#the bacon part gets me every single time

[kvtnisseverdeen]

[zegrasdrysdale]

Jack Hughes - being a dad

[ daddy's girl ] j. hughes

paring : dad!Jack Hughes x fem!reader

summary : (Y/N) surprises Jack on his birthday by bringing their eight month old daughter to her first hockey game, which happens to be during the first round of the 2024 playoffs

warning(s) : mentions of birth,

author’s note : i've had baby fever really bad recently so here y’all go. i'm thinking about expanding this into an au universe so if you think you'd be interested in seeing that, just lmk !

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It's been hard to keep a secret from her fiancé for nearly two weeks so (Y/N) is ecstatic the day Jack's birthday arrives. It's a good thing that their daughter can't speak yet or she would definitely give away the surprise that is planned for that night.

One part of the surprise isn't physically that big, but (Y/N) had to pull some strings and call in some favors to make sure it didn't get to Jack that she is going to the game tonight with their baby girl for the first time. Their daughter will be wearing the other half of the surprise that Jack won't even see until the Devils hit the ice for warm ups.

Needless to say, (Y/N) is very surprised for the day ahead.

Jack's alarm goes off early at seven in the morning the day of his birthday, but (Y/N) is already wide awake with breakfast already made so Jack can have breakfast in bed on his 23rd birthday.

He's been exhausted lately because of how long the first has gone against Carolina. Tonight is game seven so she knows how stressed out and anxious he is. The least she can do is give him a good morning before he goes to the arena for morning practice.

She watches from the doorway as Jack reaches over to the bedside table to turn off his phone alarm. He reaches across the mattress to her side and when he doesn't feel (Y/N) in bed with him, he sits up.

"Happy birthday, my love," (Y/N) softly says as she walks into room. She holds a tray with a plate full of food and a mug with coffee. She sets the tray in front of Jack on the bed after he sits up and crosses his legs. "I thought you deserved breakfast in bed after the past few weeks."

Jack has the biggest smile on his face and watches his fiancée sit beside him. "The world truly does not deserve you baby," he tells her. He leans over and quickly pecks her lips. "Thank you for breakfast."

She smiles and he begins to eat his breakfast. (Y/N) steals a couple pieces of bacon from the plate and Jack looks offended every single time. He tries swatting her hand away but she manages to get some more bacon.

Almost right on time at half past seven, the monitor goes off and their daughter begins to cry. Jack goes to get up and (Y/N) stops him. "I got her," she tells him. "You finish eating. I'll go get her."

Quickly, (Y/N) gets out of bed to go across the hall to their baby's room. She leans down and picks her crying baby up. "Good morning to you too, Reina," she says as she holds her in her arms. "Let's get you changed and get you fed, yeah? Does that sound a good idea?"

Little Reina keeps crying when (Y/N) lays her down on the changing table. She grabs a diaper and wipes to change her daughter's very stinky diaper. She hums to hopefully calm her.

It works and Reina's cries grow quiet. She stares up at her mother with her big blue eyes. She looks so much like Jack and (Y/N) loves it.

As (Y/N) puts Reina back into her pajamas, Jack says behind her, "I love watching you with her. I couldn't resist coming over to watch you with her."

She turns around with Reina in her arms. Her daughter lays her head on her shoulder and coos softly when she sees her father. A smile is on her lips as Jack walks into the room. "You only say that because I changed her smelly diaper," she jokes.

"You said it," Jack laughs. "Not me." He takes Reina from (Y/N). "Good morning, baby girl. You slept really good last night. Was that my birthday present?" Reina giggles and babbles like she's answering her father.

"You keep sweet talking your daughter while I make her a bottle," she tells Jack. "She likes you better anyway."

Jack laughs and begins to sway with Reina against his chest. (Y/N) leaves and goes into the kitchen to make her daughter a bottle.

She tried breastfeeding after her daughter was born, but both she and Reina weren't a fan. It's okay though. Not every baby breastfeeds and it took (Y/N) a while to understand that and to realize that there was nothing wrong with either of them because of it.

As soon as the bottle is warm enough, she makes her way back to Reina's room. She hears Jack talking to her so she stands out of sight so listen for a second.

"I can't wait for the day you come to one of my games," Jack is saying when (Y/N) approaches the door. "You'll get a front row seat to seeing me warm up on the ice with your mom holding you. I won't be able to focus and will probably get yelled at by Nico for paying more attention to you but I won't care. You probably won't even remember coming to the game but I will never forget it. I haven't forget the first game your mom came to after we started dating during my second season. I thought Nico was going to have my head when I stayed right by the glass where she was standing the entire time I was supposed to be warming up. I got an earful from him when I got back to the locker room before the game started but it was so worth it."

She smiles and turns into the room so Reina can get her bottle. "I should've known you never forgot that game," she says. "You guys did win and you scored two goals."

Jack looks over at her and smiles. Reina practically squeals when she sees the bottle in (Y/N)'s hand. "I had to make sure we won," he jokes as he hands Reina over to her mother. "I'm going to get ready to head to the arena for practice. Are we still on for an early lunch when I get done?"

"Reina and I will waiting for you in the parking lot when you get done," she tells him. "Please make sure you shower when you're done so you don't smell like sweat walking into the restaurant."

He shoots her a smile and leaves the room. (Y/N) sits in the rocking chair by the window. She slowly rocks back and forth while feeding Reina. Her eyes are on the rising sun while Reina drinks every drop of the bottle she's being given.

She's thinking about how Jack said he can't wait until Reina comes to one of his games. He has no idea that she's going to be right there for the game tonight.

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As soon as Jack leaves the apartment to go to the Prudential Center for the game, (Y/N) begins to get herself and Reina ready to go.

The plan is to leave around 5:30, and it's only 4 o'clock so there is plenty of time to get herself showered and Reina bathed.

She starts with a shower while Reina is napping in her room. She makes sure to do a full wash. Shampoo, condition, body wash, face wash, exfoliation, and making sure to shave of all necessary body parts. She waits until Reina is awake to bathe her because, like her father, she gets cranky when she gets woken up from a nap.

Once they're both clean and dry, (Y/N) digs into the depths of the closet to pull out the little jersey she had made for Reina tonight.

Reina looks very cute in the little black Jersey jersey. On the back, it says "Daddy" with an 86 under it. She happily coos when she's secure in the jersey. (Y/N) makes sure to get a picture so she can show Jack after the game.

(Y/N) puts on her own matching Jersey jersey that just has Jack's last name and number on it. It's going to be her last name one day too so she doesn't mind wearing it. The jersey is big enough to be a dress on her so she throws on a pair of shorts underneath so she's wearing pants and puts on black knee high heeled boots. She ties her hair up into a messy ponytail and puts on light makeup.

She holds Reina on her hip and takes a picture of them in the mirror as soon as she's dressed. She keeps them to herself until after Jack sees them at the game. Her daughter seems very happy in her new jersey. Her first jersey.

Right on time, (Y/N) is carrying Reina downstairs to the car. A baby bag is thrown over her shoulder that has extra diapers, wipes, formula, baby ear protection since it gets pretty loud in the arena during a playoff game, and their security passes to get into the family suite after warm ups and down into the players' lounge after the game.

She secures Reina in her car seat with her favorite stuffed elephant. Reina is babbling happily while she plays with the elephant so she gets in the front seat to drive the half hour to the Prudential Center.

Soft children's music is played during the ride to keep Reina happy and (Y/N) sane. All the songs are songs that both Jack and (Y/N) picked so they don't lose their minds during long drives. Reina seems to like them so they play the playlist every time they get in the car.

(Y/N) is shaking with excitement as she pulls into the private parking lots where players and their families park for games. It's hard to find a parking spot. There are a lot of cars so she knows that other wives, girlfriends, and families are here for the game.

It's game seven of round one of the playoffs against Carolina. She isn't at all surprised that the parking lot is pretty much full. She's sure that families that are here for Hurricanes players are parked here too.

As she's getting Reina out of her car seat, a voice behind her says, "Please tell me you brought that little angel of yours with you." She turns and sees Erik Haula's wife, Kristen, and her two kids. "All I've heard for the past few months is how happy Jack is to have a little baby and I have yet to meet her."

With a laugh and Reina on her hip, (Y/N) turns around. Kristen smiles at Reina in her jersey. "Here she is," she says. "Little Reina. She's very excited to be here." Her daughter giggles while she plays with her toy.

"She is so cute," Kristen squeals. "Wow, she looks so much like Jack. They could be twins. It's crazy that we do all the work and they come out looking like their father."

"Right?" she laughs. "All Jack did was tell me to push and held my hand while I screamed and pushed his baby out of me." Kristen nods in agreement and smiles. "Walk with me?"

The two of them walk into the Prudential Center with their kids. She holds Reina on her hip as they walk into the building. They show their badges to security to get to the lounge with the players' families.

Almost everyone in the room gushes over Reina. Her grandparents are the first to get to her. Ellen and Jim Hughes immediately take Reina into their arms. Even Uncle Quinn gets involved with holding Reina. (Y/N) sits with Kristen and they talk about their kids while her oldest runs around with one of the other kids.

One of her favorite things is to talk about her daughter and brag about her daughter. She has the best daughter and she wants to make sure everyone knows that. She has the best daughter and her daughter as the best father. (Y/N) wants the entire world to know that.

At 6:30, the wives and girlfriends are told they can head out to the ice for warm ups. (Y/N) grabs Reina's ear protection before following behind the group. She puts them on as she walks to the ring.

Reina is holding her elephant as (Y/N) stands right in front of the glass. She's playing with the elephant’s trunk when the Devils players all skate into the ice.

They take shots at the net for the first minute or so before each player begins their own pregame warm up.

When Jack skates past the first time, he has to take a double take. When he skates by the second time, he actually stops and looks like he’s about to cry. (Y/N) turns a bit so he can see the back of Reina’s jersey. He pouts and knocks on the glass with the top of his stick.

(Y/N) tries to get Reina’s attention on Jack behind the class. “Reina, baby,” she says. “Look. It’s daddy.” Her daughter looks around then sees Jack behind the glass.

She smiles when she sees her dad. The biggest smile forms on Jack’s lips when Reina looks at him. Reina reaches out and puts her hands on the glass. Jack pulls off his glove and puts his hand up to hers.

“Hey, my loves,” Jack yells through the glass. Reina giggles when she hears his voice. “I gotta go. I love you both.”

(Y/N) waves goodbye with Reina’s hand before she blows him a kiss. Jack smiles again before he skates away. Her eyes follow her fiancé as he zooms around the ice to warm up for the game.

As warm ups end, Jack is one of the last guys on the ice. He takes a couple extra shots before he skates over to them one more time.

The lights dim and (Y/N) shows Jack the pictures she took before leaving their apartment. He smiles and taps the glass to get Reina’s attention. She giggles in response.

She holds up one half of a heart with her hand. Jack completes the heart as the horn goes off to signal the end of warm ups. “Say bye to daddy,” (Y/N) tells Reina. Her daughter smiles and bangs on the glass.

Jack skates off and (Y/N) heads up to the family suite to watch the game.

The first period goes by quickly. Brendan Smirh ends up with a major for fighting Sebastian Aho and vice versa. The Devils are the team to capitalize and Dawson scores a goal with a Dougie assist. They end the period up 2 to nothing after Luke scores an even strength goal with two minutes left, assisted by Ondrej and Jesper.

The second period is worse than the first. Aho scores on a breakaway and Teuvo Teräväinen scores a shorty. It’s tied at two going into the second intermission.

(Y/N) has to change Reina and give her a bottle. She wouldn’t stop crying with five minutes left in the period.

Ellen walks up to her while she’s feeding Reina in the back of the box. “I truly don’t understand how you’ve managed to stay sane all these years while you’ve played and watched hockey,” she admits to her future mother-in-law. “It’s only the first round and I’m losing my mind.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Ellen laughs. “If Jack is going to do anything, it’s stress you out during playoffs. The same thing happened last year.”

Yeah, except the Devils lost in 5 in the second round to Carolina. They made it to game seven this year. “I need him to not do that.”

The horn signals the end of intermission. The lights come up and (Y/N) makes her way back to her seat. Reina finishes her bottle.

Halfway through the period, Michael McLeod trips one of the Hurricanes and he’s granted a penalty shot. The puck gets past Vitek and Carolina celebrates on the bench as they take the lead with less than ten minutes left to go in the series.

She will never admit it to anyone but she uses Reina to hide behind. She uses her daughter to distract her from the fact the Devils are still down with three minutes left.

Lindy pulls Vitek and (Y/N) has to bite her lip before she yells at him even though he can’t hear her. The entire building is on edge as six Devils players get set for the faceoff.

Nico wins the faceoff and gets the puck back to Luke in the offensive zone. Luke passes to Dougie, who passes to Jack. (Y/N) watches Jack slap the puck to the net. The lantern lights up and the horn sounds. The building nearly explodes as the Devils tie the game up late in the third. (Y/N) stands with Reina on her hip and celebrates the birthday boy scoring a goal.

The final minute of play is always the worst when tied up. It's even worse when it's game seven in the Stanley Cup playoffs. (Y/N) is biting the skin around her nails as she watches Vitek get pulled from net one more time.

With thirty seconds left, Nico puts the puck in the back of the net and (Y/N) swears she loses her hearing from how loud it gets in the building.

The horn sounds one more time to signal that the Devils won the first round of the playoffs. Everyone in the suite celebrates while the boys celebrate on the ice.

One round down. Four games won. Three rounds left to go. 12 more wins. They got it this year.

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It's nearly an hour after the game when the players begin to make their way into the lounge. Jack is one of the first players to come into the room.

His eyes immediately find (Y/N) and a now sleeping Reina in her arms. He makes his way over and sits beside them on the couch. Jack leans over and presses a soft kiss to her cheek. She looks over at him and smiles.

"Congratulations," she tells him. "Can't wait to root for you in the second round."

Jack's eyes are on his sleeping daughter. "I can't believe she's here," he says. "I mean, I couldn't wait to have her come to a game and she's actually here. Was she okay?"

"She was perfect," (Y/N) replies. "Your mom really helped out a lot. It was nice to come and watch without worrying about a sitter at home with Reina. She was very happy to see you during warm ups. She kept giggling and laughing whenever you skated by. She's such a daddy's girl sometimes. It was the best thing I think I have ever seen."

He takes Reina, who just yawns as she's picked up out of her mother's arms. "It means so much to me that you were both here for the game," he softly says. "Glad we were able to pull off the win for you guys. The jersey is a nice touch, by the way."

"Had to let everyone know who her daddy is," (Y/N) laughs. "I've gotten a lot of comments today saying that she looks like you so I think the entire world knows who her daddy is."

Jack laughs and (Y/N) rests her head on her fiancé's shoulder. "Thank you for giving me this life," Jack says atter a moment of silence. "Being here and being supportive even though I know it's exhausting most of the time. You're a great mom and an even better fiancée. Just want you to know that."

(Y/N) picks her head up and meets Jack's eyes. "We have a lifetime ahead of us," she replies. "But lets get through the playoffs before we continue worrying about any of that, yeah?"

He nods in agreement and Reina begins to whine in Jack's arms. He picks her up and holds her against his chest. Reina's head is on the shoulder that (Y/N) had her head on. As soon as Reina sees Jack, she smiles and he kisses her cheek. "Hi, my baby," Jack says against her skin. "Hope you had a nice nap. You've had a busy day."

She smiles as Jack sits Reina on his lap and plays with their daughter.

This is her life, and she can't wait to find out where it leads.

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MASTERLIST

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taglist : @dancerbailey3

[absolutewhore101]

Gorgeous

A/N: my first CM fic! obviously had to make it about my favorite boy <3. based on Gorgeous by Miss Swift herself.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x f!Reader

Summary: Spencer's just so... gorgeous

Warnings: alcohol consumption, taylor swift references

Word Count: 1.0K

Minors DNI

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Another day, another case finished. 

The last case had weighed heavily on all of you - children being involved didn’t make it easy for anyone.

The flight back to Virginia was silent, everyone trying to process the events that had transpired over the last week. It was Emily who finally broke the silence.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I need a stiff drink after that case. Anyone willing to join me?”

Derek was the first to agree, followed quickly by Penelope who (unfortunately for her) had to join the rest of you in the field, and soon enough, everyone was buzzing at the thought of getting drunk enough to forget everything. 

You turned to Spencer who was sitting next to you, asking him quietly if he could give you a ride home later. Spencer never drank all that much when going out with the team, so he’d become your personal designated driver, and he was thrilled about it. 

“Of course.” He responded, just barely above a whisper. “Gotta make sure you get home safe, can’t be down our most valuable team member.” He threw the last part in to offset the true intention of his words - that he would do anything to keep you safe, not because you were on the team, but because you were you. 

Your mind started reeling with the thought of being alone with Spencer, just like it did every single time. You smiled at him before returning to your book. 

—

“Woah!” Spencer said, watching you throw back another drink. “I know you’re not driving, but maybe you should slow down a little.”

“Oh, Spence,” you started, “I just love how smart you are.” You slurred as you fell into him. “My name’s Doctor Spencer Reid and I can tell you anything about everything.” You mimicked.

Spencer smiled, too flattered to find it offensive. 

“Did you know it only takes 6 minutes for your brain to start reacting to alcohol?” He asked you.

He watched as you thought about it, before ultimately declaring, “I don’t believe you.”

He laughed, “you don’t believe me?”

“Nope,” you said, pushing away from him, “not a single word.” Spencer smiled, watching as you stumbled over to the girls. He could tell from the look on your face and the reactions from your audience that you were making fun of his fun fact. Still, he couldn’t find it in himself to be upset about it. 

The rest of the night went by in a blur, for the most part. The only thing you really remembered was Spencer putting you to bed and promising to wake you up when breakfast was ready. 

True to his word, you emerged from your bedroom to the smell of pancakes and bacon, and it almost cured the headache you couldn’t ignore. 

Almost. 

“There’s some aspirin on the counter with some water,” he gestured, “I figured you’d probably need it.” 

You smiled at him and walked over to where he pointed, your eyes never once leaving his frame. He was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt that hung off his lanky frame. His hair was all sorts of messy, and he had to keep pushing it back off of his forehead.

You couldn’t help yourself as you gravitated towards him, all but leaning into him as you stood in front of the stove. 

“You okay?” He asked. “Do you want to go back to bed? You look like you're about to take me down.”

You laughed at his comment. 

Maybe he should think about the consequence of his magnetic field being just a little too strong.

“I’m okay.” You responded, playfully cheering as he flipped a pancake. Breakfast was had in silence, and eventually the two of you were making your way over to Rossi’s for “team bonding,” as Penelope had called it. 

— 

As soon as you walked through the door you were being swept away by the girls, following them outside to the patio.

“Did he spend the night?” Emily asked. 

“What happened?!” JJ all but yelled. 

“Ladies, she was drunk. So if Dr. Reid tried anything…” Penelope threatened. 

“Don’t worry, Pen, nothing happened. He put me to bed and then made me breakfast, that’s it.”

Emily and JJ looked at each other as Penelope started to giggle. 

“Did you talk to him?” JJ asked. 

You gave her a confused look. 

“He was in my apartment, of course I talked to him.”

Emily hummed. “Did you have an actual conversation or did you say about 2 whole words?”

You glanced down as you started fidgeting with your hands. 

“2 whole words.” You mumbled, causing the three of them to break into a fit of laughter. 

“Stop!” You playfully yelled at them. “How am I supposed to say anything to his face? I mean, have you SEEN his face?!”

Spencer, who had inadvertently listened to the whole conversation, immediately flushed a deep red, much to Morgan’s amusement. 

“I told you she liked you, wonder boy.” He teased, ruffling Spencer’s hair as he walked away. 

“God, I never would’ve guessed that your type was nerds.” Emily commented.

“Don’t say it like it’s a bad thing!” You retorted.

“I mean, the way you were mimicking him last night made it seem like you thought he was pretty… lame.”

“What? No! I think he’s so cool! It actually makes me hate him… just a little bit.”

The girls laughed, but the conversation quickly ended as the boys started to make their way outside. Spencer quickly found a seat next to you, sitting close enough that you could feel his body heat seeping through your shirt. 

Oh. My. God.

“Now, what were you girls up to out here?” Rossi asked. He didn’t get an answer, only a chorus of giggles from the four of you. 

—

Spencer hadn’t been home for an hour when his doorbell rang. He made his way over, hoping to open it to find you standing on the other side, but he only found a vase of flowers on his doorstep. 

Confused, he picked them up and brought them inside, trying to find the note card. 

“Carnations,” he mumbled, setting the vase on his counter. 

Did you know that carnations symbolize love and fascination? Of course you did… Anyways, Spence, I just wanted to let you know that you’re ruining my life-

“Wait, what?” He panicked.

-by not being mine. Movies this weekend? -Your One and Only

P.S. you should take it as a compliment that I got drunk and made fun of the way you talk.

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Tell me your thoughts! Thank you for reading :)

[scoonsalicious]

3.3 Bucky

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Summary: Lily McIntyre, trainer for new SHIELD recruits at the Avengers Tower, has been in love with her best friend, Bucky Barnes, from the moment she met him. She's been content with her role of the #1 girl in Bucky's life, even if it means she has to sabotage a romantic relationship or two. It'll be worth it when he realizes that they're meant for each other, right? There's just one small problem: Lily McIntire never expected Bucky Barnes to fall for You.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, brunch, toxic plants.

Word Count: 1.5k

Previously On...: Your coworkers warned you about the history of the Winter Soldier.

A/N: Time for Brunch!

NOTE! The tag list is a fickle bitch, so I'm not really going to be dealing with it anymore. If you want to be notified when new story parts drop, please follow @scoonsaliciousupdates

Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

Bucky held the diner door open, allowing Lily to walk in first. It was a sort of tradition of theirs– brunch every other Saturday at Melinda’s, a cute little cafe about a twenty minute drive from the Compound– that they’d been doing for years now.

“I’m so glad to finally be spending some time together,” Lily said as she slid into their usual booth by the window. “I feel like it’s been ages.”

Bucky chuckled as he picked up his menu– not like he didn’t already know exactly what he was going to get: a black coffee, scrambled eggs with sausage and bacon, a plate of home fries, and a short stack of chocolate chip pancakes. “Lil, we hung out last night,” he told her.

“Last night doesn’t count,” she pouted, picking up a sugar packet from the little ceramic container on the table and beginning to play with it. 

Bucky put down the menu. “Why not?” he asked.

Before she could answer him, the waitress came to take their order. Bucky liked her– Mya; she was always friendly and put an extra pancake on the pile for him, free of charge.

“Hey there, Buck,” she greeted warmly, “Lily. Good to see you two again.”

“Hey, Mya,” Bucky replied with a dazzling smile. “How are you this morning? How’s Frankie?” Mya was a single mother, working two jobs, so Bucky always made sure to tip well and inquire about her son.

“He’s good, Buck; thanks for asking. He really appreciates the autographed Avengers picture you got for him; brought it to school for Show & Tell and everything.”

Bucky laughed good naturedly. “My pleasure,” he said. “They always make us take those dumb publicity photos; figured something good should come outta them.”

“Well, he’s very grateful, all the same,” she said with a grin. “How are–”

“I’ll take a Cobb salad, no bacon, dressing on the side, and a Diet Sprite. Thank you,” Lily interjected, smile tight.

Mya blinked a few times before replying “Yeah, sure, absolutely,” as if she hadn’t just been interrupted. She turned to Bucky. “The usual for you, Buck?” she asked.

“Yeah, please. Thanks, Mya.” Mya took their menus and, promising their food would be right out, walked away. Bucky followed her with his eyes to make sure she was well out of earshot before he turned back to Lily. “What the hell, Lil?” he asked her.

“What?” she asked, seemingly nonchalantly. “I’m hungry.”

“So, you couldn’t wait five seconds for her to finish speaking?” he asked accusingly. 

“Hey, she gets paid to serve, not to flirt,” Lily snapped. 

Bucky rolled his eyes as he leaned back. “You always think everyone’s flirting with me. We were just talking about her kid. What is with you today?”

Lily sighed and looked up at him, blue eyes turning sad. “I’m sorry– I’m just tired. I told you, I didn’t sleep well last night, and it’s making me cranky. Don’t be too mad at me, okay, Jamie?” She smiled and reached her hand across the table to grab his. “It’s your fault, after all.” She winked at him.

Bucky smiled and squeezed her hand. “I told you I was sorry,” he said. “And now I’m making it up to you by buying you brunch. Gotta take care of my best girl, right?” Lily beamed at him. 

“Right,” she agreed with a nod. “Hey, just out of curiosity, where did you end up staying last night? Did you go back to the Tower?” Though Tony Stark had moved the Avengers operation to the Compound Upstate, he still utilized the Tower for Stark Industries, and kept apartments available there for the team to use if they found themselves in the city overnight.

Bucky pulled his hand back from hers and scratched the back of his neck. Lily squinted her eyes at him, and he knew he’d just revealed a sure tell that he’d done something she’d not be pleased with. 

“Oh my god, Bucky,” Lily said angrily. “Do not tell me you stayed the night with Nat’s friend.” The way she said ‘friend,’ with her voice getting incredibly shrill at the end, had Bucky inwardly cringing. 

“Well, by the time I got her back to her place,” Bucky defended, “it was already pouring. Wouldn’t’ve been safe for me to head back in those conditions.”

Lily seemed to be mulling over his words. “I guess,” she said, after a moment. “So, what? You sleep on the couch?”

For some reason, Bucky couldn’t get the words out to tell his best friend the truth– that, no, he hadn’t slept on Major’s couch. In fact, he’d slept on her bed, but it didn’t really count, because the two of them had hardly done any sleeping at all. Instead, he just brought his coffee cup to his lips, took a long sip, and nodded.

“Good,” said Lily, seeming satisfied with his answer. “I don’t like the idea of you hanging out with her. She was a total bitch.”

Bucky frowned. He realized that the interaction between Major and Lily last night had been… tense, but he fully hadn’t expected that she would call Major a bitch and tell him she didn’t want him to spend time with her. “She was just defending herself, Lil,” he said cautiously. “You were kinda out of line with that anti-girly stuff.”

Lily gave him a wounded look. “I cannot believe you would take the side of a complete stranger over your own best friend,” she said, looking affronted. “She was incredibly rude to me.”

Mya returned then with their meals, and Bucky waited until she had walked away before continuing: “I’m not siding with anyone. I just think you should take into consideration that you were rude to her, first, Lil. She was acting defensive because you put her on the defensive.” 

“I didn’t do anything wrong!” Lily crossed her arms, pouting.

“Lil, doesn’t it bother you that you don’t have any female friends?” he asked carefully.

She scoffed. “What do I need female friends for?” she asked. “They just wanna talk about stupid girl shit and it’s dull and boring. Besides, I have you. I don’t need other friends.”

It struck Bucky then how very sad that seemed. Sure, he didn’t have many friends, himself; just Steve, Lily, Sam, and the team, but he was a 100-plus year old, formerly brainwashed, ex-assassin with PTSD and a list of issues a mile long, so it was to be expected. But Lily? Surely a young, vibrant person like her should be hanging with more people than just him?

“This was what Major was talking about,” Bucky said gently, choosing to ignore his observation for the time being. “You can think feminine things are dull, and boring, but it’s not fair of you to consider them stupid just because you don’t enjoy them. And it’s definitely not cool of you to look down on people who do.”

To Bucky’s dismay, Lily’s bottom lip began to tremble, and he feared she was going to start crying. “Why are you mad at me?” she pouted. 

Bucky felt his facial features soften as he looked at her. “I’m not mad at you, Lil. I just think that, maybe, you should reconsider your stance on some things, that’s all.”

Lily seemed to consider his words for a moment, before she broke out into a giant grin. “Okay, Jamie,” she said, digging back into her Cobb salad. “If it’ll make you happy, I’ll do better.”

Well, Bucky thought, that went better than expected.

They ate companionably for a while after that, sharing small talk and enjoying each other’s company. When it came time to leave, Bucky paid the bill, making sure to leave a little extra for Mya to make up for Lily’s earlier rudeness. 

As they were walking out, Lily interlocked her arm with his. “Do you want to do a movie night at my place tonight?” she asked. Since Lily was a member of SHIELD, and not an Avenger proper, she didn’t have an apartment at the Compound. Instead, like most of the other agents who were based there, she had a place of her own in town. Usually, Bucky relished spending time at her place, where it was quiet and far less crowded. 

But then Bucky remembered he’d asked Major out to dinner for this evening. “Shit, Lil,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck with his vibranium hand. “I can’t tonight; I’m sorry.”

“What, you abandoning me for a hot date or something?” The words were phrased as a joke, but there was an edge to her voice that told Bucky she was genuinely afraid that was why he was saying no.

He let out a forced laugh. “Of course not,” he said, immediately wondering why he was lying to her. “I just, uh, promised Sam we’d do a guys’ night. You know how he gets if he thinks people aren’t paying enough attention to him.”

Lily scoffed. “He’s such a fucking drama queen,” she said.

“Heh, yeah.” Bucky sent out a silent apology to both Major and Sam for the lie, and hoped he could get Sam to back him up on it. He had told Bucky he’d be his wingman when it came to Major, after all.

<- Previous Part / Next Part ->

[1d1195]

My Friend's Toyota II

Read Part I here: My Friend's Toyota

~7.9k words

Warnings: a bit more angsty this time around.

She nodded feeling a little worried about the conversation she was waffling on thinking about it more. The kind of girls that flirted with Harry didn’t look like her. They were loud and boisterous. Fun and exciting. They probably didn’t get enjoyment out of perfectly stacking the dishwasher or the smell of laundry on Sundays while watching TV.

Told me that she’s never been in love before / Darling, I can treat you right, take you to the shore / Every time you cross my mind, I just want you more / Sitting in the grass looking at the tower / Thinking ‘bout her eyes every single hour / She’s my wildflower

She brought water and pain pills into Allie’s room and plopped on the bed beside her. “Good morning, sunshine!” She chirped.

“I hate you,” she hissed from beneath the blanket.

Giggling, she laid beside her hungover form and smiled at the ceiling. It felt like her organs were made of liquid. They were all warm. Like her heart had sent too much blood to each of them. Her face felt warm. He wasn’t even around and just the mere thought of Harry had her feeling downright giggly. It had never felt like this before about a guy. Not when she pined over the guy in her high school biology class. In her sixteen-year-old rom-com ridden mind, that guy was the love of her life. They were going to live happily ever after. One day he was going to notice her, not just as his lab partner but as someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. It was foolish to think. Not the guy she dated briefly when she was seventeen. But she tried not to think about him too much.

Sixteen and seventeen was so young. Twenty-one was still young but she felt more confident about Harry making the giddy feeling flood over her as she laid beside a headache-ridden Allie.

“Did you sleep in Niall’s bed?” Allie asked.

Her cheeks flushed hotly. She shook her head, glad that Allie was hiding beneath the covers. “No, of course not.”

“I don’t think anyone would blame you. That wouldn’t even be the worst place Harry’s taken a girl to bed,” Allie murmured. Allie’s hungover, she reminded herself. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Speaking before she had time to process what she was saying. Worrying about something she had no control over.

She didn’t want to think too much about the rumors that swirled around Harry. After last night, if anyone saw her go into a bedroom with Harry, she was certain the rumors wouldn’t just be about him anymore. “I think I have to ask him about the rumors,” she whispered.

“Yeah? That’s good, honestly. It’ll probably make you feel better. You’re already on his side,” Allie was gentle. Even though her head was screaming, and she probably still didn’t trust Harry the way she did implicitly. But his previous relationships, they were none of her business. As long as he was kind to her, she had no reason to believe he would break her heart.

She nodded feeling a little worried about the conversation she was waffling on thinking about it more. The kind of girls that flirted with Harry didn’t look like her. They were loud and boisterous. Fun and exciting. They probably didn’t get enjoyment out of perfectly stacking the dishwasher or the smell of laundry on Sundays while watching TV.

“What’s on the docket for today?” Allie asked sitting up and taking the medicine and water from her.

“Nothing,” she shrugged. “I was going to work on my online class, do some chores.”

“Well, I need hangover food, so put it off. We’re going to breakfast,” she said getting out of bed and pulling her hair into a twist and out of her face. She giggled in response.

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”

*

She was right about the rumors. As Allie devoured her bacon-y potato cure, she could hear the next booth over talking in low whispers about how Harry brought another girl into Niall’s bedroom. “They were in there for two hours.”

“Lucky girl.”

“Lucky Harry,” a guy muttered to them. “Did you see her? She’s hot.” She was glad the booth wall that separated them was high enough to keep her hidden. Allie seemed to be too focused on her breakfast to notice the others chatting about her one table over.

“That’s a new record for him. He hooked up with like five girls over the summer.”

That was the kind of rumor that made her stomach churn. “She’s nerdy and so not Harry’s type. I have a class with her, and she sits in the front. I give it two weeks now.”

“So why does he keep hanging out with her?”

She pushed her plate of French toast aside and tried to tune them out. She looked at Allie, head resting on the table beside her plate of food. “It’s so good,” she moaned.

Laughing, she shook her head. “No one forced you to drink that much,” she reminded her.

Allie smiled. “No one needs to.”

*

She knew she was being quiet. “Y’okay, love?” Harry asked as they walked to math class. She nodded, still silent. Harry didn’t press her, which she was grateful for; it seemed hard to believe he was planning this long extravagant plan to impress her long enough to sleep with her or something. The rumors continued to swarm from the weekend. She wondered if Harry heard them or if people were smart enough to not to talk about him in front of him.

But all the rumors were about how she wasn’t good enough. How Harry was wasting his time. It felt true. She probably wasn’t like the other girls Harry dated. The October breeze chilled her cheeks and she nuzzled into the collar of her jacket briefly to avoid the breeze. “Do you have plans tonight?” Harry asked.

Nothing besides studying and homework. But she didn’t want to sound unbelievably lame. “No,” she cleared her throat.

“Would y’want t’hang out?” He asked.

“Hang out?” She repeated.

He smiled. “Yeah... we can order pizza and study. Or watch a movie. Jus’ hang out,” he repeated. Her heart fluttered at how sweet it sounded. How innocent. She really needed to tell him about her worries.

Be careful with your heart. Allie’s voice was loud in her head. She loved her best friend, but kind of wanted to shove her for getting into her head like that. She was blissfully unaware of Harry’s reputation until Allie brought it up. Now it was tainting her walk. Ruining the nice late-night chat she had with him in Niall’s bedroom. If she ever ran into Niall, she would have to remember to thank him. 

“Mitch works on Tuesdays and then stays at his girlfriend’s place so...I know y’don’t have class tomorrow. Y’could stay if y’want t’stay the night.”

Her heart felt uneasy, and she didn’t know how to answer without sounding like an idiot. “Um...”

“You don’t have to,” he said quickly. “Jus’ thought I’d offer. I’ll take y’home any time y’want,” he promised.

Biting her lip, they entered the Sawyer building, and she paused right by the door ignoring the passing groups of students hurrying to and from their next class.

They stood near the ancient radiator for a building that was built in the late 1800s. It was painted over in white, about two inches thick of the chipping color. She wondered how it hadn’t melted off when the air was so chilly. While she warmed herself, Harry said hello to a friend of his and she got the gist that he was asking about the soccer game later in the week.

For whatever reason, in her mind, now was the perfect time to ogle Harry. His black jeans (they were her favorite of his) hugged the muscles of his legs like they were nearly painted on. She never cared about a guy’s legs before until she met Harry. His hair was coiffed to perfection in those lovely chocolate curls that made her want to run her hand through them herself. His jacket was lighter than hers; of course it was. It was probably a normal temperature to him and not frigid the way she thought it was. He looked so cozy she wanted to hug him. Other than gentle touches to the arm or hand, they hadn’t touched one another all that much. The ache she felt in her muscles to reach out and hug him was so strong she had to silently berate herself that she would look like a lunatic hugging in the middle of the building between college classes.

Eventually, she pulled herself from her thoughts. She found Harry smiling at her so sweetly while she thought about everything rapid fire while waiting for an answer. His friend was gone and she wondered how long she had been caught staring and nearly drooling over him while she warmed by the antiquated heating system.

“I would love to hang out, I’m not sure about staying over,” she admitted. “I have work in the morning.”

“S’fine,” he answered eagerly. “I’ll take any time I can have with you, love,” he looked at his feet and then up again, shyly through his eyelashes. Standing by the radiator was suddenly too hot. All he had to do was look at her. She would never need a heating system again.

*

“Do I look okay?” She asked Allie. She wasn’t trying to overdo it. She wanted to be prepared without looking insane. If she stayed over, she would have the T-shirt she needed for working at the local Starbucks. She could wear the jeans she had on currently, and no one would be the wiser. Her little bag of toiletries was shoved into the middle pocket of her backpack. The last step was to have Allie double check her outfit, hair, and makeup. That she wasn’t overdoing it for a Tuesday evening.

Allie paused from her painting wiping the back of her hand across her forehead to get the hair out of her vision. In doing so, she swiped teal paint across her skin. But it only made her look like the project herself. Her major was art, of course—she wanted to teach because it was one of the most passionate classes she took growing up.

Her teachers inspired her, and she wanted to do the same. Honestly, she already looked the part. Her outfits always consisted of bohemian skirts and the like. Her hair was a little frazzled but in an organized messy way. Allie added décor around the apartment that sparked a little flare to the selection of items she had purchased when they moved in. Her eye for color was impeccable and while she would probably have the same six prints hung on the wall, Allie was able to add something that didn’t quite fit their modern-twenty-something-year-old theme but nonetheless went perfectly. She was like a ballerina, utterly graceful. Like she floated from room to room and exuded beauty like it was her job.

Now, Allie looked her up and down. A black, long-sleeved T-shirt with the college name along the sleeve that she would wear to bed if she had to. She crammed a pair of leggings and socks alongside her bag of toiletries just in case as well. She wore a pair of Converse just in case she stayed the night and had to go to work right from Harry’s. “You look really pretty,” Allie promised with a smile. “Effortless beauty.”

She sighed with relief. “You’re sure. My hair isn’t too much?” She straightened it after a late afternoon shower. It would be easier to deal with if she did end up staying the night and didn’t shower.

“It’s very practical of you,” she assured her. “You’re not trying too hard, sweetie. I swear.”

“Okay,” she sighed again. “Is it weird I’m nervous?” She asked.

“Not at all. You really like him,” Allie reminded her. As if she could forget. “It’ll be fine though. You have nothing to worry about.”

Even though Allie was definitely her best friend, they hadn’t known each other long; there was still a long list of things she hadn’t told her yet. “I’ve...never spent the night with a guy,” she admitted.

Allie blinked. “Oh,” tilting her head curiously at her lovely friend. It seemed a little...not weird, but genuinely surprising. The girl was sweet as could be. They hadn’t delved too deeply into romantic histories, but it sounded like she had gone on enough dates back South to have stayed at a guy’s place before. “Well...it’s okay,” her tone was comforting.

Her face turned pink, and she looked at Allie as if she had all the answers. “What if I do it wrong?”

Allie smirked sadly. “Sweetie, you can’t do it wrong. Not if Harry likes you as much as he says he does. The way I saw how much he liked you. You were right,” she nodded her head firmly. “It’s different with you, trust me,” she wrapped her arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. She smiled brightly as she ushered her out the door before she could talk herself out of doing something she knew she wanted to do. “And if he does try something shady, you just text me and I will come cut his dick off.”

*

Harry said five and she knew it was a fifteen-minute walk to his dorm from her apartment. It seemed like everything was a fifteen-minute walk. She passed dozens of people hurrying to their late-night classes or to the nearest dining hall (it was breakfast for dinner night which was always a school favorite). The air was so brisk for her southern skin. She wished she wore a scarf. But she wasn’t too far away, and she was sure she could convince Harry to turn up the heat for a bit if needed.

The sun was lower in the sky. The blue wasn’t quite visible anymore. The clouds turned the light around the sun varying degrees of white, pink, purple, and orange. It was stunning and she took a picture on her phone for Allie in case she needed something to paint. She had already painted another photo she had taken earlier in the summer when they first met and told her anytime that she took a nice picture she would gladly paint it.

Harry told her to text her when she arrived, and he would run down to let her in. But due to students not caring about the safety protocols of the building, she made her way in easily when someone held the door behind them while exiting. Once inside she was grateful for the warmth and took a few moments to enjoy the heat and calm the nerves bubbling in her veins. Once she gained feeling back in her fingertips, she called Harry. “Hey love, are y’here? I’ll head down,” he said and she could hear the shuffle of items.

“M'actually in the lobby. If you want to tell me which floor, you’re on, I can make my way myself.”

“Oh, love. M’sorry. I hope y’didn’t wait long,” she could hear the frown in his voice. “Fourth floor. M’standing outside the elevator waiting.” she headed up to the fourth floor of the building via the elevator. She pressed the button and waited for it to descend.

“Not at all. Got right in behind someone exiting,” she promised.

“Oh good. Okay, see you in a minute.”

Taking a deep breath, she was grateful she was alone on the elevator. It was just hanging out. It wasn’t a date. There was no reason to be nervous. Harry was extremely nice to her. When the elevator door opened, her heart stopped seeing him waiting for her. “Wow, y’look beautiful,” he said in greeting looking her up and down but in a way that didn’t feel excessive. Her cheeks felt red at his assessment.

“Thank you,” she smiled. “Thanks for having me.”

“M’pleasure, love,” he tilted his head for her to follow him down the hall to his room. She could hear music coming from the other rooms and even below her. “S’not as loud inside,” he promised.

She smiled. “It’s fine.”

He tapped the number on the keypad and opened the door for her to enter before him. “S’a pretty standard suite,” he shrugged. “Mitch’s room is over there,” he pointed to the door on the right side of the room. “Help yourself to anything in the fridge or cabinets.”

“You have a balcony?” She asked, dropping her bag on the sofa in the sitting area and rushing to the slider to look at it. He smiled at her excitement. She could feel it on her back as she looked through the glass. Harry didn’t go out there much because it was pretty closed off. Each balcony was enclosed with concrete walls on each side and a sloping wooden awning over top that extended past the rail. It almost looked like a prison cell with bars extending from awning to railing from end to end. Worry that drunk college students would fall being the reason. “Can I go out there?” She asked.

He chuckled. “Course,” he reached in front of her, unlocking the handle and pulling it open.

She stepped on the little area and peered between the bars to look at the cotton candy sky. “You get to see the sunset like this every day?” She asked.

He smirked. “Yeah,” he shrugged. “When m’home, I suppose. M’usually working or out and about around sunset.”

“I would live out here,” she told him.

“S’a little cold for you, I think.”

She wrinkled her nose at him so cutely in mock distaste, the expression on Harry’s face changed minutely and he smiled a little more. “That’s what blankets are for. It’s so nice,” but an involuntary shiver ran down her body completely shaking her theory.

Harry tilted his head back toward the inside. “Let’s get y’back inside before y’freeze t’death.”

“If I was going to freeze to death, it would have been on the way here,” she told him. “I should have gloves,” she rubbed her hands together quickly in response. He was right, unfortunately. The chill on the balcony ruined the warmth she got back when she entered the lobby of his building.

“Let me get y’some tea. The pizza should be here soon, too,” he promised. “I thought y’might want t’study a bit before we watch a movie,” he admitted. “If y’don’t, we can start right on the movie.”

She shook her head. “No,” she was quite relieved. There were a few homework problems she needed to finish and dreaded the idea of staying up late tomorrow night after a long day at work but of course would gladly suffer such a thing if it meant an evening with Harry. “That would be great actually.”

“Great,” he smiled. “Make yourself at home. I’ll get the tea,” he turned to the little kitchen area.

*

After homework, pizza, and a movie, it was nearing ten. They sifted through their regular course of conversation throughout homework and pizza time but remained pretty silent during the movie. The tension she felt between them was thick. She wanted to snuggle up to him but instead wrapped herself snug under the blanket he gave her. The idea of walking back in the cold fifteen minutes away seemed like a terrible idea. Even if Harry went with her.

Her thoughts rolled over about a hundred times weighing her options. She wondered if she should excuse herself to the bathroom to get a pep talk from Allie but stopped herself when Harry’s laugh quietly jolted her from her thoughts. Harry had one socked foot on the coffee table, the other on the floor, one arm draped along the back of the sofa behind her, but not in a romantic sort of way. His other hand propped his head up. His foot on the table bounced back and forth lightly in an easy rhythm. He looked so at ease. Not worried about embarrassing himself in anyway.

Must have been nice. When the movie ended about twenty minutes later, she glanced at her watch as discreetly as she could. “D’you want me to walk you back?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Um... it’s pretty late... and cold. I wouldn’t want to put you out—”

“S’no trouble at all,” he promised.

Her face warmed feeling like now he wanted her to leave. “Well, if you’re sure you don’t mind. I hate to think you’d have to walk back in the cold. I did bring a change of clothes but if you need me to—”

“Oh, oh,” Harry shook his head. Dropping his foot from the coffee table to the floor and turning to her completely. His eyes looked a little wild and she was surprised he looked so at ease moments ago. “Of course. I want you t’stay, love,” he promised. “You must pack light,” he shook his head. “M’so sorry it sounded like I wanted you t’leave. I do not want that. I jus’ assumed y’didn’t bring anything t’make y’comfortable staying over,” his cheeks turned the lightest shade of pink. She could see it in the low light of the lamp he and Mitch brought instead of the fluorescent overhead light. She sighed a bit with relief. “I don’t want you t’leave at all,” he promised.

The air in her lungs felt lighter then. “Oh. Okay.”

“Really,” he inched just a hair closer to her. If she wasn’t so focused on him, she might not have noticed the minute shift in his body language moving toward her. “M’really happy you’re here,” he whispered, and she knew the moment he looked in her eyes he was going to kiss her.

He was moving closer, she wasn’t helping. Her heart was beating so hard, she was surprised he couldn’t hear it. Surprised it wasn’t louder than the thrum of the music playing from the suite below him. He kept looking at her lips. The way they parted slightly. She breathed through her nose as she waited for him to get closer.

“I’ve never slept in a guy’s bed,” she blurted. Blinking, Harry stopped his motion half an inch from her lips. She could feel his warm breath across her face. He pulled back, creating a bit of space between them. He waited patiently for follow up. Gazing at her a little bit nervously. She closed her eyes and bit her lip. She turned her face away from him. “I’m sorry. That totally ruined the moment.”

“No,” he put a hand carefully on her blanket covered knee. “Not at all, love. M’jus’ trying t’give y’some time,” he promised. “M’jus’ waiting.”

She scrunched her eyes shut tighter seeing her blood rush in imaginary shapes behind her closed lids. She still faced away from him. She wanted to blurt it out. But was so scared he would reject her. Then she would have to walk home alone in the cold and dark. “I’m sorry.”

“For what, love?” She imagined the cute little pinch of skin between his eyebrows. Like he got when he concentrated while studying.

She took a deep breath and released an exasperated sigh. Her face felt hot still and maybe a walk in the cold would help her forget this. When she started to speak, her voice shook ever so slightly, and she prayed Harry didn’t notice. “For ruining—”

He did, and it broke his heart before she could finish the sentence. “Love, will you please look at me?” He interrupted. Harry didn’t rush her. It was so slow. A whole hour could have passed in that minute it took her to turn back to him, her hair falling in front of her face still hiding her expression from him. “You didn’t ruin anything,” he promised. “M’honestly... glad y’told me; means you’re comfortable.”

She didn’t have the heart to tell him this was the least comfortable she had ever felt in his presence, but she knew what he meant. “I really want to kiss you,” she whispered.

He smiled sadly. That must be a good sign for him, she thought. Despite the pause. But Harry must have also sensed there was more. “...but?”

She was quiet, bit her lip, and covered her eyes with her hand. “I’ve never been in love before,” she told him, the shake of her voice unmistakable. That must have really surprised him because he was silent. She didn’t dare look. There was still more. “And I’ve never—”

“Love, stop,” he said quickly. She was wrong. He wanted her to leave. This was so embarrassing. There were tears stinging the back of her eyes, but she still didn’t look—couldn’t look. Gently, he pulled her hand from her face holding it in his lap. He cupped his face with his freehand. “I jus’ want t’kiss you,” he whispered rubbing his thumb so softly against her cheek. It felt like the equivalent of his whispered voice. “Nothing more,” he promised. “Can jus’ be one kiss, even,” he suggested. “Nothing else,” he repeated.

She looked at those brilliant green eyes for so long she swore another hour passed in that minute. The shake of her voice disappeared. The stinging behind her eyes stopped. Her heart felt achy, and she leaned the final empty inches between them and granted his wish.

*

It was not one kiss. One kiss turned into another and then another and then she wasn’t sure she could keep count even if she wanted to. Harry’s hand cupped the side of her face the entire time. His fingers sliding between her hair right behind her ear and tugging her close. It had to have been hours by the time Harry pulled away, resting his forehead against hers. His breathing heavy across her cheeks as he pressed a kiss on her cheek, then pulled away to kiss her forehead. He tucked her head beneath his chin and pulled her toward him. It was quiet, aside from the music below them and their slightly ragged breathing. “Thank you,” he whispered.

She giggled slightly shaking her head against his chest. She was clinging to his short shirt sleeves with both hands, like he was a life raft. Granted, he did make her feel like she was drowning with kisses only moments before. They were quiet for a while, just basking in the warmth of each other. Every so often, Harry kissed the top of her head. His hand moved up and down her spine soothingly.

“Are you tired?” He asked. She shook her head. “Are you alright, kitten?” He asked nervously.

She nodded. “I’m good,” she sighed. “Promise.”

He sighed with relief. “Good,” he murmured in her hair. “’Ve wanted t’do that since I met you,” he admitted.

She smiled against his throat. “Yeah?”

“Very much so,” he mumbled.

“Can I ask you something?” She asked pulling back from him. It seemed colder than the air outside being so far away from him. It was almost harmful to her health.

He nodded. “’Course.”

“Have you heard the rumors about me?” She wondered.

He blinked. “No,” he frowned. “M’sorry. What rumor—”

She blushed. “Um... just that I’m not your type. I’m nerdy. Not...gonna be around long,” she turned away briefly. “I don’t expect you to propose or anything just for kissing me, Harry. I’m not insane. But I’m looking for a relationship,” she sounded way stronger than she felt. Looked him square in the eye as she said the next part. “But I don’t want to date lots of guys for weeks and not have it go anywhere or do anything. I want to have someone to depend on when I feel stressed, someone to sit with me while I do homework, go out to eat with or watch movies and—”

He smiled and chuckled softly as she spoke. Her heart felt so fragile and exposed and his laughter momentarily made her feel ridiculous. But after just a few seconds of his low chuckle, eventually, he sighed with relief. “Kitten, I’ve been waiting a very long time for you,” he whispered, cupping her perfect, gorgeous face, and kissed her again.

*

“Is it everything you expected?” He whispered. She snorted in the dark and Harry chuckled. Her body was warm and pressed close to his, spooned against his chest. She smelled like the raspberry chapstick she put on right before they climbed into his bed. He squeezed her, kissed her temple. His heart nearly broke listening to her worry about sleeping in the same bed as him. He knew there was more. More she was embarrassed about she couldn’t get it out in one full sentence. None of that mattered to him. Not even a little. “Can we talk?” He asked. She nodded silently against him. “You’ve never been in love?” He wondered.

She shook her head. “I think I’ve made it... too big of a thing in my head,” she admitted. “Too many rom-coms, fairy tales, and books I read as a teenager,” she explained. “It’s silly,” she whispered.

“I don’t think it’s silly,” he kissed the back of her head. “S’really nice.”

“My parents met on this campus,” she explained. “They love each other like...” she shook her head, his lips basically rubbing against her forehead with her motion. “I’m a lucky girl to witness that kind of love. To have grown up around that love while I lived at home.”

“S’that why y’transferred here?”

She shrugged. “It worked for them.”

“Love, m’not trying t’pry or say s’weird. Or make y’uncomfortable in anyway. But... m’shocked y’haven’t been in love. You’re stunning,” he punctuated the thought with another kiss to the back of her head. “Sweet, intelligent, jus’ so lovely. S’a miracle for me y’don’t have a line of admirers.”

She turned around in his arms to face him. She was eye level with him. Their heads sharing a pillow on the extremely small twin mattress. Her nose bumped his and he smelled her raspberry chapstick even stronger. “When I was in high school,” she whispered. “I thought I was in love. I thought we were in love. He carried my backpack with my insanely heavy AP History textbook, he brought me coffee to school, and drove me home from soccer practice,” her voice was even. Not a hint of sadness yet Harry felt this rush of sadness all through him.

“Y’don’t have t’tell me, kitten.”

She glanced up at him, even though it was dark, the light thrown from the moon, made it bright enough that he could make out the whites of her eyes. “I want to,” she admitted. Her regular confidence seemed to be shaken during their almost kiss. The thought of making her uncomfortable, especially after feeling like she ruined their first kiss was his worst nightmare. But conviction seemed to resurface as she began her story. Harry wasn’t sure he’d be able to stand where he thought it was going, but if she wanted to share, he would listen to every word.

He nodded. “M’listening,” he promised.

“We were having our first study date at his place,” she continued. “It was for our English literature class. We had to create a PowerPoint about a book we read. Highlighting all the symbolism and allegory. The history and whatnot,” it wasn’t relevant as to what they were studying. It wasn’t the point. She was stalling. Harry knew it. But he let her continue. “He invited me over because his parents weren’t home. His siblings were out. It was just us.” Harry was terrified he knew where it was going and even though she was perfectly whole in front of him, he felt so much anger coursing through him he worried he might hold her too tight. He held his breath waiting for the shoe to drop. “I thought he would just want to make out or something,” she whispered. “I’m pretty certain I was in love with a guy in my biology class the year before, so I knew I didn’t love him so maybe it’s my own fault for going to his house. Knowing what a guy like him—”

“It’s not your fault,” Harry interrupted. His voice was flat. He didn’t want her to continue. But he had to know. Needed to know. Because very honestly, Harry was going to kill him for hurting her.

She swallowed loud enough for Harry to hear, and she took a deep breath. “I told him I didn’t want to have sex,” she whispered very softly. “He said I was a waste of his time. All this time he could have been with,” she shook her head. “Three, four other girls. Not wasting months on someone that didn’t want to sleep with him,” she pressed her forehead against the top of his chest. “I felt so stupid,” her voice was so thin it was hard for Harry to hear her. He cupped the back of her neck and kissed her forehead. He hoped it was encouraging. So she would keep talking if she wanted. “I thought he liked me. I thought that maybe I wouldn’t get that earth stopping love my parents had, but maybe I would find a guy and we would grow to love each other like that. I know in hindsight that’s stupid to think at seventeen, but it was the only thing that made sense at the time.” Harry remained silent. “I walked home,” she whispered. “My mom just knew. She asked me a thousand questions if he hurt me. I told her he didn’t, but I think part of her still believes that I lied to her—”

“Y’did, kitten. He did hurt you.”

“He didn’t—”

“Love he broke your heart and your trust. He hurt you,” he said simply. “He’s an ass. An idiot. He should be in jail just for breaking your heart,” he promised. It felt so unbelievable that she had never been in love. He wanted to know more about the guy from her biology class, but he couldn't believe that someone so perfect to him hadn't been in love. “S’no wonder y’mum kept asking. Y’mum knows he hurt you. Y’jus’ pretended he didn’t so y’could protect your heart, love,” he explained. She was silent for a minute. Harry could feel her foot impatiently shifting between the covers, near the bottom of his legs and he continued waiting while she processed this information. “Have y’ever told anyone ‘bout this?” He asked quietly.

She shook her head. “It wasn’t...a huge deal,” she shrugged.

He was silent for another long moment, trying to control his anger. If he had his address, Harry was certain he would do something drastic “M’sorry y’feel like y’have t’minimize your feelings. You shouldn’t do that. Please don’t do that around me,” he murmured.

“Harry,” she sighed and pressed her forehead against his. “Where did you come from?” She asked. “Guys in college don’t... You can’t possibly be real.”

He smirked sadly. “I told you, I’ve been waiting a really long time for you,” he kissed her forehead, her eyelids, the bridge of her nose, and her cheeks.

“Harry,” she said softly.

“Yes, kitten?” he was so happy to have her so close to him. None of his daydreams during their walks or math lectures compared at all.

“It’s not going to bother you if—”

“M’sorry t’interrupt, love. But, don’t bother finishing that question. M’gonna take care of your heart. That’s it,” he promised and gave her another gentle squeeze. “Go t’sleep,” he murmured.

For a while it was so quiet, it barely sounded like she was breathing. “Thank you,” her voice was so soft he hardly heard her. As he drifted off with surely the love his life in his arms, part of him thought she wasn’t speaking to him at all.

*

In the morning, her alarm went off pulling Harry from his dream state. Surely having her in his arms was still a dream, though. He yawned, stretching, and turning to her as she looked nervously. “Sorry, I didn’t know it would be that loud.”

He smiled. “S’okay. Can I make y’breakfast before you go?”

“Oh, no thank you. I’m good.”

“Jus’ lemme get dressed and I’ll drive you.”

“That’s unnecessary,” she promised.

He smiled and kissed her forehead. “S’too bad,” he shrugged, rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth. When he returned, she passed him to get dressed in the bathroom and Harry quickly stripped himself of his pants so if she was finished in the bathroom shortly, he wouldn’t embarrass her by being naked from the waist down.

She did catch him with his shirt off, making her cheeks turn the lightest shade of red. Harry smirked tugging his shirt over his head. “Sorry,” she murmured and grabbed her bag to shove her clothes inside it. “Er...I was thinking, by the time I get out, it will be colder...and I don’t have the right coat to walk home. Could you drop me off at my car?” She asked.

Harry tilted his head at her. “I’ll jus’ pick y’up, kitten,” he could see her mulling this over in her head. There was a bit of worry in her eye. Fear of putting Harry out, he was sure. “Love,” he smiled sweetly. “M’picking y’up,” he promised. “More time t’spend with you.”

“You are...” she smiled shaking her head. “Something else, Harry Styles.”

*

Hey, kitten. Missing you. Hope you’re having a good day xx

Hi! I’m good. Busy with work and studying. Hope your day is good too!

It’s pretty good. Heading to the mechanic. Cars are the worst 😔 Work later. Wish I could see you 😭

At least there’s no class tomorrow

I’d rather have class just to see you xx

That’s really sweet 🥰 Maybe we should meet up during class time anyway?

You’re a genius, love 😘 absolutely. I’ll meet you after your class.

Sounds perfect!

*

Harry felt shameful. It was a bad week and Thursday was supposed to be a good day after all since they agreed to meet up despite not having class. Well... it was bad aside from math class and studying. Two things he never thought he would say out loud or even think in the privacy of his own thoughts. It was also good because she said yes to a date—a real date.

After their night together over a week ago and a busy schedule on both parts, this was supposed to be their first official date the coming Saturday. He had it all planned out. A fancy restaurant that he made a reservation for in the city. They would take the train in to save them the nightmare of parking. He asked her on Tuesday after class and he didn’t think he would ever forget her beautiful smile when she said yes. It felt like he won the lottery.

But Harry’s car had other plans. He took it in for a routine oil change the night before. During breakfast, he got the call. He needed new tires and new brakes. He knew about the brakes, but he thought he could wait until spring to get new tires—just get through the winter. The mechanic was insistent.

He felt awful as he walked with her on Thursday to study in the library. She was bubbly with excitement for the last week. About him. It was too good to be true. Of course, something had to go wrong. He felt terrible that he was going to have to cancel. “Hey, love?” He asked.

She was rambling about something. Harry wished he had tuned in more to know what and felt bad seeing her excitement waver. “Yeah?”

“Uh...” he sighed and gestured to the bench along the sidewalk. “I have t’ask y’to reschedule our date,” he looked so miserable. Her heart felt so sad seeing how upset he was.

“Oh,” she frowned. The excitement in her eyes was officially dead. Harry felt horrible. “Yeah... of course! Of course, we can. Is... are you okay?”

“I jus’ feel so awful,” he mumbled. “Asking t’reschedule.”

“Oh,” she felt her face wrinkle in confusion. She placed a hand on his bouncing knee trying to help the anxiety he felt. “That’s... that’s okay. Is everything alright? Like, is your family okay or is it a doctor’s appointment?”

Harry thought he was going to cry. “Uh... s’a little embarrassing,” he admitted rubbing his hand on the back of his head. He couldn’t look at her.

“More or less than me getting lost on my first day of class as a twenty-one-year-old?”

He smirked. “S’nothing,” he promised.

“I... I hate to ask this because it makes me sound so insecure... but is it something I did? Or did someone say something about me and now you don’t like me—”

“Jesus,” he shook his head and pulled her toward him quick. He kissed the top of her head, his arm draping around her shoulders. If there was any question of them being an item, Harry certainly squashed them all in front of everyone walking by. Being broke wasn’t as awful as listening to her feelings of inadequacy. “No, no,” he sighed heavily. “God, no, kitten. S’nothing you did. You’re... you’re perfect,” he gazed down to meet her gaze. “M’so embarrassed... I had a pretty expensive car repair t’take care of... so m’over m’budget for the month. I didn’t know at the time—”

“Oh,” she blinked and shook her head. “Oh... that’s okay. We don’t have to go to that restaurant,” she shrugged. “I mean... if you don’t want to go out, of course. But... I don’t need a fancy restaurant.”

His heart jumped to his throat. “Really?” He sighed with relief. “Kitten, I don’t want t’wait any longer t’take you on a proper date... would you want to have a picnic or something? I know that’s lame. S’not a proper date because y’deserve so much more but...m’not making sense, I know—m’jus’ really overwhelmed and—”

She put a gloved hand on the side of his face and smiled. Harry thought that he would see her eyes in every one of his dreams. In his head. Every time he closed his eyes. “I would love a proper picnic date,” Harry swore her smile was made of stardust. Or maybe snowflakes. “Will it be too cold though? We could have an indoor picnic.”

“I’ll make sure you’re warm,” he promised.

*

She picked Harry up and drove them to where he said. He filled her car with a whole bunch of supplies, food, and drinks. He told her to dress warm and she looked like she was ready to hike. Boots, warm thick socks, a big sweatshirt. She looked so cozy and warm. Once they got to the little place Harry had found when he first made it to college, he requested she wait in the car while he set everything up. “Don’t look, yeah?” He smiled.

She nodded and made herself busy looking at her phone. But after the third trip to the car, Harry could tell she felt bad. “Are you sure you don’t need help?”

“Stay put,” he insisted. After a few more minutes, Harry was at her car door. He was grinning like an idiot as he opened her door. “After you, kitten.”

There was a massive blanket laid on the grass. Along the edges there were little twinkling lights that he hoped made it feel like something out of a movie. Harry’s heart was thudding in his chest. A cooler with drinks and another with food was on one corner of the blanket. Finally, a tiny, portable space heater from camping with Mitch was directed at the blanket. She giggled. “Harry,” she sighed. “This is better than a fancy restaurant," he shook his head with a smirk.

“You’re still getting a fancy dinner, but I couldn’t wait any longer.”

She bit her lip and laid across the blanket gazing up. “This place is so pretty,” she whispered. “Look how nice the sky looks.”

It was getting chillier by the minute with the sun getting lower in the sky. Harry hoped to stay an hour or two but with the slight breeze he worried she would freeze. But the way she laid across the blanket made her look like a goddess. She belonged to nature. He knelt on the blanket beside her and grabbed the food he had planned. She rolled onto her stomach and then to a half-kneeling, half-sitting position. Harry brought sandwiches delighted by her request that her favorite sandwich was peanut butter and strawberry jam. They ate quietly for a bit and Harry poured cans of the sparkling wines he had in his fridge (he thought they might be Sarah’s, but he wanted something classier than beer or seltzers for their first real date).

The sky was pink and purple again after they finished their sandwiches and two glasses of sparkling wine. Harry baked cookies before she came to get him. They nibbled on those while chatting but mostly he just enjoyed her company and how happy she was to just be there with him. It seemed like she really didn’t need a fancy restaurant—even if he thought she deserved it more than all the rest.

When they finished snacking, Harry put the coolers back in the car and laid beside her gazing up at the sky. He pulled the corner of the huge blanket up over her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “I could lay here forever,” he murmured.

“Me too,” she nuzzled herself closer to his warm jacket. He kissed the top of her head.

“M’sorry this is the lamest first date,” he grumbled still feeling the bits of inadequacy of what he wanted to give her because she deserved the best and not a single thing less.

“No way,” she shook her head. “This is so nice, Harry. I’m warm and cozy. I’m not worried about my dress looking right or spilling something on it. I don’t have to worry about which fork to use. There’s no one around to interrupt or stare at us...” she sighed. “It’s literally the best first date,” she promised.

“Stare at us?” He repeated.

“Surely you see everyone eyeing us every time we walk to class.”

He frowned. “I didn’t know,” he mumbled.

She tilted her head to meet his gaze. She looked genuinely surprised. “Hmm,” she hummed. “I’m not used to people staring at me,” she smiled teasingly. “You probably just tune it all out.”

He chuckled, rolling his eyes at her as he flicked her gently on the side of the head. “I only care when you’re staring,” he brushed his finger across her cheek. “S’like the only thing that matters now.”

“This is crazy, isn’t it?” She whispered.

“What?”

“Falling so hard?”

“Didn’t know y’were falling so hard,” he chuckled. She smacked his chest.

“Shut up,” she tucked her face into his side. He cupped the side of her face.

“I fell so hard, love,” he promised. “Fell so. Very. Hard.”

Harry thought about getting her back soon. It was getting colder by the second. But the sky was this multitude of sunset colors that made him never want to leave. He only wanted to exist right beside her in this little meadow of peacefulness and never let go of her.

--

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[0097linersb]

Meddle About Pt.2 (Last)

Pairings: Haechan x Reader / Jeno x Reader (Briefly Mentioned)

Genre: Smut

Summary:  Mark doesn’t think you or Haechan would have a problem with killing each other, not even bat an eye at it in fact. 

Word count: 11.2k ish

A/N: I love y´all sorry this took so long. ALSO! FOLLOW ME ON MY NEW TWITTER @wooyodefender we can chat there

Part 1

“I don´t get it, you guys already fucked so why isn´t the bet ove-” 

“We didn´t fuck,” You and Haechan corrected a confused Jisung at the same time, except the two of you had very different tones when delivering the message.  

“Are you just letting anyone watch now because I´m intere-” 

“I´m begging you to not finish that sentence,” Jeno interrupted Jaemin, rubbing his face harshly out of stress. You gently touched Jeno´s hands so he would stop stretching his skin, looking out for any future wrinkles on that pretty face. 

The chaotic scene definitely didn´t match your current environment - which consisted of a breakfast place, one of those where the cooks look like they haven´t showered in weeks, piles of waffles, bacon and the shittiest coffee you have ever tasted filling the tables.  The restaurant was full of families with loud annoying kids running around - Maybe Donghyuck could go play with them. It was hell, but hey, that was hangover brunch. 

Maybe it was the universe´s way of punishing you for allowing whatever happened with Donghyuck to... well, happen.  

“I´m just glad the two of you are finally getting along,” Mark tried changing the subject, smiling at his best friends who for the first time looked like they weren´t going to punch each other at any given moment.  

“We are absolutely not,” But you were more than happy to burst his bubble. “In fact, I have never been more disgusted by Donghyuck before.” 

“That´s not what you sa-” 

You interrupted Haechan with a fake smile, using your best customer service voice to not upset Mark so early in the morning as you stabbed your pancakes, “You can shut the fuck up now, thank you.” 

“So, he slept over and no sex?” Chenle teasingly pushed his friend as he laughed in his face. “You really have no game - ” 

“Speaking of which: Mark, please control your bitch, she made me sleep on the couch without a pillow or a blanket.”  

“I should have kicked you out to sleep on the street, you fucking -” 

“Ok, enough! It´s only Monday and I´m still too hungover to deal with you two,” Mark rolled his eyes, rubbing circles into his temples.  

“So, when are you fucking?” Jisung asked, returning to the original topic where his single neuron was still parked at. 

You groaned and buried your face in Jeno´s shoulder, the man gently patting your head to calm you down, “Can we all please stop reminding me of that?” 

“Probably this Saturday or the next,” Haechan ignored you. 

“Do we have it freaking scheduled? Ew.” 

“Why? Did you want me sooner?” The man teased you, an annoying fake pout on his face. “Awn, someone´s eager.” 

Jeno had to physically hold you back from smacking Haechan down after his comment, “I would rather bungee jump without the -” 

“What a cliché, Y/N. You can do better than that-” 

“Let´s not speak on the subject until then,” Mark cut you off, his tone was strict and final. 

★ 

Somehow, as if it was even possible, Haechan managed to become even more insufferable after the recent events. Firstly, because now that he knew you were slightly attracted to him – and also knew you were not happy about it - the man had massive leverage on your fights. Secondly, as previously stated, the thought of finding Haechan even remotely alluring had you wanting to take a nap on the highway during rush hour every time you caught yourself even considering his appearance, causing your stress levels to be significantly higher ever since. Lastly, if there is one thing Haechan has always been, is cocky, and now... Oh, now he was just unstoppable, and you hated yourself for thinking it was kind of hot.  

Kind of. 

But as equally annoying. 

Now, you caught yourself staring at the man, lost in thought, more often than you´d like to admit, and he managed to catch you every-single-fucking-time, sending you an annoying wink like he was hot shit.  

Which maybe he was. 

You didn´t understand how he could accept being into you so easily when you wanted to throw up at the thought that maybe you were excited that he was going to fuck you some time soon. Before everything that went down, the two of you would just simply offend each other to your hearts 'desires, but now there was a sudden shift in your dynamic as he started hitting on you nonstop, which somehow managed to annoy you more than when he would call you the most degrading offensive things he could think of - which he could probably be arrested for if anyone from outside your group heard a minute of your conversations.  

“You do know you´re going to die alone and miserable, right?” You asked him Thursday night, after only an hour and a half around him, figuring that was your time-around-Haechan limit.  

“I don´t think I will,” He smiled at you, a condescending tone to his voice as he leaned back against his seat. 

“Oh, I can assure you. No one can put up with you for long enough.” 

“Everyone puts up with me just fine. Have you ever considered maybe you´re the problem?”  

“As if- ” 

“It´s ok baby, I´ll fix your attitude when I fu-” 

“Can you two shut the fuck up and just never talk again?” Mark looked stressed as he reminded you and Haechan that you were not alone at the restaurant table. “I swear to God I´m going to start leaving one of you out from each group hang out.” 

“It would be the best thing you have ever done,” You assured Mark. 

“C´mon, I´d miss you,” Haechan sent you a flying kiss. “You´re nice to look at.” 

“I will stab you in the eyes to assure you never look at me aga-” 

“If any of you say another world I´ll drag you outside by the ear.” 

You did shut up after that because you honestly felt kind of bad for Mark, he genuinely loved the two of you and you´ve been making his life hell by not getting along. At the same time, it´s not like you haven´t tried! When you first met Haechan, after only 5 minutes with him, you were already sure you disliked the man; but you made an effort for Mark, you spent weeks trying to make yourself grow any positive feelings towards Haechan, or just anything that didn´t involve strong wishes of strangling him, but the man never returned any of your efforts, always wanting to hog Mark all to himself and bad mouth you to the man,  so you gave up - 

Wait.  

Donghyuck had really nice fucking hands. 

Which you unfortunately noticed as he places more meat on the grill occupying the center of the table between your friends after Mark made the two of you change seats so you´d sit far away from each other. His fingers were just somehow very delicate and clean but manly at the same time, he had big hands and veins appearing through his skin, his long fingers adorned by rings – Did he always wear rings? Because they were surely doing something to you.   

And with that thought process, you were suddenly reminded those fingers had been inside of you and you had to cross your legs to contain the very sudden and very fast pulsing that started between them. You let your forehead meet the table in a very loud thud as you groaned in frustration. Every day that passed made you despite Haechan a little bit more.  

When the weekend did come, your group´s chaotic schedule didn´t allow you a time window to complete the second part of the bet, although you did meet. It was a common friend´s birthday, a small get-together at his place to celebrate another year and even though there were suggestions that you could finish the bet that night, you were absolutely not about to get fucked on Doyoung´s bed. Also, Haechan had some things to do and had texted the group chat he would be late to the party – Chenle had informed you Haechan had a date and you prayed to all gods out there that he would bring the girl along so he would leave you alone for once.  

When he did show up though, he was in fact, unaccompanied. But the main point was that Lee Donghyuck, had dyed his hair a light shade of brown that had you wanting to swallow down your own fist.  Ok, maybe you could fuck on Doyoung´s bed after all. 

But Haechan´s leather jacket and rings stayed on during sex. 

What?  

No! 

Fuck, maybe you just needed to get laid, it has been a while. Would Jeno mind taking whatever you had a step further? 

“Hello friends,” Haechan greeted his friends before turning to you. “Hello stalker.” 

“What? Why stalker?” 

“I don´t know, the way you´re looking at me seems pretty obsessive,” He shrugged as he jumped over the couch to take a seat in front of you, who was sitting on the floor. 

“You´re delusional.” 

“It´s ok,” He assured you, accepting a drink from Doyoung who was walking around welcoming and giving everyone attention like a good host. “I like them crazy.” 

“Because that´s the only crowd you can pull.” 

“Let´s remember who was begging me just a week ago,” He winked at you before taking a sip from his glass, you along with all the boys around gagging at his comment. 

“I thought we were forbidden from talking about the subject,” Jaemin informed. 

“I did my best,” Mark sighed. “I give up on these two, just kill each other for all I care.” 

Haechan and you managed to prove once again Mark´s repulsive argument that the two of you were basically the same person when you replied by asking at the exact same time, “Who would you rather survived?” 

“Right now? I hope none of you.” 

“Cold,” You pouted at Mark before turning to the other man. “C´mon, Donghyuck and I are besties, soon he will even give me his computer and his most precious hoodie. If that isn´t friendship I don´t know what is.” 

“You really think you´ll win, huh?” At least Haechan looked amused.  

“I don´t know, did you get your date there today?” 

“What date?” 

“Chenle said you were on a date.” 

“He told me he had a date,” Chenle corrected. 

“You mean I hanged out with a friend so she could dye my hair?” 

“Same thing,” Chenle shrugged. “Didn´t you already fuck her before?” 

“Yeah, but that doesn´t make it a date. We were at her hair salon – Wait,” Haechan stopped mid-sentence to look at you. “Awn, are you jealous?” 

“Donghyuck, I´ll put this the nicest way that I can so Mark doesn't have a nervous breakdown: Why the hell would I be jealous?” 

“I don´t know, there´s really no reason for it. If you want me just say so and I´m all yours-” 

“Ok, I can´t take this anymore. I know Mark asked us to not talk about it and I was very happy to oblige but I have some matters to discuss,” You interrupted Haechan. 

“Yeah, whatever,” Mark rolled his eyes and shrugged. “Go for it, see if I care.” 

“Let´s make a rule that when we reach the 4 minutes mark and Donghyuck has already lost, we have to stop everything immediately.” 

“We can´t do that,” Jeno carefully informed you, already prepared for the murderous glare you sent his way. 

“And why not?” 

“Since we couldn´t bet on the same thing you two, we bet on how long Haechan would take,” Jaemin explained.  

Oh, right. You remember very clearly betting on 6 hours because it was simply not going to happen. Jaemin, who went for the 12 minutes mark went as far as asking you to have at least some faith on his friend.  

You could argue that now that you and Donghyuck had some form of sexual encounter, he already knew your body a bit better and that was kind of cheating, but then you reminded yourself that none of the guys knew what actually happened that night after the club and you´d rather leave it that way, so you simply sighed in defeat. It´s not like Haechan did much besides literally putting is fingers inside of you, so you guessed that didn´t really count either. 

“Cheer up, princess. You´re about to have the time of your life,” Haechan smirked at you and you answered him by chugging your drink in misery. 

For the rest of the night, you tried avoiding Donghyuck like the plague because if you thought about how his rings would feel around your neck one more time, you would be forced to punch the guy and cause a scene – You liked Doyoung enough to not do that on his birthday. It wasn´t a full-out house party, but there were enough people around to make it possible to stay far away from Haechan, at least for a while, until he decided he didn´t want to let you have a peaceful night after all. 

And so you drank. 

“Daydreaming about me?” He sat next to you on the couch. Jeno had left you alone for a single second to grab more beer for fuck´s sake. 

“You wish.” 

“I do, in fact.” 

“Can´t you find literally any other girl to torment?” 

“But it´s so fun annoying you, though,” He smiled. “You look hot when you´re mad.” 

“Take your degradation kink elsewhere, thank you very much.” 

“Will do, wanna come with?” 

“Are you serious right now?” 

“C´mon. We don´t have to fuck, you´ve been staring at my thighs the whole night, you could just ride them-” 

“Oh my god, leave me alone.” 

“Well, let me tell you something,” He informed before turning his body in your direction so that he could lower his voice, suddenly deep against your ear. “I appreciate your act, it´s cute, really. But there´s no one looking. If we go somewhere, we can come back, and no one would know a thing. You could stop pretending you haven´t been clenching at the thought of my fingers the whole week and I could do all the fun things I´ve been thinking about-” 

You could sense his smirk at the way your body violently twitched. It was only once, but it was one time too many.  

“Oh. Wanna know what things?” He teased. 

You could just stand up and leave. But you didn´t really want to? 

 So you simply crossed your legs and took a deep breath to try and sort your mind out. 

His chuckle hit the sensitive skin on your neck, “I´ll take that as a yes.” 

And then his palm found your thigh once again, holding it from the inside like it was his, “I know we can´t actually fuck, but I think there are things that can be even more fun, don´t you? You know what I can´t stop thinking about ever since I´ve seen your pretty little pussy? How much I want to eat you out. You sound so good, I´d love nothing more than have you sitting on my face for hours-” 

You took another shaky breath, nails digging deep into your own right thigh, “Donghyuck.” 

“Yes?” 

“I will go to the kitchen get another drink and you will let me.” 

He laughed once again but retrieved his hand from your body, “You know where to find me.” 

And unfortunately, you did, because later, after a few more drinks and 1 very frustrating hour of trying to focus on anything else other than your panties sticking to your skin, you found yourself grabbing Donghyuck´s arm to get his attention while he talked to some guys you didn´t know. 

“Yes, princess?” 

You ignored the pet name and everyone´s eyes on you for your own sake, “Can you please follow me?” 

His cocky smile had you immediately regretting your impulsive choices, “Always.” 

You groaned but accepted when he grabbed your hand and motioned for you to lead the way, which you did, practically running up the stairs so none of your friends would see you before getting the two of you inside a bathroom and locking the door.  

“What do you want?” He amusedly raised his eyebrow at you, his body leaning against the bathroom sink now that you were alone and the music wasn´t so loud. 

“Don´t pretend to be dense,” You called him out before pulling him down by his shirt so you could smash your lips together.  

He smirked into the kiss before getting into it, wasting no time pressing you against the bathroom door as his tongue entered your mouth to match your desperation. When his hands found your hips to pull you closer, a moan escaped your lips and he groaned, his grip on you tightening enough to bruise your skin. 

Your hands in turn found their way around his neck, pulling harshly on his hair so he would get the message and just do something before you regretted bringing him here. You didn´t need foreplay this time, you already had hours of your very creative mind flashing images and trying to drive you crazy, all you needed was someone´s fingers inside of you  – And maybe they had to be Haechan´s. 

Thankfully, Donghyuck somehow got the message and pulled your thighs up around his waist, so he could carry you over to the sink as you two practically devoured each other, like air wasn´t something necessary for human survival, but his lips sure were. You used your legs wrapped around him to grind his crotch against yours and he groaned at you, “Don´t play dirty.” 

“Then do something.” 

“What do you want?” 

“You know what I want.” 

“Do I?” He played dumb, suddenly stepping away from you like that was just perfect timing to be a fucking little tease. “I can go grab you a drink if that´s what you mean-” 

“Good luck with that boner out there.” 

“Yeah, gonna find someone I can actually fuck.” 

“Oh my god, just fucking finger me please,” You groaned in surrender, letting your head hit the mirror behind you in frustration. 

The biggest smirk filled his face as he closed the distance between you in satisfaction once again, eyes shining in victory, “That´s what I like to hear. Good girl.” 

“Don´t be condescending.” 

“C´mon, I know you like it,” He teased before his lips met yours once again. 

He bit your bottom lip to be annoying before licking inside your mouth so you would let him do his thing – And since you had already thrown your dignity out the window an hour ago on Doyoung´s very elegant couch, you just let him. The man must have gathered how desperate you were from the way you were kissing him back, because he simply found your panties under your skirt and slid them right off with no ceremony, before his palms were pulling your thighs open and he found his place in between them. 

“Hand,” He ordered. 

For once, his voice didn´t sound like he was teasing you or playing around. It was just a plain order looming over you and you liked it, being able to forget who you were and who was standing in between your legs, your hand raising in front of him without even knowing what for. You watched in shock as he took two of his rings out and put them on your finger, before moving to the next one. 

“Leave them on,” You quietly pleaded, kind of ashamed of yourself for liking the idea and not believing you actually said that out loud. It just escaped.  

He smiled at your tone, “I´d love to, but these would really hurt.” 

“Oh.” 

“It´s ok, I´ll leave the ones on the other hand,” Haechan assured as he finished putting all his rings on you and his mouth met yours once again. 

You always kind of expected that for a kiss to be good and effective, it needed to have a build-up, to start slow and make its way up – But Donghyuck had a way of reminding whoever he was kissing of how needy he made them in just a few seconds. His mouth was working so good against yours that it was almost a pity that you had to break the kiss to gasp as you felt two of his fingers gathering slick around your slit and when he felt like his fingers were lubricated enough, he slowly pushed them inside of you, you had to close your eyes and let your head meet the mirror again to process the feelings. 

You see? He didn´t even have to do much and you were already so worked up, clenching around his fingers and hands holding harshly onto the sink. You were honestly scared of the power Donghyuck had over you and what he would do if he ever found it out.  

When you opened your eyes, Haechan was watching your face attentively before moving his fingers slowly. He looked so fucking good with his new hair and dark eyes that even this rhythm to get you used to being filled got you biting on your bottom lip to keep your whines inside.  

He noticed that and smirked, “C´mere,” 

And so you complied, lips chasing his until your tongues met once again. 

You had a theory that it´s not that Donghyuck was good in bed, you were just really horny. Your thought process made a lot of sense considering he never actually did anything to you besides looking hot while you actually did all the job – But you could throw your whole theory in the trash next to the sink once Haechan sped up his fingers. 

You bit his lip to keep yourself grounded at the fact that the man in between your legs actually knew what he was doing and did it really well. 

Shockers. 

And you meant well enough that if he fucked anything like he fingered you, you were kind of screwed (at least when it came to the bet). 

“It´s loud outside, don´t worry,” He smiled once you let go of his lip, noticing you were having a hard time keeping yourself together  - and you really tried pretending he didn´t have the perfect rhythm, that his fingers weren´t hitting all the perfect spots, that his kisses down your neck as you caught your breath weren´t doing wonders for you, but it was a really hard task considering he was in fact making you feel all sorts of new things in this short amount of time. 

When Haechan felt like you still weren´t letting yourself go, he bit harshly on the side of your neck and you couldn´t force inside the gasp that left your mouth. 

“You know I won´t let you cum until I´m satisfied, stop being stubborn.” 

“M-maybe you´re just not doing a-ah- good job.” 

“Oh, sorry. My bad,” He apologized, but the smirk on his face, once he stood straight, didn´t match his tone nor his words. Suddenly his thumb was on your clit, drawing circles as he pumped his two other fingers inside and you almost came undone at the way he cockily winked at you when a loud moan escaped your lips.  

“Oh, fuck-” 

“Yeah, that´s more like it.” 

“Just shut u-up,” You groaned as your nails found his shoulder, digging into his skin to try and keep yourself grounded as he sped up. You honestly didn´t feel like you would last very long under his ministrations and that just wouldn´t do.  

“Want me to stop?” 

“God- No!” 

“Awn, look who´s finally not being a bitch.” 

“Donghyuck, I swear to god-” 

“What? What will you do, huh? Cum around my fingers? Threatening. Maybe next time do it on my tongue.” 

You really didn´t need the imagery right now.  

You closed your eyes and your forehead met his chest as you felt your high approaching, trying to conjure all your willpower to not cum and give Donghyuck the satisfaction of doing it so fast, but it was no use. Haechan had some kind of magic fingers and when his free hand found your neck and you could feel the cool rings pressed against your skin, along with his lips brushing against your open ones that just couldn´t keep quiet, you were done for. 

Your whole body trembled as your cursed during the longest and hardest orgasm of your life, breaths mixed together. 

Once you regained your sanity, you just had to suck Haechan off in return after that. 

 It was good manners after all. 

★ 

You would be indeed lying if you said the bathroom incident didn´t occur more than once. Thankfully, you only allowed it to happen 3 times other than that one – 3 was a good number, you could forgive yourself for slipping 3 times. You could even argue that since he had already fingered you once, if he did it once or twenty times, it was the same thing, so it was not like it was going to impact on the bet.  

Yeah, you knew it was bullshit but who cares. 

The first time it happened, just like at the party, you were drunk. It was during trivia night, Donghyuck´s team was winning, and you were very unhappy about it. It´s not your fault that Mark was stupid and ended up on your team! By the time you got to the final questions, you were practically raging and somehow managed to beat them after getting 4 questions right in a row (once you got Mark distracted with something on your phone). After managing to rub your win in Haechan´s face in every way known to mankind, he got annoyed enough to drag you to the bar´s bathroom and “get you to shut up” as he so kindly put it. 

The second time you couldn´t use alcohol as an excuse, although you could say you were high on the adrenaline of playing ranked matches online. It happened when you and Donghyuck were playing Valorant and after you cursed at him for the 30th time about sucking over the call, he finally snapped and told you to come say it to his face – Which you did, because he really did suck. What happened once you were in his house, in his room, was completely unexpected. No one could have guessed he would end up fingering you as you played another ranked match on your account, right? 

The third time would have looked strangely like a 90´s parent trap kind of movie if you weren´t genuinely annoyed by the situation. You had invited Mark to watch the new horror movie at the cinema, Mark had agreed. Donghyuck had also invited Mark to watch the new horror movie at the cinema, Mark had agreed. Mark had also thought it was a good idea to not show up and not let either of you know about the other, resulting in a very angry surprise meeting at the movie theater´s door. 

“I´ll just sit very far from you,” Haechan had groaned. 

“Don´t be ridiculous,” You rolled your eyes, grabbing his arm and practically dragging him to your seats. 

“Awn, you´re scared. Aren´t you?” He teased once you were sitting down, finally processing why you weren´t putting the many rows of distance between you two yourself. 

“Yeah, very much. Now be quiet.” 

“I will have to inform you I am scared too.” 

“Oh, that´s just great. Do you even have anything to offer in life at this point?” 

It was kind of expected that he would finger you during the movie after that. 

★ 

“And who the fuck is that?” Donghyuck asked dumbfounded after you appeared in front of him, arm laced with another man´s. He earned an elbow on the ribs by Jaemin for his comment. 

You rolled your eyes and apologized to your date before turning back to the very rude person in front of you once San reassured everything was ok, “Donghyuck, I know you were raised by animals or something, but here in the city we normally greet people when we see them.” 

Haechan´s reaction must have been genuine shock because he was quick to apologize and give his hand out for San to shake as he introduced himself, even if he didn´t look anywhere close to happy.  

“Oh, so this is San,” Donghyuck raised his eyebrows in entertainment.  

Your date gave you the cutest smile once he heard those words, “You talked about me?” 

You were not about to let Haechan ruin this for you and tell San that all you said about the man was that he didn´t fuck you and that was the exact moment that resulted in the stupid bet that will end up with the man in front of you fucking you instead – So you simply smiled at San, “Of course.” 

“I didn´t know we could bring dates,” Donghyuck sent you a pointed look. 

“You´re supposed to bring dates to these kinds of things, Hyuck. I´m sorry you couldn´t find anyone to put up with you.” 

“Did your boytoy bring anyone?” He raised an eyebrow at you. 

Both you and San gave him a confused look, not sure who he was talking about. Jaemin rolled his eyes and grabbed his arm to drag him away but he didn´t budge. 

“Jeno,” Donghyuck clarified.  

Oh, you see what he was doing. 

And you were not about to give him the satisfaction. 

“Jeno brought Karina,” You informed calmly, not playing his game. “As expected.” 

“I see,” Haechan nodded before turning to your date. “Good luck filling the position then.” 

You couldn´t even say you were surprised, of course he couldn´t let you have anything. 

“Enjoy the party, Donghyuck,” You rolled your eyes before dragging San as far as possible. 

“Well, that was something,” Your date tried to break the ice when he saw you breathing out in annoyance. 

“I´m so sorry,” You sighed, calling over the waiter with the champagne tray. “Donghyuck´s insufferable.”  

“Well, now I have to step up my game to fit the boytoy job description,” He smiled at you, getting two glasses from the tray and handing one to you.  

“I´m sorry about that too,” You smiled in gratitude over the rim of the glass.  

“It´s ok, it´s a position I´m more than happy to fill. Specially if it will make your friend even more jealous.” 

“Oh, don´t worry. It´s not like that, I can assure you. He simply has something against my happiness, which is ok, because I also have something against his.” 

“Yeah, I don´t think we´re close enough for me to comment on that so cheers,” He laughed, raising his glass in your direction. 

You clinked glasses and laughed too; you loved a self-aware king.  

Turns out San was a really great guy and you were happy you had invited him to be your plus one to this fancy party thing. He complimented your dress and makeup every hour, he got you new drinks whenever the ice on the ones you were holding started melting too much, he got along with your friends, he looked absolutely stunning and most importantly, he kept you entertained. He also didn´t back down whenever you were at the table with the whole group and Haechan tried teasing him, politely putting the man back in his place – which really, was more attractive than anything.  

“Things going well, huh?” Jeno asked as you two met at the bar. San was in the middle of an excited discussion about music with Jisung, so you offered to get the drinks this time. 

“Very, actually.” 

“Think things are finally going to escalate tonight or are we thinking boyfriend?” The man teased. See? He could tease you just fine because you knew he actually cared.  

“We still haven´t even kissed, so I don´t really think I´m about to get railed,” You laughed, lowering your voice a bit so the bartender and people around wouldn´t hear your vulgar words as you waited for the drinks.  

“Well, you can always call Haechan over to complete the bet.” 

“I´m not that desperate.” 

“By the way he looks like he´s going to murder San anytime, I think he is. Always knew all this tension between you two had to be something more.” 

“Yeah, I wouldn´t dwell too much on it. Sometimes people just don´t like each other, Donghyuck´s just bothered he´s not the center of attention tonight.” 

“He´s bothered he´s not the center of your attention.” 

“Guess I´ve spoiled him too much, huh? How´s Karina, anyway?” 

“Still working on wooing her.” 

“You wooed her the first time you talked to her, Jeno. Don´t worry, she wouldn´t be here if it wasn´t the case.” 

“Well, since it didn´t work on you my game has been a little off balanced.”  

You laughed at his teasing but didn´t have time to reply as the bartender came back with your two drinks and Jeno´s. The two of you thanked the man and made your way back to the table and Jeno was right, Haechan did look like he wanted to murder San. Once his staring was getting too much, you kicked him under the table and he simply gave you an annoyed look before turning his attention back to your date, who was oblivious to the stares. Or at least pretended to be. 

Tired of Donghyuck´s attitude, you asked San if he wanted to dance and he was more than excited to stand up and offer you his hand like a real gentleman, before leading the way to the dancefloor. Sadly for you, the fancy ballroom didn´t offer any ass shaking music, but San being the dancer he was, had no trouble leading you in his arms. 

“I do have to say things are spinning a bit,” You laughed, commenting on your many drinks. 

“Yeah, I think that last Whiskey was a bit too much. Are there really that many chandeliers or am I seeing things doubled?” 

“I think both.” 

★ 

As expected, San didn´t rail you that night. But he did kiss you goodnight once he dropped you off at home and your heart was happy enough with that.  

Haechan also ignored you the week following the gala, you even tried sending him an invitation on Valorant when you saw he was online on Saturday but he never answered, same when you sent him a slightly offensive meme on Whatsapp, expecting him to offend you back.  

Well, guess you were living the dream.  

When the next weekend came around with no acknowledgment from Haechan, you figured he finally had enough of you and was over with your little frenemies routine, meaning the bet was also over. You were fine with that. What you weren´t fine with was with the fact that he got you used to having the best fucking orgasms of your life and now you were left high and dry.  

Life also wasn´t as much fun when you didn´t have anyone to try and beat at everything.  

So with no thoughts in mind, you put on your hottest outfit for group outing that night, even going as far as putting on the skirt Haechan always teased you about because you knew he liked it too much. You kind of expected him to not show up after icing you out for weeks, but there he was when you got to Jaemin´s house and he simply treated you as if absolutely nothing had happened. 

“Awn, wore this skirt for me?” He asked as soon as you sat down next to him on the couch.  

You were so surprised at him suddenly referring to you after weeks, that your eyes were wide when you asked, “You talking to me now?” 

“I was never not talking to you.” 

“Donghyuck, of course you were.” 

“Was not.” 

“Was too.” 

“Yeah?” He entertained; his face petulant. “And since when am I supposedly ignoring you?” 

“Since the gala with San, you-” 

“Oh, I see. You want me to be jealous so you´re projecting.” 

“That´s not- What in the gaslighting?” 

“Don´t worry, princess. I wasn´t ignoring you, was just busy.” 

“I saw you online when I was playing Valorant.” 

“Yeah, I saw your invitation. But you see, you´re just really bad and I was playing with the guys from college.”  

“So you two talking again?” Jaemin interrupted. 

“See?” You told Donghyuck as you pointed to your other friend to prove your point, downing a shot of tequila as frustration started to build up on you. 

“Just shut up and drink,” He rolled his eyes against his own shot glass. 

Well, guess you could say things were normal after all. 

“So, the bet,” Jisung brought up and everyone around the table groaned. “What? It was supposed to end like weeks ago, I kind of impulsively bought tickets to a Monster Truck show counting on that money!” 

“As if you would win,” Chenle attacked. “But he´s right, we really need to get this over with.” 

“We don´t need to do anything. Very easy for you to say when you´re involved nowhere near the actual completion of the bet.” 

“I could fuck you to end this already,” Chenle shrugged.  

“We´re doing it tonight, just shut the fuck up,” Donghyuck groaned, downing another shot of tequila. Yeah, he looked even more frustrated than you. 

“And how are we going to do this when you´re not even talking to me?” 

“Are you serious right now?” He looked murderously at you bringing the topic up again and you became small under his eyes. Since he started hitting on you, Haechan had stopped actually being rude and insulting you and you kind of missed him feeding your ego. Maybe you complained enough he stopped, maybe he didn´t want to fuck you that badly anymore -  

“Wait, are you dating the girl from the salon?” You asked when the possibility crossed your mind. “Because we´re not fucking if you´re da-” 

“What?” He looked at you like you were the world´s most stupid person. “Why would I- Oh, wait, so the bet is off in case one of us starts dating?” 

“Obviously?” 

“Guess you´ll have to tell your new boytoy you just lost your friends a lot of money.” 

“What? We´re not dating, we´re just – Oh, so you are jealous.” 

“I´m disappointed.” 

“At what?” You asked in disbelief, already swallowing another shot. You noticed Mark tried to say something, maybe stop the two of you from starting a fight, but you also noticed how he shut himself up before saying anything.  

“At how easy you just drop everything to get with some dude. I thought you were a worthy opponent -” 

“Donghyuck, this isn´t a game.” 

“No, this is a bet.” 

“Oh my god, just admit you have a star problem or something. Can´t handle not being the center of attention for a night? Is it too much for you? Go cry about it and leave everyone alone.” 

“Guys-” It was Jeno who tried this time but you were quick to shush him. 

“Not you acting like you didn´t came running the second I wasn´t down your neck.” 

“So you were ignoring me!” 

 "Yes I was fucking ignoring you. I don´t like you, I guessed that was established.” 

Wow. 

Yeah, you knew that. But it kind of stung now. 

A bit. 

“Is this some kind of foreplay?” Chenle asked. 

“Ask Y/N, I bet she´s getting off on this,” Haechan rolled his eyes, another shot finding its way down his throat.  

“Oh my god, chill. What got your panties in a twist?” You rolled your eyes too, more Tequila passing your lips because you couldn´t let Haechan drink more than you. 

“I can´t even tell if they´re really fighting or not anymore,” Mark raised his hand in defeat, a deep sigh leaving his lips.  

“You´re the one suddenly all sensitive. Homeboy didn´t fuck you good or are you just pmsing?” 

“You know what? Let´s go to the room and end this right now so I don´t have to put up with you ever again,” You half-suggested half-ordered. 

 No one said a word after that, noticing how Haechan was actually really mad. Jaemin didn´t even whine about you two using his room as you had expected he would as his friend stood up and made his way down the hall.  

“Wish me luck,” You rolled your eyes before downing another shot and following Donghyuck. 

When you got to Jaemin´s room, Haechan was already inside, so you quietly entered and closed the door behind you. You were thankful for Jaemin´s colorful lights because the blue room got you relatively calmer than you would be if you had to face the man in front of you in a normally lit room. 

“We´re not fucking until we have an adult conversation for once,” You informed, leaning your body against the door. 

“There´s nothing to talk about.” 

“Of course there is.” 

“I know we have this playing around thing but I´m really not in the mood.” 

“And I´m not in the mood to be fucked like this, so what´s wrong?” 

“Why do you need something to be wrong? It´s not like we ever treated each other well.” 

“Yeah, but you kind of did for the past weeks -” 

“Yeah, because I wanted to fuck you. Why? Did the princess fall in love?” Haechan gave you a fake pout. “I said you convinced me you were hot enough to fuck, not to date.” 

“I can assure you that´s not the case. I just don´t enjoy this whole childish act, we never liked each other but you don´t need to suddenly be a bitch about it.” 

“Guess I learned from the best.” 

“So you want to not fuck me anymore and call off the bet? Is that it?” 

“I guess. It wouldn´t really be fair now that we had someone else meddling in, would it?” 

“What the fuck are you even talking about, Donghyuck?”  

“I just wasn´t aware we were allowed to have sex with anyone else during the duration of the bet -” 

“Oh my god, you´re still talking about San – Oh. – Oh! Hold on! You´re mad because you were counting on me to be untouched and desperate or something so you could win the bet!” 

“Dear lord. I had you moaning like a whore around my fucking fingers and you think I need to count on something to get you anywhere? You really are stupid.” 

“Since you suddenly care about the integrity of this bet so much I will let you know that San hasn´t fucked me yet, so that´s all cleared. Now, if you could be a dear and go inform everyone you want to cancel everything so I can in fact go get railed by said man, I´d be really happy.” 

He answered everything you said by crossing his arms and scoffing, “As if.” 

“Oh I see how it is, wanna up the bet? See who gets me there faster? I bet my League account with all the legendary skins that San can beat you.” 

Well, that was enough to get Haechan practically throwing you against the door, a loud bang echoing through the apartment. You knew playing with his competitive nature would work. 

“Are you really that desperate for me to fuck you that you´re trying to get on my nerves?” He asked, voice more like a growl and face mere inches apart from yours. 

“You´re not the only attention whore in town,” you teased.  

“I told you all you had to do was ask, baby,” He smirked before smashing his lips into yours. 

Excited that this was finally happening and with the few shots in your system, you were more than happy to return the enthusiasm, hands now finding their familiar place in his hair as he pressed you harder against the door. As always, Haechan´s lips had you whining for more in no time, his hand expertly exploring your body as if you had no more time left in the world.  

Oh, right.  

The bet. 

“Get on the bed,” He rasped out after he felt you starting to grind against him.  

“You´re making me do all the work?” You teased, just wanting to be annoying. 

He stopped and stared you down in silence, thumb finding its way to your lips as he watched your face lost deep in thoughts, something in his eyes started to crumble down and it got your anxiety to start coming out. Not wanting to give him the time to process whatever he was trying to, your mouth engulfed his finger as you sucked on it. A smirk filled your face as you saw the way Haechan´s jaw clenched at the action, so you gently bit his thumb before letting it go. At least your distraction plan seemed to work out. 

“Honestly, fuck you,” the man sighed but his words had no bite as his lips found yours once again. You were so distracted by his tongue inside your mouth that you almost jumped when you felt him slowly slide the straps of your top down your shoulders. The sudden change of speed getting your brain to malfunction.  

Now, you were not generally sensitive around your boobs but there was just something that happened to you whenever it was Haechan touching your skin that had your back arching when his fingers accidentally brushed against your nipples when he was dragging your top down, goosebumps erupted up your body in a single second. A weak moan left your lips at the surprising feeling and the man answered it by rubbing the pad of his thumb over your right nipple, his tongue in your mouth not doing much to keep your noises inside at the way your core violently clenched around nothing.  

Donghyuck´s lips left yours to find their place on your neck, where he left wet hot kisses while you did your best to not squirm under him. The man made his way down your shoulders, to your collarbones, the top of your boobs until his soft lips found your nipples too - He looked up at you so smugly once you hissed at the sensation of his tongue circling the left one.   

You kind of found a new appreciation for his insufferable cocky face. 

“The timer,” You managed to breathe out, voice shaky.  

“Go ahead baby, I trust you with that chore.” 

An annoyed whine left your lips because honestly, you were not in the right headspace to be given any tasks - But as Donghyuck´s fingers dug into your waist to hold you still as he left marks on your boobs, you managed to get your trembling hand inside your pocket and get your phone out.  

“Don´t start it until I tell you to,” He ordered, looking up at you before dropping down to his knees and honestly, the view was enough to keep you from arguing. He could win the bet for all you cared. 

The man in front of you unbuttoned your shorts and gently pulled them down your legs, kissing up your thighs when he made his way back up. Your whole body was shivering as he approached where you were pulsing and you violently shook as he left a kiss right on your center over your lacy panties, his hot breath against your wet skin forcing a moan out of you.  

You hated that your body could simply not react normally to this man.  

Your knuckles were white from gripping your phone so tightly as he licked and kissed you slowly over your panties like he had nothing else to do for the rest of his life, it was hard keeping your moans inside and he didn´t even really touch you yet.  

“Donghyuck-”  

“Yes?” His eyes met yours from between your legs and you seriously wanted to scream.  

“Do something, please,” Your voice sounded so broken. 

The man chuckled at the way you dropped your attitude so fast, “Well, since you asked so prettily.” 

His fingers found the seat of your underwear, dragging it to the side as his face approached your core once again, now with nothing in the way. 

“I´ve been wanting to do this for a long time.” 

“Then fucking get to it,” You whined, the back of your head hitting the door in frustration. You hadn´t completely forgotten the bet was supposed to include no foreplay, but you were so desperate to feel his mouth on you that you could make an exception.  

Another low chuckle left his mouth before he got straight into work. If you thought his fingers were magic, you didn´t even know how to begin describing his lips.  

“Oh my fucking god,” You moaned, not even sure you had said it out loud or the words were just repeating themselves over and over inside your head. 

He kissed your clit, sucked on it and his tongue lavished you and all you could do was try your best to hold your sounds in because your friends were right outside and they didn´t deserve the show. Your free hand found its place tangled in Haechan´s hair and the whimper he let out at the way you tugged on it got you almost reaching the edge. 

He fucking whimpered.  

A high whiny breathy groan. 

That man was going to be de death of you. 

You were about to stop him, push him away because you were already so close, but he could probably already guess that by the way your body was twitching and you were pulling harder on his hair, so he leaned away after a final chaste kiss to your clit. He cleaned his face with the back of his hand as he looked up at you, appreciating the view of your semi-wrecked form. 

Donghyuck on his knees was such a pretty sight.  

“Get on the bed and start the timer.” 

Your legs were wobbly but you obeyed this time, eager to finally get fucked -  

Yeah, you were excited to be fucked by Donghyuck, so what? It was about time you accepted defeat and indulged a bit in your sexual taboos - Haechan himself being most of them.  

You sat down on the edge of the bed, not trusting your voice to ask how he wanted you. Also, this was his part of the bet, he would have to work for it for all you cared. You pressed START on the timer and tossed your phone away somewhere under the pillows, watching as the man approached you.  

“It´s annoying,” He said once he stood between your legs, his hand holding your jaw to tip your head up so you were forced to look him in the eyes. 

“What is?” 

“How hot you are.” 

“The timer is running.” 

“And?” 

“Hyuck-” 

“Are you going to start dating San?” 

“Do you really wanna talk about this now? Donghyuck, why-” 

“Maybe I really was jealous.” 

“What?” 

“I didn´t like seeing you with him. At the time I blamed my ego or whatever, but now thinking about you with him it´s making me mad - I mean, maybe it is my ego.” 

“Are you thinking about another man when you´re supposed to be fucking me?” 

“Can you shut up for a second?” 

“Is this your idea of a confession?” 

“No, Y/N. I´m not saying I´m in love with you, I´m just saying I realized I was jealous and I´m not sure why.” 

“Ok, can you figure that out after you finish fucking me, please?” 

“Eager?” 

“Yes, actually.” 

“I´m so hard.” 

“A romantic,” You roll your eyes. 

“No, it´s just- You have a weird effect on me.” 

“I- I know. I feel it too.” 

“Nah, I´m just that good.” 

“Ok, I take it back.” 

“I´m clearly joking.” 

“You´re clearly being annoying.” 

“Shut up.” 

“Come do it.” 

And so he did. Donghyuck bent over and his lips found yours once again as he gently pushed you back down onto the mattress and climbed on top of you. You wasted no time wrapping your hands around his neck to try and pull him impossibly closer, your fingers once again tangling themselves into the hair in the back of his neck and tugging at them. The way his hips automatically rutted against yours in reaction made your vision blurry. Man was not kidding when he said he was really hard.  

“Like hair pulling, huh?” You teased once the two of you let go of each other to try and catch your breath for a second.  

“You should try and choke me a bit if you´re curious,” He winked at you playfully.  

“You for real?” You really tried teasing him, but you´re the one who ended up choking around nothing and looking at him like he hung up all of the starts in the sky himself. 

He didn´t answer you, his lips catching yours as his hands found the hem of your panties, pulling them down your legs the best he could without breaking the kiss, which was not hard considering you were eager to help.  Ha, who would have guessed. 

You felt Donghyuck fitting himself between your legs once again, his whole weight supported by his left hand as he snaked his right hand in between your bodies. You felt his fingers circling your clit and you whined, trying to push him away, “Hyuck, no. I´m already clo-” 

“Just let me stretch you out a bit,” He explained, his same finger now finding its way inside you. Now, that´s something you had already experienced a few times before, but every time Haechan had his fingers slowly pumping inside of you, it felt like the first time all over again.  

“Oh, dear lord,” You whined, trying to hold back your orgasm because that would be simply humiliating.  

“I could literally cum just because of the way you keep clenching around my finger.” 

“I´m close-”  

“I know, baby. I can feel it. But you can hold it in for me, right? I want you to cum on my cock.” 

“Fuck. Donghyuck-” 

“Yes, princess?” 

“If you don´t add another finger right now-” 

“Anything you ask,” He smiled down at you, complying with your request - which you immediately regretted because if one of his fingers was already too much, you were definitely not prepared for two. Your nails dug into the skin of his arms without you even realizing, but you needed something to ground yourself. He was fingering you so slowly and yet you wanted to scream at how good the drag along your walls felt.  

When he judged you were ready, he retracted his fingers and you breathed out in relief, finally not having to use your full mental capacity to focus on not cumming.  

“We should go on a date sometime,” He stated in a matter-of-fact tone, like you were discussing the weather on a nice little walk. 

“Lee Donghyuck, what are you-” It was hard talking when you were still trying to catch your breath.  

“Indulge me.” 

“You´re not helping yourself win the bet.” 

“I don´t give a fuck about the bet, I´m already happy proving you wrong.” 

“And how are you doing that?” You knew the answer to that question, but you wanted to hear him say it.  

“Because baby,” He paused to give you a soft kiss on the lips, " this exact moment, we´re chatting to give you a break since you can´t even handle being fucked just from my fingers inside of you.”  

Touché. 

Maybe you loved his voice, especially when saying lewd things.  

“You´re not so much better,” You rolled your eyes, squeezing the bulge in his pants and earning a groan in response. “Now, can you please undress?” 

“Undress? How fancy,” He laughed, but his hands were already undoing his belt. 

“Do you always talk this much during sex? Maybe we should gag you.” 

“Careful with your promises, I might come demand their fulfillment.”  

“Just fuck me, Donghyuck.” 

“Never wanted anything more,” He smirked after he finished taking his pants off. 

He kissed you once again, but you were quick to break away, sitting up to pull at the hem of his shirt and he complied, raising his arms so you could take it off.  You pulled Haechan closer, kissing down his neck and ecstatic with the little whines he let out, especially as you started lowering the kisses to his chest. His skin felt burning hot against your lips and you wanted to stay there forever.  

It came as a surprise when he grabbed onto your waist and manhandled you, spinning you around, so you were now with your back pressed to his chest. His hand found your neck to hold your head as he chuckled darkly right against your ear, “I appreciate the attempt, but today I´m in charge.” 

You moaned as he used his knee to force your legs open, his hand leaving your throat to push your back down the mattress. You didn´t even have time to react or support yourself with your arms, your left cheek meeting the bed sheets as you felt the tip of his cock against your entrance.  

You pushed your hips back without even realizing, just wanting Donghyuck inside of you once and for all. But to no one´s surprise, it was just teasing you that he wanted. 

“You´re so fucking wet,” He marveled, rubbing his tip up and down your folds. “Just like you always are for me.” 

You wanted to retort, but you also wanted his dick inside of you – today, preferably. So you just whined impatiently and arched your hips a bit more, “Donghyuck!” 

“Beg.” 

“No.” 

“I want to hear the high oh mighty miss I´m-always-right begging for me to fuck her.” 

“Please.” 

“Not good enough.” 

“Donghyuck, please fuck me. You won ok? I need you. I don´t care. Just please, fuck me,” You could seriously cry.  

Maybe you weren´t used to not getting things your way. 

“Tell me you´re mine.” 

“Am I?” 

“Yes, but I need you to know it.” 

“Fuck me well and I might be.” 

“Good answer.” 

You could tell he was smirking as he finally slid inside of you.  

“Oh god,” You moaned. You had been waiting for this for months! 

“You can call me Haechan.” 

“You´re not as funny as you think you are,” You breathed out, your hands gripping onto the bed sheets as he waited for you to adjust for a second.  

“Maybe, but I am about to give you the fuck of your life.” 

“Why are you still talki-” 

Donghyuck didn´t let you finish the sentence, his hand that was caressing your lower back now grabbed onto your waist for support as he took his dick out before pushing it back in. He took absolutely no time to find a rhythm that drove you crazy, and as expected from mister tease himself, it was a slow one, but with that, you could feel every single vein and piece of skin dragging against your walls, every single pulse and twitch of his cock. 

“Fuck,” You moaned, closing your eyes harshly to try and focus on something other than the way the man you hated was about to make you cum in approximately 20 seconds just from teasing. 

“I´ve been imagining fucking you for years,” Haechan groaned. 

“Then fucking do it properly,” You cursed between gritted teeth, sentence interrupted by a gasp when his cock hit something inside of you that had you involuntarily clenching around him.  

“You can´t take it.” 

He was probably right, but you wanted him to anyways. 

“Maybe you just can´t do it.” 

Haechan´s answer was a laugh; his movements didn’t stop as you felt something grabbing your hair and pulling you up, your back once again against his chest, “I wanted to have my fun, but I guess that´s not something you´re familiar with.” 

His movements then sped up, his right hand finding your clit and rubbing circles on it and his other hand moved to your favorite place, your neck.  

He was absolutely right. You couldn’t take it.  

You were pretty sure you were being loud, but you couldn´t even be sure because your mind was in another dimension.  

“Happy now, princess?” He groaned against your ear from the effort of how he was harshly fucking into you.  

“Yes, oh my god. Don´t stop – Ah-  I´m so close.” 

Your body was shaking at this point, you threw your right arm back to latch onto Haechan´s hair for any sense of stability as you felt everything beginning to turn white.  

“I thought you would put more of a fight,” His hand around your neck tightened. “But I love seeing you like this, so no complaints.”  

You heard his voice but his words didn´t register, leaving your mind as soon as they entered because you were so so close.  

“Tell me you´re mine.” 

“I´m yours.” 

“This pussy is mine, only mine.” 

“Only yours.” 

“Good girl.” 

Never in a million years did you think you would let Lee Donghyuck say those words to you, and never in a million years did you think those exact words would trigger the most earth-shattering orgasm of your life. 

“Oh fuck, oh my god. Hyuck”-   

He didn´t let up, fucking you all throughout as you were moaning and twitching, his fingers never losing speed against your clit, his groans from the way you kept squeezing around him were enough to almost give you another orgasm back-to-back as he let your cheek gently hit the mattress once again.  

“If you keep calling me that I might cum soon too.” 

You didn't even mind the overstimulation, your ears were still ringing, you were still gasping for air but he didn´t stop, in fact, he only begin fucking you harder. Another high started building up and you weren´t even done with the first yet.  

You barely registered when he pulled out for a second to flip you around, finding his place in between your legs once again, which you automatically wrapped around his hips as he pounded into you.  

“Fuck,” He groaned, looking into your eyes. Sweat was running down his forehead and neck and you so desperately wanted to pull him closer and lick it. “Maybe I was jealous, can´t stand the thought of someone else seeing how pretty you look like this.” 

“Hyuck.” 

“I want to ruin you for any other man. Fuck, you feel so good.” 

He was close too, you could feel his cock twitching inside of you and how he lost control once every few thrusts. Your nails scratched his back enough to draw blood but he seemed to enjoy it, his head dropping down your neck and a whine leaving his lips. The vibration against your skin got goosebumps erupting once again all over your body and you felt yourself at the edge again.  

You stopped caring your friends were right outside about 10 minutes ago and Donghyuck just never did - Oh, right. He probably wanted Jeno to hear it all.  

“Hyuck, ah- I´m close.” 

“Me too, baby.” 

You didn´t think it was possible for him to go any faster, but he did. Now supporting his weight on his two arms, Donghyuck drilled into you and his lips met your neck, leaving wet kisses and sucking on it to leave as many bruises as possible.  

Man really had a possession problem. 

You couldn´t take it anymore, as the man bit a particular spot on the side of your neck, you closed your eyes and let it hit you. No man had ever been able to make you cum just from penetration alone and your world was suddenly turned upside down with your second orgasm of the night. Donghyuck probably did manage to ruin you for any other man.  

Fuck him. 

With your body spasms and the way your walls started clenching when you came, Donghyuck followed right along with you. He had his eyes closed, eyebrows furrowed as moans left his pretty lips - Haechan was insufferable but he was also the hottest man in the world, you were going a bit crazy.  

You felt warmness hitting your insides as he slowly stopped his motions and started trying to catch his breath. You watched with hazy eyes as his chest stopped heaving and he opened his eyes to stare right back at you. 

“Hello beautiful,” You smiled at him, breathing somewhat closer to normal even if you were still shivering.  

“I figured it out,” He smiled back at you.  

“You´re still inside of me.” 

“And I plan on being for a long time.” 

“Is that a threat?” 

“I want you to go out with me.” 

“Awn, someone has a crush.” 

“Maybe. Let´s have a date and figure it out,” He shrugged. “Maybe we will end up killing each other, maybe we will end up boyfriend and girlfriend, maybe we will end up fucking – No, we´re definitely fucking either way-” 

“You just want to keep staring at my boobs.” 

“That too.” 

“And you´re still inside of me.” 

“You never said yes.” 

“We´ve known each other for many years, Donghyuck. What makes you think we will start liking each other now?” 

“I guess I already like you and even when hating each other we still had fun, you get me, I get you. Let´s not overcomplicate it.” 

“Ok, let´s give it a try.” 

“You just want me to fuck you again,” He joked. 

“That too,” You smiled. 

★ 

“Oh, fuck.” 

“What´s wrong?” Donghyuck asked worriedly, tightening his belt after the shower you took. 

“The timer.” 

“Oh, yeah. Was too lazy to turn it off,” He shrugged. 

“But the bet-” 

“I told you I didn´t care about the bet.” 

“That´s because I won.” 

“That´s because I let you win.” 

“So you´re just giving me your stuff like that?” 

“Nop, because many rules were broken and that makes the bet invalid.” 

“I never agreed to that.” 

“So you really want my computer? Yours is perfectly fine, I know it because I´m the one who assembled it!” 

“No, but I do want your hoodie.” 

Donghyuck stared at you in silence long enough to make you uncomfortable before shrugging, “Fine, as long as I can fuck you in it. Now go outside and tell our dear friends the bet was canceled.” 

“Shouldn´t we just lie? I kind of feel bad for Jisung.” 

“If I agree, I get to choose where to go on our first date.” 

“Let me guess, your bed?” 

“What do you take me for?” He fake gasped. 

“Do you really want me to answer that? Because then I don´t think there will be a first date.”  

“Look who´s all mouthy now, not only 15 minutes ago you were-” 

“Don´t you dare.” 

“Oh, I dare.” 

“Just give me your hoodie and shut up.” 

“You´ll go out wearing it.” 

“What- Why?” 

“I want Jeno to see it.” 

“To see that I won the bet?” 

“No, that you´re mi- You know what I mean! Must you always be so annoying?” 

“You´re the one begging me for a date.” 

“Don´t complain if I end up making you sit down and watch all of the Fast and Furious movies.”  

“That would still be more pleasant than having a conversation with you.” 

“You know what? Then I´m taking you to a fancy restaurant and forcing you to look at me all nnight.” 

“It´s a nice view,” You smiled, calling a truce for the time being.

Donghyuck accepted the white flag and smiled back.  

Maybe this could work out. 

[izzytheloser12]

~~~~ More kaishin incorrect quotes~~~~

*kaito trying to flirt with Shinichi*

Kaito: Dom or sub?

Shinichi: I guess Domino's, since I don't go to Subway that much. Don't see why you'd put them in the same category though.

~~~~~~

Kaito: You look good in that hoodie.

Shinichi: You know where else I'd look good?

Kaito, zero hesitation: My bed.

Shinichi, at the same time: By your side- wait, what?

~~~~~~~

Shinichi: Hey, wanna take a shower with me?

Kaito: I have a gun in that nightstand beside the bed. If I ever say no to that question, I want you to take it out and shot me because I’ve obviously gone crazy.

Shinichi: WHAT

~~~~~~~~

Shinichi: *Holding up a pack of pencils* These are kinda cute.

Kaito: Shinichi, that’s gay.

Shinichi: We’ve been dating for 2 years—

~~~~~~~~

*kaito trying to flirt with Shinichi part 2*

Kaito: I like your new pants!

Shinichi: Thanks, they were 50% off!

Kaito: I’d like them better if they were 100% off. *winks*

Shinichi: The store can’t just give away clothes for free.

Kaito: Thats’s… not what I meant.

Shinichi: That’s a terrible way to run a business, Kaito.

~~~~~~~

Shinichi: You know, Kaito, when you generalize, you tell general... lies.

Kaito: ...

Kaito: Are you trying to teach me moral lessons through puns.

~~~~~~~~~~

Kaito: Shinichi, why are you crying?

Shinichi: This book is so sad!!

Kaito, picking it up: But this is my diary-

Shinichi: your life is really sad kaito

~~~~~~~~~~

Kaito: I want to be with you for the rest of my life.

Shinichi: Damn, that sounds like a marriage proposal.

Kaito, getting down on one knee: That's 'cause it is.

~~~~~~~~

Shinichi: Ugh, crushes are so dumb.

Kaito: I know. Whenever I’m near the person I like I just start acting stupid.

Shinichi: But you’re always acting stupid?

Kaito: ...

Kaito: Yeah, don’t think about that too hard.

~~~~~~~~~~

Shinichi: Did it hurt when you fell-

Kaito: From heaven? Wow, I didn’t think you were such a flirt-

Shinichi: No, I meant when you fell down the stairs.

Kaito: ...

Shinichi: You just laid there for 15 minutes.

~~~~~~~~~~

Kaito: We should get you to a doctor for a check up immediately. What if it happens again, and there isn’t anyone around to help you? What if it’s congenital? Oh my God! Was it me? Did I hurt you?

Shinichi: …You realize any other person that made their partner pass out in bed would simply feel really proud of themselves, right?

~~~~~~~~

Shinichi: Bonjour, Kaito. Voulez–vous coucher avec moi?

Kaito: No, I don't want to sleep with you.

Shinichi: Is that what that means? Oh, man, I had a really gross tennis instructor.

Kaito: WHAT

~~~~~~~

Shinichi: I truly go into housewife mode when I'm someone's soulmate- like, I'll make you pancakes and bacon every morning.

Kaito: This is a lie.

Kaito: I'm literally dating him. This is a lie.

Kaito: HE DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO COOK A PANCAKE, WHAT IS THIS.

~~~~~~~~~~

Shinichi: I'm at a loss for words!

Kaito: Despite being ‘at a loss for words’, Shinichi yelled at me for the next 45 minutes.

~~~~~~~~

Kaito: Why are you like this??

Shinichi: I used too much "No More Tears" shampoo as a kid and I haven't felt a single emotion since.

~~~~~~

Kaito, singing: He's making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who's on thin fucking ice

Shinichi, also singing: Santa Claus is calling you out!

~~~~~~

Shinichi: When you said 'Magic in Bed', I wasn't expecting this...

Kaito: *pulls out card from deck* Now, was this your card?

Shinichi: Holy shit-

~~~~~~

Kaito: Shinichi and I are no longer dating.

Shinichi: Kaito, that’s a horrible way of telling people we’re married.

[bobeni]

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✶ users! › denji, m!reader.

✶ synopsis! › it could no longer be simply considered a coincidence; with how denji always seemed to pop up at the same time, at the same little store, just to see you.

✶ wrdcnt! › 1,586.

✶ cw’s! › fluff, possible ooc here we go, simp denji, trio stuff in the beginning, this is probably unnecessarily long lmao. i used they/them for the reader for one line, btw.

“Aw crap, we’re out of cereal and milk again! I’ma head out to the store to get some more!” Denji shouted as he zipped past two lazy bodies to the front door, snatching his hoodie off the rack with poorly disguised eagerness.

Aki sighed, looking up from the creased daily newspaper. “Again? That’s the third time this month.” His orbs followed Denji’s haste movements to shrug on the clothing.

The blond barely spared him a glance as he tried to fix his bedhead, “Yeah, yeah, I know, right? It’s bogus how Power keeps eating it all.” He feigned understanding just as said girl squawked at the blame now delivered to her shoulders. “What the fuck? I haven’t even touched the cereal since two weeks ago!” She yelled, mouth full of her breakfast, unfortunately it was just amalgamation of bacon and eggs.

“Ya can’t fool me, Powy, I know you sneak around in the middle of night, scarfing that shit down.” The gobsmacked look on blonde’s face was one Denji could remember for centuries.

“You bi一” as she was prepared to scream her indignation, she was stopped in her tracks by Aki’s agitated groan, followed by Denji’s so-called reassurance.

“Don’t worry, though,” the boy flicked the lock open, stepping an inch outside the apartment with every syllable. “I’ll make sure to replenish your stash, so don’t wait up!” Denji grinned at that last part, officially saying his leave to the both of them, the door narrowly missing his behind with how fast he tried to shut it.

With the boy off and out, Aki’s eyes lingered on the door. But they began to narrow in suspicion, prompting him to rise from the coach and walk into the kitchen for further investigation.

However, his investigation ended as soon as it started. The man found not just one, but several boxes of cereal, moderately filled. As well as the milk, as far back in fridge as it was, half full. This made his face scrunch up in confusion as he shut the fridge and leaned against it to turn his attention to Power一who now had a lap full of Meowy, clearly had to have been ruffled by the morning ruckus and sauntered out of their bedroom.

“Power,” Aki started. She nodded in his direction, still stuffing her face. “We’re still good on breakfast一he’s not just ‘going to the store,’ is he?” He wondered aloud, sighing at the thought of Denji pulling some shit.

“Yes, see!” she jabbed a finger in the air, “He’s up to something. Something... I can assume is very stupid.” Then Power just pets a purring Meowy as Aki shakes his head at it all.

Geez, that was close, Denji thought as he strolled down the sidewalk. It was getting real tiring having to think excuses pertaining to various foods they did or didn’t have. Many apologies and more to his family, but he couldn’t let them know the reason why he had those excuses for where he was going一especially not Power, god, he’d probably never hear the end of it.

Oh, what was the reason exactly?

He has a crush.

That’s right, the reason why he began waking up early in the morning and trying to make sure not a single hair was out of place一well, in his own unique way一was because someone is after Denji’s heart. And he’d so let them take it if they pleased.

One day when it was actually his duty to do some shopping, at this little grocery store a few blocks down from his apartment, is where he met you.

He was only there to gather the items on the short list that Aki handed over to him that morning, but when you stepped up next to him while he was eying two freaky looking fish, and the shy offer for assistance flew out of your mouth, he found himself a bit touched.

“But you don’t even work here, though?” was what he said back then, now eying you.

“Do I have to work here in order to help out some clearly indecisive guy?” The little chuckle that you ended your rebuttal with was unfortunately cute enough that it made his heart jump in his chest. When you leaned over to help him pick the better fish, his heart was absolutely drumming at how close you were and how easily his hand could slip into yours.

He didn’t say a single word of complaint when you offered to help him finish up his shopping; he just let his cheeks burn a bright pink while he trailed behind you with two baskets and hearts for eyes.

After that day, every other week or so he’d pop up at the store, yearning to see you, while also juggling his best attempts to make his appearances look normal and coincidental.

It was a flawless plan in his mind. Every day you two seemed to be getting closer and closer; then soon, he couldn’t deny the hope that lingered.

Even if it should’ve been embarrassing一considering how easily he fell for you after only meeting a handful of times. But he couldn’t really find it in himself to give a fuck.

Denji smiled proudly, maybe he could finally get to do all the things couples do with you.

Meanwhile the blond was gushing, it didn't occur to him that had already arrived at the store until he heard that familiar bell’s jingle giving him the signal.

Then he let his eyes wander, searching the store trying to pick you out of the bustling crowd of shoppers. He stumbled upon right when he almost missed you; you were crouched down by a vending machine, mashing away at the buttons.

With a little bit of pep in his step, he made a b-line for you.

“Good mornin’, [name].” Denji jostled the keys in his pocket when he tried to wave. You looked up at the approach and softly smiled at him. “Hi there, Denji. You doing some shopping again?” you made casual conversation as you were inserting money into the slot. Pink dusted his cheeks as he immediately responded with no, in his head. But in real life he stuck with a shy confirmation and told you that he just needed some cereal.

But as you were prepared to say something else, you were interrupted by two bags of chips spilling out of the bottom.

“Holy shit, what did you do?” Denji was cackling at the surprise you exuded.

“I don’t even fucking know,” you chuckled, pushing yourself up from the ground. “But how perfect is this?” the smile on your face was too warm, too soft, he almost ignored the next words that came out of your mouth.

“One for me, and one for you, Denji.”

You held out a bag for him and he stared in disbelief.

“You’re... gonna share with me?” He hesitantly reached for the bag, awaiting your next answer.

Still smiling you told him exactly what he wanted to hear, “I’ll always split stuff with people I like. Obviously.”

Obviously, you said. You also said that he’s one of the people you like. Obviously.

He was so glad it was obvious to you because he clearly missed a chapter or two一but he didn’t care, this was what he was hoping for the entire time. Maybe he’s got it.

“[Name]...” Denji called as you were already munching on your bag of chips. You immediately caught his eye, humming as you wait for the moment the boy was ready to speak.

“I... I just want ya to know that I really, really like you.” The blond laid his heart out on the table. “And I wanna date you and一nd take you out someday...?” He squeezed his eyes shut and focused on the chatter of civilians the longer you kept quiet. And he was actually so ready to bolt out of the store right about now if this goes down a road he hadn’t hoped for.

But there you go, exceeding his expectations again.

“I know,” is what you said.

Denji’s eyes snapped open at that and you laughed at the shock written all over his face.

“You know? Wha一Whaddya mean you knew?” Because of the shock, Denji’s voice also was getting louder so you took his hand and led him outside to avoid any suspicious eyes. Though you were laughing along the way, Denji was angry pouting as he tried to shush you.

Calming down a bit, you stuttered out apologies before confessing. “I’m sorry, Denji, but it’s not like you tried to hide it or anything一” his mouth fell open. “I coulda sworn I was being subtle!” That was one of his most natural build ups for a confession, like, ever.

“You have the subtlety of a puppy,” you covered your face as you snort. “But that’s okay because it’s one of the things I like about you.” He flushed red underneath your teasing gaze.

“So... ya really do like me then?” Denji didn’t take his eyes off of you this time. This new smile of yours formed cute little crinkles around your eyes and he thinks it’s one of his favorites.

“If I say yes, would you be my boyfriend?” The sly question had Denji’s heart doing flips. He’d love nothing more than to wear the title of your boyfriend and to have you as his.

So he answered with a kiss.

✶ notes! › i actually completed this holy mf shit i did not have hope. i still think it’s literally too long for my original plan but whatever i’m kinda happy with what i came up with.

[nerdpoe]

TWINcognito mode part 2 (Tim and Danny Pretend to be Twins AU)

Part 1, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, AO3

“And you’re absolutely certain that this is my universe?” Bruce asked again, causing Flash to let out a loud groan as he turned around to pace the BatCave.

“Yes, I’ve checked you over and over again. Did you trigger some sort of event when you went back in time? Yes. Is this your universe? Also yes! Look, whatever changed wasn’t that big of a deal-”

“-I consider my children rather important, Flash.”

Flash froze, a look of horror briefly crossing his face.

“No. No, is one of them no longer-?”

“I didn’t lose any children,” Bruce reassured Flash, “But I appear to have gained one. Red Robin has a…twin. That twin most certainly did not exist when I left.”

Flash frowned, tilting his head.

“Huh. Well, congratulations on the new kid.”

They stared blankly at each other.

“And you’re sure-?”

“Yes!”

~~~~~~

“Ah, so Ti-Da-son, I-uh. How…how’s that case going?”

Tim turned, half out of his Red Robin suit and tired.

“It’s…fine?”

“I see. That’s good. How is your…how are you?”

Tim narrowed his eyes, and even Damian joined in to stare at Bruce, both of their noses wrinkling in confusion.

“Bruce, are you-?”

“Father, are you having a stroke?”

Bruce turned around, all rough edges as he marched to the batcomputer.

“Nevermind. Carry on.”

~~~~~~

“What the fuck are you doing here, Replacement?”

Tim raised an eyebrow and lifted up the ground coffee he was holding.

“Shopping?”

Jason snarled, and some of the other shoppers moved away.

“You know better than to-”

“When did you tell me not to come here?”

Jason froze, shock temporarily wiping emotion from his face.

“When did I-? Ages ago! What, did you forget?”

Tim shook his head slowly.

“No Jason, you told Tim not to come here. When did you ever tell me?”

“What the absolute hell is that supposed to mean?”

Tim sighed, Disappointment etched into his face; the little shit was clearly being condescending on purpose. Jason felt like punching something. Probably the punk in front of him. What was this third person bullshit?

“How many years, and you still can’t tell? I swear, I’m just gonna stop responding when you mess up.”

“And I reiterate; what does that mean?” Jason cried, throwing up his arms. 

Tim ignored him and walked to the checkout.

“Don’t you walk away from me! Hey! Pretender! Get back here!”

~~~~~~

Bruce stared at Tim. Daniel. One of them. Only one of them ever showed up for Brunch, and currently Bruce wasn’t sure who’s turn it was. He was also certain that all of his children just automatically assumed it was Tim every time, like Daniel didn’t exist. 

He was starting to suspect that whatever he’d done, his family maintained knowledge of how the universe used to be and were almost wholly unaware of Daniel. He’d have to hold a family meeting and explain it to them, but he refused to let Daniel feel like he was worth any less than any of his siblings.

It didn’t help that apparently, Daniel and Tim refused to be seen together. From the files he’d pulled, it was probably a leftover habit from Jack and Janet Drake hiding the twin with the meta powers. Daniel had a listed incident of blasting a hole in the wall when he was six, and from there his parents had elected to avoid potential embarrassment by just…not including him.

And apparently, to Daniel and Tim at least, Bruce had done nothing to dissuade that. He had to change that, but he wasn’t sure how to address it without letting Daniel know that he just…hadn’t existed until Bruce came back.

The twin at the table stole Dick’s bacon and just ate it without a word. From what Bruce could tell from his few interactions with Daniel, the boy loved puns. 

So given the silence, he was fairly confident that this one was Tim.

“So, Tim,” he started, interrupting another argument between his children, “You do know that all of my children are welcome here, right?”

The table fell quiet as every single person there turned to stare at him like he was mad.

“...Is this because I broke Damian’s favorite paintbrush? Because I swear I wasn’t trying to establish dominance and kick him out of his own home. Unlike some people.”

“You did what?!”

Bruce leaned forward and buried his head in his hands, letting the noises of the table wash over him.

The family meeting could wait; he’d have to spell it out to Daniel himself.

~~~~~~

Dick knocked on the door to Tim’s penthouse. They hadn’t hung out in awhile, and he still felt bad about the whole…Robin thing.

It hadn’t been fun when it had been taken away from him, and he could have at least been a bit gentler in easing Tim into the loss.

Tim answered the door, bleary eyed and tousled hair a testament to the bed he had just walked away from.

“...Dick?” he asked, voice rough.

“Hey Baby Bird! Mind if I come in?” Dick held up his package; donuts from Tim’s favorite place and coffee from his other favorite place. “I thought maybe we could hang out!”

Tim stared at him, then shrugged and opened the door all the way.

“Sure, let me get him.”

Dick was left standing in the entryway, bewildered, as Tim disappeared down the hallway to his own room.

Dick was still bewildered when Tim walked back out of his room, still in his pajamas, but with a different shirt.

“Coffee?” his little brother asked, reaching out eagerly.

“Uh, sure?”

There was no further movement in the penthouse. Was Tim suffering a mental break?

Dick made a mental note to check in on Tim more often.

~~~~~~

Duke stared at Not-Tim.

Not-Tim stared back.

“Can I help you or…?”

Duke squinted at Not-Tim.

Not-Tim was a bright void, for all that the description negated itself. Lazarus green danced along the edges, but ultimately it was a bright, luminescent void.

“Are you…a meta?” Duke asked, trying to figure it out. Maybe this was a shapeshifter friend of Tim’s?

Not-Tim smiled, an out of place one that didn’t fit on Tim’s face.

“I am, yes.”

“...But?” Duke prompted, sensing that the sentence wasn’t finished.

Not-Tim leaned in close, a mischievous smirk replacing the smile.

“My twin isn’t,” Not-Tim whispered, handing Duke a drivers license for one Daniel Janus Drake-Wayne.

Oh. 

Oh!

“Wait, where have you-?” Duke whispered, leaning in closer.

“Ra’s was very interested in Tim 2.0, but I’m not the detective my brother is, so he was actually pretty disappointed. I got the information I needed and left; I really only just got back.”

That made so much more sense! That was why Ra’s was so obsessed!

“Have you told the family you’re back yet?” Duke asked, wondering if everyone was even aware that Daniel was alive.

“We never told them we were twins. It started as a joke, only ever being here one at a time. Now we’re just seeing how long it takes for everyone to realize without outright showing them. You’re the fourth; according to Barbara, that makes you have a passing grade of 80.”

“Can I help?” Duke hissed, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one was listening in.

Daniel (Danny? That seemed to fit better.) laughed.

~~~~~~

“Well?” Damian asked, glaring at the back of Drake’s head as the fool showed his back to the enemy.

The Imposter didn’t even turn around.

“Well?” Damian repeated, gritting his teeth.

“Well what, Damian?”

“You have yet to call me that degrading name. Have you reconsidered utilizing it? I must know now lest I be constantly waiting for that foul name to leave your-”

“What name, el-witwaat?”

Damian felt himself stiffen. The last time he had heard that name had been from his last nanny, and his mother had made sure that it was the last thing that ever left the woman’s mouth. It was…cute. To hear it and know it referred to him was a stain on his honor.

Damian was not cute. He was a formidable warrior.

He needed to be prepared if Drake was going to utilize psychological warfare and-

“It isn’t my nickname for you, though.” Drake said, typing away at his laptop. Damian fought the urge to obliterate the machine. He was making no sense, and Drake knew it.

“On the plane, you insisted to Thomas that you were the only one to call me that atrocity.”

Instead of acknowledging it, Drake only made an irritated huff and shut the laptop, standing up to leave.

“Yeah, he said that it was his nickname for you. Not me.”

Damian trailed after Drake as his older…predecessor left.

“I do not understand why you refer to yourself in third person, Drake, but it is not becoming of someone from your station.”

The door to the front of the manor was shut in Damian’s face.

Rude.

Confusing.

Drake was up to something, and Damian needed to know what it was.

~~~~~~

Dick watched as Kon came by to pick Tim up, laughing a little as the Super swooped down to yank Tim into the sky.

“Come on, flying buddy, let’s go; we gotta race!”

Huh. Well that was a weird phrase to say. Tim couldn’t fly.

…

Tim couldn’t fly, right?

Duke shoved past Dick, almost knocking him over, as he rushed towards Kon and Tim.

“Kon, that's Tim! Kon, you have the wrong-that’s Tim! Kon!”

Dick narrowed his eyes, the detective part of his brain that never turned off starting to pick up on the strange inconsistencies from the past month or so.

In the training exercise, he hadn’t seen Tim put the spiders in his bag. Or steal his socks and sleeping bag, but he’d been very careful about making sure the bag never left his sight. So sneaking by him, who had been Batman on multiple occasions, and filling it with spiders? Nearly impossible.

Unless it was a meta.

Tim walking into his room, only to walk back out in a different pajama shirt flashed into his mind.

The Tim that had greeted him at the door had slouched a bit more, his voice had its intonations and mannerisms just a little to the left of the Tim that had come back out of the bedroom.

No. No way.

Dick…had another brother?

~~~~~~

Steph was on a mission. It was important. Life altering.

She needed graham crackers and for some fucking reason, every single grocery store she’d gone to was out.

This. This was her last hope.

Not because it was the last grocery store in the entire city, but because if she didn’t find the stupid graham crackers here she was just going to give up and buy a cheesecake.

She really hoped she wouldn’t have to go that route; homemade was best.

Cass was right there with her, scouring the shelves for just one box of those sweet, crumbly crackers.

But this store was a bust as well-Steph watched in horror as the last box was snatched up by some deranged criminal, an absolute villain oh wait it was Tim.

“Tim!” she cried, jogging forward.

But Tim didn’t turn around?

Wow. Rude.

She’d remember this.

Cass tapped her shoulder and shook her head, laughing quietly.

“Not Tim. Danny!”

Tim stopped and looked around, confused, before his gaze fell on Steph and Cass.

Then he just looked surprised.

“Steph? You never talk to me. What’s up?”

What?

Steph didn’t respond, stuck in her thoughts as she was.

What was happening? Who was Danny? Had she fallen into another universe and just not known? Was Tim’s name Danny in this universe?

Cass stepped forward, amusement visible as she gave Tim-Danny?-a hug.

“Steph wants to make cheesecake, you have the last graham crackers.”

Tim’s lookalike made a surprised sound, before shrugging and handing over the box to Steph.

“I’ll tell my brother you said hi,” Tim-Danny- said, waving before walking away.

Wait.

Wait.

Brother?

Tim had a twin?!

Tim had a twin and he hadn’t told her?! That bastard! This would not stand.

Steph bolted forward and draped herself on Danny’s back, throwing the graham crackers back in his cart.

“Change of plans; I’m going to make cheesecake and we aren’t giving any to Tim. It’s punishment for not telling me about you.”

Danny looked delighted, and Steph preened. Yes, this boy knew when good food was being offered to him. None of that ‘Oh I can’t eat right now Steph I’m about to leave for a mission’ or ‘Are you sure you know how to cook that’ shit.

“Barbara’s going to be there, and Harley and Pam and fuck it we’re going to make it a girls night plus Danny. I cannot believe he didn’t tell me about you; can you imagine how embarrassing it would have been if I’d made that mistake when we were going out? Can you imagine?”

Danny laughed and pushed the cart forward towards the chip aisle.

“Well if we’re having a girls night, what else should we get? I’m feeling green and purple nail polish.”

Oh yes. Yes, this one would do nicely. The Birds of Prey would keep Danny; the Bats could have Tim.

~~~~~~

“Dami!”

Damian turned from his painting, observing as Richard stumbled to a stop in front of him.

“Richard? Is something wrong?” Damian slowly set aside his brushes, subconsciously preparing himself for bad news.

“No, no nothing’s…well. Hey, next time Tim calls you el-witwaat, tell me immediately, okay?”

Damian frowned.

“I fail to see what that has to do with-”

“I don’t think it’s Tim,” Dick interrupted, wild eyed and tense.

Damian slid off of his chair. For how insufferable Timothy was, he was still a part of their family; if someone had taken Tim’s place then they would have to mobilize immediately to rescue him.

“I am prepared to rescue the Imposter-”

“Boys,” Father interrupted from the doorway; Todd was standing behind him, as was Thomas, “Family meeting in the Cave.”

~~~~~~

“So I know it’s a prank, but I’m kind of feeling…”

“...Mildly offended that they can’t tell us apart?”

Tim cracked open an energy drink and chugged it.

Danny sat, content with his Orange Juice.

It had been roughly a month, and Danny was beginning to remember who he was as a person and learn what he liked as a mortal.

Danny liked puns, Tim did not unless it was under very specific circumstances. Danny wasn’t a die-hard coffee fan, Tim most certainly was. Danny liked sleeping; he’d forgotten how fantastic it was. Tim actively avoided it. Where Tim was detective-minded and his smarts focused on crime, Danny was not, and his smarts focused on engineering and space. They were both combat trained, but Danny was more inclined to use it for self defense, as opposed to Tim using it for active offense.

Most importantly though; Tim craved being a vigilante with every fiber of his being. Danny was perfectly happy living his new life as a civilian this time. His obsession, while there, was muted; he knew he could fulfill it by creating protective devices. Which, honestly, given what company his twin brother owned? It was looking like a great career choice.

He was so seriously considering it that Danny was actually looking at taking classes at Gotham University in engineering, but he and Tim had…concerns. About paparazzi, mostly.

Essentially, they were two very different people; but while Danny may have started out as a clone, he and Tim felt that the term ‘Twin’ was actually rather perfect. 

It had been unanimously decided to keep the identity that Tim and Barbara had made Danny, and that was exactly when the trouble had started.

Danny and Tim were starting to get annoyed.

Now that the lines between them weren’t so blurred in terms of identity, and they were very aware of who each other was, it was honestly a little offensive that their siblings hadn’t been able to spot who was who. Or at least notice that something was off; they’d given a million clues.

“They’re idiots,” Tim sighed, throwing himself into his chair.

“It was fun at first, and it still is kinda, I just feel like…” Danny trailed off, sighing and burying his woes in his scrambled eggs.

Tim nodded, understanding.

They wanted to continue this venue of entertainment, but maybe with a little different flavor.

“Oh, if you two are bored you don’t have to worry about the prank changing pace,” Barara said from the open laptop, distracted as she worked on something separate, “B has decided that Danny’s existence is new due to him messing with the Time Stream, and that the Bats are the only ones that were unaffected by the knowledge except Tim. He doesn’t want to hurt Danny’s feelings by letting him know that he’s a relatively new existence.”

Oh?

Danny and Tim looked at each other, identical grins beginning to shine through.

It was time to change tactics.

~~~~~~

Jason sat on the hood of the Batmobile, hating that he had been roped into this stupid family meeting.

Dickface was pacing, the baby bat was sulking, Narrows looked nervous, Cass was in Hong Kong, and Babsgirl looked bored from her place on the screen.

“Thank you for coming here,” the Old Man started, pulling up some poor fucks entire documented life on the computer screen, “I will get to the point. I believe I altered the Time Stream when I was lost in it, and there have been a few consequences. I am mainly concerned about this one; do any of you know of Daniel?”

Jason squinted at the screen, trying to see if this was an instance of remembering a face and not a name, and-

-Hold up.

That was Replacement’s face.

“His name is Daniel?” Dickface asked, sounding fucking happy for some reason.

“You guys didn’t know about Danny?” Duke asked, looking confused.

“Wait, none of you remember Danny?” Barbara asked, looking pissed, “He’s literally the only male member of the Birds of Prey. Bruce, what did you do?”

B looked dumbfounded.

“He’s one of your-? There weren't any files about the Birds of Prey.”

“That would be because I wiped them; he just spent two years in deep cover at the League of Assassins; there couldn’t be a trail that would indicate espionage. Which is his speciality. Bruce, do you really remember none of this?”

“This does rather explain a few things.”

Jason felt his jaw drop.

“Oh that fucker!” slipped out of his mouth as he slid off the car and started pacing.

“...Todd?” The little demon brat asked, confused.

“‘You told Tim that, you didn’t tell me’, fuck! He fucking spelled it out for me and I didn’t see it!” Fuck the whole magically appearing twin thing, had it really taken them this long to spot it?!

Wait.

Jason rounded on Duke.

“Do you remember him?!”

Narrows shook his head, holding up his hands.

“He left on that mission before I got here, but yeah I pretty much knew the instant he came back. None of you noticed?” Duke looked alarmed, glancing between them and Barbara.

“Well pretty much every single one of you failed the test we set up for awareness, but now there’s a bigger problem,” Barbara sighed, taking off her glasses so she could massage her temples.

Dick just looked thoughtful.

“The espionage thing is probably why none of us caught him during the prank war in the forest. Training. I meant training.”

B cleared his throat, redirecting attention.

“I have reason to believe that we may be the only ones who do not remember Daniel-”

Duke hissed, wincing.

“Yeah, he really doesn’t like that name. It’s Danny.”

“...Danny. We may be the only ones who do not remember Danny. I suspect that I interfered with the Time Stream, despite my efforts not to, and it resulted in Tim being a twin. Not the worst outcome by far, but the issue is that as far as Danny is concerned, he’s known us for most of his life.”

Jason felt a bit sick.

“And we just…forgot him. From his point of view.” Dick finished, sounding ill as well.

“We cannot let him know that we do not know him,” Damian said, looking surprisingly determined, “We must use our skill sets to learn as much as we can to paint how we treated him in the past, and either emulate it or change it to match our current circumstances.”

The Old Man nodded in agreement, as did Dick. Duke and Barbara just looked done, and Jason…Jason felt like throwing up.

What, it wasn’t enough to forget the kid, now they had to lie to his face and pretend like they knew him?

All fake smiles and hidden glances, just like when he’d calmed down enough to first come back to the Manor without attacking anyone. Faking trust where there was none, pretending to accept him when they knew nothing about him.

Fuck that.

Fuck this.

Jason walked out of the Cave without a word.

~~~~~~

The new plan was simple.

They’d show up together at perfectly normal places and act like nothing was new.

@terzatheunderscorerima @darkbiscuitvoidstudent @akikkobara @reach-for-the-horizon @bitter-coffeecup @moodycow210 @kisatamao @thefantasmarex @fisher-with-the-morbs @jaguarthecat @jotaroslooseeyebrowhair @moonshell25 @

[heyidkyay]

And I'm petrified of being alone, now |

Part Eighteen

Matty Healy x reader

Summary: She’s just trying to get by, really. What with being a single parent to her four year old son whilst simultaneously trying to kick start a successful career as a radio presenter. She’s got everything she’s ever wanted though, friends close by, a mum who’s merely a phone call away, and of course her baby boy. What else is there to wish for? But then, it’s not long before her relatively normal life gets upended and turned on its head, and she’s suddenly forced to deal with situations she’s never even thought to imagine.

What happens when one mention of a certain controversial singer on her show sends a flood of unexpected challenges her way? 

Authors Note: Hey!! Finally here with another part! This one took a while to write but it's here now. Hoping you enjoy it:)

> Last update: look back here if you'd like!

Masterlist

He’d been pacing on the phone for quite a while now.

Back and forth up the long and narrow pavement sat outside of the small cafe we’d chosen just off the highstreet. His feet skimmed the curb every few steps, I noted, his brow furrowed and lips pursed too whenever he rattled something back to whoever it was on the other end.

“Eggy, mama?”

I blinked at the sudden voice, tearing my eyes away from the window and Matty, and back over to where my food-happy toddler sat in the adjoining highchair.

With a fond smile, I shook my head at his proffered bit of hard boiled egg. 

See, Matty had fancied a couple of soldiers when we’d first walked in, forgetting all about his earlier promises of bacon, and Teddy had unsurprisingly followed his lead. Looking down at his plate now, I was pleasantly pleased to find that he’d eaten the majority of it.

“I’m okay, Teds. Thank you though.” I told him, wiping a few breadcrumbs from his cheek with a napkin before tickling the underneath of his chin, “You’re such a sweet boy, you know?”

He bared his teeth at me in a giant grin, “Very much, ta.”

Chuckling lightly at his silly reply, I shook my head once more, “Back at it with the ta, are we?”

Teddy replied with only a stern nod and a wrinkle of his mouth, then dug back into his breakfast again, content to just watch Matty and the few cars that passed by the window.

It was a strange concept for me to wrap my head around- the whole Teddy and Matty thing, I mean. 

Teddy had always been an affectionate kid, a bit shy with newcomers and strangers at times, but his heart was huge and he had a lot of love to go around. Still, with that being said, the dynamic he’d struck up with the curly headed singer was unlike anything I’d ever witnessed from him before. 

With Adi, Teddy was always perfectly content to find new extremes and test them. Pushing boundaries and buttons simply because Ads was the biggest pushover known to man- at least when it came to him. 

Each moment Adi spent with Teddy she always ended up looking spent by the time she was about to head home, almost like he’d gone and dragged her through a circus tent full of performers and animals alike. 

Then there was Finn. Finn had been a constant presence in Teddy’s life since the day he was born, he was my best friend and was always there to lend a helping hand whenever I needed it. The two of them were close in their own way, Teds felt comfortable with Finn, he didn’t question his authority or throw a fit when the man put his foot down, but whenever I was around the pair of them together Teddy made it quite clear that Finn was the third wheel amongst the lot of us. 

Which was funny in its own way, I supposed, because I knew how Teddy looked at me. I was his mum, sure, but I was also his dad, too. Merely in the sense that Teds had never looked to anyone else to fill that role for him, I was what he had been given and I was all that he needed.

Yes, there had been the odd question or two when Teddy had finally started to understand films and tv shows, and again when he had started nursery school and seen all of the other kids with their mums and dads. But he had taken my honest answers on the chin and shrugged off any other prompts I’d had for him afterwards, as though he was perfectly untroubled by it all and the fact that he only had a single parent.

Then again, a few of the kids in his class faced similar problems.

Oliviette had only ever really known her dad, since her mum had sadly passed when she’d been too little to remember. Tury’s father worked in the military, or something of the sort, and was divorced from their other father. He went away for long stretches at a time and had only ever come to pick them up once in all the time that we’d been in attendance.

Zara was another young mum like me, we’d bonded over that fact a couple weeks into the school year when a few of the other parents had wondered over the whereabouts of our partners and then turned up their noses at us when they’d received their answer. 

Which led me straight back on over to my anxieties about Teddy, and how he might come to soon view Matty. As well as the question on whether Matty could even handle being seen in that sort of light, or if he’d run swiftly for the hills with his tail tucked between his legs.

These worries had started up quite quickly after seeing those articles we’d faced earlier in the week, which had only added fuel to the fire for me. Some of the headlines still haunted me and my waking thoughts, in truth. They flashed through my mind on a giant billboard sort of screen, visible for all to see.

JUNKIE ROCKSTAR TURNED FAMILY MAN!

A NEW LINE DRAWN FOR HEALY?

THE 1975 SINGER AND HIS HIDDEN FAMILY..

It was both a startling and terrifying experience to suddenly start considering the opinions and views of the entire world around you, which now appeared to be watching us under a microscope, reading into each and every move not just Matty and I made, but Teddy now too.

It was ultimately why I had run and hidden when it had all come out, choosing to avoid the whole situation at hand rather than face it head on and be met with a plethora of questions I hadn’t yet thought about.

But then Matty just had to have gone and sent me that fucking demo.

I’d been all but putty in his hands after that really. 

And the very thought of not just the previous night, but this morning too, had me flushing in the middle of the cafe Matty had taken us out to. ‘My treat,’ He’d said, and it had all felt so natural. Him being in my bed, in my shower, in my house, around my kid.

I heaved a heavy sigh before picking up my mug of tea, wrinkling my nose in distaste when I found it had gone cold. It made me wonder just how long I had been lost in thought.

That question was answered for me though when Matty came strolling back over, the crease in his brow there and then gone when he took to his seat once more and caught eyes with Teddy. He flashed the boy a bright smile, “Enjoyin’ that, monster?”

Grimly, Teddy opened his mouth up wide to show Matty just how much he had enjoyed his breakfast and laughed when Matty mimicked the expression, the man leaning in close enough that Teddy could only laugh giddily.

“Made a big enough mess of it.” I commented with a soft smile. 

Even with all my fretting I still couldn’t get over the way Matty treated my son and how Teddy responded to him in turn. It was incredibly surreal.

When I’d first gotten pregnant and decided to go it alone all those years ago, I thought that had been it for me. That there was no way any person, let alone anyone in Matty’s position, would just come along and be able to deal with the fact that I had a child. This whole other being that would always fall above everything else.

But here that somebody was.

Sat with my toddler, looking at him almost the exact same way I did. With such adoration and emotion. 

The sight made my heart both lurch and crumble all at once.

I pulled myself out of my head once more with that thought and tuned back in to find our waitress making her way over again. She was a sturdy looking woman, not much older than my mum if I had to guess, and had taken more than liking to the messy toddler she’d been shafted with early this morning, “Anything else I can get for you, lovelies?”

I opened my mouth to tell her that we were fine, seeing as though Teddy was all but finished, just chewing on a few pieces of buttered bread, and my sandwich was merely straggling bits of crust now. 

“Would be great if you could get us another round of drinks to go?” Matty piped up before I could answer her, circling a finger between the two of us. “Cheers.”

The waitress dipped her head at him and flashed a warm smile my way, “One tea and a strong flat white coming your way then.”

I was surprised that she’d recalled our order so easily, since I’d noted earlier that there were a few other patrons she’d been serving, and so I thanked her gratefully with another smile before she walked away, arms laden with a few of our used plates. 

“You didn’t have to,” I said to Matty shortly after, then dipped my chin down towards my remaining cup, “But thank you anyway, this had gone cold.”

Matty rolled his eyes, a gesture he was rather prone to using whenever he thought I was being unnecessary, but then shuffled over to settle more comfortably in the seat opposite me, leaving his phone to rest on the table between us.

“Sorry I was long, but after management, Jamie rang.” He confessed to me, and that scowl of his appeared for a split second or two before disappearing completely when he glanced back over at Teds, who was now playing with his food rather than eating it. 

It was almost automatic the way Matty moved to steal the backpack hanging off the arm of the chair perched beside him, pulling out a few of the baby wipes I usually kept there before beginning to clean up Teddy’s face and hands. 

I could only stare on in utter bewilderment, watching it all play out even whilst Matty continued to speak to me, clearly none the wiser to the way my brain had just short circuited at his actions.

“Anyway, they’re on it- or so they’ve said. But I know this whole thing is just a charade to them, yeah? Management, I mean. Not J. ‘Cause he’s already said that he’s trying to keep them from going too extreme with the whole clean up, claiming that they appeared to be warming up to the idea of me becomin’ this ‘changed man’ or some shite.” Matty scoffed with a roll of his eyes at the very thought, then pulled a face for Teddy who admonished him for his use of a ‘bad word’, and cleared away some of the mess that had been created whilst he’d been gone.

I swallowed thickly at the sight, thankful for the moment of reverie I was gifted when our waitress shuffled back on over, two to-go cups in hand as well as the bill.

“Ah, are we all clean then?” She cooed down at Teddy, moving to grab the last of what remained at our table to take back to the kitchen with her. 

Her expression brightened when Teddy not only shot her a mischievous grin, but also wiggled his fingers up to show her just how clean they were. Matty snorted.

The woman peered between the two of us afterwards, plates tucked into the crook of her elbow whilst both of our previous mugs sat cradled in the other. “You’re a lucky pair, he’s absolutely golden.”

My pulse spiked at her words, or rather what she’d interpreted our little excursion as, but before I could think to offer an explanation, or anything rather, she was already shuffling away again. Teddy batting a hand at her back in goodbye.

My gaze slowly drifted away from her retreating form and over to where Matty was now slouched, but he didn’t seem to have noticed her words, or perhaps he just didn’t care. Still, I blinked slowly at him, “Did you hear that? Did you hear what she just said?”

He pulled his eyes away from a now babbling Teddy and shrugged slowly, “Yeah?”

Yeah??

Sorry, come again? 

Had I actually heard him right?

I almost choked on the force of my next inhale. “That’s it? Just- yeah?”

Matty stared back at me, expression almost blank- calculating, in truth. As though he was trying to determine which of his next words had the ability to set me off even further. I sort of hated that.

“What do you want me to say?” He asked me slowly, elbows moving up onto the table’s top and pressing against it to lean in closer to me. 

His eyes never left my own, and it was then that I noticed the sturdy wall behind them that I thought had crumbled between us so long ago. He was wary now, building it back up again in hopes that I wouldn’t wound him- anymore than you already had, my mind unhelpfully supplied.

I licked at my lower lip, mostly in thought but also because my throat had suddenly gone dry at the very reminder.

It had been necessary, I told myself. Space and time, that was all that we had needed, and look at us now!

Look at us…

“I just,” I murmured, swallowing thickly whilst still staring into those hardened eyes which remained locked on mine, “It doesn’t bother you at all?”

That steely look softened when he snorted and the bricks in that wall of his began to chisel away at themselves once more. 

Matty slumped and I watched on as his gaze flickered back over to my son, who was now much more interested in the straps of his highchair rather than either of us. 

“Why would it?” 

Matty’s words were as gentle as his tone and his smile was just as sweet, and all I could think about in that moment was the abating panic I felt and the sudden need I had for him.

Shouldn’t it? I wanted to press, it would bother a hundred other men. What makes you so different?

He glanced back at me then with a languid turn of his head, “Guess it just makes me feel worth something, even if it’s a mistake on her part.”

Matty must’ve seen the way my face fell so quickly at his words because he chuckled lowly and then gifted me a small but pivotal smile. He reached out to toy with the hand I’d been resting on the table, fingertips trailing over whitened knuckles. 

“I’m just being honest, alright? He’s a good kid, anyone can see that. I mean she did, din’t she? And then, there’s you, Squeaks.” He dragged that last bit out, flipping my hand over so that he could trace the lines of my palm with the tips of his fingers. “You’re something else.”

I frowned slightly at his words, a little puzzled. Matty only laughed at the face I must’ve made before he finally took my hand wholly in his, thumb brushing over my ever rising pulse.

“If she reckons I could land someone like you long enough to have one of these little ones running round, well… Just makes me picture it, 'is all.”

I could feel the contents of my stomach whirl at his given answer and tightened my hold on Matty’s hand by a fraction, needing the certainty that he was in fact real. That what he had said was very much real too.

“Squeaks?” Matty pressed after a short while. I figured I must've been quiet too long for him to prompt an actual reaction from me. Either that, or he’d gotten bored of my gaping gob far too quickly.

I attempted to swallow around the hardened lump in my throat, but it was difficult. “Yeah, just-” I struggled to fathom the mere idea that he had thought about me in any scenario at all beyond the past six months we had shared. “You’ve actually thought about that?”

Matty rolled his eyes at me, and although his smile was warm, it held a fragment of uncertainty to it that told me all I needed to know.

“I’m getting old, darlin’. Normal to think about that kind of shit, ain’t it?”

That was a very Matty thing to say and my rapid pulse slowed a tad because of it, giving my poor pounding heart a break.

“Yeah, but with me, Matty.” I felt the need to stress, because it was only yesterday that everything had come to a head between us. It made me question how long he’d been holding off on me- had he been waiting, is that what this was? Had he been trying to get over whatever he felt for me? If so, what had changed his mind, or forced his hand?

He simply chuckled and shrugged, like it was no big deal.

“Yeah with you, Mouse.” Matty confirmed, squeezing my hand once more before letting go completely and swiftly getting up out of his seat to unclip Teddy from his highchair. “Wanna go pay with me then, little man?” He asked Teds and it was only when Teddy had been swept up into Matty’s awaiting arms and Matty had looked over at me to tell me he was going up to the till that I realised he had used my kid to escape the current conversation at hand.

I shook my head in disbelief and tried to steel myself into something a little more put together once he had left, instead of choosing the imminent breakdown my mind was rooting for. I couldn’t lose my shit with all these people around to bear witness. Because I could do that later, couldn’t I? In the comfort of my own home. Right now I just needed to…

Fuck, I could not actually believe that Matty had pictured a future with me. A. fucking. future. 

One that was ours.

The same stupid man that had told me time and time again that he would get headaches simply from thinking of the next few days to come, that he hadn't seen much of a life for himself the older he’d gotten. Even with all the money and the fame. 

My stomach was swarming again, just like it had done when I’d heard the demo for the first time.

I wondered, briefly, whether those butterflies of mine were instead moths merely looking for any source of warmth they could find, and if Matty could really be exactly that. My little bit of warmth.

“You coming then, Squeaks?”

I glanced up again to find Matty now grinning down at me, Teddy still bouncing happily on his hip and the spiderman backpack thrown halfheartedly over his right shoulder. 

I gaped for a split second at the picture they painted and then nodded, smiling up at this maddening man with all the warmth I could possibly muster. Hoping that somehow, someday, that little dream of his came true.

“Yeah, I’m coming.”

–

It had probably been one of the most content mornings Matty had had in a long time.

He knew that for a fact, but still felt stunted by it all the same.

It had been years since he’d woken up without the immediate dread, or the itching need for a fix that even now sometimes still jilted him awake. And the night previous? Well, he’d gone to bed thinking of tomorrow, hadn't he? 

Stupidly, he wondered what his mum might make of that. If she’d be surprised, wary even. Or maybe just happy for him.

He’d been gifted some precious time and some precious people and he did not want to waste a single second of it. Although that could have hardly been avoided, what with the way management were constantly up his arse, hounding him incessantly about everything under the fucking sun.

The three of them had set off for food not long after he’d had a lapful of sleepy mouse first thing, they’d danced around one another whilst getting dressed, Matty watching as she brushed her hair and then catching her eye when he had attempted to wrangle an overenthusiastic toddler into his coat and boots. 

Matty had walked hand in hand with Teddy all the way to his car, letting the kid jump his way down the few short steps from the house and up into the car seat he’d borrowed from Adam a week or so after Christmas. Mouse had snorted at his shitty parking job, then granted them a full blown crackle when she’d torn a parking ticket from his front window screen only to have found a real unfortunate note from an unhappy neighbour beneath it.

Apparently Matty had to work on his spontaneity if he didn’t want to end up falling out with the bloke who lived two doors down from her. Even as he winced, he reckoned the guy was still a fucking nobhead.

He’d driven down a couple of backroads, letting the radio play and rolling his eyes fondly whenever Squeaks deigned it necessary to comment on his driving- “It needs work, Matty. I mean, you almost took out three of those bollards!” “Ah, a bus! Bus, Matty! Bus!” “Are you actually aiming to kill us, or do you just reckon you're the next 007?”

Matty had managed to get them all there in one piece, like he knew he would, and led the two of them all the way to this odd-spot cafe he’d found a couple months prior.

It was a simple dive, tucked quietly away amongst the noise of London, and was almost always chock-full of white haired pensioners or folk who didn’t much care to note who he was.

They’d sat down, Matty taking his first chance to ask for one of them highchairs he typically saw little kids sat in at restaurants, and then they’d ordered; Mouse getting what she deemed was her morning usual, whilst Teddy had mimicked his own request.

It had been cute, Matty had to admit. Especially when Squeaks had shot her son a dubious look, stating that he hadn’t tried it before, what with her being too scared she’d plague him with salmonella or something of the sort from how shoddy her attention was with the passing of time. Matty promised to teach her.

The little tyke seemed to have enjoyed it though, all but ravishing the yolks from their casing and munching on the sliced bread til it had either disappeared or simply gone soggy.

The only interruption they had faced was the unexpected call from his management team, and then Jamie’s which had followed not a minute after.

It had been a right nightmare. 

In fact, the whole of last week had been a total disaster. His team had been on his case the minute those articles had all been released, Twitter threads spiralling out of control and fans losing their minds over whether or not it was all fake or not.

And Matty, Matty had tried and failed not to let it get the best of him, but with that and the loss of Squeaks and Teddy, who had retreated almost entirely from his life. It had left him with a wound big enough for him to question everything. 

Matty shook his head then, a shit attempt at ridding himself free from his neverending train of thought, and looked up with a soft smile when Mouse wandered back into the living room and handed him a brew.

He’d never been overly gone on tea, to be honest- coffee worked wonders and with hours like his, it was now a necessity. But hers? He could never say no to, which was rapidly becoming a habit now. So much so, in fact, that he’d noticed himself wanting one at the oddest times of the day; down at the studio, in a meeting, the middle of the night…

Yeah that last one had been fucking strange. Half three in the morning and he’d been up puttering around his kitchen unable to sleep once the idea had taken root in his head and settled. Hadn’t been half as good as this though, Matty sighed thoughtfully as he sipped away. 

“So…”

His eyes immediately flickered back up to meet her, sitting all pretty on the end of the couch, an arms width away. “So.” Matty mimicked, raising his eyebrows then smirking at the way she shuffled in her seat and tried to hide her growing smile.

“We should talk.”

That smirk of his slipped right off.

He coughed slightly to clear his throat, but mostly to buy himself some more time, and then decided to get it on over with, pushing his brew onto the coffee table so that he could better face her. “Right, okay.”

She was chewing on her lip, a habit she seemed to have had ever since he’d first known her, but one which continued to drive him half mad. Even more so now that he knew what it fucking felt like to have her under him.

His tongue swiped his bottom lip instinctively at the reminder of it.

“You said it too,” Mouse reminded him, sounding almost accusatory. 

He had, but even so, it was still fucking awkward to just talk about shit. Couldn’t they skip to the good bit? Where he slowly took her apart piece by piece on the sofa she’d have to pass by day in and day out. A constant reminder of him even when he wasn't there.

“Matty.”

Matty blinked out of his daze at the call of his name and his eyes shot upwards to find her looking back at him with a furrowed brow.

“We don’t have to talk right this second, but I’d prefer if we did.” She told him with a slight shrug, eyes flickering away from him and across the room almost nervously. “‘Cause, at least I’d know where we stand, you know?”

Pursing his lips slightly, Matty tilted his head at her, “What’s that meant to mean?”

She shrugged again, sheepish almost, which wasn’t much like her. “Just, you’ve grown on me, Matty. I wouldn’t want to fuck up our.. friendship  over something like this.”

Matty knew what she was getting at there and it did hurt a little bit to think that she reckoned he’d fuck up what they’d built, what she’d given him, for a quick shag or whatever it was she’d filled her head with. 

But still, he gave her an impish grin once he’d shuffled his way a little closer, throwing an arm over the back of the settee. “Awh you finally admitting that we’re friends, Squeaks?” He teased and laughed when her foot flew out to toe his side.

“Bit more than that since yesterday.” Mouse murmured, giving him a snide smile before she released a heavy breath and settled her own mug down alongside his own on the tabletop. “But yes, we’re fucking friends, Matthew.”

Matty’s nose wrinkled but he didn’t comment on the use of his full name, instead stretching his fingers out to toy with the leg she had pressed against the back of the sofa. He lifted his eyes to watch her, saw how her own gaze rested on his hand and her knee.

“Good. Only took you, what? Six months.” He ragged but the smile he wore was pleased, dopey even. Stupid enough that he knew if one of his mates turned up and caught sight of it they’d probably rinse him to bits, claim he looked a right tit. But Matty couldn’t bring himself to care. Not then.

She rolled her eyes, but he noted how she was smiling now too.

“I’ve always thought you were fit, you know?”

A laugh escaped her then, brash and unforgiving. Matty would’ve been wounded had he not known her as well as he did. So instead he simply chose to flick her knee in harmless rebuke. “Don’t be a twat. You said you wanted to talk and I am. You’re fucking fit, Squeaks. Don’t let nobody tell you otherwise.”

She merely shook her head at him, the smallest smile limning that pretty mouth of hers.

“I’m being serious.” Matty tapped her knee twice with his fingertip, wanting her attention, “I wouldn’t lie to you, you know that.”

He recalled one of their earlier conversations and hoped that she somehow remembered, ‘I was raised by liars, can't stand lies.’ 

She licked at the corner of her mouth, eyes trained on him as though she was searching for something in his expression, but ultimately nodded when she didn’t appear to find it. 

“Anyway,” Matty smirked, leaning his head against his shoulder and continuing to hold her eyes, “Yeah, so I walked in expecting the usual. Some yappy older bird, who reckoned she was above me and all my fucking shit. Or maybe even someone who’d break and fall back on what they’d said once they were stood facing me. But nah, just you.”

“Just me.” She chuckled in that easy lilt of hers that he’d always found so soothing. In truth, he could actually recall asking her question after question in those first few weeks after they’d met just wanting to hear her talk.

Matty dragged out a hum, “You don’t even know. As soon as you walked out I was on you like a hawk, I swear. Just watching as you walked over, could hardly take my eyes off your legs.”

She snorted, “My legs?”

With a grin, Matty caught her ankle with his free hand and dragged her leg into his lap. “Fucking killer.” He told her honestly, letting himself have this moment to trail his fingertips up and over her thigh. “Then you looked at me with those eyes,” Matty’s own shot up to find them once more and shook his head slightly, “Made me dizzy having your full focus. Never seen a pair so intense, like they’d been struck by lighting or something.”

She rolled those pretty eyes of hers then and Matty pinched her leg, “I’m being serious, Squeaks. One of my favourite things about you.”

Thankfully she glanced back over at him then, her cheeks a tad bit pink but her smile bright. “I like yours too, you sap.” Matty's expression must’ve given way to how he felt about that because she was all too quick to add, “Don’t get cocky about it.”

He chuckled, liking the fact she knew him too well, and finally let his hand rest on her upper leg, though his thumb continued to rub gentle circles into the curve just above her knee. “I obviously felt something, Squeaks. Why the fuck else would I show up outside your studio only days later?”

“‘Cause you’re a stalker?” She teased but had relaxed further into the settee, stretching her other leg out to join the one he held. 

Matty ran his fingers up the underside of her foot in retaliation to that comment, “Brave.”

She snickered, “Thought you were just ‘in the area’?” 

Matty bit back a grin at her use of his earlier words, remembering how he’d been brimming with nerves whilst waiting outside for someone to show.

“I was,” He sniffed, and was pleased when she simply laughed. “But the truth? I couldn’t stop fucking thinking about you.”

Her cheeks hollowed themselves out as she tried to dampen the growing grin that threatened to overwhelm her face. It broke his heart a bit to know she struggled believing him, that no one else had ever gone far enough to drill the fact that she was fucking beautiful into that thick head of hers, but Matty was nothing if not stubborn and he’d strive to always tell her just how gorgeous he thought she was.

“What was it with that girl then?” She mentioned and Matty immediately frowned, confused as to what she was even going on about. “Your ex.”

Matty felt himself blink, mind reeling as he tried to remember what the hell she was referencing, but then it hit him. “Oh, ohh!” Then he chuckled, unable to help it really, and couldn’t seem to prevent the way it then dissolved into a slightly uncontrollable fit of laughter.

She levelled him with a hearty scowl and went to remove her legs from his lap, obviously none too pleased about being laughed at, but Matty stopped her just before she could.

“No, no, Squeaks. Babe, you’ve got it all wrong.” He attempted to console even with his still amused smile, leaning in closer now, his hands settled on her calves. “That was just for the press! Management team reckoned it would be good to rebuild my image, and I wasn't long out of rehab. She and I always looked good together but fought like fucking cat and-”

He stopped short and she snorted, “Mouse?”

Matty squinted his eyes mockingly, “Yes, dickhead. But no, it was all fake. Was only with her fifteen minutes before she swanned off to a photoshoot or something. Harldy even fucking remember it.” He paused then, “Hang on, is that- Is that why you went all quiet on me back then? That time before I ran into you at that bar?”

The way she evaded his gaze told him all he needed to know and then he was laughing again.

“Shut up, you absolute prick.” She huffed after a minute or so, having grown fed up with being his main source of amusement, and swatted him with her foot in hopes it would get him to follow the order. 

God, he’d never seen her look so embarrassed. 

“It’s not funny. You never mentioned it either, so what was I supposed to think!”

“Uh, not that?” He suggested, still chuckling away but actively trying to get it under control, sort of. “I’m sorry!” He laughed again when she kicked him, “Honest! But the thought didn’t even cross my mind. And we were hardly even mates then!”

She looked chastised, “We were mates!”

He levelled her with a look.

She held out for a bit before she finally huffed, “Fine, it was rocky but even so.”

Matty snorted, “No, you know what? I sort of like this side of you.” He teased, wrapping his hands around both her ankles and tugging. “Suits you.”

She sent him a well deserving glare, which was fair, before she dug her heel into his upper thigh, far too close to his dick for his liking, and sat herself back up again. “You’re such a twat.”

“So I've been told.” He sang, though he then rubbed at his tender leg with a wry grimace, “Shit, remind me not to actually piss you off.”

Squeaks shot him a grin and relaxed back into their earlier position. 

Her phone went off then and Matty watched on as she manoeuvred herself awkwardly around on the sofa to grab it from her back pocket without getting up. He raised a brow at her triumphant grin but she just looked down at the notification she’d gotten.

“Everything alright?”

She hummed, typing something off before looking back up at him and tucking the phone away again. “Just Finn, says he’s back home tomorrow and wants to see us.”

Right… the infamous Finn Matty had yet to actually meet.

“Where’s he been?” He asked, toying with the cuff of her jean leg.

“New York!” And the smile that she’d answered with told Matty a thousand things, “He had an auction up there or something, then ended up staying a few extra days to meet with this elusive client.”

“Shady.” He commented with a humoured smile, one he hoped would conceal his insecurities around the whole situation. 

He’d heard a lot about Mouse’s best mate, and these worries weren’t just down to the fact that he’d yet to meet the bloke, but also because Finn seemed to be such a big figure in not just hers, but Teddy’s lives. He’d been away a lot in recent months and Matty wondered over whether his presence would throw a spanner into the works once he was finally let back into the fold. 

“Very much so,” Mouse laughed, none the wiser to the chaos consuming his mind, “But I’m excited to see him, it’ll be good.”

Matty merely hummed.

She must’ve sensed some apprehension in it because she turned to tilt her head at him, playing with her fingers now. “Would-” She paused and Matty looked up to wait her out, she inhaled after a moment and then let the breath go, “Would you want to meet him? Or is that, I dunno, too fast?”

His forehead pinched and he shook his head. “No, not too fast.” He deemed, though he could’ve just lied and put off meeting the bloke for as long as he possibly could.

“I mean, we don’t have to put it in writing or anything.” Squeaks was quick to reply, “He’ll be around for a few weeks now, so we can just, I don’t know, work something out soon. Like meet at a cafe, a bar, the studio… here?”

She seemed to be spiralling a bit and although it was cute, Matty felt the need to save her, “Love, it’s fine. Whatever makes you comfortable. You’ve met the guys, and they love you, so-” He put his brave face on, “So I’m sure Finn will love me too. Yeah?”

He was met with a rapid nod, one that should’ve quelled his fears but only seemed to heighten them instead.

“So we’re doing this then?”

Matty blinked and lifted his chin to find her watching him again, that soft smile of hers back in its rightful place, looking pleased with how it had all turned out.

“What, meeting your mate?” He questioned her, having figured that much had been obvious, but then she was rolling her eyes at him again. 

“No, I meant- me and you.”

Oh.

Oh, he was grinning properly now. Like a massive twat, yeah, but how could he not? When she sat there looking all lovely and asking him if they could be something. 

“Me and you sounds good.” Matty murmured around the strength of his smile, fingertips diving beneath the hem of her jeans to tap the jut of her ankle bone.

He would've been embarrassed about it but he reckoned his grin was mimicked on her face and was all the more glad for it. Because he’d seen her smile and he’d seen laugh, but this grin. It was something else.

It wasn’t a difficult decision, his next move. Because before Matty could even contemplate it, he was all but throwing himself up the other end of the settee to cradle her head between his arms and catch her mouth with his.

She kissed him back with almost as much excitement, the pair of them smiling and laughing giddily at the stupidity and utter prospect of it all.

“Got you trapped now.” Matty breathed into the space between them not long after, eyes boring into her own. He hadn't been lying earlier when he’d claimed that they were one of his favourite things about her.

She barked out a laugh, hands falling away from where they’d been holding his neck to cover her face. “Was that a mouse joke?” She asked him through the gaps in her fingers, shaking her head at him.

Matty hadn’t really thought too much about his words, but thinking back he couldn’t stop himself from laughing too, bowing his shoulders to chuckle into the crook of her neck. “Fuck, I guess so.”

Her arms wrapped themselves around him again and so he nipped at the edge of her jaw, grinning like a fucking idiot.

[mapileonxputellas]

Only you (Alexia Putellas x Reader Part 2)

Ok so I originally wasn't going to do a part 2 but you persuaded me. Part one can be found here 2.2k words x

Thank you mi hermosa, I don’t know if you’ve read my other messages but I love you. I’ll fix this x

Of course you’d read the continuous messages she’d sent you over the week. You don’t know how she finally realised the issue, whether she was told or worked it our herself but it was clear she knew. Every morning you would wake up to a little message from her and every night she wished you goodnight. The days were varied, some had frequent messages others had only a few but there were always some.

You never replied. That single message after the match the only one you sent that week. You couldn’t talk to her and pretend like the only thing you were thinking about wasn’t Sofia. How much better suited they were. How you would never be enough for Alexia.

You were trying to go to sleep the night of the final, but just like always you hated sleeping alone. Alexia’s presence in your bed had almost been a constant at one point and now you struggled to fall asleep in the cold bed, her arm not strung across your waist and her light breathing not drowning out the silence around you. You tried to occupy your mind but it always went back to her. She’d probably be partying with her team, you knew they were scheduled to fly back immediately after the final and any trophy always called for a celebration.

A bang at the door startled you, thinking it was some kind of prankster you hoped they would knock once and then leave but when it happened again, and again, and again you realised they weren’t about to go away.

You didn’t live in a rough area but it also wasn’t filled with the rich and famous. This wasn’t the first time you would have dealt with young groups trying to prank you, knowing that the only way to get rid of them was to answer the door. Your stern face didn’t exactly match the fluffy pink pyjamas you had worn to bed but that didn’t even enter your mind.

Top actors could only dream of replicating the surprise yet horror on your face as you opened the door ready to scream at whoever was there but instead you were met by the one woman who had been on your mind all night. Stood there alone, tear marks evident down her face as she almost started crying again at the mere sight of you.

“What are you doing here Ale?” You couldn’t help but sigh, no matter how much her actions had inadvertently hurt you in the past you still hated seeing her upset.

“I couldn’t wait any longer to see you.”

“It’s almost 1 Ale, I’m not doing this right now.”

“I’m sorry I completely forgot that you could have been asleep, did I wake you?” You could see the panic in her eyes that she might have caused further trouble.

“You didn’t, I’m finding it hard to get to sleep right now.” It was like your brain and your mouth weren’t connected. Your brain was telling you to shut the door right now but your mouth suddenly blurted out your problems. “You should probably go get some sleep too.”

“Not without knowing what’s going to happen to us. I’m so scared that I’ve already lost you.”

“Ale….”

“Please Y/N, I know I don’t deserve it and I know you probably hate me already but…”

“I don’t hate you.” Even with all the hurt you felt you couldn’t stand seeing her crying and upset like this. “I’m not doing this tonight but maybe you can stay. Just to sleep.”

She accepted that offer, quickly making her way up to your bedroom and to her side of the bed, letting you curl up in her arms with your head resting on her chest. “I won’t give up without a fight Y/N. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

…..

You hated admitting it but that’s the best night sleep you’d had in a long time. For a moment you almost forgot all the issues, falling asleep in her arms and then waking up like you usually would on a Sunday, the smell of bacon wafting through your house.

Quickly freshening yourself up, you made sure you put on your stern face before you made your way downstairs. It would take a lot more than this to fix what had happened and you couldn’t let her get away with it that easily.

It was hard to keep that up though as you walked into the kitchen, finding her at the stove with just your shirt on and quietly humming along to the radio.

“Hola.” You were knocked out of your trance with her greeting and small smile. “Please sit down, it’s almost done.”

Never in your life have you ever had this much awkwardness tension between you both. You busied yourself pouring you both a cup of coffee from the pot and an orange juice as she plated up the food. You ate in silence, each of you occasionally looking up willing yourself to start the conversation and then cowardly putting your head back down.

You almost couldn’t write it, just as you finished with your food, The both of you awkwardly drinking your coffee when your song came on the radio. The very song that merely two weeks ago would have put a smile on your face but now just gave you memories of that night. The very reason you were now in this situation.

“I guess we should talk about it then rather than just sit here all morning.” You started. “Is Sofia about to turn up because she’s about as much a part of this relationship as I am?”

“You know that’s not true.”

“Do I because every time we go out it’s like she turns up? I’m constantly having to fight just to even have an ounce of your attention.”

“Except from that first time I’ve never once invited her out with us. I don’t know how she’s even finding out where we are.”

“That doesn’t excuse the fact that when she is there you act like she’s the only person you want to be with. It’s like you’re still in love with her.”

“I’m not.” The speed of her response at any other time would have indicated the truth in her words but right now it meant very little. “I love you Y/N.”

“That’s so hard to believe when last week you didn’t even want to dance with me, every invitation I gave you was just thrown back in my face. You spent more time talking about Sofia’s promotion than you did celebrating my birthday.”

“I can’t explain to you how sorry I am. Like I literally feel terrible. Sofia and I we didn’t work for a reason, she’s in my past now. I only see her as my friend, then Keira mentioned about it being weird and Lucy said something as well. I didn’t realise how it could seem to them but most importantly to you.”

“It’s like I’ll never be enough Ale, I’ll never be her.” Realising just how upset you were by this and the root cause of the troubles you’d been having, Ale knelt down in front of you, taking your hands in her own.

“You’ll never be Sofia, Y/N. But I don’t want you to be her, I want you to be you because that’s the person I’m in love with.”

“I’ll never be a football geek Ale, I’ll never have this high powered job. I’ll never match what you deserve.”

“I couldn’t care less about your job, I couldn’t care less about how much you love football. I love who you are as a person. I love how passionate you are about what you do. I love how you support me and care for me. I love how you take Nala on a walk when I’m having a bad day. I love how much my family adores you.”

“You family adores Sofia too.” You argued, sometimes them bringing her up hurt more than her showing up.

“You have no idea how much they adore you, whenever I go round they always ask about you, only you. Alba mentioned you coming on our family holiday before I could even suggest it. They like Sofia as my friend but they pushed me to ask you out.”

“Really?”

“Really, I know this isn’t a short fix. I know I’ll have to work my way back into your good books but I’m ready to put in that work.”

“What about Sofia?”

“She’s pushed the line with this and I can see that now. I’ll message her, set some boundaries. You can see the messages if you want.”

“I trust you Ale.” This whole thing was never about trust and you wanted to assure her of that. “But this needs some sort of change.”

“I know and I’ll do that.”

You couldn’t help but smile at the realisation that not only was this going to change but this was going to change because of Ale stepping up for your feelings. “Thank you.” You whispered, reaching for her hand to pull her onto your lap. “I love you Ale.”

“I love you too.”

….

The next Barcelona team night out was for Jana’s 21st birthday. Thankfully for you the international girls had returned from their break, so Keira and Ingrid were there to catch up with.

The major difference though from the last night out was the reassurance Ale gave you through the night. When you were sat down there was constant contact between you both, you danced together and laughed at each other as we danced with our friends and the birthday girl.

You were expecting Sofia to be there and your suspicions were deemed correct when she walked into the club with Patri’s girlfriend.

It didn’t take her long to come over to your table, yourself and Ale joined by Ingrid, Mapi, Rolfo, Keira and Lucy.

“Hey guys.” She said, conveniently standing at the head of the table next to Ale. Resting a hand on her shoulder you could see Ale tense as she squeezed your thigh and shuffled closer to you so the hand dropped. “Hi Ale.”

“Hi Sofia.” You could see Sofia’s face drop as Ale immediately stood up, taking your hand in her own. “Come on let’s dance.”

“Oh I was just about to suggest a dance.” The girl didn’t give up.

“Sorry this is just for Y/N and I. We love this song.” You’d never even heard of this song but you weren’t about to go against her point, letting her drag you into the middle of the dancefloor. “Do you want a dance then?”

“Always with you.”

You managed to avoid her for the rest of the night, thinking you’d got away with just one interaction with her when you spotted a figure coming out to you as you both waited for your taxi.

“Ale wait.” You had to hold in your groan as Sofia shouted over to you. Your pleas for the taxi to come quicker were left unanswered as she reached you, instantly reaching out to touch Ale again. “I haven’t had the chance to speak to you alone tonight. I thought we could catch up.”

“Sofia, you read my message right?”

“But that didn’t say anything about not being friends.” You’d read the message Ale had sent the afternoon after your talk. She made it clear that it wasn’t ok for her to be at your dates or to corner her at events. She couldn’t call Ale late at night to pick her up from the club. Lastly making it clear that she loved you and Ale wouldn’t put up with her disrespecting you in any way.

“I can’t be friends with someone who’s been almost stalking me for the past six months. How have you even been able to do that?”

“I thought you would want to spend time with me after the theatre trip, I ask around for you. I just wanted to spend time with you,”

“Well don’t, I thought I loved you in the past but that’s over now. I’m with Y/N, I love her. You can’t do this anymore Sofia, you’re clinging to a rope which isn’t even there anymore.”

If she hadn’t been manipulating this whole situation up to now you would have felt sorry for her. You could see in her eyes she still loved Ale and maybe now was the first time she’s truly recognised that this love has gone from Ale. “I’ll leave you both alone.”

“Thank you.” This is the first time you’d contributed to the conversation but you had to do this. “I hope you find happiness Sofia.”

“Thank you.”

The taxi arriving gave you the perfect opportunity to slip away from the conversation, leaving her stood on the side of the road as you cuddled together in the back of the vehicle. “I love you.”

“I love you more.”

[marzipanandminutiae]

Good luck on the job application! I know you probably can’t (or don’t want to) describe what it is. Hopefully it’s full-time at least! Every time I remember that someone works multiple part-time jobs, I want to give y’all 40 hours and a salary and health insurance.

Thank you! It is indeed full-time. I really, REALLY hope I get it.

Sadly, my situation is not rare in the museum world. There are plenty of thirtysomething museum workers- some with advanced degrees; some like me who don't have a Master's but do have years of practical experience in the field -who are cobbling together part-time jobs to make ends meet.

Something something field that used to be run and staffed entirely by volunteers- wealthy retirees, single heirs to family fortunes (often queer), and married women whose husbands had lucrative careers -now full of people making it their living, but a lot of the higher-ups don't realize or respect that, something something

(which is absolutely NOT to discount those people's contributions! but the landscape used to be radically less "this pays my bills," and due to the gender roles of the time, the Spouse Makes The Money couples tended to involve a man bringing home the bacon)

[starcrossedxwriter]

Built for Love Part 11 (MBJ x Famous Black OC)

Warnings: a bit of angst, lots of fluff, NSFW

A/N: I don't wanna give a single thing away about this chapter so I'm just gonna say enjoy!

“What are you doing outta bed?” Michael paused scrambling eggs on the stove to throw her a glance that matched the exasperation and annoyance in his tone. “I told you I’d bring it to you.” 

Charlotte’s slippers made scuffing noises across the hardwood floor as she made her way to the kitchen island. 

“Thank you but you’ve sequestered me in that bed since Saturday and I didn’t fight you on it once. It’s Wednesday and if I lay there for one more second, I was gonna lose my mind. I’ve slept enough for a lifetime.” She glanced down at the kitchen island, heavy laden with breakfast. She spied breakfast potatoes, bacon, sausage, fruit, and biscuits. “Now who is all this food for??” 

“You,” he responded simply. “You needed sleep and now you need calories. You’ve been losing weight since we moved here and that stops now.” 

Charlotte could not deny that was true. It was unintentional but her soft curves had certainly lost much of their curviness since she moved to New York. She was not at her skinniest by any means, but the rigorous performances and practices, her regular workout routine, and the stress caused the pounds to shed without her even realizing it.

She popped a piece of cantaloupe in her mouth as she walked up to him. “This is very sweet and everything smells delicious. Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome. Now go sit.” 

Charlotte moaned. Dr. Jordan was the strictest fake doctor she had ever met in her life. He barely gave her a chance to stand and stretch her legs. 

“Babeeeee,” she whined, wrapping her arms around his midsection. Her forehead rested on his back. “I can stand for a few minutes. He fucked up my upper body, my legs still work just fine.”

“You need to rest and relax, Charlotte. Damn,” he muttered under his breath. “Worst patient I’ve ever seen.” 

“How many girls have you nursed back to health from near death, babe? Damn, I thought I was your first for once,” she joked. However, when it fell flat, she grimaced. “Too soon?” 

“Wayyyy too soon, baby. How’re you feeling?” 

“Fi-” she started to say but remembered her promise. It included this. She pressed her lips to his back, his taunt and bare muscles flexing at her touch.“B-better. Nightmares weren’t so bad last night… just a couple so that’s progress… torturously slow progress,” she added. “And I made an appointment with my old therapist. We’re gonna do virtual sessions till I get back to LA.” 

Michael turned from the stove, still in the grip of her arms, to face her. He gave her an encouraging smile. “That’s great, Els.” He was proud of her, he knew how hard that was… that she likely felt as if she was backtracking or starting over. “Why didn’t you wake me last night?” 

“You need to sleep too, Dr. Jordan. All this taking care of and fussing over me, I know you’re not resting.” 

“I’ll rest when those heal.” He lifted her chin lightly to look at the bruising on her neck. He knew they would get worse before they got better but his eyes glazed over with rage every time he looked at her bruises, particularly the ones around her neck. He could make out exactly where his hands were, a temporary brand to what he tried to do. 

Charlotte rubbed his arm, an attempt to soothe the brewing emotions she could feel inside him. She always admired his emotional intelligence, how he was able to reign in his emotions and rage even when he so clearly wanted to find the nearest punching bag or Shaun’s face and have at it. “I’ve had worse. It always looks way worse than it feels. Well, that’s not true. The first day, it felt worse than it looked. But it’s not too bad now. I promise. And I’d rather you rest now. I really am ok.”

Despite her assurances, she could tell he did not believe her. She sighed, wondering when she would earn his trust again. That was honestly the hardest part in all this for her, knowing that her actions had caused her to lose it in the first place. 

“How long is it gonna take for you to trust me when I say that again?” She asked quietly. She wasn’t angry, there were consequences to her actions and this was one of them. But it did break her heart. She hated the idea that he did not trust her words. This was their first real issue as a couple, the first time she had to contend with them not being on the same page. 

Michael sighed, his hand going to scratch the scruff of his beard for a moment. “It’s not a question of trust, Els. Because I do trust you. And I’m not tryin’ to hold this against you. But this taught me that for better or worse, your default is to deal with your shit alone. To hide and, if needed, lie to avoid bothering or worrying other people. And I get it, I understand why. But I won’t lie and pretend like this shit didn’t shake me up a lot. Being stuck in LA knowing something wasn’t right even though you promised it was. Seeing you after the show shaken and scared and not knowing why… seeing you nearly dead on the floor when I was one room over. That ain’t shit I’m gonna get outta my head anytime soon. When you say you’re good, I wanna know that’s true. But I also know it’s gonna take a lot more than a promise and a few days for that to happen. You gotta work on trusting me with your problems and your pain and that shit takes time. And in the meantime, I’m gonna work on taking you at your word but I might also just need… some reassurances that you’re really ok.”

 She understood why Michael was being so protective. She could tell he still felt guilty, though he shouldn’t, about not being there to protect her in the first place. And now, he acted as if she needed to be wrapped in bubble wrap at all times. He barely let her out of his sight and if it was not an absolute necessity, he barely let her out of bed. She understood the impulse. If it made him feel better to fuss, she would not deny herself or him that.

“I understand. I didn’t think about how all of that would affect you… scare you. And I am sorry. Whatever reassurances you need and fussing you wanna do for as long as you wanna do it, I won’t fight you on it. Promise.” 

“Thank you.” He kissed her nose, her face scrunching up a bit. “How’s the pain?” 

“Manageable. Head is still pounding, everything’s a bit stiff but I feel like I can get up and move around a bit. Or at least move from the bed to the couch for a change of scenery. Maybe convince the best and sexiest doctor in New York to take me on a walk after breakfast so I can breathe some fresh air?” 

He eyed her suspiciously. “You sure you're up for that?” 

“Probably not up for a long one,” she admitted. “But even if it’s just 10 minutes… the cameras and reporters have finally moved on to bothering someone else. We could escape for a bit. I’m going a little stir crazy, Bakari.”

“Fine. Just for a bit then Avengers on the couch?” 

“Thank youuuu.” 

She ate quickly, finishing two plates at Michael’s insistence.  

As they went into their bedroom to change, she raised an eyebrow in shock as Michael handed her one of his favorite sweaters. She had stolen quite a lot of his clothes in the last few months, in which they basically became her clothes and he never saw them again. However, this coveted sweater had always been out of her grasp. He had always made it clear it was one of the few items that were off limits because he knew he’d never get it back. However, she had tried it on one or twice when he wasn’t home and it was like wearing a cloud, so insanely soft.

“Wow… so this whole time all I needed to do was almost die to get this?? Chile, I would’ve done that months ago to get this sweater,” she joked. Though she could see the corner of his mouth twitch, he did not laugh. “Still too soon?” 

“If it was too soon 20 minutes ago, it still is, Els.”

“Sorry, Jackson wasn’t a fan of my dark humor about dying the first time either. But it helps to find some humor in it… somewhere. And you gotta admit, it is kinda funny…” She remarked as she pulled on a pair of leggings. They still had to bundle up, one thing Charlotte did miss about LA was the perfect weather year around. 

“Ain’t a single humorous thing about any of this, babe.” 

“I dunno… I mean no, it isn’t funny. But also, it’s kinda crazy… Since I met him, Shaun’s gone out his way to try to kill me twice… and each time, I’ve survived. Like he is really bad at murder… terrible. I mean, not complaining… Thank God for it. But I would just stop trying if I was 0/2 with the same person, you know? That’s embarrassing??” That did make a small chuckle escape Michael’s lips. “See!! It is kinda funny when you actually think about it.”

“I’m ignoring you,” he called as he went into the closet to pull out their winter coats, baseball caps, and shades. Thankfully, the press and paparazzi surrounding their building had started to dissipate. They had gotten a couple glimpses of her family and Michael coming and going but none of her, thankfully. That was the only thing that would have made this whole ordeal worse, her bruised and battered form thrown across the front page of every newspaper. She knew it was still a possibility, pictures of her injuries from the hospital could leak. The downside of fame, nothing was truly private. 

She shrugged as he helped her pull on her coat. 

“I’m just saying he’s bad at killing or I am just that good at surviving,” she muttered. “Maybe they should cast me in Black Panther too?” At his confused stare, she smiled. “Cause I clearly have 9 lives like a cat? I could be like your sexy evil accomplice… The Golden Cheetah?”

That did make him laugh for the first time in several days. His hands grabbed her jacket to pull her close to him. “I’ll talk to Ryan about it, how about that?” 

“That’s all I ask.” She stretched on her tiptoes to kiss him before he took her hand to lead them outside. 

Their walk did not last too long as Michael knew it would not. Not because Charlotte was not up for it but because neither of them wanted to be out in the cold long. But she still appreciated his willingness to acquiesce to her small request. A walk was really the only public thing she cared to do, at least, until all the bruises faded. And she did appreciate the activity, she wanted to keep her limbs from going too stiff. She’d be back on stage next week, the one thing she did have to fight Michael on. Chris was on the verge of an ulcer every day she was out. He called to check on her everyday. She knew he actually cared about her but she also knew he wanted his leading lady back… ASAP. She already felt guilty ruining his opening night, the least she could do is not send him to the hospital from the stress. 

But Michael did not push back too much once she promised to have security with her, given that Shaun was officially out on bail. Restraining order or not, she and Michael were not interested in testing whether Shaun would adhere to it. She let Michael pick and vet the guy, who came highly recommended.cHis accolades included knowing more than an acceptable amount of ways to kill someone with his bare hands so she could not deny she would feel more safe in his presence. And the theater security and box office had been alerted and prepped to ensure her ex did not step foot on the premises again. And he no longer, thankfully, even had a legitimate reason to, Chris letting her know he had been fired from his investment firm immediately after the news broke. 

Charlotte knew she would not know real peace or be able to fully move on until he was behind bars, which the DA warned could take a year given the docket unless he accepted a plea. But she would accept the small wins and forms of justice that she could get, she knew it was far more than many in her position would ever see. 

As she pulled her outer layers and hat off, she got a glimpse of her hair in the mirror. 

“Ugh.” 

“What?” 

“My hair… How can you stand to look at me like this? I look like a troll doll. I’m gonna have to go to the salon or pay someone to come and wash it. I look crusty as hell.” 

“How about we relax in the bath and I’ll wash it for you?” 

Her face lit up. She remembered when they talked about a similar scene in Creed, the intimacy of helping Bianca do her hair. Her heart swelled at the idea of recreating such a moment. The role of victim and caregiver over the last few days had stripped a layer of emotional intimacy the pair was accustomed to. She knew it would come back eventually but she hoped, perhaps, this small act would speed things up a bit.

“Really?” 

He gestured toward the bedroom, taking her hand to get ready for the tub. 

Soon, she found herself resting against Michael’s chest in the bath, bubbles surrounding both of them. He did all the work, his fingertips softly massaging shampoo and conditioner in her tresses, Charlotte could’ve fallen to sleep right there.

“Can I ask you something?” Her soft voice breaking the silence between them as Michael worked diligently and carefully to avoid causing her pain. It had been on her mind since they got home, stationed at the forefront for the hours and hours she spent resting or recovering in his arms. Several days removed, the shock had worn off for both of them, she felt like enough time had passed to finally talk about things unrelated to what happened or her safety. They could talk about the future, one she prayed to God she did not completely destroy.  

“Shoot.” He took note of the nervousness in her voice. He did not know what she could be about to ask him, what could cause her to be nervous. He was an open book. 

“At the hospital… you said you wanted to marry me…” her voice grew quiet, one of her legs drawing into her chest. “Did you mean that? Do you still mean that? Or was it just, you know, you caught up in the emotion of everything?”

His massaging stilled for a moment before he answered, “Yes, yes, and no.” Simple and to the point as he resumed his task. 

He could feel her body relax against him again at his answers. 

“You don’t wanna elaborate on any of those answers?” 

He laughed. “Nah cause it’s pretty cut and dry to me. I’m pretty set on spending the rest of my life with you.” 

And that was not him just trying to assure her, it was the truth. He knew in his soul Charlotte was the end game for him well before they went on their first date. He had just been waiting for her to catch on. And once she did, every step he had taken since, including this move to New York, was with the intention of spending every day of the rest of his life with her. 

“Even after all this? After I lied to you?” 

Michael knew she still felt guilty. Between the two of them, there was much guilt to go around in their household over the last 72 hours. Some of it was fair and some of it was not. But just as he was trying to work through his own guilt, he did not want Charlotte to continue to hold onto hers when he had forgiven her.  

“Els, I meant it when I said I forgive you. And when I say somethin’, I mean that shit. Stop beating yourself up over it. I’ve loved you since the moment you walked into the studio for our screen test. And I’ve just fell more and more in love with you with every passing day. All of this changed nothing for me, except reminding me that whatever time we have together, I don’t wanna waste it.” 

Her hands played in the tall bubbles of the bath as she contemplated his words. 

“That been on your mind since I said it?” 

“Yea,” she admitted. “You know, all my time in bed gave me lots of time to ruminate,” she chuckled lightly. “It’s just… I mean we just have never talked about marriage a-and the long-term stuff. I mean and I get it, we haven’t even been together a year. But w-when you said that, it made me really happy because I feel the same about you. B-But then I just… you know, obsessed over it for the last three days wondering if all this changed your mind or made you question whether I’m the person you wanna spend the rest of your life with.”

“Nah, I would’ve married you after our first date if I could’ve.” 

Charlotte chuckled and shook her head, small droplets of water spraying everywhere. “We would’ve been skipping about 10 steps there. I want a proposal,” she laughed. “Knowing you, it’ll be something sentimental that makes me break down in tears.” 

Thank God she could not see the giant smirk that fell on his face. 

“And a big wedding, I assume?” 

Charlotte tilted her head as if to contemplate. She knew he expected the answer to be yes, after all most girls dream of a grand wedding. But that had never been her. “Honestly? I was never the girl to dream about the big princess wedding… just the prince,” she teased. 

Michael ran a comb through a section of hair, working to detangle it. He was trying to be as gentle as possible, knowing her head still hurt, which meant the whole endeavor took longer than it should have.  

“Am I living up to the childhood fantasy?” He asked. 

“My wildest dreams couldn’t have conjured you up.”

“I aim to please.” He kissed her shoulder. 

“I don’t even really care about planning it. I had to endure J and Lauren’s wedding planning and whew… miserableeee. And they couldn’t even enjoy the day that much. I dunno, I don’t want to be more worried about whether some elaborate affair is going according to plan instead of actually enjoying my wedding day? I wanna be celebrating our love and the first day of our life together. I mean yea, I want a wedding of some sort but it could have 25 people in your backyard. As long as I’m in a drop dead gorgeous dress and you’re waiting on me at the end of the aisle, I honestly don’t need or care about anything else. I’d be fine with a big one if you want one but someone else’s gotta plan it.” 

“I’ve never put much thought into my wedding so you won’t get much argument outta me. I would push back on the backyard thing though. Maybe a small destination wedding or a small venue in LA, something like that.” 

“I like the sound of that.” 

“Speaking of destinations,” he mentioned, shifting gears of the conversation. If they went too much farther down this road, Michael would find a wedding planner to plan a small intimate ceremony for next week. “I think we’ll both finally have some time off in September when you finish here. Let me take you on a trip.” 

“Oooo you tryin’ to fly ya girl out?” Michael rolled his eyes at her antics. “Where would you want to go?” 

Michael immediately shook his head. His sweet girl was the opposite of decisive. She would let Michael make every decision if she could. And this time, he wanted to go where she wanted to go. 

“Nahhh ma, it isn’t to celebrate me. It’s for you. Where do you want to go?” 

“It should also be to celebrate us both… a bit delayed sure but we never really did anything to celebrate Creed. That’s your first big leading man blockbuster.” She flipped the script on him. 

“Fine, it can be to celebrate us both but you still need to pick.” 

“I really hate you,” she laughed. “Well, at least, help me narrow it down. What kind of vacation vibe would you want?”  

“Preferably somewhere relaxing where I can have you naked or only in a bikini for most of the trip.” 

She could not hide the sly grin on her face at his words, the heat that rose throughout her entire body. She forced the feeling to dampen. They had not had sex yet and given how the other night went, she imagined Michael would pump the brakes again. She understood, but she did not want to deal with the rejection again. 

“The Caribbean is an option but September is dead in the middle of hurricane season, so we’d have to be ok with it being canceled potentially.” Michael smiled, he was never one to consider weather patterns before traveling. He barely checked the weather before he stepped outside each day. But of course, Charlotte would think about that. “We could do something like a spot along the Mediterranean? Or something like that. I’ve been wanting to go back to the Amalfi Coast but maybe we should go somewhere we both haven’t been?” 

He learned something new about his girl every day. “When did you go there?” 

“My first birthday after Shaun… My family surprised me with a vacation there. I had spent most of that whole first year miserable and in bed. The first six months were the hardest. But by the time my birthday came around, I was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel but still wasn’t there. I was in therapy and still struggling to find me in all of it? And I was just really depressed so the trip was supposed to cheer me up a bit. Lauren, Jazz, one of our other friends, Chelsea, and I all went. And we had a ball,” Michael could feel her entire body light up as she spoke, as if the mere memories of that trip were fuel and power.

“We just ate and drank and ate some more and swam and went on boat rides and just… lived. God, it was the first time I felt uninhibited happiness and relaxation in years. It was kinda my Eat, Pray, Love moment as corny as that is,” she admitted. “One morning, I got up super early and went down to the beach by myself while we were in this town, Ravello. I had this necklace he gave me for my last birthday. Hideous, gaudy silver thing I’d never pick or wear myself. But I couldn’t let it go and clung to that stupid thing since the break up. Anyway, I watched the sun rise and I realized that I’d never be me again. The me before him was dead and gone. But I also realized that maybe that wasn’t a bad thing? Cause the me before him needed that necklace as proof that someone loved me, no matter how hideous and awful that love was. The me before him and during him needed any type of love, no matter the cost of it. And that part of me needed to die. So, instead of trying to resurrect the old me, I decided I would reconnect with the things that made me happy and forge something new. And then I ran into the water and tossed that terrible necklace into the sea. And then I regretted polluting the sea with something that was definitely not biodegradable,” Michael’s deep baritone filled her ears with laughter. “So long way of saying, it just represents new beginnings to me in some way. So even if we don’t go this time around, I’d want to go back with you at some point. But I’d honestly be fine with anywhere as long as I’m with you. So why don’t you just surprise me?”

“Fine. Don’t think I don’t realize you’re using my love of surprises against me.” 

She turned and winked at him before he helped her stand and get in the shower to effectively rinse out all of the products. Their afternoon of hair styling continued as she sat between his legs on the couch, Avengers playing on the tv as he moisturized and styled her hair. She savored the help, she hated dealing with her mane of hair. And the intimacy it had created was exactly as she had hoped. And he did an excellent job. Though she could tell his arms were exhausted by the time he finished tying her scarf around her clean and moisturized curls and coils into a pineapple on the top of her head. 

“You could’ve been a hairstylist in another life.” 

“You didn’t tell me it was such a work out. Boxing didn’t hurt my arms this much,” he laughed. 

“Well when you’re prepping for Creed 2 and wanna help me with my hair for extra arm training, let me know. I quite enjoyed not dealing with it for once.” 

Her injuries made it difficult to cuddle on the couch as they wanted so Charlotte laid with her head on his lap, his hand resting on her arm as they watched the movie. 

“Can I ask you something?” This time it was Michael’s turn, a question that had been on his mind for longer than a few days. He did not know if now was the right time or if there’d ever be a right time. And he did not expect an answer but he wanted her to know he would listen if she was ready to ever share it.

“Of course.” 

“And you don’t gotta answer if you don’t want to. But you never told me… what made you finally decide to leave? Was it whatever you dreamed about that night you got sick?” 

Charlotte’s eyes clenched shut. It was always a delicate balance. What of Shaun’s brutality to share and what not to. But she knew this was one of those things, the things she needed to learn to trust Michael specifically with. He was home and home was where you could bare it all… your whole soul. He asked and she would answer, no more hiding. 

“There’s a lot I haven’t told you about him. I mean a lot of it was the same old same. But somethings, I said I’d never tell anyone, Jackson, Lauren… even you. A-and that nightmare, it was bad, don’t get me wrong. Definitely made the ‘the CIA couldn’t get this out of me,’ shortlist. But the breaking point was, he saw me talking to a reporter after a show one night and thought I was cheating, God he accused me of cheating like twice a week, which just made me so upset. We argued all the way home. He asked me if I wanted to leave him a-and in my frustration and anger, I told him he wasn’t giving me many reasons to stay. Looking back, it was a real stupid thing to say, like pouring gasoline on a fire. But I w-was just so tired, tired of feeling like I was killing myself every day to be perfect and love him and getting so much pain thrown back at me. When we got home, he beat me. T-that wasn’t the bad part, that was par for the course. But then… he dragged me out onto our 11th story balcony. He picked me up and threatened to throw me off until I swore I’d never leave.” 

She watched as his entire body stiffened, his fists clenching with anger. She wanted to offer him some assurance, something to ease the feelings that brewed but there was not really anything that could be said. That story and her life just were what they were, upsetting and enraging and all. 

“He played God with my life for a few minutes, though it felt like an eternity, my body balancing on the railing like a rag doll with only him holding me there. There was one point, I tipped so far back, I actually thought he had let go and I s-saw my whole life flash before my eyes. I always thought people were being dramatic when they said that. But it’s true. Like a movie in fast forward and all I saw was every mistake that led me to that moment. When he was satisfied that I had begged for my life enough, he let me down and drug me back inside to finish the night. He knew I didn’t have much fight left in me after that,” she whispered, her hand wiping a tear. “Ugh,” she could not contain the groan of frustration at her own emotions. She hated that he still had this effect on her. “I don’t know why I’m crying over this o-old shit,” she shook her head. “He doesn’t deserve it. A-anyway, I decided that the next day that I had to leave or I’d d-die. I made a p-plan and left a week later.” 

“I’m sorry, honeybee.” There were no other words he could offer, though those sounded inadequate in the space. With every story she told him, he felt like a layer of the complex onion that was her peeled back. “I should’ve killed him,” he muttered, more to himself than to her. And it was true. The fact that he still drew breath was enraging, another thing he felt guilty for. For not ending the monster that haunted her. 

Charlotte reached over and grabbed his hand, their fingers interlocking. “Your soul is too good to be tainted by him. Besides, you did quite a number on him from what I heard. I didn’t know you had hands like that in real life, baby Creed,” she teased, thankful her joke caused a small smile to grace his features. “God, I wish I could’ve seen it… Saying that makes me feel like a terrible person,” her head fell into her hand, propped up against the back of the couch. “But j-just to see him, for once, feel a fraction of what I felt. Feels like a bit of justice for it all.” 

“That doesn’t make you a terrible person. You’re far from a terrible person. If he dropped dead tomorrow, you would be justified if you threw a damn party. Hell, I would throw a party and I only met him once. You’re allowed to want justice for all of it.” 

“Thanks.” She shifted, bringing her feet under her. “You know what’s crazy about it? I always regretted him… Regretted meeting him, agreeing to that first date, staying through all of that. B-but the last couple days, I’ve been thinking about my life right now… the last few months are the first time that I’ve felt like I was at home, like I know who I am and my soul is at peace. It’s pretty damn good. A little damaged around the edges, sure, but still so amazing that… If I had to go back and do it all again, I know in my soul I-I’d walk that same jagged path through all the pain, a-and landmines, and everything else if it was what I needed to do to end up here again, if it meant I would find home again.”

“And where’s home?” his voice was quiet as if he was worried the answer would not be what he expected, as if he were afraid to hear it. 

Charlotte tilted her head to study him, her hand going to cup his cheek, the scruff of his beard tickling her palm. 

“You.”  

Waves of guilt crashed over him, causing a tear to fall. The first one he had shed since the hospital. Charlotte whisked it away with her thumb. 

“Not feelin’ like I deserve that right now. You were in trouble and I didn’t even see it till it was too late. I never should’ve left you here. I couldn’t even keep you safe. What kinda fuckin’ home is that?” 

The guilt in his voice broke her heart. She moved, slowly and stiffly, but moved to slide into his lap. Her hands rested on his shoulders as she looked at him.

“Look at me.” It was her turn to demand as he so often did, demand that he overcome the guilt and shame that forced his eyes away from hers. She knew it was difficult, had struggled to find his eyes too many times for fear she would see confirmation of her guilt, her shame, her unworthiness. But it was never there and he would not find that in her eyes today either. 

“Every single time I’ve ever needed you, you were right on time. This was no exception. The truth is, you’ve been keeping me safe since the day I met you. I was so lost before I met you. I-I had healed my heart a-and my mind and my body as best I could. But my soul, I had vowed never to let someone so close to it again, had boarded it up with walls so high it would be impossible to let someone in again. To let someone see me again. And that was fuckin’ lonely,” she admitted. “A-and exhausting to force myself to keep my guards up like that, to deny everything I’d always wanted… a partner who saw me in my entirety and loved me for all of it. But I did it b-because it w-was better than the alternative. A-And then I met you. And you instantly knew the me I hid from everyone, you knew my soul and what it needed to finally mend. And you slowly but surely broke down every wall and barrier I had fought so hard to keep up so you could ensure I got what I needed, a safe place to land. And every day since, you’ve seen my soul in its entirety, all its light and darkness, its hopes and fears, its permanently damaged pieces and those that’ve healed. And you’ve loved me beyond my wildest dreams for it all. You are my peace and my solace and my safety every moment… that is the best home I could’ve ever hoped for.” 

She wiped her tears that fell before offering. “He w-wanted me to deny t-that. Before he…” she lifted her own eyes to the ceiling as she re-lived that moment. “Told me it was him or no one, wanted me to tell him I would c-choose him. And I couldn’t. It’s insane,” she acknowledged. “And I knew you’d p-probably tell me just to lie to save myself. But I couldn’t deny what I’ve known to be true since we kissed in your apartment in Philly. You are it for me. You are my choice every day, every time, no matter.” 

His lips crashed against hers, his arms wrapping around her tightly to pull her into his chest. Michael knew the depths of Charlotte’s love for him without a doubt. And he loved receiving a tear-inducing speech about it as much as he enjoyed doling them out on her. However, to know that, even in what could’ve been her last moments, she chose to love him loudly and unapologetically, hit his soul harder than he had ever experienced before.

No more words passed between them, each touch was a silent declaration of love between them that they did not have the words to capture. The day had laid them both bare in a way they had never experienced before or expected. And it was not their trauma guiding them, it was pure love. A desire and need to connect mind, body, and soul.

“You want… need me to stop?” He whispered as she sucked on the soft skin of his neck. In his heart, he knew the answer before the words left his mouth. He could tell in her movements that stopping would be near impossible this time. But he had to check, had to double check before they went down this road. 

She immediately shook her head. Charlotte’s brain was mush, a complete fog of desire, need, and pleasure as she kissed every inch of exposed skin she could find. She had never yearned for a person as much as she yearned for the man beneath her. She wanted everything, all of him. She knew now, in hindsight, that the first night, she had wanted him for all the wrong reasons. And she was grateful that he, once again, saved her from herself. But now, in this moment, she wanted to feel him, feel his gentle touch and caress, and savor every moment of his love for her. And she wanted him to feel her, not her brokenness and fear, but the life pumping through her veins, the love she held for him, that he was her choice. 

“No,” she whispered back, he was thankful to hear that word leave her lips. “Do you wanna stop?” 

“Not this time.” 

“Good.”

Michael immediately wrapped his hands behind her thighs and hoisted her up to carry her into their bedroom. She let him guide her to their bed, laying her down gently as he removed both of their clothes. Charlotte instinctively wanted to shrink up and cover herself, hyper aware of the bruises that littered her form. 

Sensing her thoughts, Michael immediately leaned over her and started to press his lips to each one, gentle and lingering kisses on every cut, scrap, and bruise that sent jolts of electricity through her form. A silent but touching reminder that she survived and told her he did not care how they looked. He worked his way down her body slowly but this time it was not the usual teasing he liked to do. He simply wanted to savor every second of it. 

He handled her with such care, as if she were perfectly sculpted glass that would shatter if he pushed too hard, too fast. She was not fragile, he knew that. She was strong and powerful. But her wounds were fresh. Fresh enough that he used every moment to assure her that his touch was different, would never hurt her as he had, and would never treat her body and soul with such pain and callousness. It had taken great restraint not to taste her or bury himself inside her the last few days, to be as close to her as he could, feel the life pumping in her veins. But she needed time and so did he, to reckon with what they both almost lost. 

He could feel the frenzy beneath him as he worked, her body writhing with silent pleas that begged for more.  But he did not want to rush. He remembered their first time, slow and measured as he took her apart piece by piece. He understood the impulse to rush but they had time, he kept reminding himself. Time with each other. 

He returned to her lips, a quiet directive to slow down landing on her ears.

“Slow down, baby,” he muttered, “Slow down.” Their foreheads rested against each other as he forced her to take a breath. 

“I need…” her words trailed off as she whimpered, her fingers twisted in the soft fabric of his t-shirt as if he’d turn to dust before her eyes if she let go of him. Her eyes searched his for understanding, that he knew exactly what she so desperately needed.

“I know, I know.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek, her head leaning into it to find his lips again. “Hey, hey. Look at me.” Their eyes connected, brimming with tears as she took in his undying love for her. “We’re both here, safe and sound, and no one’s going anywhere. I promise. Let me take care of you.”

At her nods, he resumed his touching until he found himself at the treasure trove between her thighs, her flower dripping and begging to be touched by the man she loved. And that was all he needed as he spread her legs and wrapped his lips around her bud.

Charlotte’s back immediately arched off the bed as he feasted on her. It had only been days but she had missed the feeling of his tongue on her and inside her. He spelled out his love for her in gentle caresses that made her head spin. 

She melted against his mouth like chocolate, her cries of pleasure crescendoing with every movement of his skilled tongue. 

“That’s it baby, let me hear you.” He slid two fingers inside of her, increasing the sensations that already threatened to overwhelm her. 

Charlotte felt as if her body was in overdrive. Her hips rocked to meet every thrust of his hand, her thighs clamped around his head as he feasted on her. It did not matter how many times his mouth found its way to her core, he managed to reduce her to a mewling puddle begging for more, every time.

And usually, she let him stay between her thighs as long as he wanted, pulling out as many climaxes as he could. But this time, she needed more. She knew he wanted to take his time, take her apart and put her back together. But she could not wait. Her soul could not wait. She needed to feel him inside her. So much had been taken from her, so much had left her feeling empty in this life until Michael. Michael filled her up where her past and present trauma only drained her. And right now, she wanted to be filled. The emptiness ached and she wanted to be filled to the brim and overflow. 

She pulled him from between her thighs, bringing his lips to hers. She relished in the taste of herself but only for a moment before she whispered. 

“I need you. Inside me. I c-can’t… can’t wait,” she panted. “W-we have all night b-but I need to feel you now.” 

He acquiesced, the vulnerability in her voice more than enough to forgo his original plan. 

He kept her eyes on his as he thrust inside of her slowly. Charlotte moaned at the delicious stretch he always provided. Months, it had been months since she first felt that stretch and it still caused a gasp to escape her lips, her eyes to see stars, and every thought in her head to shatter. 

“J-Just like that,” she whimpered, all her senses squarely focused on him and the pleasure he graciously provided. All she could feel was the sparks of bliss at the end of every stroke and the trail of fire that marked where his hands roamed as he explored her body. All she could hear were the symphony of their moans, his deep grunts as he fucked her and her screams of pleasure. All she could see were his brown eyes, a look in them that made her own eyes mist with tears. She did not know why she was crying, whether it be from the intense pleasure or the look in his eye, a look that no man before him had ever given her, a look she would have never deemed herself worthy of. The look of pure love and adoration. 

Michael’s hips drove into her over, a primal growl escaping him as her muscles clenched around him repeatedly as he curved into her g-spot, their bodies made for each other. His eyes never left hers with every push forward and retreat. 

As he pulled out every trick he could think of to please her, pour his love into her, Michael could not help but think about how he almost lost this. How he almost lost her. He had plans for this insanely beautiful woman beneath… plans to grow old with her, to celebrate every milestone and moment of his life and hers together, to build a life and family with her. And all of it could’ve been gone. He had never experienced this before, a year ago he could not even convince Charlotte to go out on a date with him but now? He could not fathom his life without her. And that brief moment where he had to consider such a life… it had shattered him in ways he never knew a person could be shattered.

“I love you,” his voice shook as tears sprang to his eyes. “Fuck, I love you so much.”

“I-I l-love… you,” she moaned back, her words choppy and broken between her pants and moans. 

His mind drifted to the ring that he kept stashed in his bedside table, hidden in a box he knew Charlotte would never bother to open or examine closely. A ring he had started to design the day after that gala, the night she told him about her ex and decided to overcome her fears to choose him.

He knew she did not believe him when he said he had known he wanted to marry her since then. It sounded far-fetched, he recognized, to know that so early. Afterall, his friends called him foolish for designing and buying a ring for a woman who rejected him mere months prior. “Take your time,” they had all cautioned. “Make sure she is what you want.” But Charlotte was the one thing, the only thing, in this universe that he did not need time to consider, that he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he wanted. And he used this moment, every second spent in her sanctuary to show her how deeply his love for her ran, past his mind, past his heart. He loved her with every fiber of his soul. 

“You know how beautiful you are?” He asked as he draped her legs over his shoulder and leaned over to rest his forehead against hers. Charlotte gasped at the angle, he had not changed his pace one bit but this position allowed him to reach the depths of her pleasure center. Those tears she had kept in now spilled over as his words filled her heart and he filled her body with every stroke. That ache of emptiness? Gone. She was overflowing. “Do you know how much… I love you?” 

She cried out, unable to form real words or thoughts beyond obscenities and his name, which flowed without thought from her lips. 

“I’ll spend every day of my life loving you, keeping you safe. There’s nothing in this world I won’t do for you, Els. Nothing. ” His word was punctuated by a particularly deep thrust that turned Charlotte into a babbling mess as she came. “That’s it, baby. Cum for me.” 

“More. Harder. Everything you have, please,” her voice was strained, trying to speak while her body calmed down again. She understood his gentleness, appreciated it. But now, she wanted to feel him in the depths of her bones. She was his and she wanted to feel that in every ounce of her being.

Michael helped her flip over onto her stomach, this time instructing her to hold onto the headboard so she did not have to lay on the bed. He allowed her a moment to situate herself in the position he so enjoyed. He still practiced some restraint, refusing to unleash his usual power onto her still healing body. But he loosened the reins just enough to give her what she wanted and needed. 

There was nothing slow about how he rammed into her, her body thrusting forward with every delicious slam of his hips into hers. She was thankful he thought of the headboard, giving her the leverage laying face down on the bed would not have and protecting her bruises. 

“Yes! Y-Yes! T-thank you,” she moaned out as he fucked her with abandon. She surrendered to the pleasure, her screams bouncing off the walls as he made her cum again and again and again.

He took her in any and every position that would not cause her pain. He buried his face between her legs and feasted off of her before plunging into her again, Charlotte allowing her body to be at his mercy. They had all night and all the time in the world and she wanted him to use every moment of it. 

***

When Charlotte stirred again, she glanced over to find Michael sound asleep next to her. It was still dark outside, the clock reading 4:30 am. She laid there for a few moments, letting the soft sounds of Michael’s soft snores fill her ears. She turned and watched him for a few moments, the steady rise and fall of his chest. As she listened to him, the final part of a song she had been writing swelled in her heart. And when the pen called her, she did not dare ignore it. As quietly as she could, she climbed out of their bed and wrapped herself in her robe. 

She tiptoed out of their room and into the living room, grabbing her pen and notebook before retreating to the balcony of their apartment. She had rarely been out here, her own fear of them and the frigid New York winters keeping her from enjoying this one feature of their home. But tonight, not even her past or the cold chill could send her back inside. She curled up in a blanket in one of the chairs as she listened to the bustling sounds of the city fill her ears. 

It did not matter what time of day it was, New York City was always awake, always moving, always alive. Her lungs breathed in as much of the frigid air as they could before she breathed it back out. She knew she could not stay out there too long, it was freezing. But she also knew this was the only spot her singing would not wake up her sleeping boyfriend. 

Baby, the sound of you

Better than a harmony

I want you off my mind

And on me

Holding me closer than we've ever been before

This ain't a dream

You're here with me

Boy, it don't get no better than you

For you, I wanna take my time

All night

She closed her eyes, curled in a small ball, as her siren song filled the night sky though she knew no one but her and God would ever hear it. But that was fine, she preferred it. This was just for her, just for her to commemorate the love she found and was grateful to God for.

I wanna love you in every kind of way

I wanna please you, no matter how long it takes

If the world should end tomorrow and we only have today

I'm gonna love you in every kind of way

Give you all, give you all of me

Her eyes only opened at the faint creaks of a door, surprised to find Michael standing in the doorway of the balcony as she finished the last line. However, as she started to stand and finish singing, he shook his head. 

“Don’t stop. I wanna hear you.” 

And so she continued, this time, her eyes on his as she finished her song, the second verse she had been struggling with flowing from her lips as if it had lived in her heart all along. 

When you need it

'Cause I need it

I wanna fall like your favorite season

I'll never get up

Stay here forever, babe

It don't get no better than this

Your kiss

I wanna love you in every kind of way

I wanna please you, no matter how long it takes

If the world should end tomorrow and we only have today

I'm gonna love you in every kind of way

I wanna love you in every kind of way

I wanna please you, no matter how long it takes

If the world should end tomorrow and we only have today

I'm gonna love you in every kind of way

When she was finished, she sat up in the chair and glanced at him. 

“I’m sorry, thought going out here wouldn’t wake you.” 

He shook his head. “Bed’s cold without you, went looking for you and heard your voice. Wanted to hear you.” 

She smiled. “I’m glad you heard it… it was about you anyway,” she winked. “Back to bed?” 

“Umm… before we g-go,” he stammered slightly, Charlotte surprised to find a nervous energy suddenly surrounding him. He was usually so confident and assured, nervous was a rare emotion on him. “I have something for you.” He meandered to the balcony railing, standing directly in front of her before he pulled out the arm that he had bent behind his back, a small black velvet box in his hand. 

“You didn’t need to get me anything,” she offered with a small smile. If he had not been so nervous, he would have laughed at how she missed the obvious. The size of the box really only lent itself to one thing and she had not picked up on it yet. “Though I’m sure it’s beautiful.” 

He slid the box into her hand, Charlotte expecting to find a necklace or pair of earrings or something small nestled in the luxury box. However, all the wind seemed to knock out of her as she opened to find a sparkling and mesmerizing engagement ring, a giant pear shaped diamond set in the center with elegant but subtle diamonds nestled in the rose gold band around it. It was simple and yet, the most gorgeous ring she had ever seen in her life.

She glanced up from the box to find Michael in front of her on one knee. Every question that rose to her lips immediately vanished, caught in her throat as shock swept all of her senses. Her heart was beating so hard, she wondered if it was possible for it to beat straight out of her chest. 

“A-are you serious? I-If this is j-just a dream…” she whispered, her eyes moving to the sky as if she was talking to God. 

“N-No, this is real. Charlotte, I’ve loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you. Every day, you love me with your whole being. You support my dreams, however far fetched and foolish they may seem, you push me to be the best man I can be. Not just for you and my family but for myself. With you, I’ve always been right at home. Falling in love with you is both the greatest decision of my life and the easiest one I’ve ever made. And every day, I thank God for bringing you and your beauty, your laugh, your spirit into my life. I don’t know what the future looks like, I don’t know how much time we have with each other. But I know that I want to spend every moment of my life loving you and being loved by you. So, this is me being sentimental and making you break down in tears,” he joked to their earlier conversations. “Charlotte Elsbeth Bennet, will you marry me?” 

Charlotte’s breathing was choppy as she took in his words. Tears flowed earnestly as she tried to form a sentence.

“M-Michael… God I love you so much. B-But are you s-sure about this? I k-know with everything that’s happened… W-we haven’t even been together for a year. Are you s-sure I’m what you want?” 

“I’ve had this ring for months… I started designing it the day after the gala last summer. I was waiting for the perfect moment, wanting to plan the perfect proposal for you back in LA. But what happened reminded me that I don’t want to waste our time planning perfect or ideal moments. I just want to live in all those moments with you, by my side. All day, something kept pulling me to this ring, telling me that this was our moment. And I think it’s because our best moments, the realest ones for us, are just us… being us, comfortable and safe with each other. No planning, no overthinking, no obsessing. Just being home with each other. So here I am, unsure about so much, the future and where this life will take me and us. But this moment,” his hand rubbed her knee, her face covered by both her hands as she quietly cried. “This decision is the surest I’ve ever been in my life. I am sure about you. I’ve never been so certain that you were the woman for me. Marry me.” 

Charlotte immediately launched herself from her seat and into his arms, the small box still wrapped tightly in her hand as she held him. 

“I love you so much,” she whispered before kissing him, her body resting on his bent knee. 

“I love you too…” he paused, realizing he never actually heard the magic word. “So is that a yes… or?” 

She let out a watery laugh. “A million times, yes! Yes, yes, yes!” The box fell in her lap as she cupped his face in her hands. “ Now you’re really stuck with me, Mr. Jordan.” she teased as her hands wiped the tears that flowed earnestly from her eyes.

He took the box from her and slid the ring on her finger, his heart swelling at how she admired the piece. She was not much of a jewelry wearer so he went for a ring that was simple, one she would not mind wearing every day, but was worthy of her hand. 

He wiped a tear from his eye and chuckled. “Good, that’s what I was hoping for. Mrs. Jordan has a nice ring to it.” He pressed his lips to her ring finger. His deep baritone filled the cold air as he let out an excited yell, standing and spinning Charlotte around. “Wanna go to the courthouse tomorrow?” 

“Slow downnnnn. Another surprise this week might actually kill me,” she laughed. “Anndddd I wanna be my usual flawless self for our wedding photos,” she gestured toward her bruised face. 

“You’re always flawless to me.” 

“Alright I already said yes, don’t lay it on so thick,” she offered in jest, causing him to pepper her face with kisses. 

“Well how about I take you back to bed and warm you up and I can make you say yes a couple more times?” 

She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, “I think I’d rather you make me scream it.” 

“Oh that was always the plan.” 

And before she knew it, Michael had her on her back, their hands interlaced on the pillow as he made her scream that beautiful word over and over again until the sun came up.

Tag List: @certifiedlesbianbaddie @bangtanxmegan @reelwriter19 @prettyisasprettydoes1306 @hi888888sworld @msniaimani @destinio1 @lynaye1993 @chaoticevilbakugo @blackerthings @pipsqueak-98 @miyuhpapayuh @passionxwrites @gopaperless @injerafiend

A/N: Our babiesssssss!! I went back and forth on the proposal scene for a while lol and this just felt right so I hope you all enjoyed it! Every Kind of Way by HER is one of my favorite songs. This is not the end of our story buttttt we are getting close. Just three or four more chapters to go.

Drop a comment and let me know what you think/let me know if you want to be tagged!

[christinebloodwrittings]

Something exactly like this

Third part here! Honestly one of the worst things to do in the laboral world is managing clients, I'd rather clean toilets, I would deal with less shit, no kidding xD.

Pairing: Hobie Brown x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Harassing, violence.

Words: 2578

Chapter three: The way of the punk

Taglist: @xoxobabe @lavndrluv

It was around 6pm, things were as slow as ever, but my mood shifted after seeing Spider-Punk, maybe because of that I made a few extras on my tip.

It seemed like a good day so far, I was preparing the inventory for later, and then, it went down when I heard someone scream.

When I hurried back to the counter I saw a couple punks harassing Jess, one of them had her cute scarf on his hand, pulling on it so she was literally glued on the counter, unable to move.

"HEY" I yelled, "Let her go, I'll provide service for you" the taller one let go of Jess, making a disgusting grin, "Now that's better, see how easy is bein' nice?" He pushed her head against the wood harshly before sitting on a booth.

"What can I get you?" The same bastard eyed me up and down, licking his lips, "Don' know, you in the menu?" He and his peers laughed at his lame joke. Normally I would at leat try to knock him out, but like I said before, same shit every day.

"Sir, if you're not gonna buy anything, I'm going to ask you to leave".

"Sweetheart" he grabbed my note pad and wrote awfully his order, then the threw it back to me, "Don't get your knickers in a twist, hurry to the kitchen", I almost wished he said thay it's where I belonged so i had a reason to kick his face, but I just let them laugh as I walked behind the counter.

"Three eggs with bacon and three coffees" I placed the order, feeling Jess's eyes on me, "Are you okay?" She rubbed her neck a little, "Yeah, sorry I didn't know what happened back there" this time I was inclined to hug her, "Relax, stay in the register".

Usually we have people every certain amounts of time, so it's never really full, the rush hour started between 5pm and 7pm, because people started managing from home their businesses, due to all the violence. Only a few thousand were brave enough to work outside, like delivery people, or mall staff.

Punks were the worst clientele, you can ask anybody who has to work with people for a living, besides Karens, old people with children and perverts, punks were simply the worst.

"Order up!" The cook handed me the plates, which I took to the table swiftly and without dropping them, not bad since the leg.

"Thank you sweetheart, that'll be all for now" the other tried to copy his comrade stupid attitude, but couldn't make it sound as disgusting, more like pathetic and uncharacteristic. Rather cringy really.

The air around me changed when I saw that one of them had a gun.

Couldn't made a single movement that was too erratic, neither alert Jess without being too obvious, so I just acted normal, like I didn't give a fuck and started to fill up ketchup containers.

One thing is being shot from behind a smoke curtain where you can't see the gun or the person behind it, but it's totally different to have someone point a gun directly to your face.

No one should know what that's like.

Had to be calm, breathe in, attend them and then they would leave. I kept repeating that when they ordered pie, the plates moved with my shaky hands, and just didn't know how to act anymore.

"Ah, why so nervous luv?" His hand went down my thigh, caressing gently with his dry as fuck fingers. What could I do? I couldn't see his other hand, so I guessed it was on the gun, which he showed me with a dark smile.

"Gonna behave now huh? That's why little humming bird went silent?" The third now spoke, making the supposed leader snicker.

His hand moved upwards, reaching towards my ass, never taking his eyes away from me. I couldn't get out of there, Jess, tired of the scene, tried to get closer but I shook my head slowly, couldn't risk her being involved.

"Let's see how well you do me now, whore" he pulled me to his lap, his hand fully grabbing the gun now. He undid the laces behind my apron and slid it away, then he used the cannon of the gun to slip up my shirt, "Wahoo, little bird is bein' cooperative" mocked the second one, firstly taking my hand and then pinning it on the table.

Now, his hot stinky breath was against my neck, along with his tongue, going up and down. Shivers ran down my spine, while I fought the urges to cry and throw up. "Shakey aren't we? I like that" One more word out of his mouth and I literally wouldn't be able to contain my stomach.

In the midst of an awful situation, his head went backwards and dented knife was pressed harshly against his throat, "You better unhand her, things will get messy otherwise" I looked up, "Sir, please" I whispered not believing my eyes.

"Come get y'er bitch huh? No worries, I'll return her to you when we're finished" this guy seemed to not be able to read the situation he was in, until the manager in a blink of a eye scratched the hand with the gun, giving me a window to break free and run to the counter.

"Look what you made me do, you couldn't just wait your turn huh?" I wanted to say he was in an unfair fighting situation, but two of the guys slipped away as soon as they say thr massive riffleon his hand, so it was just the leader vs him.

"Beat it Claude" so that was his name, it was a bit off for a dude like him. "This ain' over, old geezer" he spit and left, but his gaze lingered on me for some reason, it gave me goosebumps.

If only Spider-Punk had appeared instead of him, I would've kissed him right there on the spot.

"Thank God sir, thank that was so badass" she called him?? "No problem, wonder why he was here of all places, wasn' on his turf, besides no one manhandles my waitresses" he said brushing back his white hair.

"Th...Thank you" I ended up stuttering, and my voice broke as soon as I made the effort to speak up, "Did he hurt you?" Jess walked past the counter, brushed my hair away from my face and neck, then she eyed at my arms, torso and legs.

"Only emotionally, but besides the touching and licking, he didn't do much" she sighed, "You're pale, need anythin'?" She seemed really worried, "I'm sick, so I'm gonna take five in the bathroom, I feel...dirty" I turn away from Jess, for some reason I felt embarrassed, maybe was the fact that everyone saw that horrible scene back there, but the embarrassment was going to pass, the feeling of his hands and awful words wasn't, not easily.

After I puked my guts out, I resumed work, then at 7:30, locked myself in the back to do inventory, alone with my headphones, blasting pop clasics instead of listening to my thoughts, otherwise they would eat me alive.

Later I was walking home when I remembered Spider-Punk could come, and since I didn't really had the energy to deal with people, at all, no matter how nice, I thought of leaving a post it on the window, because I couldn't exactly text him, right?

Home sweet home.

Was it really? Sure I entered a department hardly decorated, half of the walls painted in a minty green that was hideous, with two corners occupied with stacks of empty boxes, a single brown couch and a bedroom as boring as vanilla ice cream.

So yeah, home.

Lonely, cold home. With no one who greets me with a hug, with something freshly cooked, or at least the damn lights on. Just the emptiness and coldness, as usual.

Is sometimes a curse to be independent.

I threw my work bag on my bed, it looked tempting as fuck, but I knew I wouldn't be able to get up. The only things in my mind were an instant Ramen cup I had stashed somewhere in the kitchen, and a shower.

And I couldn't wait to be clean.

But as soon as I opened my window, the masked man fell from the roof and stopped to be face to face with me, upside down like earlier.

"Hey there luv" there he goes again with the gorgeous British accent, "Hi, I was just about to ask you for a rain check"

"Why? Somethin' happened?"

"No" Yes, "Work drained me, socially speaking, so..." I sighed, my eyes shut fighting a few tears "Sorry I just can't deal with anything or anyone right now"

"Wanna be alone, talk about it, a distraction, just stare at the telly, or a hug with no questions?" I really appreciated him giving me options, but I was just so tired, "I want to sink in the dirt, so can we...do this some other time?" He bowed his head slightly, "Of course, have a good night luv" he was so polite and understanding, it made my heart flutter.

"Same, be careful" He jumped away, but as I was about to close the window he came back to open it back again.

"What are you-" he didn't let me finish, a single jump and he was inside my room, "I know the best to shake off a bad day, come with me" he suddenly was so illuminated, but I wasn't sure, and he noticed. "We'll be back before curfew, cross my heart" he assured me, and seemed confident enough.

"You sure?" I placed my hand on his, "I bet you a kiss" I grabbed my cellphone, and my keys just in case, before following him to the window, "You're on".

He took me to the roof, the last bits of the sun shining at the distance made me forget the cold wind blowing.

He jumped on the edge, and pressed my body to his before leaning back, and fully jumping off the roof, his arm firmly wrapped around my waist. "Oh my- Fuck!" I yelled, holding him for dear life. I heard him fucking laugh, "Don't mock me you punk!" He laughed even harder, "You're so cute!" I heard him, and felt the movement of his cheeks, I bet he was smiling.

We landed in front of a cafe, not like the one I work in tho. It had a simple style, not much like the 80's, more like modern but it felt like home. The smell coming out of the kitchen was sweet, warm, welcoming.

Gosh how did I missed a place like that?

"Man like Sam! Spare us an hour or two?" The man from the counter lifted his head, "Yo wassup Spider-Man, sure thing, the usual?" Seemed that they get along just fine, "Yeah, but not for me, you're not alergic to cherries right?" I shook my head, "So that and a... coffee? Or perhaps a milkshake, luv?" He gave me a nudge on the shoulder, making me laugh at his funny tone.

"Making fun of me, huh?, a capuchino please" the man nodded with a sweet smile before going to the back.

"I wasn' ya know? Just thought you were the kind of girl who enjoys the milkshake with the share heart straw" I laughed as I followed him to a booth.

"I mean, I do enjoy a good cliché, but this is not that kind of situation, and you're too cool for that" he gasped in a dramatic way, "You're assuming the way of the punk don' like cute stuff?" The smile on my face grew a bit, "I suppose so" he leaned his body against the wall, punching his chest with both hands pretending to stab himself.

"Way to punch my heart lil' luv" he was so weird, "You like clichés? Aren't those a way the media has to make people buy into a fake romance idea, and make money out of it?" I saw how he tensed his jaw, only to mouth a dry, "Yes" probably clenching his teeth.

"Not very anarchist of you to like 'em" I bluffed,

"In my defense, don't believe in consistency, luv" he was so enigmatic, but so simple? I had so many questions.

"Right, so you're a hopeless romantic?" He sat normally, took a second to think about it, then sighed, "I enjoy the lovey-dovey shit, it's a good rest from the hard leather and violence" waving his hand in the air.

The same man from before brought me a piece of cherry pie, with whipped cream and a ball of ice cream on top, and the capuchino, it was so cute, it had a shape of a cat on the foam. I thank him and offered the spider a bite but he refused, maybe because he just didn't wanted to lift his mask, too much exposure I guess.

"Must be hard" I broke the silence, while toying with the crust, "The what?" He asked, I was going to mention his whole vigilante life, but I figured something more, complete.

"Living in a constant fight flow" he looked down, then to the window, like looking for something in the foggy night.

"Already used to it, but yeah, who wouldn't be fed up already?, this seems like it's..." he punched the table, sighing exhausted. He seemed so tired of everything.

"Endless" he lifted his gaze at me and nodded, "Yeah", the only thing I managed to do was place my hand on his, to bring at least some comfort,"I feel you" his hand faced the other way, so he could lace it with his fingers.

"What had you so down?" His voice was low and soft, as if he was being careful and put a lot of thought into the question.

The piece of pie went hard down my throat as soon as he asked.

"I just...I really hate man that think they can do whatever the fuck they want to women" I felt how his hand had a firmer grip, not quite menacing like the punk at the coffee shop.

"Did someone do something to you today?" He suddenly went straight with his tone, and also his words.

"Honestly he was an imbecile punk, I don't care anymore, by the way no offense, but most idiots nowdays are punks" I stared at his fingers playing with mine, his other hand tapping the table occasionally.

"What did he look like?" He insisted.

"So you can do what? Forget it, if only he didn't had a gun, I would've kick his ass myself" the air went quiet for a little bit, again it was like I could hear the gears in his head turning, "Did he hurt you?" I shook my head, not wanting to disclose what he actually did, "Nothing physical".

"If I had stuck around, maybe would've helped" that made my heart flutter a little, the idea had crossed my mind, him swinging and saving me from that asshole, "It was hours after you left" It wouldn't have changed a thing, but he sighed and murmured a low "Still", his gaze, I just knew he had it on me, but how I wished I could see his eyes.

"If it makes you more at ease, this helps a lot" I laughed, but the sound of a police siren brought our attention to the window, and ruined the whole evening.

[cyggiestardust]

I gotta stop almost fuckin dying in November — this is two years in a goddamn row now. Almost the exact same way, too:

(scary medical shit under the cut. Near death close call, allergic reaction)

So last night during dinner, I found a hunk of cashew (not supposed to be there) in my smoked tomato truffle jam. I could tell I was in danger because I've officially been able to notice something (and I pray no one else deals with that!) that goes with danger level allergen exposure:

The single "BAH-BAM" of a heartbeat in my ears, way too loud, way too slow, followed by the immediate temporary disabling of my left side.

Until I looked down at my empty, idle forearm and saw the freaky shit going on there, the abnormal ripple in the muscle, and veins that got so itchy inside I could see them...moving around, shifting.

Then the chest punch hit me and we both remembered we're supposed to DO something.

It was absolutely a close call: we couldn't find the epipen. But it was a MUCH slower reaction than the juniper, which gave my husband a chance to think clearer than I could at the time — throat open, sinuses closing, head fading — and tossed me three Claritin (chewed them) followed immediately by three Vistaril, because you gotta get the immediate reaction AND anything possible later.

Once again my husband's fast thinking kept me on this planet. The screamy bus was fast enough, but the ER goes "well we see people in order of severity" and I sat idle in the waiting room for like 4 hours only to find out that even if they HAD seen me sooner even with the steroids they'd only do a 6 hour monitor. That's all.

We live an hour away and decided to do the monitor part at home. I'm on bedrest today, and I'm not about to argue with that today. I remember enough of last November. We got home round 1 AM.

The good news is I'm awake and alive.

The BAD news is ✨ literally everything hurts ✨ right now and I'm tired.

And until we read Every Label in the house again I'm not supposed to touch the pantry. Which right now is fine by me. I'm not planning on dying for the ultimate grilled PBJCB (peanut butter and jelly with cheese and bacon) sandwich today.

[fandomfuntimem]

Second chances: a fnaf au

Part 2

CHAPTER 1: Wake Up

Fire. Blazing fire.

Despite the dire circumstances Michael actually felt quite calm. It was over, he and Henry had succeeded. They rounded up all the animatronics, and burned it all down. Now it is time to rest, and he was all too happy to do so...

EEEEH EEEEEH EEEEEEEEH

Michael shot up. Fire. There was no fire. Where was the fire? He wasn't in his office anymore. He was in a bedroom. His bedroom. Not his adult bedroom, his childhood bedroom. Before he could fully process anything he heard knocking on the door, "MIIIIKEEEEY!!!! TURN THAT ALARM OFF! IT'S ANNOYING!" Elizabeth? No that can't be. Michael swung his legs off the side his bed and slammed him hand down on the clock. Was it all just a dream? He wondered, no. This is a second chance.

***

Michael jogged down the stairs. If this really is a second chance he won't waste it. No more fox mask, no more scaring Evan, no more pranks. Besides, William was barely around anyways, his siblings need someone to step up and be the parent.

The house was just as he remembered it. Neet with only a few toys here and there. Family photos decorated the walls, not a single smile found in any one of them. If you're visiting for the first time you would think its a cozy average home, but it really wasn't. Michael will never forget just how cold it felt, with each life lost the house only got colder. Well that's just going to have to change, Michael thought.

Walking into the kitchen Michael saw Elizabeth trying to reach for a box of cereal. She was right there, alive, not some phsycho clown animatronic. She's alive, He's alive, Evan's alive. Everyone is back, and he could save them all. For now though, he had to act natural. So he did. He totally did. "Haaaay Lizzie. What uh... what are you trying to do?" He said, god, this was harder than he thought. It's not every day you burn in a fire and wake up in your childhood home.

Elizabeth turned and gave him an odd look, "whats up with you? Got a stick up your butt?" She proceeded to give him a snarky grin.

"Haha very funny. What are you doing?"

"Trying to get to the cereal," she pointed up at the cereal box. Cinnimon charm puffs? Michael thought, didn't those get banned in the 90s?

Michael glared up at them, they deffinately did. "Why those? Don't we have something better," he muttered walking to the fridge. Yup there was a carton of eggs and a pack of bacon. If he's gonna do things right he is gonna do them right. No more cinnomon lucky cherrios or whatever they were called. He could have sworn they got banned for having vile levels of caffiene in them. Who even puts caffiene in cereal?

Elizabeth glared, "Daddy said we aren't allowed to use the stove."

"Yeah well, father isn't here to stop me," Michael snarked, "where's Evan? He's gonna miss breakfast."

"He's in his room. This isn't some elaborate plan to scare him again is it? You arent hiding that dumb Foxy mask anywhere are you?"

Oh right. That. First thing Michael did before coming down was throw it under his bed. He didn't want to see that nasty thing anywhere near him ever again, "no. I'm uh... I'm done with that. No more pranks. No more foxy mask."

Elizabeth looked skeptical, but she went off to Evan's room anyways. Evan. Michael's gonna have to be prepaired to see him again. Will Evan cry? He doesn't want to see that again. He'll probably cry too! He has to hold it together. It's hard enough to explane his sudden change in personality, but to explain why he broke down in ugly sobs the moment the kid he bullies enters the room? Yeah, there is no good explanation for that.

"Oh. He didn't hide'" Elizabeth said behind him. Michael turned, she was holding a small bat, and behind her was Evan. Poor Evan. He looked terrified.

Michael tried to look as friendly as possible, but that only seemed to make him more uncomfortable, "I uh... I made breakfast. You can go sit at the table." The two kids seamed skeptical but sat anyway. Michael placed down three plates with some fresh bacon and scrambled eggs, "you guys uh... you-you want toast??" He asked with a grin. Elizabeth gives him a suspicious glare, meanwhile Evan held his fredbear plush close and refused to make eye contact. Silence. Ooooh the uncomfortible silence. "Oookkk," Michael muttered, "no toast I guess."

Michael drums his fingers on the table. "You know what? I could go for some toast, yeah, toast, toast sound good," he said, shuffling back to the kitchen. While rummaging through the kitchen he hears Elizabeth and Evan whispering, he couldn't make anything out, but they sounded concirned. As he placed the toaster on the counter he felt a tug on his shirt, "whats wrong with you? You're being weird." Michael looked down, it was Elizabeth. She was giving him a frustrated and pouty look. "Nothings wrong," Michael said, "am I not allowed to be a good brother for once?"

"No, but it's still weird. You're usually mean and scary. THIS IS WEIRD! What did you do to our actual brother??"

"I am your actual brother Lizzy. I just decided to be better."

"Oh yeah? And what brought on this 'realization'"

"Fire. Blazing fire."

"What??"

"It was a uh... a dream. A lot of fire. I was in hell. Definitely hell."

Elizabeth glares at him again before sitting back at the table and begrudgingly took a bit of her eggs. Upon seeing this Evan cautiously took a bite and seemed pleasently surprised when nothing was tampered with. Michael started buttering his toast, glad that he atleast made a proper and enjoyable breakfast. It's been decades since he was able to eat so he wasn't too sure if he could make something that would actually taste good. Come to think of it. It's been decades since he needed to cook at all. How did he manage this? He was litteraly a zombie living alone. How in the world did he manage to retain the skill to cook?

Just as a was beginning to get a little too deep in thought he heard a small voice call from the dinning table, "Mikey. Can you make me some toast too?" It was Evan. Holding his plush close, he timidly did his best to look at Michael. Progress, Michael couldn't help it but have the biggest goofiest grin plastered on his face. Evan spoke to him and he didn't cry or stutter. He even called him Mikey!

"Sure! You want butter too?"

Evan nodded. Its not much, but its progress. Evan is still scared but he asked Michael for something! That's deffinately progress right? No matter. He's being a good brother. Sitting at the table he handed Evan his toast and began to eat. Food! Aaaaaah finally food! He was a corpse for so long he almost forgot what eggs and bacon tastes like. Everything is going right. He's alive, Evan's alive, Elizabeth is alive, he got exactly what he wished for, a second chance.