#plus we have a family holiday in the spring and I really want her to be able to frolick in the sea without the restriction of a lead
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At what point do you say, fuck it. I need to buy a waterproof longline.
This point. This is when you say, fuck it. I need a waterproof longline.
#this thing got SO HEAVY#i think even juno was struggling to drag it near the end#and carrying it home hurt my arm#I’ll dig around for something affordable because I’m determined to crack down extra hard on recall training over winter#less wildlife and much less cattle and sheep etc#plus we have a family holiday in the spring and I really want her to be able to frolick in the sea without the restriction of a lead
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Anything You Want - Wanda Maximoff x Reader
Summary: You and Wanda discuss the future.
Warnings: None
Word Count: 524
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“Three. And we’ll adopt a dog, maybe a cat too.”
You hum, placing a soft kiss on the milky smooth skin of your girlfriend’s shoulder.“ Sounds like we’ll need a big house.”
Wanda nods, head leaning back to rest on your chest. Her gaze remains fixed on the sight of your legs, tangled together under the water.“ Five bedrooms, one for us and the children will have their own, plus a guest room for when Pietro visits.”
“Okay. What else?” You ask, deeply interested in the visions she’s verbally painting.
“A big kitchen, one with an island in the center where we can have breakfast every morning and bake together. And the dining room-”
“And living room in the same space,” your words make her smile up at you brightly,“ so you can entertain guests and so everyone can be together when they come for holidays.”
Wordlessly, she leans up and kisses your cheek, her fingers gently caressing your other cheek. When her hand falls back into the water, the bath water gently splashes, sending ripples throughout the tub.
She turns her head forward again.“ With a big backyard, enough space for the kids to have one of those playsets or a tree house.”
“Plus space for that garden you want to start.” You add, recalling all the times the woman mentioned growing her own vegetables and herbs, saying that fresh ingredients made for tastier dishes.
Wanda’s heart swells, an immense amount of love rushing through her. Before meeting you, the last time she’d felt so free to dream was when she was a child. Sitting in front of the small tv in the living room in Sokovia, picturing her life to be like that of Laura Petrie or Lucy Ricardo.
Since you started dating almost a year ago, you’ve always expressed interest in what Wanda really wanted for the future and you listened to her. As of late, Wanda has seen a change in the way you talk about it, like you’ll do any and everything you can to make sure she gets the things she’s dreaming for.
“What do you want?” She asks you, like she often does.
Usually you’d answer with something silly or ridiculous: ‘a lamborghini’, ‘a monkey’, or ‘an infinity pool’. This time though, you answer with the most honest response you have:
“Just you.” Lifting your head from her shoulder, you lean over just slightly, looking into her gorgeous green eyes.“ All I want is you, to build a family with you, to give you everything you want.”
Tears spring into her eyes and she shifts, completely turning to straddle your lap and paying no attention to the water that sloshes over the side of the tub, she cups your face in her hands.
“Marry me.”
Jaw slackening, your shoulders drop as you say,“ that’s so not fair. I was gonna ask you first.”
“Is that a yes, moja láska?” A small smirk plays at the corner of her lips.
“Yes, but!” She stops short of kissing you, listening to you say,“ you have to let me get you a ring.”
Nodding, she whispers,“ anything you want, dieťa.”
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Taglist: @owloftheshadows @blackxwidowsxwife @b-5by5 @lostandsearching @iliketozoneout @alotofpockets
#wanda maximoff#wanda maximoff fluff#wanda maximoff imagine#wanda maximoff x you#wanda maximoff x reader#mcu#mcu x reader#marvel#marvel x reader#reader insert
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Haunted Holidays
December 24: Fairy Lights <-AO3 link!
“I know you’re disappointed, I am too,” Julie said down the phone line. “But the ticket prices are just way too high to afford coming home this year.”
“I’m more than happy to pay mija, you know that,” Ray replied.
“No, I can’t ask you to do that,” Julie chided. “Look, I know it sucks that we’ll be apart for Christmas, but that means I have months to save up and come home for the whole summer next year, okay?”
“Are you sure I can’t convince you to come?” Ray asked. “I don’t want you to spend the holidays alone.”
“I won’t be alone,” Julie assured him. “Reggie is stuck here too, and we’re going to have a nice, quiet Christmas together. But we’ll video chat for presents on Christmas morning, and it’ll be almost as good as me being there, okay?”
“You try telling your tia that,” Ray grumbled. “I’m sure she’ll call you later telling you to come home too.”
“Next year, I promise,” Julie vowed. “Te amo papi.”
Ray repeated the sentiment, and Julie ended the phone call with a sigh. Reggie offered her a cup of coffee, which she took with thanks. “Your folk take it any better?” she asked.
The tips of Reggie’s ears burned. “Oh um, I wasn’t planning on telling them? They don’t care if I come home or not-this will be one less thing to fight over. I usually spend the holidays with my MeeMaw, but she gets that the flights aren’t cheap. I’ll see her over spring break if I can.”
Julie flung her head back with a groan. “Man, why does everything have to be so expensive?”
“Capitalism?”
“Fuck Capitalism!” Julie proclaimed. Reggie bumped fists with her at that, and then they looked around their barren little apartment. “Won’t be much of a Christmas, but at least we’re together.”
Reggie hummed. “I’m sure we could go find a few cheap decorations and a second hand tree if we looked.”
“I unfortunately have a shift in an hour, so I can’t help with that,” Julie replied. “But feel free to look around, and if you find anything decent, let me know how much I owe you.”
Reggie gave a mock salute, and soon saw her off to work while he decided to hit the thrift stores. He had honestly never really cared about Christmas, but he knew it stung Julie to not be able to spend the time with her family, so for her, he was willing to go all out.
The next few days were rinse and repeat, with them working, and Reggie finding them decor, while Julie agreed to handle the food. It wouldn’t be anything fancy, but it would be better than nothing.
The morning of Christmas Eve, Julie rushed out of the apartment, with Reggie promising it would be fully decked when she came home. She had volunteered to pick up a shift today , since the tips would be good, and she could add them to her going home fund for next year. Or maybe pay Reggie back because she knew he spent more than he was admitting to on the holiday decor.
Of course the day dragged on, and Julie swore no amount of tips made it worth it-even if she could now swing by the bakery and pick up a tray of pastry for dessert. Plus a Santa cookie, just because.
Julie rushed home, almost giddy to see what Reggie had done with the space, and to have a few days free. Sure, it sucked not to be going home, but she had to make the best of a bad situation right? She kicked her boots off at the door, calling out “Reg! I’m…home?”
The space was filled with fairy lights, strung from the ceiling, the cupboards, around the windows. “Oh wow.” There was a tree in the corner, decked out with little decorations of red, purple, and gold. A laptop was set up at the coffee table playing a crackling fire, with soft music coming from it. There was garland and tinsel and holly everywhere, but in a tasteful way, not just flung over every surface.
“Hey, you like it?” Reggie asked, grinning from beneath a ridiculous pair of antlers he was wearing on a headband, a small red dot painted on the tip of his nose.
“Reggie… this is magical!” Julie said, setting her things down so she could hug him, whooping as he spun them around. “You didn’t have to go through all this trouble!”
“Yes I did,” Reggie assured her as he set her down. “I know you’re bummed you couldn’t get home, so I had to make your holiday season as amazing as you.”
“Well I love it!” she declared. “Let me get my stuff off and I’ll start cooking, we can put on a movie, have a good snuggle.”
“Sounds like a perfect Christmas to me,” Reggie said. “As long as we can wear our holiday jammies too.”
“Well d’uh.”
Julie hadn’t gone all out for the food for tonight-just some fish tacos, but she had a small chicken for the two of them for tomorrow. Plus it would last days, so they could survive on leftovers for a few days. They ate quickly, then met back up with cocoa to snuggle while watching Love Actually-a favourite of Julie’s, and only because she had won the thumb wrestling match and narrowly beat out Reggie’s choice of Gremlins.
“At least you didn’t suggest Die Hard,” Julie said.
“I mean, it is a great movie, but it’s not a Christmas movie,” Reggie said. “You should be more happy I didn’t suggest the Star Wars Holiday Special.”
“Ugh nope!” Julie declared. “I’ve seen enough clips of that to ban it from our home.”
“What if I tickle you into agreeing?” Reggie asked with an arch of his eyebrow before pouncing, making Julie squeal as he assaulted her sides with his fingers, making her cackle with laughter.
“Stop! I give!” Julie declared, breathing heavily, flat on her back on the couch, Reggie perched over her, smiling down and a little winded. The fairy lights everywhere gave him such a golden glow, and Julie reached out, tucking some of his hair back. Sucking in a breath as he caught her hand, kissing the centre of her palm.
“Julie…”
Eyes met, and there was no more need for words, as Julie pulled him down for a kiss-a real, passionate, fiery kiss that had Julie whimpering into it and Reggie’s toes curling in his festive socks. A kiss that ramped up and then slowly petered off as they needed to breathe, pulling back with wide eyes and racing hearts. “Wow,” Reggie whispered. “Didn’t even need to break out the mistletoe.”
“You never needed mistletoe with me,” Julie promised him. “I never needed any of this.”
“I swear if you quote Mariah Carey at me,” Reggie fake threatened, but grinned as Julie pulled him in close once more, nipping at his ear, which made him gasp.
“I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know…” she purred.
“Oh darlin’, I swear, I’ll make all your wishes come true,” Reggie declared, scooping her up from the couch. “Just lead the way, and I’m yours.”
“My room then,” Julie declared, laughing as Reggie trotted them off.
Sure she hadn’t gotten to go home to her family that year, but Julie didn’t really care at that moment, because she finally got what she really wanted for Christmas all along. And the next year, she got to bring him home with her, and every year after that as well.
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Isle Connections Ch1 Towards The Isle Of Armor
The sixth and final Installment of the Galar Soulmate Series.
You're not sure how you stayed but you did. Never again to return home. After all the game's storyline was over. Now what? Well you were hired to play babysitter yet again so it looks like you're heading off to the famous Isle of Armor. Maybe this would be a fun time with your friends! Now only if this goofball wouldn't be such a pain.
(Ok. So like I know I said that Milo's route was going to be the last installment of this series but as A very is technically a Gym Leader at the end of the events of the Isle of Armor DLC and a lot of people voted for a route of him and I said that I would write for all of the male cast of the Sword and Shield Gym Leader cast (minus Kabu) ....Yeah. I got roped into writing for this psychic goofball but I am serious when I say this is actually the last installment of this series. I won't be writing for anyone else from Sword and Shield after Avery. I do however thank everyone for all the love that you all have shown this series and I genuinely appreciate all of the support. It means a lot! Also Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to everyone reading this first chapter.
Also vote for what kind of Pokemon from the Isle of Armor y'all want plus names.)
This entire thing all started in March. That fateful decision that Leon made.
"Uh...What exactly is going on around here?"
It had been about a month since you arrived back in Postwick and already so many things had happened. Your Valentine's Day was great! And so was the rest of the week as the guys and Leon got to hang out with their families before he sadly had to once again take off for Wyndon again at the request of the new Chairman. Well he WAS still Champion after all. He still had a lot of responsibilities now that there was repairs going on. As for you, you got settled back into your basement room and had tried to once again (and succeeded in-) getting that job at Mr. Frederick's grocery store up the road a bit. And Mrs. L had instead started charging you a hundred dollars a month in rent instead of a hundred fifty. You suspected it was because of helping Leon but when you asked she claimed you were probably wanting to save money in order to move out once you figured out what you wanted to do again. Fair enough. If you were living in Galar now you'd need money to buy a house. The guys had been pretty chill. Usually going out to explore the fields or practice battle. Sonia had even published her book a week after you all arrived! Even making a free digital copy anyone could read on the web although you hadn't read it yet. Her publisher worked FAST! But that's not why you had woken up today. You had woken up to a whole bunch of commotion from downstairs and figured everyone was up, but when you came upstairs the strong scent of lemon and cleaning supplies hit your nose stronger than that roof piece did. And the sight of Hop wiping down one of the WALLS with a small rag certainly caught your tired brain off guard. Were you still dreaming???
"Oh uh. Good morning, Y/n!," the boy greeted your tired bed headed stare with an awkward smile. "Did I wake you up?"
"Kinda." You yawned reaching a hand up to rub your eyes. "What are you doing?"
"Oh! Spring cleaning! We do it every year once the weather's warm enough!"
"Spring cleaning?" He nodded. Oh. Makes sense. Lots of people did Spring Cleaning. You know you and your mom sure did.
"Yep! Once a year when it's Spring we clean the house literally top to bottom! But that's not the only reason why we're sprucing up the place!'' He turned back to the wall wiping it down with the biggest smile on his face. "I want everything to look it's best when Lee comes back this weekend!"
"...Say what now?"
"Lee called last night when you went to sleep! He's visiting us again this weekend and he's bringing a really special surprise for Glory! I dunno what it is yet but it's gotta be good! So today the house and then tomorrow the yard and shed! You wanna help?"
You shook your head no. "Sorry I can't. I have to work if I'm going to pay your mom that rent money for this month...But tell you what. Tell your mom to leave the basement and I'll clean that for you guys when I get back from work tonight. Ok?"
He beamed. "Yeah! That'd be a big help thanks!"
So Leon was coming that weekend huh? It'd be nice to see him again after so long. You just wondered what this 'surprise' was. Whelp you didn't have to wait long to find out that either because as he promised he showed up that weekend. The guys were pretty excited to see their big brother figure again and you'd be lying if you said you weren't excited to see him either. After all he was one of the few friends you had really. You kept your word of cleaning out the basement and downstairs bathroom for Mrs. L which she was grateful for but sadly weren't able to help much else due to your working. But it was alright. Mrs. G and the guys came over to help out and prepare things before Leon's big arrival that Saturday. And you were lucky enough to have the weekends off in order to see him. And then the day came. It was pretty early in the morning when someone bursts through the basement door startling you awake as Hop rushed down the stairs to wake you.
"Y/N!! WAKE UP WAKE UP!!"
"Huh?....What the-"
"LEON'S HERE!!", Hop excitedly called out for you from the basement stairs grinning like he had won a million dollars. "Everyone's here waiting for Mom to come back with him from the station! Come on before you miss him!"
You groaned. Oh. Right. It was THAT Saturday. "Alright. Alright. I'm up."
You groaned but did get up in order to go greet Leon. Whelp! You did want to see Leon again anyways. So you stumbled out of your sleeping back, slapped on come clothes that weren't PJs, and made yourself presentable in the bathroom before heading back up the stairs with Silver at your heels. But you were NOT prepared again for what you saw in the living room. Yes. Everyone was there. The guys, their moms, Leon's grandparents, and even Lee himself! But what you WEREN'T expecting was the extra person in the room. As soon as you had walked in someone had looked up from you at the couch and you paused seeing the much older man. And your eyes widened! NO. WAY. IT WAS KABU!! The older gym leader was sitting there in ordinary clothes right next to Leon and had looked up at you when you walked right in but paused in the doorway surprised. Kabu? Here? What in the world was one of the gym leader's doing here?
"Y/n!" You jumped when Leon smiled at you and gestured for you to come in as you stood there. "It's great to see you! Come in! You remember Kabu right?"
"Uh...Y-Yeah." You blinked before slowly walking in Silver at your heels. Still confused, you raised a hand and smiled at Kabu anyways. "Hey. Nice to see you again."
To your surprise instead of waving back the older man bowed to you. "It is an honor to meet our great champion's family and friends."
"Y-Yeah. Likewise. *ahem*....So what brings you to Postwick?"
"That's what this meeting here is all about." Leon looked back to Kabu who sat back up and looked to Gloria who you now realized was sitting across from him and Leon.
"Yes. You all must be very surprised someone like me decided to make the long journey here with Leon but rest assured that I had a purpose." His somber but calm expression met Gloria's. "You see there is a very good reason why I'm here. It is to see you." he then pointed a finger at Gloria.
Everyone looked surprised but more so Gloria who blinked and pointed at herself. "Ye came all the way from Motostoke jus' ta see ...me?" Kabu nodded but to her confusion. "But why?"
"A very good question to ask. And I have a very good answer. You see...I am in good shape for my age." ...You blinked raising a brow as he stated a ..true but very out of no where fact about him. "More than most people my age are, but as healthy as I may be it doesn't get rid of the fact that I am growing older. I have been the Fire Type Gym Leader for many years but it goes without saying I can't just keep that title forever. Like everyone there will be a time that I will decide or need to retire, but I can't as there's no one else to take over Motostoke's gym." ....He leaned forward making Gloria blink. "As with any Gym leader I study my opponents' moves, strategies, skill sets, and a slew of other variables in order to dictate their attacks. It's rare that I find a trainer who could not only beat me on her first try but in a way I wasn't expecting. Leon's judgement is something I respect highly and he wasn't wrong when he saw great potential in you Ms. Gloria."
The whole room fell silent for a moment as Gloria just..stared at him with the boys exchanging looks with each other before she spoke again. "Uh...W-Well thank ye. But what does that have ta do with anythin'?"
"It has to do with everything. Ms. Gloria if you're willing to accept my offer, and with your mother's permission of course." He nodded to Ms. G for a brief moment before turning back to her. "I would be honored to take you on and train you to become the new Fire Type Gym Leader of Motostoke."
Your. Jaw. DROPPED!! As did everyone else's besides Leon who smiled happily towards the shocked Gloria as she just sat there as kabu's words sank into everyone's heads. Kabu wanted to train HER!? As the new Fire Type Gym Leader for Motostoke!? THAT CERTAINLY WASN'T IN THE GAME!! After a moment of silence Gloria eventually sputtered out some noises that sounded like she was trying to talk gesturing her arms to him and around the room. Looking between him and Leon. Back and forth. Back and forth between the two league members before she finally let one word escape her mouth.
"WOT!?"
"Yes. Honestly with your skills and quick thinking I'm sure you'd make a great future gym leader. All you need is some guidance."
"I-I-I heard you b-b-but....WHY me!?" She gestured to herself again as if that was obvious. "I-I can't b-be a gym leader! I-I...I d-don't have the steel nerves it t-takes ta be one!"
"I thought you'd say that actually." She turned back to Leon who smiled warmly at her. "That's why I came up a plan that'd help you with your stage fright and anything else you might need improving on." With one hand Leon reached into his shirt's pocket and produced what looked like a tanish-golden colored train pass before holding it out to Gloria. "Here."
She blinked at it for a moment looking between Lee and the card before slowly taking it. "...What's this?"
"It's an exclusive Armor Pass."
"Armor Pass?," she asked him raising a brow.
He nodded with a hum. "Uh huh! With this you'll be able to directly go to the Isle of Armor station and catch one of their special taxi's to the island. That's where I trained when I first became Champion around your age. You see there's a very special dojo there with a very special teacher who specializes in training people into becoming better trainers. He's helped other people in the league before just like me. In fact he's pretty famous! You might even know about him. His name's Mustard."
You rose a brow. Mustard?? What kind of name was that?
"MUSTARD!?" You jumped hearing Hop shout eyes practically popping from his head with how wide they were in amazement. "As in like the old Champion who had the old title of Champion before he was defeated!? THAT MUSTARD!?"
Your eyes widened at Hop's words before turning to Leon who nodded. A former Champion?! No wonder Hop sounded amazed. "That's right. He's been running the dojo for years now and helps improve peoples' battling as well as themselves. I think it would be a great idea to have Gloria pay him a visit as I believe he'd be able to really help her come out of her shell. That is if she accepts Kabu's offer." He looked back to Gloria who still blinked at him. "You don't have to if you don't want to Gloria but know that you won't be in it alone."
"Yes. It's going to be hard work but that's what makes the end goal much more meaningful. But it depends on your answer."
Gloria blinked. Looked around the room at all of you. Looked at Leon. Looked at Kabu. Looked back down to the pass in her hands......Before smiling brightly like someone had just given her a brand new gym badge before looking back at Kabu! "YES!! O' course I accept ye offer! How can I not!? I just- Wow! THIS IS AMAZING!!"
A few smiles were shared even by the older man as Kabu bowed to her-
"Wait. When does she leave for the Isle of Armor?"
"Oh. Next Thursday. The train to the isle is already scheduled to arrive at noon then."
"NEXT THURSDAY!?" Everyone jumped as all of sudden Gloria shot up to her feet in panic. Hands grabbing her cheeks as a wave of fear washed over her all of a sudden. "T-THAT SOON!? I JUST- ....I NEED TA GO PACK!!" And with that she turned and fled. Silver having to literally jump out of the way as Gloria sped off out of Hop's out throwing the door open with a BANG behind her in her rush. Leaving everyone there sitting in silence...Until Mrs. G sighed.
The Isle of Armor?? Why did that sound familiar to you?...Oh well. You didn't pay it much mind but you were happy for Gloria to get such an unexpected surprise! Being trained by both a gym leader and a former champion sounds like a dream come true for someone like her. You didn't know all the details but Kabu talked for a while with Mrs. G getting Gloria's Mother's permission to train her before Leon had pulled you aside as everyone else was distracted by the sudden happy news. You were surprised when he lead you into the kitchen looking over his shoulder to make sure no one followed or was listening to him.
It made you raise a brow. "Leon, is everything ok?" You gently pulled your arm away from the Champion. "You're acting weird, Dude."
He again looked over his shoulder back into the living room to make sure no one was listening before looking back at you with an inhale. "Actually I wanted to ask something of you and I wouldn't be asking you if it wasn't for a good reason."
Your brow rose higher as Silver waddled in following you before plopping on the floor by your legs. "It depends on what you're asking of me. What ARE you asking of me exactly?"
Leon reached a hand up to rub his neck, something you learnt that both himself and Hop had a habit of doing when nervous. "Well... I-its about Glory. I figured she'd accept the offer but there's a slight problem I'm worried about." Your crossed arms invited him to go on. "Well as you and I know Hop and Glory both have a habit of sometimes maybe running ahead when they shouldn't and ...Well...H-Hoppy's gonna be trained under Sonia's eyes and Victor's not very prone to running ahead. It's not that I don't trust Mustard but I was kinda maybe hoping that perhaps you'd agree to going along with her and making sure she was settling in ok there?"
You stared. "So...You want me to keep an eye on her and keep her out of trouble like I've been doing this entire time?"
"I-Ill make sure you're fully compensated for everything!," Leon assured you, "I-I would just feel better knowing that she was with someone in case she needed help. W-What do you say?"
You hummed furrowing a brow. You didn't feel like traveling again so soon after just settling down two months after an almost region ending event. You were honestly still surprised that you didn't teleport back home to your horrible mother. Then again...there really wasn't anything else you were doing right now. You were still figuring out what you wanted to do with your new life. Maybe a trip to this Isle would help. Plus spending time with Gloria sounded like fun.
You shrugged before nodding. "Sure. Why not? It might be fun."
The purple haired champion lit up before sighing in relief. "Thank you. I mean it. Thank you! I'll make it up to you I promise! I'm just happy to know that Glory is in good hands."
Quickly Mrs. L and everyone else was made aware that you'd also be able to go with Glory and Gloria seemed excited to know that you'd also be going with her. Leon making sure to also gift you the same pass as Gloria before he had to leave with Kabu. Whelp. Guess you were traveling again somewhere. But why did this Isle of Armor sound familiar to you? Oh well. You just packed up and prepared to to go traveling again. Soon Thursday rolled around and You, Hop, Victor, and Mrs. G all traveled with to the station. Gloria both giddy and nervous with a big old stuffed pack on her back. Mrs. G asking over and over again if Gloria remembered to pack everything she needed. First aid kit. Food. Clothes. A coat. Her sleeping bag. Etc. When you got to the train station Practically no one was there except for one or two other people and the station master behind the counter as usual. You did pause to look at the other two people who were dressed somewhat strangely and very colorfully waiting for the train as well. One had really BRIGHT pink hair and the other guy wore this gigantic top hat with pokeballs floating around it like some psychic pokemon. Wha- How was he doing that? Your attention was brought back to the present as the distant sounds of the evening train approaching caught everyone's attention.
"There's the train!," Mrs. G commented before grabbing Gloria by the shoulders with a look. "Are you sure you packed everything you needed?"
"Yes, Mum! For the millionth time I double checked this mornin'. I'll be fine travelin' there. Lee said he was gonna meet me at the taxi station anyways."
Mrs. G still didn't look so sure but Victor assured her. "Don't worry none, Mum. Glory's gonna be fine on her trip there. 'Sides Y/n is gonna be with 'er."
Eventually she did sigh and remove her hands from Gloria. "You're right. I just can't help but be worried about her traveling by herself. You all are growing up too fast for my liking."
"She'll be fine!," Hop said smiling widely before looking to Gloria, "You're gonna do great Glory! I know you will! You're my rival after all so you have to do your best or else I'll become a better trainer than you."
Gloria smiled back at him. "Ha! We'll see 'bout that. OH! I almost forgot! I got something for ye!" She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a pokeball, holding it up to the purple haired boy. "'Ere! I had a couple a few extra o' these wee ones lying about an' I know they mean a lot ta people in a special way so I got ye one."
Hop slowly took the pokeball from her. "A pokemon? For me?"
She nodded. "It's a rare find I had been gifted by Sonia back at Wyndon but I have no use for it. But don't see what it is til ye get home. Ok?"
Hop again blinked but smiled widely. "Wow! This is amazing Glory! Thank you." he excited turned to Victor holding up the brand new pokeball. "Hey, Vick! Look what Glory gave me!"
"You gave Hop a pokemon?"
Gloria turned to you and nodded. "I gave all me rivals an extra pokemon I got from the rotomi boxes ta show there's nay hard feelings. After all you said I shouldn't cause any bad blood between me rivals."
You smiled. "Oh ..Wow, Gloria. That was really nice of you! What did you give them if you don't mind me asking?"
"Oh nothin' special really. I gave Marnie a wee purloin I found and I sent Bede a lovedisc before we went ta see you at the hospital."
You froze. .....And blinked. "Wait, wait, wait. You gave BEDE a what?!"
"This cute water pokemon I found called a lovedisc," she gushed obvliviously. "It was jus' the cutest wee thing shaped like a sweet lil heart! I figured since Bede's always wearin' pink and he has works with cute fairy type pokemon it'd be perfect! An' I gave Hop one of the extra pokeballs I had forgotten in me bag." She paused with a hum rubbing her chin. "I can't remember what pokemon it was but I'm sure Hop will love it all the same!"
You wanted to facepalm right then and there. Because as soon as the words 'I gave Bede a lovedisc' slipped out of her mouth so obliviously you knew she had once again blundered. And you had a good reason why. There was ONE specific pokemon Dex entry you specifically remembered about luvdisc-
"Its heart-shaped body makes it popular. In some places, you would give a Luvdisc to someone you love."
AND she gave one to Bede who she already flustered with accidentally making him think she was trying to gift him an applin. Great. You sighed but figured maybe Bede wouldn't know or he wouldn't think much of it since she also gifted Marnie a purrloin and Hop a....mystery pokemon you have yet to figure out. Here's hoping. The sounds of the train came further and further until with a high pitched screech it stopped right in front of you all and the station master announced it.
"The train to the Isle of Armor has arrived! Those with an Armor Pass please board the train! The train will departing in fifthteen minutes!"
"That's our cue!" Gloria said as the other two weirdly dressed people walked up to the station master. She turned back to all of you with a smile. "I guess this is good bye for now."
"Don't worry about us," you assured her smiling. "You're going to do great out there! And I'm still coming with you."
"Yeah! Glory, you'll do great!" "It's gonna be great to have a Champion brother and Gym Leader Rival!" "I'll miss you, Sweetie."
Hugs were had all around and good bye's were exchanged before Gloria a little tearfully joined the other two weirdly dressed folks in line for the train with you behind her as the station master checked their passes.
"Do you have an Armor Pass?"
"Naturally. I have made all the proper preparations which you can observe with unclouded eyes."
"Hee hee! Of course! I totally have one!"
"Then please allow me to check your passes."
You all watched as the weirdly dressed people handed their passes to the station master who proceeded to look over both behind the booth. Huh...Why did those two look familiar? Deja vu again. But you shrugged it off. Lots of different people in the pokemon world. They probably just reminded you of some you've seen before. After a moment the station master handed the two back their passes and they stepped out of the way for Gloria and yourself to walk up and also hand him your pass Leon gave you both. It was also at that moment the doors to the train opened and something came walking out of it. You turned ..and blinked as a SLOWPOKE slowly crawled it's way out of the train's doorway and into the station. It's dopey grinning face smiling at nothing as it randomly crawled into the station. Wha- What was a slowpoke doing here? Silver noticed too and chirped at it curiously gaining it's attention...or more so the food Silver held that he had been snacking on. the slowpoke peeked it's interest at that and came towards Silver making him chirp in warning backing up behind your legs holding his precious food from it's reach.
"Aw. Hey little guy." You slowly kneeled down to the pokemon who tilted it's head curiously but otherwise none threateningly at you as you kneeled down catching everyone's attention. "Where did you come from?" Of course it didn't answer you but made a happy noise when you reached out to pet it's head. CUTE!
"Oh a slowpoke!" "Hmph. To meet a slowpoke. Such a thing is simply elegant."
You paid no mind to the other two adults but the station master peeked out of his booth to see the thing before giving a groan. "Uh oh. Looks like another one's gotten on the train and ridden over from the Isle of Armor. Hey you're all pokemon trainers right?" He asked you all. "If Slowpoke blocks the ticket gate, it'll cause trouble for other customers. Slowpoke are actually really heavy. So do you think you can catch it for me?"
"I think it's just hungry," you answered back noticing the way it kept staring at Silver's food as your brave guard dog cowered away from the dopey looking teddy bear thing.
"If that case I can lead it out of the station with this." You turned to Victor who reached inside of his pocket and pulled out what looked like those granola breakfast bars that no one really liked besides him. Carefully peeling off the wrapper he exposed the granola berry mix thing and went over to the slowpoke. It was pretty easy to catch his attention as it almost immediately turned it's head to him. "C'mon boy! Ye want it? Come get it." And like magic the pokemon turned and slowly began following Victor as he made his way to back out of the station. The slowpoke slowly but surely following behind.
The station master sighed. "Thanks much! Slowpoke can be a big trouble to move sometimes." And he went back to finish giving Gloria and you your passes as Victor continued to lead the pokemon out of the station.
"Hmmm? How interesting. I must say your catching style is quite simply elegant." "Whoa amazing! The way you're catching that slowpoke is the absolute coolest!"
Victor chuckled nervously as he continued leaving. "Are you guys getting on the train too?"
They both turned to Gloria and the pink haired lady nodded. "I'm heading to a place called the Isle of Armor! I'm gonna catch some rare pokemon and do some training!"
The blonde haired man nodded. Again HOW were those pokeballs floating around his hat?? "I've heard it's a place where one can catch rare pokemon and do lots of training."
Before Gloria could say anything else the station master turned back to the three of them. "We apologize for the wait. We have checked your Armor pass. All aboard the the train to the Isle of Armor! Mind your step when boarding. Please be aware there will also be a connection along the way."
"Okaaay!" "Understood."
The pink haired lady turned back to Gloria. "Let's hang if we meet up again, 'K? Bye bye then! See ya!"
The taller blonde man reached up to tip his hat slightly to Gloria. "Yes. Perhaps we shall meet again sometime. Well then please excuse me."
And both turned to board the train. You all watched them go before Hop hummed. "I could be wrong..But that lady looked familiar."
"You too huh?" Hop nodded and you hummed. Ok. That was strange. Hop seemed to kinda recognize them too so it's more than a deja vu affect. ...Well considering those two were in Wedgeherst Station that means they must've been from Postwick too right? You must've seen them around before and not paid them much attention beforehand. Yeah. That must've been it.
The station master ended up giving Gloria her pass and she quickly boarded the train with you and Silver behind her but she paused and looked behind her at them all....Smiling sadly and waved. You waved too as they all waved back smiling and in Mrs. G's case crying lightly until the doors closed and the train moved. You both stood there for a long moment before you felt a jolt of the train move and you nudged her shoulder gently saying that you both should probably take your seats. She agreed so you both walked further into the train to take your seats. Huh. You didn't see the guy with the top hat or the girl with really bright pink hair anywhere. Guess they were in a different part of the train. It took a good few days and nights of traveling by train and following the instructions Leon gave Gloria on her rotomi phone before stopping by and getting off at a station over looking an ocean. We're you supposed to travel the rest of the way by boat?
"Misses Gloria and Y/n?," a male voice called making you both look left and saw the familiar sight of a flying taxi. "You are them right?"
"Yeah!," Gloria happily answered with a smile, "Why?"
"I was assigned by the Champion to take you both to the Isle of Armor." He made a come on motion. "Climb aboard."
"Oh this is great!" Gloria beamed grabbing your arm. "We'll be there in no time!"
You groaned as she dragged you by the arm towards the taxi with Silver at your heels. Flying. WHY WAS IT ALWAYS FLYING!?
#pokemon avery#pokemon sword and shield#pokemon sword#pokemon shield#pokemon swsh#Pokemon Avery x Reader#Pokemon reader x Avery
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Isle Connections Ch1 Towards The Isle Of Armor
The sixth and final Installment of the Galar Soulmate Series.
You're not sure how you stayed but you did. Never again to return home. After all the game's storyline was over. Now what? Well you were hired to play babysitter yet again so it looks like you're heading off to the famous Isle of Armor. Maybe this would be a fun time with your friends! Now only if this goofball wouldn't be such a pain.
(Ok. So like I know I said that Milo's route was going to be the last installment of this series but as A very is technically a Gym Leader at the end of the events of the Isle of Armor DLC and a lot of people voted for a route of him and I said that I would write for all of the male cast of the Sword and Shield Gym Leader cast (minus Kabu) ....Yeah. I got roped into writing for this psychic goofball but I am serious when I say this is actually the last installment of this series. I won't be writing for anyone else from Sword and Shield after Avery. I do however thank everyone for all the love that you all have shown this series and I genuinely appreciate all of the support. It means a lot! Also Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to everyone reading this first chapter.
Also vote for what kind of Pokemon from the Isle of Armor y'all want plus names.)
This entire thing all started in March. That fateful decision that Leon made.
"Uh...What exactly is going on around here?"
It had been about a month since you arrived back in Postwick and already so many things had happened. Your Valentine's Day was great! And so was the rest of the week as the guys and Leon got to hang out with their families before he sadly had to once again take off for Wyndon again at the request of the new Chairman. Well he WAS still Champion after all. He still had a lot of responsibilities now that there was repairs going on. As for you, you got settled back into your basement room and had tried to once again (and succeeded in-) getting that job at Mr. Frederick's grocery store up the road a bit. And Mrs. L had instead started charging you a hundred dollars a month in rent instead of a hundred fifty. You suspected it was because of helping Leon but when you asked she claimed you were probably wanting to save money in order to move out once you figured out what you wanted to do again. Fair enough. If you were living in Galar now you'd need money to buy a house. The guys had been pretty chill. Usually going out to explore the fields or practice battle. Sonia had even published her book a week after you all arrived! Even making a free digital copy anyone could read on the web although you hadn't read it yet. Her publisher worked FAST! But that's not why you had woken up today. You had woken up to a whole bunch of commotion from downstairs and figured everyone was up, but when you came upstairs the strong scent of lemon and cleaning supplies hit your nose stronger than that roof piece did. And the sight of Hop wiping down one of the WALLS with a small rag certainly caught your tired brain off guard. Were you still dreaming???
"Oh uh. Good morning, Y/n!," the boy greeted your tired bed headed stare with an awkward smile. "Did I wake you up?"
"Kinda." You yawned reaching a hand up to rub your eyes. "What are you doing?"
"Oh! Spring cleaning! We do it every year once the weather's warm enough!"
"Spring cleaning?" He nodded. Oh. Makes sense. Lots of people did Spring Cleaning. You know you and your mom sure did.
"Yep! Once a year when it's Spring we clean the house literally top to bottom! But that's not the only reason why we're sprucing up the place!'' He turned back to the wall wiping it down with the biggest smile on his face. "I want everything to look it's best when Lee comes back this weekend!"
"...Say what now?"
"Lee called last night when you went to sleep! He's visiting us again this weekend and he's bringing a really special surprise for Glory! I dunno what it is yet but it's gotta be good! So today the house and then tomorrow the yard and shed! You wanna help?"
You shook your head no. "Sorry I can't. I have to work if I'm going to pay your mom that rent money for this month...But tell you what. Tell your mom to leave the basement and I'll clean that for you guys when I get back from work tonight. Ok?"
He beamed. "Yeah! That'd be a big help thanks!"
So Leon was coming that weekend huh? It'd be nice to see him again after so long. You just wondered what this 'surprise' was. Whelp you didn't have to wait long to find out that either because as he promised he showed up that weekend. The guys were pretty excited to see their big brother figure again and you'd be lying if you said you weren't excited to see him either. After all he was one of the few friends you had really. You kept your word of cleaning out the basement and downstairs bathroom for Mrs. L which she was grateful for but sadly weren't able to help much else due to your working. But it was alright. Mrs. G and the guys came over to help out and prepare things before Leon's big arrival that Saturday. And you were lucky enough to have the weekends off in order to see him. And then the day came. It was pretty early in the morning when someone bursts through the basement door startling you awake as Hop rushed down the stairs to wake you.
"Y/N!! WAKE UP WAKE UP!!"
"Huh?....What the-"
"LEON'S HERE!!", Hop excitedly called out for you from the basement stairs grinning like he had won a million dollars. "Everyone's here waiting for Mom to come back with him from the station! Come on before you miss him!"
You groaned. Oh. Right. It was THAT Saturday. "Alright. Alright. I'm up."
You groaned but did get up in order to go greet Leon. Whelp! You did want to see Leon again anyways. So you stumbled out of your sleeping back, slapped on come clothes that weren't PJs, and made yourself presentable in the bathroom before heading back up the stairs with Silver at your heels. But you were NOT prepared again for what you saw in the living room. Yes. Everyone was there. The guys, their moms, Leon's grandparents, and even Lee himself! But what you WEREN'T expecting was the extra person in the room. As soon as you had walked in someone had looked up from you at the couch and you paused seeing the much older man. And your eyes widened! NO. WAY. IT WAS KABU!! The older gym leader was sitting there in ordinary clothes right next to Leon and had looked up at you when you walked right in but paused in the doorway surprised. Kabu? Here? What in the world was one of the gym leader's doing here?
"Y/n!" You jumped when Leon smiled at you and gestured for you to come in as you stood there. "It's great to see you! Come in! You remember Kabu right?"
"Uh...Y-Yeah." You blinked before slowly walking in Silver at your heels. Still confused, you raised a hand and smiled at Kabu anyways. "Hey. Nice to see you again."
To your surprise instead of waving back the older man bowed to you. "It is an honor to meet our great champion's family and friends."
"Y-Yeah. Likewise. *ahem*....So what brings you to Postwick?"
"That's what this meeting here is all about." Leon looked back to Kabu who sat back up and looked to Gloria who you now realized was sitting across from him and Leon.
"Yes. You all must be very surprised someone like me decided to make the long journey here with Leon but rest assured that I had a purpose." His somber but calm expression met Gloria's. "You see there is a very good reason why I'm here. It is to see you." he then pointed a finger at Gloria.
Everyone looked surprised but more so Gloria who blinked and pointed at herself. "Ye came all the way from Motostoke jus' ta see ...me?" Kabu nodded but to her confusion. "But why?"
"A very good question to ask. And I have a very good answer. You see...I am in good shape for my age." ...You blinked raising a brow as he stated a ..true but very out of no where fact about him. "More than most people my age are, but as healthy as I may be it doesn't get rid of the fact that I am growing older. I have been the Fire Type Gym Leader for many years but it goes without saying I can't just keep that title forever. Like everyone there will be a time that I will decide or need to retire, but I can't as there's no one else to take over Motostoke's gym." ....He leaned forward making Gloria blink. "As with any Gym leader I study my opponents' moves, strategies, skill sets, and a slew of other variables in order to dictate their attacks. It's rare that I find a trainer who could not only beat me on her first try but in a way I wasn't expecting. Leon's judgement is something I respect highly and he wasn't wrong when he saw great potential in you Ms. Gloria."
The whole room fell silent for a moment as Gloria just..stared at him with the boys exchanging looks with each other before she spoke again. "Uh...W-Well thank ye. But what does that have ta do with anythin'?"
"It has to do with everything. Ms. Gloria if you're willing to accept my offer, and with your mother's permission of course." He nodded to Ms. G for a brief moment before turning back to her. "I would be honored to take you on and train you to become the new Fire Type Gym Leader of Motostoke."
Your. Jaw. DROPPED!! As did everyone else's besides Leon who smiled happily towards the shocked Gloria as she just sat there as kabu's words sank into everyone's heads. Kabu wanted to train HER!? As the new Fire Type Gym Leader for Motostoke!? THAT CERTAINLY WASN'T IN THE GAME!! After a moment of silence Gloria eventually sputtered out some noises that sounded like she was trying to talk gesturing her arms to him and around the room. Looking between him and Leon. Back and forth. Back and forth between the two league members before she finally let one word escape her mouth.
"WOT!?"
"Yes. Honestly with your skills and quick thinking I'm sure you'd make a great future gym leader. All you need is some guidance."
"I-I-I heard you b-b-but....WHY me!?" She gestured to herself again as if that was obvious. "I-I can't b-be a gym leader! I-I...I d-don't have the steel nerves it t-takes ta be one!"
"I thought you'd say that actually." She turned back to Leon who smiled warmly at her. "That's why I came up a plan that'd help you with your stage fright and anything else you might need improving on." With one hand Leon reached into his shirt's pocket and produced what looked like a tanish-golden colored train pass before holding it out to Gloria. "Here."
She blinked at it for a moment looking between Lee and the card before slowly taking it. "...What's this?"
"It's an exclusive Armor Pass."
"Armor Pass?," she asked him raising a brow.
He nodded with a hum. "Uh huh! With this you'll be able to directly go to the Isle of Armor station and catch one of their special taxi's to the island. That's where I trained when I first became Champion around your age. You see there's a very special dojo there with a very special teacher who specializes in training people into becoming better trainers. He's helped other people in the league before just like me. In fact he's pretty famous! You might even know about him. His name's Mustard."
You rose a brow. Mustard?? What kind of name was that?
"MUSTARD!?" You jumped hearing Hop shout eyes practically popping from his head with how wide they were in amazement. "As in like the old Champion who had the old title of Champion before he was defeated!? THAT MUSTARD!?"
Your eyes widened at Hop's words before turning to Leon who nodded. A former Champion?! No wonder Hop sounded amazed. "That's right. He's been running the dojo for years now and helps improve peoples' battling as well as themselves. I think it would be a great idea to have Gloria pay him a visit as I believe he'd be able to really help her come out of her shell. That is if she accepts Kabu's offer." He looked back to Gloria who still blinked at him. "You don't have to if you don't want to Gloria but know that you won't be in it alone."
"Yes. It's going to be hard work but that's what makes the end goal much more meaningful. But it depends on your answer."
Gloria blinked. Looked around the room at all of you. Looked at Leon. Looked at Kabu. Looked back down to the pass in her hands......Before smiling brightly like someone had just given her a brand new gym badge before looking back at Kabu! "YES!! O' course I accept ye offer! How can I not!? I just- Wow! THIS IS AMAZING!!"
A few smiles were shared even by the older man as Kabu bowed to her-
"Wait. When does she leave for the Isle of Armor?"
"Oh. Next Thursday. The train to the isle is already scheduled to arrive at noon then."
"NEXT THURSDAY!?" Everyone jumped as all of sudden Gloria shot up to her feet in panic. Hands grabbing her cheeks as a wave of fear washed over her all of a sudden. "T-THAT SOON!? I JUST- ....I NEED TA GO PACK!!" And with that she turned and fled. Silver having to literally jump out of the way as Gloria sped off out of Hop's out throwing the door open with a BANG behind her in her rush. Leaving everyone there sitting in silence...Until Mrs. G sighed.
The Isle of Armor?? Why did that sound familiar to you?...Oh well. You didn't pay it much mind but you were happy for Gloria to get such an unexpected surprise! Being trained by both a gym leader and a former champion sounds like a dream come true for someone like her. You didn't know all the details but Kabu talked for a while with Mrs. G getting Gloria's Mother's permission to train her before Leon had pulled you aside as everyone else was distracted by the sudden happy news. You were surprised when he lead you into the kitchen looking over his shoulder to make sure no one followed or was listening to him.
It made you raise a brow. "Leon, is everything ok?" You gently pulled your arm away from the Champion. "You're acting weird, Dude."
He again looked over his shoulder back into the living room to make sure no one was listening before looking back at you with an inhale. "Actually I wanted to ask something of you and I wouldn't be asking you if it wasn't for a good reason."
Your brow rose higher as Silver waddled in following you before plopping on the floor by your legs. "It depends on what you're asking of me. What ARE you asking of me exactly?"
Leon reached a hand up to rub his neck, something you learnt that both himself and Hop had a habit of doing when nervous. "Well... I-its about Glory. I figured she'd accept the offer but there's a slight problem I'm worried about." Your crossed arms invited him to go on. "Well as you and I know Hop and Glory both have a habit of sometimes maybe running ahead when they shouldn't and ...Well...H-Hoppy's gonna be trained under Sonia's eyes and Victor's not very prone to running ahead. It's not that I don't trust Mustard but I was kinda maybe hoping that perhaps you'd agree to going along with her and making sure she was settling in ok there?"
You stared. "So...You want me to keep an eye on her and keep her out of trouble like I've been doing this entire time?"
"I-Ill make sure you're fully compensated for everything!," Leon assured you, "I-I would just feel better knowing that she was with someone in case she needed help. W-What do you say?"
You hummed furrowing a brow. You didn't feel like traveling again so soon after just settling down two months after an almost region ending event. You were honestly still surprised that you didn't teleport back home to your horrible mother. Then again...there really wasn't anything else you were doing right now. You were still figuring out what you wanted to do with your new life. Maybe a trip to this Isle would help. Plus spending time with Gloria sounded like fun.
You shrugged before nodding. "Sure. Why not? It might be fun."
The purple haired champion lit up before sighing in relief. "Thank you. I mean it. Thank you! I'll make it up to you I promise! I'm just happy to know that Glory is in good hands."
Quickly Mrs. L and everyone else was made aware that you'd also be able to go with Glory and Gloria seemed excited to know that you'd also be going with her. Leon making sure to also gift you the same pass as Gloria before he had to leave with Kabu. Whelp. Guess you were traveling again somewhere. But why did this Isle of Armor sound familiar to you? Oh well. You just packed up and prepared to to go traveling again. Soon Thursday rolled around and You, Hop, Victor, and Mrs. G all traveled with to the station. Gloria both giddy and nervous with a big old stuffed pack on her back. Mrs. G asking over and over again if Gloria remembered to pack everything she needed. First aid kit. Food. Clothes. A coat. Her sleeping bag. Etc. When you got to the train station Practically no one was there except for one or two other people and the station master behind the counter as usual. You did pause to look at the other two people who were dressed somewhat strangely and very colorfully waiting for the train as well. One had really BRIGHT pink hair and the other guy wore this gigantic top hat with pokeballs floating around it like some psychic pokemon. Wha- How was he doing that? Your attention was brought back to the present as the distant sounds of the evening train approaching caught everyone's attention.
"There's the train!," Mrs. G commented before grabbing Gloria by the shoulders with a look. "Are you sure you packed everything you needed?"
"Yes, Mum! For the millionth time I double checked this mornin'. I'll be fine travelin' there. Lee said he was gonna meet me at the taxi station anyways."
Mrs. G still didn't look so sure but Victor assured her. "Don't worry none, Mum. Glory's gonna be fine on her trip there. 'Sides Y/n is gonna be with 'er."
Eventually she did sigh and remove her hands from Gloria. "You're right. I just can't help but be worried about her traveling by herself. You all are growing up too fast for my liking."
"She'll be fine!," Hop said smiling widely before looking to Gloria, "You're gonna do great Glory! I know you will! You're my rival after all so you have to do your best or else I'll become a better trainer than you."
Gloria smiled back at him. "Ha! We'll see 'bout that. OH! I almost forgot! I got something for ye!" She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a pokeball, holding it up to the purple haired boy. "'Ere! I had a couple a few extra o' these wee ones lying about an' I know they mean a lot ta people in a special way so I got ye one."
Hop slowly took the pokeball from her. "A pokemon? For me?"
She nodded. "It's a rare find I had been gifted by Sonia back at Wyndon but I have no use for it. But don't see what it is til ye get home. Ok?"
Hop again blinked but smiled widely. "Wow! This is amazing Glory! Thank you." he excited turned to Victor holding up the brand new pokeball. "Hey, Vick! Look what Glory gave me!"
"You gave Hop a pokemon?"
Gloria turned to you and nodded. "I gave all me rivals an extra pokemon I got from the rotomi boxes ta show there's nay hard feelings. After all you said I shouldn't cause any bad blood between me rivals."
You smiled. "Oh ..Wow, Gloria. That was really nice of you! What did you give them if you don't mind me asking?"
"Oh nothin' special really. I gave Marnie a wee purloin I found and I sent Bede a lovedisc before we went ta see you at the hospital."
You froze. .....And blinked. "Wait, wait, wait. You gave BEDE a what?!"
"This cute water pokemon I found called a lovedisc," she gushed obvliviously. "It was jus' the cutest wee thing shaped like a sweet lil heart! I figured since Bede's always wearin' pink and he has works with cute fairy type pokemon it'd be perfect! An' I gave Hop one of the extra pokeballs I had forgotten in me bag." She paused with a hum rubbing her chin. "I can't remember what pokemon it was but I'm sure Hop will love it all the same!"
You wanted to facepalm right then and there. Because as soon as the words 'I gave Bede a lovedisc' slipped out of her mouth so obliviously you knew she had once again blundered. And you had a good reason why. There was ONE specific pokemon Dex entry you specifically remembered about luvdisc-
"Its heart-shaped body makes it popular. In some places, you would give a Luvdisc to someone you love."
AND she gave one to Bede who she already flustered with accidentally making him think she was trying to gift him an applin. Great. You sighed but figured maybe Bede wouldn't know or he wouldn't think much of it since she also gifted Marnie a purrloin and Hop a....mystery pokemon you have yet to figure out. Here's hoping. The sounds of the train came further and further until with a high pitched screech it stopped right in front of you all and the station master announced it.
"The train to the Isle of Armor has arrived! Those with an Armor Pass please board the train! The train will departing in fifthteen minutes!"
"That's our cue!" Gloria said as the other two weirdly dressed people walked up to the station master. She turned back to all of you with a smile. "I guess this is good bye for now."
"Don't worry about us," you assured her smiling. "You're going to do great out there! And I'm still coming with you."
"Yeah! Glory, you'll do great!" "It's gonna be great to have a Champion brother and Gym Leader Rival!" "I'll miss you, Sweetie."
Hugs were had all around and good bye's were exchanged before Gloria a little tearfully joined the other two weirdly dressed folks in line for the train with you behind her as the station master checked their passes.
"Do you have an Armor Pass?"
"Naturally. I have made all the proper preparations which you can observe with unclouded eyes."
"Hee hee! Of course! I totally have one!"
"Then please allow me to check your passes."
You all watched as the weirdly dressed people handed their passes to the station master who proceeded to look over both behind the booth. Huh...Why did those two look familiar? Deja vu again. But you shrugged it off. Lots of different people in the pokemon world. They probably just reminded you of some you've seen before. After a moment the station master handed the two back their passes and they stepped out of the way for Gloria and yourself to walk up and also hand him your pass Leon gave you both. It was also at that moment the doors to the train opened and something came walking out of it. You turned ..and blinked as a SLOWPOKE slowly crawled it's way out of the train's doorway and into the station. It's dopey grinning face smiling at nothing as it randomly crawled into the station. Wha- What was a slowpoke doing here? Silver noticed too and chirped at it curiously gaining it's attention...or more so the food Silver held that he had been snacking on. the slowpoke peeked it's interest at that and came towards Silver making him chirp in warning backing up behind your legs holding his precious food from it's reach.
"Aw. Hey little guy." You slowly kneeled down to the pokemon who tilted it's head curiously but otherwise none threateningly at you as you kneeled down catching everyone's attention. "Where did you come from?" Of course it didn't answer you but made a happy noise when you reached out to pet it's head. CUTE!
"Oh a slowpoke!" "Hmph. To meet a slowpoke. Such a thing is simply elegant."
You paid no mind to the other two adults but the station master peeked out of his booth to see the thing before giving a groan. "Uh oh. Looks like another one's gotten on the train and ridden over from the Isle of Armor. Hey you're all pokemon trainers right?" He asked you all. "If Slowpoke blocks the ticket gate, it'll cause trouble for other customers. Slowpoke are actually really heavy. So do you think you can catch it for me?"
"I think it's just hungry," you answered back noticing the way it kept staring at Silver's food as your brave guard dog cowered away from the dopey looking teddy bear thing.
"If that case I can lead it out of the station with this." You turned to Victor who reached inside of his pocket and pulled out what looked like those granola breakfast bars that no one really liked besides him. Carefully peeling off the wrapper he exposed the granola berry mix thing and went over to the slowpoke. It was pretty easy to catch his attention as it almost immediately turned it's head to him. "C'mon boy! Ye want it? Come get it." And like magic the pokemon turned and slowly began following Victor as he made his way to back out of the station. The slowpoke slowly but surely following behind.
The station master sighed. "Thanks much! Slowpoke can be a big trouble to move sometimes." And he went back to finish giving Gloria and you your passes as Victor continued to lead the pokemon out of the station.
"Hmmm? How interesting. I must say your catching style is quite simply elegant." "Whoa amazing! The way you're catching that slowpoke is the absolute coolest!"
Victor chuckled nervously as he continued leaving. "Are you guys getting on the train too?"
They both turned to Gloria and the pink haired lady nodded. "I'm heading to a place called the Isle of Armor! I'm gonna catch some rare pokemon and do some training!"
The blonde haired man nodded. Again HOW were those pokeballs floating around his hat?? "I've heard it's a place where one can catch rare pokemon and do lots of training."
Before Gloria could say anything else the station master turned back to the three of them. "We apologize for the wait. We have checked your Armor pass. All aboard the the train to the Isle of Armor! Mind your step when boarding. Please be aware there will also be a connection along the way."
"Okaaay!" "Understood."
The pink haired lady turned back to Gloria. "Let's hang if we meet up again, 'K? Bye bye then! See ya!"
The taller blonde man reached up to tip his hat slightly to Gloria. "Yes. Perhaps we shall meet again sometime. Well then please excuse me."
And both turned to board the train. You all watched them go before Hop hummed. "I could be wrong..But that lady looked familiar."
"You too huh?" Hop nodded and you hummed. Ok. That was strange. Hop seemed to kinda recognize them too so it's more than a deja vu affect. ...Well considering those two were in Wedgeherst Station that means they must've been from Postwick too right? You must've seen them around before and not paid them much attention beforehand. Yeah. That must've been it.
The station master ended up giving Gloria her pass and she quickly boarded the train with you and Silver behind her but she paused and looked behind her at them all....Smiling sadly and waved. You waved too as they all waved back smiling and in Mrs. G's case crying lightly until the doors closed and the train moved. You both stood there for a long moment before you felt a jolt of the train move and you nudged her shoulder gently saying that you both should probably take your seats. She agreed so you both walked further into the train to take your seats. Huh. You didn't see the guy with the top hat or the girl with really bright pink hair anywhere. Guess they were in a different part of the train. It took a good few days and nights of traveling by train and following the instructions Leon gave Gloria on her rotomi phone before stopping by and getting off at a station over looking an ocean. We're you supposed to travel the rest of the way by boat?
"Misses Gloria and Y/n?," a male voice called making you both look left and saw the familiar sight of a flying taxi. "You are them right?"
"Yeah!," Gloria happily answered with a smile, "Why?"
"I was assigned by the Champion to take you both to the Isle of Armor." He made a come on motion. "Climb aboard."
"Oh this is great!" Gloria beamed grabbing your arm. "We'll be there in no time!"
You groaned as she dragged you by the arm towards the taxi with Silver at your heels. Flying. WHY WAS IT ALWAYS FLYING!?
#pokemon sword and shield#pokemon shield#pokemon sword#pokemon swsh#pokemon avery#Pokemon Avery x reader#Pokemon reader x Avery#Isle Connections
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Admitedly on why they stopped having Princess Twilight show up to the human world after Rainbow Rocks, she is pretty busy with her princess duties which Sunset and the rest of the Rainbooms do point out in Legend of Everfree and Friendship Games which would make it weird if she was dropping everything to compete in Friendship Games, go on school trip (despite not being a student in CHS) in Legend of Everfree, helping with a fundraiser in Dance Magic, going to a movie set in Movie Magic, going on a spring cruise in Spring Breakdown, going to a music festival in Sunset's Backstage Pass, having fun in Equestria Land in Rollercoaster of Friendship, and spending the holidays with the Rainbooms in Hollidays Unwrapped (instead of with her friends and family in Equestria), and that doesn't even take in account the shorts. Plus they might have started running out of ideas on what pony Twilight would do in the human world, considering she only really seemed to go there for emergencies only like with Sunset and the Dazzlings as threats in the first two movies. In comparison Principal Cinch, Gloriosa Daisy, Juniper Montage, Wallflower Blush, Vignette Valencia, and Post-Crush aren't as big threats in comparison (plus the Rainbooms had no idea on them being the threats until later rather than from the get-go like with the Dazzlings and Sunset, so contacting her to come to the human world probably wouldn't work).
I honestly get that Princess Twilight would be busy with her princess duties and yes, it's reasonable for the Rainbooms to go to her for emergencies and big threats like the Dazzlings. But I think it would've been more impactful if Sunset Shimmer would be the one to take Princess Twilight's place in the Friendship Games instead of replacing her with Sci-Twi.
Cuz in the Friendship Games' deleted scenes, we see Sunset's inner struggle with the fact that she wants to return to Equestria, but decided to stay in the human world bc of the magic shit going on there. Like someone has to keep an eye on things there in case someone screws around with the magic there.
So with this in mind, why didn't they go with this? It seemed like a good build-up for Sunset's character arc to take the mantle that Twilight left behind in the human world. Not to mention, in the deleted scenes of Friendship Games, Twilight just- going to the human world just to console Sunset abt her "returning to Equestria" dillemma definitely helps with her character arc.
But when Sci-Twi was in the picture, I just can't help but feel... insulted for Princess Twilight. At least, to me, it felt like it. Sci'Twi's place in the Rainbooms is not outright replacing Princess Twilight in terms of character (i mean obviously cuz Sci-Twi's character is way more different than Twilight's), but just seeing her as part of the Rainbooms physically hurts me lmao.
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This & That and Life Lately
I’ve been a little MIA lately because life has been very busy!
I have a new granddaughter…her name is Stella McRae Cummings and she’s the cutest little thing ever! She was born on September 24th at 3:11 am and she weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces! She is so cuddly and I can’t wait to get back to Richmond and see her again this week! We couldn’t be happier to welcome Stella into the family and are so excited for her to meet her crazy boy cousins!
Four grandchildren…how in the world did that happen so quickly?! I’ve really been thinking so much about the next phase of my life and what it will be, there are certainly unknowns and I know the the days will fly by, but, one thing is for sure… will most definitely keep showing up here as The Crazy Blonde!
This is going to be a long post, so grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!
Life Lately
Stella was the most life changing event for our family, but another big change for us is that our youngest daughter Sarah, moved back to the United States from Germany. She and her family are living in Columbia, South Carolina and it’s only 3 hours away! I’ve absolutely fallen in love with Columbia and hopefully will get around to a city guide soon! If you’re looking for the best place to stay, you’ll want to book a room at The Chesnut Cottage Inn! The owners, Ken & Chrystal will spoil you and you’ll never want to leave! I was there last weekend to celebrate Sarah’s birthday! I stayed at the Chesnut Inn and we ate at a fabulous restaurant called Smoked in downtown Columbia that I highly recommend! We ordered a seafood tower with oysters, shrimp, lobster and a crab salad (yum) that was delicious and beautiful!
Of course, we did a little shopping at the best boutique called Slate on Devine and I got the cutest Michael Stars chocolate brown dress that is so perfect for fall! I can’t wait to wear it out to dinner soon! We also shopped at The Gourmet Shop which is the best place to stop for cheeses, wine and prepared foods, plus they have a great restaurant that’s always packed because it’s so delicious!
Fall Decor & Favorites
I have had the hardest time finding plants to live and thrive on my front porch! It’s a deep porch and very shady. Back in the early spring, I bought preserved boxwood balls that were kind of expensive, thinking they would be an easy solution, but they turned brown and looked horrible after just a few months. I’ll spray paint them gold for the holidays and hopefully they’ll be a pretty part of my holiday decor! However, this story has a happy ending…I found faux boxwood balls (plastic is the best word) on Amazon that actually worked. When they first came, I really thought I would send them right back but decided to try to put them together. They came in 2 halves that snapped together to make the ball. They weren’t the easiest things to assemble, but after getting out my trusty pliers, I was able to manage and tried them out in my planters. I kept looking in disbelief…you actually have to be really close to them before you realize that they’re fake! i never in a million years thought I would have plastic (let’s call them faux) boxwood balls on my front porch, but I do, and I love them! No watering and no worry! You can see how they look in the picture below! The ferns need to be repotted because they’re so root bound and since it will probably be warm here until mid November, I’ll probably try to repot them. If anyone has tips on this, I would love to know them!
I recently did a post on my favorite fall candles and have discovered another way to scent our home…it’s the Hotel Collection Scent Diffuser! You simply add a bottle of oil to the diffuser, plug it in and it scents over 400 square feet of your home! There are larger diffusers if you have a bigger space! I ordered the Dream On Fragrance Oil and also ordered the Dream On candle because there’s just something about burning a candle! Next, I want to try the Midnight In Paris Scent! If you’re thinking about holiday gifting…these diffusers and candles would make amazing gifts for most anyone!
I haven’t really talked about this until now, but we are planning a big kitchen, master bathroom and closet renovation in the spring! I have always loved to cook and our kitchen just isn’t conducive to having a large family and cooking for social media! I won’t even begin to tell you about our bathroom and my closet because it’s needed to be redone since we moved in! Anyway, I’m very excited and will share more soon! This is going to be a big deal in our lives for months but I’m ready to get started!
In the meantime, I’m trying to get organized because since I started sharing more and more recipes, my kitchen has gotten more crowded with dishes, serving pieces, ingredients (spices) and other props that I use to photograph my food! I have totally outgrown the space! I ordered these glass spice jars so that hopefully my spices will be easier to find. I’m going to alphabetize them so finding what I’m looking for will be easier! That’s a task for later this afternoon! The jars come with labels and bamboo lids so they’re not only useful, they’re aesthetically pleasing!
Speaking of storage…my daughters gave me this absolutely fabulous wooden salad bowl for my birthday and i’ve been putting all of our salads in it this season! I call it my Caesar Salad bowl, but obviously, it’s great for any salad and I get compliments every time I use it! The bowl came from a beautiful little French shop in Richmond, Virginia called Creme de la Creme! Everything in the store is from France and I could spend hours perusing the perfectly displayed items and many dollars shopping! If you’re in Richmond, be sure to stop by and tell them the Crazy Blonde sent you! For more recipes, check out the Food & Drink section of the blog and here is the recipe for the Butternut Squash Salad below!
I have been wanting to change up my fall decor this season and I’ve had very little time to think about it, but one of the things I’m considering is hanging eucalyptus wreaths with pretty fall colored velvet ribbons! The scent of eucalyptus is divine and they’ll last for years! This one from Williams Sonoma is so pretty!
Fashion
I was gifted this darling Stadium Bag from Hampton Road Designs and it is the perfect bag for football games and any event where you need a clear bag! These bags come in so many different colors and designs and I love them all! So many clear bags just aren’t pretty and can easily ruin a well thought outfit, but these bags can actually make the outfit! Check out their website and their Instagram to see more of these cute bags!f
Since discovering Brucho Walker this past summer, it has become one of my favorite clothing brands! The clothes are beautiful, well made, luxurious and sustainably made.
Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Brucho Walker has created a line of pink clothing called “Think Pink” and they are donating 20% of net sales to the Breast Cancer Alliance to fund breast cancer research! The pink sweater I’m wearing above is part of the “Think Pink” line and it’s so soft and yummy! The blouse is sewn into the sweater, making it so comfortable and easy to wear! I paired my sweater with black coated jeans and a pair of Gucci platform sandals for a very chic look!
Another Brochu Walker favorite is this pair of suede booties that go with everything!
And about this jacket! I’m dying over the new J. Crew collection for fall and this silver metallic jacket is at the top of my wish list! I love it paired with the grey sweater and trousers and the gold jewelry! It is an amazing look!
I’m adding a few of my favorite J. Crew pieces to the boutique below so be sure to keep scrolling!
Fall Food
Fall is one of my favorite times to cook and there are so many recipes to try! It is just starting to get a little cooler here in North Carolina and I can still get beautiful tomatoes at the farmer’s market and it seems that a a lot of summer produce is still available at least for a little longer! My basil is growing like a weed and tomorrow is pesto making day! I probably have enough basil to make a gallon of pesto and that just makes me so happy! I’ll put it in the freezer and pull it out on nights when we need a quick dinner, or I’ll stir it into a pot of soup to add incredible flavor! I don’t think I’ve ever posted my pesto recipe, but I’ll be sure to snap some pictures tomorrow and post it this week!
I have every cookbook Ina Garten has ever written and I love them all! The older ones are stained and worn from use and easily fall open to my favorite recipes. The newer ones are in much better condition because admittedly, I use the internet too often these days! I do still love to open a cookbook and find a new recipe to try and Ina Garten’s recipes are fail safe and always perfectly delicious! Just in time for the holidays, Ina has released a new boxed set called the Barefoot Contessa Collection…this collection is her first three cookbooks in one beautiful package! I think this set would make an amazing gift, especially for a newly married couple or someone who is just starting to cook.
Speaking of delicious food, I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for Creamy Tortellini Soup (pictured below) from The Endless Meal! It looks like a perfect recipe to make for an evening by the fire!
Healthy Living
I’ve been doing a bit of a detox over the past couple of weeks! My goal was to cut out sugar, unhealthy carbs, and alcohol and I’ve done pretty well. Weekends are the hardest and I’m trying to give myself a little grace when I stumble. One of the best things about this detox is that I’ve started juicing again. I got a new juicer not long ago and it’s so much easier to use and to clean than my old one! The new juicer is the Kuvings Whole Slow Juicer Elite and it has made this detox much easier! I do love a freshly made juice with lots (and I mean lots) of fresh ginger.
I’ve also added several other supplements to my daily regimen that have helped keep me feeling full, hydrated and healthy. I’ve been using Isagenix Collagen Elixir twice a day for a couple of years now and it is a daily must for me. I also take Nutrafol for my hair (this was endorsed by my doctor), magnesium, Welleco Super Elixir green powder, and Goop Glow Vitamin C powder. I’ve added 2 products from Pique Life that I’m loving…the BT Fountain Beauty Electrolyte which helps with which helps to improve skin elasticity and reduce the appearance of fine lines and the Sun Goddess Matcha which supports skin clarity and brightens. These products come as a set along with a little blender tool for the Matcha. It might sound like a lot to take everyday, but I just put all of the powders (except the Matcha) in a glass with water and drink them together! It’s like a vitamin cocktail and it’s pretty delicious! I split up the Nutrafol and take 2 capsules in the morning and 2 in the evening. I also take the Magnesium in the evening. On the days when I’m very busy and don’t eat as well as I should, a green juice (or beet juice) along with my supplements keeps me feeling energetic and healthy.
Did you know that 95% of your actions and reactions (for most people) come from your subconscious mind and only 5% come from your conscious mind. The goal here is to intentionally be more conscious and change behaviors intentionally. You create by changing your energy and being present in the moment! Mind your Mind!
Shopping the Amazon Prime Sale
Amazon Prime Day starts today and runs through the end of the day tomorrow! Below is a boutique with some of my favorites from the sale! Now is a great time to shop for holiday gifts and find deals on amazing things in every category!
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Roses and Romeo
Harry and Y/N come back to their hometown after eight years to open up a time capsule they buried ten years ago as high school sophomores.
Word count: 20,534
A/N: Hello beautiful friends, hope you’ve been well. I’m really excited to share this story. It is a former high school sweethearts to lovers. Thank you to @havethetimeofyourstyles Jill for creating timetravelathon and allowing me to participate. I am very sorry it’s later but I finished!!! I do hope you all love it.
Also this story is my baby, because i’ve never hit 20k before so this was new and exciting. I just had so many ideas for the story.
please come and tell me your favorite part!
_____
DECEMBER 1989 - SENIOR YEAR
It's December, and all that is on her mind is how the grass would look covered in snow. The cold breeze, an extra jacket to stay warm, a blanket to bundle up with her favorite person. Safe to say, she can only imagine it because California, specifically Southern California, isn't so keen on giving her this one gift she asks for each year.
A huge smile spreads over her face as soon as she sees her house up ahead.
It's not huge, but it is perfect for Y/N. She has the best memories growing up in a house full of love and laughter and the most gorgeous flowers. The iris and tulips bloomed extra bright this year. There is never a day her mom isn't fixing the garden. Her mother always makes sure she has fresh flowers in her room; right now, for the week, she has purple tulips. Also makes a lovely gift to take to her boyfriend. Harry always blushes when she brings him flowers.
It also gets her extra kisses.
Harry parks right outside but doesn't rush out to open her door like always, so she turns to look at him. He's tapping his fingers on the steering wheel; she patiently waits for him to speak up.
She'd wait all day if she could; he has a beautiful face, one that she will never get tired of gazing at. She especially loves that curl that flops down over his forehead; as much as he pushes it away, it bounces back as if he never moved it.
"It's Friday, love." Harry begins, "I think you should consider coming with me to a party."
She pouts. "No, I want to listen to that new record my dad found, and I also have lots to study. Big exam on Monday."
"You're always studying." He groans.
She frowns. "Not true! Calculus is my biggest enemy. Mr. Leanza is not easy on us."
"Okay, Miss 101%." He pokes her cheek.
She huffs and crosses her arms over her chest in annoyance.
"I'm not going to go just for you to tease me."
Harry leans over and steals a kiss before she can dodge him. "Let's play a game." He sees her roll her eyes but asks her to hear him out.
She gestures for him to go on. "I go in and quiz you. Zero wrong out of all the flashcards you have in that bag of yours, and I get to take you with me. I already have parent permission. I'll have you know."
She narrows her eyes at him. Not ever surprised that her parents agreed, they trust Harry. He's given them no reason not to. She's about to tell him, no, but he gives her a big smile. His dimples are on full display, and she finds herself agreeing.
She mutters a small "okay."
Harry smiles, knowing how she likes to make him work for it, but he really enjoys finding new ways to win her over. He might have cheated, flashing her his dimples that he knows she can't resist, but he never said he played fair. "Only if I get to drive Nessie."
Nessie is Harry's classy white 1966 Mercedes-Benz 230 SL. She was never interested in cars, but Harry speaks so fondly of his car that she has come to learn so much about it and loves it just as much as Harry and her father together taught her how to change a tire and check the oil on Nessie. They want to prepare her for anything, and she is thankful because Harry likes to test her from time to time.
Harry smirked, knowing how much she loves driving. She loves it but does not cave in letting her parents get her a car. Her parents have wanted to get her a car since she got her license at sixteen, but Y/N claims it is too much money to spend.
Her parents tell her they have saved enough for her and her education. It's like raising an only child. They remind Y/N all the time since her brother has graduated university and now lives in San Francisco as an engineer in a growing company.
Harry has been meeting discreetly behind her back with her parents on gifting her a car this Christmas. Although he fears that having a car will mean less of him driving her around. Meaning they will spend less time together and fewer backseat make-out sessions, but on an upside also means he'd have to help her christen it.
"Darling, you dating me for my car?"
"Yes, dearie. I started dating you back in our first year because you had Nessie, not because of those dimples and lame jokes.
"You told me you love them!" Harry gasps, offended.
"Tell you what you want to hear." She shrugs, getting out of the car.
"Hurting my feelings, love." Harry now stands in front of her taking her bag from her hand and closing the door behind her.
"Let's get inside." She pushes him to walk in quickly, knowing her parents aren't home yet and her mom isn't due for another thirty minutes, and she would really love to squeeze in a make-out session.
"Compliment me, then we can go in." Harry stands firm in front of her, a teasing glimmer in his emerald eyes.
She reaches up and places her hands on his cheek, planting a small kiss on his nose.
"You're a dreamboat, Styles." She whispers.
Harry can't help the blush that seems to be taking over his entire face.
She pecks his lips and skips around him. "Let's get studying, then you can help me pick my outfit for later."
Harry shakes himself out of the trance she always seems to leave him in. "God knows you need it
JUNE 1998 - SUMMER HOME
Y/N had always known she was a bit crazy but honestly, deciding on making a 44-hour road trip from Massachusetts to California, where her hometown of Aurora takes the cake.
Yes, she knows how unsafe it is to be a woman on the road alone, but she saved up for the trip and would be spending the entire summer home for the first time since graduating high school. A plus was that she knows the map really well, having studied it hard like one of her anatomy books. Also, helped that her father quizzed her on what roads and exits she would be taking.
She's a good driver; her father always told her everyone else is who she had to watch out for. Honestly, she thanked her family for pushing her to drive more, and now she loves being behind the wheel.
The road was never-ending, taking her where she wanted, and currently, she was aiming for home.
It's four hours until she reaches home, a home she has not lived in for over eight years. A place that holds her most precious memories as well as most heartbreaking.
She's driving with the window down, enjoying the breeze, knowing the heat will only get worse the closer to home. A car passes next to her; she looks over briefly, taking in the vehicle's blue color. It does look a bit old; as the driver accelerates their speed, she notices that it's a Mercedes-Benz but can't make the model seeing as the driver must be eager to reach their destination now speeding off. If she's honest, those types of cars remind her of one person, and that's how she knows she'll never escape because she finds meaning for them in anything and everything life has to offer.
The last few hours on the road pass relatively quickly because the next thing she knows, she's parking her Jeep Cherokee in what she used to call her parking. This car has spent nine years with her and runs like a dream. It was a gift from her parents, and at the time, she was nervous about the gesture but really grew to love it. It also came in handy, seeing as she now lives far from home and visits as much as she can. She hopes to make more trips up now that she has residency but knows it will be harder to get holidays off.
Her parents understand; they do. She's following her dreams and achieving each one, and that is all they could ever ask for.
Y/N gets out and gets her suitcase; it has her essentials and anything she's missing; she can come out later to get it, well her father will most likely fight her and do it on his own.
Just as she is about to open the door, it swings open. Her mother doesn't give her any time to react and simply wraps her in a hug. A tight one full of love and happiness, an embrace she will never get tired of.
"Hi, momma," Y/N murmurs, not at all ready to let go.
"Hello, my sweet girl. It's good to have you home."
"It's good being here. Feel younger already."
"Ah, same here. Come inside; I have lemonade served up and muffins because they are your favorite."
Y/N smiles, knowing how much her mother made sure to have her well-fed always. No matter what she told her, she wanted her with meat on her bones. This also meant anyone who she brought home was given a big meal as well. Telling everyone and anyone they were too thin then proceeding to provide them with a second serving. This was her mother's way of getting into people's hearts through their stomachs.
Y/N walked into the kitchen and smiled at how nothing had changed. Hanging on the refrigerator were her three graduation photos: high school at seventeen, ready to take the world by storm, at twenty-one graduating with the highest honor from Columbia University, and the last was graduating Harvard Medical school this past spring. She knew the next to join would be a photo of her on the first day of her residency.
"Your father refuses to take any down; when your brother comes into town, he complains. Your dad shuts him up by telling him to go be a doctor, and then they could talk."
It warms Y/N's heart that her parents are proud of all the accomplishments she has made. It's been a tough road, but nothing stops her until she accomplishes her goals, and starting her residency is the next stop.
"Like dad's office is covered full of his accomplishments since entering that job in San Francisco." She jokes, transitioning the conversation away from herself.
"The oldest child always seems to be the most jealous." Her mother reminds her.
After eating a muffin or two, her mom sends her off on a walk, not wanting her to be cooped up in the house on her first day back. She has always loved walking around. It's something she did when her friends weren't able to offer her a ride. Also, her parents would walk her to the park every weekend growing up to run around in the grass and ruin more clothes with grass stains.
It's no surprise that she arrives at the entrance of the town's park. It looks like there is no one around until she really enters and finds a family seated on a picnic planet as their youngest tries feeding their oldest strawberries. It's a sweet sight.
She keeps going, not at all wanting to disturb; soon enough, she enters the part of the park no one really visits and finds the old park bench with lots of initials carved in the wood, hers included. It creaks as she sits on it; she smiles, knowing that it is something that has not changed.
There aren't many flowers in this corner, just a big willow tree offering her shade that she very much enjoys.
It's nice being home, she's missed it, but she has loved living in new places, making new friends and connections. She spent her first four years in New York, and she loved the environment. It was a university filled with thousands of people never seeing the same face twice in the halls. Everyone was always in a rush to get somewhere but not here, not at home. Everyone stops her for a conversation. They talk to her as if no time has happened, as if she was still the young girl who helped her mom tend the garden each weekend.
In a way, she always will be.
She wanted this time to explore and travel because she knows this where she'll come back one day to lay her roots. She and her future husband will marry here, maybe at the botanical garden with the beautiful flower arch all year round. It's where she sees her children growing up and running around as she once did. She's got her residency to finish up, but she's looking forward to when she can call Aurora home again.
After sitting for a while, she decides she will come back with a book or two next time. If she's going to be here all summer might as well start by doing some reading on books she has not gotten around to reading. Y/N is thinking about leaving when her eyes spot a couple coming down a hidden path, a small daisy behind the girl's ear, her arm tight around her boyfriend's arm. He's got the biggest smile on his face. They look so lost in each other, one can feel their love.
It reminds her of when she used to do that. When she did that with Harry before they broke up and never spoke again. It breaks her heart, but it also brings back some of the best memories. He'd always bring her here just so they could talk for hours so that she'd tell him more about the flowers and to kiss in private.
One of her favorite memories is when they were in their third year of high school, and he asked to meet for a surprise. She stands up and shakes the memory away, not wanting to get lost in her thoughts. It's harder to do now that she's home and she can see him everywhere she looks.
With that last thought brushed away, she decides to walk back home. She's got a few days to herself before meeting with everyone; there was the big reason she was back in town.
It was time to open a box of memories.
APRIL 1989 - JUNIOR YEAR
Harry is up to something.
She suspects something because he made her walk to the park when he would always be quick to offer her a ride. Sure, it's only a ten-minute walk from her house, but he always says something along the lines that not everyone is as kind as they seem.
It's April, and the flowers are in full bloom. She hears the birds singing, and she swears they sing of the beauty of the flowers. It's also bee season, meaning lots will be around the park, and as much as she loves them, Harry has a big fear of them. Y/N has mentioned various times that they don't mean to harm him; it can just happen. Especially if they get startled.
Y/N takes note of a new flower; it's a small white four-petaled flower that grows in fragrant clusters. They smell divine, but she knows she has never seen them. She really wishes she had her father's polaroid on her to take a photo and show her mother. Any other day she would turn back to do just that, but Harry is waiting on her.
She walks to the back of the park where Harry has claimed their spot, their initials carved in the bench make sure of that. He's standing next to the viola's, and they stand dull next to Harry.
"Hiya, angel." Harry greets hands hiding behind his back.
"Hello." She greets softly; Harry can easily note she's nervous. Any other time she would have given him the biggest hug, but right now is keeping an appropriate distance.
"Are you nervous?" He teases, which honestly calms her down because if he's teasing her, it surely means he doesn't want to break up so she can toss that idea right out.
The last few ideas left are that it's an important anniversary and she's forgotten, or he just wanted to be romantic.
She hopes it's the latter.
"Not so much anymore." She replies truthfully, stepping closer, desperately wanting to give him a hug. He looks warm in his knitted baby blue sweater; she knows it was a Christmas gift from his grandmother, his new favorite.
If he's not wearing his cardigan, he's wearing his varsity jacket, but it's at the dry cleaners because when it's not in his possession, it's in hers. She likes the heaviness of it, how small it makes her look. Harry is the perfect height, standing at what she thinks is 6'0, but she can't be too sure. His broad shoulders only seem to grow stronger each summer after returning from two weeks of football camp. At this point, she wears his varsity jacket more than he does. Sure, she can get an academic one she has more than enough patches to choose from, but it just isn't the same; besides, she rather spend her money on books and records.
Harry tells her his favorite thing about her wearing his jacket is that it has his last name. He knows marriage is long down the line, but he does hope to share the same last name one day.
It's his most prominent dream.
But currently, his big dream at the age of seventeen is asking the prettiest girl to prom.
Harry brings his hands forward to reveal a dozen lavender roses in his hand. Y/N gasps at their beauty, not at all expecting this. They are gorgeous, and she can't wait to show them off to her mom as soon as she gets home.
"My love," Harry starts closing the gap between them and bringing her left hand to his lips to place a soft kiss before setting it back down to rest close to his heart that is beating just for her. "Will you do me the honor of being my date to prom?"
She smiles wide, not at all expecting him to ask, let alone for it to be this romantic and intimate.
"Yes, of course." She wraps her arms around his neck, and Harry spins her around, letting out a small holler of excitement.
"The roses are beautiful; they must have cost you a pretty penny," Y/N tells him as soon as he sets her down so she can admire them again.
"Well, darling. You're worth every one. It also pays that your mom gets on well with the town's florist."
She giggles, nodding.
"Now, how about we walk over to my car and celebrate with a make-out." Harry wiggles his eyebrows at her, knowing he needs very little to convince her.
"Harry!" She chastises, looking around to see if anyone heard, but the park is empty, not a soul in sight. "How about we take a stroll around the park, then we'll see afterward."
"You're a little tease, love." She leans in and pecks his lips two times. He tries for a third, but she hurries off.
"Come on, dove. We've got to see the rest of the flowers that are blooming." Y/N's voice is full of excitement at the chance of walking around the park for the next hour, hand in hand with her boyfriend.
Harry grins happily, following after her, he may be young, but he knows he will do whatever is in his power to always see her happy and smiling.
JUNE 1998 - HOME
"Dad!" She yells as soon as she walks in the door; she sees him stand quickly from his seat on the couch and embraces her in a big hug.
"My baby is home." He whispers.
"I missed you."
"I missed you too, sweetheart."
"How was work?"
"Awful, when I knew I had my two favorite girls at home waiting for me."
Y/N laughs. "Always a sap, dad."
Her mother makes her presence known. "This is a lovely sight. I've missed it."
"Yes, as have I." Her father gives her one last kiss to her head and lets her go.
"Any plans?" Her mother questions walking back from the kitchen, placing a cup of tea for Y/N on an old family coaster.
Y/N takes a seat on the couch, as do both her parents wanting to carry on the conversation.
"I'm meeting Sarah and Sydney for breakfast one of these days, most likely going to spend the entire day together. Then, everyone else won't be coming around until the week after. Think it will be on Friday, seeing as that is what worked for everyone's schedule.
"Happy to see your friends." Her mom states, the wide smile on Y/N’s face confirming her statement.
"Yes, chatting isn't as easy as when we were in high school seeing each other that day. There are lots of emails sent back and forth between us."
"Glad you girls stayed closed. Was worried you would all drift away." She reaches forward to squeeze Y/N's knee.
Y/N knew she meant it about Harry. How no one thought anything would come between them that they would make it through university and settle down soon after. Oh, how wrong they all were. As much as they hoped for the best, they were each other's downfall.
"It's a bit late; I'm going to shower and head to bed instead."
"Before you go, can I say something?"
Y/N recognizes the gleam in her mother's eye and nods, knowing she has to get this off her chest.
"It's sadly a man's world out there, but you have managed to make it your own." She reaches forward and takes Y/N's hand in hers, pressing a gentle kiss before settling it in her lap. Y/N smiles. "I know you long to love and share it with someone, and I want you to remember that the person for you is out there. As a mother, I know these things, and I wish you nothing but the greatest things in life, but they all come when we are ready for it."
Tears well up in Y/N's eyes, she nods. Not replying to her mother's words because she knows if she speaks, she will cry.
"Lorelai, you made her cry." He whispers, pulling both women into a squished hug.
"I've always had your father, and I hope you find that someone for yourself."
She pulls back and wipes her tears away. "Thank you." Y/N leaves her parents with a final hug.
She heads up the stairs to the room that holds all the memories she has kept locked away. In her home, there are no longer any photos of her friends or of him. Not like before, where they were spotted on every wall displayed for all to see. Her mother took them off after she left for university. It broke her mother's heart to see her suffer such a big heartbreak. Harry had become like another son to her parents, so they were all sharing the heartbreak. She missed everything about him, but it has been years since they last spoke.
It's been eight years since they last talked, last kissed but not the last she's thought of him. He's coming for the time capsule opening, and as much as she tries to convince herself she's going to be alright, she knows she's not. Yes, she's moved on. She has built a life without him in it, but it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.
All she can do is count the days until she leaves Aurora and goes back to the comfort of her apartment in Massachusetts.
____
It's been a week since she's been home, and she knows everyone will show up in two days. The friends she was sure she'd never lose touch with but slowly did with time no matter how each tried, but life moves on.
Y/N is nervous to see everyone. She's changed in the last eight years, but so has everyone else. She misses what they used to have in high school but honestly, getting to hear what everyone has been up to will be fun. Who knows, it might feel as if not time has passed at all?
She met up with Sarah and Sydney earlier for breakfast at the old dinner. The girls spent a good five minutes embraced in a hug before they took their seats. They ordered too much to eat but, to no surprise, finished it all by the end of their conversation.
The time together was spent mostly catching up and jumping from topic to topic. She did feel she was asked one too many questions about starting her residency and how they will be addressing her as a "doctor."
Y/N brought up Sarah's love life wanting to hear how they were doing. Sarah and Mitch did not start dating until after graduating high school, finding out they were going to the same university just an hour away from their hometown. Everyone was aware of Mitch's heart eyes for Sarah, but she was too focused on her internship, always wanting to do good. One can imagine how happy everyone was when news spread that Sarah asked Mitch out and was quick to say yes. Now eight years later, were happily moved in together. Sarah is a music engineer, and Mitch a music teacher at the local high school; as mellow as Mitch is, he gets on well with the teens.
Having focused on love and Sydney quickly saying nothing new was going on with her, just that she was more in love than she could have ever imagined, it was time to hound Y/N, it seems. They asked about her love life and how good-looking the boys in Massachusetts are.
Y/N told them how nonexistent her love life has been since she graduated high school. It's not something she ever made time for, and her friends understand as much as they hate that for her. Sydney did not stop herself from making a joke on what seems to be Y/N's long dry spell. She shrugged it off, not at all bothered. Y/N assured them she knows how to take care of her own needs until the right person comes along. They all knew who she hoped would be the right person, but they knew better than to bring him up.
Once again, there was a change of pace. Sarah surprised them with tickets to Spice Girls at a sold-out Madison Square Garden concert on July first. Six tickets, a perfect number for their friend group. It was perfect, honestly. Sarah figured they'd road trip up the last week of June and could stay in Y/N's shared apartment with her roommate, who would not be home yet. Then take a train up to New York for the show. Also, told them they'd have hotel rooms for the night already, having an idea there would be an after-party. Y/N was all for it as was Sydney.
Y/N has always loved concerts; it's something she saves for not bothered to spend some money to enjoy a great show for one of her favorite artists, especially in good company. The long queues were a downfall, but not everything is perfect. She has gone to concerts and knows that one can make the best experience out of floor seats and nosebleeds. Artists never fail to amaze.
It reminds her of the first concert she ever went to that Harry took her to their senior year. The ticket stub she has pinned next to a polaroid that a stranger offered to take for them. It was before the show, and they had matching grins. It's still one of her favorites, and the reason she doesn't take it down is too good of a memory to keep hidden away.
While seeing Sarah and Sydney was good and everything she hoped it would be, it did not prepare her to see the others. She had not talked to Zac in a long while, having no idea what he was up to. Mitch is quiet and only says hello when she has called with Sarah and Harry; well, it's like she doesn't exist to him. Not since their last day together.
Y/N has two days to prepare.
Two days to wrap her head around the fact that she's going to see Harry.
AUGUST 1989 - SENIOR YEAR
Many people told her to enjoy her high school years because they would fly by, and she accepted the advice and made memories to last a lifetime in the three years leading up to her senior year. Her friends and family have made each year memorial. Still, there is something about senior year, and knowing that it is their last year before university has her excited and anxious.
Harry repeatedly told her how he wanted it to be their best year yet and promised to do just that. She has no doubt in her mind he will accomplish that in whatever way. He's managed to do so year after year.
Harry made sure to pick her up each morning, never wanting her to worry about walking alone to school or arriving late. He made sure he knocked on her door every morning.
Depending on the time he showed up, he was ushered in for a homemade breakfast, or sometimes he said a quick hello before grabbing her hand and rushing out the door because they were running behind schedule, and Harry knew he could not make her arrive late.
One thing that was always constant was how he carried her bag to his car and opened her door. He made sure she was settled before reaching down for his morning kiss. Sometimes, he went as far as putting on her seatbelt, just wanting to be close to her.
Today was Monday, and he usually comes in, but today he selfishly told her to grab him a slice of toast because he was in a hurry. She didn't question him and sent her apologies. Her mom kissed her cheek and told her not to worry about it. A true angel, her mother was.
Harry slipped her bag over his shoulder before ushering her in. She felt a little flustered with his urgency but let him be. He stole a quick kiss before going to the driver's seat.
"What's got you in a rush today?" She asks, genuinely worried.
He smirks, looking over at her. He seems calm, not that they've driven away from her house. "Thought we could use the extra time for some kisses. You deprived me this Sunday." He pouts at her, waiting for the light to turn green.
"H, you know I have dinner with my grandparents one Sunday a month." She chastises him.
"I know, darling, doesn't mean I like it." He tells her. "Had to suffer a Sunday alone."
"Well, at least I know how I can make it up to you." She teases.
Arriving at school, Harry parks toward the back under a shady tree, one far away from everyone.
"Want to sit on my lap, baby?" He asks, spreading his thighs, and as much as she wants to, she shouldn't knowing very well what he can convince her to do when in his lap.
"Later, H." She promises.
"I'm holding you to that, angel." He unclips her seatbelt, quickly placing his lips on hers.
She feels how smooth his lips are and knows he stole her cherry lip balm again. "Harry, that's the third lip balm you've taken in two weeks." She pulls away, rubbing her thumb over his bottom lip that he juts out. He gives her thumb a soft kiss.
"Swear I was going to put it back this time." He moves closer, placing a kiss on her neck, slowly trailing down, pushing his varsity jacket down her shoulder, exposing more of her neck. Her black corduroy pants and white acrylic sweater, and her favorite worn-out Mary Jane's mother have been begging her to change out. She likes to think it adds an extra flair to her outfit. "You drive me crazy when you wear my jacket," He whispers in her ear.
"Does that mean you're always going crazy?" She whispers back, knowing he mostly wears the jacket during game days.
"Always make me lose my mind."
After a fun half-hour of making out, Y/N pushes him back, knowing she has matching bruised lips. She loves that everyone can see what she did to him. She also may have sucked a little too hard on the skin right below his collar, the love bite just barely visible. She pulls down the sun visor, looking in the mirror to straighten out her hair, that Harry just loves digging his fingers into.
"Baby, what did you do?" Harry says, looking at the fresh mark just by his collar bone.
She smirks, knowing very well that Harry loves when she marks him. Not doing it very often in fear of getting caught by their parents.
"Got to remind those girls that stare at you who you belong to." She reapplies her lip balm before layering the new lip gloss her mom got for her the other day.
"You know I've only got eyes for you, love." He says, caressing her cheek softly.
His gentle tone of voice always makes her soft, but it also might be that his accent seems to stand out even more.
"I know, H." She leans in to give him one more kiss but pulls back quick enough to not let him deepen it.
"Sneaky, baby." He clicks his tongue at her, rushing out and rounding the car to open her door, offering her his hand.
She gladly accepts it, placing a kiss on both cheeks before landing on his lips.
"I love you, Styles." She whispers against his lips, eyes closed as she tries to catch her breath.
"And I love you, my darling angel." He softly nuzzles her nose, causing her to let out a small giggle.
"Let's get you to class." He says, throwing his arm over her shoulder pulling her in close.
Harry is smiling wide; she takes notice as she looks up. He looks extra giddy.
Too giddy, and it has nothing to do with their steamy make-out.
She narrows her eyes at him, "what's got you extra smiley?"
"Nothing, happy all the time."
"Nuh, uh. Styles. I know you. Fess up!" She stops walking, wanting him to answer her.
"It's because my girl marked me up today for all to see. Makes me feel special." He answers smoothly.
Y/N looks at him in suspicion, not buying a single word he's saying, "I'm onto you, Styles."
Harry lets out a deep breath before stepping close to her. "Let me surprise you, darling."
She instantly relaxes. "Okay, only because you know I like surprises."
"Thank you." He rests his forehead against her, happy to be in her space, forgetting all around him until he hears a shout of his name.
Moment over, it seems.
"Let's get you to English Literature," Harry murmurs, intertwining his hand with hers making sure she's close by as Sarah greets her.
_____
It's lunchtime when they walk hand in hand to the lunch tables where Mitch and Sarah sit, stalling their conversion to greet them. Before she can take a seat next to Sarah, Harry pulls her in his lap. He leans in close to her ear and whispers that he'll give her his chocolate chip cookies Anne had baked. She silently agrees, grabbing the bag Harry was offering her. What he didn't disclose is that his mum had sent them specifically for her. They have three empty seats, but she can see Zac and Sydney approaching, carrying food trays. Meaning, neither had lunch prepared for the day.
Y/N leans back against Harry getting comfortable, knowing that he wouldn't be letting her go any time soon. The chatter begins with how their weekend went and what this week's activities are. She knows she doesn't have much to do this week; her club meetings don't meet until next week. Harry has football practice all week, meaning she either visits the library or finds a ride home. She doesn't mind staying and watching his training, but Harry hates knowing she sits there alone for so long. He rather have her be home warm and cozy than on the cold bleachers.
Harry asks for her attention by placing a kiss on her neck, his tell sign that he's feeling left out.
"Yes, H," She whispers for only him to hear.
"Need your attention. Don't like sharing."
"You're extra needy this Monday, dove." Y/N has his hands in her lap as she begins to trace circles on his palm; it's something that soothes him instantly.
"I just want to know our plans this weekend." He kisses her cheek, nuzzling his face in her neck. "Rather you get parent permission early on than last-minute giving them a chance to say no."
Harry's right; there are occasions where her parents have said no, and Y/N finds herself sneaking out from her window that conveniently has an old tree that makes it all the easier.
Her parents trust them together, but if they really knew what happened behind locked doors, they would think otherwise.
"Do you want to go kiss a little?" He wants her to say yes.
"At your car or in the abandoned hallway?"
"What's quieter?"
"The hallway, and it's closer."
Harry nods, gently grabbing her waist and helping her stand. "We'll see you later," Harry says, interrupting their conversations.
"Oh, Styles, you've corrupted her." Zac teases very well, grasping what they were about to go do.
"Think she's corrupted me. Who knew angels could be so dangerous?" Harry teases in front of their friends.
Y/N feels her face warm, bidding them all a quiet goodbye. Harry, having rendered her a bit speechless. She swears she never knows what is going to come out of his mouth.
Harry all but drags her to the hallway. He gently pushes her back against the wall next to an older poster for the school play. Y/n glances down at his lips before looking into his eyes.
"Did you really bring me here to kiss, or are you spilling the surprise?" Her eyes are big and filled with hope.
"Sorry, baby. Really did want some kisses from you." He pulls her closer wanting no space in between them. "Really missed you. Can't believe we only have one class together."
"It's like they know you wouldn't pay attention to me in a class with you." She teases.
"Kissy." He pouts his lips, feeling like they've talked enough.
Who is she to deny him when he asks so sweetly.
Y/N always felt like time stopped when she kissed Harry. She felt her heart pounding in her chest as her knees grew weak, and as if Harry knew, he wrapped his arm around her waist, keeping her up. Harry pulls away slowly, a smile growing on his face. He would never tire of kissing her.
Harry leans in and nuzzles his head in the crook of her necks, slowly beginning to place kiss after kiss before he finds his favorite spot and begins to suck lightly, pulling a surprised moan from her.
She pushes him back. "No love bites that high. It will keep us locked up in the house all weekend supervised.
Harry tenses at the thought, knowing fully well her parents would do that, having done it before when they first started dating, and he thought more with the thing in his pants than his brain. "I guess I'll just have to bruise these pretty lips."
Never one to tell him no, a small nod is enough to make Harry lean in and take her breath away. He'd kiss her forever if he could, but the last fifteen minutes of lunch break would have to do for now.
_____
Monday's always drag on; she goes home, does homework, reads a book, and waits for dinner to be ready. Most days, she joins her mother in cooking; both like conversing about their days. More than ever, they have lots to talk about, from holiday plans to the universities she is applying for. She has saved up allowance allowing her to use it for more universities than the average three. If it was up to her, she'd send one to all the universities because that is how confident she is not only about her grades but how she comes off as a student on paper.
Dumping most of her books in her locker, she keeps Calculus in her bag, knowing the sooner that homework gets done, the less stress she'll have. Just as she shuts her locker, she hears footsteps approaching her.
"Is my girl ready to go?"
"She is."
Harry swings his arm over her shoulder, and they begin to walk out the school doors that are kept wide open. There are groups of students lingering talking to another, and in the distance can hear cars driving away eager to get away.
Y/N smiles at a girl who sends her a wave, recognizing her from her English course. Harry walks them under a tree, a reasonable distance away from everyone because, as she has come to know, he likes kissing her in private.
"Our first game is in two weeks." Harry reminds her.
"Yes, exciting."
"Will you be there, or is there a test to study for?" He teases.
She frowns and takes him by the lapels of his varsity jacket that she gave back to him at the end of lunch because she claimed it was losing his smell.
"Don't start, Harry. You know I've never missed a game, and I won't start now."
"Was only teasing, love."
"Didn't like it."
"Sorry, love. Forgive me? He pouts, wanting her to smile at him instead of frown.
"You know my price." Y/N shrugs.
He sighs, nodding his head three times before moving to get on his knees, toying with unbuttoning her pants.
She gasps and jumps away. "Harry!"
Harry can't help but smirk, "Isn't that always the price."
"I just wanted a kiss; no need to make a scene." He shrugs. "Now, don't you have a practice to get to?"
"Ugh, I do." Harry groans, dreading practice knowing the coach likes to run them twice as much for not working out on the weekends.
"Give me a kiss, please. Then you'll come by later, right?"
"That is correct." He leans in, giving her three consecutive pecks on her lips.
"Who's taking you home again?" He asks, wanting to make sure she's safe.
"Sarah and Mitch."
"Right, good. Well, off I go, poppet."
"Bye."
Harry turns and heads toward the field, where he can see the freshman already setting up drills and getting the water jug out to the bench. He's only taken a few steps when his angel's voice stops him.
"Dove,"
Harry can feel his cheeks turn bright red at the term of endearment. He turns and takes two steps back to her. "Yes, lovie."
"Will you give me one more kiss?" Her voice soft and innocent but the gleam in her eye is anything but that.
Harry takes the last step towards her and holds her face with both hands reaching down and kissing her passionately. He pulls away after what feels like a lifetime, slowly as he tries to steady his breathing.
"I love you," she whispers.
He presses a final kiss to her forehead. "And I love you." Harry turns and begins to jog away, recognizing he's got a limited time to get dressed and out on the field to warm up. He's a few feet away but turns his head to see her watching him still. "Tell your mom I'll be joining you for dinner."
She nods, letting him know she heard him before he turns a corner and out of her eyesight. Only then does she go in search of her waiting friends who will bring her home.
______
After Y/N informed her mother that Harry was going to join them for dinner, she got up to cook, wanting everything to be ready for when her father and Harry arrived, seeing it would be around the same time.
Y/N made herself scarce as her mother was in no mood to converse. Instead, she wanted to cook, and maybe if she planned her time accordingly, she would do dessert.
Dinner time came around quickly, meaning she was lost in homework for a good few hours. She walked downstairs wanting to help her mom set the table when the front door swung open.
"Hello, father!" Y/N bounced over to him, giving him a big hug and a peck on his cheek, one that he happily returned.
"Hi, my sweet girl."
"Mom cooked a delicious dinner. We're just waiting on Harry." Y/N told him, knowing he's hungry from a long day at work.
"Won't have to wait long; Harry was just parking when I was on the steps."
Y/N's eyes lit up at hearing that he arrived. Her father chuckled, "I'll go say hello to my wife, dinner in ten, okay."
Y/N walks out to see Harry coming up the stairs in a cozy blue emblem sweater with denim Levi jeans and paired with his old white Chuck All-Stars. She smiled because he went home to shower, not wanting to wear his clothes from earlier or come over smelling like sweat, not that she minded.
"You know we don't mind the sweat, H," She tells him as he's climbing up the last few steps.
He shrugs. "I know, but I am a guest in your home and would never dare disrespect your parents and you, of course."
Y/N grins. "Four years dating, and you continue to prove to be the most perfect boyfriend."
Harry looks away, feeling bashful. "I wouldn't go that far."
"I would, dove." Y/N closes the gap between them. "Now, I say you kiss me before mom calls us in for dinner."
"It would be my greatest pleasure."
____
Dinner was a success, conversation always flowing well. Y/N likes to sit back and listen to her parents talk with Harry as if they hadn't seen him in forever when he is more than likely to be here every other day. Her father is a big fan of football; he too was once a player. No, he wasn't quarterback; he was right-wing and helped his team make it to state championships.
The high school team has won three state championships since Harry's first year as a freshman. They counted on making it the fourth year; no doubt in anybody's mind it would happen. Y/N picked up on her father's excitement going on and on about the first game and how it was the most important one now that scouts would be coming out more and more. Without a second thought, she reached over and placed her hand on his thigh, lightly squeezing, reassuring Harry she was there for him. He slowly turned the hand on his thigh palm up and intertwined them together.
"Thank you so much for dinner, Lorelai. Luke, thank you for the great conversation. I can't wait to see you both at the game."
"We wouldn't dare miss it, Harry," Lorelai tells him, a wide grin on her face as she picks up the dishes.
"Now go on; I'll help your mother with the dishes tonight." Luke gestures to them to get up and get their privacy. Y/N thanks him and takes Harry's hand, leading the way up the stairs.
Now they are lying on her bed, it's got enough space for them to be spread out, but she prefers to lay across Harry, her head on his chest as he rests his head on her pillows.
Harry had his hand in her hair, always calming for her and for him. Allows them to sit in comfortable silence, basking in the joy of being together.
Many people ask them if they ever get sick of seeing each other every day and never giving each other space after dating for so long. That isn't entirely true because when they aren't at their respective extracurricular activities, they are found together. Harry's response is always, "she's my favorite person." Y/N just shrugs and smiles, "he's my best friend."
Believe it or not, they spent around in her room listening to music or in his house watching movies from their grand VHS collection. Most thought they spent it making it out, not that they don't do that because they are just as in love as when they got together four years ago. When they walked into any room, her parents were sure they would be kissing, which is why the open door policy exists. Well, half-open is the agreement now.
Harry looks around her room, his eyes settling on the polaroid photo on her bedside table, one of them smiling at each other, lost in their own worlds. It's dated 06-18-1989<i<, it was from one of their many summer days spent together. He decided now was as good as time to bring up what he had been hiding.
"You know how we were making plans for the weekend, sweetheart."
"Yes, you didn't let us decide on anything."
"Well, what if I did?"
She sits up and moves to sit in front of him. "Okay, I'm all ears.
"You up for a drive?"
"Always, so drive me to the moon, please."
Harry laughs. "Serious for a sec, baby."
"Sorry, yes, go on then." She interrupts him once more. "How far is the drive? You're not always the best driver."
"Ouch" Harry has his hand over his heart, feigning as if her words had pierced him. "Guess I won't tell you."
"That's fine."
"Yeah. Is it?"
"Yup."
"Why's that?" He's confused; she's usually begging to know by now.
"Simple, because I just won't give you any kisses."
"That's cruel."
"Oh well. I don't play fair."
"Think you can resist me, sweetheart?"
"Oh, I know I can."
Harry shakes his head, response ready, but she stops him. "Remember who asked who out five different times."
"That's because you were playing hard to get. Claiming you just wanted to be friends for a little longer."
"That was tru-" It's his turn to stop her.
"Ah, yes, I know. I was getting impatient. Don't know if you know this or not, darling, but I had to scare off a lot of boys.
"Trust me, H. I knew"
"You did?"
"Yes, I think it was because everyone knew sooner or later I was going to put you out of your misery."
"Yeah, by saying yes."
"Oh no, I was going to say no."
"What changed?" Clearly, something had, and he just had to know.
"You decided to show up at school wearing your Sunday best and brought me sunflowers. Told me they reminded you how much light I brought into your life. There I decided yes, he'll make a fine boyfriend."
Harry's smile is big, dimples on display just for her. Always for her. "You tease too much."
"But you love it."
"I do." He leans in and smiles as she lets him lead the kiss. It's slow and full of love. A love that only continues to grow each moment they are together. "I really do."
Y/N leans in, wanting to give him more kisses, wanting to be connected to him, wanting him to always feel her love. She's not sure how much time has passed when Harry pulls away.
"You do realize we got sidetracked."
"Yes, worth it if you ask me." She looks pleased. "Now you have to tell me, I gave you kisses."
Harry runs his thumb over her bottom lip, asking for another. She puckers her lips leaning forward, and connects their lips in a short soft kiss.
"Friday night, the Forum."
Y/N's eyes go wide; she was not expecting to hear that.
"No."
"Yes."
She sits there taking it in.
"Say it, baby." Harry likes that he managed to surprise her.
"You got us tickets for Elton John." She whispers out, her eyes now locked with his needing him to confirm it.
"Yes, I did."
"A sold-out show."
"Think it's going to be a fun night."
"How?" Although Y/N has an idea.
"Well, I called in on a favor with our dear friend Sarah and the radio station she's interning at."
"I love her." She breathes out.
"Hey," Harry knocks her out of her gaze. "And me."
"Of course, I love you." She moves forward, seating herself in his lap. "I love you. I can't believe you did this for me."
"Yes, can't let you go off to uni without experiencing a concert."
"You are perfect, Styles."
"Perfect for you."
There's so much love in between them; if anyone walked into the room, they'd be able to feel it.
"Wait." Her hands now resting on his chest, a frown taking over her face. "How are we going to convince my parents."
"Already done. Told them the plan and the itinerary, and your parents have agreed."
"Perfect, I'm telling."
"Is this why we're walking to school tomorrow?" She remembers him telling her he won't have his car.
"Yes, taking it to the mechanic. I just want to make sure all is okay."
"Marry me?"
Harry can feel his cheeks warming up; she always makes him blush. He takes hold of her left hand and brings it up to his lips, leaving a gentle kiss on her ring finger.
"All in good time, my love."
_____
The week had dragged on, but it was finally Friday. She had been excited all week, and everyone could tell. Told her how she was jumpier, a lot more smiley, and twice as affectionate with Harry. She was happy.
She's at home getting ready; they would be leaving soon. Seeing as it was still a bit of a drive and no doubt would get stuck in traffic, seeing as they aren't the only ones attending the show.
Y/N had gone over outfit after outfit until she finally decided on what she is wearing now. She's wearing a deep red power shoulder tucked into her favorite high-waist denim that makes her waist and butt look extra good.
As she walks down the stairs, she hears the door and knows Harry is here to take her away. No matter what, he always stepped up to the door to pick her up; it still made the butterflies in her stomach go crazy.
Her father is at the door speaking with Harry going over her extended rules and what numbers to call for an emergency.
"Well, aren't you a dream," Harry looks her up and down; she does a slow spin for him on the heel of her black boots to give him the full look. "I'm a lucky man."
"Glad you know it, H."
She grabs hold of his brown leather jacket and runs her finger down it, it's an old one, but he takes such good care of it; one would think he just got it today.
"Think you just took my breath away, H." She swears there are hearts in her eyes as she takes him in.
"That's exactly what I was going for."
Harry and Y/N bid her parents goodbye; they wish them a safe journey. Her mother was excited to send her off; her father was a bit more worried but trusted Harry to keep her safe.
The drive to the arena is filled with conversation over the upcoming year, Harry's final football season, and her volunteering hours how she was hoping to be accepted into the NICU's internship at their hospital. Also, lots of singing on the radio as well as Harry's CDs. From ABBA to Shania Twain, he had, but they settled on Elton John for the ride.
In what feels like no time, they had arrived. Y/N is amazed at how big it is; she doesn't know much about the place just from what Sarah told her that it was large and no matter where she sat, she was going to have the best time of her life. Already having Harry at her side, she had no doubt about it. She can't stop smiling, and neither can Harry.
Harry grabs her hand as they both stare at the arena, where hundreds of people are lining up to enter.
"Ready, love."
"Yes, gosh. I might throw up from the excitement."
"Oh no, let's get you a pop. It'll help."
"That sounds nice." Y/N leans up and gives him a gentle kiss. "Thank you, H."
"Angel, I am more than happy to do this for you."
Hand in hand, they walked into the arena, ready to sing their hearts out together.
_____
Two hours of singing and dancing her heart off, and yet it still wasn't enough to tire Y/N out. Harry was sure she'd be clinging to his arm as he pulled her out of the arena, but she had asked him to wait out the crowd, and they stood in the emptying arena, arms around each other. He could feel her heart beating against his chest, and it was still pumping hard. He kissed her lips one final time before swinging his arm over her shoulder and guiding them out to the chilly Los Angeles air.
Y/N was all smiles, and she thinks it has to do with the man whose curls have fallen flat from all the sweating they did inside the arena. Being in a room packed around thousands of people will do that. She has never been in such a happy and united environment.
It's a memory she's going to cherish forever.
The drive home is full of retelling of their favorite parts of the night. Harry decided his was when Y/N turned to kiss him during "Your Song." He felt himself fall in love with her all over again. It's a feeling he never wants to end.
Y/N's had to have been each outfit change. There were so many that she lost track, but she loved how unique each outfit was. It's something she knew she could never pull off, but she admired the beauty of each one. It was over the top and full of colors; it kept her mesmerized. It reminded her of life and how filled with color it really is. Also, when Harry sang his heart out during "Tiny Dancer." How he knew every lyric and didn't miss a beat, if she's honest, she didn't bother looking at the stage for the entire song too entranced in Harry.
The smile does not leave their face, not during the traffic of getting on the freeway, not when they stopped by McDonald's and got burgers and decided to share a coke, and not even when they saw the sign welcoming back into Aurora.
Y/N's smile didn't drop until Harry parked his car right in front of her house. She sits back against the seat and turns her head to already find a bashful Harry smiling at her.
"Come here." He whispers.
She unbuckles and sits in his lap, it may have been a few hours, but she missed being this close to him.
Y/N didn't wait for Harry to ask; she simply leaned in and connected his strawberry lips with hers. She loved how soft they always were, and she knew she'd keep letting him steal her lip balms if they did such an excellent job keeping them soft and tasting sweet; then again, that could be all Harry. She lets out a small moan when Harry swipes his tongue on her bottom lip, asking for entrance, and she happily grants it.
She wishes she can stay here forever, in his arms, kissing his lips, never having to stop.
"Baby," Harry breathes against her lips.
Y/N knows what he's going to say; she's not ready to say goodnight. Instead, she keeps kissing him. "Just a little longer." She mutters against his lips.
Harry can't bring himself to pull away again and nods, allowing her to take control. He has a tight grip on her thigh, he wishes to move it higher, but he knows if he does, she won't be going inside tonight. She moves her lips down his jaw pressing gentle kisses.
"You drive me crazy."
"Feelings mutual, darling."
Harry pulls her back up and kisses her plush mouth. She tastes sweet, something he never pinpoints; all he knows is that it's intoxicating. He presses one final kiss on her lips and pulls back. She's breathing heavy, a large grin on her face. He knows he looks just as dazed.
"Think you got to get inside now."
"Don't want to leave you." She grabs a fist of his jacket, pulling herself closer.
"I'll be here tomorrow afternoon."
She pouts. "Why so late?"
"Because you're going to want to sleep in." He brushes a bit of her hair away, she leans into his touch; she loves how delicate each touch is.
"What if you come early and then cuddle me? Mom won't turn you away."
"She might."
"Not after I walk in and tell her how amazing the night was." She cups his cheeks, rubbing her thumb affectionately on his smooth skin. "She's got a sweet spot for you."
"And you." He reminds her.
"Well, of course. I'm her daughter." She laughs but knows she hasn't convinced him. "Please," she whispers. She flashes him her best puppy dog look, knowing he won't be able to resist.
"Fine. I'll be here at eight, darling."
"Perfect." She gloats.
"Let me walk you up."
Harry helps her back into the passenger seat so they can both head out. He grabs her hand, pulling her in close, not wanting her far for the last moments he has her.
"You want to know something, H." She whispers, keys in her hand.
"What is it, angel?"
"I want to travel the world with you."
"The world." He gasps. "It's a big place, baby. Where would we start?"
"London got to see the place you grew up before moving here. Of, course we'll save up and just spend the year traveling wherever life takes us."
"That sounds perfect."
She hums, deep in thought, picturing visiting all these places she's only dreamed of with him by her side. To see the Eiffel tower, walk the streets of Scotland, and swim in the Amalfi Coast waters.
"Dove," He hums, playing with a loose string of her jeans. "Where would you like to go?"
"Anywhere you want. I'll make sure to take you wherever you want to go."
"Take me to the stars, dovie."
"As you wish, my sweet angel."
Harry brings his right hand up to her face and gently cups her cheek; she sighs, knowing precisely what he's going to do. She tilts her head up and feels his lips against her. It's the softest kiss of the night; it's gentle. It's her favorite kiss, the goodnight kiss, a promise to see her tomorrow.
She breaks away the first time tonight, knowing if he kept going a moment longer, she wouldn't let him go. "Goodnight, H," She whispers as she begins to open the door.
"Goodnight, love."
Harry turns and walks to his car as he hears the door shut and hears her turn the lock. Once in his car, he takes a look up at her window, sends a final smile as he sees her waving him off.
He feels so much joy always being around her, but tonight it seems to have multiplied by a hundred. He knew tonight was perfect, but his favorite part wasn't even at the concert; it was standing outside her door as they spoke of their future together.
Happiness isn't always about the big moments but also about these small moments that make them feel invincible.
JUNE 1998
Y/N grabs a book from her bookshelf, not bother glancing at which one knowing if she stopped to read each title, she would be there all day. She heads to the yard, a picnic blanket tucked under her arm, so she can lay on it and soak in a bit of the sun.
Her mother is trimming the leaves of the roses, wanting the flower to pop out more. Her father usually helps her, but he's finishing up last-minute work before coming out to join them. He has a good view of them from his office window. When she was young, he told her he chose this room because it's where her mom spends all her time, and he likes having his eye on her as she joins the beauty of her flowers. Y/N's known love all her life, and she's happy her parents have each other, but she can't help but feel like she let that one-of-a-kind love go years ago and fears she'll never find it again.
As she settles down on her blanket, she decides to rid herself of all thoughts and instead get lost in the words of Stephen King. She picked up a psychological horror. She remembers her father mentioning it was a good read and that she'd enjoyed it. Two pages in, and she knows she's hooked; it looks like she will be laying out here all day.
At least that's what she thought when her mother interrupted her.
"When are you meeting everyone?"
Y/N puts the book down on her chest and looks over at her mom, who's still got her eyes on her roses. "Sorry, what did you say?"
"When are you meeting everyone?" Her mother repeats herself.
"Tomorrow."
"Time, darling?"
"At one."
She hums in response. "I leave you in charge, and please be watchful over my roses."
"Of course, I would never think of damaging your roses. Well, my roses, really." Y/N corrects.
"Just because they were planted in your honor does not mean they are yours. You've cared for them for such little time."
"Excuse me, mother. I went off to university, but once I'm done and ready to settle down, I will be doing all the caring."
"Yes, because you will have time as a doctor." Her mother responds sarcastically.
"I will be able to."
Her mother decided to move on, knowing how stubborn Y/N can be. "Your father and I have lunch and dinner plans out of town, so you'll have the house to yourself for most of the day and night."
"You're treating me like I'm sixteen again, and it's my first time having friends over."
Her mom laughs, and Y/N can't help but join. "You're forever, my little girl."
"Cheesy." Y/N teases.
Y/N leans back and gets comfortable, all thoughts of tomorrow pushed away and instead gets lost in the town of Bridgton, Maine.
_____
It's time; everyone is making their way over. She can feel her palms begin to sweat, thankful there's a nice breeze outside to keep her cool. Y/N and her mom cooked pasta with grilled chicken and strawberry lemonade wanting to be ready for after the digging. Y/N would feel bad making them dig a hole, open a box, then head on out. These people are her friends, and she wishes to spend time with them, and what better than with food.
She's got ten minutes before everyone is due to arrive when she hears a car pull up and turn off right in front of her house. Y/N knows of only one person who shows up early.
Harry.
Y/N thought he would be the last to arrive, but she's guessing old habits die hard. She takes a deep breath before opening the front door and walking out.
Harry would be lying if he wasn't nervous. He's about to see Y/N for the first time after years. He's seen her in photos; he knows she only continued to become more beautiful as the years passed. It's not the same as, no, because he knows what's separating them is a walk up to the door.
He feels precisely as he did the moment he asked her out and, if he's truthful, how she made him feel their entire relationship. Harry's 26, but his heart feels 18, and at that age, he was deeply in love with the woman inside that house. He loves her just the same.
Harry takes a long deep breath before slowly letting it out. He could do this; he got out of his car and made his way up the path, where she was already standing waiting for him. It felt like no time had passed as if he was coming over to take her on a date--except they weren't even close enough to say they were friends.
"Harry," She breathes out as he reaches the first step.
"Hi" He sends her a small smile. "You look great."
Y/N feels her cheek flush, and knows he can notice now that he's right in front of her. She takes in her outfit; it's simple, just a cropped red long-sleeved tee and black pants, with an old pair of black sneakers.
"Thank you, Harry. As do you." And he really does. He's wearing loose green denim joggers with a matching jacket. He has left it open, showing a brown button-up, a silver cross necklace peeking out from the space he left unbuttoned. "Always on time still."
"Better early than late."
She nods, not sure if she should continue the conversation or not. Are they going to stand out here in silence? It was never this hard; she hates this. Y/N rather keep talking than let themselves stand there in silence for another eight minutes.
She clears her throat. "How'd med school go? Have you decided on a residency yet? Anne told me you were weighing your options."
Harry doesn't try to hide his shock. "You spoke to my mum?" He asks in disbelief.
Y/N grins as much as his English accent is fading; it always comes back when saying 'mum,' or well, when he's nervous.
She nods. "I visit her when I visit my family. Recently passed when I came to see my mother who was feeling down and lonely as she put it even though she has dad to keep her company."
Harry smiles, knowing what weekend she was talking about because he had come the week after, and Lorelai had told him she was no longer as lonely. He thought it might have been because of his company, but it was because her daughter was home for a weekend.
When he's about to tell her where he decided, she waits patiently, staring up at him, a shy smile on her face but stops when Sydney comes and tackles Y/N in a hug.
"Of course, Styles got first dibs on you." Sydney fakes her exasperation.
"He knows how to be punctual." Y/N teases. "Looks like you bring the others as always." She signals seeing two more cars park; they park in the empty driveway.
"Just like old times," Zac screams out two bottles of wines in his hands. Mitch and Sarah walk up behind him, agreeing.
Y/N looks around, and it's almost like old times. Just one small difference that makes her heartache.
Everyone greets each other, sharing long hugs, and it's not long after that she invites everyone in and into the backyard.
"Mom says if we mess up her roses, we are dead meat," Y/N informs them all as they all stand in a semi-circle under the spot they buried their time capsule.
Mitch steps and pats Harry on the back. "If anything does happen, just say it was Harold. Lorelai has a soft spot for him."
Sarah approaches water in her hand. "Y/N is her golden child who does no wrong, easy to forgive."
Y/N laughs. "Enough. No roses will be damaged. Are we clear?"
She gets a chorus of "yes."
"Great, there are clear instructions that only Zac and Harry are allowed to shovel. Sorry, Mitch, mom said we've got to take care of your musical hands."
Mitch nods in appreciation.
"What about the doctor? No care for him." Harry mutters a small smile on his face.
"Quiet Styles, you're a favorite still," Zac tells him, pushing a shovel into his chest.
Y/N's happy watching the banter; it's like she's sixteen again, and they are trying to see who could dig their side of the hole faster.
SEPTEMBER 1988 - TIME CAPSULE
"High school friendships aren't known to last," Zac speaks out randomly, breaking everyone out of their conversations.
Harry sighs, "You're a downer."
"I'm a realist."
Y/N takes this in; she hasn't thought years down the line. She just assumed they would always be in her life. She can't see herself without them.
"What if we aren't friends ten years down the road?" Y/N voices.
Harry instantly picks up the concern in her voice. "I promise I won't let that happen, lovie." He assures her.
"H, I know."
"It's not uncommon for others to drift, especially when everyone has a different path after high school." Sydney comments. "My sister went through it."
"Let's write a letter, and we can bury it, open it ten years, but we have to do it together," Sarah suggests.
"Not a bad idea." Everyone nods in agreement.
"Let's do a letter and something important to us." Y/N proposes already having an idea of what to put.
"It's settled. We're burying a time capsule." Harry states.
"One problem."
"What now, Zac?" Sarah groans.
"Where do we bury it?"
Slowly everyone turns their gaze on to Y/N.
"Your house," Sydney tells her.
"You all agree?" Y/n is surprised.
"Your mom will never leave her house. It's gorgeous."
"Also," Zac chimes in, "You love it and tell us how it's going to be yours one day."
Y/N sighs and nods. "I will ask and will let you know."
_____
It took a lot to convince her mother, but her father liked the idea and supported her. Two against one, Y/N knew her mom was in a losing fight. After lots of hugs and kisses and promises of doing the dishes for two weeks straight, she got permission.
They had decided on a Saturday, wanting to do it early in the morning, unsure how long they would take digging the hole. Her mom designated an area for them to open.
Her mom allowed her to have the house to themselves, trusting them not to do anything but dig a hole. Y/N had everyone promise they would be on their best behavior.
Harry and Zac volunteered to dig, and no one argued. It took over an hour for them to get a decent-sized hole. It looked tiring, but Y/N enjoyed watching Harry's muscle flex as he threw out dirt. Finally, being satisfied with the hole size, mainly Sydney, made them go longer; it was time to place their items inside.
Y/N rewrote her letter a few times, never knowing the right thing to say. It wasn't until she was lying on the floor of her room with Harry's head in her lap did she know what she wanted to tell her future self.
Mitch went first, putting in his first-ever guitar pic, Sarah her Walkman, Harry followed with a copy of Romeo and Juliet, Y/N a chained rose ring, she put it in but not before giving it a small kiss knowing she'd miss it. Zac decided on his baseball mitt, and Sydney threw in a signed polaroid of herself, knowing it'd be worth a lot more once she became famous for her art.
Harry locked it shut with the final object in the box and lowered it down with Mitch's help. It fit well, and they sat around as it began to fill with dirt.
"Ten years, we'll come back and open it up."
"Yeah, but like summertime. I'm sure we'll have more time during the summer than other months." Zac might be right for once.
"June 1998," Sarah suggests.
Everyone thinks about it for a second, it feels so far away, a lifetime, really, but yes, they all agree.
Ten years' time, they will all be digging it up and will relive these moments.
JUNE 1998
Harry removes his jacket half an hour in, and there is nothing to complain about. He tosses it close to her side, and Y/N knows if things were different, he would have gently thrown it at her, and without a second thought, she would have put it on. She missed the times when he loved her. Because as much as she can't admit it out loud, she still loves him.
Now she'll fake conversation with Sydney when her real focus is on Harry and how his muscles seem to grow every time he scoops some dirt out and adds to the pile. He's grown buff over the years, he was always tall and firm in high school due to football, but now he's more defined. The most significant change was in his face, more stern. Not as smiley; it might just be due to being around her. He must hate being in her presence after she broke his heart.
Y/N lets herself get lost in thought when Zac cheers. She looks down, and peeking out in the corner is brown wood.
"We've hit gold."
In the next five minutes, Zac and Harry dig as much of the sides as they can, and soon enough, they are lifting it out before settling it down with a big "thump."
Y/N can't stop eyeing it; it's got dirt in every spot that meets her eye, but she knows what's waiting for her inside of that box, and she can't wait to have it with her once more.
"Who's going to do the honors?" Mitch asks the bolt cutters in his hand, ready to hand them over.
Everyone looks around at each other; no one says a thing until Harry steps forward and reaches to take them from his hand. Mitch hands them to Harry, no question asked. Harry heads straight to Y/N; he stretches his arm out, waiting for her to accept the cutters.
"Think it's only fair Y/N does the honors, seeing as we made her do a lot of groveling to Lorelai ten or so years ago just for us to bury this; not that she let any of us know." Harry smiles, urging her to take it. Y/N fingers brush his rather quickly, but in that small second, she felt her heart rate pick up and fears he might hear it, although that is almost impossible.
"Thank you." He nods, urging her forward.
"Take your time, doll." Zac says sarcastically."
Y/N is too busy getting down on her knees in front to see the glare Harry sent Zac's way. Everyone else catches the look; believe it or not, they all hope this is the moment that brings these two once lovers back again.
"Here goes nothing."
Y/N places the bolt cutters between the lock and counts down to three; it breaks right off the first try.
"You've got some strength!" Sydney exclaims; she was expecting it to take much longer.
Y/N lets the lock fall before reaching up and pulling the single latch. She scans everyone circling around her before opening the crate hating the creaking sound it releases.
There on top are their most prized items from when they were sixteen.
Sydney reaches in first, pulling out a polaroid and pink envelope. She flips it over and lets out the biggest laugh. Sydney turns the photo around, letting everyone see her in the photo wearing her then boyfriend's varsity jacket. It has her signature on the page. "I swore I was going to be famous for my art and would sell this for thousands."
"One day." Harry offers.
Sydney shrugs. "My boyfriend will appreciate this the most if I'm honest."
"He's that crazy for you?" Sarah asks.
Sydney nods, a shy smile on her face. "Yeah, I'm fortunate." She laughs, letting the moment pass. "Enough, Zac, please, you're next."
Zac, for the first time the whole evening, has fallen silent, almost looks nervous to reach inside. He takes a deep breath to go to the corner of the box and pull out a beat-up baseball mitt. Y/N can see his eyes well up with tears. He chuckles, "I swore I was going to go pro, but that senior injury year changed everything. In a way, Zac felt free; he got to pursue a career in travel journalism. "Enough sap, I volunteer, Harry."
Harry nods, moving forward, sitting next to Y/N thighs touching; she feels her breath hitch; she doesn't dare move. He reaches in for the only book it's resting on the bottom, a white envelope with a scribbled 'H' on top. He sets the envelope aside but keeps the book in hand.
Harry smiles at the book in hand, Romeo and Juliet. It was not his favorite by any means, but it held a special place in his heart because it was the first book Y/N read to him when they first started dating. He remembers telling her he hated how she ignored him for words on paper, so he proposed she read to him aloud, and that way, they could bond. Y/N was thrilled at the idea; the first book was Shakespeare because it was a reading assignment, and she wanted it done that weekend.
Harry hated the ending; he remembers ranting to Y/N as she ran her fingers through his hair to calm him down. He didn't understand why Shakespeare made these two people who were star-crossed lovers fall in love in a week only to have them die.
Safe to say, it took a while to let Y/N read another one of Shakespeare's works.
Y/N's eyes were on the book, and she watched as Harry carefully opened it to the first page, moving it back so that only they could read what was written on the cover page.
It read: I've loved you for six months. I'll love you for six more. And maybe if I'm lucky, I'll get to love you for life. Love, Y/N xxx
Y/N felt tears behind her eyes; she had to look away. She was so naïve at the age, but oh how she loved him, and she knew he loved her just the same. Y/N was so grateful to know she was loved, even if it was years ago.
She doesn't want to go next; instead, Sarah reaches in to save her. Sarah pulls out her folded half of paper and her blue Walkman player. "Oh my goodness, this is going to have some golden tunes."
Mitch chuckles, "You suffered without it. Think was the first time I ever heard you complain about something."
Sarah sends him a playful glare. "Shut it! Why don't you go next, Mr. Sentimental."
Mitch is one to never say no to Sarah, so he shrugs and makes his way forward. Patting Harry on the shoulder causing Harry to shift closer to Y/N. Both Harry and Y/N don't say anything but don't bother to move away either.
Sarah smiled as she watches Mitch pick up a guitar pick. It was the first one he received from his father. "Dad always said I had a guitar in hand."
"Mitch, you've voiced your thoughts out loud." Harry jokes.
"Funny Styles." That's the last of what Mitch says as he moves back to read his letter, and Sarah follows close behind.
Y/N feels everyone staring, but really it's only just Harry. Everyone focused on their own letters but also waiting for a reaction. She slowly reaches in, first pulling out the pink envelope with her initial on the front; Harry wrote it for her, saying she needed a way to identify it years later.
She sets it in her lap before reaching in and getting the item she's been thinking about all day.
A silver rose ring.
It was a gift from Harry; Y/N always spoke of roses and how much her mother loved them. Leading to Harry finding out she loved them just as much. He wore this ring for a long time; he found it in a store in London before they made the move here permanently. It's his last real piece of home, but Aurora had become home, and so had Y/N. It felt right to give to her. She cried, receiving it, and knew it wouldn't fit but told him not to get it resized. She surprised him by wearing it around her neck; she put it on a chain she had. There wasn't a day she wasn't seen without it.
She holds it tightly in her hand as if Harry might rip it out of her hand, wanting it back, but it's hers, and it's special. Y/N never wants to forget her memories with Harry, no matter how much it hurts, thinking back on them.
"I've missed it." She whispers.
Y/N slips it over her head, letting it rest outside her shirt for all to see. She missed the look on Harry's face, but this might be the motivation he needs to speak with her. To talk about where they are now in life.
Except Y/N stands up, brushing the dirt that was on her pants to head somewhere more private to read her letter she wrote to herself. She walks a few feet away and flips open the pink tab, pulls out a folded paper. Her eyes immediately go to the bottom of the page, wherein black ink, it says, "I love Harry (PS: he made you write that, but it doesn't make it any less true."
Everything surrounded him; her love for him was just that large. She reads over her letter taking in the words of how her sixteen-year-old self said she was proud of her and that no matter what happens, it was all for a reason.
It's exactly what she needed to hear.
Harry is watching Y/N stand there read her letter, and he feels the gaze of everyone else to go approach her. Years ago, he wouldn't have thought twice about it, he would have been at her side holding her hand or rubbing her back, but now he doesn't even know if they are even friends. Mitch nudges him, and he knows he should check on her, but she surprises everyone by turning around, a grin on her face.
"Mom and I cooked lunch, so let's wash up and eat. All this sure has built up my appetite."
"Don't have to tell me twice." Zac smiles, walking inside heading straight to the kitchen sink.
The others begin to follow Zac inside when Y/N stops hearing her name being called. It's Harry standing by the hole, shovel in hand.
"Should I cover it up?"
Y/N can't help the smile, Harry was always so eager to help, and she's glad his kind helping sport hasn't changed. "No, dad is going to cover it. Mom told him he needs to do more yard work. She called it bonding time."
"Okay, if you're sure."
"I am."
"Let's head in then."
As Harry is about to walk past her, she reaches her hand out, grabbing his bicep, surprising him. "Thank you."
He nods his head. "Of course."
Y/N sighs; there's so much left unsaid. Their breakup fresh on her mind seeing him walk away from her, bringing it all back. Oh, how she wishes things were different.
She doesn't regret leaving for New York, but she does wonder if there was a way to have made their relationship work; would it have survived or crashed and burned.
In a way, she's glad she never had to find out.
Y/N puts her brave face on; she's surrounded by friends who love her and who she hasn't spoken to for longer than half an hour. She's going to soak in this time and enjoy it.
There are other times to be sad.
MARCH 1990 - ACCEPTANCES
Y/N and Harry were both lost in thought as Harry drove them to their destination. There was a lot to think about
Harry was proud to get a full-ride football scholarship to UCLA and a partial for USC. They were close to home, and he got to play a sport he was good at. These universities were tough to get into, but he impressed the recruits. He didn't bother applying outside the state, knowing he couldn't be far from home. It felt wrong for him; he knew that wasn't the case for Y/N.
Y/N always spoke about leaving the state. She had dreamed about it from a young age especially seeing her brother do it. Gabriel's stories only make her more excited for her future. She loved to travel, no matter the distance.
Harry, of course, knew this; he just thought he could convince her to stay.
Applying to schools was hard for Y/N; there were many universities she wanted to apply to, but she feared rejection, so she set a limit of six. Still, a high number; she just needed options.
When acceptances came in, each application welcomed her. Two east coast universities offered full-ride scholarships, USC offered partial and others only half. She had the money for tuition, her parents saved for her, which she is forever thankful for but knowing she could move across the country like she always dreamed of was calling her name.
The one thing that stopped her was Harry.
Y/N had never known love until Harry, and she knows her leaving will jeopardize that. She also knows if she stays, she might not be happy, always stuck on the "what if?"
She was distraught as soon as she heard the news. Her mom saw her pace outside, then sit, pour herself tea then began the cycle again. Y/N dreamed of Columbia. It was her dream university, and to give that up, but also having to give up Harry, she couldn't pick; she didn't want to.
Harry parks the car; he drove them to an abandoned cliffside that's full of wildflowers. Y/N didn't rush out of the vehicle as she once would have wanted to feel the cold breeze. Now, she stares ahead, letting the car fill with silence—neither one wanting to be the one to begin the conversation that would change everything.
"Is this the end?" Y/N asks her voice, betraying her, as she feels her throat tighten up.
Harry doesn't answer; he reaches for her hand and holds it tight.
"It doesn't have to be. I don't want it to be." She's barely holding herself together. Y/N's staring at the side of his head, silently begging for him to meet her gaze.
"Life isn't always as easy as the last four years have been for us," Harry tells her, finally meeting her eyes.
"I love you. You know that, right."
"I know." He whispers.
Y/N shuts her eyes, repeats the words in her head she hasn't been able to voice out, knowing she's going to be breaking more than one heart right now.
"I can't stay, Harry." Y/N blinks her tears away, but they come right back, seeing Harry holding back tears. "As much as I want to, as much as I can't let you go. I also can't stay."
"Don't let me go then." He whispers. He reaches forward, cradling her cheek in his hand. It's the softest touch he's given her. It's as if he's trying to remember how she feels.
"It's not fair."
"I don't care." Y/N reaches forward to wipe the tear away that managed to escape.
"But I do."
"I don't care." He tries again, Harry can't let her go. She's his life, he's too young to know about forever, but he doesn't want to live a life without her. "I'll go with you."
Y/N lets her tears begin to fall at his words. "No." Her voice firm. "It's over if you leave."
Harry pulls back, hurt by her words but Y/N's just as upset.
She lets go of her hold on him and hurries out of the car. Harry yells her name, begging her to come back, but she's too busy crying to listen to him. Soon enough, she's surrounded by trees, and there are two trails to follow, but she can't pick; it is faith mocking her in the smallest of ways. Instead, she settles for sitting right in the center on a patch of grass.
Y/N sits hunched over, crying; that's how Harry finds her. He doesn't say a word. He sits next to her and pulls her into his lap.
"I'm sorry. So sorry, darling."
Harry begins to rock her back and forward, letting his tears all as he rests his chin on top of her head. Begins to whisper sweet nothings, just wanting her close. He hates that they are causing each other this hurt.
Y/N's cries have stopped; she sniffles from time to time. The holds she has on Harry is iron tight as if he'd vanish if she let go for even a second."
"Summer." She whispers, breaking the silence.
"What?" Harry is not sure what she can mean.
"We have Summer."
"Yeah, we do."
"We have to let each other go at the end of Summer." Her tone is final.
"Y/N-"
Y/N stops him, "Harry, I'm not letting you give up your dreams for me, and I know you won't let me do the same."
"I can't say goodbye," He confesses.
"Then we won't. We'll kiss goodnight and pretend like we'll see each other in the morning."
"That's heartbreaking, love." He chuckles bitterly.
"I love you, Harry Styles."
"And I love you, my angel."
Harry is done crying, instead leans in and kisses her like he should have done earlier as soon as he had parked the car. The kiss is fast, not soft like all the kisses he's used to giving her, no he wants her to remember this kiss. He wants her to feel everything he isn't saying.
I love you. You're mine. You're my best friend. I will love you forever. He wants her to feel it all.
"Show me you love me." Y/N pulls back breathless, lips plush begging to be kissed again. Harry knows what she's asking, and he's not one to deny her.
He stands up, confusing her, but he comes prepared. Harry walks for the blanket he dumped a few feet away from them, grabbing it and spreading it out. Y/N is quick to lay back on the soft blanket. It warms her instantly. She smiles, reaching her hand up as Harry leans over her, his bottom half straddling her waist, her hand intertwining in his soft curls. Y/N brings him down for a kiss needing his touch to be close.
Harry and Y/N are wrapped in their own world, lost in their kiss; it's always been them against the world, but soon they are going to venture off separately. It's something that neither of them wants to wrap their head around, and they won't not until they have to.
They will enjoy graduation together, hand in hand receiving diplomas. Y/N will deliver a beautiful valedictorian speech. The joint graduation party will be a joy and one they sneak away from to spend watching the moon reflect over the ocean. It's the one place they feel at peace, the sea being a favorite of both of theirs. The Summer will bring endless days out, travels up the coast of California even as far as making it to San Francisco for a trip. There is not a second where they don't spend time together, and their parents understand; it breaks their heart, but it's their future, and all they can do is support them. Their love will only grow this Summer which makes it more heartbreaking when they say goodbye in August.
But none of that matters because, for now, they have each other, and that is enough.
Harry pulls back, leaning his forehead against hers, their breaths mixing together.
"I love you."
"I love you so much; it's not going away just because--" Harry stops, not being able to voice the words out loud. He can't say it, or he'll start crying.
"I know, dove." She trails her finger up his chest until they right over his heart. Y/N can feel how fast it's beating; it beats for her. "Maybe a day will come where we can be together again, that's if you don't find someone else, which I understand if you do."
"It's not going to happen."
"You don't know that," She mutters.
"Hey, I love you. No one is going to love me like you do. I'd be a fool to love someone else." Y/N settles her chin on his chest. She's staring into his eyes, trying to find a hint of a lie, but there is none. There's only love and sadness in his green orbs.
"I love you too."
Harry sighs; there's not much they can do to brighten the mood. "You know what we can do?"
"What?"
"Make a summer bucket list. First on my list is to kiss the prettiest girl I know every day." She laughs, making Harry break out in a big grin. "Lucky for you, that happens to be you." He tells her, booping her nose with his index finger.
Y/N laughs; it's only March. She has the rest of Spring and all of Summer to love Harry. To love him with every bone and cell in her body because that last day will come sooner than she likes.
_____
The end of Summer arrived, and she bid Harry goodnight with a kiss at the door like normal, like he was going to show up tomorrow bright and early for breakfast and kisses, but that wasn't the case. It was goodbye, even though neither of them could admit it.
Y/N and Harry walked away from each other; they didn't say no contact, but it was like they both silently agreed on it because there was no letters or calls to each other, no visits to each other's homes, no visiting each other parents, at least not in the beginning
The love was there, but life goes on.
JUNE 1998
After a delicious meal and second servings, everyone sits back stuffed. Everyone enjoyed a lovely home-cooked meal with entertaining conversation. Y/N enjoyed watching it happen, not participating much in conversation. She never was that interesting, she felt, always let her friends carry the conversation. She could feel Harry glance at her from time to time, but Y/N still hasn't recovered, knowing that Harry's most prized possession at sixteen was a book she wrote a note in.
Y/N wonders if he's regretting that now.
"Have we overstayed our welcome?" Zac asks, taking Y/N's silence as something terrible.
She laughs, shaking her head. "You're fine. I like listening, fascinating conversations going on."
"Come on, share something with us." Zac urges her.
"Uhh… med school has been going well. Have all of the Summer off, might do some sightseeing before going home."
"Yeah, driving home to Massachusetts instead of taking a plane like a normal person." Sydney winces at the thought, not at all wanting to think about the pit stops she had to make.
"Maybe not the smartest idea, but I encountered zero troubles; my baby, Twila, runs smoothly."
"Should get her checked out again before leaving." Harry comments.
Y/N nods. "Dad's been on my ass about that as well, but I've got no rush, especially since all I ever do here is walk around town."
"Enough car talk, let's talk about the time Zac got his clothes stolen after gym class sophomore year." Sarah sets them off on a never-ending conversation of memories.
As soon as one story is finished, a new one is being shared. Y/N forgot most of these, but as her friends tell them, she feels each memory unlock and surfacing. The conversation goes on forever, with no end in sight because that's how friendship is; it's never-ending. Especially when all they did for four years was hanging out together, creating these memories they now are so fond of.
It's around seven o'clock, the sun begins to set when everyone decides to head home. She walks them out, giving them hugs and promises of seeing each other again before everyone leaves town. Y/N notices Harry lingering by, but she doesn't say anything.
Y/N waves goodbye to Sarah and Mitch when Harry comes to stand by her. She waits for him to say goodbye, not going to rush him, which is why what he says next surprised her.
"Do you want help cleaning up?"
Harry looks shy, asking, and Y/N knows he's about to take it back, so she nods. "That'd be great."
She walks back in, and Harry follows close behind, making sure to lock the door, just in case. "I'll rinse, and you put it in the dishwasher. Okay?"
"Okay, yes."
They begin to work in silence, the only sound of the running water. Y/N wonders if he's going to stay longer or if he's going to leave right after.
God, she could really go for a glass of wine.
As Y/N hands him the last plate, she dries her hand with the red dish towel before handing a white one over to Harry, who thanks her quietly.
She leans back against the counter, debating asking him to stay for a drink or not. Harry catches her staring and smiles, unleashing the dimples. It seems he made the decision for her.
"Do you want a glass of wine?" Y/N turns around, reaching up for a glass for herself, not wanting to face him just in case he rejects her.
"Wine sounds great."
Y/N grabs two stemmed wine glasses and opens the bottle of red wine rather quickly; she's surprised her hands aren't shaking because she's so nervous. She fills both glasses halfway before stepping forward to hand Harry his cup.
"Thank you."
"No problem."
Harry takes a sip, humming at the taste. Y/N isn't sure where Zac got the bottle. She's just happy it tastes good.
"Do you want to sit outside, watch the sunset on the steps?"
Harry agrees and steps out, holding the door open for her. She sits down, leaving room for Harry. He leaves a small space in between them.
"I love sunsets, never the same."
"Same as sunrises."
"I'm not a morning person as I once was, a bit of a night owl." She shares.
"Oh really, why is that?"
"I'm not sure." Y/N knows that's a lie; what she wanted to say is because she has no one to wake up to. No one to give morning kisses or morning cuddles.
"You must still love mornings."
"I do." He chuckles. "I do three-mile runs each morning."
"Three!" She gasps. "I'd be tired the entire day; I prefer going on hikes or long walks."
"Used to it already."
"Pity, to your partner. Stealing cuddles from them." She mutters, taking a sip of her wine, hoping he didn't hear.
Harry wants to respond, not sure if she was asking or stating. Oh, how he wishes he could know what she was thinking.
"Didn't know you were interested in medicine, Harry."
"I wasn't, not until my injury." He rubs his shoulder as if he remembered the pain. "After finding out, I was done for; I just needed something entirely different. My physical therapist spoke about his journey to entering the field. He told me to enter something that captured my attention and something I would never get tired of learning about. It led me to psychiatry. My professors were great guidance."
"John Hopkins, right?"
"Yes, the very one."
"Tough school."
He laughs out loud, hand on his belly. "You're telling me, miss dean's list each semester. Graduating with highest honors from Harvard."
"You know me, my head always stuck in a book."
"Still don't take compliments."
"Makes me feel weird. I love what I do; I can't wait to start and just learn it all. This sponge I call my brain is ready to absorb it all."
"I'm sure you're going to do amazing."
"Thank you, Harry. That means a lot." She pats his knee before quickly retracting her hand back into her lap.
"Where is your residency?" Harry looks at her, a frown on his face. "Don't think I asked you."
"Well, Harvard medical was a dream, and I wasn't ready to say goodbye, so I accepted Massachusetts General. I really love the environment they have in the hospital." She sets her wine glass down, turning her body to look at Harry. She misses the look of shock on his face. "Everyone is so kind--"
"Y/N," He tries, but she continues on.
"I went for a tour, and it was busy and crowded, but they were so kind with the children. When I entered the pediatrics ward, I just knew it's where I had to be."
"Y/N,"
"I already know who I'm going to be working under, and she's--"
"Love," Harry tries his gaze on her face hoping to get a reaction.
That shuts Y/N right up; it has been a long time since she last heard that term of endearment.
Her eyes are on Harry; he has her full attention. He can tell she's a bit stunned, but his news is life-changing. "I have my residency at Massachusetts General."
"You what?" She was not expecting that news. Harry is in the same hospital as her. "Are you saying?"
"We would have run into each other if we hadn't come home for the time capsule, yes." He answers for her.
"Fate," she whispers.
Harry nods, eyes shining with tears. That one word was enough for Harry to know she might feel the same.
He sees Y/N's eyes flicker to his lips, going back to his eyes, then leans in. He does the same, wanting to feel her close more than ever.
"Y/N, you left the-" Harry and Y/N spring apart, the moment gone started by her mother. "Oh, hello, Harry."
Harry clears his throat, standing up to offer the woman who startled him a hug. "Hello Lorelai, wonderful to see you."
"How's your mother?"
"She's well. Left yesterday to visit my nephews for the weekend."
"That's nice."
The three now stand outside together, Y/N rocking back and forth on her heels, not able to standstill.
"Truly wasn't expecting to see you," Lorelai tells him.
"We were catching up" Harry smiles at Y/N. "We were keeping each other company."
"Very kind."
"I should get going; it's late." Feeling as if he overstayed his welcome.
Lorelai senses the tension a second too late as Harry is saying his goodbyes. "Well, please do stop by before you leave town."
"Of course."
"I'll walk you out." Y/N smiles at her mother as she leads Harry out through the side gate, personally wanting to avoid a run-in with her father.
Y/N, true to her word, walks him to his car; he is about to round his car, heading to the driver's seat but stops.
"Y/N?" His voice was shaky.
"Yes, Harry."
"Let's have dinner together." He rushes out in one go.
"Harry…" She pauses, "I--"
He interrupts her. "Don't tell me you have a--" he trails off, not wanting to say the word.
"Course not." She replies quickly.
"But,"
Y/N takes a deep breath, taking a moment to get her thoughts together. "I won't do this unless this is it. This is the time I'm yours again. For good."
"You've always been mine." He steps forward, hand reaching out to cup her cheek. She lets out a sigh, feeling a sense of peace take over her body. "Eight years and no one compared. No one ever will."
"H." He can see the tears in her eyes.
"I mean it. I've always been in love with you. I will always be in love with you. It will always be you."
Y/N closes the gap between them; they are the closest they have been in eight years. She searches his face for any sign of doubt but finds none. Only sees love in his beautiful emerald eyes.
"I love you." She confesses feeling a weight leave her shoulders as the words leave her mouth for the first time in years. "I never stopped. I will never stop."
"Sweetest words I have ever heard. Words I want to hear forever." Harry's smile is one she had never seen before; it's wide, and she swears it reaches the sky. His eyes hold a shine they never have before.
There's one last thing she needs for this moment to be perfect.
"Please kiss me."
"With pleasure."
She's never dreamed of this moment in fear of it not happening, but it finally is, and Y/N swears she feels the stars aligned just for them. Harry's lips were getting closer, and she felt her heart skip a beat. She parted her lips and felt him washing over like a wave of warmth. She finally felt at home. Her whole body tingled, the feel of his frame leaning on jets as his arms wrapped around her tightly, afraid that she'd disappear. Y/N's fingers slowly moved up Harry's chest until they tangled with the back of his short curls. She tugged, needing more, feeling her legs buckle at the moan Harry let out.
All she felt was love, and she wanted to feel it forever. Y/N let Harry pull away; he didn't go far, letting his forehead rest on hers. Their breaths mix together. There's a bashful smile on Y/N's face, but this moment feels too good to be true.
Harry and Y/N stand there wrapped in each other's arms, lost in each other's gaze as if no one else existed and there was no risk of interruption.
"I'll be here at noon tomorrow, going to take you out if you'll let me."
"Yes, H. I accept." She kisses him softly two more times before unwrapping herself from him, putting a bit of distance between each other, or they very well would stand there all night kissing.
"Tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow." She confirms
Harry steals one last kiss, short and sweet, before getting in his car. He sends her a kiss that she pretends to catch and places it over her heart.
She knows he is blushing even though she can't see it.
As he drives away from her, all the hurt and pain of not having him washes away. Harry is hers, and she is his.
All is right.
Their paths finally crossed again, and this time there would be no final goodbye.
_____
Harry showed up the day after as promised. Y/N was eagerly waiting, she had felt time go slow when they had been apart, but it's a monumental day because once again, after so many years, Harry and Y/N are finally reunited.
She waited on the steps of her house like she used to when she was a teen waiting for him to pick her up and take her out on a date. It was bringing back the best memories. Harry parked right in front, and just as he was rounding his car to go meet her, she was in front of jumping in his car.
"Woah!" Harry was fast to react, only stumbling a little put holding her tight. "This is a nice welcome." He teases.
"Can you blame me? I missed you." She tells him, nuzzling her face in his neck.
"Missed you too, love. Eight years, I've missed you."
"Don't start, H. Don't want to cry. We're here now."
"You're right."
Y/N has Harry set her down; they stand there smiling at each other, taking each other in.
"Up for a drive?"
She nods. "Will you drive me to the moon?"
"Anywhere you want, angel."
Harry drives them to one place she hasn't visited because of the memory it holds. She's guessing it's because he wants to create new, better ones.
"It's still beautiful here." She looks out through the window, not wanting to leave the safety of the car. She wants to stay close to Harry.
Y/N sits in silence with Harry holding each other's hands, allowing each other to just enjoy this time together. The calmness of being loved and feeling loved. She knows there are lots to talk about, but she settles for the quietness for now.
She's not sure how much time has passed, but she's now facing Harry, and he's toying with the rose ring hanging on her neck.
"Y/N," he whispers; she lifts her gaze from his lilac nails and hums for him to go on. "I have to ask." She lets his words sit in their silence. She knows what he's asking, the same thing running through her mind.
"No." She frowns. "It felt wrong. I could never-- it was never you."
Harry can tell she feels sheepish confessing this.
She chuckles dryly. "I must sound lame; the last person I kissed was you eight years ago."
"No, it's not." He assures her.
She sighs, "Harry."
"It was the same for me. My friends tried to set me up multiple times, but it felt like cheating. No one understood."
"So you haven't…" She trails off.
"Well acquainted with my hand." He jokes.
She burst out laughing, and seconds later, Harry is as well. Their joyous laugh fills the car but also their hearts.
"I love you." She breathes out, trying to catch her breath.
"And I love you."
"Want to know a secret," she asks him.
He nods.
She turns her head to the window; she can see herself and Harry in the reflection. His eyes on her full of adoration.
"I wrote you letters, hundreds. I've lost count, really, but I've got a box full; they are locked up in mom's attic." Y/N turns, looking back at Harry; there's a soft look on his face. "I wanted to send them, but I couldn't. I didn't want to interfere."
"Darling, that's-" he chokes up, tears escaping him. "Can I read them?"
Y/N nods, "Of course, they were intended for you after all."
"Will you read them with me?"
"Sure, if that's what you want."
"Do you want to know something now?"
Y/N reaches forward and brushes a loose curl back. "Tell me."
"Each book I've read, I have written a dedication in it for you."
"What?" She says, surprised.
"The new bookshelf in mom's living room is filled with books." He waits for her to nod before continuing on. "All books for you."
"Harry," It's her turn to cry now, it seems.
"Thought about you just as much, angel."
"Do you think we did the right thing, letting each other go?"
"I do."
"Why?"
"It brought us together again. Sure it was the time capsule, but there is also Massachusetts." He reminds her.
"Isn't that wild?" She shakes her head in disbelief. "Same residency."
"It was fate, angel. Like you said last night."
"Yeah, guess fate had a plan, after all, dove."
Harry chokes up, tears welling up in his eyes. "What did you say?"
"Fate had a plan."
"After."
"Dove," she breathes out, not even noticing she slipped it in; it came out like second nature. "You're my dove, my kind man, the love of my life."
Harry grabs her face and connects his lips to hers. It's not soft; it's fast and hot but full of love. She leaned back, feeling the heat in her cheeks. Harry chases her lips, not finished yet. She lets him kiss her as he pressed soft pecks on her lips, liking the feel of her soft lips.
"Is it too soon to ask to marry you?" Harry asks, trailing kisses down her neck.
"No, never too soon." She giggles as he kisses a soft spot right under her jaw. "If I recall, I asked you one too many times during high school."
Harry chuckles, nodding. "Should have accepted sooner."
She looks at him, not being able to contain her laughter, knowing very well he should have.
"Marry me." He asks, all traces of laughter gone. He holds his breath, waiting for a response.
"Yes, of course, dove."
Harry seals it with a kiss. She accepted, and yes, it may seem rushed, but they aren't getting any younger. Their love was put on hold, and now because the time is right, they get to pick up as if no time passed at all.
They are different people, but Harry and Y/N have only become more perfect for one another.
2000 DECEMBER - MASSACHUSETTS
Her eyes snap open, and she quickly sits up, throwing the blanket off herself feeling hot and unfocused, startling Harry making him drop the Pop-Tart he was eating to fall on his chest.
She looks back at Harry, sitting up with crumbs covering his mouth and half-eaten brown sugar cinnamon sitting on top of his black sweats.
Y/N can't help but laugh at the sight in front of her, her nightmare now pushed aside.
"You're laughing." He pouts. "You gave me a proper scare."
She frowns, "I had a bad dream."
"Yeah, want to talk about it?"
She shakes her head no, instead asking him an important question. "Why are you eating Pop-Tarts in bed?" She picks up the broken half and takes a bite, appreciating the strong cinnamon flavor.
"I got hungry, but I didn't want to leave you alone, and honestly, I'd never willingly leave your cuddles."
"Did you bring me my own?" She mutters, swallowing the last piece of his.
"Why, of course, I'm no monster."
"What time are you going in today?" She asks as she opens up the package handing him half since she ate his. He happily accepts.
"Noon."
She glances at the alarm clock and sees it is only nine am. She mumbles an 'okay,' settling herself to lay her head on his chest.
"How are you spending your day off?" His hand running through her hair, always wanting to be touching her in some way.
"In bed."
Harry doesn't like that. "Still feeling sick." He states.
"Yes, but I'm fine."
"Okay, but we do work in a hospital." He playfully reminds her.
She lets out a deep sigh. "I'll have Annie check on me tomorrow."
"Thank you." He kisses her temple, definitely leaving crumbs of food behind.
"I love you, Harry."
"I love you too."
Y/N and Harry had come a long way from the Summer of 98'. They got back together and were excited to start the next chapter of their lives together. Their families were thrilled at the news of them getting back together and even happier when they learned about their shared residency location.
That Summer led them to where they are now; two years into their residency programs and one year into marriage.
Harry could not wait; he had wanted to take her to city hall for a quick signature but knew she deserved better. They were wed in the botanical garden under the beautiful flower arch she dreamed of. It was the wedding she always dreamed of; it was small and beautiful. Only their closest friends and family were in attendance. Their wedding photo; Harry gazing at her as if she put all the stars in the sky and Y/N smiling at the camera. It sits framed on Y/N's bedside. He decided it went there, so when he turns to look over at her, he sees all of her beauty laid out for him and the happiest day of his life.
Harry had fought her on changing her last name, wanting her to be called Doctor Y/LN because she worked for it and was a man who wanted his wife to shine and do all she set her mind to. Harry went as far as suggesting hyphenating but still no. She changed her last name to 'Styles.' Y/N told him she spent years dreaming about it in high school, even years later when he wasn't by her side. It's an honor to share his last name because one day, their future children would as well.
Y/N has a year left in her pediatrics residency, and Harry has two years to go. She has her fellowship to think about, which will add three more years; her focus on Critical Care Medicine. Harry has decided on Addiction Psychiatry which is only a year-long, but he's got his last two years to worry about first.
Life has been going well, they've had their fair share of arguments but nothing they can't fix. Harry can't say he doesn't love making up; it always leads to a good time.
They didn't know what life had in store for him but looking around at the photos they have hanging up, a picture of Mitch and Sarah's little boy Nathaniel who only gets bigger every time they see him. A photo of Sydney showing off her engagement ring, face full of tears but smile large; Zac off traveling the country smiling in his picture of him visiting the Grand Canyon part of his trip to visit each National Park and document his journey.
This group of six friends is living their dreams; at sixteen, none of them know what life would be like twelve years down the road, but if it wasn't for each of them having this friendship and deciding to bury a time capsule, they might not be where they are right not; happier and more in love than ever.
Harry and Y/N are filled with love and know life couldn't be better than it is; incredibly grateful to be in love and be loved back just the same.
Little do they know their love will soon have to be shared.
_____
Thank you so much for reading!
I love you and I hope you loved this story <3
#harry styles#timetravelathon#harry styles fluff#harry styles au#harry styles x reader#harry styles imagine#harry styles one shot#harry styles fanfiction#harry styles x y/n#harry styles angst#harry fluff#thank you for reading!
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April 6th - Regret
A/N: This is my darkest story, the rest will be more fluff I promise. Juniper is pretty much spiralling downwards into a dark place so this is another side to her. Warnings: Mention of drug abuse, possible alcohol abuse, swearing, family argument, depression.
Spring Break Masterpost here
"Jacob? Is that really you!?" The short woman rushed out of the stone house. She pulled the tall boy now young man into a giant embrace. She pulled back to take a closer look at both how he changed and yet hasn't at the same time. Juniper stood and watched the reunion. Oh, how their mum must have aged ten years to Jacob. Julia finally lets go and hugs her daughter, Juniper was afraid her mum would be mad at her but it was quite the opposite. Relief. Relief for both her children back home and safe. But also different. None of them was the same people ten years ago, practically three strangers to one another.
"Let's go inside and have some tea," Julia suggested. The last thing anyone of them wanted to talk about was pretty much everything that had happened from the past years.
The house hasn't changed much. Even Jacob's bedroom was left exactly how he left it. Mr Mosley rubbed himself against his leg, the tabby had more silver hairs flaked throughout nonetheless, he still remembered Jacob. It was a weird feeling to be back after so long. The kettle steamed up with hot water as Julia got out the finest china teacup. She usually sets them out for special occasions.
"I have noticed yer hair is much shorter than it used to," Julia commented. Starting some small talk between them.
"Aye, but I'm growing it oot now," Jacob chuckled.
"Aye, it looked better long than short," Juniper chimed in.
Mewles flew through the kitchen window, dropping a bunch of letters. They said either from Penny, Ben, some Talbotts and lots of Charlies and many others were written on the envelopes. They're probably off on their spring holiday right now. This was meant to be Juniper's last end of term holiday, before the whole expulsion. She wanted to write back and tell them she was okay but another part of her just wanted to be alone.
Julia poured the teas carefully, "I'm just happy yous are both safe. My heart almost stopped when I heard about the expulsion in the newspaper."
Juniper looked away with shame. Her mum was taking it quite well, having not just one but two kids expelled from Hogwarts.
"Sorry ma," She said just loud enough for them to hear, "I ken I promised you that I wouldn't get into serious trouble-"
"Trouble runs in our family," Julia assured her but also felt like an excuse. A simple explanation to cover problems that run deeper, "It can't be helped."
"I ken that but I mean for oor future, how we get money," Her voice wobbled a little. She hated how nonchalant her mother was about their financial situation. They can't rely upon her dad forever and his family. It felt like they were indebted to them, which was something Juniper hated. She wanted nothing to do with the Hasni family anymore.
"We always have the pub," Her mum deflected.
"We don't own the pub, not since Grandpa racked up so much debt to uncle Jimmy!" She exclaimed, horrified by the suggestion.
"We can always work it off," She shrugged.
"Aye, it would be a great way for me to work," Jacob backed behind their mum, "It doesn't require any NEWTs."
Juniper stared at them. Neither of them really understood the gravity of their situation. She finally gets why her father pushed her so hard in maths and accounting. The responsibility of keeping their finances in check has been thrown on her shoulders since she was seven. Both Jacob and her mum probably have never even seen the family accounting book.
"Even if we work at the pub, it still won't make enough to pay back fully plus pay taxes on time!" She argued, "One of us is gonna need a better paying and stable job!"
"Aye, like either of us actually have any NEWTs." Jacob remarked. His words pierced Juniper in the gut. That's their new reality. Job prosperity is pretty much down the drain for them, but Juniper doesn't want to give up yet. She still has her OWLs and youth to find something.
"I'll find something, I promise," She can't be bothered to explain in detail why it was so important to her to find a good job. The mood sour significantly.
"I'm sure you'll both find something," Julia held their hands, but Juniper moved her hand away rejecting the comforting gesture.
"Juno, don't be like this," Her mum sighed. It bothered her, that her mum and her brother's concern doesn't match hers. Her next words are something that she knew was going to regret, "Why don't you get a fucking job!?"
"Juniper!"
"Pip!"
Her words plastered their faces with shock and appal. Should she stop and say sorry or dig her grave deeper? Oh, screw it! Screw it! Screw it! Screw it! She didn't care anymore. Nothing mattered now. Her future was ruined, by both her and by either people trying to kill her or stopping her in other ways. The ministry of magic is gonna be a pain in her ass for the rest of her life.
Everyone will treat her as wasted potential anyway. What was the point? What was the point of any of this?
"You've been moping around for years at home drugged up on fucking draughts," She started.
"That's no fair Pip!" Jacob butted in.
"Let me finish," She glared, "I looked after you and the hoose! I did the cooking! I did the cleaning! I did our banking! I did the shopping and what did you do? Nothing! I practically raised maself!"
Julia sat there, taking in the verbal onslaught silently. She quickly wiped away tears. Jacob rushed over with a hankie, hugging and soothing his mum. Juniper's own cheeks were wet from angry tears. Without much thought, she grabbed a bottle of firewhiskey from their liquor cabinet and left the room. Jacob followed her and grabbed her arm, "What the fuck was that 'bout!?"
"Just fucking leave me alone," She released herself from his grip.
"Go back and apologise to ma!" He commanded.
She had no retorts or rebuttals left in her. Juniper just wanted to be alone and empty her mind. They stared in a battle of wills, well, for Jacob but the young woman had made up her mind and marched out of the door with a slam. Unconsciously, she found herself at the cliff that she and Jacob would play nearby when they were younger. The good old days. She opened the firewhiskey and downed it in one go. The liquid burned her throat but she didn't care. She stared out at the sea with her wish of emptying her mind.
#Hogwarts: Spring Break 2022#day 4#regret#juniper moss#jacob moss#julia moss#hogwarts mystery#hphm oc#shit does down#angsty!juniper
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Don’t Do It For Me - h.s. (part 3)
The one where Harry is a friend in need and - can they still be called complications? (1.5k)
I don't even know anymore - is this a short story now? A series of one-shots? All I know is that there will be a part 4.
Part 2
So, you thought you could be back in London and not tell me?
Men can be quite simple creatures sometimes, they really can. I had mostly taken a break from my phone whilst I was away. I favoured taking a camera out and about and kept my phone safe and hidden in my bag. I have gotten notifications of reactions or replies to my Instagram stories but ignored all of them in favour of absorbing the benefits of being away from London, the UK and work.
I had stepped foot back in Heathrow only five hours prior to the text - he really did have eyes everywhere. How he did it was beyond me. A man with a schedule that was so tight it almost overlapped. He has expressed before how the busier he was, the more productive he felt which, was all good and well, until the bags under his eyes were so heavy and sunken that he looked one meeting away from dropping.
I could sympathise - the idea of work being an escape from your life-questioning thoughts is quite appealing when you have a career that resembles your dreams as closely as possible. Throwing myself into a project that gives me freedom of creativity, interactions with interesting characters and puts me behind a camera has a therapeutic effect on my mind. The same must happen for him.
As much of a golden boy and all-around loved guy he was, he certainly had his fatal flaws, one of which was his lack of ability in the prioritising area. He absolutely adores his family and friends, but present the fella with an interesting project and he gets tunnel vision and that is all he can think about. He doesn't just hide behind his job - he becomes his job.
I wasn't aware I had to go through passport control with you too, H. Heathrow was a traumatic enough experience for my little brain. But yeah! Back on British soil!
His call came pretty soon after my text was read - one greeting led to a quick “you need to tell me everything about home” and “I’ll grab some food and come over so we can catch up!” and next thing I knew, I was opening my front door and was greeted with a happy, cheesy face. A one-armed hug and a flick to my chin led him to squeeze past me and towards the living room.
He, as a person, baffled me. The way he so effortlessly made himself at home and started unpacking the food, all the while rambling about the restaurant being skimpy with veggies in their dishes, but the spices blend makes up for it - so he just orders extra greens. Such a boring opinion that still made me smile fondly at his drawled nonsense.
“So! How much did you miss me?” his exaggerated smile was flashed at me. “Must’ve been torture being away from me for such a long time.”
“Barely made it through,” I played along. “The scenery did make up for it, though.”
“Upstaged by a gorgeous view,” he tutted with faux disapproval. “Seriously though, when can I see your pictures?”
“And here I was, thinking you were here to catch up with your dearest friend.” I scoffed with a slight roll of my eyes. He glanced my way, pausing with a spring roll mid-air and just raised his eyebrows, giving me a smug look. He brought the roll to his mouth, maintaining eye contact whilst he crunched his way through a bite.
“And here I was, thinking you would jump my bones the second I walked through your door.” His scoff was playful and the quirk of his lips was an easy hint at his joking mood.
All I could do was smile at him - that man, with his rights and wrongs, with his wit, his cheekiness, his looks, his talent, his moments that warrant wide eyes and a question of “what in the actual hell?”, his soft demeanour contrasted with his “climbing the walls” bouts of uncontainable energy, the plethora of conversations we can carry, his face, his hands, his neck. That man right there, I did want to jump his bones.
“So,” I tried to think of how to word the question I was dying to ask. “How’s Jess?”
“Hm,” He rested his head against the back of the couch and closed his eyes, interlocking his fingers on his tummy. “Spoke to her the day you left.”
I stayed silent for a moment, waiting for him to elaborate but, ever the tease he was, he kept the momentum going and smiled slightly. “And?”
“And,” He purposefully prolonged the sound, only to spit out the rest of the sentence quickly. “We talked about taking a break to figure things out.”
I have never been known to have a strong poker face but I could usually mask my emotions and reactions to a certain extent - this time I think he could hear my eyes rolling.
“Well, that’s different, isn’t it?” My sentence was heavily accentuated by sarcasm.
“I know you don’t believe in breaks,” He sounded bored and done with the direction the conversation was taking. “And neither do I.” He chose that moment to lull his head to the side and make eye contact with me.
I pursed my lips to the side, feeling the want to wrap myself around him dwindle with each word said out loud. I should’ve seen it coming - he said he was ready to end a seemingly perfect relationship just after he strayed from his path. The fact that I even believed him was quite an insult to my own intelligence.
“I..” Words seemed to fail me in that exact instant, “don’t even know what to say, if I’m being honest.”
“Not much for you to say when that conversation ended with us breaking up.” His monotonous tone was quite disorienting, giving the weight of the words he spoke.
“Huh?”, was all I could come up with.
He heaved a heavy sigh, shuffling on the couch and sitting up straight. “I told you, I didn’t see it working with Jess anymore - I wasn’t going to mess her around any more than I already did.” His pressed lips and frowned eyebrows gave him a gloom look. “I had known, from the moment I met with her to talk, that it was going to end with us breaking up.”
I just kept staring at his profile, not really knowing if it was my place to comfort him or not. The bottom line was, he was my friend before we slept together, we cared for each other and we comforted each other when needed.
I reached out and tugged him by the arm, causing him to lean towards me sideways, with no resistance whatsoever, and his head to fall to my chest. To my surprise, he was quite malleable in my hands and fell into the embrace as if he was expecting it to happen. One arm around his shoulders and the other hand pushing his hair back, so I could kiss the top of his head - he let me cuddle him and let his weight fall onto me.
“I’m sorry, H,” I mumbled against his hair, “I know it’s a decision that you made, but I also know that it hurts all the same.”
“Mh,” he adjusted and held me around the waist, “it’s never easy to go through a breakup, I feel like shit. But you know what?”
I hummed, letting him speak.
“She took it on the chin and called me out on my bullshit,” his chuckle could be felt on my stomach. “When I used the work excuse, she straight up told me to ‘stop fucking around and just get on with it’.”
“Mh, you do like when a partner can put you in your place.”
“Equally as much as I like to put them in their place.” His comment was accompanied by a quick glance up towards me and a squeeze to my middle.
“Alright,” My fingers buried through his strands and gave a tug at his hair. “Let me be a supportive friend and a great host and make you a cuppa.”
“I don’t need your lousy tea,” he mumbled, snuggling his face in my chest, “do you have any nice wine?”
“So that’s why you wanted to come over! Steal all the wine I brought from home?”
“I mean, kind of.” He shrugged and laughed, refusing to let me go. “Seeing your face is also a plus.”
And that is how we ended up with a glass of fine Italian wine each, nibbling on some Chinese food and the pictures I took on my holiday mirrored to my TV. He ooh’d and aah’d at every peak of greenery and blue skies and bright sun he saw, all the while teasing and making jokes to keep the morale up.
His head on my shoulder and his fingers playing with mine were clearly innocent touches - innocent touches that escalated when he turned his face and buried it in my neck when his fingers left mine and took a hold of my nape, when his mouth travelled to my jaw, my cheek. It only took me a split second to sigh at my stupidity and then turn my face, meeting his lips with mine.
And, I suppose he was right - I did end up jumping his bones.
#short story#hs#harry styles#hes#1dff#fanfiction#harry styles fanfiction#harrystyles#writing#harrystylesfanfiction#harry styles fic#creative writing#writer#flash fiction#original fiction#writblr#harry styles smut#harry styles ff#harry#harry styles one shot#harry styles x reader
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Hi John, can you write a little drabble for the Doctor/Malcolm ship, but in the "good" timeline? ❤️ I love the way you write this ship, but I want to read something angst free for them. Whenever you feel like it! Or a new prompt list would be fun too, provided you still feel like writing. ❤️
Sure, I can write up a little something! Angst-free this time around, which is probably for the best, I keep making sad content for these two haha.
Sorry for the delay, it's a holiday and I spent it with family (and then took a nap cause I was running on three hours of sleep, a migraine, and no spoons).
On with the fic!
--
"Ooooh!" The Doctor's voice was loud and cheerful over the bustling sounds of the community at work. Malcolm set down the basket he had been carrying, luckily where it needed to be, before turning to see the man strolling down their main road. "Looks like a festival!"
"Because it is." Malcolm said, smiling at his friend. "It'll be May tomorrow, and we're setting up for-"
"May Day!" The Doctor exclaimed with delight. "Oh, I love a good May Day festival! Didn't know you guys celebrated it!"
Malcolm chuckled softly, dusting off his hands before approaching the Doctor. "Of course we do, it's the first day of Summer, and our spring harvest came in beautifully this year. Plus, it makes my people happy to have celebrations like this, seasonal ones, things to honor Her for providing so well for us."
"Ah, makes sense." The Doctor commented, pulling out his strange 'screwdriver', waving it about over one of the bushels of vegetables and fruits that Malcolm had been helping with carrying from the cart nearby. "Ooh, yes! Perfect, just right for pickling, preserving, or eating right now!"
He picked up a strawberry, popping it into his mouth with a hum. "Gotta hand it to your friend, she knows what to do with the right conditions to make a plump strawberry."
"Well yes, she does, this is her home after all." Malcolm replied. "Care to help, we still have a bit of work to do before tomorrow."
"Sure!" The Doctor pocketed his strange device and followed Malcolm to the cart, asking him a million questions about the festival, but that's to be expected. He's a very curious individual.
"You're in a good mood." Malcolm commented as he sat down for a moment, his knee bugging him.
The Doctor paused in his rambling about the holiday's eve in the German territories, blinking. "Oh? Well, I've been bouncing around again, checking out places I haven't before, nor in a while. Like, the other day, I accidentally crashed a party I really shouldn't have, but I couldn't help it, I literally crashed it. My TARDIS ran into their floating mansion, but I was able to get out of trouble by doing magic tricks for them!"
"Oh, you can do magic?" Malcolm asked, smiling a bit. "Well, that's not a surprise, you are a mysterious man, with many tricks up his sleeves."
"Yep!" The Doctor pulled up a sleeve, then another, before shaking out one and held something in his hand. It was a peach? They didn't grow those here.
"Where did you...?"
"Oh, I snatched it from the party, it's been in my pocket since then. Don't worry, it's fresh."
Malcolm looked at it funny and the Doctor chuckled. "It really is safe to eat, my pockets are... uhh... timey-whimey... ish."
"Timey-whimey."
The Doctor made a face. "Just take the peach, Malcolm."
The prophet chuckled and removed a knife from his pocket, cutting the fruit in a half and handing part of it to the Doctor as he sat down next to him, taking the offered fruit. "Bet you can plant that pit, maybe the goddess with let you start an orchid."
"Possibly." Malcolm pocketed the pit and the knife, biting into the sweet fruit. "Would be nice, less we have to get from the mainland."
"I could bring you stuff." The Doctor commented, biting into his own piece. "Wouldn't be any trouble, just let me know."
Malcolm simply nodded, watching people as they moved about, clearly in good spirits. He could see some women preparing flowers and hawthorn for decorating for tonight, this would be such a good festival. Even the Goddess seemed to be in good spirits, which has started to become a bit rarer nowadays, but Malcolm had been doing his best with Her, trying to keep her happy.
There was a weight against his side, and Malcolm saw that the Doctor scooted closer, as someone set down another basket down next to him. Malcolm didn't say anything, but he could see the smile on the Doctor's face as he kept himself pressed against the man, even when he didn't need to.
He smiled a little as he bit into his peach again.
#malcolm howe x tenth doctor#john's drabbles#good omens extended universe#the prophet and the oncoming storm au
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Hello, hello! This week, we are going on a little:
Home Tour!
Notes: Answer the following with pictures (dialogue from your characters is optional!). Collages are highly encouraged if you want to answer a question with multiple pictures because tumblr mobile only allows 10 total pics. Otherwise, tumblr on a desktop lets you add multiple pictures (non-beta)!
For both:
What does the outside of the home look like? (Front/back yard, garden, pool, etc)
Living room and home office (if any)?
Kitchen and dining room?
Bedrooms? (Master, guest, others)
Other rooms?
Do you own your dream home? If not, what does that dream home look like?
What is your favorite room to spend time in with each other?
Hi babe! Thanks for the fun questions! Hope you like them!
So, little bit of context: Nat and Ethan recently bought this house after finding out that Nat was pregnant with their third child [Lydia]. So, I imagine them doing this tour shortly after Lydia’s born and they’ve settled into the house. Enjoy!
(Also, please imagine Nat doing with this with a baby strapped to her in one of those wrap things ‘cause that is the cutest damn visual and I need it to be seen).
Previous Questions
For both:
What does the outside of the home look like? (Front/back yard, garden, pool, etc).
Nat: Ethan likes a much more modern look when it comes to houses while I prefer more traditional so we tried to find something that matched both. Instead, we ended up finding this beautiful Victorian and we both fell madly in love with the place!
Ethan: I have to admit, it surprised me how much I love this place. But I can’t imagine us living anywhere else now.
Nat: You can’t see it in the picture but the front yard is completely gated which is a huge weight off my mind. With two kids under the age of six and a newborn, the last thing I want to worry about is my kids getting out of the front yard. The gate has a special lock on it too so only people with the code can get in or out. It gives us so much peace of mind.
Nat: We really wanted the backyard to feel like an extension of the house so we decorated it as such. It’s great in the summer time when we can have friends over and have a big cookout.
Nat: Ethan installed the hammock for me shortly after we moved in. I had always wanted one as a kid and now we get to curl up there in the evenings whenever we want. Plus, the kids love it.
Ethan: *smiles* Next on the list is to set up a vegetable garden. I would have done it sooner but with Nat so close to giving birth when we moved in, I decided it was worth the wait. But by next spring, I’m hoping to have it set up and ready to go.
Living room and home office (if any)?
Ethan: Technically, we have two living rooms. The first one is more of a formal living room where you can sit and talk with guests, if you want. It’s not pictured but there’s a large fireplace with some bookshelves around the room. We treat it kind of like a study. It’s also where we plan on putting the Christmas tree come the holidays.
Ethan: The second is our “informal” living room-- or “den” as Nat calls it. This is where the television and game consoles are. This room probably gets the most use out of the house since this is where we have movie nights and just spend most of our time when we’re home.
Nat: Don’t forget the office, babe.
Ethan: Oh, right! We try not to bring our work home with us but with both of us working on books right now, we figured it was important to have a good work space away from the rest of the house.
Nat: I admit, I was worried about the black interior when we first saw it, but I’m kind of in love with it now.
Ethan: *smirks* I knew you would.
Nat: *rolls her eyes* Hush, you.
Kitchen and dining room?
Nat: Ah, Ethan’s favorite place in the house!
Ethan: One of my favorites, at least.
Nat: You know, before moving I never understood the hype for all-white kitchens. But I get it now! Look at this place, it’s so bright and open! And remarkably easy to clean.
Ethan: I could’ve told you that a long time ago, my love.
Nat: Yes, but I probably wouldn’t have believed you. *Ethan laughs*
Nat: You know that chandelier is original to the house? This whole room is, actually. It was basically untouched during the renovations. They just upgraded the windows and re-stained the flooring. The rest of the room is virtually untouched, which I absolutely love.
Bedrooms? (Master, guest, others)
Nat: Our room isn’t too fancy. Ethan likes it clean and simple and I like a lot of pillows. I think we managed that alright.
Ethan: We’re trying to keep the kids rooms as neutral as possible right now. Their interests are changing so fast that we don’t want to have to keep redecorating every time they change their mind. We’ll probably do more detailed decorating as they get older.
Other rooms?
Nat: We do technically have a guest room but it’s not considered a “bedroom” since it doesn’t have a closet.
Ethan: It’s a room in our basement that acts as a guest room. The rest of the basement we’re treating like a kids playroom and home gym.
Nat: It’s also where my mom has been staying for the last few weeks. She came up to help us settle in with baby Lydia. She’s been a godsend. *Ethan nods in agreement*
Do you own your dream home? If not, what does that dream home look like?
Nat: Absolutely we own our dream home. This place is amazing and everything I ever wanted in a family home.
Ethan: I never pictured myself with a big house or living in the suburbs, but here, surrounded by my family... it’s beyond my wildest dreams. This is better than a dream home; this is heaven. *Nat smiles and kisses his cheek softly.*
What is your favorite room to spend time in with each other?
Nat: Oooh, that’s a tough one. I love all of the rooms. But I think I’m gonna have to say the den and the backyard.
Ethan: Agreed. Any space where I can spend time with family is my favorite place to be.
Tag list below the cut:
Tag List (let me know if you want to be added/removed): @genevievemd @jamespotterthefirst @paulfwesley @ethansdique @openheartfanfics @perriewinklenerdie @little-flowers-on-heaven @stateofgracious @coffeeheartaddict @liaromancewriter @potionsprefect @mm2305 @gryffindordaughterofathena @actuallybored @writer-ish @queencarb @takeharryandgo @lsvdw-blog @itsjustwinter @imaneditorthankyouverymuch-deac @chaoticchopshopheart @ohchoices @maurine07 @oldminniemcg @parisa-kh @shanzay44 @uberamsey @izzyourresidentlawyer @adiehardfan @custaroonie @mia143 @a-crepusculo @takemyopenheart @toadfrog26 @quixoticdreamer16 @barbean @headoverheelsforramsey @natureblooms24 @jerzwriter
#bex answers#asked and answered#messrprongs#newlyweds game with your host bree#ethan ramsey#natalie cusack#ethan x natalie#ethan x mc#open heart mc
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Okay you know why I love the Pevensies? I mean besides the fact that they are all hilarious, savage, and can also beat you up without breaking a sweat. I love them because they choose to be happy and light.
Like take Lucy, she’s what 7? Already close to a war that could take her dad, could take everyone. Then she gets sent to a weird place without her mom (I’m sorry I didn’t want to be without my parents for more than like a week until I was at least 16) and then she finds this magical world with a creepy witch who just hates Christmas and doesn’t let there be spring, and she’s like guys I made a friend! Is she dumb? NO. Lucy is smart and capable and manages to run a country just fine after this. She WATCHES Aslan die. She sees that their greatest chance for hope is completely gone and she still knows that they have things to do to help Narnia. She is shown as the one closest to Aslan often, she sees him the most, but that also means she feels that separation most. And how does she turn out? Her first descriptor as an adult is that she is happy. She is bright and excited and sweet and so so happy. She isn’t happy because she had no hardships, we know that isn’t true. Losing England and her parents 3 times, losing Narnia and her best friends 3 times, plus wars, death, and just generally living in depressing England war times, but she decides to be happy.
Take Susan. She is in the same circumstances, except that she gets to see Narnia one less time, up until Aslan told her and Peter they couldn’t come back they probably didn’t even think of it as a possibility, or at least a certainty. Now, I don’t think they expected to stay like they had the first time, Caspian became King, they were clearly there for a purpose, and they know that they belong in England to an extent. But it’s whiplash for those poor kids. And, there’s no mom. As the oldest in my family, and a daughter, let me tell you, when the parents aren’t around you step up real fast. I’m not talking about those couple hours your parents leave and you try to have fun without tearing up the house too much so you don’t get in trouble. I’m talking about times where even where there are other adults around but they don��t really know you or your siblings. For me it was a special needs brother who can’t talk except for a little ASL. I knew what he needed, what he was asking for, and how to calm him down from the time I was in elementary school. I didn’t care if it was grandparents, aunts, or teachers, my brother was mine to protect. Susan has that but like times 1000 because they’re the only english kids around, they don’t know if they’ll even see their parents again, it’s not like it’s a 2 hour holiday. Plus she tries being the peacemaker, trying to take care of everyone, keeping everyone fed, united, feeling loved, etc. But you know what? She doesn’t resent the role at all. Yeah, maybe she’s a bit rough around the edges at first (we all are, 12-15 is a terrible age for everyone) but she keeps taking care of them. She stays soft and gentle and protective and maybe she’s not obviously bright like Lucy, but brightness like that doesn’t survive being surrounded by contempt from someone you trust.
Then there’s Edmund. He feels like trash because of what he did, but you know what? He decides who he is going to be and sticks to that forever. Fair and Just, he’ll make it happen. Supportive of his siblings for the rest of time, check. He is described as quiet, but not sad or guilty or damaged. This is the kid that is happy to sass kings and sword fight rude dwarves. He is happy to not be King around Caspian because it’s not quite his kingdom anymore (i’m ignoring that plot point in VotDT movie). Basically he figures out who he is and is content with that and himself. That is SO powerful.
Peter. I love Peter. I’m trying not to be super repetitive but like, take Susan’s mothering, and ramp it up because Peter is the oldest and what’s more he was told to look after his siblings. He knows if anything happens it’s on him. And it’s not like they can be like, sorry mum, we fell into a magical war and I let Susan use a bow and Lucy use a dagger because a guy claiming to be Santa gave it to them even though the only weapons they’ve held up till this point are kitchen knives, maybe. Also Ed got kidnapped and I yelled at him right before. Peter isn’t old enough to understand when things aren’t his fault, and when you’re a protector that lesson never quite sinks in anyway. And what does he go on to become? Magnificent. I’ve never known someone who I loved and admired with my whole soul that isn’t happy and bright and the kind of person you feel better about yourself around. The fact that the narnian’s loved them, even though they were humans, is crazy. Like, if some random alien came and started reigning, even if they were cool I wouldn’t be crazy about them. If they were kids??? noooo. But the pevensies were just so loved by everyone because they loved first. Because their experiences tried and shaped them, but did not drag them down. I love that they chose to be polite to random talking beavers, they chose to stay together, they chose to retain who they were through every crazy thing, and they chose to forgive so many people who directly or indirectly hurt them (sorry tumnus but it happened), and they stayed happy.
That’s why I love them.
#thanks for coming to my TED talk#really not edited#peter pevensie#lucy pevensie#susan pevensie#edmund pevensie#I didn't write a ton about edmund cause i feel like there's a lot written about him#can you tell i love Lucy?
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The Perfect Gift (Synthia KissxKendall Gender) - Athena2
Summary: Synthia is the best at gift-giving, but after helping all her friends find presents, she can't find anything for Kendall. Kendall doesn't care in the slightest. Aka two really soft girlfriends for the holiday challenge.
A/N: Hi everyone! I've really been enjoying Synthia and Kendall and decided to write this. Is it too early for a Christmas fic? Maybe, but I'm excited I finished this and just wanted to share it. This is for the holiday challenge here, and the three challenge words I used are gift (which I also used in the title), shop, and party.
Thank you so so much to Writ for encouraging me to do this and for betaing, you're the best<3
Please leave feedback if you like, I would really appreciate it!!!
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If there’s one thing Synthia prides herself on, it’s gift-giving. There’s an art to it all, to finding just the perfect thing someone will love, something that will surprise them and make them feel special when they open it. There’s even an art in how she roams the store, eyes open to everything so she’s ready when the perfect thing takes her by surprise. She loves it, and she’s undeniably good at it, if the wide-eyed, open-mouthed reactions her gifts get are any indication.
She’s maybe a little too good at it, because everyone she knows has asked her to go shopping with them to help them get presents for their friends and family. All of December, she’s been up and down the mall and hit every store in the city, braving the cold and the snow and screaming kids waiting for sketchy mall Santas, all to help her friends find the perfect gift for everyone on their lists. She’s at the mall more than the employees at this point.
The only problem is that she’s been so busy helping other people shop that she hasn’t been able to find the perfect gift for Kendall yet. Synthia prefers shopping in person, so she can physically see everything, but every second of shopping has been devoted to helping her friends. She’s searched online too when she’s had time, just as backup, but she still hasn’t found the perfect thing. She doesn’t want to give Kendall just anything; it needs to be something really special, something that will stun Kendall when she opens it, and she needs to hurry, because if she waits much longer even priority shipping won’t be enough to get it here in time.
But she still has ten days. That’s enough time.
Right?
—
“Do you think the green one is good?” Brooke asks.
“Your mom hates green,” Synthia says, not even looking away from the rows of purses.
“How do you know that and I don’t?”
Synthia just shrugs. She’s in her zone now, after an unsuccessful hour of helping her friend Brooke pick out presents, and she glides over to another shelf. “Get her this one. It has roses on it, you said she wants to plant roses in the spring.” She hands Brooke a navy purse covered in pink roses, and Brooke grins.
“That’s perfect. Thanks, Synthia.”
“Of course.” She glances around at the clothes across the store, thinking maybe she’ll find something for Kendall there--
“Okay, now we need to find stuff for all my nieces and nephews.”
“Don’t you have, like, eight of them?”
“Ten, actually.”
Synthia just sighs and follows her to the toy section.
---
“Do you think my nephew would like one of those little cars you get in and pretend to drive?” Gia asks.
“I think--Gia, get out of that car before you kill someone!”
---
Six days to go, and it’s looking like online orders are out of the question. Synthia had been up until two the night before, scouring the internet, only to have the bracelet she planned to buy Kendall sell out before she could get it, with restocks taking an estimated six weeks. In-person shopping isn’t going much better; stores are selling out of basically everything, which has only made nights helping people shop even longer, while the time and options for finding Kendall something continue to shrink.
She stumbles in the door that night after a full day of work, plus hours of helping her friend Priyanka pick out gifts. Her back aches from when Priyanka slipped on the ice and dragged them both down in a heap, and she swears there’s a bruise on her arm from an old woman whacking her with a Barbie car in an attempt to steal the Squishmallow unicorn she found for Priyanka’s niece. She should go back out and find something for Kendall, try to find a store open this late, but the rich smell of chocolate distracts her. Kendall is at the counter, pouring hot chocolate into two mugs, a plate of cookies in front of her.
“You made cookies?”
“I thought it would be nice. You’ve been so exhausted lately,” Kendall says softly.
Synthia collapses into her. She has been exhausted lately, and amidst all the exhaustion, a new guilt creeps in. Because not only has all the shopping been stressing her out, but it’s also been taking her away from Kendall, cutting into time that could be spent watching movies and making cookies, all their little holiday traditions. She only has two more friends to help, and then she vows to spend the rest of the time with Kendall.
“Thank you,” Synthia says. “I’m sorry I’ve been so busy with everything.”
“I think it’s sweet how you’re helping everyone. You’re like one of Santa’s elves,” Kendall teases. “I’m gonna get you an elf hat.”
“Try it and I’ll put a snowball on your pillow,” Synthia says lightly.
Kendall just grins. “Let’s go watch a movie and relax, okay?”
Synthia follows without protest, curling up and resting her head in Kendall’s lap as she starts Home Alone, and she’s asleep before the McCallisters even reach the airport.
—-
“...and last year my sister said she liked what I got her but I don’t think she did, and my other sister is gonna try to have the best gifts for everyone so we need to outdo her, and my other sister just had a baby so we need to hit that department next…”
Eve pauses to inhale, and Synthia massages her aching temples.
---
“I like this one, and this one, and--ooh--this one.”
“Suki, are any of these things for people on your list, or are they for you?” Synthia asks.
“Well I have to treat myself first, you know!”
---
The days leading up to Christmas fly by in a whirlwind of baking and ice-skating with Kendall and even more hours trudging through the mall to help her friends that wait for the last minute to do shopping. Not that Synthia has done much better this year—she ordered Kendall some things as a last resort, but none of them will arrive in time, which wouldn’t be a problem if she could find something to give her. But she can hardly find anything in stores, let alone the perfect gift, the one special thing that just screams Kendall, that will touch her when she opens it.
It’s Christmas Eve morning, and Synthia thinks that maybe, just maybe, she’ll be able to find something special in one of those downtown boutiques, even though every store she’s visited this month has been hit by a tornado of shoppers taking everything before she got there. Maybe some Christmas magic will happen. She wakes up slowly, wondering why there’s no arm around her waist, no body pressed against her back. She walks into the kitchen to see Kendall flipping pancakes, spinning around in her fluffy red bathrobe that she loves to wear when it’s cold like this, frost reaching across the windows.
“Morning, baby,” Kendall says.
“Morning.”
“I figured I’d let you sleep in and make you breakfast.”
“Thank you.” Synthia nuzzles against her at the stove, resting her head on Kendall’s shoulder. It’s so warm and cozy in here, so windy and freezing outside, and Synthia really, really doesn’t want to go out in this weather and do more shopping. She wants nothing more than to eat breakfast with Kendall and spend the day on the couch in their pajamas until tonight's Christmas party.
And that’s exactly what she does, her guilt over not having a gift fading for the day.
---
The guilt comes back in full force once the party starts. Her friends rush up to her and say how excited they are to give everyone their gifts, how she saved Christmas for them, and though she’s happy, there’s a twinge of bitterness. How could she let herself get so wrapped up in things and help so many people that she didn’t even get Kendall a present, when Synthia loves her more than anyone? What will she tell Kendall tomorrow when there’s nothing for her to open? Deep down she knows Kendall won’t care, won’t be mad, but her own anger and disappointment twist painfully inside her. The party becomes nothing but noise around her, her friends just tiny blurs in her vision.
“Everything okay? You’ve been quiet.” There’s Kendall, caring about her as always, and it’s hard not to feel like she doesn’t deserve it. Not when she couldn’t even get her a present.
“Just a headache,” she lies.
“Do you want to go home?”
“Please,” Synthia whispers, holding in a tear.
---
When they get back from the party, Synthia notices a box on the counter, wrapped in green paper with a shiny red bow on top. She and Kendall always give each other one present on Christmas Eve night, but Synthia doesn’t have one for this year. The box is just a reminder of her failure, and it hits hard enough for Synthia’s eyes to sting with tears she can’t hold back anymore.
“Baby, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Kendall is so worried, so loving, and it only makes Synthia feel worse. “Do you feel sick?” Kendall’s hand presses against her cheek to check for a fever, and Synthia lowers her head in shame.
“I didn’t—I didn’t get a gift for you,” Synthia says, unable to meet Kendall’s eyes. “I was so busy helping everyone I could never look for your present, and everything is sold out, and I ordered you some things but they didn’t get here in time, and I couldn’t find anything perfect for you anyway and I’m so sorry—“
She’s cut off by warm arms wrapping her in a hug as Kendall gently shushes her. “Shh, it’s okay. You could never buy me anything, and it wouldn’t matter. You know why?”
Synthia sniffles. “Why?”
Kendall steps back, looking at Synthia with nothing but love. “Because you’re my gift. I love you, and I know you love me too. That’s the best present I could ask for.” She tears the bow off her box and sticks it to Synthia’s hair. “There. The only gift I need.”
“You’re not mad?” Synthia asks, wiping her eyes.
“Of course I’m not mad. I know how hard you must’ve tried to get me something and how much you’ve helped everyone else.” Kendall gently wipes Synthia’s last few tears with her thumb. “But I will be mad if you don’t come watch a movie with me right now,” she says, scooping Synthia up into her arms.
“I’d love to.” She melts into Kendall’s embrace as she carries her to the living room, and it’s one of the best Christmases ever.
#rpdr fanfiction#drcan#can2#kendall x synthia#synthia kiss#kendall gender#lesbian au#fluff#fic challenge#athena2#concrit welcome
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A very confused Star Wars Fan desperately tries to justify their belief that “Caravan of Courage” shows the way forward for the franchise. No, really.
Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve loved Star Wars. And I mean, all of it. The books, the games, the Lego, the spin-offs: I even enjoy the Holiday Special in a The Room so-bad-you-just-need-to-see-it sort of way. But particularly the films. But here is when we run into the big problem: I’m just the wrong age. The original trilogy launched before I was born, the prequel trilogy hit cinemas when I was already a teen and while I went and saw them and enjoyed them, I was at that age where I was self-conscious about seeing a “kids” film, and hyper-aware of how silly and cringy those films were in parts.
So my indoctrination, my inoculation with the Star Wars bug didn’t happen in the cinema, and it didn’t happen with any of the main franchise works. It happened on home video, on a skiing trip in the French Alps in the early 90’s. I’d have been about 6, and this was the first time I’d ever been abroad other than to see relatives in Ireland. And I loved it: to this day I love skiing, but more than that, I have very, very fond childhood memories of this trip. This was shortly before I lost my biological mother to cancer, she’d have received her diagnosis just after we got back from the trip. This was when my younger sister stopped being an annoying screaming thing and became and became an actual person I could talk and play and share ideas with, this was before the combination my mothers long illness and my father having just launched his own IT start up meant I didn’t see him or her any more, despite the fact they were in the same house as me. This was this wonderful, nostalgic child-hood bubble when my family was intact, and nothing could ever go wrong.
I skied all day with mum and dad, and would come back to the chalet in the evening. It was an English speaking chalet, I met my first real-life American there, and having grown up in the 90’s in the UK nothing was cooler than making friends with an actual American my own age. He had a hulk Hogan action figure with springs in the legs so if you put him on a hard surface and punched his head down, when you let go he’d jump really high in the air. We used to play with it together in the bath, back in that weird 90’s time-bubble when it was possible to convince two sets of parents that this kid you’d just met was you best friend in the world and of course shared bath time was, somehow, normal and appropriate. And fresh from bath time, tired from the day, the parents would give us some hot coco, dump us kids in front of the tv and grab the first shitty low-budget VHS they could find to keep us distracted while they went to the bar. In this particular time, in this particular place, that shitty low budget cartoon was the complete set of the 1985 Lucasfilm/ABC Ewoks cartoon, plus the two spin off movies, and to this day that cheap, kitschy, kind of bad series has a special warm and cosy place in my heart. I remember being enthralled by the world, in love with the characters, applied by the bad guys and the injustice they caused (to this day I’m still irate about that time Wicket lost his set of beads documenting his progress towards becoming a full warrior and the older Ewoks basically said, tough, you need to re-earn all those merit badges from scratch. This struck me as exactly the sort of bullshit an adult would pull, and pissed me off) and on tenterhooks about what would happen to the characters.
It was also, by a coincidence, the first ever Star Wars media I was exposed to, and the above combination of events probably explains a lot about me.
So I was surprised, the other day, when scrolling Disney+, to find they’d added Caravan of Courage AND Battle for Endor to the roster in my region. Surely Disney wouldn’t want their slick, cool brand associated with this old trash? Surely there could be no place for this in the post-Mandalorian Star Wars cannon? Surely this is a horrible mistake some intern made, right?
Unless…. What if I’ve miss-remembered? What if it’s not just rose-tinted nostalgia goggles, and it’s, in fact, secretly really, really good?
I rushed to my comfy chair, got a blanket, dimmed the lights, made some coco (with rum in it, because why the hell not?) and sat down to re-examine this lost gem.
And wow: it’s every bit as shit as you’d expect.
It has aged exactly as poorly as you’d expect a cheap, mid 80’s direct to video spin-off to age. Caravan of Courage? More like Caravan of Garbage, am I right?
And yet… I still enjoyed every moment.
And it was sitting there, in my pyjamas, watching a cheaply made direct to video cash-grab from just before I was born, seeing it again for the first time in nearly 30 years, and I realised something.
It doesn’t really matter if this film is bad, so long as I enjoy it. And if it doesn’t really mater if this is bad, then I, like many Star Wars fans, wasted a huge amount of time and emotional effort on being butthurt about stuff I didn’t like about the Rise of Skywalker and it’s ilk. Because somewhere, right now, a tired and frustrated parent is putting Disney+ on to keep their kids quiet for two hours. And they won’t think too hard about what they put on, so long as it keeps little Timmy busy for a bit. Somewhere, right now, a kid is watching Rise of Skywalker, and it’s the first Star Wars media they’ve ever seen.
And that’s okay. Because we don’t know what that kids home life is like. We don’t know if it’s good or bad. Maybe it’s great, maybe it’s about to take a dramatic plunge like mine did, and this moment here will be the cosy, warm memory they look back on in 30 years time, and that’s beautiful. They’re getting introduced to a fun, wonderful fantasy world that could be with them all their lives, through good times and bad, and as fans we should be happy about that.
Star Wars will never, die: it’s too darn profitable, Disney will never let it. And while I hope they learn from their mistakes and make sure every future Star Wars is a timeless gem of story-telling, statistically, if you keep making enough films, some of them will be bad. And while I’d like them all to be great, it’s still okay if they’re bad.
Because nothing can take away my memories of that week in that chalet. Nothing can take-away my memories of when they put the original trilogy on in cinemas for the special edition and I had my jaw hit the floor with how good it was on the big screen, not knowing or caring who shot first. Nothing can take away you memories of the Original Trilogy, the Prequels, or the Clone Wars. Nothing can tarnish the bits of the sequil trilogy that you like, and there are good bits in there.
But wait, what about continuity? What about the sacred, perfect written time-line that used to exist?
Well, what about it? Have you seen any other big, epic fantasy universe before? They’re all a mess. A work of fiction, particularly fantasy, can be extensive, or tightly written, but not both. Harry Potter is only seven books, and the last two feel, tonally, like they’re from an entirely different series. I love them, but the grim-dark kicked in so fast you’ll get whiplash. The Hobbit is a perfect written self-contained novel, and LOTR is *The* big boy high-fantasy trilogy: fast forward 50 years, and Christopher Tolkien is desperately squeezing every last drop of money out of his father’s corpse by finishing and publishing every unfinished note JRR ever wrote right down to his shopping lists. Even Dune goes of the rails with sequels. I can only think of four fantasy works that are both extensive and consistently tightly written, Song of Ice and Fire, Wheel of Time, Malazan: Book of the Fallen and Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere universe. And even then, the prequels and spin-offs mess with the timelines: the Dunk and Egg novella’s change some character’s canonical ages and timelines, Wheel of Time was going slowly off the rails even before the Jordan died, Forge of Darkness made what was a good metaphor for the creation of it’s world into a literal war deep in the past, and Sanderson’s first Novel Elantris got a re-write to bring it more in line with the rest of the shared universe. The MCU, oft held up as the modern example of tightly planned, well thought out ongoing storytelling, is a lie: it was never as pre-planned out as Disney wants us to think; the first Iron Man, apparently, barely had a script, with Downey ad-lib-ing most of his scenes. None of the MCU films are direct sequels to each-other other than Infinity war and Endgame. There are three Iron Man films, and Three Thor films, and none continue an ongoing story line across multiple films, and the Cap films barely continue an arc, but only where Cap’s relationship with Natasha and Bucky is involved. Much like these, Star War’s cannon is a complete, nightmarish, confusing, tangled, illogical mess. And it has been since 1984, as Caravan of Courage proves. It was never consistent and well planned.
And that’s okay.
I used to care about plot holes. I used to care about which works were cannon in Star Wars lore. I’m over that now. I’m happy to imagine the books, films and games not as a blow-by-blow historical account of a galaxy far far away, but as campfire stories from within this fun, imaginative world that we’re all invited to listen to. Stories that are in-universe myth and folklore, that we can all snuggle up and listen to while drinking highly alcoholic rum and remembering better times, knowing that wherever the future throws at us, no matter how the world goes to hell around us, we’ll still have the memories, and the ability to make our own new stories in the wonderful Star Wars world we all share.
And that’s okay. No, more than that: that’s beautiful.
Also Star Wars is completely unambiguous on the fact we’re allowed to kill fascists no matter how many times they keep coming back with a new logo, so that’s timely I guess.
So, there’s my hot take two-years after everyone else stopped caring about this stuff, as per bloody usual. Tell me why I’m wrong below, and does anyone else have any truly awful spin-off shows that they kind of have a nostalgic soft spot for?
#star wars#ewoks#caravan of courage#Star wars universe#epic fantasy#MCU#tolkien#LOTR#malazan#song of ice and fire#wheel of time#brandon sanderson#Cosmere#dune#late opinions delivered badly#i'm wrong and i know it#seriously hot coco with rum#spin off#bad spin off#so bad it's good#I love the ewoks cartoon#but you don't have to thats okay too
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Cowboy Blues - pt. 01 - Rafe Cameron
Summary: You swipe right on Tinder with some interesting results.
One Thing Right Masterlist | Outer Banks Masterlist
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You weren’t traditional by any sense of the word. You’d given up all those crazy ideals that had been ingrained in your personality when you realized that you weren’t going to find a high school sweetheart to settled down with. Or a college one for that matter. You settled for nice dates with average guys and tried to remind yourself daily that you needed no one to complete your life. It was fine on its own.
“I think the literal class of guy has gone down,” your best friend Nina mentioned as she scrolled through your phone. You loved Nina but she was tone-deaf to most of your single life complaints. She was already married, to the same guy she had been dating since middle school. After HSM came out she had been madly in love with Zac Efron and had managed to find the one guy in your school that looked almost just like him and they’d stayed together.
“You’re on tinder right now, just to put that commentary into perspective for you.” You pointed out, annoyed mostly. Nina had invited herself to come have lunch with you while you worked on finalizing your classroom for the coming school year. While you tried to get actual work done, Nina just scrolled through the guys on your tinder and bitched about their profiles, as if she expected to find some great life partner for you.
It was probably cynical of you to say but, if you never dated again, never settled down with anyone, it probably wouldn’t matter. Wedding fever sprung up whenever someone else was tying the knot or having a kid but when that passed you weren’t particularly eager to look for someone. People had been, for the majority, disappointing since you had turned 18 and, for the past eight years you hadn’t been proven right.
Someone to cohabitate with might be nice. You certainly thought about it on nights when you were feeling particularly isolated from the rest of the world, but all that disappeared when you considered how used to being alone you actually were and what cohabitating would actually mean. Someone who would leave dirty dishes in the sink, leave water on the bathroom floor and track it through the house, who would chew too loud or hate the food you liked or snore too obscenely or drink too much. There were a million flaws with your imaginary future suitor and you listed them all anytime you got the bug to start dating again. But twenty-six was old, according to Nina, and you needed to get married.
“What about him, he’s cute?” She held the phone out to you, the guy in the picture was smiling, sitting in front of a table with food. You looked up briefly from the lesson plan you were writing out, nearly losing your mouthful of coffee.
You swallowed and took the phone, staring at the picture, maybe a little too long.
“He’s cute babe, but he’s not like People Magazine’s hottest man alive.” Nina said in response to your out burst.
“No, no, I know him.” You explained, eyes still on the picture. God, you couldn’t help thinking that he looked good. Did you look that good? He was the spitting image of what he’d been in the stairwell at Duke. Attractive, self-assured, a little cocky. “We went to the same college. I hooked up with him one time at a party before spring break…I uh, he told me to call him and I lost his number.”
“On purpose?” She asked, plucking the phone out of your hands. She lingered on his picture, waiting for your either glowing recommendation or scathing review before she swiped. He was cute, she’d give you that. He was tan, tall, even in the picture it was obvious, and just nice to look at.
“No,” You admitted. “I was gonna call him and then I got back together with Ian.” Your ex-boyfriend be damned, you left out the part where you thought about your random hook way more often than a sane person should. After spring break it hadn’t been hard to dodge him, Duke had a massive campus and you didn’t have any of the same classes but every time you and Ian had it out you couldn’t help wondering what it would’ve been like if you’d called him back. Even after you graduated and moved back home to Boston, you still couldn’t quite shake the memory of him.
“Well Ian’s getting married and you’re not...so,” she swiped and then closed the app, sliding off your desk to take a slow appraisal of your classroom while she dug the knife in deeper, “are you going to Ian’s wedding?”
Nina kept asking, as if you had much say in the matter, and you kept answering, deflating your ego every time you had to say yes. “I have to…it’s my grade partner. She even made me a bridesmaid.” Admittedly, you and Anya had been much closer before your boyfriend of three years dumped you and immediately started dating her. Now it felt hard to be around her for too long, like going home for the holidays and trying to keep quiet when your drunk uncle brought up the political climate in the country. Anya told you she had held off the wedding because she wanted to ‘wait until the dust settled’. As if it hurt less now. For different reasons, sure, but not less.
In a month’s time you’d be sitting through a bridal shower that her sister kept texting you to help coordinate and plan. She’d tried to be nice, giving you a plus one to the wedding because you didn’t know any of her friends or family. The only other person you knew was Ian, ex-boyfriend and groom, not exactly who you wanted to be hanging out with. Of course, you knew his family and that just made the whole ordeal so much more awkward.
The plus-one was an empty gesture though. Just a reminder that there was no one for you to invite. But you kept hoping, maybe you’d meet someone. Maybe you could transport yourself into a Hallmark movie and rent a date or something. Fall madly in love in a week and move to their small town and never look back. Then, at least, you could miss the wedding altogether.
“She’s a fucking back stabbing bitch.” Nina commented, as if this was some new piece of information that she was finding out about now.
“Anya is super sweet.” You defended, only because it was true. Anya might’ve been marrying your douche of an ex-boyfriend but she was categorically the nicest person that you had ever met. “It wasn’t like he cheated on me, we broke up.” You didn’t want to have this conversation anymore. Not two weeks before the beginning of school. Two weeks before you had to look at her face every day until the honeymoon.
“They got together pretty quick.” Nina pointed out, not that she ever needed to. “Well, whatever, so what was this guy like, what was his name?”
“Did you swipe right on him and not even look at his name?” You asked, reaching for your phone to check.
“Yeah, so? She asked, “You said you knew him.”
“I said I slept with him.” You corrected.
“Same thing.” She shrugged, “name?”
“Rafe. Cameron.”
She ‘ohhhh-ed’ appreciatively, “What was he like?” She asked. “He sounds rich.”
“Hot,” you shrugged, “I don’t know he was probably a total fuck boy. He asked me to call him the next morning after breakfast and I said sure and then when I got back to my dorm Ian was there.” You provided the short story of events, omitting any major details about that night. You told Nina everything but you had never told her about Rafe, always a little wistful about the encounter. As if it was some personal memory that would lose its importance should anyone else know about it.
“He made you breakfast?”
“Yeah, so?”
“That’s like jackpot. God you could be like, married right now, popping babies out for some Swedish Au pair to run around after.” Nina replied raising her eyebrows suggestively.
“I’m glad you’ve created this weird ‘rich kid’ narrative but I have no idea. It’s not like I was checking the guy’s financials while I was sucking his dick.” You lowered your voice at the end of the sentence, just in case the pushing 80 secretary walked past and heard you.
“Please, have you seen him? That is a baby-faced, rich boy living on his daddy’s money. And you could be too.”
“Okay, look, I was 20, I wasn’t trying to settle down and get married. At least not to some random guy I only hooked up with because my boyfriend was a douche.” You replied. Not to mention that breakfast had essentially consisted of one bite of toast before he was eating you out on the counter of his off-campus apartment. Not exactly the romantic beginning to a relationship. “Wait, did you swipe right?” You asked, almost immediately horrified at the thought.
“Maybe.”
“No,” you groaned, “fuck, he’s gonna think I’m so weird!”
“He will not. Besides, if he’s as much of a fuck boy as you say then guarantee he doesn’t even remember you.” She replied. “Besides, if he answers, it’ll be kinda nice ya know? Go out, have a nice dinner, get fucked, all your problems melt away.”
“He better not remember me.” You grumbled. You were not prepared for the absolute humiliation that would come from him seeing you on Tinder and remembering you.
“Did you really sleep with so few guys in college that you remember him?”
“You’ve slept with one person in the last decade…” you pointed out.
“And?” She slipped her sweatshirt back on and grabbed her bag, “whatever, I’m heading out. I have work in 30.”
With Nina gone, you slumped back in your chair and grabbed your phone. You had a tendency to never get rid of anything; it was the great downfall of your life. Someday you would accumulate so much stuff you would become a hoarder and then no one would love you but the cats that used your belongings as a litter box. It was a terrible habit but it lent to usefulness sometimes, especially in moments like this, as you scrolled through your phone, finding Rafe’s contact. You had told Nina that you’d lost Rafe’s number but in actuality you had kept it stored in your phone even though you’d never used it.
Now, this wedding fever was doing nothing but confirm your fear that you were one step closer to an unfulfilling life alone. Even Lorelai Gilmore didn’t stay single forever.
You stared at his name in your contact list, a little fire emoji next to it and you could remember laughing at him when he typed it in. It was more a playful jab at the way your Boston accent had pronounced the word fire than anything to do with him though you thought it was an accurate description.
You wondered if he had the same number. If you’d called him that night, would it have been another failed relationship to catalog away for when you were feeling especially shitty. Or would he have left you for the bubbly grade partner that you wanted to hate so much but couldn’t. Nina had swiped right on him but you didn’t even know where he lived these days. You were living in Boston again. You’d moved home for your masters and stayed when the teaching internship turned into an actual job.
North Carolina had been fun for school, being 12 hours away from home had given you the most incredible sense of freedom but nowhere was New England and you’d been itching to go home again just as soon as you’d arrived down there. Though coming back to Boston, you had found it different than you’d left it. Even with Nina here, she was married, she had her own life away from you. As much as you tried to settle in and pretend that everything was fine, you couldn’t help but admit that Nina was right, you did need someone.
Single life felt a lot more routine than you imagined it would. A call from your mother, complaining that your sister was acting out and being generally awful, a call from your sister, accusing your mother of being overbearing, and hours of alone time filled mostly by reading, walking your dog, and binging TV shows. “At least you got a dog and not a cat.” Nina had said when you brought Fivel home. He was pre-named and you were always partial to An American Tail.
“Only so I would exercise.” You had replied, knowing you had to walk the dog, a black lab mix that was a puppy when you got him. “You hear that Five, I’m using you for my own gain.” He had gotten big since then, fully grown now with a personality that included forgetting his size and spreading out on top of you when you laid on the couch.
Your apartment was small, an old converted brownstone with three apartments, yours on the top floor above a middle-aged couple with a very spoiled seven-year-old. They were nice when they weren’t blaring Disney movies and you resented that even in your house you couldn’t escape children but you couldn’t be too upset. The place was nicer than you could’ve hoped, truthfully. Especially living alone.
Even with a nice place to live though, it was always the same. Walking Fivel, making whatever dinner that came in the Sunbasket boxes at the beginning of the week, and watching Top Chef.
You closed out of your contacts, going back to Tinder as if Rafe would’ve already messaged you. All Nina had written was ‘hey’, as if that was supposed to entice someone into replying. You doubted the stupid picture of you from last year at the beach really did anything special. You weren’t surprised to find that there was no reply yet. You read his profile over again, unsure what else to say. The night the two of you hooked up you had both been at a party though these days your partying had been replaced with drinking alone.
Whoever said don’t waste your twenties would’ve recoiled in horror at the way you were living.
-
“Leaving so soon?”
You turned away from the double doors leading out onto campus, the click of the bar as it released echoing in your ear for a second, drowned out mostly by the music that was coming from the various dorms that had their doors open. It was a floor party; one you’d come to with some friends in high hopes of forgetting your current ex-boyfriend Ian once and for all. Three months of condescending comments and gaslighting finally pushing you over the edge.
“I was just...getting some fresh air.” You replied, shrugging. Trying to look calm, unaffected by this stranger’s sudden entrance into your life. He was cute, far more so than Ian. Taller too. You thought you recognized him from the lacrosse team your roommate was so obsessed with. “Lacrosse players are never unattractive.” She had argued once when she dragged you to a game.
He definitely fit the bill for her ideal of the lacrosse playing frat boy. Hot, tall, tan, his cap was on backwards and he looked so relaxed but also so sure of himself. Like whatever was going to happen in this hallway was going to go exactly how he wanted.
“Want some company?” He asked, taking a sip from the cup in his hand but not taking his eyes off you.
You felt like your heart was hammering in your chest, head swimming and you’d not even had anything to drink that night. “I uh…” worse case scenarios increased by tenfold in your head given the context of the situation. You were alone in a hallway, potentially about to go outside, while everyone else was partying, where they couldn’t hear you, with some guy you didn’t know at all. A guy who gave off some pretty strong ‘get-whatever-I-want’ vibes and he’d said no more than two sentences to you. “I uh, kinda wanted to be alone.”
“Cool, cool.” He shrugged, “no problem.”
For whatever reason that possessed you to think it was a genuinely okay idea, so you walked out, the door clicking open as you stepped onto the pavement. You kicked the stopper so it wouldn’t shut all the way because you’d rather be able to get back in than somehow have both of you trapped out here if he did decide to follow you. No alcohol, your brain was just malfunctioning or maybe your roommate was right and your usual suspicion of everyone had turned a nice moment into an awful one.
It was significantly colder outside than it had been in the dorms, even in the hallway, and you breathed out a sigh of relief. You wanted to scream at Ian for not even letting you have a good time when you were out with friends because you kept thinking of him. He was off somewhere, already on spring break, no doubt hooking up with girls you’d never know about because you had told him it was over. And it was, you were just so completely unsure-
You’re silent berating ended mid-sentence when you turned around to see your lacrosse playing stranger sitting on the steps just inside the door. He smiled at you and waved and you almost laughed at the oddity of the moment as you came back inside.
“What are you doing?” You asked, holding the door open and letting some of the cold air deep in.
“You said you wanted to be alone. Figured I’d wait.”
“For?”
He shrugged, standing up and leaning against the bottom of the railing, “you, to not want to be alone.”
“Well,” you were momentarily caught off guard, a nervous laugh escaping. Truthfully, you had never had someone flirt with you like this before, so directly obvious about liking you. Not necessarily one with quick-witted comebacks, you were still fairly good at deflecting when you needed too but somehow, he had rendered you speechless.
He nodded his head toward the steps, “we can just sit? Door’s right there,” he offered, referring to the dorm room less than six feet away. The door was open and you could hear a mix of chatter and music.
“Okay.” You agreed, letting the door close on the stopper, the slightest wave of cool air seeping in while you walked over and took a seat beside him. You introduced yourself, unsure what else to do, and probably sounded like every middle-aged family member he had when you asked him what his major was.
“Rafe Cameron,” he replied, “economics.”
“Oh god,” you said before you could stop yourself. He was the full package clearly, though of what you weren’t sure. He sounded rich, by the name alone, econ major, lacrosse player, potentially, and absolutely fuckable. There was no other coherent way to describe it. “I took an econ course as an elective freshman year, it really fucked me up.”
“Not a math person?” He asked, another sip of his drink and you really wished you had one. Anything to occupy a little corner of your brain so everything wasn’t so solely focused on him.
“No, no, not at all.” You shook your head. “So…do you live in this dorm?”
“Nah, my roommate’s dating some girl in one of these,” he replied, the same head nodded toward the rooms as before, “I’m just here for the booze, and the company.”
That wasn’t even that smooth of a line and you were melting at it. You weren’t sure if you were just dying for some positive attention or going through the motions of a breakup but either way you were seriously considering your roommate’s earlier encouragement of ‘letting yourself go’. Have fun, she had said, be bold.
“You play lacrosse, right?” You asked, because you were 95% sure you’d seen him and it was eating at you a little bit. You felt like you were grasping at straws trying to think of what to say. You were fairly positive that he was only talking to you because he wanted to have sex with you but honestly, you really wanted to have sex with him too.
“I do,” he grinned and you knew you’d basically given him the upper hand. “You’ve been to a game?”
“I’ve been to all of them.” You said before you could stop yourself. “I mean, my roommate’s a big fan of lacrosse or lacrosse players, not sure, so we always go.”
“Not a fan yourself?”
“No, I mean, I like it, you guys have a good team.” You shrugged. This was going terribly, or you would think it was if he wasn’t looking at you like that.
“Yeah?” He grinned, sliding a little closer to you on the stairs.
“I should close that door, it’s getting cold in here.” You mentioned, standing up suddenly.
Rafe couldn’t help his smile as you walked down the steps to the door. He had come out into the hallway because the party was boring, the music was subpar, and Topper was starting to annoy him. He had considered going back to the apartment altogether but he’d just sat on the stairs instead, as if he was waiting for something. And then you’d come along. “We could head back to my place? It’s warm.” He offered. A stupid line, sure, but the last one had played well for him so he tried this one.
You almost laughed at the cheesiness of his comment. The way he said it, even with how you’d felt when you first realized he was there, was easy, letting you know that the decision was yours entirely. Maybe it was a decision you shouldn’t have been making right this moment but he was gorgeous and anything that had you not thinking about your ex was good enough for you. “Yeah, but I’ll be cold on the way there.”
His lower lip jutted out, pouting at you playfully, “We’ll drive, you can stay warm in the car, promise.”
-
Sans Nina stopping by, the next day played out the same as the day before. You managed to hold off checking your Tinder until halfway through lunch. It wasn’t like you’d stopped thinking about it or forgot the whole exchange with Nina the day before. You’d locked the whole thing away to reminisce about at some later date when you were no doubt alone once again. Alone and-
And he had sent you a message. It just said hey back, and a subtle compliment about your profile picture, telling you that he would kill for beach weather right now and that ‘blue is his favorite color’, you clicking back a second later and realizing that the bathing suit you had on in your profile picture was, in fact, blue. You half wondered if he remembered you and that’s why it was so casual. But he was arguably that casual the night you met too. If you’d been in a less hyper aware state of mind you would’ve never realized he was flirting with you.
You stared at the message for half of your lunch hour wondering what to say in return. Something witty maybe, though you were feeling as tongue tied as you had that night six years ago. Not at all the confident person you always envisioned yourself being at this point in your life but the nervous one who said dumb stuff that you didn’t mean to.
-I went last weekend with a friend and it was literally too cold to take my sweatshirt off...fall’s a bitch-
You replied, attaching a frowning emoji to the end of your sentence. You hated your inability to be cool online. What else could you say though? You couldn’t ask if he remembered you. Say that if he did remember you than you were sorry for never calling and you know how much of an ass matching with him on Tinder probably seems. Or that pathetically enough for you that night and following morning are arguably the best sex you’ve ever had. Or even that his profile picture made him look better than you remembered, god why did you get back together with Ian.
-
Rafe had seen the match almost immediately. Working from home that afternoon, he’d only been half paying attention to the zoom meeting that he was on, scrolling through his phone when the notification popped up. He had clicked into Tinder, staring at your name and profile picture off and on for a good hour while he tried to think of something to say to you.
Something clever.
He wasn’t exactly the most sentimental person anyone had ever met and he’d slept with plenty of people in college but he knew you the minute he saw your picture. You looked exactly the same as you had that night, though the picture you used for your profile didn’t quite do justice to the way your eyes lit up when you smiled or how ridiculously easy it had been for him to be completely infatuated with you that night.
You had never called him and he couldn’t fault you for that, it wasn’t exactly like he was screaming boyfriend material back then. He barely was now. Whenever he thought about you, and he was sure it was more frequently than it should be for a one night stand from college, he assumed you’d probably met someone, settled down...all that ridiculous stuff his sister was into.
He said he liked the blue of your bathing suit in the picture of you and that he wished it was beach weather because seeing you honestly had him missing the Outer Banks more than he expected to. He sent the text and spent the rest of the night feeling like a dumbass. There he was, blowing his chances all over again. But then, halfway through the next day, you texted back.
-You Bostonians need to work on your weather. -
He responded, as soon as he got the message, and then,
-I’ll get right on it...any specific requests?-
Your reply came back a few minutes later, after he checked his phone three more times.
-Warm enough to take you to the beach.-
Rafe responded a little faster than he probably should have. Maybe a little more desperate than he should have too but he couldn’t be bothered about that.
-Sans the sweatshirt? -
-Exactly.-
He followed the text up immediately with a,
-but since I can’t take you to the beach, are you free for dinner this Friday?-
-I am, yeah. Where did you have in mind?-
-Have you been to Menton? -
-
It was warm in the apartment, even for mid-March with the windows opened. The kind of weather that made you want to stretch out in bed and do nothing all day. Except this wasn’t your bed or your room and the noise coming from the kitchen was definitely not going to help lull you back to sleep. Opening your eyes to the sun streaming through the window, you climbed out of bed, grabbing the t-shirt from the carpeted floor and pulling it over your head.
You hadn’t intended to stay the night at Rafe’s but really, once you were there you hadn’t wanted to leave. Even now, all you really wanted was to find him and take him back to bed. Maybe not to sleep but definitely to sleep with.
“Oh my god, you’re so loud,” you teased, walking into the small kitchen to find Rafe standing over the stove, back to you. He turned at the sound of your voice and you had to appreciate the lack of clothing he had decided to wear to attempt breakfast, just a pair of navy-blue briefs.
“Watch it, you won’t get any of these world class scrambled eggs.” He replied, pointing his spatula back to the frying pan on the stove.
You walked closer to him, letting him wrap his arm around you and pull you into his side. “Those do look like some quality eggs,” you observed, putting your arm around his waist.
This felt so easy you were dreading going back to your dorm eventually. Ian hadn’t even made a guest appearance in your brain and he’d been pretty much the star since the two of you broke up. But right now, all you wanted to focus on was Rafe and getting to spend as much time with him as possible.
Rafe moved the skillet off the stove and laid the spatula down, using his free hand to grab your waist as he maneuvered you around in front of him. You yelped in surprise when his hands fell to your thighs and he hoisted you up onto the counter.
“Careful! You almost burned me!” You laughed, swatting his hands away.
“You’re not even near the burner.” he laughed, pushing your legs apart so he could stand in between them.
“I thought we were having breakfast?”
“We are.” He reasoned, the innuendo evident as he leaned down and kissed just above your bare knees. “When do you have to be back?”
“Whenever.” You shrugged, more than happy to have this moment play out, uninterrupted.
-
Menton was the kind of place that other people went to. Not first grade teachers on first grade teacher salaries. Even when you were younger, growing up in the more affluent part of western Massachusetts, you had never really been part of a ‘fancy restaurants’ family. Menton was just some place Nina mentioned when she talked about restaurants too expensive for normal people.
“What if he remembers me?” You had asked, a few hours earlier, when Nina showed up at your apartment with shoes for your outfit.
“Did he say he did?” Honestly curious about this guy you had never mentioned to her before.
“No. But what if he does?” You couldn’t help being paranoid about the whole date. You could still remember the feeling of being around him, of being with him. Rafe hadn’t mentioned to you that he remembered you, and thank god too because how awkward would that conversation had been? Just a ‘hey, aren’t you that girl I hooked up with six years ago in college?’. Why did Nina have to swipe right. Why couldn’t she have minded her own business and believed you when you said that you were over Ian and not at all concerned about the wedding.
You were freaking yourself out for nothing. Or because you were dressed nicer than you had been in two years and standing outside Menton.
“Hey.”
You turned toward the sound of someone calling your name, seeing Rafe walking across the street. You felt very much like you were twenty again, finding him watching you from the stairwell, butterflies in your stomach. You teetered for a moment on the sidewalk, unsure if you should wait for him to make it all the way to you or just walk up and hug him. That seemed a little extreme, honestly,
You could still remember the feeling of his arms around you but if he didn’t remember you, and you were banking on him not remembering, it would be odd to just grab him in the street. He eased the tension for you though, reaching an arm out for a side hug once he was close enough. Casual but still not too personal.
“Hey,” he repeated, stepping away from you for a brief appraisal. “You look beautiful.”
“Ah, thank you...this place looked so fancy online, I wasn’t sure what to wear.” You admitted.
“You googled it?” He sounded amused, even as he stepped in front of you to hold the door open and you could just imagine the smirk on his face. The same one he’d worn when you told him that you had seen all of his lacrosse games. (You had seen all the ones after that night too but you always made sure to sit high up in the bleachers and you never stuck around after a game.)
“Well, yeah...I wanted to read the menu.” You replied, pausing briefly as Rafe gave his name to the hostess and she grabbed two menus, walking you through the restaurant to a nice table in the back. Quiet but not too quiet.
“Hopefully it’s lived up to its reputation so far?” He asked, biting his tongue to stop himself from saying that he remembered how bizarrely neurotic you could be, even in the few hours that he had spent with you.
“I mean I haven’t eaten the food.” You stressed, looking at him over your shoulder as he pulled your chair out for you. “Thank you.”
He grimaced, as if the possibility of you rating this place, or the date, badly, was still an option then. “The oysters are really good...or the cappotelli.” He suggested, moving around to his side of the table, “do you have a wine preference?”
“Red, otherwise...not really.” You replied, letting him order a bottle for the table. This was somehow exactly the person you’d hooked-up with in college and not that person at all. As if you could see little cracks in the facade of his put-together appearance. “So, are you from Boston?”
“No,” he shook his head. He looked up at you for a moment, breaking his concentration with the menu before he laid the paper off to the side, “I’m from North Carolina, the Outer Banks, I actually ended up moving up here for work.”
“I know this sounds crazy-”
He hummed and you scrunched your nose at him.
“-I’m always like, surprised when people are like, from the beach.” You explained, “like I only think of the beach as vacation place not like a, live there all the time place.”
“That’s cause it gets ridiculously cold up here.” He replied, “No one wants to live on a beach where it snows.”
“The beach is nice off season!” You insisted. “It’s not crowded and you can just like, walk around-”
“If I have to wear a coat to go to the beach, it is not nice.”
“Okay,” you sassed, sticking your tongue out and making him laugh. “So what do you do then? Why’d you move to Boston?”
“That’s a loaded question,” Rafe noted, “I work for an economics firm here. Mostly I moved for the job opportunity but the distance from my family was an added benefit.”
“Well, I say this from a place of extreme bias, Boston is the best city.”
“It has it’s perks.” He could’ve been talking about a good parking deal but the way he smiled at you when he said it made you feel like he was talking specifically about you.
-
The date ended with Rafe walking you to the train, his coat over your shoulders because the light jacket that you’d worn had proven not warm enough for the early autumn chill that settled in. You talked about your first-grade class and being nervous for the impending year and he listened, saying that sometimes he felt like he was working with six year olds.
“At least I can curse in front of my co-workers though.” He lamented.
You laughed, “I’ve definitely let my fair share of curse words go...and heard quite a few from kids in my classes.”
“Oh man, I’d fucking lose it if some kid started cursing at me.” Rafe replied.
At the train station you argued for a few minutes over his coat, him insisting that you just hold on to it (“trust me, if I go 24 hours without seeing you again, I’ll be shocked.”), but you told him you had a severe inability to remember to give anything back and likely he’d never see it again, something he doubted, the implication that this would progress far enough that he would be in your apartment eventually there beneath the surface of his words.
When the train pulled in, the coat left in your possession, Rafe pulling it tighter around your shoulders and promising that he would get it back eventually. “I’ll text you.” He said, as the doors closed. And, by the time you got home, there was a text from Rafe waiting for you.
-
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