#the crew is so sweet and welcoming and i feel so fucking supported and at home already

[twinksintrees]

i’m so tired all i wanna do is cry

[portgasdwrld]

Bathing 🧼 [nsfw]

༊*·˚ Featuring: Ace x f!reader

༊*·˚ Warning: NSFW

༊*·˚I felt lazy to edit everything, so sorry for mistakes

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Ace and you are both temporarily accompanying his little brother and his crew for a little while in Alabasta.

So after a delicious meal on the ship, you take the opportunity of being on a boat to take a shower, not knowing when you could’ve the chance to have one while travelling in the desert for multiple days. So as everyone is leaving the table, you lean a little over Ace’s tattooed arm to whisper into his ear.

-Ima take a shower, you’re always welcome to join~

You whisper with an intentional suggestive tone. Frankly, you and him haven’t saw each other in a while as you left earlier than him to deal with another issue. You two met on the desert island, in pure coincidence and you are set on catching up with him, even if it meant risking whatever for a little intimacy with him.

He gives you a little amused smirk as he quietly nods. He stays behind at first, as he engages in a short conversation with Luffy and offers his help with cleaning to the cook, who turned it down. After noticing that everyone are doing their own personal thing, he decides that joining you is what best he has to do.

He exit the dining hall and walks out a bit confused. Even though it’s a small ship, he still is far from being familiar with it. He sees Usopp walking by and stops him in his track.

-Hey, do you know where the bathroom is ?

-Uh, y-yeah..It’s just at the end of the small hallway, but I think I saw Y/n enter for a shower.

-Oh, alright. Thank you!

Ace warmly taps Usopp shoulder as he walks away in the direction for the bathroom. Usopp watches him walk away with a cocked eyebrow.

Ace knocks on the door few times and hears your sweet voice behind the door letting him walk in, after you recognize his voice. The place is foggy from the hot water and he can barely even see you.

-You left the door open?

-There is a lock?

You question him as you try to figure where your man is through the fog. Ace looks at the door and easily finds the lock, which he uses to make sure no one walk in on y’all. He walks closer to you and he’s finally able to see you. He smirks as he watches the silhouette of your naked body. Your chest was pressed on the bath, as your crossed arms were resting on the edge, supporting your head. You look at him with bright, hungry eyes.

-I thought you would never come

He chuckles and slightly lean over to cup your face in one hand. He kisses your lips and caresses your cheek with his thumb.

-Didn’t want to make it obvious

-Ah fuck it, it’s been so long

-Has it been?

-You haven’t missed me?

You ask with a small pout playing along with him. He acts as if he’s thinking about it before he lean over you to close the drain so he can hear you better. You watch him move as your eyes gaze at his bare abs, he always had this attractive body and you want to feel it more than ever now. You straighten your body, letting your hand brush his toned abdomen as he’s leaning over you to close the water.

Ace chuckles as his hand wraps your wondering one, keeping it on his abs. He’s now straight looking down at you through his lustful eyes.

-Yes, I have missed you.. more than you can imagine

He finally answers. You look at him with big eyes as you level your head in front of his crotch. You get closer and drag your tongue against his clothed bulge, not breaking the eye contact with him. Your boyfriend let a curse out with a groan. You let your head rest on his thigh as you slightly bite your lips and look at him through your lashes.

-Not as much as me

-You’re sure about that?

He teasingly asks as he frees your hand from his hold. One hand is now resting on his thigh as the other one is pressed against his hard bulge, softly palming him. His hand caresses your head as he watches you with loving eyes.

-More than sure, babe

You coo as you take off his belt. As the accessory hits the floor, Ace doesn’t waste any time and bend so his lips are attached to yours. A quick passionate make out session blooms as you find yourself chasing for him as he pulls away. He takes his bottoms off, after putting his hat somewhere safe in the little space. You watch him with hungry eyes as he gets into the bath with you.

Ace is confident when it comes to how you long for him. He knows the effect he has on you when you watch him with those eyes, how you grab his biceps, how you feel his muscles under your hands. He knows anything he does drives you crazy, and to be truly honest he was on the same boat when it comes to you.

Ace easily picks you up as he sit you on his laps. His mouth quickly finds its way to your breast where he leaves heavy kisses. He pushes your breast up as his hot breath brushed against your nipple, before he wrapped them in the warm on his mouth. His tongue twirling around them, teeth slightly touching them, sucking them just enough to drive moans out of your mouth as pleasure is shot through your body.

-Fuck, you love me so good Ace

He releases your nipples with wet noises as his gaze shifts to your eyes. His hand grabs the back of your neck and he connects your lips to his once again, kissing you so hungrily like he would never have the opportunity to kiss you like this ever again, like he would die tomorrow and never be able to touch you again.

You feel his cock twitch against your stomach as his hands roam all over your hips and butt. One of his hands finds it’s way to your wet core leaving you gasping for air as his digits rub against your clit. You rest your forehead against his shoulder, gripping his dark hair at the back of his head.

-You like it?

He asks in a deep tone that sends shiver down your spine. You nod with a weak moan and shaky breath.

-Yes..I missed this so much

You reply before leaving a wet peck on his collarbone. You can’t even remember how many times you fantasized about him touching you and stretching you out. You couldn’t wait to see him again and hear his heavy breath in your ears as he thrusts into you ruthlessly, fucking you just the way you like it.

-You’re so wet. Been thinking of this happening for a while huh?

It wouldn’t be Ace if he didn’t find a way to make a cocky comment. You know that he loves seeing you needy for him, it makes him feel wanted. He longs for your lingering eyes and pleads. He loves you so much and the lust you hold for him, makes his heart flutter like nothing else.

-Been thinking of your cock whenever I can’t sleep

You admit in a sigh as you feel his finger penetrate you. You moan his name immediately slapping a hand on your mouth, remembering the setting.

-You love my dick so much, don’t ya

He chuckles as he moves his fingers inside of you. The water moves under the sudden change of pace of his fingers, now moving quickly in and out of you. You choke a moan due to his unexpected speed. You furrow your eyebrow and close your eyes, trying your best not to be a moaning mess and make an embarrassment out of yourself in front of his little brothers crew.

-A-ace..

-Mmm, sweetheart?

-Please fuck me…I can’t take-

He curls his fingers hitting the perfect sweet spot inside of you, making the words in your throat get cut off. Your hands are now harshly gripping into his shoulders, probably leaving marks as your nails dig into his warm tan skin. You try your best to contain yourself, but his fingers just feel so good. A moan slip out of your lips and you can feel Ace smirking as he laughs.

-Need some help?

He asks before quickening up the pace, both ignoring your request and your will to keep quiet. You can’t hold it anymore as you moan his name, feeling so close to orgasm.

-Ace, fuck! Yes yes yes, just like that!

You come on his fingers with few last thrust of his fingers. You collapse against Ace’s body as your breath is unsteady and heavy. Your boyfriend kisses your forehead as he tries to soothe you by caressing your back with his fingers. He finally removes his digits, leaving you feeling empty. He put them in his mouth, sucking them clean in a quick move before he position his dick at your entrance. His precum is already smothered on his wet abdomen, he wants to fuck you more than ever.

-Can I?

He asks in a whisper as he kisses your neck and jawline. You weakly nod, already feeling your arousal rise as you watch his body shift a little under you. With that, he slowly enters you, stretching you out so good. The familiar feeling of him being inside you that you missed so much. As he’s completely buried inside of you, he starts to move a little, making the water under you two move at each movement.

-You take me so good, sweetheart

You agree with a nods as you wrap you arms around his neck and kiss him. Ace is moaning in your mouth as each of his thrust bring him a little closer to his high.

He hasn’t touched you in months because of the distance and he clearly can feel that he won’t last long. He takes in as much of you as he cans, smelling your hair, roaming his hands all over your curves, kissing your soft lips. He loves you so much. On you side, you already feel sensitive because of your first orgasm so when you feel him twitch and pulsate strongly inside of you, you figure out he’s close. He pulls out making you whine instantly.

-So needy

He teases you between two breaths, before telling you to face your back to him. You do as he says and lean over the edge of the bath, your arms supporting you. You feel his lips kiss your ass as he praises you. You tell him to put it in already, but he likes being annoying so he teases the tip a little until he just pushes his whole length unexpectedly. You shout loudly at the pleasure, at that point you give up being quiet.

There was nothing to be quiet while being dick downed by Portgas D. Ace.

His pace is rough, hips slamming against your ass just the way he likes it. He loves seeing your ass bounce back against his dick, the way your back is arched. It makes his head dizzy, and dick twitch. He grips your hips so strongly, you’re sure they are going to be bruised. The rythme gets a little sloppy and rougher so you know he’s feeling closer, his grunts fills the room along with your moans. He slaps your ass and grip it, not letting go.

-Fuck, I’m gonna cum

He moans with closed eyes. He gives few fast thrust before spilling all his seeds inside of you. He follows up with rough slow thrust riding out his orgasm, making sure you are all filled up with his seed. He opens his eyes and dart them to his dick, admiring almost his cum mixed with your juice.

-Did you cum?

He asks coming back to his sense, panting as he keeps his dick inside of you. You shake your head.

-Alright, let me take care of my baby

He starts playing with your clit and gives your pussy slow thrust. He hisses under his breath due to him being sensitive, but he wants you to cum. He gives your praises and talks you through it, until you climax all over his cock, clenching so tightly around him. Body shaking, he wraps his arms around your body and kisses the your back.

-Did so good to me

He finally pulls out, enjoying the view of your pussy completely filled with his seeds. He slaps your ass making your roll your eyes as a chuckle leaves your lips. He sits down and you join him, sat in between his legs. He warms the water who got a little cold and you two enjoy the comfortable silence.

-It’s gonna be a little awkward when we leave the bathroom…

You say with a yawn. Ace smirks and pecks your cheek.

-Was worth every seconds

-I have missed you so much

-I have too, but when we are done with our missions let’s just head back to the ship and stay together for a long time.

-Yeah don’t die by then

-Pff? Why would I die, I’m Fire fist Ace

-you’re too reckless..and Teach is up to no good..

He senses the deep worry in your voice and hold you tightly against his body, burying his nose in your neck. He leaves a long kiss on it before he makes you stare at him.

-I will be careful, promise

-Okay…

He kisses your forehead and your lips.

-Want me to wash your hair ?

You nod with a fond smile. Being a pirate is learning how to deal with unexpected situations, knowing the worse can happen as much as the best, but it was like that for everything in life really. You love this man so much, but for now you focus on his presence and simply

Bathing.

[matchadobo]

KIDD; kidd being sweet

wc: 1653 summary: just wholesome shit warnings: afab reader, none

silently humming to yourself, you scrubbed the dishes with the sponge coated with foamy soap as it enveloped your hands with its froth. it was a normal day around the victoria, most of the crew had stayed in the dining hall to play cards, drink with the others, or just chat with everyone. it was your turn to do the dishes, you almost bribed others to do it but decided to get on with it. you really were looking forward to going to bed early, but that’s too bad.

to everyone’s surprise, including you, the door slammed open. you met your lover’s eyes as he had his usual scowl plastered on his pale ass face. you furrowed your brows, waiting for an explanation. he stood there for a while before giving everybody a glare and a grumble. it was an unspoken order to get the fuck out of the room so he can be alone with you. you sighed to yourself in endearment, shutting your eyes and letting a sigh out from your smiling lips.

soon enough, the hall cleared and he stomped his way towards you as his heels clicked under the woody floors. he met your eyes before making his way behind you and snaking his flesh arm around your waist. “’m tired.” he meekly greeted, a sigh following afterward when you felt him lean half of his weight to you as he placed his chin atop your head.

you chuckled softly, continuing on with your chore. “a little busy here, captain. mind letting me go?” you sardonically remarked despite leaning into his touch. he let you go with a grumble, leaning by the countertops beside you as he crossed his arms. “should’ve let the others do it, you’re the captain’s wife for fuck’s sake.” he clicked his tongue.

“that’s just childish now, isn’t it?” you finally finished as you dried your hands off with the towel hanging on the cabinet handle under the sink. “i’m done now, don’t get too pouty about it.” you teased, poking at his nose as he let out a huff of annoyance despite his flushed cheeks. “besides, i like doing it for the crew. it’s nice seeing them relax for a while.”

“thought being the mom was killer’s job.” he shifted his legs where you can fit between them as he pulled you closer by your hips. he leveled himself with you as the counter supported his weight.

“he doesn’t get enough credit for it, though.” you replied, wrapping your arms around his neck. “did you miss me that much?” you tilted your head, raising a brow.

“you have no idea.” he buried his face on the crook of your neck, reveling in your perfume. “i’d fuck you in here if i wanted to,” he whispered in your ear. despite being married for years, his low voice never fails to raise goosebumps across your skin. “but i don’t really need that right now.”

you jolted lightly in shock, looking down at his red mane of hair. “come with me to the bow.” he placed a kiss on your shoulder before letting you go and walking out of the room.

you heed to his request and followed him, the bright sunset almost blinded you as the breezy dusk of winter welcomed you. the salty scent of the sea wafted across your nose, a refreshing feeling that always puts you at ease.

he sat at the edge of his ship, feet hanging loosely as it submerged in the sea from time to time. you sat beside him, almost falling if it weren’t for his hand on your side. “is there something wrong, love?” you looked up at him, but all he did was lay his head down on your lap.

“don’t overthink it.” he brushed you off, “i just miss you.” he looked at you through his half-lidded eyes.

your face almost exploded from being too flushed, and you looked away with both of your palms hiding your face. “why’re you acting weird?” your sentence was muffled but it was enough to send him laughing.

you peeked behind your fingers at the joyous man before you, the reason behind his laughter was none other than you. “ah, fuckin’ hell. we’ve been married for years and you still can’t wipe that stupid flush in your cheeks when i’m around.” he said in between little laughs. “makes me wonder why i’m the goddamn same.”

you finally put your hands down and combed them through his relaxed crimson locks while the other was drawing shapes on his chest with your fingers. “just remember how you confessed like a mess back then, then you’ll know.” you teased.

he looked away, clicking his tongue again as he tried to hide the blush on his snowy cheeks. “yeah, and your cheeks were red as hell when i did. all you replied was random shit and then you started kissing me, right?”

“shut up.” you pressed your lips together, flicking his forehead. “we were both pretty dumb about each other back then, mostly you though.”

he grumbled as a reply, nuzzling himself closer to you. “i was like that cuz you’re making my goddamn head spin each time you look at me, it’s just fuckin’ different when you do.” he sincerely replied, covering the upper half of his face with his arm as it became immensely red. the golden ring on his finger that he made himself shone against the glistening shine of the setting sun.

“how’d it go again? you’re too fuckin’ pretty it’s pissin’ me off that all i wanted to do is kiss you and fuckin’ touch you and fuckin’ lo-”

before you could finish your sentence he pinned you to the ground. it all happened too fast but now, he was above you with that arrogant fucking grin you fell in love with. how he has complete power over you and how you are willing to heed all his commands. how his eyes shone as he studied how the red in your cheeks never disappeared but got more prominent at his actions.

“yeah? you were sayin’?” he leaned closer.

“-and you fuckin’ love me it makes you so crazy you’re choking on your saliva.” you finished, “the hell does that even mean?” you added while laughing and wiping the tears off your eyes, covering your face once more.

“dumb way of saying i love you, i guess.” he placed a kiss at the corner of your eyes where tears formed earlier.

“you were so cute then, god.” you smiled, holding his face between your hands.

“calling the pirate king cute ain’t cuttin’ it, lovely.” he got off you, sitting back as he gazed . “for the record, you were the one who was stutterin’ and shit, it’s goddamn adorable.”

kidd became more open when you two got married. maybe because of the ring, or maybe because he finally got serious with you. that fateful day where he finally had the balls to face you and tell you how he truly feels even though it’s still a puzzle to him how much you fucked him up. not in a bad way of course, if anything, you fucked him up so much he’d wanna change the world for you, much more his self. he wanted to make you know that he loves you, that he’d do anything for you. he’d want to let you hear his praises and insults, he’d want to let you hear how much you deserve the world, he’d want to say i love you to you and he’d always look forward to how your eyes brim with so much love the same way his does each time he looks at you. it sometimes catches you off guard when he just blurts out things about how he loves you.

“hm? that why you married me?” you sat up, leaning on his shoulder and brushing your fingers by his veiny arms.

“if there’s one brat i’d be more than willing to be stuck with for the rest of my life, it’d be you.”

“ah you’re making it hard for me to stop feeling hot.” you placed both of your hands on either side of your cheeks.

“ain’t my problem i turn you on.” he grinned over his shoulder, arrogantly looking down at you.

“it’s not even that!” you shuffled in your seat trying to regulate the heat in your cheeks. “have i ever told you that i’m very proud of you now that you’ve learned to say how you feel?”

“well, pretty stuff.” he tucked a hair behind your ear, flicking your forehead afterward. “you teach me some pretty things like that all the time, you been rubbin’ too much off of me.”

“i gotta get used to you being sappy, this is catching me off guard way too much.” you leaned back by your arms, looking at the sky.

“you gotta do better than that then.” he snarked, pulling himself up and walking towards your shared quarters. “i’m going to bed, come if you want to snuggle or some shit.”

you chased after him almost tripping over yourself. “what did you eat today, kidd? you’re so generous!”

“other than you, nothin’ out of the ordinary.” he said with a grin, letting you enter the room before him as he held the door wide open and watched you flush from head to toe. “i just enjoy seeing you all hung up on me.” he stared you down, pinning you against the door. “wanna take this to the bed?”

“i miss the sweet kidd, bring him back!”

“too bad he wants a quickie right now.”

and so the night went on loudly, filled with screams and moans of laughter and pleasure. your days were either filled with him being sweet or him being horny, one or the other, or maybe a combination. either way, you’d be in bliss with the love that is him.

wrote this half asleep, i miss him :(

[ava-the-cosmic-writer101]

┃Deadpool & Wolverine vs. The Boys┃

parings: various actors' x teen!actress!fem!reader

warnings: none, fluff :)

summary: y/n l/n attends the premiere of 'deadpool and wolverine' & san diego: comic con!!

✧.* author's note: head to my blog to view my masterlist of my fics and also upcoming work :)) - ava ❤ *.✧

(gwendolyn or gwen is the name of y/n's character, 'mindstorm' is her other alias)

face claim: dafne keen

// SLIGHT-ISH SPOILERS FOR SEASON FOUR OF 'THE BOYS' & DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE- YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED //

liked by vancityreynolds, thehughjackman, and 7,513,296 others

(yourusername) what a night! and what a movie (i promise i'm not biased). these three gentlemen are about to blow your minds!! ❤️💛@deadpoolmovie

view all 2,847,013 comments

thehughjackman nice to see ya again tonight, kiddo! had a blast ❤️

(y/n)fan1 17 years old and already a legend ❤️‍🔥

(y/n)fan2 this is my girlfriend guys- i just wanted you to know she is my girlfriend- and i am proud of my girlfriend

vancityreynolds 3 of the most amazing, considerate, and loving people i've ever known, and then there's hugh

(y/n)fan1 LMAOOO

thehughjackman i'm telling blake 😠

(y/n)fan3 NOT RYAN BEING UNRESPONSIVE

(y/n)fan4 MOTHER

(y/n)fan5 MOTHER IS MOTHERING

karlurban lets.fucking.go ❤️👊💛

karenfukuhara so excited to go see it!! you look amazing my love 💞

toni.starr YOU BETRAYED US

(yourusername) AND I KNOW THAT YOU'LL NEVER FEEL SORRY

(y/n)fan2 FOR THE WAY I HURT

(yourusername) i have the best fucking fans 💀

blakelively MY UNOFFICAL FIFTH CHILD 😍😍

(yourusername) I LOVE YOU MOMMA 💗

(y/n)fan6 AHHH THEY ARE SO CUTE 😭😭😭

liked by thehughjackman, slevydirect, and 8,283,041 others

(yourusername) 'deapool and wolverine' is OUT NOW ❤️💛 !! i was so happy to be able to work with hughie (aka: @thehughjackman) again after six long years! thank you to this amazing cast and crew for every ounce of support you have given me while working on this outstanding, thrilling project! NOW, get your lazy assess up and go have a great fucking time at the theaters while watching @deadpoolmovie 🎥🍿🎬

view 3,286,109 comments

thehughjackman the pleasure was all mine, kiddo! it was so much fun being able to work with you again, especially as wolvie 😂😂

(yourusername) LOVE YA POPS 💟💟

slecydirect LFG!!! ❤️⚔💛

(y/n)fan7 WE KNEW YOU WERE PULLING AN "ANDREW GARFIELD" 😭😭 we are glad you are back :)

(y/n)fan8 I ACTUALLY CRIED TEARS OF JOY WHEN I SAW YOUU ON SCREEN EVEN THOUGH I KNEW YOU WERE COMING 😭

(y/n)fan1 x-23 movie?? CALL MARVEL RIGHT NOW 📞📞

jensenackles kid, what did we talk about? you can't just leave us like that and join marvel without a good-bye 🙄

(yourusername) sorry jen, but i got to meet captain america 🥺

jensenackles *plays ✨ 'my tears ricochet' ✨*

(y/n)fan9 HAHAHAHA NOT THE TAYLOR REFRENCE 💀

(y/n)fan4 DUDE THEY BETTER HAVE SOME SCENES TOGETHER IN S5 😭😭

erinelairmoriarty first off, congrats sweetness ❤️💛!! second, HOW THE HECK TO DO YOU PRETTIER EVERYTIME I SEE YOU?!?! we have to set something up soon, my love 😍

(yourusername) THANK YOU DARLING 💟 AND YES we will set something up. very soon.💛

(y/n)fan10 MAN I NEED A FRIENDSHIP LIKE THEIRS ASAP 💀

liked by jack_quaid, blakelively, and 9,624,835 others

(yourusername) thank you for your warm welcome comic con!! being able to watch the movie with you guys was so special! but now i gotta go show my love to my other very special project who is here at this convention 🤯 🤯 so for now, LFG!!! ❤️⚔💛

view 2,785,194 comments

(y/n)fan11 OH MY GOD- WAIT- TIME OUT- IS SHE TALKING ABOUT ‘THE BOYS’?!?

jessietusher OH YEAH!! LFG! ❤️💛

karlurban 👀👀

(y/n)fan8 WAIT WHAT- GUYS IT’S HAPPENING

(y/n)fan12 I WILL GET YOU THAT NECKLACE, I GOT YOU BABYGIRL!! 😏

jack_quaid YOU PLAYED THE WHOLE MOVIE?!? WITHOUT ME?!? 😡😡

(yourusername) I HAD NO CONTROL IM SORRY 😔

(y/n)fan9 I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL JACK 🥺 GETTING INTO HALL H IS SO DIFFICULT 😭😭

toni.starr congratulations, honey!! but don’t you ever forget to come back home for some REAL SUPERHEROES 😂❤️💛

(yourusername) SHHHHH!!! 🤫🤫

(y/n)fan2 WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?!?

(y/n)fan13 NEW GWEN CONTENT?!? SIGN ME UP ✍️

vancityreynolds WHY WAS THOR CRYING??! 😰😰

(yourusername) i wish i knew, marvel jesus 😔

(y/n)fan5 AHH I LOVE THEIR FRIENDSHIP SO MUCH 😭

lazofficial congratulations, y/n!! ❤️💛

tomercapone congrats, ma poupée!! so excited to go see it with karen later this weekend :) NOW COME GIVE US SOME LOVE TOO 🥺

[ma poupée = my doll]

liked by karenfukuhara, karlurban, and 9,081,527 others

(yourusername) OH WE ARE SO FUCKING BACK BABY!! 💪💪 i'm so happy to be back with these crazy motherfuckers 😭 it is never a dull moment when hanging out with these guys! i'm so grateful to be back, playing gwendolyn blake is always so much fun (especially when she is such a badass 🙂). season five is going to be phenomenal and i can't wait to begin working with these silly guys again- peace out goofballs 🖖 @theboystv_ @primevideo_

view all 4,198,252 comments

vancityreynolds SOMEWHERE IN THE HAZE GOT A SENSE I'D BEEN BETRAYED 😒

(yourusername) IM SORRY MJ 🙏🙏 but i must retire my marvel gig :(

(y/n)fan14 i love how y/n's nickname for ryan is 'marvel jesus' (also- love him for that lovely taylor reference)💀

karenfukuhara YESSS I'VE MISSED MY BEST FRIEND SO MUCH 💕

(yourusername) I'M MISSED MY BESTIE SO FREAKIN' MUCH 💋

(y/n)fan2 UGHHH WHY CAN'T I HAVE A FRIENDSHIP LIKE THAT 😭 😭

karlurban good to have you back, kid 👏👏

(yourusername) awww, missed you too karli 😉🤍🤍

toni.starr i see your back from earth-616 😯. it was nice to see ya again, honey 💜💜

(yourusername) ah yes, it was a very weird vacation 🤨 but it is good to back, ant :) 💛💛

jensenackles oh my gosh, that's me ☝!!

(yourusername) oh sorry, i meant to cut you out 🙂

jensenackles 😐

karlurban 😜

erinelairmoriarty AHH IM SO HAPPY YOU'RE BACK 🥰

(yourusername) I MISSED YOU SO MUCH MY LOVE 😘😘

-

-

-

✧.* author's note: thank u for reading!! please feel free to request any other ideas that u would like to see ^_^ - ava ❤ *.✧

[gingerjolover]

Unspoken - Lucy Dacus x fem!reader

Synopsis: Lucy and Crew!Reader don't have to say it but they're in looooove

G's notes: Thank you guys for all the support :') I have had the shittiest month and feel so grateful for all the sweet messages and encouragement I've received. Things are finally returning to normal, so this is literally like 1/5 stories I have to post! (lmfao)

Julien fic is up next!!!

WC: somewhere around 1.2k...again

Warnings: RPF, smoking ciggies, kissing, julien calling you punk, swearing ig

feedback is appreciated and welcomed but pls be kind!

boygenius, “the tour,” 25 shows come and gone. It’s dark outside, the Red Rocks amphitheater slowly emptying, fans and crew alike buzzing from a fantastic performance to end the US leg of the tour. It's hard to tell if the elevation in Colorado is dizzying or if the post-show high is slowly infiltrating the band. 

You and Julien are sitting backstage, hoodie-clad and shivering but still leaning against the back of a truck, smoking cigarettes out of sight from the exiting crowd. “You sure you don't wanna help them?” you ask Julien teasingly, pointing to the crew loading equipment into the vans. “Oh fuck off!” Julien laughs; it's obvious she’s staying as far away as clean up as possible, her willingness to help often making it harder for the crew.

Lucy approaches the two of you, changing out of her stage uniform into a pair of flowy pants and a hoodie. Her eyes glimmer, her cheeks flushed, and her hair slightly messed up from pulling her hoodie over her head. She smirks as she walks closer to you, the tension rising as you stare at each other, smiling.  

There’s something unspoken, not quite a relationship but more than a friendship, bubbling beneath the surface. Julien smirks, noticing the tension, coughing softly before taking another drag herself. 

Lucy leans beside you and takes your cigarette, taking a long drag and exhaling a puff of smoke,

"How about that show?" Lucy says. "It felt like it went by in a blink."

You can’t help but let out a contented sigh, nodding in agreement. Having spent hours on the road with the band, working and chatting, it's impressive how fast shows fly by. 

“You did great, Luce, like always,” you smile, eyes twinkling, tucking some of Lucy’s hair behind her ear. 

Lucy smiles back at you brightly, her lipstick slightly messed up from kissing Phoebe and Julien on stage. She leans her head against your shoulder, enjoying the closeness. There's something so familiar and comforting about you; Lucy knows she can trust you with anything, and the natural connection that seems beyond words is evident to everyone around them.

You nonchalantly kiss Lucy’s forehead, avoiding Julien’s teasing eyes and wide smirk. Glaring at Julien, you turn your head away to take a drag from the cigarette.

Lucy's face flushes at the touch of your lips. What’s seemingly a quick, innocent kiss on the forehead makes her heart race.

“Jules… you want the rest of this?” you ask, holding up your cigarette, blowing the smoke out of the side of your mouth, away from Lucy.

"Nah, I'm good," Julien responds, smirking. She looks between you and Lucy, giving Lucy a subtle, knowing smile.

You hold out the cig for Lucy, waiting for her to take it between her lips.

She gently takes it, nodding playfully in thanks. She inhales and lets out a slow stream of smoke. Without thinking, her gaze drifts downwards, staring at your lips.

“Pretty,” you mumble softly, pulling the cigarette from her mouth. 

Lucy blinks and looks back up at you, blushing and embarrassed at having been caught staring at your lips. She keeps a minor distance between you both, leaning against the truck. You take another drag on the cigarette and smile, maintaining eye contact with Lucy.

"You look pretty good yourself," Lucy quips playfully, surprising the both of you.

“You feel okay? Still flushed from the show?” you ask, noticing Lucy’s pink cheeks, thumbing the meat of Lucy’s warm cheek. 

Lucy flushes even more, trying to stay composed and ignore her growing attraction, but her feelings are becoming more apparent.

"Yeah," she replies, attempting to act nonchalant. "Just...still processing everything, I guess." Lucy takes another drag on the cigarette and watches as the smoke evaporates in the cold night air.

“I’m gonna go grab Pheebs,” Julien says, awkwardly exiting. She’s a few yards away when she turns around, wiggling her eyebrows and winking at you. 

Widening your eyes at Julien, you turn back to Lucy, smiling at her softly. “So, you ready for Europe?” you tease Lucy, staring at her eyes and lips. 

Lucy nods and huffs out a breath, slightly taken aback by your teasing expression. She doesn't know how to respond, not often getting stuck like this; her eyes are drawn to your lips again.

"For sure," Lucy replies with a forceful laugh, attempting to sound chill.

"I've heard that European crowds are even more enthusiastic than back home, so hopefully, you’re prepared,” you tease in a sing-song voice, leaning closer. 

Lucy crushes the cigarette on the ground with a slight grin. "So... what about you? Are you ready for the next leg of the tour?" she asks, biting her bottom lip.

“I’ll only be seeing y’all in a few cities, unfortunately,” you pout, “but I’ll be back on the fall leg,” you reassure, stepping closer again.  

Lucy's cheeks flush ever so slightly at your remark, her smile dipping momentarily when she realizes there will be some separation soon, having gotten used to your presence working on the tour.

"Well, I’ll miss you while you're away," Lucy says softly. “I… I mean, we all will, you know, because you are such a big part of the crew…” Lucy trails off, swallowing the lump in her throat as she stares into your eyes. You grab her hand, rubbing it with your thumb. 

A brief silence passes, and Lucy breaks it again, her voice softer.

"I..." she stops, finding it difficult to say what she wants.

“You don’t have to say anything Luce,” you murmur, interlocking your fingers, eyes staring into Lucy’s, dropping to her lips. “I feel it too,” you say softly, smiling widely. 

Lucy's eyes go wide. She hadn't anticipated that response and hesitated momentarily before leaning closer toward you. She brushes her lips gently against yours, a moment of pure intimacy. Holding the kiss for a few moments as if time had stopped moving.

Lucy slowly pulls away and looks at you, her heart racing. She can feel the heat from the kiss on her lips, and her entire body is awash with emotion. She looks back into your deep eyes and tries to control herself.

Your smile widens, leaning back into Lucy, connecting your lips again. Your hand cradles her jaw, tongue softly sliding against Lucy’s. 

Lucy's hand moves up to your waist, pulling you closer.  You share a passionate kiss, mouths pressed together with a growing intensity. Lucy's body trembles, and her heart pounds rapidly in her chest. She can feel your shaky breaths between kisses, and the sound of her pulsing heart fills her ears.

You kiss for several more seconds before finally pulling apart. A deep silence hangs in the air before you lean forward again to brush your lips against Lucy's cheek.

“Hey punk, you got a light?” Julien calls to you somewhere hidden backstage, likely standing with other crew members. 

Leaning back to not yell in Lucy’s ear, “Coming,” you shout, rolling your eyes and making Lucy giggle. 

Some of the band is approaching Lucy, so you turn to her gently. “I’ll be back, yeah?” before leaning to kiss the corner of her mouth. 

Lucy watches you walk away, her eyes trailing down your body. She’s distracted as she greets the band, leaning up against the truck with her, with a small smile despite so much left unspoken.

[suffersinfandom]

So I’m loving season two. Like, a lot. I told my housemate who didn’t, for some reason, stay up until 2:01 in the morning to watch episodes four and five as they dropped that they were the best damn television I’ve ever enjoyed, and I stand by that! But there’s something bothering me, and I know I’m not alone in this:

Izzy’s been accepted into the Revenge crew and Ed hasn’t, and that doesn’t feel fair. (I’m not talking about whether or not it’s right, okay? That’s a whole different ramble. This is about feelings!)

OFMD emphasizes the importance of community—of finding people who will accept you for who you are, of belonging to something. Season one focused on Stede creating something kinder than your traditional macho, hyper-violent pirate community on the Revenge, as well as on Ed realizing that he wants in on that. 

(And Ed does try to get in on that! After he thinks Stede has abandoned him—and after he gets the initial breakup moping out of the way—he turns to the crew. He likes being Ed; he wants to learn how to be Ed even without Stede in the picture, and he thinks that Ed could have a place in the community that Stede left behind. No, that community isn’t a fix for all of his issues; he’s still troubled. He’s not better, but he wants to get better. Izzy’s confrontation—you’re better off dead than like this, you’d better watch your fucking step—is the spark that ignites the powder keg that is Ed’s unresolved trauma. In the wake of this, the crew chanting and calling for “Eddie” to give them another song sounds like mockery. It sounds like hostility, and Ed only knows how to respond to hostility with violence. That violence destroys the community that could have supported Ed as he healed.)

In season two, Izzy is straight up bullied into the community that Stede brought about. He doesn’t want to be there. He doesn’t deserve to be there, but this isn’t about what Izzy deserves: it’s about how the crew thinks people should be treated.  It’s about showing love to people who have messed up even if they aren’t sorry and tell you to fuck off. And I think that’s lovely! Izzy’s fun when he’s a playful asshole and not actively harmful like he was in season one. Rehabilitating that angry chihuahua into something that won’t bite anyone’s hand off is very sweet.

But wow, it hurts to see Ed banished from the community that took Izzy in.

And to be fair, I don’t blame the crew. They had very different relationships to Izzy and Ed in season one: Izzy was an asshole who bossed them around, and Ed was someone they accepted as a friend. In season two, Ed is the monster who terrorized them and Izzy is just another victim. I get it! 

And, like… I don’t hate Izzy. If I hadn’t watched season one, I’d probably even like season two Izzy. He’s pathetic and wet and hilarious. But I remember the way Izzy lied to Ed, insulted him, undermined him, betrayed Stede, bought Ed, and ultimately threatened Ed right back into the only defense he knows. No, Izzy isn’t solely responsible for the Kraken’s reign of terror—Ed is troubled, he has a fuckton of issues and trauma to work through—but Izzy bears some blame! And honestly? Even with all of that, I’m tempted to be okay with season two Izzy. He is at least aware of his role in the disaster that was the Kraken era, and subtly took accountability for it. That’s very cool, but it still doesn’t feel great, you know?

It doesn’t feel great because Izzy did absolutely nothing to get where he is. He didn’t become some kind of benevolent protector of the crew between seasons one and two; he didn’t try to become a part of this community that he scoffed at in the first season. He was rehabilitated, not redeemed.

It doesn’t feel great because Ed still isn’t welcome and he’s trying. Yeah, okay that silly not-quite-an-apology speech that Stede absolutely made up for him wasn’t all that great, but it was more of an attempt than Izzy’s made! And Ed has made himself intensely vulnerable in meeting the terms of his probation. He has agreed to get rid of his armor and his ability to move undetected. He’s trying to physically repair the ship that he damaged. He’s welcoming retributive justice, which is kind of fucked up (and, as Lucius found out, not always that helpful), but it’s the best he has.

(I think it’s important that the only instance of anyone actually apologizing with words—outside of Stede to Ed when he thought Ed was dead—is when Ed is fishing with Fang. Pirates don’t really apologize with words, they make things even by getting revenge. It’s violence for violence. Something about how Ed’s apologizing for an emotional wrong here, something about a budding friendship between Ed and Fang, something something.)

What am I getting at? I don’t fucking know. I don’t blame the crew for domesticating Izzy against his will while turning away from Ed based on what they saw and went through. I’m just sad for Ed. I want him to have the love and support of a community that accepts him as he wants to be, not as who he thinks he has to be to keep from drowning. 

A teeny little addition, because I totally neglected to say this: I'm not at all worried about whether or not all of this will be wrapped up by the end of the season. We've still got three episodes to go! This is just a thing that's been gnawing away at my brain.

Anyway, here’s some neat meta that’s written way better than whatever the hell this is:

How Izzy’s whole thing isn’t really about Izzy by forpiratereasons

No, really, it's not about Izzy by asneakyfox

Delicious meta about Izzy’s “redemption” arc by asneakyfox

[jcbbby]

one of my first fics, Glowing and Growing, was a request where reader is pregnant with her and Jamie's first child and insecure about her pregnancy weight gain/body. someone mentioned back then that there should be another part where she goes into labor. so…here’s that I guess, kind of lol. really no mention of body issues, just a sweet piece about a growing family. :')

***also!! I've never gone through labor myself, but I do know for a first time mom, it definitely doesn't usually go this quick! this fast as fuck early labor to birth pipeline is just for dramatic effect lol.

Warnings: pregnancy obviously, description of labor and delivery, a few swears.

-

Walking the red carpet for an award show at 9 months pregnant sounded a lot easier from the comfort of your own couch when the invitation came in. Jamie was nominated for best villain after being in Stranger Things, and you insisted that you both attend in person. Not only could it possibly be your last event as just a couple, rather than parents, you were also just so proud of him. You wanted to see him win that award in real time with him.

You both stood in front of the step-and-repeat, bulbs flashing in your face, people calling your names. Jamie had his arm around you, draped around your waist. Your right hand rested gently on your belly.

“You doing alright, love?” Jamie asked, looking to you.

You nodded. “So far so good…I really need to pee though.” You both laughed.

Carrying on down the carpet, you happily stood next to Jamie as he did quick interviews for various outlets. They asked about if he think he’ll win, what he has coming up for roles, his music. And of course, mention was made of you and the baby, asking how excited you both were.

The ceremony went on smoothly. Billie Eilish performed, which you were looking forward to. About halfway through the show, you started to feel slightly uncomfortable. Nothing hurt, but you just kept needing to shift in your seat, stretching your back a little. Jamie was quick to pick up on your discomfort, leaning over to you while the host started speaking on stage again.

“Everything okay, love?” He spoke quietly in your ear.

“Yeah, yeah…I think I’m fine. My back just hurts a little is all.” You stretched your stomach forward, arching your back and placing your hands behind you in an attempt to relieve some pressure.

“Do you want to leave? Should we head home?” He asked, placing a hand on your knee.

You shook your head no quickly, putting your hand on his. “No, no I promise I’m fine! This night is all about you, baby.” You smiled.

He smiled back. “Okay…just, if you want to go back home at any point, please tell me. We can leave if you need to.”

You nodded before you both turned your heads back to the stage up front. Towards the end of the ceremony, Jamie’s category came up. They ran through the nominees and their respective roles, pulling a camera up on him as they said his name.

“And the winner is…” the presenter unfolded the envelope in his hands. “Jamie Campbell Bower!”

The crowd erupted in applause. You turned to Jamie, your jaw agape, your hormones making the happy tears come much easier than they maybe would have before. You both stood up, and he immediately wrapped his arms around you in a tight hug. Your hand rested on the back of his head as you whispered repeatedly that you loved him and were so proud of him. With a quick kiss, he turned to head down to the stage.

“Uh, wow. Okay. You know…this award isn’t just for me. I really think this was a colossal effort between the whole cast and crew- Matt and Ross Duffer, Barry Gower, Duncan Jarman, the special effects team, and the whole cast. I mean, they really created Vecna. I just showed up.” Laughs peppered the crowd. “But really, thank you so, so much to all the fans who watched the show and welcomed me to this community. I am so grateful for each and every one of you. I can’t be up here or do what I do without you and your support, so thank you. All of you. Thank you.” He held up his arm in a wave as the crowd cheered as he left the stage with the presenters.

After some time, Jamie made his way back to his seat next to you. You hugged and kissed again before he sat down, gushing about how proud you were of him.

When the night finally came to a close, he helped you out of your chair, and you walked arm and arm toward the exit. He held the door for you as you got into your hired car to take you home. Throughout the ride, you found yourself growing more uncomfortable, now a pressure enveloping your lower abdomen. Each bump during the ride caused an involuntary wince from you.

“Is your back still hurting, love?” Jamie asked, caressing your thigh.

“It’s getting worse, I think. It feels like there's just pressure wrapping around from my back to my stomach.” You adjusted yourself in your seat.

“Oh, darling…do you think we should maybe call the doctor?” He asked, putting his hand on your belly, rubbing it softly.

“No, no. I wouldn’t want to bother him if it’s nothing. I think when we get home, I want to just get in the bath for a bit and then go to bed.”

After arriving home, Jamie helped you out of your shoes and gown, going to draw a bath for you as you took your makeup off in your bedroom. You waddled into the bathroom as Jamie turned off the water and dunked a hand in to test the temperature. You removed your bra and panties, Jamie helping you step into the tub before you sank down into the water.

“This is already helping, thank you baby.” You smiled; your eyes closed as the rested against the porcelain.

Jamie sat with you as you relaxed in the bath. He held your hand, lovingly caressing it with his thumb. You didn’t necessarily want the bath to clean yourself, as you had showered before the awards. It was just the only think you could think of that may help your discomfort. You stayed in the bath for maybe 45 minutes until the water started to get too cold. Jamie helped you up and out of the tub, wrapping your robe around you for you to head into the bedroom to get in some comfy pajamas. You both got into bed, with it now being well past midnight. You were exhausted, and while you still weren’t feeling 100%, you were able to fall asleep relatively quickly.

-

A sharp, tight pain that engulfed your lower abdomen pulled you out of your slumber. You curled up on your side as your body tensed, breathing deeply, trying to focus on anything but the pain. After a moment, it began to subside. You quickly sat up and turned over to Jamie, still asleep, shaking his shoulder to wake him up.

“Jamie…Jamie, baby, wake up.”

He slowly opened his eyes, confusion briefly taking over his sleep filled eyes before seeing your face.

“Jamie…I...think I’m in labor.” You couldn’t help but let a small laugh out involuntarily, in shock the time had finally come.

“W-what? You…Okay, okay…shit. Okay.” He shot up, now fully alert, looking all around trying to make sense of this to himself.

“Honey.” You placed a hand on his chest. “We have time. He’s not coming right this second. But I just had a full-on contraction. I think we need to get ready. Is the bag packed?” You asked glancing over to a small diaper bag on the corner chair.

-

“Hmmm....mmmph….hmmm…” You hummed softly to yourself in monotone, rocking back and forth on your yoga ball, with your legs wide and head down and eyes closed; your hands planted firmly on your knees, pushing your shoulders up to your ears.

Jamie kneeled behind you, his hands lightly on your hips helping you rock, quietly shh-ing as you focused on getting through this one. His heart ached; he hated seeing you in pain. He knew this would all end with your son coming into the world, but he just wished he could take the pain from you. It had now been a couple hours of worsening on and off contractions, waiting until they were close enough to head to the hospital.

“You’re doing great, my love. You should be almost out of this one.” He glanced at his phone, checking the contraction timing app he had downloaded.

You exhaled harshly through a rounded mouth as you finally felt the relief of the contraction ending. You fell back slightly into Jamie’s body, rolling your head back on his shoulder.

“How many minutes apart are we at?” You asked, getting your breathing back to normal.

“Six minutes now.” Jamie kissed your temple. “You’re doing so well baby, you’re amazing.”

“Oooh, I hate this.” You chuckle, bringing your hand up to hang around his bicep. “This boy is already grounded forever for putting me through this.”

Jamie laughed with you. “Well, we’ll see how you feel when you’re holding him soon.” He kissed your cheek.

You went to stand up, just wanting to stretch your legs and walk for a minute. As you took a step toward the kitchen, a splashing sound came from the wooden floor under you. Looking down, a small pool of fluid gathered at your feet, running down your legs. Your biker shorts were soaked. You knew your water had just broke. Stunned, you whipped around to Jamie, equally as stunned, staring down at the puddle.

“Oh fuck.” You gasped, looking back down.

“Was that…” Jamie started to say.

“Yep, yes it was.” You replied, knowing he was about to ask if that was your water breaking too.

“Shit, okay. Okay. Uh…” He stood up, frazzled once again. “I uh…keys…fuck, fuck-” He looked around frantically, a hand running through his hair in an attempt to self-soothe.

“Babe. Babe. Look at me.” You approached him, taking his face in your hands. “I need you to be cool, okay? I need you here for me. I can’t do this without you. You’ve been so good so far. Take a breath with me.” You and him both inhaled deeply before exhaling together. “We got this.” You smiled as he nodded.

“Why don’t I go put the baby bag in the car, and text your mum to see if she can come meet us at the hospital. I’ll take care of the clean up, too.” He gestured his head toward your puddle on the floor.

“Thank you, baby. I’m just going to throw on some new pants.” You chuckled, carefully waddling towards the bedroom.

Once you had changed into some dry sweatpants, you headed back out to the living room. Walking down the hall, the most intense contraction yet came on strong and suddenly. You exclaimed in pain as you stopped and fell into the wall, your legs giving out in shock. Jamie came running when he heard you cry out. Sliding his arm around you, he led you over to the yoga ball again, helping you lower yourself, as you leaned back into him. You squeezed both his hands that rested on your thighs. His chin was perched on your shoulder, as he cooed and breathed with you through your contraction.

“Mmmph...hmmmph...Jamie, it... mmmph, it huuuurts...” You whimpered, tears stinging your eyes. You moaned in pain, squeezing his hands tighter, squirming and rocking your hips in a futile attempt to just feel some sort of relief.

“I know, my love, I know. You’re okay, breathe, darling.” He whispered, his gut wrenching at the sight of you in so much pain.

Once the contraction began to taper off, you breathed heavily against Jamie as he gently peppered kissed on your neck, whispering encouraging words.

“Hospital." You panted

Jamie helped you stand up and assisted you out the door with his arm around you. In the car on the way to the hospital, contractions were coming rapidly. You asked to roll the window down out of fear that you may be sick from the pain. Jamie tried his best to speed without causing an accident, luckily it was still in the wee hours and there wasn't much company on the road. His free hand never released yours, not even noticing how brutal your grip was on his with each new wave.

-

The nurses got you into a gown and into a bed, hooking you up to the necessary machines and an IV. Jamie came rushing in from parking the car, panting, with a bead of sweat on his forehead from running as fast as he could to be there for you. The doctor came in to check you, surprised to see that you were already dilated ten centimeters and 100% effaced. The good news, baby would be here soon! The bad news…there likely wasn’t enough time for an epidural to take effect before he came. Your birth plan had started with the idea to do it without medication, but with the option that if the pain got to be too much, you wouldn’t deny yourself the relief, that's what it was there for after all. But now you had no choice.

“Nonononono, I-I-I don’t think I can do this. Jamie- ah!“ You began to say, being cut through by another contraction. You thrashed to one side, facing Jamie, sounds you didn’t even think you were capable of making escaping your mouth as it sank into the pillow.

Jamie stroked your dampened hair, caressing the back of your tense hand with his thumb as you fought through it. “You can do this, love. I’m here with you, shhh.”

After a few more brutal contractions, you began to feel the overwhelming urge to push. You alerted your nurses and doctors of this feeling, and the doctor came to check you.

“Okay, my dear, I think it’s show time. Let’s have ourselves a baby!” Your doctor smiled up at you and Jamie.

You were so exhausted and weak, you heard the words but they didn’t register with you. All you could think about was the burning pressure in your pelvis, and doing whatever they told you to bring it to an end. As the nurses swelled around the room, the doctor instructed you to push downward, hard, from your core as soon as you felt the next contraction come. You nodded, taking deep breaths. Jamie placed an anxious kiss to the top of your head.

You felt the tightening, all consuming ache coming on, whimpering as you dreaded the next part. The doctor instructed you to push with encouragement. You took a deep breath in, squeezing your eyes tight and gritting your teeth as you pushed down with all your might as the doctor counted down from 10. The burning and pressure were brutal, you grunted and yelled as you pushed. You sat forward slightly, bearing down into the bed. Jamie held your hand and cradled his other arm around your upper back, helping you sit forward. As the doctor reached the number one, you released the breath you were holding with force, falling back against the upright hospital bed, gasping and whimpering.

“Another push, sweetheart. Stay in it. Push push push push.” The doctor called out.

You took a few preparation breaths before repeating the same action. Jamie was so attentive. He was in absolute awe of you, of your strength.

“You’re doing so good, darling. I love you so much. I’m so proud of you.” He kissed your clammy temple.

After a few more contractions worth of pushing, the doctor said he thought this next one would be the last, you were so close. You lay against the pillow, whimpering, sweaty, exhausted. You looked to Jamie, he was near tears himself, absolutely terrified but so in love with you. He held up a cup of water with a straw for you to take a sip from.

“One more, darling. One more push and he’s here.” He smiled, pulling the straw away, placing the cup on the table next to him. “You can do this.”

You squeezed your eyes shut, as another one came on. Everyone around you chanted for you to push and cheered you on. Jamie squeezed your hand back as you gripped his. In a wave of energy, you let out a wail as you pushed your hardest. Suddenly, the burning stopped, and time stood still for just a moment. It felt like everything went silent until you heard the beautiful, angelic cry of your son. The world slowly filled in around you as the doctor lifted your baby up, placing him on your bare chest. Your arms instinctively flew up to cradle him against you, as you started crying into his soft, damp skin.

“Oh my god, oh my god…” You repeated, not believing you had just done that. "H-hi little one. Hello baby." You cried softly.

Jamie immediately bent over you, taking his now bigger family in his arms. He kissed you repeatedly, you feeling the tears falling off his face. The three of you cried together.

“I love you so much, darling. I love you.” Jamie said, muffled against your neck.

-

After the doctor walked Jamie through cutting the umbilical cord, the nurses whisked your son off to get cleaned up and his vitals taken. Jamie stood over watching them, enamored with his child. You looked over, your heart so full.

Once everyone was all cleaned up and you were now recovering, you found yourself desperately in need to sleep. You made Jamie promise to wake you up in an hour, but he was going to let you get as much rest as you could after that. When you finally woke a few hours later, it was dark, and the room was empty aside from you, Jamie, and the baby. You opened your eyes to see Jamie sitting in the chair across from you, staring lovingly at your child swaddled in his arms. He heard you stir as you sat up and looked over to you.

“Hey.” He whispered with a smile.

“Hi.” You whispered back, beaming at the sight of Jamie holding your son.

“I’m a dad.” He chuckled, shaking his head slightly in disbelief.

You snorted. “You are. And I have a feeling you’re going to be an amazing one.” You smiled.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

[wwweirdtown]

Welcome to WEIRDTOWN!!!

The town where all the world's problems are smushed into a tiny town and make friends!

Rated W for What the fuck

Okay but, who are the characters?

Good question!

Weirdtown has a main cast of 5 characters:

*insert name*, a girl taken away from her burning world as one last love letter from her dying girlfriend.

Random Shoot, A silly creature who's very unhinged and very ready to make everyone feel at home! So innocent, so truthful.

That One Guy (TOG), *inserts*'s roomate and everyone's friend. He's kind and wise and will always listen.

Jack, a caffiene addict with insecurities and no clue what a break means. Only hard work and determination

Disgustung Blob, the mom friend, Jacks actual mom, and a sweet, caring, supportive figure to the crew to take a nap on.

Why should I be interested?

Well, I've worked on this story for three years and I love to share the story I've come out with! I think it's really cool. Also my boyfriend is a fan and I want him to have friends lmao

Okay, I'm in!

Woah now, we gotta make sure you're actually okay to be apart of this!

Weirdtown is not for people under the age 13

Weirdtown contains themes of depression, suicide, death, derealization, addiction and abuse. Be warned, this is not a light story.

There will be many eye straining artworks, and gorey art. These will have trigger warnings, but tread lightly.

You got all that? then give me a follow and dive in to the WEIRDNESS!!!

[landinoandco]

Could I ask for a Max Verstappen request?

Where you get all excited to tell him you’re pregnant and it doesn’t go well. Could you make it super angsty

Of course you can :) here you go, I hope you enjoy! 

Max Verstappen x reader 

Warnings: angst but with fluff at the end

Word count: 2.2 k 

Requests are open...

Baby, the future is ours

At last the summer break had rolled around again, to the relief of the Formula one drivers and crew, they had 3 long weeks ahead of them to fill with whatever they deemed stress-free or relaxing. The subject of activity depending on person to person - most sane folk tended to stick to a holiday to Greece or if you were an adrenaline junkie like Daniel Ricciardo jumping out of planes or BMX biking. You had lost count of the times Max - your boyfriend - had rushed in to tell you about all of the exciting things his best friend had gotten up to as of late. 

You and Max had decided to take a break and travel to a cosy, quiet part of Italy - to escape the press, the stress and most importantly the eagle eye of social media. It would just be you and him for a few weeks before reality brought you back to Milton Keynes in the shape of Christian Horner and his motley crew. 

You and Max had met in 2018 at a gala event Redbull had hosted, Pierre Gasly - being a close friend of yours - had introduced you two and to say the pair of you hit it off instantly was an understatement, whether it was a mixture of the Dutch meets British humour you had no clue but you weren’t one to complain. A few months later and Max had asked you to travel around the world with him - you did so willingly and life had been nearing perfect ever since. Of course you had your ups and downs, where the universe seemed to really test not only your love for one and other but your patience. A few arguments had shown you that both being hot-headed never ended well. 

You were sat out on the balcony, a book in hand and looking out into the Italien countryside. Max had left for a run and to explore the local village, leaving you, your thoughts and your growing baby. You were pregnant - you had taken the test just before flying out, this meant that Max wasn’t aware. You hadn’t told him yet and you had no clue how you were going to. As it turns out telling your partner you were pregnant was easier said than done - ironically. 

You and Max hadn’t had the baby talk yet - you had but only along the lines of: “one day, when we’re older and married and driving isn’t the main priority anymore.” Those were Max’s words. He wanted to be there for his child, to watch him or her grow, to see every milestone but most importantly to be a good and nurturing father. 

There was part of you that was slightly worried because you just didn’t know how Max would take it - you couldn’t keep it in any longer though. You had to tell him. There was another part of you that was excited - from a very young age you knew you wanted to have a family of your own with the person you loved the most. Call it childish naivety. At this point in time, you were ready to become a mother - well as ready as anyone ever could be. 

Placing your book onto the table, you made your way into the kitchen, grabbed a glass and filled it. Sighing loudly as you leant onto the countertop. 

“That was a loud sigh.” A voice called out from behind you. You recognised it instantly. Whipping your head around, you saw Max standing there, wiping the sweat from his forehead. 

Chuckling, you hit back, “Thank you, Captain Obvious.”

Rolling his eyes, he made his way over to you and wrapped his arms around your middle, placing a sweet, chaste kiss onto the side of your head. Leaning into his warm embrace, you let out another long but content sigh. 

“Seriously, what is it with you and sighing today.” Max uttered, his lips still against the side of your head. 

You went to move forward, out of his welcoming embrace. You knew what you had to do. 

“There’s something I need to tell you.” Instantly the atmosphere changed, you could feel Max stiffen behind you. Maybe the tone you chose to make that comment in was too serious but it was now or never. 

“Haha, which of your friends is pregnant this time.” He quipped jokingly, trying to break the tension. 

Instantly you knew the way the conversation was going to end, a pang of hurt felt in your stomach. You squeezed your eyes shut, catching your lip with your teeth. He stood there with an air of innocence and unknown, concern dancing in his eyes - he went to reach his arm out to you, to offer that encouragement. 

You braved the words that came out of your lips, “Me.” You almost whispered. Time seemed to slow. Max dropped his arm and instantly took a step back. 

“Pardon.” Was the only thing he could force out of his mouth, his throat seemed to close up and his hands went clammy. He definitely heard you the first time but he wanted to make sure it wasn’t a night terror. A bad dream he had failed to wake from. 

“I am, Max,” You said again, your voice wavering. 

“Oh.” He stated, his face drained of colour, his mouth set in a straight line. 

“Is that all you have to say.” You swallowed thickly, your eyes swam with tears. You had a hunch this was how it was going to end but it didn’t stop is from hurting the way it did. You had hoped he would have proved you wrong, to have wrapped his arms around you and to have spun you around. To have laughed. To have cried. To have shown a little more excitement to the fact you were now carrying his child. His first child. 

You moved past him and sat down on one of the wooden chairs, rubbing your hands over your face. He was still stood there. His eyes fixated on the view out of the window. No emotion read in his eyes. It was almost like you had hit the ‘off’ button. He tapped his foot and made a clicking noise with his mouth before turning around to face you - meeting your gaze. 

“How long have you known.” His voice was hoarse.

“A couple of days before we flew out.” You answered him, moving your face back to rest in your hands. 

There was a pause. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner.”

You took a breath, looking him dead in the eye. “Because I knew this was how you were going to react.” You didn’t trust your voice at all, you also didn’t know whether you wanted to scream at him or cry in the corner. 

“Right.” Was all he said. Still stood there like some awkward teenager after a rather large telling off from their mother. 

“Is that all you have to say to me?” You asked him, nostrils flaring. You were allowed to be angry, right? 

“What do you expect me to say.” He rounded on you, his voice raising more than was necessary. Tears had spilled down your cheeks, you didn’t have the energy to fight back. As soon as he realised the effect this was having on you, he went to move forward again, his eyes softening instantly. “I’m sorry - I - I shouldn’t have raised my-”

“Get out, Max.” You stated lowly. By this point, you had stood up, shuddering away from his desperate grasp. He knew he had made a mistake. You knew he regretted it, the moment the words had left his mouth. 

“Get out?” He repeated quietly, his voice cracking, you could see tears glazing his vision. 

“Just - please, go on a walk - come back once you have more to say to me.” You spat.

“But - But I already have more to say-” You cut his rambling off once again. 

“Please. Max.” You insisted, your voice betraying you again. “Go.” You whispered. 

Max stormed out of the door, ensuring to slam it so hard the chandelier on the ceiling swung precariously. You sank back into your chair and let out a loud sob, unable to hold it in any longer. 

Max was mad. Not at you, that would be unfair. He was mad at himself. At the world. At everything actually because at this point why the hell not. You were pregnant - don’t get him wrong, he was over the moon. He was going to be a dad. 

It was too soon. 

He still had his full F1 career ahead of him. A promising and long F1 career as a matter of fact. He wanted a baby to be his main priority and he wanted to share those one in a lifetime moments with you. He knew there was no point in being mad, it wasn’t like they were in a position where they couldn’t have a child. They had plenty of things to offer, a nurturing home with parents who were head over heels in love with each other and a large family - blood and not - who would be willing to support and love the child as if it was their own. Max really was in love with you. He knew it would be you to mother his children in the end, he just didn’t think it would be now. 

He reached for his phone, went into his contacts and pressed on the number that read the name: “D.R new phone.” Whilst it wasn’t adventurous like many thought it would be, it saved the confusion from calling a number that no longer existed. 

Daniel picked up on the second ring. “Hey dude, how’s it going?” 

“Not good at all, Dan, not good at all.” Max admitted, his voice wavering once again. He explained the events that had happened a mere 5 minutes ago, the way he reacted and the way he left you. Hurt and alone.

“I’m not going to lie to you, mate, you’ve fucked up big time.” Dan spoke after what felt like a loud silence. After all, Daniel knew you just as well as he knew Max. 

“I know. I know I have, do you think I’ve been selfish?” He asked, his tone full of raw emotion. 

“Yes.” Dan stated simply, “I think you have been, especially since she even told you this is how she thought you would react. How much stress do you think she had been putting on herself? Come one, I’ve taught you to be better than this.” Daniel paused, Max could almost hear him place his thumb and ring finger onto the bridge of his nose. “You know, just as well as I know, she knows it isn’t the best time. Her becoming pregnant is very much a two person job, I think it’s time that you go back to her and have a conversation like the adult I know you are.” 

In that moment, Max was so grateful to have someone like Dan just a call away. “Thank you, Dan. Really. I don’t know what I would do without you.” 

“Alright Mr Father-to-be, don’t be going all soppy on me now.” Daniel joked, returning back to his normal teasing. That was the best thing about Daniel, he was quite useful when you needed him to be. 

“You can count yourself on being the godfather after that.” Max added, a large beaming smile plastered onto his face. 

He heard Dan let out a loud laugh, “Go on, leave me be. Good luck, mate, let me know how it goes and when the time is right tell her I say congrats.” 

“Of course, mate. Thank you, again.” Max muttered, looking back in the direction of the villa. After he hung up, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and ambled slowly - working out exactly what he was going to say to you. 

Once he had opened the door, he called out to you. “Babe?” He heard a sniffle in response. You were still slumped on the chair in the kitchen, shooting daggers at the cupboard opposite. 

Max sat opposite you, reaching out for your hand. Grudgingly you let him take it, you blinked and he took a deep breath before a large, beaming smile crept onto his face.

“We’re going to be parents.” He rubbed the back of your hand, speaking tentatively. You nodded, your lower lip trembled. Max stood up, still keeping a hold of your hand as he gave it a slight tug, indicating that you should stand up. You made your way into his embrace, his arms wrapping securely around you, tucking your face into the crook of your neck as he rocked gently side to side, burying his face into your hair. He then moved his hands to cradle your face, wiping the stray tears away before peppering your face with feather light kisses. 

“We’re going to be parents.” He repeated, a little louder and to this you let out another sob, laughing as he picked you up and spun you around. 

“I’m sorry. I was being selfish.” He said, as he wrapped you back up into his arms. You smiled into his chest. In that moment, you couldn’t be happier. It was like all of your childhood dreams had come true. In that kitchen stood your new family, mismatched and sometimes a little bit broken but you wouldn’t have it any other way.

[ilici]

the bet.

Summary: The reader decides to come up with a bet. Whoever touches the other first loses, as Karl’s love language is physical touch.

Warnings: NSFW Minors DNI.

Cockwarming, choking, edging, oral fixation.

(Reader is female)

Word Count: 1634

Y/N was laying on Karl’s bed as he was streaming Jackbox with Sapnap, George, Dream, Quackity, Badboyhalo, Punz, and Corpse. Their relationship was known to public eye, but yet somehow their relationship wasn’t public. The hardly interacted on social media, never posted about one another. The only time they would see Y/N is when she would be in the background of his streams, or when she brings him food. His fans were all fond other their relationship, and how well they kept it under wraps for 2 years. Karl wasn’t known until last year when he became part of the Mr. Beast crew, so he started to grow some fame. “If there was one thing you could touch for the rest of your life, what would it be?” Karl read the prompt aloud, and giggled loudly when he saw the answer ‘Wattpad for DNF content’ and the other made Karl’s cheeks heat up ‘My s/o.’ Everyone instantly starting assuming it was Karl as he was the only one out of them who had a significant other. 

As the fans voted, and the others quickly voted, Karl’s won as it was about DNF and he easily quiplashed Bad. “Bad that was so cheesy.” Sapnap said, and Karl laughed agreeing. “Karl!” Bad said offensively, “If you wasn’t going up against me you totally would’ve voted for that.” Bad said, and Karl scoffed speaking up as everyone agreed with Bad, “I am not that touchy, I can go a long time without touching Y/N.” He said confidently which easily caught the attention of Y/N herself. “Is that so Karl?” She asked him, and Karl froze as he forgot that she was in the room with him. “Why don’t we test that? The first person to touch the other, loses.” She said, and everyone chimed in already starting bets that Karl would lose. “You’re on.” He said, his face visibly red, to Y/N and chat. “Once this stream is over, that’s when it starts.” She said kissing his cheek and walked back to the bed getting comfortable on it. “Oh you are so going to lose dude.” Sapnap said, already laughing at the look of regret on the boys face when he tuned into his stream. “Hey. He might win this.” Corpse said, defending his friend.

Karl smiled thankfully, “Thanks Corpse.” He said, and Corpse just chuckled, “You’re welcome Karl Jacobs.” Now was when Punz spoke up, “You guys are definitely going to end up fucking.” He said and Karl’s now normal face went right back to bright red, “Punz! You can’t say that he’s live!” George quickly said, as Bad spoke up with a ‘Language!’ Dream was trying to catch his breath, “I imagine Karl just being so touch deprived he calls one of us for advice.” He said, in between laughs. Quackity’s laugh ripped through Karl’s headset and Karl looked around confused, “What’s so funny?” He asked, which only made Quackity laugh even harder, “Your love language-” He stopped himself from laughing loudly, “Is physical touch.” He finished, and Karl frowned at this, “You guys have no faith in me.” He whined, and Bad spoke up, “I believe you can do it!” He said sweetly, “Only you and Corpse do.” He mumbled sadly, looking at the camera with a frown. Looking over his eyes widened, “Who made that poll?”

Karl was now embarrassed beyond belief, one of his mods made a poll to see who would win the bet. From what he could tell, he definitely wasn’t winning the poll. “You guys suck.” He mumbled, before everyone soon left the discussion and focused on their game of jackbox. After a long 5 hour stream, Karl sighed and wanted nothing to just lay in Y/N’s arms. Sadly, he couldn’t and it was already killing him. Y/N on the other hand was perfectly fine, mainly because she was asleep on his bed. Shaking his head, running his fingers through his hair he sighed, “This is going to be harder than I thought.” He whined to himself, going to the living room to occupy himself with a movie. Hours had passed and Y/N and Karl were basically edging one another. Y/N took it upon herself to wear his favorite outfit: oversized red sweater, with matching knee high socks. Of course she had stuff on underneath, or so Karl thought. The moment she walked into the living room, his eyes wandered over to her. He instantly gulped, and shifted around uncomfortably as he wanted to grab her thighs.

“You okay Karl?” She asked, and Karl nodded stuttering out an answer, “Y-yeah!” He said too quickly for his liking. Humming, she sat beside Karl, planning to make this entire thing a living hell for him. Karl could not take it anymore, he ran upstairs and into his bedroom quickly calling his friends on discord. “Guys I can not do this. She is teasing me purposely to make so much harder.” He ranted to them, and they all laughed at how easily he would crack. “I know what you can do.” Quackity spoke up, his voice laced with mischief. “What is it?” Karl asked, and Quackity slowly explained, “Make her come to you, and when she finally falls into your trap, punish her.” He said, and the others silently agreed. “How would I do that?” He asked curiously, and now Punz was the one to speak, “Edge her, shit do anything to have her begging for forgiveness.” He said, and Karl thought about it. “Yeah, alright I will.” He said, and the others gave him wishes of good luck.

It was now nearing midnight, and the two still hadn’t interacted with one another physically. It was slowly driving Y/N mad, she didn’t think Karl would last this long, she herself was starting to become touch deprived. Karl was near breaking, but he had to hold himself back, he had to act like it wasn’t bothering him. Both were now sitting, watching Blades of Glory on Karl’s bed. Y/N was still in her little outfit, and Karl kept his attention on the movie and not her. Whining, Y/N looked over at him and pouted, “Fuck you..” she mumbled, as she made her way over to Karl. Karl bit back a smirk as she was crumbling in front of him, she was going to lose. Finally making it to him, she reached over and grabbed his chin, automatically losing once their skins touched. “You lose.” Karl said, and quickly grabbed her hips pulling her onto his lap. “You’ve been teasing me all day. What a bad girl you are.” He said looking down, and he quickly took notice of her lack of undergarments.

Biting his bottom lip, he unbuckled his belt, quickly pulling his pants and underwear down in a blink of an eye. Turning Y/N around, he hoisted her up, aligning his tip to her entrance before he slowly slid her down onto him. Y/N let out a moan at the feeling, and she attempted to rock her hips, but was stopped from his hands. “No baby. You can’t move, you are not allowed to move until I say so, got it?” He said, and Y/N only whimpered in response. Karl didn’t know where this sudden dominate side came from, but he was not complaining. Feeling how tight she was around him, he, himself, had to hold back from thrusting up into her. “Y/N..” He said warningly, when he saw her trying to subtly move her hips. Y/N whined, and bit her bottom lip, “Please Karl..” She whined out, and Karl groaned before he snapped his hips up. A moan erupted from Y/N at the new found pleasure, and she quickly started rocking her hips, as his snapped up to her. “You’re so tight baby.” He whispered sweet nothings into her ear, as he snuck a hand around her as his hand slowly wrapped around her neck. Y/N leaned her head back at this and let out a strangled moan when he added pressure, “I’m so- close.” She said in between moans. Karl suddenly stopped his movements once he heard this, earning a choked sob from Y/N.

“Please, Karl. Please let me cum!” She whined, and Karl hummed as he moved the hand that was wrapped around her neck up to her mouth. Inserting his index and ring finger into her mouth, she quickly sucked on them enjoying it. His other hand snaked around her waist and started toying with her clit. Muffling the moan with his fingers, he started thrusting up into her again. Moving his fingers back more, now causing her to choke, he rubbed her sensitive clit faster as he thighs began to shake. Knowing she was getting close, he stopped once more, and she let out a pitiful choked whine. He pulled his fingers out, and she coughed a bit tears falling down her face. “I’m sorry! Please let me cum Karl!” She begged, and Karl smirked against her neck and put his fingers back into her mouth rubbing at her clit furiously. Snapping his hips up into her at a fast pace, she felt an overwhelming wave of pleasure hit her. Moaning into his fingers, she shook letting her body fall back onto him for support. His thrusts never stopped, helping her ride through her high before he himself came inside her. Slowly pulling out, he placed her down beside him, letting her lay down. Getting up and walking to the bathroom he came back with a wet washrag and cleaned her up, along with himself. She finally came back from her high, and she heard Karl’s voice. “I won guys, just thought I’d let you know.”

[tpwkay]

Medicine (h.s.)

You’re finally given permission to cover the song you’ve wanted to perform for years and a special surprise during your performance sweeps you off of your feet.

Word count: 11.5k

Rating/warnings: NSFW - A lot of this is plot but there is smut as well. Contains explicit language and consensual sex acts between a man and woman. This is a story written in the 2nd person (“self insert"). This isn’t written to be exclusionary, it’s just my preferred style! Author’s note can be found at the end!

"Ladies and gentlemen, I cannot thank you enough for coming out tonight to listen to me and the band. We've got a couple more songs coming up for you but I just wanted to take a minute to tell y'all how much we appreciate you." You gesture to yourself and the band behind you as the lights on stage come up a bit. "We wouldn't be where we are without your support. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!"

The crowd cheers and you can't help but experience an insurmountable feeling of joy. It never gets old. You'd been in the spotlight for a few years now, already at the end of touring your second album, though the size and scope of venues this time around was much, much larger. There was nothing that compared to being able to sing your own songs and have a crowd of thousands scream them right back at you.

Being an up-and-coming singer and songwriter in the genre of country music hadn't been easy. Girls your type had been a dime a dozen, hoards of Taylor Swift-wannabes covering "Teardrops on My Guitar" during open mic night. You held nothing against them; there was a path to success for everyone, but yours had been, well, different. 

It was a karaoke cover of Brooks & Dunn's "Boot Scootin' Boogie", a song that you'd been singing since you were a toddler, that had gotten you noticed by a recording artist one night while out with your girlfriends, which led you to where you stand now, performing in front of thousands. You were liked for the range of your voice, with it's easy easy transitions from the sounds of pop to country and rock, in addition to the way you performed, and your take-no-shit attitude towards the entirety of the industry. People liked that you were forward and left nothing on the table, though you had to admit that it was mostly an act, a means of coping with the pressure of working your way to the top.

///

"It's refreshing!" Jax, your manager, had shouted one day, arms flailing as you had argued that maybe your attitude was going to get you into trouble one of these days.

"Aren't you, as, you know, my manager, supposed to be the one keeps me in line?"

"You aren't out doing coke, killing anyone, public indecency and all that," he had shrugged. "Far as I'm concerned, you are in line. People talk about you because of your attitude. They like it! They like you. Why is that so hard for you to accept sometimes?"

"Maybe I just haven't been caught doing those things," you grinned, effectively dodging his question. Fame hadn't helped break down the walls that you'd long ago built around yourself. If anything, you had done some reinforcing, built a moat even, in an effort to ensure that you protected yourself from getting too close to anyone that would only end up using you in the end. You had seen the way people in life had been used, and what it ultimately led them to, and you had promised yourself long ago that even if it meant being known as the Boot Scootin' Bitch, you would protect yourself and your heart at all costs. 

"Your momma would tan your hide for much less than any of those, you know. Hell, you should be more afraid of her than you are of me or anyone else… 'cept maybe God."

///

You shake your head, working the memories free from your mind as you grab a bottle of water from the platform on which the drum set rests.

There's one more song of yours to sing before you performed a new cover, the one you had been looking forward to for months. Although you'd gotten permission to perform it not long into the start of your tour, the set list had been rehearsed already and every other detail ironed out around it. You'd convinced Jax and the crew to let you slot it into the last concert of the tour, Austin, Texas. These folks knew their music and for some reason, they liked you so you were thrilled to be able to share something new with the crowd that had welcomed you to their city with open arms. 

You grab your guitar off its stand and slide the strap over your shoulders, adjusting it as you step forwards to the mic stand. A shimmering blue shirt catches your eye in the crowd and you do a double take because surely it can't be Harry because he's—

And it's not him, of course, though the fashion of the gentleman in the pit area would surely catch his eye as well as it's right up his alley. It's not him - it can't be him - because you know exactly where he is right now and it's not in the pit of your Austin performance. 

A grin stretches over your face as you think of him. You strum the first chord of the first song you'd ever written about him, although there had been many more since. He probably knew this one was about him, having come just after your first meeting. 

/// 

A friend of yours was good friends with Kacey, who had been the guest artist that night. Her name had been added to the VIP list and in the summer of 2018, just as you were hitting your own stride in your career, you tagged along with her to Harry Styles' live tour performance in your hometown of Nashville. 

If you were being honest, prior to his concert, you hadn't heard much of his solo work, apart from the various huge hits like his Kiwi or Watermelon Sugar and a few other ballads. You liked his sound, seemingly influenced heavily by rock stars of days past, but you'd had other influences to worry about in your own side of the industry. 

Sure, he had country music connections through the likes of Kacey Musgraves and Cam, and legends like Stevie Nicks, but his pop and soft rock style was pretty far removed from most country playlists that you yourself had graced. Your genres just didn't cross paths and the two of you seemingly operated in different realms of the music industry, topping your own charts and breaking your own peer's records. 

Of course, you hadn't been completely oblivious to The Harry Styles. One Direction had been too big of a deal to ignore and you'd often found yourself bopping along to their old hits, singing along as they played amongst the other nostalgic pop hits to which you listened. 

The concert had been in June, a hot sunny day followed by a perfect breezy evening. Downtown Nashville was always busy, but that night the city seemed to buzz, bright with music and life. After meeting for drinks at Acme on the River, you allowed yourself to luxuriate in getting lost in the crowd that milled about on Broadway. It was a surprising thing to not be recognized in your hometown, but you weren't one to complain about it. It was one reason that you value your time in Nashville over other music-centric cities like Los Angeles - it seemed that people here respected the private lives of musicians. There was an odd fan here and there, but you'd lived a majority of your "famous" life in Nashville in relative peace. 

You were early to the venue, your friend having wanted to have a chance to see Kacey backstage. You were excited to finally meet the star - though you'd been around the block of fame a bit already, there would always be people that you never had an opportunity to meet in passing. You had been greeted at will call and had been led backstage.

The arena was alive with excitement. At that point, you yourself had never toured a venue that large, so the experience of being backstage and seeing the operations first hand were thrilling and a bit overwhelming. In her dressing room, Kacey pulled you straight into a hug, gushing about how excited she was to watch your career take off. She insisted on sharing her personal cell phone number with you, urging you to call her to get together on a collaboration. You were in shock leaving her room, blown away by her kindness and the way the music industry worked in the most bizarre of ways, when you turned a corner and ran smack into a tall, solid, smiling Harry Styles. His arms had come out quickly to steady you on your heels boots. 

"Fuck," you swore, shaking your head at your clumsiness. "I am so sorry. What a great way to introduce myself."

He laughed and the sound flowed through you, warm and sweet like a cup of tea with honey. "Y'alright?" His eyes looked you over, and you couldn't help but notice the way they lingered. 

Your cheeks blushed and a wave of embarrassment washed over you. "I'm the one that should be asking you that. I don't think your adoring fans would be very happy if I took you out with a textbook tackle right before you're due to go on stage." You took a moment to give him the same appreciative glance he had already given you, admiring the way his deep blue custom-beaded suit jacket fell open to reveal a black dress shirt, unbuttoned halfway down his chest. 

"Ah, 'm fine. Lil' thing like you couldn't do too much damage to me, even in those heels. Don't think they'd be very happy though," he said, nodding his head in acknowledgement of the already-rowdy crowd while offering his hand. "I'm Harry."

You laughed as you introduced yourself, shaking his hand. 

"I've heard that name before, but I'm sorry to say that I don't recognize you. You don't seem like one that's easy to forget."

"I sing, write music," you shrugged, not sure how to explain to a superstar that you were on the way up, yet still somewhere much farther down the fame totem pole than him. "Country, mostly. Not sure if that's on your radar."

"The new stuff's not, but I may have to change that." He was tapped by one of the event producers, needed for another pre-show procedure. "Where will you be tonight?" 

"To your right, in the pit."

He smiled and you had almost immediately fallen in love with the crinkles that appeared under the corners of his eyes. "I'll look out for you. It was wonderful meeting you. Oh, shit, wait, just remembered— may I?" he gestured for the phone that was in your hand and you unlocked it before passing it to him. 

You watched as he dialed a number and put the phone to his ear. He paused for a moment before he grinned. "Hi Harry, it's you from before the show. This is a message to remind you to text this number and ask the owner of it out on a date. She's the one with the beautiful smile and great tackling skills. You won"t have forgotten her. 'Kay, bye!"

You laughed at an almost embarrassing volume, blown away by his cheek. 

"Why not ask 'her' out now?" you pondered to him as he handed the phone back.

"What, and risk getting shot down? Wouldn't want to be sad and disappointed through my whole show, now would I?"

"It would make the ballads a bit more emotional," you had reasoned with a grin.

"Ouch! They're already filled with emotion, love. You'll see, I'll sing 'em right to you if I have to. Gotta run, thank you for letting me use your phone, that was a very important message!"

You laughed again as he took off. "Harry!" you had shouted to get his attention in the busy hall. He turned quickly, a small smile on his face. "She definitely won't say no, but you can wait until later to ask if you want to."

His grin stretched wider and he'd pumped a fist in the air before turning and jogging down the hallway. 

You liked to joke with anyone who knew the story that your life had changed that day all because you met Kacey. Which wasn't a complete lie - it had been her dressing room you'd come out of before slamming into Harry in the hallway. 

///

Singing the last lines of one of your songs, your stomach began to flutter in a bit of nervousness and a lot of excitement. Performing the next cover was something you had been looking forward to for months, and the moment that you got to share it with your fans was finally here. 

You retreat from the mic stand to pass your guitar off to a stagehand, taking another sip of water to settle yourself. 

"Doing alright?" Wyatt, your drummer, shouts over the pounding bass drum and you give him a thumbs up before turning back to face the crowd. 

"I've got one more cover to play for y'all tonight," you say, grasping the mic stand to keep your hands from shaking. "I've been working on getting permission to play this one for quite awhile now. I fell in love with it the first time I heard it played and now here I am, performing it for you all. It's an unreleased piece by a very, very good friend of mine, but his performances of it are all over the internet so some of you may know the words. This song is called Medicine."

The song starts out with a steady bass line and the rhythm centers you a bit, steadying any nerves that still linger. The intro gives you a minute to shake out your shoulders and get comfortable at the mic stand once more like Harry does at each performance. You catch yourself having fun mimicking him and feel thankful that you're able to perform one of your favorite songs of his. When the bass drops in pitch and the electric guitar riffs, you slide in close to the mic stand.

"Here to take my medicine, take my medicine," you sang the opening lines, already settling into the sexy rock sound of the song you and the band had rehearsed relentlessly over the last few weeks. No, the genre wasn't one you normally dabbled in, but part of the fun of performing was taking chances, risks. You had to admit, you liked the sound a lot. It tempted you to branch out a bit more on your upcoming album. 

The opening lines of the first verse throw you back into thoughts of meeting Harry that first night. You hadn't imagined what would follow the concert, let alone have the foresight to see it bringing you to this very moment in time. 

///

You had been standing outside the arena after the concert, ears buzzing and heart thumping still from the incredible show Harry had put on. As soon as he disappeared from the backstage hall earlier, you had immediately saved his number to your phone, still in disbelief over the night's events. 

Your heart had soared when your phone began to vibrate, not in a text message but in a voice call. Harry's name appeared on the screen and your friend had nudged you, clearly approving of the night's turn of events. 

"Harry," you answered, ready to praise him halfway to Sunday on his performance. 

"Let me take you out," he interrupted you. "Right now. Please? Anywhere you want to go." 

You laughed and paused. "Yeah, okay. I might know of a place."

There was a lot of shuffling on his end before his voice came back on the line. "Might've had to do another fist pump."

"Told you she wouldn't say no."

"Where are you?" You heard the smile in his voice, already familiar with it. 

"Demonbreun and John Lewis, headed towards the park."

"Give me 10, I'll pick you up." He paused. "Be careful, okay?"

"I'll stick with the hoards of your fans milling about, maybe ask some of them for the hot gossip on you while I wait."

"Don't believe anything they say," he said, and you could tell he was still smiling as he hung up. 

He and his driver arrived shortly after, Harry's hair damp and covered with a baseball cap, dressed down in black pants and a simple loose white shirt, tattoos peeking out everywhere you looked. He exited the car and opened the back door for you, helping you balance as you stepped up into the large Suburban. 

"We'll go to Pecker's," you said to his driver, laughing as Harry snorted next to you. "Shut up, it's just a bar. Take a right up here onto 24 and it'll take us all the way to Fairfield. It'll be on the right."

He looked at you and smiled before reaching out to hold your hand in the middle seat between you. 

Taking Harry to Pecker's had just felt right. It was where you'd been discovered, where all of your adventures had started, and you weren't sure why but you wanted to share that small part of you with him after watching him up on stage that night. 

"Won't people recognize you? I looked you up before the show, you're apparently a pretty big deal around here." He had asked, smirking, sipping on the locally-brewed beer that Clint, the regular bartender, was serving that night. 

"Locals are pretty good about not interrupting our normal lives. Pecker's isn't as well known to tourists either, so it's a good hideout. This is where a lot of producers, executives and all the other professionals come to unwind." You ignored his comment on your fame and had taken a sip of your margarita instead. "Unless, of course, there's a drag show scheduled, then it's a bit of a madhouse."

Harry laughs into his drink and you grin. "So," he started after a pause, twiddling with the rings on his right hand. "What'd you think?"

"It was incredible," you said without hesitation. "Truly one of the best live shows I've seen in a long time, country acts included. You've got such a magnetism about you that people can't help but want to watch." You blushed a bit, alcohol and the quick comfort of him loosening your lips. "The whole water spraying trick was hot," you admit, making him blush. "And don't tell Stevie, but I think I might prefer your version of The Chain."

"Sacrilege! That's some incredibly high praise," he said, a small smile teasing at the corners of his mouth. 

"Earned and deserved," you said, tilting your glass to his. "Honestly, Harry, you're an incredible musician. There aren't many out there that have the whole package like that."

"What about you? You seem like the whole package."

"I don't know if I'd say that. If you looked me up, you've likely seen what they say about me. 'My attitude won't get me far' and all. But I don't think it's my attitude, so much as it is my willingness to take the risks that others won't. I'm not out here to make music that's just there to be sold. Hell, I couldn't care less about the money. All I want is to create music that makes me feel fulfilled, and I think that honesty scares them." You twirled your finger in the condensation of the glass in front of you. You glanced up to his face finding his eyes already on yours, holding your gaze steadily. "It doesn't scare you, does it?"

"It's the most refreshing thing I've heard in a while. Not many people in the industry are fearless in the face of failure like that."

"I'm definitely not fearless; I just refuse to change who I am to make a buck."

"Who are you then?" Harry had asked, and telling him your story was easy. You couldn't understand how it was so natural, opening up to a stranger, but as the conversation wore on, you realized how similar you and Harry were in terms of the way you conducted your professional lives and that was without apology. 

And you also realized, as the evening continued and you and Harry crept your bar stools closer and closer to one another, feet and knees bumping, his fingers tracing the ridges of your knuckles as you shared life stories like long lost friends, that you didn't want it to end. 

///

"He's acting like a gentleman," you continue, changing up the lyrics slightly as you finish the first verse. The line always made you smile and you let yourself briefly flash back into your reminiscing about the night you'd met Harry, and how, even though he had acted gentlemanly upon dropping you off for the evening, you wanted to be anything but a gentlewoman. 

///

After enjoying drinks late into the evening at Pecker's, Harry had insisted on having his driver take you home rather than allowing you to call an Uber. 

"Such a gentleman," you commented as he opened the car door for you once again. 

"Maybe my gentlemanly actions have motives," he said, sliding his hand along your lower back as you step past him and into the car. Your grin matched his smirk as he shut the door and you decided that he'd been right - not calling an Uber was the right thing to do.

The car ride back to your apartment building was too quick and before you knew it, he was at your door again, offering a hand for you to hold for balance as you exited the car. Neither of you let go as you walked through the lobby towards the elevators. 

"You're uh— You're welcome to come up, if you'd like," you said, suddenly shy but not wanting to chicken out on asking for what you wanted, asking for some continuation of this sweet but likely brief meeting between you two. "For a drink, I mean, or to keep chatting, you know."

Harry smiled and glanced around the empty lobby. His hand in yours smoothed up the length of your arm, over your shoulder, and came to rest at your jaw. "I'd love to, believe me. You have no idea how much I want to." He leaned towards you, pressing a quick kiss to your forehead and your skin burned at the contact of his lips. "But I want to do this the right way. Don't want you to get the wrong idea of me."

"What if I want the wrong idea of you?"

He laughed, the sound open and honest and it had given you hope. "You called me a gentleman earlier and I have to admit that I liked it, coming from you. Would like to keep up the facade that I am, even if it's just for a bit." His face searched yours, each of you trying to read the thoughts that were flying through one another's minds. "You have beautiful lips," he whispered suddenly, his accent thicker than it had been all night. 

Your mouth quirked into a smile, unable to do anything but preen at his compliment. "You do too," you replied, just as softly. 

"Can I kiss you?"

"Please, yes." Before the words had settled he was kissing you, slowly and with too much care, like you would break if he wasn't gentle enough. It was over much too quick but you knew you would remember every moment of it for the rest of your life. 

"Christ, I'd wanted to do that all night." His thumb smoothed over your cheekbone, smiling when you leaned into the touch. He glanced up as the elevator doors swung open and gently nudged you towards them. "Thank you, truly, for a wonderful evening. I promise to give you a call soon."

"I'll send Kacey after you if you don't!" you laughed, stepping into the lift.

"Good night darling." He winked and the doors slid shut, leaving you alone with your thoughts and the delicious ghost of his lips on yours. 

///

"Give me that adrenaline, that adrenaline, think I'm gonna stick with you," you finish the first verse as Ryann rips through the chords on her guitar. You loved that the song built slowly, and even though that meant a quieter beginning, it promised an explosive end. 

Though the crowd had been hesitant at first, you can see that the first few rows of them are nodding along, countless phones out recording the performance. You know that somewhere out there at your request is a member of your press team, professionally filming the cover. You may only be doing it once, but you were determined to make sure you would never forget it.

///

You had enough time at home to check some of your social media accounts, shower and get comfortable in bed before your phone rang again. For the second time that day, your heart soared seeing Harry's name light up your screen.

"If you're going to say that you're downstairs because you've reconsidered my offer for that nightcap, I'll need a few moments to prepare as I'm currently in my pajamas," you said as a greeting and you were met with his warm laughter once again.

"No, no, I had to go back to the arena for a bit anyways, pack up and all of that," he said, still chuckling. "I just— I wanted to make sure you weren't offended by me declining your offer. Because I wanted to— I didn't want the night to end there. There's something about you that's… Transfixing. And I don't want to ruin that and make you think you're just a fling."

"That's quite a compliment," you said, a bit awed by his words.

"What was it you said earlier, "earned and deserved", yeah?" He said, quoting your toast to him at the bar, making you grin. "I want you to be more than that. I'd like to get to know you, the gentlemanly way."

"Okay. Will we have a chaperone at our next date then?" He laughed but didn't correct your referral to that evening as a date. You had snuggled a bit deeper into the sheets, still disbelieving that all of this had been the result of being dragged along to a concert. 

"No chaperones," he chuckled, "but yes, I do want to take you out again, if you'd let me."

"Hmm," you jokingly pondered aloud, as if answering with anything other than a resounding "yes" was on your mind. "I suppose I could fit something into my schedule."

"I hope that's a yes."

"Of course it's a yes! I didn't want the night to end either. And don't you dare say that you just did another fist pump," you had laughed, hearing the familiar shuffling of the phone on his end of the line.

"Me? Never!"

"You're adorable," you had said, a smile stuck on your face.

"And you're beautiful. Two can play this game."

There had been a comforting silence between you for a moment before you had spoken up again. "Harry?"

"Yeah, love?"

You had blushed at the pet name but loved the way it sounded being directed your way. "Thank you," you had whispered. 

"Should be me thanking you. Sleep well sweetheart." You'd fallen asleep with your phone in hand, hopeful that you wouldn't wake up the next morning to realize it had all been a dream.

/// 

It hadn't been a dream, and here you were, nearly two years later, performing one of the songs that Harry himself had sung the night that you'd begun falling for him.

The second verse continued quickly and you let the lyrics wash over you as you sang, loving the way the rock energy of the song sounded with a bit of your band's country influence. 

"Here to take my medicine, take my medicine, rest it on your fingertips," you sang, holding your pointer finger in the air much like Harry did every time he performed the song before bringing it to your lips as you sang the next line. "Up to your mouth, feeling it out, feeling it out."

/// 

Beginning to date Harry - properly date him too, not just make FaceTime calls to one another from across the world and sending texts back and forth until the wee hours of the morning thanks to the differences in time zones, sharing everything and more with one another as best you could digitally - had been the most exhilarating experience of your life, and you had performed in front of sold out crowds and accepted awards on live television. His tour was due to stretch on for almost another month throughout North America and the next time you saw him was when you'd been invited as Harry's guest to his show in Chicago just a few weeks after you'd met. 

While he had put on an incredible show for the United Center, there had been moments that felt like he was performing just for you, glancing over to where you stood in the Friends and Family area, meeting your eyes and grinning. By that point, you could sing along to every song of his and you knew he loved it, loved watching you dance along to the music that he had created and was performing. 

In a moment where you were thankful for the differences between the genres in which you two performed, you hadn't been recognized at all by his fans. You'd both talked about wanting to keep things quiet as you got to know one another, and you hadn't wanted a relationship with him, an already incredibly famous artist, to somehow influence the trajectory of yours. While it had been easy when you were apart, being together without seemingly being together was difficult. Especially in that moment, when all you wanted to do was curl up into him and soak in the post-show bliss with him. Instead, you sat on the couch with him, a cushion apart from one another, holding his hand tightly while you chatted about the concert. 

"Someone is gonna notice that you looked to my side of the pit constantly all night," you said and he grinned guiltily. 

"I like knowing you're in the crowd," he shrugged. "Besides," he scooted closer and threw his arm around you before dragging you in close, "you look incredible, how could I not want to stare at you all night?"

"Anyone could walk in," you pointed out, watching as his eyes followed your lips. 

"Just want a little taste," he said, moving in closer, "Haven't I earned a kiss from my girlfriend after all of that work up on stage?"

Your eyebrows raised in surprise as you looked at him and he seemingly realized his slip-up. 

"I mean— What I meant was— Shit," he scrubbed a hand over his face but you could tell he was hiding a grin. "Wasn't exactly how I wanted to ask you, but… Will you officially be my girlfriend?"

"Yes, H. I'm all yours."

"Love it when you call me H." He pulled you in for a kiss that you both lost yourselves in, finally able to experience the feeling of one another after being denied it for so long. When a knock at the dressing room door came, Harry had to all but drag himself away from you, hair disheveled and lips swollen, scowling at the door. 

You threw your head back and laughed as he stalked over and pulled it open with a flourish. 

"What?"

"The hell's your issue?" you heard Mitch ask before Harry widened the door so he could see you laughing on the couch. You raised a hand in greeting and Harry's scowl deepened as Mitch chuckled, taking in both of your disheveled appearances. "Oh, shit, hey, sorry. Uh, car's ready when you are. See you tomorrow bud." 

"Harry!" you chided once he'd closed the door in Mitch's face, giggles still bubbling out of your mouth. "He was just being polite."

"Interrupting arse is what he is," Harry said, sitting down and pulling you into his lap. "Where were we?"

You threw your arms around his neck and pressed your body as close to his as possible, hoping that he'd thought to lock the door before returning to your embrace. "Right about here, I think." With a hand on your hip, sliding under your shirt to reach warm skin and one at the back of your neck, Harry kissed you until you were breathless and not only wanting more but very seriously needing it. 

"Come back to the hotel with me," he murmured against your lips as you ground your body down on him, reveling in the way the action made him throw his head against the back of the couch and exhale sharply. 

"You sure?" Your hands smoothed over the chest of his skin, tracing the dark swallows with your fingertips as you rolled your hips. 

He shuddered at the light touch and gripped your hips tightly, pressing his up as you pressed yours down and the action made you sigh, the pressure a delicious tease of what was hopefully to come. "Absolutely," he said, his grin telling you he was pleased with the noises he was causing you to make. "Want you so bad, like I won't be able to breathe right until I properly have you."

You leaned in to kiss at his neck, his shower-damp curls tickling your cheek. "The feeling is mutual. Adored watching you up on stage tonight. Have I told you yet how much I love seeing you perform?" You nuzzle at his neck, urging him to tilt his head back farther, exposing more of his skin to you. 

"Yeah, you have, but tell me again," he sighed, his hands running up and down your back. 

"It's like when you get on stage no one else before or after you matters," you said honestly, letting your lips against his skin hide how truthful you were really being, spilling all of your thoughts about seeing Harry up on stage. It was scary, feeling so deeply for him already. But you wanted him to know, at least in part, what it meant to be able to watch him perform. "Something about your live voice just makes my breath catch in my throat, I can't get enough of it."

Harry breathed deeply for a moment, working to center himself while you nosed at the curls around his ear and heaped praise upon him. 

"It's like you connect with every person out in the crowd, like you're singing just for them. You can tell that you're having fun and people want to join you in that. They know you love the attention," you whispered and he hummed in appreciation (or agreement), the sound low in his throat. "They'd stay out there all night for if they could, screaming about how much they love you."

"And you feed into it, playing it up for them. You know exactly what you're doing when you get to act a little bit naughty up there, driving them all mad," you said with a smile. 

He chuckled and you could hear and feel the sound rumble through him. "Played it up for you tonight. Did it work?" 

"You mean did it make me want to jump your bones the second you came off stage? Yeah, it worked."

"Fucking hell," he said, holding you close with his hands on your butt as he stood up. "Our first time is not going to be in a dressing room so we need to go now."

He let you slide down his body and held you steady as you balanced on your legs. "Would be pretty fitting though, don't you think, given how we met and what we do?"

"Yeah, but then I'd think about it every time I was in one. You wanna torture me relentlessly?" He pulled you tight against him, kissing you once more before separating to grab his bags. 

"Yeah, relentless torture sounds like something I might be into." 

He glanced up at your words, eyes dark and hungry, a smirk on his lips. "Careful what you wish for, love." 

///

The bass line increased behind the riff of Ryann's guitar and you leaned into the mic stand, eyes closing as you continued singing the first bridge. "I had a few, got drunk on you and now I'm wasted, and when I sleep I'm gonna dream of how you…"

There were a few fans of yours and Harry's who apparently knew the words as they helped you out, screaming the unwritten word that finished the sentence: "tasted."

///

Harry was quick to say goodbye to everyone on the team before pulling you quickly through back hallways and down quiet staircases, sneaking quick kisses when he was sure there was no one around. You were both out of breath when you finally climbed into the car, grinning like kids getting away with sneaking around. 

The hotel ride was quick, mercifully, but Harry had been anything but patient, his hand at your knee creeping up slowly, closer and closer to the hem of your dress, toying with the hem while he chatted with the driver. 

"I'm gonna head in first with Martin and Eric will loop around and drop you off at the side entrance. I would wait in the lobby for you but this hotel hasn't been the best in the past with uh— containing sensitive information, we'll say, so Martin will meet you on your floor to get your stuff, then bring you up. Is that okay?"

"You sound like you've done this before, Styles," you said with a wink, using humor to cover the nerves that had settled in the pit of your stomach. 

He blushed and you loved knowing you got under his skin so easily. "The band used to stay here when we toured… and I was young and dumb once, yes."

"Just giving you a hard time, H."

His grin stretched as he leaned over to peck your lips once more. "See you in a minute, love."

Harry climbed out and the driver took off once again, slowly circling the block. "He's quite taken with you, you know," he said, glancing up in the rear view mirror as he parked the car at the curb. He got out and opened the door for you in the empty street then used his keycard to unlock the heavy side door of the hotel.

"Thank you," you said, both for his actions and his omission about Harry. Sure, you had talked to him as often as possible over the last weeks and had yourself been on the receiving end of his attention, but it felt validating to hear that Harry's feelings for you may have gone a bit farther than just a small crush if people around him had also noticed his behavior. 

Harry's bodyguard was waiting by the elevators and escorted you to your room to gather your luggage, then led you to Harry's door.

"Car'll be around about 9 tomorrow morning, H. Flight's at 10:30." He turned to you. "I understand you have business to continue here in Chicago?"

"Yes, meetings tomorrow and then I fly back to Nashville in the evening."

"There'll be a driver ready for you tomorrow as well. He's been instructed to take you wherever you need to go and he'll stay until you depart. Have a nice evening," he nodded at Harry, who was smiling in the doorway, before departing.

"You didn't have to do that for me, I could've managed by getting an Uber," you said, stepping into the room past Harry to set your bags down and kick your shoes off. 

"I didn't, was Martin's idea; says he doesn't want anything to happen to the one thing that's made me so happy these last few weeks."

"Oh yeah? I'm the one thing, huh?"

"You're everything, honestly," he replied a bit sheepishly, taking your hands in his. "Think I might like you a bit more than I already should. Lettin' my heart get a bit ahead of my head, I suppose."

"Yeah, I know the feeling," you said softly and he beamed. 

He moved his hands up to cup your face, pulling you close for a sweet kiss that quickly turned insistent, heat rising between the two of you. Harry slid his hands under the hem of your shirt to rest where your spin ended and yours wrapped around his neck, dragging him down to you as you stepped behind you towards the bed. His long legs tangled with yours and you tumbled backwards, laughing as you hit the plush bed and Harry collapsed on top of you.

He propped himself up on his elbows and looked down at you with a smile, pushing the hair that had fallen into your face aside. "Hi baby," he said softly.

"Hi."

"Missed you," he said, leaning down for another sweet kiss. 

"We were apart for like, eight minutes," you giggled between his kisses, your laughter giving way to a sigh as he moved to press a kiss to your nose, your cheek, your chin.

"Doesn't matter," he breathed into the crook of your neck, pressing small open mouth kisses to the soft skin there, "Any time apart is too long."

"The two weeks left of the tour will fly by. You should enjoy them while you can."  

"Wish you could come with me, love performing for you." He kissed his way across the base of your neck, collarbone to collarbone as his fingers trailed to the small straps on your shoulders. "Would you like to take this off?"

"Please," you sighed, desperate and aching for the feeling of his skin against yours. 

Your first time sleeping with Harry had been exactly what you'd wanted and expected - hot and fast, admittedly over a bit more quickly than either of you had wanted, but worth the weeks of wait. 

Harry's skill set hadn't ended at singing and playing instruments. If anything, his vast experience using his hands and mouth only helped him excel in other pastimes that also utilized those parts of his body. To both of your delights, he had proven his adeptness in all areas multiple times that night, and once again in the morning before he had to rush into the shower, dragging you along with him simply to get more time together before you were forced apart once again. 

/// 

You had spent the next two months away from one another, Harry having wrapped his tour and immediately beginning work on his next album. You'd spent your own time mixed between writing and recording an upcoming single. You had already written a handful of songs that were inspired by him and you'd wondered, albeit a bit nervously, if the sentiment was shared. When he stopped in Nashville on a long layover, pushing his flight back even longer to stay with you for another night, you'd tried to pry the information out of him. Unfortunately, no amount of sexual teasing or denial had convinced him — he, however, had you singing like a canary almost immediately, teasing you in the best way about how easily you opened up for him, telling him all about the music that he had already inspired.

You had been FaceTiming him late one night weeks later, both tired from long days spent in the studio. He had suddenly gotten shy, biting at the skin around his fingernails. 

"Hey, stop that. What's the matter H?"

"Wanna ask you something," he mumbled, but a smile was peeking through where his fingers were still at his lips. "Jus' don't know how to."

"Baby," you sighed, "you can ask me anything. Y'know that." 

"I know, I know." He paused and took a deep breath before a wide smile stretched across his face. "Would you maybe want to come home with me this Christmas? To London? Wouldn't be for long, maybe just a couple nights, I just wanna introduce you to my mum already, she's been pestering me nonstop lately 'bout meetin' you and Gem's joined in on it now too, so it's two against one when they call and I've told them that—"

"Harry," you said chucking, trying to interrupt his nervous rambling.

"—and she actually called me Harold last time she told me to bring you 'round and that got me a bit worried so I—"

"Harry! Of course I'll come with you. I'd absolutely love to."

You met him at the airport weeks later, desperate to pull him close and kiss him silly in the confines of his darkly tinted car, but you refrained, knowing how seriously Harry took the protection of your relationship from the press. You may not have been able to see anyone straining to capture pictures of you two, but you knew there was always the chance. 

It was an entirely different story, however, when he'd finally pulled the car past the mechanical gate and into his private drive. You both reached for each other immediately, arms tangled and shifter knob pressed uncomfortably against your side, but perfectly content so long as his lips were against yours. 

"Fuck— I missed you— so much," he muttered between kisses. He pulled away, forehead resting against yours, sly smirk pulling at his lips. "Mum won't expect us for a few hours at least."

"What is it that you're insinuating, Mr. Styles?"

"That there's plenty of time to give you a tour around the house, that's all," he said innocently. He gave you a sweet smile before hopping out of the car and coming to the passenger side where he helped you out and picked up your bags.

You were eager to be given a house tour, more than keen to learn all of the things you could about his London life. The house was decorated in a way that made you smile - eclectic but with a definitive air of cohesive taste. It suited Harry to an absolute tee. From the artwork that decorated the walls to the mismatched but homey furniture, you could tell immediately that this was Harry's sanctuary - every inch of the home screamed his name. 

"It's incredible," you said as he led you into the largest room, the master. He walked over to the dresser that sat under the window and pulled open the top two drawers. 

"I know we won't be here long, this time around, but I cleaned out a few drawers for you here, if you want to unpack some things. And there's space in the closet for you too," he nodded towards the door on the other side of the room, dragging a hand through his hair as he talked, "I had too much in there anyways and some of it needed to go and I wanted you to be able to leave some things, if you felt comfortable, of if Mum drags us out shopping and you don't want to take it all home now you can leave it here and-"

"You- you cleared out a drawer for me?"

"Well, yeah," he said, resting his hand on the back of his neck. "Made some space for you in the bathroom too, though I doubt it'll be enough, with all that you bring along to fix yourself up." He paused and thought for a moment. "I know how our lives are. I just wanted you to have some of your own space here; want you to feel as comfortable in my home as I do. Is that too much?" 

"H," you said with a sigh, your lips curling into a smile, "it's perfect, and so thoughtful. I'm sorry I haven't done the same for you in Nashville yet."

"'s alright, love. I've already got a toothbrush there at least. I can take some time when we fly back to come and help if you'd like me to. As long as you don't end up wearing all the clothes that I leave there," he chuckled.

"You know me too well," you said, reaching for his hand. He lifted your entwined fingers to his lips to brush a kiss over your knuckles.

"You do look good in my clothes," he confessed, pulling you close to face him. "Look good in my house. But you always look good anyways."

"Said the pot to the kettle," you said with a smile. "I like being here already," you shrug, hands resting on his shoulders. "It feels like you, like home. Thank you for inviting me," you add, as though the measly voicing of your appreciation is enough to convey what you truly feel. 

"You're welcome anytime, if I'm here or not."

"You trust me that much?"

"Yeah, I do. I'll get you a key and everything." He leaned down to kiss you slowly, relearning the map of your lips and mouth, before pulling away. He laughed when you made a noise of protest.

"The bathroom's over here if you'd like to freshen up." He had pulled at your hand, stepping towards the other open door in the room. "Figured a shower might sound nice after a long day in an airplane. Besides, I've gotta clean up before we go to Mum's anyways."

"Gonna join me?" 

"Yeah, thought I might, if that's okay." His smirk had been wicked as he pushed you the rest of the way into the bathroom. He dropped your hand to reach for the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head quickly. As he reached for the buckle of his pants, he had met your staring eyes. "See something you like, love?"

You definitely had, though you didn't think your attraction — physically or emotionally — for Harry had stopped at something that was as weak as "like." Getting to know him over the last six months had made you worry that there wasn't ever going to be anyone else like him, anyone that made you feel like he did. You had fallen for him, desperately hard, and the realization of it as you stood in front of his half-naked self almost embarrassed you. 

"Babe? You alright?" he asked as he stripped down to his boxers. 

"Yeah, you just got me all distracted," you had grinned, pulling your sweatshirt and remaining clothes off quickly before joining Harry under the warm spray of the water.

Meeting Harry's mom that evening went better than you could've ever dreamt it would. The two of you got on like old friends, and Harry had stared, almost in wonder, at how easily you seemed to bond with her. And then he had stared in horror as Anne offered to pull out the photo albums filled with pictures from Harry's childhood, particularly when Anne offered up the album filled with photos from Harry's and Gemma's emo phases. 

As the evening wore on, you caught Harry on more than one occasion glancing your way, cheeks bright from the red wine he was sipping on and eyes warmly reflecting the bright Christmas lights. He always looked like he was a split second away from saying something, only to shake his head and look away with a small smile. 

Later, in bed, Harry pulled you close to him. He was laying on his back, you on your side, and you threw a leg over his waist, soaking in all of the cuddles you could get on this short trip together. The room was only illuminated by the ambient light coming in through the blinds. 

"Mum liked you a lot," he murmured, gently stroking the skin at the base of your spine, "said I should hang onto you". 

You returned the gesture, running your fingertips along the lines of ink that make up his many tattoos. "I liked her too. She's wonderful, I see where you get it from now."

"Hey now, 'm wonderful all on my own!" He tickled your side and you couldn"t help but arch towards him, shrieking and laughing at the touch. 

"Stop that! You are an absolute pest, you know that?" you said, grinning up at him.

"Ah, you love me," he whispered, and his joking tone made you smile but the way he pulled you tighter as he said it made you brave. 

You let the weight what you were about to say wash over you, aware that things were going to change forever with just a few words. "I do love you, Harry," you whispered, moving up his body to press a kiss to his lips.

"Thank God," he had said, wrapping his arms back around you and pulling you on top of him. "Cause I love you too."

Leaving Harry after that had been even more difficult. All you wanted to do was be with him, but you had too much coming up with the future release of your album and Harry was still in the midst of doing his own writing and recording. 

It was your professions, along with the desire to keep your relationship private, that kept you apart. You weren't sure how you did it, but your relationship had withstood the distance and odd-hours. The only step now would be deciding if, when, and how to confirm the suspicions to tabloids and fans alike that you were an item.

The wait was killing you. All you wanted was to show off to the world that Harry was yours.

///

The bridge of the song was followed quickly by the chorus and the heavy guitar and pounding drums had you rocking on your feet, body swaying into the mic stand as you let yourself get lost in the lyrics. "If you go out tonight, I'm going out 'cause I know you're persuasive."

The crowd was even more into the song now, many picking up on the words quickly and screaming them along with your singing. The rock and roll vibe of the song was coursing through you and the crowd, the arena electric with energy already. 

"You got that something, I got me an appetite, now I can taste it."

You remove the mic from the stand and dance towards one end of the stage, singing as you move to the beat. "We're getting dizzy, oh, we're getting dizzy, oh! La da da da da! You get me dizzy, oh, you get me dizzy, oh!"

///

You had been on the phone with Harry one day in July, nearly five months after the release of your album, having him help you decide what the setlist of your tour would be when it began in November. 

"I wish I could cover one of your songs."

He had laughed and slurped his tea, the sounds comforting to you, even over the phone. "That'd be a bit obvious, wouldn't it love?"

"I don't mean cover Golden or Kiwi," you said, tapping your pen against the pad of paper in front of you. "What about one you wrote for 1D? What about Perfect? Or Stockholm Syndrome! That was always one of my favorites."

"Getting permission on those might be a bit more difficult, s'not just me that's gotta sign off on it. Besides, do you really wanna be the artist that covers a One Direction song on her own headlining tour?"

"Guess I'll stick with singing along to them in the shower then."

You were both quiet for a moment, lost in your own thoughts. 

"What if I covered Medicine?" you asked suddenly, realizing it was the perfect compromise, not to mention your favorite song that Harry himself performed oh his own tour. The rock sound wasn't a far cry from the roots that country music had and you knew it would sound great. "Even if it was just for one stop!"

"Hmm," Harry mused. "It would sound great with the band, I'll give you that. But videos will go around, people will know it's my song you're singing and they'll connect the dots about us."

"H, I'm ready for that if you are. I love you, and I'm ready to be able to share that love that I have for you with the world. Sneaking around has been fun but I want people to know how proud of you I am and how much you're loved and appreciated. Half of our fans know already, it's just a matter of us confirming it. I think that we could really-"

Harry was laughing at your rambling on the other end of the line. "Alright, alright, you drive a hard bargain, love. I think you're right, maybe it is time we stopped sneaking around. I'll try, but Jax and everyone else still have to agree to it too. It might be easier to convince everyone if it's just a one time thing. Pick another cover, something you'd normally do, in case it takes some time to work things out."

"I'll ask him right now! Thank you Harry!"

"I just have one condition," he said, and you could hear the grin that was surely pulling at the corners of his lips. 

"What's that?"

"I get to perform it with you," he had said, and the smile already on your face widened exponentially. "If we're finally gonna make "us" public, may as well do it with a bang."

///

In the moment after the chorus, an 8 count beat is carried by the drummer and guitarist. For this performance, and the only performance you'd put on of this song, you had rehearsed the 8 count repeating once between the chorus and the next verse, as you needed a bit of extra time to announce your guest performer. 

"Ladies and gentlemen," you shout into the mic, grin wide and face beaming already at what was about to take place. "To help me finish this performance, please help me welcome my very good friend, Harry Styles!"

Harry emerges from behind the stage holding his own wireless mic as much of the crowd screams - he may not be a country artist, but he was absolutely known worldwide. You step back with a wave of your arm, smiling as he begins the next chorus. His performance is for the crowd but he's singing the words directly to you. 

"Tingle running through my bones, fingers to my toes, tingle running through my bones," he sings, voice smooth like whiskey, and the crowd adores him, eating out of the palm of his hand. "The boys and the girls are in, I mess around with them, and I'm OK with it." 

You can't help but dance as he sings, his voice and the energy of the crowd propelling you to move. He watches you, eyes no longer on the crowd, as he sings the next lines. Immediately, heat pools low in your belly at his glance and the words. 

"I'm coming down, I figured out I kinda like it. And when I sleep I'm gonna dream of how you…"

You gyrate your hips at the unsung line of "ride it", listening with a sly grin as some in the crowd scream the two words that go unsung. 

///

After giving him a key, Harry had moved some of his clothes to your apartment in Nashville some time while you were away on the first leg of your tour. He had found the city to be incredibly welcoming and inspirational for his upcoming album and had decided to stay there for a spell while you continued to tour around the country. 

You had scheduled a short break between your concerts over New Years, wanting to be able to grab at least one or two nights at home with him to celebrate the holiday before you were back on the road again. 

"So fucking glad you're home," Harry panted, pulling your shirt over your head before attaching his lips to yours once again. "Missed you like crazy."

"Missed you too," you moaned as his lips moved downwards, across your neck and over your collarbones, down the valley between your breasts. Before he could reach around to unhook your bra, you reached for his shirt, as desperate as he was to see and touch what you'd been missing. 

As he pulled the half-unbuttoned blouse over his head, you pulled your leggings off and reached for him, pushing him back onto the bed behind him. He unbuttoned his pants as he scooted up towards the middle of the bed, shoving them and his boxers off in one swoop. 

You climbed on top of him, hurriedly reaching to kiss him as you rubbed your clothed center along the length of his hard cock. 

"Fuck," he hissed, throwing his head back to allow you room to kiss his neck. "Desperate aren't you, darling?"

"Want you so bad it hurts," you whispered, sucking a bright hickey right where it would absolutely be seen by anyone.

You moved to continue kissing down his chest but he stopped you with a hand under your arm. "Not gonna last long, love. Wanna be inside you."

His cheeks and chest were flushed bright red, lips puffy and pupils blown wide. This was when you loved him most, being able to have him like no one else did. The same feeling always hit you at certain moments, particularly ones of domesticity, like when you watched him back the car out of the driveway or when he stood in the kitchen in the morning in nothing but socks, boxers, and his ratty old robe, singing along to old big band jazz as he waited for the coffee to brew. There was Harry Styles the musician, Harry Styles the actor, and Harry Styles the performer, but then there was your Harry. 

"Yeah, okay," you sighed, moving off of him quickly to remove your bra and panties. You climbed back onto the bed and threw your leg over his hips, straddling him. He immediately reached for you and pulled you flush against his chest, his lips capturing yours in a bruising kiss. 

You rocked your hips against him as he held you, your slick arousal gliding along his length, drawing a moan from both of you. 

"Baby, please," he panted, and you could only mod in agreement, lost already to the sweeping feeling of your close release. 

His hands rested on your hips as you positioned him at the entrance between your legs. You groaned in harmony as you worked down him slowly, the only sound in the room was your shared heavy breathing and gasps. 

"Fuck me," he sighed as you set a slow pace, rocking on top of him to reach each spot that you know will get you there. 

"Workin' on it," you grin. A quick swivel of your hips hit at just the right angle and you tossed your head back, repeating the movement over and over again until you shuddered with a final snap of tension, your orgasm rolling over you as Harry helped you move, hands tight on your hips, to wring all you could from the release. 

"You look so beautiful right now, like a fuckin' angel," Harry said, voice low and gravely, accent thick with need. 

"How's that line go?" you said as you slowed down, smirking when a harsh rock of your hips caused Harry to moan. "'Turns out she's a devil in between the sheets'?"

"Fuck," he groaned again, eyes closed tightly. "Can't just go reciting my own lyrics to me while I"m buried in ya like this, love."

"And there's nothing you can do about it," you continued, singing the line of his song this time, and his hips buck up into yours harshly.

"You're gonna pay for that," he had said, quoting another of his songs, before he had flipped you over onto your back and set his own brutal pace.

///

Like he can read your thoughts, Harry beams and wags a finger in your direction and the crowd screams at your chemistry together. You grab your mic from its stand and take a step towards Harry to sing the chorus together.

"If you go out tonight, I'm going out 'cause I know you're persuasive." Harry dances off to the side of the stage, performing once again for the crowd. 

You dance at center stage with your wireless mic, too excited about performing with Harry that you can't stand in one spot. The music and Harry's energy make you want to move. "You got that something, I got me an appetite, now I can taste it." 

"We're getting dizzy, oh, we're getting dizzy, oh! La da da da da!" Harry throws his head back, singing along in his own world and you can't look away from him. He really was a rockstar and getting to share the stage with him like this was an experience you'd never forget. 

"You get me dizzy, oh, you get me dizzy, oh!"

There's a great pause in the lyrics where the guitar, keyboard, and drums play together, increasing the tension of the song. You and Harry take off towards opposite ends of the stage, both reveling in the performance for the crowd as you dance and stomp to the beat. Eventually, with a slide down the keys of the keyboard, the instrumental quiets into just the steady beat of the bass line joined by the hi-hats. 

You and Harry urge the crowd to clap along as you both return to the middle of the stage to sing together once again. He always said that this portion of the song was one of his favorites to perform, the repeated line from the bridge ending abruptly with the lights going out before flashing back on, the added theatrics of the performance elevating the climax of the song completely. Having rehearsed that Harry would sing the following chorus alone, you let yourself get lost in his gaze as it settles on you.

You stand facing one another behind the mic stand, once again singing more to one another rather than to the crowd. You step closer towards him as the lyrics progress, nearly chest to chest now with your voices sharing one another's mics. "I had a few, got drunk on you and now I'm—"

Before you can sing the last word of the line and the lights can blink out as rehearsed, Harry leans forwards and captures your mouth in a hungry kiss. The crowd erupts with screams as the lights above the stage go dark.

You can feel rather than hear him say the words "I love you" against your lips and you have just enough time to repeat them back to him before the drums and guitar pick the beat up once again, the lights flashing back on brightly. He moves away and continues to sing the chorus that follows as if nothing had happened. You're a bit stunned, not having prepared for his relationship-revealing public display of affection to happen during your performance of his song but it was perfect and he knows it. Your smile is wide and you can't help but stand rooted where you are and laugh at what has just finally happened.

"If you go out tonight, I'm going out 'cause I know you're persuasive," he sings, smirking at you while you blush across from him. 

You join him in singing the last lines, your right hand joining his left hand where everyone can see your fingers entwine. 

"You got that something, I got me an appetite, now I can taste it. We're getting dizzy, oh, we're getting dizzy, oh!"

You urge the crowd with a waving hand to join in and they do, singing along with you and Harry. "La da da da da! You get me dizzy, oh, you get me dizzy, oh!"

The drums and guitar end the song on five quick beats and the crowd erupts once again in screams. You immediately jump towards Harry, throwing your arms around his neck in a close embrace. His hands wrap around your waist to hold you close, and you can feel him smile where his face is pressed close to your jaw.

"How was that?" he asks, chuckling against you.

"It was perfect, you're perfect. Thank you, H. For everything."

"Can take you on a proper date now, yeah? Wanna show my girl off to the world."

"Yes, please!" You can't wipe the smile from your face as he sets you down and Harry continues to beam at you as the crowd continues screaming, reeling from your shared performance. 

Harry nudges you gently before turning back to them, lifting his and your arms high in the air and leading you in bending for a bow. He steps away from you and turns, opening his arms wide to you for the crowd to praise and you laugh, tearing up at his gesture and the overwhelming emotions of the performance while you take another bow just for yourself. 

He pulls you into another hug and you can't help but angle your face up towards him, wordlessly asking for another very quick, very public kiss.

He glances down at you, smiling. "You're gonna love this now, aren't you?"

"Course I am. love showing them you're mine."

He leans down to peck your forehead, your nose, and finally, your lips, as the crowd goes wild. "Love showing them you're mine. You've got a show to finish, love. Go kill it."

///

Ahh! So much fun! This has been such a joy to write and I appreciate you taking the time to give it a chance! It’s my first (of hopefully many) Harry fics - reading all of the stories here has been immensely inspiring, and I’m so looking forward to writing more!

Tagging my love @morganlatte​ who is a wonderful hype woman and beta reader. Thanks buddy!

Anyways! Thank you for reading! My love language is words of affirmation (aka I have a praise kink) so leave me a comment here if you feel so inclined!

[nejibaby]

Want You Back

Pairings: Portgas D. Ace x Y/N

Song reference/inspiration: Want You Back by 5 Seconds of Summer

Summary: You broke up with Ace a few days before he sets off to become a pirate. You thought that it would probably be the last day you’d ever see him again. But you meet him once again in Alabasta.

Word count: 7k

A/N: This somehow turned out to be too long for my style lol but I just can’t get enough of Ace… Anyway, I hope you have fun reading this as much as I loved writing it. Please let me know your thoughts~

Reposting this because Tumblr $uck$. Please turn a blind eye if you’ve seen this post already last Feb lol

You’re walking down the streets of Nanohana, purchasing water and provisions for your trip when you suddenly stop in your tracks as you see a merchant selling orange roses.

The orange roses don’t intrigue you per se since you’ve long learned that such color could be produced by cross-breeding red roses with yellow roses, however, it’s not often you see such wonderful, healthy flowers in a desert town. That, and well, the sight brought back memories of your past with your first love who you fell in love with too young, too hard, too fast.

You could almost hear the pitter patter of the rain on that eventful day. You could almost see the dark sky on the horizon. You could almost feel the same aching sensation on your heart. The orange roses reminds you of the day you broke up with your first love.

You were both only seventeen then. It was just a few days before his departure; before his journey to fulfill his dream on becoming a pirate. You supported him in his dream, you really did. You believed in him, he’s strong. Reckless, but strong, and determined. He promised he’d come back to you after he’s proven himself, but that’s when you doubted him. That’s the only time you doubted.

While he wanted to be a pirate, you wanted to be a scientist. You have had a curious mind since you were young and it never really went away until now that you’re twenty. When you were younger you’d question, “Why is the sky blue?”or “Why does it rain?” or “How much salt is in the ocean?” But when you grew older, the questions evolved to “What is the mechanism behind this?” or “What would happen to this if certain variables changed?”

He craved for validation while you craved for knowledge.

You thought that it just wouldn’t work out between the two of you. He doesn’t need a scientist and you didn’t need a pirate to achieve your dreams.

Sure, it was possible for a long distance relationship, but you didn’t think you could handle that much distance. It would drive you crazy. You could barely handle the days when you’re at Windmill Village and he’s at Mt. Colubo, living with Dadan Family. And those two places weren’t even that far from each other. It was the trek there that was dangerous so when you were younger, before the two of you even started dating, you always have to come with your aunt Makino, and Woop Slap to get there and visit him, Luffy, and Sabo.

When you were ten years old, you only visited once in three months and then somehow it turned to twice in a month. When you reached thirteen years old, you were finally allowed to go there by yourself wherein you’d visit weekly, sometimes even stay the night. Dadan was actually apprehensive of letting you spend your days there, because she claimed she doesn’t like kids, but you were the only kid on her watch that actually did chores so she eventually relented. Those were the days you loved most, because he was just so close, you didn’t have to worry too much about him.

But soon enough he was leaving. Everyday he promised he’d come back but you doubted. The Grand Line is such a dangerous place. It‘s referred to as the Pirates’ Graveyard by everyone. It was even written in some books you’ve read about the sea. If that wasn’t enough reason to be worried sick, statistics say only a handful of men were able to come out of it alive. While you knew he’s strong, you also knew strength just wasn’t enough.

Truth be told, you wanted to travel the seas too, out of curiosity, of course. There were so many mysteries about the sea, so many unexplained phenomena, so many undiscovered things — things that you wanted to learn about. But you weren’t brave enough nor were you strong so you abandoned that thought.

Orange roses adorned your shirt on that day. You remember the feeling of the raindrops pouring over your body. It was raining in the middle of the night and you were outside Dadan’s house. You were soaked but you didn’t plan on taking cover anytime soon. You just sat outside, wallowing in despair for what you’re about to do.

“Y/N? What are ya doing here? You’re going to get sick!” He called out.

“Why are you still up, Ace?” You asked.

“I wanted to check on you but you weren’t in bed.”

You remember feeling your heart stutter at his words. Ace was rough around the edges but he was always gentle and sweet when it came to you. And you were just about to break his heart.

“Ace, we should break up.”

You remember the way he laughed as if you were telling him a joke. “Oi, don’t joke about things like that.” But he faltered when you didn’t laugh with him.

You couldn’t help but wonder if that was the last time you’d see his face. You stared at his face for a while longer, memorizing his face before saying, “This will never work.”

You expected him to shout, to ask you why, to demand answers. But he just gave you a look of betrayal. Your heart dropped at the sight of that. Your vision became blurry from tears that were threatening to fall. He looked away. Were those tears in his eyes or was that just the fucking rain?

You desperately wished he’d say something, anything. You just wanted to hear his voice again. But there was no response, he just clenched his fists and his jaw, and then he was walking away.

You didn’t have it in you to stay at Dadan’s house after doing such a cruel thing so you left that night after crying a few hours after Ace walked away. You left a note for Dadan though, telling her you were feeling sick and you went home, just so she doesn’t worry about your sudden disappearance.

You really did get sick after that day. Even on the day of his departure you were sick. Makino didn’t allow you to come and see him go but she promised she’d explain why you weren’t there. Despite that, you still did it anyway, you still went there, but you hid behind trees. How could you not? You might never see him ever again. Okay, maybe you’d see him in the newspaper or the wanted posters, but probably never face to face, so you pushed yourself to come. You were glad you did, at least you got to see him smile so radiantly before he left.

A couple of months after he braved the seas, you left Windmill Village too to study science in a different town. But life didn’t really work out the way you wanted it to. In a series of misfortunes, you ended up becoming a pirate too, albeit temporarily, just to finance your dream.

The only thing that you lucked out on was your captain Naguri, an old man who used to be the captain of the doctor you apprenticed to. The doctor who you worked with didn’t want to continue becoming a pirate due to his old age so he recommended you to Naguri as a substitute. Naguri welcomed you to his crew despite you specifically telling him you’d only accompany them for five years and that you were only in it for the treasures. He told you it was fine and that five years was enough so you ended up joining them.

You went from wanting to study science to becoming an apprentice of a pirate doctor to becoming a pirate yourself and having a bounty for your head in a span of three years. If you only knew you’d be a pirate, you wouldn’t have broken things off with Ace. You would’ve just gone with him. But it was too late now.

You sigh as you touch the orange rose. It reminded you of the worst night of your life but you don’t dare to forget it since it was a memory of the last day you got to spend with him.

“Would you like to buy one, miss?” The merchant asks. “It’s—”

You didn’t get to hear the price of the rose because a familiar scream suddenly fills the air. When you whip your head to the direction of the sound, you see a very familiar straw hat on a man running away from Marines. Then it dawns to you that the man is Luffy.

You quickly scramble for your money to buy a single orange rose and then you run towards Luffy. Maybe it wasn’t the right decision to come after him, mainly because he’s being chased by Marines and you’re a wanted pirate too with a 25,000,000 bounty for your head. But he’s your best friend and you haven’t seen him for three years! That, and well, he’s in trouble so it’s not like you’d turn a blind eye on that.

Not a while later, you notice that the marine commander who’s chasing Luffy is Smoker, who is notoriously known for never letting pirates escape from his area of jurisdiction. As far as you know, Smoker is assigned at Loguetown so you wonder why he’s in Alabasta. And then you realize it’s Luffy he’s after. That dumbass could never lie low. You shake your head, Luffy almost always attracts trouble. That’s one thing that hasn’t changed with him yet.

You’re about to step in to save Luffy or at least, to buy him some time to escape when you hear another familiar voice.

“Heat Haze!”

You stop in your tracks as you saw a blast of fire stop the smoke attack and then his figure appears.

Ace.

You watch as he smirks at the Marine Commander, “Give it up. You may be smoke, but I’m fire. With our abilities, a fight would be pointless.”

Ah, Ace is a devil fruit user now. No wonder he’s known as “Fire Fist Ace.”

“Ace!” Luffy says, shocked.

“You never change, Luffy.”

They briefly talk about something, you aren’t able to catch it because your eyes are scanning over Ace. You can’t believe he’s there. You feel your heart beat faster at the sight of him. He’s more muscular now and taller. He looked healthier and stronger too. He’s still as attractive as ever, maybe even more than before. He’s grown into such a fine man.

But this isn’t really the time to be ogling your past lover. You still have Luffy to worry about. So despite the fact that you wanted to stay and watch Ace fight, you sprint off to catch up with Luffy and his friends.

In that instance, you realize that there’s a huge difference between the speed of a person when they’re running away from something (usually from danger), and the speed of a person when they’re running to catch up with someone. While you could see that his friends are running around together in one path, you don’t see Luffy’s straw hat in the group. You may have underestimated his abilities to get lost. With a sigh, you try to look for him in a different route.

You’re awfully tired by the time you find Luffy. And you’re pretty late too because he’s already with Ace and they’re in the middle of another brawl. It’s just like the two of them to get into a fight with a bunch of people. This time it’s with the Billions from Baroque Works.

You want to assist them in their fight even if they don’t seem to have a problem handling thugs like those. After all, you’ve grown to be a great fighter now.

You were pretty much a wimp when you were younger, so you may or may not want to actually show off the fighting skills you learned from your crewmates which led you to have a bounty for your head.

However, your stamina isn’t really that great yet so you still have to catch your breath first. You sit on a stray crate, watching the two fight against the group, just like the old days.

Ace didn’t know what prompted him to look behind him while Luffy stretched his arms to attack a man with a huge sword. But what he sees stuns him. There you are, just a few meters away, casually sitting on a crate with your head tilted slightly to the right and arms crossed over your chest. His breath hitches. He asks himself, were you really there this time or was it just another one of his imaginations?

You’re surprised when Ace snaps his head at your direction. You feel your body involuntarily jolt when you lock your eyes with him. Even after all these years, he still makes your heart flutter.

“Gomu gomu no Bazooka!” Luffy finishes his attack on his opponent.

Ace doesn’t look away from you as if you’d suddenly disappear if he even dared to blink. “Is that…?” He whispers.

“Hmm?” Luffy asks, not really sure what Ace is referring to. Then he follows Ace’s line of sight. When he sees you there, a smile finds his face almost immediately.

Luffy is the first one to approach you. “Oi, Y/N! It’s been a while!”

You grin. “I know right? I haven’t seen you in ages, Luffy! I saw your poster the other week, you’ve gotten yourself a pretty huge bounty.”

Luffy laughs at your statement, you’re pretty sure he’s proud of himself, so unlike you, who panicked after finding out about your own wanted poster.

Ace steps in while Luffy laughs. “Y/N?”

He merely said your name, but it made butterflies erupt in your stomach.

“A-Ace,” you stutter awkwardly, blood rushing to your face as you do so. You internally scold yourself, how dare you act like this when you broke his heart three years ago.

“Isn’t that the pirate Y/N?! The one with a bounty of 25,000,000 beli?”

You and Ace didn’t notice the fear etched on the faces of the other Billions as they stared at your group. You and Ace didn’t notice that Luffy has started walking again. You’re both too focused with each other to the point where you feel like nothing else mattered.

The two of you only snapped back to reality when Luffy turned around and said, “Aren’t you two coming? We still have to find my ship and my friends.”

You give Luffy a sheepish smile and then mumble a soft apology. You get off of the crate and make your way towards Luffy. Ace follows closely behind you.

After walking around the block, Luffy points out, “Ah, the ocean!”

The three of you make your way to the coast. “See your ship?” Ace asks. Luffy looks around to find his ship.

You sigh as the same group of thugs come into view again. “You won’t escape!” One of them says.

“You guys don’t know when to quit,” Ace says rather irritatedly.

You know Ace never backs down from a fight so it was kind of a surprise to you when he didn’t finish off the enemies a while back, but then again, time was of essence considering the Marines were hot on Luffy’s track. Yet, a small part of you reasons that maybe it’s because you’re there that he wants to avoid an all out attack from the group.

Before you could come up with another theory about it though, Luffy declares that he’s found his ship and proceeds on waving at them.

Then without a warning, Luffy grabs you. He loops his arm a few times over your stomach and then uses his other arm to reach for the railing of his ship. The next thing you know, the two of you are zooming towards the ship at an insanely fast speed.

And then you both crash. If that wasn’t bad enough, instead of crashing on the floor, you crash on someone. Luffy only laughs as he stands up, “Sorry about that, Sanji, Chopper, Y/N.”

“Bastard!” says the blonde male who you both crashed into. He grabs Luffy and shakes him, “Don’t you know your own strength?! I oughta throw you overboard!”

It takes a while for you to gather your bearings. By the time you do, the blonde male has released his grip on Luffy and was done on threatening him. Now it’s your turn. You hit him on the head, “Can’t you be any more careful, Luffy?!”

“Ah! It hurts, Y/N! Why does it hurt?” He complains as he rubs on the spot you hit.

You hit him once again, “I’ll have you know Gramps Garp would hit you harder if he learned what you did to me. I’m just simply giving you the gentler version of his Fist of Love.”

Garp is Luffy’s paternal grandfather. While you aren’t related by blood with him, Garp treats you way better than he treats Luffy, mainly because you’re the only friend of Luffy who didn’t really want to be a pirate. Because Garp dotes on you as if you were blood related, you always use his name when trying to reason or argue with Luffy because you know your best friend absolutely hates the Fist of Love.

“I said I’m sorry!”

You only huff in response and then cross your arms. When you turn your head to look away from him, you realize that Luffy’s crew is staring at you.

Once again you feel the blood rushing to your face, but this time from embarrassment. You bow your head, saying, “Sorry for the commotion and for, uh, coming here so suddenly. I’m a friend of this dumbass, please call me Y/N.”

The blonde male is first to react, “Luffy, you didn’t tell me you have such a beautiful friend! Oh, and she’s a belly dancer too!” He exclaims with hearts in his eyes.

Ah, he’s referring to the clothes you’re wearing. “Oh, I’m not. This is kind of a disguise,” you explain. And then you add, “I’m sorry we crashed into you.”

“I’d let you crash into me anytime,” he declares. “I’m Sanji, by the way, but you can always call me yours.”

You chuckled at him. You’ve heard that line so many times before, it’s getting ridiculous. You’re assuming the rest of the crew did too, considering you hear a collective groan from them after hearing Sanji’s words.

After that he clears his throat. All of a sudden his aura changes. “You must have a bounty on you, because those looks can kill,” he says in a rather charismatic way while lighting a cigarette and slowly walking to your direction.

Sanji never reaches you though. He’s just a few steps away from you when your sight of him is blocked by a familiar freckled back with a well known tattoo.

What an odd timing to appear.

“Actually,” Ace starts to say, “she does have a bounty.”

You know Ace isn’t the type to read the newspaper so you’re surprised he knew about your bounty.

“Oh, Ace! These are the nakama I was telling you about,” Luffy interrupts.

Ace tears away his gaze on Sanji and then bows, “Oh, why hello everyone. I trust my little brother has been in your care.”

“Yes, he has,” the crew replies, bowing as well.

“He has no manners, so he’ll probably end up burning your hands a few times…”

“Yes, he has.”

“I’ll entrust him to you.”

You bite your lip to prevent the smile that’s threatening to appear on your face. Ace truly has mastered the art of being polite.

“I thought the guy Luffy described would be some selfish, arrogant jerk…” A guy with a long nose says.

“It’s a lie. Someone this polite can’t be Luffy’s brother,” says the woman with orange hair.

The only person you actually know from this ship aside from Ace and Luffy is Roronoa Zoro, the pirate hunter. He says, “He’s such a better person than his brother!”

“Brotherhood is a wonderful thing,” cries a reindeer.

“It doesn’t make sense. The sea’s a mysterious place,” Sanji notes.

Ah, if they only knew Ace before. You chuckle.

Wait. A talking reindeer?!

You’re usually composed, but every now and then you do get excited when something interests you. From the amount of times you’ve spent with Luffy, you kind of react the same way when he’s excited.

You immediately step aside from Ace’s back and walk towards the talking reindeer. You stop a feet away in front of him, just enough so he doesn’t get too scared.

But the reindeer still gets scared. He tries to hide behind the lady with orange hair, except his body is fully exposed.

You still smile though. “What a cute little talking reindeer!”

Then the reindeer suddenly blushes and smiles, “Don’t think I’ll be happy that you called me cute, you bastard.”

“Y/N, that’s Chopper. He’s our doctor. Isn’t he cool?”

“So cool!” You nod as Chopper continues to dance. “Are you a devil fruit user too? Can I have a blood sample?”

Devil fruits are extremely rare especially in the East Blue and you’ve only ever caught sight of its users on the Grand Line. So when you meet someone who has such abilities, you couldn’t hold yourself back from asking for a blood sample. It’s a trait that your crewmates hate about you because you ask even if the devil fruit user is an opponent. This was actually one of the reasons why they trained you in combat, because that trait often gets you in trouble.

Seeing that you’re a pretty nice person, Chopper agrees.

“You too, Luffy, Ace.” It’s more of an order when it comes to those two. Your excitement about the devil fruit temporarily overpowers your awkwardness with Ace.

The two look at each other and shrug. You didn’t really give them any choice.

Before you can even grab a vial and a syringe, the lady with blue hair interrupts. “Baroque Works! That’s the Billions fleet!” She says, looking over five ships.

“Them again?” Luffy asks.

“Luffy,” Ace calls.

“Hm?”

“I’ll clean them up.” Without saying anything more, he jumps down to his boat and speeds off towards the ships. All five of the ships get destroyed after a single Fire Fist.

Ace truly has become stronger. Your heart swells with pride at his growth. He’s become such a reliable person. If only you didn’t break his heart, you’d be calling him yours and bragging about him.

When everything dies down and Ace settles back into the ship, everyone introduces themselves individually. Then Sanji prepares something to eat for everyone.

Sanji gives the males sake to drink while he gives you and the ladies a special drink. “Y/N-chwaan~” He affectionately calls your name as he hands you a glass of the drink he prepared.

You smile at him as you thank him and he instantly swoons. He walks away happily with hearts on his eyes after the interaction. You have never met a man like him before and that’s saying something because you’ve been to a lot of places and met a bunch of men from the three years of your journey as a pirate. Quite frankly, it’s amusing for you.

But not so much for everyone else. You can tell by the sudden rise in the temperature, and you know right at once it’s because of Ace.

You look over to him only to find him already staring intently at you. You’re not dumb, you know he’s jealous. Still though, his reaction surprised you.

In your years dating him, he never really became jealous. Maybe because the only male persons he’s seen you ever hang out with is him, Luffy, and Sabo. While that much is true, having worked at Party’s bar meant you meet a lot of people and Ace knew that. You’d even tell him about encounters with males but he doesn’t really worry about it, unless they hurt you. You think that maybe he reacts that way back then because you were his but right now, you aren’t.

He only removes his gaze from you when Usopp says, “This is great! Ace and Y/N are our nakama!”

“Kanpai!”

“Who said I’d be your nakama?” Ace raises an eyebrow but he’s ultimately ignored by Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper.

“To delicious drinks,” Usopp toasts.

“Kanpai!”

“Don’t worry about them,” Nami says, “These guys are always looking for a reason to kanpai.”

“Ace, Y/N, are you really going to be our nakama?”

You answer first. “Nah, I’m only here for research and to… Uhm…” you look over quickly to Vivi who apparently was a princess in the kingdom, “…to purchase dance powder.”

It’s funny how you feel bad for purchasing something illegal when you practically do illegal things everyday as a pirate.

Before Vivi could react, you explain. “I only bought a small amount. I just want to identify the content of rainwater from an artificial source. I also wanted to know the composition of the dance powder itself. That’s all.”

“Ehh? That’s it? But why don’t you just come to our crew?” Luffy whines.

“Idiot. Your brother mentioned a while ago that she has a bounty. That means she’s a pirate too,” Zoro says.

“What?! You’re a pirate?! You said you didn’t want to be a pirate!”

“Yeah, well I couldn’t pursue my studies if I didn’t have the money,” you say. “Besides, our captain agreed to have me for five years only. I’ve been with them for three. Ask me again after two years, maybe I’ll reconsider.”

“I don’t want to wait for two years! Join us now!”

You hit Luffy on the head while Usopp scolds him, “You can’t just force her to come.”

“Why not?” Luffy asks. You raise your fist to hit him again. This prompts him to say, “Okay, okay, fine. I’ll ask you again some other time, just don’t hit me anymore!”

Ace looks like he wanted to say something to you but Luffy turns to him and asks if he’s going to join his crew. He looks away from you reluctantly and then focuses on Luffy. “I won’t. I’m in pursuit of a man. He’s known as Blackbeard.”

“Blackbeard?” Usopp repeats.

Vivi asks, “The pirate that sacked the Kingdom of Drum?”

He nods, “He used to be a member of Whitebeard pirates, Second Division. My subordinate. Until he committed the greatest crime you can on a pirate ship… He murdered his nakama and fled the ship. As the Commander, I have to find him and finish him off.”

“So that’s why you’re after him.”

“The only reason I came to this country is because he was reportedly seen in Yuba.”

“Then you’re going to the same place we’re going,” Nami says.

Then Vivi gets a map and explains the route to him.

“I get it. So you’re headed to Yuba too.”

In the background, Sanji says, “Wherever Nami-swan, Vivi-chwan, and Y/N-chwan go, I’ll go~”

“Beat it, Love Cook,” Zoro says.

“What did you say, bastard?”

A fight between the two almost ensues when Nami says, “Anyway, looks like you’ll be travelling with us for a little while.”

Usopp looks the happiest at that. “With you along, this’ll be a cinch!”

“What about you, Y/N? What do you plan on doing?” Nami asks.

You purse your lips, thinking. Isn’t it a little bit selfish of you if you stayed just so you could spend a little more time with Ace?

“Please stay with us a little longer, Y/N-chwan~” Sanji pleads.

While Ace wants you to stay, he didn’t really like seeing another man openly expressing his fondness to you. Unconsciously, he causes the temperature to rise once again, which you’re quick to notice.

You wonder if the rise in the temperature meant that Ace doesn’t want you to stick around. You quickly dismiss the idea though, when he speaks up, “Yeah, Y/N, why don’t you join us for a little while?”

How could you refuse when he personally asks you to stay?

“Do I even have a choice?” You ask nonchalantly, playing it cool as if you didn’t want to stay.

“No!” Luffy grins.

Just like that, you stay.

Later on you find yourself in the kitchen sitting across Luffy and Usopp. They’re playing with their foods when Ace enters the kitchen. He plops down beside you and you instantly feel your heart thump faster. He didn’t even do anything out of the ordinary and yet he makes you feel like this. It’s not fair that Ace looks so relaxed while you’re desperately trying to calm your heart.

Then you jump in surprise as Sanji hits Luffy and Usopp with a frying pan and a wok, scolding them for playing with their food. “If you guys are so bored, go wash some dishes! Jeez, here I am trying to finish our bento before we land—”

“I’ll help!” You volunteer. Ace speaks up at the same time as you did, “Want me to help with anything?”

Sanji looks stunned. Someone wants to offer help? It’s been a while since he’s heard it.

“Y/N-chwan, you’re such a lovely lady~ But don’t worry, just sit back and relax. I’ll do all the work for you~” Sanji singsongs, completely ignoring Ace.

In the corner of your eye, you notice Ace glaring at Sanji while he has his back turned. “Alright…” You say after a moment.

You’re not exactly sure how to proceed after that. Instead of enduring the awkward silence, you whip out your small notebook and start scribbling away. The notebook was more of a logbook where you put in the data you gathered in certain villages or islands— may it be a sighting of an exotic animal or plant, random anomalies about certain places, anything that’s out of the ordinary or just plainly something you’re curious about. Sometimes you just put random questions that pop into your head. It’s rather messy, but it’s one of the things you own that you treasure the most.

This time you write about the devil fruit users you encountered in Alabasta, writing just a short biography of the users and a brief description of the powers they have. Just like that, you’re in your own little bubble. You didn’t even notice that the ship docked for a couple of minutes as per Vivi’s request and that everyone has left you in the kitchen.

By the time you’re done, you realize that the only persons in the kitchen are you and Sanji. The cook is preparing one last meal for everyone to eat in the ship before you all dock. This time when you offered your help, you insisted and left no room for him to refuse. When the table has been set up, he calls for everyone.

You sit at the edge of the table. Not a second later, someone sits beside you. You look up and find that it’s Ace. He has this boyish smile on which prompted you to look away in order to avoid heating up.

Luffy’s crew is boisterous, even more so during eating meals. They’re extremely funny. You feel your worry for your best friend fade away the longer you stay with his crew. But then the rowdy atmosphere instantly quiets down when all of a sudden Ace falls down on his plate. It was only a moment of silence and then they’re all panicking.

“What the hell?!”

“Oi, Luffy, what happened to your brother?”

“Oh no! He’s dead!”

“Someone call a doctor! We need a doctor! Oh, wait I’m the doctor.”

Only you and Luffy are unfazed. Luffy just laughs out loud while Usopp demands him to take the situation more seriously.

You, on the other hand, calmly place your utensils down. You’re pretty much used to Ace and his narcoleptic episodes. You get some napkins and gently grab Ace’s face. You wipe his face from all the food that got stuck on it. Then you carefully maneuver his arm so that it’s resting on the table and place his head on his arm. This is pretty much how you handled him every single time it happened so by now it’s more of an automatic reaction for you.

When you’re done, you realize that everyone’s panic has died down and that they’re all looking at you, except Luffy who continued shoving food down his throat. You feel incredibly shy upon discovering that they caught you tending to Ace.  While the others are aware that you, Luffy, and Ace know each other from the past, they haven’t exactly seen you interact with Ace that much since you both arrived at the ship so they assumed that you and Ace are merely acquaintances.

You notice that Nami and Vivi in particular are smiling. Nami has the “I know something” kind of smile while Vivi has more of a genuine smile on her face. Sanji is sulking, but the others are just blinking at you. Then a few moments later, Ace wakes up. “Ah, sorry. I fell asleep,” he says nonchalantly.

“Eh?!” was the collective response of Luffy’s crew.

His hand automatically comes to his face to wipe off the remnants of food in his face, only to find out that his face is absolutely clean and bare of any dirt. This could only mean one thing, he thinks. You cleaned him off, just like the old days when you were still dating.

Ace’s assumption is further confirmed when he hears Sanji sulking about how he wishes he was the one to receive such a tender act from you.

You continue to eat as if you didn’t do what you just did. You could feel Ace’s eyes on you but you refuse to meet his stare. Unbeknownst to you, a smile has made its way on Ace’s face.

Everyone seems to be watching the interaction unfold — again, except Luffy who has witnessed this all before so he doesn’t think it’s a big deal. Anyone with eyes could now tell that there is or was something going on between the two of you.

The atmosphere only goes back to normal when Luffy stretches his arms to reach for food on their plates. Everyone immediately complains about this and the rowdy air comes back.

After the hearty meal, everyone prepares for the long trip by foot. You change into more suitable clothes, something that Sanji wasn’t really happy about since you, Nami, and Vivi switched from dancer’s clothes to a cloak that covers the entire body. Ace looks way happier now than before though and you aren’t sure why.

Before you could even get down the ship though, a group of Kung Fu Dugongs challenges your group. You’re just about to move when in a blink of an eye, Luffy has defeated each one. What a bum, you know you can definitely take them down too but Luffy beat you to it. You pout, you feel so out of shape now that you aren’t really using your body to fight. Ace chuckles at you. It was so sudden that you almost jumped in surprise at the sound.

“Didn’t think you would be disappointed that you weren’t able to fight them,” Ace says.

“Honestly, what should I expect? Luffy has always been like that,” you mumble.

“Yeah, he’s a handful.”

It’s such a short conversation, but seeing that you aren’t exactly pushing Ace away, he takes it as a sign that you aren’t uncomfortable in his presence. He sticks by your side after that.

He remains silent to the point that you even forgot that he was even walking beside you. You only realize that he’s still around when a sand whirlwind comes and he subtly shifts his position so that he’s standing in front of you, shielding you away from the sand. You’re reminded of the days when he’s always by your side to protect you. You feel the butterflies on your stomach one again. If that wasn’t enough, Ace gives you a lopsided smile when you thank him which makes your heart go haywire.

He doesn’t really leave your mind after that. The thoughts of him fully consumed you once again. But did it really go away in the first place?

Your memories with him have been replaying in your mind since then. You didn’t even notice that the sun has already set down until Vivi says that you guys should set out camp there.

The boys are nice enough to set up the tents for everyone, leaving you, Nami, and Vivi with nothing to do. You take this opportunity to shyly ask them about the Dance Powder as you whip out your notebook. You write down all the information they can give you.

“Ah, so it’s basically like cloud seeding,” you conclude.

“What’s that?” Vivi asks.

“It’s a type of weather modification, a process aiming to make precipitation fall from clouds. It is originally used to prevent areas from destruction brought about by drought. I read researchers use a chemical compound called silver iodide and disperse it to the clouds to produce snow which melts before they hit the ground to produce water.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s a quite similar process,” Nami says. Then she yawns. “Sorry, I’m getting tired.”

“Come on, let’s rest in the tent,” you say, feeling the exhaustion as well. The two girls immediately fall asleep after laying down, but for some reason you couldn’t sleep. You lay there for about two hours but you’re still unable to sleep.

You get up and reach for your bag, looking for your canteen. But then you see the orange rose. You almost forgot you bought it. The familiar aching feeling makes itself known once again. With a sigh, you leave the tent, suddenly feeling that you need a breather.

You move away from the tents and sit down, playing with the orange rose. The night is cold and you’re shivering but you can’t find it in you to care. You’re so preoccupied with your thoughts that you didn’t hear the footsteps of someone behind you.

You tense when you hear an awfully familiar question. “Y/N? What are ya doing here? You’re going to get sick.”

You don’t respond, thinking it was your mind tricking you into hearing the same things on that night.

“You’re shivering,” Ace calls out once again.

That’s when your breath hitched. Ace truly is there. He sits beside you and you instantly feel his warmth.

“Why are you still awake?” You ask.

“Couldn’t sleep,” is all he replies.

Silence ensues after that, but only for a few moments. Ace is the first to speak. “The cook seems to have taken a liking on you,” he says.

“He’s nice.”

“A little too nice to you for my liking.”

For the first time since he sat beside you, you look at him.

Then he speaks up again, “Ya know… You changed over the years. You’re prettier now… I’m not saying you weren’t pretty before. Uhm…” He blushes, “But you’re way prettier now. You caused quite the uproar among the Whitebeard pirates when your wanted poster came. When I saw the poster myself, I couldn’t believe it. You’re… yeah.”

You didn’t know what to say to that but you feel your face heating up at his words.

“I… I don’t know why but there’s this weird feeling I get when that blonde cook gives his attention to you. Even just the thought of him or another man getting close to you like that makes me feel weird,” he confesses.

“Ace… I’m sorry.”

“I know, I know… We’re not—”

“No, I’m sorry… I’m sorry because I had a lot of fears and uncertainties back then… I feared that you wouldn’t come back to me. The books I’ve read all said that the Grand Line was a horrible place and I didn’t know if you’d make it back alive. I was so afraid and I couldn’t tell you because you might not want to leave because of me… I didn’t want to be the reason you couldn’t fulfill your dreams… So I thought it was better to break up with you… At least then, nothing’s going to tie you down…” you cried.

“Y/N… I didn’t know…” He whispers, close to tears.

“Sometimes I wonder if I only knew I’d be a pirate too, should I have just gone away with you? At least then we’d still be together, right? But that would be too selfish of me… Especially when I was so weak back then. I would’ve had nothing to contribute to you. I’d only be a burden to you.

“But you know what, Ace, even if I was the one who decided to let you go, I couldn’t forget about you… Every place I go to, something will always remind me of you. Even when I sleep, I still dream about you. I don’t think I’ll ever get over you,” you look him in the eyes as you pour your heart out to him.

“God, no matter where I go, no matter how long you’re gone, no matter how many faces I meet, it’s always you, it’s always you I want to be with. I think… I think I’m always going to want you back, Ace…” You close your eyes and clench your fists as you say your final words.

You’re so selfish, god, you hate yourself.

It takes you by surprise when Ace hugs you. You melt into him at once. He lets you cry in his arms. “Ace, I’m really really sorry.”

He hums and then says, “Didn’t I promise I’ll come back to you?”

You pull away, vision still blurry from the tears. “What?”

He chuckles and then pecks your lips. “I promised I’ll come back to you.”

You cry harder from his words. His hand rubs your back, consoling you. “You still look beautiful even when you’re crying.”

You look away and bite your lip as you will your tears to stop.

“Y/N.”

“Hmm?”

“Why don’t you join the Whitebeard pirates instead?”

You pout. “That’s not fair, Ace… You know I wouldn’t be able to say no to you.”

“Well then, that’s too bad for Luffy,” he grins.

[wroteasongabouther]

can’t stand to see you lonely: part 4

a/n: i seriously cannot thank you guys enough, and i apologies for taking a lot longer to post. but the love and kind words and support that you’ve given me has been just incredible and i could cry happy tears honestly. now, i hope u enjoy part 4 and all that it includes and pls remember to reblog and leave feedback if u did like it and share it with ur followers/friends ❤️ love u all!

and of course, as always, thank you to @arrogantstyles​ for beta reading 😘

word count: 16k

warnings: mentions of masturbation (right off the bat too ur welcome lol), cursing, consumption of alcohol (i swear they’re not drunks, just ‘tis the season ya know), and minor sexual content (!!!!!!finally!!!!!) 

fic page // let’s chat // cstsyl playlist

Harry’s breathing is loud, echoing off the walls of his shower as he struggles to inhale and exhale slowly once more. He inhales deeply and lets his hand that was resting upon the wall in front of him drop back to his side. He huffs through his mouth, blowing away some drops of water that were dripping down his face, while the other hand releases the grasp he had on his cock. Harry didn’t intend to masturbate in the shower like some hormonal teenager; he didn’t plan to masturbate last night before he got under the covers, either. It’s all Y/N’s doing, he thinks, she was clouding his head more than usual. Harry couldn’t stop thinking about last night, the lingering stares, her small delicate hands lingering on his thigh or dancing over his rings.

“Jesus,” Harry’s voice is hoarse as he curses himself. He was this close to falling back into yet another spiral down the rabbit hole that was Y/N. Which would more than likely result in him playing with himself, again.

Bringing both his hands under the water, he gives them a quick rinse before turning to his shelf where his body wash is. He pumps a bit of the goat's milk and lavender infused soap into his hand and brings it to his chest, rubbing in circles till it begins to bubble on his skin. He works his way down to the mess between his thighs, gently cleaning himself up before rinsing off. Harry turns to face the wall again.Sighing, he cups his hands under the stream of warm water and splashes it onto the wall before he just brings his hand up to wipe away the remains of his little private solo session.

Once he’s all squeaky clean, Harry turns off the water and shakes his hair out a little before he’s opening the glass shower door and stepping out. He grabs his towel, drying himself off before wrapping it around his waist. A part of him will always want to grab a second towel to wrap up his hair, but it’s no longer the length that it’s needed. Sometimes he misses his long hair. Harry makes sure the fan is on before he leaves the bathroom and walks into his bedroom.

I wonder what Y/N is doing? He thinks as he reaches into his drawers for a pair of pants, some grey sweatpants, and then walks over to his closet to grab a dark blue crew neck jumper and a plain white shirt to wear underneath. Wonder what Y/N is wearing today, Harry daydreams as he lets his towel drop and steps into his pants, then into the sweatpants next. Suddenly Harry comes to realize what he’s doing, how utterly annoying he is by thinking about what Y/N is doing at any given moment. It’s something he’s caught himself doing before, actually. He inhales through his nose and shakes his head. Just relax, he thinks and then finishes getting dressed and pockets his cell phone that was sitting on his charger before he’s walking out to his living room.

As Harry’s preparing his coffee machine for his first cup of the day, his phone begins to vibrate. Fishing it out of his front pocket, he looks at the screen to see Mitch’s contact photo. Harry sets the baby blue mug he had grabbed into place for his coffee to brew and then swipes his finger across the screen to answer Mitch’s call.

“Hey,” Harry says, holding his phone between his ear and shoulder as he opens his bread box and grabs a loaf of twelve grain.

“Is she still in bed?” Mitch asks. Harry’s eyebrows crease at his friend's absurd question.

“What?” Harry questions. His focus is on unraveling the bag his bread was in, grabbing two slices, before twisting it back up and sticking it into the bread box. He shuts the bread box and walks the few steps to his left to his toaster, plopping the bread slices into it and pushing down the buttons to get his breakfast toasting.

“Is she still in bed?” Mitch repeats himself, this time taking a brief pause after each word to really get his words across. Harry just rolls his eyes at Mitch and takes his phone back into his hand. He catches sight of the digital clock on his oven and his face twists up in confusion suddenly.

“Have you gone to sleep yet?” Harry asks, puzzled by how it’s just past nine in the morning and Mitch is somehow awake enough to call him.

“No, but that’s besides the point here, H,” Mitch says, breezes over the fact he’s an absolute lunatic for not going to sleep yet. “You’re dodging my question, so therefore I’m going to assume she’s still in bed,” he resorts. Harry can tell by the sass in his voice that he’s still buzzing from whatever amount of alcohol he had after him and Y/N left the bar last night. Harry watches his coffee drip into the mug slowly and furrows his brows once again at his friends words.

“Who’s still in bed?” Harry asks. Mitch lets out a deep breath and Harry just knows he’s rolling his eyes too.

“Who do you think I mean, Harry? The queen of England? No, I mean Y/N. Obviously,” he grumbles into the phone. Harry grabs the handle of his mug now full of coffee and rolls his eyes again.

“Y/N and I didn’t sleep together last night, sorry to disappoint,” he chirps back at Mitch.

“Bullshit, you two were basically eye fucking last night, the sexual tension was insane,” Mitch states. While Mitch is talking, Harry blows on his coffee before taking a small sip. The black coffee is still hot on his tongue, but doesn’t burn it thankfully. Suddenly his two slices of toast pop up, he sets down his mug and opens his fridge to find his small container of margarine. As he’s opening a drawer to find a butter knife, he lets out a tiny sigh.

“Like I said last night,” Harry pauses to make sure Mitch is listening, “I’m letting things settle down for her and see how it plays out,” Harry explains, resting his phone between his ear and shoulder again in order to take out the toast and spread butter on both slices.

“And what you’re saying is it didn’t play out with her ending up in your bed last night? I’m shocked, really,” Mitch says, his voice sounding genuinely surprised to hear that Harry’s night didn’t end how he imagined it would.

Honestly, Harry imagined it the same way at some points last night too. Thinking about how Y/N was a bit of a touchy drunk, therefore did that mean that she would be looking for her rebound hookup? Harry didn’t want to be that though. There was too much potential between them and this connection they’ve made so quickly, that he didn’t want to ruin it with some drunk hookup. But, yes, he imagined it, cause he’d be an idiot not to - a hot girl smiling all night at him, how she would jut out her chest just slightly cause he figured she loved how his eyes wandered over her body at times; so of course he thought of how their night could have ended differently together. Hell, he masturbated while thinking about it, twice within the past twelve hours to be exact.

Plus, their time last night was more than the sexual tension that may or may not have happened. Harry’s stomach is fluttering around just thinking about the gitty smiles and sweet words from Y/N, and how well she clicked with his best mates too. And truthfully, he was happy with how the night ended - with them in their own beds. Because their time would come eventually, Harry would let things play out however Y/N needed it to and he would wait for the right moment to swoop in and give her what he hoped was the best kiss of her life. Big dreams, Styles, he thinks to himself.

“She didn’t even think you liked her,” Harry tells Mitch, causing him to let out a snort.

“You know how I am,” he dismisses Harry's comment, “but I don’t know man, she’s good for you,” Mitch adds in a soft voice. His words make another storm of butterflies to erupt in Harry’s stomach as he smiles. “I didn’t not like her, I just sat back and let the two of you laugh all night and eye fuck each other on occasion too,” Mitch explains a little too casually. Harry shakes his head and takes a bit of his toast.

“Go to sleep, Mitch,” Harry says after he chews some of his toast.

“Good idea,” he yawns. “Talk soon,” he says.

“Bye,” Harry responds, taking his phone away from his ear and hanging up the call.

Harry grabs his plate with his half eaten toast in one hand and his coffee in the other, bringing it to his small dining table that sat against the far wall of his kitchen. Sipping his coffee now, it’s not too hot and he can actually enjoy it between bites of his toast. During him eating he finds his thoughts drifting to their typical place these days - Y/N.

Long story short, he found himself only liking her more than before after how things were between them last night. He can’t even imagine how far gone he’ll be for her if things actually went further than this blossoming friendship - with a dash of sexual tension - that they’ve established.

“This hangover is truly going to kill me,” Y/N groans out.

She’s finally standing on her two feet in the bathroom after having been sitting by the toilet for the past twenty minutes. Both her palms are face down on the counter, her arms straight as she leans forward slightly and lets her head hang heavy between her shoulders. Looking up at her reflection she sees just how dirty the tequila has done her by the bags under her eyes and the queasy feeling in her stomach as she just thinks about how much tequila she had last night.

“It’s karma for not sleeping with Harry,” Sammy taunts her, his voice coming through the speaker of her cell phone that rests on the counter beside her.

He called earlier while Y/N was still asleep, the first time in forever that she slept past ten in the morning. She had seen the call, but was too busy rushing to the bathroom to empty her stomach to return it. Then she showered away the gross hungover feeling, it only helped a little, before she got dressed into a pair of leggings and an old college hoodie and ended up in front of the toilet again as the tequila teased her making her think she was going to throw up but she didn’t - thankfully.

“I thought about it, Sammy, I swear,” she shares, letting out a sigh as she looks up at the ceiling and relaxes her body again - the threat of vomiting again seeming to fade away.

“So why didn’t you?” Sammy asks.

“Cause I just didn’t want it to be like some pointless quick fuck with him,” Y/N tells him truthfully. “Sure, I loved how as we both got buzzed things got a little more careless and touchy and flirty. But it was just fun and it made my head spin and my heart pretty much leaped out of my chest. It wasn’t just stupid pointless flirting to get laid, it was deeper than that,” she explains to her best friend. As her words spill out she realizes she doesn’t quite make sense, and yet it made perfect sense in her head how she felt about Harry.

“And you feel this way and managed to somehow not tackle this man down and fuck his brains?” Sammy questions, his voice in a joking tone but Y/N knows he’s genuinely confused.

“Obviously I imagined it,” she admits, “I fucking brought out my vibrator last night, Sammy, I was that turned on by the damn guy. But I really don’t want to mess this up with Harry. I don’t want to jump right into it after the break up with Mark, and then ruin what is hands down the best connection I’ve ever felt with someone before. I just want to see how things play out, don’t force anything, you know?” she spills out, letting out a deep breath afterwards.

Those words have been heavy on her chest since she woke up this morning and replayed everything that happened between her and Harry. The smiles, the longing looks, the drinks, the touching, the smirking, and the goddamn sexual tension. Yes, she wanted to kiss him, many, many, times; all over his body, anywhere that she could. She imagined how their night could’ve ended if she wanted just a simply messy hot drunk hookup. But she wanted more than that with Harry - so much more. It was the honest truth, regardless of how soon she’s broken up with Mark, she can’t ignore how her feelings have grown towards Harry. So, she was just going to let it go on and whatever happens, happens.

“So, what are you doing tonight?” Sammy asks, bringing the topic away from Harry - only for Y/N to bring it right back. Which was exactly how her thoughts have been doing lately too; drifting away from Harry for only a moment before flying right back to him.

“Um, I sort of drunkenly made plans to watch a movie with Harry tonight,” she says, “I don’t even know if he remembers, I’m just going to wing it and knock on his door later.”

“You know what you should do? You should invite him to the work holiday party,” Sammy suggests, “I’m getting tired of talking about him so much and yet I don’t even know what he really looks like cause you suck at taking discreet sneaky pictures,” he explains with a dramatic sigh. Y/N rolls her eyes and finally decides now is a good time to leave the bathroom, no longer feeling too sick from her hangover. But she still heads back to her bedroom, flopping down onto her bed.

“I don’t know, I don’t want to make it weird and invite him to something less casual,” Y/N says.

“Well, see how things play out these next few days and if it’s good then invite him, seriously I’m dying to see some eye candy, Y/N,” Sammy groans.

“Okay, Sammy, we’ll see,” Y/N says, matching his melodramatic tone. She lets out another sigh, which is then taken over by a yawn. “I’m going to go, my head is pounding and I think I should try and nap before dealing with some work emails and then going to Harry’s,” Y/N explains.

“Fine,” Sammy sighs, “it’s weird that you’re the hungover one and I’m not,” he mentions. Y/N lets out a laugh through her nose and shuts her eyes.

“Honestly, it is,” she agrees, “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Ok, bye, feel better,” Sammy says, Y/N hears the smile in his voice.

“Thanks, bye,” she says and then hangs up the phone. She puts it down beside her and keeps her eyes shut. Taking a few deep breaths, Y/N tries to fall back asleep again. And she’s just about to when she hears that familiar heart warming guitar from Harry’s apartment. She wonders how long he’s been up? If he’s hungover at all too? She could text him and ask, but instead she just lays there and smiles as she listens to the muffled sweet melody he’s playing - then falls back into a deep slumber that her hungover body so desperately needed.

Y/N had texted Harry earlier, after he had written an entire song, surprisingly not about her this time. Well there was one line he wrote down that had to do with Y/N - played with myself where were you. It was cheeky, and didn’t really go with anything else he had so he just flipped through his journal and let himself get immersed into his songwriting during the hours of the day. Only ever stopping to make himself food or to use the washroom - otherwise, he was working hard without even meaning to.

Her first text read, So what time should I come over to watch the Polar Express? And then her second one made Harry chuckle, Also that guitar playing sounds pretty heavenly today, can’t wait to hear it in person later. With a winking face emoji at the end and everything. Cheeky girl, and anytime after seven should be fine to come over. Harry texted her back, also adding a winking emoji and then he went back into his work, ordered dinner, and now here they were.

There’s a rather soft knock on Harry’s door, causing him to stop writing in his journal and gets up to answer it. After unlocking the door, he swings it open and is surprised to see Y/N’s arms full, nearly dropping a can of whipped cream as she smiles at him.

“I brought everything for hot chocolate,” she states, beaming up at Harry over the container that holds her hot chocolate mix.

“I can see that,” Harry chuckles and reaches out to take everything from her. “You know I could’ve helped you carry a few things over, and I also have plenty of mugs here,” he says, lifting a finger that held the Grinch mug he had used at her apartment about a week ago now.

“I know, but mine are Christmas themed and it’s literally twelve days till Christmas and I need to use them as much as possible,” Y/N explains as she steps into Harry’s home and closes the door behind them. Harry takes in her appearance. Black leggings and a FIT jumper, and a pair of pink fuzzy socks on her feet. Harry’s brows pinch together as he holds back a laugh. “It’s only a few feet between our apartments, as you know, shoes are kind of pointless going back and forth,” she states with a nod.

Harry chuckles, lifting a brow and turning the corners of his lips up into a smile before saying, “yes, been there,” he says recalling the last time they had a movie night.

And just like that time, they moved together to the kitchen - after Harry locks the door behind Y/N - and they begin to make their hot chocolate in the two Christmas mugs Y/N brought along with her. Harry finds it endearing that she felt she needed to not only bring the supplies for hot chocolate, but also brought along her Christmas themed mugs. She truly does love the holidays, Harry thinks as he pours the boiling water into the mugs that Y/N had put the mix into. As they’re in the kitchen they’re talking about how their days were.

“So hungover,” Y/N groans, confirming how she had felt today after Harry had asked.

“You did drink that tequila like it was water though,” Harry states, chuckling as he watches Y/N stir the spoon in the mugs to mix up the hot chocolate. Y/N lets out a playful hiss as if the thought of all that tequila hurt her to think about now.

“I probably looked like a drunk in front of all your friends,” she thinks aloud. She frowns as she wraps her hand around the can of whipped cream, shaking it a few times before tipping it upside down and pushing the tip of it to fill up the top of the mug. She grabs the Grinch mug with one hand and holds it to Harry, making it smile as he realizes she remembered how he used that mug last time.

“They were just as drunk, maybe even more,” Harry tells her, “in fact, Mitch pulled an all nighter.”

“Well, good,” Y/N sighs, following him into the living room with both her hands wrapped around the Santa mug. “I really did have fun though,” she adds as they take a seat on the couch.

Harry meets her gaze after she takes a sip of her hot chocolate. A bit of whipped cream gets on her upper lip as she pulls the mug away. Y/N realizes and sticks her tongue out to swipe it over her lip, licking it away. Harry’s gaze is glued to her movements, his mouth suddenly feeling dry as he inhales slowly through his nose. And those certain thoughts of Y/N didn’t hide away for very long, Harry thinks before he clears his throat quietly and lifts his mug to his lips.

“I did too,” he says, “all of us did, they said you were cool like five times in our groupchat,” he adds before taking a sip of his warm drink. Y/N stomach lunges knowing that him and his friends talked about her in their groupchat. Has she been a topic of discussion before?

“Me? Cool?” Y/N questions, confusion thick in her voice. “No way, they’re the cool ones, not me. I mean you are all clearly very musically gifted and get to just hangout and make music and I find it all just very… Cool,” Y/N explains as she ends with a small sigh and smiles at Harry.

“It can be pretty cool, yeah,” Harry nods, mirroring her smile.

“Speaking of being musically gifted,” Y/N hums, smirking over her mug before taking another sip.

Harry knows where she’s going with this already. He gets that familiar nervous feeling in his stomach, nothing like the butterflies he was feeling just before knowing that she finds his line or work ‘cool’ - in fact he feels his smile slip immediately but tries to cover it with a cough. He sets down his mug and brings his hands to his lap, leaning back into the couch while he looks at the blank TV screen on the wall.

“Will you play something for me?” Y/N asks in that intoxicating softly spoken voice of hers.

“I want to play for you, I do,” Harry assures her after a few beats of silence, as he tried to figure out how to get her to drop this idea of him playing for her.  

“But?” Y/N inquiries, tilting her head slightly to try and look at his face better. He looks uncomfortable, Y/N thinks and tries her hardest to not frown. She guesses that he’s just got a bit of stage fright of some sorts. But he plays for a living, there must be a few people he plays in front of at the studio.

“But, I want to have the perfect song to show you,” Harry tells her as he turns to meet her eyes. It’s not a lie, he truly does want to play the most perfect song for her. But that nervous feeling in his stomach doesn’t go away.

“I’m sure all your songs are perfect,” Y/N assures him. Her voice is still as gentle as before.

“And also it’s my wrist,” Harry says suddenly, lifting his right wrist up, “I got surgery on it earlier this year, it’s just been acting up.” Quick thinking, Styles, he thinks and gives her a smile.

Y/N remembers how she had heard him playing earlier today. But by the way that Harry’s avoiding Y/N’s eyes again while this stretch of silence falls between them, and the fact he’s rubbing at his wrist for good measure too, Y/N knows that he’s not ready yet to play in front of her. So, she gives him a sweet smile and stands up from the couch suddenly.

“I have this heating pad, I use it on my ankle that I broke a few years back, it helps sometimes,” Y/N explains, “I’ll go get it,” she says.

Truthfully she just needed a moment to not have to hide how it hurt her feelings just a tad that Harry didn’t feel comfortable enough around her to play. It wasn’t the biggest deal ever, because she sure that one day he will. But it still makes her a bit sad that today’s not that day.

“Y/N, it’s fine, really,” Harry brushes off her suggestion.

“H, I live next door, I’ll be back in two seconds,” she insists, giving him a smile and walking from her seat on the couch, setting down her mug on the coffee table before she’s making her way around Harry as he sits there watching her.

“Okay,” Harry says softly and nods before Y/N is walking out of his apartment. The second the door closes behind her Harry’s deep in his thoughts.

Harry has a pretty high case of stage fright, the feeling of nerves bundling up inside of him at the thought of performing in front of people even made him feel a bit sick sometimes. It was something he’s been working on for years now, through schooling and with his career as a songwriter starting up afterwards too. He would eventually talk himself out of the fear of failing during any uni exams he had, and would ace it naturally, but that ball of nerves sat heavy in his stomach the entire time. When it came to his job, he simply warmed up to his colleagues. At first he didn’t speak up much, would stumble on some notes, but things worked out in the end. It helped a lot after he found his current group as they became his closest mates too, so he became much more comfortable with playing for them over some time.

He realizes that he considers Y/N a close friend now too, and that should mean that he would feel more than confident walking over to the acoustic guitar sitting at it’s stand in the corner by the chair in the living room - but he didn’t quite yet. And one of the main reasons was because he felt something much deeper than friendship. He really freaking liked her. And if he played something, mucking it up like an idiot because of his nerves, he would beat himself up over it for days if not weeks.

Harry imagines the first time he plays a song for her that will be perfect. The song would be about her, he’s got a few of those now, and as he plucked along slowly he’d peer up at her to find her smiling back at him. Then he would really surprise her and sing. Harry knows he can sing well, but again his stage fright that relates to a fear of failing causes him to not sing all that often. He’ll sing for demos for work, or when he’s by himself, but that’s about it. Mitch actually had asked Harry if he wanted to be a part of the band before he found their lead singer, but Harry politely declined and has more than enjoyed just sitting back and watching his friends play instead. Although there’s a small pit of jealousy and envy that’s been growing in size every time he watches them.

Suddenly the door opens back up and Harry’s snapping out of his thoughts to look over his shoulder at Y/N walking in with some brown fabric in her hands. She turns to lock Harry’s door, then turns around and holds up the heating pad in her hands with a smile. It’s a sloth, a simple stitching on it to show it’s hugging wherever it’s placed on someone’s body and a smile on its face.

“I got it not too long ago, while shopping for other people's gifts, actually,” Y/N admits and starts making her way into the kitchen. “Do you do that thing where you are supposed to just be buying presents for other people but you end up buying yourself something too?” She asks Harry, raising her voice slightly as she’s put some distance between them.

“Yes, it’s hard not to,” Harry says as watches her open his microwave and place the sloth inside. She pushes some buttons and it starts up. As the sloth spins inside, Y/N turns around and leans her back against the counter and looks through the open concept space at where Harry sat on the couch.

“Have you bought any presents this year?” She asks, knowing that he’s not going home for Christmas so therefore he wouldn’t have to buy much.

“Just some for Mitch, Adam and his wife and then Tom and Jenny,” Harry states, “what about you? Do you have lots of family to buy gifts for?”

“Not really,” Y/N lifts one shoulder in a shrug, “I’m an only child, but my aunt has a couple kids so I kind of go crazy for them,” she explains with a smile. The microwave beeps, signalling that the heating pad was all warmed up, and Y/N turns back around to open the door and grabs it. It’s not too warm, so she closes the microwave door and makes her way back over to Harry.

She hands the heating pad to Harry and he gives her a smile. He says a quiet ‘thank you’ and places it over his wrist that’s resting on his thigh. It does feel rather nice, actually, he thinks as he adjusts his hand under the warm sloth. He feels a bit bad for making up the little white lie, although his wrist does ache from time to time, it wasn’t in any sort of pain right now. But he’s just being a stupid little coward and deflecting her attention on him playing her something on his guitar. Harry does notice how Y/N’s eyes linger on the acoustic guitar across the room as she leans over to grab her hot chocolate again and takes her seat on the couch once more. You’re such an ass, Styles, Harry thinks to himself but clears his throat and looks at Y/N.

“Did you enjoy growing up as an only child?” He asks. Harry personally couldn’t imagine growing up on his own. His sister, Gemma, was one of his best friends and he was also rather close with cousins while growing up too so they felt a bit like siblings too.

“Not really, no,” Y/N answers truthfully. She clears her throat and looks down at the Santa mug in her hands. “My parents were always busy with working or socializing, sometimes I was invited to come along, other times I was kept away with a nanny or my Aunt would visit sometimes and keep me company.” She tells Harry, feeling herself slowly open up to the idea of sharing everything with him. She hardly told Mark a thing about her childhood or her parents - mostly because he already knew, since he grew up in the same sort of crowd.

“Are you close with your Aunt then?” Harry asks, keeping his voice in that low tone that still brought goosebumps to Y/N’s skin from time to time.

Y/N’s lips tug slightly up into a smile, looking up from her mug and meeting Harry’s gaze. “Yes, she’s probably the one family member that I am close with. I love my parents, don’t get me wrong,” she pauses and ponders how to explain it to him, looking up at the ceiling for only a moment before looking back at Harry. “They just value life a bit differently than me. My Aunt, Vivian, she’s just the most chill and most like me I guess,” Y/N settles with keeping it easy, not digging too deep into her family drama.

Her Aunt Viv, who was her mothers younger sister, was truly the only person in her family that she felt she connected with. Y/N did love her mom and dad, they gave her a life better than she could ever ask for, but they were much more into the lifestyle and gaining wealth and social status over being a true loving family. Hence the many after school programs they stuck her in, and also having a live-in nanny till she was fourteen. But when Viv was around things felt a bit normal in her ridiculously abnormal life.

Viv didn’t have the same big dreams of being a gold digger like Y/N’s mom did, so she went to university, fell in love with a nice young man who worked a normal blue collar type of job and they bought a house just outside of New Jersey. They never ask for any help from Y/N’s parents, and they worked very hard for the life they’re provided for their two young kids. She just found Viv to be much more inspiring than her own mother who’s days included online shopping and luncheons with fellow wives who lived off their wealthy husbands' money. As Y/N grew up, Viv would take her away from her nanny some nights and would just bring her to her home and watch movies, have painting nights, and would even sit down with Y/N for hours watching red carpet events too - knowing her love for fashion even at a young age. She became Y/N’s friend more than another snobby family member.

Harry had respectfully stayed quiet as he saw Y/N fall into deep thought. He didn’t want to ask anymore questions that would cross any lines because from what little he has heard, Y/N’s family life is a bit more complicated than he could imagine. Y/N smiles suddenly, as she’s thinking of a memory.

“Viv was actually the one who really got me into the love for the holidays,” she states, “like, yeah, my parents would go all out with the decorations and the gifts and the parties. But Viv introduced me to the better part of the holidays in my opinion, like she’d take me to the rinks around the city to skate, and she’d show me the city’s festive sights. We’d even have days dedicated to going to the Christmas market. And during all that she’d always have a Starbucks holiday drink in her hand. I guess you could say I sort of modelled my young adult self to be like her during the holidays,” Y/N explains with a smile on her lips.

Those times slowly sadly faded out after Y/N got into high school, and Viv finished uni and met her husband. They wouldn’t go to the rink as much, or go for pointless walks to see the city’s many lights and Christmas Trees. Before Y/N knew it, all those childhood memories that she cherished just slid away, but she understood - they both grew up and she would hold onto those memories that her Aunt Vivian gave her to her heart closely forever.

“But as we both got older, life got busy and now she gets to do all those things over again with her own kids and not her sisters neglected one,” Y/N tries to make it sound like a joke, but it wasn’t.

She hides her frown behind her Santa mug and takes a generous sip, the drink having grown colder as time has passed. Harry’s about to make a comment, about how he’s grateful that Y/N did at least have her Aunt, but Y/N speaks up before he can.

“What about you? What were the holidays like growing up?” She asks, a smile returning to her lips.

“Great, honestly,” Harry nods, letting a short chuckle pass his lips, “my family can be a bit nuts, they love family time and being overbearing with playing silly games or family photos. But, I love it,” Harry explains, smiling.

He thinks about last year, how competitive him and his family got during a game they had played, or how big his mum and gran smiled as they popped Christmas crackers and everyone wore those paper crowns for one of the many photos his mum insisted on taking.

Y/N is mirroring his smile, tucking her mug to her chest as she listens to him. Sounds like a much better time than the memories she has with her parents around the holidays, Y/N thinks feeling a bit jealous - as she did whenever anyone told her of their holiday traditions and such.  She can’t help but notice the distant look in his eyes as he grabs his mug.

“It’s actually the first Christmas I won’t be spending with my family, as I mentioned before,” he states, clearing his throat afterward as the emotions threaten to come in quick. He takes a sip of his hot chocolate and points to the TV then. “Should I pull up the movie before we’re sitting here drinking cold chocolate?” Harry asks. Because, truthfully, he could sit here all night and talk about life with Y/N but they had planned to watch a movie.

“Sure,” Y/N smiles, although feeling a bit sad being reminded that Harry wasn’t going home for the holidays. She takes another sip of her drink again, before she’s turning her body to watch the TV screen on the wall as Harry grabs for the remote and finds the Polar Express on demand.

As the movie begins to play, they both get comfortable and sip their hot chocolates till their Christmas mugs are empty. Harry offers to take Y/N’s mug, so she doesn’t have to sit up from the slouched position she’s slipped into in her corner of the couch, placing it beside his on the coffee table before he relaxes back into his spot. It’s about half way through the movie, after they had jokingly sung along with the hot chocolate song of course, when Y/N is nearly laying out on her end of the couch. Harry feels selfish for not offering the side he’s on, as he has his legs stretched out on the chaise of the couch. Y/N slowly lets her legs slip out across the cushion between them till they’re just slightly bent and the fuzzy pink socks on her feet just barely brush Harry’s thigh.

Her toes wiggle a little, tapping against the side of Harry’s thigh ever so gently, but it causes a much less gentle reaction in his body. His stomach fluttering and his heart pounding as he glances at Y/N in the corner of his eye. A feeling of undesirable desire filters through him as she wiggles her toes again before settling her feet hardly even touching him. But it’s more the act of being comfortable around Harry that has him feeling like his heart might explode.

He’s tempted to grab onto her ankles and stretch out her legs completely so her feet would rest in his lap. Maybe he’d rub her calves, hoping the feeling made her stomach flutter as much as his. But he didn’t want to cross any sort of line. So he was content with the tiny bit of contact between them from her feet resting on the side of his thigh as the movie kept playing.

It wasn’t till near the very end that Harry heard a soft snore come from Y/N. He turns his head completely and looks over at her. Her eyes shut, her lips parted slightly, as she laid on her arms folded under her head. Harry isn’t sure how to react here, should he wake her? Or let her slumber because it’s obvious she needs it since she fell asleep during what she claims to be her favourite holiday movie. Harry ponders for a moment before he decides to finish watching the movie. Once it’s finished is when he’d make his decision.

“Y/N,” Harry says as the credits are rolling. She doesn’t move a muscle. “Y/N, darling,” Harry tries again in a gentle voice, placing a hand on her leg and giving her one good nudge. To which Y/N doesn’t respond at all.

That hangover must be hitting her body hard, begging for the sleep she needed to fully recover. So, Harry reaches for the knitted blanket that’s resting over the back of his couch and paces it over Y/N’s body. As he gets up from the couch, he turns back around and looks at Y/N for a moment - taking in her effortless beauty even while she’s sleeping.

With a nearly inaudible sigh, Harry gathers up their mugs, bringing them to his kitchen and quietly rinsing them out before he double checks that the heat is at a reasonable temperature. It was supposed to get rather cold tonight and he didn’t want Y/N to wake up freezing in his home. Once he’s turned off the TV and the only lights left on are from his tree, he turns back to Y/N. The soft glow from the Christmas lights casting over her breathtaking features causes yet another stir of feelings inside his stomach.

He wishes he could bend down, place a soft kiss to her forehead - maybe one day soon he could. Maybe even get to fall asleep next to her, staring at her beauty till he drifted into a slumber as well. But for now, he just quietly walks down the hall to his bedroom and leaves his door open a few inches just in case Y/N woke up in a panic or anything. He’d be a lighter sleeper than usual tonight, thinking about how close Y/N was.

At one point in the middle of the night Y/N woke up. Her eyelids were still heavy as she tried to focus on the space around her. She had fallen asleep during the movie, in Harry’s apartment, on his couch - oh god. A wave of embarrassment washed over her as her eyes flicker from the blank TV screen, to the now empty other side of the couch, before settling on the warm lights of the Christmas tree.

She should get up and head home to her own apartment and not be an idiot who falls asleep on her friend's couch uninvited. Y/N’s fingers curl around the top of the warm blanket that Harry must’ve draped over her before heading to bed himself. The pads of her fingers brush over the soft fabric while her heart beats like crazy in her chest. Harry’s sweetness and well mannered actions shouldn’t surprise Y/N anymore - but they do. She smiles and brings the blanket to her chin, snuggling into the couch once more and tries to not think about how sore her neck and back will be in the morning from sleeping on the couch. Instead she looks at the Christmas tree as her eyelids grow heavy again and she slips back into her dreamstate once more.

The next time she wakes it’s due to the sun peering through the curtains in Harry’s living room. She blinks a few times and brings a hand up to rub the sleep from her eyes. Suddenly she hears a noise coming from a few feet away from her. Y/N’s heart all but leaps out of her chest as she sits up on the couch and looks to where the noise came from. Her wide eyes meet Harry’s equally widened eyes, him pausing mid-movement as he must’ve been grabbing a mug from the cabinet.

“Sorry,” he says quietly, bearing his clenched teeth to her in a joking but nervous way. His dimple deepens at the facial expression, Y/N notices it right away even from a room away from him.

“It’s okay,” she replies. Her voice sounds a little scratchy as it’s the first time using it since waking. How utterly adorable, Harry thinks as he smiles at her and sets his mug down at his coffee maker before hitting start. “And I should be the one apologizing, I kinda ended up crashing on your couch uninvited,” Y/N says, running a hand through her hair to try and tame it.

“It wasn’t a problem, Y/N, nothing to be sorry about,” Harry tells her, walking towards her till he got to the large threshold between his open concept kitchen and living room. He crosses his arms at his chest and Y/N notices how the muscles in his arms flex immediately. “Must have been a hangover side effect, hm?” Harry questions.

Y/N clears her throat as she tries to not take in Harry’s appearance in the morning but she can’t help herself. He’s wearing a pair of black sweatpants with a simple grey t-shirt, white socks covering his feet, and while him dressed down did look hot - it was how his hair looked that really took her breath away. The way it looks much more fluffy than usual, most likely from rolling around in his bed, made her stomach flutter and she ended up biting her bottom lip as he brought a hand up to push back the bit of hair that had fallen over his forehead. Y/N blinks a few times before meeting his gaze again.

“You’d think the nap I took before coming over would help with my hangover but I guess not,” Y/N states, she exhales through her nose and shakes her head before folding her arms over the back of the couch and rests her chin on them. “But again, I’m sorry,” she adds.

“And again, it’s okay,” Harry ensures her, dropping his arms to his sides as he smiles. “Now, would you like a cup of hot chocolate or coffee?” He asks.

“Coffee,” Y/N answers, her voice back to that soft and gentle tone that made Harry’s head spin. He recalls when they first met, and how he wished he could hear her voice each night and morning. His wish is slowly coming true, although he imagines it involving her in bed more often than not. But for now, he’ll take her waking up on his couch any day if it means he gets to hear her voice.

Harry nods and walks back over to where the mug filled of freshly brewed coffee now sat. Y/N tilts her head to the left, still resting her chin on her arms, as she watches Harry move around his kitchen. He calls over his shoulder to ask what she’d like in her coffee, with which she replies ‘two teaspoons of sugar please’ - that earns her a half smile as he glances her way again and mutters ‘why am i not surprised’, causing Y/N to mock a hurt look on her face and gasps.

“What is that supposed to mean?” She questions, watching him stir up the sugar in her coffee. Harry turns and brings the mug over to her, causing her to sit up straight again and grab it from him with both hands.

“It means you love sugar as much as any toddler would, I swear,” Harry teases.

“Something wrong with liking the taste of something sweet?” She questions, raising a brow as she looks up at him from where he stood on the other side of the back of the couch.

Harry’s breath hitches in his throat at her choice of words. He immediately wants to answer back with ‘well I want to taste you, all of you, so no’ but instead he holds back his filthy thoughts and gulps. Y/N notices Harry’s Adam's apple bob up and down as she stares up at him through her lashes, slowly bringing the mug he had just given her to her lips to give it a taste. Harry watches her the entire time as she sips the coffee and licks it off her lips. Everything inside of him is begging to touch her. To bring the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip, catching the last few drops of her drink off her lip, and bringing it to his mouth to get a taste. Or to just take the mug right back, place it on the closest surface and take her face into his hands to kiss her fiercely.

Harry struggles but pushes away his thoughts once again, for what felt like the millionth time this morning, and raises an eyebrow, “sweet enough for you?” He asks, his voice teasing.

Y/N smiles sweetly and nods once, “it’s perfect, thank you,” she replies.

Harry mirrors her smile before he walks back to his kitchen, only then looking down at his sweatpants to ensure there wasn’t any noticeable bulge. It had taken a few disturbing images in his head to calm himself down and not be sporting a hard on in front of Y/N. But he manages, grabs his own mug - since Y/N now held his typical mug he uses for his morning coffee - and sets it into place.

“Any plans today?” Y/N asks, taking another sip of her coffee and feeling the warmth flood inside of her body. Or maybe that feeling was from how Harry had looked at her just now, she thinks.

“Nope,” Harry shakes his head and grabs for his own mug of black coffee. “What about you? No work today?” He asks, bringing the mug to his lips and blowing to cool it down before taking a sip.

Y/N shakes her head and leans back into the side of the couch, “my boss was nice enough to let us have today off, then back in for a few days but Friday, the eighteenth, isn’t really a big work day. We’re having our annual holiday party that night, so we mostly spend the day finalizing any party planning,” she explains to Harry as he leans back against the counter and sips his coffee again.

“Well that’s nice of her to give you the day off, then after the eighteenth are you off work for holidays?” Harry asks.

“Yup,” she nods, “I get two weeks off, back into the swing of things on the fourth of January,” she states.

“Sounds nice,” Harry says with a smile. “I’m jealous you guys have an office Christmas party, my label only really does something for a select group of people. Whoever made them the most money, honestly,” Harry exclaims. What he doesn’t mention is that he had been invited, and has been for the past three years due to his songs hitting it big on radio or on the charts and causing some big ripples for the artists career that had bought them.

“Sounds like the party wouldn’t be all that fun then,” Y/N notes, tilting her head to the side as she watches Harry make his way into the living room and takes a seat on the couch. She tucks her feet up just under her bottom, resting her mug on her knees but still keeping both hands on it of course.

“I’m sure yours is a lot more fun,” Harry nods in agreement.

She should ask him to be her plus one then. But she hesitates, unsure of how he would see her invite. Would he think she’s trying to make it a date? So soon after her break up? Would he think he was being played as her rebound? She would then have to try and cover up that it wasn’t a date, that they could just go as friends, but then she’d sound like she was friend-zoning him and she really didn’t want that. So, while she’s all in her head about what to do, Harry decides to take a chance.

“Did you want to go for a walk around Central Park?” He asks, looking hopefully into Y/N’s eyes. “We can skate there, I’m sure you’ve been but their rink looks like it would be nice too,” Harry suggests.

Her lips tug up into a smile, “yeah, I would love that,” she pauses as her heart pitter patters in her chest at the sight of Harry smiling back at her. “After breakfast though, I’m starving,” she says, being a bit dramatic. But it makes Harry chuckle, which is exactly what she hoped for.

“How do you feel about some chocolate chip pancakes then?” Harry asks, raising a brow as he sits up straight again and mentally goes through the recipe in his head. It typically doesn’t have pancakes, let alone chocolate chip pancakes, but he has a feeling Y/N would like them. Her love for sugar being obvious by now.

“Love them,” Y/N says with a smile still on her lips.

Where did this perfect man come from? Y/N finds herself thinking as she watches Harry get up from the couch and walk back into the kitchen. He sips his coffee as he walks before setting it on the counter.

“I can help if you’d like,” she offers, raising her voice slightly so she knew Harry could hear her.

But Harry dismisses the idea quickly and tells her to just sit back and relax. Any bets on how much longer it took for her to fall for Harry? Y/N thinks, biting her bottom lip as she watches him bend over, peering deep into his fridge as he moves things out of the way in search for whatever he needs. His bum looks rather nice from this angle, she finds herself shamelessly checking him out. Her guess was that it wouldn’t be much longer at all till she fell for him.

“Did you invite him yet?” Sammy asks, biting on his pen as he leans back in his chair. They were waiting in the conference room, along with everyone else that held a higher position at her work, for Amanda to join them and start their final meeting of the year.

“No,” Y/N replies. She shrugs her shoulders and picks at the corner of her notebook.

“And why the hell not?”

“I don’t want to make it weird, bringing him to a work thing and have to explain to everyone how he’s just a friend even though I wish he was more,” she tells Sammy, eyes still on the torn up paper on the table in front of her.

“Well if you don’t invite him then you’re missing the perfect opportunity to make it more than a friendship,” Sammy states, giving her a side eye before he just rolls them and leans forward in his seat again. He leans towards Y/N and looks into her eyes, letting her know he means business. “Talk to him tonight, invite the poor man, and get out of your own head. You don’t have to keep yourself waiting because of what Mark did when you have what you truly deserve right in front of you. Harry makes you happy, I can just tell by the way you smile at your phone or when I see you ditched hanging with me to hang with him and his friends instead,” he says the last bit with sarcastic bitterness.

Y/N lets out a deep breath through her nose and licks her lips. Her brain is running a million miles an hour. As it has been for weeks now, since she met Harry honestly - she just likes him that much. At first she tried to deny it, and last weekend after her sudden break up with Mark she tried to convince herself again that she needed to keep Harry as a friend. But now, now she just wanted him - all of him, all of the time.

“Okay,” Y/N nods.

Sammy’s lips spread up into a wide smile, the look of excitement clear on his face, but to add to it he pumps a fist into the air. Y/N just rolls her eyes and laughs at him. Amanda enters the room soon after, starting up their final meeting of the year. She goes over numbers, stats, comparing last year to this year, and even promotes a few people. Thankfully, Y/N and Sammy are in their ideal positions now, so they never have that nervous feeling of going into a year-end meeting praying for a promotion. But Y/N still grins and claps for her colleagues who are working their way up in the company. After going through some minor details for their annual holiday party tomorrow, Amanda dismisses the team and Y/N is soon after heading home for the day.

Don’t be a pussy. Ask Harry to come to the holiday party or else. Sammy had texted her after they parted ways at the subway. Y/N bit down on her bottom lip, reading over the texts again as the elevator sounds a soft ding! and she walks out onto the sixth floor. Y/N confidently walks on her platform Doc Martin boots passed her own apartment door and right to Harry’s. Lifting her free hand, the other holding her Starbucks holiday drink, she knocks four times on the door before patiently waiting for him to answer. Her heart is beating so loud she can practically hear it ringing in her ears.

Harry answers the door after a few moments, his eyebrows pulling together at the sight of Y/N on the other side. While it’s a delight to see her, they hadn’t planned to hangout at all - so he’s rather surprised to see her standing before him. Y/N smiles and Harry’s quick to mirror it.

“Hey,” she breathes out, the same bundle of nerves that have been with her all day seeming to not relax in the slightest.

“Hey,” Harry smiles, “what’s up?” He asks, leaning against his door.

“Um,” Y/N pauses and closes her eyes, opening them to look at the floor before she takes a deep breath to meet his gaze again. Oh no, Harry thinks, feeling nervous since answering the door as he’s unsure how to take in her nonverbal cues right now. “So, you know that holiday party my work’s having that I mentioned?” Y/N questions, when Harry nods she doesn’t leave another second of hesitation slide by her before continuing. “I was wondering if, maybe, you’re not busy, if you wanted to come with me,” she stumbles out her invitation.

Harry’s truthfully a little surprised by her inviting him. His eyebrows now raised up his forehead as he processes her words. He immediately wants to say yes, obviously. Besides his clear as day feelings for Y/N, he also saw her as a friend too and he would love to accompany her for anything she asked him to.

“Everyone gets a plus one, and I can’t imagine bringing anyone else but you with me. Also, Sammy is practically begging me to introduce you two already,” Y/N exclaims as it seems Harry was in his head for too long. He smiles at her statements. First, blushing slightly at her comment about how she couldn’t imagine inviting anyone but him, and then holding back a chuckle at her mentioning her friend Sammy.

“It’s tomorrow, right?” Harry asks, half to just be sure and half to delay his answer to jokingly stress her out a little maybe.

“Yes,” Y/N nods, biting on her bottom lip for a moment. When Harry’s eyes fall to her teeth nibbling on her pink lips she notices and stops, butterflies present in her stomach at the thought of Harry thinking about her lips.

“I think I’m free,” Harry teases. He brings a hand to his chin, looking up at the ceiling in a joking manner as if he’s pondering what else could be on his schedule for the day. Y/N knows that he’s not doing a whole lot these days, but for all she knows he could have already had things planned with his friends. But Y/N can’t lie - she’s happy to hear he hasn’t.

Y/N chuckles and reaches forward, smacking his arm that’s resting on his chin with a gentle force. Harry chuckles along with her and stops his act as if he’s really thinking about if he can accept her invitation or not. Y/N lets her arms fall back to her side again and smiles, looking into Harry’s dazzling eyes as he smiles back at her. They stand there in his doorway, smiling, for a few beats of silence before Harry tells her.

“You’re going to have to help me with an outfit though,” he says, “there is no way I’m going to a party in New York City that a ton of fashion obsessed people will be at, without your help,” he states. Y/N chuckles again and nods, bringing her Starbucks cup to her mouth slowly.

“I can do that,” she says, tilting her cup to have a sip of the warm liquid.

“Okay,” Harry nods, “and what time will you be picking me up for this date?” He asks jokingly, although a big piece of him is hoping she won’t deny that it’s a date.

Y/N smiles, feeling a blush creeping onto her cheeks, “like, six-ish,” she tells him.

“Sounds good,” Harry says.

“Good,” Y/N nods, a smile still on her lips, “I have to go now though, I have a few presents for my coworkers I need to wrap and some last minute phone calls to make to get things all set for tomorrow,” Y/N explains, taking a few slow steps backwards while her eyes are still glued to Harry’s.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Harry says, his smile never flattening either.

“Yes,” Y/N nods, her stomach in a fit of butterflies as she realizes that she really just invited him to her work party.

Turning on her heels, she hears Harry close his door, and walks to her own apartment to unlock the door. She did it, she’s going to be bringing Harry to a work function - this was kinda big, she realizes, but she’s too excited to worry right now. So, instead she turns on her Christmas playlist on her TV, after she steps out of her shoes and hangs up her coat, and sings along as she sets up her little workstation to wrap a few presents.

Y/N has been running around like a chicken with their head chopped off all day. She was determined to have this holiday party be perfect. Harry was her plus one, she imagined things going so well between the two of them tonight. But then things started to go south the moment she walked into the office this morning and Amanda bombarded her at the front doors, “we were double booked” she had told Y/N. Turns out their location for their party tonight was double booked and the other function had already paid off the business to let them have the space. Therefore having Y/N scrabbling for a place to have this party.

“We should just have it here,” Sammy suggested. 

It was a last resort suggestion, but in reality it could work. The building their office was in had a decent sized room that was used for conferences and such. And after calling the building staff they learnt it wasn’t being used, so they started working on getting that set up.

Y/N was on the phone for hours, making sure the catering and bar services company they hired knew the relocation, and having them show up on time to get the set up going too. Then she was downstairs to help the decorations team replan their set up before she was literally running down the streets to the Target in order to buy new table clothes that would fit the tables the building provided. And somehow, with a little blood and sweat and a few tears shed too, Y/N made it happen.

She lets out a loud deep breath and looks at the room around her. The shimmering lights hanging down from the ceiling, perfectly placed so they wouldn’t hit anyone in the head but still looking very dreamy. There’s one wall full of fresh wreaths, some huge and some small, with matching red ribbons and ornaments on them. It’s picture perfect and Y/N already had taken a short video of them as they were setting it up to post on her Instagram. The way the plain white tablecloths she had bought earlier were now styled with more fresh pine that was used for the wreaths, with a few candles on each table and more red Christmas ornaments too, it all just looked so good. She especially loved the large real Christmas tree that she and Sammy took the time to decorate that sat in the far corner of the room by the gorgeously decorated bar that stretches along the back wall. Overall, it’s fashionable, Instagram worthy, and perfect.

Y/N is about to tell someone hired for the event to add a few more beaded garlands around the entryway when her phone rings. She gives the young woman a smile and holds up a finger while producing her phone that’s in her jean pocket. Looking at the screen she sees Harry’s name at the top, which causes a flutter of butterflies in her stomach. She smiles and swipes a finger across the screen to answer his call.

“Hey,” she says, walking away from the people that are rushing around her to finalize the party.

“Hey,” Harry breathes out. Y/N can hear the nerves in the one word. She furrows her brows and begins to worry that maybe he can’t make it anymore, suddenly feeling very upset at the thought. “You’re late,” he states. Y/N’s brows pinch together further and her eyes narrow.

“What?” She questions.

“Well, it’s almost six, and you’re supposed to help me pick something to wear, but I understand if you can’t or don’t want to. I’m sure I can figure something out, but don’t want to make you look bad by bringing a badly dressed bloke to your party,” Harry explains, catching himself sounding a bit needy. He didn’t need her to help style him for the holiday party, but he wanted her opinion of course.

“Oh my god what time is it?” Y/N gasps, asking Harry the question but really more asking herself as she realizes time has slipped by her in the whirlwind that was relocating this party.

“Um, quarter to six,” Harry tells her.

“Shit, H, I’m sorry, I haven’t looked at a clock in hours, I’m still at my office. We had to work fast and relocate the party for tonight, I’ve been so busy I didn’t even realize,” Y/N explains, her eyes searching around the room for either Amanda or Sammy or really anyone that could take over for her to hurriedly get ready.

“Oh, it’s okay, not a problem really,” Harry says, tapping a pen on the notebook that’s in front of him. He had been caught up a bit with his own work too, writing a song.

“Okay,” Y/N sighs, “game plan, you can send me pictures of some things you can wear tonight, I’ll give you my opinion, and then I’ll get ready here and are you okay to meet me in the lobby at seven-thirty?” Y/N asks, finally locking eyes with Amanda across the room.

Amanda’s eyes are wide at the sight of her, arms thrown up into the air as she’s confused as to why Y/N is still here - Y/N may have told her she had to meet up with her new plus one. Amanda was just as excited to meet Harry as Sammy was, damn gossiper had gone and told Amanda all about Y/N and Mark’s breakup and about Harry now too. Y/N had glared at Sammy as Amanda asked a million questions about Harry earlier.

“Okay,” Harry nods, “I can do that, did you need me to bring you anything or are you all set at your office?”

Y/N smiles at Harry naturally asking her if she needed anything from him. “I’m good, I’ll just text you the address and let me know when you’re on the way, okay?”

“Okay,” Harry echoes.

“Okay, I have to go, I’ll see you soon,” she says. Harry says a goodbye before she hangs up the phone just as Amanda is walking up to her.

“What in the world are you still doing here? I thought you were supposed to leave like an hour ago to go get ready and meet up with your new man?” Amanda questions. She is dressed for tonight's festivities, wearing a sparkling silver gown that fit her like a glove. Her hair is out of it’s usual low ponytail and is pin straight. She looks amazing, of course.

“First,” Y/N points a finger, “not my new man, by any means. And second, I got caught up helping with some issues with catering and then I was fixing some lighting issues. I’m going upstairs to get ready, and Harry is meeting me here,” she tells Amanda.

“Go, go,” she shoos her off, “steal a good dress from that room of broken dreams.”

Amanda is referring to the small room upstairs in their office that holds many pieces from over the year that clients didn’t fit, didn’t like, or just simply didn’t get to see. Y/N nods, having already planned to go there, and rushes away to get upstairs and get ready. As she opens the door to the room full of clothing Harry texts her a few pictures of items in his closet he has for tonight.

Her eyes are glued on her screen, attention taken away from her finding something the moment she sees Harry’s name. There’s a black suit laid on his bed in the first picture, the idea of seeing him in a classic black suit and tie has her feeling some type of way, but it’s not the look for tonight. She swipes to the next photo and likes the cream and light blue vertical stripe button up shirt but not the deep purple trousers he paired with them. But in the next picture she really likes the fun look to the trousers, like a sort of grandpa’s sweater vibe with browns and whites in an interesting square pattern. Completely ignoring the black shirt he had paired with it, she texts him back.

Shirt from the second pic and pants from the third one! Trust me! Lol. And here’s the address, she types quickly, sending him her location, before pocketing her phone and turning to the first rack of clothing. Immediately she grabs for a light blue Gucci suit jacket. It would go with Harry’s outfit perfectly, she thinks with a smile, putting it to the side for him. She remembers the suit was too big for a certain younger actor who was hosting SNL last week, Timothee something or another, if she’s remembering correctly.

Y/N goes through what feels like is a hundred dresses, pantsuits, and everything in between before she finds the one she likes. It’s her size, thank god, and isn’t too shimmery and crazy like she feels everyone else will be dressed like. It’s a bit of a darker blue that the colour of the suit jacket she had pulled aside for Harry, with thin straps and a tight torso that had wires for under his boobs for a built in bra type of look. It ends just above her ankles and is embroidered with beautiful beads and stunning flowers and leaf designs. But with a bit of a scandalous look as the embroidery isn’t as crowded near the bottom of the dress and leaves her in a sheer fabric. Overall, she just really enjoys how it looks and feels - and truthfully, she can’t be too picky with such little time to finish getting ready now.

It works out perfectly as she looks over herself in the washroom on the main level, fluffing her hair that she had curled and touching up her makeup, Harry texts that he’s just about to walk inside. Hurrying through out of the washroom, she walks out into the lobby, the black heels she had taken from the heap of shoes upstairs click along the floor as she waves hello and smiles at the people around that she knows. There would be just over a hundred people in attendance for their party tonight, not too big but not too small either, and she was happy to see all the familiar faces she’s gotten to work with over the year. But, there is one face in particular she’s most happy to see.

Only Harry’s not alone. In fact, she shouldn’t be all that surprised to see her best friend had managed to single him out in the small crowd that was waiting to get into the conference room she’s spent all day setting up. She sighs and makes her way towards them, smiling at another colleague that gave her a quick compliment as she passed by. Sammy caught her eye first, noticing how she’s glaring at him but he only smirks back at her.

Then Harry shifts, looking over his shoulder at whatever Sammy is looking at, and he pauses at the sight of Y/N only a few feet away. Holy shit, Harry thinks to himself as he takes in how she looks. The dress fits her flawlessly, accentuating her curves and causing Harry to shamelessly check her out. She’s always beautiful, stunning really, but tonight she looks like she should be a runway model. He feels a bit underdressed beside her, even though she picked out his outfit, even just a jacket would make him feel a little less casual at this event.

“You look,” Harry pauses as he struggles to find the right word. Y/N has stopped now in front of him, hands fiddling with her small clutch resting in front of her. “Just, unbelievable, wow,” Harry finally breathes out. His words cause a warm blush to creep over his face, her eyes falling to the floor to catch his black boots on his feet, as she hides away her grin.

“You look really good, too,” she tells him, although her words are far less swoon worthy than his words. It still causes Harry to smile too, his stomach doing a few flips.

“And how do I look?” Sammy asks jokingly, breaking their moment as they both turn to look at him. He’s smirking and holding out both arms, showing off his sparkling gold suit jacket that he’s worn with some black tight suit pants and a black button up shirt. He looks good, obviously, but Y/N shoulders shake as she chuckles at her friends behaviour.

“You look marvellous,” Harry compliments him with a smile, Y/N looks at Harry and shakes her head.

“Oh, he’s good,” Sammy notes, pointing a finger at Harry but is looking at Y/N. “If you don’t keep him I’ll take him, like that little feeling I get in my stomach when he speaks, hm,” he hums, winking at Harry for good measure too. Both Harry and Y/N chuckle at her friend. Suddenly someone is calling for Sammy’s attention, and of course, he answers to it right away and leaves Y/N and Harry to themselves.

“I’m sorry about him,” Y/N says as they face each other once more, “Sammy can be a lot to handle,” she adds.

“He wasn’t that bad,” Harry assures her.

She hums and smiles, narrowing her eyes at him playfully. “I find that hard to believe, but alright,” she says, “oh! I have something for your outfit,” she mentions, grabbing his arm gently to guide the way to the building's front desk where they had set up a coat check.

Harry’s in his own head about how she so naturally grabbed onto him, her delicate hand wrapped around his arm before dropping down to her side again as she approached the line that was for coat check. He furrows his brows, confused if she was going to ask for the jacket he had brought with him, but instead he watches as she walks around the tables and helps herself to the rack of jackets. She pulls out a light blue suit jacket and smiles over it at him, watching as his eyes widen. He knows the jacket, it was a part of Gucci’s line last season. He had browsed through some Vogue article and loved the colour immediately, how did she know?

“It’s just sitting upstairs, unworn, and it deserves some attention,” Y/N explains, holding it out for him.

“I can just wear this, tonight? No fee?” Harry asks, finding this situation a little unreal honestly.

“Well,” Y/N gives him a smug smile, “how about your fee is a dance with me, later,” she bargains.

“Oh, there will be plenty of dancing, of course,” Harry says. He takes the suit jacket off the hanger, passing the empty hanger back to Y/N and then puts on the jacket. Shrugging his shoulders a few times to get it to sit right on his body, but boy does it ever fit him well. Like it was made for him, honestly. Cause my god does it ever look good on him, Y/N thinks as she watches him straighten out the jacket till it feels comfortable. Harry looks up to see Y/N staring at him, her teeth sunk into her bottom lip. He smirks, dimples popping up for show, and it causes Y/N to snap out of it and turn to put the hanger away. She then takes the few steps forward to Harry and smiles while looking up at him.

“You look phenomenal,” Y/N tells him, upping her previous compliment from before. Harry’s heart swells at her words and he extends his bent arm, for her to hold onto his forearm.

“Shall we?” Harry asks, motioning for her to grab onto his arm and walk into the now open doors to her party.

“We shall,” she smiles and puts her hand on his arm to let him guide them into the party she spent all day preparing. Y/N can’t help but notice the looks the people around them are giving her, a few smirks from other girls - with obvious jealousy on their faces. It makes her head spin, realizing that she’s about to be the talk of the office all because of the hot guy on her arm. Little do they know, he’s a lot more than how good he looks in this light blue suit jacket.

It only takes an hour before the rest of the people at the party realize that Harry is more than that pretty face of his.

He charms the socks off of every single person she introduces him to. Not to mention that Sammy is basically attached to his hip, begging for the attention, and Amanda has given Y/N a thumbs up every chance she’s gotten. Which she’s currently doing from the sidelines of the dance floor as Y/N is dancing around with Sammy, Harry and a few others now a few hours into the party. Y/N chuckles, the few tequila drinks making her feel a bit giggly, as she throws her head back and sways to the music. Harry’s watching her, admiring how carefree she looks as she dances to the music. Not an ounce of worry of any judgement from her coworkers around her.

“Y/N,” a colleague of hers comes up, putting a hand on her arm to get her full attention. She smiles as she meets her eyes. “Merry Christmas love, I’m going to head out with my husband, who very much loves your new boyfriend by the way,” she explains, mirroring Y/N’s smile. Harry is distracted, dancing with Sammy, and thankfully doesn’t hear her comment.

“Oh! He’s not my boyfriend,” she informs her, for probably the third time tonight. But her older colleague, Heidi, is rather forgetful when she has a few glasses on wine - something she’d learnt over the few years of working together. “Also, I have a present for you, just wait here and I’ll go get it and be right back I promise,” Y/N assures her, giving her a pout for good measure.

Heidi sighs but is still smiling, “fine, I’ll wait,” she nods.

Y/N is walking passed Harry, causing him to pinch his brows together and reach out for her. Through the night they didn’t leave each other's side, even when one of them had to use the washroom they let each other know. His hand is gentle, grasping onto her arm as she’s about to walk away, and pulling her to look his way. Y/N matches his look of confusion but smiles at the little pout on Harry’s lips at the sight of her leaving the dance floor without him.

“Where are you going?” He asks, bending his head down closer to her. His breath is warm against the skin, his lips mere inches from her ear. A chill falls over her as she looks back into his enchanting eyes.

“Upstairs, I need to grab something,” she states.

“Oh,” Harry pauses, “okay,” he says, still looking into her eyes. They were so beautiful, she’s so beautiful.

“Did you want to come with me?” Y/N asks. She doesn’t know why she does, maybe because she doesn’t want to leave Harry’s side for a single second or maybe her buzz from the tequila is making her brave. She imagines some alone time with Harry for the first time tonight would be nice.

Harry nods and slowly lets his hand drop from her arm to her hand. Their fingers intertwining like it's natural, ignoring the wide eyed look from Sammy, and Y/N leads the way out of the room and into the lobby. Harry thinks she’ll drop his hand once they reach the elevator but she doesn’t. It’s like a volcano of butterflies has erupted in his stomach. Feeling bold, he brushes the pad of his thumb over the back of her hand a few times as he inhales her sweet smelling perfume as she stands so close to him while waiting for the elevator doors to open.

Every moment they’ve had together tonight has been amazing, the same longing looks and full smiles between them but were always surrounded by others. Seems Y/N is rather popular at her place of work, everyone wants to hang around her and he’s been introduced to more people than he can count. Although Y/N did whisper in his ear “Sammy and Amanda are the only ones you really need to remember”, thankfully. But he really is having a good time as they enjoyed a quick meal at the beginning of the night, talking amongst the people at their table, then when that was finished up the wine was replaced with harder alcohol and things got pretty wild. Turns out these New Year City fashion obsessed people knew how to party and it wasn’t all gossip and trends with them. Harry was finding himself laughing, dancing and feeling more free than he had in quite a while. And maybe the tequila drinks he’s been sipping was helping, as he actually ended up liking Y/N’s drink of choice.

“Everyone loves you,” Y/N states, breaking the silence just as the elevator opens and they step inside. Harry smirks and lets her step up to hit the button inside, using her free hand as they still are holding each other. Their hands hang in the air as she steps forward, hitting the button, and then steps back to be right beside him.

“Glad my charm could be of use to impress your coworkers,” Harry says, making Y/N smile but rolls her eyes as she squeezes his hand that still holds her. They’re holding hands! Don’t freak out! Y/N is internally screaming at herself.

“Cheeky,” Y/N teases, using his word back at him finally. Although all those times he’s texted her ‘cheeky’ or ‘cheeky girl’ she does get butterflies in her stomach.

“Oh really?” Harry questions, huffing out a chuckle while raising his eyebrows.

Y/N laughs and Harry pulls on her hand that he’s holding to bring her even closer to him. Their sides touch, her bare arm brushing against the suit jacket, and she swore a spark of electricity shot through them as they were now leaning against one another. She looks from their feet, toe to toe, to how her bent knee just barely strokes against his pants, then looking at their conjoint hands - Harry still rubbing his thumb against her warm skin every once in a while - all the way up to meet Harry’s eyes. His face is so close, only a few inches away from hers. Y/N’s breath gets caught in her throat, her lips parting as she inhales slowly while looking into Harry’s eyes. Are they about to kiss? Both Harry and Y/N’s thoughts are swarming with the idea of their lips pressing together and sharing their first kiss right here, right now in this elevator-

A sudden ding! causes them to blink out of whatever trance they were in. Y/N turns her head to watch the doors open onto her office floor, only a few dim lights are kept on during the night hours so it looks a bit different than during the day. Harry’s only watching her though. Taking in every inch of her lips. The curve of her cupids bow, the pout of her bottom lip. How good the red lipstick still looks even hours later since their night has gone on. Oh how he wants to mess up that red colour, smearing it with his own lips, he’s in his head with many thoughts as Y/N tugs on his hand to bring them out of the elevator and into the main area of the office.

She has to let go of Harry’s hand to enter in the code to the main doors for their office that are frosted glass, beside the large desk that their secretary answers calls and logs in clients entering for any appointments. The sleek look from the large frosted glass doors and all white marble flooring and white desk compliments the big block letters of their company name that have neon lights behind it. Currently the colours were red and green, glowing with full holiday cheer as Y/N loved so much.

Harry’s watching Y/N, her slight sway to her body as she pushes open the door and holds it open for Harry to walk through. He nods and smiles, then let's Y/N lead the way. While her office floor is all very exciting and professional, he’s more focused on Y/N. She’s talking about how she had bought some gifts for her coworkers and got so busy today she forgot a few. Harry was in awe of her and how she managed to pull off the relocation of this party so quickly. Amanda and many others were praising her all night, which Y/N would only respond by shaking her head and brushing off their kind words. He admires that about her a lot, how she is confident but doesn’t let people’s praises go to her head by any means.

As Y/N is walking across the room to her desk, something catches Harry’s eye. He pauses, double checks that Y/N isn’t watching him, and then leans over to the bulletin board at some random desk. With one swift movement he rips it off and then quickly stuffs it into the pocket of his jacket before he turns around to find Y/N at what he assumes is her desk. It’s a large white desk, up against the floor to ceiling windows, it’s quite the view - but, again, his eyes are only on her.

“Okay, so this one’s for Heidi, and then this one is for her and her husband,” Y/N is rambling aloud as she reaches under her desk for the few last presents she had. The only other one was for Sammy, so she should bring it down with her too to catch him before either of them leaves.

She stands up straight again, putting the presents on the desk when she looks over her shoulder at Harry. He’s staring, which isn’t new, but it still makes her smile and her head to spin knowing that his eyes always seem to be on her. But it’s the mischievous smile across his lips that brings Y/N to a stop, pinching her eyebrows together as she tilts her head to the side.

“What’s with the look?” Y/N asks, getting right to the point.

Harry raises a brow and jokingly says, “what look?”

Y/N just rolls her eyes and hums, pushing her hair over one shoulder as she turns her body towards Harry. She crosses her arms over her chest and Y/N doesn’t miss how his eyes drop to her movements for a split second before meeting her eyes again. She feels like she’s on fire under his stare, the burn so deep within her only blazing when he licks his lips. This is it, this is the moment, Harry thinks before he can second guess himself. He takes a step forward, standing so close to Y/N that the toes of their shoes touch and she has to look up into his piercing stare now.

Y/N notices him reach into his pocket, and then just as quickly, he takes his hand out and holds it above them. She furrows her brows, looking up to see something green between his fingers. Her heart stops, her breath getting caught in her throat as she inspects the item more. But when Harry clears his throat, her attention falls back into him. His beautiful green eyes look a bit nervous, it’s adorable, Y/N thinks.

“Can I kiss you underneath the mistletoe, Y/N?” Harry asks, his voice in that now familiar and warm low tone.

Y/N is pretty sure Harry can hear her heart beating out of her chest right now. She stares back into his eyes, feelings for this man hitting her like a wrecking ball. Y/N has never felt something so strong for someone before. And Harry standing here, holding mistletoe, asking to kiss her, it by far one of the most romantic things ever. Unsure she can find her voice, Y/N settles with nodding her head twice and never letting her eyes fall off Harry’s. His lips turn ever so slightly upwards, smiling, before he takes a deep breath and leans forward and both their eyes flutter shut as the moment they both have dreamt of is becoming a reality.

When their lips finally touch it feels like time itself stops around them. Like no one else or nothing else matters in the world but them in this moment right here. Y/N’s heart hasn’t settled one bit, and her knees feel weak as Harry’s free hand gently touches her hip to steady them both. She tries to ignore the touch and instead focus on how soft his lips feel against hers. The feeling flares the burn she feels around him and only amplifies at how addicting his kiss is.

But it was clear, Y/N and Harry both could never dream up a kiss was perfect as this one. Harry’s pure raw emotion that he feels as he decides to pull back from the kiss, to look at Y/N with his eyes only half open, he just had to make sure he wasn’t imagining any of this. But she’s just as beautiful with her swollen lips and half open dreamy eyes as he had thought.

This time Y/N pulls Harry down by wrapping both arms around his shoulders, nudging his head down to meet her halfway and get lost in their kissing again. Harry now is clenching the plastic mistletoe in one hand while both his hands curl up at her hips. With every second, every smell of her rose perfume filling his nose, he’s sure he’ll wake from this dream at any time. The twisting in both their stomachs don’t settle as the kiss continues, Y/N’s lips parting slightly as she breathes out a small gasp when they both pull each other even closer.

Their bodies are basically molding into one, Y/N’s hair falling into their face as she tugs him even closer if it’s possible. But Harry quickly reacts and brings the hand without the mistletoe up, carding his fingers through her locks and bringing the hair away from their moving lips before he rests his hand on her cheek. The only reason that they both pull apart the second time is because they need air - both their chests are heaving against one another as they struggle to catch their breath.

Y/N could never describe the sensations she was feeling in the fleeting second after their kiss. She opens her eyes, looking at Harry’s chest as it rises and falls in quick motions, before she slowly raises her gaze. There’s a pit in her stomach, feeling a bit nervous to meet his eyes after such a passionate kiss. So she takes her time, her eyes scanning over Harry’s face. His sharp jaw, clenching as he watches her. She smiles at the sight of her red lipstick just faintly smudging against his own lips. Finally, she lifts her eyes and meets his stare.

“Amazing,” Harry breathes out, his breath fanning over her lips.

“Breathtaking, actually,” Y/N corrects him, lifting her lips into a bit of a cheeky smile. Harry huffs out a chuckle and smiles, squeezing her side as he lets his hand drop from her face. He seems like he might step away, but Y/N doesn’t want their little bubble to burst quite yet. So she pouts and rubs her thumb over the side of his neck slowly. “Kiss me again, please,” she says in a soft voice.

“Always, darling,” Harry tells her and brings both his hands up to cup her face, tilting her head back just slightly in order to place his lips over hers again. Their kiss only last for another moment before Y/N gets a sudden prick to her cheek, causing her to break away and furrow her brows.

“What the-?” Y/N pauses as she takes Harry's hand and uses her fingers to pry back his own. A giggle passes her lips as the sight inside his hand. She takes the plastic green leaves and red berries. Rolling her lips into her mouth, she tries to hold back the laughter bubbling inside of her.

“What?” Harry questions, letting Y/N take the mistletoe out of his hand.

“Harry,” she sighs and looks up at him, “this is holly, not mistletoe,” she explains. It’s a common misconception, truly, but it only makes the moment they just had all that more special.

Harry’s cheeks heat up instantly at her words. Pure embarrassment washing over him as he didn’t even realize his mistake. His whole big romantic gesture now in the ruins because they kissed underneath holly not mistletoe. Harry shakes his head and reaches for the holly in Y/N’s hand, but she moves faster and closes her hand around it - not caring that it pokes her palm. He is the one to pull together his eyebrows now, meeting her eyes.

“No, it’s okay,” she admits to him, placing the holly carefully on her desk without looking away from Harry’s eyes. “I don’t care that you made a common mistake, don’t beat yourself up about it,” she says, bringing her free hand to brush against his warm red cheeks. “It was-” she pauses and lets out a deep breath, “you’re perfect, H,” she says.

“No, you are,” he declares, meeting her halfway again to crash their lips together once more.

thanks for reading, please reblog/leave some feedback if you enjoyed it! until part 5 😘

*like this post if you’d like to be added to the cstsyl taglist!*

[softrozene]

Something Beautiful

Anonymous requested: Hi! I really really love your writing! It comforts me whenever I feel down. If you have the time and inspiration, could I please request a scenario or anything really, on how the Law x fem!reader relationship would start and develop. Thank you for your beautiful work!

FLDJA Thank you for being so sweet! This took ages to get to, but I finally did it and I love it! This was a super fun and cute request so thank you! I hope you enjoy it Lovely!

Trafalgar Law x Female Reader

Warnings: Just fluff (and a hint, a dash, the tiniest of angst)

Words: 932

We’re doing the bonus headcanons first:

So I just want to address that Law is not the type to get into a relationship just for the fun of it (I mean I can definitely appreciate those ideas though *imagine shaky eye emoji here*

He would be thinking long term and be on the cautious side since he has to deal with Doflamingo

So, no matter what, he is extremely cautious and definitely is a huge emotional distance away when he does get in a relationship at first

Does multiple tests to see if his potential partner really will stay and support him because he has no time for any foolish short-term relationships that come with all those icky feelings

He wants someone to grow with him and be his rock when needed and with that said- Here is the scenario I came up with!

-

Law feels like it would be a huge sin to move right now. How could he when he has you, his loving girlfriend, laying on him? If he moved, he would no doubt have to readjust you- Risk waking you up after you stayed up all night helping him with his future plans- And he would much sooner jump in the ocean to drown than risk waking your sweet self up.

So instead, he lays there with you cuddling against him, and allows the feelings to arise for once. He supposes it has been a while since he last let them fully arise and smother his thoughts. The deep affection he holds for you is the main feeling he tries to suppress so he can stay logical but with you in a blissful sleep like this- He can’t suppress them.

He has to admire you.

After all the shit he put you through when you first started dating- Oh boy it takes him back and makes him appreciate you all the more.

-

When you first met it was at a tavern- Nothing too grand and you simply liked Bepo and struck a conversation with him- Totally ignoring Law in the process until of course marines surrounded the place. He got the firsthand experience to watch you move in combat and he was even impressed.

So, the logical thing was to see your view on the world and when he saw your face light up at the question- The way your answer was “trying to find your place and see the world” he knew he found a free and genuine spirit. He wasted no time to offer you a place in his crew and immediately he felt something beautiful happen when you agreed.

He hated how his heart skipped a beat at your precious smile.

That was how you joined the crew. He guesses that is where it started- Him inviting you to be a part of his pirate family. You instantly clicked with the crew and again he hated how he can feel his cheeks flush whenever he saw you.

He knew he was attracted to you but there is no place for romance on the sea. He had no idea how long he can keep up with that reasoning. He pushed you away when you tried to get close. At one point he even made you cry- Just because he felt the doubts grow and he did want you to be his.

He can’t have one thing and the other- You as his girlfriend and you completely away from him. Especially when it messes up his logic. So, he kept pushing and it made you feel bad- He saw it, he cared, and he felt bad too, but he did not want to be close. He did not want to risk losing another personal relationship like Rosinate.

He pushed and nearly fucked it all up. You did not feel welcomed here anymore. The crew tried to tell you otherwise- They knew what was up, but you were ready to leave. You were going to go all because you knew your attraction to Law would ruin things more. He must have felt the way you looked at him and hated it. But that was not the case.

He found out the attraction was mutual, and he nearly melted.

You brought all of this up one night- A night of true honesty before you were going to force yourself to leave and that was when he realized he could not let you go.

You were going to leave because you thought you were ruining the crew. You thought you were ruining him. He nearly fucked up everything by pushing you away but you were willing to sacrifice it all just so they would succeed with their lives as pirates.

It was then he realized he loved you more than he realized and that he was willing- He was more than willing- To see where things would go with you, especially after seeing you still love him despite whatever cruel tone and words he used at you in his vain attempts to push you away. He wanted something beautiful to happen between you two.

-

His fingers soothe over the top of your scalp and he can feel your body further relax against him. God- He loves you so much. With a bit of effort and the most care in the world, he gently moves his upper body so he can place his lips on the top of your head before laying down again.

The way you solely trust him- It always astounds him but makes him beyond happy that he can have something like this. Something beautiful.

[ka-writes]

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Notes: First of all... thank you so much for the support!!

Second, space vocab: starling: young unidentified species ISF: intergalactic safety force

Anyways, take care of yourself <3!

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Warning: flashbacks to abuse, if needed skip past any italicized words, mentions of child labor exploitation (Someone forces Tommy to steal), attempting to drug character, cussing, kidnapping, fear.

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Incase you missed:

Chapter 1:

Chapter 5:

——————

Inspired by:

Humans are Space Velociraptors

By:FreshRoses_InMyGarden_NeedTheRain

Some kids come from storks, others come from crashed spaceships

By: mmmajora

Home Again, Home Again

By: teeth_eater

All works can be found on Ao3

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Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33147661/chapters/82290709

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Chapter 6: Causing Chaos

——————

Planet Amari was their next stop. It would take only four hours to get there and usually this would be no problem if they weren’t harboring a human. Let alone the human that had just escaped the Dream Team Ship.

Phil shook his head and focused on the increased security around the boarding docks.

Amair is a planet whose only purpose is to entertain, meaning they already have some of the best security in this part of the galaxy. The added security came directly from the ISF and were now searching suspicious ships.

“Check check, one two.” The microphone turned green, “As your captain it is my duty to warn you about extra security measures. The ISF is boarding ships and checking for abnormalities. Please complete protocol 35.0.” Phil spoke into the mic and waited for everyone’s confirmation.

He got up and started the process of taking maps and blueprints that were not available to the public along with future plans and hid them in a document compartment behind one of his shelves. He then changed his normal illusion monitor and changed it to the default screen.

He stepped out of the cabin and cleaned the surrounding area, while also checking for anything that could be confiscated.

“Tommy. In order to go onto the planet I need you to wear this.”Wilbur confronted.

“No! It looks like one of those serial killer masks!! My face is too beautiful to be hidden.” Tommy scoffed.

“Tommy if you don’t wear it willingly, I will tell Ranboo about-“ Wilbur was cut off by a series of curses and Tommy fiddling the mask around his face. “Good. Put this on too.” Wilbur handed the blonde a bundle of clothes and made his way to the lab. Phil chuckled at the brotherly bond that was already forming.

He made his way down to the lab checking for abnormalities before seeping back to the holding cell. The human was pulling at his clothes while packing things back into the shelf.

“Hello mate! Whatcha doing there?” Phil asked, casually. What he didn’t expect was the human to practically jump out of his clothes in the captain’s presence.

“W-who are you?” Tommy stammered, Phil had completely forgotten he had never introduced himself before.

“Oh! I forgot we haven’t formally met. My name is Captain Philza Mine Craft, but you can call me Phil or Philza, whichever you prefer. I use he/him pronouns and am the legal captain of the SBI Craft.” Phil finished his introduction with an easy confidence, even with the face mask you could easily see the kid’s wonder, “We are currently waiting for a formal check from the ISF.” The human tensed at that, “So if you would please follow me to the common room, so I may hide the holding cell.” The human nodded vigorously.

Once Phil had dropped Tommy off in the common room he made his way to the holding cell. With a few clicks and checks the holding cell made a perfect illusion wall, which molded it into the wall not to be seen by any inspectors or gadgets they may have.

Once he had gotten confirmations from all crew members, he made his way back to the pilot’s cabin. If they were even a minute slower with preparations, security would have deemed the ship suspicious.

They settled the ship at the checkpoint and waited for a security officer to signal them.

——————

Wilbur’s leg bounced anxiously as he wore his disguise. He had finished briefing Tommy about the plan. They would lie about their origins, Wilbur doing the talking, and would get what they needed and get out.

The only thing anyone was waiting on was the guard.

Almost on queue the door began to open and a young starling stood at the door. He seemed to be genetically engineered and had wires attached to his head and 3D glasses.

“Hello everyone! My name is Jack Manifold, and I will be checking your ship!” The starling chirped, “I hope you have both we have to confiscate, because everyone here seems like lovely people. I have to ask where is your captain?”

“Right here mate.” Philza said, stepping out of the pilot cabin. “I am Captain Philza Mine Craft, of the SBI Craft. Feel free to look around.” Phil said with a hint of impatience. Jack didn’t seem to notice and made his way around the Craft.

Everyone sitting in the common room shared a few nervous glances. The only one who seemed oddly comfortable was Tubbo.. Wilbur took note of the behavior and tried to busy himself with the magazine he was holding...

When did he get a magazine?

He was immersed in an article about room design when Jack returned.

“Everything seems to be in order! The only thing I ask is that everyone introduces themselves.” His tone turned serious as he looked at the crew.

“My name is Technoblade. I am the security officer on this ship and second in command.” Techno said without faltering in tone.

“I am Ranboo. I am Technoblade’s hired assistant and do most chores around the ship.” Ranboo said clearly anxious with the attention on them.

“Tubbo, I am a hired gardener and take care of food supplies and medical ingredients.” There was a coldness to Tubbo’s voice as he finished his introduction.

“Dr. Craft, I am a toxicologist. This is my medical student, Tommy, he doesn’t talk much.” There was a suspicious glint in Jack’s eye as Wilbur continued, “We have been working for this crew for two months, before that we were traveling on our own licensed craft.” Jack accepted the answer and finished checking his notepad off.

“Alright, that will be all then! Welcome to Amari! Once I give this report to my manager, you should be able to enter the atmosphere!” With that the cheery starling left the ship and Phil closed the door before disappearing into the pilots cabin.

To say Wilbur was relieved was an understatement.

——————

Things were falling into place.

Once they were on the planet all Tubbo would have to do is add the substance to one of Tommy’s drinks and he would be acting out in no time!

But is it worth it?

He pushed the thought out of his head and finished packing the small packet in his bag before getting off the ship with the rest of the crew.

“Before we head to the shopping center, why don’t we stop by Las Nevada’s? I mean it’s Tommy’s first time on Amari after all.” Tubbo said. Las Nevada’s is the most well known restaurant and casino in Amari. It was the perfect place for Tubbo to start his plan.

“I don’t see why not. Just stay in the restaurant bit, we don’t want to draw any more attention to ourselves.” Phil answered.

With that the group walked into one of the best and worst places in the city, though no one knew of the worst bit yet…

——————

They sat around a booth compartment. It had soft red padding and purple looking palm trees, without the coconuts.

It reminded Tommy of a stereotypical mafia restaurant. Something Tommy never got the privilege of seeing.

It made him very uncomfortable, especially when the waitress gave them drinks in glass cups. He felt like whatever he touched would instantly shatter into a billion pieces.

Techno was taking Ranboo to the bathroom and Phil and Will were talking to a waitress leaving only Tommy and the scary bee boy . alone.

“I told you I was done Miranda!!” A man shouted from a nearby table causing Tommy’s attention to be focused on the couple fighting.

“You had one job. And you failed it boy.” A man slapped his face.

He was in his third foster home again. They had asked him to get at least $50 from people on the subway, he had only managed to score $20, and the man was furious.

“You’re lucky I see potential, otherwise you’d be back in that goddamn group home.” Tommy’s eyes dropped yo the floor, another slap and a hand grabbing his chin to look at the man, “PAY ATTENTION TO ME BOY. I saved you from that hell hole and I can take you back.” The man sneered. Honestly Tommy would rather be there than here.

“Hey!” Wilbur snapped in front of his face, “You with us?” Tommy nodded. The couple was gone and everyone returned. Now Ranboo and Wilbur were sitting next to him and Tubbo was sitting next to Ranboo. Did bee-boy always look so guilty?

After a minute of awkward silence, Phil and Techno started talking, their voices drowned out by the surrounding noise. Wilbur had turned his attention to his menu and Ranboo was writing in his book again.

Tommy reached for his water and Tubbo turned his attention to the human. The mask he was wearing had a flap so he could easily breathe, eat, and drink. He took a sip of water….. was water supposed to be this sweet?

“Why the fuck would someone put sugar in water as a prank?” Tommy mumbled, everyone’s attention was on the human again, “What?” He asked defensively.

“Did you say sugar?” Wilbur asked as if it was the craziest thing he had ever heard.

“Umm… yea?” Tommy said. We’re these people pulling a prank on him? Why was everyone looking at him like that?

“Tommy, can you give me your water?” Wilbur asked, he was genuinely confused by the reactions. After a few seconds he gave his water to Wilbur who immediately took a sip and spit it out.

“What the fuck?!” Tommy asked as Wilbur gave him the water back.

“That is definitely sugar.. Tommy do you feel weird at all?” He asked.

“Erm no?” This was getting stranger and stranger.

“So humans are immune to sugar…” Will said as if it was a scientific breakthrough.

“Yea? Why wouldn’t we be?”

“Well for one, most species go absolutely crazy after eating sugar, for some it could lead to death.” Tubbo informed. He looked even more confused than Tommy felt.

“So like, aliens go psycho when they eat sugar? That’s lame.” Tommy laughed out the last line. Everyone looked at him with concerned glances, “I don’t think I am gonna go psycho after drinking a small bit of sugar water, I mean most people have been eating sugar their entire lives, me being one of ‘em.” Tommy finished and the underlying tension died down. Well except Tubbo’s which felt more like an angry glare meant to affect him in some way.

When the waitress came everyone gave their orders, Wilbur supplying Tommy’s. The rest of the meal was comfortable, with Phil telling stories and the rest supplying jokes and chatter, along with the occasional glare from Tubbo.

To be honest Tommy had never felt so comfortable around anyone before, he wanted so badly to let down his wall around these people. Still there was that annoying voice that told him not to trust them. For once he didn’t listen to it.

I mean what could go wrong?

——————

The plan failed. Shit.

Tubbo was mad. Not just mad, furious.

The others were having fun with the human, yet again. Tubbo had wandered off, he wanted to destroy everything, and yet he simply walked off without a second glance. He could feel the tears streaming down his face.

“Hello bee-boy!” The human scared the droneling, his ears falling flat against his head.

“I am not in the mood to talk.” Tubbo sniffed.

“Oh..” The human’s tone dropped, it was almost as if it was hurt by Tubbo’s words. “That’s alright big-man! We don’t have to talk.” The human settled with that response, with that the pair walked through the busy street in silence. Tubbo tried to throw the human off his trail but gave up after a few minutes.

After fifteen minutes of them wandering around Tubbo spotted a shop and made his way over to the electronic shop. The human followed him into the small store.

It was a small shop with tight isles and jazz music filling the silence. At the register a tall creeper hybrid fiddled with a redstone contraption. Tubbo paid no mind to him and turned his attention to some of the smaller devices scattered throughout the shop. The human shifted nervously behind him.

Once Tubbo found what he was looking for he took it over to the register. Another man stood behind it along with the original one. His eyes shifted to Tommy.

“Are you sure that’s him?” The original man asked, his name tag reading Sam.

“Yes, positive. Dream will be happy with this.” The other man replied, he stretched one of his fingerless black gloves and turned towards the pair. “Hi. I am assuming you have my boss’s patient?” The black hair man asked. He was a blazeling and had a cruel glint to his eye.

Without warning another man came up behind them and slapped a cloth over both of their faces. Within seconds the pair was out and everything went black.

He woke up in a cage.

——————

Chapter 6- End

Words: 2206

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Notes: The next bit will be hard to write ;-; but then we get to the fluffy-angst :D

Also this was harder to write... motivation went poof, but I won’t quit on you!!

<3

——————

Tubbo: *tries to cause chaos—fails

Tubbo: *wanders into a random shop—causes chaos

Tubbo: .-. Wtf

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Chapter 7:

[marvelfansince08love]

Wanting

Word count: 3605 

Pairing: Elizabeth Olsen x Reader, Platonic Relationships Sarah Paulson x Cate Blanchett x Scarlett Johansson x Reader.

A/N: For my dear friend @witchxaf​ who needed a little pick me up for tomorrow and needed a fic with all her favs in it lmao. I hope everything goes okay and I hope this helps! I send you my love. This is my first ever celeb fic and will probably be my last lmao so please be gentle. 

Thank you @imnotasuperhero​ for editing this for me, you are a gem x

Summary: R is a new upcoming actress who has been working on a film with Lizzie and Sarah. At the premiere things take a drastic turn which could lead Lizzie confessing her feelings for R. 

Permanent tags: @waitingfortheendtocome​ @natasha-danvers​ 

Bright white lights flashed before your eyes as you stood on the red velvet carpet. With one hand in your suit pants you stood tall and confident for the cameras throwing your signature smirk while people shouted at you to turn one way or the other, asking you who made the expensive tailored suit which you answered without pause or faltering. The lights and people surrounded you like a caged animal as you start to feel overwhelmed by the exposure, only ever being in small indie movies before this, you were still adjusting to your new found fame in Hollywood. You are about to go and find your agent to ask if you could skip the rest of the carpet and go inside but a warm familiar hand presses gently against your back, rubbing subtly as if knowing your anxious state.

“You doing okay, Y/N?” The soft voice whispers close to you, while smiling forward at the crowd of paparazzi. You glance quickly to the warm voice, instantly relaxing at her touch. 

“I’m okay Liz, just-” 

“Overwhelmed.” She finishes before throwing another big smile. You laugh breathlessly and nod in confirmation at her choice of wording. She rubs your back one last time before placing a platonic kiss to your cheek, you watch her for a second forgetting where you are as you finally take in her appearance, dressed in a long red gown with a deep neckline showing off her chest beautifully. 

‘God she’s beautiful’ 

She turns to look at you and winks subtly away from the camera and mouths ' You're doing great,’. leaving you grinning at her reassurance before turning back to the people and smirking wide. 

‘Maybe I can get through tonight after all,’ you think, as your agent takes you away from the carpet for an interview. 

***

“Y/N, hey!!” The familiar sound of your other co-star shouts over the loud noise at the after party. 

You turn to see Sarah walking elegantly towards you in her off the shoulder black dress that flows just past her knees with Cate in tow dressed in one of her signature coloured suits. 

“Sarah, Cate! You guys look incredible.” You gush as Sarah pulls you into a tight hug. She pulls back keeping her hands on either side of your shoulders as she scans your outfit. She grins before replying. 

“The suit is a nice touch. You guys are making me regret my choice.” She jokes, fake pouting. You all share a laugh at your friend's goofy personality, before getting into a conversation about the film. 

“You guys did such an incredible job, I was speechless when it finished. You should be proud of yourself, darling.” Cate compliments, ever the mother hen. You worked with Cate and Sarah during Carol, although you had a minor role in the movie you hit it right off with the two women during the scenes you worked on together. 

You blush at the compliment and mutter your thanks before reaching out for a glass of champagne from a passing tray, taking a large sip. 

“She was more than just incredible, she was flawless.” Lizzie’s voice appears from behind you, as she presses her front to your back reaching for your glass to take a sip making you tense at the close and intimate gesture. Sarah smiles knowingly at your tense posture. 

You see, you may not recognise the signs but Sarah has been working with you and Lizzie for over 6 months and has been watching you both very closely. The small smiles and lingering touches between takes, when you would go for drinks with other casts and crew members during the evenings, Sarah noticed how you both would gravitate towards each other as the night went on. You’d laugh loudly while Lizzie continued to whisper in your ear; while you laughed Sarah could see the small glint of contentment in her eyes while she stared at you. 

“That she was! So, a round of tequila to celebrate our new success?” Sarah asks excitedly, already making her way to the bar while Cate rolls her eyes in good nature and follows after her leaving you with Lizzie, her hand reaching for your own. 

“Let’s go. I don’t want to lose you in the crowd now, do I?” She teases. The feeling of her hand wrapped around your own as her thumb brushes across your skin while she guides you towards the bar. 

Once you’ve reached the bar you find Scarlett had joined the duo, clearly looking for Lizzie. 

“Scar! You made it! I tried looking for you outside before we came in but I couldn’t find you anywhere,” Lizzie squeals from beside you as she launches into her best friend/co-star’s arms. You smile at the exchange and wave to the blonde who winks in greeting over Lizzie’s shoulder. 

“Shots?” Sarah sings holding out the tray. You accept the harsh liquor gratefully as you all toast the movie’s success. 

The night continues on with drinks flowing and laughter being shared as you watch Sarah demonstrate her ‘mom dance’ working up the crowd. You shake your head at how ridiculous your friends are before leaning into Lizzie’s side and whispering. 

“I’m just going to the bathroom, please try and keep her out of trouble.” You beg jokingly making her chuckle. 

“I’m sure Cate can take care of her.” She reassures as she eyes the two now messing around on the dancefloor as Sarah fails to take off her heels.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of.” You joke back, as Scarlett intervenes by taking a hold of Sarah’s arm to support her weight. 

You head towards the bathroom, squeezing through the crowds of people as you quickly greet other casts on your way hoping that you won’t be stopped. Once you have relieved yourself you stand and wash your hands while tidying up your hair from all the dancing. 

“Hey, Beautiful.” You lock eyes with the voice, internally cringing at the thought of being stuck in the bathroom with this woman. 

“Hey Kate, I didn’t know you would be here tonight.” You speak keeping your tone formal, not wanting to invite more conversation than the pleasantries. You watch her smirk through the mirror. 

“What, and miss out on showing my support? I don’t think so. You were amazing by the way, perfect even.” She flirts as she eyes your form. “You look stunning baby,” She compliments moving closer to you, making you step away from the sink and towards the door. 

“Thanks, but I should head back to my frie-” Her hand slams onto the door frame actively closing it shut in front of you as she invades your space making you lean against the only entrance out of there. 

“I’m sure they wouldn’t mind me stealing you away for a bit. Come on, you know I really like you and I know you enjoyed our date.” She presumes, her lips brushing against your cheek as you turn your head away. 

“I’m sure if I enjoyed it as much as you say I did, I would have called you back by now Kate. So I would appreciate it if you would just back the fuck off and leave me the hell alone.” You push back, shoving her hands off the door leading her to stumble back at the force. You step away from the door and go to leave but her hand wraps tightly around your sleeve. 

“Wait, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come across so rude and pervy. I just really like you Y/N. Please, can we talk about this?” She asks softly but her hand is still wrapped tightly around you. 

“I think you should let go of her before I do something about it.” That warm soft voice makes you close your eyes in sweet relief as Lizzie rushes forward ready to step in while Scarlett tries to talk her down, but Kate releases your arm and throws her hands up in surrender as you hear more footsteps enter the bathroom door, knowing that Sarah and Cate have also joined her. 

“I wasn’t trying to hurt her, we were just talking. Right, Y/N?” Her eyes piercing into your own, making you feel sick. 

Instead of answering her you turn towards Lizzie and hold onto her bicep gently as you avoid the others gaze on you.

“Can we just go?” You beg, watching as she glares down at the woman behind you. You hear a scoff  from Kate which makes you turn back around in questioning. She shakes her perfectly long blonde hair flabbergasted as she eyes your hand on Lizzie. 

“So, it’s not that you didn’t enjoy our date it’s because your fucking your co-star.” She spats, her eyes darken as she continues to make allegations on your relationship with Lizzie. 

“Now wait a minute lady, you have no right in being here let alone making silly accusations because Y/N wouldn’t date you.” Sarah jumps to your defence while Lizzie remains silent next to you, making you frown at her lack of response. 

‘Surely she would shut those allegations down’ You think, confused by her silence. 

“Sarah’s right, I think you should leave before I call security over and they throw your ass out of here.” Cate says angrily, you're shocked by her tone knowing that she is usually the one to remain calm and professional, even during confrontation. Kate laughs humorlessly before stepping closer towards you, eyeing your form however this time she looks at you in disdain. 

“You are welcome to have her. She was only good for one thing, anyway.” She riles, smirking as she waits for you to retaliate but before you could argue back a fist moves past your face and into Kate’s cheek making her stumble back in shock as Scarlett launches forward to grab a hold of Lizzie to stop her from attacking her again while Sarah grabs you to remove you from the situation. 

“Liz enough! Do you want the press to get whiff of this? They would eat you alive.” Scar shouts, keeping a tight hold around Lizzie’s waist. Whispering reassurance words into her ear as she struggles against her hold. 

“You talk about her like that again, I’ll do more than leave a cut up lip.” Lizzie threatens quietly. Cate intervenes to keep Kate at bay and to take control of the situation. 

“Okay! Sarah, take Y/N to clean up  and Scarlett, please get her out of here and maybe see someone who can check her knuckles or something. I’ll take care of this one.” She orders leaving no room for questions.  The soft arm around your waist pulls slightly to bring your attention back to your friend.

“Come on, Y/N. Let’s go, sweetheart.” She whispers into hair, you nod in acknowledgement before letting her guide you out of there. You lock eyes with Lizzie for a split second hoping to find some answers but the subtle shake of her head tells you that conversation isn’t happening anytime soon. 

Sarah takes you over to one of the booths at the back of the club, away from the crowd. You feel stares from all angles -knowing that the fight inside the bathroom was anything but quiet, making you blush at their judging stares but Sarah keeps a firm hold on you in solidarity whispering encouraging words into your ear.

“Ignore them, Y/N. They just want something to gossip about. Let’s sit down and have a drink, yeah?” She asks, gesturing to the bartender for another round of shots. 

Once sat inside the booth, you both down the shots from the tray and sit in comfortable silence while watching the party goers who have now lost interest in your drama.  

You can see Sarah shift around as she clears her throat, clearly wanting to say something to you, but trying her best to refrain. 

“Just spit it out, Paulson.” You sigh, tiredly. 

“Okayyy... So, you wanna tell me why Lizzie decided to go all knight in shining woman on your ass? Not that I’m not grateful for her interference because if she hadn’t stepped in, I was gonna,” she rambled, the alcohol clearly hitting her. 

“Nothing is going on between me and Lizzie, I don’t know why Kate said it. Probably just jealous that I’d prefer pretty much anyone else’s company. Lizzie and I are just friends, nothing more nothing less.” You swear, already screaming to yourself how untrue that is. 

“Y/N, I’m going to be honest with you. Working with the two of you over the past six months has made me realise that your ‘just friends’ statement is bullshit. I see the way you look at each other, the way she is constantly looking out for you. You’re like magnets whenever you're in the same room.” She smiles warmly when she finds your eyes “I’m sorry, but I don’t look at my friends the way you look at each other.” Sarah confesses, her eyes full of understanding showing no judgement. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sarah. She doesn’t want me, you heard Kate. Apparently, I’m only useful for one thing. She deserves so much more,” You sulk, self doubt slowly creeping its way through into your mind. 

“You are not used goods, darling. You deserve all the happiness in the world and that includes her. Now stop your sulking and give us a smile or do I need to go back onto the dancefloor and make a fool of myself?” She teases, nudging you playfully before thrusting her chest out to the beat of the music making you laugh at her silly behaviour. 

After that you decide to stick around a little longer, mainly to keep an eye out for Lizzie and Scarlett. Cate had returned to the booth with a frustrated frown in place making you feel guilty that your friend had to sort out the mess that you caused. 

“That woman has to be the most infuriating person I have ever met. I’ve never wanted to hit a woman before but she-” You interrupt her ranting by throwing your arms around her and whispering a ‘thank you,’ before placing a grateful kiss to her temple while retreating back into your seat. 

“I’m Australian, I’ve broken up worse fights, Y/N.” She jokes, before grabbing her drink and taking a sip. 

Your friends continue to joke back and forth hoping to keep the lighter topics running, but your eyes can’t help but wander around the room hoping to catch a glimpse of brunette hair and red dress. You relax and sigh in relief once your eyes land on the certain duo heading your way. A sudden wave of anxiety creeps in at the thought of having to act like nothing had happened and that you had some unfinished business with Lizzie which you knew, would have to be discussed sooner rather than later. 

“I think I’m just going to call it a night,” you address the two in the booth, standing ready. They protest at your announcement but understand why once they see Lizzie approach the table. You hug them both tightly and promise them that you will message them in the morning before leaving the booth area. However, the hand that wraps around your elbow tells you, you haven’t managed to avoid Lizzie. 

“Are you going home?” Her voice hurt, realising you were about to leave without saying goodbye. 

“Oh, umm- yeah. I’m pretty tired and it’s been a long day.” You stutter, keeping your eyes on the cut that marks her soft skin. 

“Oh well, let me grab my coat and we can go.” She says, letting go of your arm. 

“I- Umm.” 

“You forgot I was staying at yours tonight,” She says softly, a small smirk in place but you can tell by her eyes that she’s upset. 

“No, of course not! Sorry, just a lot has happened tonight. I guess my mind was somewhere else.” You try to cover. 

“Okay, well let me grab my coat and we can leave.” She repeats before turning to Scarlett and hugging her close before repeating the same with Cate and Sarah who have left the booth to see what the hold up was. Scarlett places her hand upon your shoulder, gaining your attention. 

“Take it easy on her, she may be my best friend but she’s stubborn as hell. I hope you guys can work it out,” She requests before pulling you in for a brief hug. 

You awkwardly exit the building with Lizzie next to you, both rushing towards the car to avoid the paparazzi still surrounding the building. You both sit in silence in the back of the vehicle debating on what to say, you can feel Lizzie’s eyes on you. 

That overwhelming feeling of guilt creeps up again as you think about the bathroom incident and how she stuck up for you, and you hadn’t even thanked her. 

You slowly reach your hand across the middle seat and place your pinkie on top of her stroking lightly across her skin, you feel her remove her hand and grab a hold of your own fully in silent comfort. 

Once outside your open apartment, you both silently enter the building and make your way into the kitchen area. You finally break the silence. 

“I still have a spare set of your clothes from last time, I can put them into the spare room for you if you like?” You ask trying to sound casual at the statement. She smirks softly at you before taking a seat at the kitchen island and removing her heels. 

“A fresh pair of pyjamas sound amazing right now,” she mumbles tiredly, leaning against her forearms on the counter. You smile softly at her adorable tried expression. 

“Okay sleepyhead, go and get ready for bed. If you need me I’ll be in my room, you know where everything is right?” 

“Of course, I do. It’s like my second home.” She answers softly, making your heart flutter at her statement. You falter in your steps as you move past her towards the hallway. Turning your head slightly you finally acknowledge her actions from earlier. 

“I never thanked you for standing up for me before, I really appreciate it Liz.” You thank her. She turns in her seat to look at you with an unreadable expression. 

“Of course, Y/N. I’d do anything for you.” Her statement makes you blush and fluster as you nod quickly before exiting the room and towards your bedroom. 

‘Just friends my ass’ 

***

You spit the last traces of toothpaste into the sink when you hear a soft knock at your bedroom door announcing Lizzie’s presence. You quickly wipe your mouth of any excess toothpaste before making your way to your door. She stands timidly in her satin lace shorts and thin strapped top, her hair flows down her covered chest, making her look younger. 

“I know it’s late, but I was hoping we could talk?” She tentatively asks. You gulp at the thought before nodding your head and letting her into your room.

You stand awkwardly by the door as she settles onto the edge of the bed. Her hands brush over your soft throw picking at the material as if trying to gather her thoughts. 

“I should have said something earlier about Kate’s comment. She was out of order saying that about you and I was just so angry I-” 

“Lizzie, it’s okay.” You interrupt, your feet finally moving. “You did a lot more than you realise,” She shakes her head at your attempt to reassure her. 

‘God, why was this so difficult?’ You sigh tiredly making your way to your bed, you could feel your heart reverberating in your ears. 

“No, I should have defended you when she accused you of not like her because you were sleeping with me.” She looks at your eyes intently and you inhale deeply at the regret those green orbs held. “I guess I just thought, would it be so bad if I just let her think that, let her think you were mine?“ Her voice trails off, as your eyes widen at her confession. 

“Liz I-” 

“I’m in love with you, Y/N. And it has been driving me insane not being able to tell you.” She accommodates herself so her body faces your own. “I understand the world we live in and I know it can be harsh, especially in our line of work. But screw that and screw them. I love you and I hope I’m right in assuming you love me too,” Her voice trembles towards the end of her confession, her eyes looking up towards you as silent tears fall down her soft cheeks. 

‘Screw them indeed.’ You think. The longing in your chest finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

You smile crookedly at her before moving, crouching in front of her sad form taking both her hands into your own. A giggle escapes you as you place a delicate kiss on her bruised knuckle. 

“I’m in love with you too, my very own rocky.” You tease, watching as she laughs through the free falling tears. 

You can’t hold it anymore. Succumbing to your desires, you launch forward and place a gentle kiss to her full soft lips before pulling back enough to whisper against her lips. 

“Now I think my knight in shining armour deserves an award, hm?” You flirt, watching her eyes darken at your suggestion as you throw her a dirty grin. 

“Yes, an award... right,”