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phantasticworks · 4 years

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If You Don’t Love Me, Pretend - Chapter Nineteen

Four months without uploading she comes back with a new chapter! Thank you so much for your patience i love you guys! I don’t know that I’ll be going back to my previous weekly posting schedule with everything going on in my life right now, but I hope this can tide you guys over until I can finish the story!

read on ao3

Words: 11.5k

Summary: Dan and Phil have some talks about parenting and make plans.

Warnings for this chapter: swearing and a disgusting amount of fluff

It's a few days later when Dan finds himself in his office at school, looking over the schedule change requests that he's received over the past week. He's just added another to the pile of finished requests when his work phone starts trilling on the desk by his elbow.

“Hello, you’ve reached the office of Daniel Howell at Queensbury Secondary School, how can I-”

“Dan, it’s me,” Phil’s voice interrupts him. “Is this a- a bad time?”

"Oh! Sorry, yes- I mean no, it’s a fine time. A great time. I’m just going through some forms. What’s up? Is everything okay?”

"Yeah, everything's fine." Phil clears his throat and there's a pause that Dan doesn't know what to make of. "I’ve been meaning to ask you something."

Dan feels the tendrils of anxiety gripping at his chest now. "Okay," he says slowly, setting his papers down in front of him. "What is it?"

Phil doesn't waste any time. "Well- okay, I don’t particularly want to go, but I know you’re interested in everything that goes on with mental health charities and you told me about the thing you wanted to do at the school, and I think that’s really cool and maybe this will give you a chance to network with people already involved and-”

Dan can’t help but laugh at the rambling words, tripping over themselves in their haste. “Spit it out, bub, what’s your question?”

Phil takes a shaky breath. “So, the BBC is doing a fundraising event for a mental health charity. I wanted to know if you'd like to attend with me." His words are quick and short, like the request is a time bomb and he’ll explode if he doesn’t get it all out at once.

It takes Dan a moment to process the request, and when he does, a stupid part of his brain wants to ask for clarification on the nature of this joint outing. But he's not about to ask Phil if it's a date because that would be both ridiculous and mortifying, and besides, he already knows with his rational brain that it isn't. "When is it?" he asks instead.

"It's next Friday, a week from today."

Dan is opening his calendar as Phil speaks, checking to see if they have any prior events scheduled. They don't, which isn't too strange for a Friday night. He chews on his lip as he considers the offer. He's really interested in mental health charities and it would be great to get some more information about how they work and network with some of the people who actually work there. He's been trying to get the school board to approve a mental health support group for the secondary school for over a year, something only Phil and Louise are aware of. This would be perfect. The only thing holding him back...

"You know we'd have to deal with your nosy coworkers the whole night? And it'll be different being couple-y around other adults," Dan informs him. "I'm not saying I don't want to go, but..."

"I don't care. I think we can handle it, and I honestly don't care what they think about how we're acting or aren't acting." Phil's voice is firm and sure, and Dan wonders if he expected Dan to object for this very reason. "I want you there with me, if you want to be."

Dan smiles down at his desk at this. "Okay."

"You'll go?" Phil sounds mildly surprised, but overall very pleased.

"Yeah. I'd love to go with you."

Phil lets out what sounds like a relieved breath. "Okay. Perfect."

"I'd say see you then, but we live together," Dan jokes. He grins when he hears Phil snort.

"Bye, Dan. I'll see you at home later. Drive safe."

"Bye, Phil."

~~~

It's not until Dan gets home that evening that he realizes that in order for them to go out for an evening by themselves, they'll have to find someone to babysit the kids. It's a strange thought, suddenly. They hadn't really had a situation yet where neither of them could watch the kids, and it was strange to think that he was at the point in his life where he needed to enlist the help of another adult outside of his family to watch his children. He wasn't sure how he felt about it.

After sending all three of the kids off to do their homework, Dan makes his way to the kitchen to sort out their dinner plans for the evening. He's perusing their selection in the pantry when he hears the front door click shut. Rather than go to meet Phil at the door, Dan makes the executive decision to have pasta for dinner, moving over to the fridge to make sure they have everything they need.

"Hey," Phil greets from behind him.

Dan glances over, smiling at him. "Hi. Good day at work?"

Phil shrugs, dropping his jacket on the back of a chair haphazardly before coming to rifle through the cabinet next to Dan. "It was alright, yeah. How was yours?"

"Just another day. Nothing that exciting, I guess." He closes the fridge without looking inside, turning to rest his palm against the counter beside it as he studies Phil. "So, we need to find someone to watch the kids on Friday."

It takes Phil a few more minutes of rummaging through the shelves before he glances at Dan. "Alright. I can ask Martyn if he's busy?"

Dan nods. "That's fine. If he can't, we can find someone else” Dan snorts then, a thought occurring. “Honestly, it’s an hour from here to Reading, Mum could come babysit if we really needed her to."

"Sure." Phil turns to face him with a smile, revealing a little bag of mini marshmallows. He stares Dan dead in the eyes as he rips it open and pops a handful of the colorful treats into his mouth.

Dan quirks a brow, crossing his arms. "You insolent shit, you're spoiling your dinner," he chastises, chewing on the corner of his lip to hide his smile.

Phil shrugs as his hand sneaks back up to his mouth. "Want some?" He offers.

Rolling his eyes, Dan lets out a huff. "You're a child," he says, hauling himself to sit up on the counter as he holds a hand out. "Give me some pink ones, they're the best."

The sheepish grin that lights up Phil's face is definitely worth spoiling his appetite. He steps between Dan’s legs and carefully pours out a small handful of marshmallow treats into Dan's palm, and then proceeds to pick out the white and blue ones for himself. Dan's chest is flooded with warmth as he watches the childlike glee on his best friend's face. It's immensely precious, a secret thought he holds close to his heart.

"I don't think they actually taste any different," Phil's saying. Dan barely hears him. "I'm pretty sure they all just taste of marshmallows. Like, vanilla, or whatever it is that marshmallows taste of."

“Mhm,” Dan hums, the pink marshmallow dust sweet on his lips as he enjoys his coveted snack.

~~~

"Could you pause your game, guys? We wanted to have a chat with you about something," Dan says. He and Phil had agreed that they needed to go ahead and tell the kids about their plans to leave them with a sitter for an evening, so they could go ahead and get used to the idea now. So, after finishing their covert snack, they'd gone upstairs where the twins were deep in a Mario Kart race, Levi coaching them both from the armchair.

At Dan's words, the three of them exchange a series of panicked looks. He'd nearly laugh if his heart didn't break at how the connotation of a "talk" has truly traumatized them forever.

"Everything’s fine, we promise," Phil prefaces, moving to sit on the sofa closest to the stairs. Dan follows, perching on the arm beside him. Almost without thinking, Phil drapes his arm over Dan's thighs, while Dan's arm falls to Phil's shoulder.

"Okay..." Levi says. Jaiden pauses the game and drops the joy-con, turning to face Dan and Phil completely. "Are we in trouble?" He asks.

Dan tilts his head to the side, smiling. "Have you done something to be in trouble for?"

Levi looks confused but shakes his head. "I don't think so?" He sounds unsure.

Phil nudges Dan's stomach with his elbow, gently digging into his skin. "You're not in trouble, bub, no. But, we just wanted to tell you guys that a week from today, Dan and I have an event to attend. So, we'll be finding a sitter to come stay with you that evening."

Amelia immediately perks up. "Can it be Miss Louise?" She asks excitedly.

Smirking, Dan shares a look with Phil. "We'll see. We might ask Phil's brother Martyn and his wife Cornelia to do it, but if they can't, we'll see if Louise will."

She doesn't look particularly happy about it, but Amelia nods in understanding. Jaiden doesn't seem too bothered either way, his hands twitching towards the joy-con as he clearly waits for them to say that was all.

Glancing at Levi, Dan can tell immediately that they're not all on board with the idea. "Levi? Would you be alright with that? It would only be for a few hours."

Levi shrugs, then shakes his head. "Why can't I watch them?" He asks, gesturing vaguely to his siblings. "I'm fifteen, I could stay here and take care of them."

Dan shares a look with Phil. They hadn't considered this. But, knowing each other as long as they have, their mental-symbiosis gives Dan the idea that maybe it wouldn't be the best idea, or at least they needed to discuss it in more detail first.

"We'd prefer to have someone else be here with you," Phil says carefully. "If there’s an emergency or something, we think it'd be best to have an adult here."

Levi shrugs, staring down at his feet and saying nothing.

“But, we’ll consider it, yeah?” Dan adds, sending Phil an imploring look. The older man shrugs, but nods. “Just give us some time to talk about it before we make a decision.”

“Okay,” Levi answers.

Dan moves his arm to pat Phil’s chest. “Let’s go start dinner.”

Phil nods, allowing Dan to drag him from the sofa and off towards the stairs. Dan’s mind is already building a pros and cons list for Levi’s request, so it’s not until they’re already downstairs that he realizes he and Phil are still holding hands. A little embarrassed, Dan releases his grip, mumbling something about starting some pasta.

"So, do you reckon we really ought to consider letting Levi stay here alone with them?" Phil asks quietly, moving to pull two wine glasses from their cupboard.

Humming, Dan pulls a box of pasta from the pantry, looking for a jar of pasta sauce and huffing when he can't find it. "I think we owe it to him to at least have a conversation about it, yeah."

A contemplative silence settles over the kitchen, punctuated by the sound of Phil pouring wine into the glasses. Dan finally spots the jar of sauce, hiding behind a box of crackers. He sets it beside the pasta before moving to the other side of Phil to rummage through the cupboard for a sauce pan.

"Honestly... As long as he keeps his phone on him, and checks in with us fairly often throughout the night... I wouldn't mind him watching them."

Dan's head snaps up at this, and he stares at Phil in surprise. He hadn't expected Phil to actually be on board with the idea. He tries to school his expression into something more neutral as he fills the pan with water and sets it on the stove, clearing his throat before speaking. "Yeah? It doesn't bother you?"

Phil hands him a glass of wine, shrugging. "Not really. I trust him to be responsible. I mean, we let him stay home from school by himself and he was fine."

Dan chews his lip as he stares at the water. He's not sure how to voice his opinion on this without sounding like he doesn't also think it's probably a good idea. "This is different, though," he says gently, blinking up at Phil. "We'd be holding him accountable for two children."

"I mean, yeah. But, I think he loves them enough that he'd keep them safe and be responsible with them." Phil pauses then, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. "Are you... Do you think maybe we shouldn't let him?"

Taking a sip of the wine, Dan waves a hand dismissively. "That's not it," he says after he's swallowed. "I actually don't think it's a bad idea, I just... I don't know, I just didn't expect you to be so on board with it." He tries not to sound accusing. It's not an accusation.

Phil shrugs, scratching a fingernail against the counter absently. "Am I usually that strict?" He sounds sad, or maybe nervous.

Dan smiles softly. Reaching out, he tugs on the pocket of Phil's hoodie, dragging him closer and resting his head on Phil's shoulder. "Not exactly. Sometimes you're just more cautious about them than I am. You think through the situations more than I do, so sometimes you're a little more reserved about these kinds of things."

There's a soft huff of laughter that ruffles through Dan's curls. "I guess you're right," Phil agrees. He kisses Dan's hairline before gently shrugging him off, moving to grab the pasta to pour it into the boiling water. "So... Have we decided we're okay with letting him stay here with them?"

"I think so, yeah. If you're okay with it." Dan watches him pour the pasta in, reaching for the drawer to hand him a spoon when Phil needs it.

"I am. We'll talk to him after dinner, yeah?"

Dan nods. "Sure."

Phil steps back into his space and wordlessly pulls Dan against his chest again. Dan tucks his hands into Phil's hoodie pocket and hooks his chin over Phil's broad shoulder. Phil wraps his arms around Dan's shoulders and sighs. "You need a haircut," he whispers.

With a snort, Dan tilts his head and bites at a lock of Phil's hair. "So do you, mate."

"Can you call for a hair appointment tomorrow?" Phil requests, his voice a little timid.

Dan can't help but smile at this. Phil's grown his confidence over the years they've known each other, but there were lots of times after first settling into their friendship that he would ask Dan to make calls for him, always claiming he was too forgetful or lazy to do it himself. It took a couple years for Dan to understand the real reason.

"Phil? You alright?" Dan had asked through the bathroom door. Phil had been retching on the other side for close to five minutes now, and Dan was panicking, completely out of his element here. He was barely twenty, he didn't know how to really take care of anyone when they're ill, not like this.

"I'm fine," Phil had called weakly.

"You sound kind of… not fine," Dan had countered, trying for gentle.

It had taken a little while, but eventually Phil caved. "Could you call my mum?"

"Er- yeah? What- why do you need to speak to your mum?" Dan had been completely confused by then. Phil was a massive mumma's boy, but in the year or so they'd properly lived together, Dan had never known him to call her while he was ill.

"I just- please, Dan." Phil had sounded so pitiful, but Dan was more worried now than before.

"Can you let me in, Phil?" Dan had asked softly.

Phil did, but he did not seem pleased by it. He looked everywhere but at Dan, settling back against the tiled floor of the bathroom and closing his eyes weakly. "I need mum to call in a prescription for me."

Dan's brows had crinkled in confusion. "For what?" Before Phil could answer, Dan had remembered Phil mentioning his terrible migraines, and vaguely remembered him coming home with a little white paper bag from the pharmacy. "Your migraines?"

Phil nodded mutely.

“I can call it in. Where's your phone?"

Phil had barely had the energy to look surprised, but after Dan found the phone and called the prescription in, he went about making Phil some soup and doing his best to take care of him as well as he could, with his limited knowledge. Later that evening, with Buffy playing in the background, Phil had quietly told Dan that he had sometimes found it extremely difficult to do phone calls or things like that. “I know it’s stupid and- and everyone else thinks it’s easy, but it honestly just makes me feel so bad that I’d rather just. Not."

"I wish you would have told me," Dan had mumbled. "I can make calls for you. It doesn't bother me."

Many years later, though, and now Dan understands the extent of Phil's social anxiety better than he did back then. Phil does as well, which makes it a bit easier for him to try and get a grip on it, but still, he sometimes struggles. But Dan's always there to help when that happens, and he can't imagine there ever being a time when he isn't.

"Sure. We probably need to get Levi and Jai's done while we're at it." Dan laughs a little before adding, "I reckon we should see if Mia would like a trim, too. God knows that child can't stand to be left out." He smiles against Phil's shoulder when he hears him giggle.

"She really can't, can she?" He muses, his fingers playing idly with the ends of Dan's hair.

"Mm," Dan hums in vague agreement. He sighs before pulling out of Phil's grip to stir the pasta. He pouts when Phil fully steps away, grabbing his glass of wine and taking a large sip. Dan's about to tease him when he hears the unmistakable sound of the twins thundering down the stairs. He rolls his eyes as Phil huffs, clearly slightly agitated at their inability to remember that they shouldn't run inside. "Is it really even worth it to keep chastising them about it?" Dan asks, sipping his own wine.

Phil snorts. "It's the principle of the thing, Daniel."

Still, when the twins burst into the kitchen, Phil doesn't say a word. Dan smirks at him, but Phil pretends he doesn't notice.

"What's for dinner?" Amelia asks, tapping her hands in an off-beat rhythm on the table.

"Spaghetti," Dan tells her, glancing over his shoulder and finding Jaiden staring out the balcony door, probably at his pigeons. He turns to look at Phil, gesturing to their son. "Will you help him with the birds? It's been a few days since we've put seed out."

Phil nods, and Dan focuses on checking to see if the pasta's done. He hears Phil grabbing the bag of bird seed, instructing the twins out the door and onto the balcony. They're gone for several minutes, and when they come back in, Dan glances over at them with a small smile.

"I don't know, Jai-bird. I can't really tell if the birds are girls or boys, but you can name them whatever you want anyway," Phil is saying.

Jaiden seems to consider this. "Could I just name all the fat ones Behemoth?"

Dan snorts.

"Uh, sure, bubby. Whatever you want." Phil sends Dan a baffled look, and Dan only shrugs, grinning.

Amelia and Jaiden settle at the table, arguing over pigeon names, while Phil returns back to the stove, rolling his eyes. Dan smirks, poking Phil in the stomach gently. "Did you find one thicc bird?"

Phil wrinkles his nose delicately. "Ew. Don't say that."

Dan giggles helplessly, stepping away when Phil gestures to the pasta, obviously intending on draining it. He gets as far as the sink, but as soon as he sets the pan down in order to grab the strainer, a little wave of water splashes over the side and onto his hand. "Shit!" he squeals, his eyes flying wide immediately after, glancing between the twins and Dan in a panic.

Amelia gasps. "You said a Daddy word!" She shouts gleefully.

Ducking forward, Dan quickly takes the pan away and turns the cool water on, taking Phil's injured hand and sticking it under the stream. He prays Phil's too stunned to register what she said.

"I'm sorry, I- wait, what?" Phil's head snaps to the side and he glares at Dan.

Well, shit.

"A Daddy word," Amelia repeats, pointing at Dan, as if naming him isn't enough condemnation for her. Dan sends her a dirty look. She just giggles.

"Daniel," Phil starts, enunciating carefully to be heard over the sound of the faucet. "Have you been swearing in front of our children?"

"No!" Dan protests. Phil quirks a disbelieving brow at that. "Okay, well, maybe. But not on purpose! And it was only once," Dan amends.

"Nuh-uh," Amelia argues from the table. "It was twice!"

Dan shoots her a pleading look. "Amelia! Whose side are you even on?"

She hides her laughter behind her hand. "Sorry!" She most certainly does not sound like she means it.

"Hm," Phil hums, sounding unimpressed. "Someone's sleeping on the sofa," he decides.

Dan knows he's kidding, but he plays along, wrapping his arms around Phil and whining. "But... Philll."

"Nope. Shut it, you." Phil tries to keep a straight face as he strains the pasta and returns it to the pan.

Dan releases him long enough for him to get it back to the stove and pour in the sauce, and then he's right back behind him, his arms wrapped around Phil's waist as he nuzzles against Phil's back. "Phil," he starts, voice saccharine sweet. "It's really just a misunderstanding, you know."

"I fail to see how," Phil quips.

Pressing a trail of kisses across Phil's shoulder blades, Dan hums. "I didn't mean to. If I did, in fact, swear in front of them, I assure you it was just an accident. Hypothetically"

Phil seems unconvinced. Dan gently bites at his shoulder. "Yeah, alright. But no more swearing in front of them or we're doing a swear jar."

Dan smiles, kissing the spot he bit. Phil shivers. Dan smirks.

"And," Phil adds, his voice just a touch louder. "You have to make me coffee in the morning. And take the bins out."

At this, Dan scoffs, pulling away enough that Phil can turn around to face him. "No way," Dan argues. "It's your turn to do bins!"

Phil is unwavering, giving Dan a smug smile as he holds up his burnt hand. "I'm injured, babe. Out of commission."

Dan glares. Holding eye contact, he leans toward Phil's hand, nipping gently at the side of Phil's hand.

"Ow," Phil says, with absolutely no conviction.

"That's what I think of you blackmailing me like this," Dan informs him, resigned to his fate.

Phil uses his hand, still just a breath away from Dan's face, to pull Dan's face closer so he can press a kiss to his cheek. Amelia and Jaiden make synced gagging noises behind them. "Thank you in advance for taking out the bins, darling."

"Shut up."

~~~

After they’ve all sat down for dinner, Dan clears his throat. “Levi, we talked about next Friday,” he begins.

Levi puts his glass down and turns to face him, his gaze darting back and forth between him and Phil. “And?”

Dan can’t help but laugh at his impatience. “You can stay here and watch them. But, you have to keep your phone on you, so we can check on you guys every hour or so, okay?”

“Sure,” Levi agrees, nodding. “How long will you guys be gone?”

Phil shrugs when Dan glances at him for the answer. "The event starts at seven, so probably no later than eleven, maybe earlier. Will you be alright here?"

Levi's eyes twitch into a roll but refocus when he probably realizes they're both watching him. "Yeah. I mean, they'll basically just be asleep after you guys leave."

"Right," Dan nods. He feels slightly more comfortable knowing that. "We'll make dinner or order takeout or whatever before we leave, and then you guys can do whatever after that." He glances over at the twins then, who have been mostly quiet, probably only passively listening. "But, you two still have to listen to your brother, okay?"

Amelia glances up at this. She smiles brightly and nods. Jaiden blinks, but then shrugs, which Dan figures is probably the best agreement he'll get from him. "What if he makes us go to bed early?" Jaiden asks, sparing a peek over at his older brother, who's rolling his eyes.

"Well, your bedtime is nine on weekends. So, you still have to go to bed at nine," Dan tells him.

Phil taps the table, causing both the twins to look up at him. He's got a mischievous look on his face. "Dan's right, bedtime is still nine on weekends. But we won't be here," he says this very slowly, enunciating every word. "So you have to listen to Levi when he tells you to go to bed..." He glances at Levi, grinning. "At nine."

Levi gets it first, smirking. "Right. Nine pm, sharp. Got it."

"Yep. Nine pm." Phil winks at Jaiden, and after a second, the boy seems to catch on, and his eyes widen with his grin.

"Okay!" He says gleefully.

Dan sighs. "Philip," he says, exasperated.

"Daniel," Phil replies on a sigh, his lips curled up in a smile.

"You can't just..." Dan starts, then stops. Phil quirks a brow, unbothered, but Dan decides this is one battle he can lose, as really the twins going to bed a little late isn't going to hurt anyone.

"What?" Phil asks, almost challenging.

"Nothing," Dan says, dropping his head to rest on his hand. "Nothing at all."

Phil smiles at him, shaking his head before turning back to finish his dinner. "This might be a little premature," he announces after a second, taking a pause then. The kids turn to glance at him, all of them taking a pause from eating at the tone of his voice. If Dan had his phone on him, it would make a hilariously creepy photo.

"Well, go on, then," Dan prompts. "Don't leave us hanging."

With a barely-concealed grin, Phil sets his fork down, clasping his hands together and studying each of their faces carefully. "This might be a little premature," he repeats. "But who would like to start thinking about what's for dessert?"

~~~

Later that night, after all the kids are tucked in, Dan and Phil find themselves getting ready for bed together, going through their usual nightly routine with big yawns and shared smiles. Phil passes Dan his medication and Dan makes sure Phil removes his contacts, and when they’re finished in the bathroom, Dan leads the way to their bed. He yawns as he flicks off his lamp and crawls beneath the covers, blinking in the low light of the room.

“Are you staying up?” He asks once Phil’s settled on his side of the bed.

“Mm. No, I’m exhausted, actually,” Phil hums in response.

Dan gestures vaguely to the lamp still shining on Phil’s nightstand. “Mind turning that off?”

Phil is quiet as he rolls over and pulls the chain, sending the room into pitch darkness. Dan blinks quickly, forcing his eyes to readjust to the sound of Phil shifting around on the bed, trying to get comfy.

“Cuddle?” Phil asks, his hand rubbing up and down Dan’s arm.

Frowning a bit, Dan shakes his head sheepishly. “I’m not really in a cuddly mood tonight bub, sorry.”

“Oh,” Phil sounds surprised. “Okay, that’s fine.” He sounds like he means it.

Dan gently catches Phil’s hand as he retracts it, bringing his knuckles up to his lips for a gentle kiss. Phil lets out a soft sigh at the contact, and Dan smiles against his skin before releasing his hand.

They lay in silence for several moments before Phil speaks. “You’re not upset with me or anything, are you?” He asks, his voice unmistakably nervous.

“No, not at all,” Dan assures him. “I dunno, I’m just... feeling kinda sweaty, don’t really wanna be snuggled. I’m not mad at you.”

“Alright,” Phil replies. A few seconds pass before he says, “I reckon the kids are excited for Friday.”

Dan smiles. “Yeah, cause you had to go and basically tell Levi to let them stay up late. I’d be excited too,” he says teasingly.

Phil giggles. “Sorry about that. But I honestly think they’ll crash early anyway, just out of habit.”

Shrugging, Dan rolls to blink up at where the ceiling would be if it wasn’t too dark to see anything. “For Levi’s sake, I hope they do.” He chews his lip, his mind swirling with a couple thoughts he’s been considering the last few days. “Do you think maybe Levi is still uncomfortable living here?”

“Hm...” Phil considers it for a few minutes before he answers. “I think... maybe he’s having a harder time adjusting than the twins did.”

Dan nods, wincing when he accidentally chews through the skin on his lip, drawing a little blood. He smacks his lips against the metallic taste, nearly gagging as he tries to speak. “Maybe we should try to spend some more one-on-one time with him,” Dan suggests then.

“Maybe. We could go see a movie together or something? The twins could stay with my brother,” Phil offers.

“That might be nice. Do you think he’d even want to spend more time with us?”

Phil laughs at that. “I mean, honestly... if I was his age, I probably wouldn’t. I’d just want to have my own space and be left alone.”

Dan considers this for a while, and they’re both silent long enough that he wonders if Phil’s fallen asleep. The question is answered for him when Phil scoots closer and drops a kiss on Dan’s temple. “Don’t think too hard, love. We’ll figure something out.”

“Yeah,” Dan agrees passively. “We can maybe ask him about it tomorrow, see if there’s anything we can do to make him feel more at home or something. Do you reckon he’s just missing some of his old stuff?”

Phil yawns. “Maybe. Dunno what we’d do about that.”

Dan nods to himself before patting around until he finds Phil’s hand. He laces their fingers together before nudging at Phil’s shoulder, prompting him to roll over to face the door, allowing Dan to be the big spoon.

“Thought you didn’t want a snuggle,” Phil mumbles.

Dan shushes him. Phil snickers.

“Love you,” Dan murmurs against Phil’s hair a moment later, eyes drifting shut. He’s almost hoping Phil didn’t hear him, the words isolated and completely defenseless.

Phil releases Dan’s hand long enough to reach back and squeeze Dan’s hip gently in a fond gesture. “Love you too. Goodnight.”

~~~

There’s a tapping noise coming from either inside Dan’s skull, or perhaps the door. He realizes, somewhere in his soup brain, that it’s probably the door, but given he’s only slightly awake, he’s not completely positive. It stops and starts a few times, and eventually enough is enough.

They’d separated from their cuddle at some point and Phil is flopped out on his back, while Dan’s curled up on his side. Dan nudges Phil’s hip with his knee in an attempt to wake him. “Phil,” he mumbles. No response. “Phil.” Dan punctuates this with a sort of gentle kick to the shin

“Ow,” comes the mumbled response.

“Phil,” Dan whines, exasperated.

“Hm?”

“Door. Go see who’s at the door.”

Phil smacks his lips loudly in his nearly asleep state. “‘M asleep,” he rebuttals.

And really that leaves Dan only one choice.

“Dan!” Phil nearly screeches, flailing on the bed, suddenly blanket-less and exposed to the sharp chill of the room.

Dan hums innocently from where he’s confiscated all their covers. “Go. Door.”

“Why didn’t you get it?” Phil grumbles, even as he willingly climbs out of bed.

Snuggling down into the blankets, Dan sighs. “You were closer.”

Dan listens to Phil’s footsteps and then the sound of the door creaking open. His ears perk up like some weird superpower when he hears sniffling, followed by a tiny, “dad?”

“Oh, come here, Mia,” is Phil’s answering response. Dan imagines Phil wrapping her up in a hug then, and his heart is gripped with longing and fondness.

“I’m scared of the storm,” Amelia admits between shaky breaths.

“That’s okay,” Phil tells her kindly. “You can come sleep with us, baby. Come on.”

“It’s dark in here,” Amelia whispers as Phil leads her to the bed.

“Hold on, love.” There’s the feeling of the bed dipping, then the click of the lamp turning on. Dan scoots back on the bed to make room, holding out his arms with a tired smile, relinquishing some of his covers. Phil climbs back into bed behind her, pulling the blankets to cover himself as well.

“Night, babygirl,” Dan whispers to Amelia, dropping a kiss to the top of her head before letting his eyes drift shut once more.

His serenity lasts for only a few seconds before he feels something poke his chest. “Daddy?” Amelia whispers. “Are you asleep?”

Dan hums. “Mm. Not anymore,” he jokes.

It seems to go over Amelia’s head, as she replies with a quiet, “oh, sorry.”

Shaking his head, Dan brings her to his chest, checking that the blanket is tucked up evenly around her. “It’s okay, love. Are you warm enough?”

“Mhm,” she replies. “But daddy... I left my stuffy in my room.” She sounds positively devastated.

Dan, who had almost fallen back asleep in the time it took her to say that, tries to push out of the haze of sleep to think up a response. “Mm. Do you have to have it?”

“Yeah,” she whispers.

He sighs. “Alright.” Clearing his throat, he blinks over at his co-parent. “Phil. Babe, Mia left her plushy in her room and needs you to go grab it.”

Phil lets out an exasperated sigh. “Dan,” he states, calm but on the verge of annoyance.

“You already got up and lost some of the warm, you’ll be fine.”

“I hate you,” Phil informs him, squinting over at him in the low light of the lamp that still hasn’t been turned back off.

Dan smiles. “I love you too. Get the bear.”

“It’s an elephant,” Amelia corrects softly.

“Yeah, that,” Dan agrees. “Get her elephant.”

Phil makes a huffing noise and leans down to ruffle Amelia’s hair. “You two are lucky I love you both so much,” he says with a resigned sigh.

Dan dimples up at him, endlessly fond. “Thank you, dear,” he calls after him as Phil makes his way out of the room.

Amelia rolls over to blink up at Dan with shiny, tired eyes. “We’ve got a good dad,” she tells him thoughtfully.

Kissing the top of her head gently, Dan smiles. “Yeah, I reckon we do.”

A few minutes later, Phil returns with the plushy in hand. He leaves the door cracked open, and when Dan quirks an eyebrow at him, he shrugs. “Just in case Jaiden wakes up and gets scared.”

Dan’s lips quirk into a soft smile as he nods. “Good idea.”

Amelia holds her little hands out for the elephant, which Phil hands to her before tucking her in. He stays standing beside the bed for a moment, his fingers tapping against his thigh in a jittery sort of fashion.

“Are you coming back to bed?” Dan asks, his tone teasing.

Phil glances at him, shrugging. “I’m debating.”

“On?” Dan asks when Phil doesn’t elaborate.

Phil gives Dan a pitiful look, bringing his hand to rest on his belly. “I’m hungry.”

Dan rolls his eyes. “You’re not eating in bed in the middle of the night.”

Phil pouts. “Not even a little snack? Just a biscuit?”

“Absolutely not,” Dan snorts, indignant.

There’s a sigh, and Phil pulls the covers back, sliding underneath, resigned. Amelia shifts closer to him and whispers something in his ear. Phil’s eyes widen in surprise before he looks to Dan, his face full of glee. “Is that right?” He says, voice teasing.

“What are you two whispering about?” Dan mumbles, feeling very left out.

Amelia glances over her shoulder at him, giving him a very pitiful face. “Nothing,” she says, smiling innocently.

Phil grins before sitting up, reaching over Amelia to gently pet Dan’s hair, definitely a gesture of someone who wants something. “Dan,” he begins, his voice already full of smugness.

“No,” Dan interrupts, staring at him resolutely.

“But-“

“Absolutely not. You get crumbs in my bed, you‘re sleeping on the sofa.”

Phil looks absolutely abashed. “But, Daniel, you wouldn’t send our sweet little girl to sleep on the sofa, would you?” The smugness intensifies.

Dan narrows his eyes, his gaze flicking between the two of them. “What did you tell him, Mia?”

She smiles, patting Dan’s arm gently. “I asked if I could have just a tiny snack. A little one.”

Phil blinks at Dan pointedly. “And how can we say no to her? What kind of parents are we if we let her go hungry?”

Dan snorts at that. “Both of you finished your dinner and had dessert. I don’t think either of you are going hungry.”

“Daddy, just a little snack? We’ll bring you one too,” Amelia pleads, her little brown eyes so full of hope and innocence. Dan has no will against it.

“Fine.” They cheer quietly before he shushes them. “But,” he continues. “You can’t eat in here. I’m not kidding about crumbs in my sheets. Eat it in the kitchen, alright?”

Amelia nods excitedly before climbing over Phil, already desperate for the promise of food. Phil looks positively delighted as he leans over to press a kiss to Dan’s cheek. “You’re the best,” he says happily.

“Mhm,” Dan grumbles, waving them away.

Phil glances over at him, tilting his head to the side a bit. “You coming?”

Dan smiles at him gently, shaking his head. “Nah. I think this should be your thing with her. I don’t think I’m the midnight snack parent here.”

Something fond crosses Phil’s face, and he glances over to where Amelia is waiting for him by the door, scared to go to the kitchen by herself probably. “Alright. Want us to bring you something?”

Snorting, Dan shakes his head again. “I’m not breaking my own eating in bed rules, so that’ll be a no. But keep it quiet, yeah? I don’t want everyone in this house to know the sin you two are up to.”

Phil sticks his tongue out and Amelia covers her giggle with her elephant. “Be right back, then.”

Dan nods and gets comfy while they disappear down the hallway. He listens for a while at the quiet sounds of them whispering, and he’s glad the kitchen is closer to their room rather than the twins’ room. He hears what sounds like clinks of spoons and he guesses they’re probably having cereal. He wants to snort at the predictability of his best friend, but even sitting a room away he can’t pretend to be anything other than fond.

When they return, Phil’s carrying Amelia, who is sleepy and smiley in his arms. He’s got a wide grin on his face, and Dan can’t help but return it when they climb into bed. “Good snack?” He asks.

Phil nods and Amelia giggles. “We had some cereal,” she informs him.

Dan looks Phil dead in the eyes, giving him the most bland look he can muster. “Shocker,” he says, deadpan.

They maintain eye contact for just a moment before bursting into a fit of laughter. Amelia looks confused, but happy.

“You and your cereal-thiefing ways,” Dan mumbles, raising his arm and letting Amelia snuggle up to him. Phil looks down at the bed with a sheepish grin as he lays down. “Night, Mia. Love you.” Dan punctuates his words with a kiss to the top of her head.

“Night, daddy,” she mumbles, clearly already on the verge of sleep.

Phil blinks at him expectantly. Dan rolls his eyes. Phil pouts.

Leaning over Amelia carefully, Dan sloppily kisses Phil’s cheekbone. “I love you too, you absolute toddler,” he says, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Phil looks more than pleased when Dan pulls away. Dan watches as he snuggles down under the cover, tucking the blanket around their daughter carefully before closing his eyes. “Love you, Dan,” he mumbles when enough time has passed that Dan honestly thinks he may have already fallen asleep.

Dan blinks the moisture from his eyes. “Goodnight, bub,” he murmurs, the sound of Phil’s deep breaths already filling the silence.

~~~

Saturday is the same uneventful sort of day as it usually is in the Howell-Lester household, the day moving slow with everyone off school and work for the day. Dan is in the kitchen making an early lunch for everyone when Phil walks in, talking on his phone. Dan smiles at him, which Phil returns, a little less enthusiastically.

“Yes, I know, Mum,” he’s speaking into the phone. “I told you, Dan and I needed to think about it. We can’t just force them to go to your house for Christmas, can you imagine how awkward they’d feel?” Phil rolls his eyes as his mum speaks, probably chastising him for keeping her grandchildren away from her.

Dan can’t help but wince on Phil’s behalf. It’s strange enough suddenly being parental figures for three children, but add in the fabrication of their romantic relationship and, well, Phil’s family is feeling very left out of the loop, despite the fact that they’ve met the kids over FaceTime countless times. Dan knows the other man is holding onto what’s left of his sanity by a thread at this point, with all the pressure from his mum and the obvious obstacles that come with parenting. Dan definitely doesn’t envy his situation right now.

“Right. But there’s five of us now, mum.” Phil sends Dan a pleading look, and Dan can’t help but snicker. Phil rolls his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. He hardly ever gets cross with his mum, so Dan knows something else must be bothering him. “I’ll talk with Dan about it, okay? I can’t make any promises, though. I...” he looks over at Dan then, something conflicting flashing across his face. “I have to put the kids first now, mum. We’ll see how they feel about it, okay?”

Dan tears his gaze away, focusing back on the sandwiches he’s meant to be crafting. He listens as Phil says his goodbyes, quietly murmuring for Phil to tell Kath he loves and misses her on Dan’s behalf. Phil relays the message and hangs up. A long sigh escapes his mouth then, and Dan can’t help but glance over at him.

Phil looks exhausted. His eyes are tired and his shoulders are slouched in a way that Kathryn would be rather appalled by. Dan’s heart feels a stab of sympathy for him.

“Rough talk?” He murmurs, trying to be careful with his inflection. He doesn’t want Phil to think he actually knows what they were discussing, even though he does.

“Yeah,” Phil whispers after a while. “Mum wants us to come to hers for Christmas.” Dan nods, staying quiet as he clears up the mess he’d made of the counter. Phil sighs again. “I don’t know what to tell her.”

Dan waits to see if there’s more, and when it’s clear that there’s not, he turns to face him, leaning on the counter. “Well, do you want to?”

“Do I want to what?” Phil asks, bewildered.

“Go to your family’s house for Christmas,” Dan elaborates, keeping his tone neutral.

Phil looks surprised, like he hadn’t thought to actually consider it. “I... well, I don’t know. I hadn’t really thought about it. I mean, I’m hoping we still have the kids by then.”

Dan hates the stab of fear he feels at the implication that there might be an alternative to that, but he forces it down, smiling and stepping closer to wrap his arms around Phil’s waist in a hug. He thinks idly about how this is their first hug of the day. “I reckon we ought to at least consider it.”

“Hold on, wouldn’t your mum be upset if we went to mine instead of hers for Christmas?” Phil asks, almost sounding accusatory.

Dan snorts, pulling away. “Not likely. She’d want to see us, sure, but their big family Christmas dinner is always the Saturday after anyway.”

“Oh,” Phil says, somewhat surprised. “You’ve never told me about that,” he sounds offended.

“I guess it never crossed my mind?” Dan replies, a little puzzled as to why Phil seems to care. “Either way, my mum wouldn’t be fussed.”

Phil looks away as he considers it. Dan steps out of his personal space to give him room to think, moving around the kitchen and setting the table for lunch. Finally, Phil says, “I’ve never not been at my family’s house for Christmas Day.” He whispers it, like he’s ashamed.

Dan turns to glance at him, raising an eyebrow in surprise. “Yeah?” He says lightly, prompting him to elaborate if he wants.

“I don’t want to force the kids to go somewhere else if it’ll make them uncomfortable,” he continues quietly. “And I don’t want to not see my parents on Christmas, but…” He takes a breath, looking up at Dan with something vulnerable in his eyes. “I won’t leave you alone with the kids on Christmas.”

“Well...” Dan pauses to consider their options. “We could invite your family here, just for Christmas Day. Or we could speak to the kids and ask how they feel about Isle of Man for a holiday. You never know, Phil, they might actually want to go. They’ve met Kath enough through calls and all that, I really don’t think they would mind going.”

Phil nods slowly, his eyes becoming a little unfocused as he spaces out, deep in thought.

Before they can reach any sort of agreement, the twins come barreling into the kitchen, followed by their older brother, who looks vaguely apologetic. Whatever thoughtful silence that had existed in the kitchen before is completely gone when they enter.

“I tried to tell them not to run,” Levi says, shrugging.

At the same time, Amelia grabs the back of a chair, hopping up and down behind it as she asks, “What’s for lunch?”

Jaiden is the only quiet one, drifting to the balcony doors and gluing his face to the glass to watch for his pigeon friends.

Dan sighs, somewhere between content and exasperated. “We’re having sandwiches,” he tells Amelia. Smiling reassuringly at Levi, he says, “I think it’s a lost cause at this point, really.”

The teenager shrugs before going to sit at the table, glaring at his sister pointedly until she halts her jumping, looking sheepish as she slides into her chair. Dan smiles at this before looking over at Phil, who’s studying the table activity with a look of almost curiosity. Dropping a gentle hand to his arm, Dan waits for his gaze to refocus before speaking. “Love, could you get some drinks while I pass out food?”

Phil nods, offering a partial smile. “Sure.”

Dan waits until Phil’s turned to collect cups before he goes about setting out the plates for everyone, calling Jaiden to the table and promising they can feed the pigeons later.

After everyone has food and a drink, Dan allows himself to have a seat as well, making sure everyone has what they need before tucking into his lunch. The talk at the table varies from school, to video games, and to the excitement of being home alone the following Friday. Phil is much more present now, joking with the twins and listening carefully when Levi speaks. Dan’s so full of such a sense of normalcy that the thought of the true nature of the situation very nearly drifts away entirely.

Eventually everyone is finished eating and Levi offers to help clear everything up after the twins run to play in their room. Dan sees this as a perfect opportunity to ask him about how he’s feeling about his current living situation, and a shared glance with Phil says they’re on the same page. “Sure, bud,” Dan agrees easily. “Why don’t you help Phil clear the table while I put the rest of this stuff away.”

Levi nods, clearing plates away quietly. Phil glances over at Dan rather pointedly and Dan nods. Phil clears his throat, a little bit awkwardly, before speaking. “Levi,” he begins, his tone soft. The teen’s gaze snaps up almost immediately, a deer-in-the-headlights look on his face until something on Phil’s makes him relax slightly. “We were wondering how you’re feeling about living here so far.”

Levi looks vaguely uncomfortable, but shrugs. “Alright, I guess.” He pauses. Then, suspiciously, “Why?”

Dan shrugs from where he’s stood putting the sandwich stuff away. “We just want to make sure we’re doing what we can to make you comfortable here.”

“So, if there’s anything you need or want that we don’t know about, you can tell us and we can work on getting it for you,” Phil explains, giving Levi a bright smile.

Levi seems to consider this. He still looks vaguely suspicious. “Oh... okay. Well, nothing comes to mind.” He clears his throat awkwardly.

“And that’s fine! Just, you know, if you think of anything. You can tell us.” Phil says, giving Dan a soft glance.

Dan nods at him in agreement before turning to smile at Levi. “Yeah. You can always talk to us about anything.”

Levi glances between them, his gaze somewhat confused. “Right... okay.”

Feeling a little awkward at how poorly that seemed to go, Dan clears his throat. “I know it’s awkward for you,” he says quietly, trying not to make Levi feel even worse by having this conversation with Phil there. Levi gives him a wary look. “But we want you to feel at home here, if it’s possible.”

There’s a silence, and Dan turns to tidy the pantry up a little, allowing Levi the space to think or leave if he’s feeling uncomfortable. After a few moments, he sighs. “I... I appreciate that, really,” he says slowly. “But, like... you don’t have to try so hard.”

Dan glances over at him sharply in surprise, his gaze flicking over to find that shock mirrored in Phil’s. “Oh. Okay,” is all Dan’s mouth can come up with.

Levi shrugs awkwardly. “Just... it’s awkward enough, yeah? Like suddenly you two have a teenager to look after, and I mean, I’m glad you let me be with my brother and sister, but you can worry about them, not me.”

It takes a long moment for Dan to process this, and when he does he feels his eyes burn. “Levi...” he starts, his voice pained.

Before Dan can even begin to explain how wrong it is for Levi to think they shouldn’t care about him, Phil speaks. “Levi, no. We’re not- we care about all of you. We didn’t just let you in like some stray off the street, okay? We wanted you here, from the moment we realized that the twins had a brother they’d been separated from.”

Levi looks surprised, as if they hadn’t already tried to relay this information to him before. “I-“

Phil interrupts him, holding a hand up to pause his words. “As awkward as you think this is for us, it’s not. We consider the three of you a part of our family, okay? Not just the twins. You’re just as much our child as they are, and you will be until your case manager decides otherwise. And we want to do things for you, just like we do the twins, if you’ll let us.”

Levi looks actually, properly stunned. He blinks rapidly, his gaze flicking between the two of them before finally dropping to the floor. “Okay.”

Phil’s shoulders seem to relax at that. “Good. Now, go get your things ready so Dan can drive you to your group session.”

Without another word, Levi leaves the room, although he does give Dan a bewildered look as he leaves. Dan shrugs at him, unsure how to explain Phil’s sudden outburst of emotional connection.

Left alone with him, Dan looks over to find Phil leaning back against the counter, rubbing the palms of his hands against his eyes and taking shuddering breaths. Without even thinking, Dan moves over to him, tugging his hands away and sweeping gentle fingers over the tears pouring from Phil’s eyes. “Shh,” Dan whispers when Phil lets out something like a sob. “You’re alright, baby. I’m so proud of you. That- that was such a lovely thing to tell him.”

“I love them so much, Dan,” Phil cries, dropping his head to Dan’s shoulder suddenly. Dan stares at the side of his head in shock. Phil obviously cared for them, but he’d never gotten this openly emotional about his affection for the children before. Seeing it was making Dan sniffle a little as well.

“I know, Phil. I know.” Dan brings one hand up to stroke the back of Phil’s head while the other caresses down his spine.

“I can’t believe Levi thinks he’s- he’s- like, a charity case or something! He’s our son!” Phil’s nearly sobbing now, and Dan tightens his grip.

“Shh. Quiet now, love. Shh, I know,” Dan murmurs soft words as Phil manages to work it out. He was a little out of depth here, as Phil was normally the more rational, less tearful one between the two of them. Apparently today was the exception, however. “You’ll cry yourself into a migraine if you aren’t careful, baby.”

Phil sniffles a few more times after that, finally getting a grip on his emotions. Dan waits for him to pull away first, and when he doesn’t, Dan begins to pepper kisses to his cheek and temple and ear. “Sorry,” Phil whispers.

Dan presses a soft kiss to his earlobe. “Nothing to be sorry for. Everyone cries.”

It’s quiet for a bit, but eventually Phil tilts his head, catching Dan mid-smooch. Dan flushes at their close proximity, but before he can pull away or apologize, Phil tilts forward just enough to peck Dan’s lips with his own. It’s hardly a kiss, more just a brush, but Phil looks completely unapologetic when he pulls away.

“Thank you,” he mumbles, hugging Dan tightly.

Dan’s not sure what he’s thanking him for, so he stays silent. They’re interrupted by the sound of footsteps, and Dan steps carefully out of Phil’s grip. Phil clutches his shirt anyway, and Dan can’t help but smile at that. “Ready to go?” He asks Levi, who’s hovering by the door looking awkward.

“Yeah,” he replies. He looks down, scuffing his shoe against the tile. “Phil?”

Phil looks surprised when he glances over at him. “Yeah?” He says, his voice a little scratchy from crying.

Levi seems to consider his words carefully before replying. “Er- thank you. For what you said earlier.”

“Of course,” Phil says immediately.

The teen nods, not lifting his gaze. Evidently that’s all that he’s got to say.

Dan tilts his head to look at Phil, who looks back at him with a surprised, but proud face. Dan doesn’t even think about holding back, dropping a soft kiss to Phil’s mouth like it’s nothing. Like it doesn’t send his blood racing and his heart stuttering. Like he does it every day.

Phil looks... well, happy. Dan shocks himself with the thought, but his mind only supplies that description of the look on his face when Dan pulls away from the brief kiss. “Drive safe, okay?”

“I will,” Dan nods. He pushes Phil’s quiff up from where it’s drooping. “Need anything while I’m out?”

“Snacks?” Phil asks, his voice sweet.

Dan rolls his eyes. “You’re going to snack yourself into a sugar coma, bub,” he teases.

Phil grins, his tongue caught between his teeth. “And you’ll take care of me while I’m in a coma, right?”

Dan kisses his nose. “If I have to.”

They grin at each other, and somewhere, Dan feels some relief in his heart or mind or the void where his soul should be. It feels a little bit like a fading resolve, or some wall being chipped away at. He feels lighter than he has in weeks, standing in his kitchen banting affectionately with his best friend in the whole world

“Go, he’ll be late,” Phil prompts, pushing Dan away.

“Movie night when we get back?” Dan asks, moving to the door.

Phil smiles and nods excitedly. “And pizza.”

“Perfect. It’s a date.”

~~~

Several hours later, after an overwhelming amount of pizza and a passive watch of Disney’s Hercules, Dan and Phil see the kids off to bed, much to the chagrin of the twins, who for all their complaining, stumble down the stairs like little drunks. Dan teases them for it, and Amelia, predictably, teases him right back, reminding him of the time he tripped down the stairs, stone-cold sober. Much giggling on the twin’s behalf later, after Dan has tried, and failed, to defend himself, the kids finally say their goodnights and head to their bedrooms.

“I’m so tired,” Dan moans the minute he steps into their room. He flops down onto their bed, star-fishing out in that way Phil does that usually annoys him so much.

“Sucks, bub,” Phil chuckles. “Gonna take your jeans off?” He asks, rummaging through their dresser.

Dan considers it. He really is very tired. “Is there some way I could perhaps convince you to do it for me?” He asks sweetly, fluttering his eyelashes up at Phil when the older man glances at him. He’s mostly kidding.

Phil’s eyes roll up to the ceiling at this, but sighs as he walks over and deposits his pajamas onto the side of the bed not currently occupied by Dan’s noodle limbs. “Undo ‘em for me,” he instructs, bringing his hands down to tug Dan’s socks off for him.

Dan hadn’t expected this. Honestly, he’s not sure he would’ve done it for Phil, really for no reason other than how it would feel to undress his best friend. Especially now that he knows there’s some very not-platonic feelings floating around his heart. Just that conscious thought, accepting those feelings he has for Phil, sends Dan’s blood rushing to his head, making him dizzy.

“Dan?” Phil calls quietly, patting Dan’s thigh to get his attention. “Do you actually want me to?”

“I... I’ll do it. I was just kidding, really,” Dan stutters out. He clears his throat. “Thanks, though. You’re a good friend.” He’s glad he’s still laying on his stomach, so he doesn’t have to meet Phil’s eyes as he says it.

There’s the feeling of hands running over his calves, gently massaging, and Dan sighs. “Of course, bub,” Phil quietly murmurs. “I’m gonna go take a shower, okay?”

“Yeah,” Dan agrees passively.

Phil squeezes his leg. Dan listens to his footsteps, allowing his eyes to flutter shut as the bathroom door clicks shut.

He doesn’t mean to fall asleep, but when he drifts back into the present world, it’s to the feeling of something tugging underneath him. “Mph?” He huffs a confused sound.

“Shh,” Phil whispers softly. “It’s just me, Dan. I’m trying to cover you up, scoot over a bit.”

After blinking the sleep out of his eyes a bit, Dan realizes that he’s still laid on the bed, wearing the same clothes he laid down in. Phil’s stood next to him, working on tugging the blanket out from under him so he can cover him up. “My jeans,” Dan complains.

Phil nudges him to sit up. “Go take them off and brush your teeth. You’ll wake up in the middle of the night anyway if you don’t go to bed with a clean mouth, remember?”

Dan grumbles but does as he’s told, stumbling off the bed and into the bathroom, unbuttoning his jeans as he goes. After taking a wee and tugging the stupid jeans off his long legs, Dan brushes his teeth slowly, feeling groggy from his short nap.

“Don’t forget to take your meds, babe,” Phil says, poking his head into the bathroom and tapping the doorframe to get Dan’s attention.

Nodding, Dan waves him off. Phil leaves him to it, allowing Dan to finish his routine alone before going back to their bedroom to join him. Phil’s sat up at the headboard, his glasses sliding down his nose as he looks down at the worn pages of a book. Dan crawls into bed beside him, leaning his head on Phil’s shoulder. Wordlessly, Phil tilts his head and kisses Dan’s forehead. Dan is so, so warm.

“What are we reading tonight?” Dan asks softly, too lazy and tired to actually read the page.

“Ready Player One,” Phil replies, turning the page. “Want me to read to you?”

Dan snuggles against his side shamelessly, wrapping his arm around Phil’s stomach. “Yeah.”

Phil takes a moment to pull the covers up and over Dan, smoothing them over his leg and patting his knee before bringing his hands back to the book. Phil’s voice is low and soothing as he reads, and Dan is very nearly asleep when he hears a soft knock on the door. They both turn to face it in sync, and Dan has to bite back a giggle at the movement.

“Come in,” Phil calls, loud enough for whoever to hear, but quiet enough that it won’t wake anyone asleep.

The door swings open after a second to reveal Levi, who shifts awkwardly from foot to foot, avoiding their eyes, cradling his hand awkwardly.

“Hey, bub,” Dan says softly. “What do you need?”

Levi steps closer to the bed, holding his left hand up with a grimace. “I, uh... kinda cut myself. I didn’t know where the band-aids were,” he says, looking the epitome of awkward and uncomfortable.

Dan immediately climbs off the bed and heads into the bathroom, gesturing for Levi to follow. “I’ll give you some to put in the other bathroom, I thought we had some but Phil’s the actual clumsiest person alive so sometimes we run out,” Dan explains with a smile. Levi offers a quiet laugh, hovering in the door.

“I am not!” Phil protests from the bedroom.

Dan rolls his eyes, but mouths, “he is,” causing Levi to laugh for real. Dan grins, gesturing to Levi’s hand. “Want me to look at it?” He offers gently.

Levi shakes his head. “It’s barely a scratch, honestly. I don’t even know why it’s bleeding, it doesn’t hurt.”

Dan sends him a suspicious look as he rummages through the cabinet. “What happened, anyway?”

“I was working on that art project I told you about,” Levi replies. “The paper mache thing? I was cutting the paper and the scissors just slipped.”

“Hm,” Dan hums neutrally. “Be more careful, alright? You might need your hand later in life,” he jokes.

Levi rolls his eyes but nods. “I will. It’s really just a scratch, though, honest.”

“I’m sure,” Dan agrees. “But make sure to wash it out and put some antibacterial gel on it, okay?”

Looking on the verge of another eye roll, Levi manages a more impatient nod, holding his hand out for the bandaids. “Got it,” he concedes.

Dan supplies him with a bandaid for now and several extras, making a mental note to buy a new box the next time he’s out. He follows Levi out, going to climb back in bed as Levi shuffles to the door.

“Levi?” Phil calls gently.

The teen turns around, raising his eyebrows. “Hm?”

“Everything at school going alright?” Phil asks. “I feel like we never get a proper chance to ask you about it with the twins always around.” He smiles as he says it, softening the almost accusation in his words.

Levi shrugs. “It’s alright. It’s school,” he says, his voice betraying nothing.

“Yeah,” Phil agrees with a twitch of his lips. “I get what you mean. But so far, it’s okay? The teachers aren’t too bad and the kids are alright?”

“Yeah, they’re fine,” Levi says. He gestures at Dan vaguely. “I think he gave me all the easy teachers because they’ve all been pretty nice.”

Dan is about to protest but Phil sends him this lovely smile and Dan shuts up immediately. “Good, good,” Phil says. “I guess we’ll let you get to bed, then.”

Levi nods, waving at them a little awkwardly. “Alright. Night, guys.”

“Goodnight, Levi,” Dan calls after him as he walks out the door. He waits a beat to make sure Levi is well down the hall before turning to look at Phil. “You really are a good dad,” he says, almost conversationally.

Phil smiles at him fondly. “I should be. I’ve been practically raising you for the past ten years.” His tone is joking but it still embarrasses Dan, just a little, to be reminded of their slight age difference.

Dan can feel the wicked grin making its way onto his face. He can’t control himself, obviously, with the joke presented so perfectly. He leans in, resting his chin on Phil’s shoulder and pressing a feather-light kiss to Phil’s ear before whispering in his most sultry voice, “Daddy.”

“Ew!” Phil splutters, immediately shoving Dan away. He looks absolutely mortified when he’s put some space between them. “Never say that again, Dan,” he warns, sounding very, very serious, and very, very disturbed.

Dan erupts into a fit of laughter at Phil’s reaction, swiping tears of mirth out of his eyes. “Oh my god. You’re too easy! And the look on your face,” Dan sighs, catching his breath. He snuggles back against Phil with an innocent smile that Phil returns with a glare. “I promise I won’t say it again. I just had to, honestly.”

“You really... didn’t,” Phil argues, flicking his gaze up so he doesn’t have to meet Dan’s eyes.

Pressing his lips to Phil’s cheek is Dan’s apology, which Phil seems to accept if his sigh and the way he wraps an arm around Dan is any indication. “That really wasn’t funny,” he mumbles, collecting his book back on his lap and flipping it open again.

“Sure it was,” Dan replies easily, watching with a cringe as Phil returns to his dog-eared page. “It was funny to me.”

Phil knocks his head against Dan’s gently as reprimand. “You’re doing an awful lot of chatting for someone who was nearly asleep only half an hour ago, bub.”

Dan smiles against his shirt. “Alright, alright. I’ll be quiet.” Phil huffs like he doesn’t believe it but clears his throat to start reading. Before he can, Dan interrupts him. “Can you start at the beginning? It’s been a while since I’ve read this and I don’t remember who half these people are.”

There’s a groan, and Dan can’t help but bite back a laugh. “No, I’m not starting at the beginning, you horrible boy. This is supposed to be my quiet reading time.”

“Sorry,” Dan lies. “But you offered to read to me, so...”

“I’ll start at the beginning of this chapter. And if you get confused I’ll explain what’s happening. But otherwise shut your mouth and go to sleep, yeah?” Despite the irritation he’s obviously feeling at Dan pestering him, Phil’s words are still incredibly fond and bear no actual unkindness.

“M‘kay,” Dan agrees. “You may proceed.”

There’s a pause as if Phil’s waiting to be interrupted, but when he isn’t, he jumps right into the story, reading it at just the right volume for Dan to listen passively, his eyelids getting heavier and heavier with every paragraph. Eventually he nods off on Phil’s shoulder, but in their position his head lulls to the side and the movement jolts him awake again.

“You okay?” Phil whispers.

“Mm. Mhm. Sleepy,” Dan mumbles back.

Phil turns down the corner of his page, making Dan cringe, before placing the book onto his bedside table and turning off the lamp. He’s careful not to jostle Dan too much as he guides him into a proper sleeping position, tugging Dan’s pillow closer to his own and guiding his head to it. Dan allows his eyes to drift shut as Phil settles behind him, pulling the duvet up and over their shoulders.

“Warm enough?” Phil whispers against Dan’s hair.

“Mhm.” Dan reaches back until he finds Phil’s hand, pulling his arm to wrap around his waist. He feels a kiss against his neck and smiles. “Goodnight,” he murmurs.

Phil hums a response into the lack of space between them, but Dan’s already drifting back off to sleep.

#phan #phanfiction #parent!au #parent!phan #foster parent au #bbc producer!phil #school counselor!dan #fake relationship #friends to lovers #best friends #if you don't love me pretend #iydlmp #chapter 19

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nearlynoticed · 4 years

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I've been doing some reflecting and processing over some things that are weird to me. I love my parents and I certainly didn't have a "bad" childhood, but as I get older (and- let's be honest- quarantine has both given me time to reflect and really just amped up all the mental issues) there are some things that bother me... (Incomplete just what's popped in my mind this morning.)

I'm 26 and still do not have a driver's license. My 25 year old brother got his at 23 I believe. My 21 year old brother doesn't have his yet, nor my 17 year old sister. The other is 14 currently, but I'm sure as heck the pattern will continue. I used to think I was the fuck up big sister who failed at being the good example this time. Aunts made fun of me when my cousin who is 10 years younger than me got his. But my dad never made time to help any of us learn (now he's addicted to drugs and that's been the trouble for brother number 2 for this year at least) and my mother would have anxiety the moment we pulled out of the driveway and start screaming. I live in a city with good transport now so I don't need to drive, but I get so anxious now just sitting behind the wheel let alone doing anything. Even if we had help learning, we couldn't forget for a second that there was no money for insurance or cars anyway, if we asked to go driving my mom would mention it. I could only get a job close enough to walk to and my $7.25 would go back to them

And the not driving? That kept us from doing anything. We'd go to school and come back. I can count on one hand the amount of times I went out with friends as a teen. I never went to any parties, movies or anything.

Which is one thing, but a whole different beast when I also could not have anyone else over to my house. My mom wouldn't allow it. Some kid come over and see her "messy" house? Her "junky" old furniture??? She couldn't handle it. Sometimes she'd agree, but there's be a weeklong freak out before the set date (could only ever be done in advance) we'd deep clean everything, but the worst was hearing her complain about it. SHE EVEN DOES THIS WITH OUT OWN FAMILY, just mutters that she wishes the wouldn't come. Like God this didn't dawn on me how much this affected me but damn

I wouldn't say mom is OCD per se, but she does have her own set of obsessions and compulsions. There are certain lights in the house that make her irrationally upset?? All of us kids actually preferred those lights because we could see better for doing homework at the table etc, but she'd storm in yelling and turn the lights off in the middle of whatever we were doing, and switch to some dim lighting that "doesn't show your finger prints on everything"

My mom comes from a crazy religious background. If we went to visit her family I had to wear only long skirts/dresses, long sleeves, no jewelry, no makeup, no haircuts. She was so worried about what her family would say about her and her kids. We had to put on this charade. I was 16 when I got on Facebook in 2010 and my mom had one too, but she was afraid of people finding me and thinking she had raised some godless heathen whore with pierced ears. I was 18 when I got my first hair cut.

"You hate me?" Oh fuck this one should have been painfully obvious from the start but it didn't click until my bf said something like this semi-jokingly and I started tearing up and then I realized how often my mom did this. (I told the boy to not do this again btw) see also "you don't love me?' "I'm a bad mother" "I can't do anything right" and various things about going to hell. It was half her controlling my behavior and half her putting me in control of her mental and emotional health.

My mom had five kids. Even though she was a stay at home mom still had some parentification issues as the eldest daughter. They literally called me "mini mom". Free built in babysitter (now my baby sister babysits other people's kids for money but I never got to do that because I was busy watching them lol) I had to be the one to give siblings the sex talk, and tell my sister's about periods. It was talking to my brothers' teachers about their grades. It was my mom making me straight up do projects for my autism spectrum brother because it was easier than her sitting down and helping him. It's " can you talk to your brother. He's been graduated for two years and doesn't know what to do " "Maybe you can talk to D and figure out what's going on with him" Its me living ten states away and feeling guilty that I've abandoned them.

I was literally such a good kid never gave anyone trouble but mom still snooped through my room and DUG THROUGH MY TRASH. Mom also hated closed doors.

Now that my dad's addicted to meth and my parents are divorcing they did this thing where they started by hiding everything from me since I'm far away, then dumped it all on me at once, then started treating me like their therapist!!!!!!!!!

My dad was more absent and working so a lot of this is directed at my mom. I love her and understand that her childhood was actual hell. But these things still got me fucked up and I'm trying to o put in work to make sure I don't perpetuate anything!

#mental health #emotion neglect #parental neglect #parentification #not sure any of these are accurate to my experience just correct me if im wrong.#any time i think about these things i shut myself up and say im exaggerating and this is bs but idk

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incorrectquotes-randomthoughts · 4 years

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(This is so long I’m sorry but I had to rant cause honestly I’m scared )

I literally made a post the other day about how we have to welcome in new fans and treat them equally but truth be told? I’M. NOT. FUCKING. READY

Bitch bitch bitch I mean I’mma have to stand this kids hardcore shipping Luke x Annabeth ???? Or Luke x Thalia ???? SIS they’re SIBLINGS wth Annabeth realized it later on it changed there was an arc.

Like this fandom closed the discussion on Luke’s redemption arc and the way he is and his motives we agree we have opinions but we’re FINE. Are you telling me ma boy is gonna be played by some hot teen (he is older) and 12 y/o’s are gonna be biased and I’m gonna have to yell at them across a screen cause they’re gonna act like Luke is a saint !!!!??

THE SHIPS. FUCKFUCKFUCK. BoTL Percy spent worried about Nico and if it’s done properly we’re gonna have all that worry face first and no one’s gonna be able to ignore it like the AMOUNT OF PEOPLE who are gonna say that’s OTP. I mean SHIT.

I haven’t even been in the [internet] fandom for that long like how I’m I supposed to go against this people who were here before me I mean they LEFT but what arguments do I have !?!?

The amount of people who only read pjo and went BYE like I can’t bring HOO up in discussions wdym????? How I’m I supposed to talk development and change and character arcs and what would they do in certain situations if you’ve never heard of them ????

I’M NOT READY

Y’all wanna know something terrifying? The maze runner fandom. Because there’s so little creators out there who actually love it the way I do and so much of it is obsessed with Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Newt I haven’t been there since I finished the books I couldn’t stand it. And I can’t stand the fact that our Percy actor is gonna be good-looking and I’m TERRIFIED of the amount of people who are gonna be here for what the actors look like you can’t understand this.

I MEAN all them debates are coming back up I can’t do this. This is such a fantastic fandom (and I’m in many, trust me) like we’re all at peace there’s no arguments you can literally come by and just vibe.

OH FUCK ANOTHER THOUGHT. So since we’re getting official characters and stuff I swear if ONE IDIOT hates on viria’s or Livibis’ or Markiehh’s art (they’re the one’s at the top of my head) because it’s “inaccurate” or “far off” from what they look on screen they better watch the fuck out because they have no idea the fandom they’re messing with.

OH AND SHIT I know this has been brought up but the way we treat Nico??? All baby and soft and all that and how our fanon Nico is just so different from the actual canon kick-ass Nico, ya know? But we kinda understand how powerful Nico is but we still love him cause poor kid was 10 and then all of it happened and he was 13/14 (?) during tlo and the PTSD so we’re chill with that BUT. There’s the fact that our son is gay and god the amount of people who are gonna come in (cause there’s obviously gonna be foreshadowing) and be like “ooh gay baby look at him” that’s badly explained but I know you guys understand. And specially if we get to HoO and the horrors getting to ToA would be. Like we already have our fanon Nico but if someone DARES to even IMPLY that Nico can’t kill you with a thought the entire fandom know better and will prove them wrong. But the new fans what would they know.

You know what’s going to be fucking horrible ???? PARENTS. I mean UGHHHHHH. My parents only know I’m reading what I tell them I’m reading (“a book about Greek mythology”). Like I’m terrified of my mom picking up The Burning Maze sitting on my desk or any Cassandra Clare book cause the homophobia in this household is astronomical. (Don’t know how many of you will understand but the PANIC I went through reading the red scrolls of magic? God knows she would check every book I get form the library from the on) Back to the point sorry. But y’all pjo is mostly safe but Rick already talks about how parents complain about adding a Genderfluid character to a Norse mythology book (I mean Ma’am go educate yourself) and how his books “would be more successful without [gay] characters” ???? What if we get Kane Chronicles some asshole is gonna come up about Sadie being polyamorous, Alex and Magnus are gonna be a problem, Will and Nico, House of Hades is gonna make Karens riot because of one scene.

You can see how Disney treats Seblos (hsmtmts) compared to the other couples on the show. You can see how not even half of Andi Mack is actually on Disney+ (after getting brutally canceled) you can see how Diary of a Future President hasn’t been renewed when it’s reviews are 100% for both critics and public. How the Love, Simon series was removed (now on Hulu) because it wasn’t a good mix with “the family-friendly content on Disney+” (underage drinking + s*x are brought up in discussions but the show isn’t out yet and we have no idea). So pardon me for being scared of how this is going to be treated.

Back to the new fans. I’m gonna say the topic that’s the most brought up that causes discussions is Leo (?) Tbh I’m still lost on the Leo x Echo thing that everyone else seems to understand. Plus the hate on Caleo is probably the biggest issue in this fandom. (Which is like saying the biggest problem in a perfectly written essay are some barely noticeable erase-marks, but still). Anyways a fair amount of people dislike Leo for reasons I kinda comprehend. I know a kid and he’s the exact definition of Leo, (I’ll probably talk about this in an individual post) and people don’t like him, I know most of you would avoid him. I know he’s great but people just don’t seem to like him.

(wOw i’M sO gOOd aT sTaYInG oN tOpiC)

I don’t think I’m gonna be able to survive hate on characters that probably WILL come.

Solangelo is called rushed a lot and I would want to see this two fall for each other and Nico let down his walls and talk about his PTSD from Tartarus (which friendly reminder Percy saw for a few minutes the way Nico saw it the whole time and it was the worst part of his entire experience there). But I mean there WERE six months between BoO and ToA, I am pretty sad we didn’t get to see them.

oH JESUS follow-up on Nico earlier; the fetishization, or Apollo, or Will.

Ok... ha, this is fun....

OH WAIT NEW THOUGHT SJDJDJD On the topic of Luke’s redemption arc... BIANCA,, they better do my girl properly who thought she had stayed months at the Lotus Hotel babysitting her lil’ brother and then was put into a school where they were outcasts and she probably knows as much as Nico about mythomagic from his rants and she thought he was gonna be safe and she wanted freedom and be her own person so she joined the hunters. And as a fandom we’ve talked this out but what about the new fans, they better not try to act like she did anything wrong cause that’s just not-

OH AND no one better hate on Clarisse cause yeah she’s the minor antagonist but she’s a very well-written character who doesn’t change the way she is but is kinda less of an ass towards Percy. And she and Silena are good friends and she and Chris are dating and she is a human being with valid feelings. She was terrified for Chris in BoTL and cared for him and nurse him back to sanity and stayed with him. She throws Percy and Annabeth into the lake which so it’s prove she and Percy are more in the friendly banter I-won’t-admit-how-much-I-care-for-you-if-it-meant-my-life relationship. Then this doesn’t happpen until the last two books (seasons?) so we can’t actually go around saying it? In SoM we learn about how Ares treats her which is SO important so I guess S1 comes out and we sit here telling new fans “You’ll know next season” cause we can’t directly spoil it and then we’re like “You gotta wait for seasons 4 and 5” ugghhhhh this is too much.

Ok I’m done for now I’ll reblog this with any new terrifying thoughts when if they come.

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luci-in-trenchcoats · 6 years

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Dad’s Worst Nightmare (Part 1)

Summary: The reader has a fight with her dad, Jensen, before she heads to a sleepover at her friends. But the sleepover turns into a big party that ends up changing the reader and her father’s lives forever...

Masterlist

Pairing: Jensen x daughter!reader

Word Count: 5,300ish

Warnings: language, underage drinking, mentions of drugging, pissed off Jensen

A/N: I felt like trying something different to get me out of some writer’s block so here’s my first Jensen daughter series!...

A/N #2: The reader is 17 years old in this series...

“But dad-”

“I don’t care,” said you dad, your eyes rolling in response. “You’re not sleeping over Sara’s tonight.”

“Mom said I could,” you said, Danneel walking into the kitchen.

“What’d I say you could?” she asked, opening up the fridge.

“You said I could sleepover Sara’s tonight,” you said. Your mom winced and looked at your dad, his face turning to a scowl.

“Sorry, Jay. I did tell Y/N earlier in the week she could. The girl’s are having a night,” she said, you dad frowning.

“This is my first weekend home where all our schedules aren’t crazy in over a month,” said your dad, looking at you. “The little guys are with their grandparents. You played your last soccer game of the season last weekend. You don’t want to hang out with me for one night?”

“I’m seventeen dad,” you said, his head shaking. “What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal? I haven’t spent any time with my oldest kid in forever, that’s the big deal,” he said.

“Mom,” you said, looking to her for some help. “Please tell your husband everyone else’s lives aren’t put on hold the second he decides to come home from playing dress up.”

“Playing dress puts food on that table,” said your dad. “And I do not-”

“Mom, you said I could stay at Sara’s. Her parents will be home and I don’t have indoor soccer until noon which I will certainly be on time for,” you said, glaring over your shoulder at your dad.

“Did you finish your homework?” she asked.

“Yes,” you said, cocking your head. She held up her hands in defeat. “Thank you.”

“You’re letting her go?” asked your dad, your eyes wide.

“I can’t believe you right now,” you said, his own wide right back at you. “What do you want from me? I get straight A’s. I’m on honor roll and do a million clubs and sports and volunteer and work at the brewery and I babysit all the time and I keep my room clean and do chores and I even have my college application already written thank you very much. What more do I possibly have to do to be good enough, huh?”

“Y/N, that’s not-”

“I’m going to pack,” you said, storming out of there before you did something that got you grounded.

“Y/N,” asked your mom as she drove you to Sara’s. You hummed from the passenger seat, staring out the window. “Your dad just misses you is all, sweetie.”

“Could have fooled me,” you said, biting your lip, hoping she didn’t call the whole thing off on you for that. You turned in your seat, Danneel not saying anything as she kept driving. You’d known her since you were little, about five years old and she’d always been mom to you, even if she wasn’t biologically. You absolutely loved your siblings and being a big sister to them but you couldn’t help but feel like in recent years you were the “accident” child. You were, not that your dad would have ever said something like that to you, but things had been different lately and you’d chalked it up to growing up and becoming independent at first. Now, you felt like keeping a nice barrier from your dad was a good thing. You’d be eighteen in a few months and the next year you could leave and finally let him have the life he actually wanted without the kid he didn’t mean to make around.

“...you hear what I’m saying, honey?” said your mom, your head nodding as if you’d heard anything of what she’d been going on about the past five minutes. She pulled up outside of Sara’s, ruffling your head.

“Mom,” you groaned, trying to slide out of the car.

“I’ll pick you up at eleven tomorrow so we can swing home and get you changed for your game, okay?” she asked.

“You have brewery stuff tomorrow, don’t you,” you said, her face falling. “S’okay. Not everyone’s parents come to their games.”

“Dad’ll love to go for the both of us. Call if you need anything,” she said, your head nodding as you grabbed your backpack. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” you said, giving her a wave as she backed out. She paused a minute before you jogged up to the front door and Sara opened it, giving a wave before your mom took off. “I am so glad to be out of there.”

“I know. My parents are on a work trip. The house is mine for the entire weekend,” she said with a smile. You smiled back, figuring it wouldn’t be a big deal if her parents weren’t home. “Come on. Let’s ditch your bag and get ready.”

“Ready?” you asked, Sara pulling you upstairs with her.

“My parents are out of town? I’m throwing a huge party obviously.”

“Sara,” you said about an hour into the thing, wincing at the number of people there, some from school, a lot you didn’t know, some even older looking and so much alcohol around you felt drunk off the fumes.

“Are you drinking straight vodka?” she asked, staring into your cup. “Wow.”

“It’s water,” you said, rubbing your bare shoulder. “I don’t like this shirt.”

“I know. You love it,” she said, bopping you on the nose before she walked away. You rolled your eyes at her, trying to hide away on the fringes of the party. There were too many people and way too many you didn’t know. Your reserved side was in full force tonight. You sighed, deciding to head upstairs and change out of the low cut crop top she’d made you put on. You felt naked and crossed your arms over your stomach and chest as much as possible before you realized her bedroom door was locked, your eyes rolling when you realized why. You hid back downstairs, a guy that looked like he was in college chuckling when he walked into the kitchen.

“Hey. They out of Bud?” he asked, nodding at the cooler you were standing in front of.

“I uh, don’t know. Sorry,” you said, moving aside, the guy flipping it open and grabbing a can.

“You not much of a party girl, huh,” he said, giving you a nod.

“Nope,” you said, looking away.

“I’m Johnny,” he said.

“Y/N,” you said. He cracked open his beer and handed it to you, staring at you as you stared at the can. “I don’t drink.”

“Come on. It’s light beer. You won’t even get drunk off it,” he said. “Maybe a little tingle but that’s it.”

You turned away, the beer can disappearing, a red cup in front of you a moment later.

“That’s half a can,” he said, the amount not seeming all that much now. You cocked your head. It’s not like you’d never had a drink before but that was normally a sip or two of wine at a holiday. You put the cup to your lips and swallowed some down. The flavor wasn’t anything special but you drank it down, the guy chuckling. “Told you so, Y/N. I’ll see you around maybe.”

“Uh huh,” you said, wading out of there and out to the party.

Thirty minutes later you were leaned up against a wall, closing your eyes. Something was wrong. Sure you were a lightweight but something was really, really wrong. Sara was useless, drunk off her ass and making out with dude in her parents bedroom at this point.

“He’s going to fucking kill me,” you muttered, finding the downstairs bathroom and getting some privacy. You dialed on your phone and closed your eyes, splashing some cold water on your face.

“Y/N? Everything okay?” asked your dad. You paused, knowing you were already sending him into red alert. “Y/N.”

“Can you come get me?” you asked quietly. “Please.”

“Of course, honey,” he said, hearing the shake in your voice. “Where are you? Sara’s still?”

“Yeah,” you said. “There...I didn’t know her parents were out of town and thought we were just having a sleepover but she threw a huge party and I had a little beer and you can kill me later but I don’t feel right, dad.”

“It’s okay,” he said softly, the car tearing out of the driveway after a few seconds. “I’m on my way over right now. Did you take a drink from someone?”

“No...yes but...I don’t know, maybe he put something...” you said, spacing out for a few seconds. “I’m scared, daddy.”

“I’ll be right there. I’m ten minutes away. I’ll stay on the phone with you the whole time, alright? Nothing bad’s going to happen,” he said. “I promise.”

Ten minutes later you heard a car pull up outside and you sighed in relief. You hopped out of the bathroom, immediately bumping into Johnny.

“Hey, Y/N,” he said with a smile. “Enjoying the party?”

“Stay away from me,” you said, brushing past him, a hand catching your arm. “Johnny, let go.”

“I’m not-”

“Hey!” you heard shouted so loud every head in the vicinity turned your direction. You’d seen your dad’s show before, seen what you thought was scary Dean Winchester.

That was nothing compared to pissed off dad.

“Go away, Johnny,” you said, shrugging out his hold and walking over to your dad.

“There’s older guys and then there’s older guys,” said Johnny with a laugh. Your dad audibly growled, walking over and getting in his face. “Who the hell are you?”

“Her father,” he gritted out. “Who the fuck are you?”

“Johnny,” he said with a smirk.

“Oh? Okay, Johnny,” he said, grabbing his shirt collar and practically lifting him off the ground. “Y/N, was this the guy that gave you a drink with a little something extra in it?”

“Dad-”

“Is he?” he asked.

“...Yeah,” you said. Your dad nodded once before he smiled darkly at Johnny, leaning in close and saying something quietly, the color draining from Johnny’s face.

“Party’s over!” shouted your dad, no one daring to mess with him. People started to scramble out of the house, red and blue lights flashing through the windows. “Oh and Johnny. Let me introduce you to my buddy. He’s a cop. I’m sure you’ll have lots to talk about.”

“How is she?” asked your dad after a paramedic looked you over and a cop took your statement.

“Had half a drink. Blood work will probably come back positive for rooffies,” he said. You looked down, arms covering your chest and stomach, wishing you were anywhere but there.

“Can I take her home?” he asked.

“Yeah. Drink lots of water and in the morning don’t be surprised if there’s some gaps in memory,” he said. You dad nodded and helped you off the stretcher, walking you over to the passenger seat of his car. Your backpack was already in the backseat and he helped sit you down.

He took off his flannel and put it around you, helping button it up when your hands shook. He pulled your seatbelt on and kissed the top of your head before he was driving away.

He didn’t say a word the whole way home.

You sniffled a few times but had things under control by the time you were walking inside with his hand on your arm to help you, your steps a little unsteady and you started crying all over again just as your mom came around the corner.

“I got her,” said your dad, turning you around and picking you up, carrying you up the stairs as you clung to him like you were one of your younger siblings having a crying fit. He set you down in your room, your mom inside seconds after shooing him out.

“No one touched you, right?” she asked. You nodded, squeezing your eyes shut. “It’s okay. Why don’t you take a shower and I’ll make you some hot chocolate.”

You nodded, trudging into your bathroom, standing under the hot water trying to get your head to clear up. It worked some but your body felt heavy and you spent most of the time crying.

He was going to kill you for not calling right away when you realized there was a party. He’d been pissed when you left for the night. You couldn’t imagine how angry he’d be after ruining everything.

Finally you managed to get out of the shower and into some pajamas, spotting your red and puffy eyes in the mirror. You slugged out to your room and curled up on top of your bed, a mug of hot cocoa on your nightstand. You sat up and sipped at it along with the few bottles of water that were now there, pushing it away when it reminded you of the last time you had some, when you’d gone to lunch with your dad back in the winter after getting your license.

You laid down on the bed again, staring at the wall for a while before the door creaked open. Your dad was in his pajamas, giving you a soft smile as he stepped inside.

“Hey,” he said, sitting down on the other side of your bed, swinging his legs up and pulling you into his side. Your head was splitting and dizzy and you whined against him, clutching at his shirt. “Shh. S’okay. I’m staying right here. You’re safe. You’re safe, honey. Try to sleep and we’ll ride this out, okay? Daddy won’t let anything happen, I promise.”

You woke up groggy but your head felt a million times better. You were startled by the fact there was someone else in your bed, taking a second to realize it was your dad, already awake and looking at you.

“Hey,” he said quietly, your eyes fluttering closed as you buried your face in his chest. “How’s your head?”

“...msor...” you mumbled, his hand moving your head back an inch. He tucked your hair behind your ear, patting it down on the top.

“You’ve had the funniest bedhead in the world ever since you were a baby,” he said, resting his hand on your arm.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered, waiting for his green eyes to get mad, for the gentle face to go away, for him to disown you.

“Y/N, I’m sorry that happened to you. I am. But why are you apologizing to me?” he asked.

“Because I should have asked to come home straight away and I drank and fuck you saw me in that shirt,” you said, closing your eyes, not wanting to see the disappointment in his.

“You’re a teenager, sweetie. Sara’s parent not being home wouldn’t have been an issue. A party...you’ve gone to parties before and you never came home drunk. Hell, you’ve probably taste tested way more beer at the brewery than whatever you had at that party and-”

“But I let a guy give me a drink when I didn’t want one,” you said.

“You’re seventeen honey,” he said. “I don’t expect you to be perfect. I never expect you to be perfect. You didn’t know he put something in it. I’m fucking forty and you’ve seen me way too drunk before. Hell, you helped me up to bed once.”

“But you’re an adult and I didn’t like that shirt and...” you said, trying to roll to your other side, his hand stopping you.

“You’re a grown woman, Y/N,” he said. “You have no idea how proud we are of you, especially for last night.”

“I did everything wrong,” you said. He scrunched up his face, taking his turn to close his eyes. When he finally let out a breath and opened them, you saw something vulnerable in them.

“You did what we taught you. You knew something was wrong and you asked us to help you. We will never, ever be mad at you for asking for our help. You stayed someplace safe while I was coming to get you and even when I embarrassed the shit out of you, you never once looked like you gave a crap about what any of those other kids thought. We taught you to be smart and independent and stand up for yourself and that’s what you did,” he said.

“I didn’t,” you said, shaking your head. “You’re supposed to hate me.”

“Hate you?” he asked. “Last night was the worst night of my life. It was my fucking nightmare to see you like that. You weren’t even with us half the time, kiddo you were so out of it. I was so freaking proud of you for calling me so it was only a little nightmare, not as bad as it could have been. Honey, I love you more than anything. You and your sisters and brother...nothing is more important than you guys. You were this little bundle of joy I was blessed with and someone almost hurt my baby last night. You called me daddy and that broke my fucking heart. I haven’t heard that out of your mouth since you were six. You were so scared and all I wanted to do was protect you. But you’re a big girl and even though I wasn’t there, you made sure you were safe on your own until I could get to you. You do not get that scared over someone unless you love them more than you love yourself. That’s what happens when you have kids. They get your heart and you’re more than happy to give it to them. I will never be mad at you for what happened last night, neither your mom or me. Ever.”

“Really?” you asked, sniffling some, surprised to realized he was shedding a few tears of his own. “But I thought...I’m not supposed to cause problems. You have so much going on you shouldn’t have to worry about me.”

“I hate to break it to you but I can guarantee I’ll still be waking up in a cold sweat from nightmares over stuff happening to you when you’re forty and have a family of your own,” he said with a smile. “Another thing, where did you get this idea from of having to be perfect from? You said it yesterday and...if I or your mom have made you feel like there is no room for error, I am so sorry for that. You’re not supposed to be perfect. No one is.”

“You got so mad last night when I wanted to sleepover and I never drop stuff last minute on you guys and it made me mad like you don’t realize I have a life too...” you said, your dad wiping away the tear streaks on your face with his thumb.

“I don’t want a perfect child. Just a good and kind one...that can’t parallel park for shit but you know, we can work on that,” he said, a laugh escaping you. “You just started your senior year, Y/N. Do less activities, don’t work on the weekends, let us use a babysitter that isn’t you all the time. You do not exist to be our helper. You’re our daughter and that’s all you have to be,” he said.

“Can I quit soccer?” you asked, his head nodding. “Mom already paid though.”

“It’s okay,” he said.

“I don’t like being on the prom committee either,” you said. “Or Math League.”

“As long as you don’t turn into a degenerate on us, do what you want, honey,” he said. You nodded, reaching a hand up and wiping off his face. “Boys can’t cry now?”

“I don’t like when you cry,” you said.

“Starting to understand why I stayed in here last night for me as much as I did for you?” he asked.

“Yeah,” you said, closing your eyes, starting to feel tired again. “What did you say to Johnny that made him turn as pale as a ghost?”

“It’s not appropriate to repeat,” he said.

“You’ve been swearing this morning and you like never do that,” you said.

“Basically I told him if he touched you or any other woman ever again, I’d kill him. I may have mentioned some other stuff I’d do before the killing but again, not appropriate,” he said. You stared at him, sensing he wasn’t joking.

“You would kill someone?” you asked.

“Forget I said that. How about after a little nap, because someone is looking sleepy again, we go downstairs and I will make up some chocolate chip pancakes and we can watch Saturday morning cartoons like we used to when you were little?” he asked.

“Will you stay here?” you asked.

“Not going anywhere, sweetie.”

You were sat on the couch shoveling half a pancake in your mouth an hour later, laughing at an episode of Scooby Doo when you heard the mud door open and your mom walk in, your dad popping up from his seat.

“Yes I’m better. You can stop having a mouth conversation now,” you said, your dad looking down at you. “I noticed you guys do that when I was eleven. I just never said anything.”

“Well today’s just been an insightful day so far hasn’t it?” he asked, plopping back down next to you.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” asked your mom, coming over to sit next to you, trying to pull you into a hug despite the plate in your lap.

“Awesome. Please don’t dump syrup all over me,” you asked.

“You’re not going to soccer today. You need to stay home and rest,” she said.

“Y/N quit soccer and a couple of other clubs,” said your dad. “She had too much on her plate.”

“Good. You’re too young to be this stressed already,” she said, resting her head on your shoulder. “Maybe you cut back at the brewery too?”

“Yeah, you can watch TV like a normal teenager. There’s this awesome show on Thursdays,” he said.

“You two aren’t gonna like...be all over me all day are you?” you asked.

“Nope,” said Danneel, popping up. “I’m going to the brewery for a few hours then I’m driving to the grandparents to grab the kids. Should be back sometime tomorrow around lunch but I’ll check in on you.”

“All three kids by yourself?” you asked.

“Uh huh,” she said, pausing. “Unless you want me to stay here and I can totally do that. I just thought maybe you wanted some alone time with your dad. We can have a family day tomorrow.”

“Okay,” you said, your mom giving you each a big kiss before she grabbed her bag and headed out.

“You okay with hanging out with your old man all weekend?” he asked with a smile.

“Yeah,” you said. He grabbed your finished plates and put them away in the kitchen, returning to the couch and pulling you into his side, giving you a big forehead kiss. “Dad...”

“Is our special morning gone?” he asked, teasingly.

“No,” you said, snuggling into his side, pausing a moment. “I’m not too old for this, am I?”

“Never,” he said with a smile, throwing an arm over your shoulders. “More cartoons?”

“Can we watch Scoobynatural?” you asked, glancing up at him.

“Sure we can. We just need to watch every single episode before that first,” he said with a laugh.

“We’ll be here until I’m forty,” you said, your dad laughing as he hit up Netflix.

“Y/N,” he said, looking down at you. “When I do have to go back to work next week, I want you to promise me that you’ll call more. Not waving hey in the background while I talk to the other guys. Tell me about school or boys or some funny thing you saw on the internet. Just talk to me again. I missed you.”

“Me too. I know you didn’t mean to make me but I was never an accident to you, was I,” you said.

“No. No you were not planned but I wouldn’t give you up for the world, honey. Even if you are a teenager now and that scares the crap out of me,” he said.

“You don’t have to worry about me going to anymore parties. Lesson learned,” you said.

“Don’t be afraid to live your life, honey. Just live it smart,” he said, turning on the TV. “Okay?”

“Okay, dad. I love you,” you said.

“I love you too, honey. So, so much.”

You must have fallen asleep sometime in the afternoon, waking up to your dad snoring lightly on the other end of the couch, your feet in his lap. You carefully pulled them away, stretching in your seat for a moment. You turned off the TV and gave your blanket to your dad, guessing he was probably up half the night worrying over you.

You went to the kitchen and thought about baking something, something the two of you really hadn’t done together in years, smiling when you heard the doorbell ring. You jogged over to the door, trying to catch it so your dad could stay asleep.

“Hi,” you said, giving the officer standing at the door a smile. “Can I help you?”

“Ms. Y/N Ackles?” he asked.

“Yes officer? Is this about what happened last night?” you asked.

“Is your father, a Mr. Jensen Ackles, home?” he asked.

“Yeah. What’s...” you said, hearing your dad come up behind you.

“What’s going on?” he asked with a sleepy smile. The officer brushed past you, grabbing your dad and spinning him around face first into the closest wall. “What-”

“You are under arrest,” said the officer, slapping a pair of cuffs on your dad and dragging him out barefoot, still in his pajamas.

“You can’t do that!” you said, rushing outside after them, the officer pinning your dad down against the car hood before turning to you.

“Quiet before I arrest you for interfering,” he said, your dad groaning when he got a shove against the metal hood.

“Just call mom, kiddo,” said your dad, pulled off the car and led to the backdoor, the officer roughly placing him in the back. “It’s just a misunderstanding. Call-”

The door slammed in his face, your dad pursing his lips at the officer through the glass.

“What is he arrested for? You didn’t read him his rights or-” you said, the officer pointing a finger in your face. You gulped as you stared up at him, recognizing the blue eyes staring at you. “You’re Johnny’s dad, aren’t you.”

“Here’s how this goes, kid,” he said, standing in front of the back window so your dad couldn’t see. “You’re going to give me a statement saying you were misinformed last night and somebody else gave you that drink. You’re very sorry for blaming Johnny and it was all a big misunderstanding. He didn’t slip you anything and he certainly did not give an underage girl any alcohol last night, understand?”

“Are you threatening me?” you asked, the officer smirking.

“A threat would be saying your father is under arrest and I will make sure your pretty daddy gets put in the shittiest shit hole there is with the scummiest scumbags there are and we’ll see if he comes out in one piece, because I guarantee he won’t. Pretty nice boys don’t do well in prison. Doesn’t matter if the charges won’t stick, paper work could get lost, he could spend a whole day having fun in a place like that,” he said.

“Let him go,” you said. “I’ll sign whatever you want. Just let him go.”

“Good girl.”

“Y/N,” said your dad, rubbing his wrists ten minutes later, following you back into the house. “What did the officer say?”

“It was a misunderstanding,” you said dryly, squeezing your eyes shut.

“A misunderstanding he felt the need to talk to about with my seventeen year old daughter but not me?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. You shrugged, his head shaking. “Do not lie to me.”

“That was Johnny’s dad,” you said, throwing up your hands. Your dad raised his eyebrows, turning around and back to you.

“Did he threaten you?” asked your dad, his voice hard. You sighed and stared at him, looking at his hands. “He threatened me, didn’t he. Son of a bitch. Y/N, he can’t arrest me for no good reason.”

“Well he made a convincing argument,” you said, closing your eyes. “It doesn’t matter. I took back my statement from last night. I said it wasn’t Johnny, must have been someone else.”

“You what? You...I know it’s scary to stand up to the person that hurt you but you have to undo that, Y/N. Who knows how many other girls this Johnny guy has tried to hurt? Has hurt?” he said.

“You think I don’t know that?” you shot back, leaning against the kitchen counter, wrapping your arms around yourself. “I didn’t have a choice.”

“Yes you did. You still do. We can drive down the police station right now and-”

“Dad,” you said, swallowing hard before you forced yourself to look him in the eye. “He didn’t just threaten to have you arrested.”

“What did he say?” asked your dad. You looked at your feet, your dad stepping in front of you, a finger under your chin urging you to look up.

“He said good looking guys don’t do well in prison. I’m old enough to understand what he meant,” you said. Your dad closed his eyes, hanging his head a moment before he pulled you into a hug. “I didn’t want to do it but I didn’t want you to...”

“It’s not your job to protect me,” he said, kissing the top of your head. “But thank you for doing it.”

“What do we do?” you asked.

“For starters, we hope to hell the security camera caught him threatening you. You don’t answer the door anymore either,” he said. You nodded, looking away from him. “I’m not mad, Y/N.”

“I wished I’d called sooner last night,” you said. “It’s my fault you were put in that position.”

“No. It’s not anyone’s fault. Bad people are what did this. We’ll call the lawyer and figure this out. You don’t have to be scared, okay?” he said.

“Too late for that,” you said.

“I know, honey. I know.”

A/N: Read Part 2 here!

#spn #supernatural #rpf #au #jensen x daughter!reader #jensen ackles #spn fanfiction #supernatural fanfiction #spn reader insert #daughter!reader #supernatural reader insert

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hartsgf · 6 years

Text

playtest : william nylander

summary: oh, the things that can happen through tinder.

warning(s): swearing.

word count: 1,301

a/n: i wanna turn this into a series, let me know if i should !! :) also, idk how tf to use tinder lmao i’m so unclutured.

the app had been on his phone for a few weeks, but he hadn’t used it since the day it was downloaded. william wasn’t into dating or hook-up apps; but after finding out one of his teammates was on tinder; he just had to see it for himself.

he had no other intentions to actually use the app other than for a good laugh. that was until he found himself in paris, france, bored out of his mind.

truth be told, he only wanted someone to sit down at a local bar and have a drink with; which is why he had swiped right on the first twenty people he saw and used his free ‘super-like’ on a woman named (y/n).

they ended up matching shortly afterward and agreed to meet up at a bar, later that night. the date itself went nicely after she broke the ice by asking william what he was doing in france besides not signing his contract. in a strange way, william felt comfortable in his presence. the date didn’t feel like many of the other ones he had been on. he felt more at ease knowing he had a connection with someone in a country that was completely foreign to him.

maybe it’s because the date when well, or maybe it’s because the both of them had more than a few drinks, but will ended up going back to (y/n)’s apartment to...well...end the date.

the next morning, he woke at the feeling of his shoulder being shaken. slowly opening his eyes, he smiled once making eye contact with (y/n). “you’re still here,” she stated, smiling back at him. he yawned before stretching his arms out and rubbing his eyes. “did you want me to go?” he asked.

she shook her head, “no. i mean - you didn’t have to go; i just kinda assumed you would. but, i’m glad you’re still here.” she sat up in her bed, yet still sat on the edge of it.

“thanks for actually not kicking me out, by the way.” he chuckled, trying to make light conversation and earned a smile from her.

“so, uhm,” he scratched the back of his head, “is it okay if i use your bathroom?”

“no problem,” she replied, getting off of the bed, “your bag is in the corner if you need it.” (y/n) left the room quickly, not knowing if william was still unclothed from the night before and not wanting to find out. he made his way down the hall into the bathroom, taking note of how nicely the apartment itself was decorated.

he was in the process of freshening up when he heard his name being called and opened up the door slightly. “do you prefer coffee or tea?” (y/n) asked from the other side of the apartment, and william told her tea would be fine. it was a few moments later when footsteps could be heard coming down the hall before stopping right in front of the bathroom door.

“are you decent?” she asked.

“yeah.”

she opened the door wider before stepping in, standing beside william at the sink while grabbing her toothbrush and toothpaste. “you never actually told me how you got into hockey. like, we spent like most of the night talking about it, but you still never told me how you get into it in the first place." she remembered when he had first asked that question once she asked what was taking him so long to sign the contract. she had brushed the question off previously and switched the conversation back to him. but, she knew there was no avoiding it now. "let's just say it runs through the family," (y/n) simply stated, screwing the cap off of the tube of toothpaste.

william fumbled with his backpack, looking for his own toothbrush, "care to elaborate?" he glanced at her once he'd asked this question, but quickly focused his attention back to his backpack.

she shrugged, "not really. but, my brother's pretty into it." she responded before applying the paste on her toothbrush and brushing her teeth.

"i'll take it," william mumbled. the next two minutes were silent as (y/n) finished freshening up and will waited for his turn with the sink. "what are your plans for today?" he asked, making light conversation once again.

"my friend is having a birthday party next week, so i'm going out to buy him a gift today," she sat on the edge of the bathtub, crossing her legs as she did so.

will nodded, "can i come?" this sudden interest in shopping caused (y/n) to raise a brow and she made eye contact with him through the bathroom mirror. "shopping or to the actual party?" she sat upright, suddenly feeling anxious."both if it's okay," will responded; his mouth full of foaming toothpaste. "i might be in france for a little while, might as well meet some new people while i'm here."

she studied his face in the mirror, trying to figure out if he was genuinely interested in meeting new people or if he was just tired of being alone. she'd only known william for a short amount of time, but something about him was different. she trusted him. "he did say plus ones are welcome, so...i mean...if you really want to..." she trailed off, hoping he understood what she was trying to say.

"cool," he spit the toothpaste into the sink, "i'm gonna get breakfast then head back to my hotel for a little bit, so you can text--"he was cut off mid-sentence by the sound of the apartment door opening and shutting before a set of keys fell on a wooden surface. "who's that?"

"i'm babysitting my friend's cat; she's probably just here to pick her up." (y/n) replied, unphased. william cleared his throat, "well, like i was saying, just text me what time you plan on going out and i'll meet you there." he turned on the faucet and splashed his face a few times.

"hey," a man's voice rang from the kitchen, "who are you talking to?" william's heartbeat increased, he'd finally found a girl he could possibly see himself with all to find out she was already with someone. he then and there wanted to leave the apartment and not come back but instead decided to keep his cool.

"i thought you said your friend was a girl." he crossed his arms as he leaned against the sink, finally making eye-contact with (y/n) as he waited for a response."shit," she stood up immediately, "that's my brother." she jogged out of the bathroom into her kitchen, where her younger brother was searching through her fridge.

"what the hell are you doing here?" she asked, obviously frustrated. he held his hands up in defense, "is it a crime to want to hang out with my sister?" he had a smirk on his face, knowing he had successfully annoyed his older sibling.

(y/n) raised a hand to her forehead, "pierre, i love you very much. and with that being said, you need to get out." she ushered pierre out of the door, hoping william would stay in the bathroom. pierre only laughed, "why are in such a rush to get me..." his eyes looked to the man who just entered the room; finally piecing together what was going on. his smile quickly faded as he looked between william and his sister.

he raised a finger to will, "what's he doing here?"

she didn't even want to see what william's face looked like, but turned to look at him anyway.

"you told me your brother was into hockey, but you didn't say he was number eighteen on the blue jackets."

#wow what a plot twist #and with that...goodnight #hockey #hockey imagines #Toronto Maple Leafs #william nylander #william nylander imagine #pierre luc dubois #pierre luc dubois imagine #nhl imagines #nhl

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nhlarchived · 5 years

Text

NYC ~ Mathew Barzal

Chapter Three

Ch. One ~ Ch. Two ~ Ch. Three ~ Ch. Four ~ Ch. Five

Word Count: 2,573

Warnings: Mature Language

Wattpad

As if going to school wasn’t boring enough on its own, Mother Nature decided to give us a rainstorm today. Thankfully the MTA station was not only directly in front of my apartment building, but also outside of where my class was being held for the day. Allowing me to avoid being completely drenched from the torrential downpour.

I didn’t mind the forecast too bad, I actually love storms. However, I enjoy them the most while I’m at home watching from the comfort of my own bed, using it as white noise to take a nap. Yet here I sit in my uncomfortable plastic seat watching droplets race each other down the glass window while a professor fifty feet away speaks gibberish into a microphone.

My class this morning was of course, one of my least favorites. Not that I hated it due to being difficult, only because I knew practically everything already and I could teach the class better than the professor himself. So, for entertainment before I passed out from pure boredom, I decided to occupy myself by texting Mathew after his morning practice had ended.

Similar to how he is in person, he was great with holding a conversation. In fact, I almost forgot I was even in class. He decided to explain more in depth on his life back home in Vancouver, telling me about his parents, sister and even about their dogs that he’s apparently terrified of. I was so invested in the stories he was telling that as he was confessing some embarrassing ones, I accidentally let out a giggle that I had to quickly cover with a fake cough to not disrupt the class. Although I couldn’t trick the people closely surrounding me as I had a permanent smile plastered on my face that my hand couldn’t even hide.

As much as I could through text, I made my potential feelings towards him obvious as he did the same for I, but after last night I couldn’t help but worry if this would work out or not. The money from nannying was the only thing covering my student loans and necessities. I was living on my own in one of the most expensive cities as a full time student. I’m fortunate enough that my distant family owned my current apartment and allowed me to reside there as long as I maintained at the very least a 3.8 GPA. However the cost of my loans, food, transportation, miscellaneous bills and school supplies were a lot to handle and nannying was the only thing flexible enough for my schedule.

Class finally released and I made my way back to the subway with only getting slightly wet from the rain. It was torturous underground as the fahrenheit was roughly around 50° and the humidity still found a way to crawl under my skin. Once on the train I took a corner seat next to the exit while a business man in a suit relaxed on my right.

My phone vibrated which I had assumed was Mathew, but to my surprise Rebecca’s name had appeared at the top of the screen accompanied by a glowing ‘slide to answer’ bar across the bottom. My heart started pounding through my chest wondering if Dennis had mentioned the event from last night. My mind imagining the worst case scenario of her telling me I can’t talk to him anymore or even worse, having them fire me.

“Hello?” I spoke nervously into the line after subconsciously sliding the white call circle with my thumb.

“Cassie! I️ hope you’re doing well!” She responded excitedly. I released an agonizing breath once hearing the positive tone she was using. She’s not the type to be passive, she’s one of those people where if she was upset or disappointed, she would let it be known.

“I’m pretty good, how are you?” I answered sweetly, now beginning to question why she would be calling mid-day like this.

“I’m wonderful, and I️ would be even better if you could do me a huuuge favor.” She suggested. Nine times out of ten this meant she needed me to babysit with short notice. However, the unusual part was she normally texts me instead of calling.

“Yeah of course, anything for you guys!” I replied joyfully. I could definitely use the extra money with the holidays slowly creeping in. Plus, I couldn’t help but still be curious if Dennis had spilled the beans yet or not, and the only way to find out was to see them face to face.

“Can you sit the kids tonight? Dennis and I️ want to have a little date night before the season starts. Mat said he’s going out with a friend but I trust you more anyway. I’m sure you probably have plans tonight but I️ figured it was worth a shot.” She explained.

‘Mat said he’s going out with a friend.’

Immediately I knew that I was ‘the friend’ since we had planned for him to come check out my lonely apartment tonight. I was bummed that I would have to cancel, but my job and income will always come first. I’m sure Mathew would understand, and if he didn’t then that would be enough verification for me to end whatever relationship we have anyway.

“No problem at all, I’ll be there!” I confirmed enthusiastically, now exiting the train that was at my stop. I covered my vacant ear with my index finger to better my hearing as I have now joined the exorbitant amount of people on the staircase back to ground level.

“Oh my gosh you are literally the best. Be here by six?” She requested. I looked down at my watch and the hands sat on the twelve and two. This gave me plenty of time to get ready before catching the LIRR in time to make it there.

“I’ll see you then.” I confirmed before we said our goodbyes and hung up the phone.

Once returning to the comfort of my warm and dry apartment, I opened a text message to send to Mathew explaining the cancellation of our plans for the night.

Cassandra: “I’m sincerely sorry I️ have to cancel tonight. Rebecca needs me to watch the kids so they can go on a date. I️ figured it’s the least I️ could do after upsetting Dennis last night.”

I pressed the send button and a little pit in my stomach started to grow. I was disappointed. I was highly anticipating hanging with him and getting to know him on a more personable level. But maybe being alone at my apartment was too quick at the moment anyway. I guess having a simple restaurant date first wouldn’t hurt.

It wasn’t long before I felt a vibration from the device in my hand. His name playing across the screen directly underneath the time. I wasted no time before entering my passcode and revealing the message.

Mathew: “Don’t worry about it I️ understand. Besides, now that I’m not going anywhere tonight, that means we get to watch the kids together ;)”

As if Dennis wasn’t skeptical enough, there was no way he was going to be enthusiastic about the two of us alone with the kids. Although, this could be the perfect opportunity to prove to him that I can maintain self control. Let’s just hope it’s the second one.

It was now a quarter till six and of course, it was still raining. I quickly sprinted to the porch where I could be protected from the precipitation. I rang the bell and it was only a matter of seconds before Rebecca opened the door, completely taking my breath away with her appearance. Wherever Dennis was planning on taking her tonight was clearly going to be elegant.

Once entering into the foyer the three kids, already dressed in their pajamas, ran up and attached to my legs. Giggles echoing through the large house as I tried to keep my balance. It warms my heart every time they do this. It doesn’t matter how much time we spend together or the short amount of time from when I last saw them. I was basically just an older sibling to them. Even the parents watched in awe as they saw the genuine joy pour out of their children.

“Alright, alright. We know you’re excited but try not to break her legs.” Rebecca recommended causing them to ease off my legs that way I could stand normal again. Dennis then appeared from the hallway handing Rebecca her purse. Nervous, I felt my body begin to sweat as I was still unsure of where we stood.

“Since it’s raining, no going outside. Also, there may be no school tomorrow, but you still have to be in bed by eight. Deal?” Dennis acknowledged the kids. They all nodded their heads before running off to the game room down the hall, instructing me to follow them. Before I went with them I turned to Rebecca as she usually has some sort of instructions to give me for the night.

“They’ve already eaten so no need to feed them tonight. If they start asking for ice cream, no problem, just make sure it’s before seven. You pretty much know the deal.” She explained while grabbing her umbrella and walking into the garage, entering their car. I nodded my head in agreement.

“Cassandra” I heard Dennis say walking up from behind me, and suddenly I wanted nothing more than to melt through the floor and disappear. “Just to let you know, Mat isn’t going out tonight anymore so he’ll be home. I️ instructed him to stay downstairs so he shouldn’t bother you guys.” He continued.

I could feel my whole body freeze when he spoke Mat’s name. I was waiting for him to say something along the lines of “If I see you with him again, we’re firing you.”, but luckily that didn’t happen.

“We should be home by midnight. If it gets too late leave Mat here with the kids and you can go home. No need to stay overnight.” He finished before entering the driver’s side of the car. I shined them a smile and waved goodbye as they left and finally I could now relax knowing Dennis is going to let this slide.

I played board games with the kids for what felt like hours but was only forty-five minutes. I allowed them to win every time because, well they’re kids, but it made this quite boring for me. However, right before seven o’clock rolled by, they began begging for ice cream just like Rebecca had foreseen.

I grabbed each of them a bowl, filling it with their desired flavors before they took off to eat in the living room while watching television. I remained in the kitchen, keeping an eye on them over the half wall, and began to rinse off the ice cream scoop before placing it in the dishwasher.

I grabbed a paper towel to dry my hands off when I felt the presence of fingertips wrapping around my waist. I quickly turned around in panic not sure of who it could be, but then I was met with a smirk that I’ve grown very fond of. A long sigh of relief escaped my mouth after seeing Mathew. My muscles relaxed and my hands that were up in surrender fell onto his chest. I could feel him giggling underneath my fingertips.

“Oh I’m sorry, did I scare you?” He teased, with his arms still around my waist as he pulled me closer to him. Between his toned muscles under my palms and the way his features crinkled in laugher, I was lost in a daze. I never thought I would see the day where I would be this attracted to someone. Especially someone I had just met.

Suddenly, a loud noise from the television reminded me of the kids in the next room. I quickly pushed him off of me looking towards the children to make sure they didn’t see anything that had just happened.

“You can’t do this around the kids.” I whispered anxiously to Mat.

“I️ can’t hug you? Come on it’s not like we’re sticking our tongues down each other’s throats.” He instigated. I rolled my eyes and ignored his comment. Moving out of his touch and beginning to tidy up the kitchen once again.

It wasn’t long before his hands found their way around my waist once again. This time feeling his entire body against my back, and his breath near my ear. My heart stopped.

“But I mean, we totally could if you wanted to.” He whispered in my ear erupting goosebumps down my arms. Of course I wanted to. I wanted nothing more at the moment, but this was not the time and place. It took everything out of my to pull from his touch. I lightly tapped my elbow onto his torso behind me before stepping out of his arms. I didn’t want to make an actual impact, just enough that he got the point. I turned around and sent him a dismayed glare.

“I️ was joking! Partially.” He continued as I tried my hardest to fight back a smile.

“Dennis made it clear he didn’t want you around us tonight. The last thing I️ need is the kids telling him we were hugging in the kitchen.” I explained, turning Mathew around and playfully pushing his back towards the stairs that lead to the basement.

“Oh no, not hugging. Only married people do that.” Mat snidely joked. I scuffed behind him as I struggled with my attempt to push him towards the door. I got him halfway there before he decided to bend his knees and lay all of his weight onto my arms, his head falling to my shoulder.

“Oh no, my knees gave out. Looks like you’re going to have to carry me.” Mathew played as I used all my strength to keep both him and I from falling over. All while trying to keep my laughing to a minimum so he couldn’t hear.

“I️ came here to babysit them, not you!” I teased finally getting him to the basement door. Yet, he didn’t let off any of his weight.

“I’ll go down on one condition.” He then added, turning his head that was still on my shoulder towards my face, where his nose now tickled my cheek.

“You have to join me down there once the kids go to sleep.” He whispered so low to the point I almost didn’t hear it.

This sent me into a whirlwind of thoughts. I wouldn’t have to worry about the kids seeing, since they’re the best sleepers ever and never come out of their rooms. Plus, it's always quiet and lonely after they’re asleep. I normally just sit on the couch and watch TV anyway. Dennis told me to head home after they were all in bed, but staying another couple of minutes couldn’t hurt right? Especially since they were expected to come home late. It sounded almost foolproof.

“Ugh my legs!” Mat said, clearly becoming impatient for my answer, as he leaned even more weight onto me.

“Okay okay okay! I’ll see you down there at 8:30.” I answered almost toppling over onto the floor. “Can’t wait.” He stated while finally standing up straight, freeing my muscles as he quickly and happily descended down the stairs.

#mat barzal #mathew barzal #New York Islanders #nhl #hockey #fan fic #fan fiction #imagine #series

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tundraroo · 5 years

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Rick x Kade

THIS is a rant i’ve wanted to make since i got my tumblr, but i never did it because using tumblr on your phone without the app doesn’t let you make paragraphs and shit, so i’ve been postponing it until i could get on the computer. So anyways yeah it’s fucking rant time. Ok, so, basically, there’s this webcomic called Savestate. It’s a furry comic that’s themed around video games and other sorts of media, created by Tim Weeks. The whole comic is centered around two Australian Shepherd siblings named Kade and Nicole. Kade is, without a doubt, the video game fanatic of the two (although all of the main characters like video games or because that’s what the comic’s theme is). He spends most of his time playing video games, or doing something related. He’s very fun and happy and lovable. Then there’s Nicole, his twin sister who was born a couple minutes before he was. She’s a bit less hyperactive than Kade is, and takes on the “older sibling” kind of role, even though she’s only a couple minutes older. The comic is mostly centered around them, although there are 4 other main characters that join in at different points in the comic. The other 4 main characters (in order of first appearance) are Harvey, Rick, Ness, and Riley. Harvey and Ness are both ghosts. Harvey is a spirit that inhabits SaveState manor, the place that Kade and Nicole live, after having it passed down to them by their Uncle Scooby (yes, Scooby as in Scooby Doo, it’s really just a gag joke). We don’t really know where Harvey came from, but when we first met him he vowed to be the one to destroy the world, but got caught up in Kade’s video game collection (which is massive by the way). Rick, my personal favorite character, and also the one i’m shipping with Kade here (we’ll get to that in a second), is an iguana, and has been good friends with Kade and Nicolie since childhood. We first meet him after Nicole runs out of gas on the road in winter, and Kade calls Rick to help her. He does end up helping her, but, he ends up passing out, because he’s an iguana, therefore cold blooded and not able to handle the cold that well. He was also shipped with Nicole for a period of time, but Tim Weeks shot that down in response to a tumblr ask asking about the ship (i don’t know if he still answers asks anymore though). Anyhow, Rick is a bit more well manned and timid than Kade and Nicole. I cannot stress enough how much i love him. He’s such a good boi. There’s not much to say about Ness. It’s a spirit that inhabits a plush dragon that Nicole received from her dad. Nicole named the plush originally after the Loch Ness Monster, but was shortened to just “Ness” when it was possessed. It’s also a reference to the protagonist of the video game “Mother,” which i think is a very nice touch. The final main character is Riley, who is a female dachshund, and also teased to be Kade’s love interest. She works at a local video game store, and we meet her when Kade and Rick are walking down the street. Kade notices the new game store and immediately walks inside. Riley is a bit shy and soft spoken, and it took her a long time to get used to Harvey and Ness when she first met them.

Ok, now that introductions are out of the way, let’s get on to the actual ship, Rick x Kade. This ship, let me tell you, has basically no fanbase supporting it. I’ve found maybe 2-3 other people who share this ship with me. There’s not many people, which is actually kinda weird because Rick x Kade is amazing. Absolutely spectacular. Like, they’re honestly just two absolute dumbass boyfriends. They’re so cute and it makes no sense why people don’t ship this more because there’s SO MUCH good shit to go along with it. They’re personalities honestly just go so well together. At first i only shipped it because it was gay, but then i actually looked into it a bit more, and discovered that it’s actually a REALLY GOOD ship. First and foremost, i need to talk about the gayest scene in the ENTIRE COMIC. So basically Kade, Nicole, and Rick are babysitting for their neighbors, because they have to go out of town to a new years party they were invited to, and the babysitter they hired had to cancel. So the 3 of them are babysitting Chris and Claire, who are maybe like, 10 years old or something, we don’t know their actual age. So Nicole, Kade, and Rick play some games with them for a couple hours, and by the time Chris and Claire’s parents get back, Rick and Kade have FALLEN ASLEEP. NEXT TO EACH OTHER. ON THE COUCH. We learn from Nicole that at one point Rick was using Kade’s tail as a PILLOW, and that Nicole got a PICTURE OF IT, and that fact ALONE is just like,,,, super good and cute and gay and hnnnnnng my heart cannot take this. But then Tim Weeks, in his BENEVOLENCE, actually ILLUSTRATED the picture that Nicole took!!!!! And when i saw THAT for the first time i just hdjafdjkafhjkgfjkgfjkhfjkajhjahfkjafajhfjdahfjdahfjkdgafdajhfjda died. I died. It’s too cute.They’re so cute together and gay and i love them. Ok ANYWAYS there are a lot more really good scenes than just that. Like, there’s one where Rick is staying over at Kade and Nicole’s house, and he gets the option of either sleeping on the couch, or taking Kade’s bed and having Kade sleep on the couch. So Rick, for SOME REASON, took the couch. He got woken up in the middle of the night, though, to Harvey and Ness playing Mario Kart. Rick asks them to stop playing until morning, but then Harvey ends up scaring him enough to the point of him leaving the couch and sleeping somewher else. That somewhere else, i like to think, is Kade’s bed. It makes SENSE too, because Kade’s bed was the other option Rick was given. I also just really like the thought of them sharing a bed because it’s gay and they’re cute. fdjahfjdafjgdajgfdafjjfhdjafgjkajgaj i love them. Rick and Kade also go to the movies together sometime, and you can’t tell me that those AREN’T dates. Honestly. There are so many good scenes with the two of them. They’re adorable. I love them. Just,,,,, fdahfjdkagfgdajkghjkfgjdkaghjakfjkdghjkagfjahgjkafjkhgjajkdagfkj,,,,,,, so cute, so gay. Honestly my OTP among any show or comic. It’s impossible to stress just how much i love them. No amount of ranting could describe how much i love those two. Such cute, dumbass furry boyfriends. 10/10. That’s the tea sis.

#Roo Rants #Rick x Kade #Savestate #Savestatecomic #Rick #Kade #gay #good ship #gay ship #furry #furries #boyfriends #honestly though i love them

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violetsmoak · 5 years

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maybe this is how it starts [2/?]

Cover & Disclaimer

Author’s Note: Sorry it took so long since the last update. I ended up deciding not to pants this thing and just do whatever with the chapters, but I went and found an honest-to-goodness plot. Go me! So, to further said plot, have some Jason and Roy Bromance. Because as far as I’m concerned, the best jaytim fics I’ve read always have Roy and Jason doing their girl-talk thing.

The Red Hood’s base of operations is in a bomb shelter beneath the One Police Plaza in Gotham. It’s chilly inside, which doesn’t bother Jason under normal circumstances, but then everything is pissing him off today.

There are a lot of things Jason has learned to endure over the years—torture, death, total mental and physical exhaustion, unending moral dilemmas…

All of them are just more of what life has to throw at him and what he responds to with a smirk and the middle finger. Physical limitations are something for lesser men—men who were never trained by Batman or the League of Assassins.

And yet…

If there’s anything that might drive him almost to the point of Lazarus-Pit-crazy, it’s itching.

“It’s decided. I’m going to kill Ivy,” he growls, slopping another handful of aloe vera over the expanse of his arm, leaning back so as not to drip the green gel onto his keyboard.

Whatever was in the venom from the vampire-plant hybrids, the rash has lingered for the whole week without a sign of improving. He has a peevish hope that Tim is having a worse time of it, since it’s his fault Jason is even in this situation to begin with.

Can’t even fucking go on patrol without wanting to tear my skin off every goddamn minute.

He’s been trying to fill the time doing the whole research schtick for a few of his ongoing cases but has barely even been able to focus on that. It’s irritating and leaves him alone with his thoughts much more than he’s comfortable with.

It’s been three months of pushing down any acknowledgement of what happened. That for the first time in his life, Dick Grayson is dead. Not somewhere being Nightwing or filling in as Batman, but dead. His predecessor-mentor-not-brother-but-yeah-sorta-brother got himself unmasked and killed.

Jason is not entirely sure how to deal with the new reality, and it’s possible he’s been more adrift than he would ever admit. But the cure to that is denial and distraction, which is why when the giant screen in front of him fills up with a picture of Roy making finger guns, he accepts the vid call.

“I swear to God, Roy, if you’re calling to tell me you’ve been evicted again and need money,” he trails off, feigning annoyance despite being glad for the interruption.

“Hello to you too, sweetheart,” his best friend replies dryly, fiddling with something metallic and sprouting wires. He squints at Jason. “Dude, what’s with your arm? That rash is fugly.”

“Compliments of a soon-to-be-dead Poison Ivy and an idiot in a cape.”

“Heh. Which idiot?”

“The one who’s supposed to be the smart one.”

Roy raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t ask for clarification, either because he knows who Jason is talking about or because he knows he won’t get an answer. “That’s more polite than you’d usually put it. You feelin’ okay?”

“No, I’m not feeling okay, I’ve spent the last week scratching my nuts off!”

“Man, come on! TMI!”

“You know what I mean.” Jason rubs his back against his chair, seeking relief from a spot he can’t reach to scratch. “Fuck Ivy…”

“I thought you liked Ivy.”

“Respect. I respect Ivy. I don’t like her.”

“How did you even end up running into her? I mean, greenspaces aren’t exactly your thing.”

“I told you already, I was saving the moron in the cape. Who’s damn lucky I did, because I wasn’t even going to take that route last night.”

All because he’d (not that he’d admit it) been thinking about Dick. Which he had been for months now, a fact which he’s pretty sure influenced him to help Bruce and the rest of them go on that suicide mission to get back Damian Wayne’s body. He’s still a little in shock that the whole thing ended in the kid’s resurrection and not a second explosive and painful death. But then, he’s living proof that it’s possible, so maybe he shouldn’t be.

Roy must sense the direction of his thoughts, because he changes the subject. “So, have you given anymore thought to that idea I had?”

Jason gives himself a mental shake.

“No. Because going after Kori reeks of desperation, and you’re better than that.”

“Am I? Am I really?” Jason exchanges looks with Roy, who then sighs. “Fine. So how long are you hanging around Gotham? Because, by my count, this is the longest consecutive amount of time you’ve spent there since before you died. Family hasn’t grounded you, have they?”

Jason scowls. “They’re not my family.”

“Right, okay, sure. That’s why whenever there’s a fart jammed out that way, you go running—shit!” One of the devices he’s working on emits a minor explosion.

“I go back because it’s my city and I have stuff to take care of.”

Rapists and human traffickers won’t break their own kneecaps.

“And because the Bats are your family.”

“I’m going to shoot you.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“That was an accident, and you know it. This time it would be on purpose,” Jason grunts, using the heel of his hand against his arm. He winces when the action brings on equal parts of relief and pain, since his skin’s already been clawed almost raw.

Roy snorts in disbelief.

Jason pauses for another moment, considering his best friend, and then decides what the hell, they aren’t the type to keep secrets from each other.

“Demon brat’s alive,” he says at last.

Roy startles, dropping his soldering iron. “Whoa. No shit?”

He was the one who showed up to drag Jason out of the bars he’d practically destroyed in the days directly following the kid’s death. He knows the exact depths to which Jason was or wasn’t affected.

“No shit. It was this whole…thing. Ninjas and boom tubes and a Chaos Shard.” He doesn’t mention the overly-sentimental team-up with the Bats, or the surreal “birthday” dinner afterward. Damian and Tim had been almost pleasant to each other, and Jason had caught Bruce watching him with such overwhelming gratitude in his eyes he’d had to duck out early.

It’s still weird to him when he sees anything other than judgement in the older man’s eyes.

Roy whistles. “Damn. He okay?”

“I didn’t really stick around for the group therapy session. I’d say so—the little shit got superpowers when he woke up. I figured I should make myself scarce before he took it into his head to throw me like a javelin.”

“Didn’t we do that once with Kori?”

“Kori’s end goal wouldn’t be for me to go splat.”

“Not unless you left the toilet seat up again.”

“That was you.”

“Can’t prove it.”

“Of the two of us, who was practically raised by a British butler that wields guilt and disapproval like the Lasso of Truth? You think I will ever in my life dare to leave a toilet seat up?”

Roy sniggers and Jason smirks, and the tension hanging in the wake of their conversation fades somewhat. Humor is how they have always dealt with this kind of stuff.

“Still, that’s pretty heavy,” Roy says after a beat, reaching for a pair of wire strippers and electric tape. “I get why you’ve been hanging around there. I mean, what is this, three out of four now? Four out of five?”

“Huh?”

“Dead Robins. You should start a club.”

“Who says we haven’t?” Jason grumbles. “I’m the goddamn president.”

“I’m just saying, I see why you’re staying. Going by the balance of probability, the moron in the cape is probably next. It’s, like, his turn or something. So I get it—you want to keep an eye out.”

Jason narrows his eyes. “Drake’s not going to die if I have anything to say about it. No one gets to kill my replacement except me. When I feel like it.”

If I feel like it.

He and Tim have sort of come to an understanding of sorts in the past few years, if only in a professional sort of way. Exchanging information or giving the heads-up on a rogue showing up in each other’s territory. Occasionally sharing a bite to eat.

And saving each other’s lives, apparently.

The idea that a grisly death awaits Tim just because he had the misfortune of being a Robin bothers Jason more than he likes.

“When you feel like it?” Roy prompts. “You’re just trying to sound tough to cover up the other thing.”

“What other thing?”

“The thing where you feel like you have to step into big brother’s shoes now,” Roy informs him. “With Dick gone, that’s you, man.”

Jason physically jerks away from the screen, staring at Roy. “Fuck no. That’s not my deal.”

“If you say so.”

And just…no.

He jokes about it, sure. Calls them ‘bro’ or makes pointed remarks related to family or siblings, but it’s always tongue-in-cheek and more mocking than serious. It’s just to get a rise out of them, to remind them how he really doesn’t fit in with Bruce’s messed up idea of a ‘family’.

Besides, he’s pretty sure even if he wanted it, he’d be a shit older brother—he doesn’t have any of Dick’s likeability or sense of responsibility or general concern for everyone’s welfare. And Bruce’s kids all have their own level of fucked-up that, coupled with his own many and varied list of issues, could very well land them all in Arkham.

No way he’s going back there.

“Sorry, you’re breaking up,” Jason says flatly, and terminates the call before Roy can get too smug or think he’s actually on to something. He glares at the blank screen for a few minutes, and then queues up all the overseas cases he’s been flagging the past week.

Time to get the hell out of dodge. Before I get called to babysit or something…

Tim is not keeping tabs on anyone.

At least, no more than usual.

The myriad of windows open on his workplace computer screen, showing several different sources of surveillance footage, is simply his method for remaining prepared for whatever crisis is inevitably coming.

(There’s always a crisis coming.)

And he’s definitely not watching out for Jason, even if his eyes keep drifting toward the grainy image of the Red Hood followed by traffic cams in Montreal, where he’s infiltrated a human-trafficking operation.

Tim justifies it as pre-emptive damage control, in case he needs to send someone to save Jason from himself.

(Never mind that Tim never did this before three months ago, never mind that Jason’s mellowed out a lot in the past two years and has developed something almost in the realm of good judgement, never mind that—)

As if to make the point to himself, Tim focusses his attention on the other windows. Damian at Wayne Manor, singlehandedly lifting the roof onto what appears to be a new pet enclosure while Alfred watches, bemused. The kid still has superpowers, which is another mark against the existence of a higher power—what kind of benevolent force would give the brat heat vision?

Bruce isn’t in Gotham; last Tim heard, he’s gone to the Hall of Justice, probably to figure out how to drain off Damian’s powers. There are no camera there (and if there were, Bruce would probably have disabled them by now), but the tracer Tim slipped into the cowl the last time they met is still going strong.

Tim pretends he doesn’t know that Bruce knows he put it there; he hates feeling like he’s being humored.

Steph is in class, Cass is out of the country, Barbara is at a information management conference in Metropolis.

They’re all fine.

And he’s not keeping tabs.

He just has to be ready. In case he needs to shut down the power for a city block or remotely cut camera feed, if it looks like someone is about to die or be unmasked.

Not again. Never again. Not like Dick, won’t let it happen—

The speaker on his office phone trills. “Mr. Wayne? Your eight o’clock is here.”

Tim shakes off his disjointed thoughts and reaches for the intercom button. “Send him in.”

Warrick Powers has a face Tim would very much like to punch.

Maybe if he was in uniform, he would find an excuse, but at the moment, he is fully immersed in his Timothy Drake-Wayne persona. Any attack on the CEO of Powers Technology would not only bring a few dozen lawyers down on him and Wayne Enterprises, but it would also wreak havoc on Tim’s image as a feeble, recovering cripple.

Which would be a waste, since he’s been cultivating that image for over two years.

His crutches are long gone, but he still carries a cane with him everywhere for ‘bad days’. It’s not even really a lie, since there are mornings after he hasn’t slept in thirty-six hours where he needs something to fidget with. Some kind of prop to offer a believable reason for his pauses. It’s better if people think he’s reliving the shooting that supposedly injured him, rather than pay attention to the obvious sleep deprivation or concealed injuries.

“Tim! Great to see you again,” Powers declares in a false voice that would do even Brucie Wayne proud. “Glad you could fit me in this morning.”

“It just so happened I needed to speak to you about something,” Tim replies with an insubstantial smile.

“Excellent, excellent,” Powers says vaguely, by-passing the usual polite handshake and sprawling in one of the chairs across from Tim. He hasn’t said so out loud, but it clearly bothers him having to do business with a teenager. “I just wanted to come by and tell you that our little project is right on schedule. Ahead of it, in fact…”

Out of the corner of his eye he watches the footage of Jason outside a restaurant in Chinatown and he suppresses the urge to swear.

The idiot had better not be messing with the Ghost Dragons, because I cannot deal with that right now.

Though, the older man is in civvies, so it’s entirely possible he’s just grabbing lunch.

And…nope. Wishful thinking. Damn it, Jason.

If his suspicions about what’s about to happen onscreen are correct, Tim’s going to have to put an end to this meeting faster than he expected.

Powers is still rambling.

“…we could move up the launch by a month or two without sacrificing quality. Maybe even release it as a limited-edition prototype. For a higher price, of course, but people have been waiting on this model for five years now, they’d pay for it.”

The older man chuckles; it doesn’t reach his eyes, which remain cold and calculating as a snake’s. The overall effect makes Tim’s skin crawl, in a different way from the lingering phantom itch of Ivy’s toxin.

(Stupid mistake. Shouldn’t have been anywhere near Robinson Park without backup, even if it was recon. Another stupid mistake—)

“Thank you for the progress report, Mr. Powers,” Tim says, cutting his thoughts off before they can become too rambling, “but that was not the reason I agreed to see you today.”

“Oh?” Powers looks politely interested.

“I received a tip two weeks ago from a concerned individual that Powers Tech has been dumping toxic waste,” Tim tells him, careful to keep his inflection mild. The term ‘concerned individual’ is loose, but it was Ivy that mentioned it to him and told him to fix it or she would. He doesn’t remember if that was before or after she let her plants have their fun, though. “We take that kind of accusation very seriously. The entire reason Wayne Enterprises agreed to collaborate with your company was because you’ve boasted about your eco-friendly containment practices.”

Powers expression doesn’t betray anything; in fact, the way his eyebrows raise, and his mouth turns downward in confusion, anyone else might consider him legitimately affronted.

“And you believed it? Come on, Tim, I’m sure WE gets half a dozen similar accusations a week. It’s just the granola movement trying to shut down our operations. They’d be happy if we still did things the Amish way.”

“Maybe. But those accusations don’t usually come with evidence to back them up.” Tim slides several folders across the desk. “Only a percentage of your industrial waste is being disposed of responsibly, I imagine for publicity’s sake; the rest, you’re burying in the sublevels of your main facility.”

Powers lips thin ever so slightly. “Hearsay.”

“We do our due diligence in these matters. Some of your employees were willing to confirm the report—anonymous now, but willing to come forward in the event of a formal investigation,” Tim says. “There was also an undercover investigation commissioned by…outside parties.”

No need to admit he was the outside party.

“The results indicate that not only are your containment measures insufficient, but the run-off from that waste is close to entering the groundwater, which could jeopardize Gotham’s entire water supply. Possibly even on a global scale if it gets to the ocean and reacts with the salt water.” He holds his hands in front of him. “I’ve held back on having this released to the public as a curtesy to you to get your affairs in order today.”

“What?” Powers growls and there’s not even an attempt to keep his charming mask on.

“I’ve asked you here so that we can finalize the dissolution of Wayne Enterprises partnership with Powers Tech,” Tim continues. “It’s a fairly cut and dried situation, so there was no need to call in the board.”

“That isn’t going to happen—”

“In exchange for an uncontested dissolution of our agreement and a clear plan to fix the problem, I continue to keep this information from going public—along with several other discrepancies I’ve discovered in your company, many of which are such blatant health-code violations that if they’re made public, you’ll be declaring bankruptcy by nine o’clock tonight. Personally, that isn’t the path I’d choose; your recent indiscretions aside, Powers Tech has the potential to do great things—if it’s being run by someone with half a conscience.”

Which you clearly don’t possess.

“You’d do well to watch your tone, boy,” Powers growls. “Does your father know the career suicide you’re committing right now?”

“He trusts my judgement or I wouldn’t be sitting at this desk,” Tim shrugs, unconcerned, and slides two more folders across. “These are to dissolve our partnership. Feel free to have your lawyers look it over, but I am serious about the nine o’clock deadline. If you intend to keep your company operating for the foreseeable future, you will sign it and send it over before then. You’ll also make an announcement that you intend to step down from your position as CEO, since you are taking full blame for your company’s blatant disrespect for environmental laws.”

“I will do no such thing! That’s tantamount to an admission of guilt—and I have no intention of going to jail over these…these fabricated accusations.”

“The choice is yours, of course. And you are pretty well-off, so even though this is an open-shut case, I’m sure you’ll land in a white-collar institution that’s nicer than most of Gotham’s criminals enjoy. But make no mistake—either you come forward on your own, which will be helpful in negotiating a lesser sentence, or you wait for the evening edition of the Gotham Gazette, which I know won’t paint you in a very favorable light.”

“This is blackmail.”

“Actually, it’s extortion,” Tim corrects him, reaching for his half-filled coffee cup. As Powers eyes gleam at him, a small smirk forming, Tim continues, “Oh, and just so you know, anything we’ve said in this meeting is completely confidential. I took the liberty of installing a scrambler in this office, which knocks out all mechanical devices. Your phone and the recorder in your pocket won’t have caught any of our conversation. To ensure neither of us chooses to play any unfortunate quotes out of context, of course.”

“Of course,” Power grunts tightly.

“I would go with the first option,” Tim says, switching back to the previous conversation with ease. “This way your company’s stocks won’t fall too badly. And this way your son has a chance of being a better man and better CEO than you. I look forward to discussing the changes with Derek at the Green Energy Expo in Hong Kong next week.”

Powers looks as if he’s about to jump across the table and throttle Tim, who casually reaches for his intercom, “Mr. Powers will be leaving early, please ensure someone can escort him down to the lobby.”

“I can find my own way,” Powers snaps, shoving his chair back and grabbing the folders Tim gave him. “And this isn’t over, you jumped-up little brat. You’re going to regret this.”

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that before,” Tim replies, adopting the cold, distant smile of Janet Drake. “Have a nice day, Mr. Powers.”

As soon as the older man has stormed from the office, Tim lets out a breath he hadn’t even noticed he was holding. It only occurs to him when the tight feeling in his chest dissipates. He leans back heavily in his chair, feeling like he’s run a marathon, which makes no sense. It’s not the first time he’s had to strongarm a partner or competitor.

He notices he has been bouncing his knee up and down under the desk, and scowls. Good thing Powers didn’t notice that, or he might have taken it as a weakness.

He’s hungry, but the effort involved in procuring food is too much. The stupid cane is not worth it, and despite his stomach complaining, he has no appetite. Not worth it.

On screen, Jason flips a table through the restaurant window.

Damage control, Tim decides, relegating his hunger to the back of his mind and preparing to scrub any footage of Jason’s activities. It’s not keeping tabs.

So, yeah, Tim’s in denial and Jason doesn’t do warm and fuzzy family feelings. And Roy is way more observant than he would like heehee.

Sorry there was a lack of direct jaytim interaction this chapter, but I’d kind of like this fic to be more than boy-broods-about-other-boy-every-chapter. I find it makes for a more authentic slow-build relationship if they also have other stuff going on in their lives. But next chapter, we shall have dialogue once more!

TBC

NEXT CHAPTER ( in progress)

#jaytim #jason todd #red hood #jaytim fanfic #roy harper #jaytim fic #fanfiction #batman fanfiction #bromance #witty repartee #snark #humor #banter #jason and roy are twisted sisters #slow build

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bastardnev · 6 years

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That Guy Next Door

im finally fuckin posting this dad au fic im losing it, i meant to post this earlier but tumblr kept glitching so!!! here it is!!

anyways as i’ve said a few times already, this fic will be updating on a weekly basis, which means that there’s gonna be one new chapter every friday until all of them have been uploaded. i hope you all enjoy this fic as much as i enjoyed writing it!!

link to ao3

tagging: @tylerblacks @joonhobi @rivela @aliciasfox @sailor-slam-dunk @kidvoodoo @smolsammich @simulated-heat @douglas-leon-michael (lemme kno if you wanna be added to my tag list!!)

Chapters: 1/16 Fandom: World Wrestling Entertainment, Professional Wrestling Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Mustafa Ali/Pac | Adrian Neville, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added Characters: Mustafa Ali, Pac | Adrian Neville, Wade Barrett, Original Child Character(s), Other Character Tags to Be Added Additional Tags: Rating will go up, wink wonk, Parenthood, Single Parents, Post-Divorce, Alternate Universe - Parents, god for a sec i didn't think there was a parent au tag on here and i was gonna be so confused, First Meetings, Other Additional Tags to Be Added Summary:

"yo" "do me a favor when you get home" "i can see there’s someone new moving in next door" "introduce all of us to him plz n thx"

Single parent Neville was convinced that he would never find love again following his divorce. Little did he realize just how much these four texts from Wade would change his life.

The more that time passed, the more it seemed like Neville was never going to be able to escape this stupid little office.

He was never going to get away from his desk. From his computer. From his phone that never seemed to want to stop ringing for thirty goddamn seconds. From the sounds of his co-workers typing away on their own keyboards. From his boss who almost always seemed to have some new, pointless assignment for him to complete whenever he passed by his cubicle. Such were the woes of working for such a big company…

He told himself that this job was only temporary. Every day he would remind himself that he was only going to be there until he was back on his feet following his divorce. As difficult as this was, it wasn’t going to last forever.

But then a time where he was financially secure enough to start looking for a different job arose, and Neville didn’t jump on the opportunity to leave. He had wanted to stick around for awhile longer to make sure he had completed everything, so that the poor bastard who took this secretary -- no, administrative assistant -- position after him wouldn’t be swamped with missed deadlines and unfinished projects. He didn’t mind staying for a few more days.

Those days turned to weeks. Those weeks turned to months. Those months turned to years.

It had been almost three fucking years since he had the chance to quit, and yet there Neville was, still typing out emails and arranging appointments for higher-ups who couldn’t give any less of a shit about him if they tried.

Sometimes he would stop while in the middle of working, staring intently at his mouse cursor, debating just walking out and leaving this hell behind and never looking back. No one appreciated him. It would make more sense to go elsewhere, wouldn’t it? Where he wouldn’t have to work unnecessarily long hours just to earn a decent pay? Where a boss would actually seem grateful for the work that he puts in?

It was as he would have these thoughts, however, that he would catch sight of the pictures resting next to his computer monitor -- those of two little girls, smiling at the camera and looking so full of life.

His little girls.

The older one was Jennifer, though she was only ever called that when she was in serious trouble (which wasn’t often, now that Neville thought about it) -- otherwise, she was simply known as Jen. She was definitely more like her mother, from having the same light brown hair to the same headstrong personality. Though she was only nine, she was incredibly independent -- almost too independent, however, as she was often too stubborn to ask for help when she was in tough situations.

Then there was Daisy -- ‘Daddy’s favorite,’ as she claimed whenever Neville would do something nice for her (even if he had also done the same thing for Jen). She was six, and even at such a young age she was already showing signs of being just like her father. That is to say, she was becoming a bit of a smartass. True to the little sibling stereotype, she essentially lived to spite Jen, always making sure to say whatever it was she least wanted to hear just so that she could appreciate her over-the-top reactions.

These two lovely children were depending on him. Neville couldn’t quit and risk losing out on money when he knows that they’re counting on him to take care of them.

With that thought in mind, he continued typing.

If he was lucky, then Neville’s drive from the office back to his home was relatively short, the traffic scarce despite it technically being rush hour.

Unfortunately, that day was not his lucky day.

Despite never actually having met the driver of the minivan that he was stuck behind, Neville felt like he was deeply familiar with their personal life, considering the amount of bullshit on the back of it. There was a stick figure family decal on the back window -- a father, a mother, two little boys, and one little girl. Down on the bumper there were multiple stickers proudly announcing to the world that there were two honors students in the family. What about the third kid? Neville found himself thinking, fingers tapping impatiently on the steering wheel. Are they not good enough for a sticker?

His phone vibrated in the cup holder next to him, and he glanced down at it for a moment before focusing back on the road, pulling up a little once the traffic started to move. He heard the phone vibrate a second time. A third time. By the time the fourth vibration occurred, Neville looked back down at the device and took it in his hands, wondering just what in the hell was so urgent that it required sending that many messages.

Then again, considering that the only person who ever texted him nowadays was Wade, there was no way it was actually anything of substance.

Wade “Freeloader” Barrett: yo

Wade “Freeloader” Barrett: do me a favor when you get home

Wade “Freeloader” Barrett: i can see there’s someone new moving in next door

Wade “Freeloader” Barrett: introduce all of us to him plz n thx

Typical. Wade was once again trying to get Neville to do something for him. It seemed like all that Wade had done since moving into the downstairs apartment in Neville’s house was try to butter him up for something. That man truly has not changed since college…

Though Neville ribbed Wade for his tactics, even going as far as to jokingly refer to him as a freeloader in his phone, the truth was that he didn't have any negative feelings towards him at all. In fact, he was actually incredibly grateful for him. Wade had been employed when he moved into Neville’s home after his divorce, but he’d been laid off not too long after, and he’d had no success finding a job ever since. It seemed like every time things were looking up for him and he might have found something other than the occasional odd job, the position was always given to someone else, and as such he was never able to pay his share of that month’s rent.

He was always willing to babysit whenever Neville needed him to, however -- which was fairly often, seeing as his job sometimes required that he stay late at the office. Had it not been for him, Neville would have had to worry about paying a sitter on top of all of the bills and everything else. Difficult as things may be, he was glad to have a close friend like Wade.

Someone actually bought that house, though? Neville thought. It’s been on the market for ages. He could only vaguely remember the small family that used to live there before they abruptly moved because of the father’s job. Though the last thing that Neville wanted to do was give Wade what he wanted, he had to admit that he was just as curious as he was about this new neighbor…

Me: And why should I do that? Can’t you go over there yourself?

Wade “Freeloader” Barrett: your texting while you’re supposed to be driving??

Wade “Freeloader” Barrett: dangerous

Wade “Freeloader” Barrett: tsk tsk

Me: *you’re

Wade “Freeloader” Barrett: SHUT UP

Me: Also I’m in traffic, asshole. Now tell me why you can’t do it yourself?

Wade “Freeloader” Barrett: because i just woke up from a nap and have a killer headache and am in no mood to actually socialize

Me: What makes you think I’M in the mood to socialize? I just had a long day at work.

Wade “Freeloader” Barrett: because you’re the cuter one between the two of us and it would be better if he saw your pretty face instead of mine

Wade “Freeloader” Barrett: you could win over anyone with those eyes of yours

It was at that moment that Neville placed his phone back down in the cup holder -- partially because the traffic was beginning to move and he needed to start driving again, though mainly because he’d read enough. Wade always tried to compliment him whenever he was too lazy to do something for himself, and Neville was ashamed to admit that this strategy worked more often than not.

This time was going to be different, however. After a long day of typing away at his desk and going straight into bumper-to-bumper traffic, it was going to take a lot more than some sweet talking to get him to introduce himself to a total stranger.

Neville finally pulled into his driveway about fifteen minutes later, turning the car off and leaning back against the seat with a sigh. Somewhere along the way it had started raining, the droplets of rain tapping rhythmically against the windshield. He loved the rain -- that is, when he didn’t actually have to go walking through it. It was a short walk from the car to the front door. Even so, he was not looking forward to getting wet…

As he gathered his bearings, he took a quick look out of the passenger side window, and he noticed that there was a light on inside of the house next door, and there was an unfamiliar car parked in the driveway. So Wade was telling the truth when he said that there was a new neighbor. Wonder what their story is.

The neighborhood that Neville lived in wasn’t bad by any means, but he didn’t think that it was an area that anybody would want to willingly move into. Most of the residents tended to keep to themselves, the extent of their interactions with one another being a quick ‘hello’ and nothing more. Wouldn’t someone looking for a place to start their new life look for someplace more interesting? Whoever this new person was must have had no other options.

...Then again, it wasn’t like Neville really cared about what this new person thought. He had more important things to worry about then whatever was going on in their mind.

Neville resigned himself to his damp fate and exited the car, making sure to lock it before trekking through the rain and up the front stops until he reached the door. Despite it being closed, he could hear what sounded like a commotion inside -- just what he needed after the day he’d had. What are they fighting over now ? He clicked his tongue and opened the door, bracing himself for whatever the latest controversy was.

“Jen, you said yourself that you didn’t care if she ate your leftovers or not.” The first voice that Neville heard was that of Wade, who was clearly trying to mediate an argument between the two girls, standing in front of Jen while Daisy hid behind his back.

“I said I didn’t want them! I never said she could have them!” Jen had her arms crossed.

“I never ate them, though!” Daisy peeked out from behind Wade, clutching his shirt, dark brown curls falling over her face. “I swear! Why would I want something that you touched?”

“Uh… Hello?” Neville decided to speak up, prompting the three of them to look over in his direction.

“Daddy!!” Daisy let go of Wade and went charging towards him, now opting to hide behind him instead (and prompting a “What, am I not a good enough shield for you?” from Wade). “Jen’s bullying me again!”

“I am not!” Jen insisted. “She’s the one that did something wrong! She ate my food!”

Of all the ridiculous arguments that these two could have had, they had to have one over chicken tenders? Were fights over toys going out of style? “Okay, listen,” Neville started. “Jen, you did say that you didn’t mind if someone else ate them. And Daisy, you shouldn’t insinuate that anything your sister touches is dirty.”

Daisy blinked at him. Neville couldn’t imagine why she looked so confused, seeing as he made a perfectly good point.

“Nev,” Wade said. “She’s six. I don’t think she knows what ‘insinuate’ means.”

“Right… Okay, how about this -- don’t say that anything she touches is dirty. There, is that better?”

Daisy nodded this time. Neville knew her too well, though. It may appear as if she understood, but in reality she was plotting her next move. Chances are she had plenty more insults ready to unleash the moment that Neville’s back was turned.

Jen made a disgusted sound and stormed into the hallway, bounding up the stairs towards her room. Now that her enemy had disappeared, Daisy deemed it safe enough to emerge from hiding, heading towards the kitchen. Neville pushed his glasses up his nose as he watched her go. “How did that argument even start, anyway?” He asked.

“Hell if I know.” Wade shrugged. “I was minding my own business when Daisy came running in here claiming that Jen was going to kill her. Again.”

“Did she even eat the leftovers?”

“No, she didn’t.”

“Then who…” He squinted at Wade. “ You ate them, didn’t you?”

“...Maybe…”

“Of course you did.” Neville sat down on the couch, rubbing at his temples.

“What, did you expect me to speak up? Angry Jen isn’t fun to deal with. The last thing I wanted was to be on the receiving end of her wrath. She clearly got that gene from you.”

“Ha ha, very funny.”

Wade took a seat next to him. “Enough about that, though. What happened with the new guy next door?”

“I didn’t talk to him.”

“What?” He looked disappointed. “Not even after I asked you so nicely?”

“Trying to get me to do something for you by buttering me up isn’t always going to work, Wade. I told you that I had a long day today and I wasn’t up for introductions. I’ll get around to it when I’m not exhausted.”

Wade huffed, propping his feet up on the coffee table (and having them shoved off by Neville a few seconds later). “All I’m trying to do is help you get back out there…”

Neville looked at him, eyes narrow. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, did I say that out loud? Oops.” Wade was acting as if that were an accident, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that he’d clearly meant for Neville to hear him.

“What do you mean that you’re trying to help me ‘get back out there’?”

“Well, y’know…” Wade began to play with his nails, avoiding Neville’s gaze. “I thought you and the cute new guy next door might want to chat for awhile, maybe hang out sometime, that’s all.”

“You-- Wait, you actually want me to date this guy? This guy who I’ve never even met? Are you kidding me?” Neville had learned so much about Wade in the years that they’d known each other, but never once had he shown any interest in trying to play matchmaker. “Why do you want this so badly?”

“I just thought it would be nice! I know you’ve been lonely lately--”

“And just how would you know that?”

“Nev, I’ve been your friend since college. I’ve been living with you ever since you and Marina split. The last few years have been rough for you romance-wise, and it’s obvious that it’s taken a toll on you.”

Neville swallowed at the mention of his wife’s name. “How do you know ?” He repeated, growing a little impatient.

“I feel like I hardly ever see you smile anymore,” Wade continued. “It’s not that you never smile, it’s just… genuinely happy smiles are pretty rare for you these days. I thought that maybe finding you a nice guy to hang out with would help lift your spirits a bit -- and who knows, something great could come out of this. You should give him a chance.”

Neville knew that he was probably being rude, but he still rolled his eyes, shaking his head and once again pushing his glasses up his nose. He knew that Wade didn’t mean any harm. He was one of the few truly good people that Neville knew, and he would never do anything to hurt him.

This, on the other hand, while it didn’t hurt him by any means, was on a whole different level. “Wade, listen… I understand that you’re just trying to help,” Neville started. “I appreciate that you’re looking out for me. But I know I’ve told you before that I’m not interested in finding a partner at the moment. I have a family to support, and I don’t have time to be fooling around with romance right now.”

“Okay…” Wade’s shoulders drooped. “Sorry if it seemed like I was forcing you into something that you didn’t want.”

“No need to apologize.” Neville stood up from the couch, stretching. “I gotta go get changed. These clothes are so damn uncomfortable.”

“It’s times like these where I’m almost glad I don’t work,” Wade commented, watching Neville as he made to leave the room. “Otherwise I’d have to wear stuff like that .”

“I envy you, I won’t lie.”

Neville arrived at the top of the steps and started to make his way down the hallway. He briefly stopped in front of the door to the girls’ room, knowing that Jen was most likely still stewing inside. He knew that she would get over it eventually, but it still bothered him knowing that she was angry with the wrong person. Maybe once she calms down we can tell her… Though Wade will probably be scared shitless while we do it.

He continued down the hall and made it to his own room, taking off his jacket and tossing it onto the bed. He was about to start undoing the buttons on his shirt when he noticed that the window was open, and he let out a little annoyed noise. Great, now the floor is wet…

It was when he went over to close it that he once again caught sight of the house next door -- in particular, his eye was drawn to the window. He could see that there was someone moving around inside, but he was only able to see his back. There he is, the man of my dreams… or so I’ve been told.

Neville wasn’t in the mood to be accused of being a creeper, so he quickly shut the window and closed the blinds, resuming his undressing. Whoever the hell this new guy was, he wasn’t interested in watching what he assumed were his dinner preparations (nor was he willing to strip right where he could see it).

For all the complaints that Neville had about his job, there was one thing about it that he did like -- the fact that he was able to work from home on Fridays.

He was set up at the kitchen table, lazily scrolling through the emails that were gradually piling up in his inbox. Most of them didn’t even concern him -- in the beginning they were about figuring out what time would work best for everyone for the next meeting, now most of them were people debating which day of the week would be better between Monday and Tuesday. I’m stuck in that office anyway regardless of the day, so what does it even matter? Neville thought to himself, taking a sip from his coffee mug as he went to work deleting some of the messages.

“What a sight to behold.” Neville looked up from the screen and found that Wade had entered the room. “You’re still sitting here working and drinking from that ‘World’s Okayest Dad’ mug. Don’t you think you should give yourself a break?”

“I already took my break earlier,” Neville replied just as he heard another chime ring out from his laptop -- the meeting would officially be on Monday, despite numerous complaints. Incoming shitstorm.

“Take another one. What’s stopping you? It’s not like anyone can tell that you’re not working.”

“They’ll tell when I’m not responding to any of their emails.”

“So if you don’t respond immediately after they send it to you then they’ll know that you’re slacking off? Sounds rough. Glad I’m not working there.”

“You’re not working, period .”

“Exactly, and who would want to with those regulations?” Wade went to the fridge and dug around inside until he came back with a bottle of water, unscrewing the cap and taking a sip. “Hey, where are the girls? I haven’t seen them all afternoon.”

“Outside in the yard.” Neville nodded his head in the direction of the back door. “I’m surprised they’ve been playing for so long without getting into a fight.” Right as Neville finished saying that, he heard a thud and the unmistakable sound of Daisy yelling “Ow!” “Ah, I see I spoke too soon.”

A few moments later, both girls stumbled into the kitchen through the back door. “Daddy, Daisy threw the ball over the fence again,” Jen complained, elbowing her sister in the side.

“Ow-- It wasn’t my fault! She was the one who threw it.”

“You said you were ready for me to throw it!”

“No I didn’t!”

“Yes you did! Daddy, didn’t you hear her say she was ready? She’s lying again--”

“Alright, alright, that’s enough,” Neville interrupted her before she could say anything more, and he pushed back his chair. “You two head back outside and wait in the yard. I’ll go get the ball for you.”

Jen and Daisy looked at each other before they both walked back outside, the two of them getting into a brief scuffle in the doorway since they couldn’t decide which of the two of them got to go through first (Jen ultimately won by reminding Daisy of who the older sibling was). Neville pinched the bridge of his nose once they were gone, letting out a sigh. “What am I going to do with them…”

“Well, you can start by getting their ball,” Wade said.

Neville made a little frustrated noise and stood up, though it was as he was about to leave that he noticed the cocky smirk on Wade’s face. “What’s up with you?”

“Nev, how did you get the ball the last time they threw it over the fence?” he asked, leaning back against the counter.

“Uh… I went into the yard and got it?”

“You realize you can’t do that anymore, right? Since there’s now someone living there. That’s trespassing.”

“What’s your point?”

“My point is that you’re going to have to get the new neighbor’s permission to go back there and get it. You two are finally going to meet.”

“Oh God, are you still on this?” Neville huffed. “I told you that I’m not interested in being in a relationship right now. Let it go .”

“I never said you had to date him. Just that you’re gonna be meeting for the first time.”

“Maybe so, but I know you’re thinking it.” He waggled his finger at him. “And let me tell you this: I’m going to go next door, ask for the ball back, and then come right back here. No bullshit, no stopping inside for coffee or whatever, no nothing . You got that?”

“Whatever you say, mate.” Wade still didn’t look entirely convinced, but he didn’t press the issue any further and left the kitchen, leaving Neville all by himself.

What a pain in the ass… Neville shook his head as he watched Wade retreat downstairs. He waited until he was gone before exiting into the hallway and walking towards the front door.

The moment that the early-August heat hit his face, Neville immediately regretting going outside. God, how have those kids been playing out here for all this time? He despised the thought of meeting his new neighbor while drenched in sweat, so he decided to stop wasting time and briskly started the trek over to the house next door.

“It won’t take him much longer, calm down!” Neville could hear the faint sound of Jen reprimanding her sister from his own yard.

“We’ve been waiting foreverrrrr…” Naturally, the next voice he heard was that of Daisy.

Five minutes. It’s been five minutes since they asked. At most.

Neville looked up at the house that was now in front of him, and he marched up to the door with authority, determined not to let Wade’s nonsense get in the way of what he came here to do. He didn’t come here to flirt or do anything of that nature -- he was not going to let the wannabe matchmaker that lived in his basement cloud his judgement.

He rang the doorbell and took a step back, crossing his arms and waiting for some sort of response. He could still hear the sounds of Daisy and Jen bickering from the yard. He debated taking out his phone and asking Wade to keep an eye on them, but it was right as he reached for his pocket that the door opened.

“Hi, I’m—” Neville stopped himself once he got a good look at the man now standing in the doorway, his mouth hanging open slightly.

“Um… How can I help you?” The man asked, brown eyes narrowed in confusion, like he couldn’t figure out why this stranger was gaping at him on his doorstep. It was those same eyes that Neville found himself suddenly lost in, momentarily forgetting just why the hell he was there in the first place. That’s a good question -- how can you help me?

Neville cleared his throat, shaking his head and snapping himself out of his trance. “Excuse me, I’m sorry to bother you, but my kids accidentally threw their ball over your fence. I was wondering if we could get it back.”

“Oh, that’s what that was?” He smiled. “I heard yelling coming from next door and was wondering what had happened.”

“Ah, well, you know how little girls can be sometimes…”

“Trust me, I do. I work with them. I can toss the ball back over for ‘em.”

“Thank you.” Neville returned his smile. “Again, sorry to trouble you. I know you’re still busy unpacking.” Neville could see the moving boxes that were sitting in the hallway. “Don’t mean to interrupt.”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s not a problem at all. Hey, what’s your name, by the way? I’m Mustafa.”

“Mustafa…” Neville repeated. It was a nice name. “I’m Adrian.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Adrian.” There was that infectious smile again. Neville found himself quite liking how his name sounded coming from his mouth -- and he normally hated his first name. “You’re the first person around here that I’ve actually spoken to, you know that?”

“That doesn’t shock me.” He frowned. “The people around here aren’t exactly the nicest. They don’t really do things like greeting new neighbors.”

“That’s a shame… But at least I have one nice neighbor in you . That makes up for it.” Mustafa shot him a wink. “I should probably go get the ball now -- I’ll catch you later, okay?”

“Okay! I’ll, uh… see you around.”

With that, Mustafa shut the door, and Neville let out a breath that he didn’t even realize that he was holding. Finally, it was over . He had done what needed to be done, and now he could go back home and rub it in Wade’s face.

I didn’t linger at all. Neville thought with a sense of triumph as he went down to the sidewalk. Wade was so sure that I was going to fall head over heels for him within thirty seconds of knowing him. Not even close.

…Still, Neville thought it was a bit strange how he had acted when Mustafa first opened the door. Everything about their conversation was normal with the exception of the beginning. Neville had been completely entranced by him, especially those eyes … What was that all about?

Neville’s moment of contemplation didn’t last very long, as he was interrupted by the gleeful sounds of his daughters, whose ball had just been returned to them. He was overthinking things, as usual. He only felt this way because Wade planted the seeds in his mind.

This was nothing to dwell on.

#mustafa ali #neville #adrian neville #wwe fanfiction #mustafa x neville #jess.txt #i sincerely apologize if you're on mobile rn and can't see the read more because this is a Long Chapter #dad au

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hopewritcs · 7 years

Text

dancing in the kitchen. two.

pairing: romantic steve x reader, familial dustin x reader

word count: 2.9k

summary: without giving too much away: the reader is Y/N Henderson, Dustin’s older cousin who’s staying in town, due to some family issues. takes place soon after s2.

note: here’s chapter two! i’m so happy you guys liked chapter one.

other chapters: masterlist

tag list: @stevieboyharrington, @lola-winston-harrington, @fuckthatfeeling (if you wanna be added to the tag list, let me know!!)

Y/N woke up as the first lights of day broke through the window in the Henderson’s guest room. Her room. It was her room, at least for now. She was still fully dressed and covered with a throw blanket. Furrowing her brows, Y/N thought back to last night. She couldn’t remember coming back into her own room, so she guessed that Dustin’s guest, Steve, had brought her in. She probably fell asleep during one of the movies. Dustin wouldn’t let her live that down, she chuckled to herself.

Turning to her side, she saw the clock on the nightstand read 8:09 AM. Figuring she wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep, Y/N got out of bed, grabbed some clothes for today--a casual dress she’d recently bought, it had long sleeves so it would be perfect for cold weather--and went into the bathroom. After a long shower, Y/N got dressed and put her hair up into a bun, letting it air dry.

Y/N then went to check on Dustin, finding that he was still asleep. So she decided to be the best big cousin and make him some breakfast. Y/N hopped down the stairs, barefoot, turning on the stereo to a low volume as she passed. She looked through the fridge, biting her lip as she deiced what she should make for breakfast. Then she figured it out.

Pancakes. Duh.

Y/N gathered what she needed to make the pancakes, before she heard the mewing of the siamese kitten at her feet. Y/N bent down and scratched the kitten behind the ears, “Can’t forget about you, Tews.” she pressed a kiss on the top of the kitten’s head and went into the cabinet, finding the cat food in the same place it was always in. After feeding the kitten, Y/N went back to the stove and began prepping some pancake batter. She was humming along to the stereo when she heard footsteps. She dropped the pancake batter into the pan and said, without turning around, “I’m making pancakes. But it’ll be a couple minutes. Could you set the table?”

She had expected it to be Dustin who had come into the kitchen behind her, but it was not his voice that said, “Can do.”

Y/N turned around and looked at Steve, his hair was all over the place since he had just woken up, and he was yawning as he moved around the kitchen, gathering everything he needed to set the table for breakfast. Turning her attention back to the three pancakes in the pan, Y/N flipped them over and spoke as she did so, “I didn’t realize you’d stayed the night. Do you stay here often?”

Steve shrugged, making a sort of noncommittal sound. “Nah, usually when Mrs. H is out and I babysit. But she found out my parents aren’t around much, so she worries, I guess.”

Y/N smiled, that definitely sounded like her Aunt Claudia, “Yeah, she’s kind of a worrier.” Y/N said, giggling softly as she shook her head. “Thanks, though.”

“For what?” Steve stood next to Y/N, leaning against the counter after he placed an empty plate beside her for the finished pancakes.

“Well I’m assuming Dustin didn’t carry me up the stairs to bed last night. Unless he’s gotten super strong since I last saw him. So thanks. And, sorry you had to sleep on the couch.”

Steve shrugged his shoulders, waving a hand at her. Silently saying it was no big deal. He’d do it again in a heartbeat. Then he turned around, moving to the staircase, “Hey! You little shit. Time to wake up! Y/N’s making you pancakes so you better get your ass down here.”

“Why do you call him that? Don’t you...y’know...care about him?”

Steve went to the cabinet to grab some coffee to make, since it was the least he could do as Y/N was making breakfast. “Yeah, but I gotta keep up my rep. Can’t let the kid think I actually like him or somethin’.”

Y/N just shook her head with a chuckle, and turned her attention back to the pancakes she was making. By the time she was done with the last batch, Dustin was downstairs and fully dressed and ready for the day.

“Morning Y/N. I can’t believe you fell asleep during that movie! Can you believe that, Steve? Totally passed out.” Dustin teased his cousin.

“Ha ha.” Y/N rolled her eyes, turning to her cousin with her hands on her hips, “Do you need me to remind you of the time I took you to see The Little Mermaid and you were crying when you thought Prince Eric and Ariel wouldn’t get together in the end.” Y/N shot back, putting the plate of pancakes down on the table and taking a seat. Dustin glared at her, but Steve was chuckling to himself as he put the mug of coffee down in front of Y/N, before getting some juice for Dustin and sitting down himself.

“Y/N! You promised never to mention that again!” Dustin whined, grabbing a pile of pancakes for himself before adding copious amounts of syrup to them.

“Well think about that next time, Dusty. I’ve got a whole lot of embarrassing stories I could share about you.” Y/N singsonged, a teasing tone back in her voice as she reached across the table and poked Dustin’s cheek. He swatted her hand away, glaring and pouting. She would never share the worst stories, but she liked to make Dustin think every once in a while that she might.

Dustin stuck his tongue out at her. Y/N copied the motion. Steve held up his hands and looked between the two, “Children! Children! Please.” he said. To that, Y/N and Dustin just turned their attention to Steve, sticking their tongues out at him. Steve just stared at them, shaking his head. “You sure you aren’t siblings?” he chuckled, turning his attention to the plate of pancakes in front of him.

“So, when are we heading to Mike’s?” Y/N asked, after she took a bite of her pancake stack, which she’d covered in cinnamon sugar.

“We usually go over around three or four.” Dustin said, his mouth full of pancakes. After he swallowed, he turned his attention to Steve. “You coming today? I know we kept making fun of you last week, but it’s only because you...well, you sucked.” Dustin said, attempting to keep his laughter down.

Steve chuckled, “What a kind invite, Dustin.”

“What? Dude? I said you sucked. I didn’t say you couldn’t get better.” Dustin replied, before turning back to his pancakes. “Maybe with a miracle.” Dustin mumbled under his breath as he took another bite.

“I heard that!” Steve exclaimed, glaring at Dustin from the opposite side of the table. Y/N just giggled, amused.

“Jonathan and Nance should be there. And Y/N. I mean, who else do you hang out with?” Dustin question, turning back up to look at Steve.

Steve rolled his eyes before tossing a bit of pancake at the smaller boy. Before Y/N could say anything, it turned into an all out battle between the pair.

Y/N excused herself, “You guys are so cleaning this mess up.” she said, picking up her empty plate before washing it in the sink and leaving the room.

Y/N went to the guest room and picked up the phone, dialing the familiar number to the Wheeler house.

“Wheeler residence! This is Mike.” she was greeted.

“Mike! You sound almost grown up.” Y/N gushed.

“Y/N! It really is you! I almost didn’t believe Dustin when he said you were back!” Mike exclaimed, happy to hear her voice.

“Is that Y/N? Gimme the phone, Mike!” Y/N could hear the muffled voice of her friend Nancy in the background.

“Nu uh, she called and I answered. That’s how it works. Besides, Y/N wants to talk to me, right?”

It took Y/N a minute to realize Mike had addressed that last bit of his question to her. He asked again and she spoke, “I’m seeing you later, Mikey.” she said to the younger boy, who’s expression she could almost feel drop as soon as she said those words. “Can you put Nance on, pretty please?”

“Fine.” he replied, handing the phone off to Nancy with a backhanded comment about how no one even uses the phone anyway. Nancy giggled as she picked up the phone from where her brother had left it.

“Y/N! I’ve missed you. Why are you back? How’s New York? How’s everything? You’ve got to tell me all about it.”

“Nancy! I missed you. But before we get to anything--Dustin told me you and Jonathan are seeing each other?” Y/N asked, wiggling her eyebrows, “When exactly did this happen?”

Nancy giggled, “Recently. It’s this whole long story, but I promise to fill you in. Dustin says you’re staying in town for a while?”

“Yeah. Mom and Dad went off to Italy. Something about fixing their marriage or trying to bring themselves back together. They say it’ll only be a month or two tops, but I could be here for a long time. I mean, you remember what they’re like.” Y/N explained, attempting to make her voice sound light, like she was joking. But it came off a bit strained. Nancy made a note to question her about that later. Y/N could already sense that Nancy would ask about it.

“Yay! Are you going to be coming to school with us?” Nancy asked, hopefully.

“Yup. I have to keep my grades up.”

“You always were a nerd.” Nancy teased.

“Says the nerd!” Y/N giggled.

Nancy replied, but Y/N couldn’t hear what her friend said when Dustin poked his head in the room. “Hey, Y/N, Steve’s trying to clean up in the kitchen and he’s not doing a good job.”

Y/N rolled her eyes, sighing. She heard Steve from downstairs in the kitchen saying, “It’s just this freakin’ pan, don’t act like I don’t know what I’m doing Dustin.”

“Why don’t you help him, Dustin?” Y/N asked, moving the phone away from her ear. “I’m kinda on the phone.” she could hear Nancy laughing in the background.

“I gotta go with Lucas to pick Max up. We’re going to the arcade for a bit before we meet up at Mike’s!” Dustin said, running back to his room. “Tell Nancy I said I’ll see her and Mike at three!” he called.

Y/N sighed, putting the phone back to her ear. “Sorry, Nance, I have to go. Apparently Dustin’s going to Lucas’ to go to Max’s and Steve’s downstairs trying to clean but apparently he’s shit at it or something. Can’t have Aunt Claudia coming back to a messy house.” Y/N paused for a minute. “I’ll be over around three, though.”

Nancy was about to say goodbye and hang up when she recognized who Y/N was talking about. “Steve’s there? What’s Steve doing there?”

“He had a movie night with Dustin and stayed the night.” Y/N explained, wondering why her friend was so curious. “Steve Harrington is the guy you told me about? The one you were dating?” Y/N choked on her words, gasping at the realization.

Nancy replied, “Mhm, the one and only.”

Y/N felt her breath catch in her throat. “You dated the little boy I had a crush on when we were kids?”

Nancy stuttered for a moment, attempting to answer her friend. But Y/N was distracted as she heard Steve calling from the kitchen, “Hey, Y/N, didn’t Dustin call you to help me? I’m suffering down here.”

Y/N rolled her eyes. “In a minute!” she called back, holding the phone away from her ear. “Sorry Nance, I have to go.” Y/N went to hang up when Nancy’s voice stopped her.

“Y/N, don’t worry, it’s practically ancient history at this point. I’ll see you at three Y/N! Mike says don’t be late!”

And with that, Nancy hung up, leaving Y/N curious about what she meant by her last comments before she hung up the phone. Y/N looked at the phone in her hands, staring as she heard the dial tone. After keeping sporadic touch with Nancy over the years, Y/N knew Nancy was dating someone. But for it to be the little boy she saw all those years ago and developed a fleeting crush on, Y/N hadn’t expected that.

“Y/N!” Steve called, getting Y/N out of her trance.

Y/N hung up the phone in her hands and ran down the stairs. “Coming.” she said, hopping down and meeting Steve in the kitchen. He was looking down at the pan in the sink. “I was catching up with Nancy.” Y/N said, moving to the sink and nudging Steve out of the way. She grabbed the soap from under the sink and began to clean the pan she’d used for the pancakes. “You do know this isn’t hard to clean, right?” she said, turning her gaze to look at Steve.

“I don’t really--so I’ve never...done dishes before.” the teenage boy admitted.

This caused Y/N to laugh out loud. “Are you serious?”

Steve shrugged, looking at the dishes she was cleaning. “I usually wind up going out. My parents aren’t around much.”

“Neither are mine. You don’t see me unable to wash some simple dishes.” Y/N teased with a laugh. “You see, you take some soap and a sponge.”

“You’re hilarious.” Steve deadpanned, shaking his head.

“Remember that.” Y/N chuckled, nudging her elbow against Steve’s arm. She leaned over and grabbed the drying cloth. “Think you can handle drying.” Y/N teased, holding out the cloth for Steve to take.

“I think I can.” he replied, taking the cloth and the pan too, moving to the side to dry.

Y/N just continued to wash the dishes in the sink, passing them on to Steve when they were done. They didn’t really chat much, but Y/N was humming along to a song she’d been listening to earlier. Steve didn’t say anything, he was surprisingly enjoying the silence between the pair.

An hour later, Y/N was putting dishes away and Steve had gone out to his car. Apparently he’d brought a bag of clothes. Just in case, he’d explained. He went to the bathroom to change, and Y/N called the number Aunt Claudia left for her friend Mary’s. She told her Aunt Claudia that everything was going well and that they were going to be at the Wheeler’s so when she got home she should call them there.

It was nearly three o’clock when Steve came back down, his hair perfectly in place. He was grateful he’d told Dustin his secret--he didn’t have to leave the Henderson’s with messy hair that way.

“Y/N, wanna head on over to the Wheeler’s?” Steve asked, twirling his car keys in his hand as he waited for her reply. When she nodded, Steve went to the door, holding it open for her to exit.

“It’s not that far. We can probably walk there.” Y/N said, turning to look at Steve when he closed the door, locking it with the hide-a-key he’d used the previous day before hiding it in it’s rightful spot--the potted plant by the door.

“Are you serious? It’s freezing.” Steve shook his head, turning her toward his car. “I’ll drive.”

“If you insist.”

The pair arrived at the Wheeler house just before three, and before Y/N could get out of Steve’s car, the front door opened. Out walked Mike, Nancy, Jonathan, Will, and a girl Y/N didn’t recognize.

“Y/N!” Mike and Will called out, waving and running to the car. It was clear they’d all been waiting for the arrival of the others, watching from the window to see when they’d all get there. As soon as Y/N was out of the car the pair hugged her.

“I missed you guys too.” Y/N smiled, hugging them back just as tightly as they held onto her. “Hey Nance, Jonathan.” She wormed her way out of the grasp the two younger teens had on her and made her way over to the girl, a smile on her face as she held out her hand, “And you must be El. I’m Y/N Henderson.”

��Jane.” Eleven replied, shaking Y/N’s hand after a moment of hesitation.

Y/N raised her eyebrows at the nickname. How had they gotten El from Jane? But she didn’t say anything. “Nice to meet you.” She was about to say something else when she heard bikes coming to a stop and turned around.

“I thought Dustin was playing a cruel joke!” Lucas said, getting off his bike and putting his helmet down on the handles. “I mean, you haven’t come around in so long, Y/N. I thought we wouldn’t see you again.”

Y/N bit her lip at the mention of her absence. She was about to say something, address it, before Lucas continued speaking.

“This is Max!” Lucas said, walking over with a redheaded girl. “Max, this is Y/N. She’s the cooler Henderson.” Lucas added the last bit in a whisper.

“I heard that!” Dustin said, shoving Lucas’ shoulder as he walked passed. Y/N just laughed.

“Nice to meet you Max.” Y/N said with a smile, before saying, “And good to see you too, Lucas.”

“Alright. Let’s get on with this game everyone!” Dustin called, as he was already halfway down to the basement entrance to the Wheeler house. Everyone just looked at him. When he realized no one was following he turned back around and raised his arms, exasperatedly, “Let’s go!”

Everyone rolled their eyes, but one by one they followed Dustin’s lead into the basement, getting ready for the weekly game of DnD.

#stranger things imagine #steve harrington x reader #dustin henderson x reader #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fic #dancing in the kitchen

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