beenbaanbuun · 8 months ago
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romance tropes i associate w/ ateez:
this is not proofread or formatted because i was supposed to start getting ready to leave my apartment half an hour ago and now i’m rushing lmaooo. i’ll proofread and format it when i get back from the knocked loose gig 🫶
seonghwa -bridesmaid and bestman
it’s your sisters wedding and everything is going great, except for the fact that you haven’t spoken to a single person for the past 45 minutes
you can’t help but feel a little lonely as you sit in the corner and bulldoze your way through the bottle of wine you’ve been left alone with
and then you feel a soft tap on your shoulder, and the familiar sound of a chair being dragged against the wooden floor rings through the room
you spin around just in time to see the groom’s best friend sitting down beside you, empty wine glass in hand
“nice ceremony, wasn’t it?” he says as he grabs the wine bottle and begins to pour himself a generous helping
you hum in response as you tilt your own glass towards him - he takes the hint and fills it for you
“my sister looks so pretty,” you say, and the man in front of you nods along
“not as pretty as the maid of honour, though,” he responds, “i couldn’t quite believe it when i spotted her all alone in the corner with no one taking care of her.”
you giggle in response to his obvious flirting - two can play at that game
“so you decided to come and snatch me up for yourself, did you?”
he nods with a straight face, but you can see the teasing glint in his eye
“of course,” he responds, “i’m not leaving your side until i’ve either got a dance from you, or i have your number in my phone.”
he smiles wide at you, and you can’t help but smile back
“well you’re handsome enough for me to consider giving you both,” he chuckles at your words, “but the question is which one do you want first?”
he offers you his hand
“i think i’ll take the dance.”
hongjoong - blind date
it seems your mum has finally grown fed up of you showing up to every family event empty handed
which is precisely how you end up standing outside one of the most notoriously expensive restaurants in your neighbourhood
it’s where your blind date suggested, and despite your incessant denial, your mother had accepted on your behalf
you walk inside, a sour look on your face as the host steps forward to ask for your reservation
“i think his name was hongjoong?” you sigh, “he told me to meet him here at 8 for a blind date…”
the woman’s eyes go wide and she smiles at you, the words ‘lucky bitch’ falling from her tongue before she can even stop them
“hardly,” you respond as she guides you through the fancy place, “i don’t even want to be here…”
your voice trails off as she slows down and stops at a table with a man already seated on one of the chairs
you thank the woman as you sit down; she sends you a quick wink in return before darting off to no doubt gossip with the other staff members
and then you turn your attention to the man before you to see he’s already looking at you with wide eyes
“you’re my date?” he asks, to which you nod in response, “shit! when my friend set this up i wasn’t expecting someone so pretty.”
your face heats up at his compliment
“oh, uh, thank you,” you stutter out, “likewise, i guess. my mum organised it on my behalf; i thought it would be some stiff-necked guy that thinks too highly of himself.”
“you’re happy with me, then?” he smiles
“very happy…”
yunho - brothers best friend
“i don’t care that he’s here, i’m just asking why?” you whisper to your mum as you watch yunho and your brother mess around in the pool
it’s spring break, and whilst you certainly don’t mind the addition of the tall dancer, you hadn’t been allowed to bring a friend of your own
“it was last minute honey,” you mum replies, “his parents are half-way through a divorce and i wanted to help take his mind off of it!”
you suppose that’s as good of a reason as any, but that still feel cheated
suddenly you hear a yell from the water, and a whole load of splashing; you turn your attention to the pool to see yunho swimming to your brother who has a hand covering his nose
“nosebleed?” your mum called over to the boys; they nod, “i know where the first aid kit is. come on!”
your brother climbs out of the pool and follows your mum inside, leaving the pool area in an awkward silence
“you know you’re never going to get a tan sitting in the shake like that,” yunho breaks it with a laugh, “you should move to this subbed over here.”
you quirk your brow at him as you see him point to the one right by the pool
“you mean the one that gives you access to stare at me?”
he shrugs, “i’m just looking out for you, kiddo.”
you scoff at the nickname; he’s always called you that despite the age gap being almost non-existent
“don’t call me that when you’re flirting with me, yun.”
“why?” he says with a smirk, “would you rather i called you baby?”
yeosang - soulmates
it had been a slow morning in the cafe, which isn’t necessarily unusual, but it had given you a lot of time to think about your soulmate mark which is burning where it sits on your wrist
KYS, it reads, which you would find funny if it was scrawled on someone else’s wrist
the subreddit you’d spent most of your morning surreptitiously scrolling through says it means you’ll meet your soulmate soon
you’ll believe that when you see it…
“‘scuse me?” a voice rips you out of your mindless doomscrolling and you quickly put a smile on your face and look up at the man at the counter
your sure your smile looks more like a grimace with how bad the mark has started burning on your wrist
“welcome,” you stutter out, “what can i get for you?”
he studies the menu which gives you the perfect opportunity to study the pretty man in front of you
you can’t help but notice his hand gripping at his opposite wrist in the exact same place your own soul mark it hurting
“an americano,” he eventually stutters out, “iced and medium, please.”
you nod, grabbing a cup and a marker pen, “can i take a name?”
“yeosang,” he replies and your soul mark burns even more, “but you can just write KYS if it’s easier.”
you pause for a second; was the subreddit right?
“KYS?” you mutter to yourself, “this sounds crazy, but can i show you something?”
he shrugs and you take it as an ‘okay’, so you tug up your sleeve to reveal the three letters on your arm
san - strangers-to-lovers
the gym, also known as your own personal hell; it’s funny that you’ve somehow ended up there in a saturday morning
you’re not even sure how in all honesty, and as you stare into the vast space filled with nothing but men and metal, you feel a little intimidated
still, it’s too late to turn back now so you take a few unsure steps into the room, halting at a piece of equipment that looks more like a torture device
“how the-” you mutter to yourself, but get cut off when a tall man walks up beside you
“are you using this thing?” he asks, and you turn your attention to him, “it’s just its next in my routine, but i don’t mind waiting if you’re already using it.”
you shake your head as you stare at him, feeling a little more than slightly intimidated
he’s tall, buff and hot, not to mention that he clearly knows what he’s doing in the gym
“you can go,” you stutter, “i, uh, i’m not too sure how to use it myself; i’m new to all this.”
his face light up at your confession, the stoic expression melting into something sweeter, more excited
“you’re serious?” he beams at you, “that’s so cool! i’m proud of you for starting your gym journey.”
you shrug, not really knowing how to reply; the man seems to have no issue carrying on the conversation for you, though
“my names san,” he sticks out a hand which you take out of politeness, “if you want you can take my number; i’m here most days so if you ever want someone to work out with…”
you think it over for a few seconds before deciding ‘what the hell?’ the man is attractive and seems genuinely enthusiastic to get to know you
might as well get something positive out of this whole gym thing, right?
mingi - fake boyfriend
you’d always spend winter break alone, which was never a pleasant thing when spending the season with your family
this year, however, you decided things would be different
it turns out a friend of a friend wasn’t actually going home for the holidays
and with the promise of free food he was actually pretty easy to convince to be your pretend boyfriend for the season
you spent days upon days creating some sort of believable story to tell your family, as well as learning everything there is to know about eachother
the plan was seamless, and on your first evening in your family home, the two of you had done a spectacular job at convincing your entire family
but there was just one little detail the two of you hadn’t foreseen, and now as you stand in your room it finally sinks in
“i can sleep on the floor,” you suggest, “you take the bed; you’re the guest, afterall.”
mingi shakes his head
“i might be a guest, but i’m still a gentleman,” he refuses, and you can’t help but laugh
“i’ve learned enough about you to know that you are anything but a gentleman, mingi.”
“well you’re hardly a perfect little princess yourself,” he can’t help but chuckle in response
you hum in agreement, but soon fall back into silence as you try and work out some sort of solution to the one-bed problem
“we could just share?” you suggest after a second or two
he cocks his brow at you
“you’d be okay with that?” you just shrug in response before crawling into your bed and patting the mattress next to you
“come on in before i change my mind.”
wooyoung - rivals-to-lovers
you stare at the F at the top of your page, a flurry of emotions rushing through you
you’d never gotten anything below a C before and now all of a sudden you’ve failed?
sure you’d taken a little bit of a backseat when you were studying for this exam, but you were almost certain you knew enough of the material to at least get a B
yet you’d failed
you feel a presence walk up behind you and you sigh; you’d recognise the sound of those cocky little footsteps anywhere
“i’m not in the mood, wooyoung,” you grumble, hoping it would deter your rival for just a little while
“why not?” he teases as he walks up beside you, “are you really that sure i’ve beaten you?”
you don’t reply, but by the way he gasps, you can tell he’s already caught sight of your failure; you sigh, waiting for what’s about to come
“you… failed?” his voice is soft, not an ounce of teasing in his tone, “dude, that’s- i- are you alright?”
perhaps it’s the lack of cruelness in his voice, you’re not sure, but you feel the need to be vulnerable with him
“not really,” you shake your head, “i don’t know what happened.”
an awkward hand finds its way to your shoulder, fingers lightly tapping a pattern against your back
“i can help you if you want?” he suggests, “like, i don’t know, tutor you or something?”
you finally look at him, purely to check whether or not he’s joking
his face is serious though, and that kind of stumps you
“why would you do that for me?” he just shrugs
“i like our little rivalry,” if you look closely you can see a dusting of pink over his cheeks, “i think it’s cute when you get all angry at me for beating you, or when you’re all smug when you do better… we can’t have that if you’re getting F’s.”
jongho - friends-to-lovers
you walk out of your exam with a frown on your face; saying that it went bad would be an understatement
all you want to do is crawl up into a ball and forget about life for a while, but then you spot him
“jongho,” you yell, pulling his attention away from his phone
with a grin he slides it into his back pocket, opening his arms for you to give him a running hug
you take the opportunity, slamming into his chest at full force; he wastes no time in folding his arms around you
“how’d it go?” he asks as he begins to sway your conjoined bodies from side to side
“oh, it went horribly,” you admit, “i’m going to go home and eat an obscene amount of ice cream to make me feel better.”
he nods at your suggestion
“you could,” he agrees, “or we could go to that one cafe and pretend to get engaged so we get free desert?”
you can’t help but look up at him with furrowed brows
“engaged?” you cant lie that the idea makes your heart flutter, “what happened to the birthday meta?”
it’s a valid question; the two of you normally go to a cafe and tell the staff it’s your birthday so you can share the desert
engagement is a new one, but you’re willing to hear him out
“well,” he begins, face falling into full seriousness, “if you think about it, we only get one desert when we use the birthday meta; my hypothesis is that we get two deserts if we claim we’re engaged.”
you consider his reply for a few seconds
“fair argument,” you hum, “counterpoint; do you not think they’ll give us just the one desert for ‘romantic’ purposes? you know, feed each other with a spoon, type shit.”
jongho just shrugs
“i’m fine with that if you are.”
588 notes · View notes
gretavanmoon · 5 months ago
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The Proposition (S17)
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Spinning Now: "Birthday Sex" by Jeremih (2009)
Pairing: Danny x female reader
Word Count: 14.3k
Description: Danny's always been that friend and roommate who you never thought of as anything more, until a birthday proposition presents itself in a way that neither of you can deny.
Warnings: Drinking, Cursing, Heavy Flirting, Praise, Dirty Talk, Touching, Wax Play
Smut: Kissing, Oral M!Receiving, Oral F!Receiving, Fingering, Unprotected Sex (use protection!!)
+ This little diddly of an idea has been swimming around in my head for months now, and I've been so excited to get it going. And thanks to the reader who suggested it be a roomies trope ;) Hope ya like xoxo
Girl you know i i i...
HER POV
White or red?
There is no special occasion, simply just the bi-weekly dinner gathering of your friend group that has turned into an every-Thursday-night habit. Not that an occasion constitutes your wine choice, but still yet, the thought quickly crosses your mind. You are all meeting at your and Danny’s house tonight, along with the conjoined group of friends that has been steadily keeping each other fed for the past two and a half years, now. 
You’d been living with Danny for as long as you could remember, taking claim of his spare room sometime after everyone collectively moved out of your parents’ homes. The arrangement worked perfectly, the two of you already knowing how the other ticked after being friends for many years. Your jobs kept both of you busy, giving the other enough room that you didn’t feel like you were invading space in the small house. 
You pull your phone from your pocket as you peruse the wine selections, texting the group chat to check on tonight’s menu. 
You: What are we making tonight again? I already forgot
Jake: Salmon and quinoa and some other stuff
Jake: God your memory sucks
You: Emma, come get your man he’s being mean to me again
Emma: Quit picking on her babe 
You: Ok so I should get white wine, right? Pairs with fish?
Sam: Just get three fuckin bottles of wine, who cares
You: Ok I’m not coming if you guys are gonna continue to harass me
Sam: Too bad it’s your house and you have to be there anyway
You: I’ll lock myself in my room I don’t care
Danny: No Y/N, if they’re gonna be assholes they don’t have to come over. They can stay home and we can order pizza :)
Jake: Shut the fuck up Sam, I’m making the damned salmon and quinoa
Josh: What the fuck is quinoa
You shove your phone back in your pocket as you roll your eyes, the buzzing still consistent as you imagine they are still arguing with one another. 
It's funny how much Danny has been defending you lately. He’s still his normal self, your very good friend who sometimes lets his sweet side get the better of him, but in the past couple of months, something has switched. The more the brothers pick on you, the more he stands up for you. It used to be the opposite, with him joining in on your playful dog-piling any chance he could get. But ever since a couple of months ago… ever since his last birthday…
Almost three years ago now, you and Danny had found yourselves wrapped up in each other’s arms in his bed after a drunken night that started out like any other, dinner, socializing, cards, and way too much to drink. It was his birthday party, and after everyone else had cleared out, you stayed up to clean up the multitude of plastic cups and empty bottles that were scattered around the house. You were both fairly drunk, and you knew if you got the majority of the party cleaned up that night, you wouldn’t have to bother with it all while being inevitably hungover the next morning. 
“I’ll get out of your hair soon, Danny. I’m about to call an Uber to go stay with Emma.” You’d said as you dried the last of the dishes. He was sprawled out over on the loveseat, his shirt halfway unbuttoned and his mess of curls pulled up on top of his head. You’d always found him attractive, but you’d always been positive he was way out of your league. He’d never even given you a passing glance in that way. Except, that night, he looked exceptionally delicious… and your hazy, drunken mind undoubtedly had started to drift.
“What? Whyyyyy…? Don’t get an Uber, it’s too late,” he’d slurred as you walked over to sit on the ottoman his feet were rested on. 
“Becauseeee… it’s your birthday and I don’t want to interrupt your time with whatever guest you might have coming over.” You remember the words felt heavy in your mouth, like it was strange that you had never talked about Danny’s personal life out loud before. Or yours, for that matter. Even after all the years of being friends and roommates, the two of you had always taken things as they’d come… watching as strangers made their way in and out of your bedrooms without a second question.
“Guest?” His face contorted. “I ‘ont have a guest coming over, Y/N…”
You’d let your mouth gape open and your hand clutch your chest in a display of over-dramatics. “Really? No one to give you a happy ending on your birthday?! You must be falling off the wagon, Wagner.” 
What you do remember, though, was how hard he laughed at your half-assed attempt at a shitty joke. 
“I swear! Just me, tonight.” It was at that very second that you remember becoming enamored with the way he licked his lips, how he clicked his tongue just a little, and how his eyes had fluttered closed under his lashes. He’d reached his hand out for you to grab, so you did. 
“You gonna let me be lonely on my birthday, Y/N?” His warm fingers slowly worked their way to interlace with yours. This flirtatious tone wasn’t something you’d ever seen from him before, but for some reason, you found yourself tumbling for it. The deep rasp in his voice signaled something else, something so unexpected from him that you almost laughed it off as him kidding with you.
Your eyes had glanced around the room in confusion, and when you didn’t answer, you felt his foot kick into your leg, bringing your eyes back to look at him. His eyebrow was cocked in the air, as if he was waiting for an answer. 
“You’re drunk, Danny… you don’t…” you’d anxiously answered, nodding your head side to side in disbelief. 
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t want me to… stay…” for some reason, he was making you nervous, and you were having trouble answering him. There was no way he wanted you to stay, of all people. No way in hell.
He’d laughed, sitting up on the couch and leaning over to take you in his arms in a giant bear hug. His face was buried into your shoulder, pulling you close in the warmest embrace you’d had in a while. It was strange feeling him this closely, and you shivered a little at his touch. You’d hugged him back, and then felt his lips drift close to your ear. 
“I actually do… want you to stay here with me. In my room, in my bed, until tomorrow morning…” his voice crackled in your ear, the faint scent of spicy tequila still on his breath. It’d sent chills all over your body, and you had to admit, it was a strangely welcome feeling. Danny had never been this close to you, like this, ever before. His words had shocked your system, though, temporarily deeming you unable to respond. 
So when he finally pulled back from the hug and confidently met your eyes again, you let yourself go with it. You were still fairly intoxicated, but this drop dead gorgeous friend of yours who had hardly ever given you the time of day was now throwing himself into your lap. Why turn him down? It was his birthday, after all. 
“I never knew you were into me, Danny,” you’d cooed, watching as his fingers drifted across the back of your hand. 
He sat back and dropped his head against the cushion again, cracking his fingers above his head. “I‘ve always been into you, Y/N. You’re gorgeous and fun, make me laugh… always been so good to me.”
You’d never admitted it, but of course you had pictured yourself with him a time or two. How could you not? Talented, handsome, kind and genuine…always looking for fun and always including you in his outlandish plans. But this…him laying it out on the line like this? It had your body beginning to physically yearn for him, completely out of nowhere. 
“Stop playing, no you haven’t…” you’d argued, still in disbelief. 
He held his hands up in surrender, cocking a sideways smile. “I swear. I just… never had the guts to say anything…”
You contemplated it all for a second, giving him a questioning look that begged for his reassurance. 
“Why not, ya know? Not like we’re strangers…” you’d muttered through a sharp inhale.
You stood from the ottoman and slowly began stepping one foot in front of the other toward him, standing just between his legs. Your heart rate spiked as you answered him, your face flushing with the reality of what you were about to do.  “Just a birthday hookup, huh? Just this one time?”
You let your hand brush against his thigh, your fingers lightly tickling until they reached his hip. It felt as though your hands were disconnected from your body, making their own decision to reach out and touch him as he sat reclined in front of you. Gently, his hands pulled around your waist, his thumbs digging into the flesh, strong and inviting. 
“Just this one time…and that’s it.”
That night, the two of you stayed up until the winter sun was striking through the windows onto Danny’s white down comforter, and only then did the two of you finally drift off to a short but sweet slumber, until the alarm on his phone woke you both in a panic. 
You’d fallen asleep upside-down on the bed, both of your heads at the foot of his king-size. His arm was draped across the small of your back, and his hair was still a messy bundle of curls at the back of his head. 
“Fuck,” he’d muttered, rubbing his eyes. “What time is it?”
“I don’t fuckin’ know, it’s your alarm…”
Suddenly, now, in the light of day and the brightness of the room, the both of you became very conscious of your unclothed selves. You’d felt your cheeks blush at the sight of him, skin still dewy with the after-effects of sweat and sex. You didn’t miss his passing glance of you, too, still halfway wrapped up in his sheets as he maneuvered to the top of the bed to check the time.
“‘S only seven. Shit, I’ve got a headache…” he said, running a hand over his face. 
“Me too,” you mumbled as he laid back down beside you. You pulled the covers up a bit more over your body, feeling extremely exposed in the bright sunlight. He propped himself up on his elbows, giving you a sweet and questioning look. “So, what are we supposed to do now?” you’d asked. “Cuddle?”
His laugh bounced off the walls, the glitter in his eye sending a wave of nerves through your body. 
“We cuddled plenty last night, Y/N. We didn’t end up falling asleep until like, six,” he said, his voice groggy with sleep, or lack thereof. 
“Fuck,” you breathed. “I’m sorry for keeping you up all night, I know you have things to do all day–” he cut you off with a kiss, his neck craning down to meet your lips with the sweetest surprise touch. 
After a few fleeting seconds he pulled away, meeting your eyes as he spoke again. “Don’t you dare apologize to me, Y/N. I asked you to stay in here. Asked you to keep me company on my birthday.” His hand reached up to pull the hair away from your cheek, bringing instant flashbacks of his hands on your face and shoulders last night as he pinned you down, fucking you into his mattress. “I was just completely unaware that both of us would last for that many hours…” he laughed, rolling away to cover his face. 
“God, Danny, don’t embarrass me!” you laughed along with him. 
“What is there to be embarrassed about?! Shit, I think we were great together,” he went on, holding his hand out for you to low-five.
You pursed your lips together, letting your hand clap onto his. “We were, weren’t we? Never would have thought.”
“Shit, I thought about it all the time…” he admitted. 
“Why didn’t you ever say anything?” you played, smacking him across the chest. 
“I don’t know, you’re just a girl in my friend group, ya know? My roommate that helps me with rent…didn’t want to freak you out or something and make you hate me,” he explained.
You propped up on your elbow, shaking your head at him. “So we could have been doing this all along?”
“Oh, so you enjoyed yourself, then?” he countered, rolling you to lie on your back as he pulled himself over you again. 
As you gazed up at him above you, small curly strands falling around his face and onto yours, you felt your face get hot, the same need you felt in your stomach for him last night coming back full force. A need you never thought you would have for him. A need that came back to you over and over again the night before, and left you both too exhausted to even bother to see the morning.
“Danny, we fucked like five times, of course I enjoyed myself,” you tried to keep the confidence heavy in your voice. 
His nose scrunched up as he giggled, light and airy into the room. He laced his fingers with yours, lifting your hands together into the air and pulling them back down between you again. This time, you took the initiative and kissed him again, straining to keep things from moving as quickly as they had moved once you finally climbed into his lap on the couch last night.
When you finally separated, both of you refraining from letting it go any further, he disconnected your hands and clenched his jaw. “What do we do now?”
You didn’t want a relationship. And neither did he. That much was very known amongst your friend group, the both of you way too busy with your own lives to devote your time to another. You stood strong in that decision, and you knew for a fact that he would, too. So your mind began wandering, thinking of ways to end this entanglement you’d found yourselves in. 
“What if we just… did this sometimes?” you proposed. 
His brow furrowed. “I’m listening…”
“Our birthdays. Yours in December, and mine in June… it’s perfect. If the both of us are single on our birthday each year, we make a plan to not leave the other lonely…” The idea seemed preposterous, but at the same time, it didn't. A sure-fire way to make each of your birthdays interesting each year, and after the night you’d shared last night, you’re positive he wouldn’t turn the idea down.
His eyes dashed around the room as he considered it, taking a deep breath as he sat up in the bed. You caught a glance of his naked lower half, and your eyes rolled back on their own accord as you pictured his hips pounding into yours last night in the darkness of his bedroom. You sat up too, challenging his gaze. 
He held his hand out again, this time for you to shake. 
“Deal.”
—-
After deciding on the three bottles of wine, two white and a red, your mind begins wandering off by itself, causing you to hardly pay attention to the fact that you are singing the words to the song playing in your headphones out loud. You bite your lips, glancing around to see if anyone had seen you, or worse, heard your horribly flat singing voice. Luckily the aisle is clear, so you make a mad dash for the checkout line, ready to get out and head back home for dinner. 
The drive is short, and when you finally arrive in the driveway, you find that you’re the last one to get there. 
“Hello, hello,” you sing as you let yourself inside, kicking off your flip flops at the door. You set the bag of wine bottles on his island where Jake and Sam are busy preparing the meal. 
“Thank god, the booze is here!” you hear Josh sing through the house as he makes his way over to stand beside you, opening the drawer of the island to search for Danny’s wine opener. You set all three bottles in line on the countertop in a nice straight line. “Shiraz, Y/N? That’s surely a bold choice…” Josh says, rolling his eyes. 
“The label looked pretty, I don’t know!” you counter, shoving your shoulder into his. “It already smells really good, guys…” you say as you leave Josh to the wine, leaning over Jake’s shoulder as he stirs a pot at the stove. Suddenly Danny is leaning over his other side, sticking his finger in whatever sauce Jake is stirring.
“Aht, aht!” Jake swats his hand away just as Danny sticks his finger into the saucepan. “It’s not perfect yet…”
“Tastes good as hell to me,” Danny says, locking eyes with you as he pops his lips over his finger. You feel your insides churn.
“So Y/N, your birthday is next week, you guys planning your weird little bi-yearly birthday hookup still?” Josh nonchalantly asks as he yanks the cork from the bottle of red. Fortunately, it only took nearly two years for your friends to catch on to your and Danny’s little birthday agreement, when Jake inadvertently tried to surprise Danny with filling up his bathroom with balloons, only to find you bent over the bathroom sink. 
“Christ, Josh, you have to put it like that?” Danny intervened. “Geez…”
“What?! That’s what it is, right?” Josh says as he pulls glasses down from the cabinet. You feel your face blush, even though it’s an open topic, at this point. 
Danny pulls himself up to sit on the corner of his countertop. “No, we simply enjoy the other’s company on our birthdays because both of us suck at the dating playing field and always decide to indulge in one another’s availability, right Y/N?”
“That’s correct,” you confidently agree as you listen to the others groan.
Josh throws his head back and laughs loudly. 
“What?” Danny yelps.
“You don’t think it’s funny that neither of you have ever had a significant other on your birthdays for the past what, three years now?” Josh says, eliciting silent looks of agreement from his brothers.
“Mmm, no, I don’t think it’s funny. We both suck at dating, you heard him. This is just…our way of making sure we aren’t alone twice a year.” The attempt at explaining yourselves is transparent, at this point. You know you’re lying to yourselves. It's obvious. Each and every time you pull yourself from Danny’s bed, or he from yours, you feel your bones begging you to stay. You like him, you’ll admit it, but only to yourself. 
Twice a year isn’t enough, it was never enough. And you know for a fact that it will never be enough. On his birthday last year, you could have sworn you heard him say something close to the ‘L’ word as he came for the third time that night, his voice low and whining as you clenched around him, bringing him to his completely fucked-out state of mind. Each hookup had gotten hotter, heavier, and more serious. Each time was better than the last, and this last one was so intense, that you ended up staying in his room a second night, completely breaking your own rules. 
As you slipped out of his bedroom that second morning, his honey brown eyes were begging you to stay, his lips touching his fingertips and blowing it your way as you quietly shut his bedroom door behind you. 
That morning broke you. That morning your heart told you what it wanted. 
That morning was the last time you denied it to yourself– you were absolutely head over heels for him. The yearning you’d felt had begun overtaking your whole self. And it wasn’t just yearning, it was something else. Something more powerful, something you couldn’t grasp the notion of, because you’d never felt it before. It’s now become something that makes your days drag by with the thought of him, not only sexually but personally, too. You feel wrapped up in his life, intertwined with his decisions, and some days you barely even have the time to give each other more than a goodmorning and goodnight. Sure, you still meet up every week with your group for dinner, but the subtle touches and the intense glances that are being shared almost on the daily now have become too much. You want to tell him. You need to tell him.
“Hm. Okay, so… what’s the plan this year?” Josh asks, obviously wanting to pry into your business, just like always. 
“Josh, it’s none of your fucking business. Can you leave them alone for a second?” Sam says as he empties the box of rice into the insta-pot. 
“No, it’s fine. I have big plans…” Danny bites his cheeks in as he denies himself a cheeky smile, swinging his bare feet as he sits on the counter. His eyes are boring into yours, and you swear just a simple word from him would have you on your knees for him, anymore. 
“Big plans, huh?” you try to avoid his stare. 
“Mmmmhm…” he says, grinning to himself. “Might have you running away and never coming back, though.”
You nearly choke on the sip of wine swirling in your mouth. Throughout the years, you will admit, your hookups had gotten more and more mischievous as time went on, both of you pushing each other’s boundaries just a little more each time. Nothing had ever gotten too crazy, but after his birthday last year, it was an unwritten understanding that not much was off the table, at all. 
Sam plugs his ears with his fingers. “La la la I don’t wanna hear details!”
Jake pulls his wooden spoon from the sauce, turning to face all of you. “I do, I wanna hear it. Keep going. What’s the plan?”
“I’m not fuckin’ tellin’ you guys, it’ll ruin the surprise,” Danny argues as Josh hands him a glass of wine. 
“Okay well you can tell me after her birthday then, right?” Jake pushes. 
Emma steps in front of him, taking the now dripping spoon from his hand and running her tongue up the side to catch it from going into the floor. “Yeah Danny, maybe you should give him the rundown, maybe it’ll get his wheels turning,” she challenges, bouncing her eyebrows to Jake as she places the spoon back into the sauce. You laugh at her, feeling no embarrassment in the least. 
“Get my wheels turning?! What is that supposed to mean?!” Jake yells, grabbing her waist from behind and spinning her around the kitchen. 
You lock eyes with Danny again as he gives you a suspicious look of excitement, like he’s trying his hardest to keep his idea locked inside. 
—---
After a rambunctious and wine-drunk dinner, everyone begins to file out of the house, stumbling away to either walk down the street to their respective homes, or catching a ride out with other friends to the nearest bar. You’re left behind again, like always, helping Danny with dishes and pouring out the remaining bits of wine left behind in the glasses. 
“So, next week. The big 2-5. You still down for hanging out?” he asks as he dries the last dish, as if you would ever say no. 
“Actually, I think I’m going to spend this year alone, ya know? Keep it low key, order some take-out and curl up on the couch,” you say with a cheeky tone.
His jaw hangs slack as he nearly drops the towel in his hand. “Really?”
You scoff. “No, Danny. Are you serious? We shook on it, and I don’t break my promises,” you laugh. You slowly walk toward him, the line between friend and more than a friend getting blurrier as time goes on. You want to put your hands on his bare chest, press yourself against his warm body, crane your neck up to meet for a sweet kiss, but you don’t. Because you can’t. Because he isn’t yours. 
So instead you just simply stand before him, leaning a hand onto the countertop. 
He lets out an audible sigh of relief. “Shew, good. I was about to be pissed at you, Y/N,” he breathes as he playfully shoves your shoulder. “Standing me up on your birthday…”
You smile as you realize your feet are carrying you closer to him on their own. You try to stop them, try to tell them no, but you can’t. Now you’re standing in front of him, your chests almost touching as you let your finger trail up his arm to his neck. “I’d never stand you up, Danny. Not in a million years,” you murmur. 
You feel his body stiffen as you let your singular fingertip connect with his skin, your touch a featherlight drift. You glance down at his hand balanced on the cold marble countertop, his fingers tightening and loosening under the weight of his own want to touch you back. You hear him breathe in, fast and choppy as you begin to manipulate the line between friends and more, truly unable to keep it black and white no matter how much you try. Finally you let your eyes look into his, dark and brooding and looking a lot like they do after a few rounds of self-indulgence with you.
“Good,” he growls, “because I have a hell of a night planned for us.”
Us.
“Is that right?” you question, still trailing your fingertip across his arm and neck. You can see the chill bumps forming on his skin now, and you can tell he is physically restraining himself from succumbing to his mental constraints. You have to admit, you’re finding it very satisfying, watching his mind tell his body no. The muscles in his arms flex and tighten as you step closer, slowly tiptoeing to bring your faces close, your lips barely ghosting his. 
“That’s very right,” he whispers, opening his mouth slightly as if he’s going to kiss you, but instead pulling back a little. The proximity is enough to make you feel soaked already, your entire body buzzing with fire for him. 
“When do you want me ready?” you breathe, letting your lips graze across his, your finger now hooked behind his bicep. His hands are still gripping as he balances between the island and the countertop as he leans down to you, restraining himself still yet. 
He’s inhaling and blowing air quickly through his nose, and you know for a fact that he’s holding himself back with everything in him. His jaw clenches hard as his eyes stay trained on your lips. “Want you right now, if I’m being honest…” His words make the butterflies in your stomach explode their wings. 
You can taste the wine still heavy on his breath. “But it’s not my birthday, Danny…” you retort.
He takes a deep breath. “I’m getting to a point where I don’t care.”
You swallow it down. Maybe your thoughts are mutual… Your heart is absolutely racing, like it would do when you found out your elementary school crush liked you back. You don’t even know what to say, at this point, you want him so badly…your vision blurring with the mental snaps of the two of you wrapped up in one another again. 
“You should care, we have an agreement,” you admit through your teeth, as badly as it hurts to say it. “We set our rules.”
He scoffs hard. “I don’t remember signing my name on any dotted line, Y/N,” he spurts back, making you feel that drop in your stomach again. He wants to break the rules, too.
You bite your lips in, deciding to cut your losses. You step back from him, disconnecting your finger from behind his arm, and stepping away. The flushed look on his pink cheeks is enough to make you want to run back into his arms, and the look on his face makes it seem as though he just lost the one thing in his life he never planned on having, anyway. 
“I asked you a question, Danny. When do you want me ready?” you say strongly. 
He closes his eyes and recenters, swallowing down his thoughts. “Uh, uhm. F-Friday. Around 8.” He finally cleans up his expression and meets you with a smile again. “Be ready to celebrate.”
—--
DANNY POV
Friday rolls around more quickly than you thought it would. The group had decided to rain-check family dinner this week, planning on celebrating Y/N’s birthday the following weekend when everyone would be in town at the same time. 
Your palms had been sweaty all day just at the thought of what tonight would hold, and you realize that you hadn’t been this anxious for a night together with Y/N, yet. The nerves are positively eating you alive, but you shove them down, knowing that you shouldn’t be having them in the first place. She doesn’t feel for you the same way you feel for her, and she likely never will. 
It’s heartbreaking and wasteful, really, knowing that your sexual chemistry with her is only put to good use twice a fucking year when it should be being shared with her whenever you wanted to show her how much you really care, but. Here you find yourself. 
She’s taking up all the extra space in your mind these days. You feel like you’re floating on air each and every time the vision of her face pops into your mind, you feel like you can feel the blood in your veins rising to a hotter temperature than you’ve ever experienced, and you find yourself wanting to give her all the things she’s ever wanted, and more. Your friend, one of your best friends, you’d say, unknowingly spinning herself into your life in a way that you can’t even tell her about.
That last birthday you shared together, your twenty-fifth, wasn’t the same as the rest before it. Sure, fucking her was high on your list of excellent sexual experiences thus far, but that last time, shit. Had your head spinning for days after. Never had a woman gotten you more fucked up than she did after that night. Two nights, really. That was when you knew it was real. When you wanted to ask her to stay, don’t go… be with me here and don’t ever leave… But your pride got the best of you. So you let her walk out, taking every single last bit of hope you had to make her yours with her as she walked out your bedroom door. 
Could she not see it? Did she not notice how horribly you want her, all the time? Surely she doesn’t think you’re just being nice when you do little things for her… offer to change the oil in her car, take her lunch to work, send her every single funny meme and video you have ever come across simply because you know they’ll make her laugh…
Apparently not. But you don’t want to push too hard, too soon, either. If it’s meant to happen, it will. Hell, you hadn’t even told Sam about these feelings you’d been having. No one knows. This is a secret you’d kept bottled up for months now. 
You come back inside after a quick trip to the grocery store and gently place the items from your arms onto the island, making sure the champagne bottle doesn’t tip over and break. You stick the bottle into the fridge and remove everything else from the plastic bags before rushing into your bedroom to make sure it’s presentable. 
While she was at work, you’d spent the majority of the day cleaning up the general guy-ness of your bedroom, putting on a fresh set of sheets and giving the bathroom a good wipe-down. You’d never cared this much, for what she thinks of your surroundings…
…But you want tonight to be special. You want this birthday to be her favorite one, yet. And you’re determined to do so. You’d placed various candles around the surfaces of your bedroom, trying to make it romantic, but not so much that it will make her think you’re trying too hard.
When you decide that your room is as neat as it’s going to get, you go back into the kitchen and tear into the small cardboard box that’s been hiding away on top of your refrigerator for almost a month now. You’d seen an ad for it while scrolling instagram or something, and you knew right then that you had to get it. Your birthdays spent with her were becoming more and more experimental, and the idea for this year had fallen right into your lap. 
You rip the packing tape off the box, letting it fall to the wayside as you open the flaps, finding the perfectly wrapped 2 and 5 candles in all their glittering glory. Shiny, crimson red wax with metallic gold trimming, long wicks and a thickness that regular store-bought candles just don’t have. You smirk as you pull them from the packaging and lay them in front of her small cake- chocolate with white buttercream icing. Her favorite. A glance at the clock on the stove lets you know you have an hour until she gets home, so you scurry off to the shower to get a last-minute scrub before you inevitably hear her coming through the door. 
—--
Your stomach nearly falls to the floor when you hear the front door unlatch, and you find her a  tired and flustered mess after her long shift. You busy yourself on your laptop, trying your best to seem more involved with what you’re doing than watching her unload her things from her arms onto the table.
“Hey birthday girl,” you mutter without looking back at her. “How was your day?”
You feel her lean all her body weight across the back of the couch beside you. “Long,” she huffs, “but not bad.”
You find the confidence to turn your head to her, finding her resting her head into her palm as she eyes you. You have to reel it all back in as you feel her so closely in your presence again. 
��Good,” you reply, keeping it short. “Not too tired to skip our date?”
She hums a sweet laugh. “No. Most definitely not.”
“Are we…leaving the house? I’m trying to decide what to wear…” she asks shyly.
You have to remind yourself that she’s your friend, there’s nothing to be scared of, you do this all the time…
“No, actually. We’re staying home,” you reply.
Home. Your home, with her. 
“Eight o’clock?” she reiterates.
“Yep, on the dot,” you tease as she stands to make her way to her end of the house.
She sways down the hallway, tossing her jacket over her shoulder as she disappears into the shadows. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”
—---
A few hours later, you’re leaned on the island swirling a lowball glass of tequila, waiting for her to emerge from her bedroom. You’d been standing patiently, fashionably early for your birthday date in the kitchen as you listened to the faint sounds of her music playing as she got ready. 
Your nerves are already shot, the tequila doing little to assist in qualming the nervous anxiety swirling through you. So when you finally hear her bedroom door open and her steps coming down the hall, you have to tilt the rest back in hopes that it will hit you a little more quickly. 
She’s dressed cute, but comfortable, and you can tell she did her hair that special way that you’d complimented a few weeks ago. She smells like sweet sugary flowers mixed with the woodsy smell of rain, and just her scent as she approached you was already driving you insane. 
You meet her in the middle of the kitchen, grabbing her hand to twirl her around into your embrace. “Happy birthday, gorgeous,” you mutter, your face falling into her hair for a second. 
Her arms lift around your neck, squeezing just a little as she places the sweetest kiss to your cheek. “Thank you, Danny.” You allow yourself to hold her for just a second, your right hand gripping the wrist of your left at the back of her waist. 
“You hungry?” You ask as you pull away from her. 
“Yeah, whatcha making?” she replies, taking a seat at the island. 
You grab the box of the frozen pizza you’d previously thrown in the oven, displaying it for her. 
“Oh my god, my favorite!” she squeals. “I’m so excited.”
You laugh as you fold the box up, cramming it into the trash can. “Knew you would be. It’s not a five-star birthday meal, but. Let’s be honest. I can’t cook for shit, and you love this pizza more than you love a lot of things…”
“No, you’re so right. I’ve actually been craving it for a while,” she giggles. 
“Wait, I also gotttttt….” You make your way to the fridge, pulling out the bottle of champagne. 
“Shit, pizza and champagne? You know exactly how to make a girl happy, Daniel.” She blushes a little, and you know you’re on the right track for the night. 
“You gotta open it, though. It’s bad luck if someone else opens the champagne bottle on your birthday,” you lie, scooting the bottle to her across the countertop. 
“You’re crazy. Give it,” she rolls her eyes as she takes the bottle, twisting the key seven times and removing the wire casing. She stands from her chair, gripping the bottle in both hands as she searches for somewhere to aim. 
“At the wall! Just not toward a window!” you warn, closing one eye as she begins to push on the cork. Finally it pops off, flying toward the wall as the bubbly pours from the neck of the bottle. “Get it, Y/N, get it!” 
She cups her lips over the overflowing bottle, slurping up as much as she can before it flows into the floor. The two of you laugh as you bring two glasses over, letting her pour them up. Just then the timer for the pizza goes off, and the sound of the beeps reminds you that time is ticking, making your nerves rush for the main event. 
——-
After stuffing yourselves with pizza and downing the bottle of champagne, the two of you are piled up on the couch sharing a six pack of some crazy peach flavored beer she’d bought last week. 
You’re seated on the couch as she reclines across it, her legs in your lap. You’d talked a lot tonight, like more than you maybe ever have before. Sure, you’d been friends for many years now, but majority of the time, you’re surrounded by the other guys always intervening on your conversations, or interrupting your discussions. 
But after three hours of deep exchange, you swear you could talk to her until the end of time, and never get tired of it. She looks natural with her bare, sunkissed legs draped across your lap, and your hand that’s mindlessly drifting over her thigh and knee looks like it belongs there. 
Her drunken laughter bounces off the walls and right into your chest, making your entire self beam with happiness and adoration for her. The way she takes up space in the home you share gives you an inexplicable feeling. Roommates doesn’t even begin to describe what you want to title your living situation with her.
Your faces are blotched red and tears are falling from your eyes as the two of you come down from a laughing fit, and a sweet recovery silence falls over the both of you. Her eyes are bloodshot from the alcohol, and her face is flushed from the belly laughs. 
“You’re really pretty, Danny,” she flits, making you whip your head her way. 
“What?” you ask, embarrassed. 
“You’re pretty. Well, you’re handsome, of course, but. You’re also pretty,” she explains, her words making you feel shy. 
“Oh, thank you, Y/N. Don’t think anyone’s ever told me that before…” you respond. Your hand grips into her thigh a little bit as your head falls back onto the couch cushion. You meet her eyes, the both of you staring at each other while everything else in the room disappears. You hold the gaze for a long while, each passing second making your breathing pick up. Fuck, she makes you nervous. 
Finally, she stands, pushing her hair back behind her ear as she reaches for you to take her hand. “Take me to bed, Danny…” she whispers. 
Okay. 
You slowly stand, keeping her hand in yours as she pulls you into the center of the room. Like magnets, your bodies are pulled into one another, your hands finding both of hers as you turn to walk her backwards down the hall to your room. You move in slow motion as the two of you glide across the wooden floors, taking your sweet, special time. 
You take her chin between your fingers, and push her hair back again before leaning down to press your lips to hers. It’s gentle and sweet and slow, her lips parting only just a little bit as you guide her down the long hallway. You allow yourself the indulgence of her lips, the feeling of her tongue gently swiping across yours, the flavor of everything that she is. It’s all perfect, she’s perfect. 
Her hands finally find your face and hair, entangling themselves like they always do, pulling you further into her. For this only being the sixth time you’ve done this, it feels like the most natural thing in the world to you. It doesn’t make any sense that you waste your time thinking about it, instead of giving her the loving that she deserves. 
But you plan on showing her tonight. You may not be able to tell her, but damned if you can’t try your best to show her. 
“Wait, I almost forgot,” you pause as you approach your bedroom door. “I’ll be right back. Stay here,” you command, squeezing her shoulders. “No peeking,” you whisper as you watch her eyelids close.  
You’d already strategically placed her cake on the table in your room, with two forks and no plates. But the last finishing touch is the sporadically placed candles. You grab your lighter from your nightstand and light them one by one, watching as the flickering flames cast a warm glow across your walls. Perfect. Lastly, you place the 2 and 5 candles in the center of the cake, but wait to light them. 
You slip back out into the hall, finding her still standing with her eyes closed. You grab her hands and pull her to walk toward you. “Keep them closed.”
Her smile lights up your entire world. “What are we doing, Danny? I’m scared…” 
“Don’t be scared, babe. S’just me…”
You pull her inside, instructing her to sit down on the bed as you grab the cake and lighter. You balance it in one hand and flick the lighter with the other, lighting the wicks of both the number candles. 
“Open your eyes.”
Her eyes flick open, finding the room completely illuminated with orange glow. “Ah, Danny…” she gasps, glancing around the room, and finally to the cake in your hands in front of her. 
“Hm hm hmm hm hmmm hmm…” you hum the Happy Birthday song, your voice a bit shaky and jittery with nerves. “Don’t forget to make a wish,” you say, watching as her eyes flick to yours, then back to the cake in your hands. She closes her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again, and blowing out the flames of her 25.
“You wanna know what I wished for?” she asks. 
You shake your head. “No. But I hope it comes true.”
You set the cake down on your nightstand and you sit back down beside her on your bed. You bring her in close again, letting your forehead balance on hers before you make contact. You swear to it, you could get lost in kissing her more easily than you could get lost in a foreign country. You’d kissed her a hundred times before, but lately…now…
Things move slowly, things move sweetly…normally the two of you waste no time in ripping one another’s clothes off, biting and scratching and devouring each other like you’re starved, but tonight feels like it deserves more attention than that. It deserves to be appreciated. 
Your hands drift to the bottom hem of her cream-colored eyelet lace dress, your hand drifting up her thigh. You pull the dress as you go, revealing her thong hugging her hip. Your hand slips below the waistband, and you run your fingers along it and down the front pantyline, the backs of your knuckles skimming across her heat. She whines a little at the contact, and you feel your vision growing blurry. 
You continue kissing her while slowly letting your hands explore her in a way you’ve never let them before, taking special care to pay attention to your every move. The kiss becomes more longing when you let a digit slip into her folds, feeling her wetness coating your finger for the first time in six months. Her hands grip onto your shoulders, pulling your upper body into her. You push her back to lay on the bed, never once disconnecting your mouths. 
Her left knee is bent into the air while the other one lies flat, so you push it to the side a little as your hand still hides in her panties. Her hand is yanking at the back of your hair as your featherlight touch drifts up and down, finally landing on her sweet spot. She cries quietly into your mouth when you land on it just right, using your middle finger to swirl her wetness across it. 
She sits up a little, reaching to your back to pull your cotton t-shirt over your head. You disconnect for just a second to help her, and toss it to the floor. “Mmm there you are,” she mumbles, her hands rushing across the skin of your chest and arms while you go back to work. 
You feel her legs spread, giving you the ok to move further. You let your two middle fingers dip inside of her to the hilt, her muscles already tight and twisting around you. “Fuck baby, you’re tight…” you pull away long enough to say. With your words she tightens around you on purpose, clenching herself as you begin pumping your hand in and out of her. You start to wonder if you’re the only one she’s slept with since December. Not that it’s any of your business, but, lately you’d decided that your feelings for her had gathered so heavily in your chest that that six month gap would be worth it, if it meant she could be all yours.
You watch her face in awe, suddenly feeling no ounce of shyness in the least in watching her come undone around your hand. Her bottom lip bites into her mouth as her eyelids flutter open and shut, and the sounds that escape from her lips make you realize how beyond ready for her you are. 
You continue pumping your fingers in and out of her, feeling her drip down onto the bed sheets below you. “You wanna let go like this for me, baby?” you ask, having trouble keeping your breaths even. 
“No. Yes, but no…” she concedes. “Wanna… want you…”
You smirk. “Go ahead, Y/N, we’ve got all night. You know how we are...” You take the opportunity to twist your fingers inside of her, turning your arm so that your palm is now pressed against her heat instead of perpendicular with it. You lean down and lick a stripe up the side of her neck as you leave your fingers buried deep, stopping the pumping altogether and instead wiggling the tips of your fingers against the spot deep inside her. 
“Fuck Danny,” she breathes. “Keep it there keep it there…” Her eyes squeeze shut as you watch her chase her high, her hand squeezing at your pec and gripping onto it with everything she has. 
It’s impressive really, how much you’d learned her body after just being with her a handful of times over the course of three years, learning her ins and outs and what drives her crazy for you, and stowing them away at the back of your mind until the next birthday. 
You make quick and heady work of brushing your fingers across that spot, pressing your palm against her clit and adding just the right amount of circular pressure in both places. Her legs fall open even further and her head tilts back, all of her muscles tightening as she cries out, giving you her first orgasm of the night. And you had barely even removed any clothing yet. 
When she’s done, you gather up her wetness and pull it onto her stomach under her dress, letting your middle finger massage it onto her skin. “Fuck…” she breathes out, wiping the hair from her face. “That didn’t take me long,” she laughs.
“No, it didn’t,” you agree, sitting up on the bed. “Must be excited to see me.” 
She sits up and stands from the bed, pulling her flowy cream dress up over her hips and hiking one knee after the other across either side of you. You lean back away from her straddle, resting your arms back on the bed as you get a good look at her, already glowy. She reaches up and clasps her hands behind your neck. “Very excited to see you,” she admits shyly. 
“Hm, really? You see me every day,” you poke, trying to feel out her level. 
“Yeah but we can’t do this on random Tuesday afternoons, or in front of our friends, now, can we?” she presses, letting her hips fall onto your lap. You reach one finger to her chest and trail it up to under her chin, pulling her into you. Your heart begins pounding as you fall into a ravenous kiss again, this time bringing more heat than you even began to touch on a few minutes ago. Your hands fall to her waist, pulling her down onto you as she moves her knees to sit closer, pressing your chests together. Your hands travel across her thighs and to her waist, then finally around to grip her ass. 
Though your tongue is burying itself deeply into her mouth, you’re metaphorically biting it. You want to tell her that yes, you do want to move things in another direction with her, you do want to hold her hand in front of your friends, you do want them to know how crazy you actually are for her. So in an act of boldness, you try. 
“Maybe not in this regard, but they probably wouldn’t mind a little PDA…” 
She giggles as she wraps her hands in your hair. “PDA? Like flirting with each other? In front of them?”
“Yeah, just like that. They already know we sleep together sometimes, they have to know we, ya know… are allowed to let it flow into days that aren’t our birthdays…” you swallow the words down, feeling so anxious that she may take them the wrong way, or hate them altogether. 
“You think they’d make fun of us?” she asks, her mouth kissing behind your ear.
“Oh yeah, they would. But, I’d be there to slap the fuck out of them if they embarrass you,” you respond, squeezing your hands into her hips. 
Her tongue is tickling the sensitive skin around your ear as she lays tiny pecks near your hairline. “I think I’d be okay with a little flirting… sometimes it almost happens naturally, anyway,” she says, making your heart rate soar again. 
“Really?”
She nods, coming up to face you now, her cheeks tinted the palest pink. “Mmhm, sometimes I have to stop myself from touching you in front of them. You know, just innocently.”
You swallow hard, knowing the exact feeling all too well. When you’re surrounded by your friends making dinner or whatever it may be, you’ve found yourself having to stop your hand from grazing across her lower back as you walk by, from leaning down to kiss her cheek, anything, all the time. She’s right, it does feel natural to want to do that. 
“I do, too, actually,” you admit. “You… It feels normal to me. Just a reflex.” You buck your hips up into her as you speak, your body begging you for some contact. 
The whimper that leaves her chest ignites that deep carnal instinct inside you, wanting, needing to connect yourself with her again. You gather the soft fabric of her dress in your hands, signaling to her that you want to pull it off. She lifts her arms above her head, allowing you easy access to tear it all the way off of her. As her hair cascades back down over her shoulders you realize that her dress didn’t require a bra. So, you’re left staring at her left only in her thong, her breasts sitting more perfectly than you remember them. “You’re so gorgeous, Y/N, I swear…” you grit, raking over her body with your eyes. 
She hops off of your lap, motioning with one finger for you to stand. When you follow her order, she falls to her knees, working her fingers to unbutton your jeans. “Fuck, wait,” you say. Her eyes glance up at you through her eyelashes. “Pull your hair back.”
She does as you say, pulling her hair into a ponytail at her neck while you undo your jeans with one swift movement. She gets done with her hair quickly, swatting your hand away and pulling your zipper down. “Take them all the way off, Danny,” she demands, and the backs of your knees hit the mattress as you lean over, kicking them and your underwear off one leg at a time. You kick them to the side as she walks on her knees closer to you, taking your already over-hard dick in her right hand, licking her lips just a little before she swirls her tongue around the tip. Everything had just happened really fast, her urgency making your blood pump. Her tongue flattened out against you, and she pressed you all the way to the back of her throat, almost making your knees buckle under you. 
She grabs your hand, pulling it toward the back of her head. You take the signal and wrap your hand around her hair just as her lips meet your base, and you hold her there, feeling the saliva already beginning to pool in her mouth. “God damnit, baby, fuck you’re so good at this. Don’t even need my help…” You loosen your grip and allow her to drag her lips across your shaft, adding hard suction as she slowly ascends off. 
“Want your help, though. Do it…” she motions, so you do. You use her ponytail to guide her up and down you, forcefully pushing and pulling on her head just like she likes it. The first time you did this, you were a bit thrown off, as you’ve always just let whoever was pleasing you do whatever they felt. But she likes it when you tell her when and where you want her to be. 
The candles are physically heating up the air in the room, providing a heat that feels like a heavy blanket on your skin. Your mind flashes with remembering the special candles, and you feel a spark of excited electricity shoot through your body. The baby hairs around her face are beginning to stick to her forehead as her eyes glance up to look at you, doelike and pleading. 
She hums onto your dick as you squeeze her cheeks together, taking a hard hold on her jawline as your opposite hand guides her motions. Your head falls back as you feel the knot tightening in your stomach, but you can’t let go just yet. Her tongue swirls around your tip and the sounds that her mouth is making sound downright ruthless, spurring on your albeit degraded current situation. 
She moans onto you as her lips pull on and off, all by the force of your hand. You pull her hair particularly roughly, watching as the string of saliva connects her mouth to you, still. You take the second to sit down on the bed, physically unable to stand for another second without losing all will to hold yourself up. She moves in closer and digs her nails into the soft skin between your legs, sending a shake through your body. “Mother fucker baby, keep going with that…” you say, biting your bottom lip as you watch her. She scratches at your skin a few more times before you finally decide you can’t take it anymore, pulling and pushing on her head at a quicker pace. 
“Mhmm…” she moans as she nods her head ‘yes’, and you feel the deep rumble in your stomach, telling you that you’re not far. She kisses her lips down tightly on you this time, flicking her tongue in all the right places as you feel her throat tightening around you. 
“So fuckin’ deep baby, shit…” you say as your hips jut forward a few times, your dick hitting the back of her throat. Suddenly you feel your world falling apart as you let go into her, the dim orange light of the room turning into flashes of black and white as you send your streams down her throat. You wrap her hair around your hand as you hold her just where you want her, pulling her closely into you as you hiss through your release. 
When you finally take a breath and your vision unblurs, you watch as she wipes her chin with the back of her hand, standing to her feet again and joining you on the bed, a completely smug and satisfied look on her face.
“The fuck are you grinning about, huh?” you ask, pulling her in toward you again. 
“Nothin’, I just really love being the one to make you make noises like that,” she says, biting back another smile. 
“Well, you’ve got me figured out, seriously,” you compliment her, and it was the absolute truth. 
She shrugs you off. “Eh, I’m out of practice, really.” 
Oh?
“No way, you’re like… well seasoned,” you kid. 
“You dick!” she yells, stifling a laugh. “I haven’t even done that in six months.” You can tell she regretted saying it as soon as she did, suddenly avoiding your eyes and pulling one of your pillows up to cover her chest. 
“...You’re kidding,” you breathe, truly in disbelief. 
She shakes her head. “Lame, huh?”
“N-no, not lame. I–You haven’t, since…?” you stammer.
“Nope. Since your birthday. Go ahead, laugh at me all you want,” she says, motioning with her hand. 
Her words hit you right in the gut. She hadn’t been with anyone since you…
“I’m not gonna laugh at you, Y/N. I… I actually haven’t been with anyone else, either.”
Her eyes meet yours in disbelief. “Really?”
You nod. “Not this time around.”
She sits for just a second, hugging the pillow to her. “Why not?”
You shrug, the nerves bubbling in your stomach. “I dunno, no one’s really…struck my interest. Not enough to bring back home, anyway.”
She pulls one shoulder up toward her ear. “Yeah, mine neither. I’ve…tried, ya know, but.” She swallows. “My birthday is my favorite holiday for a reason.”
You can’t stop the joy that rises in your chest, your extremities tingling and your heart beating in your ears as she basically admits she doesn’t enjoy anyone but you. She hasn’t made it work with anyone else in six months. 
“Six months is a long time to wait, Y/N,” you mutter quietly. 
She pulls the pillow down, moving closer to you on the bed. “Not when what you’re waiting for is all you can ever think about.”
Fuck… it feels like your head is going to float right off of your shoulders out of a pure high at her admission. Your chest gets warm and your mouth goes dry, and you swear if you were looking in the mirror, there would be stars in your eyes. 
She feels the same. 
After a few seconds of disbelief, you find the nerve to answer her, a hardly audible whisper as you bring your face close to hers. “I think I’d wait for you for fifty years, if you wanted me to…”
Her hand cups your jawline as she grits her teeth, pulling you into her again. Your mouth wants to devour her all over again, but instead you take note of the tender moment, laying a sweet kiss to her lips that has a promise behind it. 
Her eyebrows furrow together when you pull away, a look you’re familiar with but also one that told you she’s confused. She opens her mouth to speak, probably to ask you if what you’d just said is true. But nothing comes out. She just stares at you in disbelief. 
Your hand finds her hip as you yank her body in with a little force, almost nose to nose now.
“Yeah, you heard me right. I’d wait for you, I will wait for you, if that’s what you want me to do…” you say, feeling so anxious for the outcome of this conversation you could almost be sick. It’s either going to end really really well, or so badly that you’d end up alone in bed tonight. But the risk outweighs the outcome, and you are ready and prepared to take it, whatever it might be.
She swallows hard as you watch her eyes become glazed. Her hands are balancing around your neck and across your shoulders, and you can feel the heat rising in her palms as her digits nervously fidget. It feels like a hundred years pass in the time you wait for her to respond, and you contemplate taking it all back. Making up an excuse, saying just kidding, we’re just friends… But the panic stops as soon as she finds her words. 
She shakes her head. “Wait for me… you’d, you wanna actually…?”
“Be with you more than just twice a year? Yeah, Y/N, I really would. You– you kinda have held a really special place for a long, long time now.” You swallow again, letting the words you’ve kept pent up for so long finally flow, but still feeling a little embarrassed by the admission. “I just never said anything, ya know, because of our arrangement. It worked so well for us but. I… I don’t know. It feels like more to me, lately.” 
She nods hard again, a tiny smile crossing her lips as her eyes stay trained on yours. But she stays quiet. 
“Can you say something, Y/N?” you ask through a huffed laugh. 
“It is more, Danny. It’s been more to me for a long time, too. You take up more space in my mind than I’d like to admit,” she says, now avoiding eye contact. 
Wow… finally. Finally, there it is.
“Why do we both deny it?” you whisper.
She shrugs, massaging the back of your neck. “I don’t know. But I don’t really want to anymore.”
You wrap your arm around her torso, pulling her weight from underneath her as you lay her flat on her back. 
“Then we don’t,” you say as you tower over her, the candle light flickering in her eyes and off of her skin. Her body is beautiful, there’s no denying that, but what has always gotten you is how she carries herself…how her body language is always reflective of exactly what she’s feeling in the moment. And right now, as her midsection arches up into you begging you to touch her again, you have no other thoughts than to appease her. 
Your mouth travels down her chest and across her belly, leaving long, lingering kisses across her body. As you get closer and closer to her heat, you move to kneel on the floor just as she had for you earlier, slipping your hands underneath her to pull her to the edge. Even in all your wild, drunken sexual adventures with her, for some reason, you’d never concentrated on this. You’d never gone down on her. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to, as it was one of your favorite activities, but the immediate pull to one another on these nights always ended up with getting straight to the good part. Neither of you really ever left time for the embellishments. 
She perks up onto her elbows as she gazes at your face between her legs. “Danny…”
“Let me show you what I mean, baby,” you more ask than say, running your tongue down the inside of her thigh. Her body stiffens as she still gives you that look of hesitation. Your tongue drifts over her opening as you tease her, barely ghosting overtop of everywhere but her sweet spot. She shudders again. “Unless you don’t want me to…”
“No! No I want you to. Please. You’ve just…” she finally relaxes her head back down. 
“I know I haven’t. And that’s on me. But I wanna show you that I’ve been thinking about this, doing just this since the last time I had you…” you explain, finally delving your tongue deeply into her. Her reaction is immediate, her back arching up again as her hands find your hair. The sounds she makes make you strain to keep it together, and the taste of her finally on your tongue is enough to make you want to stop altogether, and get to the good part, but you savor this instead, realizing you’ve wanted her like this for so long. 
You squeeze your lips over her, inching your tongue languidly inside of her and moving it back up to circle her clit. When you finally find it, she squeals, exhaling as her hands rip into your scalp. You glance to the head of the bed, pulling down a pillow and positioning it underneath her back to get a better angle. Your hands snake under her again, squeezing her ass as you pull her in. 
“Fuck Danny, why did you hold back on this for so long?” she asks through a pant, her legs opening and closing over your ears. “Shit…” You realize that you don’t really have an answer.
She’s writhing and fighting herself, and you can tell she’s nearing the peak, until she backs off again, likely wanting to make this last. She hums and purrs as you work over her clit, using your tongue and lips to kiss every single drenched inch of her. You feel like you can’t get enough, until you remember. Her birthday gift. 
You slow things down, pulling away a bit until you see the disgruntled look on her face at the disconnect. “No, don’t stop… don’t go..” she begs. Her expression is desperate, and you want nothing more than to feel her lose herself at the mercy of your mouth. So you dive back in, this time with a purpose.
“‘M not goin’ anywhere, baby,” you manage through kneads of your tongue against her. You bring your arm up between the two of you, using your elbow and hand to press her legs apart while your free hand’s two middle digits enter her again. Your tongue never lets up, circling and swirling furiously as her muscles tense. You take that as your cue to work harder, feeling her clenching around your hand already. You pump in and out of her again, making sure your tongue is pointed exactly where she needs it.
“Fuck, Danny baby… yes…” she breathes, and the pet name sends a shockwave straight to your dick, hearing her utter your name followed by a word so personal. You cup your lips over her clit, using a quick and harsh suction motion as you flick your tongue across it.
When she finally lets go, her cries and slurs of curses echo through your room, the most beautiful sound you’re sure you’ve ever heard. Her hands stay tangled in your locks, forcing your face into her as close as you can get. You savor it all, the sight, the sound, the taste… you wonder why you ever denied yourselves this piece of the puzzle after all this time, but then again, maybe saving something this intimate for right now is exactly what was supposed to happen. 
Her body jolts and shakes as she lets the pleasure wrack through her, and you devour every last bit. You crawl up her once she opens her eyes again, her hand freeing from your hair and back down to your face, pulling across your cheeks and mouth as she wipes her wetness from you. Her voice is strained as she finally speaks. “Fuck that was…”
“Fucking delicious,” you finish, pressing your lips to hers again, making her nod into you.
“Yeah, fucking delicious,” she agrees, wrapping her legs around you and using the leverage to pull you onto her. If you weren’t rock hard before, you surely are now after witnessing her falling apart for you like that. You can tell she’s already ready to get things going again, but you stop her, pulling away like you had done before. You stand from the bed, watching that same look of disappointment come across her features. 
“Don’t look at me like that, just wanna give you your birthday gift,” you say, walking around the bed to your nightstand. You grab the cake and place it carefully into your lap, grabbing the lighter again as she comes and sits beside you. 
“I already blew out my candles, Danny,” she says, balancing her chin on your shoulder.
“You did, but I didn’t tell you that these are special candles. Not meant to be blown out,” you explain, flicking the lighter to life and igniting them both.
“Not meant to be blown out? Why–”
“Because they’re really an oil,” you say, putting the lighter down and grabbing the plastic tray under the cake again, holding it up between you. “These are candles specially made for us to let melt and drip onto each other. Not like regular wax, these don’t burn as hot. Once they start to melt a little, they turn into a body oil.”
“Like a massage oil?” she asks, and you nod. 
“Mmhm, see, you can already smell the lavender and bergamot. They had birthday cake scented, but. I thought that might be overkill,” you smirk. Her eyes drift down to the candles with intrigue, and she bites her bottom lip in. “We don’t have to, if you don’t want to. But, I’ve heard good things…”
She picks up one of the candles from the cake, carefully licking the icing off the bottom. She holds her opposite hand out palm down, and lets the melty wax oil drip down onto the back of her hand, a few droplets of dark red liquid dripping down between her fingers. 
“Doesn’t burn at all,” she says, reaching to grab the cake from you to set on the table again. She then takes your hand, letting the wax drip down onto your hand, too. 
The sensation is more of an extremely warm electrical pulse than the burn you’d expect, and it quickly dulls as the oil cools. It doesn’t harden like normal wax, instead it just turns into a thick oil. You take your other finger and rub it across your skin, feeling the softness of the lotion-like liquid sink into your skin. “Wow, no, it feels good,” you agree. 
“Lay back,” you suggest, and she does, handing the candle off to you. 
You question the situation, not knowing exactly where to drip the oil to make her feel the best. You assume maybe her chest and stomach, maybe even down her legs, if she feels up to it. You hold the candle directly above her sternum, raising your eyebrows in final question before you let it drip. 
“Yeah, go ahead,” she says, her hand landing on your knee. 
The red liquid finally falls through the air, a singular drop that lands and splatters across her chest. Her mouth opens just a little, but then her surprise quickly turns into a devious smirk. “Feel good?” you ask. 
“Aha, yeah, actually. It burns pretty bad for a split second but it goes away…shit, do more,” she pleads. 
You go along with her request, drizzling tiny drops between her breasts and down her stomach, nearly completely coating her in the oily liquid. 
“You sure you like it?” you ask as you watch her face repeatedly turn from a surprised grimace into a devilish look of satisfaction. Thankfully, that second look, you’re more than familiar with. 
“Yessss…” she hisses as another drop falls onto her skin. “I feel so…” her mouth lies open as you continue letting the oil drip and pool, the floral scent filling your nostrils.
“So what?” you ask.
Her eyes bore into yours as she bites her lips between her teeth, her hand still gripping hard into your leg muscle. “I like the pain. It’s like… I don’t know how to explain it…” she breathes. “Like a sensation I don’t want to ever end.”
You take your free hand and gently massage it in, taking time to work over her nipples and stomach. “God, that feels so good…” she whispers, her hand now digging into the muscle of your thigh. You place the candle back on the cake, turning to pay special attention to rubbing your hands over her muscles. 
The heady scent of the oils mixed with the residual alcohol still flowing through your system brings a whole new dizziness to the atmosphere, and you feel as though the whole situation is only becoming heavier. You reach over to your phone sitting on the night stand, and flip your music to some psychedelic playlist. The distorted guitar and scratchy bass sounds bring you both to a new plane, and you take the moment to recognize the woman you have your hands on, and how she feels underneath them. 
Her eyes flutter open and closed as your hands drift, massaging the soft oils across the mountains and valleys of her body. “You want me to do you?” she asks, eyes flicking back to the candle. 
You shake your head. “No, shh. It’s your birthday, just relax.”
She smiles a little as she gets comfortable again, moving her body a little closer to yours on the bed. Your hands travel up her shoulders and neck, slowly kneading the tense muscles. Then you move on to her hips and waist, squeezing at the thickness of her. You feel yourself getting turned on all over again just by touching her this way. You watch as her hands drift across the tops of her legs, gripping at her own thighs. The visual is almost too much, watching as her fingertips pull at her skin. You reach to grab the still-lit candle, adjusting your body to sit beside her legs. 
“‘M gonna try your legs, that okay?” you ask.
“Yeah, go ahead…” she mumbles, her eyes still rolling around behind her eyelids. You move between her legs and let the wax drip onto her inner thighs, not really caring if any lands on your comforter. “Ffff…” she hisses, biting onto her bottom lip. Her face contorts from pain to pleasure as the oil cools, and you replace the candle, making your way back to massaging her. 
Your hands nearly cover the entirety of her upper thighs, your fingertips digging into the skin just as hers had done a second ago. You push the oil all around, paying special attention to start at her knees, and slowly work your way up. You have half a mind to lick into her again, seeing it now from this view, but you stop yourself. Your thumbs rub into the creases where her legs meet her heat, and she practically moans out at your touch. 
“You’re being such a fuckin’ tease, Daniel,” she says, her hands cupping her breasts.
“Mmm, I don’t think you understand how hard it is to stop myself right now…” you huff. 
She bites her lips again and shakes her head side to side, obviously feeling the same emotions as you. This doesn’t feel like it normally does, and you feel more anxiety than ever to satisfy her. You watch as she reaches her hands for you, signaling for you to get things going. 
“Don’t stop yourself then,” she stutters, her voice almost shuddering. Her hand grips into your hair again and pulls you up, your hands crawling up either side of her as her nails claw and pull at your back. 
Suddenly your mind finds itself again as you remember to grab protection. You balance your forehead on her sternum, both of you already panting and sweaty as you pull yourself away to reach for your bedside drawer. 
“No, just—it’s fine,” she says, grabbing onto your arm. 
You meet her with a puzzled look, not quite understanding that she’s changing her mind on a whim. This is one part of your agreement that you both have always stuck to. 
“What? I’m—“
“Just…it’s fine. Don’t get it,” she says, giving you a look that could kill. “It’s been six months…right…”
You think it over, rolling the thought over and over in your mind. “You sure?” 
She nods, “Yeah, yeah I’m sure. I’m…we’re good. I promise.”
You feel your heart growing in your chest, feeling a new wave of anxiousness and…something else bubbling up. It’s almost blinding you to even think about what’s about to take place, this already feels so different than before. 
The slick of the oil across your chests make your bodies slide against one another as you line yourself up, both hands on either side of her head. Her hands gently drift across your hips, a devilish smirk sneaking across her lips. 
“Gonna feel you for real for the first time…” she says gently, looking more excited than you’d seen her in ages. 
“Yeah, no pressure,” you answer, pressing yourself through her folds. The sensation alone is making you quake, feeling her against you without a barrier. 
“What, you nervous or something?” She asks, digging her nails into your scalp. 
You clench your jaw, feeling the tip enter her just a little bit. “Kinda.”
“Daniel…shut up. No you’re not.”
“I swear,” you reply, pressing in just a little more. “Different now, like this.” You feel your heart beating from your ribcage. 
Her hands grip behind you, pulling you in towards her, but you hold back. “S’okay, just me… please…” Her legs lift and her ankles cross at your lower back. 
You push forward, telling yourself it’s okay to fill her all the way to the hilt. It’s now or never, and you’ve waited so long for this, wanted her for real for so long. You make sure to watch her face as you bottom out, taking in every single detail that you can. 
HER POV
It’s almost dreamlike…
The dim and comforting glow of the room, the sweet scented oil that’s relaxed your muscles, the dying feeling of excitement from the gift Danny had gotten you…
But mostly, the feeling of his body towering over you and buried as deeply as he can get, finally without the use of protection. 
You’d been wanting Danny for real for longer than you’d like to admit, now, and now that it’s finally happening, it’s almost as if you couldn’t have dreamt it up any better. Of course he feels nervous…you do too. Something in the air has shifted, and it’s not just because you both had finally admitted to wanting more than your predisposed agreement. 
“Fuck, Danny…” you can’t help but yelp in a pitiful high-pitched squeal. Feels just like you always thought, but somehow better. 
Much, much better. 
He begins to pick up a pace after you lock your ankles against him harder, forcing his hips to find a rhythm. “You good?” he asks, almost shyly. 
“Yeah, better than good, shit…”
His left hand grips your jaw with a little force before he brings his lips to yours in a heated mess. His thrusts are working in perfect time, hitting you in just the right spot to tighten the knot deep inside you already. 
“You feel so perfect baby…god, never thought I’d have you like this…” his lips are hot against your skin as he speaks, his teeth nipping at your sensitive spots every few seconds. 
“Leave a mark, baby… gimmie a reminder…” you breathe into his ear, making the light nips on your chest switch into slightly painful lovebites that you’re positive you’ll be able to see turn into bright red marks tomorrow. He growls into your skin as his teeth sink in just enough to make you squirm beneath him.
Though the room is flickering with a tangerine glow, the multicolored vibrance of the light flashing behind your eyes brings a whole new depth to what you’re experiencing, an overwhelming feeling of unwarranted pleasure that is undoubtedly ripping you apart at the seams. He’s all you’ve ever wanted, better than anything you’ve ever felt, and he’s been living under the same roof as your best friend for way too long.
You can tell he’s getting closer by the tumbling of his thrusts, but you swear you never want it to end. The euphoria taking over your mind is making you dizzy. 
Suddenly he slows down a little bit, rolling himself to the bed but keeping himself inside as he plucks you to straddle his lap. Your hands find his pecs as you begin swirling your hips, feeling him at a completely different angle, now. His curls are laid out behind him on the white blankets, and his chest is gleaming from the oils. 
You begin bouncing on him, his hands gripping into the thick muscle of your thighs as you grind on him. His head leans back, his jaw moving between hanging open and clenching tightly. “Y/N, shit…I’m not gonna be…”
You can feel the twist in your stomach, the deep tightening letting you know that you are close, too. You lean down and press a slow and needing kiss to his lips, showing him all the emotion that’s currently coursing through your body in the act. “Me too baby, just do it. Want to feel you…” you stammer through the ravaging feeling of your impending orgasm. You squeeze him hard, sending you both over the edge, tumbling down together in a flustered mess of echoed praises for one another. 
He stays buried inside you for just a few seconds as you both come down, neither of you wanting to be the first to speak when you finally catch your breath. After a minute of silence, you let yourself come out of the cloudy bliss, sliding yourself up and off of him. 
As soon as your body hits the bed beside him, he’s craning over you again, gathering you up into his arms into the most loving embrace you’d felt from him yet. 
“Every six months isn’t gonna work for me anymore, Y/N…” he admits, fully submitting himself with an honest look in his eye. “I just…”
“Me neither, Danny. It’s not enough. Won’t ever be enough,” you admit, taking his face in your hands. And it was true, after experiencing him tonight in the way that you did, there was no way you’d ever be able to wait for him again. There’s too much emotion involved that you’ve both been hiding for too long. Too much still yet to explore. 
“Stay, please? And not just for tonight,” he whispers, his thumb gliding across your cheek. 
You nod. You know there’s nothing on this earth you want more than to wake up every day next to him…the friend who has always been just a little bit more. 
“Okay,” you concede, sliding your body into his. 
“Okay? Yeah?” He asks with an excited lilt. 
“Yes. I’m not going anywhere,” you respond. “Couldn’t leave you if I wanted to...”
The low chuckle that rumbles through his chest and onto your cheek pressed against it feels so longingly familiar that you wonder why you ever thought it wouldn’t work out to begin with. “What took you so long?” he asks, wrapping and squeezing you hard. 
“Could ask you the same…” you laugh into his chest. 
You fall asleep with him that night a different woman than the one you were when you walked into his room, and not just because you’re a year older, now. You’d finally gotten everything you’d ever wanted. 
Danny nuzzles his face into the crook of your neck, sleep already lacing his voice. A soft feeling of comfort washes over you as you realize how safe and protected you feel in his arms, and how you aren’t too shy to admit that this feels more right than you could have ever anticipated.
Now you won’t have to wait six months to share your love with him again. You’ll be able to share it with him tomorrow, over coffee in the kitchen.
He presses a sweet kiss to your temple as you let the heaviness of sleep overtake you, already falling into a dazed place of complete contentment.
“Happy birthday, baby.”
.
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xxgoblin-dumplingxx · 1 month ago
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i'd love to see more from the poly reader x poolverine verse im obsessed w them
"I didn't realize your... roommates were home today," Your sister said helping the youngest into his coat.
"It's what happens when you don't call," you caution. "They live here. You want free babysitting, you accept the terms. Sometimes it's kazoos. Sometimes it's roommates." For now, you'd accept her calling them roommates. It was partly true. And it was less rude than what your mother had said. She called them your caretakers.
Sarah narrowed her eyes at you and you shrugged, "They're fed and in one piece. And Zach has part of his social studies paper done. You're welcome."
She watched for a second as her boys willingly accepted hugs and kisses as you ignored her, beseeching them to learn something at school and make good choices and she sighed, "Thanks."
"Call next time," you tell her giving her a meaningful look. You didn't live alone anymore. And if she didn't want her kids exposed to certain things then she needed to give you enough lead time to hide those things... Today she got lucky.
________________
"Shhh," Wade said, holding up a hand, "You hear that?"
"Hear what?" Logan said opening a beer.
"Silence," Wade sighed, sinking on to the couch next to you, handing you a glass of wine. "Holy shit."
"And that's why I like being the cool Aunt," You tell him yawning. "I show up late. I bring presents. I leave before the crying starts. And then I enjoy my nice quiet house."
Logan snorted and reached over to rub your neck as he took your other side and picked up the remote, "Nice little racket, bub."
You take a sip from your glass and stretch, snuggling into Logan's side and putting your feet in Wade's lap, "Not too shabby, boys."
"For roommates," Wade teased, smacking the bottoms of your feet affectionately. "Didn't know roommates fuck like we fuck."
"Sorry-"
Logan grunted and wrapped his arm around you, "Pause was doin' some heavy lifting there."
"Mom... doesn't approve. What dad knows depends on the day. And I think my grandparents would just drop fucking dead. So. There's that." You lean over and lift a sleepy Mary into your lap and stroke her back before resting your head against Logn again. They are who they are and you are who you are. You don't fit in with the cookie cutter perfect family they have and you haven't from the second you took your first breath. But you fit here with a variant and a mercenary and their ugly little rat dog.
"We could ruin Christmas," Wade offered, "Just go make out in front of-"
"Or," you hum, "we can leave well enough alone so I can still hang out with the kids and let them have someone around that's somehow less fucked up even if I'm objectively a mess."
The boys traded a look and Logan kissed the top of your head. They'd work out the specifics later but for now, as long as your sister kept her comments to herself they'd behave- mostly. As long as it meant you got to see the kids. Because it was clear it made you happy, and because; truth be told, it hadn't been too bad today.
Wade cradled one of your feet in his hand and grinned, "I got a question."
"Might have and answer," you tell him, hissing when his thumb hit a tender spot on your instep.
"Why do all the rugrats call you, Shush?"
"My parent's housekeeper calls me Sugar," you answer. "Everyone sort of adopted it and Zach couldn't say it- so it devolved into Shush and stuck."
"Stop it, that's precious," Wade cooed, "I thought they called you that because they were always telling you to shut-"
"Not all of us went to school thinking our first name was Damn it," you snort.
Logan smirked and let go of you long enough to light his cigar. "What'd she call your sister?" he asked.
"Honey. Or Princess if she was being annoying... it's just that neither ever really stuck."
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tumbleweed-run · 1 year ago
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Hello! I love your writing <3 May I ask, do you have any headcanons for Gale? I have a few (eg: his mother raised him alone - he's an only child - as much as he enjoys homecooked meals he's very well known in Waterdeep's fine dining establishments) I'm interested in hearing what you imagine about Gale outside what the game tells us!
Lighter stuff
I agree with you on pretty much all points
Gale might appreciate wine but he strikes me as a fancy whiskey boy. It's a vibe I get
His mother hates the beard, which is why he didn't grow it out until the hermit stage
He loves all books. Magical tomes, history of Faerun, tawdry bodice rippers. And he has a system to his library but it makes no sense to anyone who is not Gale
Personally, I think he's well-known in all Waterdeep's dining establishments. He's in the Yawning Portal at some point as an adult but I also feel like he visits the finer restaurants- probably with his mother
he was raised wealthy, I know he like "oh I haven't dabbled in wealth" but my dear boy was Top Teir middle class at best. I don't think they were 'own the world wealthy' but I believe he grew up with more than just a housekeeper, not having to worry about money. Mama's got Sea Ward money
And of course (because I pointed out his 'tower' is in the Dock Ward) I think as an adult Gale moved to the "rough and tumble" part of town to prove himself. (which is probably why they know him in the poorer establishments )
His tower is a freaking row home, maybe its like two floors taller. But it is a house. Gale is just a fanciful man. Or he's manifesting that shit, idk
I also think he goes home to mama in the sea ward at least 2x a week
Gale is a sorcerer
Gale is 300% a sorcerer whose mother(not magic) was fed up with her shit being set on fire, so she sent him to train in magics the way she was most familiar - Wizard Apprenticing
Less Light Stuff
Gale mentions 'parents' once (I think during the I was denied a kitten speech) I think his father was there at first and then left. Maybe he couldn't handle Gale, or he was just a shitty guy. I think that was the road to Gales "I'm not enough, I must prove I'm enough" syndrome.
I also believe he first encountered Mystra in the Sea Ward at the 'House of Wonder' which is a temple devoted to her. I believe he was young like 13/14 but my guess is she was aware of him from a younger age. (Most wizards apprentice starting at 13... and usually have no spellcasting abilities which is...)
I don't think his favorite color is purple. I think it was Mystra's color and therefor it became his favorite (which is why I like dying all his clothes NOT Purple). Judging by the only room we saw, it's red/maroon/burgundy- but he doesn't know that
I think some of his stunts at Blackstaff were not just his own hubris though he sees it that way, but also at "hey mystra look at me" thing. Which I think she encouraged
I also believe that he was a young adult when the muse-to-lover transition took place. Maybe a few years after he left his apprenticeship, he was old enough to be a 'man' but it was definitely a product of grooming.
I don't think he was ever truly her Chosen. Most gods bestow cool powers (look at the dead 3) or at least protections. She just... screwed him? Taunted him with stuff she knew was going to keep him hooked on her?
When he saw Mystra's interest waning he panicked because he didn't have very many friends (his only named or mentioned friend is Elminster who has the most messed up history with Mystra) and he'd certainly not taken a lover once she 'chose' him. And I assume this was years before the netherese orb disaster. He probably did increasingly dangerous things/adventures to keep her attention, just like he did as a boy.
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httpsdana · 2 months ago
Note
Request: 13,23,120 for Rasmus hojland and also WHY IS NO ONE WRITING ABOUT HIM LIKE WHAAAT-
Heartstrings Tangled~Rasmus Højlund
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*pictures are from Pinterest*
I need more requests cuz I'm almost out of them. enjoy this one <3
request from here
master list
players/drivers I write for
13-"I'm your boyfriend and I demand you kiss me right now"
23-"You're driving me crazy you know that?"
120-"do you like what you see, sweetheart?"
"so, you're not going to tell me where we're going?" y/n asked, watching Rasmus' side profile intensely
"no I'm not. I told you it's a surprise" he said with a smile, his eyes focused on the road
"can I guess?" she asked excitedly, clapping her hands quickly
"well you can try" he shrugged
"okay so, we just had food an hour ago so it's probably not to a restaurant" she said, making him hum
"we visited your parents yesterday so not there too" she guessed, while he nodded
"so where are we going?" she said sweetly, trying to persuade him into telling her
He laughed slighty shaking his head.
"we'll arrive in a few minutes honey" he said, making her huff
The rest of the drive was silent with faint music in the background, while y/n was still trying to figure out where they're going.
Finally, Rasmus parked the car...at an amusement park.
"no way. we're at the amusement park?" y/n exclaimed, smiling widely.
"yes. i know you've been dying to visit it since we arrived in Manchester. so I thought today would be the perfect day to do so" he grinned widely, making her squeal in excitement.
"I love you so much! let's go" she got out of the car quickly, making him laugh.
They had quite the time in the park. They had a blast on almost all the rides. And Rasmus won y/n a huge teddy bear which she was so happy about. They also got on the ferris wheel and shared a loving kiss on the top of it.
Finally, their date was over. Or so y/n thought.
"I can't wait to go home. I'm so freaking tired" y/n groaned, making her boyfriend chuckle
"our date is not over darling" he said, making her look at him with a crooked eyebrow.
"come on let's walk to the beach" he took her hand, walking her to the beach where the sun was setting slowly. It was near the park so not a very long walk.
As they reached the beach, they were met by a blanket and some pillows on the sand facing the water. There was a cheese board and some snacks too, in addition to the bottle of wine.
y/n smiled softly, turning to Rasmus. He smiled down at her then leaned down closer to her face.
"come on baby. i know you're tired. let's lay down on the beach" he whispered, were she nodded with a smile.
They laid down on the blanket, y/n's back against her boyfriend's back, while she sat between his legs comfortably, and he fed her from time to time
"I like this" she mumbled, making him hum in response.
"i do too. I love spending time with you" he mumbled back, making her smile to herself. She turned in her place and looked up on him, pressing a few kisses on his jaw and chin.
"let's walk on the sand before it's completely dark" Rasmus got up, pulling y/n up with him
They walked in comfortable silence, their fingers intertwined, as they swayed them back and forth. The warm sand tickled their feet, as they enjoyed the sound of the waves.
Suddenly, Rasmus stopped walking, making y/n look back at him confused
"I wanted to tell you something love" he said almost nervously, making y/n confused but also worried
"is everything okay?" she asked, grabbing both his hands. He smiled and nodded, before speaking up.
"y/n, being with you these past years has been amazing. Your smile brightens up my day, and your caring nature means everything to me. I love how we've been through so much together, from Denmark to Italy and now here in Manchester. As I stand here with you by the beach, my heart is overflowing with love for you. Your unwavering support, your infectious laughter, and the way you light up every room we walk into together, all these moments have woven a tapestry of love and joy in my life. I cherish every detail about you, from the way you crinkle your nose when you laugh to the warmth of your embrace that feels like home. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I wanna grow old with you as we watch our children and their kids. I never want to waste any more minute without having you by my side" the sincere look took over his eyes, showing love and adoration for his 4 years partner.
His heart pounded as he takes a deep breath, his hands slightly shaking as he reaches into his pocket and carefully retrieves the ring, feeling the weight of the moment.
With a determined yet gentle movement, he goes down on one knee, his eyes never leaving y/n's, filled with love and sincerity.
"so y/n. my princess. my everything. will you make me the happiest man and alive and say yes to spending forever with me?" he smiled, watching how y/n was fully crying. A smile spread on her face as she nodded.
"yes Rasmus. I want to spend forever with you" she said, wiping her tears before making Rasmus get up and hugging him tightly.
He pulled away after the hug, grabbing her ring finger, and sliding the gorgeous ring onto it. y/n admired the ring on her finger, before looking up at Rasmus who was grinning widely at her. She leaned up and gave him the most loving and caring kiss, smiling into the kiss.
"I love you so much. i can't wait to have you forever by my side" she mumbled, their foreheads resting on each other as they closed their eyes.
"I love you more princess. I'm gonna try to our days better than the last ones" he mumbled back
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tastesoftamriel · 7 months ago
Note
Hey Tal! I was preparing stuffed jacket potatoes for my family and it made me wonder;
"If each race was given a baked potato (any veriety), what would they stuff it with? (Let's pretend the bosmer is non pact compliant but still likes honoring their roots.)"
Since you'll find potatoes in every other barrel across Tamriel, you can bet that stuffed baked potatoes are probably the most universal dish we know of. Whether you love them or were fed too many of them as a child, there's a baked potato out there for everyone in Tamriel.
Altmer
You know what, the High Elves really have to be fancy about everything. Instead of gutting and filling your regular jumbo jacket potato like literally everybody else, they make large hasselback potatoes and painstakingly insert ingredients between the slots before baking. These laborious (but admittedly delectable) potatoes are usually offered filled with either four cheeses; mozzarella, tomatoes, and pesto; roasted vegetables with tapenade, or pancetta, gruyere, and sausage.
Argonians
Baked potatoes are great for playing a heated game of teeba-hatsei with, much to the rage of many an Argonian parent who had painstakingly made dinner. When they're not being slapped around for a laugh, Argonians eat their baked potatoes by making a well in the centre and crack a hot quail egg in, before topping it with deep fried mealworms or crickets and a bit of lime sambal. Scramble it up and you're good to go!
Bosmer
To every Green Pact-abiding Wood Elf I'm about to sadden with this, I apologise in advance for what I'm about to propose. But imagine a lovely jacket potato stuffed with a good slathering of smoked timber mammoth cheese atop battered thunderbug eggs, smoked bristleback bacon, jalapeño mayo, and sweetgnat butter. I don't need to imagine it; I made one with my friend Berrilyn, and it was glorious. Definitely on the heavy side, but loaded with every good ingredient Valenwood has to offer!
Bretons
Cheap, filling, and delicious. That's all a baked potato needs to be in High Rock, making it one of the Province's most popular foods among the common folk. Just about every sauce-based dish you can think of can go onto a jacket potato, from melted roquefort, goose egg, and dry cured ham to the classic combination of tomato beans and candied bacon rashers, and even reusing yesterday's Tarragon Chicken! There aren't really any limits on what you can fill a jacket potato with in High Rock, as long as you have a good knob of butter in there!
Dunmer
While potatoes are a perfectly standard and valid ingredient in Morrowind, I know you all want to hear about jacket ash yams. Popularised by Ashlanders, who bake their potatoes on lava, jacket ash yams can be found at every tavern and cornerclub across the Province. Minced nix-ox in a spicy comberry ragout; scrambled kwama eggs with caramelised scathecraw; and even Hackle-lo and Scuttle Curry are at home on a big, piping lava-hot ash yam. Don't forget to get some crunchy deep-fried kwama scrib to go on top- well worth the gold, I promise!
If you get the hankering for a taste of Morrowind, try my Raven Rock Baked Ash Yams.
Imperials
There are two rules surrounding baked potatoes in Cyrodiil: the potatoes must always be Jumbo Potatoes, and you must always use olive oil instead of butter. With that flavour profile in mind, think simple, complementary toppings like sundried tomatoes with goat cheese and fresh basil; cheese curds and red wine gravy; bresaola, chili oil, and gorgonzola, and browned pine nut butter with a good smear of ricotta and creamed battaglir.
Khajiit
Northern and Southern Elsweyr have a distinct difference in their baked potatoes: the North likes them rich and spicy, while the South prefers sweeter flavours that complement moon sugar. Northern Elsweyr is famous for its fiery curry-filled jacket potatoes, filled to the brim with rich, generally tomato-based curries featuring local ingredients like braised jerboa, pulled terror bird, and diced mutton. Meanwhile in Senchal, you'll find your average baked potato partially filled with things like chicken satay pieces in moon sugar peanut sauce, haloumi with moon sugar syrup, and sweet crispy shrimp and pork floss. But wait, 'partially filled?' Yep! In Southern Elsweyr, the insides of the potato are scooped out and rolled together with powdered moon sugar to make horrifically sweet potato 'candy' for dessert after you've finished your jacket potato. Who am I to judge?
Nords
Mammoth cheese? Horker bacon and smoked kippers? Pulled pheasant in brown ale gravy? All very valid and very traditional Skyrim options. However, I'm jumping up and down at the thought of a baked potato topped with freshly baked salmon or gravlaks with dill, lots of sour cream, and a bit of mustard! Simple, good, and I will shout at anyone who calls this combination bland. You can take the girl out of Riften, but never the Riften out of the girl.
Orcs
Where Wrothgarian Orsimer are concerned, there's a joke that every other meal is a baked potato (and that's sometimes the unfortunate case when a Hearth-Wife isn't very good at her job.) Gooey, mouthwatering echatere cheese raclette is the favoured topping in the region, melted atop of a bed of fillings like spicy wrathberry gravy with echatere or beef chunks; chopped mammoth bratwurst; grilled chub loon with frost mirriam barbecue sauce, and deep fried horker lard bits and sweet-and-spicy minced horker. Indulgent, and by Malacath, they're filling too.
Redguards
Where the Orcs have their echatere cheese on jacket potatoes, Hammerfell loves its goat cheese. Whether it's aged chèvre log slices or fresh and crumbly, you can bet it's going on a baked potato. It's paired with a range of moreish fillings, like harissa and apricot chicken; tender goat mince with a cumin-based curry; battered, fried snake with a tangy and sweet lemon drizzle, and shawarma meat with creamy garlic sauce and caramelised onions.
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gucciwins · 2 years ago
Text
worth the risk 
Y/N attends the Golden Globes and has lots of questions to answer
word count: 2738
a/n: hola amores!!!!! this series has been so much fun to write! happy reading. let me know what you want to see next :D
part one // part two 
+
“You know what to say when they ask,” Bee reminds you as you sit in your makeup chair, letting the glam team do their job. You’re going for an elegant but simple look that the cameras will be able to capture. You loved wearing bold red lipstick, but for tonight you were doing a pink shade, a touch darker than your natural lip color, to allow the jewelry you are wearing tonight to speak for you on the carpet.
“Yup,” you frown at the mirror where you can see Bee taping away on her iPhone. “I will tell them I let him take me to his house and have his way with me.”
“Y/N!” Bee hisses. “Be serious.”
You’re fed up with all this information for one meeting with Harry. It started as a date, but you doubt anything more will come of it now due to all this unnecessary drama. There hasn’t been a chance for you or Harry to talk about what you’re both looking for in a relationship or if you were interested in seeing each other again.
“Yes, I know.” You take a sip of your chamomile tea, trying to relax. “I’ll say we had coffee, and he’s even nicer in person.”
Bee sets her phone down, able to pick up on your bitterness. “If you had let me know you were going to meet him, we could have prevented this.”
You don’t regret meeting Harry because you got to spend a carefree afternoon with him. It did lead to unprecedented changes in your plans. You think back to sitting in an office instead of Harry’s house for dinner like you had planned.
The office was cold, and the tension in the room was high. Harry sat to your left, and Bee and Jeff, your managers in front of you, stern looks on both their faces. It reminded you of when your parents sat you down and gave you an hour lecture about sneaking out. The talk was so boring you never snuck out again.
“There are pap pics of you everywhere,” Jeff informs you.
It is evident to you where this conversation is headed.
You feel yourself shrink into your chair. This is not something you had planned. Neither did Harry. After your “date,” you planned to meet the following day at five pm, where Harry would have food waiting, and you’d arrive with store-bought wine. You were driving to his house when you got the call. Harry was quick to inform you he had an urgent meeting to attend, and you shared that you did as well. The dots clicked much faster than you liked.
Bee explained that there was no way to stop the photos from going out. This was simply a warning to them to prepare statements if necessary.
“We’ll cut Y/N’s trip short, get her back to America,” Bee tells Jeff as if you weren’t even there able to make a choice for yourself.
“Hey, I’m supposed to visit my sister and my nephew,” you argue.
Bee sighs, knowing you’re right. You haven’t been able to visit them, and it’s all you talked about on your flight. “Call her and ask her to see you tomorrow. You’re coming back in February.”
Bee dismissed your concerns, but you were thankful for the extra day. Jeff pulled out a tablet to show you the photos. There is nothing scandalous. It’s you and Harry facing each other with similar smiles. The last photo is the one that you know is the one that caused all this ruckus. Harry is photographed kissing your cheek. It’s friendly. Nothing to signify more happened or that it was a date. It was simply two friends getting coffee.
“Are you putting out a statement?” Harry asks.
“No, Harry. What for?” Jeff deadpans.
You see Harry frown, but he doesn’t fight his manager because this is Harry’s MO, ignore and move on. You’re not used to this. Sure, you’ve had articles written about you, but you have always been the sole focus, not you being linked to Harry Styles.
“Does Harry have anything to announce? Take away the focus from the photos when they drop.” Bee is always ten steps ahead, and here is another time.
“We have yet to announce his LA opening act,” Jeff offers. He looks towards Harry, who sits there pensive. Harry looks like he would rather be anywhere else than here.
“Wet Leg would be a good distraction,” Harry tells Jeff shrugging as if he’s used to all this fuss.
Distraction.
You were taking this too personally. Harry didn't owe you anything. He didn’t have to say he was simply having coffee with a friend. You were not allowed to say a word because you were insignificant compared to Harry’s world and fame.  
It did not feel nice, and you were ready to return to your hotel.
“Y/N has the Golden Globes press in a few days. We’ll officially blacklist his name.”
You sit there, letting Bee take control of your life. You had forgotten this part of fame. You knew it was too soon for you and Harry to be protecting each other. You went on one date. There was not enough time for feelings to grow, but you did wish things were different because you’re certain after today’s fiascos, you’d no longer be hearing from Harry.
Bee bid her goodbyes as she took a phone call, and you took that as your cue to leave. You wished both men well and hurried into the elevator, eager to get out of the building and hopefully never return.
“Y/N, wait.” A body slips through the elevator doors, and you’re startled to see Harry.
He has a shy look, and you know this is awful for both of you. You had been lost in your own thoughts that you didn’t see how this affected him or how often he must do this with his team to protect his image but mostly his privacy.  
“I’m sorry,” he apologizes. You shake your head to stop him, but he keeps going. “You’re getting the brunt of everything being in interviews and red carpets while I can hide at home.”
He has a point.
“It’ll be fine,” you brush him off, pressing the first floor of the elevator. “Well, I hope,” you joke.
Harry clears his throat, “I was looking forward to this evening.”
You feel your face flush, not having expected to hear him say that. “Really?”
“Mhm…I-I really enjoy your company,’ he whispers in a low voice, careful to keep his focus on you.
You nod, “ditto.”
Harry hears the ding of the elevator, and as he waits for the doors to open, he does something that could get both of them into deeper water, but he doesn’t seem to care. “W-would you still want to come over?”
You turn to look at him, “didn’t we just get told not to see or speak about each other.”
Harry shrugs, “I was never one for following the rules.”
You sigh in disbelief.
“Plus,” he adds on. “What they don’t know won’t hurt them?”
At that moment, you decided that Harry was worth the risk.
Red carpets were overwhelming, and you were looking forward to reaching the end and allowing yourself to have endless drinks of champagne, but before all of that, there were interviews to get through. You were dressed in a glamorous black and white gown by Carolina Herrera with Tiffany & Co. jewels with Christian Louboutin heels. You were going for an old Hollywood look, and your team helped you deliver. Dani, your stylist, knew it would be a stunner on the carpet.
The carpet was full of artists you loved and admired. Your co-stars would stop you for a chat and have you pose for a few photos. It was the most fun complimenting others on their look of the night, but it was mostly amazing to talk about the shows and movies that were being honored tonight.
The first interview went smoothly. It was simple questions of who you were wearing and what was in your bag kind of interview. You knew if the others continued like this, you would be fine.  
Maeve, your wonderful assistant, you’d go as far as to call her a close friend now led you to the next interviewer. Reece was someone you immediately felt at ease with for some reason. You had heard about how they began their career on social media and grew it to what it was today, being able to interview on red carpets and work behind the scenes of different productions. He was courteous in greeting you and complimenting your outfit, and you did the same in return.
Reece smiled at the camera before turning his attention back to you. “Alright, I’m going to ask you Globe related questions.”
“Sounds perfect,” you place your hands over your stomach, making sure your shoulders are pushed back and that you’re camera ready even though you know the camera has been recording from the moment you made it to his side.
“Are there any shows or movies from this past year that were your favorites?” Reece asks.
“Besides my two shows,” you tease. “Abbot Elementary and The Bear were my standouts. For movies, it’s clearly Everything Everywhere All At Once and The Fabelmans,” you gush. The answer was one you did not have to think about. You’ve been doing your best to keep up with all the new movies and shows released last year.
“You have amazing taste,” Reece tells you. He continues on to the following questions. “Any world that has been in movies or shows in the past year that you would actually live to live in?”
You laugh, “too easy I would love to be neighbors with Selena Gomez, also known as Mabel in New York. I’d be such a big fan of the podcast.”
“That would be fun, even with all the murders,” he comments.
It’s easy to settle your nerves in front of a camera, but you’re itching to answer the last few questions. “Is there a favorite line reading you've loved?”
This one comes to you quickly. “Ah, it has to be Angela Bassett “I am Queen of the most powerful nation in the world! And my entire family is gone! Have I not given everything?””
Reece places a hand over his heart. “Hits too close to home. Thank you, Y/N.”
“Of course, Reece. Have a nice evening.”
He shakes your hand but holds it for a second. “Sorry, one last question, please.”
You decided to indulge him and gesture for him to go on.
“One last question then, favorite spiderman?”
You fake a gasp. “Stop, how dare you. I love all three of them. All are so special.” You mean honestly.  “But Andrew holds a special place in my heart. He’s my best friend. Sorry to Tommy and Tobie.” Andrew is someone you met during a film festival, and you instantly clicked. He’s that older brother you always wanted, and now he’s someone you go to when you need support when the industry can get too much.  
“Well, Y/N have a wonderful evening,” Reece bids you goodbye, and off you go.
“You too, Reece.” You mean it genuinely. “It was a pleasure speaking with you.”
Maeve assures you it went well and gestures for you to keep walking. You stop for more photos and are on your way to your next interview when you run into Jennifer Coolidge. She wraps you in a big hug and poses with you for everyone screaming her name. She sends you off with a kiss and a promise to see you inside. Tyler James William is someone you approach because you’d never forgive yourself if you didn’t. You stand in the middle of the carpet, gushing over each other, and it isn’t until you’re both being ushered away that he promises to get in touch soon.
Jean Smart, your co-star in Hacks screams as soon as she sees you. Jean is your favorite person, and you’re quick to let her sweep you away. It’s easy to get lost in conversation, forgetting where you are, and she promises to see you inside soon, seeing as you’re seatmates. It’s an honor to be nominated for such a prestigious award, but you already know there is no award going home with you today, and that’s okay because your time will come.
You’re guided to one final interview with the one and only Amelia Dimz.
“Hi, Y/N, how are you?” She greets with a red carpet smile.
“Good, thank you very much.” You take a second to look her over, and you know you have to say something because she looks absolutely smashing. “Can I say you look stunning?”
Amelia laughs, slapping you, lighting with her cards. “Stop, or I’m going to have you take me on a date.”
You shrug, “I would not mind at all.”
“I have invited you to eat some chicken with me,” she tells you accusingly.
“Have received no such news. We’ll be in touch,” you promise, making sure to give Maeve a look to look into the chicken shop date for when you’re in London in February.  
“Alright, alright. What’s your dating advice for me?” Amelia asks, patiently waiting for your response.
You think it over for a second, look at the camera, then back to Amelia. “Date me,” you say with a smile.
“Oh,” Amelia blushes, losing her train of thought for a second.
“Back to your question,” you tell her, giving her a minute to compose herself. “Put yourself first. Anyone would be lucky to have you.”
She thanked you, her cheeks flushed but continued on. “Do you have any fashion advice?”
You rock on your heels and shrug. “Be comfortable.”
“Right, thank you, Y/N.” She leans in to give you a hug. “One final question,” she whispers. She is giving you the option to say no.
You know what she wants to ask and fuck it, you find yourself nodding yes. Bee has always said she loves a good headline on nights like tonight.
“You were seen out getting coffee recently with a certain English man,” Amelia is careful not to mention his name, but everyone will be able to connect the dots rather quickly. “Do you consider coffee with someone a date, or is that too casual?”
You can answer this one of two ways. There is Bee’s answer where you’re vague, or you can do it your way and create a bit of fun for fans at home and yourself.
“Depends on the company, absolutely.” You share, you’re biting back a grin making sure not to look over at Maeve, who looks ready to drag you away. “If it’s an English man asking you for coffee, it’s absolutely a date.”
Amelia turns to the camera and shakes her head laughing. “Well, there you have it.”
You flash the camera with a big smile and wink. “Bye, Amelia, hope to see you soon.”
You breeze through the last bit of the carpet, waving at the final cameras as you reach the safe space where your every move is no longer being followed. Maeve grumbles how Bee will have both your heads, but you’re having too much fun to care. Maeve hands you your phone, telling you it has been buzzing for a while.
You ignore messages from Bee and your sister and go straight to the newest message from your contact, Harry, with a purple heart. He thought you should give him a fake name, but you’d never because you know your phone's privacy is entirely yours.
Harry 💜
You look gorgeous.
I’m really jealous of everyone seeing you in that dress in person.
I hope you enjoy your night.
I know you must be getting date offers left and right please reject them.
I’ll be in LA in a few weeks.
Dinner and wine at my house when I arrive?
You laugh because Harry is smooth. After dinner at his house, you both decided to take back a bit of control in your life and would continue to see each other behind closed doors. This was just Harry confirming the plans you had set in London.
Y/N
It’s a date.
Not all secrets were bad, especially ones that were as pretty as Harry.
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canaidliafail · 1 year ago
Text
mead & wine
kassandra x reader x eivor
College AU ( is anyone even surprised lmao ) CW: pure unedited filth
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“I hope everyone happier than me dies”
“Hello?????”
Randvi said, pulling away from her book looking at you in astonishment. You rolled your eyes with a scoff and she smacked your arm hard causing you to flinch and pull away
“This is pathetic. YOU are pathetic”
“I don't know how you wanna handle your breakup but I just lost another job offer cause of her so I will stay bitter”
“Oh come on it wasn’t even that good of a job offer. Im telling you the best is yet to come”
you squinted and lowered your brows. she checked her phone and perked up at the row of messages popping up on her lockscreen. Randvi, the gorgeous and funny woman that she was, already had a new little fling going on with a girl majoring in film and she was hooked on her new found love having already long forgotten her rotten apple of an ex, Sigurd
A small smile rounded your cheeks and you rested your head on the palm of your hand waiting for her to type out her response. She put her phone back on the table and turned to look at you with a sheepish little grin and flushed cheeks
“Sorry, I’m listening I swear-“
“relax, I'm just happy to see you all giddy again. Is it going well?”
she nodded and bit her lip looking up in thought
“See I’ve had a crush on Valka for a while now…But couldn’t do anything about it…You know. Since I was already so long with Sigurd and I didn’t think my parents would be ok with me..Not being with a man but now…” her brows lifted up and her smile widened. You knew she had a clear visual of her new crush Valka as she spoke
“But the way they were so supportive and also Valka being so excited to take this somewhere its just…Its so perfect”
You rubbed her arm soothingly
“Im really happy for you. The Gods know you deserved someone who actually was present and willing to do things for you and with you and now you have someone this great, Im just really happy for you Randvi”
she nodded and then turned around to look at you
“Oh actually, We are having a gathering. We will watch a movie and play cards over at dormitory B with Valkas friends. You should join us. Would do you good to get out”
“Randvi I…” You started and looked down at your notebook. You crinkled the edge of the paper and chewed on the inside of your cheek. It had been two..maybe three months since you did anything remotely exciting that didn’t include work or studying. You had barely found a peace of mind with all the chaos that stormed your life and you weren’t sure you wanted to go outside your apartment yet
“Im sorry I’ll have to pass…”
Randvi got up and grabbed your notebook smacking your in the head
“HEY OUCH?! and second of all BITCH?!”
“You have rotted on your couch enough. The planks must have the shape of your ass at this point. Im not listening. You are coming tonight with me”
“Randvi I dont need a pick me up now-“
“yes you do and quite frankly your opinion doesn’t matter you moldy sack of starch”
“starch?”
“nothing better came to mind. Don’t dwell on that. Listen I have one last lecture and then Ill come by the apartment to pick up some clothes ok? We will get dressed up, We will look hot and we will have some good time”
you rolled your eyes and slumped further down in the bar stool
“whatever you say goes”
“Ay, There you go!”
_________________ 𓆩♡𓆪 _________________
Kassandra was fed up with her roommate having yet another hangover from drinking too much the night before. Kass loved to drink, certainly not as much as Eivor but she could hold her own, however this was the second day she had to go all the way down to the cafeteria to ask for ice and buy crackers for Eivor to shove down her throat. Kassandra considered replacing ice with a fist. A punch could sober her up well enough no? Usually it was her roommate being the aggressive and impatient one however today's spectacle was ruining every plan she made for the night and she had enough of it.
She slammed the door shut behind her and hit the bottom of Eivors bunk bed
“Get up”
Eivor groaned and rolled around to look at the brunette who had a nasty grin ready to toss the bag of ice on the blondes head
“You owe me one today as well which makes…a lifetime of favors of me taking care of your sorry ass”
“wasn't my fault you shitface”
she went to bark but fell back on her elbows from the pounding headache making her ears ring
“My brother is depressed from his break up and he is insufferable without a glass of vodka”
“glass eivor? You chugged down half the bars menu”
“he was growing more painful every second and I had to adjust to the task at hand”
“alright. How about the new task at hand. Half the campus saw you on his story gyrating with another girl. Eivor you were in your sports bra and was about to take that off as well”
“what?!”
that woke her up fast enough and she shot out of the bed and grabbed Kass by her shirt
“what did you say?”
“nothing. This is too entertaining for me to intervene. Fate would be mad at me you know” she said with a pout and Eivor was about to start swinging while Kassandra easily dodged every loose punch thrown her way
“ante re malaka, I'm joking. I talked to Sigurd and he took it down. So I expect you to return the favor”
“Kassandra I-!”
“you’re welcome” she said and grabbed her cheeks squeezing hard and shaking her face before tossing her off balance and letting her fall back on the bed
“So, your brothers ex…Randvi?”
“yeah?”
“Aren’t you all meeting up at Valkas today to watch movies?”
Eivor grabbed a fistful of ice and buried your face in her palms to ease the pain as she hummed in agreement
“Randvi has a friend. A friend that I like and I asked for her to bring to your get together today and since Im YOUR friend you will bring me”
Eivor let out a long sigh and before she could speak she paused
“Wait, her friend? the short one?”
“she is your height”
“fuck off, you know who I mean. The one who dyes her hair regularly and is her roommate?”
“yeah her…why? No don’t tell me-“
“Yes I will I called dibs first”
They stared at each other for a long hard moment, neither of them sure of what to do or say. Neither of them had talked to you before. Partially due to the fact that you were really confusing to figure out on whether you were single or not and you had a tendency to vanish the second they were starting to get used to your presence in the local bars. Kassandra being ballsier and hornier asked Randvi straight out about you while Eivor seemed to be waiting to feel out the mood tonight at the get together.
“Ok listen “
“No you listen” Eivor interrupted and tossed the ice back in the plastic bag
“Ill take you there and we can just have fun. I don’t know if Randvi even managed to convince her to come but at the end of the day its up to her to choose between the two of us right?”
“yeah. No hard feelings if she ends up with you”
“likewise”
and that, was a fat stack of horseshit
_________________ 𓆩♡𓆪 _________________
They walked down the halls to Valkas place
“nice pants. new?”
“no, had them buried in a pile in my closet. Hey aren’t you gonna catch a cold with the sleeveless top?”
“no I'm good. We will be indoors anyways”
Eivor wore baggy jeans that comfortably sat low on her hips showing her inked, sharp V lines and her hair was rebraided with new rings and stones. Kass wore a white tight top without a bra that outlined her chest in an awfully nice way with her nipple piercings shamelessly outlined through the thin fabric and if they weren’t so busy hating each others ego and guts they would have fucked each other in the elevator but currently their brain was muddy with the thought of you and how to win you over. To everyone around ,they looked like hyenas ready to pounce.
At the get together at first they only found Randvi, Valka and Ciara. Later Alexios -kass’ brothe- joined with his girlfriend and they tried not to let their sour mood show on their face. Kassandra did at least. Eivor was pouting and was rude and snappish to everybody. That was until you made an appearance walking through the door and greeting everybody without really looking at them and going straight to Randvi
“hey did you take my keys?”
“oh fuck I probably did cause I couldnt find my own” she said in faked surprise and Kass wnated to mentally high five the ging in that moment. She was a real one and she made a mental note to gift her a bottle of wine later that week
“Hey since you are here why don’t you stay over?”
“I dont know, I had a really long lecture and..”
“oh please do us the favor. I've been dying to meet randvis mysterious roommate” Kass intervened and walked up to you offering a hand in greeting. You looked up in genuine curiosity and there was an unmistakable lustful glint in your eyes
“do you now” you asked and turned your body to face the tall greek demigod - as described by Kassandra herself-
“You see a cute girl, you ask for her number. its the natural order of things” she teased and you chuckled looking to the side seemingly flustered before you attempted to hold eye contact for a little longer
“Who are you?”
“Kassandra. I’m”
“ooooh” you said and then cut yourself of regretting your reaction
“shit, didn't mean to make that expression out loud” you joked and Kass tried to laugh it off as well
shit
She didn’t like that oh. It meant you have heard of her from one of her past flings which she did try to end things on good terms. As good as ghosting someone after a one night stand could be at least. She was yanked back from a strong grip on her shoulder as Eivor stepped up to steal the spotlight
“Ease up on the girl Kass”
you turned to look at the norse and your demeanor changed in seconds
“Your braids- they are amazing. Is your hair this thick or are these extensions?” you asked and took a step sideways and towards her. Eivor subconsciously touched her braids pulling them to the front and showed them off proudly, bragging about their cultural meaning and you chimed in, perked up and eager to learn more.
Kassandra was leaning against the wall behind you having you trapped between their bodies in a way that sparked up a new idea in Kassandras filthy brain. Her eyes searched for Eivors and when they met she was sure that the same thought crossed their mind.
You looked awfully nice in the middle and the two mascs could certainly get used to such a sight
“You should come by our place. Eivor braided my hair once as well. She is skilled with her hands you know”
the brunette teased and run her fingers through your hair as if measuring the length
“If that's something you’d be into. It will take a few hours though”
she agreed and you looked behind you and then back to your front in realization of the position you were in. You shifted your weight from one leg to the other and hiked up your skirt a tad, discreetly as if to fix your outfit
“That sounds fun. I could compensate you for the effort by bringing coffee and my sunny personality”
“that sounds like a deal”
and before they could get comfortable with your presence you slipped out of the tight space they formed around you and in a smooth motion walked to the door
“Well then have fun tonight. Ill see you girls around”
and left the room. They stood there awkwardly refusing to make eye contact at how pathetic they probably looked to everyone around them. Valka let out a sigh
“Its ok you can leave”
And they both relaxed, tension leaving their bodies as they made their way to the door
“Ok ok cool cause like we-“
“Yes I know why you came. Goodnight”
The two women left in a hurry to catch up to you since you had conveniently forgotten to leave your ig handle or any other form of contact that they could reach you through.
_________________ 𓆩♡𓆪 _________________
It happened fast and the first time the three of you found yourselves alone. As alone as one can be at a public library. In your defense it was after hours and there were maybe one or two other students at the east end of the room where there were desks with computers while you three sat at the far back of the library on the couches by the large windows. Kassandra had snuck in a bottle of wine bragging that an uncle of hers made it himself and what was supposed to be a group study turned into a sloppy make out session with you on all fours on the couch,hands flat on the velvet fabrics on each side of Eivors thighs who had a tight grip on your cheeks pulling you in to deepen the kiss.
Eivor was a good kisser. You never thought you could ever kiss someone and reach a near death-like orgasmic state. She had skill when her velvet tongue caressed yours and the way it folded over the walls in your mouth had you begging for more and moaning in the midst of it.
“Fuck this view is good”
Whispered Kass as she pressed her thumb against the wet patch forming on your underwear. She rubbed the spot around your clit and you flinched letting out a moan. She had bunched up your skirt around your waist enjoying the view of your ass.
She looked around and leaned back to check if anyone was coming to their spot.
While you were covered enough thanks to the tall bookshelves separating the sitting areas she wanted to make sure that this view would be reserved for them alone. Kassandra didn’t care about getting caught in the midst of an indecent act but she would be bothered if anyone else would get sight so easily of what she fought to get access to for a few months now.
She adjusted her position again, spreading her legs further away to get closer to you and Eivor broke contact in that moment
“Someone’s coming?”
“No we’re good”
And before you could ask about the situation Kass was back,stimulating every nerve ending and sense in your brain by pulling your bright red underwear to the side and swiping her thick fingers through your folds collecting the wetness and leaning in to taste it. Your moan was thankfully drowned by Eivors lips crashing against her while her hands worked their way beneath your top and started caressing your chest and brushing over your nipples teasing the spot. You took the initiative to move your hand to undo her heavy belt, the noise of the metallic clasp ringing in the empty halls.
By now, Kass was knuckle deep in your pussy fingering you at a steady pace, reminding you to keep your back arched for her while Eivor on the other hand held your head low on her crotch bearing her teeth in an attempt to be quiet while you ate her out diligently. Your hair that she spent hours accessorizing with stones and rings was a mess in her tight grip now. Her knuckles were white as she pushed you against her cunt to which you obliged with content eager to push your tongue deeper in her hole, loving her scent and taste and the way her thighs twitched and started to shake from the upcoming orgasm. You yourself were barely holding on with Kassandra mercilessly destroying your pussy and whispering filthy praises all the while.
Your knees gave out the second your orgasm washed over you and you sat back on the couch resting your head on Eivors thigh while she gently caressed your hair now. Kassandra took her time to fix up your clothes being terribly tender with every move as if she was holding a priceless artifact in her hands.
It didn’t end there. Of course it didn’t. Because once they felt out how smoothly everything rolled with you three they had to keep going. So you ended up in Dormitory C and the second the door closed behind you Kassandras was already pushing you on her bed impatiently trying to get out of her baggy jean overalls while Eivor opened her closet to get out her leather strap on. Kassandra, like the whore that she was, had been strapped before they even left the house and so the minute her pants came off she eased her way in between your thighs and reached for the lube in the drawer of her bed table.
They took turns fucking you and in that moment you had the epiphany that being a whore was the best choice you took that day.
“I don’t know who to choose, they are both hot”
“Then go with both of them, Be a whore” Randvi suggested with a wink and you took her advice to heart. She would be proud tomorrow when you told her of this night over coffee
Kassandra lost all sense of time and space and by the time you all were worn out it was 5 am. You were laying on their living rooms couch, a series you forgot the title of playing on their Tv. You were on Kassandras chest, your cheek against her soft breasts while her hands caressed your hair and lower,laid Eivor between your thighs, arms wrapped around your waist and head on your sternum with her face buried in your neck near the countless bite marks that they left.
Kassandra made plans to make you breakfast. Not that she knew how to cook but she could cut up a few fruits and maybe finally use that espresso machine that Eivor bought a few months ago. The next day however the only one in her lap was her roommate who once was awake was as distraught to see that you were nowhere around
“Did she just…leave?”
EIvor would have laughed at Kassandras face for finally being the one ghosted however this specific situation directly affected her as well since Eivor was also ditched
“No, I don't think so. Wait” Eivor stood up and walked over to the coffee table to see a note left by you.
I borrowed your hoodie. Ill wash it and tell Randvi to give it to you <3
“Are you fucking with me right now?!”
Kassandra walked over and smirked
“Oh thats hot”
“Are you fucked in the head ? Like are you actually dumb?” Eivor angrily yelled and Kassandra just kept laughing
“Oh come on. Don’t tell me that what she just pulled didn’t make her that much more attractive. I say we one up what we did last night and make her ours”
_________________ 𓆩♡𓆪 _________________
Randvi was yelling at you for an hour half excited and half mad
“Why?! WHY?!” She held you by your shoulders shaking you like a rag doll and you just grinned refusing to take anything seriously
“Because Randvi I know the shit that they pull. Hell every girl they fucked around campus has being ghosted or cheated on or other shit. I had a good night but I don’t want to get attached”
Randvi frowned and seemed slightly let down. Hard to accept and harder to deny was the fact that indeed, Eivor and Kassandra had been leaving a series of broken hearts in their path however she could at least testify that Eivor did it because the blonde confessed to having a crush on you for a long time now and only fooled around with others until you were available.
“I think you should give it a shot. Can’t be worse than your last ex”
“No see it can because with them, sex was good”
And Randvi choked on her juice
No matter what grand plan you had to avoid getting entangled with them, The two were set on finding you and they did. Easily enough. You were drinking coffee at the cafeteria,headset on with a book in your head reading and enjoying your peaceful afternoon which they very excitedly ruined. Kassandra wrapped an arm around you sitting on the chair next to yours and Eivor pressed her palm against your lower back in greeting. You rested your headphones around your neck and looked at them
“Oh hi..ugh whats up”
Kass smirked and looked up at her roommate who licked her teeth as her smile widened. Her voice was dry, scratching that itch in your brain that made it awfully pleasing to listen to her speak and even better to hear her loud moans. Eivor caught the shift in your eyes and how the pupils seemed to dilate
“Someone is excited to see us”
“Bold” You remarked and leaned back against your bar stool your eyes going from Eivors blue to Kassandras hazelnut gaze
Why the hell not
You thought and decided to indulge them while they got comfortable around you. One thing led to another and you were yet again naked in the bathroom stall while they devoured every inch of your body.
Soon enough you found yourself more and more at their place and you would catch the way their body language changed and how they started using pet names more frequently with you. You didn’t dwell too much on that shift being someone who needed to be told things out right to understand them. You found out that according to them, you three had been dating for a month. The way you found out was at a party when a girl was hitting on you. You weren’t interested but when she asked if you were seeing anyone you told your version of truth which was
“No not really”
And word traveled fast at the party. So that night Eivor dragged you back to their apartment and had you choking on her strap while Kass pounded in you from behind
“Single huh? Is this how you get fucked when you are single then?!” She growled while you failed to see what she was angry about enjoying the delightful punishment that you were receiving
“So two ain’t enough for you? You need more people to fuck you?” Kassandra hissed while dizzy with the sight of your pussy stretched around her cock that glistened from your cum.
That night none of you were sure if someone was angry or horny or both and sat down to talk about whatever occurred at the party the next morning with coffee. You felt uncomfortable having such a serious conversation and when Kass asked
“So what are we?” You were convinced there was a glitch in the matrix. You couldn’t understand how you managed to make these two hang by every word coming out of your lips. Eivor was fidgeting with her cup while standing next to the window pretending not to care much. Kassandra had the same easy going smile but her knuckles were white from her clenched fists.
“I..Didn’t think you two considered us to be..like a thing I mean…You two are smart enough. I’m sure you know what they say about you two”
And kassandra flinched while eivor clenched her jaw
“No yeah we know but I figured since we…spent so much time together it meant something more” You nodded and found yourself melt at Kassandras visible vulnerability
“Didn’t it?”
You smiled and walked over to her gently holding her cheek in your hand and caressing the soft tan flesh. She relaxed in your touch
“I like what we three have going on. I wouldn’t mind if it were to become something more. No need to rush into anything though”
Eivor found the confidence to walk back towards you and face you
“No sure but…we want this” she exclaimed and you looked at them not believing what a turn your life had taken in less then a month.
“Alright then” you agreed and she relaxed leaning down to kiss you
“And sorry if I was a little rough with you last night”
You smiled in the kiss and shoved her face out of yours “You aren’t sorry at all” and she graced you with a wolfish grin that confirmed your statement.
•••
Im suffering with Kasseivor thoughts these days and you all should as well
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itsmebytch001 · 1 year ago
Note
How about a yandere Morales family x reader who is friends with miles because they used ti go to school together that is very clearly neglected. Sometimes sleeping on the streets, never home, always eats a lot at their house yet still remains relatively malnourished and Jeffe finally decides after seeing some bruises on the reader to take matters into his own hands and use his position as police captain to “foster”(kidnap) the reader who is very not onboard.
Or if ur not comfortable with that then they genuinely start fostering the reader and they are not having a good time adjusting to present parents that make them eat 3 meals and be home at 9 stuff like that
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You and Miles met at around 9 when your family moved to Brooklyn, he got on with you and once he started bringing you home it was instantly obvious to both Rio and Jeff that something was wrong, you were always messy and disheveled, wearing unwashed torn clothing with shoes with the soles beginning to come off You were 9 but could pass for 7 and barley knew how to use cutlery, and once they eventually met your Mom and Dad it became apparent that though they were not malicious of outwardly abusive, they were massively neglectful.
It became routine that you would come over every Friday, shower, and eat dinner, and take food home with you, Rio would hand you 3 tubber wear boxes full of all sorts of her cooking, and sometimes they would even give Miles old clothes. Jeff would always drive you back home since no 9 year old can be expected to trek it form one brough to another, and once he pulled up outside your building he would escort you back to your front door, and with the few gimpses he saw of your home, bugs crawling, a water collapsed ceiling tile, the brow carpet, not brown because it was brown, but the collected filth he knew that this place, and these people were not fit for a child to be raised.
Jeff entered his home, Miles had been put to sleep while Rio sat on the couch with a glass of wine.
Rio: "So how was it?"
Jeff sat down in a huff next to his wife.
Jeff: "That place looks like a trap house Rio, it had black mold" he rubbed his hands over his face.
Rio: "Is it possible you could just...take her?"
Jeff: "No, not yet not with out probable cause"
Rio: "Is a house with black mold and uncaring parents not enough?!"
Jeff: "No, not for awhile"
Rio: "Dios mío, well...the least we can do is keep her clean and fed huh?"
Jeff: "I guess"
Rio: "What about social services?"
Jeff: "That'll just mean to lose her to the system, we won't be able to keep an eye on her"
Rio: "Oh...I'll give Miles some extra lunches to pass on to her come Monday" She said gulping down a swig of red.
Jeff: "Good idea"
And it was because of their efforts to keep you fed that you finally grew, now you actually looked your age, and needless to say The Morales had brought you into their family not as a guest, but as a member. And for your 11th birthday since by this point you had turned up to school with solles shoes Rio brought you new trainers, while Jeff brought you a selection of new tops.
Of course you being uncustomed to such kindness you responded oddly.
Rio: "Happy birthday baby" She handed you a box, and once you opened it it revealed new shoes!
Y/n: "...are these for me?"
Jeff: "Of course there for you Y/n, it's your birthday!"
Y/n: "I'm not sure if I should take these, I'm very grateful I'm just not sure what my Mom will say"
Rio: "What do you mean?"
Of course you parents had noticed you putting on weight, coming home in new clothing and initally they were grateful to Rio and Jeff for helping out, but it felt more and more like they were taking you away, or like they were trying to replace them.
Miles had also reported you coming to school less at less by the time you were 12, your attendance got so out of hand that eventually Jeff came to do a house visit, he knocked on the door, Your Mom came to the door.
Jeff: "Hey Diana, uh I'm here to do a wellness check on your Y/n"
Diana: "Oh, Jefferson sure, I guess"
Jeff: "Can I come in?"
Diana: "Sure" And so your Mom escorted Jeff back to through your home, when you finally saw the extent of the condtions you were living in, and it was terrible. Opening the door to your room Jeff could see your mattress was on the floor with no sheet, all your clothing lived in pile since there was no wardrobe and you sat on the floor drawing in just a massive t shirt.
Diana: "See, she's well isn't she?" She sassed at him, all Jeff wanted in this moment was to snatch you up take you home and get you cleaned, and in some clothing that actually fit so you didn't look like just a head floating in fabric, but of course being a police capiatin made that legally impossible.
Y/n: "Oh, Hey Mr Morales"
Jeff: "Hey Y/n"
Y/n: "What are you doing here?"
Jeff: "just a wellness check"
Diana: "Your well aren't you Y/n?" She's not asking you, she's telling you.
Y/n: "...Yeah I'm fine"
Diana: "We good officer?"
To be honest, if he were social services he could take you but he simply did not have the authority, Jeff was hushed back into the hallway by Diana.
Jeff: "Diana, Y/n's been out of school for 2 weeks now, why hasn't she been in school?"
Diana: "She's been sick"
Jeff: "Well she looks fine"
Diana: "Then why are you here doing a wellness check?"
Jeff: "Ugh, Diana, If Y/n dosen't turn up to another day of school, I'll get CPS you under stand?"
Diana: "are you threating me?"
Jeff: "No, I'm doing my job" he said waving you goodbye as he exited the house.
Jeff and Rio sat with their son at the dinner table, Rio and Jeff had been cracking a plan to file for emergency custody of you for awhile now, but since you aren't blood they knew it wouldn't be easy, but they also thought it would be good as ask Miles what he thought about the idea of taking you in full time.
Rio: "hijo, what would you think about Y/n moving in with us?"
Jeff:" Full time"
Miles: "Like, forever?"
Jeff: "Yeah..."
Miles: "Is that possible?"
Rio: "It might be"
Miles: "I'd like that"
And so with Miles on board Rio and Jeff started the paper work process to file for emergency custody, and with the helps of CPS they finally had a case, but it wasn't enough, they needed proof of abuse not just neglect, and so they waited, 2 whole years for such proof to emerge.
You had come over on anther Friday for dinner as you often did and had been doing for the past 5 years now, but something was deeply off, you were quite, timid and apprehensive to speak, but the thing that really worried Rio was all the concealer you were wearing on your left eye, honestly it was strange that Jeff didn't notice since the makeup wasn't yours, it was yours Mom's the shade wasn't quite right and drew more attention to your eye, and what was underneath it.
She didn't want to adress it in front of everyone so she waited until later in the evening to confront you about it, while you wear in the bathroom, getting ready for your shower she knocked on the door, before you took off anything of course.
Rio: "Y/n...Can we talk for a sec?"
Y/n: "Uhh yeah I guess" You opened the door to her as she closed the door behind her.
Rio: "Baby, I can see your wearing a lot of makeup, especially round your eye, and I just wanted to check if everything was okay?"
Y/n: "Yeah Yeah...I was just trying to do come conclear"
Rio: "Uh huh...well, could you take it off for me please?"
Y/n: "...no"
Rio: "And why not"
Y/n: "I...I just want to shower Mrs Morales"
Rio: "Y/n we've been over this, You call me Tita, and really why won't you take off all that makeup?"
Y/n: "Tita...please I don't want to talk about it"
Rio:" So something is wrong, huh?"
Y/n: "...I don't want to talk about it"
Rio: "I don't care, your staying at my home I want to see whatever your hiding" she said sternly, handing you a makeup wipe.
And so you compiled begging to rub off all the makeup you had spent about half a hour applying, despite anticipating what she would see it still hurt her to see you with a black eye.
Rio: "Oh...Oh Y/n My poor baby"
Y/n: "Can...Can you please not tell Jeff"
Rio understood why, but this was the proof of abuse they needed.
Rio: "Was it your Mom?"
Y/n: "Yeah...but please don't tell Jeff"
Rio: "This is an assault, you need to tell Jeff he can help you"
Y/n: "I really don't want her arrested"
Rio: "I know... but if she's hitting you it's clearly worse than we thought"
Needless to say it wasn't a pleasant experiecne having to show your bruised face to Jefferson and Miles, though he obivoulsy wasn't happy that you were attacked but this was the proof they needed to push for custody, now all they needed was to report it and make a record of the incident, but it was so obvious you were tired and due to the circumstances, Jeff firmly belived the courts wouldn't to too upest if they kept you just one night.
Jeff: "Y/n...We think its best if you stay with us for awhile"
Y/n: "Like...this weekend?"
Jeff: "Well, maybe a little while longer"
Y/n: "But my Mo-"
Jeff: "If your Mom is hitting, I can't just let you go back"
Y/n: "But what about my stuff?"
Jeff: "I can drive over tmorrow and pick you up whatever you need"
Y/n: "I can't...I can't just leave what if she-"
Jeff placed a hand on your shoulder.
Jeff: "Y/n, we will take care of it, you understand?"
Y/n: "...okay"
Rio: "I'll pull out the couch for you M'kay? I'll lend you a pair of my PJ's"
Y/n: "Okay, yeah please""
It was all so fast, you didn't realise in agreeing to stay the weekend in their minds you were agreeing to being their daughter...
To be continued...
Feel Free to give me Dad! Aaron or Morales Family suggestions!
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landos-meat-rider · 1 year ago
Text
1999, part one
ok. this is my very first fic and the first time ive done any creative writing that isnt for a gcse english writing exam. this is part one of a mini series called "1999" (inspired by beabadoobee's song). im literally making it up as i go😍🙏.
please lmk what you think: should i scrap it or keep going? anything i should change?
and maybe repost if you feel extra generous :))
warnings: none!
conrad fisher masterlist
masterlist
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     ༝ ˚ 。⋆ 𓇼 ⋆。 ˚ ༝༝ ˚ 。⋆ 𓇼 ⋆。 ˚ ༝༝ ˚ 。⋆ 𓇼 ⋆。 ˚ ༝༝ ˚ 。⋆ 𓇼 ⋆。 ˚ ༝༝ ˚ 。⋆ 𓇼 ⋆。 ˚ ༝
Summer had always been a time Belly, Steven and I had looked forward to. Sure Christmas and Easter were beautiful and memorable, but there was something about spending our summer at Cousins Beach. We'd been doing it ever since we can remember. For a whole three months, the Conklins and the Fishers did everything together. It was like while the rest of our year was shit, summer was always there to turn it around. We watched fireworks together, surfed, barbequed, and pulled all-nighters out in the backyard in tents pretending we were far away from our parents in some other country when in reality they were only a few feet away drinking wine and talking. We spent every waking hour together for those three months. And now that we’re all older, we party together.
After Belly and I turned sixteen we started seeing the boys in a different light. It was like they were the same boys we’ve known all our lives but somehow different. 
Steven would make fun of us for what seemed like years on the car ride to Cousins whenever he heard us giggling and whispering about how Belly and Jeremiah were destined to be since he posted a reel with her favourite song (he can't even remember her favourite colour for the life of him). But whenever she’d ask me about Conrad I’d shake my head and blush trying to convince her I didn’t like him like that.
Conrad was…complicated. He was gorgeous and tall and perfect and way out of my league. Hell, he probably saw me as a sister to him and nothing more. I had seen him go through girls year after next and had slowly started to lose hope of there being an ‘us’ anyway.
My thoughts get interrupted by yet another loud sigh by Steven. I swear if I don't end up strangling him by the time we get there…
“I’m boredddd”, Steven sighs.
“Steven that's your tenth consecutive ‘I’m bored’  in a row, can’t you think of anything else to say?” Belly all but yells at him.
He lets out another sigh before I wack the side of his head from the backseat.
“Hey!” he yells out trying to get me back from the passenger seat while Belly laughs and starts recording the moment on her phone.
“Alright, kids can we dial down on the domestic abuse, please? I’d like to go at least a few hours before having to swallow another paracetamol from your headaches.”, Mom says obviously getting fed up with us.
Instead of arguing back I try and shut Steven up by asking him questions.
“So Stevie,” I start, giggling as he annoyingly groans at the nickname Belly, Taylor and I made up for him, “what are you…most excited for this summer?” I ask making up the question off the top of my head.
Steven thinks for a minute before answering, “Surfing for sure.” He nods.
“Drinking wine with Susannah.”, says Mom smiling at the thought of her best friend.
“Fourth of July.”, says Belly.
“You sure you’re not most excited to see Jere?” I nudge her with my elbow as she squeals and looks away.
“What about you honey, what are you most excited for?” Mom asks, looking at me through her rearview mirror.
“The bonfire.” I say, smiling.
I’ve always loved the bonfire. Everything about it, it's always such a vibe. The kegs, the fire, the songs, the smores. It's always been my favourite part of the summer.
Until this summer, when I brought my boyfriend to Cousins.
༝ ˚ 。⋆ 𓇼 ⋆。 ˚ ༝༝ ˚ 。⋆ 𓇼 ⋆。 ˚ ༝༝ ˚ 。⋆ 𓇼 ⋆。 ˚ ༝༝ ˚ 。⋆ 𓇼 ⋆。 ˚ ༝༝ ˚ 。⋆ 𓇼 ⋆。 ˚ ༝
“You guys ready for the bonfire, should we go down?” Conrad asks as he enters the living room. I look up at him from my position with Belly on the couch. God, I’d forgotten how pretty he was.
Conrad comes behind the couch and wraps his arms around my neck giving me a slight hug before pulling away, “I missed you.” he says looking down at me.
Before I can reply Steven speaks up, “Aw Connie, no worries man I’m here now,” he says smiling enthusiastically as he pulls Conrad towards the door by his shoulders while everyone laughs at his misunderstanding.
Conrad looks at me expectantly and takes out a small box from his pocket.
“Let's go, man,” Steven says to Conrad before pulling on him again, “I wanna show you this really cool trick I learned the other day…” He drones on as Conrad’s eyebrows furrow and he looks back at me, “Aren’t you coming?” he asks pointing at me questioningly.
I give him a sad smile before responding, “I’ll join you guys later, I’m gonna wait here for Dean he should be here soon.”
Just when I thought they couldn’t, Conrad’s eyebrows furrowed deeper.
“Who’s Dean?”
“Oh didn’t we tell you?,” Belly responds, “Y/n has a boyfriend.”
Conrad and Jeremiah’s faces were a sight to see. Eyes wide, mouths agape and eyebrows straight up, staring at me as if I had told them I got my eyeballs tattooed.
“Okay, you don't have to be that surprised…ouch.” I wince.
Conrad and Jeremiah straighten up and Jeremiah looks at me and smiles before saying, “No, no that’s…uhm that’s great Y/n.” He looks at Conrad halfway through his sentence as Conrad looks down at his feet and puts the box he was holding, in his pocket before turning to Steven and talking to him about setting the keg up for the bonfire and walking out the door without sparing a glance to me.
“That was weird.” I say to Belly as she leans in to give me a hug,
“Totally. What’s his deal?” she responds.
“Beats me.” I shrug before yelling “Have fun! Use protection!” out behind her and Jeremiah before Belly turns her head around and flips me off which just makes me and Jeremiah laugh harder.
I sigh and turn the tv on. With Mom, Susanna and everyone going out, I was the only one left to wait for Dean. I wonder how long he’ll be, I can’t wait to go to the bonfire. Luckily I got a text from him just as I decided on watching Gilmore Girls.
'hey, i'll be there in five :)'
whew that’s part one done! here’s part two!!
1999, part two
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s4turns-st4rs · 9 months ago
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𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡
🎧 ﹐ ♡﹒carlos alcaraz social media au ﹒ ᶻ ᶻ
𝐚/𝐧: this gif 🥰🥰 new fandom !! watching the aus open made me feel things. hopefully more tennis themed fics coming soon. also apologies tumblr destroyed the quality of some of these lol. anyway enjoy lovelies xxx
in which: with carlos, rivals is a term used loosely.
faceclaim: the lovely agustina ruiz !!
𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: none!
𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠: bang bang - momma
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y/n_y/l/n
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liked by iga.swiatek, carlitosalcarazz and 28,826 others
y/n_y/l/n for my wine girlies xoxo
iga.swiatek i’ll be your wine girlie
╰─▸ y/n_y/l/n always baby 💋
╰─▸ iga.swiatek 💋
username19 baby boy @carlitosalcarazz must be fuming
╰─▸ username93 but the y/n & iga shippers are being FED.
╰─▸ y/n_y/l/n sorry baby boy @carlitosalcarazz
╰─▸ username38 giggling they called him baby boy 🤭
y/n_y/l/n
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liked by carlitosalcarazz, australian.open, and 38,257 others
y/n_y/l/n how do i always pose the same? anyway hellOo melbourne, i am in you 🎉🎉
username52 @carlitosalcarazz must be overjoyed 🥰
╰─▸ @carlitosalcarazz i am (not) 😌
carlitosalcarazz
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liked by y/n_y/l/n, jannik.sin, and 39,826 others
carlitosalcarazz touchdown in melbourne !!
username69 THE COFFEE DATE ???
╰─▸ username IT MUST BE Y/N LOOK AT THE TATTOOS
╰─▸ username42 they arrived at the same time too !!
╰─▸ username82 the enemies -> lovers pipeline is real 🎉
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y/n_y/l/n
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liked by carlitosalcarazz, iga.swiatek, jannik.sin and 72,728 others
y/n_y/l/n on @thetennispodcast today, go give it a listen !!
carlitosalcarazz omg you said you wouldn’t post that picture
╰─▸ y/n_y/l/n sorry not sorry
╰─▸ y/n_y/l/n also you can’t cook xoxo
╰─▸ carlitosalcarazz you are an ass
╰─▸ y/n_y/l/n love you too bbg
╰─▸ carlitosalcarazz i hate you.
username27 THEY HAVE TO BE DATING I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY OTHER OPTIONS
username82 THEY SAID THEY LOVE HIM ARE YOU SERIOUS
╰─▸ username76 AND THEY CALLED HIM BBG ???
username53 RIVALS MY ASS THESE BITCHES ARE MARRIED
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iga.swiatek
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liked by y/n_y/l/n, carlitosalcarazz, mariasakkari, and 48,386 others
iga.swiatek aus open 🎉 ft bowling with y/n & carlos (how am i third-wheeling again?)
y/n_y/l/n why must you expose me in this way?
╰─▸ iga.swiatek sorry not sorry
username48 @ iga.swiatek y/n x carlos no1 hater 😔
username93 absolutely dating
╰─▸ username19 parents 🥰🥰
{ instagram }
1 notification from @carlitosalcarazz
{ @carlitosalcarazz }
meet me at my hotel in 5.
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cagenewman · 15 days ago
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CAGE & CORDELIA'S WEDDING OCTOBER 19, 2024
Immediately after the ceremony, guests are invited to the reception space, which has been decorated with lights, wooden tables, handmade signs, crystal chandeliers, and perfectly mingles Cordelia's elegance with Cage's rustic side. A catered meal will be provided buffet-style, with plenty of food & desserts, as well as an open bar and specialty cocktails. There will be live music during the dinner before the DJ takes over, and a cowboy hat bar, where guests are invited to create their own hat to wear for the evening. Enjoy your evening! | CEREMONY POST
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Welcome to Cage & Cordelia's wedding reception! Please take a seat at any one of our tables (there is no assigned seating for this wedding, we want our friends and family to mingle), either inside the heated tent area, or outside. There is a dance floor that is half-covered, half open-air, and plenty for you to see and do while enjoying the evening. The wedding is kid-friendly, but please remember to leave the pets at home.
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There will be an open bar for the evening. Beer, mixed drinks, wine, sodas, teas and lemonades will be available the whole night long. But! We also have specialty drinks that have been handcrafted by Elise Quinn and the staff of Taste. The bride's drink will be the Pomegranate French 75, and the groom's drink is the Blueberry Old Fashioned. Have one in their honor! Other special drinks for the night include whiskey collins, beer spritz (made with the groom's favorite beer, PBR) and sangria, with mocktail opens of apple ginger fizz, honey pear mocktail, and shirley temples for the kids.
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To keep you well fed, we have tons of options from Overlook, Taste & Flour Co. Each table will have a basket of macarons, which pair delightfully with our cupcakes, both courtesy of Flour Co. The evening will start with hors d'oeurves from Taste, consisting of a charcuterie board at each table, and trays being passed around containing a number of pastry pizzas and flat breads, as well as shrimp and crab cakes. The meal is catered by Overlook, and served buffet style. Salads and fresh breads are offered first, followed by your choice of meat (chicken, fish or beef; pasta available for those who don't eat meat), and sides of macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and a steamed vegetable medley.
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The evening will start with the same live band that provided music for the ceremony, with a selection of the bride and groom's favorite songs on strings. After the meal, however, our very own Aisha Thevar will be taking over as DJ! The dance floor better be moving all night long! Whether you want to shake your thing in the tent, where it's warm, or outside, where you're in the fresh air, there's space for you!
There are a number of special songs that the bride and groom have selected to dance to for the evening. Cage and Cordelia will share their first dance to Willie Nelson's Nobody Knows Me Like You. In lieu of dances with parents, Cordelia will dance with the groom's son, Colton Newman, and Cage will dance with the bride's daughter, Rosalyn Newman to You Are my Sunshine by Zach Bryan. At the end of the night, at the groom's request, everyone is invited out to dance to Family Tradition by Hank Williams Jr.
The bride and groom have also created a playlist that you can listen to here if you want to get into the vibes of the wedding.
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If you're looking for something fun to do during the wedding (besides dancing, of course!), there's plenty to get involved with. The bride and groom have hung chandeliers under a tree on the property for photo opportunities (grab Stelly or Lucie and ask for a few snaps!), and there are a couple of fire pits set up for s'mores! Complete with little packaged marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate pieces. And perhaps most exciting... a cowboy hat bar! Everyone is welcome to make one cowboy hat to wear and take home with them as a souvenir, make it as fancy or as simple as you'd like, there are tons of accessories to add to them. Don't forget to check out Mandy Hartman's painting of the bride and groom, as well! (She'd probably love if you delivered her a snack and a drink when you see her hard at work.)
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To thank everyone for coming to their wedding, the bride and groom have made tea candle holder favors -- there should be one at every seat, so make sure that you leave with yours in tow! Thank you for being a part of our special day! xx
PLEASE USE THE HASHTAG #BUILDINGTHENEWMANS FOR ANY WEDDING POSTS.
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mysticmellowlove · 2 years ago
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The Cruel Prince - Revelry
a/n; im not gonna lie and say this isn’t based on cardan greenbrair. swear to god you read one book and shit like this happens.
no I'm going back on it now, this is 100% about cardan. please someone give us more cardan content, I'm frothing at the mouth i tell you.
word count; 1594
warnings; asshole men, dom-ish reader, little slight bit of Jude/Reader, gaslight gatekeep girlboss, suggestive content, asshole reader, gn reader, pining obviously
It started with a revel, as nearly all things in Faerie start. The mood was high, there was wine being passed around like candy and small delicacies graced everyone's mouth. For people looking in it was the most magical sight to behold. The cries of blissed-out folk echoed around the hall, gems of all different colours glimmered like stars in the sky.
It was almost like a dream come true...
until I spotted the two non-folk's making their way to the dining table draped in rosemary and basil. An unsettled feeling rested in my stomach, wherever the two of them went trouble followed. I shook my head and tried to let my mind leave their presence but it wasn't quite working.
I was just like the rest of them, or at least I had been to those two. I was a folk, I was an asshole and I definitely didn't particularly care about them. That was until they reminded me of the birds at my parent's estate that would always get fed last as their legs were crippled.
Taryn and Jude were like those birds to me, weak and helpless and always last no matter what. So I decided one day to not glare at them so much, to not whisper under my breath or to entertain the Prince's circle when they tormented the girls.
"Y/n, it feels like it's been ages since we saw you." My head turned from my pondering towards the voice. In front of me, dressed in clothes as grand as the rest of us folk, were the two twins I was just thinking about.
If there was one thing about the two of them that was so suffocatingly unique it was the fact that they were twins, two nearly identical people.
"Having a good time?" I asked them, looking down at my chalice of wine, the green liquid stared right back as if asking me 'why are you still standoffish to them if you technically like them?'
"As good of a time as any." Jude, in her usual scowl, answered me as she took a bite of the green apple in her hands. I watched as the two of them passed the treat to the other, back and forth. At that moment it felt as if nothing could ever tear them apart. I hadn't had the chance to discover someone who made me feel the same way.
It made me a little jealous. Folk relationships were hardly ever like the love mortals had to give. A transaction was all that it was, hardly did anyone find someone who truly loved them. I would be no exception, especially as my family had their eyes set on the varying circles of the royal siblings. Doomed to be with someone viler, older or more dismissive. Such was life.
I heard the bird chatter coming from beside me, gossip that I likely had no interest in. Though I managed to shush them as the Prince and his friends drew closer.
The royal family was beloved, idolised and feared. Even so I knelt like everyone else and bowed my head in respect. In the background, I could hear the revelry continue onwards as they passed by.
Shined boots, encrusted gems, taut buckles.
"Hah, did you think you could blend in? So plain, baseless, a horrific sight really." I could also see what had to be Valerian's boots stopped in front of Jude. I just knew he was doing something unnecessary. Before much else could happen Jude's head was thrown and twisted to the side as my shoulder was roughly grabbed.
I jerked a little but came up without much hassle. Valerian's eyes bore into me as his face was spread with a grimace.
"And you, spending your time around such filth. Your parents wouldn't approve would they?" His words were harsh, his tone perhaps harsher but his tirade didn't last for much longer as Prince Cardan's voice cut through the tension between the two of us.
"Valarian, give in." We both looked over to him, myself taking in the glower that Prince Cardan had. His eyes seemed to put me under some sort of trance, one I pulled myself from quickly. Valarian dropped his hand from my shoulder and went to crowd behind him as the group continued to make their way through the other folk.
However, they stopped a few paces from us, right in front of a small moth boy who had not bowed to Cardan as he passed. I could see in frightening clarity as Cardan's jaw clenched, his hands as well. In a matter of moments, his fist was planted right in the middle of the boy's face. The much smaller boy went flying as Cardan's hand reached out once more.
My mouth pulled into a pained grimace as I watched Cardan tear the boy's wing in half, as if it were nothing but stray paper in the air. The boy ended up on the ground as Cardan's tense face briefly scanned the area around him. Our eyes met for a moment, his onyx ones to mine. They looked as if they were alight, the almost unnoticeable ring of gold around his pupil made it look as if they were.
Then he was gone, lost in the crowd of resuming partiers. I let out a breath of air, imagining that the boy's wings could've easily been mine if I had made a misstep. It was in the past though and if no one was going to comment on it more, which they wouldn't, then neither would I.
Jude's hand rested on the crook of my elbow, hesitantly but somehow strictly as if she was prepared for me to throw her off. I looked at her and noticed for the first time how soft her eyes looked under the light, was she worried or just unnerved?
"I think I'll get some air. You might not have to party too much but it's expected of me." And just like that a certain bitterness came over her. If this were any other situation maybe we might've gotten along better.
I left the two of them to their machinations as I waltzed and swung around the cluttered room. A few of my movements were shared with strangers as I gave in and let them wisp me into their dance ring but eventually I made it out into the clearer air.
The beginning chills of the night washed over me like a well-intentioned blanket, letting me breathe in something that wouldn't make me feel as if I were drifting in the skies. I let my eyes close as I tipped the last of my wine into my mouth, letting the tart taste sit on my tongue before I swallowed.
"Too much for you? I should've expected as much." My eyes opened belatedly as I realised who was in front of me. Cardan looked down, his face all sharp edges and darkened angles. I cocked my head in a small resemblance of a bow as I looked for somewhere to sit my chalice down.
"Not particularly my prince, I'm just making sure I can dance all night. As should be." I murmured, he hadn't particularly approached me often. He had no reason to. If he hated Jude and Taryn he only vaguely disliked me.
"Aren't you ever the boring one. Are you not ashamed that you're the weakest in our class besides those bumbling fools." There was a sneer on his face, though it did nothing to make me hate him any more. Cardan was... like poison. Bad for you but also somehow magnetic, just one sip would be enough to quell someone's thirst and yet they may as well be dead.
"It's not my intention." The conversation was going nowhere, in fact, I had no idea why he had even approached me at all. He was likely looking for a fight, to sink his fingers into someone weaker than him.
I tried to move past him, as long as I got back into the revelry I might be hidden from his nitpicking sight. However, he stopped me, grabbing my arms and drawing me right back to being in front of him. My hand feigned to drop the chalice but I managed to catch it just in time.
I was sure that confusion was spilled across my face now but it seemed to deter him no less. For a few moments we simply stood in the company of each other, his hands present and tight on my arms. I drew in a breath, my chest just barely brushing against his. As his eyes dipped down to rationalise the fleeting touch he had felt I brought my hand up to his cheek.
While he looked steely there was a softness to him. My fingers sunk into his skin deliciously, as if they were made to be there.
"I must excuse myself my prince. The night calls." I gave him a placating smile and tore myself from his grasp, finding my way into the fray of folk moving back and forth like a wave. For the rest of the night I was under the impression that I had left him behind.
Though as I left I could've sworn I had seen his feathered suit coat out of the corner of my eye.
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uncanny-tranny · 1 year ago
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how did you decide if you wanted to go on hrt? i want to because my dysphorias been bad the last couple of months but also am scared because it didn't used to be like this and what if it goes back to being manageable? also the idea of having to talk to doctors/therapists/my parents about my feelings/dysohoria fucking terrifies me. any advice would be so awesome thanks man
Honestly, I think I just recognized how... fed up I was being miserable. I started really listing out the pros and cons in my head, including how almost agoraphobic my dysphoria made me, how I hated to laugh or smile. I definitely don't think that dysphoria is needed to make a decision about going on hormones, but it... helped me to realize that I couldn't live like this anymore.
Dysphoria can absolutely be dynamic, but if you find that when it gets bad, it gets bad, that's a sign, I think. So, for me, my dysphoria was manageable, but when I needed to do something that triggered it, it felt like my brain was a wine glass shattered by a bullet. So, while I didn't feel dysphoric 24/7/52/365, my dysphoria easily debilitated me. If you find that is somewhat similar, I think it's worth it to explore if hormones could help
It can be hard to gauge what you need sometimes, but you don't deserve to be miserable. It's worth it to get those feelings and thoughts out, even if you do it scared. If you have people you trust, trust them to come with you on this. You don't deserve to go through this alone. There are so many options for you to explore that can help ease you into a more definitive answer as to if hormones are a good fit for you - microdosing, using alternative methods or dosages, those are all great if you want to see how you'd respond to hormones.
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soleilnomoon · 1 year ago
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could i also order a mocha latte with a chocolate (carmel) mousse with some poppy seeds! he/him ftm with eren pls💖
૮₍ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ₎ა ty for your patience, this was a lil labor of love. also i love a good fake dating trope!! and eren, i love him sfm (obvy but yk) 💗💗it's probably more angst than necessary but that's just how i live my life.
2.8k words, ftm reader (he/him pronouns), nsfw, 18+ mdni; hurt/comfort, angst~, smut obvy, some fluff if you squint real hard; modern au feat. fake dating/marriage of convenience, arranged marriage, eren living in denial bc that's what he does best, fingering, a lil bit of tlc on eren's part (shocker), mutual (unrequited) pining. reader is better than me bc i'd never have that much restraint but that's just bc i'm weak (⸝⸝ᵕᴗᵕ⸝⸝); both of them need to get it together *washes hands* (if u see spelling/grammar mistakes, no u didn't (⸝⸝ᵕᴗᵕ⸝⸝))
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“i pray you do not fall in love with me, for i am falser than vows made in wine.” — william shakespeare
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HORS D’OEUVRE
you remind yourself, for the twentieth time this week, that it’s simply business.
as your parents’ only child, it only made sense that they’d try to marry you off to the highest bidder — the business world is all about making meaningful connections, and you know that better than most. marriage was never something that you envisioned for yourself, but your parents rarely ever demanded anything from you, so the least you could do was adhere to their wishes.
and if you knew your husband-to-be would be this standoffish and hard to read, you might not have agreed — it’s a lie that you like to tell yourself, because it makes it easier to deal with his constant rejection. still, you did sign a contract — one he drafted outside of his parents’ prying eyes, one that he had you sign secretly; that you both agreed to one full year of marriage for appearances, that you refrain from interfering with one another’s private lives, and that you’d never fall in love.
you didn’t think much of it at the time, because there was no way in hell that you would fall in love with a man like eren jaeger. not when he looked at you like you were a nuisance that he was forced to deal with; not when he was so stiff and curt with you whenever you tried to drum up conversation; not when he barely sat for meals with you; and not when he refused to share a bedroom with you after you moved in together.
still, you hold your head up high, determined to see things through; the sooner this sham of a marriage was over, the better.
and eren was of the same mindset.
he argued with his parents until he was so fed up that he had to leave for a few days to calm down; an arranged marriage was always in his future, he just didn’t think it’d happen so soon. maybe it’s because his parents were tired of seeing him galivant with a different partner each week — maybe because the image of their company desperately needed a more family-oriented look (to draw in the masses, of course).
or maybe they wanted to punish him for being impulsive and hard-headed, for not wanting to take the path that was neatly laid out for him, and for simply rejecting the last twenty marriage candidates they presented to him over the past few years.
so, imagine their surprise when eren agreed to marry you — someone who kept to themselves, who didn’t cause trouble for their family, who seemingly looked obedient to the point that it made him sick. he figured the best way for him to live his life would be to use you as a cover up; you didn’t look like the type to complain, nor did you look particularly interested in getting married either.
it was the perfect solution to his problem, and it didn’t hurt that he found you attractive, too. not that he was going to tell you that just yet.
APPETIZER
despite how terrible his personality is, you can’t deny that your husband is handsome. you catch yourself staring at his profile while you wash dishes in the kitchen, eyes lingering on the shape of his jaw as you scrub the same plate over and over. he’s on the phone again, arguing with one of his friends — jean, maybe? — so you’re safe to admire him from afar, like you’ve always done. you try not to do it too openly because he tends to act smug when his ego is stroked, and you don’t have the capacity to deal with that just yet.
but also, more importantly, because you don’t ever want him to know that you’d give anything for him to come over and—
“i don’t care,” eren says loudly, his voice echoing from the adjacent hallway as he paces around. the noise startles you, so you turn to focus on the dishes before sneaking a glance at him again.
eren turns when he feels your eyes on him, and you don’t have a chance to look away fast enough. his eyes are a startling shade of green that matches his intense and audacious personality; you grip the wine glass in your hand a little too hard as he watches you. curiosity at your behavior makes him narrow his eyes and you assume he’s annoyed with you again. except, that’s not true at all.
he’s mostly annoyed with himself.
the marriage, in theory works just fine — he just did not consider the possibility of him developing feelings for you, not after being together for six months already. he finds every excuse to not touch you; barely looking your way in the mornings and evenings — the only time he even shows a modicum of interest is whenever you’re both whisked away to events that require both of you to be in attendance.
it’s out of duty that you comply, but you find it harder and harder as time goes on.
the first time eren kissed you was after you exchanged wedding vows — his lips were much softer than you thought they’d be, and while he’d only intended to give you a quick peck, he’d become entirely too immersed. you’d always found yourself disappointed with past partners because of the way they’d kissed, but eren truly made you feel like you would float for eternity. his hand was warm against the back of your neck, and you thought your heart would shoot out of your chest when his tongue brushed against your lips.
even though your lips parted immediately, eren remembered himself and refused to let himself get carried away. you were a little disappointed when he pulled away, but when you looked up at him you noticed the faint flush on his cheeks. you smiled to yourself, committing the sight to memory — which would become your anchor afterward — and genuinely enjoyed his presence throughout the rest of the evening.
where he was usually gruff and blasé, he’d suddenly become the perfect, loving groom. it unnerved and confused you; he was very adamant about keeping this as superficial as possible.
you wondered if it was part of the act? but if that was the case, why wouldn’t he mention before so you wouldn’t get so caught off guard. it made you skittish whenever his hand brushed against yours, whenever he offered you secret smiles and prolonged looks, and whenever he leaned down to whisper words of encouragement when it seemed like your anxiety over the whole affair was eating you alive.
it helped ground you but did nothing to stop your heart from beating rapidly when the realization set that you were married to him.
but by the time you got into the car to head back home, he sat as far away from you as possible, his posture stiff, expression unreadable. he’d gone from sociable and charming, to his usual petty self.
incredible.
“it’s just business,” he said out loud; you wanted to ask if those words were meant for you, or if they were meant for him. the question never leaves your mouth; you swallow back the rejection as best as you can, steel your features, stare out the window and remind yourself that falling in love with eren jaeger would be your downfall.
ENTRÉE / MAIN COURSE
after that, he makes it a point to only touch you out of necessity; he figures it’s the most logical and diplomatic solution to his problem. jean continues jabbering in his ear about nonsense, and he leans against the kitchen island, eyes tracing down the length of your neck and the slender shape of your shoulders. he really should take his conversation elsewhere, but he’s a masochist without meaning to be.
“uh huh,” he says noncommittally, a heat passing through him the moment you glance his way again — again, you’re doing that thing where you act as if you’ve been caught red-handed, like some doe-eyed deer in the middle of the night. and maybe you are, or maybe it’s all an act.
little does he know, you’re much too aware of his presence now, and your hand slips when you grab a plate and it shatters in the sink.
“damn it,” you say loudly and start to pick up the large pieces without thinking; you cut your hand and try to clean out the wound as best as you can. eren hangs up the phone in the middle of the conversation to make his way over to you; the scent of his cologne suffocates you in the best way, and when you turn and offer a small smile so you can rebuff his offer to help, you hesitate.
“let me see,” he demands, “don’t even think about arguing.” he casts you a sharp glass, one that tells you to behave, and for some reason, you find yourself wondering what would happen if you didn’t follow that command. but eren’s already grabbing onto your wrist and inspecting your palm carefully, long fingers gliding along your skin softly, making you a little dizzy. goosebumps prick your skin down your arms when he drags you to the bathroom so he can properly dress the wound.
you don’t know what to make of any of this; the questions pummel through your throat, bouncing around your mouth, desperate to escape. you never let them, though, and swallow them back with as much patience as you can muster.
“hop on the counter.” he lets go of your hand and rummages through the cabinet; surely, he’s joking, and you stand there stupidly, blinking at him, not moving an inch.
he grabs the first aid kit and narrows his eyes at you, the look he gives you is disarming and he steps close enough to place his hands on either side of you, gripping the counter tightly. “that wasn’t a request, you know.” your skin burns fiercely, and suddenly it’s hard to swallow; you do your best to hop on top of the counter in the minimal amount of space he allows you.
unfortunately for you, he does not let up. eren takes his time cleaning the wound properly before applying some ointment and wrapping it. he holds your hand much more delicately than you’re used to. you watch him, wide-eyed, breathing unevenly as you contemplate how to proceed with this man. for all the bullshit he puts you through, you know he’s lying to himself about his feelings towards you.
especially when he keeps looking at you tenderly, but also with slight annoyance — like he can’t figure out what to do with you yet. on impulse, he leans forward, lips brushing against yours and he knows that if he kisses you, there’s no turning back. you don’t make it any easier for him when you allow him to stand in between your legs, his hands gripping your hips and causing our mind to go blank.
you let out a soft noise, one that nearly incapacitates him; his cock strains at the front of his pants, making everything that much more difficult to deal with.
he knows he should leave, but he can’t — not yet, anyway. it’s eren who grabs the back of your neck and holds you steady as he kisses you, mouth moving against yours agonizingly slow, tongue gliding into your mouth with familiarity. the kiss leaves you both breathless, but it doesn’t stop him from kissing you again, nor does it stop you from helping him unzip and tug his pants and underwear down. his cock is smooth and heavy when you stroke it with your uninjured hand; the kisses transform into something feverish and frenetic, your skin warming significantly when you feel his hips jerk forward the faster your hand moves.
pre-cum slides down his tip, a welcomed sight in your book. you smile against his lips when his patience wears thin — he tugs on your clothes to strip you bare, and you do the same for him. you wrap our legs around him, hold him close to kiss him one more time — mind a muddled mess the moment his fingers enter you, scissoring around, pumping in and out lazily. you moan against his lips, hips rolling forward as your nails drag along his skin.
after plucking his fingers out of you, he rubs the head of his cock against your needy entrance, a shiver crawling through you at the sensation. you whine and fuss, telling him to hurry up.
he tsks quietly and shoots you a mischievous look, one that makes you nervous in a good way. there’s nothing soft or gentle about the way eren fucks you; but every time he does, it becomes much more intimate in its own way. you both knock things off of the counter, his cock sliding in and out of you, lips dragging along your throat, littering your skin with kisses and bite marks.
you clench around him desperately and he angles his hips to power into you faster and deeper. you moan his name so loud it only makes him want to fuck you harder; so he does. he’s not sure if it’s his heart or yours — or maybe both? — that beats loud enough to make him wonder if any of this is real. you’d say yes, if he ever had the courage to ask — but, as usual, his cowardice somehow wins out.
still, you can’t really complain; not when he keeps whispering in your ear, giving you the sort of praise that makes your toes curl. when you wrap your legs around him, hold him closer to you, he gives you short, brutal strokes, hips knocking into yours roughly.
it’s then that you really scream for him, and his lips find yours again as a lightheaded feeling takes over your entire body. you both cum simultaneously, a feat that surprises him; he rolls his hips lazily, cock sliding in and out of you for a little while longer until you both can’t take it. he doesn’t pull out right away and allows you to rest your forehead against his chest; a faint sheen of sweat coats your skin, but he holds onto you anyway.
when you place a soft, chaste kiss on the corner of his mouth, he realizes he’s in too deep. he pulls away suddenly and is already putting up his walls again.
with great difficulty, you climb down and reach for him, but he evades your touch and grabs his clothes so he can put them back on.
DESSERT
panic settles in your chest, the sinking realization that he’s going to run away from you again makes you clean up quickly so you can follow after him. he knows you won’t let this go, so he decides to cut to the chase. eren faces you and with a stern, severe expression, he says, “i can’t do this right now.” and he really can’t — or, rather, doesn’t want to.
to him, that’s the end of the discussion, but you’re so damn persistent — something that both was admirable and obnoxious to him — and stop him again.
“no,” you say firmly, which surprises him, “yes the fuck you can. we’re doing this right damn now.” you leave very little room for argument, so he relents; maybe if he lets you talk at him for a bit, you’ll drop this.
“what is it?”
your bravado slips but you still hold strong. “eren, we can’t keep…,” you trail off, lips pursed as you try to find the best way to say this, “i mean you can’t keep stringing me along like that.” you had feelings and a fragile heart, one that you willingly give to him over and over. his teeth sink into his bottom lip as he mulls over your words. “what are you so afraid of?”
he almost blurts out the truth, but instead balls his hands into fists at his side and attempts nonchalance again.
you won’t let up, though and poke at his chest with your finger. “i never pegged you for a coward,” you say harshly, which gives him pause. “i’m not going to have a half-assed relationship with you, i deserve more than that.”
he doesn’t speak for a long moment, the silence choking you, making you want to hide under your covers for the rest of the day; but then the strangest thing happens. resigned and wholly captivated by you, eren sighs and pulls you close to him. it’s an embrace that makes you question his motives, but his lips ghost along the curve of your ear and you can feel your heart pummeling against your rib cage. you will it to keep quiet, but it never slows. despite trying your best to remain calm and patient, you wish eren would hurry up and give you his answer, and before you can pester him about it again, his arms wrap around you and he whispers, “okay.”
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ebaylee422 · 2 years ago
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Chapter Two: The Trick of Trade
The Emerald Prince and his Sapphire Princess
Aemond X Targ!Reader
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Authors Note: sorry this took forever I'm in school rn for the first time since graduating in 2020 and I needed some time. Also I will be spiffing up my blog a bit in the next couple of days to my liking and for it to be more organized.
Summary: Only so much can prepare Lyssa for the weight of her lineage cascading onto her shoulders. The least she can do is protect her cousins from Aegon's bullying, ingrained by his shrew mother Queen Alicent. Not the woman Lyssa once knew, instead she'll look to Rhaenyra and others for those more human connections.
Word Count: 4.5k
Prologue - 1 - 2 - 3
I woke up to the noise of shifting fabrics beyond the cocoon of blankets I had created after yesterday's excitement. The sun glowing through the open balcony my lady-in-waiting Maygen would always open. waking me for the day. It would allow the air to run through my room slowly coaxing my body out of sleep. 
“Morning, Princess. I have set out your training leathers, Ser Harwin has asked for your lesson to be prompt after breakfast. Since you did not eat supper yesterday I’ve sent for your breakfast to be brought here.” Maygen couldn’t be older than my cousin, she was soft from the thick curls pulled back by strong cloth. To the supple nature of her voice when she spoke from her soft tanned skin and wine color lips. I sometimes envied her escape, as well her duties were simplistic in nature as she was only to keep me company, dressed and fed. Maygen would inform me of the delights of the market beyond the keep, and I would tell her the sights and wonders I experienced on dragonback. She’d become more of a friend and comfort than just a serving girl.
“Thank you, Maygen. I suppose no one else is within the dining hall this morning either?” She stopped in her fussing, folding and organizing the papers I’d left amuck on top of my table. She sighed, giving me enough when her shoulders dropped.
“I do not believe it to be your fault Princess. Family is a sensitive structure, I can’t hardly imagine, having the future of the realm on your shoulders as well.” A knock interrupted her, she moved to the doors of my chambers to answer. Hushed whispers were allotted until the door closed once again, Maygen entering with a tray of food.
“I’m starved.” I said as my gaze fell to a rolled paper sealed in red that peaked out of the side of the plate. “What is that?” I sat up completely taking it off the tray, resting my back against the headboard.
“It is from Pentos, Princess.” I opened the letter to find Laena’s penmanship beyond, she must have sent it days ago. 
Dearest Lyssa,
I write to you to ask for your presence in Pentos as we prepare for the birth of my child. If the Kings allow, since Rhaenyra cannot travel for her soon birth as well. I wish to have family by my side, as Baela and Rhaena were so sickly after their birth. We miss you greatly, Baela and Rhaena learn our ancestral tongue from my mine and your father. They are greatly excelling. I hope your study of Maegor may shape your knowledge of our past, so that we may not repeat our mistakes. Soon you will learn of King Jaeherys and your namesake Queen Alysanne. How your parents were betrothed by her wishes, and my mother was passed by for rule of The Seven Kingdoms. I would love to tell you about our family if you decide to join us in Pentos, I will even take you to the street markets here if you wish. Daemon may not say it out loud but I know he misses you and his brother deeply, it is only stubbornness that keeps us here. That and the endless library hall he spends his days and nights in. We hope to follow your reply soon, my love.
Until we see each other, gratefully yours Laena.
I rolled the paper up again when there was a brash knock at my door. Maygen going to answer this time she bows deeply, moving aside as I see someone enter around the corner. “Prince Aemond, my lady.” she called to warn, as he appeared hastily at the foot of my bed. I pulled on my sheets to cover my modesty at his brazen entrance. He held a parcel in his hand, my notebook piled underneath. It must have fallen out of my dress pocket when in the Dragon Pit yesterday.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” Aemond says averting his gaze from mine to look out of my balcony open wide. “Are you not cold?”
“No, my Prince.” We did not say a word as he looked about my chamber's. It was uncomfortably silent, he brushed his hair out of his eyes when his mouth opened and closed. Like a fish gasping for breath, now resting to stare at the lumps of my feet underneath the blankets.
“My mother wished me to bring you a salve for your wrists. You also dropped your book in the caves yesterday, I wanted to return it.” He turned, setting both on my vanity, Maygen had set my robe on the edge of the bed, I climbed out of my plush covers to wrap it around myself. Unbenounced to me Aemond watched my movements within the mirror,
“Did you read it?”
“No, I did not have the time with my father berating me for my foolish nativity.” He chuckled without humor, examining the various pins, jewelry and perfumes cluttered on the surface.
“You are foolish,” I tell him with little sympathy titling my head in concern, the fear still bubbled within my nerves. “but the others are cruel. Will you be in yards today?” I ask taking a brush off my vanity, holding my hand out for him to sit. In front of me on the stool, we typically do this after breakfast in the hall. Aemond hated the unruly nature of his hair, white like his Targaryen father but as thick as Alicents auburn ringlets. He preferred to keep it out of his eyes, rolling them with a sigh, he slumped in front of me, hands upon his knees.
“My father wished me to put the whole ordeal behind us,” As he spoke I brushed his hair back, untangling knots he’d not taken care of when washing. 
“You are their senior, your nephews. And Aegon is your brother.”
“Don’t remind me, if it weren’t for our Targaryen features he may only be a street rat.”
“ ‘Mon.” I scold softly, looking for a leather tie behind his head. “Why did you go into the caves?”
“You know why.” He stated deadpan, his eyes looking at the intricate beading along my robe. “You have two dragon’s Lyssa. As my egg lays dormant. It’s not fair-”
“You are a boy. As I was born the first daughter of a man who does not want me. Many things aren’t.” Aemond holds my wrist, stopping the brush within his locks.
“I am a second son, the second son out of four children. Even my little brother was sent to Old Town as a cupbearer. My purpose isn’t known.”
“Then find it yourself.” I say, tying the top half of his hair back out of his violet eyea, walking around him to lay the brush on top of the vanity.
“When you laid claim to Silverwing, what did you do?”
“I saw her on a hill above the caverns of the Dragonmount, her and Vermithor. He took off, she stayed. Unfurling her wings in protest of me standing next to her, yet as soon as my hand touched her scales she yielded and yearned for my touch. Leaving her mate Vermithor to grant me a taste of the skies.”
“While the egg your father picked hatched in the Dragon Pit.” Aemond's voice was chilling as he spoke.
“Yes. I wish everyday that Bronze Tail would have rejected me so you may have a claim of a young dragon Aemond. It is not what the Gods wished-”
“The Gods?” Aemond stands from his seat, pinning me between him and the vanity. Despite being a few inches shorter his demeanor radiates power enough to topple empires. “They continue to test my patience, just as the rest of you do. Wishes and Fantasy will not make me a man.”
“No. It won’t.” I halt his thoughts, puffing my chest to his challenge “You do not scare me Aemond, just like the rest of them you are a mere boy. Yet if you let this anger fester any longer it will consume your heart and mind. Even without a Dragon you might become a man but you will never be one. Good or Bad.” Aemond’s brow creases in doubt, his anger exiting his shaking form like a snuffed out candle. 
“Ñuha mind jorrāelagon naejot sagon kostōba than ñuha prūmia.”
My mind needs to be stronger than my heart.
He whispers.
“Iā kostōba mind emā, kostā borrow ñuha prūmia.  Syt sir”
A strong mind you have, you may borrow my heart. For now.
I run my hand along his arm, the contact sending a shiver through my spine. His eyes finally meeting mine again are filled with the untapped kindness he keeps buried away for Helaena, Alicent, and I. 
“I will meet you in the training yards, ñuha prūmia.”
My heart.
Taking my hand in his, pressing his chapped lips to the first knuckles without breaking his eyes from mine. My head spins, floating in the space like the foam a top a freshly poured cup of mead. Turning on his heel, Aemond leaves out the door he came in, hair tucked back so he may wear his Gambeson comfortability. Aemond wears the opposite color to me, Hightower Green with a three-headed dragon as our shared crest. While his mind is clouded with similar envy, I bleed red for the hope of our shared devotion. Today, however, I will wear the bronze leather of my mother. Aemond's words ring like a melody through my head until I reach the yards. Forgoing everything left in my room but some roasted pheasant with a jug of water for my breakfast. 
My heart
My heart
My heart
ñuha prūmia
My shoulders ache as I push Ser Harwin away perring his blow to my left side, “You’re holding back, this is a dance. Even as a girl you need not be timid with me-” 
“I’m trying!” I huff, disengaging from the open area as he shuffles towards me.
“I am five times your size and even more in strength than all the other men in King's Landing. Be angry if you must Princess, but it is true. Give me a reasonable fight.” Harwin takes my wooden sword and unsheathes his broadsword along his hip, with open palms he hands it to me. I grip the handle with one hand, and the blade sinks to the ground immediately.
“How am I to beat you if I am at every disadvantage?” I heave the sword to waist height, rocking low in my hips staying at the ready. 
“Do not let your enemy see your fears, deceive me. You are smaller and faster, I am heavier on top than bottom watch for my legs. Then make your move, fast with full force.”
“You’re telling me how to defeat you, that’s cheating.” Wiping the sweat off my forehead with the crook on my elbow raised at the ready.
“Do you know why I’m called ‘Breakbones?’, Princess.” I shake my head still keeping distance as we circle each other. “Criston Cole broke my collar within his first tourney as the Queen’s Guard. I fought the rest of the day with my shoulder wrapped tight. You can do much more damage than him.”
“Okay, I’m ready.” With that, he charged to my left side again, I perried the blow, crossing our swords his strength made me bend back at the waist. I twisted the swords, ducking under him, gaining distance.
“You will never be ready, Lyssa. The world will swallow you whole-” He left his legs carelessly separated, pushing with my shoulder. I curved my body from where our blades met side stepping behind him.
"I will take it by Fire and Blood!" I yell, charging him
"You are a girl from a renowned family only." Harwin sees my open shoulder, slicing down on my sword to knock his elbow into my shoulder. I wail in pain, raising the sword again to a generous combo against my mentor. Only there isn't fear. He is laughing. Laughing at my attempts, this spurs on my rage and exhaustion.
“I am a Targaryen! The Seven Kingdoms need us, I am one of the most educated women within them.” Out of the way of his counterattack, I slice at the chains of his knees. He winces and shuffles orward. 
“Is that why Prince Daemon is out adventuring Pentos?” Turning he swings the wooden sword with full force, I wait for his shoulders to drop dodging the blow as dirt flies within the air. 
“My father doesn’t matter!” I scream, “I will triumph without him!” I use the weight of the sword hilt into his shoulder. 
“Get angry! Look at me, and see him!” Then stepping back, dodging the swipe to my waist I bring the sword to shoulder height holding and pressing to Harwin’s uncovered side between his ribs. Out of breath he drops his weapon, pushing mine away from his side it clatters to the ground. My knees droop as Harwin stands, he holds my head against his black leathers, my shoulders cradled by his other arm in an embrace. I breathe heavily and clutch at his sides as hot tears stream down my face.
“I’m sorry-” I hiccup,
“No, I am sorry. I needed you to feel, to fight for what is yours. You won Lyssa. Even if he is not here to see it, know that I am proud of you.” Harwin holds my face in his hands, wiping the tears from my face. “No man is worth this pain, Lyssa."
"Then why does it happen?"
"I wish I knew. Believe me when i say the gods have no control of mans' cruelty. Only the punishment within the next life. I heard what happened in my absence yesterday.”
“It was nothing-”
“You saved the Prince's life, a debt he will pay you for one day.”
“It was all Aegon’s plot, he tricked his own brother. Aegon is a vile-”
“Careful Lyssa. He is also a Prince-”
“The ladies of court say that Viserys and Alicent will wed me to him after I bleed. So I may bear him pure-blood children, in line with our Targaryen traditions.” Harwin bellows so loud it echoes through the walls, “Why are you laughing? Stop laughing at me.” I spit at him, smacking him along his bicep.
“My-my that is gossip if I ever heard any, despite you’re fathers faults and your lack of a mother like myself, he would never allow such a union.” He holds his sword and collects the other practice ones scattered around us, “You have a unique place here. They wouldn’t squander your hand on the likes of the Princes. You, Lyssa, have a great opportunity here, I see a treaty being made over your hand. While other ladies sew and play instruments while you do those amicably. As well you fight, speak High Valyrian, are a Targaryen King's ward and cupbearer. This means you have heard many royal decries and are strategic. Smarter than any other young girl I’ve met.”
“Even Princess Rhaenyra?” I snicker, 
“She learned from her misfortunes in all good time, as one of her confidantes. You've seen what to avoid. Rhaenyra has taught you the likes of being a mother as well.”
“I’ve never thought of it as that.”
“What I’m getting at is you are well spoken for Princess. Do not fear the future. You are beloved, and all will ensure you are well prepared for your role. Come now, we may catch the last of the Princes training. As I need my sword polished because of your heavy hands.” Walking into the true training yard of the Keep, Aegon and Aemond stand in Hightower green their wooden swords raised slicing at straw dummies behind Jace and Lucerys. Rhaenyra’s children wear Targaryen red and black.
“Aegon,” Cole speaks from across the yard, approaching the distracted Prince.
“I’ve won my first bout, Ser Criston. My opponent sues for mercy.”
“Well, you’ll have a new opponent then My Lord of the Straw. Let’s see if you can touch me. You and your brother.” He tells Aegon, who is laughing smugly at the idea. Not before spotting Ser Harwin and I beyond, he blows a kiss in my direction. I grimace as the Velyron sons walk towards us to watch. Viserys and Lyonel Strong on the balcony watch the training yard from above. He waves after a heap slug of whatever the Maesters put in his flask. At attention, the three fights, Jace and Luke , are pushed to the sidelines, forced to observe only and learn something from it. 
“Ah. Weapons up, boys. Give your enemies no quarter.” Harwin breaks our silence as Criston eyes closer, Harwin puffs his shoulders maintaining eye contact. “It seems the younger boys could do better with a bit of your attention… Ser Criston.”
“You question my method of instruction as you teach girls, ser?” Criston yells a good distance across the yard.
“Oh, I merely suggest that method be applied to all your pupil, before long the Princess shall overcome all the men in her family. Your best and brightest shall crumble beneath her steel.”
“Ser Harwin…” I warn, pink of face at the praise. 
“Pfft. Very well. Jacerys come here.” Criston grabs Jace at his collar pulling him into the center, “You spar with Aegon. Eldest son against eldest son.”
“It’s hardly a fair match.”
“I know you’ve never seen true battle, Ser but when steel is drawn, a fair match isn’t something anyone should expect. Blades up. Engage.” Aegon charges Jace, pushing him to the ground, turning to laugh at his embarrassment. Jace follows Aegon angry, shoving him backwards enough that Aegon cowares behind a straw dummy pushing it into Jace. 
“Foul play-” Harwin says grabbing Jace away from a impending strike,
“I’ll deal with him.” Criston whispers to Aegon. Each mentor speaking to their match while I stay at the side holding Harwins sword.
“You!” Aegon yells charging for Jace
“Close with him.” Criston hollers at Aegon as the young Prince pushes Jace backwards. “Press him backward!”
“Close with him.”
“Stay on the attack,”
“Use your feet.”
“Don’t let him get up.” Harwin watches silently as Aegon continues to hit Jace with full force, I drop the sword in favor of taking Lukes. Running to Jace, blocking the blow to his head with my sword and pushing Aegon back. 
“Foul play!” I grit through me teeth standing at attention,
“Stay on the attack!” Criston yells from behind Aegon, Aegon raises his sword up to swing at mine.
“Enough!” Harwin grabs Aegon before he can land a blow on my sword.
“You dare put hands on me?” Aegon screams, thrashing against Ser harwins strong grip.
“Aegon!” Viserys speaks from the balcony
“You forget yourself, Strong. That is the Prince.”
“Jacaerys is the future King by birthright!” I yell at Criston, sword still charged within my grasp.
“The battlefield is no place for a woman-” Criston charges to where I stand, taking my sword brashly, gripping my arm in protest, trying to control my movements. His touch feels hollow, hands clammy to the bare son of my hurt wrist. I grind my teeth in order to not show the effect he is having on the tender area.
“Tell that to my ancestors, my mother-” I hissed through a dragon’s tongue, stepping forward to meet his eye. His eyes widen as they gaze into mine. True fear fogs them until Harwin interrupts. He is walking the grounds, picking up the toy swords.
“This is what you teach Cole? Cruelty… to the weaker opponent?” Criston drops my toy sword on the ground Harwin kicks it away. Turning to sneer at the Commanders back, plotting and following. I dust Jacaerys off checking the blisters of his hands while the two men continue their battle of wits, for the King's audience. 
“Your interest in the Princelings training is quite unusual, Commander. Most men would only have that kind of devotion towards a cousin… or a brother. Or a son.” Harwin moves before any can react to Ser Criston being punched into the ground. It takes four Kingsguard to pull Harwin far enough away to stop any more damage.
“Say it again! Say it again!” Harwin screams as the King's Guard pulls him farther away, Criston spits a tooth with a mouthful of blood onto the dirt ground beside his head. While others gather around us in the courtyard, Ser Lyonel Strong has been dismissed for his duties as the newest Kings Guard is escorting his grace back to his chamber. Servants gather the Princes away for their studies, and I slip away to mine.
 -
 “This remains a Tully problem” Alicents tells the small counsel as take my second pass with the wine pitcher.
“I would agree.” Viserys says hand cutting over his goblet before I can fill it further, his head sags in exertion. 
“If we may move on, my lords-” Tyland Lanninster the replacement to my great uncle Corlys Velaryon as Lord of the Tides while he is absent. 
“And yet, the Brackens and the Blackwoods will use any excuse to spill each other’s blood. So… this dispute bears looking into. There will be countryfolk who know where the lines have been drawn for generations.” Rheanyra tells the council playing with the glazed stone in front of her. 
“That is easy enough.” Lyonel Strong agrees, with the ease of resources it would take from the capital. 
“Of course.” Alicent scoffs, draining her cup. I fill her cup and she rolls her eyes to me as well. I know it is only meant in frustration to fit in her position.
“Ser Tyland.” Lyonel clears his throat, 
“Uh, we should address the latest developments in the Stepstones, my lords.” The lion motions for me to fill his cup.
“Will we ever be shut of that blasted place?” Alicent rings her hands, fiddling with the rings among them. 
“If you ask me, I think the Blackwoods have the upper hand.” Lord Beesbury announced from a dazed position. 
“No.”
“We’ve moved on to the Stepstones, Lord Beesbury.” Maester Orwyle patted the old man’s hand, the only one of the counsel who was left from King Jaehaerys reign.
“And the Triarchy’s new alliance with Dorne.” 
“I was hoping our negotiations with Sunspear might persuade them to see reason.  To trust a Martell is to be disappointed.”
“Perhaps your Grace but I wish to bring forward our other option we spoke of previously. The lady herself has been awaiting this moment, this may be our last shot of redemption for the Martells.”
“The Marriage?” Alicent's brows cross,
“Marriage? There’s to be a wedding in Dorne?”
“This was merely an idea spoken over supper Ser Tyland, we have Princess Alysanne’s hand in marriage to discuss.”
“Me?” I gasp, the wine reservoir slips from my grasp, the red liquid splattering like blood on a beach shore. 
“Leave it sweet dove, come here.” Viserys holds out his hand to me, holding my freezing hand to his heated temple.
“She is to be of age soon. Just as her namesake made an alliance with The Vale and Targaryens after Maegor the Cruel. We have the opportunity to have a marriage alliance with The Martells and Targeryens.” Lyonel continues with a wink in my direction.
“We cannot do much without Daemon’s permission. If he knew you were shipping his eldest to Dorne he would burn this council room to the ground. Involvement of them in the trepidatious Stepstones or not.” Rheanyra adds, 
“And where, I wonder, is our Prince Daemon? Or I suppose I should call him King, as he styled himself when he won a battle there, once.” Jasper scoffs, swirling the wine in his cup.
“That was a decade ago and he has since left the region undefended.”
I wonder how Alicent has not found her knack for diplomacy after over a decade as Queen. Within this chamber I have yet to see her place any of her own love and care into the family.
“We have left it undefended. There should’ve been fortifications built, watchtowers, a fleet of ships, a garrison of soldiers sent to hold our ground.” Rheanyra interrupts her as if a Prince is supposed to have rein over unruly islands like the Stepstones. 
“We cannot afford it. Our coffers are great, but not infinite. We must consider the cost to our subjects”
“I must agree.” Beesbury nods his head, 
“The cost of war is greater. But we have been lax and the old monster now lifts its head.” Rhaenyra argues,
“The alliance with Dorne would be one of peace and trade, something the Stepstones cannot offer.” Tyland points his unsightly finger in my direction.
“My lords, if I may?” I asked mostly to Viserys, he nods
“Yes child?”
“I am to visit Pentos to be with Lady Laena in the Princess' stead. She is said to give birth to my fathers first son, will my pursuit to Dorne allow me-”
“Of course not Lyssa, you were sent as my emissary.” Rhaenyra orders the court, her voice and eyes study against mine. Then shift as she scans any man or more liking Alicent's challenge. It does not come.
“Let us be finished.” Alicent interrupts noticing how Viserys can barely hold his head up, using my hand as a anchor.
“Yes.” Viserys sighs standing with his Queen and the rest of the council, I step aside as we wait for Rhaenyra to join us.
“Wait. I wish to speak.”
“Be seated.” Viserys commands, every man in the rooms sits so that only myself, the Princess and Queen stand firmly among men. The makers of this family standing on opposing sides, while I am met with a choice to follow only one. Only time can spare me in such a choice.
“I have felt the… strife… in our families as of late, my queen. And for any offense given by mine, I apologize. But we are one house. And long before that we were friends. My son Jacaerys will inherit the Iron Throne after me. If Princess Lyssa is to be sent to Dorne or to wed Aegon as rumored, I propose we betroth him to your daughter, Helaena. Ally ourselves. Once and for all, let them rule together.” Rhaenyra smiles brightly at her stepmother, once her closet friend now an equal. An heiress, a mother and ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.
“A most judicious proposition.” Viserys boasts,
“Additionally, if Syrax brings forth another clutch of eggs, your son Aemond will have his choice of them. Uh, a symbol of our goodwill.”
“Rhaenyra.” Alicents stares towards Rhaenyra's chest, to which I immediately take my camisole to put over her shoulders.
“Oh, seven hells… Um.” Rhaenyra slumps not her chair, hands covering her modesty.
“My dear, a Dragon’s Egg is a handsome gift.”
��The King and I thank you for your offer, and we’ll consider it duly. You must rest now, husband.” Alicent helps the King stand, he stops mid walk to address the room for a final time.
“Yes. Pack for Pentos Lyssa, we shall dine as a family before you leave.” I bow to my King and nausea swirls like curled milk in my belly at the impending goodbyes.
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