#patio door key. i woke up before i could do any of this or finish making the hot chocolate

[fingertipsmp3]

Had a dream last night that two of my best friends came to stay with me and also Mabel was alive 🥹

[mandoalorian]

No Body, No Crime [Dave York x F!Reader]

Summary: When Dave York’s wife expresses her suspicion of him having an affair, you agree to help her gather the evidence to confront him. You believe that if you can prove his infidelity, their marriage will fall apart and you might actually stand a chance with him. But when you follow him out one night, you make a shocking discovery.

Warnings: SMUT, m receiving oral, f masturbation, choking, infidelity, murder

Rating: 18+

Word count: 3000>

Author’s Note: Please consider this my official application of entry to the Dave York pit. This one is quite intense. I’ve never written a thriller type fic before, so I hope it’s okay! 

Masterlist

He had to have been cheating. There was no other excuse for sneaking out so late at night, and not returning until the early hours of the morning. His actions radiated infidelity. The only answer was that he was having an affair.

Dave York was the typical suburban dad living the perfect life with the perfect wife and two happy daughters. You would know as you were the York’s housemaid, and had the privilege of living with them. As an insider, it also meant you were a pair of extra spying eyes. And you watched Dave, a lot. It was only a matter of time before Carol caught on and realised something was up. So when she came to you one morning after Dave had set off to work, and the girls were at school, you could already sense her concerns.

If you recalled correctly, it was the fourth time this week he’d snuck out. You remembered last night, sitting by the attic window and watching him drive off into the distance. There was something about it that got you all riled up. You were ashamed to admit it -- but you were more than attracted to Mr. York. Once he was no longer in sight, you closed your eyes and slipped your fingers under the hem of your panties. You let out a puff of air as your digits found your clit and you began to rub tight little circles, squirming around in the wooden chair that you’d been sitting in. It creaked in the midst of the night, but getting so caught up in the moment, you didn’t even care if your movements or whimpers woke Carol up. You imagined Dave burying his cock deep inside you, moaning out your name. It was really bad, you knew that… but the truth is, if Dave wanted to fuck you next, you’d have no qualms. You’d let him. You’d beg him. With your free hand, you clutched the edge of the window sill so hard your knuckles turned white as you felt your body pull to its orgasm.

You stayed by the window for around two and a half hours after that, apprehending his return. If one thing was sure, it was that Dave made an effort to remain unseen. He dressed in all black, even opting to wear a hat to hide his brown locks of hair. You heard the keys jingle as he let himself into the house, this time via the back door because he knew it would be quieter. You heard his footsteps emerge up the stairs. Strangely enough, you heard the washer switch on as he would do his own laundry. In fact, you couldn’t remember the last time you had cleaned Dave’s clothes. Washing his clothes at four in the morning only made him even more suspicious, but you had to applaud his efforts.

“I think Dave is cheating on me,” Carol announced as you finished up doing the dishes. You felt your body stiffen at her tone, before taking a deep breath and turning to face her. She looked exhausted, nursing a cup of coffee and her bleached blonde hair tied into a messy bun. “He’s been… acting different,” she revealed sadly. “He slips out of bed at around one in the morning, every night. He comes back at four-ish, and I pretend to be asleep. But he undresses, and he smells like sweat. We don’t talk much anymore. I don’t think he loves me.” she confirmed, and you could tell she was trying to hold back unshed tears.

“I’m sorry.” was all you could offer her.

She sank down into the dining room chair and held her head in her hands. Carol wasn’t a bad woman -- but you couldn’t bring yourself to empathise with her. She was the lucky one who got to marry Dave in the first place… who got to bring up his two wonderful kids. She got to live in the big suburban house, and she got to drive the expensive family SUV. Clearly, she was struggling. Her suspicions of her husband cheating were eating her alive, and you knew from your own spying that he was certainly up to something. It must have sucked for her, but even if Dave was being unfaithful, she was still living your dream life.

“I think I’m going to call him out,” she confessed with an uneasy shrug of her shoulders. “I have to. I can’t keep living like this. It’s just… I have no evidence. No way to prove it.”

Carol had a point. If she was going to confront him, surely he’d just deny it and get mad. You liked Dave a lot, that much was clear, but maybe… in this scenario… you could be some use to Carol. If you could provide her with the evidence that he was cheating, then their marriage would inevitably fall apart. Then you could harness the chance to steal Dave away for yourself. This could actually work.

“I can help you,” you said suddenly, pulling out the chair opposite Carol and sitting beside her. “I can help you find what you need to expose Dave’s affair.”

Carol furrowed her eyebrows together in bewilderment, and you hoped you hadn’t sounded too excited about the prospect. “How do you plan on doing that?” she asked you with uncertainty.

You hummed, your mind weighing up the possible scenarios. “Uhm… well, next time he sneaks out I can watch him leave... and then I take your SUV and carefully follow him. I’ll try to snap some photos of him getting caught in the act.” you suggested and watched Carol wince at the thought of you seeing him with somebody else. Seriously… were you supposed to feel bad for her? Carol looked unsure but finally she sighed a breath of defeat and nodded her head, agreeing to your plan.

“Okay… but be careful you don’t get caught.” She warned.

“I’ll do it tonight,” you promised. “Don’t worry Carol, let me handle this.”

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This time, when the night rolled over, you weren’t in the attic like usual. You were hiding out by the living room window downstairs which gave you quick and easy access to the front door. Once you were satisfied that Dave had driven an ample distance away from the house, you grabbed Carol’s car keys and jogged down the patio to her SUV. You knew the roads would be empty at this time of night, so it shouldn’t be too hard to lose sight of Dave. What would be hard though, is trying to remain unseen by him. Any car out on the roads at two in the morning would be suspicious. You figured you were doing a good job at staying back in the shadows.

To your surprise, Dave began to drive out of town and he headed towards the forest that peppered the outskirts of the little village he lived in. You knew that nobody lived in this area, and so why he was driving this far out was beyond you. Though, it only piqued your curiosity more, and so you continued to follow him.

You parked around ten feet behind him, the car tyres getting stuck in the dirt. You watched as Dave hopped out of his car and swung a black duffel bag over his shoulder. He ventured into the depths of the forest, amongst the tall trees, until eventually he was nowhere in sight. You sat in the driver's seat for a few moments, contemplating what exactly was going on. You didn't expect this at all. You figured that, all this time, he had in fact been driving to a different part of town, letting himself into someone else’s house and having an affair.

Then, the reality that he could still be having an affair struck you. You hopped out of the SUV and turned on your phone’s flashlight, helping you familiarise yourself with your surroundings. Dave’s clunky boots left a trail of footsteps in the mud, thankfully, which meant it was easy enough to track him down. You were making good progress and doing fine until you heard a man scream. And your heart sank in your chest.

The same voice cried out in terror, before another scream followed. Could it be Dave? Was he in danger? Your mind shot to what you believed to be the worst possible case and your light jogging turned into running as you followed the sound. You had to make sure Dave was okay.

As you got closer and closer, you began to hear a squelching noise and a series of grunts and groans. You noticed a figure, on his knees by a large tree trunk -- and evidently, he noticed the way your flashlight had highlighted his body. The masculine figure rose to his feet and dropped the knife to the ground before turning to face you.

It was Dave.

“What are you doing here?” he interrogated, removing his hat and stuffing it into his pocket.

“You… I--... you…” you were speechless, your gaze flicking between Dave and the corpse that he had tied to the tree. The screams you had heard earlier hadn’t come from Dave, but instead had come from the man he just murdered.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” He repeated, malice dripping from his tongue. When you didn’t answer, he scoffed incredulously and pulled out a clean knife. He took only a few steps towards you, breaking any distance, and held the silver blade to your neck. The coolness of the metal stung your skin and your gaze fixated on his cold dark eyes in horror. “I’ll ask you one last time,” Dave whispered, his warm breath fanning over your jaw. “Sweet girl, tell me, why are you here?”

“Carol sent me…” you lied. “I didn’t want to. But-- but she thought you were cheating on her. She told me to follow you into the night and see where you ended up.”

“That bitch,” Dave huffed, taking a step back and shaking his head in disbelief. “And you were happy to betray me?”

“No!” you said defensively, your voice raising an octave. “She said if I didn’t, she’d fire me.”

“You should have come to me first.” Dave gritted out, his voice deep and his eyes locked on yours. God, he was hot. If he hadn’t just murdered someone, you’d be all over him.

“I know,” you gulped and made an effort to flutter your eyelashes apologetically. “I was scared.”

“Scared of me?” Dave quizzed, tilting his head and wrapping a gloved hand around the column of your throat. He gave it an experimental squeeze.

“N-no,” you stammered out, biting your lower lip. “Scared of Carol.”

“And now that you know where I’ve been going every night. Now that you know that I’ve been murdering innocents… are you scared of me?” Dave rephrased after a moment of silence.

“No,” you confirmed again but with a shaky exhale. You raised your hand and cupped his cheek. The touch caught him off guard. He wasn’t used to this kind of affection from anyone. “Actually… it turns me on.”

Dave pulled away from you and a wicked smirk crossed his lips. “I never pinned you to be that kind of person.” he revealed, but if the tent in his pants was anything to go off, you knew that he liked it.

“I never pinned you to be a murderer.” you shot back with a sweet moan, licking a hot stripe along his jaw and maneuvering your hand along his broad chest.

Dave let his own gloved hand tangle in your hair before yanking your head back and forcing you to look at him. 

“Not a murderer, just a cheater?” he questioned, venom in his tone. 

“Mm, I’m sorry.” you whispered, and Dave began to push you down onto your knees. 

“Show me,” he hissed, and you hungrily nodded your head.

In the darkness of the night, you began to undo his belt. Pulling it through the loops of his pants, you discarded it to the ground and then started to work at the zipper. You dipped your hand into his pants and pulled out his already hard cock. You couldn’t help but gasp at how heavy it felt in your hands.

You began to pump at his length, your fingers gathering the beads of precum that had dribbled out of his tip. “Let me fuck your mouth.” he commanded. You opened your mouth as wide as you could, preparing yourself for his girth, and stuck out your tongue. Dave chuckled darkly before thrusting his thick cock into your mouth.

His breathing hilted when you wrapped your lips and moaned around him, the noise sending vibrations through his body.

He pushed his entire length into you and then gently began to trace your throat with his index finger. The movements of his hands were achingly soft in comparison to the rough and messy nature of his thrusts. It didn’t take long for you to realise he was actually tracing the bulge that his thick cock had made there, and you gagged around him in response. He doubled back, pulling out of you and only giving you a second to catch your breath before fucking your mouth again. 

His speech was slurred and his vision became hazy as he muttered words of degradation. “You little whore, sucking my cock in the middle of a fucking forest at night. Do you like this? Do you like taking my cock in your mouth?”

You could only hum in approval. You felt tears begin to prick at the corners of your eyes and his cock began to throb in your mouth. You knew he was close now. You brought your hands to his balls and began to massage them, and looked up through your lashes at Dave who had tossed his head back, the pleasure consuming him. 

Without any warning, Dave came undone, his salty load shooting into your mouth. He brought his hands back down to your head and forced you to swallow him whole. It wasn’t easy, but you managed to do so, relishing his taste. Eventually, he let you pull off him, a mixture of his cum and your saliva creating a trail between his cock and your lips. He grabbed your hand and helped you to your feet before tucking himself back into his pants and zipping himself up.

“Well, I can’t murder you now.” he sighed, rubbing his jaw.

“Do you need me to help you hide the body?” you offered.

“No,” he replied. “I do all my murders in this forest because no one has visited in years. They decompose quickly too. I just leave them to rot.”

It sounded pretty risky, you thought, but evidently, Dave knew what he was doing. He must have been doing this for a long time. “Oh okay…” you mumbled. “I’ll just… head back to the car then.”

You spun around on your heel and took a few steps in the direction you came before you heard Dave call your name. You froze and waited for him to speak.

“I’m going to kill Carol,” he said, the five words echoing amongst the trees around you. “And I need you to be my alibi.”

“M-murder Carol? But why?” you asked, honestly feeling a little uneasy at this point. You trusted Dave, you really did. But Carol had sent you out to try and evidence the fact he was cheating on you. In the past half hour, you’d witnessed her husband murder someone, and then you had proceeded to give him what could quite possibly have been the best blow of his life.

“She thought I was cheating on her,” he said, his voice so quiet it was almost sinister. “She has betrayed my trust.”

You wanted to throw in the fact that he had actually just cheated on her, with you, but you decided that might not have been the best idea. He needed to know that you were on his side. You hadn’t realised the length of time you’d stayed silent for. Clearly, had been too long for Dave’s liking.

“Are you going to betray my trust?” Dave queried and you shook your head ‘no’ profusely. “Good.” 

“Good thing I’ve cleaned enough houses in my time to know how to cover up a scene,” you said softly, taking a few steps closer to him. “And it’s a good thing I helped Carol take out a big life insurance policy.” your lips curled into a smile.

“So we do it tonight,” Dave whispered, his thumb grazing the height of your cheekbone. “We go home together, and I’ll kill her. I’ll take her body to the forest and you clean up before daylight.”

“What about the girls?” you couldn’t help but ask.

Dave picked up his belt and the bloodied knife before throwing them haphazardly in his duffle bag. “Good thing they’ll still be living with another, amazing woman that they can look up to once their mother is gone,” he smirked, and you felt your cheeks flush with heat at his words. “I’ll call the cops tomorrow morning and file a missing person’s report for Carol.”

“Will it work?” you wondered out loud.

“Do you trust me?”

Maybe you were foolish, but as you contemplated his words, you realised that you really did trust this suburban murder dad.

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[httpjeon]

FISH ARE FRIENDS — KTH (M.)

synopsis. after moving to the seaside, there is a dreadful storm. when all is clear, a man washes up on shore...only he isn’t quite human.

pairing. taehyung/reader genre. angst, smut, fluff au. hybrid!au wordcount. 10,605 contents. seahorse hybrid!taehyung, possessiveness, mating kink, lots of kissing, fingering, size kink, taes big dick as usual, cunnilingus, slight pain kink, multiple orgasms, squirting, overstimulation, blow job, UNEDITED note. this is the result of the fic title game i’ve been playing! thank you to whoever sent in the title ‘fish are friends’

blog masterlist.

© httpjeon 2020. do not repost, modify or translate.

You sighed as you dropped the last cardboard box onto the floor with a muffled thud. Placing your hands on your hips, you let out a few deep breaths to allow yourself to relax after moving everything on your own. Looking around, you felt a sense of dread flow through you at the reminder of having to unpack everything as well.

You left your door open, letting the sound of seagulls and ocean waves waft in along with the tangible scent of seasalt. Inhaling, you allowed a smile to drift over your face.

You couldn’t believe that you had actually left the city, after living in it all your life. You felt so light and free, unable to keep the giddy feeling down as you began to unpack the essential things -- your bedding, bathroom sundries, and kitchen utensils so you could eat. Although, as you stood in your sparsely decorated kitchen, you realized you didn’t actually have any food to eat at all. Tossing your head back, you let out a low groan. The sun was already beginning to set so you quickly grabbed your purse and keys, intending to rush to the grocery store before it closed for something to get you through the night and morning.

The town was pretty small, a main grocery store and a few other shops located on a strip. It was the kind of place where everybody knew everyone and when you stepped out of the car, you could feel the eyes on you as people assessed the newcomer. Throwing a few polite smiles, you ducked into the grocery store.

“Welcome!” the nearest cashier waved, a smile on his delicate face.

“Hi,” you greeted softly with a nod as you glanced up at the aisle signs above your head.

Grabbing a basket, you first went to the cereal aisle -- breakfast foods were always your main source of snacking. Going over a mental list in your head, you decided cereal, milk, ramen, break and some lunch meats would suffice until you could do some genuine food shopping.

“Did you find everything okay?” the young man asked as you approached the counter.

“I did, thank you,” you smiled, glancing at his nametag. Jungkook.

“Hey!” someone called from behind you, making you look over your shoulder, “You just moved here right?”

“Um...yeah,” you smiled, holding your hand out, “I’m _____.”

“Jimin!” he beamed, “And that’s Jungkook, a buddy of mine. Everyone here is kind of...friends, you know?”

You nodded, “Yeah, small towns.”

“Your total is $32.50,” Jungkook said, “Hey Jimin.”

You pulled out your wallet to fish your card from the slot before placing it into the chip reader. The two of them chatted a bit about something you weren’t interested in listening to as you put your pin in. The machine dinged with your card approval and Jungkook handed your receipt to you.

“Hey, hang on a minute!” Jimin called before you could walk off.

Turning, you watched him urge Jungkook to scan his item quickly -- a gallon of milk. He paid in cash and quickly rushed after you, taking one of the extra bags from your hands.

“Thanks,” you smiled, leading him towards your car.

“So, where did you move to?” he asked, “I live around the corner from here.”

“Oh, I live over on Pearl Ave,” you said, opening your trunk to place your items in.

“Cool, right on the shore, huh?” he smiled, “Where are you from?”

“I lived in Sunhua,” you replied, “Born and raised.”

“What the hell’d you leave a city for?” he chuckled, slamming your trunk shut for you.

You shrugged, “I finished college so...I just figured a change in scenery would do me good.”

“Really? What’s your major?” he asked, leaning back against your car.

“Hybrid Studies,” you smiled.

He opened his mouth to reply but there was a low rumble from the sky.

The both of you looked up, simultaneously realizing it had gotten much darker with the arrival of storm clouds.

“Shit, I better get home,” he sighed, “Hoseok absolutely hates thunder and if I don’t get home I won’t hear the end of it for 3 months.”

You laughed, waving him goodbye, “It was nice meeting you, Jimin!”

“Ditto!” he grinned, tossing a smile over his shoulder as he began to jog down the sidewalk, milk jug in hand.

By the time you pulled into your driveway, it was beginning to sprinkle. You hurried inside with your belongings -- putting the milk and meat in the refrigerator. Outside, the thunder rumbled a bit louder, signaling the storm getting closer.

Unfortunately, no one had gotten around to hooking up your TV cable or internet so all you had was to sit on your phone until it was a reasonable time to get ready for bed. When you got out of the shower, you could hear the roof being pelted by the downpour of rain. After putting your bedding on, you stopped by the double doors of your bedroom that led to a small balcony. Pulling one open with a small creak, you were greeted with a view of the ocean in the midst of the storm.

The waves crashed angrily against the shore, the sound of the water amplified due to the force of the impact. The sky was pitch blank, the moon and stars obscured by the storm clouds. The only outside light you got with the flashes of lightning that came from within the clouds.

After a particularly loud crack of thunder startled you, you decided to slip back inside, making sure to lock the door in case the wind could throw it open in the night.

When you woke up, it wasn’t to beautiful sunshine. Gray clouds still hung over the sky, pelting the Earth in a light rain drizzle. You sighed and sat up, stretching your muscles.

When you got downstairs, you suddenly realized you never pulled your coffee maker from its box. So, you had to sit there and search through your boxes until you found the one labeled as containing your appliance.

You grumbled listlessly to yourself as you hooked it up and filled the reservoir with water. As you listened to the coffee drip into the carafe, you fixed yourself a bowl of cereal. It was quiet except for the rain and coffee drip.

In the city, the silence would have been filled with the honking of horns and shouts of people on the street which would eventually drive you mad. But here, now, it was peaceful and serene.

By the time you finished your cereal, the coffee was ready and you xoed yourself a cup before making your way to the door, pushing it open before closing it with just the screen door to allow the air to drift through your house.

Taking a seat on the little chair you’d placed in the corner with a small glass table, you relaxed. You took a couple sips of coffee before looking out across the beach, squinting against the rain.

However, you paused when you saw a dark form across the shore. The angry waves crashed against it, pushing it across the sand.

Standing up, you hopped down the stairs and into the rain, uncaring of how cold it was against your skin. Looking around, you didn’t see anyone else standing outside.

The waves crashed forward again and the thing on the shore rolled, making you gasp. It was definitely human.

Running forward, you winced at how sharp the rain felt against your skin. The sand was coarse beneath your feet but you didn’t take notice of it.

Coming to a stop, you knelt beside the person; a man.

Well, sort of.

“What the…” you whispered, taking a good look at him.

He was completely naked, thankfully face down in the sand. He had a small fin on the center of his back, lying limply as it stuck to his skin. On the exterior length of his arms and legs he had little spines that protruded from his skin. Rolling him over, you avoided looking down as you assessed him for any injury.

Cupping his face, you hissed at how cold his skin was. Moving his bangs aside revealed a small cut across his forehead that was still steadily seeping blood. Leaning down, you pressed your ear to his chest, quickly detecting a heartbeat.

Sighing in relief, you desperately looked around in hopes of finding something to help you. The rain was beginning to come down harder and thunder rumbled above, making you curse. You were already thoroughly soaked from the waves crashing against you. They only began to get more violent, however, easily knocking you down and jostling his limp body.

“Sorry about this,” you whispered to the unconscious hybrid as you slid your hands under his armpits to haul him up the beach towards your house.

By the time you reached the shelter of your patio, it was a full on downpour once again. The hybrid was still limp, deadweight.

You didn’t care about your carpet getting wet as you laid him down, rushing to your bathroom closet to fetch a couple towels. When you returned, you set to drying him off, frowning as you watched goosebumps rise over his skin from the chill he no doubt felt.

You pulled a throw blanket you had on the back of the couch down to toss over him.

The next thing you needed to do was tend to that wound on his head. You knew you had a first aid kit around, it took some rifling through boxes to locate it.

The poor hybrid was still out cold and you were beginning to worry about how much damage had really been done beyond a cut. You’d have to see if the town had a hybrid doctor located somewhere.

You set to cleaning the wound, getting the sand and debri out of it before applying ointment to promote healing. Since it was across his head, a bandaid wouldn’t work so you settled for some gauze and a bandage wrapped around his head to keep it in place.

Sighing, you sat back, resting against the wall as you stared down at him.

A marine hybrid. You couldn’t believe you had a marine hybrid in your house.

They were the rarest species of hybrid -- virtually impossible to find although they were being seen as pets as time passed. Illegal hunting and capturing as people grew increasingly interested in owning an ‘exotic’, ‘rare’ hybrid.

Just having him in your home was a crime and you prayed that none of your neighbors were nosy and watched you drag a body into your house.

The best you could guess was that he was a seahorse hybrid judging by the little horns in his hair and the little fins on his temples that were otherwise obscured by his hair.

You stood up, wincing as your knees cracked from sitting on the floor for too long. Walking quietly, you grabbed your phone and looked up a hybrid doctor nearby.

Much to your dismay, the town did not have one and the nearest was over an hour away. Sighing, you stepped back out onto the porch to grab your coffee cup.

You kept peeking around the wall to check if the hybrid was still there as you fixed yourself another cup.

It was just a little past noon by now and you were already exhausted. Taking a seat on the couch, you began to google information about seahorse hybrid. Your major was Hybrid Studies but unfortunately you’d focused on ecological side of domesticated hybrids. You knew virtually nothing about marine hybrids beyond being able to identify them.

As expected, there was very little resources available on seahorse hybrids. All you could find was that they were fragile species and exceptionally terrible swimmers but still preferred to be near water although they survived just fine outside it. There were 45 subspecies of seahorse, though you had no idea what one the stranger would be.

It continued to rain as the hours passed and eventually you succumbed to boredom and fell asleep.

You were awoken by soft groans, however, shortly after you dozed off. Glancing over, you gasped as you watched the hybrid squirm where he laid, slowly waking up. You dove to the floor, sitting on your knees as you watched his eyes flutter open.

Deep brown irises locked with yours. He inhaled sharply and sat up so fast you fell backwards onto your butt to avoid being hit by him.

“Whoa, hey,” you whispered as he groaned and clutched his head, no doubt hurting himself from moving like that, “You got hurt, washed up on shore.”

He looked at you with a frown on his face, his brows furrowed together as he looked around. He eyed the boxes and the couch, leaning to the side to peer into the doorway of the kitchen before his eyes drifted to the window where rain tapped against the pane.

“This is my house,” you muttered, drawing his attention back to you, “My name is _____,” he didn’t reply but he slowly laid back down and relaxed, “I know the floor isn’t too comfortable, you can move to the couch if you’d like. You were too heavy for me to lift up there on my own.”

He just stared at you, those deep brown eyes fixated on every inch of you. He scanned your face and the length of your body down to your feet, making you feel a bit self-conscious being analyzed. For a moment, you were sure he couldn’t even understand you -- it wasn’t unheard of for hybrids without human contact being unable to understand languages.

But after a second, he stood up, making you avert your eyes as you were reminded of how naked he was. You grabbed the blanket and waited for him to lay down on the couch before placing it over him.

He picked at the material for a second, feeling the texture between his fingers before looking at you, “You were getting a chill so I thought it’d be best you were warm while you were out. I’ll get you a pillow, hang on.”

You could feel his eyes on you as you hurried down the hall to your bedroom. You grabbed a pillow from your bed before running back. He was sitting up when you walked in, gazing out the window but looked at you when he realized you’d returned.

Placing the pillow behind him, you urged him to lie back. He did, a look of utter confusion before quickly smiling when he felt the softness of the pillow behind him. You chuckled and took a seat on the recliner across the coffee table from him.

After a few minutes, he fell back asleep, his bare chest rising and falling rhythmically. He understood you at least, but he didn’t speak. You weren’t sure if he was mute or just didn’t know how to. Standing up, you went to the kitchen to make yourself something to eat.

Humming to yourself, you filled a pot with water intending to make ramen. Spinning on your heel to go to one of the boxes tucked into the kitchen’s corner, you stumbled and gasped. He was standing in the doorway, the blanket wrapped around his shoulders thankfully shielding his nakedness.

“You scared me,” you groaned, continuing to the box.

You knelt down, tugging at the tape to open it but quickly realizing how well wrapped it was. Standing up, you scanned the kitchen to look for your scissors before remembering they were packed away somewhere too.

“Oh man!” you complained, knowing you didn’t have any sharp knives out either.

Wandering into the living room, you zeroed in on the first aid kit you’d left out. Popping it open, you grabbed the little scissors which were inside that you used to cut the bandage. When you entered the kitchen, however, you were surprised to see the hybrid crouched down with the box you were fighting with already open.

“Did you open that for me?” you asked him, watching as he stood up and nodded, “Thank you.”

He gave you a crooked smile and stepped back to let you fish through the box until you pulled out the container you’d put your spices in. Giggling happily to yourself, you returned to your ramen.

The hybrid stayed in the kitchen the entire time, watching you flit about as you cooked until you finally went back to the living room. He followed you, taking a seat on the couch again, simply watching you.

“So…” you mumbled to break up the silence, “Can you not speak or…?” he didn’t reply, making you hum before bringing you bowl closer to take a bite of the ramen you’d cooked. His burning gaze made you pause though, a thought occurring to you, “Are you hungry?”

Immediately he nodded, making you sigh. You had no idea what he ate or what he could eat. He seemed to sense your dilemma and smiled, standing up. Immediately, you averted your eyes, unsure how you’d get used to his nudity.

That made you pause. He was a wild hybrid, the only reason he was there was because he was injured in the storm. Once it cleared up and his head healed, he’d be gone so you didn’t really need to get used to it.

Lost in your thoughts, you missed him moving towards you until his hand wrapped around your wrist.

Surprised, your eyes snapped to his hand -- how big it was and how long and pretty his fingers were. You allowed him to control your movements as he moved your fork to his mouth to take a bite of the ramen you’d made.

He hummed, his eyes closing as he chewed. It was the first sound he’d made -- so he was capable of making sounds at the very least.

“You can just eat human food?” you asked, watching as he nodded, “Do you want me to make you some?”

He nodded and you paused. By the time you cooked his, your would be cold. Standing up, you placed your bowl in his hands, making him frown. He attempted to hand it back to you, apparently not wanting you to give up your food for him. But you shook your head and moved to the kitchen with him hot on your heels.

He whined, making you pause, looking over your shoulder. To your surprise he looked genuinely distressed.

“It’ll get cold while I’m cooking,” you shrugged, “So you eat it while it’s hot and then I’ll eat this one. Get it?”

He was still for a second, gazing down at the ramen before slowly nodding. You chuckled and turn your back to him again to fill the pot with water.

Behind you, the hybrid slowly ate standing in the kitchen with you. By the time you finished cooking, he was finished and standing with his empty bowl.

“Just put it in the sink,” you said, breezing by him to sit on the chair again.

You could hear him clinking around for a second, the water in the sink turning on for a second before shutting off. He walked into the living room, holding his hands in front of him as he walked up to you.

Taking a bite, you watched him hold his hands out to you. Raising a brow, you stared at him. You realized his hands were wet and he moved them closer to you. When you still didn’t understand, he sighed, shaking his head. As you went to take another bite of your ramen, he flicked his fingers and splashed the water all over your face, making you flinch.

“Hey!” you whined, “What’s the big idea? It’s just water I don’t under…” you blinked a few times as your mouth opened in a small ‘O’, “Ohhhhh…” he perked up slightly, “Are you wanting...water then? To drink? Or…?”

He bit his lip and shook his head. You were already tired of trying to communicate with him -- at least he understood you though, you suppose.

“A shower maybe?” you asked, making him cock his head, “Let me finish eating and I’ll show you, okay?”

He nodded and took a seat, waiting ever patiently for you as you ate. When you went to put your bowl in the sink as he had, he followed you. You quickly realized you were now used to seeing him naked -- thank god.

When you turned the water on to rinse out your bowl, he immediately stuck his hand under the water. You laughed, and shook your head. He was actually really cute.

“Alright, c’mon,” you led him down the hall and into the bathroom, flicking the light on quickly. When you sat down on the edge of the tub to drop the bath drain, the bathroom went dark. Turning to look towards the door, you watched as he flicked it back on, watching the light bulb in wonder.

His attention was brought back to you, however, when you turned the water on. Excitedly, he took a seat beside you, watching the water begin to feel. You weren’t quite sure what temperature to make it so you chose lukewarm. Before it was even halfway filled, he was sliding into the tub with a smile on his face.

“I’ll let you be alone,” you said, making him look at you, “Just turn the handle this way to turn it off,” you showed him, “Stop the water before it overfills the tub, though, okay? Do you understand?”

He nodded and you stood there for a second before nodding and turning away from him. You decided to leave the door open, figuring he would prefer to not be closed up in a small room. It wasn’t like he cared of privacy or decency anyway.

While he soaked, you decided to wash the dishes you’d used to cook. It was beginning to get dark now and the rain had stopped for the meantime, the storm no doubt finally moving out. After putting the dishes away, you moved to unpack the box Taehyung had opened for you, placing everything neatly where it needed to be.

Realizing, when you were done, that he still wasn’t out of the bathroom led you to peeking in to check on him. You couldn’t help but smile when you saw him in there sleeping. For a second you were concerned that he could drown before reminding yourself that he was literally a fish hybrid who came from the ocean.

Deciding not to disturb him, you went back to the couch.

You didn’t realize you’d dozed off until you felt someone gently shaking you shoulder. Opening your eyes, you jumped at the sight of the naked hybrid.

“Oh, you’re out,” you hummed, standing up to allow him to sit, “I should probably change your bandage.”

He hummed, sitting back as he watched you pull the materials from the first aid kit before taking a seat on the edge of the table.

Reaching forward, you carefully unraveled the bandage until it fell away before peeling the gauze off. The cut was red, no doubt probably stung with a bruise growing around it. But it wasn’t bleeding at least, so you cleaned it once more before doing exactly what you had before.

While he was awake, he moved a bit more to avoid the little fins on his temples from being jostled. You whispered a soft apology when he winced at the bandage catching the corner of his fin. He shrugged his shoulders and smiled to let you know it was okay.

“Okay, all done,” you smiled, standing back up, “It’s pretty late so I’m going to head bed,” he didn’t say anything but you could feel his eyes burning into you so you tossed a soft, “Goodnight,” over your shoulder.

As you entered the hall, you heard a soft voice mutter something. You froze and turned, looking at the hybrid with wide eyes.

“What? Did you say something?” you asked.

He nodded, smiling, “Taehyung.”

His voice was deep, soft with no edge to it at all. It was like listening to the most gentle voice in the world.

“That’s your name?” you asked, making sure you understood. He nodded and you smiled, “Goodnight Taehyung.”

“Goodnight _______.”

You didn’t know why your heart skipped a beat as he uttered your name.

“Taehyung!” you called through the house as you kicked the door closed behind you. After a second, you heard the back door open and Taehyung’s tall form entered the living room. You smiled in greeting, “This package is for you.”

He looked surprise, walking forward with his arms extended. You deposited to package in his hands and stepped back to watch him examine it.

He’d been there for almost a week now and in that time you’d learned he was very curious. He examined anything and everything, you’d had to stop him several times to keep him from licking something questionable.

After a moment, he moved to place the box on the kitchen counter, pulling the scissors from where they hung on the wall to cut the tape open. You leaned against the wall, arms crossed over your chest as you watched him pull out the contents.

Holding the t-shirt in front of him, he looked curiously at you.

“I know this…” you motioned towards his naked body, “Is something obviously normal for you since you’re a wild hybrid but...it’s getting increasingly weird on my part over having a naked person in my house.”

He stared at you for a second, a frown on his lips and for a second you were afraid you’d offended him. You held in a sigh as he grabbed the box and breezed past you, down the hall.

“Well, so much for that,” you whispered to yourself, grabbing the discarded scissors he’d left on the counter and put them back where they belonged.

“I like it,” Taehyung’s voice made you jump.

You spun around and were pleased to see him fully clothed. Part of you felt bad for forcing something human on him like that but the way he happily touched the fabric made you smile.

“I chose the softest materials I could find,” you explained. After the first day, you quickly took notice of the way he enjoyed textures -- specifically anything soft.

“I like it,” he repeated.

“I’m glad,” you breathed, “Come on, let me look at your wound.”

He nodded and took a seat on the couch as you took yours on the coffee table. It was practically a routine now. He didn’t even flinch as you pulled the bandage and gauze away.

The cut was practically healed and you sighed. It definitely wasn’t a concern anymore and both of you knew it. Still, neither of you questioned your situation. He didn’t seem to want to leave and you, truthfully, didn’t want him to leave. You enjoyed his company; he was sweet and endearing. He took up your time in the best way and gave you something to look forward to coming home to.

“I think we can leave the bandage off now,” you said, “Just don’t scratch it, even if it itches, okay? If you pull the scab off you’ll have a big old scar across your forehead for the rest of your life.”

He pouted a bit but nodded, taking the discarded bandages to throw away. He returned from the kitchen a second later, a pack of ramen in hand. He handed it over to you, head cocked to the side.

You smiled, “I’m hungry too,” he followed you, as usual, to the kitchen and hovered over you as you began the cooking process, “Oh! By the way, the cable guy is coming by at 3 to hook up internet and stuff.”

He looked confused and you laughed, pointing over to the TV. He’d hovered around it a bit over the last few days, turning it on the watch the static on the screen. As he realized you were doing something with the TV, he lit up and smiled.

As you both sat down to eat, you glanced at the clock. It was 2:40, causing you to hurry up eating so you could move some boxes out of the living room.

The hybrid had been helping a bit set things up for you; lifting heavy objects and boxes. But you still had quite a bit to unpack -- you had to fill a whole house, after all.

By the time you moved the boxes to the spare room, the doorbell went off. Rushing into the living room, you caught sight of Taehyung’s wide eyes.

“Hi, come on in,” you smiled, waving the cable man inside.

“Hello,” he greeted with a polite smile that quickly faded as he looked behind you.

When you turned around, you caught sight of Taehyung booking it out the back door in the kitchen. Shrugging, you closed the front door and led the man to your television.

“It’ll take me about an hour to set everything up securely,” he explained.

You nodded, “Let me know if you need anything.”

As he went to work, you made a beeline for your back porch. Taehyung was sitting on the stairs, resting his elbows on his knees. He looked up when you opened the door and despite the way he’d run away, he appeared calm nonetheless.

“Did you get spooked?” you asked, sitting beside him. He nodded and you hummed, “I take it you haven’t interacted with humans much?”

He shook his head, “I like to watch them.”

“Oh? People watch?” you asked, “Humans like to do that too. When I lived in the city I would go to the park and just watch people go about their business.”

Taehyung could speak and understand very well but his own vocabulary was quite limited. He didn’t say much regardless, mostly spoke to share his opinions. You’d adapted easily, speaking primarily in yes or no format and it was mostly you doing the talking.

He didn’t seem to mind, however. He gave you his full attention regardless, interest gleaming brightly in his eyes.

A question lingered on your lips, one you dreaded asking but as you looked at the smile on his lips, it dissolved on your tongue and you sighed.

The two of you fell silent, sitting together listening to the ocean as you waited for the cable man to finish.

You stood in the kitchen, making dinner as you listened to the laughing on the TV in the living room. Taehyung had immediately been intrigued by the colors and noises from the device and promptly sat on the couch, becoming glued to it. You briefly wondered what the effect of TV would have on a wild hybrid but when you heard him laugh, all worry was wiped free.

When you’d heard him laugh for the first time, at some cartoon that came on, you felt your heart skip a beat. It was melodic and delicate, almost a giggle, really.

Not wanting to disturb him, you brought the food to him.

“Thank you,” he beamed, waiting for you to sit beside him before beginning to eat.

You smiled, sitting there watching him for a second before picking up your own plate. The way he enjoyed things so organically was charming, it made you see things as if they were new as well.

As the days passed, you noticed a change in the hybrid. He began to talk more, question things and seek out a conversation with you -- which he’d never done before. Sometimes at night, you could hear the TV on at night, the sound carrying through the walls.

One such night, you awoke in the middle of the night with a dry mouth and desire for water. Climbing out of bed, you grabbed your bathrobe and put it on, messily tying the belt to hold it closed. Your door creaked quietly as you opened it, allowing the TV’s low volume to be heard much easier from the stairwell.

Wandering into the living room, you paused to look at Taehyung.

He was sitting on his knees on the floor, close to the TV. You opened your mouth to tell him he shouldn’t sit so close when you realized he was muttering to himself.

Moving closer, you glanced at the screen to see an infomercial was playing. And he was repeating the things they were saying.

“Taehyung, what are you doing?” you asked, fighting back a smile when his head whipped around to look at you.

His eyes were wide and he looked almost guilty as he moved back from the TV, “W-Watching the…” he motioned to the television with a shrug.

“You were talking along,” you pointed out, a brow raised curiously.

He bit his lip and folded his legs in front of him, “When they talk...I learn new words.”

His words bounced around your head for a second before you chuckled, “Is that how you’ve gotten so good at speaking? You’re learning from watching infomercials at night?”

“Cartoons during the day,” he added with a sheepish grin, “Why are you up?”

You knew he was changing the subject to avoid the conversation but you went along with it, “I’m thirsty is all.”

He hummed and it fell quiet, his eyes flicking back to the TV for a second before going to you once more. You sensed he was wanting to get back to what he was doing so you bid him a soft goodnight before moving to the kitchen.

When you were passing through to the hallway, you saw that he was sitting in front of the TV muttering again.

The morning came and you were surprised to find yourself awake before Taehyung. He was usually an early riser, up before the sun was even fully out.

You frowned at the sight of him curled up, knees tucked to his chest as he snuggled into the blanket. He looked cold but it wasn’t like the temperature dipped very low -- you’d slept with your balcony door cracked.

Seeing him lay there, you noticed how he was almost falling off the couch. Sighing you reached over and shook his shoulder until his eyes fluttered open.

“Hey sleepyhead,” you smiled, heart melting at the tired smile he gave you as he sat up and stretched, “How late were up last night?”

He shrugged and sighed, swinging his feet onto the floor before padding to the bathroom. You hummed and decided to start a pot of coffee for the day.

Pulling out your phone, you pulled up google and decided to search for a bed. You had a spare bedroom you were currently using to store the boxed you hadn’t bothered to unpack yet. It wouldn’t hurt to get a bed put in so you could have guests over.

At least, that’s what you told yourself.

“Hey, Taehyung?” you called when you heard him flick the TV on.

“Yeah?” he immediately responded, poking his head into the kitchen.

“I’ve been thinking,” he frowned and fully stepped into the kitchen, “Instead of sleeping on the couch, how about you take the spare bedroom?”

“Really?” he gasped.

“Yeah,” you hummed, “There’s a mattress shop in town, I can pick you up some stuff.”

“I can’t go with you?” he deflated slightly, making your heart ache.

You sighed, looking at your feet, “N-No...I think it’s best you stay here,” he opened his mouth to say something else but you cut him off, “You can help me assemble everything, though! And I’ll need your help to carry the mattress.”

He grinned once again and nodded, “Okay!”

While you were in town, you stopped by the grocery store to get more food and ingredients to cook with. With Taehyung there, you ran out of food a bit quicker than if it were just you.

Jungkook was there and greeted you with a bright smile as he rang you up, commenting how he hadn’t seen you around much. You blew it off with a quick shrug and explanation that you got internet and cable set up now so you had no reason to leave the house.

Pulling up to your house, you got out and popped the trunk. As you began to pull groceries from the back, the front door opened. Taehyung came bouncing down the stairs with a little grin on his face.

“So, where is it?” he asked excitedly.

“Oh, the guy was right behind me,” you said, “He’ll drop everything off.”

“Here, I’ll take these,” he said, grabbing the three bags you were holding before you could argue, “You got more ramen!”

“Of course,” you laughed, following him inside with the last two bags in your hands, “It’s your favorite right?”

“Yep!” he chirped happily from the kitchen.

The two of you go inside where you ask Taehyung to boil a pot of water and cook some ramen. He wasn’t quite good enough to be able to cook it correctly but you would be back inside before it was ready, anyway. Just as he began to fill the pot, you heard a horn beep from outside.

Taehyung gave you an excited grin and you chuckled before going to the porch.

“You sure you don’t need any help assembling this?” the man asked, a brow raised.

“No, I have a h…” you paused and cleared your throat, “A friend willing to help!”

“Alright,” he smiled kindly and tipped the brim of his hat before moving back to his truck, “Have a nice day!”

“You too!” you waved and sighed, eyes falling to the large box and plastic-wrapped mattress that now sat against your porch railing.

You pushed the door open and poked your head in, calling the hybrid's name. His feet thump against the floor as he runs toward the sound of your voice.

"Yes?" he asked, eyes wide.

"The bed is here," a smile blooms across his face and he excitedly nods his head.

"Come help me finish cooking so we can do it!" he turns his back to you and scampers back to the kitchen.

You chuckle and step inside, deciding to leave the door open. Taehyung was incredibly eager to get things started so the second his ramen was done, he was scarfing it down like a man starved.

"You're going to burn your tongue!" you chastised.

"Too late!" he whined, sticking his tongue out with furrowed brows. It didn't stop him though because a second later he was shoveling another bite into his mouth.

"Are you ready?" you ask, watching with an amused smile as he dumped his bowl into the sink and raced to the open door. You followed behind him only to stop when you caught him staring at the open door, "What is it?"

"You shouldn't leave the door open like this," he said, voice level to show how serious he was. He looked over his shoulder with a frown, your own face a mask of confusion, "It's dangerous."

You opened your mouth to respond but before you could, he was running down the porch steps to the mattress.

It took almost an hour for the two of you to get everything up the stairs into the spare bedroom. With the mattress leaning against the wall, the two of you sat on the floor reading the instructions of assembly for the bed frame.

"God I am beat," you complained, watching Taehyung twist the screw in like you had showed him.

His hair hung in his face, a little damp from sweating. His bottom lip was trapped between his teeth and his brows were furrowed in concentration.

"Yep," he hummed, sitting back with a sigh. He dropped the screwdriver on the floor and fell silent.

"Now we have to put the mattress on the frame," you chuckled at the tired groan he let out.

He stood up and held his hand out, helping you stand up as well. Then, with exhausted determination the two of you finally dropped the mattress down into its rightful place.

"What's next?" he asked with a sigh as he finally took a relaxed seat on the couch.

"Well, we need to get sheets and stuff for the bed," you said, pulling out your phone.

As you typed into the search engine, you felt a hand on your hip. You look down, finding Taehyung was urging you towards him.

You were suddenly pulled into his lap, making you gasp in surprise. Your cheeks immediately heated up, feeling his strong chest against your back with his arms around your body, holding you.

Doing your best to ignore the position, despite your racing heart, you allowed him to look over your shoulder to locate bedding he liked.

"I saw this on TV," he spoke suddenly, voice deep and oh-so close to your ear.

"Wh-What's that?" you whispered, hoping he didn't notice the tremble in your voice.

"Sitting like this," he replied, reaching forward to click a link on your screen, "The guy held her like this."

"You shouldn't be watching things like that, Tae," you joked.

"What things?" he asked, making you chuckle, shaking your head as you dismissed him. Before he could question more, you brought his attention back to the sheets he was looking at.

That night, after bidding the hybrid goodnight, you sat in bed gazing out the window at the beach below.

You truly couldn't believe there was a wild seahorse hybrid sleeping just down the hall. If someone had told you that there would be one living with you not too long ago, you would have laughed in their face.

You never thought you'd be a person who illegally kept a wild hybrid. But it wasn't like he didn't want to be there.

Right?

You shook all thoughts of him from your head and closed your curtains, basking the room in darkness.

One morning, you're woken up by a loud thump. You sigh, staring up at the ceiling as you listen to the hybrid bumble around downstairs.

He'd been there for over a month and had grown increasingly comfortable living in the house. Sitting up, you stretched and threw on a robe before descending down the stairs.

He was in the kitchen, as you expected. His back was to you but there was something off about him.

His body was stiff and his jaw was clenched tight. With a frown marring his face, you grew concerned. It was clear he wasn't in a good mood.

"Taehyung?" you called, watching him freeze for a second before resuming what he was doing, "Is everything okay?"

"Yes," he mumbled, voice flat.

You crossed your arms over your chest, leaning against the wall as you watched him crack an egg into the pan. It sizzled, filling the tense silence.

Neither of you said anything, although you had a lot on the tip of your tongue. You simply watched as he prepared his breakfast on a plate which he promptly deposited on the kitchen table.

He avoided your gaze, grumpily glaring at his plate as he silently ate. You sighed and he tensed again but didn't say anything.

"Taehyung," you breathe, taking a seat across from him, "You can't ignore me forever," he remains silent, "Talk to me...what happened?"

In the silence of the kitchen, he slams his fist down. You jump and look at him with wide eyes. His gaze is fiery, and he bares his teeth in anger before squinting a glare towards you. You can't help but cower away when he suddenly stands up.

"What happened?" he tosses his head and lets out a humorless laugh, "Seriously, what? Did you think I wouldn't find out, hm?"

"Find out what?" you gasp, realizing his anger was directed at you.

"Everything!" he snaps, shaking his head as he makes his way to the back door. You get up and follow after him quickly, "I learned everything about you! I-I can't believe I was almost tricked into--" he cuts himself off and runs down the stairs.

You chase after him, your feet meeting the cold sand as you follow him, calling his name, "What are you talking about?! I don't understand, Taehyung!"

He doesn't offer anything more and you let out a frustrated groan. You stumble, however, you watch him begin to shed his clothes the closer he gets to the shore.

"Taehyung?!" you cry in horror as he steps foot into the ocean. He looks at you over his shoulder and the look of disgust in his eyes makes you falter. In that second of hesitation, he disappeared beneath the surface.

You gasped and stopped at the waters edge, desperately looking over the dark surface.

"Tae..." you whispered, realizing he was gone.

You stand there, waiting, for what feels like forever. The temperature drops and you begin to shiver. Backing away from the shore, you begin to collect the articles of clothing he'd discarded which have long since lost the heat of his body.

Stepping inside, you let out a soft sigh and place the items on top of the driver.

The sun vanished beneath the horizon and the house was dark and silent. You were filled with empty lonliness as you went to bed, passing by his room to take a small peek even though you knew it was going to be empty.

You don't sleep well that night, your mind plagued with thoughts of the hybrid. Every time you shut your eyes, you would wake up with the hope that he would be back by morning.

When you got up, nice and early like he usually does, it was to an empty house. There was no Taehyung sitting on the couch or in the kitchen. It was just you.

He isn't back the next day either...or the next...or the next.

Eventually, you gave up on hoping to see him when the sun rose. You grew accustomed to the habitual silence -- though you didn't like it.

His bedroom was left untouched, the bed sloppily made with the blanket uneven as Taehyung didn't bother getting it quite right before going about his day. The house seemed so big without another party occupying it.

Eventually, you couldn't stand being in the house all the time by yourself. So, you started exploring the town -- which you hadn't bothered doing before.

On one afternoon, you ventured into a little comic book shop where you stumbled upon the familiar faces of Jungkook and Jimin. They were more than excited to see you; gushing about how it had been so long. They were a funny, charming pair who eagerly took it upon themselves to subject you to a day of touring the town.

You discover there was a little bar near the edge of town that most of the young adults frequented. A friend of Jimin and Jungkook's, Namjoon, owned it and allowed friends free drinks.

It was one such night that began with drinking among your new friends that ended with a drunk Jimin crashing on Taehyung's bed. He hadn't bothered getting under the blankets, passing out face down on the mattress with his feet dangling off the end of the bed.

You shut the door, leaving him to sober up overnight on his own.

While the outside company was lovely, kept you occupied and happy outside of the house, when you came home to the empty house you felt the liveliness dissipate.

It was an offhand comment from Yoongi where he expressed living in such a big house must be lonely -- advising you should get a pet or something. The idea bloomed into you begging Jungkook to take you to the pet store in town on his day off.

He was a bit hungover but still agreed after listening to you pester him about how lonely you were.

That led you to getting the sweet little black cat you promptly named Tux.

It felt wonderful to walk into your house after spending a day with your friends to greet someone -- even if he couldn't greet you back beyond a meow and rubbing up against your legs. He began to sleep in your bed, letting you curl around him as he purred himself to sleep.

Never in your life would you expect to be awoken in the middle of the night by your bedroom door slamming open. You bolted straight up in bed, eyes wide as you could vaguely make out the figure of a person standing there.

Your heart began to race in your chest, the sound of your blood pumping as adrenaline flowed through your body. Two seconds felt like hours before you finally scrambled out of bed. With him blocking the doorway, you could only run to the balcony.

As you threw the door open, you screamed when a strong arm wrapped around your waist and lifted you up.

"Calm down!" a familiar voice snapped, immediately halting your thrashing.

"T-Taehyung?" you panted, your feet meeting the floor as he finally put you back down.

"Who else?" he asked, voice flat.

You could barely make him out in the dark but you relaxed significantly as the relief caught up to you, "You can't do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack! I thought you were a burglar or something--"

"Why do I smell another man in my bed?" he cut you off, not caring for the panic he had caused you.

"Huh?" you responded, running a hand through your hair as you skirted past him to flick the lamp on beside your bed.

"I went to my bed," he began, stepping closer to you, "And it smells like another man. Why?"

You huffed a laugh, shrugging your shoulders, "A friend crashed there like a week ago, why?"

"Why?" he scoffed, stopping when he was right in front of you. Your heart skipped a beat when he leaned down, his nose almost brushing yours, "Because there shouldn't be another man in my bed."

His voice was dark, sending shivers down your spine, "W-Well, I thought you were gone so I had a friend over! You left a-and what the hell do you think you're doing here anyway?! You can't just show back up like this!"

"Why not?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

"B-Because it's not okay!" he snapped, reaching up to shove at his shoulders so he would back off. He did, straightening up so you could stand up. You breezed past him in a huff, crossing your arms over your chest, "You just left, yelling at me! For weeks, Taehyung! You can't just come back like nothing happened!"

"I'm sorry," he sighed, "I shouldn't have done that."

"You were blaming me for something you didn't even bother explaining!" you cried, "Tell me what the hell happened."

"I..." he looked sheepish, clearing his throat, "I watched something on TV that talked about human’s treatment of wild marine hybrids. I...I got upset for...well, no good reason. I know you didn't do anything at all. I was the one who wanted to stay -- you helped me and let me stay. I'm sorry, _____."

You sighed, relaxing your shoulders, "That's so stupid, Tae," he nodded his head but didn't say anything, keeping his dark gaze on you, "Alright...go to bed, we'll...figure this out in the morning."

You moved towards your door, motioning for him to get out. As much as you wanted to jump for joy that he was back, you were too tired and, quite frankly, still pissed off. When he didn't make any attempt to leave, you cleared your throat.

He sighed and made his way towards you. Instead of walking out the door however, he wrapped his arm around your waist and kicked the door shut, pinning you against it.

"Tae--" before you could get out the rest of his name, his lips were on yours.

Your words were knocked from you as you found yourself kissing him back, wrapping your arms around his shoulders as he gripped your hips. You could feel the heat of his body through the thin, silk fabric of your nightgown.

He growled against your lips, reaching down to grip your thighs to pull you up. You gasped as you were hoisted up against his body and the door, your knees locked around his waist. His nails pinched the sensitive skin of your thighs but you paid it no mind.

"You're mine," he growled, voice barely above a whisper, "No one else can have you."

You didn't get to reply as you were yanked from the door and tossed onto the bed. You squeaked out his name when his weight was suddenly thrust on top of you. He caged you in, resting his weight on his forearms beside your head, keeping you locked in a heated kiss. Your legs were forced to spread around his waist, letting the cool breeze from your cracked window reach the damp material of your panties.

Simply kissing him, feeling his hands on you was enough to make you wet.

"I'm going to mate you, baby," he growled, nipping your bottom lip before suddenly pulling away, "Prove that you're mine."

You nodded, breathless from his kissing. Your heart was racing in your chest and your stomach fluttered with butterflies. He reached down to find the hem of your nightgown where it had bunched against your hips. He pushed it up until you were forced to sit up to allow him to pull it off. He groaned at the sight of your half-naked body.

"You're so pretty," he whispered, leaning down to press a kiss against your breast, "You're never going to look at another man when I'm done with you. I want to be all you think about, all you need...all you want."

You whimpered when his lips wrapped around a perked nipple, lashing the bud with his tongue. You gripped his hair, mindful of the horns hidden within the mess of black hair. He reached between your thighs to find the material of your panties, cupping your heat with a sigh. You were wet, he could feel it soaking through your panties.

"Please, Tae," you whispered, letting your head fall back to expose your neck as he trailed kisses upwards from your breast.

He hummed but didn't supply a response, too preoccupied with your scent. He brushed his nose against the column of your neck, over your artery where he could feel pounding in time with your racing pulse. He nipped at the skin, a promise of leaving a mark before he slipped his hand into your panties.

You cried out as his fingers immediately delved between your folds. He bypassed your clit to find your entrance, a fleeting graze over the sensitive bud making you whine. One long, lithe digit slid into your entrance, drawing mutual sighs from the two of you.

"A-Another," you gasped.

He chuckled and easily added his index finger, giving you that sweet stretch you craved, "You'll have to take more if you want to fit me," he breathed, making your walls clench around his fingers, "I have to stretch you real nice..."

"Fuck," you cursed, eyes rolling back as he curved his fingers to find your g-spot. Your thighs trembled around him at the fleeting stimulation before he suddenly withdrew, sliding off the bed.

You watched his shed his shirt, a long sleeved t-shirt you'd tossed on his bed shortly after he left when you found it mixed in with your laundry. His body was lean and built from swimming and you could see his biceps flex as he pushed his sweatpants down.

Left in just his underwear, you could see his cock through the thin material -- just as big as you'd hoped. It would definitely give you that painful burn you needed.

Stepping forward once again, he hooked his fingers into the hem of your panties and pulled them down. You raised your hips to allow him to pull them completely free. Once they were off your ankles, he tossed them to the side.

You felt yourself grow even wetter at being exposed completely beneath him. He gripped your knees and pinned your legs open. You whined, clenching around nothing as he gazed at your wet folds.

Moving his gaze back to your face, he lowered himself to the floor until he was level with your pussy. He tightening his grip on your legs so you couldn't close them and leaned forward, sliding his tongue through your folds, making you gasp.

He grazed over your clit, your hips jumping in response to the sudden stimulation. You let your head fall back against the bed, letting him eat your cunt as he pleased. Opening his mouth as wide as he could, he wrapped his lips around your cunt. Your eyes rolled back as he sucked, the wet sounds of your juices only serving to turn you on more.

His tongue found your entrance, licking at your slit before pushing his tongue inside. You gasped, grappling at his hair for purchase.

He doubled back to your clit again, suckling on the bud as he introduced his fingers. He slid three in at once, drawing a moan from you.

The stimulation to your sweet spot and your clit had you hurdling towards release quickly. He fucked you with his fingers, feeling you clench around them as he worked your clit with his tongue. Your bud was swollen and sensitive, eager for release that he was more than willing to provide. He could taste how much sweeter your juices got the closer you grew until suddenly your body froze.

A long, high pitched moan left your lips as you came -- spasming around his long fingers as he diligently worked you through your high. You gushed around his fingers but he didn't case, continuing to fuck you with those digits until your juices were dripping down to his wrist.

It wasn't long before you were pushing him off, needing a breather from the stimulation. He pulled away, watching you close your thighs as you trembled through the last remnants of overstimulation.

You were so wet, the insides of your thighs coated with your cum and his saliva from where his mouth watered from your enchanting taste.

As you recovered, he stood up and shed himself of his final layer -- his boxers. He was finally completely bare to you and you couldn't help but sit up. He wrapped his hand around the base of his cock, giving himself a few good strokes to ease the arousal that had painfully built.

You shifted to sit on your knees, licking your lips as you reached out to wrap your own hand around him. His lashes fluttered as he released his own hold to wrap his fingers around your wrist. He was hard and hot, throbbing in your hand as his tip drooled precum. Your mouth suddenly felt dry and you had the urge to taste him.

Glancing up, you saw he had let his head fall back, losing himself in your touch. Leaning forward, you wrapped your lips around the tip of him. He hissed, eyes flying open as he snapped his head down to look at you. His teeth were clenched and you felt more precum drip onto your tongue and you whined.

He suddenly wrapped his hand in your hair and pulled your back, making you gasp.

"Lay back," he ordered and you hurriedly, scooted back until you laid comfortable in the pillows.

He crawled onto the bed and gripped beneath your knees, forcing your legs open . You bit your lip as your cheeks burned when he spread you obscenely open with your knees up to your ears.

Your cunt was spread open, vulnerable as his cock prodded your entrance. He met your gaze for a split second, waiting for you to stop him. When you didn't he buried himself into your tight heat in one swift stroke.

It burned and ached just as you thought it would; it was amazing.

"Go, please, fuck me," you begging when he paused, intending to let you adjust.

You wrapped your own arms around your legs, keeping yourself spread as he wanted. The sounds that emitted as he began to fuck you were lewd; the wet sound of your juices around his intruding cock and the sound your skin meeting every time he sunk into you.

You were still sensitive from your first orgasm that when he hit your sweet spot, it caused a tingle to run down your spine to your toes. Your mouth fell open in a silent moan; he was forcing you higher and higher onto your peak but you couldn't fall over. Without stimulation to your clit, you felt you would never cum.

However, when he dropped his body over you, meeting your lips in a heated kiss, you finally found release. He groaned as you tightened suddenly around him, trembling and latching onto him as you came around his cock.

He didn't slow, however, reaching down to find your clit. You cried out, your nails digging into his back as your orgasm was pushed higher and higher. You weren't able to come down, being forced to new heights until you were suddenly soaked in your juices.

Taehyung gasped, sitting back on his heels, keeping your thighs pinned open as you squirted around him -- soaking the bed beneath you, his thighs and your own. You whined, pushing him back so his cock finally popped free and you were left you stuttered, trembling mess.

He gave you a second until your body relaxed a bit before he pushed his cock back into you. You whimpered, eyes rolling back as he gave several more thrusts, sinking balls deep into you before he came.

His cum was hot as it filled you up and he let out soft whimpers of pleasure before finally pulling away.

Neither of you said or did anything beside shuffle to lay close together. He wrapped his arms around you and tucked you close against his chest, kissing the top of your head.

"There's something...you should probably know," he suddenly said, voice a little hoarse. You hummed, glancing up to look at him as he continued, "My kind...seahorses...we kind of...mate for life."

"Do you?" you raised a brow, feeling the inklings of exhaustion begin to prick at you.

"Mhm," he cleared his throat, "And I really am...sorry for leaving the way I did. I hope that you'll keep me around because now...you're it for me, _____."

You sat up and smiled, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips.

There was a soft scuffling noise from outside your door, making Taehyung jump. You sighed and pulled away from him, despite how he tried to keep you from going.

"What is it?" he asked, frowning.

"It's Tux," you mumbled, opening the door.

The cat ran in, taking a running leap onto the bed. As you closed the door, you heard a loud thump. Turning around, you found Taehyung on the floor, the sheet tangled around his legs.

"It's a cat!" he cried, pointing an accusatory finger at the cat who sat on your pillow licking his paw.

"Yes..." you mumbled, bending down to pick up your nightgown.

"Cats eat fish!" Taehyung whined.

You rolled your eyes, sliding your nightgown on, ignoring the slickness of his cum seeping down your thighs.

"Taehyung," you sighed, grabbing his arm to pull him up, "I promise Tux will not be able to eat you."

[egcdeath]

wrong place, wrong time

summary: a drunken mishap leads you to reconcile with someone from your past. (based off this prompt)

pairing: andy barber x reader 

word count: 2.1k

author’s note: this fic has been sitting in my drafts, half finished, for like months. i hope you enjoy!

warnings: extremely brief mention of cheating

“I just think things would be better if we… you know, saw other people,” Oliver explained through the phone. 

You sighed dejectedly into the microphone, before deciding to hang up, and aggressively tossing your phone onto the leather seat next to you. You’d already had a shit day at work, and you really didn’t think that you could handle all of this today. Especially considering that you were almost certain that there was the hint of a feminine giggle in the background of that call.

You’d been expecting this for a while, your relationship with Oliver had been falling apart- slowly but surely- for a few months now, and he was ‘working late’ way too many nights for you not to be the slightest bit suspicious. But it still hurt, you were now single, and you’d essentially wasted a precious year of your life with a douchebag who ended up leaving you anyway.

You pressed your foot on the gas, and began your drive back home, before telling yourself fuck it, and deciding to turn onto a side road so you could head to your local pub. 

-----

Several drinks later, you were extremely drunk. From that point on, everything was a bit of a blur.

You stumbled out of the bar (against your own will? You vaguely remember someone telling you that you needed to leave), sat in the back of an Uber (how much did you tell them? Probably too much), arrived at your home (but why weren’t your keys working?).

Things were a bit less blurry here. You can remember yourself repeatedly stabbing your keys into the door, and when that didn’t seem to work, deciding to hoist yourself over your fence, and get in through the back.

During this whole ordeal, you tripped over a seat on the patio, losing a shoe in doing so, and nearly fell into a pool, since when did my house have a pool? You ignored that thought, then opened the back door, getting in with no resistance. 

You hobbled inside, closed the door behind you, then stumbled up the stairs, before finally finding your (?) bedroom. You flopped down in bed before realizing that you really needed to pee, and as you went to go find your bathroom, everything seemed to go black. 

----

You woke up extremely disoriented in a vaguely familiar bathtub. It faintly smelled of pine, and possibly a hint of vanilla. The tub had a modern and sleek look, yet appeared to be as sterile as a hospital room. This was absolutely not your home. But it possibly belonged to someone you knew. The tiles lining the wall did seem to ring a bell somewhere deep in the foggy abyss of your hungover brain. 

As you sat up, you groaned due to the consistent pulsing in your head. This had to be one of the worst hangovers you’d had in a while, and you were lucky that you didn’t lean over and empty the contents of your stomach right that instant.

“Stupid fucking Y/N,” you whispered to yourself. “You’re lucky all of your organs are still intact.” After stating this, you glanced down at your torso just to make sure. But a larger question still remained, where were you? Did you hook up with someone? Did you just randomly break into someone’s home? That’s a little ridiculous. Who would do something like that?

Apparently, drunk you would. In the process of exiting the tub, you concluded that you absolutely were in someone elses' gargantuan of a home, and that that person was undoubtedly down the hall, taking a phone call. Also, you were definitely missing a shoe.

You glared at yourself in the mirror, smeared makeup on your face, hair that looked so frizzy that you may as well have been struck by lightning, and of course the overwhelming scent of dry liquor that seemed to be seeping out of your skin. You turned on the sink and splashed your face, trying to completely wake up, and to partially figure out if this was real life, or just a horrible dream. 

“Fuck!” you exclaimed out loud to yourself. How would you even get out of this situation alive? Perhaps you could find a window to jump out of. No, too dangerous. Hide in the bathroom until the man leaves? Well, everyone has to go to the bathroom at some point. Leave without being spotted? Mhm, very likely. Go talk to the homeowner? It doesn’t seem like you have any other option right now. You internally screamed at yourself for being so reckless, especially having gone through all of this drama for a guy who didn’t deserve one ounce of your attention.

You slipped off your remaining shoe, then slowly made your way out of the bathroom, peeking behind the doorway to see if the coast was clear, and trying to plan your explanation in the process. As you peered around, searching for the quickest and easiest exit, you realized just how familiar the home was. But what really did it for you was a painting on the wall. 

This was Andy Barber’s home. The same man you hooked up with a few times before ghosting. You sighed exasperatedly at your own poor decision making for what felt like the millionth time that morning.

You had to get the hell out of here. Fast. Lost shoe be damned.

You somewhat remembered the floor plan, so managing to get out unnoticed began to seem just a tad bit more possible. You began to jog it down the hall, trying not to be too heavy footed as you went, in the event that Andy was standing in the eyeline of one of the open doors. Unfortunately for you, in the midst of your beeline down the hall, you were spotted. 

“What the..? You know what Lynn, I’ll call you back in a bit.”

“I can explain! Don’t like… kill me or something. I promise you that this is just a big misunderstanding,” you were speaking without really processing anything that you were saying. You turned to face the man, and couldn’t help but to smirk a bit at the sight of him. You forgot just how attractive he was, with a full beard, fluffy hair, and soft blue eyes that seemed to be boring straight into your soul from across the room. Not to mention his sculpted body, which you swore you could make out beneath his sweatpants, and worn white shirt. Really, Y/N? First you ghost a man, break into his home a year later, and now you’re objectifying him? 

You moved towards the door and began to speak again, your words flowing out at a million miles per minute, “Uhm, so long story short, I basically got really drunk last night, and I thought your house was mine, so I kinda broke in. But I’ll be seeing myself out now,” You gave a curt smile, and looked towards the stairs. “Before I go, any chance that you’ve seen my left shoe somewhere around here?”

It was clear that Andy was very confused, but as you read his face, you could see that he was far more intrigued than angry. “Hey, not so fast.” He approached you quickly, his eyebrows lifting in surprise, and his mouth gaping open slightly. “No fuckin’ way. Y/N?”

You scratched the back of your head awkwardly and nodded, “yeah.” 

“You’re not getting off the hook that easily. Lucky for you, I was about to make breakfast, aaaand I’m not totally opposed to being joined,” he gave you a genuine smile, and a playful little shrug. 

“That’s fine with me but- this sounds kinda strange- can I use your shower first?”

“Go right ahead. Mi casa su casa, right? I mean, kinda sounds like that’s what you were thinking last night,” Andy peered at you inquisitively at this, “I’m just kidding. Feel free to use anything you need.”

You couldn’t even blame Andy for his passive aggression, but that didn’t stop you from sulking the whole way back into the bathroom.

----

“I forgot how good your water pressure is,” you announced while coming down the stairs, clad in a college hoodie that you’d found in the depths of Andy’s closet, and shorts that were just a tad too large for you.

“Thanks, I guess?” Andy flipped a pancake, then turned to get a good look at you. 

“You’re welcome. It smells so good down here,” you slipped into a barstool at his granite island, and observed him while he cooked, “so... you still live here alone?” You asked while you were passed a mug of coffee.

“Well, yeah. I mean that’s kind of what happens after your wife and son die.”

“Uhm.. sorry. For bringing that up again,” you glanced down awkwardly at your dark drink. 

“It’s okay, they’ve been gone for a while,” he sat down at his seat, setting down a plate of food for you and himself. “What’ve you been up to? Apart from breaking and entering, of course.”

“Ha ha, very funny,” you began, cutting into a syrup-soaked pancake. “You’re no saint either. I can’t think of anyone in their right mind who would gladly break bread with someone who drunkenly broke into their home.”

“That’s fair,” Andy stated, almost dismissively. “But it's not like we’re total strangers. We have history.”

You scoffed at this, “like hell we do,” you muttered. “Anyway, things with me have been pretty boring. Same job. I had a boyfriend, but he just dumped me like, 12 hour ago. I’m pretty sure that he’s been cheating on me for like, the past four months.”

“That sucks,” Andy commented, shoveling a piece of pancake into his mouth. 

“Yeah, it does. How about you?”

“You know, same old. Still an ADA, still getting messages from random people about that trial, and of course, still perpetually lonely.”

“By no means do I mean to impede, but maybe you’d be a little less lonely if you let people in,” you suggested, looking up from your food to Andy, whose face gave away the offense he was feeling, “I said maybe.”

“What do you mean?” He questioned, brows furrowing.

“Come on, Andrew. You know exactly what I mean. Like with us, I thought everything was going perfectly well, until I was half asleep and you were telling me that you weren’t ready to commit. Literally moments after you were balls-deep in me.”

“Don’t call me that, Y/N,” Andy squinted at you in agitation. “Is that why you stopped picking up my calls?”

“What do you think?”

He sighed softly, “If it’s any consolation, I’ve been trying to do better. I talk to a… counselor… every now and then. Everything’s just been different ever since they passed, you know? It’s hard to form connections after your most intimate ones disappear in the blink of an eye.”

You frowned a bit at the man, and set down your fork. “I get it. I’m sorry.”

“Do you, though? Get it?”

“Not really. I was just trying to be supportive,” you turned a bit in your seat to get a better view of Andy. “I just wonder if we had this conversation a year ago if you and I would be in a better position now. I really liked you a lot.”

Andy was silent for a moment, and observed you pensively. “Let’s try again, then. It seems like you and I both are ready for something new.”

“Oh Andy,” you rubbed the back of your neck anxiously. “I just got out of a relationship less than a day ago.”

“Then we can take this, whatever it might end up being, slow. It would be nice to have a friend around who doesn’t just want to talk about work, and tell me that they’re sorry for my loss.”

You nodded, “I’ll probably need a shoulder to cry on at some point sooner than later.”

“So... friends?”

“Friends,” you agreed with a smile and a lift of your shoulders. 

Part of you hoped that maybe, just maybe, this could be the start of something great.

[firetrucks-fastcars]

Indulgence

Summary: Carlos indulges one of TK's kinks. It turns out really well for them

Inspired by Ronen's tweet about Carlos putting TK in handcuffs

Rating: Explicit, read at your own risk

(seriously this is 2k words of filth)

Cross posted on ao3 here

Carlos Reyes was of the opinion that everything TK did was hot. TK looked hot fighting fires, but he also looked hot tying his damn shoes. It didn’t even matter what he wore. Carlos swore he could walk around wearing a trash bag and still make it work. 

He loved every version of TK but he was particularly partial to dressed up TK. There was something about his boyfriend in a suit that made his knees go weak. 

“You look so good,” Carlos praised as TK met him in the living room, reaching out to straighten his tie. Judd and Grace were hosting a small party at their house in celebration of their tenth wedding anniversary. They’d invited the entire crew, plus Carlos and Judd and Grace’s families. Grace had insisted that they all dress up, which led to suited up TK and drooling Carlos.

“Glad you like it,” TK leaned into his arms, leaning his chin on his chest. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

“Seriously babe, looking that good should be illegal.”

“Yeah? You gonna arrest me, officer?” TK nipped at his neck playfully.

“I don’t know,” Carlos flipped them around so that TK’s back was to his chest and he was gripping his wrists. “Is that something you’re into?”

TK made a noise in the back of his throat that he didn’t know he was capable of making and his body went limp, leaning back heavily against Carlos.

“Woah,” Carlos gently turned TK back to face him and cupped his cheeks. “Come back to me space cadet.”

TK’s pupils were blown and it took him a minute to refocus on Carlos.

“Sorry. I uh- I don’t know what happened.”

He tried to pull away but Carlos stopped him.

“Hey. It’s okay baby. Look we don’t have a lot of time,” Carlos glanced at the clock. “But I need you to answer me honestly. Is that something you’re seriously into? Is it something you want to try?”

“Yes.”

“Okay,” Carlos ran his hands up and down TK’s arms soothingly. “Here’s what’s gonna happen. We don’t have time to talk about this as much as we need to. So we’re gonna go to Judd and Grace’s party, and we’re gonna keep our hands to ourselves,” that bit was spoken as a warning. “Then when we get home we’re gonna have a real discussion about this and then we’ll decide together if it’s something we want to try. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good,” Carlos kissed TK”s temple. “Do you need a minute or are you good?”

“I’m good.”

“Okay, let’s get going before we’re late.”

Carlos kept one hand on TK’s thigh as he drove, partially as a grounding point for TK’s still wandering mind and partially as a promise of what was to come.

TK managed to control himself pretty well, at least better than Carlos thought he would. TK was clingy and touchy at the best of times, but especially when they were planning something -sexy-. A few times Carlos had had to pull TK’s hand away when in wandered too far up his leg and give his boyfriend a warning look. Most of the time that look could put him in his place, but sometimes TK liked to test his patience just to see how far he could go. 

After he removed TK’s hand for the fourth time in the middle of dinner he pushed his chair back and stood, “I’m gonna go get another drink.”

He discreetly motioned for TK to follow him and he did, not offering an explanation to everyone else at the table. 

Carlos walked in from the outside patio, going far enough into the house that it looked like he was headed for the kitchen, but out of the way where no one could see them.

He pushed TK against the wall, boxing him in with his arms. 

“Hi,” TK whispered.

“Hi. Baby, what did I tell you before we left?”

“Hands to myself.”

“You’re not doing a great job of that huh?”

“No.”

“You’re trying to get my attention aren’t you?”

TK nodded, pushing closer to get his arms around Carlos.

He returned the hug, rubbing up and down TK’s back.

“I know. I got you keyed up on accident before we came. So here’s my deal for you. If you can behave for the rest of the party, I’ll give you a treat when we get home. That sound good?”

TK nodded against his chest and Carlos shook his head, “Words TK.”

“Yes.”

“Okay good. Take a breath. Calm down.”

TK pulled away and leaned back against the wall, taking deep breaths.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize babe. It’s my fault too. We shouldn’t be here much longer. Just another hour, that’s all I’m asking”

“I can do it.”

“I know you can. Okay, let’s get drinks and get back out there before they come looking for us.”

TK nodded his agreement and they retrieved a glass of water for both of them along with a second glass of wine for Grace before rejoining the party. 

True to his word, they were only there for another hour before they began making their rounds and saying goodbye, telling anyone who asked that Carlos had a shift the next day and headed to the car.

TK was even more jittery on the way home and Carlos had barely put the car in park before TK was getting out and heading to the front door, fumbling with his keys. 

Carlos laughed at his eagerness and followed him, taking the keys from his hands, flipping it the right way around, and unlocking the door. 

“I was good right?”

“Of course you were. You want your prize?”

“Yes please.”

“Okay. Let’s go to the bedroom.”

Carlos led him up to their room and shut the door behind him. He began kissing up and down TK’s neck as he pushed his jacket off his shoulders and worked on unbuttoning his shirt.

“What’s my prize?”

“What’s your favorite thing in the world?”

“You?”

Carlos laughed, “Nice try. Besides that?”

“Uhh, I don’t know. I’m kinda blanking right now.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Carlos finished with his upper body and dropped to his knees, getting to work on TK’s pants. “I know you’re gonna love it.”

When TK was fully naked, he climbed on the bed while Carlos undressed.

“Lay on your belly,” he instructed as he climbed on the bed behind him.

He tapped the outside of his thigh and TK’s hips went up on instinct. Carlos spent a few minutes running his hands over the smooth skin of TK’s thighs, kissing and biting at his cheeks.

“Carlos,” he whined.

“What is it, baby?”

TK whined petulantly again, pushing his hips back.

“Do you want me to get on with it?”

“Yes.”

“You should have said something.”

Carlos spread TK’s cheeks with his hands then got to work. 

It took him less than five minutes to have TK moaning and shaking. 

“Carlos please.”

“Please what baby? You’ll get what you want if you can tell me.”

“I wanna cum.”

“Go ahead, baby.”

Like his body had been waiting for the command, no sooner than the words had left his mouth, TK was coming.

TK collapsed face-first on the bed and Carlos rolled him over gently, away from the dirty spot on the sheets. While TK was still out of it, he grabbed a cloth from the bathroom, soaking it in cool water, and used it to clean him off. 

TK whined and reached for him, pulling him down to cuddle with him. They dozed on and off for almost an hour before Carlos woke TK up to drink water and eat something. When he was more awake they changed the sheets then collapsed back into bed together.

“Pretty damn good prize,” TK complimented from his spot on Carlos’ chest.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“You didn’t get off.”

“I don’t need to,” Carlos kissed his head. “It was supposed to be about you.”

“Do you wanna talk now?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Okay go for it.”

“Do you really want me to use my cuffs on you?” “Yeah, I do.”

“Why?”

“I think it would be hot. You know I like it when you’re in control and I guess this is an extension of that. You’re completely in control of me. You’re in control of how much I can move,  if I can touch you. I like that.”

Carlos nodded thoughtfully, “Okay, but I have some conditions.”

“Okay.”

“Only one hand for now. Let’s just try it out and if you hate it it’s easier to get you out fast. If we both enjoy it we can work up to both hands.”

“I can live with that. Anything else?”

“No actual sex.”

“What?”

“Like I said I want to be able to get to you quickly if you don’t like it and I don’t want to hurt you pulling out too fast or something like that.”

“Okay, I guess that makes sense. Anything else?”

“No, I think that’s it. Actually, one more thing, do you want to plan out when we do it, or do you want to be surprised?”

“Surprise me.”

TK hoped that when he told Carlos to surprise him, he wouldn’t be waiting long. Luckily, he wasn’t.

Almost two weeks later he came home from work to find the house seemingly empty and a pair of keys on the coffee table next to a note instructing him to get undressed and come upstairs. 

He left his clothes folded neatly on the couch and proceeded to their bedroom clutching the keys.

Carlos was waiting for him on the bed, one side of the handcuffs already locked into place on the bed.

He pulled him in for a kiss, then gently maneuvered him onto the bed.

“Right arm.”

TK lifted his right arm and Carlos kissed his palm before putting his wrist into the cuff.

“Color?” he asked.

“Green.”

Carlos clicked it into place and TK gave it an experimental tug. It wasn’t tight enough to hurt, but if he pulled hard enough the metal bit into his skin.

“That feel okay?”

“Green,” TK answered again.

Carlos gave him another kiss on the lips before slowly trailing kisses down his neck and chest.

TK wasn’t sure when he had gotten fully hard, but his body was certainly into what was happening. 

Carlos took him in hand, giving him a few gentle strokes before taking the head into his mouth. He stroked the base with a tight grip as he sucked lightly on the first few inches of his cock, flicking his tongue the way TK liked.

“Shit,” TK’s left hand threaded into Carlos’ hair but Carlos pulled off, pushing his hand down on the bed.

“Keep your hand down.”

TK whimpered but didn’t give him any other sign that he was uncomfortable so he resumed what he was doing. 

He switched it up after a few minutes, taking him all the way down, which made TK jerk, handcuffs rattling uselessly against the bed frame.

Carlos hadn’t realized what a turn on it was for him. He knew he liked being dominant and in control, but he hadn’t realized he’d be into rendering TK completely submissive. This was an interesting development for both of them. 

He knew the signs that TK was getting close, his breathing had picked up and he was whining more than moaning at that point, so he decided to speed things up.

He pulled himself off of TK’s cock and moved so that he was hovering over him, one hand supporting his body, the other reaching between them to take both of their dicks in hand. 

Precum and spit made it easier as he jerked them off at a brutal pace, trying to catch up to TK.

TK turned his head to bite at Carlos’ bicep, knowing it would leave a mark. 

“I’m close,” he moaned against the skin of his arm.

“Me too baby. Whenever you’re ready.”

A few more strokes of his hand had TK spilling between them, Carlos following soon after.

Carlos gently lowered himself down on top of TK. They laid there for a few minutes, him rubbing TK’s side and TK’s hand in his hair until his brain cells came back online.

He rolled over and grabbed the keys from the nightstand. He unlocked TK and kissed the faint red mark on his skin, rubbing to make sure the circulation to his hand hadn’t been cut off.

He sat TK up and encouraged him to drink some water while he got them both cleaned up. When he came back, he downed his own bottle of water and they split a power bar between them as they curled up under a blanket. 

“Thoughts?” Carlos asked, stroking his hands through the sweaty mess of TK’s hair.

“So fucking good.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah.”

“So that’s something you want to try again?”

“Hell yeah.”

“Good. Me too.”

TK slumped against him, leaning up to kiss his jaw.

“You’re amazing. Thank you for indulging my weird kinks.”

“If they all turn out like that, I’ll indulge whatever you want.”

[im-hqlover]

Dinosaur Trainer - Chapter 1 - A great opportunity?

A/n - Oh, hey guys! I finally managed to write something, uhul! And now a new fanfic! I decided to write this because I already searched the entire internet for Owen Grady x Reader, and I think I’ve read practically all fanfics xD So, I decided to write my own! I hope it looks good and you like it! See you at the end of the chapter =D

(none of the images used on the aesthetic belong to me, credit to their creators)

Synopsis: Y/n has a quiet life in Montreal, works as a waitress and works as a volunteer in an animal shelter. In what appeared to be just a normal day, one of your friends comes with great news about an unmissable job opportunity... be a dinosaur trainer. What could go wrong?

Warnings: Killer dog mentions, take sleeping pills, thoughts of possible death by dinosaur, possible english errors. 

Pairing: Owen Grady x Reader

Y/n = Your name

Words count: 4232

Next chapters: Coming soon

Taglist: ( @sarcasmismyfirstlove​ I don't know if you want to be just part of the taglist for AM / RAU, or for DC fanfics, or for all my fanfics, so let me know)

If you want to be part of my taglist, please let me know!

Y/N's INFO:

Gender: Cis-Female

Sexuality: Straight 

Height: Short 

Weight: Not Defined 

Skin Color: Not Defined 

Hair Color: Not Defined 

Eyes Color: Not Defined

Other details? Y/n is myopic

(I hope I have put all the information, let me know if i forgot something)

=-=-=-=-=

5:30 am - Thursday, July 19, 2012 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada. - 18˚C

The sun's rays started to appear slowly, starting to illuminate the city and consequently my room, but it wasn’t necessary the sun or my alarm clock to wake me up, because in a way my body had already gotten used to waking up at that time. I don't even know why I keep putting my phone on to wake up since I always wake up before, but that's not important.

I got up quickly from my bed when I saw the time on the cell phone, I then went to my wardrobe and grabbed my waitress uniform, my underwear and a bath towel, of course. 

I took a hot shower, but tried not to take too long; as soon as I dried my body, I put the towel on the laundry basket, I put on my underwear and my skirt, but before I put on my shirt I took the dryer and dried my hair until it was not soaked, otherwise my uniform would be completely wet, comb my hair quickly and tie it in a bun, I put my shirt on, I brushed my teeth and then took one last look in the mirror, observing my appearance, I think I was fine. 

Leaving the bathroom, I go to my wardrobe again, but now to get a jacket, since at that time outside it was still kind of cold, and in addition I took a spare suit and put it in my brown cross bag. I went to the nightstand and took out my cell phone, putting it in my bag too, so when I left my room, I saw that Kodi was lying on my couch.

- Kodi! Get off the couch, now! - I command when I approach the couch, and he gets up quickly leaving the place. 

I went to the pantry and picked up the packet of food, and then filled the Kodi bowl that didn't take long to start eating. I filled his other bowl with water too and then I wash my hands after I pet him, I grab the keys that were on the key holder on the wall near the door. 

- Bye Kodi, I'll be back at night. - After saying goodbye to my dog, I go out into the building's corridor and close the door to my apartment.

I walked down the corridor until I reached the elevator, and as always it was empty, not that it was a problem, since I preferred it when it was empty. I pressed the button to get to the ground floor, grab my cell phone and see that it was already 6:03, I had 27 minutes to get to work. It didn't take long for the elevator to reach the hall, I got out and walked the big carpet that led to the entrance/exit door of the building, and when I get there the doorman opens the door for me.

- Bonjour. - I greet him before going through the door. 

- Bonjour mademoiselle. - He reciprocates with a smile, when I go out I take the earphones from my bag and connect them on my cell phone, putting the song It's time - Imagine Dragons, and so I leave towards the subway, the path was smooth, there weren't as many people on the streets as there were last week, but there was already considerable car movement. 

I look around me, seeing the sunlight reflecting the various buildings, houses, trees, and everything that was there, leaving everything as if it looked like a beautiful painting. I give a little delighted sigh, no matter how much I walk there every day, the way the sun reflected differently each day left that path in such an incredible way, that made me always want to make a painting of it, well, who knows, maybe someday. 

In less than 10 minutes I arrive at the subway station, going down the stairs and then going through the turnstile, I didn't have to wait long for the subway to arrive, because in almost two minutes it was already there.

I get into the blue car and realize that there were already some people over there, however there were still several empty seats, but I decided to stand up since I knew that in 5 minutes I would reach my point, so it was not worth having to sit.

Tonight Tonight - Hot Chelle Rae was playing when the subway stopped, and I got out of the car as several people got in, some bumping into me, but nothing more than normal. 

I walked up the stairs until I reached the surface again, looking at my cell phone, 6:23, I had 7 minutes to get to work, so I started to walk faster, lucky for me that the path to the cafeteria I worked in was about 5 minutes from the subway, so I managed to get there in time. The cafeteria had its door open when I arrived, but the front sign still said it was closed, so staff could get ready before customers arrived. 

- Good morning y/n! - One of my colleagues, Lilly, who was at the counter greeted me as soon as I passed her.

- Good Morning. - I replied as I passed the employees' entrance so I could get to my closet and leave my belongings there, and also pick up my apron. 

The apron as well as the rest of my uniform had a brownish tone that reminded me of coffee, I put it on and looked at myself in the mirror, fixing it so it wouldn't be bent, and as soon as I finished I did a quick tidy up of my hair that was messed up by the wind. 

Leaving the staff area, I go to the counter, and notice that the sign on the door was turned, announcing that the cafeteria was open, so it was likely that some customers would come soon. 

The cafeteria I worked for wasn't a franchise, and it wasn't the most famous in town either, but here in the neighborhood a lot of people liked to come here, have coffee, eat some sweet food, read some book, talk to coworkers, relax, and anything else that normal people do in a coffee shop. 

But I must say that lately the cafeteria hasn’t been very busy, and maybe the reason is that it was summer, and not everyone liked to drink coffee in the heat, so the period that would be considered the busiest would be in the morning, which is when people normally have breakfast. 

I took a pencil and put it in my ear, curling it in a few strands of hair so it wouldn't fall out, I took my notepad to take orders, and I was leaning on the counter, talking to some colleagues while there was no customer to attend, and I took advantage and made myself a coffee because I hadn't had anything since I woke up.

The day passed quietly, nothing much, just another ordinary day serving customers, talking to those who were the most frequent, taking a break for lunch, and then going back to work until 03:30 pm, and when I finished my work, I took all my things and went to the subway, but not to go home, because my work was still far from finished. 

I work as a volunteer in an animal shelter, I give them food, water, baths, brush hair, play with them, and also what I do most is training the dogs. 

When I started at the shelter about three years ago I only took care of the basics, but one day when I was just playing with an elderly dog, one of my colleagues saw what I was doing and asked me how I managed to teach a trick to an old dog, and I just shrugged, because I didn't know exactly what to say, it was like training a trick for any dog for me, I just had to be more patient, but I didn't think that was an impossible task, but for many, teaching tricks to elderly dogs was a lost cause. 

Since that day, my colleagues have talked to me with some professional trainers who have given me more in-depth instructions to help me train other dogs too, in addition to teaching me necessary things like animal behavior and other things, of course I had learned several things, but in a way I was more of an amateur who liked to understand dogs and train them, but after three years of doing that, I kind of became a dog trainer, something I never really thought I would ever become.

When I arrived at the shelter I realized that it was almost 4:00 pm. I opened the glass door, and the receptionist said good afternoon, and I responded by saying the same. I walked to the bathroom so I could change my clothes, putting on denim shorts that went up to about half of my thigh, and a dark red shirt with a sunflower print, I also applied a deodorant, and then I put everything in my bag and left the bathroom, going in the direction of the cabinets that served to store the employees' belongings, and so I put my bag there. 

Leaving there, I went to the big patio, where there were some people visiting to maybe adopt a dog, there were some colleagues of mine who were talking to customers, others bathing some dogs, some chasing dogs that were fleeing the bath, and so on. As soon as I got there, some dogs came to greet me, and I bent down to pet them. When I went to the pantry to get some snacks, Emy, one of my colleagues, and also one of my friends, came up to me and started talking with her usual animation.

- Hey y/n! How are you?

- Hi Emy, I'm fine, how are you? - I start looking for the snacks, while Emy kept talking. 

- I'm great! Mainly because I have great news for you! - I quickly turn to face her, before continuing to look for the dog cookies. 

- What kind of news? 

- You remember Dusty, don't you? The Rottweiler you saved. 

- Yes of course. The good news is that he was adopted? - I find the big canine cookie jar and turn around, facing Emy, and then looking at the dogs around me, just waiting for me to give them some cookies. 

- Oh, no. Unfortunately nobody was interested in adopting him, you know, his reputation as a killer dog is still around, so people don't have much courage to even get close to him. 

- But… so what's the good news? - I open the cookie jar, taking out one and looking at the dogs in front of me, motioning for them to sit. 

- Well, I told a friend of mine the story of how you managed to tame the dog that nobody thought would be able to become tame. - I nodded for her to continue talking. - And he was impressed with that and wants to meet you in person, to know about your skills, and who knows to offer a special job for you. 

- Special job? What kind of special job? - I threw some cookies at those who sat down. 

- Do you know Simon Masrani? 

I stood for a while thinking about the name, I must have heard of that name, actually in the surname, but I couldn't remember who that could be. And while thinking about it, one of the dogs jumped in my hand to get the cookie, but I managed to dodge it before he could get it.

- Hmm, I think I've heard of it, but I don't know who it is. 

- Well, Simon owns Jurassic World, you know, the dinosaur zoo. - I nodded my head. Of course I had heard about the famous dinosaur park, who doesn't know? It's like talking if you've heard of Disney parks, you may never have been there, but you know it exists. 

- Yes, the dinosaur park. 

- Well, he told me that he is looking for new dinosaur trainers, and that's when I commented about you, and he believes that you can serve for the job. - I stood there, looking at Emy. 

- Are you serious?

- Of course, it's the purest truth, I swear.

- You know, it's not just because I managed to tame Dusty that it means that I can train a dinosaur. 

- I know that training a dinosaur has nothing to do with a dog, but Simon Masrani himself says that you can be the person he is looking for! And y/n, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity!

- No, no, no, no way. Dinosaurs were a mistake and it is impossible to train them. A dog is already difficult to train, now, a dinosaur?! A being that can make you into pieces in seconds? No, no way, I can't do that. - I motioned for the dogs to spin, and just like before, for those who succeeded I gave them a snack. 

- Okay, okay. I know that, but you can at least try, can't you? I mean, what do you have to lose? 

- Huh, my life, maybe?

-… Okay, maybe you're right, but who said you would train a carnivore? It may be an herbivore. 

- If he became interested in me because I tame a killer dog, I am almost 100% sure that it is for something dangerous, that is, a carnivore.

- Okay, but there's a problem…

- What problem?

- I already told him that this weekend you would travel there to see if you would accept the job. 

I turn to face her, and I can feel the anger rising in me, but I try to stay calm. 

- You... did what?

- Y/n, I thought you would accept that, you always say that you love training dogs, especially the most difficult ones, so I thought you would like this challenge. 

- But how can you say that I would go there without even warning me first??

- I'm warning you now.

I close my eyes, taking a deep breath, trying to stay calm. 

- Dinosaurs aren't dogs.

- Y / n, I'm sorry I didn't warn you, but do you think about the opportunity you would have? How many people would like to have this job? 

- And why are you trying to convince me to accept this? What do you get with it? 

-...

- Emy, what do you get out of it? What is the purpose of this? The life is mine, and I am perfectly fine with my life here and my job.

- I know this is going to sound stupid... but... I wanted to have this job, but I can't, because not only do I know nothing about dinosaurs, as I suck at how to train an animal, so I wanted to refer someone I knew so that if it worked… Simon would be happy with me, and I don't know, maybe I would get closer to him. 

I soften my expression, I already knew that Emy was interested in a guy who was very close to her, but that she thought she would never be able to be with him, and I remember her very well saying that she was getting too old to have a boyfriend, and that as a single mother her chances fall even more, and among many other dramas of her, and then I told her that I would help to stay with him, and now she's talking about the Simon Masrani, I'm pretty sure it's him she's interested in. 

I didn't know exactly what to say, so I was thinking for a few seconds, I remembered when I met Nathan, and that if it weren't for Emy I would never have stayed with him, even though he have moved and we broke up, in a way, I owed Emy.  

I take a deep breath, I look at the dogs that are still there, waiting for the next order, and then I look at my friend and say. 

- Okay, I can maybe give it a try. 

- Oh really? - The smile comes back to stamp her face. 

- But I can't promise anything. 

- Ah this is amazing!! - Before I could react, Emy hugs me tightly, not letting me breathe. 

- I… am… out of breath. - I say and she walks away from me, and take a deep breath looking for oxygen. 

- I'm just going to do this, because I owe you one. 

- Do you owe me? Owing what? 

- You helped me stay with Nathan, I think it's fair to try to help you stay with Simon. - I shrug, and then I realize that when Emy hugged me, several cookies had fallen and some dogs went there to eat. 

- Thanks y/n. I'm sure you will do well there.

- I hope so. - And so we finished our conversation, she going to who knows where, and I continued with the training of the dogs and taking care of them until the sun started to disappear on the horizon, meaning that it should be more than 08:00 pm. 

As it started to get dark I go to the closet and grab my backpack where all my belongings were, I put the bag on my left shoulder and then say goodbye to my colleagues, leaving right afterwards in the direction of the subway. 

The whole way back home I listened to music, which helped me a little bit to reduce stress, I couldn't stop thinking about Jurassic World, and how crazy it all was and that would probably it would be my death, as I was sure that being around dinosaurs wouldn't be a good idea.  

And speaking of dinosaurs, I also couldn't stop thinking about a work school of Hailee, my ex-boyfriend's daughter, that I helped her do, which was about dinosaurs, where she had to make a model of her favorite dinosaur, but she couldn't decide between 6 dinosaurs which one was her favorite, so we did what we called the "Mini Jurassic World", with all of her favorite dinos.

I smile a little when I remember that, I will not deny that I missed Nathan and Hailee, but there was nothing I could do, Nathan had to move because he had got an unmissable job opportunity, and at the time I was very busy with Dusty, and I couldn't leave him when the training was finally starting to work, we knew that a long distance relationship wouldn't work, so we had to break up.

When I realized I was already at the door of the building, looking at my cell phone I see that the path took almost 50 minutes, nothing more than normal. I open the glass door and clean my shoes before walking to the elevator, entering I press number 8 and the doors close, even if it didn't take long for the elevator to go up, and even though I use it every day, I can't help feeling cold in my stomach every time. 

The metal doors of the elevator opened, giving me relief that I had no problem. As I walked down the corridor I rummaged in my backpack for my keys, and as soon as I found them I put the silver key in the door lock, that in a few seconds was opened and when I went in I ended up being knocked over by Kodi, who jumped on me and licked my face.

- Kodi! No! No licking! - I chuckle while taking him away from me and then wiping my face and getting up.  

- Come Kodi, inside. - I order and he obeys me entering the apartment and I lock the door again. 

Before anything else I put water and food for Kodi since he was done with everything, and even before I finished adding the ration he was already devouring it. After I saved the dog food pack, 

I went to my room to get comfortable clothes and a bath towel, I took my cell phone too and put it on Youtube so I could listen to some music while taking a shower. I was so engrossed in the music and lost in my thoughts that I spent almost half an hour in the shower, at least I was a little more relaxed. After I got dressed I went to the kitchen and started preparing some pasta and sauce for my dinner. 

While waiting for the pasta to be ready I turned on my TV, passing through the channels I stopped at random one, since there was nothing going on that interested me. I lay for a while on the couch, with Kodi lying on the floor beside me, until my cell phone rings meaning it was time to finish dinner. 

I walked to the kitchen, added tomato sauce to the pasta, and waited a few minutes until it was ready, putting a quantity of the food on my plate, I also go to the fridge and get a piece of fried chicken that was left over from yesterday and put it in the microwave to heat it up. 

As soon as it was ready, I put it on my plate with the pasta, I go back to the fridge taking a bottle of coke and a glass from the cupboard, putting both on the table, but I had to go back to get a fork and a knife because I had forgotten. 

Dinner was quiet, with only the low sound of the television and the occasional sound of Kodi's paws in the background. 

- Hey Kodi. - I called him and he raised his head to look at me. - I have a new job opportunity… to train dinosaurs, but... I don't know, I don't know if I should do this or not, because, first of all, they are dinosaurs! You know, I always thought it was a bad idea for us humans to bring them back to life, I mean, it's an extraordinary thing for science, and I can't say that dinosaurs aren't fascinating but… they are dangerous! if this Simon was impressed with me why I managed to train Dusty, something tells me it’s not to train a tame herbivore, but a dangerous carnivore. Second, I have no idea how to deal with dinosaurs! I don't even know anything about them, I have no training in dealing with animals! I just… I think I was lucky to have managed to train Dusty, and I don't think I can deal with a prehistoric being just because I have tamed a killer dog. 

Kodi looked at me, paying attention to what I was saying, I sigh. 

- I wish you could talk so you could help me. - I support my head in one of my hands, watching my half-eaten plate of food, starting to cool. - I don't know what I do.

Kodi places his cold snout on my right foot, he always, whenever I felt nervous, anxious, worried, or any other feeling of distress, he always put his snout on my foot. 

I didn't even notice when a tear ran down my cheek, I was scared, that's what I was, scared and insecure. Fear that training with a dinosaur would end up killing me, and insecure that if I get this job, I won't be able to domesticate this dinosaur, and thus end up disappointing everyone. This job really was a great opportunity, but would it be worth it? Could I do that?

I decide it would be better to finish eating my food before it gets cold, and as soon as I'm done, I wash the plate, cutlery and glass, leaving them on the drying rack. I take a plastic pot from a drawer and then put the leftover pasta in the pan, placing it in the refrigerator so that it can heat up the next day. 

I go to the bathroom, brush my teeth and do my necessities, after washing my hands I go to the kitchen where I left my cell phone and I pick up it, going to my room and putting it on the nightstand, plugging it into the charger. I hear footsteps and see that Kodi came to my room and lay down on his bed that was next to my bed. 

- Good night, Kodi. - He growls slightly in response, and then I lie down laying the blankets over me, but to my unhappiness I was unable to sleep, even though I had used up all my energy. I sigh in lament, and I see on my cell phone and it was almost 00:00, that is, if I slept now I would have a maximum of 5:30 sleep, but I knew I wouldn't sleep now, so I rolled over in bed because it was better than looking at the ceiling.

When sleep hasn't come and I see on my cell phone that half an hour has passed, I get up from bed,  which caused Kodi to get up too and follow me. I walk around my small apartment arriving at the kitchen where I kept my medicines and I made myself take sleeping pills. I just hoped I could wake up with the alarm clock and not be late for work.

- Come on Kodi, let's sleep. - I say while gesturing for us to go back to the room, and he followed me quietly.

=-=-=-=-=

A/n - Hello again! I don’t know if it got really good, because I kind of didn’t completely get out of my block, but I hope it looks good.

I know Jurassic World itself hasn't appeared yet, and neither does Owen, but I ask you to be patient, because I like to (try) write things more "in detail" and not so fast so that things make more sense and to try to bring a greater immersion into the story (I don't know if I'm doing it, but I'm trying my best), but I already plan to do the second chapter in Jurassic World, so just have a little patience.

Also, also, this week I will be without class for the whole week!!! UHULLL!!! This means that I will have some time to write some things...

I hope you enjoyed, and please let me know if this has any english error.

By the way, tell me which dinosaur do you think y/n will be a trainer, and believe me, I can surprise you with the answer ;)

Until the next chapter!

- Ina -

Masterlist

[larryfanficwriter98]

Chapter Thirteen

-The missing/wrong lyrics are on purpose-

-Warnings: Heavy oral smut ahead-

Louis woke up the next day to a loud alarm ringing in his ear. He groaned rolling over to grab his phone and turned it off.

"What was that?"

"My alarm. I have work in two hours." Louis mumbled rubbing his face with his hand

"Want me to make you breakfast while you shower?"

"No baby you rest." Louis said

"I'll make breakfast." Harry said wrapping his arms around Louis' waist, "you can wear my clothes, you always look so good in them."

"You only say that because you like me wearing your clothes." Louis said grinning

"Not my fault you look so good in them. Go shower, I know how you like your morning showers."

"You okay?" Louis asked instead of getting up

"Emotionally exhausted." Harry said snuggling his face into Louis' neck, "are you coming back after work?"

"I can. Do you want me to?"

"Of course. I always want you here."

"Okay. Well before I come back the lads and I have plans to talk about living plans."

"Why?" Harry asked

"Our yearly lease is over in May and with Zayn and Liam getting married they already told us they want to live on their own. Niall and I can afford the place just fine without them, but it's a bit big for only us two lads plus Niall mentioned moving to a flat a few times. We just need to sit down and talk and make plans. I'm fine either way. If we all move out I'll need to start looking though obviously."

"You can move in with me." Harry said Louis looked at him and Harry grinned

"What? Harry, we've only been together for five months."

"So? We'll be together eight months by May and that's a good time to move in together. At least just think about it and if Niall can't find a place in time he can stay here as well. I have the room. You guys don't need to worry about finding a place in two months especially with the wedding coming up. They have enough to worry about. Just mention it today."

"I'll tell them and we will talk about moving in together when it gets closer to the time. For now, I need to get showered and dressed." Louis said pressing a kiss to Harry's forehead before he climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

Harry climbed out of the bed and got dressed then went to a guest bathroom to brush his teeth and have his morning wee. He then headed downstairs and started a simple breakfast of pancakes and sausage. When Louis got out of the bathroom and picked some pants and one of Harry's sweaters from the closet. After finishing his morning routine he headed to the bedroom and noticed Harry's phone on the bedside table going off so he grabbed it along with his phone, wallet, and keys then headed downstairs.

"Hey, baby your phone was going off." Louis said entering the kitchen sliding the phone to Harry who was placing three pancakes and two sausage links on a plate.

"Oh, who was it?"

"I didn't check." Louis said shrugging as he took the plate, "Thanks, baby." Louis stood at the island and grabbed the syrup pouring it on his pancakes as Harry stood beside him.

"So why exactly did they want bad PR?" Louis asked as he stood outside holding Harry's hand in his right hand and a cigarette in his left hand.

"Nobody cares when you're boring." Harry said with a shrug.

He was inside leaning against the wall so he was able to hold Louis' hand not wanting to let go just yet. Also, Louis smoking was hot to him even though he never cared for smokers. At first, he had been afraid seeing Louis smoke would be gross and a complete turn-off, but it has in fact made him breathless the first time he saw it in Florida in his back patio. Louis had been with Liam and Zayn, all three of them smoking after breakfast as they talked and laughing about something while he and Niall had watched them and played the guitar together. Since then Harry always joined them outside just to watch Louis, the only smoker who didn't make Harry want to puke.

"Is that so?" Louis asked snorting

"That's what they believe. I'm always in some type of tabloid." Harry said rolling his eyes, "besides they think you're too...mature for my audience."

"Ah, so it's me not being Disney approved." Louis said grinning as he looked at Harry

"Say it how you want. They were going to find something somehow and you just made it easy for them." Harry said watching Louis nod as he took a drag from the cigarette. The smoke leaving his lips a few seconds later, "but it doesn't matter because I wouldn't have you any other way."

"Well, that's good." Louis said looking at Harry, "I have to get going though." Louis said putting the butt out on the bottom of his shoe like usual then turned to Harry.

"Okay. I'll see you later today, don't forget to mention what I offered to the lads earlier." Harry said pulling Louis to him so he could kiss him against his lips that smelled and taste like cigarettes. Which definitely should have been a complete turn-off and make him want to puke everywhere, but since it was Louis it made him want more.

He splayed his hand across Louis' lower back and leaned further in to deepen the kiss which Louis immediately returned. Louis' hands slid up his torso to his hair where they immediately tangled in the long curly strands. Harry stepped back a few steps pulling Louis inside before he was pushing him gently against the wall where his hand slid around his waist and the other one slid down to his thigh lifting him up easily. Louis wrapped his legs around Harry's waist and tighten his hold in his hair as he held back a moan as he felt Harry press him against the wall and felt him pressed his body against his as their to gues danced calmly against each other.

"Harry I really have to go to work." Louis said pulling away

"Just call off."

"I can't. Put me down." Harry whined but did as told setting Louis down on his feet, "I love you. I'll text you when I can."

"I love you too." Harry said cupping his face to kiss him, "drive safe, have fun, if you need anything call me. If it's late probably just do pizza or take out tonight." Harry said

"That's fine. I'll pick up a pizza on the way here. Text me your toppings. Bye." One last kiss before Louis was out the door and getting in his car putting the cigarette butt in his car ashtray before he started the car. He waved at Harry before backing out and leaving to head to the Daycare.

《》《》《》《》《》《》《》

Weeks passed and at first, Louis had thought Harry wasn't as affected by the millions of tabloids, but Louis figured out that wasn't true. Harry stayed inside most days, only leaving when absolutely necessary and he didn't want to do anything that would bring attention to him. Harry stayed home and cooked and waited for Louis to come over. Louis was getting hay fever as he had decline pub night three times already and it was starting to irritate him. Louis got off early and came straight to Harry's house and headed upstairs to Harry's room to drop his weekend bag off before he looked for Harry. He pushed the door open gently and frowned when he saw Harry lying in bed. He walked over and saw Harry's MacBook was opened to Twitter and he didn’t have to read more than two tweets to know Harry had been secretly reading hateful tweets about him canceling the tour and not addressing it. Louis grabbed the MacBook and closed the app then saw the webpage opened to tabloids about him. He shook his head as he closed the MacBook then stepped outside to the patio connected to Harry's room. He sat down and pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. After his cigarette, he went inside and laid behind Harry spooning him from behind. Harry was always the big spoon when they cuddled so Louis had to wait for Harry to fall asleep to be the big spoon. Louis shifted until he was comfortable closing his eyes as he traced threw butterfly on Harry's covered stomach.

"You only get half of the story

The cash, and the cars, and the glory

Cause nobody cares when you're boring

He's just like you

Even though his problems

Look nothing like yours do

He gets sad too

And when he's down he needs

Somebody to talk to

He feels the same as you do

Same stress, same shit to go through

He's just like you

If you only knew."

Louis sang softly before he kissed the back of Harry's neck, he knew Harry was awake, woke up when Louis started tracing his stomach. But if Harry didn't want to talk them Louis wouldn't make him.

"You say to me your jeans don't fit

You don't feel pretty and it’s hard to miss

I wish that you could see my point of view

As someone staring back at you

On Friday night when we're all out

I turn to you and you're looking down

And you don't wanna dance,

I know you love to dance

You would never stop given half the chance

Just keep your head up, Love

Don't hide away, don't ever change

Keep your head up, Love

Don't look away

Cause everybody's looking at you now

My, oh, my

I guess some queens don't need a crown

And I know why

Even when your tears are falling down

Still somehow

You're perfect now."

Louis grinned as Harry rolled over onto his back and looked at Louis with tear-filled eyes and a soft smile. Louis pushed some hair away from Harry's face as his hand held his head up.

"You never do, but if you asked me to

I'd tell the truth lying next to you

Cause you're the only one

When its said and done

That makes me feel like being someone

Good to you, even at your worst

You steal the scene and it's unrehearsed

Don't you wanna dance, just a little dance

I would never stop given half the chance

Just keep your head up, Love

Don't hide away, don't ever change

Keep your head up, Love

Don't look away

Cause everybody's looking at you now

My, oh, my

I guess some queens don't need a crown

And I know why

Even when your tears are falling down

Still somehow

You're perfect now

Every insecurity like a neon sign

As bright as day

If you knew what you were to me

You would never try to hide away

Cause everybody's looking at you now

My, oh, my

I guess some queens don't need a crown

And I know why

Even when your tears are falling down

Still somehow

You're perfect now."

Louis made to wipe away every tear that escaped Harry's eyes as he sang soft and gentle. When Louis couldn't think of anything else to add he leaned down and kissed Harry softly on the lips surprised when Harry held him there slipping his tongue into his mouth. He was even more surprised when Harry rolled them over so he was on top of Louis between his parted legs.

It wasn't their first time in this position by any means, Harry and Louis have rubbed off on one another like teenagers more than enough times to be familiar with this position. Harry has even ventured to palming him over his pants as they snogged heavily. However, whenever Louis would try to return the groping Harry's body language would change immediately.

So Louis just pretended his path was just to his ass or thigh since those were safe areas. Harry never wanted Louis to go anywhere near his cock to put it simply. Louis didn't understand why, but he respected it of course, and would wait for Harry to be more comfortable around him. Louis groaned when Harry rolled his hips down perfectly against his, he could feel Harry's fingers under his shirt on his stomach where Harry loved to grab his stomach pouch.

At first, Louis absolutely hated it, but then Harry spent an hour putting love marks all over his stomach when Louis was napping. Since Louis came to love feeling Harry's large hand grab his stomach, his nails sending a jolt of pleasurable pain through his body. His stomach always had possessive bruises in the shape of Harry's fingers now

Louis helped Harry take his shirt off then he went about removing Harry's shirt quickly groaning when his hands were able to run along his bare torso. Louis so lost in Harry that he was taken by surprise when he felt Harry's large hand slide from his stomach to where his button and zipper were.

"Harry-"

"Please. I just..I want to." Harry said pulling just far enough away to look him in the eyes. He nodded before he pulled Harry down to kiss him again.

Harry's hand was already working on the button and zipper before he grabbing and pulling down with breaking the snog. He pulled as far down as their bodies let them without pulling away then he put his foot on them and pushed them down with his feet and Louis' help. His hands trailed up his leg feeling his thighs and squeezing them before they went on his hips feeling them as their tongues tangled with the others. Harry's hand kept trailing from his stomach to his hips to his thighs then back up.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked suddenly pulling away go look at Louis with worry evident in his eyes. Louis smiled softly, nodding as his hand cupped Harry's cheek.

"I'm fine. Are you okay?" Louis asked

"Yeah. I'm fine." Harry said smiling softly then they kissed soft and slow as Harry's hand rubbed his stomach. "I adore this part of you. It's just so lovely."

"My little pooch?" Louis asked with a laugh

"Your pooch is adorable. I love it." Before Louis could tell him he was a dork Harry's mouth was suddenly on his neck making Louis groan.

He moved his head back to give Harry more room as he mouthed his neck finding Louis' most sensitive spot pretty fast. Louis' fingers tightened in Harry's hair and his breath got caught in his throat as Harry started to focus there with tongue and teeth. Louis whined, his hand tightening in his hair and his nails digging into Harry's back as Harry's sucked and bit him suddenly. He barely registered when his large hand finally grabbed his cock and started to slowly pump him with his large hand, his wrist twisting at the head expertly.

"Fuck Harry." Louis said breathlessly then Harry moved down to his nipple and Louis groaned as he mouthed at them and teased them. His free hand made sure to focus on the one his mouth wasn't paying attention to while his other hand didn't stop jerking him off using the precum as lube. Then right when Louis wasn't paying attention anymore he suddenly felt a wet tongue lick from his balls then up the underside of his cock to his head. Louis threw his head back as his hips thrust up at the unexpected feeling.

"Harry you don't have to do this baby. Just come back up here and- fuck." Louis groaned when Harry's lips wrapped around Louis’s head and his tongue licked and danced over his slit. Harry then went took Louis as far down as he could before Louis was just shy of hitting the back of his throat. Harry moaned around his cock sending vibrations through Louis making him groan as he spread his legs wider to accommodate Harry's broad shoulders. Louis' fingers gathered Harry's hair in a fist to keep it from falling into Harry's face.

"Fuck..Harry." Louis groaned as he watched Harry's head bob up and down, Harry's groaned and opened his eyes looking up at Louis with big green eyes. "You're so beautiful. So fucking gorgeous." Louis told him brushing his thumb over Harry's cheek watching as Harry's eyes closed in pleasure. Harry sucked hard sending a shock through Louis.

"Harry. Harry darling you have to pull off. Like right now. I'm- fucking hell Harry I'm going to cum." Louis said groaning as he felt Harry suck harder and faster, "Harry please I don't want to hurt you or make you- fuck." Louis gasped then cursed throwing his head back as Harry very gently and carefully let his teeth brush against the underside of his cock where a vein was. Louis came undone after a few more seconds and he watched as Harry groaned swallowing it as his hand jerked Louis off through the orgasm. Harry puked off slowly making sure to clean Louis as he did then he kissed Louis' hip. Louis pulled Harry up then leaned in to kiss him, but Harry pulled away blocking his mouth with his hand.

"You can't kiss me I just gave you a blowjob and swallowed." Harry said

"Yeah? And?" Louis said, "I'm trying to kiss you so come over here and let me." Harry hesitated but then leaned over and pressed a chaste closed mouth kiss to Louis’s lips, "what the hell was that? Get over here so I can shove my tongue into your mouth Styles."

"You can't I just-" Louis growled then grabbed Harry's wrist and rolled them over pinning Harry's arms to the bed just before he shoved his tongue into Harry's mouth groaning when he was able to taste himself on Harry's tongue. Harry hesitated but then slowly started to kiss him back enthusiastically. "Thatta boy." Louis said grinning before he sucked on Harry's tongue.

Louis let his hand travel down to Harry's nipple where he pinched and teased him mercilessly hearing his soft gasps and groans. After successfully distracting him Louis let his hand slowly travel down to Harry's jeans. He grabbed Harry's thigh and pulled it apart then slid it up feeling Harry's body tense underneath his when his thumb got to the highest part of his thigh an inch away from his crotch area. Louis pulled away and looked at him, studied him for a few seconds.

"Why don't you want me to touch you Haz? It’s not that you're uncomfortable, if you were your body would react differently. You're nervous why? You don't let me touch you or even see you hard with clothes on. Is there...Harry, I love you, all of you. What are you nervous about?" Louis asked rubbing Harry's thighs keeping his eyes on Harry's face instead of his body knowing Harry didn't want him to see him hard.

"It's just... I only took my clothes off once upfront of one person and..." Harry shifted then sat up crossing his legs

"Harry if it's a um..a size problem, you don't have to be embarrassed or afraid. I love you. I don't care about size no matter what. Let me pleasure you." Louis pleaded, Harry's face turned red and he looked away telling Louis it was a size problem, but then he nodded hesitantly. Louis grinned and made sure to give himself a lecture about poker faces and inappropriate giggles or smiles as he undid Harry's pants.

There was a smaller bulge, one barely noticeable, but Louis didn't mention it. He looked at Harry who nodded chewing his lips. Louis made sure to lean up and kissed him feeling Harry relax as much as possible. He then climbed off the bed and made sure to pull the jeans off first then he kissed Harry again as he pulled the tight briefs down as far as he could before he helped Harry kick them off with his feet.

Louis ignored it and instead let his hands travel all over his body them slowly he let his hand travel down his chest to where the Butterfly tattoo was. He traced it gently then only moved an inch or two below it before his fingers touched the wet head of a cock. A cock that was most definitely not small nor micro nor on the smaller side of average. He groaned as his fingers wrapped around the head feeling and hearing Harry gasped against his lips.

Louis gathered as much precum as he could before he trailed his wet hand down Harry's very long length. He wasn't able to help the groan that escaped his lips as he started to jerk Harry off. Harry who made Louis believe he'd be small only to pop out at least 8 inches of cock. Louis pulled away from Harry's mouth breathing heavily as Harry panted underneath him.

Louis leaned down and attached himself to Harry's neck biting, sucking, and licking everywhere he was able to teach before he moved onto his nipples. Harry was so responsive and easy to please, hypersensitive almost. Louis looked down as he sucked on a nipple and stared at the long and thick member gliding wetly in his hand. Not able to control himself Louis slid down and licked Harry from root to tip where he wrapped his lips around his head and licked it wetly.

"L-Lou you don't have to...I know it's um...too big to-"

"Remind me to kill your ex-boyfriend later." Louis told him before he sank down until his nose was buried in Harry's smooth pubic area. Harry cursed loudly moaning as he threw his head back and grabbed Louis’s hair tightly in his large hand.

"Fuck. Louis- Lou- what-" Louis groaned as he pulled up and off gasping before doing it all over again.

His eyes closed in pleasure as he felt Harry twitching in his throat. He pulled off and gasped, he could feel himself getting hard again before he went all the way down and started bobbing and sucking as if his life depended on it. He never thought he had a size kink, just figured he liked a good stretch every now and again, but fuck him he was wrong. Louis was moaning as much as Harry was whenever the cock slid down his throat.

"Louis...Louis..Lou- fuck oh fuck. Louis, I'm- I'm so close baby I'm not- fuck." Louis bobbed and sucked as fast and best he could until he felt Harry's cum suddenly shoot into his mouth.

He groaned using two hands to jerk Harry through it as he swallowed every little drop that came across his tongue. Pulling off only able to get a gasp of air before Harry was shoving his tongue into Louis' mouth and his large hand wrapped around Louis' cock jerking him off quickly. Louis groaned coming onto the black butterfly he loved so much as he and Harry panted in each other's mouths. Louis didn't even care when he collapsed on top of Harry with the pool of cum on his body. They shared breathless "I love you"s as they panted which slowly drifted off to a well-deserved deep sleep.

[edgeofmyniall]

three: “Jolene”

masterlist | taglist | thoughts

“Jolene, I'm begging of you please don't take my man....please don't take him just because you can”

Ginger woke to fifteen missed calls from Niall, thirty-three texts that consisted of variations of “Are you okay?” and “Please call me back.” Each text made her head pound, whether it was out of anger or something else she didn’t know. But the one text message that made her heart beat rapidly and forcibly made her sit up in bed out of pure shock was a single text from John Doe.

Daniel....

Hey, what are you up to? 

It was sent at 2:56 a.m. She could hear her mother clearly as she bit the inner corner of her lip: “Nothing good comes after eleven. Nothing.” It was now 8:39 a.m. Nearly a six hour difference between the initiation and response. Ginger quickly tapped at the screen, trying to come up with a witty response. Her brain tried to remind her that this was bad news like Niall, but her heart told her brain that Daniel could have changed and their history proved volitable.

Her body began to involuntarily shake as she stared at the name in the top part of the screen. She smiled to herself as she thought of the many memories her and Daniel shared. 

Just woke up, haha. What’s up with you? Long time, no see.

The ellipses popped up immediately and Ginger threw her phone across her bed at the sight of Daniel responding. This is actually happening. Wait, wasn’t he married to what’s-her-face? Kendall? Kimberly? K-something...

Ginger tried not to keep up secretly with Daniel after everything he put her through, but she just had to know if he was happy, like truly happy. He went through many girlfriends until he met his wife at college in Florida. She watched afar and silently as he found happiness.

Couldn’t sleep. I was going through our yearbook and I couldn’t stop wondering if you’re doing good G

G. It had been years since someone had called her that. And it was Daniel’s name for her. Even after he broke her heart that afternoon so long ago, he would still linger his eyes on her for a bit too long for someone who never liked her. Never cared for her.

I’m doing good. In California working. What about you? You become that all-star catcher? She knew the answer, but she wanted to keep the conversation going. Talking to Daniel brought her unexplainable joy no matter what the conversation was about. 

Nah. I’m coaching at the high school though. Figured that was as close to MLB as I’ll ever get haha

Ginger tried to think of a witty comeback for his statement before there was another message.

Miss you G. You’re still beautiful 

Ginger blinked violently as she tried to process what just happened. Daniel misses me? In what dream state am I in? She couldn’t think of anything to say, but the yearning truth: Miss you too Danny. 

~~~

Stella was bouncing in the kitchen. Bouncing isn’t the correct word- she was dancing to Miley Cyrus, but bouncing was a better fit than the word dancing. She was practically jumping up and down to some break up song, and Ginger felt like she was suffocating. Either Niall and Stella needed to break up or make amends because Ginger can not take much more of the whiplash the two have caused her. Stella began singing at the top of her lungs off-key and Ginger breathed a sigh of relief when her phone began to rang. It was Niall. 

Stealthily, Ginger sneaks through the living room and pushes the glass door open. The enclosed backyard was small and L-shaped. She spent very little time outside, but she loved the small deck that Stella and her had put together when they first moved in together: just a patio table with an umbrella that was torn in half with mismatched chairs around it.

She closed the door and slid her thumb across the screen.

“Yes?” Ginger snaps, her voice sharp and jagged as her annoyance was made clear.

“I was, uh,” Niall is taken aback from the hurtful tone of his friend. “I was making sure you’re okay.” “I’m fine,” Ginger is short with Niall, something that isn’t normal.

“Ya sure? I wasn’t tryn’ to be a dick last night, I just...I have a lot on me mind.”

“Well you were, so…” Ginger twirled her hair in between her fingers as her mind wanders at the thought of Daniel. What was he doing? And why did he text her after all this time?

“I’m sorry. I just… I don’t know.” Niall’s voice fades off and that pulls Ginger back into reality. She sits on the cement stair leaning out to the background and leans against the glass door. 

“What’s wrong? Tell me. Or I’ll beat it outta you,” Ginger accepts Niall’s apology with a threat of unbelievable violence-her way of cheering up Niall. It had worked in the past.

“I’m givin’ Stella to the end of the month to get ‘er shit together, or I’m leaving. I’m gone. For good. No more hangin’ out wid each oder. Done.” Ginger imagines Niall waving his hands around as each of his words spills out into the line. The way he picks at his cuticles and bites his lip as he waits for an answer.

“And you’re gonna tell she has until the end of the month?” Ginger asks, her brow quirks up in half amusement and half surprise. 

“No.”

Ginger shakes her head to process the simple answer.

“She can figure it out on her own. She’s smart. I won’t try as hard, and if she doesn’t care enough to ask or do anything ‘bout it, that’s when I’ll know.”

“So you’re basing your relationship on telepathic inabilities?” Ginger half laughs and rolls her eyes. “I don’t believe it.”

“I don’t want to be with her anymore, Gin.” Niall’s voice is harsh and deep, frustration floating in his tone.

“Then fucking break up with her. God, fuck this. Either you be with her or you don’t.” Ginger stands up as her tone increases. She’s yelling at Niall now. “I don’t want to be a part of this!”

Stella opens the glass door with a confused look on her face and Ginger looks at her with somber filling her eyes. She stands and faces her cousin whose eyes are puffy from the amount of crying she’s been doing.

“Whether you like it or not, Ginger, you’re a part of this as much as I am. I can’t believe that I’m-”

Ginger cuts the phone off before she hears anything that Niall might regret saying. 

“What was that all about? Who was that? Was that Niall? He hasn’t returned any of my texts, and I-” Stella’s mouse like voice returned to normal and Ginger sighs before cupping her hands around her cousin’s shoulders.

“It was. He just wanted to make sure I was okay after my encounter with Rex at work,” Ginger lies. Her heart is racing hoping Stella buys the line she just dropped. Stella looks at Ginger for a moment and decides it is the truth.

“He’s such a dick.”

“Such a dick. What do you want to do today? I can go do laundry.” Ginger follows her cousin into the house and prays to God for letting the lie work. “I’ve got quarters.”

~~~~

Ginger is scrolling through her Twitter feed as she waits for the clothes to finish washing in the top right machine. Her offer of doing laundry was a plea to escape the house. Her rhythm of washing, drying, and folding the warm, clean clothes was meticulous enough to get her mind off certain things: Niall, Daniel, and the whole Stella situation. 

Every time she wanted to be alone, needed to be alone, someone was there to interrupt her thoughts and processes of events that happened in the past two weeks. 

Celebration Dinner: Niall came on to Ginger multiple times during dinner and after driving her home, he basically all but told her that he had feelings for her. Then she avoids anyone associated with him for two weeks which includes her cousin a.k.a. his girlfriend. Then last night or this morning, depending how you look at it, Daniel texts her out of the blue. What the hell is going on? 

A sudden light tap on her shoulder makes Ginger jump. She’s on edge since dinner two weeks ago as if she’s hiding something; like she’s guilty. It was a young girl with braids throughout her hair that needed to get by and Ginger’s sprawled out legs were taking up the walkway.

“Sorry sweetheart,” Ginger mumbles and smiles to the little girl. “Here,” Ginger pulls a dollar worth in quarters off the machine she’s been leaning on as she sits and waits for the washing machine to be done. “Go get you a coke.”

The girl happily takes the coins and pushes the clothes basket into her mother’s calves. “Momma, this girl gave me money for a drink. Can I get one?” The dark-skinned lady turns around and looks at Ginger, and as awkward as she may feel right now, Ginger smiles softly. She knew the mom wasn’t happy about the basket wreck or that a complete stranger gave her daughter money, but Ginger looked decent enough. She sighs before saying: “Did you tell her thank you?”

“Thank you lady!” The young girl runs to the back of the laundromat and decides what she should pick.

“You really have a way with people.” The simple sentence was spoken to Ginger and she knew by the accent who it was: the one person she’s been trying to avoid. She closes her eyes and sighs softly before turning around. “You hung up on me.”

“Yeah, well, you were being a dick again.” Ginger goes back to her scrolling on Twitter as Niall sits down on the bench beside her. He begins to tap her thumbs and palms against the white rusting metal of the machines as he looks both ways before smiling very assholishly in Ginger’s opinion.

“I’m a dick for expressing my thoughts. I’m a dick for not. Catch twenty-two.” Niall’s voice hums over the dryer behind him and it was a tug on his striped shirt that pulled his glance away from Ginger.

“You’re in One Direction,” the little girl that Ginger had given her money to had come up to Niall. “You look different.”

“I look different?” Niall asks and the little girl nods. “Well that’s ‘cause I’m growing up. Like you are. What’s yer name?” Niall crouches down to talk to the girl better, and she smiles.

“Jamiyah. My momma calls me Jay.”

“Where is your mom? Is she here?” Jamiyah nods and grasps Niall’s hand and pulls him toward her mom. Ginger watches the ordeal, but blocks out their conversation. They take a quick picture and Niall is back to sitting down next to Ginger, but this time his hand is close to Ginger’s thigh, and her mind races as she thinks about his burning touch on her skin. Niall is intoxicating her and she still needs to drive home. 

“So are we gonna talk or what?” Niall leans in and whispers, his breath hot on Ginger’s ear. She swallows hard as she tries to concentrate on the social media platform she’s currently on, but it’s a war Ginger isn’t ready to fight. She turns her head and his face is inches away from hers, but she can taste the mint of his breath. Her mouth falls open slightly before she scrapes her teeth against the skin of her bottom lip. 

“I, um, thought you already talked.” Ginger’s words fall out of her mouth before she can process what she’s saying. In the laundromat with the machines whirling clothes around, Niall looks around and sees the small family have disappeared before looking back at Ginger, pulling himself closer. “I’ll never stop talking to ya, Gin.”

His lips tasted of mint and strawberries; Ginger assumes from his midday smoothie. The plump skin rolls against hers as she wanes her neck. Niall’s tongue coaxes Ginger’s mouth open with the gentle brush of his open mouth against hers and their tongues roll against each other. Ginger breathes in deep and lets out a loud moan as she begins to climb on top of Niall, pushing him down onto the bench. Niall cups the nape of Ginger’s neck and halts her from throwing herself onto him. He pulls back, his thumb tracing Ginger’s cheekbone as he catches his breath. Ginger’s hair falls down onto his face and he wants to drown in her curls. Niall’s palm burns into Ginger’s pale skin and as she sits back up, Niall bites his lip as he stifles a grunt.

“Jesus, Gin, got me stiff while waitin’ for the washin’.” Niall looks up at the ceiling, begging his mind to think of anything but the touch of Ginger’s breast grazing his chest or how sweet her lips tasted against his. He smiles as his mind wanders to the things he is yearning not to think of. 

Ginger takes in Niall as his brow folds-concentrating to quiet this hard on Ginger has caused him. His throat is thick and the bulge in the middle is prominent; the only thoughts Ginger has is what she would give to leave her mark on his skin. To burn him with her touch as he does hers. 

“I like this version of talkin’,” Niall laughs as he looks at Ginger. The washing machine dings and Ginger stands quickly before smoothing her unwrinkled shirt. She places the clothes directly underneath to dry and Niall stands before Ginger turns around. 

“Hey, uh, yah. I’m on my way,” Niall cuts the phone call short and he half-sheepishly smiles at Ginger. He grasps her wrists and his touch is fire against her ice skin. “I gotta run, babe.” Niall lets go and begins to walk out of the laundry facility before he turns around and jogs to Ginger. He quickly kisses her on the lips, full and lovingly before kissing her on the cheek and the neck and her ear. 

“Go, you idiot.” Ginger says and watches Niall walk out of the building. It was when she sat down that she realized what she had done.

“Fuck,”

~~~~

Ginger drives home slowly. The corner laundromat ride should not take fifteen minutes, but it does. And an extra five minutes before Ginger braves herself strong enough to walk into her house. The only thing that made Ginger even come home was the fact that Stella needed her clothes. 

In the driveway was parked Niall’s car, and the pit in Ginger’s stomach grew. She wanted to swallow herself whole. 

On the couch, as Ginger walked in, was Niall and Stella. Stella was dry humping and rolling her hips around Niall’s waist in the middle of Ginger’s couch. Anger bubbled in her body and it took everything she had in herself to not throw Stella off Niall and punch him in the jaw. She loudly dropped the clothes basket on the coffee table, interrupting Niall and Stella’s heavy petting. Ginger’s eyes fill with tears when Stella looks up at Ginger as she still holds on to Niall’s neck, her fingers wasted in his hair. He looks as if he’s lost for words and as he tries to gather what he wants to say- to explain what he’s just been caught doing, Ginger walks to the kitchen and locates the bottle of tequila before stomping upstairs and slams the bedroom door shut. 

If Niall can hurt her like this, she’ll hurt him back ten times harder.

~~~~~~~~~

taglist:

@oyesmendes ndes @thicksniall @kare38 @stayclose-holdsteady @halfpinthoran

[toohardtoforgetcth]

Too Hard To Forget

Chapter One

Warnings: swearing, angst, moody Cal cause who doesn’t love that, hospital setting

3,923 words

A/N: this is the first chapter of my musician!Cal series! there is a prologue too but it’s optional as it could potentially be triggering for some. it’s my first piece of writing i’ve ever posted so feedback is appreciated! hope you guys enjoy :)

Parker Daniels could barely keep her eyes open. She was at the tail end of her night shift, just finishing up her rounds before she called it a night and crawled into her bed. She didn’t usually work nights, but a colleague called in sick and she was the only one available to cover, so her typical ten-hour shift turned into a draining 16 hours. To say she was brutally exhausted was an understatement.

“Parker, honey,” Diane, the night shift office administrator, sounded softly. “You look beat. We’ve got things covered here. Go home and get some rest.”

Parker shook her head. “I’m almost done. Just have to give Mrs. Jordan her meds.”

“Hannah just got here, I’ll have her do it,” she insisted. “Go home, dear. You need sleep.”

Parker flashed her a grateful, but tired, smile. “Thanks, Diane. I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

She disappeared into the staff room to gather her things and exited through the back door of the building into the staff parking lot. The warm July air ruffled her hair as she dug through her bag for her car keys, the neon red lights from the emergency sign on the hospital connected to Westhill Retirement Home illuminating her face in the darkness. Parker unlocked the door of her black Honda Civic, dropping in and letting her head fall back on the headrest. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, then started the engine, grateful for the short ten-minute drive back to her apartment.

As soon as she opened the door, her grey tabby, Loki, meowed incessantly at her feet.

“Hi, handsome,” she whispered, crouching down and scratching his head. “Sorry I was gone so long.”

He trotted over to his food dish and sat, waiting for her. Parker filled his dish, dropped her bag on the kitchen counter, and shuffled down the hall to her bedroom. Thankful that she didn’t have to work in the morning, she washed her face, changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. She was fast asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

• • • • • •

“I just sold out of my last copy yesterday, but we should be getting more tomorrow. I can set one aside for you if you like,” Calum offered begrudgingly.

Sometimes—actually, quite often, Calum wondered why on earth he had a job in customer service. His love of music drew him to Rudy’s as a teen, but now, in his mid-twenties, his cynical and less-than-sunny disposition made him question what he was still doing here. When he was a kid, he would spend hours sifting through the vinyl albums, fooling around with the instruments, and saving up his allowance for his first guitar and a new CD every time he could afford one. He gladly accepted when Rudy offered him a job, but it was more for the staff discount than anything—Calum really hated dealing with people. He had a short temper, and this particular customer was testing what little patience he had left. He’d been browsing around the store for the last half an hour, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem with this guy was that he was asking Calum stupid questions every time he tried to get back to work, like the prices and aisle location of every single record he was interested in, even though both were clearly labeled on signs above the shelves. Calum was getting annoyed—he had shit to do.

“Can you check in the back? You must have more somewhere,” the man asked, gesturing to the stock room behind Calum.

“Listen, buddy, I don’t have any more, in the back or otherwise. If you don’t want me to put one on hold, then leave and let me get back to work,” he snapped impatiently.

The man’s jaw dropped, shocked at Calum’s blatant dismissal. Shaking his head, the man left the store, muttering under his breath about disrespectful kids. Calum was hardly a kid, but he couldn’t be bothered to argue. He didn’t give two shits what anyone thought of him.

He was about to head back to the last aisle he had attempted to do inventory on, when Tom, Calum’s boss, cleared his throat. Calum whipped around, facing the old man.

“Calum, my office, please.”

Calum rolled his brown eyes, following the short, bald man into the stock room and then into the little utility closet that doubled as a makeshift office for the owner of the store. Rudy passed away earlier this year, and his jackass of a brother took over ownership of the shop. Rudy was much nicer, and although Calum didn’t particularly like much of anyone, he most definitely preferred Rudy over Tom. He wasn’t sure Tom even liked music. He gestured for Calum to sit in the chair opposite his desk as he sat in the armchair behind it.

“Calum,” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his beady eyes. “If you don’t stop scaring away my customers, I’m going to have to let you go. You need to get your attitude in check.”

“My attitude? Dude has been hounding me for the last 30 minutes, Tom. I haven’t been able to get anything done. You want your customers inhibiting the productivity of your staff?” he replied sarcastically.

Tom shot Calum a disapproving look. “I mean it, kid. This is your final warning. My brother may have let you get away with murder, but I will not tolerate this kind of behaviour,” he said sternly with a wave of his hand, dismissing Calum.

• • • • • •

After cashing out his last customer just after eight, Calum shut off the lights in the store, setting the alarm and locking the front door behind him. He pulled a cigarette out of the pocket of his leather jacket, lighting it and taking a long drag. He inhaled deeply, feeling the nicotine drift down his throat and into his lungs. Calum knew it was a bad habit. Gram hated it. But it was a habit he couldn’t seem to kick, no matter how many times he tried for her. It calmed him, relaxed him. And after today, he needed it. He stepped out into the cool night air, one hand in his pocket as he walked, the other holding his cigarette. He finished just before he reached the front of a one-story brick building, stubbing it out under his boot as he stepped through the sliding doors.

Calum nodded his head at the receptionist, having walked these halls many times before. He turned left into the last room at the end of the hall, the permanent scowl on his face replaced with a genuine smile at the sight of the only woman in this world he loved.

“Hey, pretty lady,” he grinned, kicking off his boots and sliding onto the bed beside her. “How was your day?”

The old woman smiled fondly at her grandson, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “My day was just fine, dear. Got up nice and early, ran a marathon, found a cure for cancer, you know. Just small stuff,” she winked.

Calum chuckled, folding his hands behind his head. “Impressive. Wish my days were as productive as yours.”

Gram wrinkled her nose, catching a whiff of smoke from the cigarette Calum had just put out. “Oh, Calum. When are you going to quit that awful habit of yours?” she chided. “You’re going to land yourself in this hospital bed right next to me if you keep it up.”

“I can think of worse places to be,” he shrugged, resting his head on her shoulder.

• • • • • •

Just after nine, halfway through their second episode of Golden Girls, a woman dressed in scrubs knocked on the door to Gram’s room. Calum glanced up, shifting slightly on the bed to allow the nurse some space to look her over. She checked her vitals, then handed Gram a dixie cup with an assortment of pills, along with a second cup of water to wash them down. When she was finished, the nurse tossed the cups into the trash can beside her bed. Calum noticed Gram’s eyelids fluttering.

“Are you getting tired?”

Gram gave him a lazy smile in response.

Calum chuckled. He slipped off the bed, tugging on his boots and jacket. “Get some rest. I’ll see you Tuesday, yeah?” He planted a kiss on Gram’s forehead. “Love you, pretty lady.”

“I love you too, dear,” Gram smiled as he disappeared from view.

» » » » » »

Parker slept in late on Monday morning, a luxury she was rarely afforded. She woke up feeling rested and ready to enjoy her day off, which consisted of making breakfast, going for a run and cleaning her apartment. Around one, she stepped out of the shower, wrapping herself in a towel before checking her phone. She had a text waiting from her best friend, Jenna:

Yo bitch, meet me at Enzo’s. New café on Fifth. Lunch. You have half an hour. ;)

Parker laughed to herself. Jenna was charismatic and about as blunt and upfront as they came. She had a give-no-fucks attitude, and she was also one of the most genuine people Parker had ever known. They’d been friends since college, and no one in this world knew her like Jenna.

• • • • • •

“Hi, babe,” Jenna pulled her into a tight hug. “How’s life? How’s work? It’s been a long time.”

Parker laughed, rolling her grey eyes. “I saw you on Friday.”

“I know, I know. But it feels like ages.”

It was a cool, breezy day for the middle of July, so they opted for a table on the patio to enjoy one of the milder summer days. The girls caught up over nachos and a pitcher of beer. Parker was not, nor had she ever been, one of those people that felt satisfied after eating a salad. She was happy to work out regularly if it meant she got to continue eating the greasy, carb-loaded foods she loved. They chatted about work and family and how Jenna was struggling to choose between the three boys she’d been talking to. She was still rambling on when Parker became distracted by a tall, dark and handsome stranger, walking in their direction on the other side of the street. He was the textbook definition of a bad boy—dressed head to toe in black, complete with a leather jacket, a cigarette between his lips.

Jenna noticed Parker’s distracted expression, following her gaze to the dark-haired man.

“Uh-uh, no way,” Jenna shook her head. “Honey, that boy’s middle name is trouble.”

Parker’s grey eyes drifted from the stranger back to her friend, tilting her head questioningly. “Do you know him?”

“Of course not,” Jenna furrowed her brows. “But look at him. He reeks of heartbreak and bad decisions.”

Parker glanced across the street again, but the stranger had already disappeared. The girls paid their bill, left the café, and Parker never gave him another thought.

» » » » » »

Calum didn’t start work until noon on Tuesday so around nine, he decided to bring breakfast for Gram—coffee and donuts from her favourite bakery downtown.

He entered her room holding up the bag of donuts, and Gram’s face lit up. “Have I ever told you that you’re my favourite grandson?” she beamed, taking the bag from his hands.

“I’m your only grandson,” Calum rolled his eyes.

He sat on the bed and handed Gram her coffee. Around 11, a nurse peeked her head in the doorway. “Morning, Grace!” she chirped brightly.

“Oh, come in, Parker, dear,” Grace motioned with a wave of her hand. “This is my grandson, Calum,” she added, taking notice of Parker gazing at the man sitting next to her on the bed.

He was handsome. No, that didn’t even begin to cover it. He was gorgeous. He looked oddly familiar to her, though Parker had no idea where she knew him from. She supposed she could ask, but he didn’t look to be in a chatty mood. In fact, he didn’t look to be all that approachable at all. Parker took in the outfit he was wearing—black shirt, black jeans, black boots—and then her eyes drifted to the chair beside the bed. Laying on the arm was a leather jacket, and Parker noticed the edge of a pack of cigarettes in one of the pockets. That’s when it occurred to her—he was the stranger from the street outside the café. Calum glanced up and said nothing as he gave Parker a curt nod.

Grace elbowed him in the side. He shot her a look, then he stood, shrugging his jacket on over his broad shoulders.

“I gotta get to work, but I’ll stop by after, yeah?” He bent down and kissed Gram on the cheek. He brushed by Parker a little too forcefully without so much as another glance before he disappeared down the hallway.

Grace wore an apologetic look when Parker’s eyes finally found hers. “Don’t mind my Calum, he’s—” she paused for a moment, contemplating her words. “Well, he’s a little rough around the edges is all.”

Parker forced a smile. “He seems nice,” she lied. He didn’t seem nice at all.

Grace looked at her knowingly. “I may be old, dear, but I’m not dumb,” she chuckled. “I know he’s not the most pleasant, but he’s good to me, and that’s more than I can ask for.”

“I’m sure he’s lovely, Grace,” Parker assured her as she set Grace’s medications on the table beside her bed.

» » » » » »

Parker saw Calum several more times throughout the rest of the week. Although he clearly lacked basic social skills, noted in the way he gave Parker the cold shoulder every time she saw him, it was obvious how much he cared for Grace. Parker only ever saw him smile when he was with her. He was there twice a day almost every day—sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes for hours. Grace took every opportunity she could to tell Parker that he wasn’t all bad. She wasn’t convinced, but that didn’t stop her from trying to be friendly towards him, even when he ignored every attempt she made. She even talked herself into believing he was having an off day when he bumped into her in the hallway. He knocked everything out of her hands, including her coffee cup which spilled all over the floor. He said nothing—just continued walking like nothing had happened. People have bad days, she thought. But she was starting to think maybe Calum was just an asshole.

» » » » » »

Parker and Jenna were walking downtown, window shopping and wasting time in the sunshine on Saturday afternoon. Parker stopped outside one of the shops, grabbing Jenna’s hand and dragging her in. “I wanna get the new All Time Low album,” she explained upon seeing Jenna’s confused expression.

“Why don’t you just listen to it on Spotify like a normal person?” Jenna muttered. Why anyone would pay for music you could get for free was beyond her, but Parker just rolled her eyes and tugged her inside.

She browsed through the aisles until she found what she was looking for, bringing it up to the front desk with Jenna trailing behind her. Parker set it on the counter, waiting for the man standing behind it to finish what he was doing so she could pay. Parker found herself admiring him from the back, even though she couldn’t see his face. He had tattoos snaking up his hands and arms, disappearing under the sleeves of a faded black t-shirt. The shirt hugged his biceps tightly and he had a wide, muscular frame that was obvious even under his shirt. She didn’t realize who it was until he turned his head to the side.

Calum.

Parker blushed, embarrassed at herself for checking him out. She didn’t even know he had tattoos. She had never seen him without his signature leather jacket, which struck her as odd, since it was the middle of summer, and who wears a leather jacket in the summer?

Calum reached out, sliding the CD on the counter towards him, scanning the barcode without looking up.

She smiled her most genuine smile. “Hey!” she greeted brightly.

His brown eyes finally flicked up to meet hers, not a single spark of warmth in them. He took the debit machine out of its holder and set it on the counter in front of her without a word, looking utterly bored.

Parker frowned. She was becoming a little bothered by his blatant disregard for her. Did he not recognize her? She tapped her card on the machine, waiting until the approved message flashed on the screen before picking up the CD. She glanced up at Calum again, but he wasn’t looking at her. In fact, it seemed like he was intentionally avoiding her gaze. “Right. Well, see you around, I guess.”

Jenna waited until they were out of the store before she questioned Parker. “Was that—do you know that guy?”

Parker nodded.

“How? And more importantly, what the hell was that about?” Jenna demanded.

“I have no idea,” Parker admitted truthfully. “I met him the other day at work,” she explained. “He’s the grandson of one of my patients. Actually, I’ve bumped into him a couple times this week. But he obviously doesn’t remember me,” she muttered.

“Or,” Jenna countered, “he’s just a big ol’ douche with a stick up his ass.”

“Yeah, he’s a ray of sunshine, isn’t he?” Parker laughed.

“Hot as hell, though. I’ll give him that,” Jenna mused.

• • • • • •

Calum finished work late on Saturday night, after Tom demanded he finish the inventory that he couldn’t be bothered to do himself. Calum was already on thin ice with Tom, so in the interest of keeping his job, he kept his mouth shut and stayed. Calum hated most aspects of his job, but inventory wasn’t so bad. He closed the store at six and put a Radiohead album on the record player while he worked. He might have finished an hour earlier, had he not been distracted by thoughts of a grey-eyed girl with a pretty smile. He replayed today’s encounter back in his head. Parker was the last person he expected to walk into the store that afternoon. He was taken by surprise, even more so when she walked up to the counter with one of his own favourite albums. He had been rude to her—on several occasions—he knew, but for some reason he couldn’t explain, she rubbed him the wrong way. But Calum had to admit, Parker was beautiful. There was something about her eyes—steel grey with flecks of blue, and her brighter-than-the-sun attitude that never seemed to falter. Calum briefly wondered how much it would take to make her angry. She kept popping into his head at the most inconvenient times, and it pissed him off.

» » » » » »

Parker was sitting behind the reception desk, eyes glancing up at the sound of the front door opening. Her heart stopped momentarily when Calum walked in. She cast her eyes down quickly, avoiding eye contact. He said nothing to her nor to the other two women sitting behind the desk next to Parker, his path clearly set for Grace’s room at the end of the hall.

Parker had seen Calum at Westhill two more times since their meeting at the record store, and there was no way that Calum hadn’t recognized her—she deduced that he just wasn’t fond of her. He made that point painfully obvious, but she was bound and determined to change his mind, being that he didn’t have any good reason. She was perfectly polite and she took good care of Grace. Usually, Parker wasn’t bothered by people who didn’t care for her, but for some reason she couldn’t explain, it irked her that Calum didn’t. At noon, armed with her tray of medications and Grace’s lunch, Parker headed down the hall to Grace’s room with the intent to strike up a conversation with Calum and kill him with kindness.

As she was about to go inside, she overheard Calum talking to Grace. He didn’t usually have much to say—Parker could count on two hands the number of words she had ever heard him utter—and she was intrigued by the sound of his voice. It was deep and raspy, and Parker swore she could hear an accent she hadn’t picked up on before. She wondered why Calum had an accent and Grace didn’t.

Parker leaned against the doorframe for a minute, just listening to him talk animatedly to his grandmother. She wasn’t really listening to the words he spoke so much as the way he spoke them. His voice was surprisingly soothing, and for the first time she noticed he had an infectious laugh that made Parker smile.

She was distracted a moment too long because when she looked up, Calum was outside the door and levelling her with an angry stare. The smile slipped off Parker’s face immediately.

“You make it a habit to eavesdrop on people?” he snarled.

“Oh—no,” she tried to explain, looking down at her tray. “I was just—”

“Just what?” he cut her off, crossing his arms over his chest. “Just being fucking nosy and invading what little privacy we have here?”

“Honestly, I—I wasn’t—” Parker stuttered, but words failed her when he lifted his hand, slamming it next to her head on the wall. She wanted to kick herself for flinching—now he had no doubt she was afraid of him.

Calum leaned in close, close enough for Parker to see the spark of anger dancing in his brown eyes. “Stay the fuck out of our private conversations, understand?”

Parker instinctively backed further into the corner she had been standing in, feeling incredibly threatened by Calum. His expression was deadly—Parker couldn’t even utter any words to explain herself, looking dumbly up at him while her heart pounded and her hands shook so violently she almost dropped her tray. So much for convincing him not to hate her.

He lingered a moment longer before dropping his hand, the fire in his eyes burning into hers once more before he turned down the hall.

As soon as he was out of sight, Parker let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. She closed her eyes briefly to compose herself before entering Grace’s room, quickly setting the tray on her nightstand and leaving before she could say a word.

If Parker was on the fence about Calum before, she wasn’t anymore—he terrified her.

• • • • • •

Calum was beginning to get fed up with Grace’s irritatingly sweet nurse. Or rather, fed up with the things she was making him feel. He would be lying if he said it didn’t excite him, the way he got a rise out of her when he cornered her outside of Grace’s room today. He had seen her coming with that stupidly sweet smile on her face, and their encounter couldn’t have gone better if he’d planned it. She reacted exactly how he had hoped, and seeing the fear in her eyes—fear of him—gave Calum a sick sense of satisfaction. Maybe now she’d leave him the hell alone and he could let his mind wander in peace without worrying about thinking of her.

[tirednotflirting]

sleepyhead - c.h.

right now i’m a few glasses of wine in and i’ve finally got the guts to post fic for the first time ever so here is a lil blurb thing i wrote in between studying for different finals last week when thinking of soft morning cal was distracting me from primate anatomy.

word count: ~1.9k

she woke up to the smell of cigarette smoke tickling at her nose. after a second breath, she caught a whiff of fresh coffee and rain on the brick walls of her building. knowing he must be out on the covered balcony, she listened closely for the sound of rain, wondering if it had stopped yet, and also picked up his quiet humming of a song she couldn’t quite figure out. a slight breeze blew into the room, causing her to pull the thick comforter up from where it rested at her waist and let her eyes finally flutter open as thoughts of sleeping later drifted off.

the room was dark for 9am, she observed after rolling over to grab her phone and seeing the time. her weather app told her that the storm was to continue well into the evening so if his plans for the day had included anything outside, they would likely need to be put on hold. she lifted her body from the mattress and finally caught sight of him out on the patio, the half-opened door giving her a view of him sipping from his favorite mug with the same hand that held his cigarette as he wrote something in a journal resting against the small glass table she had bought during the summer.

“your balcony has a nice view,” he had said one afternoon in june, soon after they had become friends who actively sought out each other’s company rather than waiting for the next time the world brought them together through mutual friends. “you should get a table out here when you’re more settled, would be a great morning coffee with a book spot.” she bought the table after he mentioned it a second time.

she thought of their initial meeting one another earlier in the year as she glanced up to check on him every couple of minutes as she went through her school inbox on her phone.

it was a grad party back in may for lianna, a friend a couple years her senior. it was out on some trendy rooftop place downtown her parents had rented out. lianna was the kind of girl who knew every kind of person, including the girlfriend of a drummer called ashton irwin. the couple had come along and brought with them ashton’s bandmate, calum. they blended in well with the ucla media studies crowd in their dress and overall low key attitude to the lights and sparkles and fruity drinks that came with downtown la in late spring.

she was a photography major and had met lianna when she got approval to take a senior level course that spring, despite only being a sophomore. she got on well with everyone at the party, all of them being her (now former) classmates and her face was growing achy with how much she was smiling as everyone told her their postgrad plans. she had been taking a social break and was standing at the bar, trying to flag down the bartender, her short stature failing her at that moment. she felt a presence to her left as she huffed in frustration, along with a deep “need some help?”. she turned and saw a man that she remembered recognizing when she had seen him walk in with a gorgeous couple earlier in the night. he was in a band, plays bass, lianna had told her over the tops of their wine glasses. he’s australian, and has a very cute dog, had also been added by the tall red-haired girl.

“yeah, thanks. guess he can’t hear me,” she replied, a tired smile returning to her face. a similar one spread across the curly-haired boy’s lips. “what are you drinking?” he asked, looking down to her as his hand lifted to grab the attention of the bartender, who immediately noticed the man. she took a moment before answering to admire the tattoos that she could see dancing across his forearm as his rolled sleeve pushed up to his elbow.

“the rosé.”

he lifted his chin in a short nod and recited the order as well as his own to the bartender. she pulled herself up into one of the stools at the bar to give her heeled feet a rest and to reduce at least a little bit of the difference in height between herself and the man.

“i’m calum,” he introduced himself, reaching a tattooed hand out into the somewhat limited space between the two of them.

“bennie,” she smiled lazily, her smaller hand accepting his as a glass of pink wine is placed beside her.

she set her phone back to charge and finally pushes back the covers. she reaches to the floor at the end of her bed to pick up a cardigan to throw on over the t-shirt she stole from him to wear when he got in the night before. he would always tease her for taking one of his ratty band t-shirts every time he ended up at her place after the airport rather than his own but never enough for her to toss it back in his duffle.

california in winter could just barely be called that, but the storm was bringing through something they would all call a cold front. he looks up from his writing as he hears her bare feet padding closer to the open door and gently shuts the leather journal, his pen marking his place.

he takes another drag of the cigarette, turning towards the street to blow away the smoke. “lovely weather we’re having today, huh?”

she scoffs at his sarcasm as she pulls out the seat across from him. “la is so happy to have you home that the whole city is crying tears of joy.” 

“hush, ben.” he rolls his eyes but smirks nonetheless at her words.

he takes a moment to admire the girl that’s come to be one his best friends as she reaches forward to pour coffee from the French press he had made into a second mug. sleep had pulled most of her hair from the braid she had done up when they were eating pasta in the kitchen the night before. her eyes were dark around the edges due to the college-student style of exhaustion she always seemed to be and the eyeliner she had claimed she didn’t really need to wash away before bed. seeing her in his clothes made him feel warm in a way he didn’t really understand but always pushed away the thought of.

“ah, you’re right.” she says after a sighing as she takes her first sip from her mug. “she’s actually crying because you’re leaving again in a few days.”

the smile on his face drops as he reaches a foot out to tap against her leg. “hey now, yes i’ll be leaving but then you’re down for that party in the city for new years, right?”

she’s already down to the bottom of her mug (the French press was doing a shit job at retaining any heat and she was going to need to just go back into the kitchen and make more). “if you’ll still have me, yeah. which i hope you will because i’ve definitely already bought the flight.”

“bennie, you were supposed to let me get that.” he says to her with furrowed brows, a small pout forming.

she stands and holds a hand out for his mug so she can go in and make a second cup for the both of them. “okay, well you already got me a room and since your label are the ones hosting the party, you’re basically paying for all my drinks too. so i-“

“it was gonna be your Christmas present, love.” he sighs, handing his mug over.

“the room can be the prese-“

“bennie,” he cuts her off and places a hand at her hip to stop her as she tries to scoot around him to get back inside for coffee and to get away from the conversation. she looks down at where his chipped black polished fingers are placed. “just wanna be able to do something nice for you. i know you worked your ass off this semester and that you’re avoiding the fam for the holiday so i just wanted to treat you.”

she studies the mugs in her hands to avoid his gaze. calum turns his chair to face her so he can wrap both arms around her waist. she huffs and sets the mugs down on the table, letting her hands fall to his shoulders as she looks down to his patient brown eyes.

she takes a deep breath as she moves one hand to the back of his neck, her fingers twirling around the curls there. “and i appreciate it. and i’ve been feeling all warm and fuzzy ever since you asked me to join for this. i think i just convinced myself that letting you do too much for me would make it seem like i was taking advantage. don’t ever want you to feel that way about me.”

his bottom lip juts out further after hearing her think that he could ever even for a moment have some kind of ill opinion of her. “wouldn’t dream of thinking that, darling. i invited you to a party clear across the country, just wanted to make sure you were taken care of.”

she feels something flutter inside her when he calls her by pet names and talks about taking care of her but she pushes the thought away. “we should talk more when planning, huh?”

he laughs and shakes his head at her as he opens his legs so she can stand between them as he pulls her closer, his arms moving to wrap more fully around her waist. he lets his head fall against her stomach. “i’m still exhausted.”

she runs a hand through his hair. “it’s called jet lag, ace. go get back in bed. let’s finish the season of peaky blinders we fell asleep in the middle of last night and then we can go pick up duke.” 

he hummed his agreement with the plan for the rest of the morning before turning his head to place a kiss to the inside of bennie’s wrist. as she wanders past him, mugs and french press gathered into her arms, he puts out the last of his cigarette in the ashtray he brought over after she yelled at him for using one of her favorite mugs for the purpose. she’s already back in the kitchen, filling the kettle before setting it back on the stove and digging through her cabinets for the dark roast she’s decided she wants to make for her second cup of the day.

she comes back to her room several minutes later with two steamy mugs to find calum asleep again, her pillow tucked against his chest. she could almost coo at him cuddled under the blanket, chapped lips pouted out as he softly snores. she chuckles quietly to herself as she sets the mugs on her desk before gently climbing back into bed and pulling the pillow away from his arms. it’s only now that she notices the door is still open, the rain still falling at a steady pace and the breeze sneaking its way across the room. as she lays her head against the pillow that now smells of whatever new cologne he picked up on the road, an arm reaches over her body, pulling her against his warm chest. 

“thanks, love,” are the last words she hears before letting her tired eyes drift shut.

~~~~~

thnx for reading if you did and come say hello (i like new pals) and lemme know if i should ever give this kinda thing a shot again. happy saturday !

[having-a-freddie-time]

save me

summary: Y/N is trying her hardest to get out of an abusive relationship without telling anyone. However, she can’t always hide the bruises, especially from her best friend since childhood, Ben Hardy. Once he finds out, he tries his best to help her out without her getting hurt.

warning: angst, mentions of physical/verbal abuse, blood, cussing, hospitals.

a/n: I AM SO SORRY FOR THIS LATE UPDATE. LIFE HAS BEEN HECTIC BUT I PROMISE I WILL UPDATE MORE THIS WEEK. also, hold on to your butts, this is one angsty chapter.

word count:

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The three of you had fallen asleep throughout the course of the night. You slept on your belly, sunk into the sofa. Gwil was sprawled out on the pallet of blankets. Ben was tangled up with Frankie on the love seat. The theme song of Grey's Antomy rang throughout the flat, the last thing y'all were watching.

You all had fell asleep, peacefully and quickly. Light snores spilled from your mouth, whereas Ben and Gwil sounded like a damn train station. You stirred in your groggy state, slowly awaking from your slumber due to the snoring. Eventually, you had opened your eyes, squinting as the sunlight poured through Ben's patio window. You sat up, hissing quietly at the stinging pain in your back. Oh how lovely.

You slowly stood up, careful to not make any noise and tiptoed to the kitchen. You tried to make some tea before the boys woke up but failed horribly. Both Ben and Gwil dragged their lifeless bodies into the kitchen, falling into the chairs at the dining table. They rest their sleepy heads on the table, patiently waiting for the boost they needed from the tea.

The kettle sang loudly, indicating that the water was done. You grabbed three tea cups, popping a tea bag in each. You filled the cups, poured a little honey in them and poured a little milk in yours. You carefully carried the tea to the table, setting it in front of their faces. They instantly sat up and took a huge gulp of the beverage.

Instantly regretting their decision, they both hissed as the hot beverage touched their tongues and the back of their throats.

"Careful, it's hot." You jokingly warned, blowing into your cup to cool it down. They rolled their eyes and followed suit in cooling the drinks down.

After morning tea and breakfast, the three of you laid on Ben's sofa, scrolling through Netflix to find something to watch. Gwil was sliding his thumb through Instagram, Ben's fingers tapped across the screen as he texted and you just sat there, fiddling your thumbs. You were afraid to check your phone, you had turned it off all night, not wanting to deal with Trevor.

"We should go do something today, instead of watching TV all day." You murmured as you eyed the two men. They looked up from their devices, looking at one another for approval.

"Why don't we go shopping?"

"I don't have money because I've literally avoided work for two weeks now."

"Nonsense, I'll pay."

"Nope, let's think of something else."

"We're going shopping, that's final. Gwil and I will help pay."

Gwil nodded in agreement, pulling himself from the couch. He reached a hand out for you, helping you up. Ben stood up to, stretching his arms out.

"I've got to shower before we go though."

"And me too. How about we all meet back here at say...four?"

You all nodded in agreement and grabbed all of your stuff. You grabbed your clothes from the previous day, shoving them in your purse. You cringed at the blood stained jumper.

"Just throw it in the bin, love." Ben whispered in your ear as he watched you.

You did so and finished grabbing all your items. You turned towards Gwil, a small smile on your lips. You had totally forgotten that Ben was your ride from yesterday.

"Will you give me a ride home?"

"Of course, Y/N." Gwil smiled and grabbed his keys.

"You can shower here, Y/N" Ben yelled from the kitchen.

"I've got to grab some different clothes, it'll be fine!"

"Fine!"

•••••••

You and Gwill walked to his car, both of you sliding in. Gwil knew where you lived so the car ride was pretty quick. Before you left, you checked snap map on Snapchat to see if Trevor was home. Luckily he wasn't, so it'd be easier for you to get ready. However, you were completely unaware of the "Ghost Mode" option on Snapchat.

Gwil pulled into the driveway, to your advantage, Trevor's car wasn't there. You absentmindedly blew out a sigh of relief at the site.

"Thanks again, Gwil."

"No problem, see you later!"

You waved goodbye and jumped out of his car. You walked up to your door, putting your key in and realizing it was unlocked. Strange. You shrugged it off because you could be forgetful at times or Trevor was too wasted to realize that he didnt lock the door.

You slipped inside and dropped your purse on the couch. The hous was silent, thankfully. You jogged upstairs and grabbed some clothes to wear later. As you were about to turn the shower on, you heard a familiar voice.

"You stupid bitch!"

You gulped at the sound and grabbed your phone. You didn't even realize that Ben had blown your phone up. So many text messages and missed calls filled up your notifications. You clicked on a notification and went wide eyed.

There was an article with a picture of you, Gwil, and Ben plastered on the front.

'Bohemian Rhapsody's Ben Hardy and Gwilym Lee leaving a cafe with an unknown woman?'

The picture was horrendous. Ben had his arm wrapped around your waist, protectively. Gwil was staring at you with what could have easily been mistaken for lust, but was the complete opposite.

To the public, it looked like the three of you were about to go fuck each other's brains out. When in reality, they were being protective of you and were quite worried for you.

"You dumb fucking whore. Didn't think I'd find out about your little fuck buddies?"

"It's not what it looks like!"

"Save it. I knew all along that you were a little slut!"

Trevor took a step closer to you, his hand latching onto your throat. You gagged and clawed at his hand, though he was complete unphased by your clawing.

"Stupid fucking bitch, that's what you are."

Trevor's nails dug into your skin before dropped you harshly against the ground. Not even a second later, you felt his foot collide with your stomach, then your chest, then your back and lastly, your face. You were a yelping and bawling mess.

Trevor didn't let up on his kicking spree. He kicked all over, slapped you into next week, and yelled so many profanities at you. Your vision was starting to go blurry, your hearing going in and out and your consciousness blacking out. The last thing you heard was Trevor's body falling against the floor. You looked up, seeing a familiar brunette yelling into his phone.

Not even 10 minutes later, your body was being lifted onto a gurney. You felt the prick of a needle in your arm, that was the least painful thing at this moment. You heard the clinking of handcuffs as you could see Trevor being pushed into the back of a police car. Your vision went in and out before it completely went out.

••••••••••••

Last thing you know, you were being rushed to the trauma hospital nearby. You could faintly hear the sirens ring loudly as the ambulance sped to the hospital. You felt it suddenly stopped and heard the doors slam open. Your body jerked as the gurney flew through the emergency doors.

A group of doctors and nurses piled into the trauma room as they began hooking you up to machines and providing you with oxygen. You felt yourself go in and out of consciousness and your vision going out completely.

Suddenly, you blacked out, the last thing you see is a nurse climbing on top of you, starting CPR. You could feel your body convulse to the charges of the defibrillator. You still didn't wake, you still could only see complete darkness.

Next thing you know, your eyelids are pried open as a bright light flashes your eyes. They were checking for any blown pupils, luckily tour eyes were fine. Though you were still unconscious.

You felt another huge shock riddle throughout your body, causing your eyes to jolt open and your lungs finally fill with air. Doctors sighed with relief and soon enough you were being rushed to surgery.

After what felt like an eternity, general surgeons removed your spleen which caused immense amount of internal bleeding. Neuro fixed your brain bleed. Lastly, cardio had successfully repaired your diaphragm.

You were now stable, blood pressure fine, neuro function fine and oxygen levels safe. You were still out of it due to the anesthesia. Doctors predicted a few hours before you would finally wake up.

Those few hours passed by agonizingly slow for Ben. Ben was your emergency contact. When he had gotten the call, he nearly got pulled over for how dangerously fast he drove to the hospital. He almost got detained for how pushy and rude he was being, trying his hardest to get to you.

He had spent the last 10 hours, waiting in anticipation for you to wake up. Gwil was there too, comforting Ben as much as he could, although he had to be questioned by police multiple times throughout the day and night. He had drove back to your house because you had left something in his car. When he pulled up, he spotted Trevor's car, instantly feeling unsettled. It was when he heard you screaming that caused him to barrel through the front door and sprint upstairs. He nearly beat the shit out of Trevor when he saw what he was doing to you. He punched Trevor square in the face, and thre him down to the ground. Trevor instantly was knocked out and vulnerable. He had been taken to a different hospital to get checked out. Only came back with a concussion and a pretty charge of domestic abuse, aggravated assault and many other things due to all the drugs they found on his person. Needless to say, he was gonna be locked up for a long time.

It was around 10:45 at night when your eyes fluttered open. You groaned in pain and whimpered as you tried to moved. You nearly gagged on the ventilator that you had been attached to.

Smoothly, the nurse removed the ventilator from your mouth, causing you to gag once again. She replaced it with oxygen hooked up to your nose.

"Well look who's finally awake." She announced loudly, causing Ben to stir around and finally wake up.

He almost shot the nurse a death stare before he realized what she was doing. His head snapped towards you, tears instantly pouring from his eyes.

"Oh my gosh, Y/N. You're awake." He cried out, carefully reaching his hand out to yours. His fingers brushed against the back of your hand. He was so afraid to touch you, which kind of melted your heart.

"Ben..." You whispered, your voice hoarse.

"It's recommended to not speak for a little while after being taken off of a ventilator, so just drink a lot of water and rest tour throat."

You simply nodded, furrowing your brows as you finally felt the pounding headache coursing throughout your whole head. You forgotten the fact that you bad three major surgeries in one day. Spleen removed, diaphragm repaired and brain bleeds under control.

"I'm so sorry, Y/N. I knew I shouldn't have let you go. I hate that this happened to you. You didn't deserve any of this. God, I am so sorry." Ben choked out between sobs. It broke your heart to see him like this. You felt guilty, guilty because you left him in the dark for so long. Guilty because you were too scared to tell him in the first place. Tears began to slide down your face, stinging as they reached the open cuts on your lips.

You were so battered and bruised. From head to to, you had some kind of mark on you. You looked at your body, shaking at the thought of what happened to you. Your arm was in a sleeve, he had dislocated your shoulder and obliterated your wrist. You would need to have surgery next week with an orthopedic surgeon.

You were long ways away from recovery.

▪▪▪▪▪▪▪

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[honeypiehotchner]

Deception -- part seven

As promised, here is another update xx.

“What is this?”

           I look up from my tea, furrowing my eyebrows at Mycroft. “It’s tea? I told you I’d be in here,” I reply, thinking he’s referring to the fact that he’s returned from his afternoon meeting to find me already in his office. But, again, to be fair, I did tell him I’d let myself in.

           “No,” he pauses, opening his laptop to show me John’s blog. “What is this?”

           I chuckle. “It’s John’s blog. Seriously, Mycroft, are you alright? I told you last time he was starting it back up. I know it’s been a few weeks, but I didn’t think your memory was that bad—”

           “‘I’ve met someone,’” Mycroft reads. “‘I don’t normally use this blog for my personal life, especially not my dating life, but I’ve met someone. And I’ve never felt this way about someone before her. Maybe it’s wrong of me to say, especially considering she is technically off limits.’”

           I can feel my heart racing, but I put on my best look of confusion I know possible as I finish stirring sugar into my tea. I carefully sit down, pretending to think. “John hasn’t mentioned anyone in our sessions, so I really have no clue who that could be about.”

           Mycroft gives me a tired look. “Are you being serious?”

           I can tell by his expression that there’s no way I’m getting out of this. I roll my eyes. “Don’t be absurd, Mycroft.”

           “It’s not absurd!” He counters, moving to shut the door before he returns to lean against his desk. “You’re not…developing feelings, are you?”

           “Oh. My. God,” I shake my head in hysterics. “I am not having this conversation with you. You! Of all people.” I stand from the chair, crossing my arms over my chest as I step away from him, needing to pace.

           “Are you?” He presses on.

           I stop moving, nearly glaring at him. “I’m not discussing my feelings with you.”

           He sighs heavily, hanging his head. “You have.”

           “What does it matter if I have?” I cry. “He said it himself – if that’s about me, which I doubt it is, but I’m off limits. And he’s off limits, too. He’s my patient, for Christ’s sake.”

           “Yes, and since we’ve established that, I do encourage you to not let these feelings develop any further. Are we clear?”

           “Crystal,” I mutter, really wanting to scoff, because seriously? Feelings don’t work that way. If I could look at them and tell them to stop it, I would. If I could stop them from ever developing, I would. If I could cut them off completely, I would. But the point is, I can’t. “Are we done?”

           “I don’t know,” Mycroft replies curtly. “Is there anything else you need to tell me?”

           “I’m leaving,” I scoff, grabbing my purse.

           “Don’t let your feelings compromise the mission, Dr. Stewart,” Mycroft calls out as I slam the door, angrily searching for my keys.

           I can’t believe his nerve. Bringing that up. For no absolute reason. What does it matter if I’ve developed a crush? Isn’t it normal to? John’s an attractive, intelligent young man. What girl wouldn’t develop a crush on him if they see him often enough?

           And aside from that, it is a crush. A crush is nothing. A crush goes away after a while. A crush doesn’t linger. And that’s all this is, so it’ll be gone soon. I’m sure of it.

           I just have to push through it right now, and not feed into it at all. And it’ll go away.

           Even if it doesn’t, it doesn’t matter. Because it has to go away. It just has to.

~~~

I’m starting to despise my curious nature.

           I’ve now had to put my laptop away in the spare bedroom and close the door to keep it away from me. I want so badly to go on John’s blog and read the rest of what he’s said – not that I think it’s about me, but just to see. Because Mycroft was cruel in reading that aloud to me. I told him I was going to respect John’s wishes and not read it anymore, and Mycroft should’ve never read some of it to me.

           I’m getting a headache just from thinking about this. It’s absolutely ridiculous.

           I cannot like John Watson in that way. I cannot see him that way. At all, period, end of story. I can’t.

           Regardless of what my heart wants to feel, I can’t. I just can’t.

           If I wasn’t here on an undercover mission, it’d be different. If I wasn’t playing his therapist, it’d be different.

           But the fact of the matter is that it isn’t different. And this is the situation I’m in. This is my reality and I can’t fight it.

           It just can’t happen. And that’s the end of that.

~~~

I can’t sleep.

           I can’t exactly blame my lack of sleep on an unfamiliar place, either, because as an agent I had to get used to those, but yes, being in retirement got me out of that habit. But I’ve been here in London for a month and a half now. This house should be familiar enough for me to fall asleep rather quickly instead of staring out the window until the sun rises.

           Which I’ve done. Again.

           I drag myself out of bed, grabbing my favorite cardigan off the back of my door, swinging it around me as I go to make myself some tea.

           I really wish I could sleep. It’s draining to not sleep and especially on the days when John has an appointment scheduled, like today.

           I sigh heavily as I put the kettle on, silently debating on canceling his appointment, stating something like I woke up with a bad migraine or maybe food poisoning. But I know that would also warrant a call from Mycroft, and the last thing I need is that man breathing down my neck anymore than he already is. Nor do I need him questioning my competency, especially after that conversation we had.

           My only option is to put on my best face and deflect any and all personal questions from John about how I’m doing – since that has become a bad habit of his lately.

           But for now, I’m going to drink my tea, on the patio, and watch the sunrise.

[boogiewrites]

A Girl Walks Into A Bar 9

Characters: Declan Harp x Bella Fiore (OFC)

Summary: Modern Declan harp AU.  Day two of the music festival leads to a growing closeness between Declan and Bella. His natural good nature disarms her so much, she finds herself able to open up to him more than she expects. The addition of chemicals into her system facilitates her attempts at being more open.

Warnings/Tags: Language. Drugs. Flirting. Bella finally opening up to Declan. Declan being a protective sweetheart. BED SHARING. Cuddling.

Click on my screen name then go to Mobile Masterlist in my bio for my other works and chapters. (Had to do this since Tumblr killed links, sorry.)

In the morning Bella felt a bit ragged. Her sleep getting continuously disrupted from the rowdy crowds outside. She recalled being able to party for days straight, barely any sleep and running on fumes, caffeine and youth. Those days were passed now and she couldn't bring herself to truly miss them, they'd been wasted on people and things that didn't deserve being thought back on.

Another loud thud causes her to give up on her attempts at sleep. "Ugh." she groans, tossing a pillow against the double doors.

"Mmmph?" Declan grunts, raising his head, not bothered by the noise as much as she had been, but still annoyed that she seemed so restless the entire night. He didn't want her to be tired the whole time they were there. "Oh. Mornin'." he mutters, rubbing his face and popping his back.

She lets out a noisy sigh, sitting up and adjusting the neckline of her tank top. "Is it always like that?" she asks, throwing the covers off of her as he follows her lead.

"Is what what?" his voice is still deep and heavy with sleep and would be comforting to her if she wasn't so annoyed, sat on the side of the bed rubbing her face and adverting her eyes from his sleepy mess of bed head and puffy eyes.

"The noise and the knocking around." she grumbles, now stretching as he moves to sit up against the wall, gathering himself before moving. "I'm always in an RV and you don't notice it in those." she yawns, her words expelled forcefully in a sigh as she lays back on the bed.

"Oh. Yeah." he answers apologetically, looking at her pouted lips as she stares at the ceiling being able to see her in full light that comes through the tops of the back windows. As his body tended to be particularly responsive in the morning in ways he wasn't willing to explore right now, he deflects his eyes from her body. He closes them and rubs them, erasing the peak of tattoos on her lower stomach, a softness that sat between the line of her shorts and shirt. Or the wild halo of hair that fell around her head.

"Alright." she laments, scooting over as he begins to move off the bed.

"I'll go get us some breakfast. You start up some coffee?"

"Oh you don't have to-" she begins to excuse his good deeds.

"No, no. I slept better than you, I'll grab breakfast. Plus you aren't goin' anywhere alone? Remember?"

She gives him a sweet smile, her sleepy face affectionate and unfiltered.

He wasn't entirely sure why something that seemed like basic good manners to him made her look at him like that. Perhaps she wasn't used to being treated like this. The passing thought upset him and he gives her knee a pat before he throws her the bag of coffee from across the van. "Plus I have to piss like a racehorse." he moans with a snarled lip and he hears a deep chuckle come from her, happy to see the disgruntled look disappear from her face.

"You like it strong?"

"I like it however you like it." he says with a nod, taking a big, loud stretch outside the sliding door before grabbing his flip flops and wallet and closing the door behind him.

-----------

As Declan returns, arms carrying a large bag full of extra large breakfast burritos and hashbrowns, he sees Bella sitting with her mug and sipping away with a very annoyed look on her face out of the side of the van. As the van comes farther into view, he notices the guy posted up against the van next to them talking to her. She couldn't look less interested without giving him the finger.

"Hey babe I got the food." he says, puffing his chest out a bit as he walks up and completely ignores the guy, moving past him and sitting next to Bella in the van, moving to give her a kiss on the head casually.

"Ugh, thank you baby. You're a saint. You're an angel." she says, pinching his cheek before holding out grabby hands as he tosses a huge foil-wrapped burrito her way. He can tell she's trying to make him seem like her boyfriend. He'd played the role more times than he could count with friends that were women.

"Who are you?" Declan asks, looking up at the guy as he has his hands awkwardly in his pockets.

"Uh. Chris. I'm on the other side of you." he gives a nod, clearly uncomfortable now that Declan was there.

"Hey." he gives him a nod. "You mind lettin' me and the woman eat breakfast in peace?"

"Oh, Sorry. Didn't know you guys were..." he trails off, walking away, not bothering to finish his sentence.

"Oh my God, thank you Declan." she says with a sigh before taking a huge bite.

"I've been a fake boyfriend more times than I can count." he grins, following her lead and taking an entirely ungraceful bite. "I can tell when a woman's uncomfortable."

"Unlike Him. Jesus." she rolls her eyes, digging for a napkin. "Hey, like your tats." she says in a deep dumb voice.

"I'm surprised you didn't tell him to fuck off with it being this soon after you woke up."

"If I had been more awake when he first showed up yes." she nods. "I like having my coffee out on my patio in the mornings when it's nice out. So I thought this was the equivalent of that. But I forget there are people here who can just walk up to you. Don't have to deal with that at home."

"True. This spot is pretty active." he says between bites.

"Would you hate me if I suggested something that would make us lose a chunk of our day today?"

"Is it murder that guy?" he grins.

She laughs with a mouthful of food and shakes her head. "No." she mumbles, finishing her bite. "Could we move the van? Maybe to like, the edge of the field or something? I don't mind walking longer if you don't. I'd just like to be away from the crowds. I'm a light sleeper and I'll be a miserable bitch if I can't sleep."

"Nah I don't mind. I don't want you miserable either." he shakes his head. "We can move. Won't take long since we're just gonna go slow over a short distance." he shrugs off her concerns. "I would prefer it to be quieter too." he mumbles in agreement.

"Thanks." she says with a nudge of her elbow to his side.

"Don't mention it." he says with a mouthful of food and she smiles endearingly at him. She was really warming up to him and she wasn't even having to try at this point.

-------------------

They slowly make their way through the stream of incoming vehicles towards the far end of the field against the tree line. It seemed one other person had this same idea as an older RV was parked and set up with a little fire pit and an awning of tie-dye tapestry off to the side.

"Put enough space between us to where no one else could fit, but like almost enough space." Bella says, leaning forward in the passenger seat.

"Really?" he asks with a grin. "You're gonna make me be that guy?"

"To get some rest? Yes. I would do far worse than do a low key asshole parking job to keep people away from me." she says convincingly.

He shrugs and pulls in, leaving the back of the van to face to the large field that tilted down the slight hill they'd gone up on.

They set up again, and this time it doesn't take much time at all. Bella is pulling out her clothes, getting ready to start getting ready for the festivities.

"Yeah, too much noise and stuff down there." she hears Declan say.

She walks around the van to find him shaking hands with an older couple who looked like they were conceived at the original Woodstock.

"Ah. Here she is." he says, holding his arm out for Bella to come closer. "Meet the neighbor's Bells." he smiles. "This is Joe and Patty. They like the quiet same as us." he explains, giving her reason to let her guard down.

"Yeah, we just aren't quite up to speed with that crowd." Patty's kind face says, a flower on her cheek and her hair loose and wild and greying.

"Yeah I'm a light sleeper, can't handle getting knocked around all night down there. Plus... annoying guys and all." Bella rolls her eyes.

"Oh I remember." she laughs. "Joe was one of those annoying guys weren't you dear?" she calls over to the man in bellbottoms and a worn tie-dye shirt.

"I was never annoying. You were uptight." he teases.

"Can't argue with that too much." she shrugs.

"You having trouble sleeping?" Joe asks, moving closer, only having heard half the conversation.

"Joe..." Patty sighs.

"Yeah, I have a hard time letting my guard down with a bunch of people around."

"Well I can help you with that!" he says cheerfully.

"Joe." Patty scolds, smacking his arm with her hand.

"Nah, nah. They're cool, Pats, look at 'em." he ignores her rolling eyes and takes a joint out of his shirt pocket. "This'll help ya sleep." he gives Bella a wink.

Declan watches the interaction go down, eyes shifting curiously to Bella to see her reaction.

She stands and stares at his outstretched hand, a joint rolled with little strawberries all over the paper. She's reminded of her teen days in parking lots at metal show smoking ditch weed out of makeshift pipes from apples and soda bottles. "You know what Joe?" she says, her shoulders loosening up. "I think you're right." she says confidently, taking it from him. "And I more than appreciate the generosity." she nods and gives it a look. "This is just straight right? Not mixed with anything?"

"Oh goodness, honey no." Patty laughs. "We're simple when it comes to that kinda thing."

"I mean we did some acid and whatnot back in the day but those days are long gone."

"You did do mushrooms last year at Joshua Tree if you do recall."

"Well that's not the same thing now." he says defensively.

Declan and Bella take an immediate liking to the older couple, standing with subtle smiles as they harmlessly bicker. They were rather adorable.

"There's plenty more where that came from." Joe says, ending the light-hearted teasing between him and his wife. "Don't be strangers. Mi casa, su casa and all." he says with outstretched arms.

"If this makes her sleep I'll be back." Declan laughs, putting his hands on Bella's shoulders. "I'd prefer her well rested to all jacked up on caffeine."

"Speaking of which I need to do that and get ready." Bella remarks with a nod. "Thank you for this, again. I appreciate it. It's been a long time since I've smoked but I do remember it chilling me out so. Here's to hoping." she knocks the joint in the air like a glass and politely bows out of the conversation.

"So how long have you two been together?" Patty asks Declan warmly.

"Oh, we're not together." Declan says with a shake of his head.

Patty side-eyes him, a knowing smile from experience. "You just met then?" she gives a slow nod.

"Known each other a few months now." he says, his body language giving himself away as his hands move to his pockets.

"She's a guarded one isn't she?" she smiles.

"Uh." Declan hesitates, wondering how much to divulge to a stranger. But she seemed nice and was certainly not giving him any bad vibes. "Yeah. She is. Just... in general she is." he cracks a smile in his nervousness.

"I have a feeling she'll come around. Wouldn't have come here alone with you if she didn't plan on letting you into her life." she says with a friendly pat to his arm. "You two would be cute together. ARE cute together actually." she chuckles. "I was like her once. Just give her some time. Nice young man like you." she tilts her head supportively.

"DECLAN?" Bella shouts from the van.

"Yeah?" he yells back, tilting towards the sound as Patty grins and turns to move away.

"Go on." she laughs, shooing him back to the van.

-------

"Well aren't you just the prettiest thing!" Patty says with clasped hands as Bella walks around the van where Declan sits, waiting and ready to head out for her.

Her hair is big and curly, tiny braids in random places, keeping it out of her face. Covering her black crochet crop top is a long sheer kimono cover-up in the same color. She wears high waisted faux snakeskin bell bottoms, hiding her boots underneath as they skim the ground.

"My word she looks like she stepped out of a time machine." Joe laughs, taking a puff off his joint.

"Thank you." Bella's face lights up, a genuine smile that shows her teeth, her natural makeup with a lot of high lighter shines in the sun.

"You look badass Bells." Declan says, holding his arms out with palms up. She also looked amazingly attractive. The pants tight to show off her curves, getting a peek at the tattoo that rested between her breasts and flares out underneath them.

"I was never cool enough for tattoos. Needles always scared me." Patty says with a shake of her head.

"Never too late to get them." Bella answers supportively.

"This is what you meant by outfit huh?" Declan says, walking over to her and looking her up and down. She notices and doesn't mind, she expects it. Outfits like this deserved to be looked at and she knew she looked good.

"It is. You're gonna have to take some pictures of me for Instagram." she grins and takes her phone out of her small suede fringed bag.

"Oh no. Photographer duty. I'm all too familiar."

"You are? Good." she chuckles, pulling him to the other side of the van.

"See you guys later!" Declan says, half turning and waving goodbye.

--- She knew what she was doing in front of a camera, he had to give her that. "How do you know how to pose like that? I never know what to do in pictures. I do like the same two things." he mumbles, holding up the phone and taking shots as she moved, as instructed.

"Years of being super self-conscious about my body and looking in the mirror."

His eyes move away from the screen to her and he pouts slightly.

"Just an honest answer." she shrugs, posing from the side, getting pictures in with a large floppy hat before they left.

"I appreciate that. As always." he says with a still sad lilt.

"Just do it in the mirror. It's practice. Once everyone started taking pictures constantly that everyone saw online I wanted to look good so I took a lot myself."

"The dark days of Myspace."

"Dark days? Psh. No. The glory days." she laughs and he snaps a picture of her that is his favorite yet. She didn't smile much in photos he'd noticed, but around other people she didn't do it much in general. Yet another thing to keep his hopes up.

"Can I get in some of these?" he asks.

"Yeah, of course." she says with an obvious answer and a shake of her head. "You hold it, your arms are longer. You're like, made for good angles." she grins, leaning in next to him as he snapped a few shots. "Gonna have to keep you around, you're tall as hell and the height makes me look mad skinny in these." she laughs at herself.

"Just call me a human tripod." he announces, handing her back her phone.

She stops and looks up at him, her eyes narrowing as his eyes meet hers. Her lips start tight, holding in a laugh before it escapes as a huff out air from her nose and her shoulders shake. "You sure you want me calling you that? In public? Where other people can hear? I mean... I can but I think that's a bit heavy-handed." he watches her eyes wrinkle with laughter as she wears a broad grin on her face, her wrists limp as she laughs and he joins her. He shoves her away with a snort.

"Jesus Bells, mind out of the gutter."

"Can't help it. I'm garbage, the gutter is where I live." she says defensively as she starts to walk away, her eyes going back to her phone but the same big smile stays and he watches it dutifully until it fades. ---------- The main acts were probably only just arriving in the city itself, the second stages were set to be occupied for the evening though. Mindless chatting, the muffled sounds of people and music coming from tall speakers around the grounds compose their journey. As the day went on the crowds grew tighter and they had to designate meeting spots if they got separated. Their first test of this was Bella waiting by a colorfully decorated Maypole among the variety of tents that rest along the opposite side of the food section of the setup. Declan goes to find the bathrooms and pats her head before departing. He knew she could handle herself but it didn't stop him from worrying. His tendency to be protective over women when he was out somewhere alone with them was rearing its head.

As he walks back to their meeting spot, music playing loudly over the speaker between acts, something he didn't recognize, he sees Bella is laughing and chatting with another girl. They clearly knew each other, drinks in each others hands as they started dancing on and off together to the music. He stops for a moment, his chin pressing back into his neck as he watched her. He'd never seen Bella dance before and he hadn't stopped to consider he'd be seeing her do it at a music festival. But he forgot that girls love to dance, especially when they get together. And currently, he was watching her and this unknown girl half bent and what could only be described by him as middle school dance illegal moves, moving in rhythm together. But her face was lit up, laughing and switching places back to front. He hadn't seen her face look so happy and her body moving without the tension she usually carried around.

"Hey! There you are!" she says enthusiastically as she continues to move her wide hips and strong shoulders as the other girl looks him up and down. "This is Joey!" she says nodding to the girl.

"Hey." she calmly, answers, giving Declan a nod that bounced the braids in her hair.

"Leave you alone and you find a friend huh?" he says with a smile. "What's up, I'm Declan." he says with a return of the friendly nod.

"She already told me that." she grins, taking another drink and spinning, her denim shorts frayed and cut short, her top looking more like something Bella would wear, an old distressed and worn Thriller t-shirt that was cropped short enough to see a peak of red bra underneath. Her dark skin shines, covered in a bright highlighter that looked liked what Bella had also dusted all over her face.

"So you two know each other?"

"Yeah." Bella nods. "We uh... took a class together."

"A class?" Declan asks, knowing Bella hadn't gone to college, or at least that's what he thought she'd said.

"Yeah. A...." they both look at each other and start laughing, Bella shoving her slightly as he swears a blush creeps up her face.

"An exercise class." Joey clarifies with self-assured pouted lips.

"Ah. Didn't know you worked out with other people."

"It's a group thing." Bella says dismissing the topic of discussion. "She's here with her boyfriend."

"He's in line for some band merch he just HAD to get." she says with an air of playful annoyance.

"So are we chillin' here for a bit or..." Declan offers with shrugging shoulders.

"Nah, just waitin' on you big guy." she says with a little chuckle, taking another drink. "Gettin' some dancing out of my system while you're gone."

"Don't tell me this tall drink of water ain't dancin'?" Joey shoots a scolding look his way.

"Nah.I don't really... dance." he says with a shake of his head before looking down at the ground.

"Shame." Joey smirks, elbowing Bella with a knowing grin. "Your girl here can sure dance."

"Shut up Joey." Bella scolds. "Call me if you wanna hang out, we're here all weekend. K?"

"Got ya." she says raising her glass as she takes Declan's arm and starts walking away. "Ask her to show you some moves from class!" Joey yells, a loud cackle heard as he moves his innocent eyes back to Bella's face which was grinning broadly in amusement.

"Moves from class?" he asks with confusion.

"Maybe one day." she glances up his way and smiles. "Get me drunk and maybe you'll get lucky." she laughs, running her hand through her hair. "C'mon. I wanna get closer." she says, moving seamlessly to reach down and take his hand into hers, the woman a foot shorter than him tugging him along like he was on a leash.

---------- The pleasantly warm afternoon turns into a chilly night quickly. After being on their feet all day and a lack of quality sleep the night before Bella lets out a loud an exaggerated yawn. Her mouth open wide, her eyes squinted shut, the now smudged eye makeup growing an extra crease or two as her eyes water and the wear and tear of the day catch up to her, the beer's she'd been nursing steadily all day not helping matters any. "If I wanted to head back to the van would you call me a pussy?" she looks to Declan with sleepy eyes and the seriousness in the question makes him laugh loudly.

"Oh poor baby Bells." he coos, putting his arm around her shoulder and giving her a firm squeeze. "You've been slowing down for a while now. Don't think you can hide it from me."

"I wasn't NOT trying to hide it from you." she shrugs. "It's not even ten o' clock. Oh my God I'm so old." she laughs and wipes under her eyes.

"Not old. Just tired. We've had our first day of full sun for the year, it'll wear ya down if you're not ready for it."

"Can't all be made in the image of a sun God like you." she says with a sarcastic shake of her head.

"She must be sleepy she's handing out compliments." he laughs and rubs her back.

"Let's just get back so I can shed this skin and get some snacks in me." she groans.

"Then look alive, faster we walk the quicker we get there." he says, pulling her clumsily alongside him.

"Your legs are so long! I can't go that fast." she lectures, her other hand playfully slapping at his arm.

"I can solve this." he says letting her go and turning, moving quickly to scoop her up as she no longer feels sleepy being raised into the air, taller than even her tallest heels had ever taken her, now thrown over his shoulder.

"Declan!" she shouts, her voice wavering in its surprise and uncertainty. "Warn a bitch before you go grabbin' her up!" she says, trying to hold herself up against his back.

"Don't fight it. I've got ya. You're not heavy." he says with a shake of his head. "Just relax and it'll be easier."

"That the line you use on all your dates?" she snorts.

"No it is not." he says proudly.

"At least you got that going for ya." she teases.

"You are being held over six feet in the air right now at my mercy you really wanna be talkin' shit right about now?" he laughs.

"Point taken." she says with a nod he feels. "At least I'm not sleepy anymore."

"Look at me. Solvin' all your problems." he says smugly as he hears her sigh and relaxes against him.

------

She's letting Declan change after he so graciously let her get ready for bed first. She gets into her usual tank top and shorts and pops over to see Pat and Joe as Declan had dipped out of their conversation when she'd appeared form the van. Now fresh-faced, her hair still down and wild from the wind and movement of the day she moves to the other side of their RV where she hears music and perks up.

"Oh my god is this Todd Rundgren?!" she says excitedly.

"You've got a good ear there lady!" Joe says with a bright smile.

"I love Todd. There'd be no Bat Out Of Hell without him!" she says obviously. Such a weird but brilliant producer. Big influence on me actually."

"You a producer? I've got a cd of my stuff if you're interested!" he says with a laugh.

"Oh leave the poor girl alone." Pat laughs.

"I am a producer though." she smiles warmly.

"Oh shit really?" Pat says apologetically.

"Yeah my friend and I have a little record company we built ourselves. It's mostly just doing the technical work and some advertising for some local bands but I love it." she explains.

"Well, a musician and a bar owner go very well together." Pat smiles.

"Can't make music together and not fall in love though. Tricky that." Joe laughs.

"I have heard that." Bella gives him a coy smile.

"Are you two dolls going off to bed?"

"I think so. I'm a bit wired now that I'm all cozy and washed my face though." Bella shrugs.

"Time for some of your cool uncle's medicine?" Joe laughs, handing over the rolled joint he'd been working on. It looked just like a cigarette and the smell of fire and incense helped cover up the smell of the weed a bit.

"Yeah, sure. This some mild ditch stuff or some of the super crazy government weed that's out now?"

"Some of our own actually."

"Oh shit really?" she says with wide eyes. "That's cool as hell." she mumbles, weighing the stick in her fingers.

"Yeah we're retired and go around the country in the warm months to festivals, we're based out in California." Pat explains.

"You're a long way from home."

"Nah." Joe says, patting the side of the RV "Got all we need right here." he smiles contently.

"Hey what you kids doin'?" Declan says in his best cop voice as Bella jumps and he laughs as he approaches and pats her shoulders as she puts her hand to her chest and shakes her head.

"Don't do that." she says with a laugh.

"Sorry." he chuckles. "Ya been out here smokin' the reefer without me?" he says in a slowed down voice.

"Hey! I resemble that remark!" Joe replies pointing his finger and laughing.

"Yes you do." he says with a nod and they both let out adorable dumb laughs. Pat and Bella look at each other with shaking heads and closed mouth smiles.

"I hadn't started yet actually." Bella clarifies. "Got distracted talking."

"Well ya gonna bogart it or pass?" he grins down at her as he watches the shadows from the fire dance across her freshly washed face. The frogs and crickets from the woods set a white noise background of sound. Being away from most everyone still, there was a good amount of privacy and darkness surrounding the little camp they'd set up.

"Fine," she says with attitude. "Peer pressure much?" she says with a shake of her head, hand reaching out for a lighter. Pat throws one in a cute little coozie her way without another word. She falls into muscle memory, lighting and inhaling and holding, passing it to Declan.

"You're a fuckin' pro. Look at that." he says impressed.

She exhales and starts to cough and it turns into a laugh. "Gotta cough to get off." she chuckles out. "I smoked a lot in high school. But that's better than anything we had back then. Smoking out of apples and gravity bongs from two liters." she grins recalling the memories in back seats of cars in concert parking lots, taking turns keeping lookout and acting like everyone didn't know they were stoned anyway.

"Take your time that's not some old ditch weed." Joe says as he grunts and sits down next to Pat.

"You hear him Declan? Just cause your big doesn't mean you gotta hit it hard." she says with a wag of her finger.

"But hard's the only way I know to hit it Bells." he says with a dramatic offense taken and she bursts into giggles.

"Oh shit." she covers her mouth and continues with a giggle he'd never heard before.

"Looks like someone's a giggler." Pat says with a grin.

When Bella pouts and shrugs Pat defends her. "It's an adorable laugh, sweetheart, no shame in it. You're happy. Laugh." she says with open inviting arms.

Declan exhales and coughs even more than Bella. "Oh shit." he chokes out. "Fuck." he laughs and hits his chest.

"Told ya." she says with wide and open eyes.

"More?"

"Gimmie." she says taking it from him. The next hour floats by in a haze. All four laughing and listening to music. Bella strums a bit on guitar, finding it easier to play high than drunk. Declan leaves them like this while he hides to pee, with her humming happily, closed eyes and a smile on her face.

When he comes back, he walks right into what trap Pat had set for him to find Bella in. Bella holds a joint in her fingers, dancing in the half-light between the van and the RV, the music playing a bit louder, now from the van, a song he didn't recognize but reminded him of something he'd heard before.

"They're turning in. But she shared her playlist with me." Bella says with her hair brushing across her face and shoulders, her body bopping slightly to the music.

"Yeah?" he says, his mouth dry for more reasons than smoking. The light of the dying fire casts shadows on her blissful face. Her long lashes and full lips are exaggerated in the warm and cool tones of the moon versus the firelight. He licked his lips and found nothing there to comfort the lump growing in his throat. He couldn't help but notice the bounce to her chest and ass as she moved to the beat, lips pursing to sing with the song. Such a pretty voice he thought with a sigh. "What uh... what song is this?" he asks.

"I Saw the Light. The one and only Todd Rundgren." she says without opening her eyes, her head moving to the beat. "And a feeling that feels so strong. About youuuu---oooo--ooooo." her lighter, relaxed voice coos.

"You've talked about him before." is what comes out as he listens to the lyrics, too high to realized Pat had put on something Bella would love and know and he would have to pay attention to and be pushed into recognition of some things. The lyrics were just too well suited. Pat knew what she was doing.

"Mmm Hmmm." she says with a nod, opening her eyes. "I'll go turn it off." she says with a sigh, taking a short drag. "You don't dance so I guess we'll get in the van huh?" she says with a hint of disappointment that shows through her voice.

"You like to dance?" he asks, standing still and not even thinking to offer to help her as she moves to the passenger door and he sees her bend over, her butt stuck up like some cute little bunny tail in her shorts as she undoes the phone from the system.

"Oh yeah. I just don't do it much. Around people I mean."

"You don't do a lot of things around people do you?"

She stops and looks at him, studying his relaxed face. "Guess I don't do I?" she responds with a shrug. "You wanna?" she says, holding the van door open and he stares for a little too long, mind getting distracted.

"Yeah." he mumbles, crawling into the warm and inviting space.

"Here ya go babe." she says without the usual hesitancy she notices. She'd tried to start calling him babe because he called her that. She thought it seemed fair and even. It was one of those things that she was trying to do to not be so uptight. So far she was finding it easier to let loose around Declan more than anyone else. She had tried not to think too much into it.

"Thanks." he says after sliding his bare legs under the covers, only some shorter shorts covering him, the tank top from the night before was now replaced by a cut up t -shirt that had the sleeves gone and the sides split. She couldn't help but focus on his body in it with a clear view like she had.

"You're like... really buff." she says without thinking, eyes still looking him over as he blushes, going unseen in the low light of the van, only the string of dim yellowed lights on as they sat side by side.

"I'm not like... ripped or anything." he offers as a defense.

"No." she shakes her head. "But that's good." she says supportively. "You're already pretty intimidating. And vanity muscle is useless so." she shrugs and chews her lip.

With less coughing this time around, they pass the joint back and forth, eventually opening up the back door because they'd hot boxed themselves on accident. The aftermath is two very giggly friends who were laughing over almost everything they did or said. After Declan falls out while opening the doors she grabs him and pulls him back, them both snorting and eyes watering as they move slowly and clumsily in the bed. They eventually quiet down a bit, both sitting cross-legged after finishing smoking and looking up at the sky.

"It really is gorgeous out here." she says softly.

"Almost as good as being in the woods." he says, both with their eyes on the sky.

"Well we've got the wood right there so..." she chuckles and motions to the treeline.

"You know what I mean smart ass."

"I do." she smiles contently. "You spend a lot of time out there?"

"As much as I can when the weather's nice."

"Do you go to get away from people? That's why I'd go." she muses.

"I almost always go with people."

"I don't know how you do it." she shakes her head.

"Do what?"

"Be around people so much. As a generality... I hate people." she laughs and looks down at her fingers fidgeting.

"I've noticed." he grins back, looking over at her, watching her eyes move slow and unfocused across the star-dotted sky. "But you're here with people." he offers. "Er... a person. Me." he elaborates.

"Yeah but I don't hate you." she says quickly and as if it were obvious and it makes his heart race for a moment. "You're different." she says moving to swing her head his way and meet his eyes.

"Different?"

"Yeah. You don't infuriate me."

"Thanks. You don't uh, infuriate me either." he offers sweetly and it makes her smile.

"That's a first. I'm a real pain in the ass." she laughs, it shakes her shoulders and chest.

"Nah. You're just different." his voice is so soft and polite she feels her stomach churn at the affection in his voice. No one spoke to her like that, she wasn't sure how it made her feel. Her face flushed and her skin broke out in goosebumps.

"Good different?" her honest inquiry surprises him.

"Yeah. Duh." he furrows his brow and shakes his head. "Wouldn't've agreed to come here with you if I didn't like being around you." he states obviously.

He sees her lashes flutter for a moment, looking away in thought as her face turns sad. She really wasn't used to someone telling her that. "Thanks." she says meekly.

"What for?"

"For saying that." her eyes look down at her legs, avoiding his that were still looking at her.

"It's true." he shrugs.

"You're really nice. You know that?"

"I've been told that on a handful of occasions." he grins.

"I haven't." she sighs and shakes her head. "I'm always so mean." she says in a regretful way.

"You're not mean." he suggests. "You're just not..." he stops and thinks for what he means to say. "Easy." he tries.

She nods. "I would agree with that."

"You make people work for it. Nothin' wrong with that. I figure you're just protecting yourself." he says the last bit without meaning to. He didn't want to pass judgment on her.

"Someone's got to." she says without thinking, her eyes far away and his heart sinks.

"I mean... I will." the words come out of his mouth before his brain even realizes what he's saying.

Her face turns slowly towards his, at first her eyes were still a bit sad, then they looked down and away and a smile started to grow as she saw the honesty in his face. Always that honesty with him, she thought. "You're really sweet." she mumbles, shoving his knee with her hand like a kid in the schoolyard that didn't know how to express their emotions properly.

"Someone's gotta be." he says with a grin to break the tension.

"Declan?" she asks softly, their eyes holding each other's gaze.

He feels the heat rise to his face, eyes fighting to not look down at her lips as her teeth worried away at them. "Yeah?" he asks with those soulful eyes that make her want to be soft, to let someone in. Maybe he was the right person to open up to.

"I'm getting really cold." she says with a huff of a laugh.

"Oh shit." he says, shaking his head. "Of course you are." he says hurriedly. "Lemme. Here." he says, moving and quickly shutting the doors back as she crawls to the end of the bed at his feet. "You ready to sleep? Probably. You were tired hours ago." he says, fluffing the blanket and laying it over her legs, giving them a pat before busying himself with his own pillows.

"Yeah." her voice sounds small and unlike herself. He notices but decides to not say anything, he didn't know if he'd tried to make her open up a bit too much in his own open book like state from smoking.

"Uh. Night Bells." he says, reaching up and turning off the light.

"Night." she murmurs. He feels her stay still, staying sitting up with her arms on her legs. She sits in the dark, eyes adjusting, each looking at the other but not being able to tell. She didn't want to sleep this way again. She spent the whole night worrying where he limbs where or if she was kicking him or if she was about to fall out of the bed. She also felt cold. But she wasn't sure if the shiver was from the temperature or if it was from something else. She chews her lip and tries to force herself to speak. 'You're just sitting up and starring like an idiot. Just. Say. Something.' she thinks to herself. "Declan?" she forces out. She had to do something if she said his name. So she started there.

"Yeah?" he says a little too quickly.

"Uh. I don't... wanna sleep head to toe." is all she says. Baby steps.

"Oh." he pauses. "Okay?" he also sits up, legs straight out.

She takes a deep breath. "Okay. I know I'm only gonna let myself say this because I'm high. But I think that's okay. I should say what I want when I'm sober I just..." he hears her let out a grumble of an annoyed sound. "I'm cold and I'm constantly worried about how I'm sleeping like this can we just... sleep together? Like..." her voice is so unsure of itself, something he'd never heard from her. He feels her move, her pillow landing next to his as she moves and slides next to him in the bed. "Like can we lay together? I don't wanna be like... forward or fuckin'... somethin' I dunno." she whines and starts second-guessing herself.

"No! No." he says quickly, laying down. "You wanna... cuddle up?" he asks, the high pitch of his voice showing his excitement he was trying to hide, hoping he wasn't misreading her hesitant and jumbled words.

He hears a tiny hummed, "Mmm Hmm." from her. A flood of relief comes over her as she slides in next to him. She's immediately hit the warmth from his body and it makes her want to let her walls down. "I'm... I'm not good at being... like this. I hate to use the word intimate but sleeping with someone and cuddling IS intimate so..." she shrugs and lays on her back, unsure of what to do next.

"Lucky for you I'm the best big spoon around." she could even feel his smile in the dark. "C'mere Bells." he says gently, pulling her back to his chest. As soon as she felt him against her it was like something broke loose in her. Something grew in her belly, something pleasant and warm. "Don't ever feel like you can't tell me you want something. No judgment from me, alright?"

"Kay." she says with a nod he feels. "You're really nice. And sweet. And understanding. And I'm... not." she lets out a frustrated sigh. "It's really hard for me to open up to people."

"I know. And that's fine." he says with a tone of indifference she appreciates. She didn't want pity. "But... we care about each other. We even like each other. The fact that you even asked me to come with you I knew meant a lot. And I appreciate it. I can respect being vulnerable is hard for you. It is for a lot of people. But... I'm here. I'm not gonna push you away for asking for something. That's not how I roll." he says, squeezing his arms around her.

"Thank you." she says bashfullly.

"Don't mention it." he says with a kiss to the back of her head. "Now you just steal all my warms okay?" he chuckles. "That's your job. Get comfy and stay warm." after a bit of a pause. "Oh yeah and sleep." he adds with a laugh. He can feel a little huff of a laugh from her and he lets out a more relaxed sigh.

"Night Declan." she whispers, feeling her breath travel over her his hand that rested in front of her face, his body much bigger than hers and almost caging her in a way that didn't feel claustrophobic.

"Night Bella." he mutters into her hair.

She lays there and does what he says, shifting slightly and he doesn't complain once. She rests, eyes shut, feeling his breathing, matching it with her own and helping her calm down. She nuzzles into the pillow, eventually getting his arm and wrapping hers around it as she realized she would be most comfortable that way, even if it did sort of shove his arms between her boobs. But he didn't seem to notice. So she reclined there, soaking up the warmth first, then feeling the steady breathing, then the weight of him on her. She hadn't slept with someone like this before. It felt different and odd but, good. She felt her muscles decompress, her lids grow heavy, the pillow feeling like she was sinking down into it bit by bit. Before she falls asleep, she figures out what this comforting feeling is, this new experience before falling asleep she was having. She realized that for the first time she actually felt safe in a man's arms.

@vale0413 @littledeadgirlwalking @jaegeeeeer @phillipkopusimagines-and-stuff @mjolnir96 @xmother-mortemx @this-isnt-madness

[titsoutforkapanen]

Giving In. Ch 2

I am so so so excited for this story!! I hope you are too!!

__________________________________________

I was laying in my room when I was getting a facetime call from Tyler.

“Aren’t you on the plane?” I asked rolling onto my stomach.

“Yeah, but don’t worry. I’m sitting alone” he said panning over so I could see the empty seat beside him.

“Okay, well anyways, how many more games till you’re back?”

“Three, we’ll be home Friday night” he said looking over at someone who had yelled his name.

“I wanna come over, but what should I tell Jamie?” I mumbled laying my head on my arm.

“Well I have something you could use as an excuse” He said leaning back against the chair. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the small part of his chest that peeking out from the few opened buttoned. “So the ice girls are hiring a few new girls and I told them you skated so they said they would open up a spot for you. So, just tell him that you’re having a bonding night with the girls before your final try out” he smiled at the camera sending one of his famous smirks.

“Wait? They opened a spot for me to try out?” I questioned, not believing what he was telling me.

“Yes they did, and your first day of tryouts are tomorrow.”

“Oh my god. Ty, are you serious?”

“Dead” he smiled at me before he set his phone in his lap and I heard him talking to Jamie. “Yeah, dude I’m sure she’s fine maybe she went to bed early or something” Tyler said to Jamie. I looked at my notifications and saw that I had a few missed texts from Jamie. “We’re in the clear” Tyler muttered as he lifted his phone back up to show me his face.

“It’s late here, ty I’m going to go to bed so I can get enough sleep for tomorrow” I said walking into my bathroom to start my nighttime routine.

“Okay, goodnight, Hazy.”

“Goodnight Ty, enjoy the rest of your flight” I smiled as I clicked the end button. I sat my phone down and brushed my teeth and washed my face and got into bed. I answered Jamie’s texts telling him about my plans for tomorrow and how I was trying out for the ice girls. I plugged my phone in and turned on my lights and fell asleep.

INSTAGRAM

Hazy_Bennn: Bed time 😴😴

TIME SKIP!!

FRIDAY

I was sitting in the waiting room for them to call us all back and tell us if we made the team or not. I was called into the back by one of the girls and I sat in front of the two head dancers.

“Hi Hazy” Tessa said sending me a smile.

“Hi guys” I smiled.

“So I want to tell you up front you were one of the best girls to try out. But we can’t offer you a job.” Tessa said sadly looking between me and the other girls.

“What do you mean?” I was appalled that they said that I was one of the best but they couldn’t hire me. It didn’t make any sense.

“Our boss told us that we couldn’t hire you but he didn’t give us a reason.” I felt my chest tighten but I took a deep breath to try and keep the tears at bay.

“We’re sorry Hazy” Britney said with a frown. I got up to walk out when I heard one of the girls speak up.

“I think it was your brother” Lilly said as I grabbed the door knob.

“Thank you girls” I sadly smiled walking out.

I walked into the house livid. “Jamie?” I shouted listening for an answer.

“In the kitchen!” he yelled back. I stomped into the kitchen and leaned against the wall waiting for him to notice my attitude.

“Are you fucking kidding me Jamie?” I asked as he closed the pantry door. “You told them not to hire me! Why would you do that?! You know how important this was to me!”

“I don’t want you walking around in the outfits they wear”

“That isn’t up to you Jamie! I am almost 20 years old!”

“I don’t know what to tell you Hazy” he said grabbing his coffee.

“Fuck you Jamie” I growled walking back towards my room. I grabbed my bag that had my clothes and stuff in it and walked back downstairs.

“Where are you going?” He yelled at me as I opened the door.

“Anywhere but here. Leave me alone” I said slamming the door shut behind me and walking towards my jeep. I threw my bag in the back and headed towards Tyler’s house.

I knocked on the door and heard barks from the other side. “Hey, babe…” Tyler cut himself off when he saw my face. “What happened?” He asked pulling me inside the house.

“I didn’t get the job… and it’s because Jamie told them not to hire me” I cried as Tyler pulled me into his chest.  

“I’m sorry Hazy, I didn’t know he would do that” he mumbled into my hair carrying me over to the couch. We sat down and he turned on the tv letting it fill the silence.

“I’m sorry, I’m not being very sexy am I?” I laughed sniffling a little.

“It’s perfectly fine don’t worry about it” he said pulling me closer to him. “Let’s just watch a movie” he turned on netflix and we fell asleep watching the movie.

I woke up the next morning on the couch with Tyler beside me. I smiled to myself getting up to go to the bathroom. When I walked back into the living room he was awake. “Good morning” He said walking up to me pulling me in for a kiss.

“You have morning breath” I giggled against his lips.

“So do you” he joked back. “Let’s go swimming” he said pulling me towards the patio.

“I don’t have a swimsuit with me you dummy” I laughed.

“Well let’s go get one” he said grabbing his keys off the counter. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my purse.

“Jamie will see us”

“No he won’t. He’s at the optional skate we had this morning.” I muttered an okay following him to his car.

When we got to the house we walked in and up to my room. He was sitting on my bed as I looked for the swimsuit I wanted. I was going through the basket I had my swimsuits in when I felt a pair of hands on my hips. I stood up and turned around to be pulled into Tyler’s chest.

“Those shorts make your ass look fantastic” he muttered before kissing me. His hands roamed my body landing on my ass. He signaled for me to jump. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he walked us to my bed.

When we had finished I told him I wanted to shower so he went down stairs and was going to watch something on tv.

I grabbed a red and black bikini and sat it on my bed as I got in the shower.

I stepped out and grabbed my towel but before I could wrap up in it I saw the light bruising in the shape of hands on my hips and a hickey on my collar bone. I rolled my eyes and let out a small laugh. I wrapped up in my towel and walked into my room. I brushed out my hair and put my bikini on and grabbed the stuff I was going to need. I started to walk downstairs and was about halfway “Ty I’m ready to go” I said but when I didn’t hear anything in return I looked up from my phone. I felt my heart drop. Jamie was standing in the walkway with the door open and Jordie was on facetime. I could tell Jamie was livid by his facial expression. I felt like I was going to cry and have an anxiety attack all at once. But before I could step in and say something Tyler did.

“We can explain”

[raphpanda21]

Such a beautiful lie to believe in

Last time

Eros: I need like three mimosas stat after that.

Thanatos laughed but the sadness lingered in his eyes

Thanatos: Sure thing, I guess I owe you that much at least. I am just going to go take a shower and maybe by the time I am done the girls will have taken care of things.

Eros saw the sadness hanging over Thanatos like a cloak but knew nothing he could say would help at the time.

Eros: Alright, sounds good. I’ll call and get our names in the list.

Thanatos nodded and disappeared into his room shutting the door behind him. Slipping out of his lounge pants he strode nude into his bathroom. Turning on the shower he turned to face the mirror as he waited for the water to warm. Studying himself his fingers moved up to absently rub over a small scar located on his left side right where his shoulder and neck meet. As the mirror fogged over completely he moved back to the shower slipping inside to try and let the heat and force of the water wash away his sadness or at least hide his tears.

As the furies were taking out the trash none to gently in front of Thanatos’s abode Hestia was just pulling up to Artemis’s home to handle the mess that had become Persephone.

Walking to the front door she let herself in using the hideaway key when there was no answer. Entering the home it seemed eerily quite but it was already nearly 10 o’clock so Persephone should have been up and moving around. Growing concerned and a tad guilty given how hard she had been on the girl Hestia made her way back to Persephone’s room. Knocking on the door she called out .

Hestia: Persephone , are you awake?

Silence was her only answer. Imagined horribles began to grow in Hestia’s mind. Surely she had not done anything rash to harm herself. She had been upset but Hestia had left certain Persephone would see that Hestia’s harshness came from her concern. Things seemed to be spiraling downwards for the girl and Hestia was just trying to protect what last vestiges of honor she might have left. Her worries outweighing her manners Hestia opened the door slowly and peered inside the room finding nothing. The room had been picked bare of every personal item. Rushing inside she quickly checked the bathroom and the closet finding both empty. Sitting down on the edge of the bed in shock she absently chewed her thumbnail.

Could she have left already and gone to her mother’s? It was possible but better to investigate on her own than send Demeter a text. Hestia knew all to well how obsessive Demeter was over Persephone.

Mind made up she got up from the bed and left the room planning to drive straight to Demeter’s under the pretense of just dropping in for a visit. As she walked down the hall she noticed the sound of snoring coming from Artemis’s room. Perhaps she knew where Persephone had gone. It couldn’t hurt to ask at the very least. Knocking on the door loudly she heared the snores come to an abrupt stop before the sound of movements come from the room and heavy footfalls approach the door. Pulling it open Artemis yawns loudly looking at a Hestia with a mix of annoyance and confusion.

Artemis: Hestia? What are you doing here?

Hestia: Sorry to wake you from your beauty sleep. I was just wondering if you had seen Persephone.

Artemis glanced down the hall shrugging

Artemis: I would guess she is in her room but since you woke me I guess she isn’t.

Hestia: Yes that is the case. She appears to have already moved out actually.

Artemis’s sleep heavy eyes widen slightly at this development.

Artemis: She has? Wow, she must have moved out last night cause it was as quite as a crypt when I got home. I just figured she was still sleeping.

Hestia: Well no matter. I will just swing by her mothers to ensure she has gotten settled in. I will see you later.

Artemis scratched her head as she watched Hestia go. Knowing she wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep she moved to the kitchen to make a large pot of coffee to get her through the rest of the day.

Just as she was enjoying her second cup of coffee the doorbell rang. Moving to answer it she is surprised to find her brother on the otherside. Looking him over her eyes widened at his appearance. He was sporting a swollen shut black eye and a busted lip.

Artemis: You look like shit. What happened to you ?

Apollo sneered at her pushing in past her and heading into the living room where he collapsed on the couch

Apollo: Thanks sis I wasn’t aware. This

He motions vaguely at his face

Apollo: Is all thanks to Eros. I never would have guessed a queen like him could throw a punch so well.

Artemis was floored. None of what Apollo was saying made sense at all.

Artemis: Wait, Eros? Like the god of love ? He has never struck me as the violent type. Why did he attack you?

Apollo rolls his eyes as he kicks off his shoes propping his feet up on the couch

Apollo: I don’t know maybe because he is a little bitch that can’t handle his liquor. Whatever the reason he totally got in a sucker punch and I ended up waking up on the filthy floor of a bar all alone.

Artemis rolled her eyes as she finished her second cup .

Artemis: So why come here? Are you hoping to get my sympathies?

Apollo: I never would dare to hope to get sympathies from you dear sister.

Artemis snorted smirking at him.

Artemis: I’ll get you an ice pack and then perhaps a nap might see you right. You can use the spare room if you want .

Apollo: Spare room?

Artemis: Yeah Hestia kicked Persephone out from what I understand. All because of the tabloids scandal which I think personally has been blown way out of proportion.

Apollo: Oh, yeah well you never know with those innocent acting types. Sometimes they will surprise you. I think I will take you up on the bed though. Don’t worry about an ice pack. Damage has already set in at this point but some rest should help.

Getting up he made his way back towards Persephone’s old room his anger spiking with each step down the hall. Had she run away? Did she think she could escape him? That she should? A country bumpkin like her should be begging him to keep her yet she was trying to play games. Plus there was Thanatos. She had been a virgin so he at least had her first but his possessive side didn’t want any man to have a slice of her pie. He needed to find her and have a conversation. She needed to understand what he expected of her one way or another. He really felt she needed some sense knocked in to her. Quit school, do whatever silly goddess work she was required to and be at his beck and call. He would take care of her and when he got tired of her she could go on and pursue whatever silly dreams she had.

Walking into the room he fell back on the bed with a groan. Why did all these women have to make things so complicated? His sister was just as bad with her thoughts of equality and he wasn’t even going to get started on his thoughts with regards to virginal goddess. Perfectly good waste of the female body in his opinion. That was besides the point though. He just needed to find Persephone and set her straight. Yawning he turned over to his side deciding to worry about all of it later as he began to nod off.

Just as Apollo was nodding off Hestia was walking up to Demeter’s sprawling abode. Ringing the doorbell she is greeted by a servant who leads her out to a back patio where the mistress is tending to her succulents. As Demeter turned and saw her guest a warm smile light up her face. Hesitia smiled back mentally praying for a chance to slip away and look for Persephone. If she wasn’t there she would just have to play dumb because she had no desire to be anywhere near Demeter if she discovered her daughter was missing. Demeter’s fury was known to rival Zeus’s and Hestia did not wish to be the target of it.

Demeter: Why Hestia what a pleasant surprise. What brings you here?

Hestia: Oh nothing I was just in the neighborhood and thought I would drop in. It is about time for your yearly food conference right ? I figured you would be busy soon with all that so I decided to take the opportunity while I was near.

Demeter smiled and motioned to a nearby servant

Demeter: Bring out some refreshments and a fruit and cheese tray. We might as well treat ourselves while we converse right?

Hestia laughed trying to hide her nervousness as she settleled in a chair at the patio table. She just prayed Demeter wouldn’t pick up on her nervousness.

Hestia: Sounds lovely.

[bentaylorrogerhardy]

Just A Distraction - part 4

Ben Hardy! x Roger Taylor! x Reader!

Summary: You’re Roger Taylor’s daughter, also working as his assistant. Rehearsals and production have started for BoRhap, and as his assistant and daughter, you are there to help, and also support him. Day one of rehearsals, you meet Rami, Gwilym, Joe, and Ben. You and Ben become completely enamored by each other, causing him to lose focus during the process. This movie means a lot to your dad, could you two make it work, or will you being a distraction cause tension between Ben and Roger?

Word count: 2,295

Warnings: some cussing

A/N: I’m sorry this took me sooo long to finally update, but I was just busy with work with it being right before Christmas, and I didn’t want it to seem rushed. Merry Christmas!!

   You woke up the next morning bright and early, eager to get to set. You quickly got dressed and went downstairs, grabbing your purse and keys, then headed for the door,  

   “Why are you leaving so early?” Roger asked, walking out of his room, still in his pajamas,

   “I was up anyway,” you said, “I figured I could head to set early and help with a few things.”  

   “Oh, okay,” he yawned, making his way to the fridge, “see you later.” You kissed his cheek and headed out the door. The whole ride there, all you could think about was Ben; how wonderful last night was, how it felt to have his lips on yours, the feeling of his hair between your fingers, and how you longed to feel it all again. You were the first one on set, aside from some crew members, so you went back to catering to make Roger and Brian their usual coffees. As you were pouring the last bit of sugar into Brian’s, you felt a pair of hands cover your eyes,  

   “Guess who?” You heard Ben ask, chuckling to himself,  

   “Wow, I don’t know…umm, Robert Downey Jr?” You asked, cocking your head to the side,  

   “Not quite,” he laughs and takes his hands off of your eyes as you turn around, then places a sweet kiss to your lips,  

   “Hi,” you said, smiling ear to ear, “you’re here early.”  

   “I was hoping I would catch you before everyone else got here,” he said, taking one of your hands in his, “I want to take you out tonight. A real date, just us.”  

   “I think I can manage that,” you said, “what did you have in mind?”  

   “Just wear something nice,” he said, giving you another kiss, this time much longer, with his hand on your waist and your hands running through his hair,  

   “Good morning, you two!” Joe says as he walks in, and you and Ben immediately pull away,  

   “Hi, Joe,” you say, picking up the two coffees from the table, then looking back at Ben, “I better go see if my dad and Brian are here yet.”

   “Yeah, totally,” he said, “I’ll see you after.” You walked around to the front and found Brian and Roger and handed them their coffees, then took your usual spot in the chair next to Roger. You could kill Joe for walking in and ruining the moment, but it was better he ruined it than Roger. The boys all took their spots on stage for rehearsal, and Ben flashed you a smile, then took his seat behind the drum kit. Rehearsals started, and it was like déjà vu; Ben getting distracted, dropping his drumsticks, missing every single cue, and just about everything in between,  

   “Okay, take five,” the director said, leaning back in the chair with defeat. You looked over at Brian, who was chatting with Gwilym about something on the guitar, then at Roger who was slumped in the chair, staring off into nothingness,   

   “You okay?” you asked him, snapping him back into reality,  

   “I just don’t understand what's going on with him,” he mumbled, watching Ben and the director chat about something,  

   “I’ll go talk to him,” you said, getting up from the chair and making your way over to him. He was sitting back down and tweaking with the drum kit,

   “Hey, beautiful,” he said when he looked up and noticed you standing there,  

   “So...someone’s getting a little confused as to what's going on with you,” you said, looking back at Roger,

   “Yeah, I’m sorry,” he chuckled, shaking his head,  

   “It’s okay, I'll just go sit back in catering till you’re done,” you said, “I don’t want to cause any issues.” You walked back into catering and sat down on the couch as rehearsals continued.  

                                               *A Few Hours Later*  

   Rehearsals had just ended and everyone came back to catering. Ben came and sat beside you, while everyone else gathered around the other seats and the food table,  

   “So,” you said, looking at him, “about this…date tonight.”  

   “What about it?” He asked,

   “Where are we going?” You asked,  

   “Well, I can’t tell you,” he laughed, “I don’t want to ruin the surprise.”  

   “Date?” Roger asked, looking over at the two of you,

   “Yeah…Ben’s taking me out tonight,” you said quietly, “it’s Friday night, nobody has work tomorrow.”

   “Guess so,” he shrugged and went back to talking to Brian,  

   “So, what do I need to wear?” You asked, turning your attention back to Ben,  

   “A dress would be nice,” he said, “don’t overthink it. You’ll look beautiful regardless.” Everyone finished up their conversations and you headed to your car with Ben following,  

   “So, I’ll see you tonight? Sevenish?” He asked, standing by the open car door as you got in,  

   “Yep,” you smiled, “I’ll be ready.” He smiled and shut the car door and you headed back to your house to start getting ready.  

                                               *Later That Night*  

   It was a quarter to seven and you were putting the final touches on your makeup. You were wearing a tight black dress that stopped mid-thigh and a pair of black heels, and your hair was down. As you took a glance at yourself in the mirror, the doorbell rang, meaning Ben had arrived. You grabbed your purse and practically ran down the stairs to answer the door. When you opened the door, he was standing there in black dress pants, a matching suit jacket, and a white button down, with the first few buttons undone,  

   “Wow,” he said, gaping at your figure in the doorway, “you look...beautiful. You ready?”

   “Yeah, you look handsome,” you blushed, “let me just tell my dad I’m leaving.” You walked to Roger’s room, where he was in bed on his laptop. He looked up and saw you and smiled,

   “Don’t you look beautiful,” he said, closing the laptop and setting it beside him,  

   “Thanks,” you said, “I was just letting you know I’m leaving to go with Ben.”

   “Alright, let me go see him, too,” he said, getting up from the bed and walking behind you to the front door where you had left Ben. He looked up and smiled when he noticed you walking towards him and smiled, then noticed Roger behind you and quickly became serious,

   “Hello, Mr. Taylor,” Ben said, sticking his stiff hand out to shake Roger’s,

   “Hello, Ben,” he said, taking his hand in his and shaking it, “I trust you will take care of my daughter tonight?”

   “Yes, sir,” Ben nodded, “very good care of her.”

   “Good,” Roger said, then turning his attention to you, “have fun, love. You know where to find me if anything happens.”

   “Yeah, but I don’t think anything will,” you laughed, “we’ll be fine.”

   “Have fun,” he smiled, giving you a peck on the cheek, then shaking Ben’s hand again, and you two left and headed to Ben’s car. He opened the door for you as you got in and shut it behind you, then walked around to the driver's side and got in,  

   “So, are you finally going to tell me where we’re going now?” You asked as he pulled out of your driveway,

   “Nope,” he chuckled, grabbing your hand in his,  

   “Oh, come on, I hate surprises,” you said,  

   “Well, you’ll just have to wait, love,” he said, giving your hand a little squeeze. A short while later, he pulls up to a restaurant, the outside decorated in fairy lights with soft, Italian music playing overhead on the speakers,  

   “Ben, no,” you said, looking back at him, then at the restaurant, “this is too much.”  

   “Too late, I already made reservations,” he smiled, getting out of the car, “I’m going to go let them know we’re here.” He walks into the restaurant, and you watch other people walk in and out of the restaurant. It was a busy Friday night, like every Friday night is, so the restaurant was packed; people were already waiting outside on the patio. About ten minutes went by, and Ben was finally making his way back to the car. When he reached the car, he opened the door and got in the driver's seat, and just sat there and stared out the front window,

   “You okay?” You ask, looking at the pissed off expression on his face,

   “They lost the fucking reservation,” he said, still staring off, “and the wait is two hours.”

   “Oh...well, that’s okay! We can go somewhere else. I don’t need anything fancy,” you said, reaching for his hand and kissing the top of it,  

   “I just wanted our first date to be perfect,” he said, turning his attention to you finally,  

   “There’s nothing that says it still doesn’t have to be,” you said, pulling out your phone, “I have an idea.”

   “What?” he asked, looking confused,  

   “I say we order some pizza, get some wine, and find some roof to just sit on and talk and eat and drink,” you smiled, pulling up the phone number to the pizza place, “you in?”

   “That actually does sound good,” he says, “we could use the roof of my apartment building.”

   “Perfect!” you said. Ben pulled away from the restaurant as you ordered two pizzas, one cheese and one pepperoni, on the phone. After picking up the pizzas and the wine, you headed to his apartment building. You carried the wine, and he carried the pizzas up to the roof of the building, and he sat them down on the concrete, then went to his apartment and got a blanket to lay down for the two of you to sit on,

   “Now, see. Isn’t this so much better than a restaurant, surrounded by other people, when this is just us two, some pizza, and a bottle of wine?” You asked, taking a sip of the wine and sitting propped up on your hands,  

   “You’re right, it is,” he said, leaning over and kissing your forehead. You looked up at the night sky, and it was a very clear night. All the stars could be seen, and the moon was shining down brightly. You moved closer to Ben and laid your head against his shoulder, as he placed an arm around your waist,  

   “Thank you,” you said, “for putting in so much effort for me.”

   “You deserve it, love,” he smiled, placing another kiss to your forehead,

   “I don’t know what I did to, but I’m glad I did,” you said, looking up at him,  

   “Just being you, my love,” he smiled down at you,  

   “Why me, though?” you asked, “all I am is my dad’s assistant. My sister is a model, and my brothers inherited his drumming skills, and one of them has a band. All I have going for me is that I can make a mean cup of coffee.” As the words came out of your mouth, his look turned serious,

   “Is that all you think of yourself?” He asked, then turning back to the sky and shaking his head, “if only you could see yourself through my eyes.”

   “So, tell me,” you said, taking another sip of wine, “tell me how you see me.”

   “Well,” he said, adjusting himself on the blanket, “you walk into the room, and everything gets brighter. Your presence is just...calming. Every day on set, whenever I see you’re there, I just instantly calm down. Yeah, I’ve been a little...distracted at rehearsal, but only because I look over and see you sitting there, with your dad and Brian, and I lose focus and all I want to do is have you in my arms and kiss you. You’re beautiful, Y/N, inside and out. I knew that the second we met when I came to your house.” As he continued talking, you could feel your eyes begin to well up with tears. Ben was so sweet; wanting to impress you on your first date, and how frustrated he got when his original plans fell through, but sitting on the roof of his apartment building, with pizza and wine, and nobody but the two of you and the stars in the sky, it could not have been more perfect. Hours had gone by before the two of you knew it, and when you glanced at your phone, it was already 2:30 in the morning,

   “Oh my god, my dad’s going to kill me,” you sighed, starting to get up, but Ben pulled you back into him,  

   “You could just stay the night here,” he said, looking at you with a pleading expression, “I’m sure Rog wouldn’t mind.”

   “I guess I could,” you smiled. You both got up and headed inside the building and to his apartment. It was a cute, small apartment, and nicely decorated with pictures and paintings hanging on the walls. He led you to his room, and took off his pants, suit jacket, and dress shirt, and put on a pair of shorts. You gaped at his perfectly sculpted body as he wandered around his room,  

   “Here’s something of mine you could wear,” he said, searching through his drawers and pulling out an oversized tee shirt then handed it to you, and you slipped your dress and shoes off and pulled the shirt over your head. You turned around and noticed Ben staring at your half naked figure,  

   “What?” You laughed, walking over to the bed and sitting down,

   “So beautiful,” he said, laying down on the bed and pulling you into him,  

   “Stooooop,” you blushed, cuddling into him and covering yourself with the blanket, “goodnight, Ben.”

   “Goodnight, love,” he said, placing a kiss to your lips, and the two of you fell asleep. It was the most perfect date. Even if it didn’t go how Ben had wanted it to, you wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. 

Part 3 / Part 5 / masterlist 

Tags: @rogerinatrash @itsametaphorbriansblog @love-always-jordan @onceuponadetectivedemigod @lfcbvb @laubluered @thebohemianpenguin @roseschnapp @16wiishes @love-bean @avxngxrrogxrs @girlpluto @hystericalrogertaylor @mrsmazzello @apinkwhisperscollector