#she also hasn't been here since red tour

[thisdress]

ok but if taylor ends up coming here after i went through all of this shit to go to a US show i will cry so hard adjkaslkdsakl

[sidekick-hero]

(steddie | 2.4k | teen | tags: future fic, steddie in their 40s, second chances, mutual pining, happy ending | @steddielovemonth Love is the hope for a future together by@acasualcrossfade | AO3)

"I don't know, Robbie. I mean, it's been years! Even if there ever was a 'spark' between us, it's probably long gone."

He doesn't look over at Robin as he says this, pretending to be engrossed in grading papers. They both know that he hasn't made a single mark on the paper in front of him since Robin burst into his house with her spare key and announced, "Eddie's coming to the wedding."

"Inside voice," he had chided her, even though April was at her friend's house doing a school project. Old habits die hard.

Plopping down next to him at the kitchen table, Robin had happily ignored him as she continued, "Lucas just called me, it's going to be a surprise for Dustin. Eddie's finishing the tour two days early, so he's coming straight from the airport. But he will be there, Steve!"

Trying his best not to show how his heart had started beating faster as soon as Robin had mentioned Eddie's name, Steve had shrugged nonchalantly. "That's nice, Robbie. Dustin will be over the moon."

"That's nice, Robbie." She repeated in a surprisingly good imitation of his tone. They definitely spent too much time together. "You can act indifferent all you want, Steve. I was there when you refused to leave the house for a whole week when Eddie went to LA, remember? I held your hair when you puked your guts out after drowning your sorrows when Eddie brought what's-his-face to Max and Lucas' wedding. You two belong together, Steve! You just had bad timing. You've never both been single at the same time - until now. That must mean something. Maybe he's not just coming for Dustin, that's all I'm saying."

Which had actually led them to discuss whether Steve should put them all out of their misery by finally growing a pair (Robin's words) or decide that whatever had been between them that summer, when Eddie had recovered from almost being eaten alive by demobats, was long gone (Steve's words).

"I beg to differ, Dingus. I saw the way he looked at you at our little 'Fuck Off Upside Down' anniversary party. He spilled his beer when you walked in the room, Steve. No one else did."

"He's clumsy. You know that. I'm surprised he never fell off the stage," Steve jokes. He's not sure who he's trying to convince, Robin or himself.

Robin's expression changes to something more serious as she puts her hand on top of his, still holding his red grading pen in a white-knuckled grip. "Steve, listen. I'm not saying you have to do anything. You and Eddie have been friends for almost twenty years. We've all been. You're not going to lose him no matter what you decide. But," and here she takes a deep breath, "I just want you to be happy, Steve. You deserve to be happy. And I know that you're not unhappy, I know that. You've got April and you've got me and you've got the kids, even though they're scattered all over the country. But I also know that you've never stopped imagining a future with him, have you?"

"He kissed me," Steve blurts out, and to Robin's credit, she doesn't react except for her hand on his to twitch in surprise. She makes a questioning sound in her throat, clearly waiting for more.

"The night before he left. We had this big going-away bash, remember?" She nods. "We all got pretty drunk after the kids left and you and Vicky had gone to sleep in the guest room and I had offered to sleep on the couch so Eddie could have my bed. His back was still bothering him and he had a long drive ahead of him the next day. But he insisted on sharing and I was too drunk and tired to argue. The next morning he got up very early, probably thinking I was still asleep when he got dressed and left. Only he didn't leave. At least not right away. He came over to the bed and kissed me. On the mouth. And he said, 'You'll always be my almost, Stevie.'"

Robin looks at him with wide eyes, and Steve thinks that maybe he should have told her sooner, that maybe he violated some code between them because they tell each other everything. But something about this morning had felt, well, almost sacred in a way. As if putting it into words would make it less so.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Robbie. I just..."

"You had to keep it to yourself so it would always be the one dream you could turn to?" Robin suggests in a soft voice, and Steve wouldn't have said it like that, but she's right. Every date that didn't feel right, every relationship that went down the drain, hell, even when his marriage imploded on him, he thought of that one kiss and dreamed of a life where Eddie would have stayed. Or where Steve had followed him.

"Oh Dingus." Suddenly, Robin's arms wrapped around him in a hug, and it wasn't until he saw the wetness on her shirt that he realized he was crying. "I can't promise you it'll work, but I really think you should talk to him. Your life doesn't end at 40, Steve. You can still have the future you've always dreamed of."

Steve nods against her shoulder, tightening his grip on the best thing that has ever happened to him besides April.

Dustin and El's wedding is a small affair, just family and close friends, which is basically the same in their group.

Steve tries his best not to show his inner turmoil and mostly succeeds. There are handshakes that turn into tight hugs, hellos that turn into stories about kids and grandkids, neighbors, vacations, jobs, life. It's great to see everyone. It also helps distract him from the butterflies that have taken up permanent residence in his stomach for over a week now.

It works until everyone is about to take their seats and Eddie still hasn't shown up. He's supposed to be one of Dustin's groomsmen, along with Lucas and Mike and Will, while Steve is actually Dustin's best man. He only cried a little when Dustin asked him to.

Just as the officiant is ready to start without him, the heavy double doors open and Eddie walks in like Aragorn into Helm's Deep (Dustin insisted that Steve watch the movies if he didn't want to read the books, and Steve may have thought of Eddie more than once while watching Aragorn, sue him).

He rushes to his spot next to the other groomsmen, ruffles Dustin's hair as he passes him, and mumbles, "Sorry, shrimp, the airport lost my luggage." Then his eyes fall on Steve and he freezes for a moment before giving him a bright, dimpled smile. "Hey, Stevie," he whispers before stepping to the end of the line of groomsmen.

Steve is glad that Hopper is recording the whole ceremony, because he doesn't hear a thing that's being said.

Later, everyone gathers in the dining room and Hopper and Claudia each give a heartfelt speech before it's Steve's turn. He has everyone toast to Dustin and El's future, because while the past may have brought them together, it's the future that belongs to them and their love. He forces himself not to look at Eddie as he says this, knowing that his face would give away his thoughts.

And then Eddie stands up to say a few words as well, something no one expected him to do.

"I've known Dustin for 20 years now, and the only time I ever doubted that he was a genius was when he let El go without a fight. But you know what? I was wrong. Dustin and El may have taken the scenic route to get here," Eddie tells the guests, "but sometimes that's the best way to get somewhere. If you're willing to take the long and winding road, the road less traveled, as Frost would say, you know that whatever's at the other end is worth it."

Steve desperately wants to believe that Eddie is not just talking about Dustin and El, but he doesn't even look at Steve when he says that. He just sits down again next to Robin at the table right next to the one where Steve is sitting with Dustin and El and their parents, because Steve is part of the family, too, as Claudia had pointed out.

The rest of the evening is kind of a blur until everyone gets up to go to the ballroom where the dance floor has been set up. Dustin and El open with their first dance, "You and Me" by Lifehouse, and Steve has never been prouder of his little brother as he watches him lead El across the dance floor with the biggest, toothiest smile on his face.

"They've come a long way, huh?" says a voice next to him and Steve doesn't have to turn around to know it's Eddie.

"Yeah. I'm glad they made it." Steve agrees, his eyes never leaving the dancing couple. More and more people are joining them now, and Steve can feel the fond smile on his face grow.

Eddie's hand rests on his arm as he steps around Steve to face him. He extends his other hand to Steve, palm up, and asks, "May I have the pleasure of this dance with you?"

As if Steve could ever say no to Eddie.

Just as they step onto the dance floor, "You and Me" fades out and the next song begins. It's "Unchained Melody" and Steve suspects that Robin had a hand in it. It's the song Steve listened to a lot after Eddie left and she once complained that he ruined the song for her. Apparently not enough to put it on the playlist when he and Eddie hit the dance floor.

"I always kind of liked that song," Eddie tells him, and Steve snorts. "No, really! It's not really metal, but I don't know. I just feel it, you know? It's real." Eddie explains, veering close to rambling territory.

"Is that so?" Steve has to ask as he slowly sways, his hand in Eddie's and his arm wrapped around Eddie's waist.

Eddie hums quietly in agreement. "Back in '86, when I was trying to settle down in LA, I used to listen to it for hours." Eddie admits quietly and Steve's heart is suddenly in his throat. "I felt every single word and every single word made me think about what I was leaving behind."

"Eddie," Steve begins, only to be gently silenced by Eddie's finger against his lips.

"Please, Stevie, I have to say this now or I never will. So please, just listen, yeah?"

Steve crosses his eyes to look pointedly at Eddie's finger against his lips before looking back up at Eddie, who snorts at the gesture. "Brat," he teases, taking his finger away.

"Okay, I'm listening," Steve tells him, and mimics zipping his lips.

Eddie's eyes sparkle with amusement and affection, and something deeper. Something that makes the seeds of hope in Steve's chest tentatively open and reach for their sun.

"Stevie, sweetheart, you certainly know... I mean, you must know that I..." Eddie rambles and Steve has never seen him so lost for words. He doesn't say anything, but he brings their joined hands to his mouth and kisses Eddie's in silent reassurance.

Eddie's eyes find his and the expression in them is so unbearably soft that Steve almost has to look away. No one has ever looked at him like that before. "You were always the one who got away, Steve. My almost. Even when I was with other people, you were there. On every stage, in every hotel room, on every stretch of highway, you were there. And I almost told myself it just wasn't meant to be. I had you as a friend and that was a gift I never thought I would have, I shouldn't be greedy and ask for more."

He takes a deep breath, like he's steeling himself, gathering every ounce of that incredible courage Steve has seen time and time again, even as Eddie keeps insisting he's a coward. Steve knows better, and Eddie's next words prove him right once again.

"But the funny thing is, it never stopped me from hoping for a future with you."

They stop dancing, if you can call what they were doing dancing, and look at each other, eyes searching for answers. For reasons to hope.

Steve is the first to break the silence, a soft grin on his face. "May I speak now?"

That makes Eddie laugh softly and he nods.

"Is this what you want? A future with me? Because that means a future with a middle school teacher with a little pet tornado who's currently staying with her mom. You have to mean it for her as much as you mean it for me. This means being all in, Eddie."

Steve hates that he has to say this, that he can't just fall into Eddie's arms and kiss him senseless. But Eddie needs to know what a future with Steve means. If he wasn't sure he wanted that kind of future, then they couldn't have one together. At least not the way they both wanted it.

Eddie cupped Steve's cheek in his hand, his smile growing with every blink of his chocolate eyes. "Steve, I know who you are. I know what it would mean to be with you, and I want it so much that I can barely stand another day without it. I love your little pet Tornado, she's adorable and funny and she has great taste in music. No idea where she got that from, though," Eddie teases before sobering up. "I want to be a family. This tour was our last for at least two years. The guys need a break and so do I. And after that, we don't know yet, but whatever it is, it will be something we agree on together. You and me and April."

Maybe Steve should ask more questions, be more cautious. But he's waited twenty years for this, and he can't wait another second to finally kiss the man he's always been in love with.

He's ready for his future to begin.

[foxes-that-run]

18

18 is the only song Ed Sheeran wrote specifically for One Direction, and only one he wrote from their perspective. To me, it refers to I Wish You Would which Taylor wrote about Harry while on the Red Tour with Ed. Like Tenerife Sea, I think it is about Taylor from Harry's perspective. The Spotify vertical video focuses on Harry and Zayn who primarily sing it:

To Smallzy in September, 2014 Ed said, both that his songs are generally about a specific person and he also talked about writing 18 for One Direction:

"I wasn't gonna do it again because there was lots of ..ah.. basically, my record label got very annoyed that my first #1 was a song that I gave to someone else, and they were kind of like "don't do it. I did Britain's got Talent and basically Simon Cowell invited me up to eat and talk. And he mentioned it and in my head I was like 'I just just want to focus on my stuff' and the next day I was in Copenhagen and I got an idea and I kind of went into the shower room that's big and reverbartive and I wrote it thought that sounds like something for them. It's not something I would use for myself. It was written specifically for them and it's cool" Smallzy asks about Taylor he if he had helped with 1989, Ed "that's all her, all throughout of her doing it I heard little bits of it all throughout. Everything she does is a certain quality, it is going to satisfy any fan of hers."

Simon Cowell tells a similar story. Taylor also told Ryan Seacrest and others she played 1989 to Ed while on the Red Tour together.

The '...ah...' it is interesting, because although Ed and Harry stayed close, Ed did not write a song for Midnight Memories. There is a rumour this is about Don't. Ed did write Tenerife Sea, another song from Harry's perspective about Taylor in 2013 - that's on Ed's Multiply. This helps determine which Britain's got talent appearance he was referring to.

Timeline

Ed was on Britain's Got Talent twice, both were live shows, which narrows down when this song was written to 2 days, the day after:

8 June, 2013, Ed and Taylor performed Everything Has Changed together, or

27 May, 2014, Ed performed Sing.

Either is possible, but I am inclined to focus on 2014, because it's on Four and Ed did not write for Midnight Memories, which June would have made. In May 2014:

24 May 2014 Ed and One Direction both performed on the main stage of the Radio 1 Big Weekend in Glasgow. Harry and Taylor were seemingly back together. 2 squad members, Lorde and Lily Allen, also played. Taylor was in New York that morning then disappeared for 6 days, Harry off 3 of those.

25 & 26 May 2014 - ED & Taylor MIA, 1D have a few days off, Harry is seen in London playing a celebrity football game.

27 May 2014 - Ed performs on Britain's Got Talent in London, Taylor and Harry MIA.

28 May 2014 - Ed said he wrote the song in Copenhagen the next day, he wasn't seen. 1D UK show, Taylor still MIA.

5 June 2014 - Ed seen in London, Simon Cowell said he gave him the song a week after Britain's Got Talent.

Live Performances

Ed has never performed 18, he has performed other songs he gave to other artists, it may be that it was never written for him or it could be that others charted higher. One Direction added 18 to the OTRA setlist with No Control on 13 June 2015, replacing One Thing. It hasn't been on any solo 1D concert setlists. (It's at 33 mins here)

Since we were 16 honey

Harry once said “I have love you since we were 16 honey” after the chorus. Noting the song was only performed June - December 2015 I think Harry is taking the piss of Louis and Larries. 1D met industry people in LA before he turned 17 and Taylor was in town there, and there were times in late 2015 Harry and Taylor were in the UK and seemingly in contact with Colour IG posts and Haylor surprise songs from Taylor, so while Harry did potentially know Taylor at 16 I think this line is trolling .

Lyrics

I got a heart, and I got a soul Believe me, I will use them both We made a start Be it a false one, I know Baby, I don't want to feel alone

The opening verse is about a relationship that ended (false start) and not wanting to feel alone. To me, this is referring to the events of 2012/2013 and that relationship ending, Ed, being good friends with Harry while on tour with Taylor, hearing 1989 as it was written would have been keenly aware. He wrote Tenerife Sea in that time.

This verse, like the song to me sounds like it is written for Harry's voice. The verse is describing someone close to the narrator that ended. Later, in Olivia Harry sings of being alone "When you go and I'm alone"

So kiss me where I lay down My hands pressed to your cheeks A long way from the playground

The end of this verse 'long way from the playground' tells us this is a love that started when they were young. Taylor uses school and childhood as a metaphor for One Direction and this young love, including in the MV for EHC which Ed co-wrote, and Suburban Legends.

I have loved you since we were 18 Long before we both thought the same thing To be loved and to be in love All I can do is say that these arms Are made for holding you, oh-oh I wanna love like you made me feel When we were 18

The 1D boys all dated people different ages to them, however Harry and Taylor started officially dating when Harry was 18. I think Ed's simplified this to 'we were 18'.

"Long before we both thought the same thing", to me, is referring to I wish you would and the way Taylor described it. IWYW was written 27 May 2013 while on the US Red Tour with Ed who was likely to have heard it then.

The end of the Chorus is telling us this is a relationship that had come back, much like Taylor had written Style a few months earlier.

We took a chance God knows we tried Yet all along, I knew we'd be fine So pour me a drink, oh love And let's split the night wide open And we'll see everything we can Living love in slow motion, motion, motion

This verse is so much like Harry and Taylors later work which makes me think it must be a referring to a conversation or pattern:

Drinking

Delicate: But you can make me a drink

Satellite: We share the last line / Then we drink the wall / 'Til we wanna talk

Fine Line: We'll get the drinks in and I'll get to thinking of her

Time and slow motion

Olivia: And time is irrelevant when I've not been seeing you

Gold Rush: I don’t like slow motion, double vision in rose blush

Midnight Rain: My boy was a montage, a slow motion love potion

“Slut!”: Half asleep, taking your time in the tangerine neon light

So kiss me where I lay down My hands pressed to your cheeks A long way from the playground

Harry's unreleased Lay down also has arms around his muse, without knowing a clear era for Lay Down the inspiration could go either way with those. "Lay down with me (I put my arms around ya)" I am inclined to think Harry referenced Ed.

[allylikethecat]

Omg, also a TS fan since debut and I massively took a step back from her personally prior to the reputation era because of her antics and victim complex. The music will always mean so so much to me, her lyrics mean so much to me, but her actions as a person and TS™️ as an entity is just weird and greedy. I think she accrued a lot of fans when she disappeared for a while who've completely constructed a narrative in their heads of who she is and they believe it and are eating up this current era, but those who've been here a long time know how PR and image driven it is. Exhausting.

I apologize in advance I have been having way too many feelings about this whole situation and how it relates to my identity as a 28 year old woman and you are about to get an oversharing novel in response lol

Also, I guess CW: this post is about Taylor Swift and if anyone sends me any kind of hate or whatnot related to my own personal opinions and feelings I will be deleting it because I am NOT playing that game.

My Aunt bought me the Debut album CD at a concert after seeing her open for Rascal Flatts. She was like "I thought that you would like her!" and she was RIGHT Taylor Swift became my entire personality. One of my FAVORITE core memories as a child was the day Fearless came out. For some reason we didn't have school, and my Mom and I watched Taylor on the Ellen show, and then we went to Target and bought the physical CD, we then drove around town so we could listen to it together. My mom hasn't been well and that is one of my favorite memories of us together. It's silly but when you're in middle school that kind of thing is important to you. Then in high school I actually got MADE FUN OF for wearing Taylor merch and being excited about Red. BUT I loved her music and felt like she actually stood for something, so I brushed it off and continued to be a HUGE Swiftie. I had the Taylor Swift dolls, I had the perfumes, I had the LOVE LOVE LOVE bracelet, I had the sundresses from WALMART. I saw her on the Fearless and 1989 tours, I had the fucking 1989 haircut. I was supposed to go to Loverfest.

I was still a HUGE Swiftie during the post 1989-pre Reputation eras, then the Reputation era. I'm a few years younger than her, but I felt like I could relate to the kind of manic panic that she was sharing with us (lol turns out I was just unmedicated and we're doing much better now). It felt (in my probably naive mind) like she was experiencing the same insecurities that I was and reacting accordingly. Was she playing the victim at times? Oh 100% BUT I also fully believe that she thought she was one. (Plus... Kim is my least favorite Kardashian lol)

I LOVED the Lover era even as it was shit on at the for the sunshine rainbow hyper colorful aesthetic. Like, I don't know if new fans realize but when Lover was released? It was NOT as beloved as it is now. Then Folklore and Evermore were absolute genius, it felt like Taylor had grown up, and she got all of these new fans, which was great! She was in an "adult" relationship and her music and publicity choices seemed to reflect that. It was so refreshing to see a celebrity keeping their personal life, personal, and sharing what they wanted to share through music. Midnights broke all kinds of records, again, amazing! Even if it wasn't as strong as say Folklore. I fought for my life and got Eras Tour tickets (opening weekend!!) I had the BEST TIME EVER.

Taylor has always been extremely calculated with her public image. She was over exposed during The 1989 era and the public turned on her, so I truly cannot figure out why she is doing it again 100x in this new era of whatever the fuck this is. I don't know her, maybe she is legitimately happy, or maybe this is a cry for help. But I have been so grossed out by her behavior lately, and how in your face everything is with Kelce. It's no secret that I hate Kelce (and people that know me IRL know that it's not a new Taylor related thing lol) and if she actually loves him, fine, that's great for her, BUT we don't need to see it! Yes she was public when she was dating Calvin but ALSO she was what 25-26? She's a 34 year old woman now with the biggest platform of any celebrity ever. She feels too old (and this is not me age shaming her because I would be grossed out if my friends were doing it, and I would be embarrassed if *I* were to ever do it) to be licking a man's face in public like this. This feels like sorority girl in her first college relationship (I was *in* a sorority for a hot second so this isn't hate on sorority girls either!) and not record breaking Grammy award winning artist. ALSO I feel like she used to come across as so articulate and well spoken? Controversial opinion but I thought she sounded like a fucking idiot in that Time Person of the Year piece.

I think that this whole thing is PR for something, but because it just feels too icky to be real, but I don't know what it's PR for, (trying to bury the Matty situation from May? Because if so that just makes me even more sad for him or trying to get back at Joe? Which if that's the case, I feel bad for him too and she's even more immature than I thought) and now, for the first time, AFTER SIXTEEN YEARS I'm embarrassed to be a fan of her, both because of her own actions and also the actions of her fanbase as a whole.

It feels really weird, and I know I'm being parasocial about it, but when the times got bad I always had her music to fall back on and now I just, I don't know it feels cheapened somehow because the current image that's being crafted doesn't match the one that we originally fell for. And you know what, people change, she's a celebrity, I don't know her, what she does DOES NOT affect me any way, and how I feel does not AFFECT HER in the slightest, and I know it's being parasocial but I feel like a big part of me is in mourning about it. Less because of her changing her image so drastically, and more so because I feel like I'm mourning the loss of childhood and joy that used to be associated with her music for me and I think that's what's making me the most sad.

I have Eras tour tickets for one of the London dates this summer. I'm probably going to still go, because I paid for them, and I also have tickets to see Noah Kahan that same week in London (... and also the Longines tour has ALSO decided that the London stop is that week...) But I don't consider myself a "big fan" anymore. Maybe I will be one day again, but this current image that she's putting out just isn't it for me.

Sorry for the longest Taylor related novel in existence, I have had a lot of bottled up feelings about this that feel ridiculous typing out and sharing out loud BUT I know I will feel better sending them into the interwebs and your ask was the perfect catalyst.

Thank you so much for sending this in and for your continued support! I hope you continue to enjoy my fics and my secret sports hot takes 😂

❤️Ally

[now-that-i-saw-you]

GRAMMYs 2024 are soon so here are some gowns I'd love to see Taylor wear to the red carpet

Zuhair Murad Spring 2024 Couture

I think it's been a while since Taylor wore Murad to a red carpet event, which is a shame cause his designs are gorgeous. One of her most iconic looks in the Eras Tour is his design. Also, this screams Reputation (Taylor's Version)

Zuhair Murad Ready To Wear Fall 2023

Another Zuhair Murad, yeah. I think when it comes to big, prestigious events in the industry Taylor usually wears a gown with glitter/sequins. However, I think about Taylor's 2012 & 2013 GRAMMYs look everyday and I want her to pull up in another Goddess/looking like the literal award look.

Elie Saab Ready To Wear

Another designer Taylor hasn't worn to a red carpet event in a while. I can see her wearing something dark green/black for the GRAMMYs because reputation. This dress looks like a very shimmer-y snakeskin. And the slit. It all just screams Taylor to me.

Elie Saab Ready To Wear Spring-Summer 2024

Turquoise because it's a shade between green (REPUTATION) and blue (Midnights). Plus, the last time we saw Taylor in turquoise was the 2015 GRAMMYs and need I remind how stunning she looked in that colour?

Julien Macdonald: Julien x Gabriela 2023 collection

It looks like a pastel snakeskin. And a mirrorball. It's like the essences of reputation, Lover and folklore were poured into a gown.

Sandy Nour

Here is a designer I don't think Taylor has worn before. These gowns are begging for a signature red lip classic thing (that we all like). And they are black, of course, cause reputation.

Ziad Nakad

Another designer Taylor has never worn before. Obviously, the black is for reputation (Taylor's Version). So is the sexy slit. But I also love pastel-sequins, crystaline design which I think fits some of Taylor's recent love for crystals.

Alexander McQueen Ready To Wear Spring-Summer 2024

Finally, a look that has nothing to do with reputation (Taylor's Version). I just think this gown is beautiful. And allows for a bolder makeup look than the other gowns.

[thesilkentheater]

a skittering from upstairs

The librarian hums a small tune, idly reading a book that must weigh at least a pound. A small sign in front of him reads "Happy Halloween!", though the library isn't decorated in the slightest. The haunted atmosphere is enough to keep anyone away most of the year, but when the fall season comes around it's like people suddenly start believing in ghosts for a quarter of their lives and come in to test the place.

Although he feels at home, it's admittedly rather creepy. Spiderwebs hang from corners and above shelves, books sometimes find their ways onto strange places, and both the furniture and building are older than time, it seems. All of them have their reasons- the spiders keep out the flies and mosquitoes, and he's rather sensitive to mosquito bites, he's rather harebrained at times and leaves books he meant to re-shelf on a desk, sometimes open- but together out of context they tell a story.

Said story seems to be the interest of three young children today. They're no older than fourteen a piece, the youngest being ten; all three proudly boast they want to go on a tour of the place. So the librarian smiles and agrees, and leads them through the aisles.

It's a rather expansive place. First is the romance section, split first into the gender of the main couple and then the author; the kids predictably make fun of this, laughing to themselves about immature jokes. Thankfully, none of them notice his favorite- Bitten On A Full Moon- sitting out at a table.

Actually, why is that one sitting out on a table? It wasn't yesterday, and he knows he hasn't read it recently, because he's been meaning to.

Regardless, they move on, quickly getting through without too much fuss. The first floor is remarkably less spooky than the second, as the ceiling is simply wood and the old chandeliers, which are cleaned regularly. The stone walls, too, hold up better here, and because of the old servant's quarters that he still hasn't renovated, some of the walls are thick, warm oak. The carpet is thick and recent, too.

Across from the romance section is high fantasy, in which the twelve year old girl picks up a book she wants to check out. He'd protest about a child taking such material, but he recognizes the book, and it's honestly such disappointing garbage he'd be fine with her stealing it permanently.

The kids talk amongst themselves for a while, making fun of the book she picked while she vehemently defends her decision, arguing that high fantasy is actually a very adult thing because it's not all about childish things like candy and superheroes. Her friend argues with a smirk that a war hero and a superhero are the same concept- "they're literally both heroes. Duh," and the two of them snap back and forth on who's more or less mature.

A skittering passes by on the floor above. He hears it clear as day, the way what sounds like talons swish across the floor; the children hear it and huddle together. "What was that?"

"Might be the roomba," he says. "It sounds weird on the floor sometimes."

"You have a roomba in here?"

"Do I look like I want to vacuum the entire place myself?"

The kids collectively shrug, so he takes this opportunity to move the tour along. Since fantasy and romance are so popular, and so easy to scout for new books, the rest of the sections are all on the second floor.

The main banister, rich and warm as it is, marks the change between modernized but classic and decrepit but perfectly functional. The wood has aged, warped ever so slightly here and there; a stair is creaky and catches one of the boys off guard. It has no carpet on the first floor, but gains one on the second, transitioning from the earlier dark red to a pitch black up here. It's much fluffier, but sparingly used; in the rooms only, not the halls, which are made of rather sleek wood.

The ceiling is also wood here, but much more run down. Water damage stains are only hidden by the scratches and divots, sometimes with an attempt to cover that up with a white lacy thing none of the children can identify. The skittering is generally omnipresent in the halls, though much quieter; in the rooms, he knows from experience, you can't hear it.

"Maybe it's a bunch of giant centipedes," one of the children says to the other. They are then promptly told to shut up, he can hear you, as they all turn to him for more of the tour. He suppresses a laugh, because they look so serious about something that isn't, and leads them into the next section.

Considering the location, it makes sense that the juvenile section is the smallest. There's three or four shelves of children's books, and usually they're in disarray, because he hates dealing with them. At least they're sorted by thickness first, author second- if he had to deal with those thin, hard-to-manage easy reader books (are they even?) in between two larger ones he might kill someone.

The YA section he's at least proud of, even if it's not his forte. Only books of actual merit and value are stored here, and though YA isn't a genre known for its artistic mastery there's certainly still good gems hidden throughout. Because of his decisions, admittedly, most of the three romance shelves are queer, but it's his private library, so he gets to pick and choose. Honestly, he didn't even want the children's section.

One of the boys has decides to look through some of the YA before they leave, and so everyone's milling about while he waits by the door. Then a girl yelps.

"There was something looking at me!"

When he comes over to investigate, she's lightly shaking and pointing at the ceiling. Sure enough, there's a tiny hole, just enough that you might see someone's pupils staring at you through it if you were looking for it. But there's nothing at the moment.

"Are you sure? It's pretty dark up there..."

"But...I saw...."

"Someone's eye?"

"I don't think it was someone," she whispers. "Something."

Predictably, none of her friends believe her, but the librarian frowns as they all make fun of her for being wrong. "I've heard that once or twice," he says, "but I've never seen it myself. I'll have to look up there."

This shocks the rest of the children, enough that they ask to please just get on with the tour and continue through. He decides that he'll skip the room next down the hall, because it's specifically reserved for content unsafe for kids (he thought it was funny, putting those two rooms on the same hallway, because of the people who might pass each other), so he leads them away and to the pure fiction room.

A shadow appears under the door just as he opens it. One of the kids points, then they all watch as that shadow appears through the open door.

A creature stares back at them. Something like a centaur of a spider, it's got a humanoid upper body with six eyes and a wicked grin; three arms, and three more on its spider-like bottom body. It rumbles a laugh.

All the children run screaming down the steps. The librarian, however, does not.

The spider-man-thing's laugh goes from a rumbling to a giggle, much more high pitched. "Aw, they ran!"

"Of course they did, you're terrifying to a child."

"What about to you?"

"What kind of question is that?"

The spider laughs, moving closer. The skittering is much louder and obvious when he's on the same floor, legs quick and nimble as two of his hands come to the librarian's hips. "Maybe you're into danger."

"What do you think?"

"I think spiders have poisonous fangs."

"Do they now?"

"Yes," he says, baring his fangs. "Would you like to find out?"

"I think I'd like to taste poison," he says, "for it would make love evermore sweet."

"You're such a sap," the spider replies, but kisses him anyway.

[ohdeersthings]

Love Festival

Kirishima Eijiro x F!OC

Summary: Being Fatgums adopted daughter can be challenging, especially when it comes to meeting his new interns while also having to keep watch over Eri.

Quirk: Ram

Quirk fact: Bring able to run, jump and react like a Ram, the user is able to also headbutt and cause great damage with their strength and horns. They also can digest anything like a Ram. Also has a fluffy wool tail, and a wool band around both wrists. Her legs from the waist down are ram legs, so she looks more like a Mythical Fawn.

Warnings: Fluff, cursing, enjoy!!

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

"Oh hey Eraser Head! What's going on?" Fatgum answered his phone while sitting at his desk in his office at Fatgum Agency. "Fatgum, Midoriya and Togata have requested for Eri to be present at our School Festival, seeing as how Eri has bonded with Aki, do you think she'd be willing to join her on that day?" Aizawa questioned, standing outside Eri's hospital room where the young girl was currently having her lunch.

Fatgum pondered for a moment,"Well I don't see why she couldn't. I guess she could use a break too, between her assignments and being with Eri at the hospital, I'm sure she'd love it!" "Alright, I'll be sure to let the class know so they don't freak out. Speaking of, only Amajiki and the others in the Big Three have met Aki right? She was away on another assignment when Work Studies happened," Aizawa knew his students would probably freak out when seeing Eri's caregiver and friend, who was the same age as them but on a whole other level.

"You're correct, so Kirishima hasn't met her. It'll be fine though, I have full confidence that everything will be fine," Fatgum smiled into the phone, nonchalant about anything going on. "Alright, we'll discuss details later then," with that the two hung up.

~~~

"Oh hey Togata!" Midoriya called out to Togata, waving him over from where Togata was hiding behind the bush. Togata narrowed his eyes, realizing he'd been found out before he can surprise them.

The dance team looked on in surprise as Togata stuck his bottom out from the bush, Eri standing beside him looking surprised as well, "Hey guys! I brought a PEACH for ya,"

"Eri!" Midoroya called out as he, Uraraka and Tsuyu ran up to greet them. "That dress looks so cute," Tsuyu commented, "You are precious!" Uraraka gushing in fondness. The girls couldn't help the big smiles on their faces.

"Midoriya, I finally got permission from the Principle," Togata climbed out of the bush and began brushing off his pants as Aizawa spoke, "in order for her to not get stressed, we're allowing her to roam around today before the Festival, also there's someone you all need to meet as well,"

The other dance team members came forward to introduce themselves to the young girl. "Well hello there, you must be Eri, I'm Iida, nice to meet you," "Wassup I'm Mineta, man you're gonna be a looker when you're older huh~" Mineta smirked, but the young girl hid behind Togata, "I want Aki,"

The name had taken them by surprise, "Aki? Whose that?" Midoriya questioned, confusion written on the Work Study kids faces. "Oh right, you haven't met her yet. Aki is Eri's caregiver, well when she's not on Assignments for Fatgum," Togata explained, "Eri can be a little shy around new people, but her and Aki get along very well,"

"Its perfectly alright to be shy," Iida commented, softening his voice to not scare Eri further. "Let's start the tour! Aki should be here soon, so I wanna show her as much of the school as I can so she can see what we do here, you wanna come along too Midoriya?" Togata extended the offer, knowing that since Aki isn't here, Eri might be calm with Midoriya around too. "You bet!" "Hey Dance Team! New idea!" Kirishima's voice broke out, before realizing Eri was there.

"Oh hey Eri! Wait, we've never been officially introduced," Kirishima crouched down to meet Eri's gaze when another voice broke out.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, someone decided to rob a gas station on the way over and I couldn't just leave the situation," it was a soft, silky voice that came from behind Aizawa. The students all turned their attention to see a young dark skinned girl about their age.

Her hair was a dark auburn red that came to below her shoulder blades, soft waves accentuating her purple eyes that seemed to have a swirl of white in them but were framed with thin gold wired glasses. Freckles dawned her nose and cheeks that were flushed with red, giving her an innocent look. What caught their attention the most was the Ram horns that protuded from her head, her legs being Ran legs with red fur like her hair but black hooves. Her outfit consisted of a off the shoulder wool dress she seemed to be wearing that came to stop at her upper thighs, a bell was wrapped around her neck and jingled everytime she moved, of course it also brought attention to her chest that was framed by the wool.

Some of the boys blushed, and Kirishima found himself entranced by her. "Aki!" Eri exclaimed, walking over to the girl who crouched down to her height, "I missed you!" Eri reached her arms out to her, Aki smiling and welcoming the girl into her arms, "I missed you too," giving Eri a nuzzle as the girls closed their eyes and embraced eachother.

"So you're Aki! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Midoroiya smiled, the class seemingly broken from the momentary shock. "The pleasure is all mine! Thank you for what you did for Eri, I would've been on the assignment too if Papa hadn't sent me on a different one," Aki greeted, before realizing she needed to properly introduce herself.

Standing up, Eri still in her arms as she bowed, "I'm sorry! My name is Toyomitsu Aki, it's so nice to meet you all, please call me Aki!" Straightening up, Eri wrapped her arms around Aki as rested her head on Aki's shoulder.

"Wait, Toyomitsu? Why does that sound familiar?" Kirishima wondered aloud, rubbing his head as if it would bring the answer to him. "WAIT I KNOW YOU!" Midoriya yelled out, eyes growing wide as he pointed toward Aki,"YOU'RE RAM-RAM, THE YOUNGEST PERSON TO EVER BECOME A HERO, YOU'RE ALSO FATGUMS DAUGHTER!" Now the students outside all yelled in shock, "WHAT!?"

"Oops, guess the cats out of the bag," Togata laughed, Aizawa just shaking his head in embarrassment from his students. "WAIT, you're really Fatgum's daughter!? Why didn't I know this!" Kirishima cried out, his head a mess knowing the girl he found cute was actually his Mentors daughter.

"Yeah, Papa adopted me when I was a baby, I hope this doesn't affect us becoming friends?" Aki smiled nervously, her small tail twitching in anticipation. "No way! That's so cool, let's take a break everyone, it's tea time!" Mina chimed in, hoping to calm everyone down from the excitement, "There will be more time to explain later, get on with the tour, we don't have time to waste," Aizawa called out, Togata and Aki nodding as Midoriya went to go change his clothes really quick.

"So if you're Fatgums daughter, you must know Amajiki right?" Kirishima questioned, trying to push through his nerves in front of the pretty Ram girl. He was determined to get to know his Mentors daughter. "Definitely! Tama-Kun is so nice, I love going on assignments with him, especially when he shares his food with me like Papa," Aki gushed, her red cheeks getting even darker with excitement, a closed eye smile making Kirishimas cheeks match hers in color. "My name is Kirishima Eijiro, my hero name is Red Riot, I'm actually a new intern at your father's agency for my Work Study," He introduced himself, holding out a hand in greeting.

Aki's jaw dropped and sparkles seemed to erupt from no where, "NO WAY! Papa has told me all about Red Riot, your name is a play off of Crimson Riot right!? I love that, he's such an amazing Hero!" Aki rambled, Kirishima feeling himself fall even harder.

Togata chuckled and took Eri from Aki, who was so engrossed in her conversation she didn't even seem to notice the weight lifted from her arms. Eri looked between the two red heads and noticed that Aki looks so happy, like when she finds a good object to chew on, then again anything was good to chew on for Aki.

"Totally manly right! Hey, are you gonna be here for our School Festival? It'll be totally killer, we're putting on a performance!" "Of course, I'll be chapperoning Eri that day so we won't miss it," The two had seemed to have fallen into their own little world, the other students just watching in amazement.

"I don't think I've seen Kirishima this excited before," Tsuyu commented, Uraraka and Mina nodding in agreement. "Oh jeez, he's got it bad," Ojiro laughed, Mineta seething from the mouth that he didn't get to touch the pretty animal girl. "He's got what?" Shoji asked, looking to Ojiro for answers, although Hagakure answered instead, "Kirishima is totally falling for Aki! What better romance is that!? An employee and the Bosses daughter? It's so forbidden but romantic!" Hagakure couldn't contain her excitement and started to swoon, Mina grabbing her shoulders as she tries to balance her friend.

"Hey Aki! Let's get this show on the road!" Togata called out, waving his arm to grab her attention. "Oh, coming MiMi-Kun! I guess I should go, we'll talk again soon, right?" Aki questioned, taking Kirishimas hands into her own, a bright smile on her face as her eyes seemed to sparkle. Kirishima felt his face warm up, but nodded, a nervous smile on his face from how close she was,"Definitely, we can meet up sometime at the agency maybe,"

"See ya later," she giggled, walking over and taking Eri's hand into her own. Kirishima could only watch with his heart beating out of his chest as the beautiful girl left, when he felt a hand on his back slap him forward, "OH MY GOSH KIRISHIMA, YOU'RE SO LUCKY, YOU SLY THING YOU!" Mina exclaimed, repeatedly hitting him in her excitement. "Way to go dude," Ojiro laughed, the rest of the students all smiling and calling out their support for him. "Come guys this is so not manly," he whined, embarrassed having realized they watched him and Aki. Yet he smiled and couldn't help but think 'Maybe this Festival will be good,'

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

Walking around the school seemed to excite Eri and Aki, both wondering how all the different classes worked and what each class would put on for the School Festival.

Meeting up with Amajiki and Hado excited Aki to the point of her having steam come out of her nose in puffs, "Tama-Kun!Nene-chan!" She called out to them, Nejire flying over in greeting as they began to discuss the beauty pagent in detail and how Nejire was going to win this year.

"Hey! Maybe you should join Aki! I bet you'd be a shoe in for runner up!!" Hado squealed, wanting the girl who was like a little sister to join in on the fun. "Oh I'd live to Nene-chan but I'm not a student here," Aki smiled, though Midoriya thought her smile seemed a little forced, "plus I wouldn't wanna ruin your chances by competing, I'll be sure to cheer you on though!" Aki grinned, giving Hado two thumbs up who returned it. Eri looking between the two and then to her hands, mimicking them but smaller, though everyone swooned.

After visiting the Support Class last, they went to Lunch Rush's in the cafeteria to give Eri somthing to eat to finalize the tour. "Well that's all of U.A!" "What did you think of our School Eri?" Midoriya questioned, Eri though looked unsure, "I..I don't know," both boys looked at eachother nervously, but Aki smiled at her which gave Eri enough courage to continue, "But I can see how hard everyone is working, so I do wanna see how it turns out," Aki gave her a grin, proud of Eri for trying to speak out more and explain her thoughts and feelings.

At the end of the day, they returned Midoriya to Heights Alliance and said goodbye. "We'll be back on the day of the festival," Togata explained, pumping his arm in excitement, "So make sure it's killer,"

As they went to leave, Aki spoke up, "I will catch up with you in a moment MiMi-Kun, I wanna ask Midoriya somthing really quick," Togata nodded and escorted Eri out.

"What is it Aki? Is everything okay?" Aki stared at him for a second, before her eyes sharpened and it made him jump back, "What is your deal with Eri? What are you hoping to gain?" "W-what?" Midoriya was taken back, 'How can such a sweet and cute girl get terrifying to quickly!?'

"You seem very focused on making her happy. Why? I don't want anyone near Eri who was bad intentions," "It's not like that! When we found Eri that first time, I was so upset we couldn't do anything. I beat myself up everytime I think about it, I wanna be a hero that saves people with a smile. But Eri hasn't smiled once, so I wanna help her smile. I wanna help her become a child again, especially after what she went through," Midoriya was firm with his answer, now staring Aki back in the eyes, hoping to show her the true meaning of his intentions.

Aki suddenly smiled, sparkles surrounding her like with Kirishima earlier, "Okie dokie. I hope your goals come true," Midoriya sweat dropped, 'How bipolar can she be?' Aki then bit her lip nervously, arms behind her back as she shuffled, "I do have one more question, more of a favor though,"

This caught him by surprise, "Sure, what is it?" Holding out a folded up paper, she asked, "Can you give this to Kiri-kun for me?" "Huh!? KIRISHIMA!?" "Y-Yes, I know this sounds silly but.. he's very cute," Aki admitted, her face turning red and her tail stub swished back and forth.

"U-uh sure, I can give this to him. Wouldn't you wanna give it to him in person though," "I-I don't know..I don't wanna over step," "Nonsense, come on,"

With that Midoriya led her inside, the rest of the class unwinding in the main sitting area, though they looked in surprise with the girl in tow with Midoriya. "Hello again!" Mina greeted, "Guys this is Toyomitsu Aki, she's Eri's caregiver," Midoriya introduced the girl, her bowing to the class with a smile.

"Hello everyone, so pleased to meet you," her smile made them all flushed, 'SO CUTE'. "So what are you doing here? Is everything okay?" Jirou questioned, "I-I was hoping to speak to u-uh..Kirishima-kun," Aki was embarrassed, now noticing how many people were staring at her intensely.

"Did someone call me? Oh hey Aki! What's up?" Kirishima questioned, having just walked out of the kitchen, but smiled big when he saw the beautiful girl from this morning.

"H-hi! I just wanted to u-uh, give this to you," stumbling over her words, she tried to act relaxed but was dying on the inside and outside. "O-Oh, thanks," Kirishima blushed, taking the folded up note from her out stretched hand, when their fingers touched however they both jumped apart and their faces burned red.

Of course, Mineta took this time to try and sneak up behind the girl. Reaching his hand out to flip the bottom of her dress, mumbling on how it was so short, it'd be a crime to not go through with it. Thankfully, Kirishima took notice and pulled her to him, hardening his hand as he punched him away, "KNOCK IT OFF," He growled, holding Aki close in his left arm.

Aki shivered, noticing how his muscles squeezed her like she'd dissappear if he let her go. Tapping his chest, he realized he was holding her and jumped back, "I'm so sorry! He can just never keep his hands to himself and it'd be so unmanly if me to not step in," Kirishima freaked out, waving his hands and trying to plead his case. He froze though when Aki walked up and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "It's alright, thanks for being my Hero," she winked, suddenly finding some courage in his embarrassment. "I'll see you at the festival like we talked about earlier, right?" Aki asked, let her hands rest on his chest, "U-Uh YYEaH Suree," his voice cracked, his whole mind running in auto pilot. "Awesome, I'll see you then," she turned on her hoof and began walking toward the exit, she looked over to the class in a whole and waved goodnight before exiting Heights Alliance.

A loud thud made everyone turn toward where Kirishima was, noticing he'd fallen over, his eyes swirling and a giant grin in his red face. "Aki's so cute," he chucked, Kaminari and Sero whooping for him while Iida lectured about proper PDA in the presence of others. All Kirishina knew is that the festival couldn't come soon enough.

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

On the day of the festival, Aki and Eri sat in the back if a taxi has Togata sat up front and was going over the schedule for the day. "We'll catch 1-As performance, then race over to 1-B for their play, then it'll be lunch and the pagent, does that sound alright?" He turned to face the horned girls in the back, Eri's outfit was a cute red and white dress while Aki wore her usual wool dress only this time it was red to compliment her hair.

"Sounds great, we can probably catch 1-A setting up before they perform," "oo~you just wanna catch Kirishima before he performs, maybe to wish him luck~" Togata teased, Aki gritting her teeth and raising her hood, kicking him in the back if the head leaving a hoof print, "Hehe, nevermind," Togata smiled, Eri looking up at Aki, "Do you like Kirishima?" "U-uh well, I admire him so to say," Aki tripped over her words as Togata laughed at her misfortune.

Once they'd arrived at the school, Aki mentioned she was going to see Nejire before 1-A to wish her luck before she got ready.

"Nene-chan, are you in here?" Aki knocked, hearing a lot of voices from inside the dressing room. Opening the door, Aki was met with Hado, Yuyu, and a few other students. "Oh sorry, I just wanted to come wish you luck," Aki smiled, holding her hands together in front of her.

"Ram-Ram!?" The other students exclaimed, shocked that a young hero would show up here. "Oh hello! Wonderful to meet you," she bowed, greeting them as they momentarily freaked out before bowing back.

"Hey hey! What're you doing here Aki? Where's Eri? Or Togata?" "They went to go see 1-A real quick, I was about to go see them, just wanted to see you first," Aki sheepishly explained, Testutestu suddenly appeared in front of the girls face making her lean back in surprise.

"Wait a second are you that girl Kirishima is always talking about!? The pretty red haired Ram girl that is Fatgums daughter!" Aki flushed hearing the red haired boys name.

"Well it's nice to know he thinks of me," she said happily, before looking at the clock, "I've gotta go, I hope everything goes good for you girls!" She cheered, waving as she walked out leaving the others stunned, "Why does Kirishima always get the good opportunities," Testutestu cried out, falling to his knees depressed that a beautiful girl like that was already taken by Kirishima.

~~~

"Hey! I'm not too late am I?" Aki called out, running up to the 1-A group. "Oh Ram-Ram! Welcome," Yamomo greeted, fiddling with her keyboard to make sure it was on the right setting. "We've still got about twenty minutes until we go on, Midoriya should've been back by now, he went to go get rope earlier," Kirishima mentioned, cheeks going a light pink at facing Aki again.

"Well I'm sure it'll be amazing, are you doing special affects?" Aki questioned, leaning close into Kirishimas personal space, "Y-Yeah, I hope you'll enjoy them," he smiled, running a hand through his hair. "HEY SHITTY HAIR, LETS GO WE AINT GOT ALL DAY!" Bakugou yelled out then realized Kirishima was talking to a girl.

"Hey Sheep Ass! What're you doing in here?! Don't be trying to pull anything dammit," Bakugou seethed, his teeth gritting together in annoyance of a new person.

"I was just wishing you guys luck," Aki began to ring her hands nervously, "Well we don't need luck! We'll kick ass either way dammit!" Bakugou exclaimed, getting in her face. Aki decided he needed to calm down and quit yelling.

Ramming her head into his stomach, Bakugou lurched forward coughing as he fell to the ground holding his stomach,"Damn Ram Bitch. What the fuck was that for," he gasped, rolling around on the floor in pain. "I didn't appreciate you being in my face," she calmly spoke, turning to Kirishima again who looked at her in awe at her strength.

"I'll leave you to it, you'll do amazing," her lips pressed to his cheek again, although this time they grazed the corner of his mouth slightly. Giggling she turned and left the room.

Silence ticked by for a second before Kirishima belted out, "GUYS THIS HAS TO BE AMAZING, TOP NOTCH MANLY," He hardened up without knowing, the others in the class around him sweat dropping at the sudden mood change.

~~~

As the curtains opened and a deafening explosion happened, Aki smiled as Jirou started her song, the dancers and musicians knocking it out of the ball park all at once.

The beat had Aki dancing in place, Togata laughing at her as Eri watched in surprise of Midoroiya dancing, well at least until he went off stage for some reason. "He left," "He'll be back, let's keep watching," Togata assured her, the music still blaring into their ears.

The song kept continuing to grow in progress when all of a sudden a lot of special effects went off, Uraraka swinging out to the crowd and lifting some audience members off the ground, one of them being Aki who laughed and brought Eri with her who couldn't hold it in any longer, throwing her arms out and laughing, a giant smile on her face. Aki and Togata had tears in their eyes as they smiled, knowing this young girl had finally broken free from her shackles of a pervious life. Aki hugged her tight before spinning in a circle with her, both girls laughing together in glee as Togata cheered them on. The song came to an end as the audience screamed and cheered, Aki and Eri now holding onto Togata as the three of them embraced in a hug. Eri had finally smiled and it made the two older ones warm with happiness.

As the gym filled out, the three met up with Midoriya on his way back in, Togata congratulating him on a job well done. "It was so crazy! First there was a loud sound and it was scary, but then everyone started jumping, even Aki was dancing and then Deku you went away for a little bit. But then there was a spinning guy and it started to get cold and I saw a lot of birds and people went "Wow" and you know what I said? Wow too!" Eri rambled on, her arms being thrown everywhere in excitement as Togata and Aki copied her from her side. "It was so much fun! Especially when Aki flew in the air with me and we danced," Eri stopped when she noticed Midioriya getting tears in his eyes, "I'm so glad you had fun Eri," this caused Eri to smile wide at him, Aki not able to hold it in anymore and swooped her up, spinning in circles as both girls laughed together. The boys looking on with their own smiles.

Heading outside, they met up with some of the boys that were melting the ice. "Ah dang this ice is too big, hey Bakugou can you-" "Kick Force!" A voice cut off Kaminari as a blur of red jumped in the air and came down on the giant block of ice, breaking it into little pieces. "Whoa!" Peoole passing by stopped and stared, Aki standing up and fixing her glasses. "Is this okay?" She asked, tilting her head with a smile.

"Hey its Ram-Ram!" "I didn't know she'd be here!" "She's so cute!" Voices came from behind her, causing her to turn over her shoulder and smile at the students and give a wave causing them all to flush red from the adorableness.

"Hey Aki! How'd you like the show?" Kirishima asked, hands on his hips, but he quickly put them put to catch Aki who jumped at him, landing in his arms as hers went around his neck that was turning red, "It was so amazing! The lighting, the music, the dancing, it was so beautiful! The affects were so awesome too! It was a rush of adrenaline for sure," Aki couldn't help but gush over the performance, Kirishima grinning and twirled her around, cheeks still flushed, "THAT'S GREAT! I'm so glad you guys enjoyed it! I did happen to catch you dancing a few moves too," he winked, catching her off guard but she laughed and nodded, finally getting set back in the ground.

Togata watched for a second before smirking, "You know we still have about two hours or so before the pagent, why don't you show Aki the rest of the festival Kirishima!" Aki and Kirishima turned bright red, but both agreed to it as the rest of the class came out to begin their own sight seeing if the festival too. Kirishima grabbed Aki's hand and began to drag her out of sight, she looked back over her shoulder to see Togata and Eri waving to her, both smiling as she disappeared from sight.

Both red heads walked around, looking at all the different food vendors and games, before coming upon the High Striker game, where you bring the hammer down to ring the bell and win a prize. They went to walk past it before Aki noticed fluffy Ram and Shark plushies. Kirishima looked to her and then the prizes before waking up to the student running it. "Hey dude! What do you have to do to win those two?" Pointing to the plushies Aki was eyeing. "You've gotta ring the high bell, you only get one try though," the student informed, gesturing to the tallest one they had which looked to be about fifty feet high. Kirishima grabbed the hammer, Aki stopping him momentarily, "You don't have to do that Kiri-Kun" she informed, but he shook his head, "It wouldn't be very manly of me to not win a pretty girl the plushies she wants, so just sit back and watch," he grinned at her before turning his attention to the game in front of him. He hardened his body as he swung the hammer up and brought it down full force, the little rod shooting straight up and knocking into the bell, denting it but ringing it nonetheless.

Aki cheered in amazement as Kirishima was handed the two plushies, the student behind the counter complaining to himself about needing a new bell now. Aki was handed both but then looked to Kirishima and handed him back the Ram one. "Seems only fair you get one too, right," she giggled, Kirishima smiling and nodding, taking Aki's free hand into his again as they continued down the path. Both could agree that this was probably the best day ever.

~~~

Standing at the gate to see the three off, Aki and Kirishima stared at each other for a minute before smiling softly to one another. "I'm glad you could join us, maybe you can come back another time?" Kirishima asked, hopeful he'd get to see her again, preferably outside of Work Studies and School. "Mmm, I don't know. I have my assignments and taking care of Eri too," Aki admitted, her purple eyes staring into his Ruby red eyes that were full of hope.

"Actually, I guess it's alright to tell you that you'll be seeing everyone alot more. We're planning on moving Eri into the dorms here, to keep a better eye on her and her progress with her quirk. Of course, her care taker is gonna have to be with her," Aizawas voice cut in, making both teens turn toward him in shock before turning back to each other.

Kirishima whooped and picked up Aki, spinning her around as they both laughed, setting her back in the ground, he blurted out, "Would you like to go out sometime?!" He realized what he said and burned red, but kept his eyes trained on her shocked face but she soon smiled shyly and nodded, "I'd love to, maybe you can show me a nice Cafe around here?" She asked, Kirishima nodding as he took out his phone to get her number so they can plan it for the day she comes back.

Aizawa and Togata watched the two as Midoriya and Eri said goodbye a little ways to the side, "I'm gonna regret this aren't I," Aizawa sighed, feeling the need to go to bed after such a long day, "Awe come on Eraser Head, it's cute," Aizawa merely shook his head, turning to walk off, "Some School Festival this turned out be," Togata only laughed and called out, "I'm pretty sure you mean Love Festival!"

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

Hiiiii. Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know your thoughts! I know some people don't like OCs that much but I thought I'd give it a try.

😛😘❤

[konako]

yes tell me about snows leg scar i’m in redsnow feels

*BREATHES IN* Let me take you on a little tour to show you how things get made over here in the server

We were talking about a scenario where Ruby had been trapped and controlled in her wolf form, to the point where she became aggressive and needed to be stopped, or else she'd hurt her friends. She was that out of control. The way to stop her, (Kat, the menace, decided—) was to throw a SILVER NET on top of her.

Naturally, it hurt like a motherfucker, the wolf was stopped somewhat "successfully" (if you can call a cacophony of whines and cries of agony "successful"), and Ruby eventually regained her control. She was terribly, horribly hurt. Snow felt sick with pain, just by looking at her.

Snow had to tend to her wounds, (Ruby's entire back was one huge scar. In fact, here), and there was this overwhelming all-consuming guilt attached to that sight, because it was Snow who threw the net, Snow who hurt Ruby, Snow who scarred her body. Ruby understood the necessity of that situation and never once blamed Snow for any of it. But the angst remained: a scar made by the lover's hand in a moment of desperation.

Going off of that idea, we landed on a different 'verse, where the situation was reversed, and Snow was the one to end up injured and scarred. (FOR ONCE, RUBY WAS NOT AT THE RECEIVING END OF THE PHYSICAL PAIN. That was rare for us, it hasn't happened again ever since.)

It started like this:

Kat (@lovecanbesostrange) : okay, so the beach day was fun and all, but I have been thinking in the center of it all was Snow needing to hurt Ruby to stop her and Ruby being okay with that. Now, what if we put it in reverse. What if Snow goes a bit of the deep end again. Staring down the edge of darkness with murder in her eyes. Ruby knows it almost destroyed her and she needs to stop her. At. All. Cost. What if Snow - for whatever reason, please help me out with details - just keeps going, fights off Ruby even, maybe fights dirty (repels her by drawing a silver dagger "don't make me use this") and this is where Ruby knows, to save Snow from herself, drastic measures need to be taken. And here we are. She turns into a wolf. And she will push Snow down. And before she can use that dagger, she will bite her. (The pain might even release whatever spell is upon her? Who knows)

Then we bounced ideas off each other until we decided that:

konako (me!): Okay so, aside from self-sacrifice, what else makes Ruby go all out and break out the fangs and claws? When she needs to protect someone. Murdered her mother to keep Snow safe. Maybe Snow is the offender here, and Ruby is trying to protect the other person. That is being framed for the act causing Snow's rage.

[...]

So Ruby has motive to protect and try and talk some sense into Snow (who may also be under a spells influence for an added tragedy) And Snow doesn't want to hurt Ruby, she wants to murder the person shielded BEHIND Ruby. But Ruby is not moving. Snow takes out the dagger. Ouch. Low blow. Ruby is hurt just by the sight of it, and all that it implies. It gets heated. The dagger barely touches Ruby and it burns, but it quickly gets kicked away. It was just to make it clear that Snow is not playing around, she wants blood.

Kat: so it has to be a good person, because this isn't just saving Snow from her own action, this is about protecting someone

konako: Yeah yeah, a very good person That Ruby is willing to oppose Snow for

And we went through a bunch of characters and decided on: Granny.

Kat: "I killed my mom for you, you can't have Granny." yeah, who would want a dead Granny on their conscience

And then the question: why was Snow trying to hurt Granny in the first place? Revenge? Um. No. What about... a dark influence clouding their thoughts, making them hostile to each other? That will do.

konako: What if it's someone trying to break up Snow and Red, because they're too strong together And they're using Granny to do it Poisoned Snow's heart with some magic whisper or something idk Then pointed her in the direction of Granny, knowing Red would stand in her way They just wanted to watch shit go down

Kat: mission accomplished Ruby will hate herself so much for this, even though it was to save Granny's life and Snow will be so shocked she was used like that and also, after all these years, of trusting Ruby so fully, when she sees the wolf next? there is a tremor she can't stop

After sitting on it for a bit, Kat came back with the fully baked goods:

Kat: I still have no exact clue about who is doing all these horrible things and how exactly, maybe something a bit similar to the shattered sight spell, or where one dark thought gets pulled up, a deep hurting truth spoken out loud turned into the want on acting on it UH!! I GOT IT! so, Red and Snow have been a thing since forever. Can't be separated really. Friendship grew into love, loyalty tested on all levels. They feel so much for each other and so deep. Yes, good stuff. They also know each other's pain. Red understands why Snow craves Regina's forgiveness, how she will admit she ruined her life. And Snow takes one look at Red and sees the pain her dual nature can cause her, has caused her by not knowing. And now we have this misty dark magic in town, that seeks its victims for pure chaos. Ruby and Snow lie in bed, playing with hair, light caresses on the body, feeling close, yet there is something melancholic in the air. Calendars don't match, but maybe this is the day Ruby sorta matched to back when they met, which means it's Peter's death day. Or for some other reason, he is on her mind. And Snow says "I wish Granny had told you the truth sooner. It would have kept you from so much pain." And the dark spell works its magic, this thought creeping deep, deep, deeeee~p into Snow as "Granny is the cause for Ruby's pain, Granny needs to pay". And here we are. The spell might have manifested in different ways with different people, so they know that it is going around, but they don't know enough yet. It is clear that it has gotten to Snow and she knows that Snow doesn't actually wanna kill Granny, but in this state she will. [...]

konako: Is Granny affected TOO??????? And she turns against Snow for encouraging Red to this "dark horrible path of accepting the wolf", or even "taking her granddaughter from her"

Kat: Granny and Snow pitted against each other and Ruby in the middle

konako: Having to keep them apart

Kat: so Snow wanted to kill Granny with that silver dagger for effect

konako: AND SHE POINTED AT RED AT SOME POINT, which hurt

Kat: "I don't want to hurt you with this. I just want to slit her throat with it. Out of my way!"

konako: Okay but then the obstacle is, why Ruby decided to stop Snow only, and not reason with Granny too Does Granny manage to break out of it earlier because of wolf thing idk

Kat: Ruby is literally between the two and she manages to disarm Granny. You know what, she fucking breaks her crossbow!! that will distract Granny let's make it worse Granny is the one to pull Ruby's cloak off that's why she transforms

[konako loses her mind...]

and Kat delivers the final blow:

Kat: and she is distracted for a moment that Snow will use to lunge at Granny and Ruby has this second to think on how to get them from killing each other. She bites into Snow's leg, pulls her away forcefully The sight of it all paralyzes Granny Ruby pulls a screaming Snow away, trying to hold on to something, fingers sliding over the floor, Ruby is so angry for a moment and now she has the taste of blood (Snow's blood!) on her tongue and she needs all her strength to not rip out flesh Snow is physically hurt (and the sight of the wolf will trigger her the next time) ✓ Granny is shocked because in a way she saw the nightmare turn real; also faced with her own mortality ✓ Ruby will hate herself so much for giving into the aggression for a second ✓ Ruby also has to deal with the closest family she has being at each other's throats for her and that sucks. She has forgiven Granny, even though there is truth in the accusation. And yes, she followed Snow into a war she didn't comprehend. Poor girl is torn in all directions. Always. tada

So that was the beginning of it. And like we often do, we then milked the angst out of it, jumping from scene to scene, abstractly, exploring their feelings afterwards.

Ruby being ruined by guilt, literally tasting Snow's blood in her mouth, too disgusted with herself to eat anything after that. Snow not being able to walk properly for a good time after that, needing physical therapy. Ruby not being able to look at her, too afraid to touch her. Snow wanting to reconnect and touch Red, but knowing that her pain and guilt is too great at the moment. Snow wanting to give Red time, Red never wanting to hurt Snow ever again in any way.

It is a delicious mess of confusing feelings, longing and regret.

And I LOVE IT!!!

[piscesparker]

Betraying the bond

Masterlist | Taglist

Part 2

I stood in the hallway for a couple minutes trying to absorb what Harrison said. Was he going to take advantage of me? Or take over the kingdom? I shook off my thoughts and went straight to my room.

I saw Amber tidying up as usual. I always wondered why was she always cleaning up? I did keep my room quite neatly, huffing I went straight to my book shelve took out a random book and sat on one of the seats and began to read my anger away. "So how was he?" Amber asked excitedly. Without taking my eyes off the page I shrugged in response; she sent a quizzical look my way and went back to her work, I think she understood that I didn't want to be bothered.

I had no idea how quickly time passed away, I was bought back to reality when Amber told me it was dinner time. "Can't I just eat in my room tonight?" I whined, Harrison's words coming to mind. I had no intention in knowing what he meant. "The king has requested your presence since it's the first dinner with the royal family of Redmont." She informed. I groaned in frustration and got up from my seat, keeping my book in my place and taking a quick look in the mirror before leaving when there was a knock on my door, "Amber could you get that please?" I asked, applying another coat of lip gloss.

"Y-your highness." She stuttered, and gave a bow as she opened the door. I didn't have to turn around to see who it was, the person entered the room and saw him from my mirror. "Your highness." Harrison turned to me and bowed. He had changed his outfit, he had swapped his blue coat for a red one with gold buttons and loose white pants with black knee-length boots. Why do I keep looking at his pants? I mentally cursed myself. "I was hoping to escort you to dinner." He declared showing his pearly whites. Oh.

"Oh, um sure." I walked over to him and wrapped my arm around his elbow which he had extended. Walking into the hallway, something itched me to ask him, "Is this why you were asking for my room?"

He looked at me and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and a second later let out a soft chuckle, "Why else would I?" If I didn't feel like a fool before I definitely did now.

"Just asking." I smiled and continued to walk to the dining room in silence. The closer we came we heard the roaring laughter from inside the room. The doors opened to reveal our families having a hearty time, "There they are!" Dad roared upon seeing us enter the room and everyone's gaze on us. Harrison escorted me till my seat and pulled out my chair for me, I looked over my shoulder and saw him smiling; I reciprocated a similar one, thanking him.

As soon as he was out of a ear shot my brother, Alex nudged my foot under the table. I gave him a stern look as he leaned to my side, "So your future husband is nice."

"Please don't." I warned him, "I didn't want to be here in the first place."

"Sure," he rolled his eyes, "also, he was asking me a lot of questions earlier today."

"What kind of questions?" I asked and shifted my gaze to see him talking to Charlotte.

"Questions about you."

"About me?" He nodded, "What kind of questions?"

"Your likes and dislikes." He said plainly.

My likes and dislikes? Couldn't he ask me directly?

I was pulled out of thoughts when dad clanked the spoon against his glass, "A toast!" He announced, "To our union of land and relationship," he locked eyes with me, "To Northollow!"

"To Northollow!" Everyone raised their glasses and chanted together.

~~

After dinner I was about to head to my room when dad stopped me. "Honey I wanted to let you know that I cancelled your classes for this week-"

"Oh, so this you want me to know?" I sassed and crossed my hands across my chest in defence, "What are you not telling me now?"

"I can see you are still upset," he let out an exasperated sigh, "but while I go over the legal documents with the queen I want you to give Harrison and Charlotte a little tour of the kingdom."

"A tour?! I am about to be the future queen and you want me to give them a tour?" I let my anger take over me, "Shouldn't I be there, going over the documents?"

"Yes, but you are not queen yet. So as a princess you have to tend to our guests." He said. I clenched my jaw in anger and went straight to my room, I had no energy to argue with him; we were already on thin ice.

The next morning I woke up to the bright sun light coming from the window as well as soft whispers near the door, lifting my hand away from head I tried to get a glimpse of the voices. It was Amber and Harrison, she was standing at the door while he was standing out smiling and listening carefully to what she was saying and leaving a few moments later.

"What did he want?" I yawned and sat up on my bed, rubbing away the sleep from my eyes.

"He was asking if you were up yet, isn't that sweet?"

"Why?" I asked.

"Maybe because he wants to be a perfect husband?" She chuckled.

Perfect husband my ass. "I'll be the judge of that." I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

"Your highness, could I ask you something?" She asked meekly, I nodded, "You don't want this do you?"

"That obvious huh?"

"I've been taking care of you for some time now, I can tell when you are upset dear, your not that subtle."

"It's just that all my life I've been taught to be the perfect Queen, and considering I am the first one to, I want to make sure I make my place without a man beside me."

"And that is exactly what you've done, the people love you with or without a man by your side but I think it's time someone loved you for you and not for the throne," she placed a comforting hand on mine, "Unlike Prince Chad." She said and both of us fake gagged letting out a laugh moments later.

Prince Chad was visiting from the Kingdom of Nella, and he was a shame to princes all over the world. He was an absolute snob who was taking advantage of me because his daddy dearest, the king had banished him for some reason and was desperate to be in line for a throne. When he heard I was the future queen he kept on persuading me, but unfortunately I couldn't be. He's also the reason I don't want to find a husband this early on.

"Just give him a chance, please?"

"I'll think about it." I hummed.

"Well you better make up your mind fast, you have a busy day today." She chuckled and went to draw me a bath.

"Right, tour!" Groaning a plopped back into the comfort of my sheets.

"Come on, it wouldn't be that bad!"

~~

After a refreshing bath and scrumptious breakfast, I went downstairs and saw Harrison talking to dad, apparently something that made him laugh. "Ah, good morning dear!" Dad said as his eyes caught mine, I smiled. "Morning dad." I kissed his cheek and turned to Harrison, "Your highness." He flashed his famous grin, bowed and took my hand placing a kiss on my knuckles. He seemed to have a casual attire today, a blue buttoned up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and black pants. I really need to gouge my eyes out if I look at his pants again.

"The carriage is waiting for you." Dad informed.

"Shouldn't we wait for Charlotte?"

"She's taking the day to herself, she hasn't been feeling that well." Harrison cut in.

"Well then, the two of you should get going." Dad practically shoved us out the door.

Just the two us travelling across the kingdom.

Alone.

Great.

a/n: Lemme know what you think 🥰

General Taglist: @in-a-lot-of-fandoms-tbh @peaches-parker @mischiefmanaged011 @hollanderfangirl @calltothewild @parkerpeter24 @whatthefuckimbisexual @yourstrulyamour @felicityparkers @theonly1outof-a-billion @miraclesoflove @theliterarymess @osterfieldholland01 @spideyssunshine @zspideyy @chillingonlife @yousayironisayman @keithseabrook27

Harrison Osterfield Taglist: @hollandbroz-n-haz @hjoficrecs @euphorichxlland @asshatgrace @anissalime @just-lost-inbetween-worlds

Betraying the bond taglist: @in-some-fandoms @frenchfrostpudding @sheranatic111 @calltothewild @kickingn-ames @tomhollander96 @minejungwoo @multific @emistrash @thisetaernallove @angelsgrxzer @hellomadambutterfly @britishvamps @falconxbarnes @bicyhot1

Strike through means I couldn't tag you

[echo-three-one]

Chapter 24

I should really put effort on summaries, right? Anyways... Enjoy! ❤️

Table of Contents

Going Dark - Part 3

Gary "Roach" Sanderson

MacTavish Residence, Glasgow, Scotland

Roach never would have guessed that MacTavish was a big time. Their 'old' house was already a mansion, complete with guest rooms, extravagant furniture and even an outdoor pool. Roach could stay here forever.

He was laying on a queen sized bed relaxing after a tiring chase earlier when Ghost knocked on his door and let himself in.

"What's wrong mate?" he asked, lifting only his head. Ghost leaned by the door and crossed his arms.

"You know how I got into a little argument with France back in Brazil right? Well, I still regret it ever happening…" he frowned, as shown by the way the fabric of his mask twitched.

"You regret which part? The fighting or the telling her what you feel?" Gary asked, cornering the ever vague Simon. He always does that when it comes to asking for advice.

Ghost ran a hand across his face and groaned.

"Bloody Hell, mate. Why do you have to ask those kinds of things?" he complained.

"So I could be clear as to which one I should recommend you to do." He replied quickly. He was very willing to help, but if Simon refuses to cooperate, then maybe he could handle it on his own.

"There's still one thing… I've been meeting with Alexandra not just for intel… " the tone of his voice was hesitant but he took a sharp inhale and continued.

"... we've also been sleeping together. No strings attached. For her it eases her tension from all the work while I try to forget about my feelings for Francine."

Gary didn't know what to say. Simon wasn't the kind of person to give up easily, and he fully understood the reasons for his latest actions.

"Well, it looks like Francine already made her choice, right?" Gary asked, trying to confirm from Simon that he already lost the battle.

"I'm not quite sure. Everytime I see her, she's physically distancing herself from Soap but later that night, they actually slept beside each other. She's making me confused and it still makes my heart beat for her…" Ghost admitted. As tough as he is on the battlefield, so was his admiration toward Francine. Gary pondered on how to help out his friend in this love triangle situation he caught himself in, but every direction he thought of would result in Ghost actually ending up sad.

The discussion was interrupted when a plane was heard from the distance, as it approached the nearby open area. It looked like the girls made it home.

"Looks like they're here." Roach sounded excited while Ghost looked worried.

~

It was impressive how they managed to bring most of their stuff from Brazil here in Scotland. It wasn't that much but the idea of packing things for six people in a hurry made Roach impressed.

"How did you bring most of this stuff?" Roach curiously asked Maxine as he helped her carry her stuff.

"Well, Samantha asked for help from his Dad and they immediately flew to Brazil." Maxine replied cheerfully, Roach loved how she managed to see the bright side of everything amidst the panic.

"So will Samantha-"

"No. They had a long talk with his Dad and she felt much safer back here with us. Her Dad wanted to offer help now that the New York Attack was over, but Samantha insisted, especially now that they're out hiding."

"Doesn't he have the power to like, pardon us for being wanted? That would make life much more easier for us."

"I thought of that too… but they're seeing Shepherd differently now. He's gone mad. And they want to corner him. Any action involving him may result in a global cripple. And I just heard all this on the plane ride here." Maxine frowned.

"Then that makes our job of locating him all worth it." Roach smiled giving hope to Maxine.

Maxine just nodded, her face was full of fear and doubt. She just wished all of this was over.

With Soap probably asleep, Roach had the liberty of touring the girls around the house, it was huge and spacious that each of them could occupy a room with about two more rooms to spare.

"Man, I could stay here forever." Roach mused as they walked the halls of the second floor. These four rooms are already occupied, most of the empty rooms are over there…" Gary pointed to the other end of the hall. Maxine looked at France and nodded as they both agreed to stay in one room.

"What about you, Miss Samantha?" Gary asked with sophistication, imitating a butler. Samantha giggled and blushed.

"I'll actually be sleeping with Alex, thanks Mr. Sanderson." she replied, playing along with Roach's role play. For a short moment, Roach felt relaxed. He hasn't felt like this for a while and it was too overwhelming. But while the enemies hid in the shadows, he was sure the team would be up for a tough fight anytime soon.

Despite being tired, Roach couldn't sleep. He felt that there was something or someone else he needed to consult. So, he decided to get up and get himself a glass of water down the kitchen. While he could hear himself gulping down a glass of water, he could also hear faint thumping from the basement. With high alert, he began descending down the stairs to investigate the source of the sound.

It was Simon. He was still up and doing sparring rounds with a red punching bag, each of his punches sent the bag swinging violently.

"You okay?" Gary finally asked, alerting Simon of his presence.

"Can't sleep." he said nonchalantly, giving the punching bag another mighty punch. Roach took a minute to admire the huge gym Soap had, each piece of equipment probably spent a fortune. He slowly paced to the small area filled with equipment and grabbed himself some boxing mitts and a protective helmet.

"So, why don't we resume our little talk?" Gary called as he presented himself to Simon on full boxing coach gear. Simon immediately positioned himself and Gary did the same as they began training with the intention of talking it out.

Simon's punches were heavy, Roach could feel a little emotion on each hit he made and it was starting to make him unstable.

"So, anything you'd want to discuss?" Roach initiated, his hands carefully met his punches as they circled around the area.

"I've been trying to ignore her, Gary. You see me try right? But the more I don't think of her, the more excited I get when I accidentally see her. It's frustrating." He explained in between his punches. There it was, the thing bothering him the most.

"What did she say back in Brazil? She probably said something that kept you from moving on. I can't think of anything else that might cause you to feel this way, unless you're lying." Roach tilted his head so he could see Simon's reaction. His punches stopped coming and he just stood there, his hands dropped to his sides.

"She… she didn't say anything… but she distances herself to John while I'm around."

"John MacTavish or John Price?" Gary interrupted, in an attempt to brighten up the mood, but instead all he got was Simon's 'are-you-kidding-me-right-now?' look.

"But when I'm not around, she finds time to see him…" Simon continued. Gary took off his gloves and tapped his shoulder.

"She… she was being considerate." Simon concluded. It looked like Gary did his job. He could feel Simon's shoulders relax upon realizing what was actually going on.

"Despite all that… she sacrificed a little just to not hurt you." Gary added, he had no intention of making Simon guilty but now that he realized it, he was making an impact toward the relationship that was blooming between Soap and France.

"Thanks, Gary. For being a great friend…" Ghost took off his gloves and walked out of the gym.

"... and the worst therapist." He joked with a grin as he walked up the stairs and left Gary in the gym.

"I hope you find your peace, Simon." Gary muttered.

The following morning, the team was already busy walking around the house. Soap was on the phone with a long list of things the girls ordered for their restock. It was planned that for the time being, the team was to stay in the MacTavish residence while Nero and Shepherd were off the grid.

Price and Jack started their own little command center inside Soap's father's office just by the living room. They began creating connections to their closest contacts to track activity from their enemies. Ghost seemed to be not around at the moment and Gary guessed he's still asleep.

Soap nodded a greeting to Roach as he walked by him on his way to the kitchen. Maxine and France were out opening drawers and anything in the pantry to clear up space for supplies. From the kitchen window, Gary spotted Samantha, Alex and Nikolai in front of a truck. Gary overheard that Nikolai wanted to go back home and he guessed today was the day he'd do so.

"I didn't know what kind of sugar you needed so I kinda ordered a bunch of em." Soap announced to the sisters and they laughed.

"The clerk kept asking me of brown, white, confectioners and some other and honestly I don't know which." he shrugged and scratched his head.

"Hey man, I was just wondering… why did you choose the risky life? When you had everything you ever needed here?" Gary asked the question that has been bothering him since he got here.

"I dunno Roach. It's just that I knew it was calling out to me… You also sound like my Mum when I told her I'm joining the force." he chuckled. Gary just nodded but still didn't understand his logic. But he dismissed the thought as soon as Maxine and France asked for his help reaching something by the cabinets.

The rest of the day was busy. Once supplies arrived, everyone else was preoccupied. Lifting boxes, arranging items, looking for intel. It was like they made their own 141 base inside the house.

By the time they're almost free, Roach and Maxine were already in the kitchen preparing for dinner.

"So, any new dreams lately?" Roach initiated as he sliced through the vegetables they're cooking.

"Piece by piece. Last night I remembered having gum stuck on my hair on picture day. I cried a lot." she giggled. Roach smiled, he was glad she's getting her memories back which made him remember of Samantha's case.

"Ow!" Gary winced as he accidentally cut a short scrape on his thumb. He was so busy staring at Maxine that he forgot he was chopping.

"Don't worry. It's just a small wound." Gary assured as Maxine pulled his thumb close to her mouth and blew air through it, just like when you're a kid and you do that to ease the pain.

Gary couldn't help but smile at her immediate action. She also looked concerned and worried about his welfare.

"Hey Max." he whispered, making the girl turn to him, her face was so beautiful in Gary's eyes.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing… It's just that…"

"What is it? You're making me worried"

"I really really like you, Maxine Winters."

Maxine looked at him in the eye, the eye contact they were doing was starting to make the world fade behind them.

"Guys! I have bad news." Soap interrupted, causing everyone to form a small circle by the living room.

"Ghost left. With a note saying he'll try to gather more information on Shadow Company with Alexandra's help. He says thanks and that he'll see us all soon." Soap summarized the note. The room fell silent.

Next Chapter : Off the Grid

Notification Squad my Beloved

@samatedeansbroccoli @enderio @smokeywhalee @whimsywispsblog @beemybee @ricinbach

[dibidibifiction]

Virtual Walls: Part 2

Pairing: Choi Minho x Reader

Word count: 2.5k

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction made for personal entertainment of readers. The writer does not ever intend to offend her readers nor does she aim to spread false information about anyone as to pay any disrespect to the real-life persons whom the characters are based on. She also does not claim ownership to any of the images that are being used.

masterlist

PART 1

. . .

2 DAYS BEFORE CONCERT

MINHO

The guys and I are rehearsing here at the arena since yesterday and it’s been intense. Every year, the tour and the concerts get more and more grand that my mind can’t seem to bear it sometimes. I could never get used to the people, throwing us so much love every time we do this. I can’t be thankful enough. 

Today hasn’t been as intense as the last couple of days because we have to take it easy. We don’t have to come in tomorrow and just rest up before the big day.

I can finally feel my heart beating hard as I pant, falling down to the ground when we finished ‘Everybody’. That’s it. Rehearsals are over. 

All five of us walk back to our backstage dressing room once the director cues that it’s a wrap. I immediately grab my phone on one of the dressers where I last put it down.

Still nothing. I check our conversation and she hasn't even been online. I shouldn’t be this distracted right now but I can't help but worry.

I already left a few messages but she hasn't read them. If she's feeling down, why can't she talk to me like she always has in the past couple of months we've been friends?

Friends. That’s right. We’re just friends. Is it weird to think about her this way if we’re just friends? Although she did confess her feelings to me from time to time, I honestly thought it was just a sweet and friendly thing. She’s just expressing how thankful she is.

I remember, it had been only three months since we started talking, and she was quite vulnerable at that time. One night, I video called her after work the minute I got home. When she picked up, I noticed that her cheeks were quite red, her eyes and nose were swollen. She was just crying that very second.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, of course. This is just me. You know I cry every time something touches me,” she said while forcing a laugh.

“I’m sorry I’m not there to hug you at least. Do you want to talk about it?” I said, offering her a shoulder to cry on even when we’re miles apart.

“Okay, umm,” she hesitated. “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way.” Her voice was hoarse. “But my life kind of turned around when I met you.”

I couldn't reply and just stared frozen at her on my phone screen. 

“I can tell by the look on your face that what I said was something bad. But I’m telling you, it’s not.”

“Oh, it isn’t?” I thought she was about to cut ties with me because I was such a big distraction in her life. I exhaled deeply.

“You know that I have been going through some crap which, as you know, is why I’m here, right? I just meant that, because of you, my days became a little brighter. I don’t know how you do it, and I guess you also don’t, but it’s just what you do to me naturally. You helped me move forward from the past I have been stuck in for years.” Y/n continued to cry as I listened. I really wished I could hug her.

She has been living in the Philippines for over two years now. I’m glad to know that she’s moving past her troubles and it makes me even happier that I was the one who helped her go through it all. Her expressing it so directly kind of stunned me a little back then, but it was always nice to hear that from her. I might not know everything about her just yet, but what I knew since then was I want to be by her side no matter what. 

. . . 

1 DAY BEFORE CONCERT

It’s the next day now and we are all hanging out at Taemin’s place. To my constant disappointment, Y/n still hasn’t texted me back. It’s been five long days. I can’t take it anymore so I tried calling her.

But nothing.

“Minho, why can’t you just invite Y/n to the concert tomorrow so we all can hang out?” Jonghyun Hyung says as he sits next to me on the couch.

“She’s out of the country, she lives in Palawan,” I tell him. “And you know her name now?” I’m annoyed by how they stick their noses at me ever since they found out about Y/n. 

“It’s nice down there in Indonesia,” Jinki Hyung joins in.

“It’s in the Philippines, genius,” I correct him.

“Right, sorry. I get those two confused.” 

I don’t know what to feel anymore. What could I have done to make her ghost me like this? If she has an issue, why can’t she just tell me? Maybe she’s fed up with me so she needed a break. I can’t demand from her to respond to my messages because we’re just friends. 

I sigh in utter resentment. “I need a drink.”

I get up from the sofa and head towards Taemin’s kitchen, which made me wonder, What’s taking Taemin so long? It’s been a minute since he answered a phone call. 

After I drink a glass of lukewarm water, the thought of a conversation of ours, one before she told me that she wasn’t feeling well, entered my mind again. She sent me a message that seemed like it wasn’t supposed to be sent to me. Perhaps she was texting a friend and texting me at the same time so it might have confused her and mixed it up. 

I know, right? It’d be the death of me if he kissed me. I always think of that moment when I’m in the shower.

I take my phone back out of my pocket and open our chat again. I scroll up to read that same message, but turns out she deleted it. Is that why she refuses to talk to me? It’s because she’s too embarrassed after accidentally sending me that message? 

Okay. So I figure she likes someone. I smile at the thought that it may be me. Based on how we became so close as time went by, how I wish it is. 

However, I might not be it. Sure, she always told me that she’s happy to have met me, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s in love with me. Right? 

We talked about her exes for some time and it was clear that she doesn’t feel strongly about them anymore. Maybe she met somebody at the beach or at a bar or something and have already forgotten about me. 

I cringe at myself, thinking how ridiculous I’m being. 

If it’s not me, then who? 

The second I drift back to reality, a faint voice reaches my hearing coming from one of the bedrooms. It’s Taemin on the phone with somebody. Maybe he’s talking to Kibum, who is late by the way.

I decided to have some little fun and attempt to scare him from behind. I tip-toe all the way from the kitchen to the bedroom and fortunately, the door is ajar so I can hear his voice perfectly clear as I get closer. 

“Whatever. Just text me the address of your new hotel so I can send you the package.” 

Package? My mood suddenly drops once again. Is he sending Y/n another package? Y/n has mentioned a few times that Taemin sent her packages of her favorite instant food packs several times over the years. And she didn’t even mention to me that she’s transferring to a new hotel. What the hell is going on?

Oh, God. I freeze at the thought. It’s Taemin. Y/n likes Taemin. Since he keeps on sending her gifts, does that mean he likes her too? Are they in a secret relationship?

“Yeah. Talk to you later. I’m hanging up now,” Taemin says to the other line as soon as he spots me.

“Who was that, your girlfriend?” I tease him instead of confronting. 

“Hyung. How long have you been there?”

I shrug. “Just a second.”

“That was my brother. He’s staying in Seoul for a while,” he smiles, but I can tell that it’s forced.

. . .

Y/N

I walk out of the airbridge and stop just outside the terminal. Finally, I landed home. God, I missed this place. The smell of the airport is still the same after two years.

After more than an hour through the long line-ups in immigration, baggage claim, and security, I look for my mom among the crowd who’s waiting for their respective arrivals. I don’t see her. I try to call her cell but all I hear is dial tones. 

She’s not picking up, maybe she’s driving and just on her way here. 

So I stray past the growing crowd as I locate for a bench to wait on. When I still can’t contact her, I try calling Taemin instead.

“Taemin!” I shout excitedly. I didn't expect for him to pick up at once.

“Oh, hey, Y/n! Did you just land?” he asks. His voice is quiet but jolly. I’m supposing he’s with his team, including Minho.

“Yes, it was an exhausting four-hour flight,” I complain.

“I literally just got off the phone with the staff. I asked them to bring me some lightsticks, banners and posters for the concert. And lucky for you, Euisoo Hyung managed to get his hands on an extra ticket and backstage pass.”

“You are awesome, Taemin!” I exclaim. “Wait, I don’t have pay for those, right?”

“Of course you do. Do you know how much our concert costs?” he suddenly sounds serious.

“Oh.” My excitement fails.

“No, no, I’m kidding. Calm down.” Now he is laughing.

“Taemin, you devil.” I roll my eyes even though he can’t see me.

“Whatever. Just text me the address of your new hotel so I can send you the package.”

“Will do. God! I’m so excited. I’ll see you at the concert, yeah? Good luck!” I say finally.

“Yeah. Talk to you later. I’m hanging up now.” 

After we hang up, I see an unseen notification from Instagram. I open it, and a series of unread messages from Minho appears. Although it pains me to ignore him, I’d rather not talk to him than lie to him. He left five messages. Some of them are from days ago. He kept telling me that he was getting worried. 

Ugh, I feel so bad.

I scroll up as I read back our messages further. I had to make something up so that I wouldn’t have to message him for a while. I told him that I was stressed and sleepless. That way, he would think that I’d be sick the proceeding days. As it turned out, it seems like he bought it. Again, I am such a bad person for doing this to somebody as kind and sweet as Minho.

As I scroll up even further, I come across an information that says, You unsent a message. “Oh, God,” I cringe at myself. It was supposed to be sent to one of my girl friends but I accidentally sent it to Minho. I hope he didn’t think that I was talking about him. I’d die of embarrassment!

I close our chat conversation since I can’t take anymore of my stupidity.

I stand up then, trying to reach my mom again, browsing around the pick-up area. When I least expect it, a very tall man with grey hair appears in front of me. As soon as I look up, my stomach twists instantly.

I almost drop my phone. “Dad?”

There are tears forming in his eyes. Without saying a word to me, he kneels down and pulls me into a hug. It is tight and long. Then he starts to sob.

I’m holding back my tears. “Dad, I need to talk to you about—”

“No, honey,” he says softly as he pats my back so gently, his voice shaking. “We’re alright. I’m just happy you finally came home.”

In his warm embrace, which I barely received throughout my life, I begin to cry as well as I hug him back.

. . .  

“Alright, Mom, I will come by tomorrow. Love you,” I say sorely before dropping my phone beside me. 

I sit up, rubbing my eyes. The sun has already disappeared. It’s already eight in the evening and I suddenly feel my stomach growling at me. I have not eaten anything since before landing this afternoon. Good thing my mom called me so I awake from my long nap. Despite it, I still feel a little tired.

I notice the folder when I place my phone back on the bedside table. It’s a compilation of contracts from three various modelling agencies my dad had managed to get his hands on with the help of some of his patients. Apparently, it’s his way of saying that he accepts me for who I am and he’ll never try to take control of my life again. And I know he didn’t say it verbally, but he’s sorry. 

“But if you don’t feel comfortable with any of those companies, it’s fine. You decide,” he said to me whilst driving me here to the hotel. That was the sweetest voice I heard from my dad. 

Our drive this afternoon was the best bond we had since he took me to Hong Kong Disneyland when Mom was on her business trip to Europe for a month. I was seven. 

As I continue to stare at the folder with a happy heart, the telephone rings from the other side of the bed.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Miss Y/n? You have a package delivered at the reception. Would you like somebody to bring it up to your room?”

“No, that’s not necessary, I’ll just come and get it. I’m going to store anyway. Thanks!”

When I come back up to my hotel room with the package in hand, a group call from my friends vibrates on my butt. I open my laptop to answer it and we talk for almost two hours while I have my dinner. 

It’s now ten past midnight when I hang up on my friends and I can feel the tiredness running up to my head. I just realized that I haven’t opened the package yet. 

As I open it, my heart starts to race. The thought of meeting Minho in person is surreal to me. But what if he can’t forgive me for ghosting him for almost a week? What if he’d feel differently about me after he sees me? What if he decided that he doesn’t like me back?

Do you know what? Whatever happens, I will forever be thankful for having him in my life. Even if he wouldn’t like me back, who cares? I’d rather be only friends with him than losing him. He is the best thing that’s ever happened to me in a long time. He became the reason why I love waking up in the morning, just to talk to him and hear about his work, his friends, his family. Nobody makes me feel special like he does. 

I am so ready for this! I really hope this goes well.

PART 3 (final)

[madeofitzits]

In honor of the impending return of Brooklyn 99, here are 99 reasons that...

1. He was precocious enough to know, at 5 years old, that he wanted to change his name (x)

 2. He has a bunch of nicknames: Sandy Amberg, Young Sandwich, etc. but the most endearing one is 'Droidy', his family's name for him (x) 

3. He is still super close friends with people he's known since: Elementary School (Chelsea Peretti) (x)...

4. Junior High/High School (Kiv and Jorm) (x) 

5. … Summer Camp (Irene Neuwirth) (x)

7.  ...and Film School (Chester Tam) (x)

8. Before he met Joanna, he dated other famous ladies but - out of respect - he never discussed it/them (x) 

9. He loves turtles and tortoises. When he was a kid, he had a pet turtle that he named 'Squirt' because the first time he held it, it peed on him. His Mom, Margie, accidentally killed Squirt when Andy was at Summer camp... (x)

10. … Maybe this is why, when shooting 'Popstar', Andy fell hard for Maximus (Conner 4 Real's turtle). He says they "had a good thing going" and that he wanted to adopt him. In the end, he decided against it because there are a bunch of coyotes in his neighborhood and he was worried the little guy wouldn't be safe. (Popstar: DVD Commentary)

11. Speaking of his Mom, despite being a super private person, he appeared on 'Finding your Roots' so that he could help her track down her birth family (x)

12. When he succeeded he cried (although we never got to see it on camera) (x)

13. That's because, like all good boys, he loves his Mama which is why - as part of the same episode - he said "My mom is basically the kindest person I know… and many people would corroborate that" (x)

14. Andy's Sisters, Hannie (Johanna) and Darrow, used to make him wear diapers and put his hair in pigtails until he was 5 years old. He says he didn't mind because he just liked that they were paying attention to him (x)

15. That's why he sees his identity in comedy as being 'America's kid brother'. When he was young, he would annoy his sisters until they laughed and he claims to have been replicating that approach to entertainment ever since

16. Although a bunch of his characters have 'Daddy Issues', Andy definitely doesn't. He's super close with his Papa (Joe) and has said "he's a good man" and "the best Dad in the world" (x) 

17. Joe was Andy's youth soccer coach and in one scene in 'Hot Rod', Joe's favorite photograph can be seen in the background. It shows a very young Andy posing with a soccer ball, after "scoring the winning goal against Mersey" (x)

18. He's been a loyal Golden State Warriors fan since he was a little kid, living in Oakland (then Berkeley) and, in 2010, he correctly predicted that they would "win a Championship in my lifetime" (x) 

19. The proceeds from his Umami Burger ('The Samburger') went to a deafness early detection program in Berkeley. This cause is close to his heart because Margie uses hearing aids and used to work in the special needs program, teaching deaf kids (x)

20. He, Kiv, and Jorm have made multiple donations to their old school district, including $250 000 to its theater program (x)

21. On the subject of The Lonely Island; Andy always goes out of his way to make sure that everyone knows how much he owes to his buddies. For instance, he told Marc Maron, during his WTF appearance, that "I get a lot of credit for what Kiv and Jorm have done" (x)

22. He makes this face when he knows he’s said something naughty…

(Gif credit: @andrewsambags)

23. During his 'Wild Horses' appearance, he said that he can't watch scary movies because they freak him out too much. He told 'Complex' that he's still scared of 'The Shining' (x)...

24. … Similarly, when he was at UC Santa Cruz he worked at the Del Mar movie theater and he had a hard time coping with screenings of 'Species 2' (x)

25. He fell in love with Joanna, the moment he met her, when she greeted him by addressing him as 'Steve the C**t' (x)

 26. He listened to 'Ys', everyday for a year, before he and Joanna started dating (x)

27. He bought the original portrait that was used as the basis of the cover art for 'Ys' and gave it to Joanna as a Christmas present, so that she could hang it in her music room (x)

 28. He loves birds and goes hiking and birding with Joanna (x)

 29. Every new comment he makes about Joanna becomes an instant contender for 'most beautiful thing a person has ever said about their spouse' (x)

30. For example, he readily admits that Jake's iconic heart eyes are the result of him thinking about his amazing wife (x)

31. There are many stories about how incredibly romantic Andy and Joanna's wedding was and Jorm has said that it featured "the most magical vows I've ever heard" (x)

32. The Newsombergs now live in Charlie Chaplin's old house (x)

33. On the Emmys Red Carpet (2015), the year he hosted, they took a momentary break from posing for the world's press to whisper 'I love you' to each other (x)

34. At last year's Vanity Fair party, Andy carried Joanna's purse for her so she could grab a snack (x)

35. He was a semi-permanent fixture in the audience for her recent run of shows for the 'Strings/Keys Incident' tour, even officially confirming his status as the 'President of her Fan Club' (x)

36. He used his Golden Globes monologue to call out the government for framing and murdering the Black Panthers (x)

37. On the Carpet for the Guy's Choice Awards, he called the event "a ridiculous farce", adding that "men already have it so easy - it's insane that there's a show that celebrates them". That makes sense when you consider that he, Kiv and Jorm have made an entire career out of parodying toxic masculinity (x)

38. He once said that only "idiot-ass men" think that women aren't funny (x)

39. He’s been wearing glasses since 7th Grade and he has the most heartbreakingly cute habit of nudging them up his nose, (especially when he wears his Sol Moscot frames) (x)...

40. ... and of rubbing his eyes under them (x)

41. He barely ever wears glasses for roles but he also avoids contacts (because he doesn't like touching his eyeballs) which means he's almost always 'acting blind' (x)

42. He has worn his glasses in character a few times - as 'himself' ('Lady Dynamite'), as 'Paul' ('I Think You Should Leave') and during a very small number of SNL sketches (e.g. during his one appearance in a 'Gilly' with Kristen Wiig) (x) 

43. He can't tolerate glare and when that makes him squint it's a sight that's too cute for words (x)

44. He owns about six outfits and has been rotating them for well over a decade (x) 

45. He barely ever breaks during shooting/while performing, so when he does it's aggressively adorable. (x), (x)

46. He's a grown ass man who persuades people to come with him to the bathroom because if he goes by himself he'll get lonely (x)

47. He didn't announce he was leaving SNL, until after his last appearance, selflessly choosing not to detract from Kirsten Wiig's huge and emotional send-off (x) 

48. He undertook a quest to smell like Lorne Michaels (x) 

49. He's ageing like a fine wine (x)

50. To protect their daughter's privacy, Andy and Joanna never announced that they were expecting. They've never released their little girl's name or date of birth and most news outlets still report that they became parents in August 2017 (even though that's inaccurate) (x)

51. Although he's careful not to talk about his daughter often, sometimes he can't keep from gushing about her. For example, when asked about his first year of fatherhood he said: "It’s been the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Just like a beautiful, incredible dream. It has surpassed every expectation I ever had. It’s definitely been very blissful" (x)

52. After their daughter was born, Andy and Joanna spent the first 40 days at home with her (in a practice known as 'confinement'). He's described it as being "a really special time". (x) 

53. Andy is famously mild-mannered but, when asked about what triggers his 'Dad claws', he admitted that if anyone attempted to touch his daughter, without permission, he'd "probably sock them hard in the face"…

54. ...Characteristically, he went on to add that he hopes that never happens, since he hasn't been in a fight since 6th Grade (x)

55. Cyndi Lauper was his first celebrity crush and he plays her record ('She's so unusual') for his daughter all the time. (x)

56. His is the very definition of a precious laugh (x)...

57. It's made even more wonderful by the way it makes his voice go high-pitched (x)

58.  … and the way it causes his eyebrow to rise involuntarily  

59. It's impossible not to smile at his impression of his Mom (x)

60. And laugh at his impression of John Mulaney (x)

61. He was so convinced he wouldn't win the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical, that he didn't prepare a speech. Instead, as he explained to David Letterman, he "just went… and started drinking". The resulting list of improvised 'thank yous' was perfect in every way (x)

62. As producers, Andy, Kiv and Jorm have given life to some amazing projects ('Alone Together', 'Brigsby Bear', 'I Think You Should Leave')...

63. … and gone out of their way to support women in comedy ('Party Over Here', 'PEN15') (x)

64. As well as being a comedy legend, he's a super-talented dramatic actor, who gave the performance of a lifetime in 'Celeste and Jesse Forever' but, after the movie wrapped, and it was time to do press for it, he was straight back to goofing around (x) 

65. His lip bite should be illegal (x)

66. Even though he wears the same vanishingly small number of outfits, over and over, he has a vast collection of the most excellent socks (x)

67. He always gives 'editing notes' during his own interviews (x)

68. He has a super sweet and sincere way of thanking interviewers when they compliment him (x)

69. He adjusts his hoodie constantly (x)

70. The two most perfect Jake laughs in b99 are actually real Andy laughs 'https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W38A_xuXaeg https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sVm9nYrTWRQ

undefined

undefined

71. Virtually everyone who has ever worked with Andy has talked about what a wonderful person he is. This explains why so many of them have been involved with more than one of his projects (x)

72. It's not only his colleagues who talk about what a delight he is (x), (x)

73. This lovestruck fool wore his own wife's merch when he went out to dinner (x)

74. No one else uses the word 'dinky' quite like Andy (x). The same goes for 'snacky' (see point 70)

75. He does this with his tongue (x)

76. He still likes to play soccer but his eyesight is so bad that he has to keep his glasses on for it

77. When he lets his gorgeous floofy hair grow a little it sits perfectly over the arms of his glasses (x)

78. He gifted the world with Jakey's little curl (x)

79. At the James Franco Roast, he couldn't bring himself to be mean to anyone except himself (and Jeff Ross, a little!) (x)

80. In fact, he's always been willing to laugh at himself (x) and he still is (x)

81. He changes b99 scripts to make them more feminist (x)

82. Despite their humble insistence that they just benefited from 'good timing', the reality is that Andy, Kiv and Jorm (along with Chris Parnell) revolutionized digital media, when 'Lazy Sunday' popularized YouTube, increasing its traffic by 85% overnight (x)

83. He once attended the Vanity Fair party because his Mom told him to (x)

84. He has an amazing way of subtly but firmly shutting down inappropriate questions, like when this interviewer suggested that Holt being gay was something that could have been played for laughs https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=idQsYQfkR5o

85. He auditioned for SNL at the same time as Bill Hader. Hader thought he'd blown it because Andy had a bunch of props and Bill had none. In the meantime, Andy thought he'd blown it when he saw Hader and realized 'this guy doesn't need any props' (x) 

86. His bromance with Seth Meyers is one for the ages (x)

87. Every single second of this video is proof of why Andy, Kiv and Jorm deserve the world (x)

88. He once dragged Mulaney up on stage for SNL Goodnights, even though writers weren't allowed to join in (x)

89. He has a hilarious phobia of pooping anywhere except his own bathroom (x) 

90. His beautiful, beautiful, face: His smile (radiant), his eyes (caramel - hella disarming), his ears (adorably asymmetrical), his nose (perfect), His chin (the dimple… *swoon*), his jaw (could cut glass), The 'Sambeard' (another amazing layer of pretty) (x)

91. His body: His butt (x), his thighs, (x) his soft lil tummy (The ‘Sambelly’) (x), his hands. (x), his arms (x), his hips…

(Gif credit: @amystiago /@badpostandy on Twitter)

92. All signs point to the fact that, like Jake, Andy uses his glasses case as a wallet (x) 

93. Jake's "cool-cool-cool-cool-cool-cool" is an irl Andy-ism that the writers worked into b99 scripts. What's even better is that Joanna does it, too (x)

94. He has a really good arm and is low key competitive, which is super hot https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e32K_nBDy3Q

undefined

95. He's one half of the cutest Red Carpet pose of all time (x)

96. He barely ever seems to get mad but if angry Jake is anything to go by, maybe he should... (x)

97. He's a huge nerd, who geeks out over GOT, LOTR, 'Star Wars', 'Alien(s)' and anything relating to time travel (x), (x)

98. He has a gorgeous speaking voice, especially when he’s tired or a little sick. (Bonus points for any time he uses the word ‘correct’. See point 30) (x) 

99. He’s still so committed to his b99 fans and fam, even after all this time and is as excited as the rest of us that...

[dawnwriterimagines]

Three Heroes: Various!BNHA x Reader (Part 1)

This is a Todoroki x Bakugo x Reader x Midoriya fanfic, inspired by the My Hero Academia movie Two Heroes, the storyline will be adjusted due to the readers presence. The reader is All Might's Daughter. Read on and I hope you enjoy!

Warning(s): Blood, Violence, fluff, poly!relationship, swearing, etc.

---

"Hey, Shouto?" You began as you stepped off the private jet, your boyfriend, Shouto Todoroki, assisting you down the steps with your hand in his. His head tilts as if to say he was listening as you step down from the steps of the jet, "What do you think we should do first? The expo hasn't begun, yet, so since you've been here before what do you wanna do first?" You smiled at him, excited to look around the moving city. Standing in your hero costune, you adjusted your sleeve, giving him a close eyed grin.

Shouto looked at you, thoughtfully, before he felt his face heat up, almost embarrassed. "I-I'm not sure..." he answered truthfully, your smile fades slightly, but it comes back sympathetically. Recalling him telling you how odd it was for someone to ask what he wanted for a change, it was still new to him.

You grabbed his hand anyway, giggling cutely. "Well, I guess we've just gotta go everywhere! Don't worry, remember, we're here to have fun. For once, we don't have to worry about anything else." You pulled him towards the exit as other planes came to the loading dock and people slowly began piling into the city. Shouto looks at you as he jogs beside you, his lips twitching up into a smile as you happily laughed beside him, your eye's sparkling as you witnessed the beauty of the city.

"A-actually..." he pauses as he stutters and you look over at him, he feels his face burning once more. It's still so weird, you make him feel all of these emotions and he's still learning how to deal with them. Especially since you encourage him, everyday, to express himself to the fullest when he's been taught all his life to do anything but that. He directs his gaze to the city, "I think I know somewhere you might like..." he suggests, remembering a place he had visited once before, fondly.

Your eye's widen at him before you laugh ecstatically, jumping up to float for a few seconds before landing and clapping your hands together. "Really? I wonder what it is, you're so thoughtful, I'm so happy you would think of me!" You pumped your fist in the air, "Come on, let's go!"

Shouto nodded, leading you to the identification inspection, you both passed through, seeing your pictures on the floating screens beside you both. With your luggage already being sent to the hotel by Endeavor's own assistants you and Shouto had all the time you needed to tour the city until the expo preview. You would have to be there for the formal party at the end of the day, your father being the Number one hero also had to be present.

That's right, you were (Y/n) Yagi, Daughter of All Might, the world's number one hero. You went to U.A. High School, the top hero school in Japan, and the hardest hero course to ever get into. You were proud to be part of your hero academia, you've met so many friends and you knew if it weren't for being a student there you wouldn't have met the boys who stole your heart.

You took Shouto's arm, pressing up against him, "So, where'd you wanna take me?" You asked him.

You both walked straight through the walkway, watching the projections that flickered across the sky and the tall buildings that towered over the area. People looked over at the both of you, noting your hero gear, Shouto could see the boys about his age staring at you alittle too long. You felt shouto pull away from you, slipping from your grip, you pouted before blushing heavily as he instead slipped his arm around your waist. Glaring at the boys as he passed them, he held his head higher as he smirked internally as they turned away, realizing you were taken.

"I was thinking, you'd like to see the hero support tech. They always have new items they feature every month, I remember you told me you were experimenting with designs for your thrusters. Maybe they could give you new ideas for--" he was cut off as you gave him a quick peck on the lips, he paused unable to finish as he stared at you, almost bewitched for the endless time today.

You laughed. "I'm so glad you think of me so often. You're usually not talking so much, I want you to do it much more often! And, oh...sorry, I didn't let you finish." You rubbed the back of your neck, chuckling nervously before he took your jaw in one hand. He tips your head up before kissing you lightly, you smile into it, before he pulls away and smiles, offering his hand once more.

"Let's head over there before it gets too crowded," he says, his heart warming as you blush and grin up at him, nodding happily.

"Right!"

●

An explosion cuts off the small lecture that a pro hero was giving after showing off her newest tech support, a metal chest plate, flexible alloy that could stretch and take an extensive amount of damage.

You and Shouto both turn towards the explosion, curious of the smoke rising from the area, you recall passing by an arena that a few people had challenged to overcome a few robotic, villain simulators. You link eyes with Shouto's before you both decide to head off in that direction, "Hey, do you think Katsuki and Izuku have arrived yet?" You wondered aloud, placing a finger on your chin, your head tilting up, curiously.

Shouto raised a brow. "Midoriya's here?"

Your eye's widened, remembering that you hadn't told him. "Oh yeah, Dad's taking Izuku as his guest. He was invited and had a plus one, just like you." That's right, you had wanted Izuku to come to the Expo, especially since he's always wanted to come to the floating city. You had taken Shouto's offer to travel since he was going alone and he had invited you beforehand anyway, you recalled Bakugo throwing a fit after you told him. "I guess since he and katsuki left earlier, they're already here." You said.

Shouto nodded before you both found yourself in front of the arena, the smoke around the area decreasing slowly. It wasn't someone you recognized, you almost hoped it would've been Katsuki, but you knew he'd show up sooner or later.

"Do you wanna try?" You asked him, turning towards Shouto.

He looked at you, alittle surprised, arm's crossed. "Hm...I wouldn't want to leave you here alone."

You grinned at him, "I'll be fine, don't worry. I'll be up here cheering you on, like in the sports festival!" You beamed. His gaze softened as you said that, remembering hearing your voice over the thundering crowds, encouraging him to keep going. "Besides, I won't be far behind you, I'll try out too!"

He nodded, smiling faintly. "Ok. I guess I'll go after this one...huh?"

You followed his confused gaze onto the arena as you saw a familiar red head, a smile quickly blooming on your face, "Kirishima!"

●

Izuku groaned, laying his head on his arm, slumped against the chair as he sat at the cafe table, relieved as the girls of his class didn't both to ask him any questions as to why he was here. Melissa, who was nice enough to show him around, distracted them with questions and answers.

He wondered what you were doing now, you had given up going with your father to the Expo, just for him. He couldn't believe he was here, having seen so many amazing sights and met the famous David Shield. He couldn't thank you enough, he had felt so guilty when you told him that you'd given him your ticket of invitation, calling the expo and everything to inform them of the change. He felt tears coming to his eye's, raising a fist in admiration for his love, he was so blessed to have you.

A glass was placed in front of him, suddenly, a small item, shaped in the yellow silhouette of All might's head floating in the colorful liquid. "Thanks for waiting!"

That voice! Izuku thought as he sat up, before his eye's widened in surprise.

The golden hair of his friend and the dark lightning stripe of hair stood out to the green haired student, "Kaminari!" Holding a serving platter to his chest, Kaminari grinned widely at his peer.

"Is that...Mineta?" He heard Ochaco gasp.

"What are you two doing here?" Jirou wondered aloud.

"Well, they needed extra staff for the expo and we applied to work, right?" Kaminari answered.

Mineta smirked, his hands on his hips. "We get to explore the Expo on our breaks, and we make the money!" He said victorious. Then, he made eye contact with the girls of his class, "Plus, we get to make passionate encounters with some of the cute--oh my god, I think I'm in love!" Mineta gasped out as he finished, his eyes landing on Melissa, who stared in confusion.

Izuku tensed up as Mineta and Kaminari immediately crushed him together, urging him to cough up any details about the American girl he was currently associated with. "Hey, midoriya, who's the high voltage hotty over there?" Kaminari creepily whispered.

"Come on! Give us details! It's bad enough that you've stolen (y/n) from us! Especially since she's here and she didn't even let me catch catch a feel in that sexy outfit of hers!" Mineta drooled at the thought.

"I thought you were working! This is what you do? You're supposed to be working hard!" Iida sprints over, lecturing the two perverted young peers.

Izuku glared at the grape head before his eye's widened as he listened to him carefully, "Wait a minute! Did you say (y/n) was here?" He immediately stood from his seat, ready to bolt to meet up with you, he couldn't wait to see you.

Mineta was still drooling, his hands groping the air as if he was imagining it was you, making Izuku twitch in irritation. Kaminari answers instead, "Oh, yeah, her and Shouto passed by almost an hour ago. They're heading over--" there was an explosion before he could finish. Everyone turns to the noise in shock.

"What was that?!"

After running over to the arena, he sees two large screens over a rocky mountain, smoke rising and debris having fallen to the ground. He recognized this as a villains course, his eyes widening as he recognized the person on the screen. "A stunning 33 seconds!" The announcer exclaimed, exuberantly.

"Kirishima?" Izuku questioned, surprised to see another peer.

"I'm guessing he's from UA as well?" Melissa questioned.

"Yeah, he's in the same class as us!" He answered.

Soon, the announcer spoke once more as Kirishima climbed down the mountain, "Please welcome our next challenger!" She announced.

Izuku immediately paled as he noticed the ashy blonde walking up to the attack course, "K-kacchan?!"

Bakugo gets ready, squatting down as his palms light up and the announcer raises her voice, "Ready...go!" Katsuki is blasting off the ground before anyone can register, his quirk immediately exploding off his fingers and targeting every robot in the vicinity, blasting him upwards to meet another simulated villain.

"Die!" He commands as he let's off another explosion.

Finishing off the last bot, he lands perfect in a squat, smirking in victory as he straightens to hear the results. "Amazing! Our first place winner with 15 seconds!" She hasn't even turned around yet when he starts walking off towards the audience stands.

"Hey! Isn't that Midoriya?" Izuku pales as Kirishima calls him out, eliciting Bakugo's attention.

Izuku chuckles nervously before he screams in shock as Bakugo blasts himself upwards, grabbing onto the metal railing stopping him from barreling straight into the boy. "Dammit! What're you doing here?!" Obviously pissed to see him.

"K-kacchan!"

Afterwards, after kirishima brings up trying out the course, Bakugo angrily allows Izuku to try a pathetic attempt to beat his high score. Gulping, Izuku passes him by, as the boy grits his teeth, holding himself back from strangling the boy. That's at least before he remembers something before Izuku can jump over the railing, "Oi! Deku!"

Tensing up, he turns around, "Y-yes?"

He frown's at him before calming slightly. "Where's (y/n)? I heard she went with icy hot, I guess she gave you her invite, typical." He grunts bitterly, angrily. Izuku could see the mention of you brightened his mood noticeably, despite his bitter attitude of seeing him at the Expo, of all places.

"I-i haven't seen her. Kaminari told me that he saw her pass by around here, I came over looking for her. I thought she might be with you."

Bakugo huffed, looking away from him. "Fuck...still with that bastard." He internally groaned, eager for your attention.

Seeing that he was finished talking to him, Izuku went down to the course to start. He waited for the announcers words before bursting into the air, similar to Bakugo, he took the robots on with no problem, limiting his power usage to prevent any damage to his limbs. Finishing with a surprising, 16 seconds, he happily smiled as he heard his score. Going up to his friends, Iida and Ochaco praised him immediately, "wow!" She praised him, as Iida told him of his great performance.

Bakugo grumbled, roaring angrily. "Shut up! I'll blast your score to ash!"

Suddenly, there's a rush of cold and the sound of ice spreading, quickly before the announcer is squealing at the rush of power. "Ah! This is insane! 14 seconds!"

Everyone went over to the railing again, surprised to see that half the mountain was encased in ice and Todoroki was at the bottom, straightening from using his quirk to destroy the bots with ease. "Hey, Todoroki!" Izuku grinned at the sight of his friend, before he began looking around, knowing you couldn't be far behind.

However, from behind everyone, Bakugo blasts into the air, angrily soaring towards Todoroki, who stares at the boy blankly. "Outta the way, icy hot bastard!" He yells before landing in front of the dual quirk boy.

"Bakugo." He says simply.

"You can't just appear outta no where and try to show me up!"

"And I see the others are here too," he looks at the stands, nodding as he makes eye contact with Izuku.

"Don't you ignore me! What're you doing in the island anyway!" Bakugo growls.

"My father was invited. I'm here in his place," he states, calmly.

The announcer waves a hand towards Bakugo, "Um, the next person is waiting," she says before squeaking in fright as Bakugo blows up at her.

"Shut up! I'm going next!" Bakugo turns and yells.

"Aw, and here I was thinking I'd get a shot..." Your voice instantly reaches the explosive boy, turning towards you he relaxes almost instantly as he sees you walking over to him, smiling happily. "Katsu, I'm glad to see you," you say, stopping in front of him.

Katsuki can hardly get the words out of his mouth for a moment, you had always been the only person who could leave him speechless, without even trying. That costume wasn't helping either. "(Y/n)...hey," he breathes, his normally stiff shoulders now limp and his back straightening as he fully turns to you. He realizes his unorthodox attitude before leaning forwards quickly to bump foreheads with you gently, "This bastard didn't bore you to death, did he?"

Shouto glares at the blonde, "Bakugo--" you place a hand on his chest, stopping him.

"Shouto was actually great company. We watched my favorite movie on the plane. He even gave me a tour, when we landed, I never knew this place was so big! It was so much fun!" You boasted, making Shouto's heart swell with pride while Bakugo was secretly hoping for a different answer as he huffed.

"(Y/n)!"

You looked away from Bakugo, both boys turning to see Izuku running towards you, happily, bounding with each step in excitement.

An immediate look of pure joy overcomes your features and your blasting forwards, purple energy bursting from your feet and leaving a dust cloud in its wake, you're ramming into him before he reaches you. However, after so many hugs like this before, Izuku is ready and catches you perfectly, laughing along with you as he spins on his heel with you in his arms. "Zuku!" You squeal, grinning widely as pepper his face with kisses.

As Izuku finally puts you down, you were surprised to see him on his knees almost instantly, burying his head into your stomach, his hands wrapped around your legs. "Thank you so much for bringing me!" He cries, his eyes welled with tears as he looked up at you, a watery smile on his face. "I'm so blessed!"

You grinned down at him, leaning down, your loose hair draping forward around you, "I knew you'd like to come and I wouldn't want you to miss it. Besides this trip wouldn't be complete with out you, babe," you giggled as he blushed at the nickname, although he should be used to it. You pressed your lips against his forehead and pulled away as he stood stood to his feet, standing taller than you.

"Well, I really appreciate it. So, I, uh, I wanted to give you this!" He pulls out a small box from his suits pocket, he hands it to you, blushing heavily but giving you a wide grin. "I hope you like it!"

You smile softly before opening it, you're eyes widening before softening as you take the brooch in your hand, it was big enough to fit in your palm. It was a ruby brooch, it was beautiful and you knew that Izuku bought it from his heart, you were moved that he'd get something so heartfelt for you, knowing you loved the color. You leaned towards him, "Thank you, Zuku. You're wonderful," you whispered before giving him a kiss in the middle of the field.

He melts into the kiss, his knees almost buckling before you pull away, giggling as you clutch the brooch lovingly.

"Uh...um, hey, so is anyone going next?" The announcer wonders aloud, questioning the four of you. You nearly forgot you were in the middle of the arena, reuniting with your boyfriends definetly took your attention away.

You stepped forwards, "Oh, yeah, I guess I am!"

The announcer sighed in relief before giving you you a thumbs up, "Alright, the villains attack course has reset!" You walked up to the starting target, where the announcer stood a few meters ahead of you.

You turned to the boys with a close eyed smile, "Wish me luck!"

"Good luck!" Izuku. "You got this." Shouto. "Just don't go hurtin' yourself, would you?" Of course, Katsuki.

You giggled before turning to the announcer and crouching down, urging your power to spread. You felt the energy running through your suits chest orb before it split to run through your arm's and down to your legs. Light purple energy slowly becoming apparent around your body, a rope of gold energy swelling out of your skin. "Ready..." you felt time slow, letting out a breath as you felt your skin heat up, before you felt a smirk blossom on your face as your eye's narrowed and changed color. A ring of purple energy swirling in your orbs. "Go!"

She didn't even see you move, the announcer only felt felt a burst of energy run through her and right out before the air pressure blows her back. You're soaring above her before she can utter a word, your booted heel making contact with the first bot before you burst upwards causing it to shatter from the thrust. The force causes you to flip in mid-air and you bring your charged fist forwards, a ball of energy apparent around your fist. It hits the second bot as you release it and you turn quickly, bringing both hands up to take the third bots metal face in your hands and blowing it back. The impact causes it to make contact with the fourth, both exploding on impact.

"Wow..." Ochaco mutters as she watches you from the stands, before glancing down at the three boys standing at the side of the arena. They all watched in pride, even Bakugo, although although he was more reluctant to show it.

"(Y/n)'s doing great!" Jirou smiled, praising her friend.

"So amazing! She's learned so much from her internship, I bet!" Momo gasped, grinning at her friend.

You landed in a crouch, straightening with a smile, "That was fun!"

"Wow! Our new challenger just scored our highest: 12 seconds!"

You laughed, clapping happily, "Yay!"

"(Y/n)'s so amazing..." Ochaco exclaimed in awe.

[shawnpetermuffins]

Too Close to You

' @luke-skywalkin : so I’m currently obsessed with jealous needy shawn sooo can u write one🥺'

Warnings: swearing, slight angst, mentions of smut

A/n: I got a little carried away with this, I think. But I kinda like it. I've also never written a full jealous!shawn so I hope this is okay.

Summary: Shawn thinks his friends like you a little too much and he's not handling it well.

Requested: yes.

***

I love to hang out with Shawn and his friends. Ever since Shawn introduced me to them, I'd felt like part of the group. We all have inside jokes with each other, and when Shawn is out on tour and I can't be there with him, the guys always invite me to go out with them. Of course I agree, because let's face it, they need a wing-woman, because they have a difficult time getting girls for themselves.

So, yes, we're close. Which is why it doesn't bother me when Jon pulls me into his lap while we're at Brian's, all of us just drinking and having a good time. Just like it doesn't bother me that he's tickling my sides or playing with my hair. In fact, I lean into him because it feels nice, and with two cups of whatever strong, alcoholic concoction Matt had cooked up, it's not like I was in any position to sit straight for long periods of time.

Shawn's standing in the doorway, staring at me, and in my sober state, I would be able to tell that he's standing way too straight and that his jaw is clenched in that way it does when he's angry. But tipsy me does nothing about it, only takes the cup from Jon's hand and sips it.

“God, I need to get laid,” Brian exclaimed, plopping down next to us and pulling my feet into his lap.

“That's not all life is about, you know. Why don't you look for something real. Someone smart, and funny, and beautiful,” Shawn said, sitting on the coffee table in front of us. He's nursing the bottle of water in his hands - deciding that if I'm drinking tonight, he wouldn't be.

“Easy for you to say when you literally just described your girlfriend,” Matt said from the arm rest next to my head. “You seriously got the hottest, smartest, funniest woman on earth. What's even the point in the rest of us looking?”

My cheeks flush red and I let out a soft “Awwwe! Matty, that was so sweet!” I take a hold of his arm and he looks down at me. “C’mere.”

He leans down and I press the softest, quickest kiss to his lips before pulling away. Neither of us think anything of it. Shawn does, that's apparent in the way he crosses his arms over his chest, and sharply inhales through his nose.

“Okay, I need another drink. Let me up guys,” I pat Jon's chest and Brian swings my legs to the ground for me. I steady myself, both Matt and Shawn holding their arms out for me to grab. I stumble lightly into kitchen to fill up my cup. I'm in there a couple minutes, listening to the music that's now muffled - still loud, of course. But muffled, nonetheless.

I'm about to go back to sit with Jon when a tug on my arm pulls me in the opposite direction. Shawn's head rests against my stomach and my hand very instinctively goes to his hair. He hums, his hands resting on the pockets of my super skinny jeans. I swat at his hands when he kneads the covered flesh.

“Shawn, we're in public.”

“We're in Brian's living room. That's hardly considered public.” He's looking up at me, his curls flopping over his forehead, lashes brushing just under his eyebrows and I'm swooning.

But the moment ends much too soon when Brian pulls me back in, this time squished between him and Jon. “Smile!” Matt says, hiding behind Brian's Polaroid.

I close my eyes - knowing just how drunk I'd look if I kept them open - and smile wide, baring my teeth. I feel two sets of lips on me before the flash goes off and when I open my eyes, I see Shawn standing, his ears red, breathing heavy.

I push myself off the couch, best I can and brush my hand against his arm. “Are you okay?”

“Let's get out of here,” He pinches the bridge of his nose.”

“Shawn.”

“Y/n. I'm tired and I want to go. Please,” he says through gritted teeth. The boys aren't paying any attention to us.

I sigh, “Okay.”

The goodbyes are quick, Shawn's hand never leaving my back pocket. I didn't even hug the guys before he was rushing me to the car, faster and little more forcefully than usual. His breathing still hasn't calmed, even after a few blocks.

“Bubs, what's wrong?” I ask when we're nearer to the condo.

“We really need to limit the time we spend with the guys.”

“What? Why?”

He scoffs and looks at me, only for a second before turning back to the road. “They're all over you, for fucks sake.”

“They are not!”

“And you're not doing anything to stop them! You're encouraging it, even!”

“Are you serious right now?” I hiccup, the only clear sign that I've drank a little too much tonight.

“Am I serious?” he's fuming, turning onto our street. “Yes, I'm fucking serious! What was that kiss with Matt? You initiated it!”

“It was less than a second! It didn't mean anything.”

“Well it did to me!” He sets the car in park and is out before I can even say anything back.

I get out of his jeep, rushing after him, “Shawn!”

“Those are my friends, y/n!” He says, opening the door to the condo. “My best friends!” He continues when the door closes behind me. “And they're over here talking about how hot you are and how they wish they had someone like you. And you let them. You let them say those things and you let them touch you and kiss you and it fucking hurts! You're my girlfriend! Mine! And it really doesn't help that you wear those tight jeans, and low cut shirts because you're leaving very little to the imagination. They shouldn't get to see that.”

“You’re getting jealous over nothing. They don't get to have me, Shawn! You do!”

“Then why don't you act like it?! I'm never here, y/n! I'm never fucking here. But they are!” He gestures like they're in the next room. “They get to see you every day. Hold you when a guy gets too close, even though they're too close.”

“Bub-”

“How would you like it if I did that with my girl friends? Kissed Camila when she said something sweet? Let Alessia hug up on me while we're in the green room?”

I cross my arms over my chest, hating the fact that he thinks that would upset me. "I think your fans would have a bigger problem with it than I would."

He rolls his eyes, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"That I don't have millions of fans watching my every move. You so much as look at another girl and there's twenty articles up that you're cheating on me. That we broke up. That our relationship was a sham. Your fans would believe it and quite possibly murder you before I even open Instagram to see how you've broken the internet this time."

He sighs.

"I don't get jealous, Shawn. You know that. And you've reassured me every time you leave that you love me and only me and I believe you. So I need you to believe me when I tell you that there's nothing going on with me or any of the guys. We're comfortable with each other. They protect me when you're not here. They're not trying to get with me when we go out to the bar; they stay near me and make sure no one else tries making a move. They do it because they know you would hate yourself if something happened while you were gone. There's no reason for you to ever thing that I would leave you, and for one of your best friends, no less! So whatever jealousy you're harboring right now needs to go. Because I'm tired and this fight is fucking stupid and I'm going to bed." I push past him and into our shared bedroom.

---

Dressed in my pajamas, I lay on my side, eyes closed, but not sleeping. I hear Shawn sigh as he walks in the room, my back is towards him when I feel the bed dip on his side. I think he's going to reach for me after he's situated under the covers, but he doesn't and my heart breaks a little.

Sleep doesn't come easy, or at all, actually. I'm staring at the alarm clock that Shawn insisted on putting across the room so that we'd have no choice but to get up when it went off, and it reads 2:07. We've been in bed like this for three hours. And I know he's not asleep because he's not doing that little snore that he does when he sleeps on his back.

At 2:28, when my eyes are just now becoming too heavy to keep open, he shifts onto his side and his arm sprawls across my waist. "Baby," he whispers into my shoulder, placing a gentle kiss on the covered skin. It takes everything in my not to melt into him right then and there. "I know you're not asleep."

I sigh and shift until I'm facing him. "What?"

"I'm sorry," he says, his thumb rubbing against my jaw. "I'm an idiot."

"Yeah, kinda." I agree.

He chuckles and I know we're okay. "I know I don't have to be jealous. But hearing Matt say what I already know, it did something to me. Because you are the hottest," he kisses my forehead, "smartest," my nose, "funniest," my lips, "Girlfriend in the world. And if he's noticed, then other guys have too and the thought of another guy wanting you drives me crazy."

"But I don't want them," I try and reason.

"I know. I know you don't. But do you see where I'm coming from? They're here. They're stable... I can't lose you, baby."

"Hey," I reach out to touch his face. "We are stable. Bub, I am not going anywhere."

His arms wrap around me with ease and just like that I'm straddling his naked torso, my hands resting his chest and then tangling his necklace between my fingers. "I'm right here. I'm in your hands. You have me."

He nods, his index fingers running over my sides from beneath my shirt. I hum and lean down, kissing his lips, never wanting to pull away. And this went on for what felt like forever, until my back once again hit the plush of our mattress. "I need you," he groans, lips trailing down my neck.

"I'm here," I reassure him, threading my fingers through his hair, clearly not understanding the meaning of his words.

"I need you," he says again, this time pressing his hips against mine. It clicks for me then and I nod.

"Okay baby." I mutter breathlessly because his tongue on the shell of my ear has me weak at the knees.

He takes his time with me. Kissing every inch of my body, clothed and unclothed. His touch is so soft and gentle that if I wasn't watching him, I'd have thought it wasn't real. And then he finally pushes himself into me, staying steady for a second, allowing me to get used to his size. Looking dwn at us, just out of curiosity, I notice that you can't even tell where I end and he begins. We're one. I'm whole as he thrusts into me slowly.

His thrusts are deep and even and measured. I couldn't even tell him how much I needed him; he left me speechless. He murmurs 'I love you' all over my body, and I wish you could tattoo sounds into your skin because I want to hear that forever. It's overwhelming how much we both need each other in this vulnerable moment. Him worried that I would someday leave him and me trying like hell to get him to believe I won't.

We're rarely ever this careful with each other. It's as if he's scared that going faster, harder will push me to the edge - And not the edge that he wants to bring me so desperately to. He's treating me like I'm fragile, like we're fragile. We're not, and I kiss him a little deeper to prove that we're not. Shawn's panting in my ear with another slow, deep thrust into me and my fingers claw at his back with a strangled moan eliciting my lips. This isnt just sex. We're making love. This is raw and passionate, and everything that making love should be.

***

A/n: this is not how I originally planned on ending this, but I actually think I like it better. There is an alternate ending if you guys want that later on though. 😉

I hope you enjoyed! Like, reblog, and leave feedback!! 💙

[yoonxtricia]

min yoongi ♦️ missed

a/n: hi! this is my second time posting something here. i'm still a little anxious as if my work is good enough and worth reading so don't be scared to comment. i take both compliments and criticism. :) also english is not my first language so i'm sorry if there are any mistakes!

genre: angst to fluff

word count: 1346

warnings: some depressing thoughts

The warmth of sunlight that was getting into the room through the window woke Y/N up from her dream. Opening her eyes, she already knew that this day won't be the easiest to get through. Yoongi was currently on world tour since October. It's been three weeks now since Yoongi left the house and it was truly a nightmare for Y/N. Even though the couple have been in touch with each other through text messages and FaceTime, Y/N missed her boyfriend. The smile on her face that was always absent when she was looking at Yoongi was now long gone. Her eyes weren't as vibrant and shiny as when she was talking with him. The positive energy have evaporated from her body at the moment when Yoongi had disappeared in the private jet of his band. The house changed too. Silence was painful, their bed was cold and left with only Yoongi's scent. Days became long and exhausting. And all of this is caused by the absence of one man. A man that brought so much colours to Y/N's life.

Y/N's day consisted of many unfortunate events. While taking a morning's shower, a soap made its way to her eyes and irritated them. While making breakfast, she burned eggs and broke her favourite mug. While walking to her bedroom in order to watch her and Yoongi's favourite movie, she tripped over the rug and spilled hot coffee all over her hands and thighs, making them red and burned.

Currently, Y/N was laying in bed, wrapped up in blanket with her head snuggled in one of the pillows. She had one of Yoongi's hoodies that still had his scent that was slowly evaporating. She really wanted this day to come to an end. Everything was not how she wanted it to be. She didn't even cook dinner because she knew that something bad would happen. She hasn't eaten anything since breakfast and hand of a clock were leaning towards 7pm. When something turned out wrong in her day, everything would be the same. It was like a never ending nightmare.

Cloudy thoughts made their appearance in her mind. ‘’How can someone like Yoongi might want to have to do anything with someone like me?‘’ she thought. She felt unwanted, useless. Y/N wanted to disappear from the world that was surrounding her and snuggle into Yoongi's arms. She wanted to feel the scent of his perfume and the warmth of his body. She wanted to feel that she's loved.

Y/N closed her eyes as she felt the tears coming. She snuggled more into the blanket so that only her eyes were seen. Y/N was sobbing loudly, letting the tears of sadness and longing that accompanied her for the last three months roll down her cheeks.

Suddenly, she felt a delicate touch on her hair. She came to the conclusion that she's officially lost her mind. Her mind had to be mocking her. Only after she felt the matress bending next to her, Y/N opened her eyes and saw the well known brown colour of her favourite eyes.

“What-what are you doing here?” she asked. Have something happened that Yoongi came back earlier?

“What do you mean ‘What am i doing here’? Yesterday we had our last concert.” he answered. Yoongi was as confused as Y/N.

“That's not right.” she shook her head “Your last concert is supposed to happen on the 26th of June.” said Y/N and sat up on the bed.

“Exactly and today is 27th. Look.” Yoongi took his phone out of the pocket of his hoodie and showed her the date.

Y/N shook her head again and covered her eyes feeling the tears coming again.

“I don't even know what day it is. I'm so dumb.” she sobbed.

“Oh, baby…” Yoongi pulled her tiny body into his chest. Y/N squeezed Yoongi's hoodie in her hands and sniffed his scent. Finally, she could feel his touch, warmth and presence.

“I missed you.” Y/N sobbed. “You have no idea how much.”

“I missed you too.” Yoongi wiped the tears on her face and got up. He held out a hand towards her. “Come with me.”

“Where?” she asked but held his hand anyway.

They went down to the living room. On the coffee table, there was a big, white bag. Y/N sat on the couch, Yoongi right next to her.

“It's for you. Open it.” he moved the bag closer. He wrapped his hands around Y/N's body and pulled her closer to his own.

Y/N opened the bag. Inside, there was a lot of things. The whole bag was full of snacks.

“Every single one is from different places where I was with the band. I think you'll like it.” Yoongi knew how much Y/N liked trying new things.

“These are magnets.” he pointed to a quite thick pile of magnets. Y/N had a habit of buying them, wherever she had a chance to travel. Their fridge was almost completely full of them.

“And what is this?” she asked and reached for a black pendrive. Yoongi's touch on Y/N's waist got a little more firm.

“This… You have to find out yourself.”

Y/N got up and went to bring a laptop. Yoongi was biting his lip full of nervousness. He didn't know if Y/N would like his little present. Yoongi wasn't a type of man that would talk about his feelings. As a matter of fact, after meeting Y/N he has changed a lot but he still had a difficulty in expressing his feeling.

Y/N came back with a laptop and plugged in the PenDrive. There was a mp3 file named ‘FOR Y/N’. She looked at her boyfriend inquiringly.

“Play it.” he said and smiled lightly.

A piano melody reached their ears. A second later Yoongi's voice filled the room. The lyrics were simple but full of emotions.

The song was about a woman. For him, this woman was the most beautiful that he's ever seen. He described her beauty; her delicate skin that was glowing whenever the sun appears, the freckles that were covering her nose and eyelids, her eyes that had the power of always knowing how he was feeling at any moment. Yoongi described her as nymph, a goddess that wrapped him around her finger. He described his favourite memories with this woman and the most valued one was the view of her; laying next to him, snuggled in his torso, her face without any makeup and the peacefulness oozing from her body. That was the side of her he loved. Natural, honest and real just as she was.

The last notes of the song were heard and Yoongi and Y/N were sitting in a complete silence. She turned her head to the side, facing her man. Yoongi was smiling lightly, looking straight into the eyes of his lovely girlfriend.

“I worked on it for a long time. During the tour, I didn't know what to do with myself just because you weren't next beside me. It's not my best song amd there's a lot of things that need to be polished and I would've changed a lot. Actually, I would've reco-”

Yoongi was interrupted by Y/N's lips that touched its own. The kiss was filled with every feeling that she wanted to express. She was grateful for Yoongi, even though she wasn't perfect. He always was able to find something valuable in her person. Yoongi was truly a gift that changed her life forever. None of the words could've expressed how much she loved him.

Yoongi pulled away and leaned forward so that their foreheads were touching.

“Does it mean that you like it?” he asked and, for the first time since he came back home, he saw a wide smile on Y/N's face.

“Do i like it? I love it!” she kissed him again “Thank you. I love you so much.”

“I love you too. Don't ever forget that.” he pulled her body closer to his chest “I'll always love you.” he whispered and closed his eyes.

“Home sweet home.” he thought and smiled. There's no place he'd rather be than here; next to Y/N.

[shawn-mendes-post]

Secret Relationship

A/N: Hi, I do not own anything. I just had this idea. Sorry if you don't like certain celebrities that I said. I tried to have a range so there at least would be one celeb. Also a oneshot.

Y/N being a famous actress and singer was currently getting ready for an interview with James Corden. She is hoping it would just be an interview, but with James you can never be 100% sure. She put on a sexy sequin lace mesh embroidery backless dress that left very little to imagine.

She sits in the pink room, roaming Instagram, hearting different post. She smiles as she sees a picture of her boyfriend, Shawn. They were currently dating for a year and no one had any idea. It was for the best because they didn't want to deal with media taking things out of proportion.

Y/N being an American Horror Story and being a romantic interest to Evan Peters would not be good for the relationship. She did wished they could be open about their relationship and didn't have to see fans shipping him with Camila Cabello.

Sighing, she hears her name being called. She stood in high heels, wobbling from standing so quickly, makes her way to the stage. She waves and high fives the audience members that were close. She could already picture the surprise on her boyfriend's face since he was helping James out for the week.

" Hello! I can't believe you are actually here. " James said, giving her a hug. " Well, I couldn't deny your invitation. I love your show so I immediately said yes," she replied, glancing at Shawn's shocked face. They both move to sit down, ( Y/N) smoothing out her dress.

" It's amazing that you moved to America from London when you were 16. How do you feel?"

" Homesick at times since most of my family is in London. I'm also grateful for this opportunity to work here and meet some wonderful people. I do go back to London when I'm touring. So it's been a roller coaster from being a simple girl and now going on tours or shooting in movies. It's been fun and I can't wait to see what happens in the future ."

The audience cheers as James looks at the cue cards. " Yes, I understand. We know that you have many and I mean many celebrity crushes," James said, laughing lightly as he watches her blush. " Who is your top 5?"

" Oh, that is hard. I love all of my crushes," she said, glancing at Shawn, wondering if she could say them. She knew he would get jealous at times when she rambled about one of the celebrities.

Shawn nod his head slightly, knowing he can't stop her from answering James. He didn't understand why he didn't know she was going to be on the show. 'She never said anything.'

" Harry Styles would be one because he is simply amazing. I never really listened to one direction, but when he went solo, I was falling. I actually have his album and would listen to it nonstop." Her cheeks flush as she bites her lower lip. Chuckles could be heard in the audience as they knew how that must have felt. " Emma Watson because why not? She is amazing and a role model to other little girls. I grew up with her and always wanted to meet her. "

" Ah, you a Harry Potter fan? You know Shawn is?" James asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Y/N laughs and nods her head as she admits she is a big Harry Potter fan. Shawn could feel his cheeks heat up at the mention of being a fan of Harry Potter. The two of them would always have a marathon with the movie when they both weren't so busy.

" Bill Skarsgård because he is hot. Like I love Cumberbatch, but Skarsgård has more sharp define cheeks. He has a jawline for days," she said, seductively, eyes flutter as she says the line from AHS. Cheers could be heard from the audience when they hear the familiar line. James was laughing at how she said it so wonderfully. " Wow. Amazing. "

Shawn shift as he felt a little jealous that she hasn't mentioned him. He knew that she was trying not to let anything slip about the two, but it still hurtled him listening to her talk about other guys.

" The last two? You are almost done. Then we could move on to the game we are about to play. "

" I would say Tom Holland,but I have a family member who loves him. So for respect to them I won't say him. Let me think. " She ponders, thinking about the last two people she would say. " I feel like if I say any one of my Costars it would be cheating. I do love Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Jessica Lange, etc, but I would not count that. "

Her eyes lit up as she knew one person she didn't say. " I can't believe I didn't say his name. Nick Robinson because of Love, Simon. I would watch that movie all the time and always cry for about a good hour or 2 after the movie was done. My boyfriend always asked me why I put myself through the pain. I just love the moive and I love the message behind it," she sniffled, not really thinking about what she just said.

It was silent as Y/N tries to contain her sniffles. She looks at James as he stares at her in shock. Tilting her head, she didn't know what she said wrong. Turning to look at Shawn his face was completely white as if he saw a ghost. " Did you say boyfriend?" James asked, knowing he heard correctly.

Freezing, she stared at Shawn with big doe eyes filled with fright not knowing what to say. She then glance at her manger, Liam. He was shaking his head as if not to say anything about it. " Well, I wouldn't say boyfriend..." she started, trailing off as she didn't know what to say. " We are just really close friends who hang out a lot. Most of my friends tease me about him being my boyfriend. I just say boyfriend so it is easier to introduce him," she said with a shrug, smiling fakely at James.

" That is a load of shit. How can you say you dont have a boyfriend? Maybe, I need to hook you up with Shawn. I mean you are hot, he is hot. The two of you would be smoking together," James said, giving her a look. He turns around to face Shawn to see Shawn's face was completely red. James didn't know if it was from embarrassment or anger.

" Let's move on. " She wiggles in her seat as she tries to get away from the topic. She could already see Shawn's mad face and knew they would fight as soon as they got home. " Lastly, it's hard to pick one more. I mean I love Eddie Redmayne, Nick Kroll, Pete Davidson, Callum Turner, Dylan Minnette and more." She groans as she nibbles on her lower lip a bad habit she picked up when she is nervous. " I guess John Mulaney because he can make me laugh. There is just something about him that can make any awkward conversation into something funny. I feel like it would be amazing to hang out with him. "

James nod as he knows what she is talking about. " Well, that was more then 5. I did make a mistake telling you to only pick 5. Next we are going to play Flinch with Shawn Mendes and Y/N.

After the show Y/N stayed around taking to James because she didn't want to go home yet. James was always laughing and joking which made her feel more calm and relaxed. Her manager came saying they need to get back because she will be busy in the afternoon. The drive was silent between the two, not awkward but a comfortable silence.

" Will you be okay at home? I saw how Shawn looked. "

She turns to her manager and laughs slightly. " I'll be fine. I'll call you if I need you." She slips out as she makes her way to her flat she had. Outside, she could see the lights on and that worried her.

" Shawn?" She asked, entering the flat, dreading what is about to come. Shawn was currently on the couch, arms crossed as he watches the door. " I'm sorry. I didn't mean to slip up. I wasn't thinking. I didnt even know I was going on James's show until to late. Baby, dont give me that look. "

He looked like a kicked puppy, staring with his hazel eyes. " Why didn't you say my name? I can forgive you for slipping up. I can't believe you lied about our relationship. Just friends right?"

Grunting, she takes off her shoes, throwing them to the side. Her hands run through her hair a habit she picked up from Shawn. " I panicked. I knew you didn't want others to know about our relationship. "

" I didn't want that? No! It was you who said to keep it a secret. I want everyone to know we are together. I want to go out on dates with you. Shower you with love! Tell everyone that you are mine." Shawn yelled, getting frustrated.

" I'm sorry, I didn't want others to know. You know how the media will react. Especially, when I'm working with Evan. You could barley watch the little clips I show you. You know a lot of people ship me with Evan. As many fans ship you with Camila."

" I don't care about that. I love you and I am with you. So what. I'm the one that kisses you for real. I'm the one that makes you moan my name," Shawn spoke, moving closer towards her. He leans and captures her lips agaisnt his in a rough kiss. His hands on her hips, bring her closer towards him.

He pulls back, leaving a trail of kisses down her neck. Nibbling as to leave his mark on her. " Everyone is going to know you are with me. " She moans as he bites her sensitive spot. His hands trailing under her dress as he flicks a finger against her clit.

To be continued....

Maybe.