#niall horan friends to lovers

[horansqueen]

Dating For Dummies - 1

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❤ Notes:

written from both Opal & Niall's POV

i don’t proofread, I never do, I hate it.

AU comedy/fluff/smut/romance

1.7k

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OPAL

The neighborhood was not as quiet as I had expected, but for the monthly price we were asked for this new apartment, I couldn't really complain. I let myself fall on the overly comfortable couch Niall's mom had offered us with a satisfied sigh and a big smile on my lips. The room was almost empty except for a few boxes placed between old furniture friends and family didn't want anymore, and I had to admit that the colors of the walls were horrible, but at least, it was my home. It was our home.

I couldn't pretend Niall and I were not close, but I couldn't also say that we were like peas in a pod. We came from the same group of friends, and we did spend some time together, but being alone was not something common for us. I liked him, I knew he was the kind of roommate that wouldn't be too invasive and he was quite nice to look at too, I couldn't deny.

He slowly sat next to me, leaning his arm on the back of the couch behind me, and crossed his ankles. I didn't need to look at him to know he was as excited as I was to start this new life.

"Finally free." he let out in a low tone, making me chuckle.

"Yea I bet you were so oppressed living with you mom." I let out with sarcasm in my voice before letting out a chuckle. I turned my head to look at him and shook my head slightly. "Poor darling." I added, sliding my fingertips gently on one of his cheeks, his stubble scratching my skin lightly.

He raised his eyebrows and turned to look at me to, making me smile even more.

"Why do I have the feeling that this amuses you more than it should?"

I leaned closer and licked my lips before grinning even more. "Because it does." I whispered, letting out a laugh louder than I expected.

He rolled his eyes but the way the right corner of his mouth moved up told me he knew I was joking. It took a few seconds but silence finally came back between us and I blinked a few times, watching as the sun slowly moved down, adding an orange color to the cloudless sky.

"Okay, how about I take care of the tv and we can watch a movie?"

I was the one raising my eyebrows this time, pleasantly surprised by his offer. I had expected Niall to spend time by himself most of the time, or at least not with me, and perhaps it was just because it was out first day and he didn't want to be alone. I quickly nodded without making any comment or asking any questions and he jumped off the couch to do what he had suggested.

It took him about 15 minutes and everything was ready, which is another thing that surprised me. It made me realize that I didn't know much about him and perhaps it was simply because it was new, but I wanted to get to know him better.

We had met through the friend of a friend and although we would all meet up for beers at the pub on saturdays and study together once every two weeks, it never occurred to me that Niall was someone I could get along with. Not because he was not interesting, or because we didn't share the same interests, but just because I had never taken the time to think about it before. The only things I had really noticed about Niall was that he was hot, funny, popular, and that he was way out of my league. Not that I wanted him that way or anything, but it was a simple fact. I was also aware that he could definitely hold his liquor which was not something I could pretend was my forte, but I always stopped drinking before being too drunk ; you never know what can happen in a bar and although I loved my friends, it was hard for me to trust anyone. But that's an other story for an other day.

I knew I shouldn't but in the middle of the movie, I glanced at Niall's phone, noticing he was getting many notifications through the evening. My mouth curled again into a grin when I noticed he was actually swiping on a dating application.

"Ae you looking for the kind of love that lasts forever, or the kind that lasts only a few hours?"

"How's that any of your business?"

My heart jumped in my chest but when my eyes met his, I realized he was joking and I smiled back at him.

"It's not, but I'm on the same app. In fact, I'm on thee different apps." I admitted, leaning my head against the couch for a few seconds before bringing it back up, slightly ashamed of myself. "Hey that's what happens when you spend all your time working on other type of relationships, and making sure you get excellent grade in college."

"Yea, you keep telling yourself that, love." he chuckled, shaking his head.

"And what's your excuse?" I asked, half-joking, half-insulted.

He stared at me a few seconds as if he was trying to find a good answer and finally shrugged. "I'm tired to date girls who only love me for my looks."

I laughed shamelessly. "Someone is delusional."

"Yes, you." he argued. "Do you really think you can find a decent guy on these apps?"

"The self-burn is strong."

His face went from a frown to annoyed and ended up making a grimace. "Oh shut up, Pal."

"This is the most horrible nickname I've ever been given." I pointed out. "And yes, I still have hope to find someone worth my time on these apps."

I was not sure I really believed it was possible but I really wanted it to be. It really seemed like it was the only thing missing from my life.

"You should focus on just getting some." he shrugged. "When you don't expect anything, you can't be disappointed."

I knew it was a lie, everyone was expecting something, whether they wanted to admit it to themselves or not, but I didn't say anything about it and only shrugged.

"Okay, I have a date tomorrow night." he pointed out, turning to me and sending me a smile so big I could see his teeth. "And she looks like a gem."

I moved his phone so the screen would face me and my lips parted very slightly at the sight of a gorgeous brunette in a very tight dress, holding a pink drink with a tiny umbrella floating in it. That girl, unlike me, was totally in his league.

"She may look like a gem but who knows if she is."

He shrugged, unbothered. "I guess I'll find out tomorrow."

"Admit it." I pressed after a few seconds of silence, turning my whole body his way and bringing one of my legs up on the couch. "All you care about is getting laid by pretty girls. The word 'serious' never qualifies the word 'relationship' in your world."

"I've been in serious relationships before, what about you, smartass?"

My eyes roamed in his face, trying to find out if he was lying but I just licked my lips. "Yes, I have."

I didn't want to get into depth about my past romantic relationships and I had the feeling he didn't want to share details about his either.

"You want to know what I think?" he finally asked, turning his body to face me too.

"No."

"I'll tell you anyway." he stated quickly.

"How surprising." I mumbled, rolling my eyes.

"You've been so hurt before that you're scared of falling in love again." he speculated. "That's why you never go on dates with anyone on these apps."

"How the fuck would you know that?"

"Prove me wrong, then."

We remained like that, face to face and in silence, just staring at each other. I could feel my heart beat hard against my rib cage, trying not to give in. After all, I didn't have anything to prove, not even to my new roommate, right?

"Fine!"

I quickly grabbed my phone and typed on the screen as fast as I could, hitting 'send' before I could change my mind. I had been talking to a guy for a few days and he was the right candidate to meet, or at least pretend to meet. After all, I could always tell him I changed my mind and Niall would never find out.

"There." I turned the screen his face, bringing my phone so close to his face he had to back away a little to be able to read.

"He replied."

My heart skipped a beat at his words and I tried t swallow the lump in my throat. Shit, I hadn't expected a quick answer. I looked at the screen and held my breath when I realized he had written a time and a place to meet up. I could always back off and cancel, but that would mean I would have to admit that Niall was right ; I was fucking scared to fall in love again.

"Great. See? We both have a date tomorrow night!" I didn't know how credible I was but at least I was trying.

"I was kidding, Opal, you know it, right?" he asked with concern in his voice.

Once again, my eyes roamed on his perfect face and I shrugged very lightly. "I know."

I suddenly felt very stupid for thinking this little banter was more serious than it really was, but at the same time, it was a relief. I didn't want Niall and I to be on bad terms and somehow, I felt like we could become close friends and for some odd reason, I really wanted it.

"You don't have to go on a date with anyone, you have nothing to prove."

Oh and why not? I didn't know if I was ready to be with someone again but one date couldn't be that bad… right?

[harrywavycurly]

Where We Started Part 3: Irish Goodbye

Masterlist: Here

A/N: I love making Niall and Harry bicker like an old married couple while also showing they care about each other also don’t ask where the name Ryan came from, enjoy!✨

[ilove1dbro]

[walkingintheheartbreaksatellite]

Okay, I want to know what you guys would rather see first. I’ve got a couple new things to write but which to start with?

[msgroupieluv]

Temporary Fix (H.S x Reader)

Series Summary: After a brutal hiatus away from her closest friends all due to her toxic ex boyfriend, reader is in distress. She decides to call up Harry hoping he may pity her enough for comfort. What happens when he shows up confronting her for her disappearance? Will they rekindle their friendship or will Reader make things worse? After a long much needed chat, Harry realizes the feelings he’d been harbouring for the entirety of their friendship hadn’t yet burnt out only further complicating it all.

Pairing: Harry Styles x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Mentions of abuse, mentions of violence

Authors Note: I’m really hoping this does well, keep in mind this is my first time actually posting something I’ve written! I’m a little rusty, but I’m always open to criticism if need be. I plan to add more to this if anyone even wants it! Enjoy 💛

______________________________________

Harry never thought he'd hear that voice again, not after contact was completely cut only a year and half ago to this day. He could feel the way his chest tightened when she spoke his name as if no time had passed between the two, it was almost painful. All Harry wanted was to know why (Y/N) had cut him off so suddenly with little to no explanation other then she needed to focus on her relationship at the time with their mutual friend Vic. It had tore Harry apart having to keep away from the one person he felt completely comfortable around, even his fellow band mates could see the difference in their friend. Now with a new found hope filling the singer, he wondered if she had changed her mind about the distance the way he wanted to even just a week into it all. That's how he found himself driving to her rescue.

Coming back to this place was muscle memory at this point. Harry knew he could find it with his eyes closed if you started him off nearby enough, having spent almost three years driving down this very same street.

It was this same street he'd driven away from with the intentions of never returning. That was the part that hurt about this trip, reliving all of those memories he had managed to bury deep inside with hopes of moving on. The driveway he pulled up into was occupied with one other vehicle, feeling relief wash over him knowing he wouldn't have to deal with any other socializing this evening. It had been a very taxing day for the singer, spending most of it cooped up in a hotel room where he tried and failed to perfect a new song. Harry was almost grateful to receive this distraction not necessarily under these circumstances of course.

The familiar usually lively colonial home stood before him, only one light on in what he remembered to be the kitchen downstairs. After parking his car and sitting in it lost in thought for about ten minutes, he decided it was as good a time to go inside before she assumed Harry had skipped out on her. He was never one to break a promise she knew that. Treading up the pathway he began to get second thoughts about all of this feeling an uneasiness settle within his stomach. What if she decided she didn't want to see him, sending him off with yet another rejection. That was something Harry never could deal with properly. Nevertheless Harry nervously stood before the dark blue door wondering how terrible of an idea this truly was, completely lost in his head he didn't realize the door had opened up revealing the one person the singer had been thinking of for a little over a year.

"You really came..?"

Her voice barely above a whisper while she stood in utter shock unsure of what to do next.

Harry stood there dumbfounded, green eyes trailing over her familiar features he'd memorized over the years. Admiring her was always a pastime of his when they were together, it was second nature. He realized then that she hadn't changed much at all those same (h/c) locks framing her face perfectly, (e/c) eyes peering up at him through curled lashes. Suddenly he felt his dinner might pay a visit now that the nerves had truly hit full force.

(Y/N)'s body moved before she could muster up any other words, tugging the fumbling man in a death grip of a hug that was much needed. This drew Harry out of his head for only a moment.

The two shared this long awaited embrace for what seemed like forever until Harry pulled back, hands staying put just above her waist while he took in a deep breath wondering when his heart rate had gone up that drastically.

"You haven't changed very much, (Y/N)." He breathed trying to find the right words to greet her if he could.

With a soft giggle (Y/N) ushered Harry inside peering out into the darkness of her front yard for any prying eyes. She was aware that when it came to Harry, paparazzi loved to nose their way into any interaction he had.

Shutting the front door the two were met with a sort of uncomfortable silence while they moved throughout the front hall and dining room towards the only other lit up room within the quiet home.

(Y/N) grabbed the kettle from on top of the stove before it could shout, pouring the steaming liquid into two different tea cups.

The silence became unbearable for Harry, you could hear a pin drop and it was almost deafening.

"You sounded awfully upset on the phone." Harry spoke up almost hesitantly surprised by his own voice.

(y/n) seemed to flinch lightly at his words not yet turning to face her old friend. She was embarrassed, calling Harry had been a last resort she hoped to avoid after all she had put him through. She almost felt guilty for bothering the busy man knowing how his schedule could get when the band was doing shows.

With a soft sigh she said, "I'm sorry to call you like that, Harry. I know I'm the last person you wanna hear from." her voice quiet as she did up Harry's tea the way she knew he enjoyed it.

"I've been waitin' to hear from ya for a year, (Y/N)." A frown taking over his once soft features, his tone bordering on annoyed at her observation. What did she know? The man had spent so long checking to see if she'd called it was almost pathetic now that he looked back on it.

His mind was racing with different scenarios now, how this evening could go. Truth be told Harry missed their friendship unlike any other. He still felt betrayed by her absence knowing that she'd made the decision to cut him off and toss him away as if their friendship had meant nothing. It wasn't something Harry was over just yet, her standing there in front of him only brought these emotions to the surface again.

(Y/N) took a seat at the kitchen island both teas in hand as she sat them down, motioning for Harry to sit in the empty stool alongside her.

"I'm so sorry, Harry... really and truly I never wanted to leave you behind. I never wanted to leave any of you boys behind."

This caught Harry's attention, slipping into the empty seat with a concerned expression now softening his features hearing the way her voice wavered with the threat of tears. He noted the way her usual bright eyes were now glossy, blood shot and puffy from crying. Something just didn't sit right with him when he allowed her strange apology to sink in.

"But you did leave us all behind, you tossed us away like we were nothing and now you've called me crying out of the blue as if nothing happened." Harry kept his tone even not wanting to lose his temper seeing how vulnerable (y/n) already seemed.

It was almost eery how calm Harry seemed on the outside, it didn't match the whirlwind of emotions within him fighting to make themselves known. He wanted her to understand how hurt he was being tossed aside like that. Harry had put his everything into their friendship, as did Louis considering she and him had been best friends before everything.

Unable to stop the waterworks (Y/N) sniffled, fresh tears streaming down her reddened cheeks. She'd spent most of the day crying while she packed all of her ex boyfriends things tossing them out into the yard for him to pick up. That had been her breaking point, leaving Vic for good after she'd seen some messages between him and one of her girl friends. Now she was realizing just how heartless she'd seemed with her only true friends even if ghosting them had been Vic's idea. He had been terribly jealous over the boys (Y/N) spent most of her time with, it got so bad they'd often fight when they were alone.

She covered her face with her hands feeling embarrassed for being so emotional in front of Harry. (y/n) thought she could keep it together long enough for her to get the story out, however that proved to be difficult when todays events came rushing back along with her mistakes she'd made.

"Oh angel-"

Harry was quick to console her taking her into his arms the way he had so many times before, brushing aside his previous hostility when the tears finally hit. He could never sit here and watch her cry like that, it broke his heart to pieces and all he wished to do was break whoever caused this hurt.

"I'm sorry- I didn't think..." she sniffled against his chest, hands gripping the fabric of Harry's grey t shirt as she tried to find her words.

"I thought I could keep it together but I just can't..." her voice was now muffled by the fabric. She inhaled that familiar scent of his feeling already at ease just being in his protective arms.

With heavy sigh Harry tightened his light embrace around her, wanting to offer some sort of comfort if he could.

"I need you to tell me what happened, we can worry about all of that later." Harry requested softly, running a hand through her hair while he held her close unable to let go.

She pulled back just enough to look up catching Harry's eyes, "Me and Vic- we got into it this morning. He's been seeing Cate behind my back for months, I-" a sob broke out before she could finish her explanation.

Harry cooed whispers of reassurance hoping he could calm her enough she could talk about it without breaking down too bad, his hand cupping her face gently.

"Just breathe, angel." He spoke slowly, thumbs swiping away the tears before they could trail too far.

After she managed to calm herself down she went into detail the best that she could, explaining how she found out and Vic's reaction.

"H-He's never raised a hand to me until then, it was like- a whole other side to him or something... I didn't know what to do I just had to leave." (y/n) explained through shaky breaths staring down at her hands unable to meet Harry's strong gaze in case she broke again.

The knowledge that he'd gone at her like that all over (y/n) answering Vic's phone made Harry's entire body tense with anger. He almost felt he wanted to leave right then and track down Vic so he could deal with this himself. The idea that anyone could look at (y/n) and think to hurt her was beyond Harry, she rarely even raised her voice let alone got physical with others during an altercation.

There was a beat of silence when (y/n) finished her explanation, peering up at Harry through wet lashes expecting some form of communication after such a story. Before he could even get a word in she immediately began explaining herself for the hiatus on their friendship.

"B-Before you say anything, Harry. I know what it seemed like.. when I disappeared and stopped coming around everyone." She said sadly, "I didn't want to leave you guys behind, but the fighting- the arguing it was getting to be too much. He made me choose." (y/n) whispered the last few words looking away out of embarrassment for even listening to Vic in the first place.

She could've saved their friendship if she'd just left Vic behind after the first of many jealous comments he'd thrown her way about Harry. Vic said on many occasions that (y/n) was too affectionate with her friend, even going as far as to accuse her of secretly seeing Harry. What she didn't know was that Vic was voicing those insecurities out of guilt because he actually was seeing other people when (y/n) wasn't around.

"I want you to know I'm so sorry, I love you all so much I just want to fix things. Will you let me fix things?" Her words pleading with Harry.

He could never refuse her anything not after all that he'd learned tonight about someone Harry had considered a very good friend. Vic was long done being brought around now that Harry knew his true nature.

"Nothin' needs to be fixed, love." Harry reassured her with the faintest of smiles dawning on his face, "nothin' except maybe Vic's face once I'm done with him..." he added casually with a small shrug of his shoulders.

There was no lie in what Harry said not after (y/n)'s tearful explanation, it wasn't something Vic should just get away with. Even if Harry could just talk to him, warn him.

(y/n) was quick to laugh, "no oh my gosh don't, just leave it alone okay? I know you mean well." She finally smiled wiping away the dampness on her cheeks with the sleeve of her grey hoodie.

"I don't want anything to happen to you either, Harry." She commented a little quieter.

Harry scoffed, "Vic's nothin' on me, baby." He teased gently punching her cheek with a grin playing on his lips.

This earned another giggle from (y/n) which was all that Harry wanted after having to watch her sob for a half an hour. She deserved to smile, and it was his favorite thing to look at on top of that. He truly admired her so much he only wished he could make her laugh like that more often.

(Y/n) pulled out of Harry's embrace standing up from her seat she took her now cold tea with her over to the sink. Dumping it out, she rinsed the cup lost in her thoughts as she turned the faucet off reaching for the hand towel hanging from her oven's door handle.

"Think you'd be up for a drink?"

Her question came as a surprise to Harry while he watched her grab the neck of a brand new bottle of wine, holding it up for him to see.

He wasn't opposed to loosening up a little bit after such a heavy subject, so he agreed following after her into the living room where the two got comfortable on the couch. It didn't take them long to pass the bottle back and forth deciding against glasses after (y/n) realized she'd forgotten about them.

The subject was soon much lighter as the two reminisced about their past share together, all of the trouble they remembered getting into.

"Pretty sure I remember you locking Louis up in his dressing room..." Harry smirked tipping the bottle back to meet his lips as he took a long sip of the bitter red liquid.

(Y/n) giggled already feeling a buzz from the liquor, her cheeks a permanent shade of red as she continued to indulge loving how light and happy it was making her feel.

"First of all, I was trying to scare him! But it all went wrong and then it was actually Niall who locked the door-" she explained tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she spoke.

Harry's eyes followed her hand as it made itself comfortable back against her jean clad thigh. The alcohol muddling his more logical thoughts made him wonder how warm she felt, picturing his own hand there while they sat closer. In this little scenario he'd come up with they were kissing passionately, bottle of wine discarded onto the coffee table in front of them.

(Y/n) broke Harry from his thoughts before they could get any more inappropriate,

"You okay, Har?" She asked innocently offering the faintest of smiles his way.

Harry breathed out a quick, "'course." Finally reading his eyes away from her taking another long swig of their shared drink.

She didn't quite believe him, noticing the way he'd occasionally get lost in thought while looking her way. She wondered what he was thinking about after a while. It had to be something interesting considering he'd long stopped paying attention to her ramblings only offering the occasional hum of agreement even when it didn't make sense.

"What's on your mind?" (Y/n) scooted a little closer reaching for the bottle from Harry's hand.

Their fingers brushed lightly for a fleeting moment Harry wondered if they'd even touched at all. That familiar shock he often felt when they'd touch was the only proof it did, turning his brain to absolute mush. All he could focus on was the warmth throughout his body that he felt with her now pressed closer than before.

(Y/n)'s knees were pressed against the side of Harry's leg while she sat facing him on the couch, legs tucked beneath her as she now took her own long sip chasing that weightless feeling that was consuming her entirely with every single drop.

Harry cleared his throat running ringed fingers through his long messy brown hair trying to answer her question without giving himself away. However, the alcohol running through his veins had other ideas.

"You." He answered simply almost as if it were obvious.

(Y/n) faltered bringing the bottle back down from her wine stained lips unsure of what to say to that. She hadn't expected that of all answers, assuming maybe Harry had just gotten sleepy considering the time of night.

Eyes darting over to her friend she meekly said, "me?" Now sitting the half empty bottle onto the coffee table alongside them.

Harry chuckled, "yes, angel. I'm thinking about you.. how much I'd really like to kiss you." He admitted softly unsure of his own words even if they left his lips already.

He knew deep down this could end up being a mistake, (y/n) was still freshly dealing with Vic's disappearance surely she would be offended that Harry even brought such a thing up. Yet the few drinks he had brought out a boldness Harry usually kept at bay around his close friend. This was the reason he always refused to drink around her in fear of spilling his secrets he'd kept so near and dear for quite a long time.

(Y/n) blinked in shock eyes wide after a moment while she took this all in. Now she wanted to know if she had heard Harry right, because there was no way he'd just said he wanted to kiss her. She refused to believe that her friend Harry had been staring at her like that with a glow in his green eyes because he had been thinking about kissing (Y/N). Blushing deeper if that were been possible, she stammered unable to speak.

Harry turned to give her his full attention hesitantly placing a hand on her knee, "can I?" He inquired curiously, eyes darting down to her full lips once now that he knew he didn't need to hide it any longer.

"Yes you can." Was all she could muster up quietly.

The two leaned in, Harry bringing a hand up to cup her cheek while she kept her hands firmly in her lap feeling how clammy they'd gotten all of a sudden. Harry stopped just a breath away needing to be sure this was actually happening because there was absolutely no fucking way. When their lips did finally touch (y/n) swore it was straight out of one of those cheesy romantic movies she'd binge watched a million times with her friends. Sparks might as well of actually flied out around the two, joined by some fireworks to indicate how she was genuinely feeling inside. Her once anxious thoughts brushed aside by a simple kiss which only left (y/n) yearning for more. She felt a warmth much like Harry's spread throughout her entire body engulfing her in this desire, driving her to deepen this kiss with a slight tilt of her head.

Harry was in just as much of a bliss finally able to taste her the way he'd only ever dreamt of before. Even just a simple passionate kiss much like this had him reeling inside craving more, he needed to taste her further if she'd allow that much. His lips parting only slightly, allowing his tongue to poke out gliding along her bottom lip asking for entrance. (Y/n) allowed it craving his taste as well.

They explored each others mouths never straying much further than that, staying in their positions on the couch up until (y/n) made the bold move shifting on top of Harry's lap. Her knees resting within the cushion on either side of his thighs never breaking their kiss throughout her switch in position.

Breathless as she was (y/n) refused to break away first getting drunk on Harry's lips and the skilled way his tongue explored her mouth licking into her with a desire that couldn't be put out. His hands rested on her thighs slowly moving upward before they came to rest on her hips beneath her large hoodie, the pad of his thumb brushing against her warm skin beneath the flimsy tank top she had on underneath.

Harry was the first to pull away smirking when he watched the way she chased after his lips.

"We need to stop." He panted, hands rubbing along her sides in comforting motions while he admired how pretty she looked straddling his lap the way she was.

Harry had fantasized about this too many times to count on those nights he just couldn't get himself to sleep. It often led to dirtier things, yet he couldn't push her that far knowing how vulnerable she was right now. Pushing aside his own selfish desires Harry needed this to stop before he didn't have a rational thought about it.

(Y/n) pouted moving her hands along his chest where they'd been resting beneath his open button up shirt. She leaned in a little closer breath fanning against his lips as she spoke,

"You don't want wanna kiss me anymore?"

Harry would be lying if he said he didn't want to kiss her breathless all over again, he wanted so desperately the chance to kiss her all over her body. Worship every single inch of the girl he'd been falling for since day one, but it just wouldn't be right.

"You're drunk." Harry stated matter of factly chuckling when he felt her lips brush against his cheek in a chaste kiss, "come on, love..." he whispered patting her hip.

She knew he was right however thinking straight just wasn't happening right now for her. Instead she was driven by that warmth pooling in her belly wanting so badly his lips against hers, possibly more but she hadn't thought that far ahead yet.

"You're drunk too, silly." (Y/n) laughed softly pulling back so she could get a good look at Harry.

Kiss swollen lips stained with red wine, his cheeks matching the color of his lips she noticed eyes taking in every detail of his flustered expression. His hair was a slight mess from her tugging, shirt unbuttoned as it had been when he arrived allowing her to see the beginnings of his tattoos that decorated his chest. She pressed a hand against one of the inked swallows with a small smile.

"You're so pretty, Harry." She cooed softly still admiring every bit of him where he sat beneath her.

He hadn't been expecting that only furthering how flustered he'd been.

"Let's get you to bed then, yeah?" He suggested disregarding her compliment in fear of only making this harder for himself.

(Y/N) suddenly yawned not realizing how tired she was until he mentioned it. With that she decided it might be a good idea to go and lay in her comfy bed, missing the warmth of her favorite fuzzy blanket she slept with every night. Surprisingly enough, it had been a gift from Harry a while back. She leaned in pushing closer so she could hug him needing that comforting embrace, also hoping he might just carry her upstairs.

The movement cause Harry to grunt feeling the way she brushed against him, god was this difficult.

"Want me to carry ya, angel?" He questioned softly rubbing her back.

She nodded in response burying her face in his neck inhaling the cologne she loved so much that just screamed her Harry. He used to steal his sweaters simply because of how amazing they smelled.

After a beat of quiet Harry stood up the best he could gripping her thighs so she wouldn't fall, he maneuvered around the furniture making his way toward the stairs. It was a lot more difficult carrying (y/n) when Harry was just as tipsy if not more given how often he was sucking on that bottle earlier, that didn't stop him though.

Once they reached just outside of (y/n)'s bedroom Harry kicked the door open easily with the toe of his boot carrying  her inside. He didn't bother with the lights able to move around from memory, not to mention the curtains were pulled wide open allowing the moon to cast a natural light within. He laid her down on her bed with another grunt when he felt her tug him back on top of her.

"Angel please." He laughed brushing some of the hair out of her face.

The small smile he got from her was all he needed, feeling his heart soar knowing he was the one making her smile like that. Harry was the one here with her comforting her, allowing her to cling to him as she pleased. It made him feel needed.

She began to pout watching Harry peel himself off of her in favour of standing close instead. She missed his warmth and his protective embrace already.

"Lay with me, I don't want to be alone.." (y/n) pleaded quietly, her hand gripping his their fingers now intertwined together.

Harry was finding it more and more difficult getting her to sleep when she looked up at him like that. Those big (y/e/c) eyes casted up at him while her bottom lip jutted out in a pout. He was crumbling already with even just that even if he knew he should have more self control, he wanted that smile back again.

"If I lay here with you I need you to be good, alright?" Harry warned kneeling onto the bed.

(Y/n) smiled happily pushing over for Harry feeling triumphant that she'd won that battle at least.

"I'll be good, promise!" She reassured him patting the spot beside her.

Harry wasted no time getting comfortable beside her, he soon pulled her into his arms letting her rest her head on his chest where he was sure she'd feel the way his heart sped up just from her presence.

They laid like that until (y/n) drifted off into a deep drunken sleep, unable to ramble on anymore about how excited she was to have Harry back in life again. Luckily for Harry, she hadn't tried anything while they cuddled not even once. But he was finding it even more difficult to peel himself away from her so he could go home and sleep as well.

That's how Harry ended up tutting around (y/n)'s kitchen when he noticed the sun's presence in the pink hue of the sky, after staying up worried she'd wake up and need him. Whatever happened today he could deal with, only if it meant he could have (y/n) back for good.

That was all Harry ever wanted.

[prttychubbybunny]

Used to be @/sheluvsaniya! 💗 lost my acc info!

I am niyah!! I am 15, pansexual, and I live in northern iowa!! I am Black/Latina, I have short dark brown hair and brown eyes! I love music and watching tv shows/movies! Open to any and all frens, just pls don't be mean to me~

I do have a discord if interested

Artists I like:

Lana del rey

Nicki minaj

Mitski

Harry styles

Beyoncé

Katy perry

Ariana grande

Taylor swift

Motionless in white & more!

Movies/TV shows I like:

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Dc's Legends of Tomorrow

Blow

Murder mystery 1 & 2

Hot in Cleveland

Law & order: SVU

Secret Window + Others!! 💗

[sincerelyneo]

no judgement | l.mk

“i can be your lover or your shoulder to cry on, you can be whoever you like”

💿now playing: no judgement by niall horan

❯ summary: Mark’s shocked to see you at his front door step crying, but he isn’t surprised. You do this all the time - get a new boyfriend and forget about your childhood best friend. And the minute that asshole dumps you, you always want him to pick up the pieces. And he will. He always does.

❯ pairings: mark x fem!reader (brief mention of yuta)

❯ genre: friends to strangers to lovers? smut, angst

❯ words: 4.9k

❯ tags: 18+ minors dni!, protected sex, lowkey sub!mark, hookup, rebound sex, glasses kink, big dick mark bc yes, oral sex (m receiving), nipple play, slight begging, yuta is an asshole for the plot, reader is also kinda mean, mentions of cheating (not between mark + y/n), slight unrequited love, use of ‘pretty girl’, reader uses she/her pronouns.

Mark thinks his mind is playing tricks on him. I mean - it would make sense - the last time he’d checked the clock on his desk it was 12:17 am. So, there’s no way the light knocking on his front door is really happening…right? 

He tries to focus on the papers in front of him - a work assignment that was due last week that he’d already managed to get an extension on. He knows his boss will have his balls if he doesn’t have it completed and on his desk by 8:00 am sharp tomorrow (today). 

However, Mark’s fears of premature insanity are put to a quick end this time when the knocking is paired with an unnecessarily loud yelling through his letter box. 

“Mark Lee if you don’t open this door right now, I swear I’ll kick your ass the next time I see you.” 

Now that - the sound of your voice - wasn’t in his imagination. 

You bang harder, clear that you're using a fully clenched fist to make as much noise as possible.  “I’m serious dude, I’ve kicked your ass before, and I’ll do it again. Now open. The. Door.” 

Mark knows he should just ignore you, pretend that he’s sleeping and focus on his work; but, he hasn’t seen you in months, and you are supposed to be his best friend after all. He can’t just leave you out on the street at this hour — he won’t — what sort of friend would he be?

He rises from his desk, removes his glasses, and places them gently on the wooden surface before pinching the bridge of his nose.

You knock (pound) again. 

“‘Alright alright, jeez, I’m coming,” he says, followed by a small curse as he ushers through his hallway to the front door. 

As he swings the door open, he’s almost hit with a nasty sucker punch to the cheek as you simultaneously raise your fist to knock again.

“Woah there, calm down, you’re gonna get me a noise complaint,” he flinches. 

“I think it’s a little too late for that,” you point to the house next door, “That woman has been glaring at me from her window since I got here.” 

Mark peers out of his house, the cold night air nipping at the tips of his ears, and sees his neighbour looking down shaking her head disapprovingly at him. He raises his hand in a feeble apology, with a tight-lipped smile to ease the edge, but it doesn’t, he knows it doesn’t and he knows he’s going to have to do a lot of ass kissing in the morning. 

“Well, Mrs Kim and her husband have just had a baby.” 

He watches you shrug then grimace, “How was I supposed to know that? They didn’t have one the last time I was here.” 

It’s now when Mark takes in the person standing in front of him, a mere silhouette of his childhood best friend. You’re barefoot, which already raises questions in his mind, and a bottle of wine is in your hand. Your hair is dishevelled and mascara smudged under the bottom of your eye – which makes sense since he can see the faded redness from where he knows you’ve been crying. 

 “So, you gonna let me in or what? I’m freezing my ass off out here.”

Well obviously, Mark thinks, you’re wearing nothing but a short black dress, covered by a thin sheer blazer leaving your legs completely bare in the middle of winter. Your teeth chatter and he has to suppress the smile threatening to dance on his lips because it reminds him of when the two of you used to mess around in the snow during winter break back in high school.

But he pushes those memories to the side, just like his front door, as he makes enough room for you to slip into his house. As you step inside, you waste no time making yourself comfortable - old habits die hard you guess - remembering how things used to be.

You remove the blazer you're wearing and walk over to Mark's desk, draping it over the back of his chair. Your eyes fall on the sheets of paper scattered across the surface, partially covered by his glasses. You recall that he had stopped wearing them during junior year, opting for contacts instead - a decision you found disappointing. You had always liked his glasses; they made him look kind of... cute.

“I’m not interrupting you, am I?”

Yes. 

“Nah, not really,” Mark shrugs following in from behind you. 

“Really?” You ask picking up a sheet of paper as you raise an eyebrow, “Marketing campaign for neo gummies, on my desk Monday 8:00 am.”

There’s a smile on your face as you read it because it’s nice to know that the Mark standing in front of you is the same as the one you grew up with. He was always the last person to hand in his college assignments, and school science projects; but don’t get it wrong, he’d always ace them. 

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve basically finished it.”

Mark’s lying, and you can easily tell by the way his arm reaches up to scratch the back of his neck. It's a mannerism you've become aware of, noticing how he used to do it when you asked him for his opinions on some of your uglier fashion choices throughout high school. 

“You sure?” You add, “I wouldn’t want you getting in trouble with your boss or anything. Especially now that you live in this fancy-ass townhouse, your mortgage payments must be crazy.”

Mark shakes his head with a smile, reaching for his glasses and putting them back on. “They’re not that crazy…”

You give him a knowing look, his living room alone is practically the size of most apartments in the city. But you didn’t expect anything less from him, he’d always worked hard for everything he had. He graduated with flying colours, found a high-paying job after college, bought a nice house; and you’re sure that one day he’d secure himself a nice girl to live in it with him. 

What you’re trying to say is Mark Lee had something to show for himself, which is more than you can say after you took a more leisurely approach to college. Mark had always worked a little too hard for your liking, or maybe you just worked a little too easy for his. Either way, he’s the one with his life put together and you’re just…standing barefoot in his living room, looking a mess, with a bottle of alcohol in your hand.  

“Well then, since I’m not imposing, how ‘bout a drink?” You suggest, waving the bottle of wine in the air in an attempt to win him over and distract yourself from your own reality. As shitty as it sounds, you come to Mark to escape the chaos of your own life, so dwelling on comparisons isn't something you want to keep doing.

For Mark though, he knows he shouldn't indulge in a drink – after all, the work assignment on his desk is practically begging to be completed. But he's always struggled to say no to you, and he's well aware that you know that too. It's why you're so comfortable knocking on his door in the early hours of the morning when most of the city is asleep; you know he'll always open up for you.

And that’s exactly why he’s heading into his kitchen and rooting through his cabinets until he finds two wine glasses. 

When he comes back into the living room, he finds you standing by the fireplace. It's not unusual, considering you were freezing just moments ago on his doorstep from your attire. However, what catches him off guard is that you're not warming yourself by the fire; instead, you're holding a picture – Mark's favourite one – taken by his parents on the day you got your wisdom teeth removed.

"No way you kept this," you groan, though there's a hint of laughter in your voice.

"Of course I did. You were completely out of it on anaesthesia, going on about marrying Lee Taemin," Mark replies.

You squeeze your eyes shut, remembering the way you sent the hot senior you had a crush on in your freshman year a DM in your high state. “Oh gosh, don’t remind me.”

But truthfully, that's not the sole reason Mark kept that picture, or why he still chooses to display it despite having hundreds of clearer, better ones of the two of you together. He treasures that particular photo because it was the day you told him you loved him – although you never brought it up again. Mark pins it down to you not remembering from the anaesthetic, but that photo, it’s the last slither of hope he has left. 

“Well, I must say, Mark Lee, you have had quite the glow-up since your high school days,” you laugh putting the picture back on the fireplace. 

Mark can't believe his cheeks are warming up as if he were that same teenager – pathetic, he thinks. And he wants to say the same about you, but he hardly recognizes you. You're a completely different person from the girl in the picture, and while he loves you, truly, it doesn't change the fact that you're a mess sitting before him.

To his defence, it's impossible not to notice it; he saw it the moment he opened the door and saw your smudged makeup and raw eyes – you’re defeated. And even though he knows precisely why, he still asks.

 "What are you doing here, Y/N?"

You swallow, “Can’t I just come and see my best friend?”

“No, you can’t.”

His words carry a double-edged sword, both an accusation directed at you and an expression of the hurt he's experienced from your repeated instances of ghosting him over the last few months. 

You begin pouring yourself a generous glass of the wine you brought along. If you were going to have this conversation with him, you weren't about to do it sober.

“Yuta broke up with me.”

And there it is. You always do this –  get a new boyfriend and forget about your childhood best friend. And the minute the asshole in question dumps you, you always want him to pick up the pieces. 

And Mark hadn't forgotten the name Yuta; in fact, it had been seared into his mind ever since you posted a picture with him on your Instagram account, looking all lovey-dovey. And then Mark had gone into full stalker mode – because of course he did – he always did. But the thing with Yuta was that he was one step ahead. One particularly awful day at work, when Mark wanted to check your account, he found himself blocked.

Honestly, Mark doesn’t blame Yuta, he’d be lying if he said all his thoughts about you were completely innocent, but you’d never blocked him over a guy before. He's accustomed to the isolation, the ghosting, and the personality changes that come with you getting a new boyfriend; but being digitally blocked by you was a new low. It's safe to say Mark had already formed his opinion about your new ex-boyfriend: he was definitely an asshole.

"Why did he break up with you?" he asks, not out of genuine concern, but rather out of selfish relief. Still, he knows it's the right thing to do.

“He found someone else, or I found him fucking someone else,” you spit bitterly, “and do you know what? That fucker didn’t even give me a chance to grab my shoes before he kicked me out.”

You take a long gulp from your glass, the liquid burning slightly as it goes down your throat, and then you flop back on the sofa. Your movements are heavy, weighed down by more than just the alcohol in your system. As you sink into the cushions, a wave of emotion crashes over you, threatening to engulf you completely. It's a moment of vulnerability that you've been holding back, and tears prickle at the corners of your eyes. You try to fight them, push down the rising tide of emotions, but it's futile. 

"Hey, hey, it's okay," he reassures, quickly taking a seat beside you on the sofa and resting a gentle hand on your thigh, where he begins to rub small, soothing circles into your skin, just like he used to do. "You can stay here tonight."

You groan into your hands, you can’t believe you're acting like this – pathetic – and it has you immediately defensive. “Don’t look at me like that,” you mutter, so quiet Mark almost misses it.

“Like what?”

“All judgy.”

“When have I ever judged you, Y/N?” he questions, his tone gentle, “I’m always your shoulder to cry on, we’re past the judgement stage,”

"I don't cry that much," you protest weakly.

“Well…” he starts, that teasing look in his eye you love.

In response, you push his chest playfully, a small smile tugging at the corners of your lips. Because you’ve missed this – missed him.

And that’s the part that always stings the most: how effortlessly you two slip back into each other's company. Despite not speaking for a couple of months, it's like you didn’t lose any time. And perhaps that's why Mark finds it so easy to keep forgiving you, and why you find it so natural to slide in and out of his life and then expect him to mend your broken heart.

Mark grabs the hand you used to push his chest and looks at you seriously but gently, “Seriously, Y/N, you can just be yourself with me, just like it’s always been.”

His words resonate with you, stirring something deep within the pit of your stomach. You meet his gaze with glossy eyes, and in that moment, you feel an overwhelming surge of emotion. Without hesitation, you lean in and press your lips to his. 

It's a tender kiss, soft and sweet just how you expected Mark’s lips to be. And he melts into it just as much as you do, if not more so. It’s like he craves it, like he’s hungry for it. And he is because you – his first-ever crush, the girl he’s been in love with since he could remember – is pressing her lips to his. The teenager in him is jumping up and down right now.

Just as you're about to deepen the kiss, your face bumps into his glasses, causing both of you to pause as they sit askew on his face. Mark blushes and begins to fumble with them, but just as he's about to take them off, your hand wraps around his and stops him.

“Mmmm. Keep ‘em on,” you bite your lip as you reposition them on the bridge of his nose. “I like them.”

“I didn't realize you had a glasses kink,” he teases.

“Neither did I...just like them on you.”

That triggers something inside of him because his tongue lightly sweeps over your bottom lip where he nips it with his teeth. One of his hands reaches up to cup the nape of your neck; the other finds its way to the hem of your dress, intrusive fingers brushing over your bare skin, making you gasp.

He stills.

Did he just fuck this up? Was he reading it wrong?

There’s a fraction of a beat where you just breathe against him, and Mark feels a twinge of self-consciousness. And just when he’s about to apologise, you dive into him and all reservations are thrown out the window as you give him the green light. 

His hand wraps around your waist and he pulls you over his lap to straddle him. It gives him all the access he needs to grab your thighs and lift you up as he stands. He keeps your lips connected as he wraps your legs around his waist, pressing into you just enough to feel the swelling in his crotch. 

If you thought he was hungry for it before, now he’s starving. 

Your arms wrap around his neck, your breasts crushing against his chest. Your hips start to move against him without any control, almost like it’s instinctual. You suck on his tongue and he groans. And God if it isn’t the sexiest sound you’ve ever heard. 

“You feel so fucking good, Y/N,” he says into your mouth, “Are we really doing this?”

You smile against his lips, “We’re doing this.”

You both take that as a confirmation to go harder, kissing like you’ve been starved of each other for years, and Mark supposes you have. His body moulds to yours and you feel his hand wander to your ass making your dress lift as he carries you out of the living room. 

When you see him heading for the staircase you know exactly where his head is at, and when he opens his bedroom door with you still in his arms, you feel wetness pool right between your legs. 

He drops you on the bed so gently and carefully not to hurt you – because even though he’s so goddamn horny right now – he’s still Mark. When your back hits the whites of his sheets it gives you a moment to look at him, his chest is heaving, lips swollen and cheeks flush. His hair is tousled and it makes your blood run cold. 

He looks like pure sex. Hot sex. Good, filthy, all-night-long sex. And you want him, more than you’ve ever wanted any man before in your life.

Mark kneels on the bed in the space between your legs, coming close enough to tuck a lock of hair behind your ear, and you wonder if he sees you the same way you see him right now. He brushes your cheek gently with his thumb and you lean into his caress and plant a small kiss against his palm. 

His lips meet yours again as his hands slip between you two. They glide up your leg, to your stomach to under your dress, where he finds you not wearing a bra as your nipples pebble under his rough hands. 

Instinctively, your arms stretch over your head, reluctantly breaking the kiss so he can tug the material off and over you, lips crashing back together as you roll your hips into his with desperation and need. 

Mark groans when he pulls away to look at your naked chest in front of him, it’s a picture he thinks. One that needs to be hung up in an art gallery or some shit – actually now that he thinks about it – he hates the idea of you being on display like that for someone else.

His fingers wind themselves in your hair, a delightful shiver skittering along your body as you soften into his touch. You can’t help but grin suggestively as you look him in the eyes, top teeth holding down on your lower lip as your hands creep low enough to hook into the band of his pyjama bottoms. 

Mark practically whimpers as your hand teases at the elastic, “Please.”

The plea has you smiling wider, knowing exactly what he wants. You remove his bottoms without a second thought, the same time he strips from his t-shirt. His cock springs free, thick and long and straining so eagerly for you. 

You get a thrill knowing you’re the one who’s made him this hard and that makes you want to please him badly. So you do, taking control and flipping him over to be underneath you. He gasps at the motion and then he almost cums untouched at the sight of you kneeling between his legs, lowering yourself down just enough to kiss the tip of his cock.

The teasing touch sends a chill right through him. He leans back on his arms just to see you, eyebrows strained as he concentrates, glasses slightly fogged – he wants to remember exactly what you look like like this. You’re intoxicating, strong enough for him to get drunk on.

“So pretty,” he murmurs under a soft breath and you blush.

You lick your lips, focusing on his cock, flattening your tongue from the base all the way up to his head, where the slit is leaking with pre-cum. You hear him suck in a breath and it makes you smile. 

You like knowing he’s needy, teasing him to ignite small reactions, but continuing to do so would only be hell for you; because right now you want nothing more than to suck on his cock like it’s the last thing you’ll ever taste. 

You wrap your hand around his shaft and don’t waste another second before your mouth is sinking to suck on him. You manage all you can – there’s a lot of him – and use your fingers to move up the length you don’t swallow, stroking him painstakingly slow.   

As you kiss and lick at him, Mark is going mad because it’s your mouth. Your mouth is wet and hot and currently wrapped around him good enough that his thighs have started trembling. 

It’s not long before his hands find your hair and he helps you to slide more of his cock inside, knowing exactly when to stop instead of making you take too much. But he’s big and thick and your mouth barely covers him – which he hates – it feels like a reminder that he’s not made for you. 

The thought has him letting out a growl, which catches you by surprise from the whimpering mess he was seconds ago. The grip he has on your hair tightens. 

“Fuck, Y/N, suck me harder…” The dirty words sound dominant at first, but they trail off as you continue sucking on him, a lot like you’re melting him, and you fucking love that idea. 

The thought of having him be so desperate for you is making you wetter and needier. And it’s that need that has you reaching up to graze his nipples with your fingers. Mark finds the chill of your cold digits distinctive, responding with a mewl that rings between the walls of his room. 

You can't believe such a small touch makes him so…responsive. 

Every tug on his sensitive peak is enough to pull a sound from his pink lips, enough to make him writhe his hips and edge his cock further into your mouth. 

You twist and pinch and watch as Mark’s face twists in the feeling, mouth dropping open to release a stuttered breath. It’s so sensual - so carnal. 

You pull off his cock with a sickening pop, looking up at him with spit-covered lips. “Who would have guessed your nipples would be so sensitive?” 

Your hand stays at a steady pace, stroking him slowly as you speak. Mark shivers from the loss of your warm mouth around him, but there’s still a part of him that’s glad you stopped. But not because he doesn’t want this — he does, so badly — but because he was starting to feel his cock’s overwhelming urge to twitch with his orgasm. And there was no fucking way he was going to cum before he’d even buried himself inside you. 

In a cooling breath, he replies, “Only sensitive for you.” 

Warmth flushes on your face, and the arousal soaking between your legs begs to soak his cock. He’s so cute when he is all red-faced and whiny, eyes closed tightly as his brows knit together. And you suppose his own state of neediness triggers yours. 

“Want you inside of me now, Mark,” you pant, “Need it.” 

“Fuck~” his voice drips like honey as he moans, hands moving to grab at your waist to flip you under him.

You push yourself further up the bed and he crawls after you. It’s only now he realises the lace barrier still on your skin standing between you and his cock. Your panties are dark blue and they look so pretty against your skin.

He leans down, kissing the inside of your knee, letting his fingers slip up your ankle to cradle your smooth calf.

“Sometime tonight,” you tease.

But Mark likes to go slow, he likes to savour in your sight, study your body to remember every detail for his next late-night fantasy. He wants to bask in you being so bare and so ready for him — not your ex-boyfriend — him. 

He skims his hands further up your bare legs until he slides your underwear down and disregards them somewhere on the floor. Then, he wraps his arms around you, holding you close, pressing your chests together skin to skin. He likes it like that — being so close and so intimate with you that it's almost raw. 

He reaches into his nightstand and pulls out a condom. You don’t take your eyes off him once as he rips it open with his teeth and rolls it down the entirety of his length. Heat pools in your stomach because this is happening — and that makes your pussy throb. 

He keeps his eyes on yours as he lines himself up with your entrance, pushing inside of you, breathless. You can’t help but sink your head back into the mattress, eyes closing.

“Eyes open.”

You lazily blink them open.

“Eyes always on me pretty girl,” he demands, thrusting into you. 

You’ve never felt anything like him. You feel so full. He’s everywhere. Even your lungs and head are filled with him.

“Taking me so well pretty,” he groans.

His praise has you gushing, whining with the feeling of him stuffing you. It’s not awkward like the first time having sex with someone can be. It feels like you’ve always been doing this.

“You’re okay?” he asks.

He sounds calm, but you can see the restraint that he’s barely holding on to by the tightening in his jaw, and the tension in his brow.

“More than okay. Just fuck me, Mark. Please.”

He brushes his lips over yours and whispers, “Oh I plan to.”

You smile, but it’s quickly gone as he starts to move, fucking you slowly, then quicker and quicker, and harder and faster. The headboard is banging against the wall, surely denting it, and you know if the neighbours weren’t already pissed about your knocking they’d definitely be pissed now. 

And selfishly, you can’t find it in you to give a shit because he’s like a machine, working thrusts into you at all the right angles to elicit sweet moans from your lips. 

You’re panting and groaning like a bitch in heat. Mind fuzzy with euphoria as your flesh slaps loudly together. If college you knew that Mark Lee, your best friend, was about to give you an orgasm she would have laughed in your face. 

But, God, the man can fuck. 

He urges you onto his cock harder, clit rubbing against his pelvic bone, each time your hips connected in powerful thrusts. 

“Oh God, Mark,” you try your best to keep your eyes open, but the pleasure is threatening to consume you. 

“That’s it. Cum on my cock pretty girl. I won’t come until you do.”

The idea makes you want to hold off forever, let him fuck you for hours just to bask in the feeling of your closeness. However, your body disagrees with that sentiment, and suddenly you’re cumming hard. 

“Shit,” he hisses, feeling your walls flutter around his length. 

Mark doesn’t slow down though, he fucks you through your orgasm like a madman, hammering deep to the hilt to chase his high. 

“I’m gonna cum, Y/N…shit…fuck…” He growls a sound so erotic in your ear, you feel like you might cum again.

He sags onto you, his body heavy but not crushing, his skin warm against yours. You touch your fingers to his cheek. 

“I don’t think I can move,” he says, breathless.

“So, don’t.”

The tips of Mark’s ears turn red at the suggestion, but eventually, he figures he needs to move — much to his dismay. He eases out of you, catching hold of the condom and pulling it off his cock. He rolls off of you and out of bed to put it in the trash before he’s back next to you, arms engulfing you in a hug. 

You look up at him and he presses a kiss on your lips before pulling back. “Are you staying?” 

“Do you want me to?”

“I asked first.” He says.

“I’ll stay if you want me to stay.”

Liar.

Mark swallows, “Okay well, I’ll get us breakfast in the morning then, yeah?”

He says it but he knows come the morning you’ll have slipped out in the middle of the night because this isn’t the first time he’s had sex with you. 

Mark has always been your rebound. Yes, he’s your best friend, but he’s also your favourite hookup call when your boyfriend’s being an asshole.

And he knew that when he first heard you knocking on his front door. He knows you'll never change – and strangely, he's content with that, he’s accepted it. Because even though he knows you'll move on again, he doesn't mind keeping your secrets safe until the next time when you want a man to heal your heart.

Because Mark will settle for being a pity fuck if it means he gets to be a constant in your life.

[allwaswell16]

A fic rec of One Direction fics with a fake/pretend relationship during Christmas holidays as requested in this ask. If you enjoy the fics, please leave kudos and comments for the writers! You can find my other fic recs here. Happy reading!

— Louis/Harry —

🎄 Mistletoe's For Two by crimsontheory / @ireallysawanangel

(E, 90k, enemies to lovers) After an encounter in a coffee shop with the rudest man he's ever met, Louis hopes the city is just big enough that he'll never bump into him again. When he spots that man at a bar the following evening, a plan begins to form. 

🎄 Let Our Hearts Collide by @crinkle-eyed-boo

(M, 76k, While You Were Sleeping au) When Harry, a lonely transit worker, saves the life of the handsome commuter he's been secretly pining for, an innocent mistake results in Liam Payne's family believing that Harry is engaged to their son.

🎄 Chestnuts Roasting... And All That by elsi_bee / @elsi-bee

(M, 46k, roommates) It’s not a big deal to just tell his new colleagues that he has a boyfriend, right? Until he has to make this imaginary boyfriend magically appear at the office holiday party.

🎄 I Keep Looking For Magic by @lululawrence

(NR, 36k, strangers to lovers) Harry loves Christmas, but this year is special. After ten years of boyfriends all failing to ever meet Harry's family, Harry has a fiance to introduce and things are looking like they will be perfect. Until they break up.

🎄 Harry, Did You Know (that your baby boy, is married to his best friend?) by tempolarriefics / @tempolarriefix

(E, 35k, marriage pact) 10 years ago, Louis and Zayn made a pact that if they weren't married by 30, they'd marry each other. So they do, as best mates do.

🎄 Find You Home by @kingsofeverything

(E, 35k, roommates) When Louis lies to his family and says he’ll bring his new boyfriend home for Christmas, his best friend and roommate Harry agrees to play the part. It’s that, or be left alone over the holidays.

🎄 From the Start by @allwaswell16

(E, 32k, viral video) Louis has no idea that one act of kindness will cause his life to spiral out of control. But that's what happens when his new friend fake proposes to him and a video of it goes viral.

🎄 Lovin' you is a gift by @softfonds

(E, 25k, Pretty Woman au) With his 28th birthday approaching, Louis was looking forward to celebrating in New York City with an all-expenses paid trip. He just didn't expect to spend it with an escort when he suddenly finds himself single a few days before it.

🎄 under the rain or under the snow by MquietMiNd

(E, 20k, exes) Christmas AU where they broke up a month ago but Harry shows up at Louis’ childhood home for the holidays. 

🎄 Wrapped in Red by QuickedWeen / @becomeawendybird

(T, 15k, strangers to lovers) Louis backs himself into a corner and has two days to find a date to bring to the Horan Family's big annual Christmas party to both appease his mother, and show up an ex-boyfriend.

🎄 The Christmas Lift by @homosociallyyours

(G, 13k, neighbors) Louis lies about having a boyfriend to avoid being set up on a blind date by an overzealous co-worker, but now he's in desperate need of a fake boyfriend for his office holiday party. 

🎄 the fake zarry au (series) by zita17 / @louisandtheaquarian

(M, 13k, famous/not famous) A fake dating with a twist famous/not-famous enemies to friends to secret lovers where Larry and Ziam fall in love behind the scenes while Zarry bicker in public.

🎄 Not Another Lonely Christmas by @haztobegood

(E, 8k, set up) the one where the friend Niall sets up as Harry's fake boyfriend turns out to be Gemma's best friend Louis

🎄 A Story For the Ages by @fallinglikethis

(NR, 7k, strangers to lovers) After seven months of pretending to have a boyfriend in order to keep his mum from meddling in his love li fe again, he should have realized he’d have to actually introduce her to someone eventually.

🎄 A Boyfriend for Christmas by Chelsea Frew / @chelsea-frew

(G, 5k, strangers to lovers) Louis' co-worker, Gemma, asks Louis to be her date for Christmas dinner. 

🎄 Christmas Pretenders by @larryatendoftheday

(T, 4k, baker Harry) When Niall convinced Louis to come home with him for the holidays as his fake boyfriend, he never expected he'd run into the loveliest man he'd ever seen.

— Rare Pairs —

🎄 'Cause I Could Be The One by justyrae

(M, 14k, Louis/Nick Grimshaw) "Just remember," Louis says, gently touching Nick's wrist before he can open the front door. "You're proper in love with me, no matter how much of a dick I can be."

🎄 Snowflakes & Mistletoe by Justonebreathx

(E, 5k, Zayn/Liam) Liam is in desperate need of a fake boyfriend for his company's Christmas dinner, so he puts an ad on Craigslist thinking that’s the only way he can find one. 

[iguana-eyanna]

Baby Girl

Pairing: Niall Horan x curvy reader

Summary: after a night of drinking, you and Niall realize that you're more than flirtatious friends

Warnings: mature themes, explicit language and unprotected sex.

The music was thumping, the bass reverberating through the club as Niall and you made your way to the bar. You were both a little tipsy, having indulged in a few too many drinks during the night out with their friends. The playful banter that had become both your trademark was in full swing, as you teased each other with witty comebacks and flirtatious remarks.

"I swear that these heels would be the death of me." You said out loud.

"Thought you had that spot reserved for me?" Niall asked, smirking as he closed in.

You rolled your eyes as you turn around, grinding in front of him seductively.

"Try all you want lover boy, but you can't handle all of this." You said, biting your bottom lip as your cheeks heated up.

Niall couldn't deny of how much he needed you.

"I'll do my best."

You met on the Voice where you did a guest appearance. He thanked Kelly as you were a guest on her show to promote your latest album. Once you said you were a fan of the singing competition show, Kelly invited you with no hesitance. You kicked it off with the other judges as Kelly introduced you to Niall after the show. He was blown away by your voice and the way you brightened up the room.

You two kicked it off quite strongly, already skipping the awkward of meeting someone for the first time. Everyone witnessed it. Tabloids and late night shows were already skeptilizing that you two were an item. Kelley, Chance, and Blake would even tease Niall when he was tying the knot with you.

All he could do was chuckle and shake his head.

But tonight, with the alcohol fueling his emotions, he found himself looking at you differently. Everything about you was beautiful to him, and he couldn't help but admire how you carried yourself with such grace and charm.

As you stood at the bar, waiting for the bartender to take their order, Niall's gaze lingered. You were wearing a stunning green dress that hugged your curves in all the right places, and he couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to touch you, to taste your lips.

Niall leaned in closer to your ear, whispering with his husky voice. "What can I get you, Baby Girl?"

Your cheeks flushed at Niall's sudden change in tone. You were used to your flirty banter with him, but the way he called you "baby girl" sent shivers down your spine. You couldn't deny the attraction you felt towards him either, and the alcohol was making your inhibitions slip away.

"You know what I like," you replied, with your voice slightly breathless.

Niall ordered drinks and you two found a quiet corner to sit in. As the night went on, your conversation grew more intimate, and touches more lingering.

"I never realized you wanted to be an author." Niall asks when he just asked you what occupation you would do if you didn't pursue music.

"Yeah, I really loved to write stories when I was kid. When I got older, I took every opportunity just to write. Had to wake up from that dream when my University denied to publish one of my works I was most proud of."

"Hey." Niall said, placing a gentle hand on your thigh.

"They don't deserve to have your works publish, you can do that yourself, cause you know why? You're the most talented, gorgeous person I know. Those who say otherwise can come through me." Niall said, defending your honor.

The sexual tension between you two was palpable, and Niall found it harder and harder to resist the temptation to kiss you.

You could visibly see him staring at your lips, but you realized that this wasn't the right moment.

With enough drunken courage, you dared to say the sentence that would change your friendship forever.

"How far is your place from here?"

Before he knew it, you were both outside, the cool night air hitting you two as you stumbled towards an Uber. Niall's hand found its way to the small of your back, pulling you closer to him. You didn't protest, instead leaning into his touch, your own hands gripping his shoulders. The ride felt like an eternity, as you tried to take your hands away from him but you couldn't.

When you reached Niall's apartment, the moment of truth arrived. Niall hesitated for a moment, his heart pounding in his chest. He had never been one for casual hookups, but he couldn't deny these feelings stirring inside his chest. And the way you looked at him with those dark, longing eyes made him lose all reason.

Without another word, Niall pulled the reader into his apartment and closed the door behind them.

You leaned towards the wall as you tried to untie the strings of your heels.

Niall closed the distance between you and whispered to you.

"Let me."

He slowly bends and unties the wraps around your legs. You look down, thinking this is the most sexiest thing anyone has down for you. Once he was done, you lift his chin up to connect your eyes back to his.

"I need to know what we're about to do isn't a mistake. I don't to be a regret."

Niall got up, hovering as his hand leaned over you as your back laid flat to the wall.

"You will never be a regret. I want this, and I want you... more than you know."

Without hesitation, your lips crashed together in a hungry, desperate kiss, hands roaming each other's bodies with urgency. The heat between the two of you was electric, as the desire for each other reached a fever pitch.

Niall's hands slid down to your waist, pulling you closer to him as he whispered against your lips, "You're mine, baby girl."

Your breath hitched at his words, and found yourself melting into Niall's embrace. His hands traveled to the back of your dress, trying to find your zipper as you tried unbuckling his pants.

You both staggered upstairs half dressed as you landed onto his bed. His piercing blue eyes try to memorize every part of your skin. All was left was your underwear and Niall had to resist from tearing it straight off your body. He uses his finger to drag down the little material and trailed it down your legs.

He released a breath, sitting up a bit. He combs his fingers through your hair and kisses you softly. You melt under his hot touch as you closed your eyes. Niall hastily undresses himself soon he finds his hands on your waist, steadying you on top of him.

You gasp as you began to feel him within you. His hands hold you tighter as you began to have a steady rhythm.

"God, you're fuckin''- perfect." Niall huffs out.

You smirked down at him as you bite your bottom lip.

"I can say the same about you..." you teased.

Niall became undone with your words. Your confidence, your beauty, and damn that luscious body - all he could see was stars.

You thought the same about him: the way he held you so tenderly and how his eyes looked up to you like you were a goddess.

You both wished that the night wouldn't end.

By the end, you two were breathless (almost lifeless too.) You laid down next to him, placing a hand on Niall's heaving chest.

"Next time, you're on top." You said, catching your breath.

Niall looks over at you with a twinkle in his eye.

"Next time?" He asks.

"Well, we'll just see by morning." You said, knowing he's teasing you as you're already sinking in the pillow next to him.

His hands glue back to your side as he pulls you in.

"Oh, you'll like what I have planned," he said before you two drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, you felt light-headed as you turned around to meet Niall. He was nowhere to be found. You thought he somehow left for work but you were gladly wrong when you saw him coming in shirtless, holding a tray of breakfast and drinks.

"Wasn't sure if you wanted coffee or juice, so I made both." Niall said, walking towards the bed and laid the breakfast tray on the mattress.

You smile , holding the blanket over your chest as you sat up.

"It's definitely a coffee morning." You said, grabbing the mug.

"Wanted treat my baby girl." he said as he grabbed the other glass, taking a sip.

"Thank you Ni, you're definitely the sweetest man I ever met." You said, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

His cheeks grew red by your action, so he took your free hand and kissed it.

"I want to spend these mornings with you, and hopefully to be with you if you'd like to." He asks, his heart slightly thumping as he awaits your answer.

You place the coffee down by his nightstand and turn to him, smiling like you're lovesick.

"I'd like that very much." You said, as you two began to kiss and laid down on the bed.

Let's just say the breakfast Niall just made was long forgotten.

[placeinsideyou]

when niall horan said “and i will steady your hand, when you're losing your grip, even if i don't understand, you can talk to me” and “show me all that you are, and if you get lost in the light, it's okay, i can see in the dark” and “i can be your lover or your shoulder to cry on, you can be whoever you like” and “nights when one broken glass turns to total collapse, just know this too shall pass i'm tellin' you now” and “it's okay, 'cause you're not alone, you can hide, you will love, you'll have your days in the sun” it just makes me think, has an artist ever been able to hold my hand through music like niall horan has? three albums and counting and there’s just so much music and love filled lyrics dedicated to being a friend to whoever is on the other side and isn’t that what music is all about? these little songs that have taken home in my heart. i’m so grateful for niall horan i don’t say it enough!

[horansqueen]

Dating For Dummies

click here to be on the update list

AU. Opal Mayberry has tried blind dates, dating apps, and speed dating to find her soulmate with no good result. Niall Horan has tried pretty much the same without much more success. With all the bizarre, creepy and incompatible persons they meet, they’re both tempted to give up on love, but after a bottle of wine and a long discussion, they start thinking that maybe they were the problem, and that they’re too dumb for dating. That’s when they decide to make a list of what they individually want and need on a first date to try and find the very right person for them, this time. Unfortunately, things rarely go as planned and they will both realize that feelings can’t be controlled, and that despite our best efforts, we can't change others to make them into what we want them to be. Most of the time, the solution is right in front of you but you can't see it, and when all else fails, the key will always be to follow your heart.

notes:

*coming sept. 23rd, 2023 *story will be updated every saturday *romance, comedy & smut story

[galacticlarry]

Jupiter

by galactic_larry

Alternate Universe | Strangers to Lovers | Friends to Lovers | Pining | Mutual Pining | Fluff and Angst | Domestic Fluff | No Smut | Music | Inspired by Music | Idiots in Love | POV Alternating | 95k

Louis Tomlinson is a singer-songwriter who has just scheduled the biggest gig of his life. Being the opening act for Niall Horan’s European tour means gigantic venues, large crowds, and music, so much music! What he had not expected, was that it would also mean handsome strangers, doomed love, and a whole lot of pining.

Harry Styles doesn't consider himself a musician, but he agreed to help his best friend out, so there’s that. He’s now playing on tour with Niall, but, as far as he is concerned, he only has one very simple task: to get through it alive. Instead, he ends up finding true love, heartbreak, and a sense of purpose.

Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, and Liam Payne are absolutely fed up with both of them, and just want them to get it together, but things don’t always work out, do they?

Jupiter is a story about friendship and overcoming difficulties, told through music and fandom inside jokes.

[blingblong55]

Normal People- Simon ''Ghost'' Riley

You and Simon were once together when you were younger, you eventually grew apart. Years later you two by some coincidence meet once again.

A/N: listen to any of these songs, trust me!!! (This Town-Niall Horan, Photograph- Ed Sheeran, Strange-Celeste, Like Real People Do- Hozier, Sparks- Coldplay)

Based on a request:

GN!Reader, little angst, lovers to strangers(in a way) to lovers again

You and Simon have known each other since primary school. Neither of you knew you'd end up falling in love by the time secondary school came around. It was always you two against the problems of life and teenage drama. He asked you to be his boyfriend/girlfriend by year 10, ever since that day you and him were more than inseparable. His mates always teased him about it, it was rather adorable how much he would blush when they'd mention you two as a couple. He would sneak into your room after hours, whisper everything and try to contain his laugh when you'd say some terrible jokes. At times you two would sneak up to the roof and just stare at the stars all night.

One night as you two watched the stars he asked you to school formal. It was a big deal amongst friend groups and couples, so you of course said yes. That night as your friend group all drank beer by some campfire after the dance, you sat on his lap. He was all quiet, his eyes never leaving yours. "I love you, r/n'' he whispered into your ear. You looked at him with puppy eyes. You smiled and kissed him.

Ever since, any time you really meant it, he or you would say it, even if the time wasn't right, it could only be said when it was meant and no other time. As time went on, he joined the military, you stayed back and finished college, when he came back, you were working as an assistant. One night he went to visit his mum, she advised he visit you. And as he walked the streets, there you were with the same friend group. You and your friends laughing and drinking, everyone with their significant other, you sat with them, an empty stool next to you.

"Okay Simon, I understand, and don't worry darling, at every table I sit by, I'll save ya a seat, that's a promise''

''you don't have to do that, love''

Eventually one night you and him broke up. His role in the military got more serious, it demanded more of him. And you both knew it was time to just call it quits. You two had grown apart, it was an event that had to happen. You would move out to Dublin soon, a top Uni there accepted you(see what I did there,,anyways). Simon would have to leave England for months on end, it was just bound to happen. So when you called it quits, you moved to Ireland and he to somewhere in the world, wherever the military took him.

He carried a picture of you both from the night of the school formal. It was you and him sitting by the campfire, you in your attire and he in his suit, he had his arms around your waist. The way you two smiled at the camera, a true moment where he felt safe and at home.

--------

He was now 29, soon to be thirty, you'd be around the same age as well. He was now a lieutenant for the army, you a successful company executive. There were nights were he wondered where you were in Ireland, if you had met someone new, if maybe you had written him letters but just never sent them out. If you had maybe settled down, if you even remembered how at some point you were his life, the sole purpose why he always was a better man.

At drunken nights, thats when he thought of you the most. How you kissed him on rooftops, sneaked out just to talk to him, or the nights where you played the piano at some pubs. Maybe it was the sense of home, belonging that he missed, but maybe it wasn't, it was your sweet voice, how you would caress his face, rub his back, listen to his problems, kissed him under that stormy night, how by morning, you two laid on the couch at his mum's drinking tea and eating soup because you two got sick.

On cold lonely nights in the desert, thats when he missed you the most.

But as any true mystery in this world, you one warm night found each other once more. You in some jeans and a white tee, he in a black shirt and an old pair of jeans. Manchester was quite boring if you've been a local. You pushed your trolly around the store, you accidentally bumped into a tall man. ''Shit, sir I am incredibly sorry I was looking at this stupid stupid date on the-'' You looked up from the can of beans.

''R/n?''

''If it isn't Simon Riley'' you said in a happy tone.

He noticed the same old locket he gave you on your 16th birthday, it was a picture you took on a booth. You and him smiling at the camera. It gave his chest a good kind of ache. It was nice to know he was thought of.

''I thought you'd forgotten all about me, love.'' He walked up to you, his arms opening a little. You too walked to him and hugged him, ''not in a million years, Simon.'' You kissed his cheek, oh that warm fuzzy feeling of belonging.

He looked at you, his hands caresses the sides of your face. He looked at you, mesmerized you hadn't changed a bit, your smile still warm and beautiful. He smiled as his hands had a feel for your still soft skin. Your eyes welled up a little, it was a relief he was still on this Earth.

The many nights you wished you went to Sunday school and learned to pray, to believe, to hope. One night you did though, you had just arrived from Ireland, you went to a local church, you sat there and whispered, ''please, if you really are real, if he is still out there, just..keep him safe, please''

''You look rather ravishing my love.'' He smiled at you, he looked all over your face, studying it and remembering all of the small details.

''Sorry, again for hitting your bum with the trolly.'' you chuckled. He shook his head, ''s'right, love.'' he said almost in a rather happier tone. It was crazy to see you here, but he wasn't complaining, thats for sure.

''when did you get here by the way?'' he took your trolly, and tossed his basket on it, he pushed the trolly and walked towards the next aisle, you following along.

''Here in Manchester? well lets see, I came back I think 6 years ago?..yeah definitely six. And you?''

''Got back last week, you know the whole army thing.'' he said as he happily looked through his list of must buys.

''Hm I see...I suppose your partner made that list for ya?'' you asked in a curious way, looking for a 'no, my mum needs this,,,no partner..been waiting for ya' type of answer.

''No, I am making some dinner for myself, and no, no partner,,,still.'' he had given up in trying to find someone after you, and that one failed date he had about 8 years ago.

''ah I see well-''

''do you..y'know, have someone to go home to? is this to forward or-''

''no no, not all, no, its not forward..um..no I don't been too much of a selfish person since my job.''

It was silent for a few minutes as he walked down the aisle. ''so,,,I get to have a second chance? or we..we can be friends? I would be okay with just anything..or not..I don't know.'' he let out a nervous chuckle as he tossed a box of sponges into the trolly.

''well..i..um do you want us to..have a second chance or-''

''yes!,,,if you're okay with it, I want to work on us, I have more time now, maybe not the most time but..this is going to sound-''

''stupid? cheesy? weird?'' you tried guessing.

''all?'' he chuckled, ''i..always thought we would end up together, you know the whole living together, walking down the aisle to me, I don't know maybe getting a dog and taking him on walks on our days off,'' he shrugs, ''its dumb, but I always thought you'd be my...my future, my little something.''

''The one thing I can get to be selfish about.'' you said, he looked at you, blush spread across his face.

''yeah,,,the one thing I can get to be selfish about, I like that,,so?''

''lets be selfish Simon, together.'' You kiss his cheek.

'Maybe the events in our lives were set in motion a long time ago. There's an old Buddhist saying that when you meet your soulmate, remember that the act to bring you together was 500 years in the making. So always appreciate and be kind to each other.'

-Spencer Reid (Criminal Minds)

REQUESTS ARE OPEN

A/N: I just rewatched and re-read Normal People, that shit is just so..real. Anyways anon I hope you enjoyed it!

[harryssyndrome]

Best Friends to Lovers • Night Changes (Pt.1)

Pairing: Harry Styles x Fem!Reader (Face-claim: Selena Gomez)

A/N: it’s my first ever fake Instagram post so I’m so sorry if it sucks. Let me know if you enjoy it, I may make a series. Don’t repost! I’ll find you. Reblog, comment and likes are appreciated 🫶🏻

Yourinstagram

Liked by yourbestie, username1, username2 and 65 others

yourinstagram when you meet a boy in a bakery who later turns into your classmate. He doesn’t have instagram but anyways meet Harry, my bff💗

yourbestie he can’t be your bff! He’s got to be more than that 🤭

Username1 I went to this bakery, couldn’t find him

yourinstagram yourbestie he’s just a friend.

yourbestie we’ll see✌🏻

Username2 yourbestie I agree

yourinstagram you two 😩

Yourinstagram

Liked by yourbestie, yourmom, username1, username2, and 78 others

yourinstagram White Eskimo you guys were rocking!🔥 so proud of boys, thank you for the invite. H! You’re the best singer ever.

yourbestie Harry play that love song you secretly wrote🫣

yourinstagram who told you there’s a song he wrote for me? Shut it girl😑

yourbestie I got sources ✌🏻

yourmom proud of you boys💗

Username1 you guys were good!

yourinstagram

Liked by yourbestie, yourmom, gemmastyles, username1 and 90 others

yourinstagram prom date💗

yourbestie so cute! Who’s he talking to? When you’re around🙃

yourinstagram my mum 🙃

gemmastyles Harry was so nervously excited 🤫

Username1 he’s so handsome

yourinstagram

Liked by gemmastyles, username1 and 74 others

yourinstagram best of luck H on your X Factor audition! I’m so proud of you no matter what! Though I know you will rock it ✨

username1 good luck Harry

gemmastyles It’s such a cute pic🥰

Username2 isn’t he the lead singer in White Eskimo?

View all 10 comments

Liked by username1, username2, yourinstagram, gemmastyles and 1680 other

xfactorupdates A new boy group was formed tonight with boys that didn't make it to the next round. Their names are: Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne.

Yourinstagram a beautiful beginning is coming! So proud of you guys🫶🏻

Username1 these boys are cute!

Username3 @/ username1 ikr 😅

[renecdote]

12. ‘you could say I’m fond of you.’ If it inspires 🥰

Ily Tulip here you go <3 This one is also for the anon who requested the same prompt.

[Read on AO3]

Eddie corners him in the kitchen, the sounds of their friends and family muffled in the backyard. Kids shrieking and laughing, the adults all talking, Chimney’s bluetooth speaker playing a carefully curated party playlist. Buck should be back out there with them, he only came inside to grab a glass of water and another bottle of wine, but something about the sticky afternoon has caught him here. It presses in on him, this strangely breathless feeling, this tingling in his chest, and he’s got his hands braced on the edge of the sink, wondering if maybe he should cut himself off and stick to water for the rest of the day, when Eddie comes up behind him.

“Hi,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to the back of Buck’s neck, hands resting on his hips, warm enough to burn through his jeans.

“Hi,” Buck returns, turning his head, neck twisted uncomfortably and not even caring when Eddie’s lips find his own. There is gentle pressure on his hip and he lets it turn him, the kiss never quite breaking as they end up face-to-face, chest-to-chest, the counter digging into Buck’s back and a half-formed thought in the back of his head: do not make out with your super hot boyfriend in Maddie and Chimney’s kitchen. “Mm. Hi. What was that for?”

“Well.” Eddie’s arms loop around his waist, his voice low and warm, only the two of them in the room but his voice somehow still just for Buck’s ears. “You could say I’m fond of you.”

Buck grins, so endeared it makes him feel embarrassingly giggly. “You’re fond of me?” he repeats, a traitorous giggle slipping out. “Are we in the 1800s now?”

Eddie rolls his eyes, but it’s—well, it’s fond. There’s a rosy flush to his cheeks that is probably equal parts alcohol, the heat of the summer afternoon, and remembering the way he cried watching Pride and Prejudice with Maddie and Karen last week. He’d been drinking then, too, wine-drunk in the middle of the afternoon, and he kept saying, “I was in the middle, Buck,” on the drive home, sincere and insistent, like the words made any kind of sense.

“Fond isn’t an outdated word,” he insists now. “People are fond of things all the time.”

“Uh huh.” Buck sways in close enough to kiss him, their noses bumping together. “It’s okay, Eds, I’m fond of you too.”

They sway together there in the middle of Maddie and Chimney’s kitchen, something too gentle to be called dancing. Outside, Niall Horan is asking some nameless lover to put a little love on him and Hen’s voice is rising above, telling Chimney to skip the song, “we want something happy,” while Chimney protests that it is happy, Karen jumping in to his defence because, “it’s a good song!”

Buck has to close his eyes to really hear the lyrics, the sad mixed up in all the sweet. In his ear, Eddie is humming, so low that it’s more vibration than sound, and Buck holds him a little tighter just because he can. That feeling is still there, tingling and breathless, but he thinks that it might go away if he can just hold Eddie tight enough.

“You’re the only one I need,” Eddie sings under his breath, still half humming, and Buck kind of loves him a stupid amount. More than he thought he could love another person.

The song fades out, silence clinging to its last few notes, and then there’s a dramatic beat as the playlist rolls over and the next song starts. There’s a round of cheering laughter, voices blurring and overlapping, then someone turns the volume up. The moment should be broken, Buck thinks, the new song loud and energetic, but he doesn’t pull away and neither does Eddie. They stay there, swaying, Eddie still humming, a quiet melody that might not even be a song anymore. Buck puts his head on his partner’s shoulder and Eddie breaks his humming long enough to kiss the side of his head, lingering.

Buck thinks about saying: do you remember when we did this at Hen and Karen’s wedding? do you remember how carefully you held me? do you remember how it felt the first time we kissed?

He thinks about stepping out of the party and going to sit in his Jeep so he can call his therapist and say: I’m happy, I just don’t know how to trust it sometimes.

“Ooh ooh ooh,” Eddie mumbles, not quite singing anymore, and it takes Buck by such surprise that the fizziness in his chest pops and becomes a laugh.

“Is that—is that Grease?”

“No.” Instant and vaguely offended. “‘Grease’ is its own song, this is ‘You’re the One That I Want’.”

Buck’s fingers curl in Eddie’s shirt, holding on while he trembles with suppressed laughter. It’s not funny. Really, it’s not that funny. If he and Chimney hadn’t finished a bottle and a half of wine between them, he’s pretty sure it wouldn’t be the funniest thing in the world right now.

“I love you,” he tells Eddie through the fit of giggles. “My heart is set on you.”

Eddie squeezes him. “I love you too, honey,” he replies, sweet and sincere in Buck’s ear, alcohol loosening his tongue enough that honey is halfway to a drawl. Buck shivers. “I won’t even tell your sister that you don’t know all your Grease songs.”

Like that’s Buck’s fault. He’s pretty sure Grease was one of the films he and Maddie watched when he got pneumonia as a kid and spent a week in bed with a miserably high fever. He has a vague impression of leather jackets, and curly hair, and Maddie singing along, but it all blurs together. He might have hallucinated the flying car. Karaoke is the only reason he knows any of the songs at all.

“My hero,” he sighs dramatically anyway, grinning against Eddie’s neck.

One of Eddie’s hands slips down enough to slide into his back pocket and Buck thinks he should do something about that, maybe. Kiss him. Ravage him a little. Risk his sister’s wrath and make out with his super hot boyfriend in the kitchen. But Eddie doesn’t make a move either. He just holds Buck there, bodies and hearts pressed together at every point, the sticky heat of the afternoon forgotten as they sway.

There is the distant squeak of the backdoor. A slam as it shuts. Quiet footsteps moving through the house, unhurried, before coming to a stop in the kitchen doorway. Buck reluctantly lifts his head and steps back, Eddie’s arms loosening but never falling, just shifting, hands still holding at his waist.

“You two okay?” Bobby asks, gaze moving between them, still caught in the doorway like he’s not sure if he should step in or back out and go for help.

Buck smiles, reaching up to smooth a few wrinkles out of Eddie’s shirt.

“We’re good,” he promises, and the words feel like they’re for himself and Eddie as much as for Bobby.

They get another long look, considering, and then Bobby nods. “I was sent in to get cupcakes,” he says, and it’s Bobby so it’s probably the truth, but maybe not the whole truth. “Why don’t you two help me carry them out?”

“They definitely thought we were making out in the kitchen,” Eddie whispers while they follow Bobby back through the house with carefully balanced plates of yellow and blue frosted cupcakes.

Buck bites his lip on more traitorous giggles. He’s never letting Chimney and his heavy-handed pouring serve him wine ever again.

“We still can,” he whispers back, winking.

Eddie snorts, swaying into him for a moment, their elbows knocking. Maybe on purpose, maybe not; they’ve never been good at maintaining space around each other. Bobby goes out through the back door first and Eddie pauses, holding it for a moment before they rejoin the party.

“When we get home,” he says, lower, voice full of hidden promise. “We can make out in the kitchen as much as you want.”

Electricity sparks through Buck’s veins. He thinks about stepping out of the party, dragging Eddie out with him to his Jeep so he can show him just how fond of him he is.

“Boy!” Athena calls, the same stern voice she uses for don’t even think about it, and there is another round of laughter outside. Buck feels his cheeks flush pink, even though she can’t possibly know what was going through his head. Beside him, Eddie’s face isn’t much better.

“When we get home,” Buck repeats quietly. And if he shifts the cupcakes to one hand so he can pinch his boyfriend’s ass on the way out the door—well. That’s between him and Eddie’s ass. (And maybe, later, the kitchen counter as well.)

Overhead, Chimney’s playlist cycles through half a dozen attempts at starting songs while Hen skips through until she finds something she likes. The kids are shrieking and laughing as they play in the yard. The adults are all talking. It presses in on Buck, this strangely breathless feeling, this tingling in his chest, and he hooks his ankle around Eddie’s under the table, smiles at Maddie when she hands him a cupcake, and leans into it, the sad drowned out by all the sweet.

[tightjeansjavi]

Burning in a Hopeless Dream

Boston QZ: Part 12

“Hearts Don’t Break Around Here”

Joel Miller x f!o/c

A/N: this actually might have been my favorite chapter to write. It’s so beautiful ♡

Summary: just a group of friends/lovers pretending that the horrors that lay outside a white picket fence, no longer exist for a day. No apocalypse, no death, no carnage, no violence. Just good wine, full bellies, laughter and oh, love. Lots and lots of love.

~word count: 7k~

Warnings: implied age gap, established relationship, brief mentions of angst, swearing, soft! joel, he’s so sweet your teeth will hurt! joel, fluff, consumption of alcohol, nicknames, so much flirting, teasing, feelings, emotion, comforting themes, light smut, consent, consent, consent, cockwarming. (+18) minors dni!

Songs for this chapter:

“Hearts Don’t Break Around Here” by Ed Sheeran

“Second Chances” by Gregory Alan Isakov

“Kiss Me” by Ed Sheeran

“From Eden” by Hozier

“Like Real People Do” by Hozier

“The Last Waltz” by Engelbert Humperdinck

“Heaven” by Niall Horan

“Somethin’ Stupid” by Nancy & Frank Sinatra

“A Man Without Love” by Engelbert Humperdinck

June 2021 : Boston QZ

“Oh my god, she has fuckin turned you into a goddamn marshmallow!” Tess was in absolute disbelief when Joel Miller sat across from her, with chipped purple nail polish on his nails.

He let out a scoff while he tried to hide his small grin. Yeah, okay maybe you had turned this grumpy man into a marshmallow. Soft, fluffy, gooey. All the things that no one would ever believe Joel Miller could actually be. “It’s just a bit of nail polish, Tess. It ain’t that big of a deal.”

The two friends sat across from each other in the community square. It was blazing out. The sun was beating down on them unforgivingly. They each had a cup of homemade hooch in front of them. Joel would have been back at the apartment with you but you had kicked him out. Not permanently, of course. Just for a few hours because as much as you loved having him there every waking moment of the day, you needed your space. Of course, your newfound lover fought you on it at first, until he reluctantly gave in. He supposed that a bit of space from each other wouldn’t do any harm.

Tess had grinned at him over the rim of her cup. It was pretty glaringly obvious that Joel had it bad for you. “Where is she anyway? I Expected you two to be tied at the hip, if you weren’t already.”

“She kicked me out.” He took a sip then before adding, “Not permanently. Think i’ve been suffocating her a bit. She wanted some space to herself. Can’t really blame her, but you know how I am.”

“You’re as stubborn as a mule Joel.”

“You’re right. Ain’t nothin gonna change that either.” He looked around for a moment and felt the sweat dripping down the back of his neck from the blazing sun. “So, what’re you doin out here Tess? You got a hot date you’re waitin for or somethin?”

When she didn’t immediately respond, he raised his brow in her direction. He could see her cheeks heating up and it sure as hell wasn’t from the sun. “Oh my god, was I right on the money with that? No fuckin way. Who is it? You gotta tell me now c’mon.” He was intrigued, and unashamedly excited for her. Tess deserved happiness just as much as he did. Although, he was still getting used to it. Feeling for someone again. Opening his heart up, piece by piece. It wasn’t easy by any means, but he’d do it a 1000 times over for you.

“Yeah, okay. I am waitin for a hot date, but before you say anything–” She had paused when she saw Beatrix approaching and Joel had turned his head to see where she was looking. Using his hand to shield his face from the sun and when he spotted Beatrix. He couldn’t help but slowly look over at Tess, a grin tugging on his lips. “Ohhh. I see now. You and Beatrix, huh? When did that happen?”

“Been happening for a while now, Miller.” Beatrix responded to his question as she stood alongside the makeshift table and looked over her girlfriend, shooting her a little wink.

“Beatrix.” He nodded and gestured to the empty seat. “Makes sense. Considerin Tess has been pretty much absent from the apartment. Y’know it’s uh–it’s nice that y’all have each other I mean–” He rubbed the back of his neck slightly.

Beatrix let out a light laugh and nudged her girl then. “Man, you weren’t kiddin when you said he’s gone completely soft. You alright there Joel? Is the sun starting to get to ya?”

He grumbled under his breath and crossed his arms over his chest. “I ain’t goin soft. Just think it’s nice y’all are happy.”

“He let her paint his nails, Bea. The man has it down bad.”

“y’know that is actually pretty fuckin sweet. You’re a lucky man, Miller.”

“Oh, you’ve got no idea.” He wanted to say more. It was on the tip of his tongue. All the ways you had made him feel. In a way, it infuriated him because this was never supposed to happen. You had shown up and wrecked all his plans, if he would even call them that. You and your smile, your ferocity, your wit. Hell, he could easily compile a list of all of your attributes. It would end up being a mile long, but he could do it. Yeah, he had it pretty bad.

The three fall into a comfortable chatter. As if they are long-time friends, meeting at the bar for a casual drink. Catching up on one another’s lives. Who’s married, how many kids do you have now? Do you still hate your job? Did you ever find love? Are you happy? Except, there is no bar. There’s the Boston Quarantine Zone, crumbling more and more each day. Crawling with FEDRA, Fireflies, infected, raiders, and cowardly men like Robert.

It’s easy to forget the hardship, violence, and death taking place just outside your window when you’ve found yourself in love. Finding one person who makes it all worth living again. Joel Miller was unashamedly in love. There was no hiding it. It was written across his weathered face, burnished between his two thick brows; melded thoughtfully through the ridges on his forehead. His hardness towards the world was slowly melting away, dripping in a puddle beside his worn boots. You made Joel Miller want to live again.

“Oh, before I forget, Frank radioed in this mornin. Said somethin about a summer solstice get-together? Guess he’s the only one makin an effort to keep track of dates and the seasons. Anyway, figured you wanna go Tess. Oh, and Beatrix. You should come along as well. If you’re lookin for a taste of hospitality.” He had lightly nudged Tess’s boot with his own and shot her a little grin.

“Summer solstice get-together? Yeah, that’s got Frank written all over it.” She looked over at Beatrix and nodded. “Yeah Bea, you should come with us. Only if you want to, that is.”

“Well, I gotta come now cause I'm pretty intrigued to see what exactly a summer solstice get-together really is. I’m all in, babe.”

Joel thought Tess and Beatrix looked good together. Genuinely he was happy for her. For them. They complimented each other nicely and it warmed his heart to see Tess smile again. A real smile, one that finally reached her eyes. He also knew that you would be over the moon that Tess had found someone. You and Tess had learned to put your differences aside. It was a phenomenon to see just how things really changed from the cold, rainy day you met Joel and Tess, 4 years ago.

The last thing you had ever expected to happen was falling for Joel Miller. The slow burn of your feelings intertwined. The intensity, confusion, resentment, forgiveness. It all went by in a blur. The record skipped, screeched, halted. The vinyl of your hearts were torn, and sewn back together. You nurtured one another through it all. You both were rough around the edges, sharp to the touch, walls miles high, impassable. You tore one another’s defenses down till it was just you two, standing in front of a mirror, looking in on yourselves. It was as clear as day that you and Joel were made for eachother, in more ways than one. Whatever soulmates were made up of, whatever the fairytales, and romance novels called falling in love, didn’t compare to how you and Joel felt for eachother. Your connection, devotion, sacrifice for one another was on a completely different plane. Love didn’t even begin to scratch the surface.

The three friends finished what was left of their drinks as the sun sky began to shift. Curfew was approaching. The different pink and orange hues were stunning against the sullen backdrop of the QZ. Joel couldn’t help but embrace Tess then. Giving her a firm hug. Much to his own surprise, he had hugged Beatrix as well. Looking over her shoulder when he caught two QZ residents giving an obvious dirty look to Tess holding Bea’s hand loosely. Joel didn’t even hesitate to stare them down. If anyone were to ever dare fuck with his friends? Well, you could imagine just what he would do.

“We’re leavin first thing in the mornin. Before the sun is up. Hope you’re not as cranky about it as I know Gwen will be.” He gave them both a slight nod before he turned on his heel, leaving the small community center and headed home, to you.

____________

The early morning hours ascended far too soon in your opinion. Despite your grumbled protests of, “five more minutes, please baby just five more.” Joel had ignored them and coaxed you awake with peppered kisses on your face and soft touches. When you didn’t immediately budge, he started tickling your sides and nearly avoided a kick to the balls when you sat up in annoyance. “Mother fucker, you really couldn’t give me 5 more damn minutes?”

“I’m sorry honey, but we gotta get dressed and go. You know I’d love to give ya 5 more minutes but I can’t. Besides, don’t you wanna see Frank? C’mon, sugar. I got coffee waitin for ya too.”

You let out a huff as he grabbed your face in his calloused palms gently. He greeted you with a soft, warm kiss and you playfully swatted at him. “Yeah yeah okay fine I’m up. What was that about coffee?”

He let out a deep chuckle when you had swatted him away and in return, he threw you one of his flannels to throw on. “That’s my pretty girl.”

“Shuddup. It’s too early for flirting.”

“Never too early. I’ll be in the kitchen waitin for ya.”

He left your shared room quietly, waiting for you in the kitchen, loading his and your gun. Once your bags were packed, and you had the steaming thermos of coffee in your grasp, you and Joel headed out.

His natural protective nature washed over him as you made your way through the alleys, and dark corners before reaching the exit point of the QZ where Bea and Tess were waiting. The hike to Bill and Franks was just as you remembered. Surrounded by lush forest while the four of you walked. Joel was leading the way of course, with you tagging by his side. Your fingers brushed against one another a few strides before he grasped your hand in his, intertwining his fingers with yours. You were fucking holding hands and it absolutely warmed your soul. He only let go a few times to readjust his rifle over his shoulder, or if he heard something. Other than that, his palm was constantly on yours.

You arrived just outside Bill and Franks compound by late afternoon. This time, your company was expected, and before Joel even had the chance to punch the code into the metal gate, it was opening.

When you saw Frank up ahead, racing out of the house, you let go of Joel’s hand before running towards your friend that you hadn’t seen in so long. You yelled his name with pure joy radiating from your soul and when you finally met, Frank had scooped you up into his arms and spun you around.

Joel couldn’t help but smile at the exchange. You and Frank truly adored each other.

“Little Bird!” Frank exclaimed as he spun you around, hugging you tightly before he gently set you down on the ground.

“Frank! I’ve missed you!” You giggled softly when he had spun you around.

“Pssh? Me? You missed me? I was absolutely devastated when Joel told me you got sick!” He gently released you from his grasp, only to bring his arm around your shoulders as you started heading towards the house.

“I know, Joel told me, and I’m forever grateful for the medicine and tea.” You wrapped your arm around his middle then as you walked, the smile etched on your features was surely going to be permanent by the end of the day.

Joel, Tess, and Bea followed closely behind as the metal gate clinked shut behind them.

Bill was at the top of the stairs on the porch. Apron on as he was already cooking. He wasn’t a huge fan of you, not that you took it personally because he wasn’t a huge fan of anyone, except for his lover of course.

“Glad to see that you aren’t dead.” He spoke gruffly, arms across his chest.

In mock shock, you brought your hand against your chest and laughed. “No way man, you’re glad to see that I’m not dead? I can’t believe this. I’m going to have to document this exact moment!” You jokingly said.

Bill couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. “Yeah, I sure as hell am happy you ain’t dead cause otherwise that one? He pointed to Joel. Would be 10x more insufferable than he already is.”

You leaned in with a small grin on your face and whispered, “yeah he’s pretty awful. No idea how I actually put up with him.”

You could feel Joel’s hand wrapping around your waist then pulling you back slightly. “I’m pretty awful? Hmmm…we’ll see about that honey.” He whispered.

You and Joel were the first to enter the familiar home. Making your way to one of the guests rooms for the night and as you set your bag down, pulling out your pistol and knife, setting them down on the nightstand.

Joel was grabbing you then, grasping your hips as he pulled you flush against his chest. His hand that wasn’t holding you firmly came up to your face, gently tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear. “What was that about me bein pretty awful? I heard that correctly, didn’t I?” His tone was low, teasing.

You immediately brought your arms around his neck and threaded your fingers through his soft curls. “That was nothing, honey. I was just joking. You’re far from awful.”

Before he could steal a kiss, you were slipping out of his grasp like the little tease you were. You had a smirk spread across your lips as you leaned against the doorway. “C’mon, we’re not gonna spend all day up here okay? We’ll have all night for that Joel.” You shot him a wink before slipping past the door and headed back downstairs.

“Minx.” He muttered under his breath before he set down his rifle against his bag and pulled his own pistol out of his pocket and set it down next to yours. “Damn little tease.”

You had planned to take full advantage of the lasting sunlight. Bill and Franks home was surrounded by wildflowers and tall grasses. So that’s where Joel knew he could find you. Boy, were you a sight for sore eyes when he found you. Your back was splayed in the tall grass with your arms crossed behind your head and your eyes shut, blissfully. The sun was warm and inviting up until a shadow was casted over it. Now who the hell—Joel, of course.

You brought your hand up against your face as your eyes opened, shielding them from the sun as you looked up at your lover's tall frame.

“Comfortable?” He mused.

“Yeah, but can you maybe move like..I don’t know, a good inch to the left? You’re blocking my sun, cowboy.”

He chuckled and brought his arms across his chest. “Oh, I’m so sorry sugar. Did you want me to move?”

“You’re such an asshole.” You said with a light laugh as you reached your hand up to him and as soon as he grasped it, you were using all your strength to pull him down next to you.

He let out a grumble out of protest before he let you pull him down into the thick grass with a soft thud. “Was that really necessary?” He let out a grunt as he propped himself up on his elbow, looking over at you.

“It was because you were in the way of MY sun so I had to take matters into my own hands, lover.”

He fought the urge to roll his eyes as he plucked a strand of the tall grass and twirled it between his fingers. You couldn’t help but lean over, grasping his jaw in your hand, and kiss him sweetly. He wasted no time grab ahold of your hips while he maneuvered himself onto his back, coaxing you into his lap so you were straddling him.

“Joel..” you warned. Kissing him deeper because you simply couldn’t help it. His kisses were addictive.

He hummed in response bringing his hand up to the back of your head and threaded his fingers through your hair gently. “What is it honey? Just tryin to get myself comfortable.” he mumbled into your lips.

“Slick mother fucker.” You pulled back from the kiss and looked down at his smug expression while he brought his arms behind his head then. His eyebrow tilted up towards you in a suggestive manner.

“enjoyin the view?” He rasped. You looked so pretty in the sunlight.

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.” You reached out and lightly booped his nose before climbing off of his hips.

“You really gonna tease me all day like this? What, you tryin to drive me mad? Up a wall? Cause, it’s workin.”

You looked back at him with a small grin, shaking your head. “No, of course not. That would just be pretty awfully mean of me.”

He narrowed his eyes at you before he slowly sat up scooting over so he was close to you once more. “Can I sit out here and hold ya at least? Promise I won’t try anything funny.”

“Joel, of course you can honey, you don’t have to ask for that. It’s yours.” You watched as a grin tugged on his lips as he reached for your waist and gently pulled you back against his chest. Letting you get comfortable between his thighs.

Once you were settled, he pressed a kiss to the side of your head while his elbows rested back against the soft earth beneath his palms. He watched you curiously as you began to pluck some of the surrounding wildflowers. All different kinds. He watched as your delicate fingers weaved together the stems and he swore, he caught you humming.

While you were crafting together your flower crown, Joel couldn’t help but lean his head back slightly, his eyes closed, a relaxed expression on his face as the sun warmed his skin. He was at peace, being here with you. He must have dozed off for a few minutes because he didn’t feel your soft grasp on his bicep right away.

“Joel, honey?..” you spoke softly through the warm breeze.

“Hmm?” He mumbled softly, blinking a few times as he tilted his head forward once more and looked at the wildflower crown between your fingers. “Oh, that’s beautiful sugar. You want me to put it on you?”

You turned your head slightly so you could look at him. “I was gonna ask if I could put it on you.”

“Oh? No baby, it’ll look beautiful on you. It’ll look silly on me.”

“No it won’t, Joel. You’ll look handsome, I promise.”

How could he really say no to you? Especially when you looked so carefree, so happy. It was just a little flower crown after all. Maybe he wouldn’t end up looking silly.

“Oh, alright. Go ahead. Lay it on me” he watched as you gently lowered the flower crown on top of his soft curls. Your smile was so soft, so beautiful.

“So, how do I look? Still ruggedly handsome?”

You shook your head, brushing your fingers against his jaw gently. “No, you look beautiful Joel.”

__________

Unbeknownst to either of you, Frank had seen the moment between you two from the open kitchen window. He, of course, already had his vintage Polaroid camera at the ready as he snapped a picture. He knew you would want to always have this memory for safe keeping.

He looked over at Tess and Bea who were helping Bill prep the vegetables. “So, when did this all happen? I always had this feeling that they liked each other. I just never thought it would actually happen.”

Tess set down her knife and wiped her hands on one of the nearby towels. “She almost died this Spring. The three of us were gonna leave the QZ permanently with some other smugglers. We were set up. Robert caught wind of us and sent some of his men. Gwen shot first. I watched her go down. Saw the knife sticking out of her gut and Joel? I’ll never forget the screams he let out.”

Frank's face fell as Tess told him what had happened to you. He was in disbelief.

“She nearly bled out on our kitchen table. I had to keep him calm. There was this moment where I knew he thought he was going to lose her. She was fading and then he just grabbed her face, Frank. He’s got tears streaming down his face and he kisses her. He kissed her because he thought he’d never get the chance to do it again.”

Tess nearly had tears in her eyes from that traumatic night and when she felt Bea grasp her hand gently and give it a squeeze, she took a deep breath.

“He stitched her up, and laid with her on the couch. He literally wouldn’t leave her side. He slept on the floor next to her till she woke up. He was just so—I don’t even know how to explain it. I’ve never seen him get so distraught. I let him go that night, and it probably was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. They’re meant for eachother. I’ve never seen him so fuckin happy. I’m happy for him. I’m happy that someone broke through to him. I’ll always care about him, nothing will ever change that. She’s his person, and he’s hers.”

Frank was already grabbing a bottle of wine. He had his own tears brewing because how fucking beautiful was it to hear that two people, who despised eachother from the beginning, had found eachother. Fallen for one another, and held on tight.

“Jesus fucking Christ. I’m going to need a large glass of wine after that.” He was already unscrewing the bottle and poured himself and Tess and Bea a glass. “You found someone too. You moved on, right?” He gestured to Bea by her side.

Tess took the glass with zero hesitation and took a big sip. “Bea is quite literally the best thing that has ever happened to me. I feel like I’ve gotten a new chance. A fresh start.” She looked over at her lover, who was in disbelief and when Tess saw her tears welling, she reached over and gently wiped them away with her thumb.

“You really..you really feel about me that way?”

“Course I do.”

Frank was already raising his glass in a toast and had to gently kick Bill to grab his own glass, with a disapproving grumble.

“Here’s to good wine, full bellies, laughter with friends and of course, love. Lots and lots of love.”

Tess, Bea, Frank and Bill all clinked their glasses together.

What a sight they all were to the outside world beyond the white picket fence.

________

You and Joel were in your own little world as held you against his chest, he was still wearing the flower crown you crafted him and you were both looking up at the passing clouds, in a comfortable silence. You could hear the birds chirp, the soft breeze through the grass and the humming of buzzards.

A purple butterfly, with delicate papery wings flew above you and landed right on Joel’s nose but before he could shoo it away, you had gently grabbed his wrist then and whispered, “No, don’t. You’ll scare it baby.”

He looked afraid to move then. Staying absolutely still as you gently released your grip on his wrist. The butterfly slowly flapped its wings, revealing the different purple hues, some dark, some light. It flew from its perch on his nose, fluttering for a moment before it landed on the outside of his hand.

“Think it likes you, honey.”

Joel furrowed his brows slightly as he looked down at the delicate insect resting along his hand. Suddenly, the realization hit him. The color purple. Purple nail polish, a purple butterfly.

“Sarah.” He spoke above a whisper.

“Hi baby girl.”

You both watched as the butterfly flapped its wings once more before it flew off his hand, fluttering away.

You saw the tears well in his eyes before he even could feel them and you immediately pulled him into your arms, bringing his head against your chest while his arms draped around your middle, holding you close to him.

Neither of you spoke in those moments. You simply just held each other.

You were both torn away from your thoughts when the back door leading out to the porch opened and Frank stuck his head out and yelled. “Dinner is ready love birds! Hurry up before it gets cold!”

“I’m okay, sugar. C’mon. Let’s go and..what’s that word you like usin? Immerse ourselves with our friends.” He gave your waist a light squeeze, reassuring you that he was okay.

You answered him by gently grabbing his face in your hands, stroking his cheekbones with your thumbs, giving him a sweet, loving kiss.

His eyes fluttered shut when your lips met his and he kissed you back, holding you there for a moment before he slowly pulled away and stood to his feet, offering you his hand as he helped you up.

The six of you were comfortably sitting together. Frank spared no expense to the details of the table spread. He had brought out the finest china just for this occasion. It was, after all, the longest day of the year. What better way to celebrate, than with friends? Before you dug into your meals, Frank poured everyone a tall glass of wine and everyone toasted to love, longevity, and good times. Joel was looking right at you, a small grin on his face as he raised his glass in your direction. The only sounds that could be heard was silver lightly clinking on china. The occasional song-bird, or two. You all were enjoying the delicious food that Bill had prepared and by the end of the meal, your bellies were full.

The air was warm, peaceful and for a moment, it was all too easy for you to forget about the cordyceps, the end of the world, the loss you had endured. It was so easy when you were surrounded by friends, and your lover, who couldn’t take his eyes off of you. As more wine was poured, the laughter ensued as old stories of the past flowed past your soft lips with ease. Tess agreed that the Chicago Bean, was pretty fucking cool.

You felt so fucking loved. You could barely contain it.

When the plates were cleared, you all headed inside to help with the dishes and of course, crack open another bottle of wine. By the time that Bill had started a fire in the living room, you could already feel your cheeks getting flushed. A warm, fuzzy feeling washing over you.

Joel was at your side then, his arm lazily draped around your hip as you rested your head against his shoulder. He brought the rim of his own wine glass up to his lips and took a sip, a smile creeping over the delicate china.

Frank was already flipping through his many record albums while everyone else was getting comfortable on the two couches. He had decided on ‘A Man Without Love’ by Engelbert Humperdinck. You learned very quickly that Joel Miller was not a singer. Even a few glasses in, drunk on your love, he would not sing. Frank had pulled you up from the couch and twirled you around playfully while you both belted out the lyrics, “Every day I wake up, then I start to break up, lonely is a man without love. Every day I start out, then I cry my heart out, lonely is man without looooove!” You didn’t particularly have a grammy winning voice either but hell, you were having fun! Joel was enamored while he watched you over the rim of his glass. He loved to see you in these moments. When you let your hair down, you belly laughed, giggled and god, did you smile.

More wine was poured, more songs were played and as the sun began to set, the fire lowly crackled in the background, it was just you and Joel now. Frank had taken Tess and Bea out to the greenhouse to show the wonderful progress his plants had made. You were knackered from the singing and dancing as you plopped down next to your lover with a light giggle.

“You’re drunk, honey.” he looked over at you with a small grin.

“No, I'm happy Joel. I’m so fuckin happy. Okay, and a little drunk too. Just like a tad though.”

He leaned in, his face close to yours. “M’happy that you’re happy ‘darlin. You look beautiful. I love it when you smile. Warms me right up.” He whispered, reaching out and gently cupping your face in his warm palm.

“You’re happy too..right?”

“ m’so happy baby. You have no idea.” He admitted. This was only for you to hear. He was secretly thankful that your friends weren’t in the room. He wanted this moment to only be shared between you two.

“Good. I’m glad honey, you deserve it.”

Before he could answer, the record crackled, transitioning slowly to ‘The Last Waltz’

He surprised you then, reaching for your hand before he helped you up from the couch gently.

“Dance with me?”

“I never thought you’d ask, cowboy.” You took his hand then as he helped you up. You were a little unsteady on your feet, while his free hand was gently splayed across your lower back as he pulled you into chest, holding you as close as he physically could. Your hearts were practically intertwined as he slowly started to sway with you. Your fingers were interlocked between his other hand while you brought your freehand to his shoulder, playing with the worn fabric of his flannel gently. He dipped his head down slightly, his forehead resting against yours. His warm brown eyes, locked on yours. You continued to slowly sway, taking in this private moment as he whispered the lyrics lowly between you. His voice was warm, inviting, deep, and it settled within your bones. “I had the last waltz with you. Two lonely people together. I fell in love with you..the last waltz should last forever..”

He kissed you then. Closing the small gap between you finally. Neither of you pulled away as the record crackled, the song coming to an impending end. You continued to kiss him, tasting the sweet wine on his tongue. His breath hitching, his fingers tightening along the exposed sliver of skin of your lower back. You breathed him in, letting his kiss settle deep within your soul.

The moment had ended when you both heard someone clearing their throat. Joel had let out an annoyed grumble as he tore his lips from yours, looking over your shoulder at a smirking Frank, who was holding the game ‘Monopoly’

“Sorry to interrupt you lovebirds. Are you up for a friendly game of monopoly?”

Joel had opened his mouth to speak but before he could, you brought your finger against his lips and looked back at Frank with a sweet smile. “We would absolutely love to play.”

“Who is we–” you shot your lover a playful warning look and he returned it with a slight roll of his eyes.

“Yeah, sure we’d love to play.” He grumbled.

“Excellent!”

You slipped out of your lover's grasp, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before you grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the living room and into the kitchen.

You found out shortly after the game began, that Bill was an absolute sore loser. He was the first to be out of the game. He cursed out, throwing what was left of his money before he grabbed his gun, heading for the kitchen as he mumbled about how stupid this game really was. “Who the hell thought of inventing this stupid game? I hope they’re rolling in their grave right fuckin now!”

Everyone was trying to hide their laughter then. It was hard with the amount of wine that had been consumed already. As the game continued, Bill had returned shortly after his loss, with a fresh bottle of wine as he topped off his glass and plopped back down into his seat next to Frank. He had a grumpy look on his face, with his arms crossed against his chest. When Frank leaned over and gave him a little kiss on the cheek, his face softened for a moment.

The game continued on for hours. Frank was the next to lose. Joel had secretly slipped you a few of his extra bills under the table, shooting you a little wink as he leaned over and whispered “you’ll find a way to pay me back, sugar.” Which had you lightly swatting his arm for being the flirt that he was, but you loved it. You loved seeing Joel with his guard down, and enjoying the small joys that life had to offer. He looked so beautiful.

Bea and then Tess were the next to lose and soon it was just you and Joel, head to head. Battling to the death. Well, until one of you decides to give in. Your friends had all gone to bed a while ago. The candles on the dining room table were almost melted down completely. You weren’t even sure how much wine you had actually consumed, but by the looks of the empty bottles, you knew you had quite a lot to drink.

“Joel, baby. C’mon can you please surrender. It’s okay, you can admit that you lost like a big man.” You giggled. Your palm was resting along your chin as you looked at him, a drunk sleepy look gracing your features.

“C’mon, honey. We can finish this out. Don’t you wanna win fair and square?” He still had a half glass of wine in front of him and he couldn’t help but reach over and gently brush his thumb against your plush lower lip.

“Joel, I’m tired. Please? Let me win this my way.”

“The dirty way?”

“Nooo. The you’re gonna let me win because otherwise this game will never end, way. I think I will actually lose my mind more than I ever have if we have to keep playing.”

He leaned back against his chair, a smirk playing on his lips. “So, then go on and admit your defeat. Sooner you do, sooner we get to go to bed.”

“Who said anythin about me admitting MY defeat?”

He chuckled and reached for his wine glass, downing the rest of its contents before he set it back down. “You heard me.”

“You’re such an asshole man. Fine, I admit my defeat. If I weren’t so many glasses, excuse me, bottles in, then I would have won. I’m sure of it.”

“Mhm. You keep tellin yourself that ‘darlin.” He blew out what was left of the candles then before he pushed his chair back and slowly stood up.

“I’ll get you back for this Miller. Just you wait and see.” Your chair scraped quietly against the hardwood as you rose from your seat.

“Oh, I have no doubt in my mind that you will honey.”

You let Joel deal with the empty glasses and bottles on the table while you packed up the game, placing the board and all the pieces back into the box.

He let you go in front of him up the stairs. His hand was at your lower back, making sure you wouldn’t fall back when you nearly tripped up one of the steps with a quiet giggle.

Yeah, you were pretty drunk.

Once you were in your shared room for the night and the door softly closed, your arms were around his neck, your fingers playing with the soft strands of hair at the nape of his neck. “Baby..I’m really really drunk right now. Damn Frank and his wine but..I want you. Do you think we can?..” you whispered with a hiccup closely following.

“Honey..” he drawled, bringing his arms around you gently as he pulled you in close.

“We can’t. You’re drunk and I’ve had a bit as well. Plus, we don’t wanna wake anyone up..”

“We can be quiet.”

He gave you a look then. You and Joel did not know the definition of having a quiet fuck. It was pretty much impossible.

“Sugar, you know we can’t be quiet. Even though I wanna fuck you so bad right now honey, so fuckin bad. I gotta put my foot down, m’sorry.”

“Okay, fine. So we can’t fuck. How about..” you trailed off while your fingers slipped from his hair to his face, brushing your fingers against his strong jaw. “what if you were wrapped up in me, all night?..”

He raised his brow at your suggestion and his mouth went a little dry when he realized just exactly what your suggestion entailed.

“You want me to fall asleep, inside of you?”

“Please.” you begged. You were itching to feel him again. All of him.

“Fuck.” He whispered out. The wine was making his mind hazy and your words had him spinning.

“Please, Joel. I understand if you don’t wanna—”

“Shh. Of course I do. Fuck, of course I wanna bury myself inside of ya all goddamn night honey. You’re absolutely sure that’s what you want?”

“Yes. That’s what I really want right now Joel.”

He scooped you up into his arms in response. He carried you to the side of the bed and gently set you down before he reached for the hem of your shirt and gently started to lift it up.

“You wanna wear one of mine?” He already knew the answer.

“Always.”

He slowly lifted your shirt above your head before he reached down into his backpack that was alongside the bed and pulled out one of his spare shirts, slipping it down over your arms. Next, he gently shimmied your pants down your legs, leaning down and pressing a light kiss to your exposed hip bone.

“Can I take these off, sweetness? Or do you wanna keep ‘em on for now?” he rasped out.

“You can take them off baby, it’s fine.”

He slipped his thumb on either side of your panties before he slowly dragged the fabric over your hips, thighs and down your legs and ankles. He pressed another light kiss to your skin. This time it was your thigh.

You had reached for his flannel then and gently pushed it down his arms, tossing it to the side with your discarded clothes. He used his one hand to pull his shirt over his head, shaking his hair out a bit. Soon after, his jeans and boxers were discarded. You could feel the bed slowly dip from his weight as his arms reached around, settling comfortably around your waist as he pulled you flush against his chest.

His lips were at the shell of your ear, pressing a soft kiss just below as he whispered, “you let me know if you want me to slip out, okay? I don’t want ya to hesitate.”

You grabbed one of his hands then and brought it up to your lips, pressing a kiss to his palm before interlocking your fingers with his. “I know honey, I got you, you got me. It’s okay. Please, don’t make me beg you.”

“You got me, I got you.” He let out a puff of air against the back of your neck as he slipped his legs between yours. He let his free hand, that wasn’t grasped between your fingers, grab ahold of himself before he gently, and slowly slipped himself between your slick, warm folds.

It took every sheer ounce of willpower inside of him to not jut his hips into yours. He let out a low hiss, giving your hand a firm squeeze as he sank deeper, till he was at the hilt.

“This okay ‘darlin? Not uncomfortable or nothin?”

You felt so full at that moment. With him buried inside you like this. Holding you so close to his chest. It was perfect.

“This is perfect honey. Thank you. Are you good?” You had turned your head slightly to look over your shoulder at him.

“ m’good. This is nice. You feel amazin. So fuckin warm and tight—”

“Joel, baby. Please don’t start something that you know you can’t finish.”

He chuckled and let his head drop to the back of your neck, pressing another kiss there.

“Sorry, don’t wanna get carried away.”

“I know honey, this is torture, and at the same time, I’ve never been more content.”

“That’s one way to put it.” He chuckled.

He moved his hips just slightly as he got comfortable, sinking further into the soft mattress.

“I love you.” you whispered quietly. You were unsure if your confession was due to all the wine you consumed. Or if it was your sober thoughts, coming out in drunk words, or a mix of both.

“I love you, always.” He whispered back, tightening his hold around your waist, smiling against your soft skin when he felt your lips brush against his knuckles.

You and Joel slipped off into the dream world with ease. He stayed buried deep in your warmth, all night long. You never wanted him to leave. The closeness, intimacy, warmth you provided each-other so naturally. You wanted to keep him there forever.

How long could forever really last, when the dawn of a new day was always inevitable.

Chapter 13: