy hair and handsome good looks, but when Hyunjin looks at him, all he can see is her. Their son got her beautiful eyes, her beautiful smile, her beautiful heart, and he couldn’t be happier about it.

She enters after their son, the entire room gasping at how beautiful she looks. Hyunjin feels his eyes fill with tears, not at her perfect dress or perfect hair and makeup, but her perfect smile, complete and utter happiness on her face. He desperately tries to blink back the tears, eyes flitting to her father beside her, their arms linked together. He looks a lot older than Hyunjin remembers, but looking around, he realises they all look a lot older than he remembers. It’s been a long and difficult few years for all of them, her most of all.

With each step she takes, he feels himself getting more and more emotional, in disbelief at how perfect she looks, how happy she looks. She reaches the end of the aisle and joins her fiancé at the altar, handing her bouquet to her bridesmaids and taking Jisung’s hands into her own, the boy smiling unbelievably widely. He looks like the happiest man in the world.

Hyunjin watches, from right behind Jisung, as the love of his life marries his best friend, the smiles not leaving their faces for a single moment. Despite the hurt, the jealousy, the longing he feels for her, he also feels happy for her, and grateful towards Jisung. Grateful to him for being the boyfriend that Hyunjin could never be, and being the father that Hyunjin could never be. And as they kiss, sealing their promise of love, and Hyunjin’s son runs up to his mother and the man that he thinks is his father, the three of them making the happiest family on earth, Hyunjin feels paralysing regret fill him.

Regret about the drugs. Regret about the alcohol. Regret that he couldn’t prove anyone wrong. Regret about the fact that he hurt her, and ran from her, when she’s the one that he needs the most, the one he’s always needed the most. Regret that he couldn’t be more of a man. Regret that he couldn’t get sober, not for her, or their son, or even for himself.

Once the ceremony’s over, and the happy couple are taking their photos in the gardens, the guests watching on with affectionate smiles, Hyunjin’s friends gather around him, giving him brief hugs or squeezing his hand comfortingly, and he’s not sure whether it’s making him feel better or worse. The photographer calls for a picture of the happy couple with the best man, and his eyes meet with hers, a small smile on her face as he heads towards the two of them.

‘Your flower’s about to fall off,’ Jisung points out when Hyunjin joins them, and without a moment of hesitation, she lifts her hands to his lapel to fix it. ‘It’s like prom all over again – me fucking up my flower, and you spending most of the night fixing it,’ Hyunjin jokes, the girl laughing while she re-pins his pink peony boutonniere, and Jisung feels a pang of pain in his heart as he watches them. They look like they should be the bride and groom – the way she fixes his flower with the softest hands and the utmost care, the way he gazes at her with nothing but love in his eyes, the two of them laughing quietly – and even though Jisung understood his reference, he still feels left out, as though he’s the third wheel intruding on an inside joke.

They get into position for the photo, Jisung on her right and Hyunjin on her left, both of them with an arm around the bride, and she holds her bouquet, the three of them smiling in the sunlight as though they’re the happiest people in the world. Hyunjin looks like the proud best friend, successfully hiding his jealousy of Jisung and his love for her. Jisung looks like the elated groom, successfully hiding his jealousy of Hyunjin and his longing to feel her love the way his best friend always has and always will. And she looks like the picture of the bride glowing with happiness, successfully hiding her yearning for the reversal of the boys’ roles, her desire for Jisung to be the proud best friend and Hyunjin to be the elated groom. The three of them are so tragic and they don’t even know it, don’t even know the truth about each other’s desires.

Their son comes running over, wanting to get into the picture, and it’s like he knows the truth because he decides to stand between the bride and the best man rather than the bride and the groom. She feels panic fill her, not sure whether or not she should move her son, but the photographer begins taking pictures before any of them can act.

It’s almost as though the photographer’s worked them out, like he can see right through the three of them and their lies, because he suggests taking photos of the best man and the happy couple’s son, the three of them exchanging a glance before the bride and groom move away. Hyunjin lifts his son into his arms, the boy completely oblivious to Hyunjin’s inner turmoil, and he just wraps his arms around the man that he knows as his uncle, smiling widely for the camera.

The bride watches them from behind the photographer, and it’s only when Jisung walks away wordlessly that she registers the loving smile on her face which falters quickly. ‘y/n,’ the girl hears, and she tears her eyes away from Jisung’s retreating back, turning to look at Hyunjin’s mother, and the guilt fades away into excitement. ‘Mrs Hwang! Thank you so much for coming!’ the bride exclaims, throwing her arms around the woman she holds dear in her heart. ‘I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. You look so beautiful. I’m so happy for you,’ she says, holding the girl tight, and once they break apart, their eyes both wander to Hyunjin and his son, posing for pictures.

‘I’ve just noticed, y/n, how much your son looks like my son,’ Mrs Hwang murmurs, the bride silent for a moment as she watches her boys laugh together, the photographer capturing the moment. ‘I personally think he gets his looks from me. His personality is all Hyunjin, though,’ she says mildly, Mrs Hwang giving the girl a sad smile. ‘I’m sorry, sweetheart. I really thought he’d get his act together.’ ‘So did I, Mrs Hwang. But it’s okay. Jisung makes me happy.’ ‘I’m glad. You deserve to be happy,’ she says wistfully, the two of them still watching their boys laughing together. ‘Come and visit me soon, y/n. And bring your son. I’d quite like to meet him again, knowing what I know,’ Mrs Hwang says quietly, the bride nodding with a smile, holding the tears back.

Hyunjin notices his mother walking away from the bride, and he feels hope in his heart when his eyes lock with those of the girl that he loves, and he sees love reflected back at him, a sad smile on her face. Does she still love him? Is she wishing that she’d married him instead of his best friend? Is she wondering what her life would be like if they were the newly-weds, and their son knew the truth about his father?

But the moment is fleeting, because the sadness disappears from her smile, making him question whether it was even there in the first place, and her loving eyes are on her son instead, not Hyunjin. And suddenly, the realisation hits him. The realisation that she doesn’t love him. That she loves Jisung. And he can never call her his again. And in the few moments before his world comes crashing down, he feels the familiar itch in his fingers, the desperation to reach into his pocket and pull out the little plastic packet, full of the stuff that pushes his pain away.

So he holds it together for the last few photos before heading off towards his car with the tears in his eyes blurring the path in front of him, his absence almost entirely unnoticed in all the excitement. But she watches him with their son in her arms, feeling the crack in her heart grow with each step he takes, wishing with all her might that she could go running after him, get into his car with him so he can drive the three of them away to their own little world of happiness. And Jisung watches her, the longing and love in her eyes so clear as she watches his best friend, and he knows in that moment that his hopes that she’ll one day love him as much as she loves Hyunjin are delusional, that he’s signed his life over to being second best in the eyes of the person he loves more than anyone in the world.

Maybe the three of them are truly happy in another world, but certainly not in this one.

[fandomlit]

super sonic (ben hargreeves x reader)

requested by anon “hey!! i need some more love for my boy ben,, can you write a ben hargreeves x fem!reader where they go on a vacaction or smthn and some of the siblings are watching their baby and they find out they have abilities!! thanks”

summary when you and ben take a much deserved vacation, the siblings are happy to come together to take care of your baby boy, atticus, and make a shocking discovery in the process.

a/n i love my boy ben but u guys knew that

gif cred belongs to @nooowestayandgetcaught​

grace rocked atticus in her arms as she walked around the kitchen. she smiled down at the baby despite its crying, shushing quietly as she swayed the child.

“can i try?” grace looked up to see allison standing in the doorway. she nodded and carefully handed over the baby.

allison smiled down at the boy, and he immediately calmed down. his sobs turned into whimpers, and soon he was calm.

“you’re a wonderful mom, allison,” grace complimented. allison smiled.

“i learned from the best,” she chuckled. grace nodded and turned back to making lunch. “so, how long are ben and y/n gone for?”

“they should be back day after tomorrow,” grace hummed. “they didn’t want to be gone too long, but it was an opportunity they couldn’t miss.”

allison smiled down at atticus as she spoke, “i don’t blame them. y/n’s always wanted to go to c/n.”

“has she?” grace prodded.

“yeah,” allison said. “when we were kids, it was all she would talk about. we’d talk about how we wanted to leave the academy, and she always said she’d bring us to c/n with her.” she looked up to smile at grace’s back. “and she took ben.”

“she’s a woman of her word,” grace offered.

allison looked back down at atticus, who was now beginning to doze off. “she is.”

...

diego walked down the hall toward the makeshift nursery with an annoyed sigh. he asked luther, who was standing outside of the room, “how long has he been crying for?”

“thirty minutes,” luther answered, crossing his arms as allison attempted to shush the baby, looking stressed as she rocked the baby in her arms.

“has anyone told him hargreeves men don’t cry?” diego sighed, rubbing his temples.

“has anyone told him you cried last week?” luther smirked. diego glared at him.

“has anyone told him he’s never gonna get any cousins from your side of the family?”

“hey-”

“guys!” allison exclaimed, cutting them off before the yelling could start. they both looked away guiltily from her stern eyes. atticus just cried louder. 

“at least i can get women,” luther grumbled under his breath.

“alright, that’s it!”

allison wanted to cry as they both started yelling and swinging at each other in that cramped hallway. atticus’s cries were only getting louder, and soon she was involved in the yelling, too, trying to get the boys to stop. and then a surge of energy swept the room, and all the light bulbs shattered in an instant.

atticus’s cries stopped, the yelling stopped, everything stopped.

allison had shielded the baby in her arms and was now staring at the glass scattered along the carpeted floor. she looked up to the boys, who looked just a shocked as she felt.

“holy shit,” they all breathed at the same time.

“i heard the crash!! who broke something that wasn’t me-?” klaus stopped dead in his tracks when he saw all eyes trained on the baby. “oh, no. it’s genetic, isn’t it?” they all nodded.

...

there were three more instances after the first. the first was when atticus threw a tantrum while hungry that broke a glass cabinet. the second, he got excited and burst all the lights in the elegant chandelier. and lastly was in his sleep; they assumed he was having a nightmare, since they all woke up when the window in the nursery broke, but atticus was dead asleep in his crib.

“ben and y/n just pulled in,” luther announced, jabbing a thumb toward the doors to the academy. klaus immediately bolted out of the door to greet them as diego delicately carried atticus in.

“he’s not glass diego,” allison chuckled. “you can hold him closer to you. and more firmly.”

diego looked up at her incredulously. “he tried to grab one of my knives earlier. i don’t trust him too close to me.” just then, atticus began to let out the beginnings of a sob.

“oh, where’s his octopus?” allison sighed, running a hand through her hair. she looked down to the bag she was carrying, said a quick prayer under her breath, and knelt down to shuffle through it. luther jogged into the kitchen to check.

diego attempted to shush atticus, taking allison’s advice and holding him closer as he rocked him.

“i can’t find it,” allison groaned, throwing her hands up in frustration.

“not in the kitchen,” luther panted, coming back into the room. atticus began to cry louder. the lights in the room began to flicker, making them all instinctively cover themselves and the baby as a familiar energy filled the room. the door of the academy opened just as the chandelier’s lights burst for the second time within twenty four hours.

when the three babysitters looked over, you and ben had your jaws dropped. klaus was in between you two, arms slung over your shoulders, looking less than surprised.

“uh.. welcome home?” allison offered.

you sighed, your shoulders drooped as you started toward your son. “how many times has he done that this week?” you held your arms out, and diego cautiously slid atticus into your arms. he cooed as you smiled down at him.

“you knew?” luther scoffed.

“he’s been doing it for two weeks now,” ben confirmed, resting his arm over your shoulder and looking down at the baby endearingly. “we think it’s a super sonic sound waves. it happens when he gets upset or-”

“excited,” they all finished for him. you and ben looked to each other before looking back at the siblings.

“what did he break?”

[stressisakiller]

Next Steps (F.W)

The Other Dursley Part 2

Pairing: Muggle Dursley x Fred Weasley

A/N: This was requested by and anon who asked for a second part to muggle Dursley x Fred Weasley. I may go ahead and do a third part to this, let me know what you think in the comments!

Flashbacks are in italics. Fred lives AU

Warnings: None, Just fluff 

Word count: 2k

Part 1

You and Freddie had spent the morning together at his flat. You enjoyed some pancakes together that you had agreed to make, chocolate chip, of course, much to George’s delight when he walked out of his room that morning. You and Fred had decided not to tell anyone that you were together yet, you wanted to see how long it took them to figure out that you had actually started dating. George took a measured glance at the way you were seated, lounging in your chair with your legs across Fred’s lap. You pretended not to notice.

 “So what do the lovebirds have planned today?” He questioned. You just rolled your eyes and replied,

 “Well, I was wanting to help out at the shop for a little bit until Harry can get here to show me around a little more.” George’s eyebrow raised at that

 “Oh? Why isn’t Fred showing you around?” you giggled and rolled your eyes

 “Well he does have a popular business to help run and I would hate to get in the way of that,” you answered teasingly. You didn’t give George the chance to answer instead grabbing the dishes and heading to the sink. “Actually,” you mused, “I think I’ll head out to explore now.” You saw that trepidation on both of their faces. “I’ll be fine really, I just want to explore and discover this new place at my own pace and you need to work” You grabbed your purse and Fred stopped you right before you got to the door, he gave you some money so that you could buy whatever you wanted while you were out and with that you headed out eager to explore this magical new world.

 You found an ice cream shop and a cauldron shop, it felt kind of like a kitchen store just more specialized, you were impressed by the solid gold cauldron wondering what the purpose for it could be. You kept wandering through the increasingly busy streets, passing a robe shop and one that should all types of herbs. You were surprised to note that other than the ice cream shop there weren’t many food businesses and there weren’t any bakeries. You decided to speak with Fred about that when you got back to the shop. You were pulled out of your thoughts by someone calling out your name. You turned and saw your cousin running towards you, you laughed as he pulled you into a hug and swung you around. You were dizzy by the time he set you down, you giggled as you asked

 “What are you trying to make me fall over? What’s the occasion Cousin?” Harry grinned at you, 

“Does there have to be an occasion? I’m just excited to see you again! Plus I’m excited to show you around my world a little bit more, although it seems like you’ve been doing some exploring of your own.” You couldn’t help but look a little bashful at that.

 “I couldn’t help it, it was just such a beautiful morning and there was just so much to see!” He shook his head at your excitement,

 “I understand that completely, I felt the same way the first time I came here. Come on let's go! I have to show you my favorite spots.” You spent the rest of the morning into the afternoon running around with Harry, learning more and more about the wizarding world. As you explored you noticed that there were many shops that were empty and closed, asking Harry about it he explained what happened with the Wizarding war and how it affected Diagon alley and the people that worked there. You asked him about your idea from earlier. Would there be a way to buy one of the old shops and bring a muggle bakery in? He mulled it over for a moment before decisively saying that he couldn’t see why not and that he and Mr. Weasley would love to help you figure out the details of how and where. You headed back to Fred and George’s shop in high spirits debating whether you should talk to Fred about it yet or keep it as more of a secret until you got all of the kinks worked out. Opening the door you couldn’t help the smile that lit your face when you saw Fred in his element, talking with his customers, telling them about all the trouble he and George got into at Hogwarts, convincing them to buy more than they needed or thought that they wanted. You giggled as you watched one of the kids walk by you with a dazed look on his face after talking with Fred, you could relate, you wore a similar look after hanging out with him the first couple of times. You strolled over to him just in time to hear the end of his latest story.

 “And that’s how George and I ended up creating a swamp in the middle of the hallway.” You shook your head at that deciding that you would ask him about it later. He noticed you walking up out of the corner of his eye and turned to smile at you, pulling you to his side as he finished helping the customer. He placed a quick kiss on your head, not being able to help himself. You looked around and saw that George was just leaving the storage room so he probably didn’t see it so you could keep the charade going at least a little bit longer. You murmured that you were going to go put your bags into the apartment upstairs since they were giving a little heavy and he nodded and told you to come back down and find him once you were done. You did just that, taking a moment to check your appearance in the mirror before you headed down, appearances weren’t the most important thing but you knew that you probably looked a little windswept after being outside all morning. You came back down the stairs and started to help George at the cash register, he quickly explained the money system and told you to holler if you needed any help before he ran back into the backroom to restock a couple of the shelves that were currently empty. You were in awe of how well their business was doing and how many people appreciated them bringing joy back to the world. You became determined that you were going to find a way to help them bring that joy back in any way that you could. Mentally setting up a plan for how and where you would put your bakery. Looking around the shop you had ideas for tons more desserts and goodies, wondering if wizards would like the coffee you would make and what new flavors you could experiment with that the wizarding world had. Watching Fred you settled that you would wait to tell him until you were certain it would work. 

The next couple of weeks consisted of you, Arthur, and Harry making and executing the plans for your new shop. You found and bought the empty shop next to the Weasley’s shop, thinking that you could put a doorway between the two so that it would be easier for Fred and you to see each other during the day. It didn’t take long for George to realize that you were up to something so you had to spill the beans and tell him your plan. You were surprised by how excited he was at the prospect and how many ideas he had to make it better. Your secret-keeping came to an end when you had purchased the new place and Harry had helped you set up all of the appliances you would need, Arthur, made sure that it was all perfectly legal and you had a permit as a muggle to have a business in the wizarding world. It was two months since you and Fred had started dating and you were going to show him your shop as an anniversary date. You baked that morning making a couple of your new treat ideas including bread shaped like unicorns and chocolate trolls filled with raspberry compote. You were super nervous about telling him, worried that he would be mad about you keeping it from him, but you didn’t want to get his hopes out before knowing if it would work out. You met up with him around 7 that night, right as their shop was closing. He walked down out of his apartment as soon as you walked in the door. He wasn’t dressed up, he had taken off his suit jacket and vest earlier in the day, but he still looked good in his slacks and white button-down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. You were dressed in a cute sundress not wanting to look too formal knowing that Fred probably wouldn’t look properly formal until the day he got married. You may have blushed a little when you had that thought. He walked up to you, looking you over he couldn’t help but wonder how he got so lucky, 

“You look beautiful” he breathed out, you blushed even harder at his words

. “Well, you don’t look too bad yourself” you quipped, “are you ready to see my surprise for you?” He flashed you one of his signature grins and told you to lead the way. He couldn’t help his confusion when you lead him out of his shop and into the one next door. You held your breath as you turned the lights on, worried about what his reaction would be. You heard his quick intake when the lights illuminated the space around you. You waited another moment before turning to look at him, his eyes were taking everything in and you waited for him to ask the questions you knew were coming. After taking in the whole room he turned to face you,

 “So is this what you’ve been working on the last 2 months?” he questioned. You looked down stealing yourself to what he would say once he heard your answer. 

“Yes, Harry, your Dad and I have been working on figuring out a way for me to open a bakery in Diagon Alley. They helped me enchant the appliances so that they would work without muggle electricity. I should be able to open in a couple of months, there is still a lot to get done.” You were surprised by the smile that overtook his face at your words,

 “You mean to tell me that in a couple of months you will be working right next to me and living near me? That I will be able to just walk next door to see you and not have to worry about exploding magic to muggles?” his smile grew when you nodded “This is the best gift you could have ever gotten me!” He pulled you into a tight hug and you realized that there was no one else that you would want to be with not when the man in front of you was so excited for you to get to do your passion. You felt the tears well up in your eyes from how happy you were to have him in your life. You looked in his eyes and declared that you were done hiding your relationship from his family, that you wanted to go to the weekly Weasley dinner that night and let them know that you were together and couldn’t be happier. He grabbed your hand and apparated you to the garden outside the burrow. Giving you a quick kiss to fortify you he opened the door and walked into the Burrow with your hands intertwined. You laughed at Mrs. Weasley’s reaction and how she was so excited for you to be a part of the family, you and Fred blushed at that. You were swarmed by the rest of the Weasleys and were so overwhelmed that you almost didn’t see Harry handing over a galleon to George. Almost

[rickybowensfever]

Sicktember - Zach has a headache

Another @sicktember post! Today’s story is with my oc’s Kylie and Zach. 

Prompts: 

Blankets

Medicine

Missing Out 

Headache 

Fever

 Zach and Kylie are in the last week of summer before their senior year of high school and want to make every minute count. So, when Zach arrives at Kylie’s family’s End of the Summer BBQ looking flushed and develops a headache, Kylie drops everything to take care of him. 

Zach swings by the kitchen where his sister, Emily is garnishing her avocado toast — a sprinkle of paprika, an egg over easy — before taking the right Instagram photo to share with her friends.

“‘Morning!” Zach croaks, startled by the sound of his voice. Must just be my morning voice he tries to convince himself. 

He grabs a glass from the wooden cabinet nearest to the refrigerator and pours a glass of orange juice for himself before finding a quick breakfast. 

His eyes grow wide when he sees a white plate with four pieces of bacon lying on it. He quickly takes piece by piece until only one remains on the plate. 

 “Zach!!” Emily exclaimed, her eyes raised and face scrunched in annoyance. 

“Those were for Mom!” she explains, holding a hand on her hip. 

“Sorry…” he mutters, “That would’ve been nice to know before, you know” he gestures his hands to the plate of bacon, pouting his lip. 

“Ugh, it’s fine. I can just make more” 

“Sorry, I have to be at Kylie’s soon for their barbeque and I totally woke up late,” he says trying to justify his actions. 

 “Oh, nice! I’m going to try and stop by later with Kara”  she half-smiles. Emily has been seeing a girl named Kara for over a month now since they met at her summer job as a school nurse at a summer day camp. Emily’s first job since she graduated from Med School. 

 Zach touched his Home screen button to reveal the time, 12:48 PM with five unread messages from Kylie probably asking him where he was. 

 “Fuck. I better go” Zach said, panicked. He had been up late watching Netflix aimlessly and his throat was sore. He had tried everything: tea and honey, gargling with salt water, and honey-flavored cough drops. Nothing was curing the aching in his throat. 

Finally, around 2 am, he was able to fall asleep thanks to some NyQuil. 

But, he was deeply regretting his decisions when he woke up at 11:45 am after Kylie told him to get to her house at 12. 

Luckily, the pain in his throat had hindered. Please, don’t do this to me again, he said into his mirror as he pulled on a blue t-shirt and khaki shorts. 

 Zach pulled into the Daniels’ driveway which was beginning to pack up with cars. As he parked his car, Kylie’s brother, Blake ran over to him waving his arms around in excitement. 

Blake was a year younger than Kylie and Zach, playing in a band with some of his high school friends. 

“Yo! You playing tonight?” Zach asked as he got out of the car to greet him with a handshake. 

Blake laughed, “Nah. I got out of that tonight. One of my bandmates is taking their brother to college,” he said. 

Blake escorted Zach to the back gate where their ingrown pool was fenced in and the party was brewing. Kylie waved to her boyfriend the minute she saw him. She wore an ombre purple bikini top with denim shorts and flip-flops, pulling out pool noodles for the kids to play with. 

Zach smiled, walking over to her, greeting her younger cousins. He pulled her in for a kiss on the cheek.

“Do you have any water?” he asked feeling dehydrated. 

Kylie perked up, turning her head toward him. 

“Yeah! Right in the blue cooler”, she mentioned, throwing a couple of pool noodles into the pool at the kids. The kids screamed with excitement, one laying on their stomach and the others blowing water out the trunk of the noodle. Kylie giggled. 

Zach pulled a cold water bottle out of the cooler and sighed out of relief. Suddenly, he felt light-headed and super thirsty. He chugged the water bottle until only drops of water remained. 

“Let’s go inside. My mom still needs help getting everything set up” she mentioned. 

Zach nodded, following her lead. 

Kylie closed the gate over and started heading into the house. 

When they walked into the Daniels’ home, Zach was immediately greeted by her family members. 

“Zach! Nice to see ya,” Uncle Tim said. Zach nodded waving at him. “I’ll be right back, you chat” Kylie whispered in his ear. 

Zach shrugged. “Ready for senior year? Do you have any colleges picked out?” Aunt Michelle (Tim’s wife) asked. 

Zach dreaded this question. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. 

“Uh, I’m going to community college, actually,” he said, confidently. 

“Oh,” they said in unison. Zach was so used to hearing the disappointment in their voices when he told any adult he wasn’t going the “traditional” route for college. 

Why was it so bad that he’d rather save money and figure out what he actually wanted to do instead of contributing to being in crippling debt from student loans? His sister had done the same thing and now, she landed a job as a school nurse. When he figured out whatever the hell he wanted to do in life, he would be successful, too. 

“Yeah! Trying to save money” he said smiling at them. This was his cue to walk away. He walked over to the sectional in the living room across from the kitchen where the TV was playing a re-run of a Food Network competition. 

Once the winner was revealed and another episode started, Zach looked around for his girlfriend. The chatter of Kylie’s loud relatives made his head start to hurt and fatigue set in. 

His eyes lit up when he saw a hint of purple and his girlfriend bringing in a folded chair for an elderly woman to sit in. He ran over to Kylie as soon as he saw her. 

 “Hey. Can I go lay down in your room? I have a headache” he said, talking low so no one could hear him. 

“Sure. Do you want some Advil?” she asked, pouting her lip with concern, “You look a little flushed” she mentioned. 

Zach nodded, “Yeah, that’d be great” and jogged up the stairs turning a corner in the hallway to enter her room. 

The noise died down as he closed the door. Now only hints of loud voices were in the distance. Zach grabbed a fuzzy blanket from a wicker basket and lied on top of her dark purple comforter, closing his eyes as his head pounded. 

Then, the door opened. 

Kylie rubbed his back saying, “Hey, I brought some water and Advil” 

Zach opened his eyes and grabbed the two pink tablets from her hand, chasing them with the water. 

“A nap might help? You look exhausted” she said brushing her hand through his soft brown hair. 

He nodded, “Thanks” and curled back into his position. A shiver went through his body. Making Kylie now more concerned. 

“Do you feel okay? Besides the headache?” she asked quietly. 

“Mhmm” Zach mumbled. “Alright, I’ll check in later, or come and get me if you’re feeling better,” she said, closing her door over. 

 Zach woke up an hour later, feeling cold, his throat burning, and his head pounding more than earlier. He groaned. He could just go home and rest, but driving felt impossible. 

He laid in the bed trying to muster up some strength to send Kylie a text. He waited, counted to five in his head, and slowly picked his body up. 

Z: come here pls i need u 

K: coming! 

He threw his phone down and curled back up in his position. Shivering under the one blanket from earlier. 

The door opened and Kylie quietly walked. 

“Hey, everything okay?” she asked, calmly. 

Zach opened his eyes seeing she changed into a Lakewood University shirt - the college she was most eager to attend. 

“Need to go home. Can’t drive” he muttered. 

“Aw, what’s wrong?” she asked, worried.

“Everything,” he said, his voice raspy. “I just need to go” 

Zach groaned. “Babe, you can stay here. I don’t mind. I know you don’t feel well” she offered. 

He was silent. 

Kylie held in a laugh, resting the back of her hand on his forehead. “I think you have a fever,” she said frowning. 

“Why don’t you stay here until you’re feeling a little better? Then, I’ll drive you home” she suggested. “Your sister and your mom are already here, so I don’t think anyone would even be at your house”

“Okay,” he mumbled.

 “Let me get you some medicine and see if you have a fever,” she said, running out to the hallway closet where the Daniel’s stored their medicine. 

Kylie returned to the room with a bottle of Tylenol and a digital thermometer. 

“I’m sorry, but I need you to get up. Please” 

Zach slowly, painfully got up and looked at his girlfriend. 

Kylie frowned at his glassy eyes and pink cheeks. 

“This should help relieve your symptoms for a bit,” she said gesturing to the pink bottle.

Zach just looked at her. He looked exhausted, she thought. 

She poured the liquid into a plastic measuring cup and handed it over to him. Zach took a big gulp of the medicine, wincing from the taste. 

“It’ll make you feel so much better. I promise” she said smiling softly, then grabbing the digital thermometer. 

“Next,” she said holding the thermometer in the air. Zach opened his mouth, letting the instrument rest under his tongue. 

“I’ll get some more blankets while we wait,” she said softly. 

Even though he felt like utter shit, Zach was so grateful for Kylie. She would drop anything for him, even their family’s annual barbeque. Even before they made things official, as just friends, she was still always there for him. 

Beep. Finally, the thermometer beeped as she held two blankets in her arms. 

She placed the blankets on the bed as Zach lied on his back with the blanket she gave him earlier. 

Kylie took the instrument out of her boyfriend’s mouth and read it. “Okay, you probably just have a bad cold. Nothing we can’t fix! And, you have a little fever, but the medicine should help with that ” she explained. 

Zach grabbed the blankets at the end of the bed, ignoring whatever she was saying. 

“Zach? Are you listening to me?” she asked noticing her boyfriend’s extra blanket. 

He placed the blanket on top of the other and sighed out of relief. 

“Sorry, what did you say?” he asked. 

Kylie sighed. “I said, you have a little fever. But I think you just have a bad cold. Nothing we can’t fix” 

Zach nodded, feeling warmth under the blankets. “Sorry. I really was looking forward to today” he muttered. 

“Oh, don’t even worry! We had a great summer, anyway. Now, let’s get you better” she said kissing him on the forehead. 

See more of Zach and Kylie! 

LOVE SICK 

[thadelightfulone]

All I Want... 25 Days of Christmas Challenge, Day 16

A/N: Sorry for the delay...but I think you’ll forgive me for the wait. 😏

December 18th - Part 1

DeeDee checked herself out in the mirror. She had on her favorite pantsuit and decided on a low slicked back chignon for her hair. She ran her hands down the suit jacket one last time and looked at her reflection.

“Today’s the day, DeeDee. We have worked so hard to get here and we deserve everything that is coming to our way.” She smiled and put her tortoise shell glasses on.  “I’m proud of you and everything you will go on to accomplish starting today.”

DeeDee heard her phone chime and buzz across her dresser. She walked over and picked it up. It was Phyllis in the group chat.

Phyll: Your presentation is at 4pm, right?

DeeDee: Yes

Phyll: The Engineering building?

DeeDee: Yup

Phyll: What room?

DeeDee: 1759

Phyll: We’ll see you there. 

DeeDee: Great, see you later.

Bev: We love you, DeeDee. 

DeeDee: Love you, too.

DeeDee made her way out to the living room and grabbed her purse and laptop case from next to her desk. She locked up and headed to campus to get settled in for a long day. 

---

Erik was cleaning up his desk. He came in early to send out the last of his work emails before he left for a week. He locked up his computer and stood up to leave when T’Challa walked in and stood near his desk. 

“Hey Cuz.”

“You leave today, right?”

“Yup, my flight leaves in 2 hours.”

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m excited to see Dr. Bell. She helped me work through a lot of shit while I was in school.”

“That is expected, but you know what I mean.” 

T’Challa took a seat in front of Erik’s desk. He pointed towards the chair across from him. Erik put his briefcase down and took a seat. 

“How are you feeling?”

Erik is quiet for a moment, deep in thought. “Ready.” 

“And you are sure?”

“You and Quis, I swear.” He rolled his eyes. “I get it. I messed up before. But at least, she showed her true self before I made a horrible decision.” 

“Erik, we ask because we care.” T’Challa sat forward in the chair, “You were in such a rush to find the one and get married. You never took the time to really get to know her.” 

“I know, I know.”

“You told her exactly what she needed to hear for her to act like the woman for you.” He put emphasis on act. “And she tried to trap you. So, yes we want to make sure that you know what the hell you are doing this time around.”

“I don’t need to be reminded of that fuck up.” He sighed, “Besides Quis said she is nothing like her. And I do know that for myself, too.”

“Marquis knows her?”

“Yeah, she is one of his doctoral students. Actually, hold on a sec.” He pulled out his phone. He went to a text thread, where his previous text was still unread.

Prince Erik: Good morning DeeDee. I hope you have a great day.

Prince Erik: Hey, you never did tell me how your presentation went. Let me know where we are celebrating.

Erik looked back at T’Challa, “Where was I? Right, DeeDee was one of his students.”

“Ok, and what do you know about her?” 

“I know that she is everything I am looking for. She’s smart, funny and sweet. She calls me on my crap. Even if she is super nice about it.”

T’Challa nodded his head, “And you are ready for her? 

“Yes, I am. And I know I deserve someone like her.” Erik smiled, “All the bullshit I went through in my last relationship, let me know I wasn’t ready back then. You’re right, I rushed and almost got in too deep with someone, who was all wrong for me.”

T’Challa looked at Erik, then touched his ring, “Does she know?” 

“Yeah, and doesn’t even care.” He smiled, “I’m telling you, T. She is it.”

“For your sake, I really hope she is.” 

He stood up and Erik followed. 

“I’ll be fine.” Erik looked at his watch, “I should get going. I’ll see you when I get back.”

“Until then, cousin.” T’Challa hugged him, and then Erik grabbed his things. They left his office together. 

---

DeeDee has watched three other defenses already. They were breaking for lunch before reconvening for the last two of the day. She made her way back to Dr. O’s office. He was letting her use it for the day. 

“Hey DeeDee, how you feeling?”

“Hi Dr. O. I’m ok.” She took a seat on the couch. “I am not feeling as nervous now, but I am definitely ready for it to be over.”

“I get it. I’m so sorry that you couldn’t go earlier.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m hoping they chose to give me the last spot because they liked my topic best.”

“I like the way you think.”

“Thanks, Dr. O.” Her phone goes off, “Ooooh, let me go get my friends. I’ll be back in a bit.” 

“Sure thing. I’ll see you back in the main room.”

DeeDee checked her phone and went outside to meet with Beverly and Phyllis. She hadn’t seen or spoken to Phyllis, but she had chatted with Beverly since that disastrous night out.  

They ran up to her and gave her hugs. 

“I’m so sorry girl.” Phyllis said as they all stepped back.

“I don’t know what’s going on. But don’t take that out on me.” DeeDee finally spoke.

“I know, I know. I just -” 

“Men trouble.” Bev nodded towards Phyllis.

“What does that have to do with me?”

“Your new friend, Erik.”

“What about him?” DeeDee rolled her eyes, “You know what, we can discuss this later. It’s time for the next presentation to start.”

All three of them walked to the room and DeeDee led them to seats in the center on the left-hand side. She returned to her spot up front and sat down to wait for the next doctoral student to present.

---

Marquis’ cell rang while he sat in his office. 

“Hey E. What’s up man?”

“I’m back.” 

“Wait! You’re already here?”

“Yeah, I just made it to my hotel. Figured I would hit you up to see what you’re doing tonight.” 

“Just a simple dinner with the fam. But you are more than welcome to join us.” Marquis pulled his phone away and looked at the time, “What are you doing now?”

“Nothing. Why?”

“Come visit me on campus.”

“Seriously?”

“You ain’t doing nothing and I have to be here, so yeah. Just bring ya ass.”

“Is your office in the Engineering building?”

“Yeah, I’m in 1590, at the end of the main hall.”

“Alright, I’ll see you in 30.”

“Great, text me if I’m not in my office when you arrive.”

---

DeeDee blinked and the presentation after their lunch break was over. She sighed and looked back at her friends. She didn’t bother to invite any members of her family. They would see her on Christmas and besides she wanted to concentrate on her presentation. It would not happen if she saw them in the audience, clapping and cheering before she could even talk. 

She went to them, “I gotta grab my things from Dr. O’s office. I’ll be back in a few.”

“Yeah, ok. I need to use the bathroom.” Phyllis said as she stood up. “Bev, you good here?”

“Actually, I’ll go with you, DeeDee.” 

Walking out of the room, DeeDee reminded Phyllis where the first floor bathroom was and they all split once they got to the hallway. 

---

Erik entered the building and stood at the top of the hallway. Not much had changed about the old building. He walked over to the directory and looked at the faculty names. He recognized a few of them and ran his hand over Dr. Bell’s name. It showed her office was across the hall from Marquis’. Great.

He started walking down the long hall, when a voice called out to him.

“Excuse me?”

The feminine voice caught his attention. He slowed to a stop.

“Yes, you. Are you lost?" He could hear the click clack of heels, “Maybe I can help you.”

He turned around to see a young woman in a suit approach him. 

“Oh no, I’m fine. But thank you.”

“You sure?” 

Erik watched as she looked him up and down. He gathered himself, “I’m positive, I’ve been here before.”

“Really? I’m here often and I would have remembered you.” Her voice dropped an octave.

“I bet you would.” He laughed, “Look, I really should be going. My friend is waiting for me in his office.” He looked behind her, “And it looks like someone is looking for you.”

She turned around and saw hands waving dramatically in the air. 

“Phyllis, hurry up. It’s gonna start soon.”

“Alright, I’m coming.” She turned back around to look at Erik, “I hope I get to see you again.”

He nodded at her and made his way down the hall. “Not if I can help it,” He mumbled.

Erik knocked on Marquis’ office door. He pitched his voice. “Excuse me, Dr. O.” 

“Why are you knocking? Come on in.”

He walked in and Marquis jumped up when he saw him.

“I thought. You know what -- nevermind.” He gave Erik a hug, “How you doing man?”

“I’m good, I’m good.” 

“You look it. Still living at the gym when you aren’t at work, I see.”

“I mean, you know. I never again want to look like the stick that shared an award with you.”

They both laughed.

“So, why are you still here on a Friday afternoon? You could be on your break already.”

“I will be. Immediately after this last doctoral defense presentation.”

Erik huffed and pulled out his phone. He hadn’t heard anything from DeeDee yet today. He shook his head and put it away.

“So, those were today?”

“Yup. There is one more and then we can go get drinks before I take you to see the family.”

“Yeah, sure that’s fine.”

Marquis locked up his office and they walked down the hall to the main room.

---

Erik sat in the back row out of the way, while Marquis walked to the front and gathered everyone’s attention. As he looked out ahead of him, he saw the girl from earlier seated on the opposite side from him. She was talking to her friend and kept looking back at him. 

“This cannot be good.” He returned his focus to Marquis up front.  

“Thank you all for being here all day today. We are ready to start our final defense presentation.” Marquis nodded to a young woman on his left who walked over and took the clicker from him.

When she turned around to address everyone, Erik gasped. It was her. He was looking at DeeDee. She pressed the clicker for her starting slide and began to speak.  

Erik took her in while she spoke. She definitely could not hide from him now. DeeDee was dressed in a burgundy and black houndstooth patterned pant suit with a burgundy blouse. It fit her very well, and he could make out her wide hips and the chest that prevented her from closing the blazer. He bit his lip to keep from making an inappropriate sound. Her dark curls were pulled back in a sleek low bun with loose tendrils hanging out. He hadn’t seen those glasses before, but the cat eye shape looked really cute on her. 

He tried to fully focus on what she was saying, but was glad that she asked him for advice a few weeks before. He would catch a word or two and know where she was. Erik continued his physical assessment of her while DeeDee’s presentation continued.

DeeDee was much shorter than he thought, but he loved the idea of her looking up at him or having to get on her tiptoes to kiss him. He smiled as her nose scrunched up while she spoke about environmental waste and how her study addressed it. He saw her infamous full cheeked smile when she answered questions from the panel and audience. 

When he was done getting his fill of her, he could hear the applause and she sat back down while the panel spoke amongst themselves.

He was so proud of her. She handled herself very well up there. And although he never expected to see her real presentation, he was happy to have been there. 

---

Everyone has walked to the front to congratulate DeeDee who was just told that she cleared her defense and that the panel was recommending the certification of her Ph.D.

DeeDee saw Beverly and Phyllis first. They both ran over to her, giving her hugs and praise. She smiled at her two friends.

“Thank you both for being here.”

“We wouldn’t have missed this for the world, hun.” Beverly spoke up for them.

DeeDee pulled away from them and headed over to Dr. O. He was standing next to a man in a nice black suit, who was a few inches taller than him. She tapped Dr. O on the shoulder, he turned back, saw it was DeeDee and gave her a hug. She pulled away and noticed that the gentleman next to him was staring intently at her. 

When DeeDee looked over, she saw very familiar short dreads with a shadow fade, a neatly trimmed beard and the same dimples that she had been dreaming about recently. It can’t be.

“Erik?” She breathily asked.

“In the flesh.” 

“What are you doing here?” 

“You know I came for Dr. Bell’s retirement party.” 

“Yeah, but I thought you would be here tomorrow or Sunday. But you are here. At my defense.” She stepped back to look up at him. 

“I am and it’s nice to meet you, Dr. Deidre Chabert.” He held his hands out.

She smiled brightly at him and walked forward into his arms. He engulfed her in a big hug. 

“Let me take you out to celebrate tonight.” Erik said into her ear. He looked over DeeDee’s head and saw the two women from earlier staring at them. 

“I would like that.” She mumbled into his chest.

“Good, go get your things.” 

She pulled out of his embrace and stared at her friends who were now behind her. DeeDee slid by them and went to get her things.

“So, how do you know DeeDee?” Beverly asked him cheerfully.

Phyllis just stared at him, arms crossed against her chest. DeeDee bounced back over to everyone with her bags.

“Hey guys, I want you to meet Erik.” 

“What? Mr. Note in the textbook? No way.”

“Guilty.” He replied.

“Do you mind if we get together to celebrate later this week or next weekend?”

“Sure sweetie.” Beverly spoke up. “Have fun, but not too much.”

“Yeah, we’ll see you later, Dee.” Phyllis gave her a half hug and stormed past her.

Beverly gave her a hug and walked out after Phyllis. 

“I have questions, but I’m gonna wait.” Dr. O turned to DeeDee, “You’re still coming over to go to the Christmas Festival with us tomorrow, right?”

“And miss an opportunity to see my favorite girl. Not a chance. Besides, I don’t think she will forgive me.”

“Great. Well, you two enjoy your evening.” Dr. O daps Erik, “I’ll see you tomorrow as well.”

“Definitely. Goodnight Quis.” 

Erik grabbed DeeDee’s things, “You want to leave your car here or drop it off at your place?”

“You can follow me home.”

He extended his arm as they walked out of the room, “Lead the way, Dr. DeeDee.”

“Don’t you start that mess.” She bumped him with her shoulder.

“Would you prefer Dr., Miss or Little?”

“Little?”

With his free hand, he grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers. “You are much smaller than me.”

“I bet you like that, don’t you?”

“You have no idea how much.” He squeezed her hand.

“Watch it, Mr. Erik.”

“Or what?”

“I don’t know yet, but you will find out.” She returned the squeeze.

Taglist: @teakturn​ @ghostfacekill-monger​ @shaekingshitup​ @nahimjustfeelingit-writes​ @woahitslucyylu​ @ladymac82​ @bugngiz​ @eyeknowmywrites​ @ajspencer1892​ @arafatih​ @issimplyaamazinggg​ @tchallasbabymama​ @killmonger-fics​ @beautifullmelodyxx​ @raysunshine78​ @fd-writes​ @ljstraightnochaser​ @just-peachee​ @kaleidoscopeofsoul​

[yourlocalauthor]

What Goes Around Comes Around- Topper Thornton

Chapter One: The Friend Request

Pairing: Topper x Reader (eventually?)

Warnings for this chapter: Mentions of teen drinking, and drug use, Cocaine and weed, Alcohol, Rafe being fucking scary, and cursing.

Word Count: 2,000k+ words

A/N: After months it’s finally here! Lol, I’ve thought about this series more and I’m excited for how it’s going to go! Hope y’all enjoy!

Kook parties, they sucked ass. From the outside they were nice, the loud music, the cheers coming from the inside, and the overall atmosphere was just inviting. On the inside thought, it was a hot sweaty mess of a bunch of teens and people in their early 20s drunk on pissy beer, or some overpriced liquor, and high on overpriced coke and weed. Yet somehow Elle and Jessie were always able to drag Jo to one. Tonight though, she was a little more compliant than usual thanks to her special green buddy. But she had gotten high way earlier than she should’ve and now she just felt groggy and gross.

“You know I’m starting to regret agreeing to go to this party Jess.”

She yelled over the horrible mumble rap playing.

“I mean what the fuck is this music? It sounds like a SoundCloud rapper.”

“Okay yeah this music is pretty shitty, but look at all these super hot guys”

She pointed at a guy walking by, Jo could only see his back side, but he was tall and his backside certainly seemed attractive, and then he turned around and Jo realized she was admiring one Rafe Cameron.

“Is that?”

“Yeah, let’s go find Elle.”

She grabbed her cousin's arm and dragged her towards the house to look for their friend. As they walked around, Jo took note of everyone around them. They all looked older around Jessica’s age, there were a few noticeable younger faces but not many.

“Yo Jess what kinda party is this? I swear all these people look like they’re in college majoring in binge drinking, and being an asshole.”

Jessica shrugged downing the bright pink drink she had in her hand, turning to her cousin.

“I dunno know, Elle just said she wanted to do something tonight, so I asked around and bibbidi bobbidi boo we’re here.”

Jo gave her cousin a small nod, not really wanting to further the conversation, she was really tired, the lack of sleep she had was finally catching up to her. Sleeping was rough, and filled her head with too many thoughts. And when she wanted to clear her head, she’d go drive around the island most likely until the sun would come up.

The moment the two girls stepped into the house, they were hit with a fresh breeze of cool air, which was quite the contrast compared to the hot sticky air outside.

“Are you sure the last time you saw her was in here?”

Jessica asked her cousin as she looked around the packed room, looking for any sign of the other blond.

“Yeah we were in here together, then she started talking to this guy then I lost sight of her.”

“Okay so she’s probably either down here or upstairs. I’ll check down, you go up?” “Yeah, just have your phone on.”

Jessica gave her a nod as Jo walked towards the stairs. Jo quickly got work on the second story of the house, it consisted of one long stretch of hallway, rooms on each side leading to one big room at the end of the hall. Luckily for her many of the doors were open, and there were lines at two of them leading her to believe they were bathrooms. She checked the rooms that were unlocked, and surprisingly a lot of them were empty, and as she was leaving one of the bedrooms something caught her eye.

It was a picture of Rafe, Kelce, Topper, and a few of the other guys from the Kildare Academy lacrosse team. It was definitely an older picture, probably from around two years ago, many of the boys sporting their freshman baby faces. And she couldn’t help but look at the picture focusing on the first boy to ever break her heart, second if she was to acknowledge her father’s existence which she didn’t feel like doing. It was weird, she didn’t really think about Topper much these last two years, but then he did that thing for John B and Sarah and she couldn’t help but have him pop up in her mind more often. It started off as him appearing at the beach she liked to surf at, then she began seeing him around more, at the Wreck, the country club when she was visiting Justin at work, he just seemed to be there all the time.

“Jo?”

She quickly looked up, placing the picture frame back on the dresser.

“What the hell are you doing in here?”

“Looking for you actually, Jess and I wanted to go home.”

“Okay, I’m actually kinda tired myself, do you think Momma Jackson will care if I crash?”

Jo shrugged, shaking her head.

“I think she’s at Justin’s house so we’ll have the place to ourselves.”

“Great means more drinking for me,” Elle joked, a smile gracing her face.

“You’re fucking disgusting, I can’t even think of drinking right now

Jo said walking over to her friend, slinging her arm around her and dragging her downstairs. They walked around a bit downstairs, agreeing to get Jess and then get the hell out of here. But alas the perky older blonde was nowhere in sight, much to the dismay of Jo and Elle.

“Can you call her?.”

Elle nodded, taking her phone out of her bag, and dialing.

“Voicemail.”

She said, shaking her head.

“Whatever, let’s just go look for her.”

Jo sighed, running her fingers through her hair. Her and Elle started walking around looking for Jess, the two decided it was best to stick together not wanting to drag the night on.

“Jo…”

“What?”

“I spotted her, but you’re not going to like where she is.”

Elle carefully pointed towards the corner of the room where Jessica was standing, and right in front of her was Rafe. And it wasn’t just some normal standing, no it was the type of him leaning into her, arm pushed against the wall. She was laughing at whatever he said, most likely wasn’t even funny.

“You have got to be shitting me.”

As angry as Jo was she wasn’t even surprised, despite her warning her cousin she wasn’t exactly expecting her to stop. Her and Rafe had a thing going on ever since her Sophomore year and his Freshman. They met the summer before, and must’ve added each other on Snap or something, because when she came back to the island to visit, there was a lot of flirting much to the dismay of Jo. Of course back then she didn’t really have anything against him.

“You have got to be fucking with me.”

Jo stormed her way over, the anger practically radiating off of her. She ignored every protest from Elle, which only made her more worried. Elle didn’t really understand why her friend had a sudden hate for him, even more than before but she respected her friends wishes and didn’t associate with him, not that she really did much associating to start with.

“Jess, I found Elle lets go.” She attempted to grab her cousin's arm, but was quickly blocked by Rafe. “Um excuse can you move?”

“What’s the rush? Jess and I are just talking Jo, she’s a big girl.”

“Yeah I know, but we-”

“Relax, we’re just talking no need to fuck with the mood.”

“Well um no offense but I don’t need her talking to you.”

“To me? Is there something you want to say to me, Pogue?”

Fuck… she messed up, big time. She was fairly certain he didn’t know she knew about Peterkin, there were high chances he suspected something but she had done her best for the past couple weeks to make sure he couldn’t figure it out.

“No, I’d just like to get home and go to sleep.” She said, backing off a bit. She didn’t have the time or energy to be dealing with Rafe fucking Cameron.

“So let her stay, come on she doesn’t need her younger cousin micromanaging her.” “Cameron, I’m not looking for a fight can we just leave?”

And then he started walking closer to her. She quickly began backing up, but that only made Rafe get closer and soon enough she was backed against the wall and he was towering over her.

“Rafe, I-?”

“Did you say something Pogue?”

“Ra-”

“Didn’t think so.”

“So here’s how this is going to go, you and your little friend can leave, I’d actually prefer if you never came back, but your cousin is staying.”

His face was right in front of hers, she could practically smell the alcohol coming from him, and underneath his nose was a small white powder… coke. Of course he was high, no wonder he was even scarier then normal.

“Look Rafe, it’s fine I can leave with them I’m actually super tired.” Jess finally interjected, grabbing Rafe’s shoulder trying to coax him away from her cousin.

“No.” He said turning around to face her. “You’re staying.”

“Dude she said she wants to leave, let her go.” Elle jumped in, looking at Jo who absolutely looked terrified. Her eyes were like a deer caught in headlights, and her tanned figure was shaking. She looked like she was trying to say something but then Rafe turned to Elle.

“And what are you going to do about it?”

“Nothing, but what you’re going to do is let them leave Rafe.”

And out of nowhere came a knight in shining polo’s, Topper. Never in a million years did Jo think there would be a situation where he’d be saving her ass, yet there he stood right in front of Rafe, almost trying to tower over him.

“You’re going to let me guide them out, and then you can go back to drinking.”

“Top, Man the fuck? Jess and I were just-”

“The girls said they want to leave, so they’re leaving.”

Rafe attempted to protest only to be shot down again.

“Rafe you don’t need this type of attention on you right now,” Topper whispered while gesturing to the crowd of people watching the situation unfold, finally convincing Rafe to let them leave. He backed away, letting Elle and Jess comfort Jo. All three girls were quickly ushered out by Topper, and Jo could never imagine how excited she was to see her beautiful truck parked down the street. She took a shaky breath, and turned to Topper.

“That’s my car over there, um thank you for everything Topper.”

Jo said, as she and the other two girls began walking over, all three of them stumbling a bit. Jo was busy fishing for her keys in her bag, but was having difficulty due to the darkness and her impaired state.

“Wait! I can’t let you guys drive like this, Jess and Elle you guys look plastered and you Jo… I’m pretty sure you’re high-“

“Correction was high, I’m fine now, I only had like two drinks. Besides, not just anyone is allowed to drive my beloved Marina.”

“Marina? Just give me the damn keys Jo”

“No-“

“Jo just give him the keys, we’re all tired and it’s cold and I want to go sleep.”

Elle pleaded with her. Jo handed her bag to Topper, rolling her eyes a bit as he seemed to manage finding her keys with ease.

“Fine, but just be careful with her.”

She said turning around. All four of them climbed in, Jo taking shotgun, the two blondes taking the back, and Topper of course on the driver’s side.  

Jo looked out the window as Topper began to drive, staring at the big homes they drove past. The kooks really seemed to be living it up. ‘What a life’, she thought, turning around to look at Jess and Elle. Jess was on her phone typing frantically doing who knows what, and Elle was leaning against her shoulder very tired looking. She then turned around to look at Topper. Her eyes trailed the side of his face, staring at his eyes, then his nose bridge, his lips, and then trailing his jawline… Wait no, this is wrong. She can’t be doing this, no matter how heroic he had been to Sarah and John B he was still another asshole Kook who had treated her and everyone she knew like shit. She frowned facing the front, glancing at the time. 2:22 the clock read. ‘Ooh angel numbers.’

Around ten minutes later, they arrived at Jo’s house on The Cut. It was quite different from the house she had been in earlier that night. Much smaller, and only having two bedrooms, a bathroom, a small kitchen, and their living room which was barely a room. But it was home. Jess gently woke up Elle, the two climbing out of the car and making a beeline for the front door. Jess saying something about having to go piss, while Elle arguing back about how she had to too. Jo looked at Topper hesitantly, before beginning to gather her stuff.

“Wait-“

Jo peaked up, looking at him.

“What?”

“Are you good?” He paused looking down. “Wait, that sounds wrong, what I mean is, tonight, you just seemed shaken up… and I’ve never seen you so scared except when you were around your father.”

‘The fuck?’ Jo thought, who was he to act like he cared? To act like her knew her? She rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

“You don’t have to do the thing, actually I’d preferred if you didn’t.”

“What thing?”

“The thing where you pretend to care, it’s fine. Thank you for everything tonight Topper, but we don’t have to talk. Let’s just exit the car and go our separate ways.”

“Jo-“

“Please.” She looked at him for a brief moment, their eyes meeting, before she leaned over and took the keys out. She climbed out of her truck, shutting the door. She heard the other side slam shut, making her even more upset. She walked over to go yell at him, but he was already gone. “Fucking asshole,” Jo muttered making her way into the house.

“What took you so long?” Elle said as soon as Jo walked in.

“Jeez sorry Mom,” She said, kicking off her shoes and throwing her bag onto the ground.

“Well?”

“We were just talking, I don’t know he ended up pissing me off.”

“Mhm” Elle said rolling her eyes. “You’re not going down that rabbit hole again alright?”

Jo laughed, slinging her arm around Elle. “No way, never again, that ship has sailed.” She said making woosh sound. Elle smiled seeming satisfied, and walked down the hall into Jo’s bedroom, most likely getting ready to fill Jess in. Jo laughed again, walking into the kitchen for a glass of water. She could hear some small bickering, Elle going on about someone being an asshole, most likely Topper. Elle hated him for numerous reasons. He and Rafe would treat her dad like shit at the golf course, one day making him snap, ultimately costing him his job as manager. Now he has to work on the mainland, and doesn’t come home most nights of the week, leaving Elle alone with her younger brother and mom. Then there was the whole littering debacle, and of course Jo’s own situation with him. Jess on the other hand had no problem with him, then again she had no problem with Rafe either. She was lucky that way, to be so oblivious, although it was a bit tone deaf. Jo grabbed her glass and phone from her bag and walked into her room, where both girls silenced themselves as soon as Jo walked in.

“Okay what up?”

“Nothing,” Elle said, shooting Jess a look. Causing the other blonde to swiftly nod. Jo shrugged and downed the rest of her water and set it down on her night stand with her phone.

“Sleep now, we’re all going to be super hungover tomorrow.”

“Promise to make your special remedy?”

“I’ll try Jess, I’m going to try and get up early to surf so I’ll try not to forget.”

That seemed to satisfy her, as all three girls clamored into Jo’s bed. The funny thing about Jo’s bed was it was huge, and took up most of her room. It was a gift from her late grandfather, and wasn’t seized by the state. Sure it was a little out of place but it added some character. Plus it was able to fit all three of them. Jo reached over for her phone, when suddenly it lit up.

“Who is it?” Elle said peering over her shoulder. And as Jo’s eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, across the screen flashed ‘topper thornton 🥍 Added you. Say hi!”

@froynextdoor-xo

[britishboystm]

American Girl Pt. 2 (18+)

Warnings: Smut, Drug Use, Alchol, Violence, Swearing

A/N: I know it’s sort of weird that I do it from Matthews pov but I wanted to stay true to the book and see how it turned out. Might be really weird but idk I like it.

Part 1

———

I didn’t really have plans for the day. Last night had sort of put me off of the boys so I decided it was better to be alone. No distractions, just my own thoughts to carry me through the morning, afternoon and night. I didn’t mind really, just had to figure out where the day would take me.

After I had eaten as well as ignored my parents and their cries of worry for my future, I packed up a couple beers and a baggy of hash to keep me afloat.

A true survival kit.

Once I had left and was on my way, I found myself getting on the DART to uptown. I don’t know what I was looking for but I went anyway.

The sidewalks seemed just a tad more clean and the streets were peaceful. These were things I hadn’t noticed the first time around. All thanks to Kearney.

I was in my own head for a while but my body stopped me. I look up to see the oh so familiar house. This time I was able to properly look at the detailing. The house itself was a nice light blue with white trimming and a big open lawn out front. Sure beat my boring, brown square of a place.

I stood for a while just looking, as though I was expecting something exciting to happen. I stood a little longer and then the door flew open and a group of girls came pouring out laughing about something. Then almost like the parting seas, she came out at the very end, half listening to the story being told by one of the blondes of the group and closes the door behind her. She seemed slightly out of it. It was obvious she didn’t really care for the conversation. Her eyes scan her front yard before they land on me. I stayed glued where I was standing. I had no desire to move.

“Give me a second guys.” She calls out to her friends who were already heading to the car. They all stopped talking and looked at her then me. Some of them gave looks of disapproval and some smirked. They all knew my friend group's reputation. We didn’t mix well with them really.

She runs down the steps and I can’t help but see her move in slow motion, almost like a cliche romance movie.

“Aren’t you one of the ass hats that were yelling out front yesterday?” I snap out of it and look down at my shoes in embarrassment.

“Well to be fair I wasn’t the one doing the yelling.”

“Right.”

“Um I was actually just walking around and I happened to walk by your house. You went to my school right?”

“Possibly.” She was playing with me, a smirk on her face.

“So what’s your name.” I had to know her name.

“Y/N. You?” I thought for a moment. Saying her name over and over again in my head.

“Matthew.” I awkwardly put my hand out to shake hers.

“Nice to meet you Matthew.” I just continue to shake her hand before she giggles and retracts from the awkward action.

“Um I have to go but I’m throwing a school end party tonight. You and your friends should come. I’m counting on you to keep the raughty one in check though.” She laughs.

“Sure I’ll run it by them.” Lies. I wasn’t going to say jack shit. Keanrey has been pissing me off lately and Rez was also in a weird mood the day before.

“Cool. I’ll see you tonight then?” She seemed genuinely happy that I was going to show up. At least I hope that was the reason for the big smile on her face.

“Yeah see you later.” She nods and walks off to meet up with her friends. With one glance back at me she got into the passenger seat of the car and drove off to god knows where.

It was going to be my mission to talk to her tonight.

“Ass hat?” I mouthed to myself. I had never heard that one before.

———

I decided to head home for a while to get ready. I wasn’t one to care about the way I look and I didn’t usually try this hard for any girl. But there was just something different about Y/N. She weirdly enough made me want to look somewhat presentable. So after an hour of looking for what to wear I just decided on a semi clean t shirt and jeans, also putting on my most well kept shoes.

I stashed away any type of pill I could find laying around my room, hash and a bottle of vodka.

Keanrey had asked me to hang out earlier but I said no. I also didn’t tell him where I was going. I’m sure he knew about the party but we always crashed parties together so if I wasn’t around he wouldn’t bother trying.

Nerves were settling in as I took a couple shots outside my house door. I needed to loosen up.

The ride over was not too bad, the vodka was taking its course and I felt a little more at ease compared to when I left the house. But once I got off and started to walk up to the house, the stress set in again. I could hear edm pounding and flashing lights started to come into view.

As I fully approached the house I noticed that this was nothing I had ever imagined. It looked like it came straight out of a Hollywood movie. Y/N clearly knew how to throw a party

I take a deep breath and make my way inside, tons of people I knew from school stopped to give me nasty looks.

I then saw my cousin who was talking with a couple friends. We weren’t super close but she was at least someone I knew.

“Sarah!” I call out. She turns from her friends and notices me. She gives a small smile before excusing herself.

“Matthew. Just got here and already look like shit. What’s new?” I roll my eyes.

“I’ll have you know I actually tried to look presentable tonight. I’m here for Y/N.”

“Aw how cute. I actually haven’t seen her around so I don’t know where she could be.”

“Hey!” We both look over to see an angry looking dude storming over towards us. I frown before he pushes Sarah out of the way and stares me down.

“Making moves on my woman?” He was fuming, nostrils flared. I definitely didn’t want to mess with him.

“Huh?” I was still slightly drunk so I was confused as well as scared shiftless.

“Trying to fuck my girl mate?” I couldn’t even speak a word before he raises a fist and whaps me straight in the nose. I fall back onto the floor and grab my nose in pain.

“Conor what the fuck that’s my fucking cousin.” His eyes go wide.

“Oh, I’m sorry Sarah I didn’t me-“

“You always do this.” She yells at him before quickly bending down.

“Matthew are you okay?” I’m still seeing two.

Then an angel stood above me as well. A look of worry on her face as she leans forward to inspect me closer.

“I’ll deal with it Sarah, go manage your mammoth of a boyfriend.” She nods then looks down again.

“Sorry Matthew.” Her voice held a sense of shame. Then she walks off, leaving me and the angel.

“Matthew? Can you hear me?”

“Uh huh.” I respond.

“Jesus your nose is bleeding. Let’s go upstairs okay?” She lifts up my dead body weight and with the help of another party goer gets me into her bedroom. She got me onto the bed and I couldn’t help what I said next.

“If you wanted to get me into bed you could have just asked.” She scoffs and rolls her eyes.

———

“You’re a real dumb ass, you know that?” She slightly snickered as she dabbed the cold wet cloth against my bleeding nostril. I took this opportunity to stare at her.

“What?” She giggles.

“Nothing. You’re just really pretty is all.” Hopefully my tipsy Irish charm would do the trick. After all, she was the only reason I showed up to this party in the first place.

She blushes slightly, before removing the cloth and tossing it into an empty corner of her room.

“Alright mister I think you need some rest. You can sleep in here tonight, get that head cleared up.” She ruffles my hair before lightly pushing me down onto the mattress and then getting up to leave.

“Wait where are you going?” I pouted slightly, hoping she would take pity on me. I probably looked like an absolute arse but I didn’t care.

“I’m going back downstairs. Can’t leave my guests without a host, now can I?”

“Just a little longer, I have a blunt we can share.” I pull the rolled paper out of my pocket, using it as a last resort for her to stay.

“As tempting as that sounds, I don’t drink or smoke.” I racked my brain a bit more to try and figure out a way to stay. It didn’t make sense that she would throw a party with everything she just said she didn’t partake in. I didn’t question it though.

“Don’t leave me.” I was fully desperate at this point. I would kill just to talk to her. Once I said those words, I noticed a change in her demeanor.

“Fine, I can’t stay too long though.” She absently mindfully crawled onto the bed to sit beside me, my fucked up brain sexualizing the act.

She then looked down at the blunt signaling for me to spark it up.

“Aren’t you going to light it?” She asked, shifting her gaze between my eyes and the blunt.

“I thought you didn’t smoke.”

“I don’t.” She gave me a light smile but all I could do was stare. There was a weird vibe about her. Not a bad vibe, far from it actually. I’d like to believe that it was purely because she had a different cultural outlook. She didn’t grow up in a two story home with two Irish catholic parents. Where everything was black or white. There was some grey in her, a mysterious side. A freedom in her eyes that made my chest tighten.

“Right.” I shake my thoughts away and pull out a lighter.

“Wait a sec.” She quickly stops me and rolls over my lap to go open a window. Once again, her actions had me straining against my relaxed fitted jeans.

“Don’t want it wafting for the next week.” I nod and go back lighting it up. I inhale and let out a big puff, secretly hoping that she would find it attractive. She wasn’t even looking though. She had moved to her stereo to turn on The Smiths.

“Alright then, pass it.” She gently takes it from my finger and places it between her lips. It seemed as though she had a similar technique as me, trying to look all sexy while she blew it back out.

It worked.

As much as she would like people to believe she wasn’t a smoker, this clearly wasn’t the first time she had done it. My previous perception of a goody two shoes, honours list, daddy’s little girl mentality fizzled away.

“What?” I hadn’t realized I was staring again.

“Are you sure you’ve never smoked before?” She shrugs and leans against the headboard, our shoulder touching and our legs stretched out and crossed in front of us.

We sat there for a good ten minutes talking about everything and nothing. We talked about how she had a Irish father who moved to America and met her mom there. They got married and stayed in America, then when her father got a job offer here in Dublin a couple years back so they moved.

“So your half Irish, what’s the other half?” She giggles at me. I didn’t think it was that funny. Maybe it was the hash starting to set in.

“American you idiot.”

“No, no I know but, what’s your family background.”

“Well I’m technically Italian American on my moms side. The whole big family situation with a nonna and nonno. Hundred and hundreds of cousins, aunts and uncles. It’s pretty crazy so being here in Dublin is really different.”

I laughed slightly resting my head on her wall. The nice buzz taking over my system.

“I wish I was close with my grandparents or even my parents.”

She nods and turns her head to look at me.

“I guess it’s nice.” There was silence as I caught her gaze. We were both stoned and sleepy and there was very little judgment with the staring, now that we were all happy and light.

I took a bullet and grabbed her face, bringing her in for a deep kiss. She quickly put her hands over mine, clearly thinking the same thing. My shoulders relaxed, no longer having to worry about what she thought of me. It was obvious now.

“I’ve been wanting to do that since the first time I saw you.” I panted as I laid my forehead on hers. She bit her lip and closed the space between us once more.

Her lips were so soft that I couldn’t help but push my mouth harder onto hers, it just felt that good. Finally being able to physically hold and touch her was like a dream.

It was as though she read my mind because she pulls off her tank top and grabs my arms so I end up on top of her.

We continue to kiss and I put one hand beside her head, the other holding her jaw. She notices my growing bulge sitting against her stomach and she sits up on to her elbows.

“I barely know you.” She says. Her words said one thing but her face and rising chest said another. She looked like a goddess with her light pink lipstick smeared on her lips and lower face, her eyes slightly red from us smoking. If I died with this being my last image I would be a happy man.

“Fuck it.” She mutters quickly before her lips smash against mine again and she pulls off my t-shirt. It’s all teeth and wet lips. Moans emit from both of us and I finally take my pants off leaving me in nothing but my boxers.

“You’re really gorgeous.” I say as I lace my fingers with hers and placing her arms above her head.

“I bet you say that to all the girls.” She smirks.

I smile back and quickly lean down to kiss her.

“What other girls?” I smirk and she lets out a sarcastic chuckle at my cheekiness.

“I need to warn you though. I’ve never done anything like this before.” I sit up and place and place a hand on her shoulder in a comforting way, to tell her she was safe with me.

“Do you want to have sex with me?” I didn’t beat around the bush. The last thing I wanted was to make her uncomfortable. I’ve seen Keanrey enough times to know how to properly treat a girl.

“Matthew, I can safely say that I find you very attractive and I infact want to have sex with you.” We both couldn’t keep a straight face in our hazing state, letting out laughs at our overly formal way of speaking.

“Ok then.” I smirk before I lean in.

“Wait.” She pushes my lips away with her finger and begins to go under the sheets. She scrambles around down there, probably removing her the rest of her clothes.

Out of nowhere I feel her lips circle around my length and I lurch forward a bit, a loud groan of surprise leaving my lips.

“Holy shit.” I sputter out and my eyes go wide, my voice going an octave higher than normal. She keeps moving up and down my length, each vein being tended to by her tongue. I lay my head back onto her pillow which smelled of fresh lavender.

I grip the sheets and I couldn’t help but think about the night before. This was all that I envisioned, just a billion times better.

“Y/N?” I weakly ask through my moans.

“Mhmh?” She responds, my dick still in her mouth.

“Your mouth feels amazing.” She lets go with a pop and lifts the sheets with a wide prideful smile.

“I know.” I sit up and grab her face, crashing her lips on mine.

“You're so hot.” I say as she bites her lip.

“Yeah?” She asks, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

“Uh huh.” I nod and lean in for one more kiss.

“I really just want to fuck you right now.” I say with heaving breathing.

“What are you waiting for?” She jokes and I smile in return before shifting so she is under me. This way I could finally see her breasts which makes my member stir again.

“You are so fucking beautiful.” I say before leaning in to take a nipple into my mouth, sucking softly,

“Oh Matthew.” Listening to her moan out my name causes my stomach to flip and I can’t help but grab my shaft and lean it against her drenched centre.

“Can I?” I had lifted myself slightly so I could see her face again.

“Always.” She whispers and with that I slowly enter her. She was so tight to the point that I felt like crying from the pleasure.

“Oh my god. I’m not going to last long.” I sputter out.

“Me neither. Now fucking move.” Listening to her be so demanding gets me thrusting in and out of her. Her soft little mewls and encouragements make me speed up and she digs her nails into my back as I continue my movements. Without any warning she spreads her legs more and hooks them around my torso, using her heels to push me in deeper. We both moan out with the new angel I was driving at. I sped up to the point that the only sounds we could hear was skin against skin and my grunts and her moans. I place a searing kiss onto her jaw and she grips onto me tighter.

“Cum.” I whisper as I start to circle her clit quickly. Her legs then begin to shake and her eyes roll back. Her back arches off of the bed. Her face contorted in pleasure which made me reach orgasm as well and we both rode them out until there was nothing left to give.

I slump down beside her and she cuddles into my chest.

“I should check on everyone.” She mutters and I groan, not ready for her body heat to disappear.

She slips out of bed and walks over to grab her clothes. She bends over and I get a perfect view of her ass. Now I had the biggest pleasure of knowing what it looked like under those jeans of hers. I bite my lip and smirk. She quickly turns her head around and smirks back.

What?” She asks.

“You can’t do that and expect me to be done with you.” I jump up and hook an arm around her waist pulling her back into bed. She lets out a screech and giggle as I pull her on top of me.

We were far from done.

[makomori]

SEVEN | GROUND RULES

USHIJIMA WAKATOSHI x OC

Nishimura Yua has to take her nephew to his first rep practice with the Tohoku Tigers at Shiratorizawa Academy. Ushijima Wakatoshi is filling in for the assistant coach on said team.

She’s recovering from a nasty breakup and he’s reeling from a stunning finals loss against the Jackals.

Yua’s drawn to his composure and honesty.

Wakatoshi finds her warmth and tenacity intriguing.

It’s the start of a Brand New Story; can they heal from past hurts and endure new challenges in order to help each other trust and love again?

CHAPTERS

ONE | NEW TERRITORY

TWO | FAMILIARITY

THREE | INTRODUCTIONS

FOUR | OBSERVATIONS

FIVE | THE OFFER

SIX | CONSIDERATIONS

Length: 3.9k words

Wakatoshi's eager to spend some time with his new manger, but she's busy getting to know the team. When they do finally talk, it's not the conversation he was expecting.

Is that a challenge? [Mufasa | The Lion King]

Saturday arrived faster than Wakatoshi expected. He was excited to help the team improve from last practice. And he wanted to see Yua-san. He still couldn’t believe that he managed to convince her to be their manager. From their brief interactions, she showed herself to be the type of woman that couldn’t be forced to do something against her will. It seemed that stubbornness was another trait that ran in her family. Thankfully, his explanation had appealed to her logical side.

When Wakatoshi arrived at the gym, he half expected to see Yua-san halfway done setting up the net. But the gym was dark. He pushed aside his disappointment by reminding himself that she would be here soon; arriving an hour early last week was an exception. Besides, he wanted to do some drills on his own again before the team arrived.

Kageyama-kun called him early in the week and they ended up peppering and doing spiking drills at Kamei Area for a few hours. It was good to see him; they spoke at length about everything that went wrong during the finals match against the Jackals. In the end, they concluded the opposing team managed to impose their will on the flow of the game and the Adlers’ mistakes were a result of that.

Regardless, they were annoyed that Hinata-kun had beat the two of them at the same time.

No matter. They would redeem themselves next season and bring the championship back to Oita where it belonged. He also told Kageyama-kun that he was welcome to drop by practice any time to check out the Tigers. The look of glee that crossed the setter’s face caused Wakatoshi to chuckle.

He was a super volleyball idiot like him, after all.

Practice would be held twice a week. 4:30 PM on Thursdays and 1:00 PM on Saturdays, for two hours at a time. However, Wakatoshi could see that extending especially if games were involved. The team’s collective energy was everything a coach could hope for. They had a full roster of twelve, and each player was capable of being in the starting lineup.

Rui-kun would be one of them.

He had incredible natural talent but was still willing to outwork anyone in the same room as him. Wakatoshi noticed in their first practice that the teen was hard on himself when he messed up during a drill or botched a play. However, he didn’t let that keep him taking instruction and trying again. And again. And again. He was stubborn and resilient and bent on improving. His tenacity would inspire his teammates to do great things throughout the season.

He reminded Wakatoshi of himself when he was that age.

Wakatoshi didn’t realize he had been practicing on his own for nearly an hour until he heard a familiar voice call his name. He caught the ball and looked toward the door. It was Rui-kun. He was energetic as ever and rushing to change out of his tracksuit. His stomach flipped. If he was here, that meant Yua-san was also—

He scowled at the tall man who entered the gym after Rui-kun. That wasn’t his manager. Was he wrong in assuming they would arrive together? Or was that his impatience? After a quick assessment, he realized that the man in question was the teen’s father. Their bearing and likeness were almost uncanny, from their curled black hair to their almost too-observant eyes.

By the time Wakatoshi consoled himself with the fact that his manager would be here soon, Rui-kun’s father bore a subtle look of displeasure like his. Luckily, he didn’t notice the two men sizing each other up. Wakatoshi’s irritation wasn’t directed at him, but the challenge had already been issued.

Rui-kun would most likely inherit his father’s height and broad shoulders; assets that would make him an intimidating ace. The older man’s stance was guarded, and the russet eyes that held warmth and affection for his son moments ago were now hard and almost cold.

The scowl Wakatoshi gave him wasn’t appreciated. So, he bowed in greeting and apology.

“Sensei, this is my dad!” Rui-kun said excitedly, still unaware of the tension between the two of them. “Yua-chan’s not here yet because she had a top-secret errand to do.”

“Please excuse me,” Wakatoshi murmured. “I was expecting Yua-san to bring Rui-kun today.”

The older man was silent for another breath before he bowed. “I’m Tetsuya, Yua-chan’s cousin.” His expression and posture eased when he flashed a dimpled smile. “You must be Ushijima-sensei. Rui-kun’s been talking about you ever since he got home from practice last week.”

Wakatoshi looked down at his student and grinned. “I’m flattered. But Rui-kun was the one who did all the work. He’ll be a powerful wing spiker one day.”

“You really think so, sensei??” The teen could barely contain his excitement at the compliment. “I’m not as good as you yet, but I’ll work hard to get there!”

“That’s what I like to hear,” Wakatoshi affirmed with a nod.

Tetsuya-san ruffled his son’s hair playfully. “It won’t be easy, but it’s hard to discourage this kid once he’s got his heart set on something.”

“Sounds like somebody I know.”

All three of them turned toward the laughing voice. Wakatoshi held his breath.

Yua.

His eyes slipped over her automatically. Her ink-black hair was pulled into a neat bun at the top of her head and her face was flushed a soft pink. Her freckles stood out more than usual as a result. This time, she was dressed head to toe in black. A track jacket and tapered joggers hung comfortably on her curves. He thought her legs went on for miles. When his wandering gaze snapped up to her face, it was his turn to flush.

The knowing look in her eyes told him that he had been caught staring. Again. She returned his appraisal and he tried not to preen.

“I finished earlier than expected,” she said cryptically, a smile curving her lips. Her gaze lingered on Wakatoshi for long seconds before she faced her nephew. She tucked a small brown package behind her back. When Rui-kun tried to lunge for it, she side-stepped him easily.

“Yua-chan! What is that??”

His aunt shook her head. “It’s not ready yet, sweetheart,” she scolded. “But I promise to tell you about it soon. It’s for the whole team, remember?”

Rui-kun huffed in frustration. “She won’t tell me no matter how many times I ask her.”

“You mean whine at her,” his father corrected wryly. “You know she’s not saying anything until she’s good and ready.

“Sensei, can’t you make her tell you what she’s hiding?”

Rui-kun’s wide eyes were certainly convincing. Wakatoshi tried to eye the package tucked neatly behind her back, but she quirked a brow at him and shook her head.

“I don’t think it’s wise to challenge our manager,” he said gravely. “She’ll make us pay for it later.”

Tetsuya-san scoffed. “Good thinking. You don’t want to piss her off.”

Yua-san stuck her tongue out at her cousin while Rui-kun turned silent and grumbled under his breath. Wakatoshi watched their family dynamic raptly. It was so different from the formality he had experienced growing up.

“C’mon,” she chuckled, nudging the teen gently. “Everyone’s gonna be here soon. Let’s set up the net.”

When they started to move to the back of the gym, Tetsuya-san’s voice rang out. “Hold on, Yua-chan. I need to ask you something before I go.”

She looked at her cousin and then glanced at her assistant coach apologetically.

Wakatoshi shook his head. “We’ll take care of it.”

With Rui-kun working silently alongside him, they had the net set up in minutes. Wakatoshi glanced over at the Nishimura cousins. They were probably speaking about family matters, but he was still curious. Tetsuya-san’s back was facing him, so he couldn’t gauge his reactions, but Yua-san’s expressions ranged from disbelief, exasperation, and then understanding. He nearly froze when her sharp gaze settled on him; were they speaking about him after all?

“Oh, no!” Rui-kun’s groan cut through his worried thoughts. “I forgot my kneepads!”

Wakatoshi cranked the line one more time before walking over to him. “Don’t worry about it. I haven’t worn kneepads since I was in high school.” He stopped wearing them after his first year because he felt they restricted him during his approach and take-off. And his playing style revolved around attacking. Most, if not all the defense was handled by his more capable teammates.

The teen looked relieved at his words. After checking that the net was even, he trotted to the gym’s entrance to say goodbye to his father. He said something that caused the older man to smile and nod approvingly. Faint tendrils of envy wound through Wakatoshi’s chest. Rui-kun was fortunate to have that support readily available to him.

Saitou-sensei had also arrived along with several of the other players. Yua-san was busy with introductions. Her smile was warm and bright as she spoke enthusiastically with the boys. Whatever she was talking about had them hanging off of her every word. Commanding a handful of teenagers was laughably easy compared to the strong and demanding personalities she had to deal with at her job. Wakatoshi sighed. Looks like he had to wait his turn for some alone time with her.

Practice started off with stretches, and then a few rounds of serves. Since all the boys were already playing with their respective school teams, they could skip some of the basic drills and focus on more complicated plays and rotations. From the list he received last week, Wakatoshi would observe and guide the rest of the team while sensei worked with the two setters, Ashida-kun and Yoshito-kun. It was essential to know their limitations early on, as they would be handling the ball the most.

Wakatoshi would split more duties with the other assistant coach when he was available, but he didn’t mind taking on all the responsibility for now. It forced him to re-examine the basics that had been drilled into him since he was a young player, which was always a good practice. When things became frantic and complicated in a game, his first instinct was to focus on the basics.

Each player was exceptionally skilled, and they had an excellent sense of their positions. But this wasn’t surprising because the rep selection process was comprehensive. The tryouts were more rigorous, but each team only wanted the best players to represent their individual wards. The schedule would be fast and difficult as well, with multiple tournaments and seeding games in addition to their middle school team schedule. This would be their first step in discovering if they wanted to play professionally in the future.

An hour went by, and Wakatoshi still hadn’t spoken to Yua-san. At the start of practice, she was preoccupied with taking attendance and learning everyone’s name. And once the drills started, she was busy collecting the balls and ensuring they were available for sensei or the next player. And he was focused on trying to help they players if they had questions or became frustrated

But that didn’t stop him from sneaking looks at her whenever he could. He admired her dedication. When she wasn’t chasing after a stray ball, she closely observed whatever drill was in play or made sure that each of the boys were hydrated. Her position was vital for the team’s well-being.

Depending on the player, she would get to know them on another level than sensei or himself. Since she was noting the practice stats and watching the team as whole, she could pick up on any changes in their overall energy and attitude. Her knowledge would be invaluable during games and later in the season if they made it to the playoffs.

Right now, her brows were knitted in concentration. She was standing beside sensei and rapidly writing in a bright orange notebook. It looked like he was explaining to Ashida-kun the nuances of timing a second tempo set with Rui-kun. Wakatoshi decided to take a break with the boys, as they would be setting up for a game to end the practice.

As he continued his quiet observation of her, Yua-san’s head lifted as she glanced around the gym. She nibbled her full lower lip in worry. He had just raised his bottle to take a drink when her honey brown eyes found him, and nearly choked on a generous gulp of water when she flashed that appealing smile in his direction. She bit back a laugh as he coughed and wiped his mouth quickly.

When Oyama-kun asked if everything was all right, all he could do was nod densely. He looked at his manager in disbelief, but her nose was buried in the bright orange notebook once again. The only proof of their exchange was his damp sweater and the grin on her face. Not wanting to embarrass himself any further, he quickly instructed the boys to get ready for the practice game. Several minutes after explaining the rotation, he heard someone clear their throat to get his attention.

“Sensei, do you have a minute?”

Wakatoshi sucked in a quiet breath. The lilt in Yua-san’s voice was pleasing to his ears. She stood in the setter’s position on the court, while he was in his usual position on the right, behind the attack line. She had taken her jacket off, which revealed a matching black tank top. He took note of the toned muscles in her shoulders and arms. He had been anticipating and dreading this moment all practice.

“Of course.”

“Where are your kneepads?” A stern look fell across her features as she waited for his reply.

He frowned, not expecting the accusatory tone in her question. “I don’t use them.”

“Why not?” A ball was wedged between her hand and left hip, and he noticed when her fingers tightened.

“I’m an ace,” he said simply. Why was she asking him this?

Her brows shot up in skepticism. “That’s your reasoning?”

“It’s how I’ve played since high school.” His frown deepened. No one had ever given him a hard time about it before.

“What if you need to dig the ball?” She countered. Her voice was hard now, and he almost took a step back.

Wakatoshi shook his head. “I try not to put myself in vulnerable positions. My teammates will always cover what I can’t pick up.” When the words left his mouth, he realized that his logic wasn’t completely sound. In the finals, he missed a few crucial points because he couldn’t dig the ball in time.

Yua-san’s lips pursed into a tight line as she held the ball up high in her left hand. His body instinctively crouched just before the ball dropped. But he was a step too far back to dig with his right arm; a pancake was his only option. No kneepads meant he needed to be cautious about how he landed. He had promised no injuries to his mom and himself. Shit, if he were wearing kneepads, he’d be able to slide to the ball with no issue. It was too late now; his feet and legs hurled him forward and he had no choice but to commit to the dig.

The ball landed with a hollow thud an inch in front of his outstretched fingers.

Wakatoshi’s chest took the brunt of his rough landing, so he was out of breath when he watched the ball roll away. Silence rang in his ears. Everyone in the gym had stopped to watch their intense exchange. He was sprawled on the ground, not quite sure about what had just occurred.

He looked up at Yua-san, expecting a smug look and fitting retort. Instead, she looked disappointed, as if she were hoping that he would prove her wrong. She offered a hand to him, and he took it carefully. He couldn’t ignore the strength in her grip as she helped him to his feet. He stood before her, ready to accept her lecture.

“You would’ve been able to dig that if you had kneepads,” she chided. Her voice wasn’t raised, but everyone could hear her because it was still quiet.

Wakatoshi shook his head. She was right, but his pride just took a beating, so he wasn’t ready to admit that to her yet. “Maybe. Nothing is guaranteed.”

“That’s true,” Yua-san said with a shrug. “But you had to think twice. There wasn’t enough time for a flying receive. So, you were thinking about the best way to dig the ball without hurting your knees because you weren’t wearing kneepads.”

Wakatoshi stared in disbelief and awe. She was able to pick up on his hesitation in a few seconds. Her next words struck him right in the chest.

“What if you were injured from that attempt? In a real game, you could’ve been sidelined. And you’d be even more pissed off because that injury could’ve been avoided.”

That was one of his greatest fears. Yes, injuries meant that he couldn’t play, but it also had the potential to cause long-term problems. He knew he was one of the lucky ones that had managed to avoid any major injuries, but he knew that his luck could change at any time.

“And think of the example that you’re setting for our team. You can do no wrong in their eyes. They’ll notice the things you do and the things you don’t do. You’re saying that it’s fine not to wear kneepads because,” she held up three fingers before counting them down. “One: it’s how you’ve played since high school and you’re not willing to change that. Two: aces are exempt because they focus on attacking and scoring points. And three: everyone else is expected to cover when you can’t dig.”

Wakatoshi felt like he was a novice again. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had laid into him this hard. But she was right and confirmed most of the frustrations from his disappointing finals performance.

“That’s selfish. And arrogant.” She paused to consider her words. “But that’s just my opinion. Of course, nothing is guaranteed. The ball is round. Any player can change the flow of the game. But preparation is the difference between winning a championship and losing it.”

His eyes flicked over to sensei, who was watching the two of them with a mix of interest and amusement. He clearly enjoyed seeing his best student being lectured by a woman who barely reached his collarbones. He shot him an imploring look, but sensei shook his head and shrugged.

Damn. That meant he agreed with Yua-san.

“Yes, you’re an ace. One of the best, in fact. But you can’t expect your team to follow you into hell if you’re not willing to do whatever it takes to keep the ball in play. That includes digging.” She paused again, then crossed her arms. “You know what? I don’t care if you wear kneepads or not. I care about the tone you’re setting for this team. It’s a safety concern; we can’t afford any injuries.”

She picked up the ball and thrust it into his hands. Her chin tipped up at him in a final show of defiance. “I did say that I wasn’t going to go easy on you. While I’m here, I’m going to do everything I can to give us the best chance of winning. I hope you can do the same.”

Everyone, Wakatoshi included, gaped when Yua-san turned on her heel and marched to stand beside the scorecard. She then directed a bow to sensei on the other side of the court. “Please excuse me for holding up practice.”

The older man smiled and waved her apology off. He then raised his voice to ensure that everyone could hear him. “Anyone not wearing kneepads won’t be playing in this practice game.” Immediately, several boys rushed to their bags and hastily put on their kneepads.

Wakatoshi took his place beside sensei as the boys positioned themselves on the court. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was soundly told off in front of the whole team by his manager. And the best part; he’s the one who insisted that she take the position. A grin crept along his lips as he considered her boldness. Though she wasn’t glaring daggers at him anymore, he could still feel the heat of her gaze from the across the court.

“Wakatoshi-kun?” Sensei’s voice was light. He wasn’t sure how his former student was processing that sound thrashing.

He turned to his sensei. “We were right to pick Yua-san as our manager. She’ll make us stronger.”

Sensei laughed this time. “I still don’t know how she didn’t end up playing volleyball. She would’ve made a terrifying opponent.”

Wakatoshi nodded. She had all the qualities of a fearless captain. He wanted to see what she was like in her element as an event director. “Her brother must be a monster of a player.”

“He is.” Sensei climbed the official’s stand adjacent to the pole. “He’s a mix of Tendou-kun and Tsukishima-kun.”

Wakatoshi’s nostrils flared. He was always secretly thankful that he never had to face Tendou-kun in an official match. The Guess Monster made a name for himself by breaking the hearts of wing spikers. And he could never forget the time Karasuno’s Tsukishima won a crucial third set in the Miyagi qualifier by blocking one of his spikes. A player with Tendou’s intuition and Tsukishima’s intelligence would be a worthwhile opponent. “I hope I get to play against him one day.”

Sensei blew the whistle to indicate the start of the game. “I’m sure you will. He’s always had his eyes set on the V.League.”

Wakatoshi was mostly silent during the first set of the game. Sensei did most of the coaching, but he occasionally stepped in to offer advice to the spikers.

When the teams switched sides, sensei chuckled and Wakatoshi gave him a curious look. “The more I think about it, I don’t remember anyone scolding you like that except Washijou-sensei.”

The tops of Wakatoshi’s ears turned red while he rubbed the back of his neck. He sighed. “Yua-san’s right. In the finals last month— I hesitated on a few crucial plays because I’m not used to digging. My playing style has been perfected for attacking.”

Sensei blew the whistle again. “Most of the teams you’ve played for have been built around your playing style. Especially at Shiratorizawa. But our manager made a key point. Everyone needs to be prepared to do anything to keep the ball alive. The teams we’ll be facing are just as good as we are, if not, better.”

Wakatoshi shot Yua-san an irritated look and she returned it. He half expected her to stick her tongue out at him. He looked away first. “Sensei, do you have an extra pair of kneepads? I’ll buy my own after practice.”

This time, his sensei’s smile was smug. “You’re lucky I’m always prepared.”

[thorne93]

The Softest Fire (Part 7)

Prompt: Rosaline Vaughan had it all: fame, money, power, glory, a high status job. Until, one day, she woke up, and realized something was missing from her life.

Word Count: 1575

Warnings: dealing with animals(??)

Notes: First Fantastic Beast fic! I could NOT have done this at all without @arrow-guy. They have created a counterpart to this fic, writing it from Nora Vaughan’s perspective (Rosaline’s cousin/adopted sister). Fic aesthetic done by @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo​.

We were at the alchemists home. Newt and I had just finished taking care of the zouwu, trying to calm it. Once that was done, we ascended the steps and I stood in the living room of the house, peering around when a commotion from upstairs hit. I frowned, glancing to Nora. 

“What was that?” I wondered. 

“Jacob probably getting into something.” Nora’s gaze met Tina’s. “Tina, we should go check on him.” 

Tina began nodding when I frowned at my cousin. She gave Newt a pointed look and shooed me towards him. My heart skipped a beat as I realized what she was referring to. With a thumbs up, she turned to catch up to Tina.

I took a few steps away from Newt, checking to see if the two women were out of earshot -- they were. 

I wondered if now really should be the time I shared something that had been brewing in my mind since Tina had shown up. It would be now or never with the increasing risks and dangers that were piling up against us.

“Rather odd turn of events, hmm?” Newt questioned.

But I wasn’t in any mood for small talk, not right now, not with what we were facing. I took a deep breath, my heart racing faster than it ever had, palms sweating. 

“Newt, I’m about to tell you something and I feel my timing is terrible but I may not get another chance… so here goes nothing.” I stared at him, hoping I had his undivided attention. “I’m in love with you. Have been for a long time. It took talking to Nora to realize what I was feeling. I found out a few months after you left for your voyage. I planned on telling you the day you came home but you were so excited about Tina I didn’t tell you. I couldn’t rip your happiness away for my own.” 

He stared at me, his face unreadable. 

“I know my timing is awful. I know you feel for Tina, how deeply, I’m not sure. But I’ve been keeping my feelings for you inside for two years, and I just can’t do it anymore just because Tina is here. You have a right to know, and I have a right to get this off my chest…” 

He was quiet a moment, so I continued.

“I understand if you don’t feel the same, I don’t expect you to. I feel like if you had any feelings for me at all, by now you would’ve said something… If I’m wrong, let me know.”

All he did was frown though, his teeth playing with his lips for a moment. He appeared in a conflicted state of thought, so I waited. I was giving him a second to process this, but after several moments, I got the hint. 

I shook my head, biting my lip. “It’s okay, Newt. You don’t have to say anything. We’ve known each other a long time, grown pretty close in these last six years, I think. I’ve seen your heart break and I couldn’t do anything about it, even though I wanted to. So if you felt the same, I think you would’ve said something before now. Just thought you should know how I feel, but I don’t want to be a last resort.” 

I thought I heard a creak on the stairs so I stopped, shaking my head. 

Fantastic, I had just made an ass out of myself for apparently no reason at all. Now Newt knew how I truly felt, so it would inevitably be awkward working together, if he didn’t fire me, that is. Well, at least I could move on now. This was it, the final straw. I’d waited very patiently, but this was just ridiculous at this point. 

A second later, Nora, Tina, and Jacob hit the landing of the stairs. 

“We should go to the ministry,” Newt suddenly said, breaking the tension that hung thick in the air. 

“I’m going with you,” Tina and I said at the same time. I couldn’t help the cold stare that came from my gaze as my face whipped to hers. She eyed me up and down quickly, gathering courage to square her shoulders.

“How about I divvy the teams?” Nora offered. “I go with Tina and Newt, you stay here and protect Jacob and the man from earlier.” 

“And why am I staying behind?” I demanded in a cool voice. 

Nora raised one eyebrow, smirking. “Because you’re our best line of defense. One of you is worth three of us.” 

I straightened my posture, standing taller, tilting my chin upwards. “I can’t argue with you there. Very well then. I’ll stay with them…”

“Good, we should get going,” Nora encouraged. Without another word, the three of them left, each of them doling out a different look at me. Tina’s was weary, Newt’s was unreadable, and Nora’s was one of warning. 

As soon as we were alone, I could almost feel Jacob staring at me from the side as I examined the alchemist’s library collection. 

“So uh… You’re like super powerful, huh?” he asked, seeming nervous.

“I suppose, yes,” I answered, not looking towards him. 

“My girl Queenie’s nothin’ sniff at either. She found me a block away one time just ‘cause I was thinkin’ about her.” 

Immediately, I turned my head and looked at him. “Your girl’s power is incredibly handy.” My gaze returned to the shelves as I admitted, “Wouldn’t mind having it myself.”

Jacob made a face. “Nah, I don't think anyone would want it. Stresses her out more often than not. Big crowds are a problem for her.” 

My body pivots to face him once more. I look him up and down, a sad expression coloring my face. “I imagine it would feel lonely, and hard to control... Hearing thoughts you may not want to hear..." I snapped myself out of the path I was heading down. "Nonetheless, an impressive offensive power. I don't tend to have many people around me anyway, so reading minds probably wouldn't become overwhelming for me. Queenie seems very... empathetic though. She must absorb a lot of emotion around her, I bet that wears on her."

“Yeah, hearing all those voices is rough for her…” He seemed to look off in a far place for a moment.

A sad smile pulled at my lips. “You’ll find her. We will get her back. She’s very strong. You are too. Not many muggles could handle this sort of world and not snap or call it complete lunacy.” 

“Believe me, some days I still think I’m dreamin’ or in a looney bin somewhere,” he stated with a laugh. 

I joined him with a chuckle. “No, you’re very much awake and sane. Remember, Queenie needs you too. Women talk about being angry, talk about needing space, but I think deep down, all they want is their beloved to stop them and beg them to stay. It’s nice to know you’re wanted.” I smiled softly down at the floor in thought. 

“Thanks...I think I needed to hear that…” 

I nodded softly, granting him a smile before he said he was going to sit down a second. I excused myself to go upstairs and make sure everything was alright up there. I was gone for maybe five minutes, returning downstairs to see that the mysterious man was gone and Jacob was asleep. 

“Jacob!” I cried out, anger barely touching my tone. “Where did the man go?”

He snapped awake. “Huh? Hmm? Oh, jeez. I feel asleep. I’m sorry.”

I shook my head. “It’s fine. It’s not your fault. It’s mine. Merlin, years as an auror and hit witch and I can’t keep someone detained properly any more…” With that, I heard the click of the front door. I spun to see a rather old man, so old he started to appear paper like. “Hello, is this your home?” I asked evenly.

“Yes, I do. I’m Nicolas Flamel,” he informed, reaching forward. I took his hand delicately, followed by Jacob who held his hand a little too hard.

“So nice to meet you. I hope it’s alright we came in. My friends and I were in trouble and Dumbledore said we could use this as a safehouse,” I explained quickly.

“Mmm, yes, he told me someone may be dropping by.”

“Ah, good. It’s great to finally meet you. I’d heard about you in my studies, at Hogwarts.” 

Nicolas started to make his way over to his work area in the front of the flat. “That’s flattering,” he noted. 

The three of us chatted a bit more, even allowing me a glance at the Philosopher’s stone in his safe, a very peculiar item indeed. Just as I was about to ask Nicolas about working with me on some potions, his crystal ball seemed to start to glow and he made his way towards it, followed by Jacob and myself. 

“What is it?” I questioned, peering at it. “What’s happ--” 

But then we saw it, rapid flashes of imagery that was far from ideal. 

My face snapped up. “Where is this? How do I get there?” I demanded quickly. 

“The Lestrange Mausoleum,” he informed, looking worried. 

I nodded and grabbed Jacob’s hand. “We need to go. Now. Thank you so much, Mr. Flamel. You’ve been a wonderful host.” I grabbed Nicholas's hand hastily before Jacob, and we apparated out of his home.

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

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[basketofverbiage]

A New Beginning

Hi everyone! I’m sorry for not really posting in a long time. I had some serious depression/creativity issues. But here is a second part that I had never planned to write for Angels Calling. 

Angels Calling

Dasom was dressed in a tiny school uniform and was tugging Hoseok along by the hand in her excitement to get through the doors of her school.

“Come on, Appa! I don’t want to be late!” she said, tugging harder at his hand in an effort to try to make him move faster.

“Okay, okay, Somie! Calm down. We have plenty of time,” he chuckled.

She was clearly ready for her first day of school. When they reached the door of her classroom, he knelt down in front of her and handed her a bright pink lunchbox before pulling her close for a hug.

“Have a great first day of school, Somie. I’ll come pick you up later today,” he said into her hair, giving her one tighter squeeze before letting her go.

“I love you, Appa. Don’t forget me!”

Hoseok’s eyes popped open as the dream faded, and he smiled sadly at the ceiling. Dasom had not lived long enough to have her first day of school. She would have started school in a few weeks at the elementary school a few blocks from his apartment building. He took a deep breath and held it for a moment until the ache in his chest was less debilitating.

“I could never forget you, baby,” he whispered to the darkness in his room before getting out of bed to walk into the bathroom.

He turned the water on in the shower to heat up while he brushed his teeth and tried to focus on beginning his day. Hoseok had woken up 45 minutes before his alarm, but the small chance that he might fall back into the dream kept him awake. He didn’t dream of his dead daughter often, but when he did, after waking up from that sort of dreams, he felt her absence so strongly for several days. He showered as quickly as possible then dried off mostly. He slipped on a pair of underwear and walked into the kitchen to make coffee. Hoseok was just pouring the fresh brew into his mug when the front door clicked open.

“Hey, baby! You’re up early,” Y/n greeted while slipping off her shoes. “I had a death visit, and I’ve been there for the last several hours.”

Y/n was a hospice nurse who had taken care of Dasom. During the time she’d helped with caring for his daughter, they’d grown close and then had fallen in love slowly in the year after her death. After Dasom had been gone for a year and a half, Hoseok asked her to move in with him since she was spending most of her spare time and at least 4 nights a week with him anyway. They had been happily living together for just under a year now. Their lives had seamlessly melded together in a way that no one expected. Hoseok had thought they would at least fight or argue occasionally, but it had not really been an issue for them. They just clicked in a nearly supernatural way.

He turned and hugged her when she walked into the kitchen and stole a sip of his coffee. “Did it go well?”

She hummed happily, taking another sip of his coffee before returning the cup and kissing his cheek. “Yeah. The patient was comfortable and died peacefully in their sleep. The family was sad, but they were exhausted since they’d been waiting by their bedside for almost two weeks.”

“I can’t imagine doing that. Dasom declining quickly was bad enough.”

“I know, baby.” Y/n pulled him into her arms after he set the coffee mug on the counter. “It just happens that way sometimes. They will be okay. I think for the moment that they are relieved it’s all over.”

Hoseok snuggled into the hug, letting the grounding presence of her arms around him, pressed against his bare back and chest, soothe away some of the ache still lingering from his dream. “Are you off today?” he asked into her hair.

“Yes,” she yawned, forehead pressed above where his heart thumped away.

“Go shower and climb into bed, darling. I’m going to get ready and head to work. I’ll be back later today.”

 Y/n slept for a while and woke up feeling slightly less exhausted after sleeping for around 4 hours. She had been feeling super tired lately, but she just figured that it was because she had been working more on call shifts. While she was allowed to sleep when on call, it was hard to get deep restful sleep as she kept one ear open for calls from patients or families in distress. It was very normal to her that she would be tired after a night on call, but she had noticed that she was a lot more tired than usual. She’d called to schedule an appointment with her doctor, but there had been no openings until later in the week. Her phone lit up just as she was debating whether she should try to sleep some more or if she should get up.

“Hello?”

“Miss Y/n, this is Jae-in at Dr. Hong’s office. We had a cancellation at 4 pm this afternoon. Would you be available to come in then as opposed to later in the week?”

Y/n quickly agreed then got up to get ready so she could take her time in the shower and still have time to eat a late lunch. She had planned to eat some leftover fried rice from the evening before, but the smell of the eggs scrambled into it turned her stomach as soon as the scent wafted up. She quickly snapped the lid back down and put the container back in the refrigerator. After taking a few deep breaths while gripping onto the cool marble of the countertop, the strong urge to heave into their kitchen sink subsided enough for her to finish getting ready. By the time she was dressed and ready to go, she had still had an hour and a half before she needed to be at her appointment, so Y/n decided to drop by the bookstore. She could get some ginger tea from the café there to help keep the nausea at bay and seeing Hoseok would help with her nerves. Sometimes being a nurse was helpful, but at times like this, it just made her jump to the worst conclusions based on her own medical knowledge.

Y/n had told Hoseok that she had scheduled an appointment about how tired she was but was reluctant to admit the extent of her exhaustion. She didn’t want to make him worry that it was something worse when it’s likely that she just had a basic nutrient deficiency or maybe a hormone imbalance. Hoseok had been slightly traumatized by Dasom’s illness and death and he tended to jump to the worst possible conclusion; he had fully overreacted when Jungkook had caught the flu earlier in the winter and had a panic attack in the middle of the bookstore when Namjoon had mentioned he was home sick. She shook those thoughts out of her mind as she arrived at the bookstore and pushed the door open.

“Welcome to Tittle and Jot! Is there something I can help you find today?” Namjoon called with a smile from the counter at tinkling of the bell at the door. “Oh, hey, Y/n. You must be looking for Hobi.”

“Hi Joonie. Is he busy?”

“Nope, he’s back in the office. I’ll go get him. Want some coffee too?”

Y/n smiled back. “Not today. Could you make some ginger tea instead?”

“You’ve got it. I’ll be right back.”

Y/n browsed the rack of new releases positioned near the café counter while she waited on Hoseok to come up front. She was reading the back of a thriller book by a popular local author when she felt arms wrap around her waist.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Hoseok giggled into her ear as he kissed her on the cheek.

Y/n returned the book to the shelf before turning to kiss his lips gently. “Hi, baby. How’s your day been so far?”

As Hoseok was telling her about the children’s storytime they had hosted earlier that morning, Namjoon brought her a to-go cup full of freshly steeped ginger tea.

“I used a special loose-leaf blend we got in last week from my cousin’s tea company. I put a little honey in it to cut the tang. Let me know how you like it,” he said before wandering off to restock and reorganize the storybooks in the front corner of the shops.

Y/n took a cautious sip of the tea before speaking up. “Hobi, the doctor’s office had a cancellation so they called to see if I could come today instead.”

“Do you need me to go with you?” he asked.

She could already see the worry in his eyes. Even though she would be more at ease if he were there, she decided to reject his offer.

“No, it’s just a check-up, baby. I’m sure its just that I need to get more vitamin D or something like that.” Y/n kissed him gently. “You might beat me home since the shop closes at 5 today, but I’ll update you as soon as I’m home.”

A few minutes later, Y/n needed to leave to be to her appointment on time. They said their goodbyes, then Hoseok watched her leave.

“She’s going to be okay, Hobi,” Namjoon said quietly as he wrapped his arm around Hoseok’s shoulders. “You know how bad you felt when your Vitamin B levels were wacky back in college. This is probably the same thing.”

Hoseok sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. “I know you’re right, Joon. I just can’t help but worry a little bit. It’s like a gut reaction since Dasom.”

“I know. But just remember, you weren’t alone then, and you aren’t alone now. No matter what happens, Kook and I will be by your side.”

 “I’m what?” Y/n sat in shock for a moment, mouth open and staring at her doctor.

“Y/n, you’re pregnant. Congratulations!” Dr. Hong smiled.

“I’m…wow.” She looked down at her stomach and then looked back at her doctor. “I’ve been on birth control and still taking it. Will that hurt the baby?”

“Well, now that you know, stop taking it. I’ll make you a referral to an OB/GYN and you will need to start taking some prenatal vitamins. The pregnancy does explain most of your symptoms and the rest of your bloodwork came back normally.”

Y/n was still a bit in shock as her doctor gave her some additional information on changes for her diet and things to do for the sporadic nausea she had been experiencing, along with written notes and an appointment card for an ultrasound and another appointment set for the end of the week with an OB/GYN. She sat in her car for nearly 15 minutes just staring at the information and her cell phone, debating on whether she should call Hoseok. They hadn’t even discussed children together because he was still grieving the loss of his child to a certain extent. While Y/n was more than a little surprised, she also found herself happy. She loved Hoseok and having a beautiful son or daughter with him made her heart leap with joy. Y/n eventually decided to just tell him when she got home.

Since she needed to stop to get prenatal vitamins, she could not resist browsing through the baby things. Y/n had no plans to buy anything for the baby yet, but when she saw a tiny pair of slippers with bunnies on them, she had to have them. She bought them and had them gift wrapped in simple yellow paper, intending to present them to Hoseok to tell him about the baby.

 After closing the shop, Hoseok went home to pace around their living room while waiting on Y/n to get home. He had finally worn himself out after stalking around their sofa for 45 minutes and had just sat down in the armchair that faced the door when he heard a key in the lock. Y/n came breezing in the door with one hand behind her back, sliding off her shoes with the other hand, then smiling at him.

“Hi, baby! I’m back,” she said softly.

“Hey! What did the doctor say?”

“Before I tell you more details, I just want you to know that I’m okay. I am going to be just fine. Also, I brought you something.”

She sat down on the corner of the sofa nearest his chair and handed him a small yellow package. He was so confused but thanked her for the box before slowly tearing off the paper. He lifted the lid off of a small white box housed within the yellow paper and was greeted by tiny white slippers with bunnies on them. He slowly lifted the slippers out of the box with one hand, stroking one finger down the side of one small shoe.

“Baby, I’m pregnant,” Y/n whispered.

In that moment, Hoseok was struck with relief that she was going to be okay and then joy that they had created a new life, but then all he could think of was Dasom’s voice from his dream that morning.

I love you, Appa! Don’t forget me.

Don’t forget me.

Don’t forget…

Her voice bounced so loudly around his mind, and Hoseok panicked. He dropped the shoes and got up and rushed toward the door.

“I need to go,” he said, sliding his boots on and grabbing his keys. “I just need some time to process this.”

Before Y/n even had a chance to say anything, he was out the door and gone.

 Jungkook was just sliding the lasagna he’d made for dinner into the oven when someone started pounding on the door. Namjoon was in the shower after just arriving home from work, so he walked to see who was there. He looked through the peephole to see Hoseok fidgeting outside the door as he knocked loudly again.

“Hey, Hobi-hyung! What are you doing here?” he asked, confused.

“Where is Namjoon? I need you both,” he said, frantically looking around the room for Namjoon.

“Joonie is in the shower. Sit down here, and I’ll go tell him to hurry. Is Y/n okay?”

“Yeah, she’s…um…just get Joon please.”

Jungkook could see the agitation swelling in Hoseok. Something weird was going on. Jungkook quickly walked through their bedroom to the master bathroom. The bathroom door was cracked open, so he just poked his head in the door to find Namjoon combing through his semi-dry hair with a towel wrapped around his waist.

“Joonie, can you hurry? Something’s wrong with Hobi-hyung. He nearly beat our door down and wouldn’t tell me what��s going on without you.”

Namjoon startled a bit at Jungkook’s voice. “Yeah, let me just pull on some pants.”

Jungkook walked back out into the living room to find Hoseok tucked into the middle seat of their couch, his knees brought up to his chest and tears streaming down his cheeks. Jungkook immediately sat down beside him and gave him a hug. Hoseok curled into Jungkook’s embrace and Jungkook could feel him trembling with the effort not to sob.

“Hobi, what’s going on? Is Y/n okay?” Namjoon asked as he plopped down on Hoseok’s other side.

Hoseok nodded at first, then finally pulled away from Jungkook. “She’s pregnant.”

Jungkook and Namjoon looked at each other in confusion for a moment before Namjoon spoke up again. “That’s wonderful, Hobi. Why do you look like it’s the end of the world?”

“I’m so scared,” he whimpered. “I don’t want to feel like I’m using this baby to replace Dasom. And what if this baby gets sick too? I can’t love another child just for them to die.”

He started sobbing in earnest then, so Jungkook pulled him back into his arms. “Hobi-hyung, you will never be able to replace Dasom. She will always be your baby too. You’ll be able to tell this baby all about their older sister. Do you honestly think that Dasom would be upset about the new baby?”

Hoseok thought about it for a moment. Dasom would have been thrilled. She had always wanted a younger sibling to play with. Hoseok knew deep down that she would have been so pleased that she was going to have the chance to be an older sister.

“No. She’d have been so happy,” he whispered back.

“Okay, then this is a good thing,” Namjoon softly replied. “This child has a different mother, Hobi. That’s a 50% DNA difference. Even if Dasom’s leukemia was caused by something genetic, the 50% difference in DNA could make a huge difference. Besides, there are a lot of things that can be tested in utero. Since you’ve already had one child that had that type of leukemia, talk to the doctor. There may be a test they can do for it.”

After a bit, the oven timer that Jungkook had set went off.

“Dinner is ready, Hobi-hyung. Let me go pull it out of the oven. You want to eat with us?”

Hoseok sighed. “No, I’d better go. Y/n is probably upset. I literally just ran out after she gave me baby slippers to tell me.”

Namjoon and Jungkook said their goodbyes and walked him to the door. “Please text us when you get home, so we know you are safe,” Jungkook said. “And if you need us, we’ll come over.”

 Hoseok drove home then took the elevator up to their floor. He hesitated at the door to text Namjoon before walking in the door. He was half terrified of what he was going to find when he opened the door, but he knew that he had to face it. He walked in and toed off his shoes, looking to see if he could see Y/n anywhere. He found her asleep on the couch with tear tracks streaking her face, tiny baby slippers cuddled to her chest. It made his heart ache to see the evidence of how much he’d hurt her in his panicked escape. Hoseok took a deep breath, feeling the love for Y/n squeeze out the last remnants of fear he carried. He sat down in the floor in front of the sofa. He gently brushed the last tears off of her cheek before kissing her forehead. When his lips pressed to her skin, her eyes fluttered open.

“Hobi?” she mumbled sleepily, blinking up at him.

“I’m here, darling. I’m so sorry that I ran out like that,” he whispered. “I just let fear that this baby would get sick like Somie did overwhelm how happy I was when you told me. I should have talked to you about it instead of running away from you like a coward.”

A few new tears slipped down her cheeks at his apology. “Please don’t cry,” he murmured.

“I can’t help it,” she whimpered. “My hormones are going crazy. Are you really happy?”

“Yes, I am. I am so lucky to be having a baby with you.” He kissed her softly, both hands cupping her tear-dampened cheeks. “I’m still a little scared that this baby will get sick, but Namjoon helped calm my fears some and gave me some questions to ask when we go to see the doctor again. But for now, I just want to celebrate that I get to be a dad again. Dasom would be so happy.”

They spent the rest of the evening curled up together, kissing and celebrating their good news together. When they went to bed that night, Hoseok snuggled Y/n into his chest and fell asleep with one hand curled onto her still-flat stomach.

 “Appa, wake up!”

His eyes fluttered open to see Dasom standing beside his bed.

“Hi Somie,” he said softly.

“Hi, Appa! I am so happy that you are giving me a baby brother. Y/n is going to be the best eomma! I kind of wish she had been able to be my eomma too, but that’s okay.”

“Somie, the baby is too little. We don’t know for sure if it’s going to be a brother.”

“Trust me, Appa. I’m getting a brother. But don’t worry, Appa. I’m going to be looking out for him forever, even though I can’t be there in my old body. And I know you love me and you will never forget me, so don’t worry about that either. I have to go now, but don’t worry anymore. My baby brother won’t get sick like me.”

Dasom leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek, then disappeared.

Hoseok shot up into a sitting position, gasping for air. It had only been a dream, but his cheek where Dasom’s lips had touched was tingling like she had really been there. It was just enough to let him know that everything was going to be okay.

 They had decided not to learn the gender of the baby. But, 28 weeks later when Y/n gave birth, she delivered a healthy baby boy just like Dasom had told him in her dream. When he held his son for the first time, he laughed even as tears of joy slipped from his eyes. In that moment, he could feel Dasom there with him and the baby, just like she’d promised him.

[themfchase]

blindfold - (2)

Jeon Jungkook x reader

‒ blindfold. (m) ✎  [7k words]

genre: smut, nsfw, college!au

warnings: oral, fingering, blindfold, sex with a stranger? Strange things happen all the time, just like what you’re being offered by a strange tall man in a quiet coffee shop near campus. Strangers that you can’t see and only hear, and a strange boy that barely speaks but seems to be everywhere aren’t that common, on the other hand. But for some reason... You’re really keen on strange things. A/N: Hey guys, I hope you’re enjoying this little series, if you do, please feel free to give me feedback on it and please reblog if you can >.< ok, bye bye. 

part 1  part 3. part 4.part 5. part 6. masterlist.

You walked to your new class, a class that wasn’t in your schedule, but you took it to see if it helped with your finals essay. You avoided your phone and the text message from the day before and tried to focus on your normal life. You didn’t know if you wanted to forget what had happened the day before or to keep it clear in your head. You didn’t even bother to check your bank account because you knew that he would have kept his word, just as he did the night before. As you walked inside the class, you chose a seat up front; you wanted to distract yourself, so maybe taking this class would help. You got out your laptop and waited for the class to start.  “Hey!” A body sat down next to you and when you looked it was Namjoon, the boy Malia was making out with on Saturday.  “Oh, hi Namjoon.” You said with a weak voice.  “I didn’t know you took this class.” He started taking out a notepad from his bag.  You smiled at him.  “I don’t... I wanted to see if it helped me with my finals essay.” He nodded.  “Already starting a year ahead, I see... Smart.” He stated.  You chuckled, and his eyes shifted towards the front of the class.  “Why is Jungkook staring at you?” He asked and you furrowed your brows.  “Who?” You asked.  “Jungkook, the new kid... Well, not exactly new, he moved in two months ago to the frat house, we just keep saying he’s new because he barely leaves his room or talks to any of us.” He said.  You looked to the direction of the Jungkook boy who was looking at you and when your eyes met; he lingered for a while before averting them and looking at the front of the class.  He was handsome, you couldn’t deny it, but his eyes were dark, filled with something you couldn’t pinpoint.  You continued observing him, his wide back, the way his white shirt sleeves hugged his muscular arms.  “Is he the one with the metal door?” You asked without taking your eyes from the boy.  “Yeah, he’s like super neurotic or something, he developed an app when he was a teenager that kind of got sold to the government and now he’s filthy rich.”  You looked at Namjoon and nodded in understanding.  “He must be very smart.” You said still curious about the boy, he looked back at you one last time noticing you staring at him and you saw him tense.  “He’s a genius, but I’m the frat leader so, I overpower his intelligence.” He laughed while you continued to look at the boy.  “Hey, by the way, Malia is coming over after class to help us make cupcakes for the fair, would you like to come?”  Namjoon was a sweet guy, he and Malia would always make out when you went to parties at his frat and you always thought he had a hard crush on her.  “I don’t know Joon, Yoongi is going to be there, right?” You made a face and sighed.  “Yoongi is out for the week, something about a cousin getting married or something.” He said, and you both got interrupted by the teacher starting the lecture.  You thought about the idea of going back to the frat house after what had happened last time. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to do something different, maybe having friends like Namjoon would be nice. And you sure were curious about Jungkook. You leaned in next to him and whispered.  “You know what, sure, I’d love to go.” And he smiled at you, content. You looked at the boy with the white shirt in front of the class, your curiosity again taking the best of you.  After class ended you saw yourself in front of the frat house, the door was wide open like always and some other frat boys were there, some on the couch playing video games while others were making the sign for their booth and other crafts for the fair. You walked towards the kitchen and saw Namjoon, Malia, a boy you knew as Jimin, and Hoseok. They were mixing batter and frosting, purple frosting. You walked in on them laughing about something Jimin had done during the weekend.   “Hey, you made it!” Namjoon said when he saw you.  “Oh god, it’s going to rain today, Y/N isn’t home planning her entire life!” Malia teased you and you gave her the tongue.  You said hi to everyone, and they resumed the conversation.  “Come one, though, Joon, you can’t blame me for wanting to put the die in his shampoo, just like you guys did to me when I first joined,” Jimin said. “I just wanted to see a reaction out of him, it’s like he’s a robot.” “Yeah, wait until one of his security guards comes into your bedroom at night, you’ll see how much of a robot he is.” You were oblivious as to what they were talking about but showed interest.  “Who did you prank?” You asked and Malia rolled her eyes.  “Oh no, he’s going to tell the entire story again.” Namjoon interrupted.  “Jungkook, but the boy has some spider sense or something because he took a shower and his hair came out just like it did before, so we’re assuming he found out.” He said while he spilled batter into the cupcake pan.  “Why don’t we just ask him?” Hoseok pitched in. “Yo, Jungkook, come here!” He yelled out, and you were quite eager to see the boy from earlier.  Soon enough, there he was coming down the stairs. He wore the same white shirt from earlier and gray sweats, his hands inside the pockets. He looked serious and when he saw you and Malia in the kitchen, he froze on the last two steps. His eyes shot straight to you and you blinked a couple of times before looking away, your cheeks burning a little while Malia gave you two a curious look.  “Come here, why are you standing there?” Hoseok asked, and it seemed like that made the boy come back to reality.  “Jungkook, why isn’t your hair died?” Namjoon asked while he approached the middle counter of the frat kitchen. He bit his lower lip, not answering the question.  Hoseok sighed, and Jimin rolled his eyes.  “He’s doing it again.”  Namjoon seemed to understand the awkwardness of the situation and decided to change the subject.  “Jungkook, this is Malia and y/n.”  You extended your hand towards him and he just looked at it, it almost seemed like he was afraid to touch it, but the darkness in his eyes never left him as he looked up at you. You bit your lower lip, embarrassed as you were going to retract your hands, but the boy soon took it, shaking it firmly. His hand was warm and soft and his fingers were long.  “Nice to meet you.” You said with a half smile.  His expression never changed, and he soon let go of your hand.  Malia just smiled at him and resumed her focus on the purple frosting.  “Jungkook isn’t a man of many words,” Hoseok said and the boy clenched his jaw.  You looked at him again, his eyes meeting yours for a while.  God, he was handsome. Hot. Everything. The shape of his jaw and the form of his lips, the way his hair fell messy in front of his forehead.  “It’s ok to not like to speak, sometimes words are too distracting.” You said and played with your fingers, trying to avoid the intense gaze he held.  Namjoon seemed to notice the way the boy looked at you, so he decided to give you two a task together.  “Hey, Kook, why don’t you take y/n to the back garden and try to organize the ribbons for the fair, you know it’s mandatory, so, chop chop.” He seemed tense, looking from Namjoon to you, something about the serious way he looked at you as if he was almost annoyed made you feel small. He nodded once and turned his back; you followed. You walked right behind him as he stopped in front of the glass door, sliding it open and trying to get away from you as fast as possible.  It was silent between the two of you while he separated the ribbons in a section of color. You couldn’t help but stare at his arms and fingers while he did so, he was so delicate when handling them and you two were so close you could almost feel the heat from his body. “Uhm... So... Are you excited for the fair?” You tried to do small talk. You honestly needed a distraction from all the noise in your head. The feeling from yesterday still lingered on you and you needed to take your head off it. The boy didn’t answer, neither did he look at you. “I’m sorry, I... I just wanted to talk, bad day.” You admitted focusing on the ribbons in front of you. Cursing yourself mentally for even thinking he would be interested in that information. “Why?” His voice was low, almost a whisper. You whipped your head towards Jungkook, not expecting his question, he continued looking towards the ribbons, you could now pay attention to the shape his profile made. He was something else.  You shrugged, not knowing how to tell him you were having a bad day because you couldn’t take a stranger off your head for giving you the most pleasure you felt in your life. So instead... You lied.  “I guess... Boy trouble?” You started, and he nodded. “I met someone... It’s messing with my head.” You swallowed, already feeling the lump in your throat. You barely noticed when his head tilted slightly to the side, his brows meeting slightly in the middle. “What did he do?” His voice was a little louder, raspy. A shiver ran down your spine and you shook it off, you were way too sensitive lately.  “I... Well... He asked me to do something, and I did... A-and even though I was the one that came out with the most... Uhm... Satisfaction... it still feels like I did something wrong.” You said in a weak voice.  He looked at your from the corner of his eyes, measuring you up and down then looking at your hands where you played with the ribbon instead of asserting them.  “Was it something good?” He asked without taking his eyes off you and in that moment you felt like you recognized him from somewhere. His dark eyes, his lips in a straight line, his tense body, and his low, raspy voice.  “It was a-amazing... It was... Unforgettable.” You bit your lower lip, nervous. You looked at him noticing the way his pupils slightly dilated, his Adam’s apple moving. “S-sorry... Have we met before?” You asked, and that made him blink and look back at the ribbons shaking his head.  “No.” He said. Cold and with no emotion.  You nodded and resumed your task.  It went silent from there, and you didn’t know how else to continue the conversation. You could feel the tension in the air, either it was from the way the very, very attractive genius was standing right next to you, and the way his veins were so visible in his arms. You almost wished he touched you. You felt your face turn red from the inappropriate thoughts. Jesus, this was a frat boy from your ex’s frat, how much more of a whore were you going to be?  Soon, Malia came to your rescue telling you to come to try out some frostings. You nodded avoiding his eyes. You stopped at the door for a second and turned around, your eyes locked with his and there it was... The same look from earlier. A look so dark and so full of something you couldn’t pinpoint. You almost choked at how intense it was but forced a soft smile. “Well, it was nice meeting you, guess I’ll see you around... J-Jungkook.” And there you saw his entire body change. He tensed up with the sound of his name, his eyes shutting for a brief moment and he stopped his hands, taking a deep breath. You almost whimpered, somehow his reaction made you even more curious about him. But at the same time... What about your stranger? You swallowed and shook your head before turning on your feet and heading back to the kitchen.  You remembered Namjoon had told you he developed an app, and maybe that was where you knew him from, probably an article or something like that. Or maybe you just saw him around campus. You tried to get the silent boy from your thoughts; you were curious about him and how mysterious he was, but you were also struggling with the things you had done the day prior.  It wasn’t until around night time when you were finally distracted with the starting of your essay that you heard your phone ring. You looked at the screen, reading “Unknown caller” and answered.  “Hello?”  The line was silent for a while.  “Hello, sweetheart.” And you closed your eyes, a shiver running down your spine. His low, raspy voice, serious and stern made you weak, and you didn’t know why. Well, you had an idea.  You clutched the phone against your ear and bit your lower lip.  “Hello, Sir.” You answered, your voice came out weak and choked out.  “Did you have fun yesterday?” He asked, his voice so lustful it sounded like a sin. You didn’t know how to answer, you stayed silent. “I want to see you again.” He then stated. A sense of urgency in his voice, you could hear his ragged breath. You tried to picture him, his hands clutching hard on the edge of a chair, table, anything as he tried to keep in his desperate voice. “Why?” You asked, and this time he was the one that was silent. You couldn’t lie to yourself, you wanted to ‘see’ him again too. Your body was already aching for him, for the way he had made you feel. “I... I want you to touch me again.” You admitted. He sighed on the line, cursing a low “fuck”. “You drive me crazy.” He let out, and you felt it shoot straight to your core. The idea of you... Driving such a man... Powerful man, crazy.  “I’ll arrange for us to meet again next week.” He then resumed his serious almost professional voice. “Wait for the text.”  “Yes, Sir.” You almost whined on the phone.  “Good girl, go to bed.” The praise made you whine and then he hung up. Leaving you submissive and messy for a complete stranger.  You couldn’t believe you were going to do this again, but at the same time, you were looking forward to it. To your surprise, you shut your laptop and did exactly what he had told you to do. And you closed your eyes, dreaming of the voice you so ever wanted to hear again. 

Friday came and you couldn’t help but feel like you were in a good mood. You had finished your classes and even written a little more of your essay. Then, you were in Malia’s door watching her yet again go through her clothes for another night of partying. You felt like you could use a little alcohol and you most certainly wanted to get your mind off things. So once again, Malia gave you a large smile as she helped you chose an outfit. 

You weren’t complaining. The way the dress hugged your curves felt nice and boosted your confidence. You decided to take a quick shower and used your vanilla-scented body wash, it was almost as if you wanted to keep remembering what had happened. Almost as if you were preparing for it.  As you swayed to the music in the Uber, Malia made a face.  “Seriously, what’s happening to you?” She asked, and you looked are her confused.  “What do you mean?”  “First you come to a party with me last week, then you’re at the frat house eye fucking the app boy, now you’re going again to a party with me, I’m pretty sure something’s up.” She finished.  You avoided her eyes, knowing that if you tried lying to her face, she’d notice.  “I just... I just want to have some fun.” You weren’t lying, you did want to have fun. And now that she mentioned the cute boy, your thoughts went to him. “Also, Jungkook is an introvert, I don’t think he likes to party.” You said simply.  “Oh, you two are perfect for each other.” She laughed.  You hit her arm and soon you both were arriving.  The party was a bit more intimate. Not that it wasn’t full, it was, but only people you knew. The music was loud and most of the boys were in the living room, on the couch, some seated on the floor. As you and Malia walked in, Namjoon, Hoseok, and Jimin greeted you. You smiled at the boys and soon you two were seated with them, drink in hand while you all talked about random things. As you looked around the room, observing the other people your eyes fell on the dark eyes looking at you from across the room. He was leaned against the wall, gray long-sleeved shirt that hugged his arms so nicely, his hair messy as he fumbled around with a drink in his hand. You gave him a short smile, but he just looked beside him, leaning off the wall and walking away.  You couldn’t help but feel bad. It really felt like he didn’t like you. Maybe you were annoying. Maybe he knew you because of Yoongi and knew you were sort of a control freak. You shook your head. You were brought out of your thoughts when the music was boosted and everyone got up to dance in the low lit room, you hesitated, but Malia pulled you by the hand and soon you were moving your body, gulping down your drink in one go because tonight, you just wanted to lose a little of that so-called control. You moved gently at first, laughing while you saw your friend try to be sexy with Namjoon. He, of course, was already under her spell. You closed your eyes and started swaying your hips gently to the music; you felt good, lighter, calmer for once, lost in the moment and when you felt two hands land on your hips, you gently looked back to see a not so familiar face.  You felt like pulling away from him, but he started swaying his hips with yours and you just felt like maybe having a dance partner would be nice.  You looked back front again, closing your eyes and allowing yourself to dance. The boy leaned in your ear.  “I’m Taehyung.” He introduced himself.  His voice was so low and so sensual you felt your whole body shiver. You had a thing for voices now.  “Y/N.” You replied.  You felt him smile against your skin and you continued dancing with him. His body glued to yours as you both slowly and gently ground to the music. It was at the second song that you felt Taehyung shift and his body was further away. You stayed with your eyes closed, ready to complain when his body came back, this time just allowing you to move on your own.  You opened your eyes, grabbing the drink from Malia’s hand and she looked back ready to complain when her eyes met the boy behind you, her eyebrows raised and she elbowed Namjoon, who looked rather surprised. You ignored the looks on their faces and continued slowly swaying your hips on the boys’ lap. He still wasn’t moving. Maybe he was just enjoying the way you moved. Soon, you started wanting him to move along and when you turned your body to say something; you froze. The dark eyes that looked back at you carried a lot. It was a mixture of irritation, frustration, and way at the back you saw it... Desire. You couldn’t speak. Now Malia and Namjoon’s surprised look made sense. You drank the rest of Malia’s drink and took a deep breath, throwing the cup and swinging your arms around the boy’s neck. He tensed up, but you were drunk enough to feel courage. You moved again, ignoring the way his body was hard as a rock in front of you. You whined low, leaning in his ear.  “Jungkook... Dance with me.” You asked, and all he did was rais a hand and rest it on your waist. You felt electricity go through your body, you didn’t know why, but you wanted to make him show something. Say something. You continued moving, inching your body closer and closer to him, and soon, your breasts were touching his chest and you saw his jaw clench. You smirked. Yes, this is what you wanted, you wanted him to react. You started grinding your body into his, feeling how hot it was. His fingers gently squeezed and you let out a whimper. You were so sensitive these days and you didn’t know why. As you found yourself getting drunker and drunker you started grinding more sensually on him, your nipples feeling hard under the thin fabric of Malia’s dress. You rested your forehead on his chest, holding tighter around his neck. You felt his leg shift, moving in between your thighs and you started grinding over it, digging your nails into the back of his neck, that was enough incentive for him, and he brought his clothed thigh up to meet your core. You threw your head back, biting your lower lip as you started gently and slowly grinding on his tight, the fabric of your underwear giving you friction and soon you felt the familiar wetness between your legs, your closed your eyes again and rested your head on his shoulders, you felt him inhale and he let out the air in a shaky breath.  You moaned, and he froze. You opened your eyes. He was looking at you, mouth slightly open, chest rising and falling harder than before. You bit your lower lip... You wanted more. You knew he wanted more too. But as soon as you leaned in to kiss him he let go of you taking a few steps back. You felt your whole body hot, the ache in your core so prominent now. Fuck, you were so turned on. He looked at your figure, shook his head, and soon he was off. You watched as he walked towards the stairs, taking two steps at a time, almost as if he was in a rush. You put a hand on your face, trying to control your breath as you walked out of the living room, making your way to the bathroom, you needed to wash your face. You made a face when you saw there were at least two people waiting, so you decided to wait in line. What had just happened? You were dancing with the Taehyung boy, but then it wasn’t him, it was Jungkook. He let you dance with him... Well, on him. Then... You started to ride his tight and he... Let you. You shook your head again. What was happening to you? You were never this shameless before. Still, you felt so turned on you urgently needed to calm yourself down. Ten minutes went by and as you looked down at the floor, arms crossed with your purse in hand you were poked and looked up.  It was the Taehyung boy.  “Guess we got interrupted.” He said with a smirk on his face. You were turned on and honestly, Taehyung was hot as fuck and clearly interested so you smiled at him. “Would you like to continue from where we stopped?” You bit your lower lip, already feeling the hotness between your legs again. You were about to answer when your phone vibrated.  Text From Unknown Number  You felt your heart race, ignoring the boy in front of you completely. Unlocking your phone, you opened the text message.  “I want to see you, now.” You felt your body tremble. You were already so turned on, just the idea of the stranger giving you so much pleasure like last time made you start typing.  “I’m not home.” You waited for a reply. But realized it seemed like you were turning him down. You shared your location with him. “Can he pick me up here?” You asked, and a few seconds later you saw his reply. “Ten minutes, don’t be late. Room 55. Don’t bother washing up.” You smiled at the text. Locking your phone and putting it in your purse, you only then noticed that Taehyung was still in front of you.  “Oh, I’m sorry, I... Something came up.” You said and smiled softly to him, going to Malia and telling her you were going home. She nodded, didn’t even bother asking questions. And soon enough, you were in front of the frat house, waiting on the black SUV that not too long after was stopping in front of you.  You got in the car this time with no hesitation whatsoever, and you were already anticipating what was going to happen.  All the way there you felt the uncomfortable heat between your legs grow, Jungkook had already gotten you worked, for a brief second you wondered if the Stranger would notice. Soon, you were stopping in front of the hotel, not even bothering to wait for the busboy, and made your way to the reception, giving your name and grabbing the key.  You made your way up to the room, and much different from before, the room wasn’t lit up with candles. You already felt the raw intentions of the stranger. You stripped from your clothes and looked around. There was no blindfold. You felt your heart race; you didn’t want to irritate him, so you sat on the edge of the bed and closed your eyes, waiting. Soon, you heard the door and all of your senses once again were on edge.  You didn’t wait to hear his footsteps, instead; you spoke up.  “I- I didn’t find the blindfold, but my eyes are c-closed” You heard him approach you slowly, anticipation running through your veins. Then you felt the piece of fabric cover your eyes as he tied it firmly behind your head.  “Such an obedient girl.” His voice was overflowing with lust, so much more than last time. Just as you expected. His voice was low and raspy, but firm and confident. It made all the hairs on your body stand. “Up.” He said, and you stood.  “So beautiful.” He whispered, and you felt like you could barely hold yourself up.  You heard him move, the sound of fabric falling to the floor, and you knew he was undressing. He walked away from you, coming back and turning you around gently, with a hand placed on your waist. You felt him tying your hands behind your back and every little touch he gave you made your body jolt. Jesus, you were so turned on you could barely think.  He sat down on the bed and moved you in front of him. This was different from last time. He pulled you with him and you both crawled to the back of the bed, his back resting on the headrest. “Come here.” He said gently, and you moved, him guiding you to sit on top of his thigh. It was a happy coincidence. It was maybe too much of a happy coincidence. When you sat down on his thigh, you felt yourself clench around nothing. The sensation of your bare core on his bare thigh was overwhelming.  “Ride me, sweetheart.” He asked, moving your hips with his hand.  “Y-yes, sir.” You obliged, rocking your hips slowly and already feeling the friction.  “Fuck, you’re already soaking wet, sweetheart.” He noticed while you whimpered low against him. “Have you been a dirty girl?” His dirty talk was gentle, but it was enough to make you go crazy, just the sound of his voice was enough to make you go crazy.  “I... I danced with a boy, Sir.” You admitted, feeling your cheeks flushed as you moaned feeling how good your clit rubbed against his skin.  “A boy? Was he the one that got you wet like this?” He asked with a dark tone to his voice, almost dangerous. You nodded, you couldn’t lie. Jungkook had gotten you soaking with just a little of friction.  “What’s his name, sweetheart?” He asked, and you felt yourself rocking your hips faster and harder against him.  “J-Jung...” You moaned, feeling yourself approach you first high of the night. “Oh god...” You whined out.  “Huh? I didn’t get that, baby, say it again.” It was like he was teasing you, his hands gripping harder on your hips, and clenching his muscle to apply more pressure.  “Jungkook! Oh fuck... His name is Jungkook.” You moaned as you felt yourself closer and closer.  One of his hands wrapped around your neck, chocking you slightly, and that only made you feel more pleasure.  “Cum on my thigh like the dirty slut you are for me.” He said lower and your body obeyed. It hit you fast, maybe because you were already so worked up, you closed your legs around his thigh and he held onto you. You came on his bare thigh, your arousal smudging all over him. You moaned loud as you came and he helped you ride it out, you rested your head on his shoulder and tried to control your breathing.  You felt his hands caress your back, going up and down, and it gave you shivers. You shifted your head so your forehead was against his. You could smell his breath.  “You were drinking alcohol...” You said, clearly smelling it on his breath.  “I could say the same to you, sweetheart.” And you remembered you were still a little drunk from the party.  “Sir?” You asked, and he just hummed. Keeping you still on top of him. He was strong. “I.. I want to kiss you.” You said so low, in almost a whisper.  He stopped, his hand on your back. You didn’t know if you offended him; you felt your cheeks burning from embarrassment. You were too bold today.  “I’m sorry.” Was all he answered and then he guided you off his lap, untying your hands and laying you down next to him.  You heard him get up and start putting his clothes on.  “W-wait…” You pleaded, and you heard him stop. “Don’t leave... Please?” For a second you thought he would come back to bed and lay down with you, but you heard him finish buckling his belt and rush out the door.  You took off the blindfold. Sighing and getting up, putting on the tight dress and just sitting back down on the bed. You rubbed your face, feeling a tight feeling in your chest.  Soon, you heard your phone vibrate, and you walked over to it, opening the text without reading.  “Next Friday, 19h, Room 55.”  You scoffed. He had just left and yet he was already scheduling your next... What was it... Session? You grabbed your heels and made your way out, already irritated.  You got in bed that night looking at your phone and hoping he would call. You just wanted to hear his voice again. You were becoming so very addicted to it. But when sleep came and your phone didn’t ring, you felt disappointed. 

You once again tried to distract yourself, only this time you told yourself you’d be more in control. You went back to your routine, focusing on your papers and essay, going about your life without thinking about the things that happened on Friday. On Thursday you went back to the class you were taking and once again, Namjoon sat beside you. 

“So...” He started off. “You went home pretty early on Friday.” He pointed out, and even though you were trying to forget what had happened, life seemed to have other plans for you.  “Yeah... Something came up.” You lied.   “Taehyung didn’t stop asking about you after you left, he seemed pretty hooked.”  You furrowed your brows, remembering the boy who had danced with you briefly before Jungkook had taken his place.  “Oh, yeah, he seemed nice, and I just left him hanging.” You said faintly, now roaming your eyes around the room for the familiar quiet boy. It was Namjoon that nudged your side and made you notice him standing right next to you. You looked up at the dark eyes looking straight back at you, almost feeling embarrassed for have being caught looking for him.  “Hello, J-Jungkook.” You said feeling flustered. The memory of you two dancing together almost smashing into you. What if he was there to yell at you for the way you acted... Worse, what if he wanted to sue you? He was silent as usual, but soon he took a deep breath and spoke.  “I wanted to apologize for Friday.”. His voice was insecure but direct.  You felt your cheeks heat up, looking down to the boys’ feet.  “It’s ok... I-I should be the one apologizing.” You admitted.  “Have coffee with me, after class.”  You looked up at him again, feeling your mouth dry. It wasn’t a request. But then again, you didn’t feel like saying no in the first place.  “O-ok.” He nodded in Namjoon’s direction, then walked to his usual place.  You watched him the entire time. Wondering why you were so eager to see him again.  “I guess you have two of the boys hooked on you,” Namjoon said with humor in his voice.  You waited at the end of class, with your bag clutched in your arms. You were nervous. You didn’t know why Jungkook wanted to have coffee with you, maybe he wanted to explain why he walked away. Or why he took Taehyung’s place. You were questioning everything again, already worried with so much. But as soon as he came out of the class and stopped next to you, he was the center of your attention.  You walked with him to the coffee shop in ultimate silence. His presence was so intimidating, and yet you felt drawn to it. As soon as you both sat down in the booth, he stared deep into your eyes. You couldn’t hold his gaze for long. Avoiding it briefly before the waitress came and served you two hot coffee.  “Why are you taking that class?” He asked. His voice was so comforting it made you relax again.  “I started my final essay, and I wanted to take that class. I only have to take it next year, but I thought it would be good to prepare for it, even though I don’t understand a thing.”  “That’s smart.” He said, and you hummed. Nodding your head.  “Why are you going to school here?” You asked, and that made him lift his eyebrows. “I mean... Namjoon told me you’re a genius, sold an app to the government and you’re rich and shit... Why go to school here, why not Harvard or something?” You looked down at your coffee, taking a sip.  “Genius... I’m no genius.” He said with a frustrated tone to his words. “I already graduated in computer science in Standford when I was 18, I’m taking on something new, wanted to have the college experience.” He said drinking his coffee. Your mouth almost dropped.  He graduated Stanford when he was 18? He really was a genius.  “I... Wow.” You said, and you saw him feel slightly uncomfortable. “I don’t think I’d have the courage to go back to college for a second major... It’s so out of my plans.” You admitted.  “And what are your plans?” He asked. And there it was again, that feeling that you knew him from somewhere. That you two had met before. You brushed it off, trying to maintain the conversation. This was a lot more than you had last time.  “Finish college, work in my area... I wanted to get married when I was 28, but... That seems very far away.” You smiled, feeling silly. “It’s stupid.”  “It’s not stupid.” He said. You looked up at him. His eyes were a lot softer than the usual.  “Yoongi... You two are from the same frat... He was my boyfriend. I made those plans with him, but as you can tell, we’re not together anymore.” You didn’t know why you were telling him, you assumed he knew you were Yoongi’s ex, but still maybe you were being inconvenient.  “He’s not good for you,” Jungkook said with seriousness to his voice.  Silence installed between the two of you again, and this time it was your fault. Talking about Yoongi while you were seated across from a boy that had so much effect on you while thinking about a stranger that had so much power over your body was just the rock bottom of your sexual confusion.  “I can help you with the class.” He offered, and it took you out of your thoughts, making you look up at him with a surprised look.  “How?”  “We can meet here every Thursday after class, I’ll help you, share my notes so you can be more prepared for next year.” That brought a smile to your lips. A genuine and sincere one. You felt happy that someone understood you at least a little and was willing to help.  “Yeah... That’d be nice.” You couldn’t contain the smile on your face.  After you talked about your mother and how she had made plans for you ever since you were a kid, eventually, you both finished your coffee, Jungkook had already paid before you even had the chance to get your money and you were both standing outside the coffee place, awkwardly standing next to each other.  “So, that was nice.” You said with a soft smile on your lips.  “Yeah, it was.” He agreed and for the first time you saw him smile. It was brief, but it was enough to make your heart flutter.  You waved goodbye to him and turned your back, walking towards your apartment.  It was the first time in so long that you felt normal. Just... A normal girl getting coffee with a cute guy. A cute guy that was very, very smart and rich, but still, you felt good.  You got home, and the smile was still plastered on your face and of course, Malia didn’t let that go by unnoticed.  “Who is it?” She asked as soon as you put your bag down on the living room floor.  “What are you talking about?” You shook your head at her.  “Oh, come on! Last time you got home smiling like that, Yoongi had first lent you his pencil.”  You rolled your eyes.  “I just grabbed coffee with Jungkook, that’s all.” You walked towards your room, taking your jacket off.  “Jungkook, Jeon Jungkook, the quiet boy?” She asked, and you nodded. “What about Yoongi?” You shrugged.  “What about him?” “Well, weren’t you the one that wanted to get married to him and all that crap you believe in?” You felt uncomfortable.  “Malia, it’s not crap stuff, it’s just how I like to live.” You tried defending yourself.  “Yeah, yeah, whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “So, is Jungkook your next target?” And you looked at her, feeling offended.  “I don’t have any ‘targets’ Jungkook is a nice guy, he’s going to help me get familiar with class for next year.” “Sound more like get familiar with his dick.” She wiggled her eyebrows.  You threw a pillow at her, and she laughed, walking towards the kitchen.  Later at night, you had completely forgotten about your appointment for the next day. And when your phone rang, you answered it without even checking the caller.  “Hello?” You answered with a calm voice.  “Still up, sweetheart?” At first, you felt the familiar shiver run down your spine, but then you felt slightly irritated.  “As you can tell... Sir.” You answered boldly.  “Oh, getting brave I see.” He said with amusement in his voice.  “Well, maybe I’m tired of being left in the dark.” You played with words.  He was silent.  “Are you looking forward to tomorrow?” He asked, trying to avoid your last comment.  “Depends...” You said, and he waited for you to go on. “Are you not going to fuck me?” You asked, a smirk on your lips, you heard him hiss with the bold choice of words.  “Am I not pleasing you enough, sweetheart?” You could tell he liked this teasing game.  “Oh no, Sir, don’t get me wrong...“ You rolled over on your bed. “I just really wanted a chance to clench and cum around your hard cock.” You were surprised at yourself for the way you were speaking.  “Fuck... “ He said nice and loud this time. “You’re getting dirty, sweetheart”.  “Maybe I was always dirty, Sir.” You teased.  “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He said with what you could understand was a smirk on his lips.  “Wish I could say the same.” You laughed. “Goodnight”.   You hung up the phone, getting ready for bed. A few moments later your phone vibrated, and you smiled, already shaking your head.  Unknown Number. See you tomorrow, sweetheart. 

[cynicalwonders]

Semblance

Today is my birthday! And since it’s my b-day, I’ve decided to post the first chapter of a thriller-fic I’ve been working for the month of spooks and chills. For those of you who may remember, a few years back I did a poll of which fics I should work on in order. One of those prompts was given the working title of ‘Blackwoods’, this is it but with a new name and some changes done to it. I know I’m supposed to work on my other fics (GWE, Glass Slipper, etc) but this one got my creative juices flowing and will probably help me get back into writing. So without further ado, please enjoy:

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Summary:  The classes of Dupont takes a winter field trip to a cozy ski-resort in the French Alps. Many use the cold climate to have free-range for fun in the snow or get closer together with their crushes in time for the holidays. However, a snowstorm has trapped the resort guest in their hotel and panic starts settling in. Is this a case of cabin fever or is there something sinister lurking in the mountains.

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“I cannot wait for this trip!” Marinette skipped around her room, pulling out several articles of clothing from her various drawers and trunks. “Two weeks at a ski-resort! Right before the winter holidays!”

Tikki giggled as her holder zipped back and forth around her room. Thanks to the ‘generosity' of Chloe Bourgeois – correction: begging and whining to her father – she had gotten the school to agree to host a pre-winter break field trip to one the best ski resorts in the country. How was that possible? Well, it may be because the owner of the resort, one Rodolphe Boivin, was Chloe’s uncle and would ‘adore having his favorite niece and her class over at his resort.’

Chloe’s words, not her.

Whatever the reason, the entire school was treated to an all-expense-paid stay to the Chateau Boivin. Of course, the catch would be that the students provide good reviews for the resort and promise not to break anything, signed contracts and all. Everyone was abuzz with excitement, many thanking the blonde who soaked up the praise with unconcealed glee. Students started making plans on what they wanted to do at the resort when they arrived. From skiing to snowboarding, 24-hours spas, 5-star dining, horse-drawn sleighs, and even a wine festival, Chateau Boivin goes all out every winter.

"When we arrive, I'm going to unpack all my stuff then grab an early lunch," Marinette recited out loud. "Then I'm going to talk to the activities director to book a ski lesson for the next day. Explore the place and figure out everything is located, maybe take a dip in the Jacuzzi and end the day with a nice dinner.”

“Promise to bring me back something sweet,” Tikki chirped.

“Of course,” smiled Marinette. “From what I read, this place hires some excellent pâtissiers for their dessert menu and café.”

“Better than your parents?” joked Tikki.

“Hmmm, maybe a close second.” Marinette joked, still rummaging through her things.

“You sure you’re not packing too many things?” asked the kwami.

“Just the essentials. Plus dad will take this down in the morning. Hopefully, he won't start crying again."

“My poor baby is leaving us!” Tikki mimicked her dad’s earlier reaction to the trip. “I knew this day would come but it’s too soon!”

“Dad, it’s just two weeks,” Marinette narrated her part. “Please don’t cry. I promise to call every day.”

Both giggled as she continued packing up her stuff. Clothing, shoes, toiletries, first aid kit, and some emergency cash just in case. She even packed up her sketchbook if she got inspired, as well as some tiny jackets she knitted for Tikki. Even if Tikki wasn't that affected by the cold, the little kwami looked adorable in a wool sweater.

“Alright! I think that’s everything!” exclaimed Marinette, finally closing the suitcase.

“Can you lift it?”

Marinette hoisted the bag over her shoulder with ease. “Over a year of swinging atop rooftops and fighting super-powered villains builds up muscle strength.”

“The fact that you can throw Chat Noir at an akuma should have let you know.”

“I thought that was another superpower while as Ladybug,” replied Marinette.

“Nope, that all Marinette-power,” cheered Tikki.

Marinette shook her head and smiled. Her little kwami watched as her holder cheerfully babbles about her plans for the resort. Seeing her smile so widely made the kwami really how long it has been since her wielder felt so content. For a while, a fog of sadness seemed to have washed over the poor girl. Everything she did or said felt halfhearted. Schoolwork, homework, designing, all done with half the effort and half the enthusiasm. And Tikki knew what – or rather, who – was the cause of all these…

On cue, the designer’s phone chimed with a text message. Glancing down, Marinette smiled faded. Sighing, she responded to the text before tossing it on her chaise. Tikki read over the message and her smile, too, faded.

Alya: Hey girl! All packed up for the trip? Can’t wait until we get there! Lila promised to give us some snowboarding lessons while we're there. Her cousin won gold in the Olympics for snowboarding! I'm so excited!

Marinette: okay.

“Marinette…” Tikki gave her a sad look.

“It’s fine,” she cut her off. “I’ll just politely refuse, say I already booked a lesson. If Alya lectures me again, then so be it. I’m used to it by now.”

Tensions between Marinette and her classmate were still present after the whole expulsion-debacle. Even with her classmates ‘apologizing' to her, though she doubts they were truly apologetic, they still felt that she was being unfair to Lila because of her illness. And suddenly her love and care for her classmates started to dissipate.

Even Adrien – sweet, perfect Adrien – didn’t seem all that sweet or perfect. While he assured her that he was on her side, his action seemed to express another thing. While he didn’t want to out the liar, he didn’t try to protect their classmates either. Marinette could see the hope and excitement in her classmates’ eyes. So hopeful to believe in Lila. Believing she had the power to deliver their dreams to them on a silver platter. Sacrificing their energy, time and money to pamper her so she, in turn, would reward them for their generosity.

Never did Marinette feel a stronger urge to vomit when she realized that.

What did Adrien expect to happen when the truth about Lila's lies came out? Did he think that everything would go back to normal? That Lila would learn her lesson and become a good person? Maybe that was the naïve optimism that Adrien possessed. And while Marinette would love for that to happen, it didn't fix everything. Not the months she spent isolated from the others. The cruel words they spat at her. The glares and stares. Disappointed sighs. Like she was the cruel one. The unreasonable one.

Suddenly she was busy with online commissions or her parents needed an extra set of hands at the bakery or she had to babysit Manon. Any excuse just to avoid them all. Marinette, the girl filled with love and compassion and sweetness, felt bitterness, anger, and disgust festering inside her. She didn’t want to feel this way, especially towards her classmates, people whom she has known and loved for years. But…

‘You’d think they would at least consider what I said,’ Marinette thought. ‘With how long I’ve known them and what I did to help them…you would think…’

Marinette shook her head and took several deep breaths. Master Fu's breathing exercises would calm her down and wash out any negative thoughts. And give the following few weeks since Lila's return, Marinette has made it a routine to do them before, during and after school. The last thing she needs is another near akumazation and lose Tikki thanks to that little liar.

“Don’t worry Marinette,” her kwami consoled. “You can use this trip to reconnect with your friends.”

“Unless they invite Lila…” Marinette could not remember a single outing she had Alya had without the blogger trying to add Lila. Not that she had trouble doing so, Lila just loved to force herself between Mari and her friends.

“Maybe you and Alya can do a girl’s night,” suggested Tikki. “Just the two of you.”

“Maybe…” Marinette said, but her voice held some hesitation in the idea.

“Marinette!” Sabine’s echoed from below. “Did you finish packing?”

“Yes, maman,” answered Marinette, opening the hatched door. “All packed up and ready to go.”

“Well don’t tell your father that,” her mother gave a small chuckle. “Dinner’s almost ready.”

“Okay, I’ll get change and come down,” Marinette replied.

Marinette quickly changed into her pajamas so she could jump into bed after dinner. These pajamas were thicker, made from wool as the snow started covering the glittering city. The Dupain-Cheng shared a dinner of Boeuf Bourguignon, potato gratin and hot chocolate for dessert. Pleasantries were passed around along with reminders from parents to take care of herself and to bundle up when leaving the resort.

After dinner wrapped up, Marinette dashed back into her room, doing last-minute checks on her stuff. Just as she finished, her phone rang. Apprehensive, she picked up her phone and sighed in relief. Tapping on the video chat button, her screen opened up to reveal a familiar elder fiddling with his own cell.

 “Ah! Marinette good to see you...hold on...” she giggled as Fu’s screen kept moving around the room before finally settling on his face. “There, better! Thank you Wayzz.”

“Yes, thank you, Wayzz,” giggled Marinette.

“Are all packed up and ready to go?” asked Master Fu.

“Yes…” whined Marinette. “You’re like my parents.”

“They mean you well,” the Chinese man smiled. “This trip will be good for you.”

“Will you be alright by yourself?” she asked.

“Marinette, I am over a hundred years old. I can handle a little frozen weather. You should have seen the blizzards and snowstorms they had near the temple when I was your age!"

“But what about Hawkmoth? What if he…”

“Do not worry about him,” Master Fu waved off her concern. “Around this season, he’s more subdued due to Nooro’s sensitivity to the cold.”

“Speaking of ‘sensitivity to the cold,’” Marinette turned to Tikki, who was snuggled up in one of her pigtails.

“Insect like ladybugs and butterfly usual hibernate during the colder months,” explained Master Fu. “Even if Tikki and Nooro aren't actual insects, they do share similarities in their nature and habits."

“Good thing I made some tiny jackets and mittens for Tikki here,” Marinette teased, patting her kwami on the head.

“She should be fine. We did a regular healing session, so she won’t fall ill while on the trip,” replied Master Fu. “So I suggest you take full advantage of your time to have fun while up in the mountains. Just be warned that snowstorms are sudden, so stick close to shelter.”

"Are you sure it is alright for me to leave for this trip?” asked Marinette. “I can cancel…”

“No, no, no,” Master Fu wagged his finger at her. “This trip is for you to enjoy yourself. No Miraculous usage. No akuma attacks. Take this time to relax and replenish your energy.”

Despite Fu’s insistence, Marinette still felt a bit nervous about leaving Paris unprotective for such a length of time. With both her and Chat Noir – he was also going out of town! What are the odds?! – out of the city, Hawkmoth might take this as an opportunity to wreak havoc upon Parisian citizens.

Fu smiled and assure her that Hawkmoth would be too busy to do any sort of attack. How could he be so confident that Hawkmoth wouldn’t attack while she was gone? Marinette didn’t get a direct response, just a wink from the elder man and a giggle from his kwami. His secrecy to certain things was still in effect. The pigtailed girl just sighed and took the guardian’s word for it.

Truthfully, she felt grateful to have time for herself. Even if she didn't hang out with her friends, her time was still stretched between akuma attacks, classes, commissions, and homework. Top it off with Lila's manipulation and isolation, her stress levels were through the roof. Two weeks away at a luxurious resort seemed like a perfect opportunity for her. Even with Lila there.

“Marinette! Light’s out!” her mother’s voice called out from below. “You don’t want to be tired for tomorrow.”

“You best go to bed,” replied Master Fu. “We shall talk another day.”

“Goodnight, Master Fu,” replied Marinette before ending the call.

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Adrien sighed as he finished his disappointing dinner – a small piece of salmon with a dry salad, water and a piece of bread – before heading back to his room. His house echoed with the bitter December winds, creating a cacophony of loud, wailing noises. Such noises would normally cause people to assume the home was haunted, but Adrien just took it as a sign that he was alone.

Both Gabriel and Nathalie had been busy throughout the entire week, getting ready for next year’s Spring fashion line and fulfilling the last of the orders for his winter collection. All staffers were excused for the holidays. Even Gorilla had been scarcely seen in the past few days, sticking to his driving duties as Adrien's modeling schedule was wrapping up. Had it not been for Plagg and Nino’s skype calls, the blonde believed he would go mad.

Speaking of Plagg, the tiny cat was busy stuffing his face with his signature camembert cheese. “How was dinner?” he asked, voice muffled by cheese.

Adrien shrugged his shoulder as he sat on his bed. “By the way,” continued Plagg. “Your friend texted you a few minutes ago.”

Smiling, Adrien snatched his phone and read all his messages. Most of them were from Chloe, some from his classmate, but his most recent was from Nino.

Nino: Hey! You ready?

Adrien: Yep! Everything is all packed up.

Nino: I’m so stoked for this trip! It’s going to be awesome! I looked up online and this place has an underground dance room. Think we can sneak in and use it?

Adrien: I’m sure if we ask, they’ll let us use it. Or Chloe could ask.

Nino: Aww, but that takes out the fun of it :(

Adrien: I just don’t want to get in trouble

Nino: Ah yes, the sunshine child. Mr. Goody-two shoes.

Adrien: Hey! I can be bad! I can be a rebel!

Nino: Dude, I can’t believe you typed that XD Sorry to tell you this, but you’re probably the last person that I can see breaking the rules.

Adrien chuckled at reading that. He could only imagine what Nino would think if he told him that most of his night was spent hopping off rooftops in black leather. Probably laugh, thinking he was joking.

Adrien: You never know, I may surprise you!

Nino: Sure~ anyway, we're are rooming together right?

Adrien: Yeah, Chloe made sure to put us together. We're on the fifth floor, #512

Nino: Sweet! Do you know where everyone else is?

Adrien: Not everyone. Chloe showed me the room placements and our class is on the fifth floor.

Nino: So the entire fifth floor is ours? Nice! Party all night!

Adrien: I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Mme. Mendeleiev and her class are on the floor below us. Do you want to disturb her with your music?

Nino: Uh…did I say party all night? I mean going to bed on time and making no noise after curfew.

Adrien: Smart. I’ll just ask Chloe if we can use the dance room.

Nino: Fine, we’ll go the easy way. Gotta go, mom’s telling me to go to bed. Talk to you tomorrow. Night.

Adrien: Night.

After sending his text, Adrien quickly changed into his pajamas and went over his luggage again. Even though Nathalie told him to leave things as is, no changes or add ons, Adrien thought it best to sneak in some games and emergency cheese for Plagg. And his father’s birthday scarf.

“I cannot wait for the trip,” Adrien smiled, giddy with excitement. His formerly sober mood gone and replaced with that of unbridled joy.

Class had been, for lack of a better term, tense in the past few months. Ever since Marinette was nearly expelled. And while the class did apologize and Marinette accepted, he could see the hurt and pain in her eyes. Like she didn’t believe them and was accepting their apology to be polite. And even after the incident, Lila kept lying and trying to attack Marinette, though indirectly this time.

Marinette's solution to all this: avoiding everyone in class like the plague.

He could see it: the excuses, the non-verbal answer, the fact that she physically kept her distance from them when in a group. Not to mention the fact that she had mentioned multiple times that she was helping with her parents' deliveries, only for Chat Noir to spot her on the opposite side of the city sketching or shopping. Not like he could confront her with that. Most likely it will cause her to distance herself further from the group. He hated that she was pulling away and he hated that he couldn't do anything about it.

But maybe this trip could change all that! A small resort filled with activities and games, getting in the early holiday spirit, hanging out with the class as a group. Maybe, just maybe, they can rekindle that friendship with Marinette. Maybe Lila will finally back off and leave her alone. Maybe things will finally go back to normal.

“Ugh, why couldn’t you have gotten a tropical vacation,” moaned Plagg. “I hate the cold. Frostbite, cold snaps, blizzards, and worse of all: frozen cheese!”

“They have heating in the resort,” responded Adrien, rolling his eyes. “Your cheese will be fine.”

“Frozen cheese is no laughing matter!” whined Plagg. “I still remember that awful blizzard of ’93. All my stock supply of cheese was frozen over! Cracked! Broken! Even when they thawed out, the flavor and texture turned to mush! Like eating moldy oatmeal!”

“Plagg! Gross!” Adrien gave a disgusted look. “I don’t need to hear that.”

“And I don’t need to suffer the consequences of frozen cheese!” Plagg wept.

“Well keep that whining to a minimum when we’re at the resort since the rooms are shared,” the blonde remarked.

Plagg groaned. “Great. So not only do I have to suffer through cheese freezing, I’ll be spending my days being stuffed inside a bag.”

“You’ll stay in the room while I’m out with my friends. Just be careful if any maids or cleaning staff come in.”

“Whatever.”

“And try not to stink up the room when you eat,” he stated. “I don’t want to get weird looks from my friends.”

Plagg continued to groan even louder, annoying Adrien. “I promise if you stay as quiet as a mouse and not cause trouble for the entire trip, I’ll buy you a whole crate of fancy imported cheese.”

“…what kind of cheese?” questioned Plagg.

“Every kind,” Adrien smirked. “Hard and soft. From abertam cheese to xynotyro. Just promise to be on your best behavior and it will all be yours.”

“…very well,” Plagg straighten himself out. "I'll be a good kitty. Heck, I'll act like one of those snooty, pageant cats that are on TV." The kwami gave a fake lick to his paw and meowed in a condescending tone.

“How about you just stay hidden and we’ll be good.”

“Fine, ruining my fun,” Plagg smirked before landing on the pillow next to Adrien and immediately fell asleep.

Adrien, however, kept going through his phone. Giddiness vibrated through his body as he pictured his next two weeks by himself. It took weeks and weeks of begging and bargaining with his father to even tolerate the idea let alone consider it. But Adrien persevered, getting top grades in his class, nailed all his photoshoots and stuck with his daily schedule – save a few times he had to fight an akuma – before his father looked at the permission sheet.

In the end, it all paid off! His father read over the contract, signed it and had Nathalie go over the details with Mme. Bustier to make sure everything was on the up and up. Mayor Bourgeois and M. Boivin even spoke to him to ensure that no harm would come to the young Adreste while at the Chateau Boivin. Over the top? Yes, but it was normal for Gabriel Adreste. Though it could be forgiven as this would be Adrien's first time away from his father for an extended period.

‘Two weeks on my own,’ Adrien smiled. ‘No hectic schedules. No extra lessons. Just two weeks of having fun and hanging out with my friends!’

“This will be the best vacation ever!” the blonde yawned before falling asleep.

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(I can’t do line break for some reason so apologies for the rows of dots in advance)

Not any spooks in this chapter but its a slow-burn towards the actual actions so please be patience. Next chapter is coming soon <3

[purelafemme]

Mid 2020 reflections

The older I grow, the more important I realize it is to extend myself grace, and to practice patience. All the pieces of my life will come together. This pandemic has taught me to be still. 

A few days ago I woke up in a grumpy mood. Over the last few months, some days will go by and I will feel fine. Others, not too hot. Recently, I decided to practice a tip from one of the former therapists. I took the time to “check in” with myself and pinpoint all the reasons I was feeling so out of tune. 

A big reason for this “out-of-tuneness” is coming from my job. I don’t feel as connected and engaged to my work, as I would imagine it would be if we were in the office. Its difficult for me to focus and relax in my room. All my life I have struggled with performance anxiety, which has become heightened due to my experience in the AEA program. Teleworking has blurred the lines between my home life and my work life, making it difficult for my brain to separate the two. Also, I feel cramped and restricted due to the lack of independence and freedom I am experiencing living in my parents house. I miss my freedom and independence of living in my own apartment. I’m going to stay here until January to try and save more money (at least $8,000). Just like I felt with Morgan back in fall of 2017, I can feel that I have outgrown living in my parents house and living in Baltimore. It’s time for a new beginning and a fresh start. I don’t want the pandemic to prevent me from pushing back my plans further, or allow it to cause time to get away from me. It’s important that I take this step towards moving out for me.

 A second reason propelling my dismay comes from a realization that I had realized over the past weekend. I have a strong tendency to over give in a lot of the relationships I have. I went out of my way to plan something to do with my estranged friendship group from middle school, and I am not too pleased with how it went. In Boston, I didn’t have many friends nor did I engage in many social activities. One of the reasons I wanted to return back to this area is so I could hang out with my friends and resume social activities again. Earlier this summer, I started putting a lot of energy into hanging out and doing things with and for my friends. But after these two-three years of me being away, I’ve realized that some of my friend groups/dynamics are not the same. Honestly, I feel like a big part of the reason why I started hanging out a lot with my friends is because since my love life is not going the way that I want it to, I want to keep people around me a lot to avoid feeling lonely, to mask the loneliness. But I want to shed those feelings and really take the time to get into myself. One of the reasons I delayed grad school was because I really wanted to take space for myself to develop myself (Develop myself spiritually, mentally--develop my fashion, my interests, my personality, knowledge). This has made me realize that I want and need to feel more comfortable being alone, which is another reason why I think living alone would be good for my personal growth. Additionally, even though things didn't work out the way I intended them to with my partner earlier this Spring, that situation has finally taught me, after 24 years of age (8 years of dating), how I deserve to be treated and what qualities I want in a partner. Given this, I think I need to now branch out and truly get comfortable with being alone. Over the last couple of years, I have struggled with being alone and I realized that I will go run to go hang out with people to avoid that feeling, or I will spend my time being alone and wishing I laid up with a nigga. I want to truly embrace the idea of just truly being alone, and being happy and content. 

Sometimes I experience a weird sadness about me not following through with my previous academic plans, which causes me to feel like im a funk. I went to research conference today where my peers who have continued with their academic plans were present, I couldn’t help but feel a tinge bit of sad that I didn't continue mine. This month would have been the month I would be starting my PhD program if everything had went as planned. Although I realized this was not right for me, I am still kind of bummed in a weird way about it. I worked exceedingly hard and invested a lot of time and energy into this goal, and now that things haven't gone as planned and I have seemingly abandoned my PhD dreams, I feel a weird sense of sadness about it. I may be still interested in research, but honestly, I am not sure. From doing the AEA program twice, witnessing the AEA Climate Survey, surviving the Harvard program, and reading Claudia’s blog post, I feel kind an overwhelming sense of jadedness by this whole thing-- and now I cannot seem to make up my mind about an exact alternative career path or graduate degree. All I know is that I would really like to have a concrete plan once this job is over, because I am not getting any younger and I want to have security when it comes to my career goals by the time I approach my mid thirties. 

Now that I have just written a list of reasons why I am in a funk because I am not where I wanna be, I want to take just as much time to reflect on all the reasons why I am proud of myself. I am very proud of myself for landing my current job opportunity. It took me over six months of applying to land my current position, and there was several times over the course of those months where I was bogged down with anxiety and self-doubt crept it! Literally the day I got the offer, I was laying in bed CRYING because it was April and my program was going to end in May and I hadn't secured a reasonable opportunity yet. My God is good, and he for sure came right on time. Of course, there are some days where my performance anxiety at work is on high, but  really in those moments need to take a step back and praise him for granting me the opportunity to get a job in my field, with a nice salary, with nice people and meaningful, clear growth opportunities. I am so grateful, and I need to acknowledge this more as well as congratulate myself for this. Even though things didn’t go as planned with the whole PhD thing, I am EXACTLY where God wants me to be in my life, and that is a beautiful thing. I am proud of where I am, and I know this opportunity will give me the tools to make the best career decision for me moving forward. I am claiming it now. Honestly, this is my first time since I graduated undergrad where I feel like I can breathe. 

I am also proud of myself for giving myself the space to develop ME for ME. There is so much other parts of life and myself that I want to explore, and now that I am no longer suffocated by the pressures of academia, I am excited to dive in ! I recently hired a trainer, and started my own business! Being in grad school is a huge educational investment that comes at a cost. The stress of that program didn't leave time for me to dedicate to other parts of my life, which I realized I did not like. My twenties are my formative years. So yeah, it does suck to have invested so much time in doing all those things to be a perfect PhD applicant and then to not even apply to PhD programs lol, but I am soo proud of myself for listening to my gut, taking a step out on faith and choosing a different direction! It wasn't an easy decision at first, but I am excited about where this side business will take me, and I am happy that this will be a chance for me to explore my artistic side more! I have always had this side to myself, but never fully dived into it because of the lack of time and resources. So I am proud of using this space and time to unlock a new side of myself. I also think there will be a lot of personal growth opportunities that will come from being a small business owner, which I have confidence I can tackle and that it will make me more mature, and help develop sounder financial practices ! :)

I am super proud of myself for taking charge of my health!!! My weight is something I have always struggled with since elementary school. I was never particularly fat, but I was never as skinny as people like my sister and my cousins. From a young age, I internalized a sense of being uncomfortable with my body, which has followed me into adulthood. However it wasn't until the later half of high school when I started to develop some health problems as a result of my poor diet and lifestyle habits. My period has been irregular since 2012-2013, which I am sure was triggered by the anxiety I faced from switching schools, eating predominantly restaurant food from working at Charlestown, and having a poor sleeping schedule. After four years or random, scattered periods, I got diagnosed with PCOS in 2016. In 2017 I turned 21. I started drinking alcohol a lot more, causing me that fall to weigh in at my biggest size ever--over 180 pounds. Since the middle of high school, my weight had always been in the 160-170s range. That spring, I was able to get serious about diet and exercise and shed some pounds due to my leave from school. However, over the past two years in the Harvard program, I have not been able to manage my weight properly, causing me to explode to the biggest size I have ever been--195.. And im not sure what’s going on with my hormone production now, but I know my gut is a hot mess. (This spring I just got diagnosed with IBS.) Since the pandemic started, I have tried to work out consistently and eat a balanced diet. However over the last five months I have not seen many changes in my body which has been disappointing. This week on impulse, I made the decision to hire a trainer-- this is going to be the first step towards making some serious lifestyle changes for me and I am excited to get into the best physical shape I have ever been in! Regardless of the number on the scale, I really want to do this for the improvement of my overall health. I want to develop a healthier relationship with food (stop binge eating/seeking food as comfort) and I also want to train myself to not only eat out of boredom, or because food is available. I know developing this habits will help me develop more discipline! Also, I think our bodies as humans are capable of so much, and I really want to treat my body good so I can get the best use out of it ! I want to learn how to swim, I want to build endurance and start running, I want to be able to sustain my own body weight, and become proficient at aerial yoga! Also, sometime in the future I want to have kids and before this happens I want to already be in shape and be in the position to have a happy and healthy pregnancy. Being a mother is one of my biggest aspirations in my life ! I am hoping that this change to my lifestyle will support better hormonal health and regulate my menstrual cycle, which would actually help me get pregnant easier in the future. I am also tired of having all these stomach problems (indigestion, acid reflux, constipation, etc)--clearly something inside of me is inflamed and thats why I am having these issues. Overall, I am very proud of myself in taking these actions and I am excited to see how my body will look, how I will feel, and in what ways I can grow mentally and financially with my business ! 

One last reason why I am proud of myself is because I have been making small strides to become more money conscious. However, I know I can definitely improve in this area over the next couple of months, and it is important that I tackle this since I have my first real job, (plus a side business) and I want to live on my own. I have always struggled with managing my personal finances, so I am excited to learn tips and develop practices that will help me be smarter with my money. This is also very important to me because one day I would like to have a family, and I want to be able to provide for them. So it is important that I take the steps now to ensure that I am living below my means, and that I can set myself up to be financially comfortable and not cash strapped. 

I was inspired to write this post because I woke up one day in a sour mood about my current circumstances and the fact that I am seemingly not where I want to be and I felt down about it. But then I woke up the next day and realized how much I really had to be grateful for, and how proud I am of myself for all that I have accomplished throughout my life even with various obstacles I have encountered. God truly has favored me. Even through this crisis, God has found ways to bless me and I have taken actions to better myself. For that I am super thankful for. There are people that have lost their life and their livelihoods in 2020, but for some reason God still choose me to protect, and to take me to the next level. So I want to take this time to publicly thank him for all that he has done on the inside! Instead of focusing on the all the areas of my life that I am not too satisfied with, I vow to constantly cultivate a heart, mind and spirit full of gratitude and praise. 

Other short term goals I want to accomplish 

- Join a church home/integrate other practices into my life to develop my relationship with him in addition to keeping the prayer journal (reading the bible, starting a gratitude book)

- Take better care of my hair: be more consistent with protective styles, trims, and deep conditioning! 

- Read more books (I have watched too much TV this year lol) I especially want to read more books written by Black women and the experience of Black women!

-Try new hobbies (in addition to swimming, I want to go horseback riding, etc)

[itsallabigmess]

Asking for Trouble

This scenario was based on an anonymous request.

A/N: I had a few days off - thanks to a holiday in my country - and I spent most of my free time on the couch rewatching “old” romcoms that I love. I miss that kind of movies (am I the only one?). They are not released very often these days - and the ones that are being released now don’t have the same charm the 90′s and early 2000′s romcoms had (in my opinion.).

So, since I was feeling kinda stuck (still am honestly and it clearly shows in this scenario), I got one of the requests I received for a “Friends with Benefits to Lovers AU” and mixed with a lot of the cliches of those movies And from that came this silly scenario. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Also, I’m super weak for blonde Mark so imagine him with the “Eyes On You/THE New Era” look in this scenario -- I need to write more stories with this dork as the main character (just as much as I need some time away from Jinyoung). And oh! JB is also included in this one.

Please let me know your thoughts! 

A.

The screens showed his flight had just landed. Finally. You arrived just an hour before and decided to wait for your friend at the airport. He didn’t know though. So, you had to rush to his gate, afraid he would just leave without you. And after a few minutes there he was.

It’s not that it was hard to recognize him. You were sure you could recognize your best friend anywhere, no matter how long you haven’t seen each other. But he certainly looked different.

“Mark!” you screamed and waved enthusiastically until he finally noticed you, the biggest of smiles opening in his face when his eyes met yours.

He walked to you, dropping one of his bags on the floor and hugging you, your feet getting off the ground with the action.

It’s been only six months since you last have seen each other. Still seemed too long. You always found yourself missing everything about him.

“I can’t believe you agreed with this,” you said once he put you back on your feet. “Thank you.”

It was a surprise when you received a call from one of your cousins telling you she was engaged. And not a minute after you started being bombarded with messages from other relatives. Everybody is so willing to remind you that you were still single. Sure that drinking wouldn’t be enough to deal with your family during the wedding, you called your best friend asking for help.

And now there you were. Mark was your plus one.

“Oh, come on, you’re doing me a favor. I needed some time off.” Mark picked his bag on the floor, passing the strap over his shoulder. “Besides, I missed you.”

Your lips curved up, you somewhat feeling shy. Mark always had that effect on you. “What’s up with the hair?” you asked, ruffling the sides of his new blond locks.

“It was a bet. But I kinda like it.”

“You should! It looks great,” you stated what seemed obvious. You always found Mark annoyingly handsome. Somehow the blond hair – and eyebrows - made him even more charming. It would be hard not to stare at him while he seemed distracted. As if your weekend wasn’t destined to be hard enough. But hopefully, you would have some fun.

After checking in a hotel and leaving your bags in the room you were sharing you went for lunch and shopping. Mark didn’t have a suit for the big day. And you still needed to find a dress. Happily, your cousin spared you from the burden of being one of her bridesmaids. You wondered how she would feel if you went to the ceremony wearing black from head to toe.

You helped Mark choose the right suit, and made him wait for you until you finally decided to buy more than one dress for yourself. It would be a long weekend after all. And you wanted to look great while trying to survive it.

Even apart, living in different cities since you both finished college, you and Mark always found time to text each other. It couldn’t be compared though, to being close to him, hearing him laugh. It made the hours you had before rehearsal dinner fly and, sooner than later, much for your displeasure, you found yourself mentally preparing to deal with your family.

It turned out the rehearsal dinner was in a somewhat luxurious cottage, not a restaurant as you expected. It should be no surprise, your cousin had told you before how loaded his fiancé family was. And seeing how some guests were dressed, you started to question your own wardrobe choices.

Chuckling at the faces you were making, but being the best companion you could ever have, Mark tried to reassure you, remembering you were not alone and you didn’t need to stay for the entire thing.

“Let’s have some fun,” he said, taking your jacket from you and winking before walking towards the coat check.

You looked around, trying to see if you could recognize any familiar faces, eyes opening wide when you hear your cousin screaming your name and rushing towards you, her slim arms hugging as tightly as she could.

“I’m so happy you are here! When haven’t seen in ages! You look so great!” she said in a breath. “But where is him? Where is your boyfriend?”

“My boyfriend?” you asked with a frown.

“Oh, come on, I saw you two earlier at the mall, being all cutesy together.”

“You saw me? Why you didn’t talk to me?”

“I was busy, buying some last things for the honeymoon. But don’t change the subject!” she grabbed your arm, leaning closer to whisper in your ear. “He’s much more handsome than I remember.”

“Lana, Mark is just my friend.”

“Yeah, right,” your cousin rolled her eyes. “Where is he, the family is dying to meet him! Oh hi!”

You looked over your shoulder to see Mark approaching, his eyes moving from you to your cousin’s excited gaze. The girl practically jumping to hug him.

Oh, you were in trouble.

“Mark, do you remember Lana?” you asked, giving a step back. You and Mark first met each other in college and since you didn’t study in your hometown, he never got the chance to meet your family. Except for Lana, who occasionally visited you. And since you were always hanging out with him, she got the chance to spend more than a few days with you in the past. And even if she didn’t, you had talked about him between your texts and phone calls enough for her to know exactly who he was.

“I’m so glad you joined us, Mark,” Lana started babbling again, not giving any time for Mark to respond “You have to meet the boys, you’re gonna join them on whatever they are planning for tomorrow night while I and the girls will do some nasty things. Don’t worry! No strippers allowed,” she winked, and you weren’t sure if it was for you or for Mark. “We are gonna have so much fun, cuz. And you two are such a cute couple! Ok, I gotta go.”

And then, Lana was already rushing towards another guest.

“Couple?” Mark asked, arms crossing in front of his chest.

You turned to him, covering your face with both your hands, “She saw us at the mall and assumed we were… dating.” You looked up at Mark, his expression was hard to read. “And I think she told everyone we are dating.”

“Okay,” Mark smiled after a minute of silence “Let’s do this.”

“What?! No, Mark. I can tell everyone we are just friends.”

“Didn’t you spent months telling me how much shit your family was giving you for still being single? You just found yourself a way out.”

“So, you wanna pretend you are my boyfriend?” you asked astonished.

“Why not?” Mark shrugged, holding you by the shoulders “Do you prefer to explain to everyone we are just friends and go back to the unnecessary judgment?”

“God, no,” you grumbled, throwing your head back. “But you’re sure you wanna do this?”

“As long as you promise we’re doing this because of your family, not because of him.”

“Who?”

Following Mark’s annoyed stare to the lounge area, you saw him, talking to some other guys. Your ex-boyfriend.

He was invited of course. More than that, he was also one of the groomsmen. You knew Jaebeom was friends with your cousin’s fiancé, but you never knew they were this close. Or at least they weren’t a year ago when you were still together. You haven’t spoken to him since you broke up. Since he broke up with you. And you were most definitely not expecting to see him tonight. Or ever again for that matter.

Holding hands, with fingers intertwined, you and Mark started to walk between guests, your parents soon finding you. It started fine, the introductions. Mark made sure to be the one to talk, which was a first. He always was one to keep it to himself. But then your uncles came, and some of your cousins, and family friends. And all the talk about you being the last single girl in the family flipped into a ‘thank God she found someone, she was never good at keeping a relationship.’

Miserable. That’s how you would feel the entire weekend. It didn’t matter if you had Mark with you or not.

You went out to catch a breath when comments start to get unbearable, Mark offering to get you a drink in the meantime. It was better, the quietness in the garden. You need to hug your bare arms as the cold breeze hits you.

“You look very nice,” Jaebeom’s voice sounded behind you.

You let out a heavy sigh, turning your body in his direction. He looked nice, which only made you annoyed. Jaebeom was always attractive. You thought so even before you started dating. And that wouldn’t change, no matter how much you asked for some divine justice from the universe.

He moved to give you a hug and you gave a step back, looking at him as if you could murder him right there.

“You don’t seem very happy to see me.”

“What gave you that idea?” you asked sharply.

“Honey?” Mark, your savior for the weekend appeared, his arm pulling you close by your middle, dropping a kiss on the top of your head. Mark sure was taking the role of fake boyfriend seriously. Not that you were complaining. “Aren’t you cold?”

“So, you two are a thing now?” Jaebeom asked.

“We sure are,” Mark squeezed you even closer.

Jaebeom crooked his neck, smiling huffily at you both. “You guys have a great night,” he said, going back inside.

“I hate that guy,” Mark released his grip on you but kept his touch on your lower back.

“You and I both,” you exhaled, looking as Jaebeom walked away.

“You sure? No remaining feelings for him?”

“Really?” you turned to face him “You do remember how I was after he broke up with me, right?”

“I remember it very well,” he smirked without looking at you, and you felt your cheeks burn, the image of you two laying in Mark’s bed making its way to your thoughts. “Do you wanna go inside?”

“Do we have to?” you pouted.

Mark chuckled. “I don’t really think anyone would notice us leaving.”

“There’s a barbecue place near the hotel…” you tilted your head to the side.

“I’ll get our coats.”

Maybe it was the fact you had woken up too early or maybe it was because your family always found a way to drain your energy, but as soon as you laid in bed after showering you felt exhausted.

You dozed off for a few minutes, waking up again when Mark turned the lights off, laying in his own bed, wishing a good night. You were wrong, you thought. It did matter that Mark was there with you. It was better with him.

The last time you two shared a room was right after Jaebeom had broken up. You called him, Mark being the only person you wanted to talk with. Even if you were certain that he would make you feel shitty about the whole thing. Mark never liked Jaebeom. He made that very clear, more than once. And maybe you should have listened to him. But people tend to get blind when falling in love and you were no exception.

When you got to his place, Mark didn’t say a thing. He listened and hugged you and made you company, allowing you to cry and curse as much as you wanted to. Then he bought you food and you two spend some hours in his bed, watching horror movies. And then you were kissing. Somehow you could not remember how or who started it. But Mark's lips were touching yours softly. And his hands were on your body, over and under the clothes your wearing. And not long after you were moaning uncontrollably.

Things got a bit weird after that day, you two not speaking for a few weeks. Until he reached out and made sure everything was okay between you two. You never told him how puzzled you felt with the whole thing.

It came to mind how since then Mark never touched you much. Until today. Hugging you at the airport, letting you hold his arm while you did your shopping, his hand always on you during the hours spent with your family. You liked it. As if he was somehow compensating you for all the months you spent apart.

You sneaked into his bed, Mark looking confused at you for a second but making space so you could lay with him the next second. You rested your head on his shoulder, he holding your hand over his chest.

“You okay?” he asked, voice already sounding sleepy.

“Yeah. Just didn’t want to sleep alone.”

“We are in the same room,” he said with a chortle, the caress of one of his hands on your arm letting you know that it was more than fine you were in his embrace.

“Thank you again for coming with me,” you lifted your head, the dim light coming from the bathroom letting you see the soft lines of his face.

“I’m glad I came. Your family really is something else,” he exhaled “But maybe things will be better at the wedding. They really bought our relationship.”

“Well, you are a great fake boyfriend.”

Mark chuckled, adjusting his body to be closer to you, giving a kiss on your forehead letting his chin rest on the top of your head as he fell asleep.

The truth was, you were certain Mark would also be a great real boyfriend.

Lana was already half drunk when you got to the bar where her bachelorette party was happening. You soon joined in the heavy drinking and dancing in the middle of the area were reserved just for that gathering.

You and your other cousin sat down after a while, shots of tequila being pilled up in front of you, the bride to be hugging you by the neck. “You were always my favorite cousin,” she would coo, dropping a kiss on your cheek before resting her head on your shoulder for a second or two. “I’m so happy you and Mark are together.”

“Lana…” You sighed feeling a bit guilty for lying, even though it was her own fault Mark and you were in that position.

“So, who confessed? It was him, wasn’t it? I never thought he would have the balls. He’s too shy. But I knew he liked you as soon as I saw you two together.”

“What?” you asked confused, the alcohol already making its work on your body.

“He always looked at you so lovingly, even I got a bit jealous. I love my boyfriend… Fiancé? Anyway, I love him but he’s too stiff sometimes. But really, cuz, I’m just happy you two decided to love each other… it’s been a long time coming.”

And then, Lana being Lana even drunk, she left you mid-sentence to found someone else to pay attention to her.

Feeling dizzy by all the drinking and confused about your cousin’s words, you let your head fall on the bar counter. Did she really think Mark had feelings for you? Or it was just the booze controlling her tongue. She was probably talking too much, thinking you and Mark were a real couple. Even you felt like you were after waking up with him hugging you and asking what you wanted for breakfast. But you and Mark were always incredibly close and sweet towards each other. And that was it. Just friends. Nothing else.

Mark was there to pick you up when the night came. You didn’t notice at first, still sitting at the same spot, drinking some coke. Lana, who was completely drunk was the one to let you know he was at the other side of the bar.

He was talking to someone else. A girl. One there was not at the party. Mark didn’t look interested in her.

Lana started giggling on your side, saying how someone was trying to get your guy. So maybe that’s why you did what you did next. Or maybe you were still drunk. But you walked to Mark and kissed him.

He could taste the alcohol on your lips. Which should be more than enough to push you away. But instead, he kissed you back, his fingers digging into the skin of your waist, pulling your body close to him.

“Hello,” he said when you finally broke apart, his face red.

“I don’t like girls hitting on you,” you said, tilting your head back, your eyes half-closed.

“I didn’t know you could be jealous of a fake boyfriend,” you could hear the tease in his voice, Mark brushing his nose on yours, his hands still on your waist.

“I don’t like it either,” you almost whispered, feeling heat grow inside your body. “Fake relationships.”

Mark smiled and you didn’t know what it meant until his lips found yours again, wet and sweat and so much better than the first time.

“I think it’s time to leave,” he said, resting his forehead on yours for a second, needing to catch his breath.

You rested against him on the way back to the hotel, the taxi not going fast enough for your liking. Mark was still touching you, his hand discreetly going up and down on your thigh. It was there again, the feeling you could not remember until a few minutes ago. Wanting Mark. Wanting to feel all of him in all of you. You felt it after breaking up with Jaebeom when you slept together. And you were feeling it now.

It was stronger though. Better. You weren’t hurting. You didn’t need consolation. You just needed him.

Entering the hotel, you had to look twice to make sure it was in fact Jaebeom sitting in the lobby. 

“What the fuck you’re doing here?” Mark snorted.

“Can we talk?” Jaebeom asked after getting close, looking straight to you.

“We have nothing to talk about.”

“It’s just a minute. Please.” Jaebeom pleaded.

Mark didn’t want to leave your side but agreed after you reassured him it wouldn’t take long, your ex-boyfriend waiting until there was no sight of him to be seen.

“Were you hooking up when we were dating?” Jaebeom asked, stepping in front of you a bit too close for comfort. “You were, weren’t you?”

“Seriously? That’s what you wanted to say?”

“I was hoping to talk to you yesterday. I wanted to apologize for everything. But then you showed up with him?! I always thought that something was going on with you two. Now I know. You were fucking behind my back!” Jaebeom growled.

“No Jaebeom, you were the one fucking someone else when we were together.” You tried to keep your voice down, anger taking over your body. “I never cheated you. That was your mistake. Not mine.”

“I don’t believe you!”

“Then why you are here? Why do you care?”

“Because… I felt really bad after we broke up. I never wanted to hurt you.”

You crossed your arms in front of you “And you realized that before or after the girl you were fucking dumped you?”

You waited for an answer, but Jaebeom was mute, opening his mouth a while after only to say your name.

“Save it, Jaebeom. I don’t wanna hear it,” you waved your hand, giving your back to him “Please don’t ever talk to me again.”

Mark was sitting on his bed when you entered the room, hands rubbing against each other. You let your body slowly fall on his side, you two in silence for a moment.

“He wanted to know if something was going on between us when he was still with me?” you finally said, your eyes on Mark’s hands.

“That’s ironic. What did you say?”

“The truth,” you shrugged “That I never cheated on him. Don’t think he’s gonna bother me anymore.”

You removed your shoes when you two became silent again, pulling your legs over the bed, occupying the space free behind him. You wish you were still drunk, to give you the boldness you knew you needed right now. But the altercation you had minutes before showed you were in total control of your thoughts.

“I need you to tell me something,” you said, Mark turning his face to look at you over his shoulder. “I need you to tell me that you didn’t kiss me just for the hell of it.”

“Do you think I would kiss you if I didn’t really want to?” he stared at his hands again. You could see there was some internal debate going on within Mark, which only made you nervous. You didn’t want to push him. But you knew this was a conversation that you needed to have. The same way you knew that waiting to talk in another moment would feel hellish for both of you.

“I was jealous of him,” Mark finally let out, his eyes still low. “Of Jaebeom. That’s why I didn’t like him. Well, one of the reasons,” He turned his body to face you, touching one of your legs lightly. “I already liked you before you started dating. I was trying to find a way to tell you. Guess I waited too long and lost my shot,” he smiled at you weakly, embarrassed.

“I wish you had told me. I always felt something for you” you confessed, something that you just noticed. Mark was always the first person on your mind every day. Always the one you wanted to spend time with, tell everything about your life. “I never thought you saw me as something other than your friend,” you touched his hand, he turning his palm up to hold yours.

“I almost did. After that night. But I knew you needed some time.”

You nodded quickly, biting your lower lip. “So, when I invited for the wedding…”

“I was just excited to spend so time with you again. I really missed you. But then you told me about Lana thinking we were together,” he gave a silly smile this time, and you couldn’t help to follow him. “I thought I could try again, tell you how I felt, show you how nice I could be to you.”

“I feel like I should be the one doing that,” you admitted, thinking how shitty it must have felt during the entirety of your relationship with Jaebeom, you now regretting all the times you talked about it with Mark, all the times you got mad at him for stating his hate for your now ex.

“You did when you came to my bed last night.”

“Mark, that shouldn’t be enough,” you laughed.

“You can let me take you out on a date after the wedding,” Mark said, moving to sit by your side, a hand moving to cup your face.

“Until then,” you got on your knees, arms wrapping around his neck, dropping a quick kiss on his lips. “Maybe I can try to compensate a little for the time we lost?”

“What do you have in mind?”

You leaned towards Mark again, pretending to move to another kiss only to get out of bed, walking towards the bathroom, removing your shirt and letting it fall on the ground.

“I should have confessed a long time ago,” Mark ruffled his hair, following your steps to the shower.

[hollymartinswrites]

Chapters: 2/2 Fandom: IT - Stephen King, IT (Movies - Muschietti) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh Characters: Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier, Ben Hanscom, Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough, Mike Hanlon, Original Child Character(s) Additional Tags: Fix-It, Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-IT Chapter Two (2019), Domestic, Light Angst, Family Feels, Childhood Trauma, Adoption, Kid Fic, Adopted Children, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Marriage, Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier Are Parents, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Minor Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Beverly Marsh & Richie Tozier Are Best Friends Summary:

Eddie and Richie embark on the most terrifying experience of all—parenthood.

Or, the author desperately needed a domestic, family fix-it for Richie and Eddie.

Chapter II: A look into Richie and Beverly's friendship as parenthood is thrown into the mix.

“How many godfathers can one kid have?”

“Richie, we’re agnostic.”

“Hey, I believe in God, I just don’t trust organized religion,” Richie replied, hanging the framed Princess Leia poster before stepping back to observe it. “Or any organizations, now that I think about it.”

“It’s crooked. Move it to the right like an inch,” Eddie said. “And she doesn’t need godparents.”

“Course she does,” Richie said, maneuvering the frame slowly as if it were a tempermental bomb. “I mean, obviously Bev will be godmother and I guess that means Ben should be godfather but we can’t play favorites with the guys like that.”

“Did you have godparents? And it’s straight now, quit messing with it.”

“Yeah,” Richie said. “My great uncle Jim and my mom’s cousin Valerie. I’ve told you about her before. She took me to my first Pride when I was twenty because surprise, she was a lesbian and no one knew. Even though she and her roommate Laura shared a one bedroom apartment in New York.”

Eddie laughed and shook his head.

“I’d pay money to see you at Pride as some lanky, awkward kid,” he said.

“Oh man,” Richie said, grinning, “I was such a twink back then.”

“And what the hell are you now?”

Richie shrugged.

“I don’t know. Sloppy otter? Is that still a thing?”

“You’re asking the wrong guy,” Eddie said. He gazed around the room and his smile widened. “I gotta say, this is a pretty awesome kid’s room.”

“Hell yeah it is,” Richie replied, stepping beside his husband and putting his arm around his shoulders. “She’s gonna love it.”

They were both silent for several long moments, content to simply be in one another’s presence in their child’s room when Richie squeezed Eddie’s shoulder.

“I can’t believe it’s finally happening,” he admitted softly.

“I know,” Eddie agreed. “You’re gonna be a good dad.”

Richie colored briefly before gently hip-checking Eddie.

“So are you,” he said.

Eddie merely smiled.

Richie picked up the phone on the second ring.

“Bev!” he shouted.

“Richie!” she shouted back, laughing. “How are you?”

“Oh, you know, exhausted, covered in glitter, and haven’t showered in days,” he replied. Lydia lifted up her latest drawing and he gave her a thumbs up. She grinned and grabbed another piece of construction paper. “So just like college all over again.”

Bev laughed.

“I wish we went to college together,” she said wistfully.

“Oh, we’d be expelled instantly if some university was stupid enough to accept both of us,” he said. “So what’s going on?”

“Well, I finally had time to sit and watch all the videos you sent yesterday,” she answered. “And I have to say, Lydia is the sweetest, smartest, cutest kid I’ve ever seen.”

“Aw,” Richie said. He moved the phone away from his mouth and loudly whispered, “Lyds, my friend Bev thinks you’re cute and smart and sweet.”

“Who’s Bev?” Lydia asked.

“My friend, you’ll meet her soon.” Richie returned the phone to his ear. “When are you and Ben coming by?”

“Soon, I hope,” she said. “Ben’s finishing up a big project but this summer should be free and clear. What about the other Losers?”

“I don’t know, I want to do a BBQ with all of you so you can meet Lydia at the same time,” he said.

“I don’t like BBQ,” Lydia pointed out. “I like macaroni and cheese.”

“I’ll make macaroni and cheese, I promise,” Richie said.

“You cook now?” Bev asked.

“Don’t sound so surprised,” he shot back. “I had been surviving on my own for twenty years, thank you.”

“I just can’t believe you’re a dad now,” Bev sighed wistfully.

“Well, you better believe it because I lost the receipt so this kid is nonrefundable,” he said, reaching out and tussling her hair, causing her to playfully bat away his hand.

Bev laughed.

“You sound happy, you know that?” she said.

Richie blinked. He hadn’t really thought about it but he supposed he was. A warm wave filled his chest.

“Yeah, I guess I am,” he said, clearing his throat.

“Am I making Trashmouth emotional?”

“No way,” he insisted. “I never get emotional and I definitely did not cry when we watched Moana the other night.”

“Yes, you did, Papa!”

“Shh!”

Bev laughed again and Richie grinned.

“Don’t worry, Ben cries at everything so your secret is safe with me,” she said. “I’m going to talk to him tonight about vacation days. You have to let us know when you’re free, though.”

“We’ll make it work, don’t worry.”

“Yeah, but I know Eddie’s always busy at work and you two are the ones with a kid.”

“We’ll make it work,” Richie repeated.

“I feel kinda bad though,” Bev admitted. “Won’t Lydia be overwhelmed by a welcome party filled with grown-ups?”

Richie blinked again. He hadn’t thought about that. He glanced at his daughter, happily tracing her hand on a piece of pink paper and swallowed.

“She has some friends from her school,” he said slowly. “I can invite them for her.”

“I just don’t want her bored or frightened,” Bev continued. “I remember the few times my dad took me to see family, I was the only kid. I hated it. Everyone talking over you and then yelling if you dared to look bored.”

Richie swallowed again and looked down at the table. He had always hated it when Bev spoke of her father but he was smart enough to know to shut up and listen.

“Anyway,” she said brightly, “I just want her to have fun.”

“She will. We’ll make it fun.”

“And Ben and I already got her a bunch of presents.”

“Oh no,” he groaned. “We specifically said no presents.” Lydia’s head immediately shot up, eyes wide and bright. “She’s spoiled enough as it is.” Lydia shook her head fervently.

“And send us her size, I saw some super cute clothes the other day,” Bev continued.

“Bev, no—”

“Yes, Richie,” she insisted. “I love you but I’m ignoring you.”

“Bev, I swear—”

“I gotta go,” she said quickly. “I love you, Trashmouth.”

Richie sighed but smiled warmly.

“I love you, too,” he replied gently.

“And I love Lydia even without meeting her yet.”

Richie’s heart did something intense, and it knocked the breath out of him.

“Richie?”

“Yeah, no, thanks, Bev,” he said quickly.

“Alright,” she said, laughter in her voice. “I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

Richie placed his phone on the table and tried to gather his thoughts. It was harder than usual.

“Look at this one, Papa,” Lydia announced, lifting another colorful and glittery drawing. A large percentage of said glitter slipped off and fell onto the table. “Oops.”

“That’s a beaut,” he said and sniffed. “My friend Bev said she loves you.”

“That’s nice,” Lydia replied. “And she bought me presents?”

“Yeah, but you don’t need anything.”

“But maybe she got me something I don’t have,” Lydia pointed out.

“Airtight logic, as usual, kiddo,” Richie admitted.

Lydia smiled and clapped her hands together in an attempt to clear them of glitter, frowning when it did nothing.

“I think we gotta hose you down,” Richie observed. He glanced at the clock. “And soon, before your dad walks in and has a conniption.”

“What’s a conniption?”

“It’s what happens when your dad comes home and sees what a mess your papa has made,” Richie answered, standing. “Come on, let’s get you and all of this cleaned up.”

Richie finished loading the dishwasher, closed it, set it, and immediately sat down in the closest chair, suddenly exhausted. He barely flinched when he felt arms curl around his shoulders and a chin rest on the top of his head.

“You okay, buddy?” Bev asked gently.

“Yeah, just tired,” he replied. “Too much excitement for one day.”

Bev nodded and leaned down to place a kiss on his head.

“You sure you’re good?” she asked again.

“Yeah, but just...can you do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Can you tell me if my hair is thinning up there?”

Bev laughed and flicked his ear.

“No, it’s as thick and messy as ever,” she replied. “But you do still have a fivehead.”

“Shut up.”

Bev squeezed his shoulders and then sat in the empty chair closest to him. A golden glow from the setting sun streamed through the open windows, and they could hear the rest of the party—Losers catching up and laughing and children shrieking with delight at whatever delighted five-year-olds—but it was mercifully quiet in the kitchen.

“I’m glad you invited her friends,” Bev said. “She needed some people her age to counterbalance all of us boring grown-ups.”

Richie nodded.

“Yeah, but she had fun with you and Ben earlier,” he said. “I guess she’s used to being the only kid around with just me and Eddie.”

“Do you think you guys will adopt again?”

Richie swallowed and shrugged.

“I don’t know, I mean, we’re still getting the hang of having just one kid,” he sighed. “But I wouldn’t want her to be an only child. They’re kinda weird, no offense.”

Bev laughed.

“They’re also lonely,” she pointed out, “so I wouldn’t recommend it for her, either.”

Richie felt compelled to hug her but settled for taking one of her hands in both of his, resting them on the table. They were both silent for a long moment, and he tried to ignore the fact that Bev was gazing at him expectantly before he cleared his throat.

“Bev, I…I’m scared.”

She quirked her head to the side and gazed at Richie with mild confusion on her face.

“Scared of what, Rich?”

“Fucking everything,” he admitted, not meeting her eyes. “What if I’m in over my head?”

Bev squeezed his hands.

“I’m not a parent,” she offered gently, “but I think that’s a common side effect.”

Richie sighed and shook his head.

“And you’re not doing this alone,” Bev continued, reaching out with her free hand to brush a strand of hair behind his ear. “You’ve got Eddie. The two of you are doing a great job. You can tell just by looking at Lydia.”

Richie’s chest tightened.

“Lydia’s amazing,” he admitted. “But she was amazing when we adopted her.”

“Rich—”

“And Eddie...” he swallowed and looked up at Bev, “I’m scared I forced him into something he didn’t want.”

Bev appeared genuinely shocked.

“Richie, that’s impossible,” she insisted.

“I don’t know.”

“Do you think for even one second Eddie would move across the country and endure years of all that bureaucratic bullshit and constant, needling, in-depth assessments from social workers for something he didn’t want?”

Richie swallowed and looked down again.

“He loves you,” Bev said gently, leaning in closer to her friend, “but he doesn’t love you that much.”

That startled a laugh out of Richie. He wiped at his nose and sniffed. Bev used her free hand to wipe at his face.

“You’re just tired,” she observed. “Tired and overwhelmed at having all of us here and showing off Lydia.”

“Hey, do you guys have any...what’s going on?”

They both looked up. Ben was standing in the doorway looking not unlike a deer caught in the headlights.

“Nothing, nothing,” Bev said quickly.

“Yeah, nothing, just your girlfriend bullying me about my forehead, that’s all,” Richie replied. Ben smiled but he still looked unconvinced. Richie continued, “You need something, dude?”

“Oh, yeah, just wanted to grab a drink,” Ben said.

Richie motioned towards the fridge and Ben opened it, reached in, and pulled out a juicebox. He glanced down at it in his hand and then smirked at Richie, his eyebrows raised.

“Hey, don’t knock it, mix that with a little vodka, fucking delicious,” Richie insisted. “That’s how I get through Lydia’s gymnastics classes.”

Bev smirked and slapped him lightly on the knee, earning a yelp from Richie. Ben shook his head, still smiling, closed the fridge door, and immediately pushed the straw through the top of the juicebox and sipped.

“Hmm,” he said after a few moments’ consideration, “not bad, actually.”

“See?” Richie replied. “There are some benefits to having a kid.” Ben sat at the table beside him and affectionately patted him on the shoulder. Richie glanced at him and bit the bullet. “So, not to sound totally straight, but are you guys thinking about having kids?”

Ben’s eyes widened and his lips tightened around the straw. Bev rolled her eyes.

“We don’t know, Rich,” she said gently. “Though we are running out of time.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m well over forty.”

“We’re all well over forty.”

Bev gave him a pointed look and realization washed over Richie’s face.

“Oh, yeah,” Richie muttered. “Who gives a shit? I read about a woman in India who had a baby at seventy.”

“I don’t plan on going for that,” Bev laughed.

“Besides, you and Eddie have inspired us to at least look into adoption,” Ben replied.

“Oh yeah?” Richie said. “Nice. Well, if you need advice, talk to Eddie. I’m a mess.”

“Richie…”

“I’m serious,” he insisted. “I know we only got approval because of him.”

“Come on, that’s not—”

“It is true. I mean, who would you let raise a kid? A shitty and foul-mouthed comic with crazy hours and a drinking problem he only just got under control or the responsible, completely organized nerd in polo shirts?”

Ben and Bev were both silent and Richie realized he had, once again, gone too far. He racked his mind to rectify the situation—a joke, an impression, a scream, anything—when he was saved by the backdoor opening and Eddie appearing in the doorway.

“Hey, Lydia’s friends are getting picked up,” he said. “You wanna come say goodbye with me?”

Richie stood.

“Sorry, folks, parenting duty calls,” he said casually and offered a lop-sided grin before leaving Ben and Bev in the kitchen.

He’s late.

What time is it by you?

7:32.

Well, didn’t he say he had a dinner meeting?

Yeah, at 5. wtf

I’m sure he’s just sitting in traffic. He’ll be home soon. Don’t worry.

I’m not worried. I’m fucking pissed.

He can’t help it if work is crazy, sweetheart.

He could’ve called out. I’m by myself over here, neck deep in snotty tissues and crying kids.

Richie glanced up from his phone at the sound of keys in the front door. Fucking finally, he thought. The door opened and closed and it seemed to Richie that Eddie purposely took a long time to get from the foyer to the living room, where he was sitting on the couch with Lydia’s feet in his lap and their youngest curled up against his side, drooling onto his shirt. They were still passed out, mercifully.

Eddie walked into the living room and quietly stepped up to the couch.

“Hey,” he whispered. “How are the girls?”

“Lydia’s fever broke,” Richie sighed, “but I think it’s going into her chest. She keeps coughing. And Tess is just congested and keeps puking up the medicine so that’s been fun.”

“She hasn’t kept any of the medicine down?”

Richie shook his head and shoved his fingers beneath his glasses, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

“Fuck, we gotta get her to take it,” Eddie said.

“No shit,” Richie snapped. He tensed when Lydia stretched in her sleep but she remained asleep.

“I read about another brand online today,” Eddie said, leaning down to run his fingers through Tess’s dark hair. “Supposedly it doesn’t have any of that artificial flavoring shit. That’s probably what’s making her sick.”

Richie shrugged, too exhausted to even comment. Eddie glanced at him, raising an eyebrow before continuing, “I’ll pick some up on the way home tomorrow.”

Richie’s head shot up and he stared at Eddie, stunned.

“You’re going into work tomorrow?” he asked dumbly.

“I gotta, but just for half a day. I’ll be home early.”

“Like you were today?”

Eddie straightened and shook his head.

“I’m too tired for this right now,” he sighed.

Richie’s eyes widened. For a moment, he couldn’t see straight.

“You’re too tired?” he repeated, his voice strained.

Lydia moved again, sighing in her sleep before being rattled awake by a violent cough. Richie and Eddie both reached for the glass of water on the coffee table, but Lydia got to it first before immediately gulping down half of it.

“Easy, kiddo,” Eddie murmured, taking the glass from her when was done. “How are you feeling?”

Lydia answered by coughing again, covering her mouth with her arm like her dad had showed her. Tears sprang to her eyes and her nose began running. Richie handed her the tissue box and ran his fingers through her unruly curls.

“My throat won’t stop tickling,” she finally gasped out.

“Your sinuses are draining, that’s probably it,” Eddie said before reaching towards his briefcase he had left on the floor. He opened it and brought out a bag of cough drops. “I made sure to get the lemon ones.” He unwrapped and handed her one, and she immediately popped it in her mouth before settling back down on the couch.

Richie glanced over at Tess. She hadn’t even stirred from the commotion. He was also quite sure some of the drool on his shirt was snot, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Look, you’re home now, I’m gonna go take a shower, okay?” he said, gently moving Lydia’s feet off his lap and placing a pillow beside Tess. Without waiting for an answer, he hurried to the bedroom, leaving Eddie staring after his retreating back.

Richie, admittedly, took a particularly long shower but he felt he deserved it. A full day and a half of battling germs, miserable kids, and the occasional pukefest could wear a man out. Eddie’s extra-early alarm this morning certainly didn’t help, nor did his apparent reluctance to pick up the phone. Richie allowed himself one bang against the shower wall with his fist before concentrating on his breathing and allowing the warm water to undo the tension in his body. Fuck, he was tired.

Turning off the shower, he gingerly stepped out and wrapped a towel around his waist before heading into the bedroom, where Eddie was waiting for him.

“You talk to Bev about what a shitty husband I am?” he said in an oddly calm voice.

Richie blinked. Then he noticed his cell phone in Eddie’s hand. Shit. Deflect, Tozier.

“You went through my phone?” he shot back. “And you left the girls alone?”

“Tess is still asleep and Lydia is watching TV,” Eddie answered and took a step towards Richie. “And your phone went off with a text from Bev that had my name in it. Of course I fucking looked, you’d do the same.”

Richie frowned. Eddie, was usual, was right.

“Bev and I talk all the time,” he said, brushing past him to their bureau and began searching for pajamas. “You know that.”

“Yeah, but—”

“And you talk to her and the guys,” Richie continued. “What’s the fucking difference?”

“I don’t bitch and moan about you to them.”

“Bullshit.”

“I don’t share private things with them.”

Richie whirled around, which was a bit difficult considering he was still stepping into his pajama pants. “Private things?” he repeated. “You being late on a day where I really fucking needed you isn’t exactly intimate information. What’s the big deal?”

Eddie swallowed and shook his head.

“Well, I don’t like it,” he admitted.

Richie huffed a laugh.

“I don’t like that you care more about work than your family but we all got our crosses to bear, right?” he snapped. “So forgive me for letting off a little steam to someone who actually cares.”

Eddie stared at him, his eyes wide and impossibly bright. Richie looked away, grabbed the first t-shirt he could find in the bureau and put it on.

“I’m gonna go sit with the kids,” he muttered. “Text Bev back for me and tell her everything’s fucking fine.”

He felt Eddie’s eyes on him as he stalked out of the bedroom and tried his best to school his face when he approached the couch but by the sidelong glance his daughter gave him, he knew he had done a poor job of it.