#the restaurant staff forgot orders while they were cooking them

[twoninetieskids]

We’re assuming this is what the park employees look like on the inside, halfway through the season.

[luxora]

EXO -> {Android AU} -> First Meeting

Requested: No

Group: EXO

Genre: Angst. Fluff.

Warning: Abandonment. Android stuff. Swearing. Some social hierarchies. Mention of drinking. Slight mention of nsfw.

A/N: Still kinda new with the android au, please feel free to help me out!

Xiumin

Minseok gathered the dishes onto the tray and took them back to the kitchen, discarding them into the sink to begin cleaning them while the chefs and other cooking staff were shouting orders to one another giving different instructions. As one of the android staff, it was his responsibility to clean the dishes and to ensure all utensils and such were available to all of the chefs and clean for immediate use.

It was a rather tedious job, but Minseok was expected to do it, therefore he did it without complaint. He was used to the routine of cleaning and so he had no distractions from his work as he fulfilled his task over and over.

“Minseok! Get over here already!”

Except there seemed to be a sudden change for now.

Minseok glanced up and realised that the sous chef was calling for him, so he discarded the latest dish he was cleaning before taking a drying cloth and walking over to the sous chef while he was impatiently tapping his foot.

“Took you long enough. I need you to get these dishes to the table 13, the bloody waiter forgot to take them with and we are packed enough as is.” He said, indicating towards the plates with steaming hot food on them. Minseok frowned and looked at the chef.

“But my job is-”

“I don’t care what your job is! We are understaffed and need to get the food out of the bloody kitchen! Take them and go!”

While it was true that one of the employees had fallen ill today, it was quite a change in Minseok’s routine to be interacting with the customers as usually the restaurant kept him in the kitchen where he belonged. After all, androids were supposed to do the grunt work of most businesses. But since it was a direct order, he had to fulfill it. So without wasting another second, Minseok grabbed two serving trays and loaded the plates on them before walking out of the kitchen and into the dining area of the restaurant.

Since Minseok often was the one that closed up the restaurant in the late hours of the evening, he knew exactly which table was located and so he easily walked over to the table which had a group of friends sitting at it, all chattering with one another as they waited for their food. They immediately looked up with Minseok arrived at their table.

“I apologize for the wait. We are currently understaffed so I was ordered to deliver your orders. I hope you do not mind.”

Minseok individually handed each meal to the respective client, not really paying mind to their gawking faces as they watched him give them their food, though when Minseok placed the final plate in front of the last customer, a hand on top of his made him pause from pulling away entirely. He glanced up and locked eyes with them.

“I have never seen you before. Are you new?”

Minseok was not used to interacting with clients. He was used to getting yelled at by the staff but other than that, he did not interact much with other humans. So he just shook his head, hoping it was the right thing to do.

“No. I have worked here for two years. I am the dishwasher.”

One of the other clients guffawed.

“Pssh, its a droid washer. They must be really understaffed to resort to sending him out.”

Minseok ducked his head down, knowing that the client was right, but then he lifted it again in surprise when a harsh voice was heard, although not directed to him for the first time in his life.

“Oh shut up. You’re just jealous that you’re not as good looking as him. Stop being a jackass.” Minseok’s eyes widened in surprise, even more so when he was the centre of attention again. “I’m so sorry about him. Can I at least know your name?”

...

“Minseok.” He said, making them smile.

“I’m Y/N, I hope I can see you more often Minseok.”

“I...sure.” Minseok said, unsure on what else to say before he removed himself entirely from the table, walking back to the kitchen to continue his previous work of washing the dishes.

Suho

“You will care for the children and my wife when I am out. I will not tolerate any incompetence, do you understand you piece of tin?”

Junmyeon simply stared at his master, his face set to be blank as he listened to the orders, being a recent purchase by him in order to fulfill his role as a father and carer to his family while he was overseas conducting business. Jungmyeon was designed to be a carer of sorts to families, replacing the human nannies and babysitters as they had a better use and energy to keep up with the high energy of children.

Since androids did not sleep, they could be up at all hours to deal with children, hence they were very popular in the household demographics, especially with the high status households that have two or three children that needed a carer while their parents were working.

However since he was just an android, he was not given the courtesy of respect by his human master, not that it was out of the ordinary as androids were not citizens like humans. They were simply tools designed to serve humans.

“I understand sir.”

His master spared him a disgusted look before turning his head in the direction of the front door which just opened, a smile gracing his face when two pairs of muffled footsteps were hurrying in the direction to where they were standing.

“Daddy!”

“Dad!”

Two voices called out to the master and Junmyeon watched as two children appeared around the corner, about a four year age difference between them, smiling widely and launching themselves in his master’s arms.

“Hello my little princess and prince! How was school?” His master asked, his voice much sweeter than the one which he had used when speaking to Junmyeon.

“It was great! The teacher gave me 100% for the test I wrote last week!” The oldest child said, a bright smile on his face.

“Miss Kim gave me a gold star today for my drawing! She is it was really good!” The younger one said, one of her front teeth revealed to be missing as she smiled at her father.

“Oh that is wonderful! Well done you two!” The master praised, giving both of his children a hug before standing up to greet the next figure who entered the room, whom Junmyeon noticed immediately as she locked eyes with him the second she stepped into the room.

“Honey, just who is this?”

His master glanced back at Junmyeon before looking at his wife, smiling as he walked past his children to give her a kiss, leaving the children to openly stare at Jungmyeon as they realised that he was standing in the middle of the living room.

“I decided to buy us an android to help around with the kids and the house. I’m gone so often and I wanted to give you something to help you out. Surprise darling.”

You furrowed your eyebrows at your husband’s explanation and turned back to stare at Junmyeon, which prompted him to bow deeply to you as he has now learnt that you were his new mistress.

“I am Junmyeon ma’am, Model EXO, I will be at you disposal any time of day. I hope I will be of a great assistance to you.”

You cocked your head at him, raising an eyebrow, but Junmyeon did not have much of a chance to further converse with you as the two children suddenly crashed into his legs, asking him a dozen questions at the same time while staring at him with open curiosity.

It seemed that his job was to begin immediately, he will probably converse with you later on, but for now he was to tend to the children’s questions to make them comfortable with his presence in the household.

Lay

Yixing stared out into the distance, the evening lights of the city being the only proof of living life at night, lighting up the city in a majestic show of colours and liveliness.

But he did not enjoy looking it.

Not too long ago, he was one of the occupants of said houses, however now, he was all but a runaway android which was probably being reported to the android patrol to try capture him, all because of his decision.

Yixing did the unthinkable for an android, which consisted of him running away from his service. When purchased and employed to a human, an android is expected to remain loyal and dedicated to their duties and to their owners, and was expected to fulfill every single task that was given to them, no question asked. But Yixing was an exception because he rebelled the expectations and obligations of androids by running away and there was only one place for rebellious androids like him.

The Chop Shop.

The Chop Shop was the place which every android feared because it was a place which meant permanent disservice. They will be dismantled and have their parts destroyed in order to remove any evidence of their existence, the scraps taken to be reformed into something else, probably for appliances like toasters of microwaves.

An android getting sent to the Chop Shop meant their erasure, and Yixing did not want to fall into that fate, and yet it seemed to be the only one for him because he had nothing else to do. He was but a runaway that was going to be searched for, because unattended androids cannot be trusted in this society. Humans feared on what they would do if they were not under their control.

Yixing sighed, ducking his head as he leaned heavily on the railing of the building roof, shaking his head as he tried to think of a solution of his situation, and yet he could not come up with anything. It was hopeless, there was only a matter of time before he was going to get caught, just what was he supposed to do when he was literally on the run?

“Smooth like butter, like a criminal undercover-” A new voice suddenly caught Yixing’s attention, making him whirl around to see the door to the roof open and reveal a new individual, someone who seemed to be a little bit tipsy given the slurring of the words they were singing. “Gon' pop like trouble breaking into your heart like that- AH!”

You immediately tumbled to the floor when you realised that you were not alone on the roof, staring at Yixing with wide eyes as he stared back at you, startled by your sudden floor. The bottle which you were drinking from tumbled from your hand to the floor, spilling all of its contents which eventually caught your attention as you let out a anguished wail.

“Oh nooooo! That was the good stuff!” You wailed, looking mournfully at the now empty alcohol bottle. You then whipped around to glare at him, startling him from the intensity. “You owe me a new beer!”

“...Pardon?”

While Yixing has seen plenty of eccentric individuals in his occupations, many of them becoming more eccentric under the influence of alcohol, he was never a direct object of attention when one became drunk, so he was surprised to be directly spoken to like right now, a bit wrathfully in fact. You stumbled up to your feet and walked over him, a little unevenly, before grabbing him by the shirt and shoving a finger in his face.

“You. Owe. Me. A. Beer.” You growled, cheeks flushed from your consumption, hiccuping slightly before glaring at him again. “And a good one too. I’m not going to accept some cheap shit.”

“...I don’t have money.” Yixing suddenly said, making you guffaw in disbelief.

“Oh please, there is no way someone as hot as you has no money!”

“What did you-”

“Come on pretty boy! You are getting me a new beer!”

Without a warning, you suddenly tugged Yixing by the shirt to the roof entrance, intent on getting him to pay for your next drink, while he simply stared at you in shock and allowed himself to be pulled away from the roof and his space of contemplation.

Baekhyun

Baekhyun paused when he heard a pained cry from the alleyway, making his pause from his chore of collecting his master’s packages from the shop. He glanced in the alleyway, not able to make out much due to its darkness, but he heard scuffling within it, along with some curses which immediately raised his concern levels.

He glanced around to see if anyone else had heard the noises, but like usual, people just walked about their merry ways without taking notice of their surroundings, or rather, of others which may be in trouble. While Baekhyun was expected to return to his master’s home immediately after collecting his packagers, he glanced back to the alleyway in contemplation before finally making a decision.

Baekhyun hid his master’s packages behind some abandoned boxes before venturing into the alleyway, following the scuffled sounds until he came across the sight of two men surrounding a woman, who seemed to be bleeding from her arm as she clutched at it while pressing herself against the wall. Baekhyun then noticed that one of the men was wielding a knife and it seemed to have traces of blood along its blade, and he was busy taunting the woman with it.

“Just give it up sweet cheeks, no one is going to come save you now.“

The man was armed and was clearly in a violent mood, he was the most dangerous one to deal with, but luckily no body harm could really come to Baekhyun given his status. So with silent footsteps, Baekhyun just walked up to the man and grabbed him by the wrist, gripping it tightly before twisting the man’s arm, making him cry in pain.

“You don’t need this.” Baekhyun said simply before ripping the knife away and shoving the man to the floor before turning to his friends which realised that they had just been interrupted by someone else.

They rushed Baekhyun, but with practiced ease, Baekhyun dodged their apparent blows and efficiently dealt with them with only minimal injuries. It was very fortunate that his programming included the knowledge to know how to defend himself, especially given he had the role of a protector due to his master’s occupation. Once he dealt with the assailants, he turned to you, who watched him in shock at his easy disabling of the men.

“Are you okay ma’am?” He asked, taking a step towards you but pausing when you flinched at his approaching figure. He stopped in his tracks at your flinch, and then raised his hands to show he meant no harm to you. “I promise ma’am, I will not hurt you.”

You eyed him up and down, obviously taking in his figure and contemplating if what he was saying was true. Baekhyun reset himself in his default position, standing straight with his hands folded politely in front of him, his eyes locked on your figure as you continue to check him out. Eventually it seemed you decided that he was trustworthy enough and you held out your hand to him, it being quite bloody due to holding it against your wounded arm.

“Can you help me up? Please?” Baekhyun nodded.

“Certainly.”

Baekhyun walked towards you and lifted you to your feet, eyes scanning your body to notice any other injuries that you may had sustained during the tussle. The obvious injury was the cut to your arm, and he noticed that your legs seemed quite bruised, your ankle looking quite swollen as if you had sprained. His assumption was proven to be correct as you tried to take a step forward with the injured ankle and immediately winced at the pain, suddenly grabbing Baekhyun to prevent yourself from falling.

“Dammit!” You cursed under your breath, making Baekhyun frown as he continued to stare at your ankle.

“It seems that you are unable to walk.” He deduced, causing you to glare at him.

“I can walk! It’s just...I twisted it when I tried running away, and...it hurts to work.”

“...I see.” Baekhyun stared at you for a moment, glanced at your ankle, and then back at your face. He made his decision. “Please excuse me.”

Without further warning, Baekhyun knelt down and scooped you up into his arms like a princess, carrying you out of the alleyway without hesitance while you spluttered in embarrassment as he carried you.

Chen

Androids were often the most ideal things to have when it came to admin work, because due to their supreme databases and their ability of absorbing and memorizing an infinite amount of data. One of the most popular jobs for an android was secretary work, as they organized, prepared, and ensured that all paperwork and admin was dealt with, along with making any organizations for clients and business partners alike. They were especially ideal due to their lack of need to sleep, so they literally operated 24/7 and ensured that a business ran as smoothly as possible.

Jongdae was a very ideal secretary for his own, especially since they were a rather laid-back person. He did not like improving his own self-wroth, but Jongdae believed that if he was to suddenly be removed from his position, the company may just crumble in terms of admin management as Jongdae had organized it in such away, that it was impeccable and easy, but only if you understood his organization system.

His boss did not involve Jongdae in their personal matters, as a secretary android had no place to know about the private matters of their owner. His only duty was to the company, therefore he was to focus solely on that. So Jongdae did not know the happenings of his boss unless it was connected to the company in some way, so he did not know about his boss’s dalliances until they came storming through the company demanding to see them, such as right now.

The name of his boss was screamed past your lips, making Jongdae snap his attention up from his desk to see you storming in his direction, eyes intently locked on the door which lead to his boss’s office. Jongdae immediately stood up to intercept.

“I am sorry, but you cannot come in here-”

“Get out of the way you stupid bot! You have no idea what they did to me!”

You moved to shoulder past him, but Jongdae easily grabbed you by the arm and forced you backwards, a hard look on his face as he stared at you.

“I am afraid that I cannot allow you to enter. They are currently in a very important meeting, and any disturbance will-”

“Screw their bloody meeting! Just like they screwed me and completely left with nothing than a fucking hotel bill!”

Ah, one of the dalliances, Jongdae thought to himself. While he was not involved with his boss’s private affair, he has seen plenty of scorned lovers storming the office seeking for justice, and it seemed that you were the latest victim of his boss’s amorous ways.

“Well, I apologize for what they have put you through, but I am afraid that I am unable to let you enter their office during an important meeting.

“You and your complete lack of consideration!” You yelled, viciously trying to wiggle out of his grim but Jongdae kept his grip firm on you.

“I’m afraid I am going to have to ask you to leave. The noise you are making will most likely distract my boss from their meeting.

“You are literally the worst!”

You placed your hands on Jongdae’s chest and shoved him hard, doing it hard enough so that you could pull out of his grip. He prepared himself to stop you from lunging for the boss’s door again, but instead he was met with frustrated sobs. He watched as tears streamed down your cheek, which you wiped away viciously with quick curses.

Wiping at your cheeks, you gave Jongdae one last scathing glare before storming away, entering the elevator and stabbing one of the buttons before finally disappearing behind its closed doors, leaving Jongdae behind as he stared after you, wondering on what you could possibly due next after attempting to invade his boss’s office was unsuccessful.

Chanyeol

The club lights were flickering irritatingly and shining in Chanyeol’s eyes every few seconds. He actually was rather tempted to rip them out from their sockets in order to stop their irritating shining, but alas he was unable to do so as he was simply a bouncer who had to keep his eyes on the dancing crowd to ensure that nothing too rowdy happened in the building.

Androids were often ideal bouncers to have, or for body guards in general, because they were literally designed to protect humans from any dangers. They were very difficult to damage, and were programmed to know how to defend themselves and others quickly and efficiently in order to carry out maximum protection.

So one would have to think twice to pick a fight with an android, as they quite literally had unlimited strength and energy that they could outmatch and outlast any human in a fight.

Since Chanyeol was incredibly tall, an aspect of his design which made him a product of interest, he could easily watch over the crowd and pick out any individuals that he believed was becoming too rowdy. Even though clubs were available for rowdiness, there was a line and Chanyeol had to make sure to deal with the individuals who decided to cross those lines.

And when he saw a group of men surrounding two girls in the corner of the club, Chanyeol immediately set towards them as he recognize the signs easily. When he got close enough, he saw two men trying to grab at the women, taunting them drunkenly as their words were slightly slurred.

“Come on, you know you like it.”

“Yeah come on doll, come with us and we will show you a good time.”

“Piss off!” One woman screamed, striking one man across the face while pushing her friend behind her to protect her. The man which was struck immediately raised his fist to hit back.

“Why you bloody-”

Before he could lay a hand on anyone, Chanyeol had the mans fist in his hand and was threatening to break it while twisting his arm behind the man’s back to completely subdue him.

“That is enough.” Chanyeol growled, immediately making the other man wary as they realised that Chanyeol was one of the bouncers. But clearly the man being held didn’t realize this as he immediately began squirming.

“Let go you bastard! Let me go or I will-”

Chanyeol tightened his grip on the man’s fist, feeling the bones strain under the intense pressure. The man immediately wailed in pain.

“I believe it is time for you to leave.”

Chanyeol signaled for the other bouncers to gather the others, turning to spare a glance at the women he rescued from embarrassment. He locked eyes with you, the one who had struck the man in the first place, and nodded at you.

“Great strike. You seem like someone who can handle themself well.”

You blinked at his sudden talking to you, but realizing that he was complimenting you, you smiled.

“Thank you, I go to the gym a lot so-”

“I can see that. Very impressive.”

Chanyeol offered you a smile before turning his attention back to the man and dragging him out the club, the club crowd immediately parting ways for him and the other android bouncers as they removed the scum from the building.

D.O.

The bus stop which Kyungsoo was using for shelter hardly provided him with anything, the harsh wind being sure to shower him with the stabbing raindrops at it hit in all directions and angles. Even though he could easily regulate his own body temperature due to his programming, he was unable to because he has been unable to go for maintenance.

Every android needs to go for maintenance, but sadly Kyungsoo was unable to because he happened to be a scrap android which had managed to avoid going to the Chop Shop, the end for all androids.

Kyungsoo was originally the carer for an elderly woman, being purchased and employed for her by one of her children, however she unfortunately passed away due to natural causes. Kyungsoo had called and informed the children of their mother’s deaths, and assumed that he will be employed into their households after serving his duty at their mother’s house.

But instead they signed him up for the Chop Shop, not interested in having an android in their homes when they could just get a new and improved one rather than a model such as his. Even though he wasn’t really that old, he had nothing compared to the new models, and so he was sent to become scrap metal, but fortunately he managed to slip away before he could become nothing but metal bits and sheets.

However even though it was a victory for him to continue existing, it proved to be futile because his lack of maintenance meant that he had to endure the cruelties that humans usually have to suffer due to their humanness. Androids were superior in that sense, able to have full control of their bodies in all aspects, but now Kyungsoo was almost at their level, but still even lower because androids were not equal to humans, not by a long shot.

He trembled from the cold, and a sudden shock went through his body, making him clutch at her arm which was slightly exposed to the rain, proving to be very dangerous to him because his mechanics could become damaged from the rain and affect a lot of his systems.

“Dammit.” Kyungsoo cursed to himself, trying his best to protect himself from the rain and cold, but it was proven to be futile because he was wet all over and had nothing to use at his disposal to improve his circumstances. Kyungsoo had all but given up hope when thunder began to strike through the air, but then a voice called out to him, reaching his ears despite the loud sound of the storm.

“Hey! You there! What the hell do you think you are doing?!” Kyungsoo glanced up and saw that there was a car parked in front of the bus stop, a window down and a person staring at him from the drivers side, their eyebrows furrowed as they took in Kyungsoo and his wet state.

“Are you homeless or choosing to stay outside in weather like this?” You called out, looking at Kyungsoo as if he had grow a second head or third arm, which made him smile slightly before he shook his head.

He has done a pretty good job avoiding humans since escaping from the Chop Shop due to the fact that one of them might know him and could report him to the android patrol to send him back. But now it was dark and rainy, so he was confident that he won’t be reported due to the big effort it will take to brave the weather conditions to capture an android like him. It would be a waste of time and effort and could lead to a sickness.

He wasn’t worth it.

Beep

Kyungsoo jumped at the sound of your car horn and looked at you in shock when you had suddenly pushed open the passenger door that was facing him and now had a look of impatience on your face as you stared at him.

“Are you going to keep staring or jump in? It’s freezing! Hurry up already!”

Kyungsoo stared, completely taken aback from your actions. Were you...offering him a ride? To where though? Why? Why would you do such a thing? You didn’t even know him, and yet-

Beep

“Hurry up!”

Perhaps it was because another shock went through his body or his natural submission to orders, but Kyungsoo got to his feet and hurried to your car, climbing in and slamming the door behind him and accepting the warmth and shelter had to provide.

Kai

Jongin raised a teasing eyebrow at the passerbys, pursing his lips and giving a subtle air kiss to the ladies as they walked past the establishment, making them giggle slightly before they carried on with their journey. While most androids were used as server or grunt workers on most businesses, Jongin was used more as an advertisement of sorts.

Androids hardly were treated the same as humans as they were essentially products that were sold to them in order to serve as workers, but like all products in the world, they needed to be advertised and Jongin happened to be that very advertisement.

Whoever needed a handsome android face to sell something, Jongin was ordered in to be the sexy advertisement. He wouldn’t say he was freelance so to say, as he belonged to an advertising agency, but he did have a little bit more freedom than most androids, especially given that all he needed to do is look good and sell things, or rather tempt others to sell things.

His design was remarkably beautiful, Jongin often hearing comments from people with how good looking he was, so he could perhaps consider himself in being one of the lucky androids whom does not need to be of service to humans in terms of being a carer or servant, but he was an android model who did his job very well, even though he was programmed to be a very dynamic model.

Most of the time, people did not even know that he was android, and Jongin tended to try keep it that way because most people turned away once they found out about his truth. Androids were not equal to humans and it was a fact which Jongin was reminded everyday, because no matter how charismatic and successful he is, he is reminded it is all because of his advantageous design and that he was created for the purpose to look good, it wasn’t natural like humans.

But he tried to ignore it. He just had to keep operating like he usual did. It was the only thing necessary.

Jongin looked at the crowd passing by the shot, trying to decipher his intended target, until he finally locked on the individual about to walk past the shop, trying to zip up their jacket to shield themselves from the chilly wind in the city. With a slick smile, Jongin slid in front of them with practiced ease and flashed them a smile as they stopped right in their tracks to avoid hitting them.

“So sorry to bother you, but would you care to try our new product. I promise that it will be very worthwhile.” He purred, emphasizing on the very while he smiled flirtatiously.

“...Just who on earth are you?” They asked in bewilderment, making him smile as he decided to go on with your bewilderment.

“I’m Jongin, and may I know your name? I’m sure it will match your astounding beauty.”

“...Does that work on all of the girls you try to sell things to?” You suddenly asked, making Jongin stumble slightly at your question. He attempted to smile at you again.

“Usually, but it seems that you may not be like most miss...?” He trailed on, hoping for a name. You raised an eyebrow at him but then side.

“L/N. Miss L/N. You haven’t earned the right to learn my first name.”

“And what must I do to earn such a right?” Jongin asked, cocking his head at you with interest. You smirked.

“Buy me a coffee.”

“I beg your pardon?” He stumbled, not expecting you to make such a demand.

“Buy me a coffee. I know that you are not going to let me go without telling me about this stupid thing you are trying to sell, so I might as well get a free cup of caffeine if I must listen to your whole tirade. If you’re lucky, you might even get my first name.”

You were no way like the usual people which Jongin deals with on a regular basis, and he had half the mind to just let you go and forget about this whole thing...and yet he was somewhat curious on what else he will learn about you. So with a grin, he offered his hand to you for a handshake.

“It’s a deal Miss L/N.” You reached out and took it with a grin of your own.

“Good.”

Sehun

Sehun stood solemnly just like he was expected to, staring straight ahead to the crowd who eyes him with keen interest. The executive of the whole operation spoke pompously, gesturing towards Sehun several times throughout his whole speech until he finally decided to approach Sehun personally, an ugly grin on his face as he grabbed Sehun’s jaw and forced him to look at the target which had been placed not to far from where he was standing, and he leaned in to whisper in his ear.

“Do what you are expected to do, otherwise I will have to have a word with the engineers about your next maintenance.”

Sehun hated maintenance.

He hated being switched off.

So he had to do what he was told, otherwise he will be switched off for a long while and have no idea what additionally features that the engineers will be adding to his body.

Sehun dutifully turned his body to face the target, raising his arm with practiced precision, activating his controls as a shimmering amount of energy began to form in his palm, his arm steadily shaking as he built up the energy before finally unleashing it, shooting a light beam right across the room and hitting the target directly in the middle, shooting a hole straight through it.

.

..

...

There was a stunned silence.

And then loud cheering.

Sehun turned to face the executive, his smile sick and greedy as he bowed to the crowd and then turned his head to spare a glance at Sehun, money signs practically forming in his eyes before he turned back to the crowd while rubbing his hands.

“Now who would like the first offer for him? We can start at a million!”

He was a state of the art android, one of the new and improved security ones to provide great safety to one’s home. Surely a lot of people will want to have a state of an art system like him, and so Sehun waited solemnly once again as number offers were screamed in the air, not paying mind to the possible future owner he might have.

“One billion.” A voice called out, making all the other offers die down immediately. That caught Sehun’s attention.

Sehun lifted his head to see a well-dressed person step in front of the entire crowd, their eyes gleaming as they locked with Sehun’s, meeting his steely gaze. And then he was met with a grin.

“One billion. I will pay it for him. Will that suffice?”

Even the executive was flabbergasted by the offer, almost looking like he was struggling to breathe due to the shock. It was quite odd to see the emotion on him. Sehun cocked his head to the side and gazed at the figure, which in turn caused them to walk towards him until they were right in front of them, smiling.

“Hello darling, I believe you will be working under me. I’m Y/N L/N, pleasure to meet you.”

You held out your hand to him, making him glance at it and frown. Nobody has ever offered to shake his hand before. It was an odd concept to think about. But since you were waiting for him to take it, he lifted his hand and took it, giving it a firm shake.

“Pleasure.” He said, making your smile widen.

“I hope you don’t mind me making an assumption, but I believe you and I will get along very well in the near future.”

Sehun just nodded at you, unsure on what else to say given the circumstances.

“I believe you.” He decided, which made you grin even more before turning to look at the executive, traces of you smile appealing in an instant.

“I will take him as is. Any packaging is unnecessary.”

Even though it was not proper to think, Sehun couldn’t help but smile slightly at the stammering and gaping at you before he hastily nodded and them slammed the gavel down to announce that Sehun has been sold to you. You noticed his smile, making you reflect one back to him before patting him on the shoulder.

He may just perhaps enjoy being under the employment of someone like you, he might say he looks forward to it.

[pianostarinwonderland]

Birthday Azul Story Details and Thoughts

I think I’m finally calm enough to be able to relay my thoughts on the lore we got from Azul’s story. So we’ll go through the details in order that they were brought up, and in bullet points, I may detail my thoughts ranging from pure keysmash to actual questions and theories.

I will place most of the post under a cut because this may get a bit long. Do note also that this contains spoilers for his birthday story so take caution.

Azul’s birthday parties are celebrated with the family and the staff. The restaurant would close for a day or two, and they will have a celebration where all of his favorite foods are laid out onto a table. While now, he thinks it may have been too much, as a child, this made him very happy.

First off, I FEEL SO SOFT OVER THIS;;; before his birthday card got released, I always thought Azul might not like his birthday because what if he associated it with the bullying he endured and maybe his bullies managed to ruin it. But nO, he actually had a happy birthday... no, multiple happy birthdays, and I’m just so fucking glad because HE CAN AT LEAST ENJOY HIS BIRTHDAY UEUEUEUEUE

It’s also very sweet how the staff would join in the celebration!! It’s so cute, and the way Azul talks about them gives that idea that he includes them as family;;;

Azul’s mom manages the restaurant. Her business started out small, but by the time Azul was able to understand the world around him more (I’m going to guess at least around 8 years old), the restaurant is now the most famous in the Coral Sea and many of the staff are professionals. Furthermore, she is not only an excellent cook, but also a genius manager. She’s also invested in the Mostro Lounge.

First off, I stan his mom

No wonder why Azul’s so good with what he does, he has a really successful and badass mom

It’s actually sweet that Azul calls her a genius cook and manager and includes the staff as family despite having an apparent dislike for the restaurant itself.

Also like, the fact his mom apparently helps him with the lounge?? Like brooo that mother-son relationship is sexy

As someone who would lean to mom more for help than dad, this really makes me feel so... is happy even a perfect word to describe it? I guess it’s just, wow more similarities to share with Azul I guess. 😳

This actually made me remember an essay I had to do in grade 7 HAHAHAHA it was about women leaders. I forgot what exactly I wrote, but part of my research was centered on how women were better in business than men. A quick Google search will lead you to an article that states that women are more honest, more empathetic and collaborative, and more resilient (having faced discrimination and all that), and the article also shows that women-run businesses generate more revenue than men-run businesses. I say take those details with a grain of salt unless you can prove that all of it is true. It’s not to say there aren’t successful men. Anyway, some people have a business-y mind and others don’t. I really just brought this up because it was funny how I remembered this. 😆

And I thought I would never use my school essays again.

I doubt she knows about the shadier side of the deals xD no matter how mature Azul tries to be, teenagers will be teenagers and will hide stuff from their parents

Azul’s father... is not actually his biological father but his stepfather. He is a lawyer who met his mom when she was filing for her divorce. While he is a kind and sincere man in general, in his work ethic, he is very thorough and flawless. He’s the one who taught Azul all about contracts and law.

Now here is the explanation as to how Azul knows about drafting contracts xD his dad knows about the law!

Even if he’s not his actual dad, I’ll still refer to him as dad because the kanji says stepfather but Azul calls him father. At least, that’s what my JP friend said. Point is, Azul respects him enough to include him as part of the family, and I actually really like that?? Not many media would depict characters liking their stepparents, but here, Azul is actually comfy with him. It’s like taking in a fresh breath of air.

I find it amusing that his mom probably married her divorce lawyer. xD I say probably because it technically wasn’t stated and for all we know, she had an entirely different lawyer and she just saw him around lmao though then again, idk how the divorce process works 💀

This puts a lot of things into perspective, both in regards to Azul’s mom and Azul himself. First off, his mom literally raised her son (who was being bullied in school) while filing a divorce and managing a business that was small. She’s gone through so much man, and now look at her! Her business is successful, her new husband is a kind man who is accepted by her son, and she’s got all this good staff.

As for Azul himself, this is more focused on the bullying side. From the way he talked, it seemed like he was already there when the divorce occurred... actually, even before that. Obviously, there’s a reason why his mom filed a divorce. Could it be that his household environment was toxic because his parents often argued? Possibly, it could be worse...

And it could be because of that that he couldn’t share his problems to his parents. Actual dad seemed like a jackass and his mom was probably stressed out because of him. Having these things in mind, he would shy away from them because he didn’t want to get either of them mad or anything.

I wonder if the business got successful when his mom remarried or after she remarried because that’s the idea I’m getting, but it’s all based on assumption. And if I am correct, that means by the time his mom remarried, Azul’s already pretty much deep into the spite he feels for his bullies. Which is sad if ever my theories on this are right;;; had Azul have a better home life earlier on... well, who knows?

Everyone in the family can use magic, but Azul’s grandmother is especially talented with magic. She uses them to help others.

Jeez, what’s with all the grandmas in Twst being so magically talented? At this rate, they’re going to be the final bosses of the game.

But seriously, Malleus has his grandmother who is the Queen of the Valley of Thorns. Now we have Azul’s grandmother, whom he described as someone benevolent... and take note, this is how he describes the Sea Witch often.

Definitely, the grandma and the Sea Witch are not the same person because Azul is a fanboy of the Sea Witch lmao and he’d have called her his grandma kek (plus idk if the Sea Witch is still alive). But just... the similarities are uncanny.

Plot twist: Azul is related to the Sea Witch because his actual dad is a direct descendant of her— shot

In the Mostro Lounge, Azul is very particular about the tableware because to him, the presentation is just as important as the taste. No matter how delectable the dish, it’s going to be ruined if the presentation is ugly. Because of this, their tableware comes from a high-quality brand. Despite this, Floyd sometimes breaks the tableware.

Holy shit, I never really thought about the tableware playing a role. But he really does have a point. Imagine eating something like beef wellington using a plastic spoon and fork. 💀

Ok, that is an exaggeration. But like, say you use the simple spoon and fork to eat your everyday meals. You’re not going to use those utensils when you have guests over, no, you’re going to use your nice tableware.

Damn, the few people I know who manage a restaurant are very particular about food presentation, but I think caring about it is a sign of a good manager. Azul cares about what he’s serving to the customers, and he isn’t about to give them something subpar. He may scam your ass, but he will make sure that customers enjoy the experience.

I’d be pissed off too if Floyd broke the tableware. That shit is expensive. 🗿 Don’t break things just because you’re moody smh

Azul also implies that the teacups are pricey, saying that we wouldn’t be holding the cup so carelessly if we knew the price. Guess that’s why the place is so damn expensive.

Azul brings up how difficult it was setting up. They had to research on famous restaurants, send staff to the suppliers, etc.

Ngl, I had to ask my dad about how difficult setting up a restaurant was because he used to run a restaurant. It’s just so I can get a good perspective of things, even if Azul’s business is essentially a student-run business.

He said that it really isn’t all that difficult, as long as you “know the numbers”. So I guess as long as you have your basic foundation, then you can go off from that. He also emphasized the importance of having good business partners.

I think what made it difficult for Azul was that he was pretty much running a fancy restaurant that isn’t just being bought from another brand, so it required a lot more research on how other famous restaurants worked, as well as who are the best suppliers around.

Ngl, I could kinda imagine how it looked like. Having to see the construction work, having to consult with a lot of people, having to ask for a lot of help...

But it really highlights Azul’s perserverance and determination. Despite the difficulties, he was able to open up a restaurant at 17, which may be mainly for NRC, but it also opens up to the public on some occasions. Damn, I stan that.

Azul takes breaks by reading autobiographies of businessmen he finds in the library in the dim lights of his room. His room also relaxes him because it contains his tastes in design and collectables.

I lowkey wanna clown him for reading autobiographies because damn, how do you find relaxation from reading about the lives of businessmen?

And then I proceed to clown myself because in a sense, I am analyzing his life and he is a businessman... but hey, at least we have pictures and voices. 🗿

Okay but I’m actually relieved that he does take breaks?? He does give that idea that he continuously does his work and has to be yanked out of his office to rest but no, he actually knows how to take a damn break... granted, he’s still trying to pursue business by reading up on those people, but hey, if it’s a passion, it’s not work. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I also like that this implies that he isn’t so conceited as to think that he’s already the best he can be. No, if anything, this shows that he’s aware that he has so much more to learn, and he can learn from reading up on the lives of others who have gone before him. Learn from their mistakes. He’s striving to improve, and that is so inspiring;;;;

Also can I just say this does fulfill one of the things I rot about because he definitely would visit the bookstore to read a book, and I used to visit the bookstore to read and imagine if we meet there aha ahahaha just kidding,,, unless,,,,,,

Azul’s hobby is coin collecting. When he was a child, he discovered a coin in a sunken ship. He thought it didn’t mean much, but after studying it, there’s only 100 of those made. While its face value was 100 madols, for a collector, it may as well be worth 500,000 madols. Currently, he has about 200 coins collected, and the ones he’s especially interested in, he frames them.

Damn, and I thought he likes coins because octopuses are into shiny things. I like that there’s more to it. Granted, it’s still Azul being Azul, but we love him nonetheless.

He said something about how the economy doesn’t affect the value of the coins? To be honest, my brain works so horribly with things related to economy that even simple business and economic jargon just fly over my head. It’s frustrating. 😔

I wonder if he wandered off into the sunken ship because he was running away from his bullies;;;

Furthermore, this also gives him a similarity with Ariel: they find things around and collect them lmao

Another hobby Azul has is board games. When he first started school, he was looking for a club to join when he stumbled upon the board game club and met Idia... though it’s more like he met Idia’s brother, Ortho. Ortho showed him a game that simulates business, and Azul thought that this would benefit him in the business world so he signed up immediately for it. He adds that he loves to defeat people in games of intellect.

Ortho, what have you done 💀 why did you show him Monopoly—

Damn, he really tries to apply business into everything, but I can’t blame him. XD

Okay, but wow, that’s sexy of him to love defeating people in intellect 😳😳 like bruh . I feel him??? I love planning on how to secure my victory in games. It’s especially fun during EBG. 😆 @twstpasta can attest to this. :)

I don’t know if I ever mentioned this here, but I love that he does have board games as a hobby. Even if it’s because of business, it’s at least a way for him to relax and actually have something that makes him feel like a teenager. 😭

All in all, Azul’s birthday story gave us so much food, and I’m so happy about it. Honest to God, it makes me look up to him even more because he continues to learn, he doesn’t give up on his passions, and he knows how to take it easy when he should.

Maybe it’s my bias for him, but the feeling I felt when taking all this in is indescribable. It’s like I enter a buffet expecting to have a good meal, or I enter a Catholic mass and expect to be enriched by a good homily, or even I enter a Ludovico Einaudi concert and expect to be touched at the heart. Then I partake in all three, and I come out of the buffet having the best meal of my life, or I come out of the church, hearing the best homily I ever had in my life, or I leave the concert, feeling the most light and whole I’ve ever felt in my life. I’m just so inspired after reading that, rot aside.

And with this, I end with a happy birthday to Azul, you’re such an amazing person even if you’re not real. I really hope you have an enjoyable birthday. 🥺

[lk-ramblings]

Carpe Noctem

Seize the Night

Meral x Aydın

MenajerimiAra

"I want movement, not a calm course of existence. I want excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love. I feel in myself a superabundance of energy which finds no outlet in our quiet life."

-Leo Tolstoy

* * *

Her thumb hovered over the number, only to be used in case of an emergency.

Well, this qualified as an emergency in her opinion. Dicle had not responded to her texts for an hour about whether she had reached Barış or not, and worry was clawing at Meral's insides. She decided to call.

'Merhaba. Aydın? This is Meral.....Dicle's housemate."

A low chuckle sounded at the other end. "Merhaba. Yes, this is Aydın, Barış's brother."

"I know who you are."

"And I know who you are."

She rolled her eyes. " Harika. I was just calling to ask if Dicle texted you or......" she trailed off, suddenly realising how awkward this was. Damn it. She was never anything less than sensible.

"Not since I texted her the address. Is there any problem?"

"Yok. Yok. I just worried since it's quite late and the neighbourhood.....well they must be talking and she forgot."

"Hmm. Yes. Talking. Probably."

She had the feeling he was laughing at her and bristled. " Well, thankyou. Sorry to bother you. Iyi geceler."

                      *     *     *

He could imagine her derisive look, the one he had seen her wearing when talking about Beren. The idea of her rolling her eyes sparked something in him and made him want to snatch the opportunity.

"Wait-"

"Yes?"

"Um....." he did not know what to say, and he was sorely out of practice with conversing about anything other than work. "Your concern for Dicle is very touching," he finished lamely.

There was silence on the other end and he could not really blame her.

"Well...thankyou I think? I hope Barış feels better and comes back soon," she sounded sincere in her goodwill and it warmed his heart, as anything related to Barış always did.

"Yes, InşAllah. I met him today, he's doing better now."

"Good to hear..."

"I was wondering, if you wanted to meet up and discuss? Barış and Dicle, yani. Or general things. Actually more of general things. Since, New Year's was fun and...."

Silence again. He was just about to make sure the call had not dropped, when she spoke, "That sounds great. Where do you want to meet?"

His heart gave an excited thump." Wherever you want."

"Oh, I have a great idea," he heard the smile in her voice that already had him looking forward to tomorrow with a new excitement.

                      *     *     *

Her favourite restaurant was roaring with white noise, the air perfumed with spices. Her mouth was watering and she was already anticipating the pleasure the meal would bring to sate her growling stomach. Even her great love of food was not enough to occupy her thoughts entirely, though.

She was nervous and excited; wondering if they would still have the connection she felt at the New Year's party. It was hard to determine what he felt from the few glances they managed to exchange at parties. Her imagined conversations, however, kept being interrupted by the couple arguing right behind her booth.

She sighed. She was just about to turn around and jump in their quarrel, when he arrived.

Meral had convinced herself that her years of romance and dizi infatution had embellished her memory of him. She had taken extra care dressing up, all the while telling herself she was being silly. Neyse, what had all the effort on that doomed Singles Party been for? Only a single glance?

She did not need to worry or dress up, she reassured herself. It was just a pair of acquaintances meeting. It could be fun even.

The reality of him exceeded her memory. He was snug in a crimson sweater, bold and festive; his hair and face shining from the outside cold. He looked brooding in a dangerous sort of way and she was suddenly glad she had gone to the extra effort.

But then he smiled and Meral was forced to consider that smiles always won over broody pouts.

"Hoş Geldin!"

"Hoş Bulduk. Pardon, did I keep you waiting? You seemed to be frustrated when I came in."

"Ha! That wasn't you." She leaned forward and lowered her voice- motioning to the booth behind her- and he did the same." I was about to join in their fascinating discussion about stocks and resolve the issue for them. As an unbiased third party."

"Ofcourse, because you are an accountancy expert."

"No, because I'm incurably nosy."

He barked a surprised laugh at her.

"Do you often get involved in things that are none of your business?" he said, trying to match her tone.

"Unfortunately, no. That's Dicle. I always gather information but only get in fights that are my business. And I win." She sent a quick prayer of thanks for the loud couple for kickstarting their conversation.

"Öyle mı?"

"Aynen."

"Speaking of Dicle, how is Kiraç Bey doing?"

"Much better!"

"Good to hear. Geçmiş olsun."

"Sağ ol."

She was just thinking they were in danger of lapsing into an awkward pause, when the waiter arrived to save them from it.

"Hoş Geldin. Meral Hanım, the usual?"

"Yes, please!"

"You come here often? I'll have what the lady is having then," Aydın said, closing the menu.

"Yes, I love this place. It's so close to our home too," she continued after the waiter had left. "You're sitting in our special booth, actually."

"Whose?"

"Dicle and mine. We always sit in the same place everytime so the staff practically has it reserved for us."

He smiled but then a teasing glint came into his eyes, "Same place, same order. You don't like new possibilities?"

She could not believe he had hit close to her vulnerable spot so quickly. Half of her wanted to welcome the exploration, delighting in someone trying to know her. The other half, the dominant, ever-sensible one wanted to retreat.

"I do. But there's comfort in familiarity. Honestly? I've realised I would thrive in a communist setting."

Aydın laughed, spluttering, the glass of water raised midway." You say the oddest things."

The pleasure of making him laugh made her glow and she relaxed. "If I have too many choices, it’s my fault if I make the wrong one. But if decisions have been made for me? Not only can I complain to my heart's content, but I also feel like I have triumphed against great odds in the struggle to become the independent woman that I am."

“You see odds in everything? I see now why you chose this job." He was regarding her with respect and curiosity. The combination made her feel heady, wanting to let her guard down.

"Why?"

"You get to calculate odds and meddle with everyone's business on a professional basis.”

It was her turn to laugh in surprise.

                       *     *     *

As they ate, they talked about everything from history, to food to dizis, the conversation darting in different directions. Meral could see his quiet intelligence, his attention to detail. She could not remember simply enjoying talking this much before. He had a ready response to everything. Words and laughter were bubbling inside her.

"I better warn Barış. You've watched too many serial killer movies and would leave no trace."

"You can relax. He's not on my hit list yet."

At his devious smile, she pointed at him with her fork. "For now. He's on my good side for now."

"Don't worry, he's a true romantic. He would never do anything that would get him on your hit list."

Her face softened into a smile, "He really his."

"You know, sometimes I feel like I'm their Teyze."

"Barış and Dicle? From a hitman to a teyze?" he grinned at her.

"Yes.Yani, I cook and clean, which I love to anyway. But then being the unwanted third wheel living in her children's house, I leave quietly once I know he's coming over."

"Oh well, I'm the teyze in our house then. You know when- " he stopped at her burst of laughter. "What?"

"I'm sorry- I just-" she said between gasps, "imagining you as a cranky teyze is- actually that's a pretty good description."

"Oh, you think so? As I was saying," he said in mock affrontery, "after Barış got shot, he was trying desperately to be alone with Dicle. But-'

He was laughing so hard he could barely get the words out and she joined in aswell.

He gathered himself and began again," But every single person we know other than Dicle was appearing at our doorstep. And, you remember, Celal Bey? He brought a mountain of food over. And then when Dicle was finally coming over, what did Barış do? Beyeffendi handed me a couple of boxes and told me to disappear."

"How cruel."

Their laughter gradually faded into comfortable smiles. "That man eats like every meal is his last meal," Meral said.

"Evet, but who does not enjoy food though?" he said with a pointed look towards her just to see her reaction and earned an olive in his face for the jab.

"Ow! How do you know how Celal Bey eats anyway?"

"I saw him. At the TV dinner? In the restaurant you recommended?"

"What?"

Her subconcious writer, which had been busy penning their story, suddenly deflated at him not even remembering their first meeting. What hope did a romance have when one party did not even remember the meet-cute? And since when was she considering this a date? Or a romance?

She shook her head and focused back to the present. His expression was serious now, devoid of all the teasing warmth.

"Yes, I remember. I'm sorry you had to see me that way. That wasn't my best behaviour."

He gazed out the window. Meral was dying to know more, to smooth over the lull in the conversation but afraid of saying the wrong thing.

Finally he met her gaze, having made a decision. "I've always been practical all my life. Had to be. Barış and my father are quite hot tempered and.....impulsive, so I was mostly making the money, holding down the jobs. Keeping the job and the peace. I don't apologise for doing what had to be done."

"Tabi canım, you don't have to explain to me. Pragmatic is my middle name." she agreed easily, yet touched that he had shared some small part of himself.

'To doing what needs to be done," she raised her çay in a toast. He smiled and some of the light heartedness returned.

"I understand that life is more than making money and looking attractive. I know I pressured Barış- even got into a fight with Dicle," he glanced at her embarrassed.

"Growing up, our mahalle just reinforced that a happy life is the type of life that photographs well. I know this isn’t true- now- but it’s hard not to think this way. I’ve internalized it."

"I know." Her voice was soft and sincere, easing some of his discomfort. "That's what our lives have become these days. If only we remember to live the moments that we love to photograph."

"Evet. How right you are."

"And this isn't off the back of some truck. This is my own wisdom." She was grateful to see him smile again.

"Gathered during hours of repetitive work. I sit in that room each day, half my mind on the numbers, half in my infinitely more adventurous world."

"You call that repetitive?! I would love that! The assurity of routine."

He sat back with a sigh. "I had so many jobs, never knowing when one would end. Mesela, my current job with Serkan Bey? I finally know some part of what each day brings."

"But don't you miss the excitement of new things?"

"I guess I would thrive in a communist setting too, Meral Hanım. But this sector already has so many new weird things happening everyday, it's never the same."

"Oh you're a veteran of 'this sector' now?"

"Absolutely. Ha! But truly I.....feel like I belong? Actually, Serkan helped me in a difficult situation and I ended up here. I realised I actually enjoy it. I find I have a talent for organising. And persuading and cajoling. Although, if you listen to the whims of all these people! You come across some complete- well I shouldn't say but- Even more than what I met as a taxi driver. I-"

He stopped and seemed to gather himself. "Just glad I have security. The comfort of certainty."

Meral was fascinated hearing him talk, his eyes lit with keen intelligence. She wished she could revel in the comfort he described, but lately she felt stuck in a rut. She had told him she did not like choices but that was not true. She yearned to take chances. Her life had become a collection of the same days, same nights out with the same people. This evening was the only thing breaking the endless monotony.

"I bet you have great stories to tell though. I love listening to stories. We get absolute weirdos at our place aswell but it's ultimately boring. I live vicariously through Dicle."

"I think we should stop talking about them as if we're the side characters."

"Yani?"

"Yani novel falan filan. We keep talking about Barış and Dicle. We should focus on us a little, I think."

His voice had dropped at the end, his eyes on her felt like a caress. Meral could feel something tugging at her to explore this new territory, to take the chance she kept telling others to. But, imagining something in your head was vastly different than having that play out in real life. She fell back on her customary sarcasm.

"Ah, novels. I see I've already corrupted your practicality. 50 points to Ravenclaw."

He had been giving her a lazy smile but groaned at her words. "You're both 'Potterheads'?"

"I thought we weren't talking about them."

"We won't. Because I don't know where to even begin about this. We watched the movies when we were younger, but apparently that's not enough and Barış has been trying to get into 'the fandom'." His voice was a mix of exasperation and affection.

She cried out in mock outrage trying to hide her glee, "Did you just air quote again? And ofcourse that is not enough. I'm glad he is on the right path."

'Neyse. And before you say anything, yes, I know I'm a Slytherin.'

'Oh absolutely," she laughed at his disgruntled form languishing in the booth.

'Ee?'

She raised an enquiring eyebrow.

"So how did you get into the wonders of accounting. I've been spilling all my secrets to you and you give nothing away. Hadi, don't make me take out my truth potion."

"Tsk, tsk. Banning magical discourse and then indulging in it yourself? Shameless."

His quick smile seemed to seep into her.

"Lütfen ya, give me something here. You mentioned you shifted to Istanbul?"

"Yes I did. But that is a story for another day. It's getting late. I think the owner might be coming to personally throw us out."

Her humour just kept surprising him anew; he could not remember when he had last laughed so much.

                       *     *     *

As they walked back to her house, he noticed her slowing slightly. "Are you tired?"

"Biraz. My soul wants to party but my body is of an old woman."

"And what do old women like doing at night?" he cringed at how it sounded.

"Well it's winter so, we drink hot chocolate wrapped in blankets, and avoid people."

"Well people are sources of warmth aswell." Damn. There she was, throwing out words in bright clusters all night, like the gentle snow falling around them.

And everything he said was coming out like an innuendo.

"I mean, figurative warmth. The pleasure of company."

She just raised her eyebrows and hid a smile behind her hand.

"We revel in solitude."

"I didn't know you were that eager to get away from me."

"Oh, you have no idea."

"I think I have some idea." There was something about her, that just made him fall into this teasing, snappy rhythm.

"But we've only met twice. That's not enough data points to form an accurate picture."

"We have met more than twice. And you're doing this on purpose aren't you?"

"What?"

"Mentioning data points now that I've confessed my love for organisation."

Her laughter rang out in the hushed street.

The snow was falling around them gently, giving everything a glittering glow. Her impish face was turned upto his, the snowflakes in her hair like diamonds and dissolving on her lips.

He had the sudden urge to taste that snowflake, run his tongue along the seam of her lips.

Something inside him held him back. He was afraid it was too soon. Afraid to burst this, whatever magic they had between them, just as it was beginning.

Meral could see the moment he decided to forego kissing, the fire in his eyes cooling as they returned to their normal lazy depths. Keen disappointnent burned inside her but was chased away by the still buzzing energy that had been between them all evening.

This evening had already proved to be much more than her normal. An outlier. She wanted to capture the bright feeling, like a firefly; bask in the light for a brief moment and then let go.

"Thankyou. It was..." Unique. Comfortable. Thlrilling, all at once. "Fun. I enjoyed spending time with you."

Surprisingly, her shyness made him bolder. "Me too. I would love to do this again." She looked up. "If you want to, I mean."

"I wasn't angling for an invitation."

"I know. But it stands regardless. I would love to do this again." He could not believe he had managed to get that out without tripping over his words.

The tentative smile on her face made him add, " I must prove I'm the ultimate teyze between us. I'll cook for you."

"Şaka?!" she gave a delighted laugh. "Well then, let the Battle of the Teyzes commence."

When he took her proffered hand, their was a slight shock, as if their bodies were completing the circuit, that energy finally finding a closed loop.

"O zaman, iyi olan kazansın," he said softly.

"Iyi olan kazansın."

"Iyi geceler. Meral." he said, finally breaking the handshake.

"Iyi geceler." She went in and turned at the doorstep. "Aydin."

His name on her lips, materialising in the cold air for a second.

He smiled that slow smile again. An outlier. An input that could start new trends, open new possibilities, change everything.

                        *     *     *

[junkercrush]

Loving the work ya doing, Keep up the amazing work ^^. Could I get some headcannons for Hoggy and Jamie opening a store (Like a bakery, Juice shack) with their S/o

Writing and researching for this request made me so hungry, but fun! o^_^o

Here you go:

Junkrat & Roadhog Opening a Shop with S/O *SFW*

Junkrat

The idea of opening a food truck together with Junkrat started during a mission. You two were trapped in an abandoned restaurant on Route 66 after a deal gone wrong with the Deadlock gang.

You started cooking your family secret recipe BBQ chicken. Junkrat didn’t know you could cook. He hasn’t seen you cook more than stuffing bread into the toaster and making grilled cheese sandwiches.

Junkrat shows you his favorite BBQ meals he learned back in the Outback. You and Junkrat started making meals during occasional Overwatch parties. Then it grew.

You set up a website, people ordered online, and you delivered the food.

Finally, there was enough money saved to purchase a legit food truck . Junkrat wanted to get a food truck the wrong way by stealing one or robbing a bank. You couldn’t tell Junkrat about the money because he kept spending it on frivolous things, even though he promised to save up too. 

The food truck business was an ultimate success! The name: “KA-BOOM BBQ!”Junkrat would be wary of other food truck competitors and threaten to blow up their trucks. You warned him not to do so to avoid lawsuits. 

The two of you made a line of signature BBQ sauces.

People have requested brick and mortar restaurants. You and Junkrat preferred the food truck business. It was a chance for you to travel. Junkrat loved being able to spend more time with you in a small space. <3

Roadhog eventually joins the food truck family to help cook and drive. McCree, Soldier 76, Mei, Lucio, Reinhardt, and D.Va sometimes helped out cooking in the truck, but Hog was the only permanent staff. 

“KA-BOOM BBQ” Menu Sample

Your Signature BBQ Chicken Meal

Junkrat’s BBQ Firecracker Shrimp on the Barbie (6, 9, or 12 pieces)

Wings (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, 75, or 100) *also comes boneless*

Wing Flavors (Honey Mustard, Vegemit, Jalapeno, “Kickass Cayenne”, Ghost Jalapeno, Plain, Teriyaki, Brown Sugar)

Shredded BBQ burger (Meats: Chicken, Lamb, Vegetarian Burger, Vegan Burger, Salmon, and Turkey)

BBQ Turkey drumsticks (any flavor KA-BOOM serves) (Order 1, 3, or 5 pieces)

Desserts

Ice Cream (Chocolate, Vanilla, or Strawberry)

Fried Goods (Oreo, Snicker Bars, Tim-Tams, Mars Bars, Milky Ways, Butterfinger, Cookie Dough)

Fries (BBQ, Vinegar & Salt, Cheesy, and Plain)

Side Dishes (Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli, Green Beans, Corn, Mac N’ Cheese, Cole-slaw *Junkrat always gets you to make it because he hates the smell*)

Salads (Garden, BBQ, Shrimp, and Caesar)

NO PORK SERVED AT KA-BOOM BBQ (for Roadhog’s sake) :-)

Roadhog

Before you and Roadhog officially dated, you two used to exchange sweets with each other every time you met at Headquarter’s cafeteria.

 You were enjoying Roadie’s snacks so much you forgot to tell him you had specific food allergies. Eventually, you ended up in the hospital after a severe allergic reaction to a batch of Hog’s cookies.

It took a while for Roadhog to forgive himself. You kept telling him it was ultimately your fault, but the poor big baby kept blaming himself.

Hog asked you if you wanted to start a bakery. You happily obliged to the business opportunity.

 You two started baking sales, saving money for a brick and mortar building. Plus, a small portion of the money was donated to local charities: children’s hospitals, animal sanctuaries, and homeless people and veterans affected by the Omnic Wars.

Roadhog started creating “How to Bake” videos online and showing off your products. The videos had excellent ratings. Hog was growing quite a fanbase. Some viewers were dying to see Hog’s real face and commented on his “deep sexy voice.”  Monetization from the videos was a BIG help.

You two finally opened your bakery: “Sweet Piggy” after what Hog called you. At first, Hog had the idea to name it “Sweet As,” but people would get the wrong idea.

The bakery was completely allergy-free, gluten-free, and vegan. Decorated with cute stuffies (especially pachimaris).

Junkrat comes by almost every day for the food. He tries to steal them without paying, but Hog always catches his ass.

Roadhog wants to make the place a piglet café where people would play with the piglets as they ate their sweets. How to get this approved is in the works…

“Sweet Piggy” Menu Sample

Cookies (Chocolate chip, Sugar, Pumpkin spice *seasonal*, Gingerbread *seasonal*, Vegemite, Kiwi Thumbprint, Oatmeal, Red Velvet *seasonal*, Lemon sugar, Molasses, Shortbread, Egg nog *seasonal*)

Donuts (Original, Dark Chocolate, Cinnamon sugar, Caramel, Fairy bread, Vanilla, Maple *seasonal*, Chocolate, PBJ, Blueberry, Vegemite)

Cakes (Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, Pavlova, Pumpkin, Banana, Birthday, Jelly)

Cupcakes (all flavors Sweet Piggy offers)

Drinks (various teas and coffees)

How about that, anon? ;-)

[judgmentofcorruption]

Episode 5–The Relationship Chills; Scene 3

Judgment of Corruption, pages 155-162

Whenever Gallerian and Ma would get together for work meetings, most of the time they would do it at a restaurant that was nearby the Dark Star Bureau, “Court of Knights”.

In the old days, the place where you ate out was just a bar linked to an inn. It was solely for the purpose of offering food and drink to its lodgers, but since the Lucifenian Revolution it had begun to manifest more as an establishment that specialized in food like a restaurant. The impetus for this was the cooks that had been palace staff opening a restaurant aimed at the general public for a living, having lost their jobs due to the revolution.

Ma didn’t much like going into the Dark Star Bureau. Perhaps that was reasonable, given that she had once been charged for a crime there and stood in court as a defendant. Therefore, excepting days when a public trial was actually being held, she would often talk to Gallerian like this as they ate outside.

“Whew…All done.”

Having finished her meal, Ma began to smoke from her pipe, satisfied.

“But you always eat so much.”

Gallerian sipped his coffee, sounding a little astounded.

“You’re the one paying the bill. And I’ve got a good appetite, and all that.”

“Strictly speaking it’s not me, it’s the bureau. It might be a business expense but I’d appreciate if you didn’t take advantage so thoughtlessly. Hel will give me that sour look again.”

“Hel…Seems like the girl is getting pretty well adapted to the Dark Star Bureau.”

“She’s been an excellent clerk.”

“Soon it’ll be three years since I met her—you too. What a long partnership this has turned out to be,” Ma murmured, sounding moved.

“It is.”

“And you’ve become quite well versed on magic thanks to me, haven’t you? …Perhaps there isn’t any need for us to go out of our way to continue meeting like this.”

“I wouldn’t say that. I’ve learned that magic is far more profound and complicated than I had thought. I’ll still need your help for some time to come.”

“But you’ve even become able to use simple spells by now, haven’t you? –How about you try it? No matter what you say, you are the son of Elluka, after all,” Ma said, smiling mischievously.

“…I don’t really want to become a sorcerer.”

“That so? Well, that’s fine. Magic isn’t some all-purpose tool. Especially in this day and age, where people can even fly through the air with airplanes—Ah, that’s right.” Ma called to a nearby waiter. “What is the most expensive wine in this establishment?”

“Ah yes—How does ‘Blood Grave’ sound?”

“I’ll have that.”

Gallerian’s brow knit as Ma ordered without consulting him. “Hey, what did I just say to you? Don’t use the bureau’s tab on such an extravagant—”

“I’ll pay for the wine myself. To celebrate.”

"Celebrate? Celebrate what?"

"Your twentieth birthday. It's today, isn't it?"

Upon hearing that, Gallerian looked surprised. "…You remembered my birthday?"

"If you like we could also put it with cake?"

"No, that’s alright. --My own wife forgot my birthday."

“My my, it’s only been two years since you were married, hasn’t it? Are things not going well?”

“…I’m not sure. Maybe our marriage had failed from the very beginning.” Gallerian’s expression sank. “—Did I really love Mira?”

“Don’t ask me. Didn’t you marry her because you were in love?”

“Back then I said that I had no more anger towards Loki, but that was a lie. Maybe I slept with Mira to get back at him…That’s how I’ve started thinking about it, looking back on it now.”

“…”

“To speak plainly, I can’t relax much when I’m at home. It’s only when I’m eating with you like this that I can feel at ease.”

“…Then shouldn’t you two just split up?”

“Don’t put it so simply. I’d be a laughingstock at work if I were to get a divorce.”

“What balderdash. That isn’t something for a man like you to say at this stage, someone who has gone against existing rules with such a vengeance.”

“—There is also the matter of Michelle. I don’t want to make my daughter unhappy.”

“Ha ha ha, the way you prattled on about her when she was born was so terrible. Every time you talk about your daughter your expression always gets so soft.”

“Go ahead, laugh at me for being a doting father.”

But Ma shook her head with a serious expression.

“That’s good isn’t it? Besides. Love takes many forms. The love a parent has for their child is one of them.”

“The love of parent and child…Come to think of it, I haven’t seen my own father in a long time. The last time I saw him was—my and Mira’s wedding.”

“You oughtta head back to your family home every now and then—Oop.”

The waiter had brought over their wine.

“Thank you for waiting. Here is your ‘Blood Grave’.”

He poured a red wine into the glasses before Gallerian and Ma.

“Well then, how about a toast?” Ma said, raising her glass; but Gallerian looked a little hesitant. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing…This is just the first time I’ll have alcohol.”

“Is that right? Then all the better, for your first wine to be such a high-quality one.”

Despite his reservation, Gallerian lifted up the glass, and then after exchanging a toast with Ma he boldly sipped the wine.

“Oh…It’s good.”

“Well then, since it’s a special occasion, you better drink up.”

Encouraged, Gallerian drank up all the wine in his glass.

.

--That hadn’t been wise of him.

By the time they left the restaurant, Gallerian was completely drunk.

He was just barely managing to totter around, leaning heavily on Ma.

“…How pathetic.”

“Uogh…Can’t help it…first time drinking…”

“I heard you before—Can you get home on your own?”

“No way…Let me stay at your house.”

“I don’t have one. I live at the inn.”

“Then there is fine.”

“Obviously not! …Well, whatever. There’s a phone at the inn, so I’ll just have Bruno come get you.”

Ma made her way to the nearby inn where she was staying while supporting Gallerian’s body.

In the lobby she moved to call for the innkeeper to borrow the phone, but—

“Urgh…Don’t feel good.”

“--! Don’t you throw up in here! Hey, come on!” After flusteredly dragging Gallerian to her room, Ma thrust a wash basin before him. “Look, if you’re gonna throw up then do it here!”

“No…it’s fine, I feel better,” he said, and then flopped down on the bed.

“You better not throw up on my bed or you’ll be sorry—Wait here a minute. I’ll get you some water,” Ma said, moving to leave from the room.

However—

“—Guh!?”

She was suddenly embraced from behind by Gallerian as he’d gotten up, and then pushed down onto the bed.

“What are you—”

Ma franticly struggled at first—but when Gallerian half-forcefully pushed their lips together, all the strength sapped from her body in a flash.

“For crying out loud…Oh well.”

And then—

The two of them—

.

…Ah, feels a bit warm in here.

I think I might go take a little stroll in the night.

<<prev------directory------next>>

[fanfictionandmore]

The Kreizler Institute | The Alienist + Mphfpc

[Chapter Three | Watched and Followed]

Jade's POV:

As the weeks went by the better the weather improved, which put me in high spirits. I found myself spending more time at Stuyvesant Park as a result. At this very moment I was sitting underneath a large tree drawing in my sketchbook. Usually I'd be reading in this situation, but something told me not to be be seen out in public with the book I was currently reading. So I followed my gut instincts like I normally do.

The sun was bright and the sky was blue with a few white clouds floating past every once in a while. Due to the warmer weather a good deal of people were walking around the park with their dogs and whatnot. So when I started feeling like I was being watched, I didn't think much of it.

But when the feeling didn't go away I couldn't ignore it. I looked around and caught a glimpse of a man sitting at a park bench not too far from where I was. He had all black clothing on; it looked kinda like he was wearing a suit. I also noticed that he had a walking stick with him that was leaning against the seat of the bench.

'Maybe he's just out people watching.' I thought inside of my head to can my nervousness a little. But I couldn't help but wonder why he chose to watch me out of everyone else in the park. It made me a little uncomfortable to be perfectly honest. Instead of staring at him I turned my attention back to the drawing I was working on. Oddly enough I was drawing the young man I had seen in the window of 283 E, Seventeen Street.

I'm not sure why, but I wasn't able to get the story of that house being haunted out of my mind. It was like some kind of seed that had been planted and now the seed was sprouting roots. I always found ghosts and paranormal phenomenon interesting even when I was a teenager. But what really stuck in my head was what my uncle said that Caleb Carr thought about the house.

Apparently Caleb doesn't think the house is haunted, but he thinks something is going on. 'If he thought he had squatters then why hasn't he contacted the authorities?' Wondered, and that's why I think he knows something about that house that he isn't confessing to. And maybe even my uncle knows about also. I pressed my thoughts to the back of my mind as I continued drawing.

Eventually I glanced back to the park bench and noticed that the man in black was gone. It made me feel less nervous but in a strange was I kinda missed him. On that thought I decided it was probably time to head back to my uncle's place. During the walk back I wondered what we were going to have for dinner tonight.

My pleasant thoughts of delicious food were interrupted when I suddenly got the feeling that I was being followed. 'Great. First I was being watched and now I'm being followed.' I thought inside of my head. I quickened my pace slightly because I didn't feel like getting kidnapped and have something horrible happen to me. I've watched plenty of crime shows and whatnot to know how situations like these end sometimes.

I didn't feel completely safe until the door of my uncle's home was shut and locked behind me. When I walked in I found Alfius laying on the couch taking a nap. I knew he probably didn't intend to fall asleep, but the warm sun from the window is what made him do so. I smiled and decided to let him sleep. Quietly, I headed upstairs to my room to read a tale or two.

As I read I got a strange feeling in my stomach like I had a few weeks before. So I sat the book aside and went into the bathroom. To my surprise nothing happened, but the cramps in my stomach started fading away. 'You're probably just hungry or something. Or maybe you are something that didn't agree with you.' I thought inside of my head as I retired to my bed.

I read three more stories out of Tales of Peculiar before I chose to go check on my uncle. Once I entered the living room I seen that he was awake. "Good evening sleeping beauty." I joked, which made him laugh. "When did you get back?" He asked me curiously as he stretched. "A few minutes or so ago." I replied with a small smile.

"Is that the time? My goodness... how long was I asleep?" He said after he checked the time on his wrist watch. He stood up and placed a hand on my shoulder before he spoke again. "How about we eat dinner at Delmonico's tonight? I really don't feel like cooking and I'm sure you don't either." He said, and I agreed with his suggestion.

After he made himself look less rumpled we got into his car and headed to Delmonico's. One of the restaurants I've come to love during my stay here. Apparently Caleb Carr and my uncle go there often; so often that the employees know them by name. Not to mention the fact that they know what they usually order when they dine there as well. It was a actually kind of amusing.

When we were seated at a table that was off to itself a little, I noticed that some people were talking about the way we were dressed. But it didn't bother me too much. Especially since my uncle was known by the staff. It wasn't like we'd be kicked out for the way we were dressed. But I imagine some places are like that, even I'm this day and age. 

A waiter came by and asked us what we'd like to drink. My uncle ordered a bottle of wine, but I ordered a water instead. "You are old enough to drink alcohol, aren't you?" My uncle joked. "Yes, but I can't have alcohol due to the medications I'm on." I replied. "Oh yeah... I forgot that you're diabetic." He said with a look that said he was sorry. But I knew he didn't mean any harm by the joke.

Some people don't know that alcohol is very harmful to diabetics, because it raises blood sugar levels. And if you aren't careful, it can cause a diabetic to become hypoglycemic. Plus most medication for the disease advises the taker not to consume any kind of alcohol, especially wine. Wine is the worst because grapes are loaded with sugar.

It doesn't really bother me that I can't have alcohol, especially since it doesn't taste very good anyway. My thoughts were pressed to the back of my mind when the waiter came back and took our orders. I was so hungry I think I could have eaten a horse... not literally though. My uncle and I talked about the wonderful weather as well as my lovely afternoon in the park.

I was getting use to the vacation life and I really didn't want to go back to Maryland. But I knew I eventually would, because my parents would be worried if I didn't. When our meals arrived Alfius and I went silent as we enjoyed the delicious food what had been made for us. I think the food is what I'll miss the most when I go back home to be honest, but I'll miss the city and my uncle as well.

'I should try and convince my parents to come and visit New York sometime.' I thought but I knew not to hold my breath. My mom and dad hate city life. I don't mind it, but I do like the advantage I have of being able to get away from the noise and people. After we ate our meals my uncle treated us to dessert. We ended up sharing one because I don't think we could have eaten a whole one by ourselves.

I paid for dinner even though Alfius tried to convince me not to. We were in good moods as we walked out of the restaurant and onto the sidewalk. As we were walking to his car my stomach started cramping again. But this time it was sharp and much more painful than before. It was like my insides were being crushed into a vice. I wrapped my arm around my stomach and leaned against the side of the building. "Jade, what's wrong?" My uncle asked curiously.

I broke out into a cold sweat and was suddenly reminded of when I had my kidney stone back in the twelfth grade. My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a blood curdling scream; The hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. The first thing that popped into my head was a mugging or something. But when I turned in the direction of the scream I was horrified by what I saw.

A hugely tall figure was standing in the middle of the street. It looked like the character from the popular creepypasta,  Slenderman. Except it was way more frightening. It's skin was a pale gray and long tentacles were protruding out of it's mouth. That's when I noticed that the tentacles were holding something... a girl that looked no older than twelve.

She was still screaming as two of the monster's tentacles entered her eye sockets. The stabbing sensation in my torso suddenly became too much for me to bare, and I emptied the contents of my stomach onto the sidewalk. My vision got blurry but it cleared just as the tentacle monster dropped the girl's body to the ground.

That's when I was aware of the crowd that were screaming all around us. It was like the noise was suddenly turned back on. People were running in fear while others just stood in shock. A determination to go towards the girl urged me to crawl. I could feel my uncle attempting to stop me, but to no avail. The monster was leaving. It climbed the side of a building with ease and quickly disappeared.

When I eventually reached the girl's side I knew she was dead. Her body laid lifeless on the pavement even though there wasn't a drop of blood present. The moment I realized what that creature done to her I started to get tunnel vision. The last thing I remember is total blackness after I felt the warmth of the pavement on my own face.

The sound of beeps and shuffling feet faded into existence as I began to come to. When I opened my eyes I was nearly blinded by how bright my surroundings were. I blinked a few times before my eyes adjusted to the lighting. Then I saw two people seated near the bed I was I laying in. That's when I realized that I was in a hospital. "Alfius... Caleb..." I said, trailing off slightly as I rubbed my eyes.

"She's awake!" I heard Caleb say. "Thank god!" My uncle said. Then I felt a pair of arms gently wrap around me. It took a while for my senses to get fully adjusted to everything. But after some less than satisfying hospital breakfast, I felt fine. A little tired, hungry, and sore but other than that I was feeling pretty good. That's when I asked what had happened and how I got where I was.

Alfius told me about how I suddenly got sick when we were leaving Delmonico's. Then he got a little choked up when he told me about a twelve year old girl getting killed just feet away from us. That caused goosebumps to spread all over my body, and not in a good way. I suddenly remember everything. But what was burned in my memory was the tentacle monster I saw.

"Her eyes were missing." I said softly, and Caleb quickly looked at me with a very serious and intense gaze. It was like he knew of a deeper meaning to what I had just said. And I think he realized that I noticed. "What?" My uncle asked with furrowed brows.

"Alfius, why don't you go to the nearest diner and get us some actual breakfast. I'm sure Jade is starving." Caleb said, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Sure. What do you guys want?" My uncle asked curiously. "I trust you have good judgement." Caleb replied. It was obvious to me that he wanted to get my uncle out of the room as quick as possible. For what? I wasn't exactly sure.

++++++++++++++++ A/N: Thanks for reading!!

[roo-the-fox]

WELCOME TO CHAPTER 2!!!! I am sleep-deprived and loopy lol!

I think I’m gonna add in some songs for you to listen to while you read, so here you go 😊😊

Roo’s Playlist:

Your Dog Loves You- Colde (feat. Crush) // Wi Ing Wi Ing- Hyukoh // When You Fall- Sam Kim, Chai // Photograph- offonoff // 247 - Junggigo

Anyways, Enjoy!!! 💜💜💜

——————————————————————————————————————————

GIRL’S TRIP- Ch. 2

“Yeah, we’ll be there soon, Unni! Thanks for renting out the space to us, I really appreciate it! Yeah.... Yeah.... Okay, see you in about 15 minutes. Mmhmm... Okay, bye!” Savannah hung up her phone and turned to Annie and Jilly. “That was Ivy. She said that she’ll meet us outside the apartment when we arrive in Apgujeong. It’s the cutest shopping and fashion area! And it’s within Gangnam so we’ll get to be in that general area.”

“How exciting! But you didn’t have to take care of our housing arrangements, we could’ve helped!” Annie said from the front seat of the taxi car, Happy excitedly looking between the window and the driver.

“Yeah, we could’ve helped pick out a place. You wouldn’t even let us see the pictures of the place.” Jilly said, pouting. Savannah knew it drove her friends crazy to not know about the apartment, but she really wanted it to be a surprise for them after all they had done for her over the years.

“Don’t worry about it, guys! I wanted do this and you can always pay me back with food.” Savannah said, grinning widely at the thought of food. Annie and Jilly just rolled their eyes and sat back in their seats, looking out the window at the beautiful city. The mix of modern and traditional living harmoniously throughout the buildings. Beautiful architecture, extraordinary sculptures, and exquisite temples flooded the city with culture and life. Annie and Jilly forgot their anxieties and immersed themselves in the sights of the structures and the sounds of the bustling people.

“Ahjusshi, it’s my friends’ first times in Korea. What should we eat first?” Savannah asked, leaning to the side so the taxi driver could see her in the rear view mirror.

“Hmmmm,” The driver rubbed his face, thinking about the different types of decadent dishes that the country had to offer. “You had a long flight, yes?” He said, looking over at Annie, who nodded. “Then, I would suggest something hearty. They never serve enough food on those planes. Either budaejjigae or jjajangmyun.” All three girls were almost drooling at the thought of the dishes. He was right, they really had only eaten snacks on the flight, partly due to the nerves of traveling, partly because of nerves from a certain group of guys.

“Thank you, ahjusshi.” Savannah said, smiling gratefully at the driver. It was mid-afternoon now. By the time that they were settled, it would be dinner time and they could go grab something delicious.

The girls kept up the conversation with their driver, who had reached over to pet the puppy who wouldn’t stop staring at him until he gave her the proper attention. After a few more minutes, they finally arrived at the apartment. Savannah called Ivy to tell her that they had arrived. Savannah was pulling the suitcases out of the trunk when a very excited Ivy ran up behind her and embraced her. Savannah turned around, shocked, then squealed at her friend, excitedly hugging her back.

“I missed you so much! Oh my gosh, how are you? Are these your friends? Hi, I’m Ivy! Savannah and I were co-teachers before!” Ivy rambled off, shaking Annie and Jilly’s hands. “Oh! A puppy! She reminds me so much of Pie! Can I hold her?” Ivy asked, hopefully. Annie just nodded and handed over the shih tzu.

“Yeah, she’s the one who gave me my Korean name.” Savannah laughed before pulling out the rest of the bags.

“Yeah, some of our kids would always ask her about it so I gave her one. But come on, I’ll take you up to the apartment.” Jilly paid the taxi driver for the ride and they followed Ivy into the building. In the elevator, she told them about her family buying the plot of land a while ago and that it was full of luxury apartments. She added that the interior was made with an industrial yet clean feel to it.

Reaching the right floor, they walked to one of the doors and Ivy balanced Happy in one arm while she pushed in the key code. The door chimed it’s little welcome ring when Ivy opened the door to a beautiful open apartment.

Annie and Jilly’s jaws dropped as their entered the gorgeous French-modern home. Savannah just smiled and turned to Ivy, taking her shoes off before entering the space. Ivy put Happy down, letting the dog finally roam free. Annie and Jilly basically jumped out of their shoes to look around the living and dining areas. They squealed and awed over the details and view.

“Thanks again for letting us have this one.” Savannah said, leaning against the wall with Ivy.

“What’s so special about this apartment, in particular?” Annie inquired, turning around with an eyebrow raised

“It’s got four rooms. Savannah told me that there would be four of you and I just so happened to have this one open up recently.” Ivy smiled. Annie and Jilly turned to Savannah, daggers basically shooting at their friend. They had been told that there would only be two rooms for the girls to pair up in. Savannah just shrugged and smiled.

“Anyways, let’s get dinner sometime this week. Okay? Also, I left my number, the gate code, and the door code on the counter in the kitchen. Oh, and trash day is on Thursday. Call me if you need me!” Ivy explained, putting her jacket and shoes back on.

“Sounds good, I’ll message you on Kakao once we get SIM cards.” Savannah said, walking her back to the door. “I appreciate everything you’ve done. Say hi to your hubs and baby for me.” Savannah gave Ivy another hug before she left. Once the door closed, Savannah turned to see her two best friends stalking towards her with stern faces. Savannah just sighed, shoved her hands in her pockets, and prepared for the worst.

“Why didn’t you tell us?!” Annie barked. “This place must have cost a fortune.”

“Yeah, especially because we’re going to be getting our own rooms! Dude, please let us help you with this!” Jilly pleaded.

“No guys, its fine! I’ve wanted to do this since we started thinking about it. I saved up money from my last series and I got a huge signing bonus for my current series. I specifically wanted to do this for you guys. Please don’t take that away from me.” Annie and Jilly pouted at her, knowing that they couldn’t convince her otherwise.

“Fine,” Annie sighed. “Let’s go take a look at the rooms. I want to get settled before we head to dinner.”

“We need to get our phone cards before the shops close too. We can do that on our way out.” Jilly said, grabbing her suitcase and hoisting it up the stairs.

After looking around the upstairs areas and heavy deliberation, the girls decided on their rooms.

Annie’s room:

Jilly’s room:

Savannah’s room:

The girl’s moved their stuff to their rooms before taking turns in the shower. They were all greasy and gross from the flight and they wanted to clean up for dinner. The weather outside was still chilly, especially as the sun started to set so the girls decided to dress a little warmer before setting out.

Jilly’s outfit:

Annie’s Outfit:

Savannah’s outfit:

Leaving Happy with some food and water, the girls set off to find food. Annie and Jilly told Savannah to pick the restaurant since she surprised them with the apartment. They walked down the busy street until they passed a phone shop.

“Hey, let’s get our SIM cards while we’re out!” Jilly said, pulling the other two into the SK shop. After 30 minutes of working with the staff, they finally got their cards implanted in their phones, new phone numbers set, and paid for the next month of service. With that taken care of, they set off for dinner once again.

Looking around the surrounding streets, Savannah finally spotted a budaejjigae shop and she pointed it out to the others.

“This is perfect for a cool night like this! Let’s go!” The other two followed her into the shop and they sat down next to the window. Their mouths watered as they looked over the menu. Finally deciding on their order, they called the shop owner over and pointed out the stew they wanted along with a few sodas to help cut some of the stew’s greasiness. A few minutes later, their food came out and the owner watched as the girls’ eyes nearly flew out of their sockets at the beauty before them.

Once the budaejjigae had fully cooked, the girls started digging in. They all moaned out at the array of flavors hitting their tongues, only to receive weird looks from the patrons around them. Ignoring them, they fully dug into the delicious meal, savoring every bite and element within the spicy broth. They talked about what they wanted to do the next day, seeing as they were all exhausted and they wanted to be up and recharged once morning came around. Upon reaching the bottom of the pot, they slowed down on their eating and relaxed into the seats, looking out at the people walking by.

“So have you guys thought about reaching out to the boys?” Savannah asked, quietly, causing the other two to blush. They had been so focused on the apartment and food that the incidents from earlier in the day had somehow slipped their minds.

“Not yet. I wouldn’t even know what to say to him.” Annie said, looking down at her phone.

“Me too. How do you even talk to them?” Jilly said, taking a sip of her soda.

“Talk to them like you did on the plane. Like their ‘normal people’,” Savannah said, putting air quotes around the last part.

“Says the girl who could barely look Tae in the eyes. You didn’t even look at Namjoon.” Annie said, looking at her with a raised brow. Savannah just slouched.

“I dunno, dude. But from what you guys said, you told them that you’d message them once you guys got your SIM cards.” Savannah countered, grinning mischievously. Annie and Jilly just looked at each other, flushed.

“Okay, but should we plan out what we say first?” Jilly asked, looking between the other two.

“What about just ‘Hi, it’s Jilly/Annie from the plane.’ It’s just letting them know that you didn’t forget about them.” Savannah threw out, taking the last bite of stew.

“What if they forgot about us?” Annie whined. She fiddled with her phone, looking at Yoongi’s contact.

“I HIGHLY doubt they did. Especially with how Yoongi was looking at you. Besides, it doesn’t hurt to try though.”

“Easy for you to say, you didn’t get any of their numbers. You’d be freaking out like us if you had.” Jilly pouted.

“Very true, but maybe there’s a reason I didn’t get it. We don’t all need to be freaking out here.” Savannah just smiled. Annie and Jilly just stared down at their phones.

“Jilly, did you get a chance to put Kookie’s number in your phone before we left the apartment?” Annie asked, whispering so no one could overhear. The last thing they needed was someone attacking them over talking about BTS.

“I did in the taxi when we were leaving the airport.” Jilly said, sipping on her soda. Annie nodded and they both looked back at their phones. Savannah looked over at Annie’s phone and smirked.

“I’m surprised you didn’t put him down as ‘Yoongles Bear’.” Savannah chided, earning a light shove from Annie.

“Shut up! I wouldn’t do that... yet.” Annie whispered the last part, causing the other two to smirk.

“Okay, I wrote something out. Can you guys look over it first?” Jilly said, causing the other two to look at her. She handed her phone over to Annie and her and Savannah read it: ‘Hey, it’s Jilly, from the flight. I got my SIM card 😊’.

“That looks good, Jilly!” Annie smiled.

“Yeah, but I’m nervous to send it.”

“Wait, you didn’t want us to push send for you?” Savannah asked, wide-eyed and biting her lip.

“You didn’t. Please tell me you didn’t.” Jilly said, grabbing her phone from them. The message was still in the typing box. Jilly glared at Savannah, who just stuck her tongue out at her, jokingly.

“But for real, do you want us to send it for you?” Annie asked, pulling Jilly’s attention from Savannah.

“Ummm, I don’t know. How about this; You type out your message and we’ll send the messages from each other’s phones.”

“Ugh, but I don’t know what to say.” Annie said, frustrated.

“Babe, just say something along the lines that Jilly said. It’s just an introductory text. You don’t need to worry too much about it.” Savannah said, her face finally serious. Annie just nodded and typed something out. She handed the phone over to Jilly and she read it: ‘Hey, it’s Annie. I’m glad that Happy could keep you company on the flight.’ Savannah looked over and read the message as well and nodded.

“Looks good to me.” Jilly said, handing her phone over to Annie. “Okay, let’s send them on the count of 3... 1... 2... 3.” And, with that, the texts were sent.

A few minutes of anxiety-induced silence filled the space. Savannah was looking in between the two girls who were trying not to look at their phones. She knew they were both riddled with anxious thoughts so she stood up, making both of them jump out of their own minds.

“Come on, let’s go walk around. You two need some crisp fresh air.” Savannah said, grabbing her bag and walking over to the cashier, paying for their dinner while they gathered their stuff.

“Will you stop paying for stuff?!” Jilly groaned once they were outside the restaurant.

“Nope.” Savannah said, winking at Jilly. They walked down a shopping street, looking in some of the windows of the cute shops and seeing the trends and pastel colors that comes with the spring season.

“It’s supposed to warm up a little later this week. We can hopefully wear some of the cuter outfits that we brought and get some good pictures with the cherry blossoms.” Jilly said, looking at the array of blossoming trees that lined the street. One of the shop’s doors were open and playing beautiful classical music, adding to the romantic atmosphere of the street.

“That would be really nice.” Annie agreed, still looking at the cute clothes and accessories in the shops. She was excited to find some cute outfits at the shops. The styles in Korea was very different to American styles and she was happy for the change. She turned to find only Jilly looking at the trees and people walking around in cute outfits.

“Where’s Savannah?” She asked, looking through the small masses of people that bustled through the street. Jilly looked down the line of trees until she spotted a familiar head.

“There she is.” She said, walking over to where the girl stood. They found Savannah taking pictures of a lamppost’s light filtering through the cherry blossom leaves and petals.

“Savannah, I swear. Why didn’t you tell us you were stopping?!” Annie scolded her.

“I would’ve caught up eventually. I just wanted to take this picture.” Savannah said, not taking her eyes off of her camera.

“Ah,” Jilly started, “We should probably get back to take care of Happy. We’ve been gone for a few hours.” The girls looked over at Jilly, then their watches. 9:38 PM. The girls nodded and started heading back to the apartment.

The walk back was chilly but, with their bellies full of warm food, they were able to talk and enjoy the nice crisp air. They laughed and talked the whole way home. They were almost to the apartment when they stopped at a convenience store for drinks and snacks. Once they finally got back into the apartment, Happy came running up to them, excitedly.

“Hey guys, I’m gonna take her out to go potty. I’ll be right back.” Annie said, clipping Happy’s leash onto her harness and taking her outside.

While out on the apartment walking trail, a ding went off in Annie’s pocket. She pulled out her phone and squealed when she saw the name pop up on her lock screen. Nearly dropping her phone, she stuffed her phone back in her pocket. Quickly, she cleaned up after happy, threw the waste back into the bin, and hurried Happy back to the building.

Savannah and Jillian were just finishing up with putting the snacks away when Annie barreled through the door, shih tzu in tow behind her. The other two looked behind them, startled at the sudden outburst.

“Yoongi text me back!” Annie panted. Savannah and Jilly’s eyes went wide and they ran over to her.

“Really?? What did he say?” They spoke in unison.

“I don’t know, I haven’t looked yet. I freaked out too much.” Annie said, sliding out of her shoes and taking the leash off of Happy, who just trotted away.

“Well look! Let’s see what he said!” Jilly squealed. Annie pulled the phone out of her pocket and opened the message.

Savannah cupped her hands under the phone, afraid that Annie would drop it. Annie just stared at the phone, reading and rereading the message. She couldn’t believe what he was said. Jilly and Savannah couldn’t tell if she was breathing, so Jilly slipped the phone from Annie’s hands and set it on the dining room table.

“Why don’t you go get changed and wash your face, then you can respond. Okay? Give yourself time to think of something to say.” Jilly pushed Annie towards the stairs where her and Savannah followed, wanting to change into their own PJ’s, as well.

Once everyone was washed up and changed into their pajamas, Savannah heated up some hot water for tea and cocoa. Annie grabbed her phone and the girls proceeded over to the couch, curling up under blankets and sipping their drinks.

“Have you thought about what your gonna say?” Savannah asked.

“Kinda. I’m still in a state of shock.” Annie said, processing the fact that Yoongi actually text back.

“Well, why don’t you start by replying to his question?” Jilly offered. Annie just nodded her head and started typing it out... then erasing... then typing again.... and erasing again.

“Babe..” Savannah started.

“I know, but I don’t want to come off too technical, you know? Sometimes, I can’t control how I come off. I don’t want to be short or anything.” Annie ran her fingers through her hair, thinking about how to strategically text the rapper back. She started texting back and hit send before projecting the phone at Savannah, smacking into her stomach.

“Oof, what the hell!”

“I’m sorry, I’m just nervous!” Savannah rubbed her stomach while looking down at the screen and reading out the message.

“Yeah we arrived safely, haha. Savannah surprised us with a really pretty apartment in Apgujeong. Did you get home safely? 😊”

“Babe, that’s perfect. You don’t need to stress about it more.” Savannah said, placing the phone on the table. Jilly just ‘awed’ at Annie and giggled as Annie lightly smacked her arm.

“By the way, Jilly, did Jungkook text you back?” Savannah asked, leaning back against the cozy couch.

“Oh right, my phone is on silent. Let me check!” She said, reaching into her jacket pocket. She pulled out her phone and looked down at the screen.

“Not yet.” She said, a tone of sadness in her voice.

“Let’s be honest, he’s probably at the gym.” Annie shrugged, a light playfulness in her voice.

“or scarfing his face with Jin... or wine drunk again.,” Savannah chimed in, smirking. “Anyways, don’t worry about it right now. We have a full day to seize tomorrow and we should get some sleep.” Annie and Jilly nodded, draining the last of their drinks before cleaning up the mugs and heading upstairs.

Once in her room, Jilly stretched out on her bed and started watching videos when a familiar name popped up on the screen. Jilly’s eyes went wide and her phone slipped from her grip, falling right onto her face.

“Ow, shit!” She cursed, rubbing on the bridge of her nose. Sitting up, she opened the message and squealed.

“Why is he so cute???!! I can’t handle it!” Jilly moaned, flailing her legs on the bed in overwhelming excitement. She rolled around the blankets before sitting up and typing out her message: ‘Yeah, we ate Budaejjigae because it was chilly outside. It was so yummy 😋 Did you get home safely?’

With that, Jilly plugged in her phone and fell asleep after a few long minutes of thinking about the events of the last 24 hours.

—————————————————————————————————————————

This story belongs to roo-the-fox. Do not repost, please.

[jbjsflower]

DAY6 reaction - Their crush being in a relationship

Pairing: DAY6 x Reader

Genre: Kinda angsty & sad

Warnings: None

Requested: Yes~

A/N: Well even tho it was a little angsty and sad I loved writing this and I hope you guys enjoy it as well. Thanks to the lovely anon for the request! Also, I still take requests so go to my profile to leave yours <3

SUNGJIN

"I want to cry for you. I want to hurt instead of you, I don’t want any scars in your heart ever again."

- Hi Y/N, I know you might be very busy these days but I wanted to see you. I have something to tell you and I'd like to do that face to face... Please let me know if you're free later. Sungjin hung up the phone after leaving his voice mail for you, hoping you would listen to it and give him an answer that same day. - Will you see her again?- Jae asked. - I hope so.- he replied. Sungjin and you had been friends for a while and he started liking you some time ago, but couldn't find the courage to tell you about his feelings... until  now. He had finally decided to confess to you. Later that day he received a text from you telling him that you also wanted to see him because you missed being together and also had something to tell him. This made Sungjin smile widely, feeling butterflies in his stomach. You were going to meet at a park that was pretty hidden from the public so that you could forget about people following you or taking pictures. Sungjin arrived early and waited for you to come while sitting on a bench. Soon he saw you entering the park and smiled. - It's been a long time.- he told you. - Yeah, I missed these meetings of ours.- you answered happily. You spent hours talking about everything that happened lately, laughing and joking around. It was pretty late already and you both knew you had to return home soon, so Sungjin thought it was the perfect moment. "It's now or never." - Y/N... I have to tell you something.- Sungjin said. - Oh me too, I almost forgot.- you replied. - Oh okay, you go first. - Okay fine.- you answered.- You know this famous actor, Lee Jongsuk? - Yeah of course.- he said. - Okay well, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you before but I wanted to do it face to face... We've been dating for about three months.- you said with a huge smile. - Oh that's...- he started talking.- I'm really happy for you, Y/N.- he continued with a sad smile. - Right? I'm really happy I could finally tell you that. What did you want to tell me? Sungjin took a deep breath. There goes nothing. He knew you wouldn't feel the same but still wanted to tell you how he felt, hoping it wouldn't affect your friendship. - I really like you.- he said. - Sungjin... I...- you answered after a long silence. - I'm not waiting for a response.- he cut you off.- I just don't want to have any regrets in the future.  Return home safely. Then he made his way outside the park while you sat there, watching him leave. He felt the urge to cry, but didn't allow himself to do so. He wanted you to be happy more than anything, so as long as you were, he would feel happy for you. Even if you didn't feel the same, it was okay.

JAE

"It’s the only way to make you happy, so I let go, let go, let go."

- Hyung, stop eating ramen!! Leave some food for us.- Wonpil screamed pouting. - It's not my fault that you guys are slow eating.- Jae replied, with his mouth full of noodles. He started paying attention to his phone instead of listening to the guys' complaints about him eating all the food. He scrolled through his twitter timeline, reading some random tweets. Suddenly, a picture caught his attention. Y/N. He had a crush on you ever since you met. You were an extra in one of their videos, an actress from their company. Back in the day you weren't famous, but you got a few good roles in dramas recently that made you gain popularity. You had never talked much to each other, but your bright personality was enough to capture Jae's heart. He had thought several times about how to spend more time next to you, but was never brave enough to make the first step. Despite his awkward self looking like an extroverted guy, he was actually an awkward introverted boy that tried his best to become more social. He clicked the link to the article about you and started reading. "Dispatch confirms that Y/N is now in a relationship with a famous idol." - What the...- Jae said while reading the article. - What's wrong?- Younghyun asked. - Dude... She's dating Mark?- Jae said, looking at the rest of the members. - Who? Who's dating Mark?- Sungjin asked. - Y/N...- he answered, looking at the article again. - What? Y/N? Your crush?- Younghyun asked, noticeably shocked. - Yeah dude... why didn't he tell me? I thought we were friends.- Jae continued. - Maybe they just started dating...- Dowoon replied. - Are you okay?- Wonpil asked. - Yeah... I'm good.- he answered, standing up and walking towards his room. Jae locked himself for a couple of days, working on his music to stop thinking about you. Of course, it was only a crush, but Jae was a sensitive guy and it truly hurt him to hear those news of you dating one of his friends. After a few days of hard work, a new song was ready to come out on their next album, "Letting go". A song that talked about his feelings of struggle, but ended up with him letting you go in order for you to be happy, even if it was with someone else.

YOUNGHYUN

"I thought you would be forever in me but gotta let go."

- Ah, why is the convenience store so far from the dorms...- Younghyun sighed. He wanted to cook some noodles but they ran out of it, so he made his way to the closest store, about 20 minutes away from the dorms. Even though it was a little far from there, the walk was enjoyable. It was already dark outside and there was a nice breeze that made the hot summer days less annoying. He walked with his headphones on, listening to some music, when he suddenly noticed you sitting on a restaurant. You were sitting on your own, looking at your phone. Younghyun smiled widely. He had liked you for quite a while, but never had the chance to tell you about his feelings. You were both very busy and barely talked to each other lately. He stood there, looking at you like a fool, wondering if he should walk towards you and at least, say hi. His eyes couldn't stop contemplating you from the distance. Suddenly, a guy sat in front of you and you left your phone aside to pay attention to him. - Who's that?- Younghyun said to himself. He noticed how you smiled brightly and laugh during your conversation. After that, he noticed that the guy sitting in front of you was Chan. He never thought Chan would be interested in you, nor that you would accept to go on a date. Since when did you know each other? He couldn't stop asking these question in his head when suddenly, you turned around, facing him. Younghyun couldn't help but hide his face under his cap and hope for the best. A few seconds later, he looked at you again to check if you were still facing him. Seeing you so focused in your date, he continued walking. When he finally arrived at the convenience store, he bought a couple of bottles of soju as well. Then, he decided to take a different route, just in case you were still in that restaurant. He arrived at the dorms and started drinking. For some reason, he couldn't delete that image of you and Chan. Suddenly, a single tear rolled down his cheek. He didn't usually show this side of him, but seeing you with someone else truly made him feel somewhat sad. Of course, he hadn't planned to interfere in your relationship in any way. He still wished you would be happy with whoever you were, but deep in his heart he also wished he had a chance to be with you.

WONPIL

"I would hold you so you won’t be apart from me for even a moment."

His eyes couldn't help but search for you. It had become his worst habit, looking at you and trying to picture how he would confess to you. It usually made him space out way too much and of course the rest of the members noticed, but he didn't care about that. - When will you tell her?- Jae asked. - I'm waiting for the right moment.- he simply answered. - Dude, there's no right moment, just ask her out already! - Look.- Wonpil said, taking his eyes off you for a second to give Jae a very serious look.- She's not just any girl, okay? I can't just go over there and ask her out. - Why not?? - Because!- he said, almost screaming. His voice made the waiting room go silent all of a sudden, making Wonpil hide his face from the rest of the people who looked at him, including you. - I will do it when the moment comes.- he told Jae after everyone went back to their business. - Alright.- Jae said, getting up from his seat and walking outside the room. Wonpil had liked you for a long time, but he didn't quite know how to approach you. You were an idol as well and you had first met each other during one of their comebacks. Back then, you had perform right before them. You had a conversation that barely lasted more than a couple of minutes, but he had fallen for that smile and sweet personality of yours. He also found really cute how nervous you were and tried to help you calm down a little. After that you had never had a real conversation, apart from greeting each other during awards and shows. - Are you performing today?- you asked Wonpil, sitting by his side, right where Jae had been sitting before. - Oh, yeah.- he answered, suddenly blushing when he noticed how close you were from him.- What about you? You nodded with a smile. - We are having our comeback stage today.- you told him. - Oh I see, good luck.- he said. Wonpil's hands were sweaty and shaking, he always lost it when it came to you and wouldn't even be able to form a sentence. A staff member told you to get ready for stage and Jae's words came back to his mind. How much longer could he wait to ask you out? - Y/N...- he said before you could stand up, his voice completely shaking. - Yes?- you asked, looking him in the eyes. - I was wondering... Maybe we could go out together sometime.- he answered after taking a deep breath.- Like... in a date. - A date?- you asked, your eyes opened in surprise.- Actually I'm... I'm already dating someone else. I'm sorry, I... - Oh, no, it's okay.- he replied smiling. - Are you sure?- you asked, worried that you could hurt his feelings. - Yes.- he answered.- May I know who it is? - Park Jimin.- you said. - I see.- he replied with an awkward laugh.- Well... Even if you love someone else I will still feel the same about you, but of course, I just want you to be happy. - Y/N, we have to go.- a staff member said approaching you. - Oh, okay.- you said, getting up to follow her.- I'm sorry, Wonpil. See you. - Sure. Good luck.- he answered with a warm smile. When it came to you, Wonpil only had pure feelings. He could never wish anything bad to happen to you, neither could he give you any cold or harmful words. He could just offer you a kind smile and nice words, even if he felt hurt or sad. He didn't lie though, Wonpil just wanted you to be happy, even if he wasn't part of that happiness. And his feelings were also genuine. - Hey you still here?- Jae asked him.- Come on, we have to get ready. - Okay.- he said following him. - Is everything fine?- he asked. - Yes, everything's fine.- Wonpil answered, following him outside.

DOWOON

"Actually, I’m lonely. I hate that the night sky that has no answer."

- Having lunch on your own again?- you asked, sitting next to Dowoon in the company cafe. - Oh... yeah I was alone at the dorms today and didn't want to cook.- he answered. - Gosh why are you so lazy?- you asked, rolling your eyes. Dowoon and you had been friends for a very long time and you couldn't spend more than a week without texting or going out somewhere. You had a great relationship but somehow it wasn't enough for him. Dowoon had developed romantic feelings for you some time ago, but he was kinda scared that asking you out would ruin your relationship. - Do you want to go to the arcade later? You might be bored if you're alone at the dorms.- you asked. - Sure. I'll pick you up.- he answered. Going back to the dorms, Dowoon thought about his feelings, about how long he had been supressing them, afraid that if he let all out he might lose you. Thinking about that sounded ridiculous. You both had a great relationship, a strong friendship that couldn't be broken because of something like that. Why didn't he just tell you? He arrived at the dorm and decided to take a shower, change his outfit and finally confess his true feelings to you. What could go wrong? The worst that could happen was that you just saw him as a friend, then things would continue as they were before. He chose a nice shirt and jeans, sprayed some perfume on his clothes and got ready to pick you up. Your dorm was near his, which made it easier for you to see each other often. Dowoon was really nervous. He was finally opening his heart and telling you about his feelings and to be honest it felt... great. You both walked your way to the arcade with your hand grabbing his arm. You were always like that with him, it felt comfortable for both. You spend a couple of hours trying different games before you made a pause to get some food. It was your treat this time, so you got up to make the order while he waited for you. While you were waiting on the queue, your phone screen lit up with a new notification. Dowoon didn't usually look, it was none of his business, but his eyes involuntarily looked at it. Once he saw the picture in your lockscreen, his eyes started tearing up. It was a picture of you and Sungjae kissing. You hadn't told him about your relationship, but you had been dating Sungjae secretely for a couple of months already. Dowoon couldn't help but sob while you weren't there. It had taken him a long while to finally make up his mind, and of course, it didn't go as planned. - I got the food.- you said happily. Dowoon cleaned his tears with the back of his hand while you placed the dishes on the table. - Are you okay?- you asked. - Yeah... I'm okay, I think I got a cold or something.- he answered. - We'll go to the pharmacy later.- you said, giving him a fork. - Okay...- he replied, taking it and ignoring what just happened.

[just-castlevania-imagines]

Another Date - Stripper!Alucard x Reader -

“You? You canceled your appointments?” Trevor asked seriously, the blonde simply nodding. Alucard detested talking about work in public, especially in somewhere like a coffee shop, but it was unavoidable.

“Yes. I would like to go out with Y/N tonight-“

“You canceled the single best paying bachelorette party in town.” Trevor said, with a slight chuckle. “It’s not every day that Carmilla gets married. She’s the most posh fucking spoiled rich fuck this town has.”

“Spoiled is accurate.” Alucard said with a disgusted look. “She was not happy I canceled.”

“Oh man, did you tell her you’d rather be out with another woman?”

“God no, can you imagine? I told her I forgot I made a previous engagement. She doesn’t need to know what it is, that’s my business.” He said, chuckling as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Trevor noted the low buzz and raise a brow.

“That her calling?”

“No, it’s my mother texting. I told her how my date went and she’s asking when they can meet her.”

“Oh, things are getting serious.”

“Yes... Belmont... I have a favor to ask.” He grinned slyly, leaning over the table.Trevor seemed skeptical but nodded.

“...Yes?”

“Tell me... How is...Your Restaurant doing?” He asked with a genuine smile.

“...I’ve got the most popular restraunt in the city...Booked solid through November-”

“I need a reservation-”

“Do you have any fucking idea what you’re asking?”Trevor asked quickly. “I am booked-”

“You owe me. I did Sypha bachlorette party for free. Do you have any idea how much I normally charge-”

“Not as much as a fucking table at The Belmont Trove you little-”

“Trevor, Please.” He begged, pushing his coffee to the side. “I need this night to be perfect. Money is no object.”

“It’s not the money Adrian,” Trevor sighed. “How am I supposed to make room for you for the reservation?”

“You do it for you and Sypha all the time. How do you do it with that?” He asked, making Trevor giggle nervously.

“I move a couples reservation to the next month and when they show up I inist they made the reservation on the wrong day-”

“Underhanded but I like it..So..?” Adrian started, his eyes pleading with his friend to work with him. Trevor put his hands up, conceeding to his friend.

“...Fine. I’ll pull some strings.”

Thank you.”

-----

“How on earth did you get reservations for the Belmont Trove?” You marvelled, looking at the grand vintage entrance. The Chandelliers under the outside awning screamed lavish. Adrian’s suit on it’s own had to be worth ten times the one you decided to wear.

“I know the owner. 25th Generation restauranteur. The Belmont’s have been cooking for centuries.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“I’m really not.” He nudged you, both of you giggling a bit as you approached the podium. The son of the Tepes family was always greeted so warmly by the staff.

“Good Evening, Mr. Tepes... And who is this beauty, may I ask?”

“With any luck, a future Mrs. Tepes.” He joked, holding onto your hand. You looked away nervously, unable to hold back a smile.

“She’s lovely. This way, Mr. Belmont has urged me to give you a special table.” The Maitre d began to lead you both but Adrian looked puzzled.

“...Special?”

----

Adrian was guided through the restaurant floor and you were in awe of the exquisite decor and patrons. You felt almost out of place. While you were amused Adrian looked everywhere in search of anything that may seem special. The empty table looked normal to him, situated not far from some decorated booths. He then noticed Trevor and Sypha at a small table to the left of his own and groaned. He calmed. That’s fine.....but then..

Adrians eyes widened and he tugged on your arm, urging you to stop walking.

“...Adrian? Is everything okay?”

“...Fucking, Trevor-”

“Adrian what’s wrong?”

“...Y/N, I lied.” He said quickly, taking both her hands and whispering to ehr as discretely as possible, You were stunned but..confused. 

“What are you talking about.”

“I Did have plans tonight. I canceled them because I’d rather be with you.” You smiled, touched that he’d risk something like that but it failed to explain his sudden fear.

“What does that have to do with the table?”

“...Because that booth in earshot of our table looks like it’s where they decided to go when I canceled... That’s the woman I canceled the appointment on short notice with...Carmilla”

-----

You both were able to order in peace, Adrian sitting with his back to her booth. You tried to keep everything light, doing your best to make Adrian smile but out of the corner of his eye he could see Trevor just waiting for shit to go down.

“...I’ll kill him for this.”

“Adrian, relax,” You urged, reaching for his hand and rubbing it with your thumb. “We can still have a great time.”

“I’m sorry about this.” He apologied, embarrassed that any of this happened, “I promise, I’ll make it up to you.”

“You try to hard.” You said simply with a laugh. He was a little shocked to hear that. “You don’t need to wine and dine me. We could have ordered chinese food and watched bad movies. I just like spending time with you. If you had to work, that’s okay. You could have come over after, stayed the night at my place.” You said the last part nervously, making you both a little flustered.

“..So..Maybe we could do that next time?”

“How soon is next time?” Your flirty inflection made him shudder, the dork had to breakeye contact simply to keep talking.

“..Well..since you don’t care if I have work...I could stay the night...tomorrow? Unless you’ve had enough of me this week.”

“That’s impossible.” You both shared a laugh, Sypha and Trevor looking on and smiling a little.

“Oh Trevor,” Sypha started. “They’re so happy.”

“I almost regret setting him up...”

“.....Setting them up-?”

“Alucard!” Trevor called from his table, getting the attention of a coupld people. Adrian froze, hearing his stage name. He wasn’t the only one to do so.

“That little bastard.” Adrian said quietly. You simply stood there, watching the lady at the table behind Adrian suddenly stand. He could feel her eyes on him as she approached the table yet he tried to remain calm.

“...Alucard.” She said firmly. He didn’t respond, closing his eyes and trying to keep his temper in check. “Alucar-”

“That is not my name.” He said simply. “My Name is Adrian Tepes and you are ruining my date.”

“Oh am I?” She said sarcastically, scowling down at the man that refused to turn and look at her. “Well, you ruined my ladies night-”

“You seemed to find new plans rather quickly.”

“I was planning for your little show after me and my friends had dinner-”

“Keep your voice down-”

“So you don’t want everyone in this restaurant to know You stood me up!” She yelled, making the entire atmophere break. “You were just supposed to come over to my house and wave your dick around, the easiest fucking job in the world,” Alucard suddenly turned around, glaring wickedly at the woman. “But no, you stood me up for this homely little nobody.” You gasped, your waiter approached caustiously and simply put your wine glasses down and getting the fuck out of there quickly. “You know what, I will NEVER hire your services.”

“I really don’t care.” He admitted, further pissing her off.

“You fucking smarmy little man whore!” She shouted, making the entire restaurant just watch. Trevor was covering his mouth, feeling slightly guilty and your blood fucking boiled hearing her insult your man like that. Adrian looked so defeated. So embarrassed.

You didn’t fucking hesitate.

You picked up both you and Adrians glasses of wine, tossing it in her face in an instant. She let out a short scream and back up, looking up at you furiously. You put the glasses down, crossing your arms and standing your ground.

“He Said: You’re ruining our date!”  Trevors mouth dropped opne, Sypha slapping her hand over it to keep him from laughing and Adrian was just fucking stunned. “Adrian, We’re leaving. I’m not going to stand here and listen to this prissy little soon to be rehab queen insult the man I love.” He didn’t even have a minute to respond to that as you grabbed his hand and began to walk out of the restaurant.

---

“This night.....was terrible,” Adrian started, patting his hair with a towl as he walked out of your bathroom. You just sat on the edge of your bed, swinging your feet off the side. “Why on earth did you throw wine at her?”

“....Solidarity?” You offered, making him break into a laugh.

“...You didn’t have to do that for me.”

“I know but.. I wanted to.. You mean a lot to me Adrian.” he smiled, walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed beside you. His smile suddenly turned to a smirk and he leaned on your shoulder.

“....So... You said you loved me-”

“Nope, Pretty sure I didn’t-”

“Pretty sure you did-”

“Why would I say that!”

“Probably cause you love me-”

“You were caught up in the moment-” He cut you off by pushing you onto the bed, crawling onto you and hovering over you. You just laughed as he peppered your neck with kisses. “S-Stop-”

“Tell me you love me-”

“NEVER”

“Then I won’t stop-”

“That sounds like the opposite of a problem.” He rolled his eyes, rolling off you and staring up at the ceiling. You both let your laughter die down, just staring at the ceiling fan making it’s rounds. Eventually, it put you both to sleep.

-Mod Alucard

[icedteaandoldlace]

Y'ALL. Wild work story time!

So early in the evening, I get a call from this woman who has already ordered, but wants to add something to her order. Her original order was 18 wings and two salads, and her total was under $2.00 because she had store credit. So she adds 6 more wings and another salad and that's it, and she double checked with me to make sure it was all on the same ticket, because her husband was gonna be picking it up, and she didn't want him thinking he got everything and leaving something behind, which is a thing that happens sometimes. So anyways, it's a very run-of-the-mill conversation, I update the order, we hang up, and I go about my business. Very shortly afterwards, her husband comes in to pick up the order. I give him his total, which is now $13-something, and he makes this face, and it's not the confused kind of face people normally make when someone adds something to their order without notifying them of the change, but more like he ate something sour or smells something bad, and he says, "No..." and just kinda leaves it at that for a second (waiting for me to magically go "Whoops! Wrong number!" I suppose), but when I do my standard reply instead (confirming the name and the contents of the order), this guy, instead of being like, "Yeah, that's the right order" and letting me explain what happened, he just says, "My total was two dollars."

Which is confirmation enough for me that it's the right order, so I try again: "The wings and the salads, for Rose? Your wife called just a minute ago and added more to the order." And right in the middle of my sentence, he asks to speak to a manager. And since I'm not 100% certain I heard him correctly (because I WAS TALKING when he said it), I'm like, "What? Did you say you want to see a manager?" No reply. Awkward pause. I ask again. Same thing. And this is not the first time he's started to talk while I was talking, either, nor was it the last. This conversation has a lot of awkward starts and stops, like the verbal equivalent of riding with someone learning how to drive a stick shift, and every single time I ask him to either repeat what he said or just confirm that I heard him right, it's like talking to a brick wall. And at no point at all does he act like he's having trouble hearing me, or like he doesn't understand what's going on, but he doesn't acknowledge a single thing I say, so while I am getting very flustered because I'm having trouble discerning what he wants or what I need to explain, and because nothing I say is having any kind of effect on him whatsoever, he is just weirdly interacting with me yet also acting as if I don't exist at the same time. He did ask me to repeat the total once because he had forgotten what it was, but again didn't react when I repeated it, just another weird pause, even though he can hear me talking and see my lips moving. At one point he brought up his wife's credit, as though still convinced I had the wrong order or something had just been entered incorrectly, and he asked how much the individual items cost. So I printed out his ticket, read the individual prices and the original subtotal ($38-something) AND the amount of the credit, AND the final total, and concluded that it was correct, even making sure to add that "...so with the third salad and the other wings that she just added, that puts the total at [whatever it was]," JUST IN CASE he somehow missed that detail the first time. And yet again, there is no acknowledgement toward me or anything I'm saying, and he didn't even glance at the ticket when I printed it out, not even in an, "Oh, movement out of the corner of my eye, what is this?" kind of way. Just...nothing. And this all happens in a very short frame of time--like, probably just a little over a minute, possibly even less--but apparently his majesty thinks I was taking too long to get the issue sorted out (even though I had explained it repeatedly and in detail), so he goes, "Well, I'm tired of waiting," and says it in this conceding manner, as if he Knows he's being overcharged and it's some strange mystery as to WHY, but he's going to let it slide and just pay the full total I gave him because he's Such A Swell Guy Giving The Mixed-Up Cashier A Break. And so as he starts to open his wallet, since it's the first time I've had the opportune moment to bring it up, I say, "And some of the wings are still cooking, so it'll be a few minutes before they're ready," because letting someone know their food isn't ready yet is crucial information when they're there to pick it up. It should have already been obvious that it wasn't ready given that I'd already told him his wife JUST CALLED to add more to the order, yet he just makes one of those "this might as well happen" faces, the kind that's like so annoyed it's almost amused, and this is something I see quite a bit whenever someone just has one thing after the next going wrong with their order (usually something that can't be helped, like we ran out of several things they wanted to order), and sometimes the person making that face does actually get annoyed with me or with the restaurant over it, but a good bit of the time they just have a little personal #FML moment at the universe in general, and then they gather their composure and they're like, "okay, yeah, that's fine" and let me know they don't blame me. But with this guy, I couldn't tell which it was gonna be. So anyway, he puts his wallet away and goes to the bench to wait. It's not out of the ordinary for someone to want to wait until their food is ready before they pay, especially if they have reason to suspect something might go wrong with it, and it's usually a very chill situation and they're not dicks about it or anything, and I figure this is just one of those situations, so I just make a mental note to remember he hasn't paid yet in case I need to remind him. So I move on to the next customer, and after I've taken care of them right quick, I go to make the guy's third salad, and ended up having to make all three of them, because no one had made the original two. Since there are no interruptions, this takes only a couple of minutes. Then once I have all three of his salads finished and put in the fridge, there's another customer who needs a salad made, so I start on that one. Right in the middle of working on the other person's salad, this guy shows up at my side and says, "What the fuck is the holdup?!" As if he had been waiting for thirty minutes as opposed to like, five, give or take. Like, I wasn't even sure his wings had had time to finish cooking yet, since 15 minutes is our standard wait time. But the man is enraged and acting like he's being treated horribly, and he's steady ranting and cussing for the whole world to hear (he had the nerve to make some sort of complaint about bad manners?), and I just say calmly, deliberately not acknowledging his bad attitude, "I'll check on your wings for you." So I check on his wings, leaving the salad half-made, and sure enough, his wings are now ready, and they can't have been sitting for more than a few seconds, given how little time has elapsed. So I bag them up, functioning on autopilot, because he's reached the level of angry that I don't engage with, because when someone's that angry, your only options are A) try to reason with them, which is guaranteed to fail, B) get snippy, thus escalating the situation and getting fired, or C) letting your body register how overwhelmed you suddenly feel and bursting into tears. None of those are good ideas, so I just act as though he's any normal customer who's not making a scene, and bring him his stuff, making sure to check the screen as I go to hand it to him to see if someone else has cashed him out yet. I can see that he still hasn't paid, but as soon as everything on his order is present, he snatches it up, whirls around, and swiftly storms out. Before he can get away, I call loudly, knowing good and well that he can hear me, "You haven't paid yet," not bothering to sugarcoat it with my customer service voice. He deliberately ignores me. I make no further effort to stop him, because while I have reminded irate customers that they still had to pay for their orders, and I have gone after people who simply forgot to pay before, there's no way in hell I'm about to chase down someone who flat out refused to pay for their food, because anyone that brazen and unpredictable is not someone I'm going to force a confrontation with. And since the whole thing was so surreal, I didn't actually register what happened enough to do anything else about it, so I just went back to making the other person's salad. But the other server on duty fortunately had the presence of mind to tell the shift manager what happened, then he asked me about it, I filled in the blanks for him, and then he made a call, either to someone higher up or to the police. And he tried to call the customer, too, because duh, we have his phone number from the order. Dummy didn't think that through when he made his grand exodus.

It was insane. All the other customers in the building were side-eyeing the guy and giving their own commentary on the situation. One guy who had dined in said as he was paying for his meal that he had been able to see the guy pull out from his table, and that he'd been in such a hurry that he almost hit another car pulling in on his way out. And I know someone called the police at some point, because they showed up shortly after this all went down, but once they did, the manager had finally gotten a hold of the man's wife, and she agreed to pay for their food over the phone, so there were no charges pressed in the end. The wife has been quoted as saying, "My husband can get a bit impatient," much to the incredulity of the entire staff. Then once everything was taken care of, the police decided to have dinner there, in part to keep an eye out in case the guy came back to cause more trouble, which he fortunately did not.

And all this before the sun had even gone down.

[serverthoughts]

I cried over Horizontal Cut Chicken - Restaurant Industry

Welcome BACK, to Day 2 of the week of ServerThoughts™ return. 

Since I like my job, I’m going to be vague about some of the food on our menu and the name of the company. So from now on if I talk about my old job, I’ll say **p*eb**s and refer to my current job, as just my work. Cool, let’s continue.

We used to have this manager at work named Billy, and he was the absolute worst. He ended up getting fired in December 2018, because a bunch of people went to HR about him being an asshole. 

One of my coworkers actually wrote an anonymous letter to corporate about him, and wrote a detailed letter about everything he had said towards her or how he acted as a manager.

Here’s an unofficial copy of what she wrote:

I hated Billy. He was misogynist as fuck, and loved to talk shit about the employees to anyone that wanted to listen. One time I was in the weeds and asked him if he could bring one of my tables soup, and he asked me if he needed to change the seating chart and give me less tables since I was unable to do my job.

I think that’s one of the last times I talked to Billy. He was a shitty manager that would smoke out of his weed pen on our back doc, during a busy Friday or Saturday night. Us servers would run around the restaurant trying to find Billy because we needed discounts, and this motherfucker was getting lit. Okay yeah, that’s how I’m trying to be too, but I can’t, because I have to grate Parmesan cheese on my customers’ pasta. Along with other important job duties that I totally have.

Totally.

No judgment though, when I worked at The B’s, I smoked before, after, and during my shift. I also wasn’t the manager, so Billy has no excuse.

This past Labor Day (2018), I was working a Monday lunch shift and there were only 4 servers scheduled. My other manager (Sasha) who does our server schedule forgot it was a holiday and that kids and some adults would be off of school/work, so we were short staffed af when I walked in at 12 pm. 

It was chaos. I immediately had 4 tables when I walked in, and I was trying to help my co-workers who were running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

I wasn’t supposed to be a morning closer, but an hour into my shift my manager who does my schedule told me that she hopes it was okay that I’m staying to close, because the closer has to leave early for a dentist appointment. Alright, bet. I’m a closer now, sucks but it’s whatever.

We usually have two managers working during lunch and dinner shifts, always. There’s a manager running the floor, and one running the kitchen. Billy was running the floor, and the other manager (Sasha) was running the kitchen.

Billy and Sasha aren’t there real names, as you may have assumed. I love preserving people’s privacy by exploiting them anonymously on my blog.

I had a table of three girls on Labor Day. Two teenage daughters and their mother. I knew they were going to be a difficult table the moment they ordered three waters in take-out cups with lemon. 

A chill table doesn’t order their drinks in take-out cups, and that’s a fuckin’ fact Jack.

They ended up ordering two pizzas without bacon, because they don’t eat pork. And a chicken salad, but they wanted their chicken cut vertically. 

Y’all. I still have to take a second and think about what directions vertical and horizontal are. I’m not even saying this for comedic purposes. I really do have to think hard about which direction vertical and horizontal are.

Just a reminder that I’m 22 and graduate college in a year, and I don’t know off the top of my head if vertical is up and down or side to side.

The chicken in the salad they ordered is usually shredded, but does have some vertical pieces in the bunch.

Anyways, I put in their food with all their mods (there were more modifications but I’m going to be vague. I actually like this job, so I’m not trying to expose where I work).

The food comes out and the table claims that their pizzas are cold, and that the chicken was NOT vertical, even though they specifically told me they wanted it cut vertical and they know the General Manager and the woman’s husband knows the General Manager and they are customers there and they know my boss.

Okay bitch, I know my general manager too. He’s my boss. He hired me. I see him more than my own dad, you’re not special. 

Every time I tell my GM that customers will tell us that they know him, he says, “Everyone knows me. My name is on the building.” 

I can’t wait to finish school and get a big girl career and get to say shit like that without it being bragging.

When I walked into the restaurant that day, I did not expect that a portion of my shift would be arguing about the direction that chicken was cut on a salad. But there I was, arguing with one of the daughters of that three top, about her side to side cut chicken.

Their pizzas were cold, so we had two new ones made. When the mom of the table told me that they were cold, I apologized, and said “If they are cold, I’m sorry” that way they weren’t too mad at me, but I still wasn’t siding with them that the meal was cold. It’s not how I would usually handle a situation like that, but I knew from the moment those bitches ordered water in take-out cups, it was over.

Apparently, when I made Billy go over to talk to that table, the women tried to say that I had touched their pizzas and agreed with them that their food was cold. 

Look, I’m not a Veteran of the restaurant industry but I know one of the number one rules is to never touch a customer’s food. Regardless if they are trying to show you that the temperature of their food is not up to par.

I’m dumb and a bitch, but I’m not a dumb bitch, so I did not put my finger on their pizzas.

They also kept trying to bring up the vertical chicken to Billy, but he had already taken off the salad when they confronted me about the pizzas. I had him take it off before he even greeted the table, because one of the girls sent back the salad and didn’t want a new one. 

The girl who ordered the salad kept repeating that she told me she wanted it cut vertically, and how this never happens when they sit with the bartender.

Okay then walk your ass over to the bar, and sit with the bartender. The fuck? Do you think I care? Do you think this offends me? Their faces offended me. The fact that I now had to stay until shift change, offended me. Sit with the bartender, I literally do not care. 

^^ ME to 86% of my customers.

I explained to her that yes, not all the chicken was cut the way she wanted, but I pointed out vertical pieces in the salad. Just to be a bitch (but not a dumb one). I also told her I wrote a note when I rung in the order for it, to be cut the way she asked. 

I special mod’d that shit and it still wasn’t made correctly.

I’m proud of myself for not throwing the BOH under the bus, because I could of easily said the cook making the salad just didn’t read the ticket. But no. I’m an adult now (I guess) so I tried to use logic to show these ladies that they were wrong and dumb.

Billy took off one of the pizzas after talking to them, and hearing the mom talk about how unhappy her husband would be. Okay bitch, no one cares about your husband, just like they don’t care that you know my boss, the general manager.

I’m pretty sure they ended up tipping me, and the two new pizzas they got were up to their standard. 

Looking back at the time, I was on the verge of tears and wanted to leave. It was so busy and nothing was making that table satisfied. 

This was actually the second and last time I’ve got teary eyed at this job, and the only time I’ve considered walking out and quitting my job. I don’t get offended by most things that happen at the restaurant, but I couldn’t deal with having people argue with me and be rude as shit, while trying to juggle my full section. 

I probably should have screamed in the freezer, and I would of been better.

So the vertical chicken bitches happened on Labor Day 2018 which was back in September. I have not seen these women until about a month ago. I started writing this post a month ago, and a few days after I had started the post, that’s when I saw the women sitting at the bar, drinking from their take-out cups.

I saw them again at the bar with their dad/husband, like 2 weeks after seeing them again a month ago.

Was I the reason they strictly eat at the bar? Maybe. Am I fine with it? Completely. 

I don’t have time to special mod what direction you want you chicken cut in, and then have to relay that message to the kitchen, just in case they choose not to read the ticket.

Moral of the story, eat your damn chicken the way it comes. Fin.

See you tomorrow, where I reveal more about what got Billy the dumbass manager fired. Also how weirdly close the managers are to the staff. I literally drink with Emily my other manager?? So weird. 

Xoxo,

serverthoughts.

[angelwingsxxo]

Ardour

Tom Holland x reader

Summary: You got the role of a lifetime, playing the daughter of Anthony Stark in the Avengers movies. Celebrity life comes with a lot of nice things, but also some not-nice things.

Warnings: mentions of self-harm, suicide and eating-disorders

Word count: 18387

Chapters: 5

Chapter One

Warnings: none

It was always weird to get back into routine after months of filming. You felt a little lost, if you were being honest.

When you arrived in London with Benedict and Tom, your first emotion was sadness, because both men were welcomed by their families, and yours wasn’t there. But it was not intentional. Your father was still working on a movie in Hollywood, and your mother and brother were out of town for some modelling gigs – they would all be back before October, however.

When Tom’s mother offered to drive you home, you were more than pleased, and you let her drive you to the small, cosy house you called home. “You have a lovely house,” Tom commented as he helped unload your suitcase from the car. You smiled at him, taking the suitcase and hoisting your bag further up your shoulder. “Thank you. And thank your mother for bringing me home.”

You didn’t notice his gaze on you as you walked away, or the way he bit his lip as he cursed himself silently for chickening out – again. He wanted to ask you out so badly, but he just couldn’t. He was too scared you would reject him. You barely even knew him! You had only seen him a few times on set, since most scenes you shot were not together with him, and during the premiere, you had been seated in between Chris Evans and Elizabeth Olsen, so he had had no chance to talk to you.

“I’m home!” You sang as you opened the door, and you were greeted by soft barks and meows. Chuckling, you dropped your bag in the hallway, and entered the living room. Your black cat, whom you had named Loki, and your tabby cat – whom you had named Thor – were lying on the couch lazily, jumping up when you entered.

The two dogs – Pietro and Wanda – barked happily as they ran up to you, bouncing on your legs and almost pushing you on the floor. You laughed. This was a very nice welcome.

 “Just… Walk the dog, alright?” Your mother sighed. You rolled your eyes, but she couldn’t see that through the phone. “Last time,” was all you said before hanging up, and you swung your legs over the edge of your bed, giving Loki a look. “I’m gonna go to dad’s apartment to pick up Nat. I’ll be back.” You bowed down to give your favourite cat a kiss, but he hissed and jumped off the bed before that could happen. You chuckled. Very much Loki.

 Natasha was Alec’s new puppy. She was the sweetest little thing, and so despite your earlier protests about ‘walking that damn dog’, it wasn’t so bad. You even took her home, because you couldn’t let her all alone in that cold apartment again.

You watched a movie that night, and ordered pizza instead of cooking a proper meal. Together with your pets, you sat on the couch. “I am so glad mum’s left some food for you guys.” You laughed, and then your eye fell on the bag with carrots. “Shit!” You cursed, and hastily put your pizza on the couch. You quickly ran upstairs, blindly searching for the animal’s room.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I forgot all about you,” you mumbled as you lifted the small brown rabbit out of his cage. He looked at you without emotion, and you pressed him to your chest. “I am so, so sorry Peter, this will never happen again, alright?”

You fell asleep with Loki and Thor curled up in your arms, Peter on the pillow next to you, and Natasha, Pietro and Wanda on the end of the bed, with their heads close to your legs.

* * *

 The sunshine woke you up, and you yawned before stretching. Then, you opened your eyes and sighed.

Checking your phone, you noticed you had four missed calls from Tom H. You unlocked your phone and called him back.

“Hiddleston.” You greeted him sleepily, slowly getting out of bed. “Y/N?” Tom asked, and you pursed your lips as you walked into your closet. “Yeah?” “Where the fuck are you?” And then it dawned on you. “Shit!” You said out loud, and you almost dropped your phone. “That’s what I thought,” Tom said gruffly, “are you coming or what?” “Just – uhm, wait for me outside, please. I’ll be out within ten.”

 “You look absolutely radiant,” Tom said with a smile as you stepped out, your hands tightly gripping the leashes of the three dogs. “Shut it.” You snapped at him, and you pushed Pietro’s leash in his hands.

“How was filming?”

“It was tiring. But the premiere was good.”

Tom smiled. “It’s good to have you back Y/N.” You grinned at him. “Yeah, not many people can hold it out so long without me. But you’re special, Tom.” He laughed, throwing his head in his neck. “I've barely slept since you were gone, thank you very much." You shot Tom a grin, and the two of you burst out laughing. 

 You had breakfast in a small café that you forgot the name of, together with Tom. He was reading a newspaper, while you fed the dogs small pieces of meat that the staff of the restaurant had given to them. 

When you walked out of the restaurant, you noticed a few people sitting in cars with cameras. You rolled your eyes as you grabbed Nat's leash a little tighter, ensuring that the small puppy wouldn't be run over. "Damn paparazzi." Tom grumbled beside you, and you nodded in acknowledgement. 

 You were home by twelve in the morning, and as you shut the door behind you, you could hear soft voices coming out of the living room. "I'm back!" You yelled at the top of your lungs, and before you knew it, a boy came racing into the hall. He knocked into you, and you both landed on the carpet on the ground. You laughed as you put your arms around your brother. 

"Missed you too." You murmured, as he pulled back to look at you with glistening blue eyes. You smiled at him, wiping away a tear from his cheek. "It's good to see you, champ." You said softly, and he nodded. "I missed you." Your smile widened. "Next time, I'll make sure you can visit the set, alright?" He nodded and helped you up from the floor. 

 Your mother was there too, with another girl friend of hers, and they were chatting softly as you walked in. 

"Y/N!" Your mother said, getting up to hug you. You smiled and patted her back. "Hey mom. Clarissa." You nodded towards the other woman, who smiled. "I saw the movie. You did a very good job, Y/N, you were very convincing in your role." You smiled kindly at her compliment and turned towards your brother. "How about we make lunch for mom and Clarissa?" 

 "Hey." You answered your phone without checking who it was. "Y/N!" You recognised the voice immediately, even though the words were spoken slightly slurred. "Darling, you need to come to this epic party tonight." You frowned. "Jack, why are you drunk?" "I'm not drunk, just a little tipsy," Jackie spoke, "but you need to come there. It's hosted by some important people, and it's some gala. You can even bring a date! There will be press everywhere, so you'll be able to make an even better name for yourself. See you then, love!" You sighed deeply. Then, you grabbed your phone again to scroll through your contacts. 

Your finger lingered above Tom Holland. The two of you had gotten acquainted, ever since you met on the set of Civil War, and then on set for filming a few scenes of Spider-Man: Homecoming. And then during the filming of Infinity War, you had grown a little closer together. But he seemed a little nervous around you for most of the time, and judging by the looks he gave you sometimes, you could figure out that he liked you. 

That was not a problem at all, really, because he was handsome, and he was cute, and he was very nice (and maybe you had a little crush on him, but nobody knew and that would stay that way if you could help it). But you liked to lay back a little, because you weren't sure if you were yet ready for a relationship. 

So, you scrolled past him, and stopped at Harrison Osterfield. Yes, that would do. Determined, you pressed his name. 

"Y/N Y/L/N. Didn't expect you to call me." Harrison drawled on the other side of the phone and you rolled your eyes, petting Thor softly as he purred and shifted in your lap. You and Harrison had done a few modelling gigs together, even ending up on the Seventeen cover together. The two of you had done quite a few interviews together before Civil War and you could say you were friends. Sort of. Back then, around the time that you were going to start filming, you and Harrison seemed to have quite a deep connection, but neither of you wanted to do something about it because you thought it wasn't going to work out. So, you stayed friends. 

"Good to hear that," you said, "you know, I just returned from filming." Harrison laughed. 

"I do. Tom's here." He said, and you quirked an eyebrow before remembering that he and Tom had become very good friends over the past three years. "I need a favour." You said. "And what's that, little angel?" You smiled at your old nickname. 

"There's this gala tonight, surely you've heard of it. I'm going there. And I need to bring a date." He gasped. "Are you asking me to be your date, Y/N?" 

What you didn't know, was that Harrison and Tom were sitting together on the couch at the moment, and when Tom heard what Harrison said, he couldn't help but flinch. He knew that you and Harrison were very good friends. He also knew that there was a time when you were a little bit more than friends but that neither of you had pursued it for your own reasons. Were you going to pursue Harrison now? 

"Storm is going to be there." You squeaked nervously. Harrison frowned as he looked at his best friend, who was sinking into the couch. "Storm, as in, y'know? Coast?" "Yes." You sighed. "And she's been... well, she's been texting me lately. Says she wants me back and stuff." You mumbled into the phone. "After what happened between us, I don't know what I'm going to do when I see her, so I at least need a friend with me." 

"Alright Y/N. I'll come with you." Harrison said, and you smiled. "But I'm taking Tom with me." You frowned. You heard some muffled voices, and then a door closed. "Look, I can't leave my best mate alone to go with you as your date when we're not even romantically involved anymore." "I know that, Haz. I know. Thank you. I'll see you tonight, I'll pick you up at nine." With that, you cancelled the call and let your head fall into your pillows. What were you going to do? 

 * * * 

 It wasn't that hard to pick out a dress. 

First, you called your manager, Krista. 

She, in turn, called your entire team to make sure you would be ready by eight. 

Krista and your clothing stylist picked out a beautiful red dress with a short skirt that ended a little above the knees. The fish bone support around the waist made it easy for Vera to shape the dress to your figure and the front edge had been designed to be laced, which made it possible to adjust the size - which wasn't necessary. The dress had heavy and complicated and exquisite details (small red flowers graced the top and the off-shoulder short sleeves) which gave this dress a beautiful look together with the delicate handcraft applique, according to Vera and Krista. The skirt was beautiful too, mainly made of pink satin, with a dark net yarn fastened above it, making it change colours a bit when you shifted. There was a thin ribbon around your waist too, which was tied into a small bow. 

Vera paired it with ballerina flats, which were a wine-red colour, and your hair stylist Fyn pulled your hair up into a beautiful bun atop your head, adorned with small red and pink flowers that Krista and Vera had picked out together. 

They finished the look with a thin black choker, and a lovely delicate silver bracelet with a pendant in the shape of a rose dangling on it. You put on a few rings around your fingers - one that your father had given you, two that Alec had given you for your seventeenth birthday - six years ago - and a ring that your mother had given you, with a tiny diamond on it. 

Your nails were painted wine-red, and because you wanted to keep it a little natural, Jordan (your make-up artist) decided to keep a low profile on your face. Just a little bit of foundation, highlighter, bronzer, mascara and lipstick in a flary red colour. 

All in all, you loved how you looked in the end.

You twirled in front of the mirror, admiring your tanned legs that looked even longer now, with the short skirt of the dress. "You look perfect!" Jordan exclaimed, and Vera clapped softly. You turned, smiling. "And that's all thanks to you." Everyone laughed and turned in for a group hug. Later, you asked Alec to take a picture of you and your entire team, and you posted it on your Instagram, saying: I'm so grateful for my entire team, who are still willing to work with me after all these years. Thank you, everyone. 

  When you arrived at Harrisons house, your chauffeur was the one who stepped out to greet them. You were nervous to see them again - you and Harrison talked on the phone a lot, and you Face Timed sometimes, but you hadn't seen each other in real life for over seven months. And as for Tom... well, you were just nervous to see him at all. You knew he liked you - well, you thought he did - but he was nervous around you and you didn't know him well enough to ask him about it. 

"You look hot," was Harrisons first comment when he stepped into the car, and you giggled. "You don't look wrong yourself Haz." Tom got into the car too and shot you a nervous smile. "You look very pretty." You smiled at him. "Thank you." 

 When Harrison helped you get out of the car - being the gentleman he was, of course Tom and he got out first on the other side to open your door and help you - the cameras started flashing in your direction, and you plastered a smile on your face. 

"Y/N!" A reporter yelled, but you ignored them and followed Tom and Harrison onto the carpet where the pictures would be taken. 

Jackie was there somewhere too, but you didn't know where. She was probably already inside, though, knowing her. You posed alone for a few times, and then Harrison and you posed together. "Y/N!" A reporter yelled, "Are you and Harrison Osterfield a couple?" You and Harrison looked at each other and laughed. Harrison left your side, and Tom took his place, smiling shyly. You moved closer to him and let him put an arm around your waist to pose for the camera's. 

Within minutes, you had enough, and you went inside. 

Jackie found you at the bar, with a glass of wine in your hand. "Hello darling!" She said, smiling. You pulled her into a warm hug. "I saw the movie. It was amazing! Even teared up a bit at the end, couldn't believe Parker died, y'know, and left you behind." She smirked and you laughed. "Yeah, I get that. Elizabeth and I were crying too." "I still can't believe you throw around with those names like that. Geez, Y/N, you're so famous now." 

You smiled as the two of you walked around. "I might be a little more famous than I used to be Jackie, but not that much. And besides, it's not like you don't know any famous people." Jackie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but this is England. We're talking about Hollywood here!" You laughed a little harder now. "Well, they can't get to your level anyway. You're the person I need. Hollywood or not, I don't know them as well as you and Tom." Jackie smiled. "Is Hiddleston here too?" 

You shrugged. "Could be. Don't think so. He said he has a family dinner." 

"When did he tell you that?" Jackie suggestively raised her eyebrows at you, and you scoffed. "We went out for breakfast this morning to walk to dogs Jack, don't get anything in your head. Oh look, there's Emma Watson!" 

Chapter Two

Warnings: suicide attempt

The Powerpuff Couple

 Members: 

 Jackson Maura (Buttercup)

 Y/N Y/L/N (Blossom)

    Monday, 10.08 am

   Buttercup: Would you look at this!

   Are Y/N Y/L/N and Harrison Osterfield dating? 

 The sparks are flying between the young celebrities during a summer gala. The pictures show a laughing Y/L/N and Osterfield laughing. Osterfield has picked up modelling - it was the way that the two met. Y/L/N is an upcoming actress, starring in Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War as Alexis Stark and in Spider-Man: Homecoming as Ray Carter. She plays a love interest of Spider-Man, and the daughter of Iron Man. Y/N Y/L/N's parents are actors and models themselves, so it is not a surprise to see her standing on screen. Hopefully we will be able to investigate this rumoured relationship! 

    Blossom: Lame. Do you think the public will actually believe that? 

   Buttercup: They will believe anything if they want to. 

   Blossom: My manager is going to be pissed. And Haz too. Please support me. 

   Buttercup: I support you. Just like I did this weekend. 

   Blossom: Yeah, another thanks for that. Love ya, gotta run!

   Buttercup: Much love, J

 * * * 

    Tuesday, 3.47 pm

   Buttercup: Tada. I fixed it for you. Called them and told them the supposed truth.

   Buttercup: But another one has taken up on you and Holland. Lol. I'll send both of 'em to you. Lots of love! J.

   Harrison Osterfield and Y/N Y/L/N are not dating

 There have been several speculations about Y/L/N and Osterfields relationship, but an inside course, who is close to Y/N Y/L/N, has told us that rumours are only rumours, and they are, in fact, not together. "Y/N and Harrison are just very close friends. Yeah, they used to be more, everyone knew that, but they never picked it up, and their romantic feelings for each other are gone. They are like brother and sister now." It's sad to hear that it's just a rumour; they would look lovely together! 

   Tom Holland and Y/N Y/L/N, spotted together

 At the summer gala this Saturday evening, none other than famous Avengers stars Tom Holland and Y/N Y/L/N arrived and posed together! The two seemed happy together, goofing around at the party, and judging by their Instagram posts, the afterparty was spent together too. Rumours have not yet been confirmed and neither of the two stars have been willing to comment on it. 

   Blossom: I officially hate being a celebrity.

   Buttercup: You've had this all your life. Remember when everyone thought you and Hiddleston were sleeping together? 

   Blossom: Don't remind me please.

   Buttercup: Have you and Krista already talked about it? 

   Blossom: She hasn't called yet. 'm not planning on calling her either. Just waiting for her to do so. Mum's out for the week and Alec's staying with his friends, so I'm all alone with the pets; no one's asking me any questions. Luck! 

   Buttercup: Yeah, I think you're gonna have a LOT of questions when your mum and dad get back.

   Blossom: Yeah.

 * * * 

 It was hard being a celebrity. Everyone was always speculating about your life, and your friends, and your love life. It had been like that since you were born. You had gotten used to it, but that didn't mean you liked it. At all. 

Your mum called on Wednesday. Luckily for you, she hadn't checked the magazines yet, and she only called to ask you if you could drop some clothes of Alec by his friends' home. 

You figured that if you were out now, you might as well just go to London to do some shopping. 

 Unsurprisingly, or surprisingly, it depended on the way you looked at it, you bumped into Harrison and Tom. 

"Hey guys!" You called, and you pulled Harrison in for a warm hug. Tom stared at you for a split second before smiling. "Good afternoon, Y/N." He said. You smiled back at him. "What are you doing here?" "We're trying to find a gift for Tom's dad." Harrison told you. You nodded. "That's nice. Watcha getting him?" You turned your eyes to Tom, who shrugged. "Don't know yet. 'm not that good with gifts, ya know?" You chuckled. "I'm helping him out." Harrison grinned. You ruffled his hair. "You do that. I'm gonna get my darlings some treats." 

"Come with us." Harrison said, and you looked up at him. Tom was already strolling, looking at several shops. He pointed at Tom. "Get to know him. You both like each other." You felt your cheeks heat. "Alright. But, I wanna be home by five." 

 "Alright, and so, she went up to the guy, and asked if he could take a few more pictures, and he looked at her, and he just burst out laughing!" Harrison laughed and Tom laughed with him, while you tried to hide your blush as you punched Harrison on his arm. He faked pain, groaning loudly. "When did you get so strong?" He mused, and you chuckled. "Since I started hanging out with the strong guys." You pointed at Tom, who flushed. You grinned and ruffled Harrisons hair. "Kidding Haz. You know I love you." He picked you up by your waist and started running. "Put me down this instant!" You yelled, your cheeks probably flaming red by now. You saw Tom take a picture, and behind him, more people were. 

Harrison put you down, laughing, and you couldn't help but laugh a little too. 

"Thank you," you said as he slung his arm over your shoulders. The two of you walked back to Tom, who regarded you with a strange expression. 

"For what?" He looked at you questioningly. "For making me laugh." You slipped under his arm and playfully clapped Tom on the back before walking into the store where you always bought your animal food. 

 Later that afternoon, the three of you went to Starbucks. You ordered a latte, and the hot barista winked at you. When you got your cup of coffee, you noticed he had written his number on it. 

"Oeh la la." Harrison sang as you slumped into the chair besides him. You cocked an eyebrow. "You got a number." He wiggled his eyebrows at you, and you scrunched your nose. "Never said I wanted to. He knows who I am. Can't trust people who do." It stayed silent for a while. Then, Harrison's phone made a sound, and he looked at it, frowning. "I am so, so sorry, but I really gotta go. Charlotte needs my help." He pressed a kiss to your forehead. "Come over tonight." He whispered, and then he said goodbye to Tom before leaving. 

It was silent for a minute. Then, Tom leaned forward. You smiled at him, fumbling with the ribbon on your blouse. 

"You said you don't trust people who know you." 

"Not people like him. Normal people, I mean. I don't know if they're just doing it for the fame, or for the money. From guys like you, it's different. You're rich, you have a good job, so you wouldn't need a famous person like me so much." 

"I get it." Tom said, and he smiled. "So, how do you know Haz?" 

You smiled too. "I've known him since we were toddlers, I think. We played together, laughed together, we slept over occasionally, we did almost everything together. We were best friends, in every sense of the words. We did modelling gigs together, and interviews and stuff. When I got a girlfriend, everything changed. We hung out less, also because I started filming and was away a lot. When my relationship took a rough patch, Harrison was there for me. I got a crush on him. Told him ‘bout it, he said the feelings were reciprocated. We didn’t do anything about it because I was leaving for the United States for filming, and I didn’t want to ruin a friendship. We kept it quiet, and we agreed to not do anything with it. I think we made the right choice.” You smiled sweetly as you sipped from your coffee.

“Your girlfriend was Storm Coast, right?”

You nodded, a little taken aback by the question. “So that’s why you don’t trust people like the barista.”

The corners of your mouth quirked up. He was smart.

“Long story short, she was a beginning model when she met me. I made it easier for her. She cheated on me, and we broke up.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Tom said kindly, and he grabbed your hand, that was laying on the table, softly stroking your skin with his thumb. It was nice. “Nobody deserves to be cheated at. Especially someone like you.”

You felt your cheeks heat, and you giggled. “That’s very sweet of you to say. Now, enough about me! Tell me everything about you!”

“Erm, well...” Tom cleared his throat. He started talking about his youth, and his dancing career before he was noticed. All the while talking, his hand rested on yours.

 You helped him find the perfect gift for his father.

When you walked out the shop, he stopped you. You turned to look at him expectantly. “Would you like to join me and Haz at the pub this Friday? I-if you’re free, of course.” You smiled. “Of course.”

He walked you to your car. You stayed silent until you opened your car door. “Have a nice day.” You said, turning your head. He gave you a lopsided smile. “You too.”

 * * *

 It was different when you came home. You were tired, suddenly. You barely managed to feed the animals before almost crawling upstairs to your bedroom, where you set an alarm.

Thor managed to crawl into your bed and crept under your arms to put his small head on your pillow, close to your cheek. You smiled faintly and petted the cat's soft fur, as your eyes started to close, and you drifted off. 

 When you were awake, it was already seven pm. Yawning, you texted Harrison to ask if you were still on for movie night. Then, you moved out of your bed to take out pants and a blouse. 

As soon as you were done dressing, your phone pinged. 

 Hazza: We are always on. Tom's gonna be there too. D'ya mind? 

You smiled to yourself and typed a quick message back that you didn't mind at all and that you'd be there by eight. 

 You were there at eight. 

The two boys were already inside, and Harrison had set up a movie already. You pressed a kiss to his cheek when you entered the room, and greeted Charlotte happily, who smiled back at you. 

 You were watching Atlantis at nine thirty, with an empty pizza box on your lap, when your phone rang. You picked it up, and looked at the name on the screen. Alec, it said. You put the phone to your ear. "What's up bubba?" A sob from the other side of the phone and you frowned, putting the box on the small table in front of you. "Alec?" You asked, concerned. What had happened? "I- they, I.." He sobbed again. "Baby, what's wrong?" You asked. "Where are you?" You then demanded to know. "St. Martins Lane, you know - The Salisbury." He sniffed. You nodded. "Alright, I'm coming. Stay there, baby, alright?" "Y-yeah." He sobbed again and you cancelled the call, getting up to put on your shoes. 

The boys looked at you with questioning gazes. "Something's wrong with Alec," you quickly said, "I'm going to pick him up. Won't be back. Enjoy your movie." You ruffled Harrisons hair and, in an impulse, leaned down to press your lips to Tom's cheek. The boy turned red quickly. You had no time to notice or say anything about it, and you left the house hastily. 

 It wasn't a long drive. When you stepped out of your car and ran towards the pub, you noticed two figures sitting on the sidewalk. You noticed Alec's coat, and walked up to them. Alec was crying, sobbing uncontrollably, while the guy next to him rubbed his arms and whispered soothing words that didn't seem to help.

"Hey." You said softly, and you leant down to look at Alec. He looked up and sniffed. You reached up to wipe some of the tears away. "We're going home. Who's this?" You looked at the boy next to him. "I'm Brandon." The boy said, and he smiled. "Alright. I'm taking Alec home now. You can come by tomorrow if you'd like." Brandon nodded as the two of you helped Alec up. He clung to you, sobbing, as if you were his lifeline. You stroked his back. "We're getting in the car and I'm driving us home." You whispered, and you pushed him in the car. 

You then turned to Brandon. "I don't know what happened, but thanks for staying with him." You smiled, and he smiled back, tentatively. 

 * * * 

 The next morning, Brandon stood on the doorstep. You let him in without asking questions and prepared him a cup of coffee before letting him sit down on the couch. "Alec is upstairs. He's still sleeping, I think. I haven't asked any questions." 

Brandon nodded. "I've never seen you with him before." You said slowly. Brandon smiled nervously, playing with the edges of his shirt. "It was the first time I was with him in the company of his friends." He said, and you nodded. "They called him a faggot." Your eyes grew big. "We - well, he and I - we - uhm," Brandon scratched the back of his head and then sighed deeply. "He told them he's gay last night. They didn't react so well. Called him nasty things, said it wasn't right and that he wasn't normal. I brought him outside in an attempt to calm him down, and then he called you." You raised your brows. Your mind was processing things still. Your brother's friends called him a faggot because he liked boys? God, they were only fifteen! Alec was only fifteen! How could they do that? 

"Are you two dating?" You asked, careful not to ask too much. Brandon shrugged. "Kind of - I don't know, really. We're taking things slow. I like him though - a lot." You smiled. At least there were a few who accepted him as he was. "Alec is only fifteen," you said softly, "he's struggling. It's hard for him to not have his family with him most of the time. Dad and I are in the States for seventy-five percent of the year, and mum's away for modelling gigs most of the time too. It's good that he has someone he can trust and be with." You smiled when you heard soft footsteps. 

"He's awake. I'm going to ask if he wants breakfast. I suppose you'll stay here too?" Brandon smiled. "If that's not too much trouble." "Of course not!" You laughed. "We'll be with three then." 

When you walked up the stairs, you heard the bathroom door lock. You frowned. Alec never closed the bathroom door when it was just the two of you. 

You knocked on the door, only to hear a very soft sob. "Alec, are you alright in there?" You asked. No sound. "Alec?" You asked. You were growing more concerned. What was he doing in there? A sob was heard again, but very soft. "Alec?" You knocked harder now. "Alec, open the door please." Nothing happened. Fear crept into your heart. 

"Alec!" You pounced on the door now. Still no reaction. Oh god... You turned around, looking for something to open the door with. 

You found a large stone - one your father had collected on one of his trips to a few islands - and took it in your hands. It was heavy enough to destroy the lock. You heard someone coming up the stairs. 

You lifted the stone and smashed it on the lock. They both broke into pieces, and you pushed the door open quickly, only to find Alec in the bathtub. He was laying still, eyes closed and head against the wall. His wrists were bleeding, drenching him and the bathtub in blood. 

"No, no, no." You whispered, the tears stinging in your eyes as you tried to lift him out of the bathtub. "No! Alec, baby, wake up." You patted his cheek. A tear rolled down your cheek and you looked up as Brandon entered the bathroom. He stood still in shock, mouth agape. You took out your phone. "Call an ambulance!" You said, panicking. You managed to get Alec out of the bathtub, and quickly took out two towels, wrapping them around his wrists in a futile effort to stop the bleeding. You sobbed. "Please don't do this, Alec." You pressed your forehead to his as you heard Brandon talking softly. 

 It was only a matter of minutes before the ambulance arrived and Alec was carried into the car. You pressed a hand to your mouth as Brandon stood next to you. When you looked his side, you saw he was crying. Sighing softly, you enveloped him in a hug. 

 When Brandon and you were in the hospital, you had to wait for the doctor to call you. You slumped into a chair, without any energy to call your parents. You had to, you knew that, but your mind was still reeling from the past happenings. 

Brandon managed to get your phone and called the first person on your list - which was, inevitably, Tom Holland. 

 He was in the hospital in mere minutes, and when he rushed in, you noticed Harrison was not far behind him. Even though, he was the first person you hugged, pushing your face in his shirt - which smelled nice - and cried. He carefully put his arms around you. "What happened?" He whispered in your ear, and you shook your head, not able to answer. 

You were pulled out of Tom's arms to hug Harrison, and when that was done and you stood trembling in his arms, you told them what had happened. 

“...and I- I wanted to call him for breakfast... but he- he didn't open the door and he never locks the bathroom door and I - I was so scared, and-" your voice broke and you started crying again. Brandon wasn't without tears either, and you stepped forward to put your arms around him again. 

 Harrison called your parents. They both didn't pick up - which was no surprise because they were both working - but he left a voice-mail, explaining what had happened. 

 * * * 

 "Family of Alec Y/L/N?" You jolted out of your seat, shaking Brandon awake. He had fallen asleep against you, but you had stayed awake, nervous as you were. Tom and Harrison were both downstairs, to get something to eat and drink. 

"I am his sister." You said, and the doctor nodded. "Good. He's awake. He's asking to see you, and someone named Brandon. I can fill you in on everything that has happened." You nodded. Brandon yawned and got up quickly. "I want to see him." He stated, and you smiled at him. "You will. Come on." 

Brandon went into the room first, as the doctor took you apart. 

"He's stabilised now," the man said, "we stitched the wounds and put bandages around them. He hasn't hit any nerves, luckily, but he will experience pain throughout the first months. We gave him some drugs against the pain, and we want to keep him here for at least two days. We also want him to go into therapy. We have a few numbers of psychiatrists ourselves, but you are welcome to try any other." You nodded slowly. "We're going to check in on him every half hour, if you're okay with that." You nodded again. "I am. Thank you." 

When you entered the room, you noticed Harrison and Tom were already back. Harrison waved at you and you nodded back before stepping inside. 

Your breath seemed to be stolen away from you as soon as you saw Alec laying on the bed. 

He was pale, immensely pale. There was a bruise on his cheek that you hadn't noticed before, and his wrists were wrapped in a white sort of cloth. His eyes were open, but they looked glossy. His face was turned to Brandon, who was sitting next to his bed, holding one of his hands tightly and whispering. You felt like you were intruding an important moment, and so you stepped out of the room and returned to your friends.

It felt normal to sit next to Tom and let him pull an arm around you. It felt nice, too.

Harrison smiled at you. "How is he?" "They say he's okay, for now. They want to keep him here for two days, and they want to put him into therapy." You sighed. "I can't believe this is happening. I know it was hard for him, because he's so young, and we're never there with him, and- I just feel so guilty." Your voice wavered and you shut your eyes. Tom stroked your back. "It's not your fault." He said softly. You opened your eyes to look at him but didn't answer. Harrison cleared his throat. "I'm going to call my mom." He said, and he left you two alone.

You sighed again. "I hate this." You groaned. "I hate the fact that I need to leave Saturday morning for the States to start filming for Captive State, and that I can't stay here to be there for him. I hate that during summer it's always the busiest time, considering the fact that we're going to start filming for Endgame too, and I have my shooting for Vogue." You sighed deeply. "Can't you cancel?"

You looked up at him. His face was dangerously close. "I already shot a few scenes for Captive State that appeared in the trailer. I can't back out now, then they would have to start the whole auditioning process again." He swallowed. "I guess you'll have to fly back and forth then." You hummed. And then, a thought occurred. "What if I bring him with me? I'll search for a good therapist there, we'll stay in the villa together with dad, and mom can fly over if she wants to." You smiled. "Yes, that'll do. Come on, I'm going to tell him." You grabbed his hand and pulled him with you. 

When you entered the room, you noticed that Harrison was inside as well. He was talking to Brandon. 

Alec's eyes sought yours and you frowned, sitting down on the bedside. "Don't you dare do that again." You said, using your free hand to stroke his cheek. "Because I will kill you." Alec smiled a sorrowful smile. "I'm sorry." He croaked, but you shook your head. "Don't say that. Don't be sorry. I understand, you know that." Without any further ado, you pulled up your sleeve and showed him the deep scars that stood graved in your skin. "You're going to get help, Alec." 

 "You know I need to leave." You sighed. Alec nodded. "But I'm not going to leave you here." His eyes looked at you and he looked pained. "You can't stay here." He said, and you smiled as Tom's index-finger traced a pattern on your back. "I'm bringing you with me." You heard Brandon cough, and you looked at him. "And you can come too, if you'd like. You can even visit me on set!" Alec smiled as Brandon squeezed his hand. 

"I'd love that." 

You bowed down to press a kiss on his forehead. "Mom and dad will be here soon. They're on the plane." You whispered. Alec nodded. "I'm going to leave you alone for a while, now. Are you okay with that?" "I'll stay with him." Brandon blurted out, and he blushed faintly. "That's good. Haz?" Harrison looked up and gave you a smile. "I'm going home to have dinner with my family." "Alright." You looked at Tom now, who gave you a lopsided smile. "I'll stay with you." 

After you said your goodbyes and Tom and you left for the restaurant, a calm feeling spread through you. 

It was weird, considering the situation. 

 When you sat down in Alec's room again, you noticed that Tom and you were still holding hands. 

Chapter Three

Warnings: none

It was nice to be able to work again. Studying lines, saying them out loud a hundred times in front of the mirror; it was everything you needed to get yourself back on track. This was your life, your everything. Acting was your passion. 

Filming two movies at the same time was hard, though. It was exhausting, and more times than not, you fell asleep on the couch in the villa. 

Brandon and Alec spent a lot of time together. Alec visited his psychiatrist every week thrice, and as the months passed and October came, he visited twice every week. 

Your brother and his boyfriend had already gone back to London in late August, seeing as they still had to go to school. You hated it, but your mother would stay home from now on to watch him and you called as many times as you could. 

 You bonded mostly with Ashton Sanders, who played an important character in the movie. You played the part of his lover, a girl with a very dark past. 

By August, they had already started filming Endgame, but since you would not appear too much in the movie - only in a few scenes and in the last twenty minutes - your schedule wasn't too busy. 

Harrison and Tom were there, and so was the other Tom, whom you spent a great deal of time with. 

 You had taken the cats Loki and Thor and your bunny Peter with you. 

 At the moment, you were displayed on a couch in a big white room, only a thin white cloth covering your body. The photographer was shooting dozens of pictures, telling you to move your head a bit to the left or the right, or for a stylist to move your hair. 

"You're doing great!" Krista yelled from the side, and you smiled lightly, tilting your head back just a little back. The photographer raised his thumb at you. 

Within minutes, you changed into another outfit, and then in another, and then in another. 

 When you were done and freshly out of make-up, you could put on your dress again. Krista met you outside of the shooting room. "The pictures turned out to be amazing, even without editing. You know, they want to offer you a full contract." She said, walking with you to the lobby, where they handed you and Krista your coats. You pulled it on and turned towards her. "Won't that mess up my schedule?" She shrugged as you stepped outside into the cold. Shivering, you put your hands in your pockets. "For next year there are no more scenes you need to shoot. After January you'll be done. A modelling contract would give you a perfect opportunity to build your career up even more." 

You hummed. "It's a good idea. Give me some time to think about it, alright?" "Yes. Oh, and don't forget to be on time tomorrow! Interview." You nodded and smiled as you said your goodbyes. 

 * * * 

 "Hello loves." You greeted the entire cast as you walked on set. "Y/N!" Chris said with a big grin as he walked up to you, already in full armour. "You're here early." The other Chris said swinging his shield on his back, giving you a nod. You smiled at them. 

"Y/N?" You then heard a soft voice say, and you looked down. "Sasha." You smiled at the young boy, crouching down. "Why aren't you in a suit?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. You chuckled. "Do you want to see me in my suit?" "Everyone does, obviously." Tom drawled from behind you, and you turned around, admiring his long black hair. "How flattering." You laughed. "Well, I'm going to get my make-up done. Would you like to come and watch?" You asked, and Sasha nodded eagerly. "Come on." You lifted him up and waved goodbye to the three actors before walking to your trailer. 

 "Wow." Sasha exclaimed as you turned around in the seat, revealing your suit. It was a wine-red suit, that hugged your curves perfectly. Your make-up artists Jordan, Evie and Jamie continued working on your face, enlightening your cheekbones and painting your lips a shiny red colour. They accentuated your purple eyes - colour lenses - by putting on a little bit of golden eyeshadow. Fyn braided your hair into a loose braid, pulling out a few curls to give it a casual look. Then, you got up from your chair, repeating your lines in your head, and you let Vera and Krista pin your cloak to your shoulders. It was a beautiful silver colour, with a large cap that you could pull over your head. 

Jamie took out a small box and opened it. You smiled. "What is that?" Sasha asked curiously. "It's my eye mask," you explained, "it's supposed to make me unrecognizable." "But everyone can still see your face," Sasha said, and he frowned. You chuckled. "Yes, that's very much true darling." 

You closed your eyes and let them put the mask on your face. It was a comfortable weight - as you had worn it many times before. 

Sasha gasped. "You look like a real superhero!" He exclaimed, and you ruffled his hair. "That's the point." A voice sounded, and when you looked up, you looked at Loki, not Tom anywhere. He grinned slyly. "Alexis, you're up." "Alexis?" Sasha asked and you smiled, getting up from your seat. "That's the name of the character I play. I need to go to work now. How about Loki here takes you on a tour?" "Yes!" The small boy exclaimed, jumping out of the trailer. Tom pressed his lips to your cheek. "Break a leg." He said, and you laughed. "Thanks. Have fun boys!" 

 "And, cut!" 

You let your arms drop, and pulled the cap from your head, wiping the sweat of your forehead. 

"You're doing great Y/N!" Someone yelled and you raised your thumb, grinning at Scarlett, who was standing beside you. "Of course she's doing great, she's my daughter after all." Robert said, and everyone laughed. 

 You were ready to tackle the man to the ground, but he pulled a scared face, and you started laughing so hard the tears sprung in your eyes. 

You sat down, holding up a hand. "I'm sorry." You said, and then you started laughing again. Benedict, who was next to you, laughed too, and then, everyone was laughing. 

 "So annoying!" Robert proclaimed, moving his hands. "I know right?" You asked, putting your hand on his shoulder. The two of you looked at each other and burst out laughing. 

 "Cut!" You sighed and let your muscles relax. Scarlett smiled. "I'm hungry." She said, and she disappeared. "Me too." You said out loud, and your stomach rumbled. Everyone turned to look at you. "I'll take you out to lunch!" Tom yelled, and everyone laughed. "I'll do that." You heard, and you turned around. 

"Alec!" You yelled, your eyes wide in surprise, and you ran up to him, knocking him to the ground. He laughed and put his arms around you. "Hey sis." 

The two of you got up again, and you noticed Zoe put down her phone to stop filming. "What are you doing here?" You examined him, and then your eye fell on Brandon standing behind him. "And you too?" He smiled sheepishly. "We wanted to surprise you, y'know. Just before your birthday." "It's your birthday?" Someone behind you asked, and you winced. 

"That's very sweet of you guys, but I was planning on swinging back to London to celebrate my birthday with you anyways. This is even better." You swung your arms around the couple, and the three of you walked off set. 

 After lunch, when you returned on set and got back in your trailer to let your team do your make-up, they asked you about your birthday. 

"It's not today, actually. It's tomorrow." You laughed as Vera helped you get into your old suit. This one was purple, with a huge, white A on the front. It stood for your father, Anthony, for the Avengers, and for your character's name Alexis. There was a beautiful golden cape on this one, without a cap this time, and a mask that covered your entire face.

"Great, no make-up this time." You shared a laugh with Krista, and then you stepped out of your trailer, mask in hand. 

"Surprise!!"

You jumped back in shock and stared at the cast in front of you. Everyone was grinning. You smiled lightly, feeling your cheeks heat up. "Guys, this was unnecessary." You said, swallowing the lump in your throat. "Everything for our little Y/N." Chris Pratt said, and he smiled at you. You smiled back. "We've got cake!" Zoe yelled. "And presents!" Brie jumped up in front of you, tugging on your arm. 

 You ended up getting a lot of small presents, like books, new drawing paper, paint and accessories.

From Tom, however, you got a beautiful silver bracelet with an engraved crystal in it. Robert gave you a ring with several diamonds in it. It blinked in the light, and it was so beautiful you feel you wanted to cry. You hugged them both tightly, thanking them a million time over and over.

 * * * 

 "No matter how much I love filming, there is nothing better than coming home." You sighed as you dropped on the couch. 

"Y/N!!" A voice rang through the house, and you looked up. Then, a tall brunette ran in and jumped on you. You let out a loud 'oof' and then the two of you started laughing. 

"Hey love." She said as soon as you calmed down. She was grinning widely. "Jackie, I didn't know you'd be here." You said slowly, looking at Alec and Brandon, who were holding hands. Alec's cheeks turned red. "I wanted to surprise you. We're going out for dinner with your friends tomorrow, but I wanted to be here first to give you my gift." 

She handed you a thick envelope. You took it from her, looking at it suspiciously. "Just open it." Jackie said, folding one of her legs under her bum and leaning forward with an eager expression on her face. "Alright, alright." You laughed, and you opened the envelope. 

"Oh, my god." You whispered as you took the two airplane tickets. You turned to look at her with big eyes. "We're going to Japan?" You asked, and she nodded. "Oh my god! We're going to Japan!!" You shrieked, and you embraced her so quickly that you rolled off the couch, laughing. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." You repeated, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "This is amazing Jackie!" She smiled. "I'm glad you like it." 

 That night, your parents arrived with soft hugs and kisses and birthday wishes. "We'll give you your gift tomorrow." Your mother promised you, and she winked at you. You couldn't stop smiling. Your favourite people were with you now and you couldn't wish for anything better. 

 The next morning, the doorbell rang before you could dress yourself. So, in your silk nightgown, you opened the door. Your eyes widened in surprise when you saw a huge bunch of flowers in front of you. Two legs were beneath it. "Happy birthday little angel," a voice sounded that sounded like Harrison. You chuckled. "Wow, Haz, who are those flowers for?" "For you mother, of course." He stepped in and pressed a kiss to your cheek. "Happy birthday." You closed the door behind him and led him to the living room. 

"This house of yours is huge, love, where'd you pay it from?" He joked. You laughed. "I didn't pay anything, luckily. You can just - Mary?" One of the maids shuffled in and took the flowers from Harrison. "Please put them somewhere in my art room." She nodded and left you two alone. 

Harrison whistled as he looked at you. "You walk out of that door and everyone will stop to look at you." You punched him playfully. "Joker. Come on, I want breakfast." 

You drank your smoothie silently as Harrison sat in front of you. He was looking at you worriedly. "Are you eating enough?" He asked. "Just fine." You answered. "Been working out too, so losing weight, y'know." "Alright. Just don't go back to how it used to be, okay?" You smiled at him. "Never." 

 "So, why are you here?" You asked as you stepped into the room again, this time in a short skirt and a white sweater with knee-high pink stockings. "I'm here to make sure you're ready on time." "For what?" You cocked your head. He grinned slyly. "For your man to pick you up, of course." "My man?" You were confused. The only boy you had been on a few (well, more than a few) dates with was Tom, but he had been so busy filming the past month that you hadn't seen each other. 

"Yes, your man. He should be here... right about now." The doorbell rang again. "I'm getting it!" Alec yelled from upstairs. You nodded and smiled. "Just do something about it, will ya?" Harrison asked as he guided you through the living room. You opened your mouth to say something but were interrupted by a soft "Hey." You turned around and felt your cheeks heat when you saw Tom standing there. He was wearing grey pants with a soft red hoodie and he looked absolutely adorable. 

"Hi." You answered, suddenly shy. "You look very pretty." He said. Harrison snorted and patted you on the back, making you turn to him. He pressed a kiss to your cheek. "Have fun." Then he walked towards Tom, said something softly and let Alec guide him out. 

Brandon bounced down the stairs before you could say something and ran up to you. "Happy birthday!" He yelled with a big smile. He was holding Peter in his arms. "Hey Brandon. Did'ya feed Peter yet?" "Nope, doing it now!" He said, and he rushed into the kitchen. When you turned to Tom again, he was smiling. "Nice name for a bunny." You smiled as you took a few steps forward. "Ray Carter just likes Peter Parker." You said, shrugging. His cheeks turned pink. "She does?" 

"Yeah, she does." You said, and he smiled. He was with you within a second, and he pulled you towards him to press his lips on yours. They were soft, moving against your own. His tongue slowly swiped at the seam of your lips, and you smiled, readily giving him entrance; letting him pull you flush against him. Your tongues languidly danced together, neither of you in a rush. Your arms moved to his neck, on the back of his head, your fingers grabbing his soft curls. His hands were still on your waist, his fingers drawing circles, making you relax in his touch. 

The two of you slowly parted, breathless. You smiled as he pressed another quick kiss on your lips. "I've been wanting to do that for weeks now." He whispered. "Me too." You whispered, and it was true. 

 He took you to an Italian restaurant called La Lanterna di Vittorio. 

You were seated in the garden on the backside, where four large fires were crackling softly. It wasn't that cold, but you were still grateful for your choice of clothing. Tom held your hand as you chose to sit on a bench, close together. 

The waiter took your orders and arrived a few minutes later with your tea - Tom chose Earl Grey and you chose White Orchard, your favourite. 

"How's the filming going?" You asked, wrapping your hands around the steaming mug and breathing in the scent of peach. Tom hummed. "It's going okay. We make a lot of jokes, so nobody's spirits are down. We're all tired though, and happy we can wrap it up." He smiled at you. "How's Captive State coming along?" "I'm almost done with my scenes, luckily," you said, sipping your tea, "it'll give me some time to rest and finish Endgame." 

You talked about the movies for a short while until the food arrived. Tom had ordered Il Calzone, a sort of half a pizza filled with mozzarella, ricotta and cheese, and you had ordered Insalate mesclun con pollo affumicato, a salad with smoked chicken breast and mixed greens in balsamic vinaigrette. 

You noticed Tom looking at you as you started eating. "Hmm?" You hummed questioningly, looking at him. He simply smiled and pulled out his phone. "Can I take a picture of you?" "Sure." You smiled and swallowed the food, before tilting your head to the side a bit so that your curls fell out of your face, and you smiled, your eyes fixated on Tom's concentrated face. He put his phone away again and dived into his food. 

You finished your food in silence for most of the time, occasionally joking about being on set. It was nice and you felt comfortable in his presence. 

Afterwards, he took you on a stroll through the city, which did not go by unnoticed by some of his fans. 

You were surprised when a few girls walked up to you, asking your autograph. Tom chuckled as he loosened his grip on your waist. 

You signed the photographs they were holding - they were photographs of you and Harrison, recently made. "Are you and Tom Holland together?" One of the fans asked. You smiled mysteriously. "That's a secret." You winked at her and she smiled. "I think you and he fit well together," another girl said, and you looked at her. She smiled. "In the movies too." "Yeah, Ray and he are very well in sync," another girl quipped. You chuckled. "It's good to hear such feedback. I'm sure Jon will be glad when I tell him." They smiled happily. "Thank you for your autograph. Please keep doing this!" They walked away from you and you watched them go, softly sighing. 

It was a wonderful job to have, and you got to meet so many new people, but it was exhausting too. And at the moment, you just really wanted to be with your brother in London, safely away from the rest of the world. When you turned around, you saw Tom lower his phone. And he was probably so tired now, just returning from filming the second movie. You felt sorry for him. He flew all the way to New York without going to his parents for you... 

He noticed your change of demeanour and frowned. "Are you okay?" You smiled. "I'm fine, Tommy. Come on." You took his hand and tugged him with you, trying to avoid the subject he would want to talk about. 

 "What do you want to do in the future?" He asked, and you looked at him next to you. 

"I'm not sure. I don't really think about five years into the future, but if we're talking about next year, then I think I'd like to lay low for a while. Go back to London I guess and be with Alec for a while. Jackie is taking me to Japan in the summer, and maybe I'll even be taking up Krista's offer." "Offer?" He asked, turning his head so he could look at you. You smiled. "Vogue is asking me to model for them for a while. But I'm not sure about taking it up, because I'll be away from home again for such a long time." You sighed. "It would be a lot easier if Alec was out of school already, then he'd be able to model full-time as well and we can do it together." You shook your head. "But enough about me. What about you?" His cheeks turned red. "Well... I - I actually want to spend time with you." You felt your cheeks heat, and before you knew it, you were kissing him passionately. His hands crept under your sweater and pulled you on his lap. 

You parted, slightly out of breath. "That would be amazing." You dipped your head for another kiss, and he smiled against your lips. "I have something for you." He whispered, and you pulled away. He took a box out of his pocket and handed it to you. 

Slowly, you opened it, revealing a beautiful silver necklace, with a beautiful heart shaped emerald dangling on it. "It's beautiful." You gasped, and Tom carefully took it out. "Turn around." He said, and you did, pulling up your hair so he could put the necklace around your neck. The cold material felt strange on your neck. You didn't wear much necklaces, but you would wear this one a lot. Or forever, preferably. 

"I wanted to ask you something," Tom said, hesitantly. You turned to look at him. He was nervous. You took his face in your hands and pressed a kiss to his nose. "Ask away." He smiled softly. "Y/N," he took a deep breath, "do you want to be my girlfriend?" You blinked and smiled, tackling him on your bed. "Yes, yes, yes!" With every word, you pressed a kiss to his soft lips. His arms held your waist tightly as he chuckled. "Great. Now I can finally call you my girl." You fell down next to him and admired his beautiful jawline. Carefully, you touched his face and he turned to look at you. "You are very pretty." You giggled as he blushed at your words. "You are very pretty too." He admitted, and you moved to kiss him again, longer this time. You closed your eyes as he tucked your hair behind you ear, and his lips found yours quickly. 

 * * * 

 "Wow," was the only thing Tom could say as you twirled in front of him in a yellow dress. The dress was completely covered in lace, and the loose skirt of tulle stopped just above your ankle. It had off-shoulder trumpet sleeves that reached your elbow, and it exposed enough of your arm for you to see the deep scars in your arms. You ignored them, but when Jordan came up to you with a box full of make-up to cover them up, you waved the woman away. 

"Are you sure?" Jordan asked, and you nodded, taking a deep breath. "No," you admitted, "but maybe it's time to stop covering them up. I didn't do anything wrong." She nodded and smiled, leaving you and Tom alone. 

Fyn had taken a few strands of your hair and braided them to pin them on the back of your head. It left you with a casual chic look, something that you loved. Vera took a few pictures of you to post on social media, and you did, again thanking everyone for their effort. You already had tons of happy birthday messages, and you tweeted a thanks to all on twitter. 

 Alec and Brandon were both dressed in blue suits, and Jackie had chosen a beautiful red dress with a v-neckline and a skirt that reached her knees. Her hair was pushed to one side, and she had chosen to keep her make-up neutral, just like you. Your mother and father entered a bit later, when you were sitting on the couch, on your phone, because Tom and Alec were talking about the Marvel comics and you had gotten a text. 

 Storm: Can we call? 

 Storm: Y/N? 

 You: Alright. Make it quick.

Your phone buzzed and you picked it up. "Hey." You answered. "Hey babe." Storm answered, and you scrunched your nose. "Don't call me that, please. What do you want?" "I just wanted to wish you a happy twenty-third birthday." "Hmm." You answered, not convinced. Storm sighed on the other end of the phone. "I just want you to know I'm truly sorry, Y/N. I never wanted it to end that way." You stayed silent and tried to push back the tears that were forming in your eyes. "I'm sorry." She croaked. You sighed. "I can't do anything with words, Storm." You saw Alec look up surprised at the name. Tom frowned at you, asking with his eyes if you were okay, but you ignored them. 

"I know," she answered. "I know. But I also know you're happy now. I won't bother you, I promise. I just want you to be happy." Was she crying? "Storm, are you alright?" You asked, a little worried now. What was going on that she was so sad? The Storm you knew almost never cried. "I'm not," she said, "but I'm seeing a therapist. I'm going to be alright. Justin is there for me." You nodded solemnly. "I'm going now. Have a nice night. Take care." "You too." You whispered, and the call was cancelled. 

 You: You can always call me when you need help. 

You put your phone away and took a deep breath. "Was that Storm?" Alec asked, and you saw anger in his eyes. "It was," you said, smiling, "but it's okay. Anyways, aren't we leaving?" You distracted Tom with a quick kiss, and he smiled. 

 * * * 

 "Y/N, this is the gift we wanted to give you." Your parents handed you a thick envelope, like the one you got from Jackie the day before. You looked at the people around the table. Some people from the cast were there: Elizabeth, Scarlett and Colin, Robert and Susan, Brie and Alex, Tom, Zoe, Jacob, Angouri, Marisa and Zendaya. Your family was there too, Alec and Brandon, your mother and father, and your aunt Emily with her son Nigel. Tom was sitting next to you, his hand on your leg. You smiled at him and opened the envelope. 

In it were eleven tickets to Italy, for Christmas. Your mouth fell open as you closed it again. Then you got up from your chair to hug your parents tightly. "Thank you," you whispered in their ears. Your father looked at you with a big grin. "There are five tickets for all of us, which means you can take six others with us." Your eye fell on Tom, who was now talking to Brandon animatedly. You nodded. "Thank you," you said again, and then you sat down again. 

When everyone's attention was on the food, you leaned towards your boyfriend and put your hand on his leg to whisper in his ear. "What are you going to be doing this Christmas?" He smiled at you. "I dunno. Gotta let my parents choose." He looked so adorable to you couldn't resist giving him a quick kiss. His cheeks turned pink. "Well, do you like Italy?" His eyes widened. "Just the two of us?" "No silly, with everyone. I have eleven tickets for Italy in Christmas. We can go skiing. What d'ya say?" He nodded excitedly. "I love it, and I'm sure that everyone else will too." He pulled you in for another kiss. You smiled against his lips. "I look forward to it."

Chapter Four: 

Warnings: implied smut, referenced self-harm and suicide attempts, vomiting on purpose

"It's cold." Alec muttered before pulling up his collar to shield his face from the wind. "Should I warm you up?" Brandon asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, and Alec blushed deeply. You laughed. "Go do that somewhere else kids." Tom said, wrapping his arms around you from behind. You relished in his body warmth. Alec stuck out his tongue. "No pda in public!" Your father yelled. You turned around, grabbing your ski's a little tighter to ensure they won't fall. "Shut up!" You yelled back, and the four adults burst out in laughter. 

"Dad's right," Harry pointed out, "it's not fair that you got yourself a girlfriend." You grinned as Tom pressed a kiss to your cheek. "You should get yourself a girlfriend too, then, Harry, if only you'd stop sulking." You pushed your boyfriend away. "Don't be mean to your little brother." You put your arm around Harry and the two of you laughed as Tom pouted. He looked adorable like that, and you couldn't resist giving him a kiss. 

"Alright, if you two are going to keep acting like two lovesick teenagers, we're going to Switzerland to ski." Sam exclaimed and you giggled. "We won't. Pinkie promise." You linked your gloved pinkie with his, and the two of you shared smiles. 

 The trip up the mountain was short. 

As soon as you were above, Tom took your hand and started pulling you to the slope. You laughed and pulled him back. "Tom, you're not even wearing your ski gear yet." "Oh!" He said, "forgot about that!" You couldn't help but laugh as you walked back to an empty bench where you could put on your ski's. 

Tom kneeled in front of you in the snow and guided your foot to the ski. You chuckled under your breath and it clicked. "It fit!" Tom said, and he looked up at you. "I found my Cinderella guys!" Your cheeks heated up rapidly, and you playfully slapped him. A few people looked your way, amused. "What? It's true, you're my princess." If possible, you blushed even harder. He was a dork. An adorable one, though. 

When you were done, you stood there, humming in the snow, when Tom stopped in front of you. He went a little further with his ski's, so that his stood in between yours and he could pull you close. "I really wish I could get that helmet off so I can kiss you properly." He grumbled, and you chuckled, getting out of his grasp. "You can't always have everything Holland." You patted his helmet, and then, as you noticed both your families were done, started skiing towards the beginning of the slope. 

"Race you to the bottom." Sam said, and you nodded. "What are we racing for?" He laughed. "If you lose, you need to wear my clothes tomorrow. If I lose, I need to wear your clothes tomorrow. The winner gets to enjoy the sight." You nodded again. "Sounds great. I'm in!" "Go, go, go!" Your father yelled from behind you, and you didn't let him tell you so twice. 

 "Damn it!" Sam yelled when he arrived where you were standing, grinning like a madman, even though he couldn't see your face properly. "Do you want a rematch?" You asked, and he nodded, pulling you with him to the ski lift. 

"Don't we need to wait for the rest?" You asked, as you saw Tom, Harry and Alec speeding down. "Nah. Come on." You smiled and followed Sam to the lift. 

 "What?!" You heard Sam yell as you jumped off the small hill, landing in the snow before him. "Not again!" He screamed dramatically, and you started laughing. 

 * * * 

 "God, I'm exhausted." Tom said as he pulled off his jacket. You looked at him as you took off your own black jacket and your hat. The warmth in the hotel was comfortable and it made you a little tired. "Just hold on a little longer kiddo," Dominic said, ruffling Tom's hair, "we're going to eat soon." "I'm going to take a nap," you said softly, and Tom took your hand. "I'll take a quick shower. Just text us when we need to come down." Nicola lifted her thumb in the air as the two of you stepped into the elevator. 

 True to your word, you undressed quickly and slipped under the covers of the large bed, sighing softly. You closed your eyes but couldn't sleep. You tried for three more minutes before kicking the covers off your body and stepping on the ground. You could as well just shower. 

The shower was still on when you entered the bathroom, twirling your hair into a large messy bun on top of your head. You slipped out of the nightgown and kicked it away, before turning around and pushing the glass door of the large shower open. Tom was looking at you, mouth agape. Your hand touched the necklace around your neck as you stepped in and closed the door behind you. 

"What?" You asked, and suddenly you were very aware of the white scars on your tanned skin. But when you looked up, you noticed his eyes were on your face. "I don't know what I did to deserve you." He mumbled, and you mumbled. "You're not...- you know?" You pointed vaguely at the scars on your legs, arms and belly. He quickly shook his head and stepped forward to take your left arm. He pressed soft kisses on it, and then repeated it with your other arm. Then he went down on his knees to kiss your legs, tracing your skin with his soft finger, caressing every spot. You bit back a moan when he kissed your inner thigh, and your fingers curled into his wet hair when he moved just a little higher. 

 When he was face to face with you again, he was smiling. He pulled you into a lazy kiss. "I love you," he whispered against your lips, and your eyes flew open. "God, I- I didn't mean to say it now-" you cut him off by pressing your lips to his. "I love all of you. Scars, craziness, tears, fights, everything." He pulled you flush against him, and you were all too aware of his warmth against your own skin. "I'll clean you." He said, and he moved to grab the soap. 

 When you came out of the bathroom, dressed in one of Tom's hoodies, you sighed contently. Tom was rummaging through his suitcase as you flopped on the bed, letting the hoodie creep up your stomach to reveal your lace underwear. When Tom lifted his head to look at you, he turned tomato-red at the sight of you. You were laying on the bed, above the covers, with only his hoodie and your underwear on. He bit his lip when his eyes followed the pattern of thick scars on your legs. 

Your eyes were closed, and your curls were everywhere, which made you look messy, but he loved it. He never expected to fall so hard for you - yes, he'd liked you for a while, but he hadn't expected to feel so good whenever he was with you. You two had only been together for two months, but it already felt like so long, and he intended on spending even more time with you. 

You looked like an angel, so peaceful, and he didn't want to wake you, but his phone buzzed as he got a message from his father that they were almost going to dinner. 

He also knew you were tired, if the bags under your eyes were any indication. You had stopped filming in November, but then there was this photoshoot that you had to do in Vietnam, and then one in Zimbabwe. It meant flying a lot, and jetlag’s. He went with you, of course, eager to spend more time with his girlfriend, but it was exhausting, and eventually, when Harrison called that they needed him back in London, he was relieved to go back, even though he felt guilty for letting you alone. But you weren't a child anymore, and you could spend a week without him. 

It still was shitty. The two of you would always be travelling, if you would continue your jobs. Tom knew he was going to continue doing it. He loved acting. But he was planning on toning it down just a bit, to spend time in London, and with you. 

 "Wake up, princess." A soft voice said, and you groaned, opening your eyes. "It's dinner time." Tom whispered, and you sighed deeply, getting up slowly. "Just put some joggings on, and we'll get out of there as soon as possible, okay? Then you can get some sleep." He sounded worried. You waved it away. "No, the restaurant's pretty chic. Can't show up there with just joggings." You mumbled, and you looked into the closet to find your favourite dress. 

It was black, with lace sleeves and a skirt that reached your knees. You wore sneakers under it, making it a bit more casual, as Tom put on jeans and a white shirt that showed just enough of his arms when he crossed them over his chest. 

"You look handsome," you whispered, kissing him sweetly. He smiled. "You are very pretty too." He kissed you again, and you responded by playfully licking the seam of his lips. He gave you entrance quick enough, and your tongues danced together lazily. His hands cupped your tail, and you smiled, breaking away from him. "We don't want to be late." 

 * * * 

 You didn't know how you ended up in front of the toilet, with your finger down your throat, letting everything flow out again. You coughed and tried to ignore the sour smell that drifts around you. 

Your head was spinning when you got up, wiping your mouth with a paper and flushing it down the toilet. You picked up the deodorant and sprayed it around the room, trying to cover up the smell. 

"Y/N?" A knock on the door. "What's taking you so long? Are you feeling okay?" You didn't answer, trying to wash your hands and ignoring your bleeding knuckles. 

When you stepped out of the bathroom, Jackie checked your hand. Her mouth fell open when she saw your knuckles, and she hugged you tight. When she pulled back, you could see tears in her eyes. "Don't do this," she whispered, "don't fall back, please. And if you do, please find someone to talk to." You nodded solemnly, and you were surprised when she wiped a tear from your cheek. "And I'm going to tell Tom." Your brows furrowed and you were shaking your head quickly before you knew it, but she nodded. "I will. Someone needs to look after you, Y/N. Now come on, I'll fix your make-up." She pulled you back into the toilet. 

 When you returned at the table, Jackie said you weren't feeling well as you sat down in between your father and Brandon. You felt Tom's eyes on you for the rest of the meal - which wasn't much anyways, just a few cups of coffee and dessert that you didn't eat. 

"Princess, are you feeling well?" Tom asked, stroking your cheek when everyone moved to go to the bar. You looked him in the eye and took a deep breath. It was time to tell him. So, you shook your head. "Do you want to go upstairs?" You nodded. "Alright." He turned around. "Y/N and I are going to our room. She's not feeling well." You noticed your parent's eyes on you, but you saw Jackie say something to them, and they nodded. 

 "What's wrong?" Tom asked as soon as he closed the door behind him, but you didn't give yourself a chance to answer, pushing him against the door and locking your lips on his. He chuckled as you moved to take off his shirt. "Do you want to do this?" He then asked, and you nodded, zipping your dress open and letting it fall on the ground. His eyes scanned your body as his hands pulled you towards him. He started kissing you again, and you unbuckled his belt, letting his pants fall to the ground. Slowly, you walked towards the bed, still kissing him, letting your hands touch him everywhere. He returned the kind gesture, and pushed you on the soft cushion, climbing on top of you. "Are you sure?" He asked, again, and you nodded. "Yes. I love you." He smiled and touched your cheek. "I love you too." 

 * * * 

 "I had anorexia and bulimia," you told him softly as you laid attached to his side, your hand on his chest and making circles as he holds you. "I was depressed and suicidal. It was hard, getting through it, when my parents were almost never home. I guess I just felt unseen. Alec was in boarding school, so I spent most of my time alone or with my friends. What hurt the most was that I knew my friends wouldn't stay eventually. They all gave up on me when I didn't get better within a year. Well, all except one. Jackson didn't. She stayed with me. She encouraged me, helped me into therapy, and told me to never give up. It was so dark-" you hesitated, "all around me, there was no one, except her. I fell back, after acting school. There was this boy who told me I wasn't good enough for it, that it was just money and status that got me this far. I took an overdose." You took a shaky breath. "Jackie found me. She saved my life. After that, it slowly got better. I was still in therapy when we were filming Civil War. But meeting all of you made me happy again, and I started to like life again." She looked up at Tom, and when she noticed he was crying, she got up and wiped the tears away. "I thought Haz told you, actually." Tom shook his head. 

"Haz said that you went through a rough patch, 's all. He never wanted to say anything else." You sighed and pressed a kiss to his lips. "So... what were you doing so long away on the toilet?" You sighed deeply. "Vomiting." He didn't have to ask why. He only grabbed your wrists and pulled you close. "Don't do it again. And if you want to, call me, or Jackson, or Alec, or Haz, or anyone." You nodded. "Promise me, Y/N." He sounded very serious. You looked up and smiled. "I promise." Then you slipped out of his arms, pulled the thin blanket around you and grabbed your box of cigarettes from your bag, walking to the balcony. 

 You blew out the smoke and sighed. "Do you like smoking?" You heard Tom ask, as he came up behind you, sneaking his arms around your waist and pressing a kiss on your shoulder, making you shiver. "I don't." You said, putting your cigarette out. "But it's the thing that keeps me from doing anything to harm myself." You turned around in his arms. "Jackie told me I need to stop doing it. I should." You smiled apologetically. "Chris Evans smokes too." He blurted out. You nodded. "It's okay if you do it if you really need it. As long as you don't start doing it every day." He kissed you softly, making you smile. "I won't." You promised, and you let him pull you back to the bedroom. 

 * * * 

 "Merry Christmas!" You yelled, leaning against Tom, smiling happily as everyone clinked glasses. Your hand found his, and your fingers laced together. "I love you," he murmured in your ear. You looked up at him. "I love you." You whispered, and he grinned. 

"This is your present." You put the photobook on the table and let the two families look at it. "It contains a lot of photos. Everyone has a spot." With Tom next to you, you opened the book, revealing a picture of you, Alec, Tom, Harry, Sam and Paddy on the front page. Everyone was laughing in the picture. 

The next page revealed a few pictures you and Tom had made on the sets of Civil War and Infinity War, everyone busy and laughing. There were many more pictures, you knew that, but you would let them see for themselves. 

You and Tom made your way to the domed roof, to take some time for yourselves and watch the slopes with the lights. 

"I love it here," you said as you sat down. "Me too," Tom admitted. You sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. 

"I have my present for you with me." Tom said, and you turned to look at him as he pulled out a small black book. When you opened it, you gasped. It contained every single picture of the two of you taken together. On the last page it said, 'To Y/N, my Cinderella'. "This is beautiful." You said, and you closed the book, embracing him warmly. 

When you pulled apart, you took a white box out of your bag and handed it to him. He pulled out a beautiful wrist-watch. "Look at the bottom." You whispered, and he did. 

 To more snowy days spent together

"It's amazing, Y/N, thank you." He put his arms around you, and you smiled happily. "I'm glad you like it." You pressed a soft kiss in his neck, and he pulled his hand through your soft hair. Inwardly, you thanked God for giving you Jackie, who saved your life. If she hadn't, then you wouldn't have met Tom. And you were pretty sure you would regret that for the rest of your life.

Chapter Five

Warnings: none

“The British actor who’ve had the pleasure of encountering a first time, the boy who plays Peter Parker in the brand new Avengers: Endgame, and the British actress who landed the role of Iron Man’s daughter and Spider-Man’s love interest in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and who plays the famous Black Rose in the last two Avenger movies, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Y/N Y/L/N and Tom Holland!”

There was a huge applause as you and Tom made your way up the stage. His hand was clasped in yours as you walked forward, and Graham shook his hand and clapped him on his back and guided him to the red couch, leaving you to stand in front of the man. He smiled happily and pulled you into a hug, kissing you on the cheek. You smiled at him, and then moved to sit next to Tom. He put his hand on your leg, and you heard a few whistles coming from the crowd, but you didn't let it bother you.

“So, the last time you were here, Tom, Y/N wasn’t there, and that’s a shame, I would’ve loved to see you here on the show right after the movie got out, so tell me, why couldn’t you be there?” Graham leaned forward in his chair as you laughed and pushed a strand of ear behind your ear.

“I remember, yeah, I remember watching it too, with my friends,” you said, smiling, “As you know, I am a model, and I work with a lot of different magazines. At the time of filming the show, I had an interview the next day, and I was exhausted, beyond exhausted, really, and well, I thought that if I’d go, I would die the next day, and that couldn’t happen because it was an important job for me, so yeah.” You chuckled. “It’s not that I didn’t want to go, I would have loved it, and I love it now, but I had to think about myself too.”

Graham nodded with a smile. “Yes, it is rather shameful. Now, last time we talked about a lot of things, started off with the schools and such, so I was just wondering, Y/N, what kind of school did you go to?” You smile, wider this time. “Not many people know this, because my parents kept Alec and me pretty away from everything, but I went to an old, private school in Scotland-“ “Yeah, we got a picture of it, too.” Graham said, and he turned to look at the small screen behind him, which showed a hill with a huge castle on it, “It looks a bit like Hogwarts, don’t you think?” He asked, turning back again, and everyone laughed.

“Well, it was a bit like Hogwarts. It was a mixed school, but the classes you were in only were with members of your own gender, so you pretty much stayed in the same circle. It was lovely, though, there was this village nearby where we could go in the weekends, and we had Christmas and summer holidays, and it was lots of fun.” You smiled, looking at Tom, who smiled back.

 “Alright, and what can you say about your character without revealing too much about the movie plot?” Graham asked. “Alexis Stark is Tony Stark’s daughter,” you began, “her mother’s name is unknown, but she was a girl that Tony fell in love with, actually, when he was studying. He basically knocked her up, and she died giving birth, which left him to take care of her. In the first Avengers movie I was only mentioned by name, and a few pictures. In Civil War, however, I do appear more times, at the time of the movie I’m a bit older than Peter Parker, and I go to his school under the alias of Ray Carter – I live with Sharon Carter, by the way, but I don’t play a massive role. In Infinity War I try to help my dad a bit in the beginning, and I come with him to space, taking on my identity as Black Rose. I reveal my identity to Peter Parker, y’know, and shit ensues quickly after that. My character is, however, not in love with him, but Alexis does care about him a lot, so it’s quite a shock for her when he turns to dust in front of her. She gets stuck with Tony and Nebula, and they try to survive. I don’t appear that much in the movie, though, only at the last twenty minutes or so,”

“So who is Alexis’ love interest?” Graham asked. You chuckled. “I’m afraid I can’t say that. It’s going to be a surprise, though.” “Nobody’s expecting it,” Tom intervened, and you gave him a light smile.

 “Can you give us a little background on Black Rose?”

“Yeah, of course I can!” You laughed, and you shifted on the couch.

“So, basically, Alexis is this girl who is enhanced, a mutant, some may call it, but she’s like, half-alien, her mother was not from earth, and so she inherits some of her mother’s powers and creates some of her own. She can fly, like Vision, she can use energy, sort of like what Scarlet Witch does, and she’s really, really strong. She’s also really smart, can solve almost any problem. When we pass by Civil War, she graduates not long after that, and she becomes a vigilante. Tony is against that, but she doesn’t listen, we all know what teenagers are like, am I right?” The audience laughed.

“So, every time she kills someone, she leaves a black rose on their body, stuck in their wound. And that’s how she gets the name, Black Rose, because that’s what she becomes feared for. Alexis doesn’t really get much screen-time in the movies, but I can tell you that she, as the daughter of the famous Iron Man, has a hard life. She’s had to hide since she was small, she’s had to lie ever since she started going to school, and she works very hard by night. She doesn’t really have any daddy or mommy issues, she came to term with it all when she was young, but she does have issues with herself.”

“And Marvel doesn’t focus on that?” You looked at Peter for a second before responding. “Black Rose, or Alexis Stark, or Ray Carter, however you know her, she’s not that important. She doesn’t play a decisive role, like Captain America and Iron Man, she just plays this small background role. I think that’s not going to change, and I’m okay with that, because you don’t always need to really get into all that. Sometimes it’s better to just leave it be. Alright, I’m Alexis Stark, my father is famous, my mother is dead, I lie to everyone, and I kill people.” Everyone laughed.

 “So, Tom, you and Alexis never team up in the movies, right?” “You’re fishing for information!” You accused, laughing. Tom chuckled, to then move his eyes back to Graham. “We don’t, actually. The scene where everyone tries to get that glove off Thanos’ hands, she helps Iron Man with it, and she stays by his side, basically. Peter tries to talk to her, but she gives him the cold shoulder.” You patted him on his back. “Poor Peter.” Graham laughed, and you nodded. “Alexis is not good at making friends.” You pointed out, and everyone laughed again.

 “Alright, thanks to the guests for coming, thank you, Tom Holland!” Everyone cheered and clapped as Tom gave you a lopsided smile. “And a huge thanks to Y/N Y/L/N, and I really hope we’ll see you again!” More clapping and cheering, and you laughed, giving Tom a quick peck on the lips before the lights slowly went out and the camera’s stopped rolling.

 * * * 

 "You look like a queen, Y/N," the female reported told you, and you smiled widely, looking down at the beautiful blue gown you were wearing. It was off-shoulder, floor-length, with a flowing skirt made of layers of tulle and chiffon from the waist, and white flowers embedded on the top, and a few on the skirt. From the bands on your shoulders flowed a large strap of tulle, essentially forming a train, and covering parts of your arms. "I feel like one," you admitted, looking up to face the reporter. She smiled. "So, what was it like, filming Captive State?" "Oh," you smiled, "it was amazing. The only films I've been in are mostly the Marvel ones, and otherwise I got small roles in not so big movies, so being a part of a bigger plot in another movie with an entirely different cast was wonderful. I met so many new people, and I made a lot of new friends. Filming was exhausting, but it was fun too, and we had a lot of laughs." "Was it strange, having such a turn in plots?" "Yeah, in comparison to Marvel movies, it was so much different. But I liked it. I'm expanding my horizon, you know?" You smiled, and the reporter nodded. "Thank you." The camera stopped rolling, and you smiled wider. "Have a nice day." Then you turned around and walk on. 

 The movie was a huge blast, but you couldn't help but turn a little red when the bed-scene between you and Ashton came on the screen. You heard a few whispers in the room, and you rolled your eyes, distracting yourself by thinking about Tom's smile. 

The two of you had called each other just before the premiere. He would be with you just in time for the premiere of Endgame, and then you'd have him for two months before the premiere in July for Spider-Man: Far From Home in Japan. You missed him a lot. 

It had been a month, as he was travelling around for several meet-and-greets and interviews, and it was hard being away from him after having him by your side for so long. 

But it was the way your lives were, from now on. You both had important jobs - you had taken on the offer of full-time modelling for Vogue - and he was doing the voice-over for Walter in Spies in Disguise, and he was filming Onward and The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle. The other movie he starred in - Chaos Walking - had had its premiere already, but there were more meet-and-greets planned for that one as well. Tom was busier than you were, but the two of you had made clear arrangements about it.

You would at least Face-Time once a week and call twice a week when one of you was gone, and you would take at least one month off to see each other each half year. You didn't know if it was going to be enough, but your parents had done it, and they were together for a long time, and they still loved each other. You figured that the distance couldn't destroy your relationship. You loved him, and he loved you. That was all you needed to know. 

 * * * 

 "You look good in it," Vera told you as you spun around in the fourth dress. It was a long yellow gown that reaches your ankles, with long lace sleeves. "It's too simple." Fyn said, and Jordan nodded in agreement. "It's not you, Y/N." Fyn said. "You always wear these beautiful extravagant dresses, so I don't think this is your style." "I pick all of her dresses!" Vera exclaimed, and Krista chuckled from her spot in the corner of the room. "And that's why I'm sure you can find another beautiful dress for our beautiful Y/N." Vera nodded, and pulled you with her to the changing room. 

"This is it." Vera said as you stood in front of the mirror. It was a soft pink colour, with off shoulder sleeves of transparent fabric and the top part was off-shoulder completely, the same colour as the sleeves. A little above your waist, the skirt erupted, in a deeper pink colour, and a transparent train. There were small flowers embedded on the dress, a few on the skirt and on the line that divided the skirt and the top, and a few on the tops and the bottoms of the sleeves. 

"It is." You agreed, admiring the sight. You looked like a fairy, straight out of a book. 

Jordan did your make-up with soft tones, salmon, soft pink and a few golden tints, while Fyn braided your curls in the African style and soaked the tips in hot water. 

"You look like a fairy." Krista said with a light smile as you twirled in front of her. "I do, don't I? I look perfect for the premiere." "Is your boyfriend coming to pick you up?" Alec asked, and you laughed. "I think so-" you were cut off as the bell rang, and the door opened. "Thank you," a distinct voice sounded, and you felt a smile creep up your face. 

When Tom entered the room with a bunch of flowers in his hands, you couldn't contain your excitement, and squealing, you ran up to him. He engulfed you in a warm hug, laughing. "Missed you," you breathed in his ear, pressing a few kisses in his neck. You pulled apart, and you let your eyes feast on him standing before you. He was dressed in a black tuxedo and looking handsome as ever. "Missed you too," he whispered in your ear. The two of you hadn't seen each other in two months but kept calling each other. It was different though, holding him. 

 "Alright lovebirds, let's get this shit rolling." Krista said with a big grin. You nodded, and let Tom help you out of the car. The cameras were flashing, and people were yelling to get your attention. Tom put his hand on the small of your back and guided you into the building. 

"Red carpet, smile, be fashionable, make a statement, whatever." Krista said with a big smile as she walked next to you. You nodded. "Kisses can be shared." She winked, and then she left through another door as Tom and you made your way to the red carpet. 

 You posed with Tom several times, smiling for the camera's, and you even built up the courage to give him a kiss, which was of course something caught by many cameras. He smiled cheekily as you slapped his cheek softly. "Now go pose with the other boys." He hopped off, and you turned to greet the women of the cast: Brie, Zoe, Scarlett, Elizabeth, Karen, Evangeline, Pom, Tilda, Michelle, Gwyneth and Letitia. 

The twelve of you stood in a straight line; you were standing in between Brie and Scarlett. Smiling widely, you eyed the crowd of camera's in front of you. 

 "So, what's it like to be Y/N Y/L/N's boyfriend?" The reporter asked, and Tom laughed, his hand gripping your waist. "It's amazing," he said, looking at you, "she's amazing, honestly. I never thought I'd be with her, and it's still a bit surreal, after seven months," you smiled at him, "but it's amazing. That's all I can say, really." He looked at you. "I love being with her." "That's so sweet!" The reporter cooed, and the two of you shared a fond look. "So, what was it like, filming Endgame? Was it hard to not say anything?" The question was directed at you, and you chuckled. "My family is quite used to not being able to talk about it, so there were absolutely no questions asked. It wasn't that hard, no." "But am I correct to assume that, together with Benedict, you were the only other actress who got to read the entire script?" You laughed. "You are correct in assuming that, yes. Little Tom finds it hard to keep secrets like that, so I suppose it was for the better that we didn't see each other much during the filming." Tom smiled cheekily. "It's different, though, standing there, knowing that you already know everything about the movie, and you can't tell anyone about it. The only one I could talk to about it was Benedict, and we barely saw each other. So yeah, it wasn't much fun, but it wasn't too hard." 

 The audience gasped as Alexis slowly took off her mask on the screen, revealing short brown locks and beautiful honey-brown eyes underneath. Loki turned around, his cape fluttering behind him, and a smile formed on his lips, before Alexis ran up to him and he spun her in his arms. "Oh my god." Someone said out loud, and there were more whispers as Alexis and the God of Mischief shared a passionate kiss on-screen. You looked at Tom, who was also looking at you. You smiled and leaned forward to give him a quick kiss. He smiled against your lips. "I love you," you whispered, and then you turned to watch the rest of the movie. "I love you too."

 * * * 

 Vera brushed something off the white blouse, and carefully helped your arms through the sleeves of the beautiful kimono, while Krista arranged your black skirt to fall wide around your body. You crossed your feet, in towering heels which made you a bit wobbly, and shook your straightened hair back. "You look awesome." Jordan said, finishing your look by creating a perfect wing with white eyeliner. "Perfect." Fyn mouthed, and he took out his phone, snapping a few pictures. You smiled. "You are definitely ready for this." Krista said, getting up from the floor and nodding. "I don't even play a character in the movie, I don't need to look perfect." You said, rolling your eyes. "Y/N, you're the daughter of a famous actor who starred in the most famous movies in Hollywood, and a famous model who used to be a Victoria Secret angel." Vera remarked, and you scoffed. "Doesn't mean I need to look like a fairy 24/7." "It means that you need to look good every single second." Fyn said, and you sighed, looking down at the ground. 

 "W-wow." Tom stuttered, taking your hand and letting his eyes trail on your form. You rolled your eyes. "I don't look that good." "You do look that good." Zendaya said with a big grin, and you narrowed your eyes looking at her. She was wearing a gorgeous red dress, no doubt designed by someone good, and she looked radiant. "You look very good, too." You said, and she laughed. "Alright, we both look very good. Come on, I'm stealing you from Tom. We're going to steal all the attention." You laughed as she hooked her arm through yours and pulled you towards the red carpet. 

 "That was amazing!" You yelled, and you turned to kiss Tom deeply. He groaned as his hands grabbed your waist. "I want to take you home," he whispered in your ear, and you immediately pushed him away. Smirking, you told him no. "There is an afterparty we need to go to, after all." He pouted, and you stroked his cheek. "Don't pout. You look too adorable." 

Laughing, you narrowly avoided his arm reaching for you, and fell into step with Zendaya, who immediately started chattering about Italy and the filming, glad she could finally share it with someone. 

 * * * 

 "I'm beat." You sighed, flopping on the couch. 

"There is a bed," Tom said, already taking off his clothes and you slowly got up, yawning. "I'm going to get my make-up off, first, though," you said, and you followed him to the bathroom. 

He turned on the shower as you took out your small bag with make-up remover, and slowly started removing it all. Afterwards, you rinsed your face and dried it carefully, putting on some face-cream. 

Tom stepped out of the shower, dripping wet, and you handed him a towel. "Just a few more to go," he said, stretching, and you nodded, turning around to look at him. "We have to be on the plane by four in the morning," you said, and you looked at your watch. "We can get a few hours of sleep." 

Tom yawned, and you studied his small eyes. "You're tired. Come on, let's get to bed." He nodded, and let you guide him to the bedroom. 

You put the blanket around him and kissed his face. He closed his eyes and shifted in the bed. "Don't you need to sleep?" He asked, voice hoarse. You smiled. "I'm going to pack our stuff first. It's not much, so I'll be in bed soon. You should sleep, though, because you still have so many premieres to go to." He nodded and turned as you stepped back to fold all the clothes and put them in your suitcases. 

 It was two in the morning when you stepped out of the bed, slowly sliding under Tom's arm. He groaned and opened his eyes. "Where you are going?" He asked, his voice slightly slurred. You kissed him. "Toilet. I'll wake you up in half an hour, alright?" He nodded and his eyes fell close again. 

You sat on the bedside watching him sleep. His eyes were closed, and his curls were tousled, but he looked so peaceful that you didn't want to wake him up at all. He was exhausted, you knew that. Constant filming, and then being away and needing to be there for his fans; you couldn't even fathom what he went through sometimes. You had made certain wishes with Marvel, and that was that you wouldn't have to be everywhere, you could choose if you wanted to go - it made it possible for you to have time for modelling and family. But Tom didn't have that option, and if he had, he wouldn't choose it. He loved this. He loved all of it, even the sleepless night and the exhaustion and the tears. You admired that. 

"I would give it up for you," he had said a few weeks before, "if you ask, I will." You had been tempted for a second, but you recovered quickly, and told him that this was his life, and that you could never take that away from him. And maybe someday you could settle down in some way, but there was plenty of time for that. And now, you just wanted to live - with him, preferably. 

 Tom studied your face as soon as you were sitting in the car, dressed in a simple red dress which he thought looked lovely on you. You looked better than you did in December. You looked happier, more alive. He knew it was hard for you, that he had to be away so much. And he had been very honest with you before. He really could give it up for you. But you loved him too much to do that to him, and so you didn't say anything. 

His hand sought yours. You shot him a smile. 

It was going to be hard. In the United States, it would be the last premiere you would attend with him. Then, you would travel to Los Angeles, and you would have a few modelling gigs, with Jackson as your assistent. You were going to stay with your father, at least for two years, and you said that you would take a break on the acting, while Tom was going to start filming for Onward and The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle - so he had to be available every day. It meant that you weren't going to see each other for a while. 

When he helped you out of the car, and the cameras started flashing, he noticed your smile. "Are you okay?" You asked, and he nodded. You kissed him softly, and his hands roamed your body. "I love you," you whispered, letting go of him. He smiled. "Let's get this started. Come on." You tugged on his hand, and he laughed, letting you pull him with you. 

 * * * 

   Two years later....

 "Black Rose is going to get her own series!!" 

"What?!" 

"You, Y/N Y/L/N, are getting your own spin-off series!" 

"That's amazing!! I have to call Harrison!" 

[dearericbittle]

but that’s just a first impression (I could be totally wrong) - Sterek 1/1

Summary: Derek is on a really awful blind date (Laura will pay for this). But the waiter is really cute.

(Also on AO3)

This was not the first time that his family had set him up, but it was definitely going to be the last. After this guy, Laura was never going to be allowed to even think of forcing him to meet anyone.

They only just got to the restaurant and Derek was already over it – and thinking seriously about injuring himself to get away. He was a werewolf, he’d heal, but his date was not in the know and he did not look like he possessed enough empathy to take Derek to a hospital. It made it more likely he’d leave Derek alone to seek medical attention that he didn’t need – the perfect escape.

So far, the guy had already tried to grope him three separate times, barely taking his hands off before Derek was tempted to let his claws out. He’d been a douche to the hostess, a perfectly lovely girl, albeit a little nervous on her first night on the job. And now he was talking about his fucking car again – a Porsche, because clearly he was compensating for something.

Derek was ready to stab himself with the shrimp fork.

Also, who would take a first date to such an embarrassing and stuffy restaurant? Did this guy really think that Derek would be impressed enough to get naked because of it?

“Good evening, gentlemen,” the waiter showed up.

Ugh, Derek didn’t want to look up from his menu long enough to get a glimpse of his date, because then he’d have to acknowledge that this was actually happening. Not even his most impressive resting bitchface with his most severe murder brows had deterred this guy from getting inappropriately close on the car ride over there.

And it didn’t stop him from hating on the Camaro.

“Finally,” the douche was an asshole to any and all waitstaff as well – another deal breaker. “I thought I might die of starvation before we got some actual service here.”

That earned him a serious glare from Derek, that the worst date ever didn’t even notice because he was too busy treating the server like complete shit.

The server with golden eyes and an impish tilt to his nose, the one who smelled vaguely of cinnamon and sugar. The man he could have sworn he’d seen somewhere before, but he didn’t display any signs of him being familiar with Derek.

That was going to bother him until he’d figured it out.

“I apologize you had to wait longer than you’d been expecting,” the server looked vaguely bored with the conversation – Derek could relate. “Can I get you anything to drink while you peruse the menu? If you’ve already made your choice, I can take your order.”

Normally, Derek would suggest alcohol, and lots of it, but he drove the asshole – and because the guy did not actually know Derek wouldn’t be able to get drunk off a couple glasses of wine, he had to play human and stay sober.

“Are you trying to rush us out?”

“I’d like some water, thanks,” Derek completely ignored his date and just addressed the server directly. “What would you recommend?”

It wasn’t just that he did not want to interact with his date, but also that he still had not figured out how he knew this waiter. Maybe if he talked more, he would put the pieces together.

“You look like a carnivore to me,” the guy actually winked at him, briefly forming a claw with his left hand. “So I think you would appreciate our pork tenderloin or the steak. Rare, of course. Or the rabbit.” Another wink, without the gesture this time. “We have a lovely beef stew that pairs well with our house red. But my personal favorite appetizer is the sausage-stuffed pepper poppers. And not just because it’s wonderful to say. I pair it with our signature cocktail – which we can serve for you in a virgin version as well.”

Who was this guy and how did he know? The claws, the jokes about rabbits and rare stick (which really was a personal favorite of his)… The mystery was the most interesting thing about the date so far.

“I will take your suggestion,” Derek let his eyes glow briefly, easily written off as a trick of the light. “And that virgin cocktail. I’ll take the steak. Rare.”

When the waiter did not flinch at that, reacting to his electric blue eyes as if he’d seen it all before, Derek almost gaped at him. Even those in the know would react to a blue-eyed werewolf with fear and disdain. He’d gotten used to it, but he’d never liked it.

“I’ll tell the kitchen,” the server – Derek really wanted his name – nodded solemnly, a hint of a grin on his face. “And you sir, have you made a decision?”

Oh right, there was someone else at the table. Derek had been this close to forgetting, and now he was forcefully reminded that he’d have to spend the rest of the night with this guy.

“What are your low-carb options?” His date was looking worse by the second.

Derek barely held back a groan, because he was an asshole. He was judgmental about these model type guys eating hardly anything, or watching their weight because of some fad diet. Sure, as a werewolf he never had to worry about his weight or his metabolism, but it was just another thing where they were as far from a match as they could be. The guy was probably a vegetarian too.

He was going to murder Laura for this.

As the waiter painstakingly went through the many dishes on the menu, his fake smile never faltering, Derek tried to surreptitiously take another sniff of him. Processed sugars normally made him sneeze, but there was something about this guy that made it work.

Somehow he completely failed at being surreptitious, because the server wiggled his cute nose at Derek without pausing his speech about the fresh vegetables used in the pear and goat cheese salad.

How was he doing this? How could he tell?

He was spending so much time thinking about his server that he completely missed whatever stupid thing his date ordered, only tuning back in for a crack about not everyone having a body to maintain (making the waiter flinch at the judgment and Derek prepare to roar out his disapproval).

“If you need anything else, just ask for Stiles,” the server – Stiles? – nodded before departing with a fake customer service smile. “Your drinks will be right with you.”

“What the hell kind of name is Stiles?”

Honestly, the shrimp fork was looking more and more appealing by the minute. Stiles would help him escape, he was sure of it.

By the time Stiles brought out the main course, Derek was tempted to ask the server to run away with him. The food was delicious, but the company continued to be awful and Stiles’ subtle digs at his date were the only reason for Derek to stick around.

That and all of the favors that Laura would owe him after this. Where did she even meet an asshole like this? She’d probably told him, but he hadn’t really been listening. Which is also why he wouldn’t be able to tell anyone his date’s name even if someone held a gun to his head.

He assumed that the asshole was one of the people Laura had gotten in touch with at the DA’s office. And if he’d go out on a date if Laura asked, he couldn’t be one of the people she put behind bars, or someone she beat. Because those guys hated her.

Because she was better than all of them combined. But he could never tell her that – that was the sibling rule.

Digging into his food, he almost let out a moan at the perfect flavor of the steak. And it was perfectly cooked – rare enough for him to really enjoy it, but not rare enough to make it look and taste like he was eating raw meat.

Perhaps someone on staff was a werewolf?

There was a small piece of paper carelessly dropped next to his plate. The second his date was otherwise occupied – probably by his own reflection – he folded it open and had to hide an actual laugh threatening to escape from his mouth.

I spit in the salad

Sorry not sorry

It was awful, but it was also surprisingly charming. The handwriting was terrible, almost illegible with the way that the letters all crowded together and some of them slanted weirdly to the left – but the words were still easy enough to make out for Derek. He could almost hear Stiles’ voice wrapping around the words, as if he’d spoken them aloud.

There was no way he couldn’t respond, awkwardly hiding his hands as he wrote on an old receipt in the pocket of his slightly too tight jacket.

I’m sure the saliva really brings out the flavor in that lettuce

He took advantage of his werewolf speed to shove the note in Stiles’ pocket as he passed the table, holding the empty plates of the lovely couple occupying the table next to them.

It took a minute, but then he heard laughter coming from the kitchen, and he knew a pleased grin had made it on to his own face. He really hoped that his date didn’t think it had anything to do with him.

At some point his date would have to talk himself out, right? Because Derek hadn’t said more than two words to him since Stiles delivered the entrees and still the guy was talking (about himself). Derek was happy not to make conversation, but if the guy’s foot moved up his leg one more time, he was accidentally going to break it.

Only it really would not be an accident.

When Stiles came by to ask about dessert, Derek was ready to call it a night, no matter how much he’d love to continue flirting with Stiles. Passing notes like they were in high school, shooting smiles and flirtatious looks without the asshole noticing.

Fuck, Derek still couldn’t remember his name.

“How about we take dessert home?”

Wait, the douche still thought that this date was going well? Even when Derek hadn’t responded to any of his overtures? Even though Derek didn’t respond to a single thing he said and didn’t speak to him unless asked? Even though Derek forgot his damn name?

“How about I drop you off at your place,” Derek was tired of holding back, “and I go back here to get my own dessert. All. By. Myself.”

He hadn’t had a chance to look at the dessert menu, and his sweet tooth was sort of an open secret to his pack. And maybe he could have sucked it up a little while longer, but the implication that Derek would go home with this guy just because he bothered to took him out to a fancy dinner? That was more than enough to have him refuse outright.

“All those in favor say aye,” Stiles muttered under his breath, trying to distance himself from the awkward proceedings.

Shit, he really couldn’t put Stiles in the middle of this, because he didn’t want him to risk his job. Anything less than kind he did or said to this douche would naturally have the asshole calling for his job. Because God forbid people had opinions about him that were less than complete awe of his existence.

Why the hell did Laura think Derek would want to go on a date with a guy like that?

“We’ll take the check,” Derek spoke decisively. “Thank you.”

Sure, his date protested at that, and rather loudly at first, until he realized that he was drawing attention to himself. Guys like this never wanted to be seen as less than perfect – and a rejection from his date? That would be less than perfect.

Ugh – he was probably going to try and convince Derek when they were alone. He was not looking forward to that.

The asshole didn’t leave a tip, even though he did pick up the bill – it was his idea, so Derek thought it was only right. Though he did grab his wallet to leave a proper tip, shooting a kind smile to the insecure hostess on his way out.

As he expected, only painful honesty got the asshole out of the Camaro with Derek’s metaphorical virtue still in tact. He was still going to take a long shower to wash the scent off him, but first he was going to go back for dessert. Two desserts maybe.

He was going to leave this part out of the story he was telling Laura. She did not need any extra ammunition to make fun of him – as his older sister, she had a lifetime’s worth.

“You came back,” it almost seemed like Stiles was waiting for him.

“I couldn’t leave without dessert,” he shrugged, like the awkward shit he was.

Because he did leave, no matter how briefly – he had to drive the douche home. But he wasn’t going to leave Stiles before he’d gotten a chance to talk to him, to at least try and figure out what he knew and if he could grin at Derek some more.

If that didn’t make him a creep who hit on someone at their job, which was probably up there on the list of asshole things to do.

“You are in for a treat,” Stiles’ smirk promised only great things – some of them slightly dirty.

Or was that wishful thinking?

Still, Stiles did not take his order before he walked away. Which meant that he probably had some kind of plan to surprise Derek with a nice dessert – he could never argue with a plan like that.

He could trust Stiles to pick something good for him.

It was awkward sitting at the table by himself, with people giving him pitying looks like he’d been stood up by a date – instead of kicking his date out of his car and coming back to flirt with the cute waiter some more. And get dessert. But mostly that first bit.

When the scent of cinnamon and sugar got even stronger than it was before, he looked away from the snooty old couple he’d been glaring at. Stiles was grinning as he placed a perfect cake in front of Derek.

The reason for the grin quickly became obvious.

I WIN

YOU LOSE

The writing was in a hideous shade of pink, the shade Laura always claimed was no one’s color but Barbie’s. But she always enjoyed defacing his property with a pink pen, because that was what older sisters were for.

His sister was actually the worst.

“I won! You lose, baby brother.”

His sister was actually here, digging into the cake with relish as her eyes flared red ever so briefly, just to stick it to him even more.

“You won what?” Derek had to roll his eyes at her. “The competition for worst blind date you’ve ever sent me on?”

And that is a pretty high bar, so far. After setting him up with Jennifer, who ended up trying to magic him for some reason, he had all the rights to complain. Though Jennifer was a pretty good date until she tried to manipulating into killing her ex-girlfriend.

“I feel like I should be offended,” Stiles was still there, taking a seat next to Derek for no apparent reason.

What the hell was going on here? There was no way that he minded Stiles sitting with him, the guy could sit in his lap and Derek would be happy. But still – Laura’s plans always ended in some kind of humiliation, and apparently she hadn’t had her fill after that awful guy.

“Jackson was my intern,” Laura has frosting on her face, but she doesn’t seem to care. “I told him I’d finally let him take on a proper case if he was the worst date ever. That way you’d be too annoyed to ignore your actual date. My good friend Stiles here.”

Jackson! That was his name!

“You always dismiss these dates before you even bother getting to know them,” Laura continued her speech, because she always did love a speech, “and I’ve known for ages that you and Stiles would hit it off.”

Derek really wanted to be mad at his sister, because the whole manipulation deal was not okay, not ever. And she knew it, and would probably apologize for it in time, once she was done gloating about it.

“Because I’m adorable,” Stiles nodded seriously.

But also, that. He did like Stiles, right away. And if Laura had introduced Stiles as his blind date, he probably would have found an excuse to hate him, right away.

“How about you go eat your victory cake elsewhere?” Stiles proposed. “And your hot like burning brother and I can discuss this without your interference.”

For once, Laura listened to someone other than herself – which was impressive. And the way Stiles just grabbed him the second Laura’s back was turned was even more impressive, especially when Stiles told him that Laura would have to pay for that cake.

Stiles clocked out and unbuttoned his tie, thoroughly distracting Derek.

By the time Laura finished the cake and paid, they were steaming up the windows of the Camaro.

Laura never did have to set him up after that.

[virtual-crisis]

⭐Alpha Centauri⭐, Part Nine

Sorry, sorry, and sorry again for this taking so long- writer’s block is a cruel bitch, depression relapses hit hard, college classes suck the free time out of you, job hunting is a hassle, insert more excuses. To be fair, they’re all true.

Side note, of all things tumblr staff’s done since Dec17, what pisses me off most is seeing they’ve removed the little separator lines [whatever the hell you call them] for text posts.

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I didn’t tell Chai about the two. Not yet, anyway. Unlike with Lucifer, I’d let her know soon, but I wanted a more… I guess ‘experienced’ opinion on the matter?

“Can’t say I’ve heard the names before,” mom said when I called, “But they sound Japanese. I don’t mean to generalize, but Japanese ‘Yokai’ are… Strange ones. Be wary about them.”

After getting her thoughts, I had mom get dad in to chat about it. Of course, I took a chance to talk to him about what happened with that angel recently, and he was honest-to-Belphegor shocked that I actually killed the thing. “Don’t tell your mother about that just yet, kiddo. It’s better to let her recover from worrying so much about you.”

“Yeah, I figured… So you heard mom and I talking, right?”

“Yup. Says you ran into a couple Japanese demons?”

“I guess you could call ‘em a yokai couple.”

“Not necessarily, Centauri. Yokai are general spirits and otherworldly beings in Japanese culture. There’s an overlap, but not all yokai are demons, and vice-versa.”

I nodded. “Makes sense. I guess you’ve met some?”

“One or two. A bit of an ‘incident’ with a tanuki comes to mind…”

“Think you told me that story, actually… Let’s not revisit it.”

“Definitely not. Twenty six is too young for you to be getting into that story.”

“And fifteen wasn’t?” I heard mom call over.

“I was half asleep!” he called back.

“You’re always half asleep!”

Dad groaned. “...I’ll get back to you later, Alyssa. Tell Nate and Polly I love ‘em, okay?”

“Gotcha. Love ya, dad.”

“I love you too. Stay safe.”

I clicked off my phone after that. Chialer was unsubtly giggling behind me.

“What, your dad not hug you when you were a kid?” I jeered at her.

“I mean, he and mom nearly got me killed as a toddler*. Can’t really trump that.”

I narrowed my eyes, shrugging. “...Y’know, I’m not gonna ask.”

“You probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

I tilted my head to each side, hopping up from the couch. I put up a finger after a moment, and dropped right back on it, turning myself to lie across it. “...Y’know, I’mma just turn on youtube…”

“And call Nebb, right?”

“And Polly, duh,” I said, tapping buttons on my phone again as Chialer stepped into her room. I glanced after her to have visual confirmation of her closing the door, then looked to my phone screen. It was the uni’s website, on which I looked for the contact info.

“Doctor Careme’s office, may I take your order?”

I snickered away from the phone. “Ahhh, yo, monsieur ska-pay, I had a question….ssss, about…. Things.”

There was silence for a moment. “...Ah, Centauri. I hope this isn’t gonna be an excuse to skip class—most sloth demons I work with try to pull that one time or another.”

“Oh no, not at all, it was something else,” I said. “I met a couple demons earlier at a Chick-fil-A, and when I described ‘em to my parents, they said they were ‘Yokai’, but that they didn’t know much else. Any thoughts?”

Scape, who’d been nice enough not to interrupt, thought for another moment. “Yokai… Japanese spirits, really. Not necessarily good or evil, heavenly or hellish. Many will take forms of mutated ‘humans’, household objects, or supernatural animals. You and I would fall into the latter category, were we from Japan.”

“Yeah, I figured that much. One of them—the other one’s wife—just randomly decided to show me how to draw up a pentagram to summon her.”

“Is that so? What ‘randomly’ convinced her?” he mused, sounding unconvinced by what I said.

“...Well, it maaaaay be because my mom’s worked with one of the princes in the past, and was granted a covert ‘passphrase’ they can use to alert demons to what they are.”

There was silence for a few moments. “My my my, but you are full of surprises… It’s good your brother decided to take my class.”

I chuckled.

“So what’s the significance here? Pentagrams are practically demons’ phone numbers. If anything, the more provocative element to this is you knowing that incantation.”

“Well, her symbolism on it… It had fire, thunder, shadow… Gluttony, sloth, lust… And a manji in the middle.”

“A manji? Where on the circle?”

“The central pentagon.”

“Hm.”

Scape was silent for a bit after that short hum. I shifted around on the couch slightly.

“‘The Myriad Things’. Whole of creation,” he noted.

“Huh?”

“In Japan it represents the whole of creation. I imagine whoever she is, she’ll become a very powerful demon in time- though if there are only those three sins and elements you mentioned, that’s a long while away.”

I nodded. “...Uh-huh,” I muttered. “Sooooooo uh, quick Q, what kind of ramen will I have to bring for the cooking class?”

Scape went mostly silent, but I could hear him suppress a chuckle. “...I’ll email your brother a catch-up assignment for you. You can poke him to partner with you on it.”

I blinked, staring up at the ceiling. “Uh… Yeah, that sounds… Smart.”

“So, what were their names?”

“Er, Tsuki and Shihai, according to the latter.”

“Right. I’ll look into it. I can tell you’re getting bored…” he murmured.

I coughed. “...Is it that obvious?”

“Yes, yes it is. See you in class.”

I sighed, slumping back on the couch. After a minute of zoning out, I speed-dialed both my siblings at once for a conference call. 

“Yo, whaddup, sis?” “Hey sis, what’s up?”

“‘Ayyyy, dad says he loves you two,” I said, before mimicking the clicking sound of hanging up on an analog telephone. Nebula chuckled after a couple moments of silence.

“...I can hear you breathing, Alyssa.” Polaris muttered.

“Shit, am I that audible? Remind me not to play any virtual reality horror games.”

“What were you even calling dad about, anyway?” Nebula said.

“Oh, the usual, mom being busy, checking in to see how things are… Damnit, I forgot to tell him about the weeds.”

Nebula snorted. “Oh wow, you already picked up on that slang?”

“Yeah yeah whatever. So that shit, and I told him about how I met a couple yokai a while ago.”

“An elder demon and two Oriental spirits in one day? Beast, Cen, calm down,” Polaris quipped. “We get it, you’re high on adrenaline from surviving an angel’s assault—But you’re gonna kill yourself sticking to that.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh shut up, Polly, it was happenstance. Chai and I were harassing the customers and employees with that *thing* we do from time to time—”

“Isn’t doing that in public a crime?”

“Oh my Beast, Nebb, don’t you dare,” Polaris and I said in unison, before—”Jinx! Double-jinx! Triple-jinx!”

“External jinx! Now you both owe me bottles of vodka!”

I put a hand to my face. “Nebb, that’s not how it works…”

“So what happened? How’d you meet them?”

“Well it’s not very subtle to have an Asian couple in a lake of white people; worse yet, they were the only ones not glaring at us in disgust. You’d think that’d make them the only inconspicuous ones, but I could tell they weren’t paying any attention to us.”

“You sure they weren’t just innocent passers-through?”

“The guy tried to pull that ‘no English’ shit even though they came to an English speaking restaurant in an English speaking country. Plus I pulled that line mom taught us, and he caved instantly.”

“Huh.”

“What?”

“I honestly thought she was bullshitting us with that,” Polaris mused.

“She learned it from Asmodeus! It’s in old Hebrew! How would that be BS?” I spat, slightly annoyed.

“Whatever. So he just outed his wife? You said it was two.”

“Oh no, she was more open about it than him. Caught her outside smoking, and when I said the line to her, she straight up drew her summoning sigil for me. The bitch has a manji in the middle of her pentagram.”

“A what?”

“The backwards fucking swastika, guys. She’s like, some super ultra powerful demon or something—or at least she’s gonna be. Isn’t that cool?”

“Bit frightening, really.”

“Or maybe she’s trying to bait you.”

I blinked. That was a fair point: for all I knew, she could’ve been preying on whatever gullibility I had, planning to have me spawn some angry, sealed-up diablo that’d slaughter me as a start of a planetwide rampage.

“Yo, you there?” Nebb asked.

“Yeah, I was waiting on—”

“I know, I know, I meant Cen.”

“Oh beast, sorry, zoned out a bit there,” I said. “I mean, shit, there could’ve been some weird deception shit behind it, but it seemed legit to me. Mom and dad weren’t all that suspicious, just surprised, and when I told Scape, he was interested to hear more.”

“He didn’t mention that in the makeup assignment he sent me.”

I smacked a palm on my forehead. “Ugh, right, that. What’s he want?”

“Crème brûlée. Wants us to film our process making it for evidence that we were indeed the ones to do so, then bring it to him for grading.”

“...Lemme guess…”

“Heh. Eating it.”

“Dunno what I expected from a gluttony demon,” Polaris quipped. 

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

Things had finally calmed down a bit, by the look of it. After we finished chatting, Nebb came over and locked himself in the dorm with me, before taking on his real form. Much to my dismay, I couldn’t be my mini-Mothra self even though he could, since he was using his built-in webcam to record the assignment—he wasn’t exactly filming a video pinup of himself, so despite Scape needing the video logged in the uni’s network, he could get away with it. Chialer came out from her nap as the ingredients’ smell wafted out of the kitchen, and we finally convinced her to come along for Careme’s Culinary Class 3425 at the threat of not getting two fellow gluttony demons making food she could call dibs on.

“Great, the armored tick gets to be in bug form and I still can’t even slip into my hazmat suit.”

“Tyler, the fuck, I’m gonna have to restart the recording now.”

“Wouldn’t happen if you brought a regular camera.”

Pretty much the usual with her. Petty and mean-spirited, but she could be real sweet and friendly too. Sometimes.

“Yo are we gonna start Kitchen Nightmares or what?” I quipped.

Given my nature, I was obligated to foot a lot of the tedious parts of the recipe. Chialer groaned about Nebula sitting back and not getting directly involved, but he was giving the instructions we’d be clueless without. Chialer herself got to handle the actually dangerous equipment like knives, stoven and the blowtorch Nebula bought, since I had a track record of being clumsy—and more recently, overzealous with electronic appliances.

Once we were done, I thanked myself for my extra pair of arms lending their muscle to my normal two when in human form, as I had to push both back from devouring the finished product, each having an unsurprising lapse in restraint as they discussed how it looked (which wasn’t even all that amazing, it was just alright).

But then... there was a knock on the door?

“Fucking—ugh...” Nebb grumbled, fumbling with his mechanisms before quickly changing back into human form.

“Who the—“ I looked over to Chai, grimacing as she’d taken the opportunity to nab the dessert. “...Beast, I’ll get it.”

When I opened the dorm’s door, outside was... The same jock I’d gotten a date with a few weeks ago, hands behind his back. I smiled awkwardly.

“Ah, hey Alyssa, it’s me, Bobby. I know it’s been a while, and last time was, ah, well....”

I coughed awkwardly. “Yeah...?”

He shrugged, showing a couple gift cards for a dine-in restaurant. “Maybe we could... y’know, try another date?”

“HOLY SHIT IS THAT BOB FROM ACCOUNTING?” Chialer shouted from the kitchen.

I covered my face with both hands. “Oh for fuck’s sake...” I peeked out between my fingers to see him looking in the direction of the kitchen uncomfortably. “I mean, yeah, I’m alright with that, sure...”

He nodded quickly, looking back to me. “Oh—great! I mean, uh... Yeah, I’ll see you... there?” he said, holding out one of the gift cards. Holy FUCK, each one was for a hundred dollars for one of the best restaurants in the city! “What time and day would work for you?”

I blinked a couple times, snapping out of gawking at the card. “Fuck—I uh, yeah, Friday, eight or nine? I dunno, my little bro’s always whining for me to help him with stuff on the weekends...?”

“I’M NOT THREE!” Nebb shouted.

I put a hand to my forehead. “...Ugh, I’ll... see you there?”

Bob nodded. “Ah, yeah, eight works for me.” he said, turning to walk back down the hall while I closed the door.

Chialer… was now in her skunk form. I glared. “Fuck’s sake Chai, he could’ve still been here.”

“I know what footsteps sound like. I thought you told him to look for someone else?”

I put my hands up. “He’s a decent guy, it’s been a while, he could’ve spent time asking around with other girls and people forget shit. Must you jeer at him from the other side of a wall?”

Nebula was brushing himself off, checking the fuel on the blowtorch as he stepped into the main room. “Hey, at least she didn’t eat our assignment.”

“Oh bullshit, you were gonna do it if I didn’t.”

At this point, I just slipped into my room and slumped on the bed. Out cold, too sore for a rampage.

[hello-justawriterofthings]

Father of the Year - Billy Hargrove

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Hey guys. This is my new angsty piece about single father Billy. It's different from other single father imagines, because It's takes place in your P.O.V. Takes places nowadays, not in the 80's. I Hope you Enjoy <3 Warnings. Language, some angst, lots of fluff later on. [ Y/N = Your Name ] Also, I do NOT own any photo's or gifs.

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I  had enough friends in school to realize that everyone lies, don't believe everything someone tells you. You had been in some horrible relationships and had bad friendships, so it's hard to trust. Billy Hargrove was a regular in the small bakery I owned, he rarely bought anything, he just liked to annoy me and the staff. He flirted with any female that worked here, also any female customer that entered the shop. I don't remember how it happened, but things shifted one day. Instead of being a cocky ass and flirting with everyone, he just suddenly stopped. He wouldn't come into the bakery as much and when he did, he'd buy a few things and leave. No clowning around, no flirting. Destiny, one of the employees, was especially disappointed that Billy stopped giving her most of his attention. The bakery started to slow down, not as many customers, less money. I went through a hard time with money, but the bakery was my grandmothers and I was determined to make it work. My employees quit, leaving me alone to cook and run the place. My best friends though, Jason and Ally stepped up, helping with the few orders i did get. My apartment was connected to the bakery, it was upstairs, a studio apartment. That's why I was determined to make this work, not just for my grandmother, but for me as well. i didn't want to lose everything I had, I couldn't.

Monday morning, 6 am. I crawled out of bed, sighing deeply while walking towards the coffee machine, flipping it on. Then made my way towards the bathroom, quickly taking a shower. Once I finished getting ready. I poured coffee into a thermal cup and made my way downstairs to start a few batch’s of sweets. Cookies and Brownies were the easiest, so i started with those, then moved onto cupcakes and pastries. At 8 am, Ally walked in, carrying an McDonalds bag. " Brought you breakfast boss, since you never seem to find time to eat " she smiled, placing it on the counter. I smiled back " Thanks, can you switch on the open sign ", she nodded quickly unlocking the door and flipping the sign.  " What do we have on the orders today? " she asked putting on an apron to assist me in baking, " Surprisingly, we got two loads for different birthdays " I sighed as I checked the cupcakes in the oven. " Should I start on the cakes? " she the questioned,  I shook my head no " Started on them last night, couldn't sleep so.. ". She sighed deeply " Nightmares again? ", I only nodded. Before the conversation could continue, the bell for the on the door rang. I smiled at Ally as I wiped my hands and made my way out of the kitchen, ready to greet the customer. " Hey! Long time no see " I smiled at Billy, he returned the smile. " What can I get you? " I asked, " Dozen of Strawberry cupcakes " he stated still wearing that smile. " Ally's frosting the cupcakes in the back, can you wait 5 minutes? " I asked hopeful, he nodded " Where is the rest of your staff, it's quite in here ". I sighed deeply " I forgot you haven't been in here in over a month, things got hard. Less customers, which means less money and they all quit ", his eyes went wide " What bitch's ". I chuckled slightly " I understand why they left. They need to support themselves, thankfully my two best friends stepped up and joined the team " , he sighed deeply. Just before he was going to say something else, Jason walked in. " Hello Babe's! I have arrived and I am ready to bake " He shouted as he normally does, but then he saw Billy and I. " Oh.. You're cute! " he smirked at Billy causing me to roll my eyes and Billy to chuckle, " Jason, Ally is in the back, go help her! " I groaned. He sent me a wink while walking into the back, " Sorry about him, he's a little extra " I sighed. Billy Smiled " It's fine... Can I ask you something? ", I nodded. " Are you seeing someone? " he asked, I furrowed my brows " No. ". " Okay... Can I take you out? "  he then asked, " Like on a date! " I questioned extra loudly. Ally walked into the front  with two trays of cupcakes, she placed them on the counters and smirked at me, before returning to the kitchen. " Yes, like a date " he laughed, " Sure... " I sighed nervously as I packed the cakes into a box. " Cool, I'm going to leave my number with you... You send me a text if you wanna go out, because right now, you don't sound so sure " he smirked, I sighed once again " No I am sure, I just haven't been asked out in a few years so I'm a little taken back ". Once I packed the cupcakes, I wrote my own number on a napkin, " There, now you can call me " I smiled handing him the box and napkin. He smiled handing me a $20 bill, " I look forward to getting to know you better " he stated awkwardly as he left. Leaving me to sigh deeply. As I stood there trying to wrap my head around what just happened, i heard my phone ding in my back pocket. I pulled it out of my pocket, seeing a text - Are you free on Wednesday, this is Billy, by the way -.  I smiled slightly sending him a quick text telling him Wednesday was fine, I usually closed the bakery around 4 pm on Wednesday. He sent me another text after, - Okay, I'll pick you up around 4:30 pm. See you then -. I smiled to myself sending back a quick. - Okay, see you -. I never thought that this was going to happen today, I never thought he was interested in me. " I can't believe you just got asked out, how long has it been? " Ally asked loudly while she walked out of the kitchen, " And he's cute! " Jason exclaimed  from the kitchen. I sighed deeply as I rolled my eyes, great I was gonna be forced to listen to this all day.

[ Wednesday ]

I sighed deeply as I looked in the mirror, tonight was date night. I had been talking to Billy on and off the last few days, I informed him to pick me up at the bakery, since I lived in the apartment above it. This was the first date I'd be going on in years, so I was nervous. I walked downstairs, shutting off the lights and locking the doors. I stood outside, it was going to be a nice cool night. A blue camaro pulled up next to me moments later, " Hey, pretty lady " Billy stated with a smile. I sighed deeply, opening the passenger door and climbing into his car. " Hey " I smiled back, he gave me a quick hug, before putting the car in drive and taking off. He explained where he was taking me on the way there, it was a little restaurant he had stumbled upon, he thought I might like it and he was correct.  It wasn't the biggest restaurant, it was hidden away in a woodsy area, the building reminded me of a castle almost, it was beautiful. I've lived in this town since I was 13 and I didn't know this was ever here, it's funny the hidden treasures you can find if you go looking. The inside was even more spectacular, looked like a ballroom. We sat at a booth, flipped through the menu and I couldn't  stop looking around at everything. Billy chuckled softly, causing me to look at him. " Sorry " I smiled, " It's okay, I know it's magical " he smirked. I nodded  "So, why did you decide to ask me out. I'm just curious ", " Wow, you're getting straight into it " he sighed. I nodded while smiling, " Well, the first time I entered your bakery, I thought you were beautiful! You probably don't remember, but you didn't even own it at the time. Your grandmother was the prime owner and you were just helping her out. I continued to go into the bakery to see you " he stated honestly. I raised my eyebrows " Okay, then  why did you always come in and flirt with all the old staff... You know, destiny ", he chuckled softly " I was trying to make you jealous, trying to get your attention ". I sighed deeply " You should've just asked me out, I always had the hots for you ", he smirked " Oh really? ". " Yeah " I smirked right back, " Why did you stop coming in? You used to be a regular with your group of friends, but then you just disappeared ". He sighed deeply while running his hand through his hair " I had somethings I had to take care of, I had a bit of a hard time, but I'm working through it with help ", I nodded " I understand and I'm happy you finally got the courage to ask me out ". He smiled as Our food was delivered, this might be the start of a beautiful relationship.

[ Now ] 

That was almost a year ago, Billy and I have been together ever since, but things were weird. Yes, we were happy, or at least I was. He never spoke about his home life, he never took me to his house, even though he lived on his own, we only ever stayed at my place. I never met his parents and sometimes he'd disappear for a day or two. Not calling me, only texting. I hated to be that suspicious girlfriend, but this was odd. The bakery was doing better, we have been able to get new customers, including the couple who owned the beautiful restaurant Billy took me to on our first date.  They ordered hundred of cupcakes and cookies each week, which helped out my business a lot. The business was doing better, now it was time to figure out what Billy's deal was.

I let out an angry sigh as I dialed Billy's number, it was our 1 year anniversary and we were supposed to meet for dinner at a restaurant, 7 pm sharp. It was now 7:45 pm and Billy had not shown up, he wasn't answering his phone either. The waiter approached the table once more, to ask if I was ready to order yet. And because I felt like an idiot, I ordered a simple Caesar salad, even though I wasn't hungry anymore. I checked my phone, still nothing from Billy, just a text from Ally saying she wanted to adopt another cat. When the salad arrived, I picked at it, pushed it around with my fork. I was embarrassed sitting here alone, looking at the happy couples that were giving me pity looks. I dialed Billy's number once more, this time I received own answer. " What babe, I'm kinda busy? " he asked in an annoyed tone, but before I could respond, I heard another voice on his end. " Billy, get off the phone! I need your help " a higher pitched female voice whined, I sighed feeling even more idiotic now. Before Billy could say anything else, I hung up. asking the waiter for the bill, paying and then leaving. I sent Ally and Jason a text, telling them to meet me at the bar down the street from my bakery. I needed some friend time and alcohol.

" I can't believe this, I always knew Billy was no good! He looks like a damn fuckboy " Jason shouted taking another shot, I chuckled slightly while taking a large drink from the screwdriver sitting in front of me. " It's probably just a misunderstanding Y/N... Don't do anything drastic " Ally stated, she was the sober one, she didn't feel the need to get drunk. " Is ignoring drastic, because that's what I'm planning to do! " I stated with a sigh, " Look, he's already called 7 times ". " Delete his number girl! " Jason yelled, he was taking this harder than I was." Y/N, do't. Right now you're thinking the worst, give it a few days and then talk to him. If he keeps blowing you off, dump his ass. But, don't jump on something that you might be getting wrong " Ally stated sternly, I knew she was right. I nodded letting out a sigh, I would do as she said, but tonight I was getting drunk. 

The next morning, i was jolted awake by the buzzer buzzing loudly on the apartment switchboard. I groaned deeply walking over to the intercom, clicking the button. " Hello? " I asked with a sigh, looking around to see if Jason or Ally had stayed over, but there was no sign of them. " Y/N, let me up " Billy stated with a huff, " No.. It's to early for this, come back in a few hours " I stated. " I can't come back later, so let me in now " he sighed. " No, don't tell me what to do. You can't come back later, then fine! Don't come back at all " I exclaimed. " I'm not fighting with you like this Y/N " he then stated, but I chose to ignore him. Flipping on the coffee machine and then making my way into the bathroom, taking a long shower. I had to open the bakery, because I had it closed yesterday for our anniversary and look how that ended up. It was going to opened later, but as long as it was opened I didn't care. So, after showering and getting ready, I made my way downstairs. " Hey Peach! " Ally exclaimed from the kitchen, I furrowed my brows before walking in. " When did you two get here? " I questioned both her and Jason, " We never left! Figured to get a start on some pastries, let you sleep in a little " Ally smiled widely.  " How are you doing Jason? You drank so much last night " I chuckled flipping the open sign, " You know I can handle my liquor Y/N " he chuckled. I sighed deeply as I nodded, putting on my apron. Within the first hour of being open, we had a few customers, enough to keep me busy. Around 4pm, I was behind the counter, helping customers, when a familiar blonde walked up to the counter. " Hi, how can I help you? " I questioned, " Y/n... " Billy stated unamused.  "What can I get you sir? " I asked again, " Are you really going to be like this? I know I forgot about our anniversary, but I was busy. Can we talk this out? " he asked with a deep sigh. " Are you going to continue keeping secrets from me, or are you going to tell me the truth? Because if not, I'm not interested in talking " I stated honestly, he furrowed his brows " I don't know what you're talking about ". I sighed deeply " Next! " I then yelled seeing that there were other customers waiting behind Billy. " Y/N Really! " he groaned as he rolled his eyes, " Fine! ". He then rushed out of the bakery and to his car, I rolled my eyes letting out a deep sigh ( How dramatic ). " What was that about? " Ally asked, I shrugged " I'm not ready to talk to him yet and clearly he can't accept that. I'm not going to rush to speak to him, especially when he's being an ass ". Hours later, when the crowd had lessened, it was almost 7 pm and I was planning to close up shop by 9pm. Jason had left for the day, but Ally was still in the kitchen, making cookies ( Mostly to take home for her son ). She had the music on high, singing along to Death of a Bachelor, by Panic! at the Disco. I chuckled as I flipped through a magazine, sitting on a stool behind the counter. It had been a long day and I couldn't stop thinking about Billy, but he was good at ignoring, so I had a feeling he was going to be the one ignoring me now, instead of the other way around. He could hold a grudge and was very stubborn, but I did love him. Just as I was thinking about it, my phone dinged with a text. - I'm sorry : Billy - It read, which made me wonder, but I didn't respond. I didn’t know what to say.

A few days later, I still hadn't spoken to Billy. Well I had, but not in person or by a phone call. He sent me a few more texts, which I read and responded to, but anytime I tried to call him, he never picked up. I was really getting tired of this, what kind of a relationship was this. Ally, Trey ( Ally's 5 year old ), Jason and I were walking around, let's just say Target. Grabbing a few supplies for the bakery and other bits for our lives. Trey kept chanting ' Toys ' from in the buggy, which made me smile.  I was pushing the buggy while Ally and Jason tossed things in. Once we finished getting everything we needed, we made our way to the toys. Jason was walking ahead of us, turned into an isle, then quickly came back out, looking panicked. " I think it's time to leave " Jason stated seriously, Ally and I looked at each other, confused. " No Jay, Time for toys! " Trey stated just a serious, I chuckled lightly continuing to push the cart. This is until we entered the same isle and was shocked at what I saw, Billy was standing there, with a woman... A young child was balanced on his hip, a picture perfect family. My thoughts went wild at that moment, but everything made sense now. Ally and I both gasped, grabbing the attention of Billy, who looked just as shocked. I let out a deep sigh as I shook my head and Jason pulled me out of the isle, Ally followed closely behind. We made  our way into a different toy isle, just to help with Trey's complaining. I was speechless, I didn't know what to say. No on knew what to say actually, that was the last thing we expected to see. " Did you know he had a kid ? " Jason asked, making me shake my head no.  " How do we even know that is his kid, Y/N don't assume anything " Ally stated. " Stop defending him Al, first you tell her not to assume he's cheating, which he obviously is! Now you're telling her not to assume that that isn't his kid, news flash Ally, she looked exactly like him! " Jason spat, making me sigh deeply as I looked at Trey. He was puzzled, but in deep with the toy he was playing with. " Aunt Y/N, can you buy this for me? " Trey asked, I smiled as wide as I could muster. " Trey! " Ally sighed, " Yes, but only if we can leave " I stated. Trey nodded quickly, as we set off towards the check out. Once the three of us purchased everything, we were walking towards our vehicles, we drove separately, but parked next to each other. " Y/N! " I heard Billy shout, causing me to pack the car quicker. " Y/N Wait! " he yelled, I rolled my eyes. When he finally reached me, he tried to touch my hand, but I shook my head. This relationship was crumbling. " Let me explain " he sighed trying to catch his breath, " I don't need you to explain, it's pretty clear... All the sneaking and secrets, it's because your Married! What the fuck is that, you're an asshole... You have a daughter, that's not okay! " I exclaimed finally snapping. " What!? Married, Y/N No. Yes I have a child, but Y/N I'm not " he started, but I cut him off. " I don't really care anymore, I'm tired of this... Whether you're married or not, you've still been lying to me and I don't think I want to deal with it anymore... Sorry " I stated letting out another deep sigh, before getting in my car and heading home.

When I got home, I put everything for the bakery away and then walked up the stairs and into my room. I let out a deep sigh, collapsing on the sofa. I was trying to wrap my head around everything, I didn't care if Billy had a child, I just wish he would've told me about it. And who was the woman, Wife? Girlfriend? Family member? I let out a deep sigh, I needed a nap. Sometime while thinking about everything, I did in fact fall asleep. And was woken up a few hours later by the buzzer, meaning someone was here and wanted to be let up. In a half sleep state, I pushed the button, unlocking the door for the person. I knew who it was and I was tired of fighting. My door opened minutes later and Billy entered, looking irritated. I was warming up a take away, but didn't look at him again. " Now our going to listen to me Y/N, you keep jumping to conclusions and I'm Tired of it! " he stated roughly, I rolled my eyes but didn't respond. " I am not cheating on you, that woman you saw me with was my cousin. My daughter's ,other left as soon as she gave birth, never wanted to be a mom. We weren't even in a relationship, just a one night stand gone wrong. My cousin has been helping me out. I swear I love you " he stated seriously, " Why do I have a hard time believing you, I understand having a baby... I don't judge, what I don't like is that you kept it a secret for over a year " I sighed as I sat down on the couch. " I was afraid, I didn't want to scare you away with the fact that I have a daughter, but I also didn't want to bring a woman into Addison's life, if I wasn't serious about the relationship. Addison is so young and only knows me as a parent, I didn't want her to get attached and then everything fall apart " he stated honestly, " And I understand that too, I just wish you would've said halfway through our relationship ' Hey, by the way. I have a daughter '. I would've been shocked, but I would've gotten over it. I'm very understanding and I wouldn't have tried to push it " I stated. He nodded while taking a seat next to me, " I just can't believe you've kept it a secret for an entire year. How did you do it? " I sighed deeply, " It wasn't easy, I'm sorry for everything Y/N... I'm sorry I lied, Sorry I ignored you, just sorry for everything " he muttered. I sighed once more, but didn't know how to respond. " Where do we go from here? " he then asked, " I don't know, I need some time to process things. I don't have a problem with you having a daughter, I have a problem with the lying. Just... I need space for a few days " I stated. " So, you're not breaking up with me? " he questioned, " No, not yet " I sighed while sending me a small smile. He nodded returning the smile before standing up, " Well, I should get going " he then stated. I nodded standing up as well, then I pulled him into a hug. We stood there for what felt like hour, " I'll text you or call you " I sighed pulling away from him. He smiled " I promise I'll answer if you call, now that you know everything ", I nodded as he opened the door. He quickly placed a kiss on my cheek, " See you later " he smirked before leaving. I sighed deeply, Damn I was in deep for this boy.

A few days had gone by, Billy and I were still in contact with each other, through texts, I hadn't had enough courage to call him just yet. It was a Friday afternoon, I was working behind the counter, serving customers. Ally and Jason were in the back, working on some new recipes. I let out a sigh, closing the cash register, before facing the next customer.I was surprised when I saw the familiar blonde, but he wasn't alone this time. The little girl had her face pushed up against the glass, looking at all the treats. " Hey... " I smiled, he smiled back. " What can I get you? " I asked with a kind smile, " We need about 30 strawberry cupcakes and a dozen princess cookies " He sighed. I nodded putting in the order, " Today's her birthday, Addie how old are you today? " Billy stated picking the little girl. She smiled shyly at me while holding up 3 fingers, " That's right, you're 3 " he smiled. I smiled widely at the pair " Well, Happy Birthday Addie. Would you like a cookie? ", she quickly nodded before looking at Billy for permission. He chuckled " It's alright kid ", she smiled as he put her back on her feet. " Which one would you like? " I asked, she pointed straight towards the purple unicorn. I smiled once more, " Great choice " I stated while grabbing it and leaning over the counter, handing it to her. " Addie, what do you say? " Billy stated starring down at his daughter, " Thank you " she stated shyly. I smiled while nodding, as Jason brought out the cupcakes in two boxes. " How much do I owe you? " Billy  questioned as I bagged everything, " It's on me " I stated with a smile. " Y/N.... " Billy stated seriously, " Billy, just take them, enjoy that little girls birthday " I smiled. He sighed deeply while nodding, " Do you want to come, to her party? she loves your cakes... " he asked nervously as he grabbed the bag. " Sure, when is it? " I asked still smiling, " It's at 5... " he sighed deeply. I nodded " I'll be there, just text me the address ", he smiled widely while nodding. " Okay, we'll see you later " he then stated grabbing Addie's hand and walking her towards the door, she turned back towards me before waving goodbye. I waved back, smiling widely. I didn't know this back then, but my life was about to change. 

A few hours later, I had finished getting dressed, before walking downstairs. Ally and Jason were going to be keeping the bakery open for me, thankfully. " Hey thanks again guys... " I smiled, they both sent me smiles back. " It's not a problem. go have fun " Ally stated with a smirk, " Yeah, we promise not to burn the place down " Jason chuckled. I rolled my eyes " Just lock the doors at 9pm, let me know when you get home safe. I might be back before 9 though, depending on how things go ", they both nodded. " Go! " Ally exclaimed pushing me towards the door, " Good luck ". I sighed deeply while sending them a quick wave, before exiting the bakery and making my way towards my car. The address Billy sent me was about 20 minutes away, I knew exactly what house it was. Not only because of the purple birthday balloons on the mailbox, but Billy's camaro sitting in the driveway. I sat i the car for a few moments, trying to calm my nerves. I let out a deep sigh as I got out of the car, walking slowly towards the door, but noticed there was a note on the front door, instructing guests to go into the back yard. So, that's where I went. There wasn't many people there, a few adults, but mostly kids. As soon as I stepped into the backyard, eyes were on me and it was awkward for me. Billy was talking with an older male, while sipping on a beer. He noticed that I was slowly making my way towards him, carrying a bag of more pastries for the party. So, he said something to the male, before walking over to me. Pulling me into a tight hug, " This is weird " I whispered. Causing him to chuckle, " Oh, I brought more treats " I smiled as we pulled away. He sighed deeply " You didn't you have to do that Y/N ", I smirked while handing him the bag " It's not problem ". He smiled while nodding " I'm going to go put these in the kitchen, I'll be right back ", I nodded while letting out a deep sigh. He ran in quick and then came back out with the same woman he was in Target with, " Hi! I'm Lisa Hargrove, Billy's cousin. I've heard a lot about you, I know this is weird, but you'll get used to it, our family's odd " she stated with a smile. I nodded  "Nice to meet you! ", " I also know about what happened in Target, you saw him and I together, thought he was cheating on you, Ew gross he's my cousin. But, I understand how it must've looked " she stated. I nodded " Also, Bill might've had a rough past, but he's grown up a lot since Addie's come along, he's so protective over the girl. You must mean a lot to him, because he's never brought a girl here. He's never fought so hard to get someone back, he loves you a lot " she smiled widely. Making me look over at Billy, who was now talking to Addie. " Well, I'll let you mingle. My lady's calling me. I'll see you later " Lisa stated while walking over to a group of people, placing a kiss on a beautiful woman's cheek. I sighed deeply, glancing back towards Billy, who was now walking over to Addie. Oh boy, here we go. " Addie, this is Daddy's friend Y//N, from the bakery. She's going to be around for a long time, at least I hope and I know you'll love her as much as I do " he stated in a bashful tone, I smiled sending him a wink, telling him everything was going to work out, Addie wrapped her little arms around my legs, I was ready for this.

[ 5 Years Later ]

Things had been pretty great, Billy and I's relationship was amazing. Addie had become very talkative and outgoing since I've come into her life, she was so much like her father. Three years into our relationship, we moved into a larger house together, I rented out the apartment over the bakery to Jason, since he just got out of a long time relationship and had no where else to go. A year after that, we ended up getting married. Addie was excited to be the flower girl and to have a mom, even if I was just a stepmom. The bakery was still flourishing, Addie loved going in with me when Billy had to work his own job, she loved baking even at the age of 8 years old. Our lives were nice, peaceful, sometimes stressful, but I wouldn't change it. 

" Daddy... " I heard Addie sigh from Billy's side of the bed, " Yeah bug? " he muttered still half asleep. " I gotta talk to you, but I don't want to wake Y/N up " she sighed, Billy chuckled " Don't worry Bug, she can sleep through an earthquake ". I was clearly awake, but didn't want to disrupt Father, daughter time. " Do you think I could call Y/N Mom? " Emma from school asked why I didn't call her mom, she made fun of me for it " Addie sighed, " Well Emma's a right ol' Bitch " he muttered. Addie gasped quickly " Daddy, no bad words! ", he sighed deeply " Sorry Bug, I don't think Y/N would mind if you called her mom. She's been here for five years, she's not going anywhere ". She sighed slightly, " Right Y/N " Billy stated knowing that I was already awake. I turned towards over to face them, " I'd be honored to be your mom Add "  I stated with a smile. Receiving a large grin in return ( This girl looked so much like her father ), " Yay! Can I sleep with you guys? " she then asked making Billy and I chuckle. " Yes, tonight. Tomorrow you're sleeping  in your own bed, deal " Billy stated seriously, " Deal " Addie smiled climbing in between Billy and I. "  Love you guys " Billy sighed, " Love you too Dad, Love you mommy " Addie whispered still on the hesitant side, " Love you too my little add " I smiled kissing her forehead. " Shh, go to sleep " Billy groaned quickly, causing Addie and I to laugh quietly. I loved being in this little family. 

Months later. "So, Mommy ate the baby? " Addie asked Billy with a confused looked on her face, also looking at the small bump on my belly. " No bug, Mommy's just housing the baby for a few months " he chuckled, " How did they get in there " she then questioned. " You'll find out when your 40, just be excited to have a little brother or sister " Billy sighed, making  me chuckle. " How long till they come out? " Addie asked, " At least 6 more months bug, Mommy's belly is going to get bigger and bigger, then pop comes the baby " Billy smiled.  She groaned deeply " That's such a long time! ", " It'll go by quick and then you'll get to be a big sister " I smiled at her, which she returned. " Wow, a big sister, I can't wait! But, I'm not taking a bath today! " she exclaimed running upstairs and into her room, " 8 year olds " Billy stated with a deep sigh, " Just wait till she's a teenager... It's your turn to do bath time " I stated with a slight smirk because Addie hated bath time. " No babe.. You know how she gets... " he groaned deeply, I shrugged " I did it last night, so it's your turn. Sorry ". He groaned deeply once more, " Fine. But as soon as she's in bed, it's our special time " he stated with a smirk. I rolled my eyes, but chuckled.

[ 3 more years later ]

I sighed deeply sitting on a lawn chair, my large Belly in the way of everything. " Addie, Lucas. Finish your lunches! " I shouted at the now 11 year old Addie and 2 1/2 year old Lucas. They were playing on the newly assembled Playground, of course they weren't  listening to me though. " Whatever, Starve " I muttered rubbing my belly, " you'll listen to me right little bean, won't be like your mean ol' brother and sister " I sighed. Billy walked through the backyard, carrying two glasses of lemonade. He handed me one before sitting next to me,  " How are my babe's? " he asked placing a hand on my stomach.  " He's fine, your other children won't listen to me though " I sighed, " Addison, Lucas, Lunch. Eat it! " Billy demanded, Addie groaned but did as she was told. Lucas on the other hand must've been taken back by Billy's loud voice and ran to me crying. " Dadda " Lucas whimpered as Billy picked him up, " I 'm sorry bud, you just gotta finish your lunch and listen to momma, Okay " Billy sighed. Lucas nodded, like Addie, he was a bright two year old. Addie carried both her and Luke’s lunch towards us, placing the plates on the table. " Sorry mom, we were having a good time " Addie sighed as she picked  at her sandwich, I smiled at her " It's fine ". She smiled at us, helping Luke with his food. She loved being a big sister and couldn't wait for the little bean to arrive. I was still so in love with Billy and I couldn't image what my life would've become without my little family, that was growing larger now, I think about it everyday. I loved this life and I'm glad Billy finally made the move to ask  me out all those years ago, things  couldn't get better than this. - End ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey guys, thank you all so much for Reading! If you have any requests for any stories, please don't hesitate to let me know, and I'll write the for you the best I can. You're all so amazing and I couldn't thank you enough for supporting me writing <3<3