#until the song ends. i remember he passed earlier this year. i am once again depressed

[theinfinitedivides]

put my Bollywood playlist on shuffle today and it brought up Ajab Si and Saanson Ke one after the other and i went through every stage of grief that is f*cking imaginable and back again

[naavispider]

Hope this isn’t too random, but a super fluffy idea popped into my head recently and I thought you’d like it:

Remember how in “If you playin me”, Spider likes to play old music on his Ukulele? (or was it a guitar?)

What if he started playing a song that he only knows the notes for, but it happens to be one of Quaritch’s favorite songs, so he starts humming, then hesitantly signing the lyrics, all while Spider can’t believe his ears.

I thought of this while hearing the song “I Walk the Line”, since it gave me Quaritch vibes, but there are a lot of songs that could work.

Anyways, sorry again if this is random, but your fics literally live rent free in my head!

Hey! I am so sorry it's taken me so long to reply! You're right it was a ukulele! 💞 I'd not listened to this song before, but now I have and I love it!

Spider strummed the first chord experimentally, listening to the sound thoughtfully before figuring out a strumming pattern that fit. He had a song in mind, but he hadn't played it in years. He could barely remember the words, but the plucking pattern was so distinctive that once the melody had reoccurred in his mind, he couldn't get it out of his head. He experimented plucking until he found the right sound, and began to hum the tune softly.

He was in a secluded spot near the clearing, passing the time while the rest of the squad cooked the yerik that they'd caught earlier that day. He wasn't supposed to go beyond the treeline, but Spider figured Quaritch wouldn't be too pressed that he'd strayed a little further than normal. He just wanted some privacy.

So it was with a gasp that he spun around at the sound of Quaritch's voice behind him. Immediately he stopped playing, begging his human skin not to flush with embarassment. He hated being snuck up upon.

"Why d'you stop?" Quaritch chuckled softly, eyeing him with what Spider assumed was a patronising glance.

Spider huffed. "Some jackass interrupted me." He turned back around on his fallen tree trunk, showing the Colonel his back and hoping he'd take the hint.

He waited, expecting Quaritch to make a snarky retort and head back to the fire, but there was no sound of movement. Annoyed, he turned back around. "What?"

Quaritch had taken a seat on a different log, with an expectant look on his face. "I'm waiting for you to continue," he said.

Spider laughed sarcastically. "Yeah. Okay. Wait all night then."

"Did you forget the words?" Quaritch asked.

Spider was so disarmed by the question, it took him a moment to form a response. "What? No." What was the guy's problem? Spider just wanted to be left alone.

What happened next was so unexpected that Spider didn't quite know how to feel about it. Quaritch spoke the words that Spider had been searching for ever since the damn melody swam its way back from his memory.

"I keep a close watch on this heart of mine, I keep my eyes wide open all the time I keep the ends out for the tie that binds Because you're mine, I walk the line..."

Spider was shocked. "How do you know that?"

Quaritch laughed. "Am I not allowed to enjoy music? Johnny Cash was a great artist."

Spider threw him a look of utter annoyance. He'd always liked this song. He wasn't sure when he first heard it, but it was wayyy back in his childhood. The fact that Quaritch also liked it? That wasn't fair.

He sniffed. "It's pretty boring, actually."

"Is that why you've been trying to play it for the past hour?"

Spider sighed, bringing a hand up to run it through his hair. The man was too much. "Will you leave me alone or not?" The sounds of the recoms chatting shit around the fire and laughing at Mansk's new roasting suggestions beckoned them both to return.

"Sure, kid," Quaritch rumbled, though not before pausing for a moment to ruffle Spider's hair, successfully displacing the locs he'd just tried to smooth down.

Spider let his scowl reply for him, biting back a retort as Quaritch left him to it, traipsing back through the undergrowth to the centre of camp. He waited until he was definitely back out of earshot before returning to the ukulele.

"I keep a close watch on this heart of mine..."

[coachrivero]

Tulane season recap/ bye week

Oooh we are (almost) halfway there

Here we are… Man time sure does fly since those agonizing summer months counting down T minus how many weekends until we get football back. It’s nice to once again be in the thick of things. I know this is where everyone expected us to be but still I remember the days when Tulane would normally be eliminated from contending for anything at this point. I’m glad things are different now. May Tulane be relevant forever. From this day until the end of days.

When the season started it looked like the Wave didn’t miss a beat from last year’s Cotton Bowl team. South Alabama is no USC (and has definitely lost some luster recently) but they are solid enough that many were picking them to win the Sun Belt, and some people including Scott Van Pelt picked to beat us. That obviously didn’t happen as Tulane brought the fireworks in a 20 point rout that really wasn’t that close. Michael Pratt was sensational, shredding USA’s secondary completing 14-15 passes for 294 yards and 4 touchdowns, with the only blemish a dropped pass that should have been another touchdown. Tulane’s defense was incredible as well stifling one of the better offenses in the FBS allowing only 17 points and forcing 5 turnovers. We were firing on all cylinders… but sometimes in life adversity will happen. Late in the 4th quarter while Tulane was in the process of salting the game away, Pratt suffered a left knee injury. This big win came at a steep price of losing the services of our superstar QB (also lost emerging star LB Corey Platt to an Achilles injury earlier in the game). A lot of speculation can go into the why was Michael Pratt in there and the what ifs, the play-calling, and so forth. I won’t really get into that. It just sucks to have lost Pratt right before the biggest home game in 40 years and the toughest game on the schedule where we couldn’t afford to lose him.

It turns out Tulane really is a damn good football team. We lost Tyjae Spears and a lot from last year, plus we haven’t been playing as well as we could have, but we do have a solid nucleus of talented players and great coaches. The Ole Miss game was a loss. I’m not going to spin it into a moral victory, but I was encouraged with how we competed with them. We have the horses to play with one of the better teams in the SEC even without our senior NFL prospect Quarterback. It was unfortunate to squander that opportunity to get a statement win but it wasn’t the most disappointing thing I’ve ever seen as a Tulane fan. I was just eager to kick the shit out of Southern Miss and get the bell back, and so was Tulane. Not much to be said except we scored 3 Touchdowns and USM kicked one field goal. Nice relaxing game for Southern Miss’s band the Pride of Mississippi. They didn’t have to play the fight song except for a couple of times when the team ran out on the field and the Alma mater at the end. Do kind of feel bad for Will Hall though, he’s a good dude. He recruited Pratt and was a big part of changing the culture here and helping Tulane turn things around. I think he’s trying but the USM job is a lot tougher nowadays than people realize. Good news is they can’t afford to fire him so he’s at least got another season.

FCS Nicholls State was kind of blah. It wasn’t the best performance but we did win and got to ease Michael Pratt back into things. Kai Horton did OK filling in for Pratt IMO, but the drop off there is significant. I would have liked to see more development with Cobra Kai being in this system for 3 years but he’s been serviceable and I am thankful for his victories over Houston last year and of course the mustard buzzards this year. Game ball definitely goes to the defense for carrying us. Few college football teams have a better 1-2 combination of cover corners than Jairius Monroe and Lance Robinson. There are so many good players in this defense I could go on forever naming them all. I check under my bed at night for Patrick Jenkins because he is a monster. Devean Deal is also a force. Jesus Machado is Dorian Williams 2.0 a tackling machine. I hope Grubbs is healthy going forward. Despanie is so good and Jared Small has been a pleasant surprise in the LB group. If I missed anyone it’s because again there’s an abundance of talent in this unit. Defensively Tulane is a problem.

UAB at first glance was disappointing being in a dogfight with a 1-3 football team, but I like the resolve of this group. After falling into a 20-7 hole, Tulane outscored the upset-minded visitors 28-3 to go 1-0 in the American Conference. The first half reminded me a lot of my younger days as a Tulane football fan. Losing at home to a CUSA team… terrible officiating… my dad yelling at opposing fans. The only thing that was missing was being in a 65 degree climate-controlled indoor stadium with 1,000 people in attendance. Turns out this is not 2010, we were not in the Dome, and Tulane did not fold in the football game. I do give UAB credit they had the perfect game plan, they utilized quick passes and had some success moving the ball. However, Tulane put the clamps on in the second half, with Makhi Hughes further separating himself as RB1. I like that Duda Barnes still returned to the football game even after a costly fumble. It shows the staff has faith in him choosing not to cast him down into the Iverson Celestine fumblitis gallows. Michael Pratt threw an absolute dime to Lawrence Keys on 4th and 9 for a 32 yard touchdown to put the game on ice with 47 seconds. That was *chefs kiss* very nice. It was cool to see the reappearance of Alex Bauman who hadn’t really been featured since the ending of the Cotton Bowl. I need to also give Jaquan Jackson and Chris Brazzell the credit they deserve for being so dependable in the passing game. Adding speed threat Yulkeith Brown to the mix as well should help open up the offense too.

In conclusion, we are right where we need to be. We beat the teams we were favored against and dropped the one game that ultimately doesn’t hurt us that much (except for dropping like 30 spots out of the top 25). LSU can basically give up 1,000 yards of offense to Old Piss and still be ranked but what the fuck ever. Anyhow, I think Tulane might have lost a bit of its edge from last year. Part of this is natural regression that was honestly to be expected after the best season in school history (or second best depending on your personal preference), and Pratt not being 100% healthy. It’s also very possible that the best is yet to come. Make no mistake though it is still AAC Championship and New Year’s 6 or bust.  The recipe is still there: Explosive offense, salty defense, and very solid dependable special teams. Truthfully, the special teams are the unsung heroes of Tulane. We are one of the most efficient College football programs in terms of special teams and it shows up on Saturdays. We don’t talk about them enough, but they will be critical for our chances to win at Memphis. That… and not fumbling the ball.

Anyhow, thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed. I think the bye week came at the perfect time. Get everyone healthy with all team goals still very much attainable. I’m ready to kick back and enjoy my stress free football weekend!

Roll Wave! 🌊

[taco-bell-mitchy]

Crush Rindou x f!reader

-A little crush is formed when you see people get beat the living shit out of them

Warning: mild language, soft rin, mentions of violence, some pet names are used,

In the city of roppangi, two infamous brothers roam the streets. Others shivering at their names and bowing in their presence. With a baton in one hand and fist full of hair in the other the other brother, Ran, continued to punch the stranger. Rindou, the younger brother, crouched down staring him in the face tauntingly. This became as daily thing between the two brothers. A past time, a hobby, a cute bonding activity for the two.

While a high-school student like me has a more calming hobby. I enjoy riding my bike after school doing whatever I feel like that day. Some days my friends accompany me but days like today they sadly couldn’t. I’ve heard a lot about the two brothers. How fast they took over the city. I found it stupid. They’re only a year older than me, like how are they not in school doing their work. It’s irritating to know that they’re out here being bad ass kids and beating up innocent people. I sound like an old lady but I believe it’s better than them.

I did fear to see them to be honest though. I jokingly say things about them with my friends and classmates as one does. I mean, they’re only a year older than us so most of us are amazed at their reputation. How scary could they possibly be? Right. As I hold my scraped knees and sit behind a tree, I then realized how scary they can be.

Today during my bike ride alone, I noticed the quiet streets. It felt more peaceful than most days. So when I decided to take a different route, and it was even quieter I became wary. An uneasy feeling pits in my stomach but I do get distracted at the peaceful scenery. The sky a deep shade of blue as clouds float in the air. The train can be heard from afar and small convenience stores rest with little to no customers. Along with the stray cats pondering about. It’s hard to feel so scared when everything is so lovely.

I slow my bike down, which wouldn’t hurt anyone right. Wrong. As soon as my heartbeat settled down I hear a loud screech. My peaceful moment came to a halt and at that moment I didn’t know what to feel. As I saw a group of men, some big some small but definitely not smaller than me, beating up another group of guys. I knew there was no other path so before anything I scurry into the side of the park. Ditching my bike as getting secure behind a tree.

I didn’t want to think that they’d hurt me just because I walked by but I’m not taking any chances. As the fight progressed more guys started spacing from each other’s, and unconscious bodies layed around. Each getting closer to you as more men are thrown around. It seems like 30 minutes go by until finally a silence can be heard.

“Roppangi prevails as they beat you guys once more!" A man shouts loudly. He’s quite bulky and is filled with small bruises, presumably from the fight. I notice the crowd looking one way. It wasn't at the bulky man, but rather two boys, presumably my age, standing next to the bulky man. They looked similar. With dark smiles and glaring dead eyes. The gang speach went on for a few more minutes. Until many started to clear out after loud cheers.

I stay still not waiting until no one is around. I see them carrying each other by the shoulders and others trying to wake their knocked out gang members. A few more minutes pass. Everyone seems to be gone, but two. The two boys stay sitting conversating with the bulky man. I was definitely more scared of the man rather than the two boys. So I waited and waited until he was released. The night was coming in already, I definitely underestimated how long fights can be. So as the bulky man leaves I give it a minute and run to my bike.

With a beating heart and fear in my viens I look down and walk as fast as I can past the boys. Until a slim body slams a baton on it my bike.

"Well well, what do we have here?" a sultry voice spoke, I can almost here the way he smiled. Not a kind one, but a way you'd see in a horror movie.

“I’m on my way home.” I spoke quietly still looking down. The one with blue streaks grabbed my bike shaking it a bit, “hmm? A pretty little thing like you shouldn’t be our so late yeah?” His gloved hand slowly slid over my bike reach my wrist. He slowly tapped it rubbing the finger pads of his glove across the skin. Then he grabbed it pulling me forward.

“Why’d you got dirt on your hands doll?” He raised a brow and the man with braids peeped in, “And some scrapes on your knees hmm?” I tried pulling my wrist away but it he held tighter.

“I fell off my bike earlier, no big deal.” I tried to act calm despite how I felt on the inside. The braided man touched my waist to grab it but I was pulled away from him by the other one.

“I’ll deal with her, can’t leave this pretty thing all alone.” Ran stared at his brothers out of character acting. “Whatever you say.” He let’s go walking away and waving to us bye. The blue streaked man stared at me with his round glasses, “shall we go?”

“Go where?”

“Your house of course.”

So here you were. Walking. With this random boy you didn’t know. It was awkward as you both had a hand on the bike trialing along silently. He hummed quietly.

“You know,” he began to speak, “we knew you were there the whole time.”

“WHAT.” I widened my eyes at his words. He laughed at my expression, “We’re not idiots. We can see you head peeking out the tree. It was quite amusing. Cute almost.” He smiled to me and I laughed.

“You’re quite scary you know.” His eyes opened a little more at my boldness, “Is that so?” I nodded saying a quiet ‘yup.’ He silently laughed.

“Do you know who I am.” I picked up my head a bit and shook my head, “should I?” I look into his eyes and at that my moment realize just who he is. Messy hair, the two boys look alike, delinquents, a baton, and the malicious violet eyes that said it all.

It was a Haitani. Assuming the younger one as the other man looked older.

“Oh my god.” I tightened my grip on the bike trying to pull it away from him, but he didn’t relent. “Rindou Haitani sweetheart.” I stayed looking down once more, so he spoke again, “I was surprised to see you today. You usually take a different route right.” This made my head jerk towards him.

“Im not a stalker or anything but I happen to see you a lot by chance, when I’m doing business.” I knew exactly what he meant by “business.” He looked down swinging his hand, “Believe it or not…I have wanted to talk to you but I’ve been to scared.” I felt a bit embarrassed and laughed a little too. A gangster who’s to embarrassed to talk to a pretty girl.

“Oh, I see.” We stayed silent as I looked up to finally see my house. “Well, we’re here. Thanks for walking bye.” I pursed my lips and awkwardly waved goodbye. But he stopped me by grabbing my bike tightly once more. “W-wait. I know I may come off as creepy or scary but I really do want a chance. So please,” he went into the bowing position and let go of the bike, “give me a chance!” I smiled warmly at this. A delinquent bowing down to me? And especially with the tips of his ears a tint of red.

He looked up at me as I pat his head softly, “I guess I could give you a chance. There’s definitely a lot to work out but I don’t mind being friends for now, yeah?” He cleared his throat, “yeah, that’d be great.” We stood smiling at each other for a second then finally waging goodbye.

I threw myself into my bed and kicked my legs into the air. I guess I have a crush.

A crush on Rindou Haitani.

Bonus:

As Rindou walked he was greeted to an empty house. He finally put off his cool demeanor and played a loud song. He then looked around once more and pressed play. He jumped up and down silently yelling “yes” as he felt the victory inside him. He was so proud of himself and was truly a nerd at heart as you can see. But it was to embarrassing for his brother or you to know. He kept doing a small celebration dance until Ran walked in.

Unfortunately for him he didn’t hear Ran walk in as he was just so excited. Ran, who’d just woken up from a nap, stared at his brother in disgust and discomfort. In the heat of the moment he took out his phone and recorded when he started sadly enough, Rindou had already seen him.

Rindou awkwardly tumbled over his feet to stop the music. And stood in an odd position staring at his brother with embarrassment. They stare at each other for a good minute before ran spoke.

“You like her?” He asked

Rindou nodded

“Then never do that again.”

Rindou nodded again and stared at the ground in shame and embarrassment.

“I was just-“ ran cut him off, “nope, let’s end it here. No more.” Rindou nodded….again.

The two couldn’t look at each other for a week without remembering it.

[urcuteharrington]

hi, I just saw your post asking for some requests. Maybe if you can do a Steve angst but with a little bit of fluff? 💛💛

forgotten?☁️🕊

summary-steve seemed to have forgotten you when nancy came into the picture

word count-1.8k

warnings-fighting and cursing

a/n-i really hope you guys enjoyed this because it took me so long to write but i appreciate you all and i’m so glad to be back 🤍

masterlist

huge thanks to @angsty-plots for giving me ideas for new angst plots<3

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

steve and i were good friends that was until he started dating nancy wheeler. it use to be steve and i doing everything together hanging out at each others houses, long car rides , going to tommy’s parties , and now he forgot all about me. i knew steve had a crush on ever since the beginning... i saw the way he looked at her when she would walk past him , i saw the sparkle in his eyes when he talked about her or whenever she was around. it use to be steve, tommy, carol, and i hanging out at lunch everyday but i was soon replaced when steve asked nancy to go to his house for a hangout with carol and tommy since his parents were out of town. that night he only invited me out of pity and i saw the subtitle flirting between the two and it made me sick. i walked barb that night to the bathroom after she sliced her thumb trying to open a beer can.” i know steve has gauze and bandages somewhere here ill look just keep your hand under the water” i tell her. that night i saw nancy and steve go into his room and i knew what was going to happen and i couldn’t bare being their for it. I said my goodbye to barb wishing her a safe ride home and went on my way. remembering that night i cried my heart out wondering why steve never expressed interest in me.

That was months ago now it’s around october and it was tommy’s halloween bash. i wasn’t going to go but i decided that it was better than sitting at home doing nothing. i knew i was going to see steve their with nancy but i still went even if it was going to hurt seeing my best friend who forgot i even existed. I go dressed up as (whatever you want) and grab my keys getting ready to head off to the party. pulling up to the house i already see drunk teens walking around with their heels in hand or wobbling around. i walk in and head over to the kitchen and try to grab a drink of spiked punch. while pouring i look over and see them... steve and nancy dancing to the beat of the music. a sudden wave of sadness hit and i decided to take a sip of the punch feeling the alcohol run down my throat.

minutes pass and i decided to stay in the kitchen since i felt like it was my best bet to not run into them while on the dance floor. watching the drunken teens flirting and stumbling their words amused on how quickly the punch could get someone drunk.then i saw her , the girl who stole my best friend from me and the boy i loved. nancy walked into the kitchen and grabbed more cups of the spiked punch , one after another i was able to see her get completely shitfaced in the ,mater of only a few minutes. steve came looking for nancy and they got into a fight and i watched intensely. watching as the punch spilled all over her while sweater my mouth opened a jar shocked at how messy everything was getting. watching her and steve storm over to the bathroom. moments later i move to the living room near the front door and suddenly get shouldered by steve who seemed furious and watching jonathan rush to the bathroom. i decided to stay a little longer since the party was still going strong.

a few days later i noticed that steve and nancy were slowly falling out since he wasn’t visiting her at school anymore and her and jonathan seemed to have gotten closer. they seemed to be done and whatever was said in that bathroom must have been bad. i decided to go to steve’s house and check up on him, even if we weren’t friends anymore i didnt want to see him go through something like a breakup alone. knocking on his front door i waited anxiously wondering if i was making the wrong choice. “ hey how can i- oh hi y/n. i didnt uh expect you to be here?” steve says opening the door confused. “ i know steve but i wanted to talk to you” i say as he walks me to his room to talk.” hey i was actually gonna go out and apologize to nancy so if you can come and help me pick something out for her” my heart sank i haven’t talked to him in months and he already brought her up. not a hey how are you or a i miss you nothing its always about her i think to myself. “ oh i actually came to talk to you about something “ “ shoot” he says.” why did you stop talking to me” silence filled the room 1...2...3 minutes passed waiting for him to say something anything” steve you left me for nancy and i dont get what i did for you to sto talking to me. i understand shes your girlfriend but shit i didnt think you’d completely forget about me” i say standing up from his bed looking at him with sadness in my eyes.” i-i thought you didn’t want to hang out with us anymore y/n i didnt notice at first i i’m so sorry” he says guilt in his voice.” i feel like i lost the only person i truly cared about and and you were my friend and now you don’t even look my way steve how could you not notice me not being their... how did you not notice me not their at your basketball games cheering you on or the long car rides we would have just blasting music or going to tommy’s parties and taking turns getting shit faced. tell me steve is it me was i just not who you wanted to be around anymore was she my replacement because i saw it since the beginning” chocking on my words i hold back my tears. i didnt want to cry but eventually it fell and my vision blurred with tears.” y/n i never ment to make you feel that way and i am so sorry i guess i just got so caught up in nancy and i didnt notice you slowly leave and i i just feel terrible “ steve looked at me finally realizing how much he affected me and how much pain he caused me. “steve if you didnt want to be friends anymore you could have just told me you really hurt me” i say to him not daring to look him in the eyes.”i-i” is all he could say” you know what steve a simple hey i dont think we should be friends anymore its not your fault i just think we should go our own ways would have been nice” i say to him walking past him” you know thanks for being my friend for so many years but i cant be friends with someone who doesn’t give two shits about me anymore” i say as i walk out the door and walk back home since it was only a few houses down.steve not moving just in shock realizing that he was the reason why he lost his best friend.

days past and steve found out that nancy liked jonathan and accepted it telling her its okay and like that they broke up. driving around i felt a wave of sadness hit when the song steve and i would listen to while blasting music. tears spill down my face as i drive home. once i make it home i calm myself down and wash up when i suddenly hear the doorbell go off. walking over i open the door seeing the infamous billy hargrove “ hey their doll face i was wondering if you’ve seen my little sister max i know that you tutor some of her friends so i was wondering if you could help me figure out where the byers house is” he says licking his lips seductively “ yeah i could take you their and help you look for your little sister just let me grab my stuff “ i say looking at him.” after getting to the byers house i stay in the car until i see steve walk out confused at why he is their. everything happened so fast punches were thrown and now i’m driving the kids to this random area in hawkins. steve wakes up and sees me driving confused at how he ended up in this situation. getting to the destination steve and i talk while the kids grab everything. in the car they explained everything that happened in thus far with el , will, the upsidown , and etc. “ we broke up” steve says looking at me “ what why are you okay” even if we weren’t close anymore i didnt want him to feel like he had no one. “ she likes jonathan and the night of the party she called our relationship bullshit and i accepted it since i-“ dustin cuts him off by yelling at him how we didnt have enough time.

getting the kids out of the tunnels one by one steve was just about to help me up when he grabbed onto me tightly in a protective matter when the demo dogs ran toward us. watching as they ran past us he told me” i lost you once and i’m not gonna lose you again”getting out of the tunnels i was able to fully process everything that happened and once el closed the gate and steve and i were finally alone he broke the silence “ i love you y/n i never ment to hurt you and i’m sorry.” speechless i sit their “ steve i know you loved nan-“ he cuts me off “ after our first fight i knew she loved jonathan and i guess i couldn’t believe it till she called our relationship bullshit and i love you so much y/n and it was stupid of me to not tell you earlier” “ i love you too steve but what you did hurt me i mean you completely forgot about me” “ i know y/n but could you give me a second chance i’ll make it up to you... could i take you on a date and patch everything up” i really didn’t want to forgive him but i couldn’t just abandon him because i needed him i loved him and he loved me “ i would love that steve “ i say looking at him with love in my eyes and a smile plastered on my face.

[ifmywishescametrue]

Hi!!! First of all, I am like🥺 such a fan of everything you write! And so I saw that you’re taking prompts and thought I’d try my luck. So, if you’re inspired of course, maybe you would do “I’m not leaving” or “I’m glad you’re here” (or literally any prompt from that list bc they’re all just🥺🥺) for Steve/Tony? Oh, and as a fellow Swiftie, I hope you’re ready for the Fearless re-release tomorrow !!!🤯 bc I’m looking forward to crying my way through this weekend🥲🥰🥺💖💞

hi!!! thank you so much, and I’m so sorry this took so long! but i also managed to put both prompts into it so hopefully that makes up for it lol. also the fearless re-recordings are so insanely good and the vault songs are god tier!!

Tony has a vision in his mind for the day he graduates from college. It’s been there since he was just a kid and the furthest ahead he could imagine for himself was that day. At the time it seemed like a hundred years away, and it carried an allure of freedom that was nearly unfathomable back then. 

He always thought Ana and Jarvis would be there, sitting next to his mom. Howard came and went from the vision, because sometimes Tony would dream that it would be the day he was finally proud of him and sometimes he would be out of Tony’s life completely by then. When Steve comes into his life in middle school, new to California from Brooklyn, he gets added to that vision, too. 

The reality ends up disappointing. 

It’s been a few months since Jarvis passed, a couple of years since his parents died, and even longer since Ana’s death, but it hurts a little more today. All of the empty seats make Tony’s chest ache. Steve’s absence makes it even worse, even if he understands it. It’s not the first time the army made him miss something big, and Tony knows it won’t be the last. At least he’d been apologetic on the phone. A little sad, even, which made Tony feel worse for it. 

After the ceremony ends, Rhodey slings his arm around his shoulder and Pepper walks on his other side. 

“Just once I wish they’d pick someone actually good to speak at these things,” Rhodey complains. “That was so cheesy.”

“You mean you aren’t excited for the first day of the rest of our lives?” Pepper teases. 

Tony laughs, “I thought the real low point was that joke he tried to make in the middle. Not too inspiring to imply that our degrees are essentially useless.”

“No, I love knowing that I’ve wasted the last four years.”

Rhodey hums, “Also wish he was a little more wrong about that.”

Rhodey’s family starts to call his name, waving enthusiastically from where the large group of them is huddled together. Pepper’s parents stand with them, looking so clearly like the odd ones out that it makes Tony grin. 

“I see your families are getting along just fine,” Tony says, watching Pepper’s mom bounce one of Rhodey’s cousins in her arms. 

“They’ve joined forces to nag us to death about getting married,” Pepper sighs, but there’s a fond smile on her face that betrays her. 

“Trying to get you to set a date?”

Rhodey grins, “Trying to get me to propose, actually.”

“You proposed last month,” Tony frowns and looks down at her left hand, which is surprisingly bare. “I didn’t hallucinate that, did I?”

Pepper pulls her necklace out from where it was hidden beneath her collar. The ring sits on a delicate silver chain, diamond glittering in the sunlight for just a moment before she tucks it away again. She puts her index finger to her lips to tell him to keep it quiet, and Tony laughs. 

“What did your innocent families do to deserve this?”

“There are no innocents in our families,” Rhodey says seriously. “We’re just buying ourselves some time until nagging me into proposing turns into everybody trying to plan our wedding for us.”

“My mother has terrible taste,” Pepper adds.

Waving from their families has turned into walking their way, and Tony gets sucked into the fold along with the two of them. He means to slip away after a few minutes, but no one lets that happen. Rhodey’s mom hugs him tightly and tells him he needs to eat more, followed immediately by how proud she is, and his cheeks turn pink under her attention. Somehow she wrangles him into joining them for the celebration dinner, but he can’t say that he minds much when he’s sitting with all of them. The laughter and stories take his mind off the melancholy feeling that’s been following him around lately, and it isn’t until he’s back in his quiet apartment much later in the day that he thinks about it again. 

His hand twists into the chain around his neck, dog tags clinking together. They’re the first ones Steve got, back when he was newly enlisted after high school, and the letters are worn down beneath Tony’s thumb as he traces the shape of Steve’s name. He remembers that first time Steve put them around his neck and told him to keep them safe while he was gone. It was a promise to come back, and on the worst nights they’re both a comfort and a curse. 

Leaning back against the closed door, he looks at the messy room in front of him. Finals week left him with little time for anything other than studying, and that coupled with his existing propensity for disorder, it looks a bit like a smaller tornado crossed through the apartment. Mugs stained with brown rings on the inside litter the coffee table, accompanied by pages of notes, pens, and uncapped highlighters. The blanket has fallen into a crumpled pile on the floor, and Tony is contemplating if he has the will to clean it all up when there’s a knock right behind his head. 

He assumes it’s Rhodey and Pepper, here to decompress after finally untangling themselves from their families, and he turns around to open the door with a light-hearted remark already on his lips. Whatever it was leaves his mind immediately at what he finds instead.

“Hey, baby,” Steve smiles. “I’m sorry I’m late.”

Tony means to say something in return, but all that he actually manages is a choked out sob. He doesn’t fully realize he’s crying until Steve’s hands are on his cheeks to brush away the tears. 

“Don’t cry, sweetheart,” Steve murmurs, and Tony clutches at every part of him that he can reach. He grips the rough fabric of the fatigues, clings to his arms and shoulders and back, and he can’t possibly get close enough. 

“You’re here,” Tony whispers when he eventually finds his breath again. “You’re here, you’re actually here.”

Steve’s hand strokes through his hair, and his other hand is holding on to Tony just as tight as Tony is holding on to him. “I’m here, baby.”

He isn’t sure how long they stand there like that, swaying slightly as they hang on to each other, but it must be quite a long while before he can let go again. Even then, though, he doesn’t let Steve go very far. They fall onto the couch in one tangled mess of limbs. Tony puts his chin on Steve’s chest to look at him, and Steve looks back with a soft smile that almost makes him want to cry again. There’s a small, faded scratch on Steve’s cheek that wasn’t there before, and Tony reaches out to trace it with the tip of his finger. 

“I’m glad you’re here,” Tony says quietly, like if he speaks any louder, the lovely little bubble they’re in will break. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be here earlier,” Steve says again. “I really tried, but -”

Tony interrupts him with a shake of his head, “It’s okay. You’re here now.”

“I’ll be here for a while, I promise.”

Tony smiles, but there’s a dull, familiar ache in his chest at the thought that it will eventually come to end anyway. “How long do I have you for?”

Instead of answering, Steve shuffles a bit beneath him, hand worming its way into his pocket. He pulls out a folded paper and hands it to Tony, expression unreadable. Tony sits up a little to read it, and by the time he’s finished reading every single line to make sure it’s real, his hand is shaking. 

“You - you’re - discharged?” Tony stammers out. “You’re done?”

Steve nods, grin slowly forming as he watches Tony process it. “Was sort of hoping that might make up for missing the ceremony this morning.”

Tony laughs, light and carefree in a way that he hasn’t felt in four years. He kisses Steve with everything he has, paper crinkling between them, and between one kiss and the next, Steve reassures, “I’m not leaving, sweetheart. Never leaving again.”

[bigbrainblue]

19th birthday

It was late.

you don’t know how late, but late enough that you hadn’t heard a car pass in well over 20 minutes, the only light around was from the distance street lamps and the reflection of the moon on the ocean that stood before you. the only sound coming from the crickets in the hills, occasional wave crashing, and your own shallow breath. 

currently you were sat on a beach. alone.

it was your birthday, you had come to the beach from your birthday party. a party to celebrate the day you were born 19 years ago. 

the party was fine, but there sure as hell were a lot of people, way more than you would have liked

you knew people there, sure, but a good portion of the party was people you've never even heard of, just coming for a party and the booze. 

you had arrived with your friends, a lot of them actually, you had just managed to lose them all one by one slowly as the night grew longer and as your vison started to blur.

the people you came with were your friends, Niki, will, toby, tom, clay, George, nick, and Alex. 

you were having fun, drinking, walking around, socializing. but soon it became too much.

the drinking had made you obsess over every thought that came into your head.

you decided to take a break, have some fresh air, and now here you are. on a beach. alone. at night.

one of the thoughts your brain wouldn’t let go was about Alex, the boy you’ve known since junior year of Highschool. you two met when you decided to do a foreign exchange year in Mexico. it just so happened to be that the parents that decided to host you for a school year also were the parents of a teenage boy the same age as you, with straight black hair that stuck to the back of his neck and with freckles scattered around his face. over the next 9 months you guys became best friends, never leaving each others sides.

you didn't know it then, but you had fallen in love with this boy, this amazing beautiful smart caring boy. 

but eventually you had to go home, but you guys never stopped talking.

Alex eventually started posting videos on YouTube, and not long after, streaming on twitch as well.

you watched him gain fame as you supported him at the sidelines, cheering him along the way.

at some point he convinced you to do it too. you spent long nights on calls with him, helping you set up your streams and giving you ideas for new YouTube videos. 

with the help of Alex, you started to gain fame too, even passing him at one point.

through streaming and YouTube, you made so many friends, and yet none of them compared to Alex. 

speaking of Alex, you wondered what he was doing, probably having the time of his life, drinking an hooking up with girls a bajillion times hotter than you

*A/N HI OK IM SORRY IF THAT PART SOUNDED MEAN I PROMISE IT ADDS TO THE STORY OK BYE*

you laughed quietly at yourself thinking about how stupid it was to think that you could pull a guy like Alex.

just then you heard it.

a familiar voice from behind you, “what’s so funny?”

you looked back startled and confused

‘Alex? what are you doing out here?”

“well y/n I could ask the same thing to you, its your party, i noticed you were gone, so I went looking for you. as simple as that”

“i got overwhelmed in there, I'm sorry. i just needed some fresh air”

“ its ok, don't apologize for something you cant control. can I sit?”

“nope” you said sarcastically, hoping he would get the joke

“too bad!” he said, plopping himself right next to you in the sand

you giggled at his humor

neither of you said anything, it wasn't awkward silence, you two had known each other long enough that sometimes, it was nice to just enjoy the company of the other person beside you in silence. 

and yet, suddenly Alex said something.

“have you been crying? there's dried tear streaks along the sides of your face”

you turned your head towards his and whipped the sides of you face, seeing that he was already looking at you, studying you and your facial expression. 

“i guess. if I did, I didn't notice.”

“how did you not notice yourself crying? that sounds like something very noticeable” he said, putting an emphasis on the very,

you laughed, probably harder than you should have.

he smiled, happy to see you happy

“do you wanna talk about it? why you were crying?”

“no, well, not here at least-” you said gesturing your hands at the ocean 

“plus, there's sand getting in my ass” you added on to your previous sentence

Alex laughed and agreed, standing up and brushing off hi pants, and then handing out a hand for you to grab as he pulled you up.

you also brushed yourself off, and you weren't lying, cause man was there a lot of sand in your ass.

he started walking away from you and as you caught up with him you asked,

“where are we going?”

“you’ll see, its a great place, I promise you will love it” 

you followed Alex to his car as he opened the passenger side door for you.

“how romantic” you commented as you climbed into his car. poking fun at him

as he got into the car he plugged his phone into the aux cord, playing a song you had heard a couple times, but would have never expected for Alex to listen to it, it just didn't seem like the type of music he would like.

he set his phone down face up as the screen flashed up at you as he put the car into gear and pulled out into the street

you saw the title of the song he was playing, “Falling For U” by Peachy ft Mxmtoon, and his wallpaper, a photo of you two from junior year. both standing next to each other awkwardly as his mom made you guys take a photo together on the first day you got there. you wondered how long it had been his wallpaper for. 

you laughed and asked him about his wallpaper

“i mean you gotta admit, we look extremely sexy in that photo. especially me”

this comment from Alex made you break out laughing, even harder than before, as he started to hum along with the lyrics of the song. joined with him actually saying a line out loud every once in a while

it was a peaceful drive, Alex played more lofi songs as you stared out the widow.

eventually he pulled the car into an empty parking lot of a small gas station 

“is this the place?” you questioned 

“nope, just a pit stop.” he said

you both went inside, grabbing snacks and drinks and piling them into the back of the car. Alex making you wait to open them until you two got to your final destination

 eventually, the car rolled into a another small empty parking lot, except this one was made of dirt and was a lot higher up.

Alex had pulled the car to the edge of the parking lot, as you finally got to see why he brought you here,

you looked through the windshield to find a view of the entire city. 

you gasped in awe as you looked towards Alex, who, again, was already looking at you.

this time he wasn't studying you, he was admiring you.

you blushed, but pushed it off.

you and him both got out of the car so you guys could grab the snacks and the blankets he had in the back of his car.

he hopped onto the hood of his car and you joined him.

-

you starred into the sky full of stars above you. 

you gasped as you pointed out a shooting star passing over head 

“what did you wish for, Alex?”

“i cant tell you or else it wont come true”

“well then couldn't you wish the opposite of what you want to come true and then tell someone so the opposite comes true?”

“you're so stupid-” he said jokingly as he laughed.

“so, do you want to talk about why you were crying earlier, or is this still not the right spot” Alex chuckled at his own joke

“yes but, I have a question first”

Alex hummed in response, curious of what the question could be

“do you believe in love at first sight?”

you could feel his gaze on you, but you didn't divert your eyes from the stars above.

“do you remember the first time that we met? at the airport when my mom forced us to hug and take that god awful photo together, and when we ended up playing tictactoe in the car for an hour while we drove to my house?”

“yes? of course i do, that was simultaneously the worst and best day of my life. but that doesn't answer my question dumbass” you said, still not giving into his gaze onto side of your head.

“I think I just did, did I not?” 

it finally clicked, him looking for you at the party, the song in the car, the story

you turned your head to meet his gaze, finally giving in

he sat up and dramatically grabbed his chest, pretending to have been stabbed in the heart, enacting a theatrical performance

“y/n m/n l/m, i am dying, and you must know, that I am in LOVE with you!” he dramatically gasped and fall back down., pretending to be dead. 

you played along as you gasped and put the pack of your hand on your forehead as you spoke

“oh my dear Alex, I love you too, and now you will never get to know how much i loved you” you faked sobbed onto his chest

“maybe a true loves kiss will help save him” he whispered, making the scene even funnier and causing both of you to bust out laughing

“ah yes, the only way to save my prince, a true loves KISS!” you said before coming down and kissing Alex on the lips. 

he sat up with a loud gasp

“I am alive! a kiss of true love saved me!” you giggled beside him as you watched him play out his Oscar-winning performance

“may I kiss you again m’lady? for saving my life of course.” he questioned

“of course, you can kiss me anytime m’lady” you said back, pulling him into a deeper kiss

he pulled way first before speaking

“WAIT DID YOU JUST CALL ME M’LADY?

[a-wildemusing]

The Three of Us: A Late Night at the Cafe. 

word count: 1,676~

genre: Kenma x platonic!reader, Kuroo x Platonic!reader.

warnings: nothing I can think of. probably any mistakes.

summary: Y/n took the late shift at the Cafe they work at. It’s been a slow night until unexpectedly a whole volleyball team decides to get a late snack. 

a/n: this is part of a series I’m doing, called the Three of Us. Its made up events and adventures with being best friends with Kuroo and Kenma. Hope you enjoy!

The Three of Us. ✨ Masterlist. ✨

--

The night was going to be a long one, you thought. As a courtesy to your boss lady, you said that you would take her closing shift so she and her family could spend the evening together. It was her son’s birthday. You wanted them to spend as much time with her family as possible. There was no class the following day, so it all worked out. You could sleep in and your boss lady can relax. 

A few customers came in, but it wasn't overwhelming. Even at the last hour, you even told your co-worker they can go home early. You have done this many times before. Taking the closing shift wasn't anything new to you. The boss lady did not hesitate to trust you.  

It was a quiet night. Only two people came in for drinks after your coworker left. They left after a short stay. You were on your own after that. From the front window of the cafe, you looked out. Occasionally, a car passed by. As the minutes passed, the streets began to clear. After catching yourself spacing out, you decided to keep busy and start cleaning a little.

You had your back turned from the door. Cleaning the counters a little while waiting for closing time. There were still forty minutes left. You were minding your own business. Humming along with the low melody of the song playing over the speakers.  

This sort of quiet was sometimes enjoyable to you. However, it was beginning to feel a little overwhelming. You went too deep into your thoughts. 

The past few months have been interesting. There were many things coming up soon. Summer break was just around the corner. Graduation was drawing near for third-year students. In the coming term, Kuroo will be attending university. Kenma and you were going to be third years. Everything felt a little overwhelming. 

As you sighed, you began to organize some things. Your work routine slowly returns and you try not to space out again.     

Your ears were alerted to the chimes from the door. A smile soon appeared on your face as soon as you turned around to see your smirking best friend. You had a slightly confused expression on your face, but the smile was still prominent. Kuroo was standing with what seemed like the whole volleyball team. 

“Welcome!” You cheerfully said putting down the rag you were using the clean moments ago.  

You smiled at Kuroo. “What are you guys doing here? I thought you guys had practice” 

“We-

“Y/n, can I still order?” Lev interrupted Kuroo. Lev walked towards you with heart eyes. Kuroo rolled his eyes and sat at the nearest table. Kenma follows him. Both of them are watching you. Before giving Lev your full attention, you shook your head at the two. 

“Oh. yeah! Of course,” You said cheerfully as you made your way to the cash register. “What can I get you, Lev?” 

The rest of the team lined up behind Lev to order and offer a small greeting as well. After taking some orders, you take a short break to make the drinks or give the snacks to the boys. Even though they had practiced, everyone was so lively. Kuroo caught your eye as you glanced over at him. A smile spread across his face. It was as if he knew you needed the company. 

Kenma finally came up to you to say hi when it seemed you had a small moment to yourself.   You handed him a box to go. 

“Hi, Kenma.” You smiled. “I saved that for you.” 

Kenma opens the box to see a piece of apple pie. He smiles, and thanks you before sitting with Yamamoto. Then you went back making drinks again.

Once everyone had their food and drinks. You went around chatting with everyone. Yaku and Fukunaga were the two you ended up with. The two of them took care of you by protecting you from Lev, Inouka, and Yamamoto from simping too hard or bothering you. 

All in all, it was a good time. You felt so much better. The thoughts you thought earlier weren't so bothersome to you anymore. 

In time, the volleyball team began to slowly leave. Everyone said goodbye and thanks to you.  Before leaving, some of them helped you stack some of the chairs on top of the tables. All that remained was to mop the floors and finalize the cash register. 

Soon the only person that was left was Kuroo. Kenma was actually feeling tired and went home with the rest.

“Thanks for tonight.” As Kuroo grabbed the spare mop, you said softly, "I was kind of feeling weird." You moved the mop side to side as you slowly walked backward, not making eye contact with him.

"I remember you telling me you would be taking the night shift and we ended practice early. So why not.” Kuroo said while he mopped an area a little further apart from you. “But what’s up?”

“I don’t know.” You shrugged. 

“I am sure you do. How am I supposed to give you amazing advice if you don’t tell me what’s bugging you? How can your elder help you?” Kuroo teases you. 

You shake your head with a small smile on your face. “You are only one year older than me... Shut up.” 

A chuckle escaped Kuroo's lips. Then he taps your mop with his. Bringing your eyes up to look at him. As you hold the mop and pretend to be holding a sword, Kuroo follows your lead and does the same. 

“I don’t know…” You softly tap your mop with his a couple of times. “What are we going to do without you, Kuroo?” You leaned the mop by the counter. 

“What do you mean? I’m not leaving.” 

“Yes, you are. This is your last year. Graduation is coming soon.” 

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh. We have been together since we were kids and I don't know... Maybe I'm just being weird.” You looked down.

“No. No. you’re not. To be honest with you. I thought about this.” 

“Really?” You looked back up to meet Kuroo’s eyes. There was a seriousness to them.

“Yeah, really. I was thinking that I get one whole year without you and Kenma. How peaceful will that be.” 

You nudged him playfully, “ Hey!”

Kuroo starts laughing, putting the mop that he was holding down next to yours. He leans on the counter to keep his balance. 

Kuroo as he calms down. “It’s not like I’m leaving the face of the Earth Y/n. Plus, you are going to the same university as me.” Kuroo teases. 

“I know! Okay…it’s just I-I’m... I’m going to miss you.” You give him a small smile. 

But with that Kuroo starts laughing again.  

“Oh come on, Kuroo let me be sappy for a second.” You sighed and gave Kuroo a shove. “You’re my best friend...my annoying older brother. God. Maybe, this is going to be a nice break from your teasing!” Your vision slowly started to blur. You shocked your head. 

“I’m going to miss seeing you every day,” Kuroo said, as he walked towards you. He wraps you in a hug and you return the hug. “But don’t worry. It’s going to be like I haven’t left. I’m going to bug you and Kenma as much as possible.”

You rolled your eyes but hugged Kuroo a little harder. The both of you stayed like that for a bit.

“Hey, come on. I know you still have to finalize the cash register and it's getting late.” Kuroo lets go of you. 

You and Kuroo completed the cleaning and you completed the cash register after your conversation. The cafe was locked. The two of you walked home together. It was a quiet walk and train ride home. Each of you taking a moment to ponder over the small conversation you both had. 

There was going to be a lot of change. Getting used to not seeing each other every day was going to take some time. However, you knew Kuroo and Kenma would be your closest friends for a long time. 

*Kenma and Y/n during the first two weeks of their third year*

Your alarm went off and when you saw it was the third special alarm you woke up so quickly. A burst of energy helps you race to get yourself ready and out the door. Your third alarm was your last warning before you were going to have zero time to make it to school on time. 

You knew if you were waking up late, Kenma would be as well.  Your hair was a little messy, your uniform wasn't tucked in completely, and there were some papers trapped in the zipper of your school bag.  

“We're going to be late, Kenma!" You barged into Kenma’s room. Kenma is still lying in bed. Opening his eyes gradually, he gazes into the distance towards you by the door. 

“Kenma! Let's go!" You threw his uniform at him. Despite still being confined to his bed, he slowly begins to rise. 

“What do you mean...Kuroo is not here yet.”  Kenma rubs his eyes. 

After a brief pause, you turned your attention to him. Your face displays a sad smile. It's then that Kenma realizes what's going on.

“Oh.” He grabs his uniform.  

Kenma and you were finally out the door and rushing to school. You both were able to catch the train. Both sitting down, you placed your head on Kenma’s shoulder trying to catch your breath.

“How did Kuroo manage to keep us from being late for so long?” You look up smiling at Kenma. 

“I don’t even know.” Kenma takes out his handheld console. 

You lifted your head from Kenma’s shoulder when you felt your phone blowing up with text messages. You smile to yourself seeing who was texting you. Kuroo was texting you asking if you made it on time and if you and Kenma were at school yet. You message him back and then put your phone away. Placing your head back on Kenma’s shoulder to watch him play his game.

--

end notes lol 

~ Kenma and Y/n were so distracted by the game that they almost missed their stop. ಥ‿ಥ

~Kuroo is stressed af bc of Kenma and Y/n and he doesn’t even go to same school as them anymore lol 

[hizashis-lil-bunbun]

BNHA Valentine’s Day Headcanons!

Happy first day of February! Some of my Discord friends and I were brainstorming how different My Hero characters would celebrate Valentine’s Day. So let’s give ‘em a whirl! All characters are adults or aged up to be 18+ in these scenarios.

Big thanks to @varnienne, @emmappelle, @sweet-darling91, @donica95​, and @katsontherun for letting me bounce ideas off of them. 💖

⚠️MOSTLY FLUFF BUT THERE IS SOME NSFW AHEAD!⚠️

Hizashi Yamada (Present Mic)

SFW

Gotta start with my blonde bby. And the best way I can describe his ideal Valentine’s is BIG and LOUD!

He’s never been one shy away from telling you how he feels, but he’s especially talkative on V-Day. Going on and on about how lucky he is, how much he loves you, etc.

It’s love songs all day, baby! From blasting modern pop songs while he makes breakfast to sweet, old-fashioned tunes that he makes you slow dance with him to in the living room. He’s a true romantic (and a surprisingly good dancer to boot).

And he might even (re: definitely will) serenade you. The man is a musician after all! In fact, don’t be surprised if Hizashi wrote a song just for you.

As far as gifts go, Hizashi goes all out. He’s a hero and a celebrity, with the salaries to match. So you can expect a few big ticket items. Plus, he’s a good listener. If you ever mentioned something you needed/wanted/expressed interest in, chances are it will arrive wrapped up in red and pink paper on the day.

“Hey little listener! Remember how ya said you might wanna try painting? No? Well I turned the spare room into a studio for ya anyways! Maybe you can make me something to hang up at the station, yeah?”

But just because his gifts are expensive and flashy, that doesn’t mean he devalues your own. Hizashi will blubber and gush over anything you give him, from lavish luxuries to a something as simple as a homemade card. Loudly I might add. Make sure to have earplugs handy.

Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks of having a radio star as your partner is that he’ll most likely have to work on Valentine’s Day. It’s even worse if he had teach that day as well. So don’t count on any fancy dinners until after the 14th.

But if you tune into his station on the day (and you will), there will be at least three or four songs dedicated to “his favorite little listener.”

NSFW

Even if he can’t be with you on the actual night, he’s definitely going to make up for lost time. Mood music, candlelight, the whole nine yards. He wants to romance you. To make you feel as good as you make him feel everyday.

Oral and overstimulation are the name of the game, and Hizashi is a giver through and through. He’s happy as a clam once he’s got his face buried between your legs, making you cum for the umpteenth time that night. Seriously, does he ever come up for air?

Praise is also a big thing for him. It flows from his mouth like the sweetest wine. And with his quirk, every whispered word and groan against your body feels just as intoxicating. Good vibrations indeed.

He also loves it when you’re vocal. No love song can compete with the way you cry and moan under his touch. He’ll make you sing for him all night long and into the morning hours.

“Damn, baby. I love you so damn much. Love the way you look cumming on my tongue. Think you can do it again?”

Eijiro Kirishima

SFW

Okay. This boy adores Valentine’s Day! Like it’s his favorite holiday.

And how can he not? Everything in the stores is red! He can stock up on red merchandise for the rest of the year in the span of a week. And believe me, he does.

This means his partner should expect a lot of the cliché gifts on the big day: teddy bears, heart-shaped boxes, and red roses to name a few. Oh, and he’s definitely got a stockpile of cheesy, punny Valentine cards centered around his and his friend’s hero personas.

His favorite is the one that says “I think you’re a Red Riot! Be my Valentine?” But maybe that’s partially because it came from you.

Kirishima doesn’t just shower you with crimson trinkets; he buys treats for everyone! Especially his closest friends. To him, Valentine’s is all about showing the people he loves most just how much he cares. And it’s honestly adorable to see him practically bouncing off the walls in excitement when he finds a little red treasure for this year’s celebration.

“Babe! Look at that red shark plushie. It looks just like me! So manly!”

*proceeds to buy seven of them: one for him, one for you, and one for everyone in the Bakusquad + Tetsutetsu*

But at the end of the day, once all the chocolates and stuffed animals have been given away, he’ll make sure you know there’s no one he loves more than you. He spends the final hours alone with you, eating a home cooked meal and cuddling on the couch. Times like these are his favorite, just being to hold you close and appreciate your presence in his life.

Fair warning though. You’ll probably end up watching some some cheesy romcom, cuz he loves those too.

NSFW

Of course, the red theme continues in the bedroom: red rose petals, red sheets, even a set of red lingerie he bought just for the occasion. Which he proceeds to rip apart minutes after you’ve gotten them on. Hope they weren’t too expensive.

Kirishima tries to be gentle with you, he really does. Savoring your pleasure and letting your orgasms crest and fall naturally. He wants to see you cooing and boneless by the end of the night.

But sometimes he underestimates his own strength and gets a little rougher than expected. Maybe he gives too sharp of a love bite, or squeezes your hips a little too hard. But it’s all done out of passionate love, so you don’t mind too much.

You might actually prefer it if he gets a little rougher.

However, if you wanna get kinky, there is one thing Kiri’s always down for: pulling you over his knee for a good, old-fashioned spanking. His quirk is perfect for it, hardening the palm of his hand just before it smacks down on the soft flesh. It’s like he has a set of built-in paddles. Trust me, if you let him get into a good rhythm, by the end of the night your ass will match the Valentine’s decor perfectly.

“Not pushing you too hard am I, beautiful? I know I can be unbreakable sometimes, but I never want to break you. I love you too much to do that.”

Mirio Togata

SFW

TBH, before he met you, Mirio was a bit of a player (which is kinda canon). Like “has a different date every year” player.

And can you blame him? He’s a total heartbreaker with that (le)million dollar smile and those baby blue eyes. He got so much Valentine’s chocolate from girls in high school, it was sickening! But with you, things are different.

For starters, he’s not so big on material gifts. Giving or receiving.

“How could I want anything more when I’ve got my sunshine right here?”

No, this sweet himbo is all about making memories with his partner! Sharing experiences and spending as much quality time together as possible.

So he plans everything days, sometimes weeks, in advance. Budgeting his time and money to squeeze as much love into a single day as humanly possible.

The moment you wake up on February 14th, he hits the ground running. Quite literally! He’s practically doing laps around your bedroom in his excitement to get the day started.

Valentine’s Day with Mirio turns out to be a marathon of couple activities. Bike riding to a local café for breakfast. Sight-seeing in Tokyo followed by ice cream in the afternoon. He even manages to sniff out a carnival for you to go to in the evening, letting you run amok on the rides and games. And yes, he definitely spends too much money trying to win you one of those giant stuffed animals.

By the end of the day, you’re thoroughly spent and just want to snuggle up next to him. And maybe have a late night snack of chocolate. Mirio is more than happy to indulge you, even offering to carry you home. Anything to be close to his precious sunshine.

NSFW

Despite your sleepiness and aching feet, Mirio insists he has one last surprise to give you. So he asks you to lay face-down on the bed and wait for him. Naked of course.

Once he finds what he’s looking for, he straddles your tailbone with his thighs and squirts something slippery onto your back. You yelp at the cold sensation and that earns a laugh from Mirio. He tells you it’s massage oil. One specifically designed to relieve muscle tension.

It’s like he knew you’d be sore after his day of non-stop adventuring. Almost like he planned it... What a smooth criminal.

It makes sense though. Maybe it’s because his quirk requires him to pass through things, but physical touch is his primary love language. Nothing grounds him quite like having you in his arms, worshiping every inch of your body.

He works you over, kneading at the muscles in your back, hips, and legs with steady pressure and prescision. He even rubs your feet, making the earlier pains melt away into bliss.

You’re almost too sleepy and relaxed to realize one of his hands is creeping up your body until it’s too late. Next thing you know, he’s curling his fingers into you, amplifying the pleasure of the massage in a new way. Like I said, Mirio’s a smooth criminal when he wants to be.

“Feeling good, sunshine? Yeah, I’ll bet you are. You always look so cute like this... just makes me want to kiss you all over. Maybe I will! But I think you’re still a little tense right... here.”

[hellodeedles]

Dancing in the Dark

The bass of the song playing over the speaks pounds through Aelins head as she nods along to it happy to get lost in the music already a little tipsy. Half of the reason she comes to these parties is for the chance to let loose and dance the night away to the music. The other half, though she would never admit it to anyone, is for the guy leaning against the wall across the room laughing at something Fenrys just said. Rowan. He looks good tonight, dressed in ripped black jeans and a casual green shirt that shows off the tattoo that travels from his neck down his left arm. 

Rowan had been her best friend ever since he plopped himself down in the desk next to her, in their mandatory freshman year history class. They had almost gotten kicked out of class that first day when Aelin couldn’t stop herself from cackling at all of the comments he was making under his breath about their professors eccentric teaching methods. 

Aelin smiles to herself remembering the grin he gave her when they were openly called out, in that five hundred person lecture hall for disrupting the lesson. Rowan had apologized and promised that they would be quieter, then he rolled his eyes at her once the professor went back to flapping his hands around while making dramatic statements about well known historical facts. Aelin thinks she may have started to fall in love with him then. She makes her way across the room towards Rowan and her smile growing bigger as she nears. Rowan notices her first and opens his arm to pull her into his side. 

“What do we have here?” She asks wrapping her arm around his middle as his arm settles on her shoulder. “Rowan Whitethorn laughing at something Fenrys said? I never thought I’d see the day.” Aelin loses all sense of thought as she feels Rowans fingers starting to play with the end of her hair. He had started doing it recently and every time he did it makes her heart skip a beat and her breathing become a little rapid.

Fenrys gapes at her. “Excuse me! I am hilarious, everyone laughs at my jokes.”

“I don’t.” Lorcan says coming out of nowhere with his girlfriend Elide in tow. “In fact, I don’t think you’re funny at all.” 

“We’ll thats because you have no taste. Except when it comes to women. Hi Elide, looking lovely as always.” Lorcan scowls at that while Elide giggles. 

“Hi Fenrys.”

Rowan grins and looks down at Aelin and nods in the direction of the kitchen just as Lorcan starts to tell Fenrys for the thousandth time not to hit on his girlfriend. Aelin smiles to herself happy to allow Rowan to pull her along with him, his hand going from around her shoulder to her hand as they begin to navigate the large group of people blocking the entrance to the kitchen. 

They make it to where the drinks are being served by Fenrys twin Connall. Rowan grabs a cup of beer and passes it to Aelin never letting go of her hand. Aelin doesn’t mind at all. They stand in silence as they each take a few sips of their drinks, content to be in each other’s company.  

The music is quieter in here but still Rowan leans down and says in her ear, “I like your outfit.” Aelin smirks internally. She knew exactly what she was doing when picking out the gold silk top earlier this evening. “Thanks, a little birdie told me I look good in gold.” 

He smirks down at her as his hand slides out of hers and over to her waist his thumb brushing the small sliver of skin that her tank top exposes. Aelins breath catches in her throat as she looks up at Rowan. He chuckles. Apparently, Rowan knows exactly what he was doing too. 

The lines between the two of them had started to blur over the last year ever since she finally dumped Chaol. The casual touching, late night conversations, one on one hangouts, were only getting more and more frequent. Aelin didn’t know what to make of it. There were some days when she was absolutely positive that Rowan wanted more than just friendship, hell their position now him towering over her, practically hiding her from the view of the rest of the party as his free hand held her hip, and her hand placed delicately on his chest, screamed it, but he never said anything to her to make her think otherwise. The two of them had always danced around the topic of them, it seemed to her. 

Rowan brings his drink up to his mouth to take another sip his eyes never leaving hers. A drop of beer slips past the lip of the cup and appears on his lower lip. Aelins tongue swipes over her bottom lip subconsciously wiping that drop away. Rowans eyes track her movement and he bites his bottom lip. He opens his mouth to say something when- 

“Aelin!” 

Aelin snaps back to reality and steps out of Rowans towering embrace looking around for the person who called her name. Rowan frowns but lets Aelin pull away from him as she turns. His hand finds hers again though and her heart gives a little jump. Rowan has had more to drink than she thought if he’s touching her this much. He never touches her this much when there are other people around.  

“Sam, hey, how are you?” She asks finding a boy from one of her classes making his way over to her. 

“I’m great! I missed you in Anatomy the other day. You should have been there. Hammonds was wearing the most ridiculous outfit. I almost spit my water out when she walked into the auditorium.” 

“Oh yeah. I’m sorry I missed it I wasn’t feeling super great.” A lie, she had skipped to hang out with Rowan at his apartment to watch a new show that had just come out. 

Aelin could feel Rowans eyes slide over to her fully aware of her lie. She ignores him keeping her attention on Sam. The song changes and she hears ROXANNE come on. 

“Ooh, I love this song,” Sam says. “Come dance with me.” 

Aelin nods, handing her drink to Rowan without looking at him. She needs to get away from him and the alcohol before she does something stupid like kiss him. Sam grabs her now empty hand and pulls her back into the living room onto the makeshift dance floor. 

Sam starts to move the music, not entirely with the beat. Sam has never been a good dancer and each time they are at a party together he asks her to dance and each time Aelin swears he gets worse and worse. Aelin laughs at him and Sam laughs with her completely aware of his horrible dancing skills. Aelin gets lost in the beat of the song, closing her eyes and moving to the music. The song ends and another one seamlessly starts up continuing the never ending noise. Aelin stays and continues to dance with Sam having too much fun losing herself in the music once again. 

“Is Whitethorn going to kill me for stealing you away?” Sam asks a few songs later. 

“What?” Aelin asks opening her eyes. Sam nods over to the other side of the room where Rowan is standing glaring at the two of them. His face softens when he notices her looking at him. She glares at him. 

“No of course not,” Aelin says turning back to Sam. “He doesn’t own me I can dance with whoever I want.” 

Sam nods but takes a small step back putting a little bit of space between the two of them. Aelin huffs and rolls her eyes but doesn’t comment. She stays and dances with Sam until a song comes on that she doesn’t really like. Aelin tells him she’s going to get another drink. Sam smiles and bows at her thanking her for dancing with him. Aelin smiles at him as she makes her way off the dance floor towards the kitchen completely ignoring Rowan in the process. 

She walks right up to the makeshift bar and pours herself a shot of cheap tequila. She doesn’t have to look to know that Rowan has followed her. Just as she downs the shot, he comes up beside her taking her glass and pouring himself one. 

Neither one of them says anything.

"Why don’t you ever dance with me?” Rowan asks after a few minutes of tense silence 

“What?” Aelin turns towards him and raises her eyebrows. 

“You always dance with him or someone else whenever we come to one of these,” he says not turning to look at her but glaring at the wall. 

“That would be because he actually asks me to dance Buzzard,” she responds getting really annoyed with him now. 

Rowan stops his staring contest with the wall and looks over at her and smirks as he steps closer. “Well if I had known that it was that easy princess, I would have done it a long time ago.”

Aelin scoffs at him as his hands go to her waist again his thumb finding that small bit of exposed skin again. Aelin knows that Rowan can feel the goosebumps that appear with every pass of his finger. 

Aelin is suddenly angry. He doesn’t get to do this. He doesn’t get to touch her like this, get pissed off when someone else asks her to dance. She is single and she does not belong to him. He is her best friend and that is it. 

Aelin shoves his hands away. “What are you doing.”

Rowan stiffens. “I thought it was obvious.”

Aelin doesn’t think it is. It’s not like Rowan has ever said anything to her that would indicate that he wanted more. His actions though, especially tonight, say something else. That has always what has confused her more than anything. His words and actions always contradicting each other. Then again Rowan has never been once for words. He has always let his actions speak for him. 

Aelin looks at him considering, her anger slowly fading into curiosity to see where this would go and says, “If you want to dance with me Whitethorn, then ask me to dance.” 

Rowan steps closer to her, “Aelin Galathynius, will you dance with me?” Aelin nods lost for words with how he is looking at her. She allows him to lead her back to the dance floor where he takes her hips in his hands and pulls her close until she her front is flush with his. Her arms instinctively wrap around his neck. A new song starts up and they begin to move to the beat practically grinding on each other due to their position. 

This is nothing like dancing with Sam. Rowans eyes never leave hers the intensity of his stare draws her in, in a way that she can’t look away. All she can feel is the beat of the music and the small puffs of Rowans breath on her face. She bites at her bottom lip when she notices his eyes flickering down to her mouth. Rowan licks his lips in response. 

The song changes and timing of the music picks up slightly. They move seamlessly with the change in pace his eyes now completely focused on her mouth. 

“I’m going to kiss you,” he says. 

Aelins mouth parts with his statement. Completely at a loss for words she just nods. The pair have slowly stopped moving as they stand in the middle of the crowded dance floor. Rowans green eyes darken as he leans down. His lips just barely brush hers. Aelin makes a small noise in the back of her throat before she raises herself up her toes kissing Rowan fully. Rowan kisses her back with such enthusiasm, she can barely believe it. Aelins hands slide from his neck up into his hair pulling slightly as Rowan tightens his grip on her hips then sliding down into the back pocket of her jeans.

Aelin opens her mouth for him at the first brush of his tongue. She sighs into the kiss as she feels Rowans tongue in her mouth. The people around them, the music, the world fades as Aelin stands there kissing Rowan. Aelin thinks that she could die right here right now she's so happy. Rowan smiles into the kiss ruining the intensity of it but Aelin is too lost in bliss to care, this has been everything she has been waiting for with each and every touch he has given her over the last year. Too soon Rowan pulls away smiling like a fool.   

“How was that?” He asks her a little shy for the first time tonight. 

“I think you should ask me to dance more often buzzard.” Rowan laughs at her shaking his head. 

“I think I should too.” Then he kisses her again and this time neither pulls away for a long while. 

[cupidhaos]

garden of dreams | jww

pairing: jeon wonwoo x gender neutral reader

word count: 2.2k

genre: fluff, dreams, slight angst

summary: he would always be there, waiting for you in the garden of dreams

warnings: slight swearing, SLIGHT angst like its so tiny you can barely see it

song rec: day & night | jung seunghwan

a/n: THIS IS SO LATE IM SO SORRY!! leave it up to sak to post at the very last minute :| but this is for the lovely @hongnanglen-arina​ ! <3 i hope that you enjoy this even though it’s late >< i wrote this after watching the garden of words which i recommend to everyone btw it has beautiful animation and is so pretty and pretty short for a movie anyways let me stop rambling here you go!!

prompt: “i dreamt about you last night”

he was just a stranger passing by you on the street. both of you were heading in the opposite directions - yet as your eyes connected for a brief moment, you felt the feeling of longing settling inside of you.

his eyes felt familiar to you - as if you saw him from somewhere before. as you walked throughout the city as your paths had crossed this stranger, you couldn’t help but stop in your tracks as you passed each other.

“y/n? are you in there?” your friend walking beside you asked. you shake your head out of the trance you were in a gave them a tight smile “yeah sorry, you were saying?”

later that night as you lay in bed - you couldn’t help but think of the eyes of the stranger that you passed by earlier. although there was barely an encounter and it was in total just a couple of seconds of eye contact - you were unable to get them out of your mind.

“what did they look like again?” you try to recall as you think back to their face. as you recalled the brief encounter, you think back to what his eyes looked like as they were the only thing you remembered.

rubbing your hands over your face out of frustration, you let out a loud groan. you continued to toss and turn in your bed as the thought of this man just wouldn’t leave your mind.

“this is so irritating! why am i thinking of some stranger i made eye contact with for probably a total of what - five seconds?!” say to no one. flipping over to lay on your side, you read the numbers blinking on your alarm clock.

“shit… it’s already one …” you mumble underneath your breath.

flipping back onto your back, you drape your arm over your eyes as the moonlight shone through your window.

“maybe i can just sleep it off…” you say aloud as you let out a yawn. you felt your eyes get heavier by the second before finally drifting off to sleep.

your eyebrows furrow together in confusion as you looked around at the unknown area. trees surrounded you along with an assortment of plants and flowers. as you looked forward, your eyes are drifted towards the pathway underneath your feet which was covered in moss and grass.

“i swore i was just in my bed”

unable to make sense of the situation, you don’t even notice that your feet began to move on their own. as you continue being deep in thought, you unconsciously follow the path that was laid out in front of you.

it wasn’t until you noticed that there weren’t as many trees around that you finally looked up, now standing by an empty lake. you then realized that you were most likely in a garden somewhere - but where? and why?

“am i dreaming right now… is this a lucid dream or something… why does it feel like i’m actually in a garden though…” you wonder aloud as you continued to walk throughout the quiet garden. “might as well enjoy the scenery” right as the words left your mouth though, you felt a raindrop gently fall on your head.

soon enough, rain started pouring down from the skies as if the clouds had been holding it in for years. covering your head with your hands as you run through the garden, you tried to look for a place where you’d be able to take shelter. spotting a roofed pergola in the distance, you quickly make your way over.

“of course it starts raining when i actually want to take a walk around this place” an annoyed huff leaving your lips following your comment. squeezing your shirt to get the water out of it in order to relieve the heavy weight it brought on your clothes, you didn’t take notice of the footsteps approaching the small pergola you were under.

“it’s raining pretty bad - don’t you think?” an unknown voice comments with a laugh amidst the loud patter of the heavy rain. a jolt ran through your body as the sound of a deep voice surprised your ears. your eyes widen as you turn your head towards the owner of the voice.

you were shocked to see a boy around his early twenties, standing at a distance from you. round glasses that were now covered in rain droplets, sat on his nose as he stood wearing casual clothes and a thick jacket. a book bag was draped across his chest and you watched as he squinted up at the grey sky.

you felt your breath hitch as he turns to look at you, a small smile on his face. as his eyes locked with yours - you felt that familiar feeling that you had earlier today. he raises an eyebrow as you continue to stare at him in confusion “don’t tell me - you forgot again, didn’t you?”

as you continued to stare at him with that confused look on your face, he lets out sigh of defeat as his shoulders slumped down “i’m not surprised - it has been a while since our dreams intertwined like this.”

tilting your head to the side, he just laughs at your expression much to your dismay “guess i’ll reintroduce myself then - i’m wonwoo” he extends his hand out towards you which you hesitantly take. nodding your head slowly, you still were unable to grasp the situation at hand.

“nice to meet you wonwoo… i’m -”

“y/n. i know.”

a gasp leaves your lips as he finishes your sentence “wait! how did you know my name? do you know where we are? how did we get here? what do you mean intertwining dreams?”

wonwoo holds up his free hand as a signal for you to slow down which automatically causes you to halt your flood of questions. puling his hand away from yours, you couldn’t help but miss the warmth that contact gave you.

“let’s just say - this isn’t really our first time meeting.” wonwoo tells you, but that still didn’t help answer any of your questions.

“have we met before?” you ask quietly, to which he nods his head. placing his hands in the pockets of his jacket, he turns back towards the rain “many times actually. but it seems like you keep forgetting we do each time.”

as you try to make sense of his words, you didn’t even notice you were shivering. wonwoo takes notice of this from the corner of his eye though, and lets out a sigh. you don’t realize he’s taking off his jacket until you felt its weight against your shoulders.

the action snaps you out of the thought you were having as you looked up at him with wide eyes. he averts his gaze from yours though as he continued to wrap the jacket around your shoulders “listen, i know this is just a dream and whatever - but i can’t just watch you stand there shivering like a lost puppy”

you felt your cheeks heat up slightly and you quickly turn to look towards the ground. you perk up though once you take in his comment “wait! so this is a dream?”

he hums in confirmation in response to your question “mhm, everything here is a dream.”

“wait so if this is my dream - why are you here?”

“ouch, you trying to kick me out?”

“sorry! i didn’t mean it like that i just -”

wonwoo cuts you off with a laugh and you continued to stare up at him filled with wonder and curiosity.

“i’ll sum it up like i do each time we meet again. our dreams somehow intertwine with each others from time to time and we end up being in the other’s dreams. they always seem to take place in this garden also. but for some reason, you keep on forgetting these dreams we have together, meaning -”

“i keep forgetting that we’ve met?” you finish, to which wonwoo nods. a pout forms on your lips at this realization “what the hell! that sucks why do i keep forgetting you?!”

wonwoo shrugs at your question though “beats me. seems like you’re the type of person to forget their dreams immediately when they wake up.”

your eyebrows furrow together as another question leaves your lips “then why is it you always remember me?”

his features soften at your question and a small smile spreads across his face “that’s because i could never forget you, no matter how hard i’d try”

a blush spreads across your cheeks at the comment, and you feel yourself fill with embarrassment. you hear a light chuckle come from him as he watches your reaction “don’t just say stuff like that to someone you just met!”

“i wouldn’t typically say that to a stranger - but then again, this isn’t our first time meeting, remember?”

for what felt like the next couple hours, the two of you talked and got to know each other all over again. you felt at ease with him around, and you never once felt uncomfortable with his presence.

“why do you think our dreams keep connecting back here?” you suddenly asked him. he was unable to answer your question though.

“i’m not sure actually. it sure does look like a park around where i live though.” he tells you as you nod slowly. as you think over all the different possibilities, you suddenly raise up a finger as the sound of ‘aha!’ escapes your lips.

“i know! maybe it’s a sign that we’re meant to be!” as soon as you say that, wonwoo’s face turns bright red. he covers his face quickly with his hands as you continued to look at him excitedly “who’s the one saying corny stuff now”

you wave him off though as you continue on with what you were saying “maybe - just maybe if we go to this park when we’re awake then we’ll finally meet in person and not just in this dream garden!”

he gives you a soft smile at your suggestion, and you hear the rain slowly quiet down. “that sure does sound ideal - but don’t you remember? you always forget these dreams”

shaking your head at his response, you look up at him with a determined look on your face - not realizing that the garden around you two was now slowly fading away.

“i won’t forget you this time, i promise! and if i do - i’ll still find a way for us to meet!” were the last words you told him before things finally faded away.

rubbing your eyes as you wake up, you held your head in your hands as you hazily tried to recall your dream.

“wait… what was i dreaming about again?” you mumble groggily as you tried to remember. getting up for the day, you felt agitated at the fact that you were unable to recall the dream you had from the night before.

“i feel as if i’m forgetting something important…” you tell yourself as you got ready for your plans for the day. your friend had asked you to come check out a new cafe that was a whiles away from where you lived.

for the rest of the morning, you did your best to get an idea as to what you were forgetting. yet no matter how much you tried - nothing came to mind.

once you got down to the place you two planned to meet up at, your friend informed you that they were going to take a while.

“way to tell me once i got here” you huff. though the feeling of irritation soon left once you spot something in the distance. as your eyes wandered toward the park not too far off from where you were at, your feet began moving on their own, and that feeling of familiarity washed over you once again.

as you finally got to the park, you took in the scenery and looked at the plants growing. the feeling of deja vu hits you as you walked past a large, blue lake.

“i swear i haven’t been here before… so why does it feel as if…”

your train of thought is cut off once you felt a drop of rain land on you, more quickly falling down from the sky. running towards the closest place to take shelter, you stared up at the dark clouds up above. running footsteps make your way towards you, causing you to turn your head at the young man who stood besides you.

“it’s raining pretty bad - don’t you think?” he asks with a laugh, the rain nearly drowning out his voice as it continued to pour down harshly. once he turns his head to look at you, your eyes finally meet, and everything that you were trying so hard to remember suddenly came flooding back to you.

the smile on his face is quickly replaced with a shocked look as he realizes who you were. as the rain begins to calm down, the two of you continued to stare at each other with mirrored expressions.

a gasp leaves your lips and you raised your hand to point a finger towards him in surprise.

“i dreamt about you last night!” 

wonwoo’s eyes widened at your loud revelation and a small laugh leaves your lips as you saw his expression. you coughed loudly as you extend your hand out towards him. a smile spreading across your lips once he takes it.

“guess i’ll reintroduce myself then - i’m y/n”

he shakes his head with a laugh at your introduction. 

“nice to meet you y/n... i’m -”

“wonwoo. i know.”

m.list

[emilyoftheshadows]

Deja Vu

Hi everyone! This is the second part of Deja Vu and while I will say its not as angsty as part 1, it is definitely far from resolved. I hope you guys enjoy!! I linked part 1 down below for those who haven't read it yet :)

Part 1

wordcount//2402

********

Aelin heaved for air as she rounded the corner of the street towards her apartment. Glancing at her watch, she noticed the time and coerced her body into a brisk jog to finish her afternoon run. Arobynn had clearly stated that she was needed in the office at 1:00 pm sharp. For what, who knew but him.

The man was utter filth and Aelin was completely aware of every leering gaze he threw her way. The way he shifted towards her whenever she walked into a room, the gleam of some sort of promise lingering in his gray eyes. Yet, Aelin could not give 2 fucks. She was becoming his prodigy, and she embraced the infinite work he piled on her month after month. While her title was still Hamel Hotel’s Brand Manager, she practically ran the company itself now. If she was being quite honest with herself, she hated her job most days and thought about quitting at least 3 times a week.

But every time she felt like pulling her hair out from the stress of dealing with incompetent colleagues and a boss who eye fucked her every second of every day, Aelin reminded herself that the alternative was way worse.

It had been almost a year since she ended it with Rowan, but it felt more like a lifetime. Only 6 months ago she had been crippled by heartbreak and rage, blinded by her own emotions and unable to see a future for herself. Unable to even think beyond the next hour, completely focused on her breathing. How she only had to breathe through the waterfall of tears cascading down her face, for one more minute. And then another, and another, until she could sit up and wipe away the fog wrapped around her brain.

But now, her heart was encased in an iron-clad box with no key. Because as she had laid across her floor all those months ago, sniveling snot like she was 5 years old, Aelin had had an epiphany. Not just pertaining to Rowan, but to romance in general. All the ice-cream dates and movie marathons, sunset picnics and belting songs in the car, have all been done before. Nothing about her and Rowan was special. All the great romantic tropes were being used by everyone else on this godforsaken planet at any given time.

Once Aelin let this new reality sink in, she had decided to never let herself become so undone by a man who couldn't give her an original love story. No one would ever have the power to crush her heart into pieces except herself, and Aelin would be damned if she let the same person in twice. With her new promise, Aelin had thrown herself into her work, filling her days so full that there was no time to think. No time to reminiscence or let her regrets see the light of day. She woke up early and ended late, passing out every night from pure exhaustion. Her tactics were less than stellar, but Aelin never thought of her green-eyed bird boy anymore, and that was all she needed.

She trudged up the stairs of her apartment, practically slamming her body into the door from lack of energy and not enough water. Entering the living room, Aelin threw her clothes off haphazardly, naked by the time she got to the shower. After a quick rinse, she flew back to her room to paint makeup on her face and find a suitable outfit.

It was standard for the women in the office to dress to Arobynn’s tastes, meaning fairly low necklines and silhouette framing outfits. The thought was disgusting, but Aelin wasn’t below using her looks to earn a place higher than Brand Manager. As much as she hated to admit it, if Aelin kept working to the bone, she truly believed Arobynn would give her the raise she so wanted. The raise she deserved for fucks sakes. With a glance in the mirror and a nod of approval to her reflection, Aelin was ready to go into battle once again.

----

Arobynn was ecstatic for his own standards, smiling with genuine excitement as she entered his office. Rifthold had a stunning downtown area, filled with sky-high buildings and classic architecture mixed with modern features, the Hamel Hotel in town being at its center.

Arobynn’s office was extravagant to a point of gaudiness, revolting Aelin every time she stepped inside. He glanced at her chest as she sat down, pleased with her choice of blouse today if the smirk on his face was any indication. The seat sank with her as she settled into the plush surface, settling her legs in a crossed position, ever the professional businesswoman.

“Darling, I see that we were running a bit late today, but that’s no matter now.” Aelin glanced down at herself, trying to find the source of such a comment. As her eyes dragged up her own body, Aelin saw the mistake that gave her away. Her blouse buttons were askew, the buttons incorrectly aligned creating an odd, sagging neckline. Well, no wonder he was staring at her chest earlier, the black bra peeking through the gaps in her shirt. Fidgeting with her shirt as she noticed the mistake, Aelin dropped her hands and quickly resigned to fix it later. Of course Arobynn would notice the tiny, careless mistake in her appearance. But with his mind on other matters, Arobynn was already moving on barely noticing her squirming.

“I have exciting news for us, Aelin. The kind that could put Hamel Hotels in the spotlight.” With a quick turn of his laptop, he presented her with the picture of a young man, about her own age. He was pale, but not alarmingly so. His hair was tousled and dark, the pieces framing a boyish looking face. The smile on his face seemed innocent enough until you looked into those sapphire eyes, a hint of trouble managing to show itself. In a short summary, the man was gorgeous.

“This boy right here is Dorian Havilliard, a nobody from some town called Rifthold down south. Apparently, he has made quite a name for himself on the online writing world, becoming internet famous for erotic writing, among other genres.” With that word, erotic, Aelin could’ve sworn his eyes darkened ever so slightly while glancing her way. Brushing away the wave of nausea assaulting her senses, Aelin focused back into reality.

“ He looks charming enough sir, but what use is he to Hamel Hotels?”

“Havilliard is making his debut into the publishing world this weekend at a lower level author’s convention in Terrasen at one of our Hamel Hotel properties. If we can introduce ourselves and graciously offer him Hamel Hotel’s finest amenities, I am convinced that we can get him to host all of his future events with our hotel. Dorian is young, naïve, and will be flattered by our offers. I will make sure of it.” Arobynn was unbecoming, his hands erratically gesturing back and forth between the computer and Aelin. His gray eyes were crazed, the prospect of such business and money to the Hotel’s as enticing as a woman at night.

“That’s a brilliant idea Mr. Hamel. I can leave as soon as you would like, and I assure you I can get the job done.” Only the best of her saccharine smiles was painted on Aelin’s face. She presented nothing less to the man who controlled her future. Besides, it would be nice to get out of Rifthold for once. The city was gorgeous, but a change in scenery from the hustle of downtown sounded relaxing. Yes, Terrasen with its rolling hills and sunny atmosphere would be welcome.

“As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm Ms. Galathynius, this matter is too important for you to handle alone. This evening, we will be taking my private plane to Terrasen so I can assist you in the convincing of Mr. Havilliard. Our suite is being readied as we speak. The driver will pick you up at your apartment around 5:30.” With a wave of his hand, Arobynn dismissed her from the room, already focused on his laptop once more.

With a short “yes, sir” in response, Aelin made to leave the office. But as she opened the doors to exit, Arobynn stopped her short.

“And Miss Galathynius, remember we are trying to persuade this young man to work with us in the future. Dress accordingly.” Aelin turned back around quickly, hiding the surprise on her face. Arobynn had always displayed questionable morals, but he was becoming bolder in his comments. In his admiration too.

It was only later when she was packing her clothes that she realized his wording. Our suite is being readied. Not his. Aelin’s stomach roiled with anxiety at having to spend the night so close to the monster that was her boss.

But as her hands shook with the effort to continue folding her clothes, and her throat dried up to where she couldn’t find the ability to swallow her nerves, Aelin reached down to that empty pit within herself. The same wave of calm that had encased her 6 months ago protected her now, and she continued to sort her items into the luggage in front of her.

The driver came at 5:30 on the dot. She boarded the plane, and listened to Arobynn ramble about his genius and plans for the next day. They landed in Terrasen, surrounded by luscious green landscapes and rays of the golden hour shining around them.

Yet, Aelin felt nothing.

-------

Rowan was one edge, constantly glancing at the dark haired young man sitting next to him. Dorian Havilliard was a genius with pen and paper, that much was certain. Even Rowan had enjoyed the young authors short stories, the smut not completely welcome but admittedly well written.

The man himself was a completely different story. Although he was only 2 years below Rowans 24, Dorian was a fucking wildcard. They had only been at the hotel for 30 minutes and he had already gotten himself lost in the booze and women down near the bar.

Rowan had seen the young man’s nerves, how his hands shook when Maeve detailed his debut with The Cadre as his publishing team and the speech he would have to give earlier that week. Maeve was an intimidating woman and if Rowan had been in his spot when he first started with The Cadre, he would be pissing himself too.

Despite this level of understanding, Dorian’s antics were still unacceptable. All eyes were on him this weekend, the word spreading that he would be attending the convention thanks to a leak. Whether that leak came from The Cadre themselves was neither her nor there. Dorian’s books will fly off the shelves, but they needed people invested in him first. And that meant PR. A shit ton of PR to be more specific. And what better way to do it when the countries authors were all gathered in one convention hall for the weekend.

The whole team came out to Terrasen, all of them concerned for how they were going to corral Dorian for the whole event. Maeve joined as well, ready to micromanage The Cadre and network the hell out of these authors. And because Maeve came, that meant Lyria followed.

Rowan and Lyria had fallen into a comfortable relationship. After all that pain a year ago, Rowan felt okay to date now. Lyria’s company wasn’t unwelcome and the situationship had slowly evolved into a relationship. There wasn’t any passion or burning love for one another, at least on Rowan’s side, but their companionship was a nice presence in his life.

Although he would never acknowledge it, Rowan was scared to love with his entire soul like he had with Aelin. The more he opened his heart, the more opportunity there was for someone to come and crush it to pieces. If he had to experience that misery again, Rowan would never recover. He barely had last time, and he still wasn’t back to who he used to be. Back to how happy he used to be.

Shaking away his thoughts Rowan turned to Dorian, only to find an empty chair next to him. That tricky bastard. With a shove of his seat, Rowan reached into his pocket unlocking his phone. He texted a quick help to The Cadre and a separate message to Lyria, asking them to start the manhunt.

Rowan scanned every face in the bar, unsuccessful in his search. Walking towards the lobby, Rowan almost shoved an elderly woman to the ground in his rush. As he turned to help the lady steady herself, Rowan apologized profusely for his mistake. The woman waved him away carelessly, hobbling towards a man who he assumed was her husband.

Straightening himself once again, Rowan started walking with determination only to be stopped dead in his tracks. Because only feet away from was Aelin Galathynius.

She hadn’t noticed him yet, and Rowan took the time to admire her appearance. Her hair was clasped behind her head, golden pieces falling to the sides of her face. Her outfit was business professional, but more revealing than most outfits he had seen so far with a low cut blouse and slimming black pencil skirt with matching black heels. As he made his way up her body, the sight of her ocean blue eyes took his breath away once again. Rowan didn’t think he would ever grow used to Aelin’s brilliant presence, attracting glances from men and women alike.

But as he looked closer at her, those beautiful eyes didn’t have the same fire they did a year ago. In fact, there was no emotion at all shown on her features. Nothing at all. Out of every moment of heartbreak and sorrow she had caused him, the sight of her utterly devoid of feeling was the most painful thing Rowan had ever experienced.

After eons, Aelin finally turned his way. As she made eye contact with him, Rowan finally saw something flicker in her eyes. Surprise. They continued to look at one another, stuck in a world of their own making. Rowan couldn’t find it in his heart to break their connection, damn the consequences. And as they stood frozen in a fantasy, for the first time in a year, Rowan truly smiled.

Tag list

@rowaelinismyotp

@morganofthewildfire

@throneofmak

@whimsicallyreading

@live-the-fangirl-life

@swankii-art-teacher

@courtofjurdan

[lomlmarvel]

Only You Pt. VI

Only You Series finale.

Part One | Part Two | Part Three I Part Four | Part Five | Finale 

Cedric Diggory x fem!reader

Word Count: 2.5k

Summary: The result and ending of the Triwizard tournament leaves Y/N heartbroken and at loss, or does it? 

A/N: It’s so short and I am so sorry. I hope you enjoyed reading this series and it has been an honor to have shared this story with you all.  

The Hogwarts orchestra began to play their victory song. Cheers came from every row of the arena. Everyone was so excited and proud of the last two standing Hogwarts champions, one of whom was the winner of that year's Triwizard Tournament. Hermione and Ron felt relieved when they saw Harry apparate to where he stood in the arena. Arthur Weasley and Hagrid felt a fatherly sense of pride at the thought of Harry being one of the last two standing champions. Dumbledore waited in awe at how far Harry had gone; even as a minor, he managed to meet and match his older classmates' skills. The smile on Y/N's face was wider than when she found out that Remus and Sirius were her and Harry's godfathers. 

However, that smile faltered when she saw Cedric on the floor, with bloodstains on his jersey. Harry was on his knees, holding onto Cedric as the goblet fell from his grasp. Something told Y/N that there was something wrong. Whether it was intuition, blood relation, magic, or fate, she raced from her feet and smoothly passed Hagrid and Mad-Eye, who stood in as guards of the arena stairs. 

It all happened in slow motion. Dumbledore quickly stood from his feet and chased after the young witch, who was moving faster than the golden snitch. Y/N harshly pulled Harry into her arms while he remained frozen on top of Cedric. 

"Are you alright?" She whispered into his ear, hoping that he could hear her through his painful cries. Harry nodded in response but held his grip on Cedric. 

"Harry! Harry!" Dumbledore shouted, a gathering of professors, headmasters, and the acting-minister of magic, formed a circle around Harry. 

Dumbledore, a much stronger person, managed to pull Harry away from Cedric. "Tell me what happened!" Dumbledore pleaded to the younger wizard. While Harry pushed through the encounter with Voldemort, Y/N shakingly moved to look at Cedric. 

She reached to touch the hand on his chest, feeling the freezing touch of his frozen skin. The color on his face no longer displayed the pink-flushed cheeks he proudly showed the world each day. His plump red lips were now a blue tint. The glimmer and glow in his eyes were no longer there. Y/N didn't know when or how long she screamed for before she was wrapped into Mr. Weasley's arm as he tried to pull her away from the body. At the same time, he was trying to console his dear friend on losing his son. 

"He's back, he's back! Voldemort's back. Cedric, they hit him with a curse, and I-I couldn't leave him, not there," Harry sobbed into Dumbledore's arms. 

                         "That's my son! My boy!" Amos, Diggory cried. By now, the word has spread that something had happened to Cedric. The crowd of students had gathered in the arena ground. No one knew what to do, and all they could hear were the painful cries of Amos, Harry, and Y/N. 

Y/N can't remember when it happened, but she woke up in the infirmary. She was wrapped in a warm blanket but was still in her clothes from the challenge. She looked to her right to see Harry asleep in a bed next to her. Arthur sat asleep in what looked like an uncomfortable chair. His hat shielded his face, but the snores coming from his mouth told her his state. 

She sat up in the bed and reached for the cup of water on the nightstand next to the bed. It was past midnight. She could tell. The castle felt much colder at night, despite the season. This was the time of night when she and Cedric would sneak off to spend the night together. Regardless of what they were doing, Y/N always wanted the time to freeze, and they could just stay frozen in time, in each other's arms forever. A cold chill ran down her spine at the thought of the love of her life no longer with her. It was a foreign feeling. The water didn't help her dry throat. She had screamed and cried for too long. It would be a while until she was fully healed, her throat before her heart. 

There was a loud growl that came from her stomach. She looked towards Harry and Arthur to see their unfaltering states. Y/N quietly got out of the bed and walked towards the infirmary office, where she hoped she could find Madam Pomfrey. Instead, she was met with a locked door and a sign saying she would be back before breakfast. 

Turning to head back to the bed, she saw another figure asleep on a chair. The figure rested with their head against the stone wall and their jacket across their chest as a blanket. Y/N's feet quietly padded towards the figure before she made them out to be Amos. She was contorted; what was he doing in the infirmary? Her heart stopped when she saw the figure lying on an infirmary bed. Cedric. 

She stood next to his bed, her hands shaking. She couldn't believe it. A few hours ago, his face was pale and cold. Yet, here he was a few hours later, peacefully asleep with his red splashed cheeks for her to see. She wanted to reach out to touch his cheek and awake him, but she was afraid that when she did, she would wake up from the dream she was having. She couldn't bare to live in a world where he wasn't there, and she didn't want to face reality yet. 

She was snapped out of her thoughts when someone grabbed her wrist. Her head darted to the hand, holding on to her. She let out a muffled cry that was quickly covered with her vacant hand. 

Cedric sat up in his bed and happily smiled at his girlfriend. It broke his heart to see her so devastated. Her eyes were red and puffy, along with her nose. He pulled her onto the bed and laid her on his chest--quietly to not wake his father or the other men in the room. 

"How?" Y/N whispered, looking up to stare at his face. Cedric smiled at her once again and closed his eyes.

"I'll explain later.  Let's just rest, okay?" Y/N nodded in agreement. She and Cedric leaned in to press a longing and passionate kiss. He pulled her closer to his chest and held a tight embrace on her. Y/N held tightly onto the hand, intertwined with hers, afraid that it would disappear when she woke up. 

A few hours later, when she woke up, it was because the sound of muffled conversations disturbed her dreams. She was scared to open her eyes and be met with a harsh reality, but instead, she heard George's laugh, followed by the sound of something coming in contact with his head. She opened her eyes to see George and Fred, with Arthur and Amos gathered around the bed. They were in their conversations and didn't see her sit up. Across from her, she saw Harry listening intently to something Hermione was explaining to him and Ron. Ron muttered something she couldn't quite hear but heard Harry laugh in response to his comment. Hermione annoyingly rolled her eyes and turned to speak to someone next to her. Cedric sat next to Hermione in his house robes. 

"Hey, Cinderella! Look who finally woke up!" Fred greeted Y/N, turning the attention in the room on her. Harry rushed from his bed to his sister's side and reached for her hand, asking if she was okay. Y/N nodded in response. 

"It's Sleeping Beauty, Fred," Y/N replied to the twin. His lip twitched to the side, trying to hide the smile from being corrected on his muggle reference. "How?" She managed to breathe out while turning to sorely look at Cedric. His charming smile showed as he sat down next to her. 

"You're my lucky charm, remember?" Cedric stated. He reached to look for the accessory hidden underneath his layers of uniform. He pulled out a matching pendant to the one she had around her neck. 

"Remember when you were practicing the protection spell Remus showed you?" He asked her. The rest of the group listened in with patience. 

"The one I kept getting wrong? The one I didn't even manage to cast, right?"  Cedric smiled at the thought of the memory. Earlier in the year, after Cedric had given her the necklace, he wanted to surprise her and reveal his matching pendant that he was finally able to afford. He had gotten hers first, deciding that he could buy his later. He had hidden it in the dueling room, somewhere where she would be able to spot it, but not right away. However, after a few failed attempts at a protection spell, the spell had deflected from the subject and struck the pendant. Y/N became frustrated after that, still not having seen the charm, and gave up on practice. After that, Cedric figured he could just surprise her with it after the tournament was over. Unknowingly to both of them, the protection spell had been cast onto the pendant, and when Cedric was struck with the death curse, the young witch's spell had sent him into a state where his body received the curse and killed him. Her protection spell had saved his body, barely. This led to his body, shutting down to hold onto the magic that was sheltering his soul from leaving his body. Fred was the one to notice the color returning to his skin when Dumbledore was trying to get him sent to a private room in the infirmary. Snape had taken the pendant to inspect it, finding the protection spell still alive on the piece of jewelry. 

"You saved me, Y/N," Cedric revealed. The proud smile on his face made her body melt. 

"Snape said he hadn't seen anyone our age cast such a powerful enchantment spell," Ron blurted out. Y/N turned to smile at the people in front of her. From the Weasleys to Harry and Hermione and her boyfriend and his father. Her family. 

The end of the term ended with a weird celebration. Harry and Cedric were crowned Triwizard champions, but the tournament was then banished by Dumbledore. Whispers about Voldemort's return spread through the castle. Many believed that Harry had lied and had tried to kill Cedric himself to win the tournament. Others stated that Harry just wanted the attention, but many believed him. 

The last day of the term was spent saying goodbyes and exchanging numbers and addresses with students from Beauxbaton and Durmstrang. It had been a successful tournament; its purpose had been fulfilled. The three schools socialized and were united by a terrifying thought that Everything would change in the near future. Something terrifying was coming. 

-

"How about spring?" Cedric asked, placing another centerpiece onto the round tables. 

"Spring is too rainy. Summer? Ginny, Harry, Ron, and Hermione have to be there," Y/N replied, following his steps, but placing neatly folded napkins on the dinner plates. 

"Right, and everyone else from Hogwarts that we want to invite," Cedric added. He finished his task and turned to spin around the decorated room. The dance floor had been arranged a few hours before, and the band was setting up their equipment. The two proudly smiled at their finished assignment when the popular Weasley of the day stepped into the room. 

"Merlin's beard! This looks incredible; thank you, guys!" Bill shouted in excitement as he approached Cedric and Y/N. "Thank you so much for your help." 

"It's our pleasure, Bill," Y/N replied, taking in his elegant groom attire. He looked nervous. "Everything will be fine, Bill. You love each other, and that's all that matters," Y/N added. The oldest Weasley smiled in return, pulled her in for a hug. 

"You two can go finish getting ready. People should start arriving soon," Bill informed them, pushing them out of the room. 

Mrs. Weasley ran around the kitchen, making sure everything was prepared for Fleur and Bill's wedding. Even if she didn't entirely like her future daughter-in-law, she wanted her son to have the best wedding possible. 

"Hey Mom, Bill said everything looks great. It smells delicious in here too," Y/N stated, walking into the kitchen. The Burrow kitchen was a working factory. Dirty dishes were being washed on their own, while the floor was being mopped, and food was being cooked on the stove. 

"Oh, dear! Look at you two, you're not even in your clothes yet!" Molly walked over to Y/N and Cedric and shook her head disapprovingly. "The wedding starts in a few minutes, and you two need to get changed quickly!" Molly pushed the two upstairs. Y/N showed Cedric to Ginny's room, where she was currently bunking with Ginny and Hermione. 

"Can you help zip me up?" Y/N asked Cedric, who quickly found his way to her lower back. He slowly zipped the material as he stared at her reflection in the mirror. 

"So, we agree on summer?" Cedric asked her. She spun around to help him put on his suit but saw him already tying his tie. 

"Yes. Summer it is," She replied. She crossed the distance between them and straightened his tie. She kept her arms around his shoulder as she stared up at his beautiful smile. 

"You're gorgeous, and I can't wait to marry you next summer," Cedric whispered, leaning down to press a kiss to her glossy ones. The two stayed entranced in their little bubble before their moment was interrupted by George.

"Afternoon," George snickered with a sly look on his face. Y/N shot a glare in his direction before she tossed a nearby shoe at his body. He managed to duck out of the room before it came in contact with him but popped his head back in to snicker another comment. "You love birds better race to the ceremony before Fred and Alicia win over everyone as the 'second cutest couple' at the wedding," George winked in their way and walked out of the room. 

"We should get going," Y/N stated, reaching to put her heels on. 

"We'll still be the cutest couple at the wedding, in my opinion, of course," Cedric commented. Y/N stood up and rolled her eyes.

"Don't you start, Ced," She chuckled at his comment and walked past him to the stairs.

"What? It's true, darling!" He called out after her. The two would wait until after the war to get married. Harry walked Y/N down the aisle. Molly and Arthur sat in the front row, with proud and smiling faces. Ginny, Hermione, Alicia, and Angelina as her bridesmaids with Fred, George, Ron, and one of Cedric's best mates as his groomsmen.

As the two shared their first dance as bride and groom, McGonagall sat proudly watching the couple. After so much loss and years of darkness, times like these reminded her of the years of peace and happiness that were to come. She scoffed for dramatization as she handed Professor Sprout and Flitwick a few galleons each. 

"But just to be clear, I am thrilled to be celebrating their love and union tonight," Minerva commented. Pomona giggled in response, and Filius followed her suit. It was the start of a happy ending. 

Tags: 

@lilulo-12 @malfoys-demigod @ladyblablabla @truly-insatiablem @dottirose @lovinnholland @ziggyspurplehaze  @firefliesindaylight  @inmygardensuit  @bebana-7913 @suixdal-dreams29 @onebatch--twobatch  @degeathesaviour @sunles @calaryssia​ @dancingforalltosee​ @whitejeans​ @spcncershybrid​

[speedypandaweasel]

Loki Angst (3.5K Words)

Ever since Loki Ep 4 came out, I've been having a strong Maladaptive daydream to the ending credits song. So in true fashion, I'm going to write it here. Enjoy.

When reading, this story is in no way accurate to whats happened in the series so far, this was purely out of my imagination.

Song Inspiration - If You Love Me by Brenda Lee

~~~

Asgard's golden walls glistened proudly with streamers and its pillars blossomed with decorative flowers and fruit. The floor must have been cleaned until someone's fingers bled because when you looked down from the higher floor, you couldn't make up your mind as to which side of the arriving guests was the reflection. The small congregation was accompanied by floating champagne glasses and flowing fabrics of satin and silk, their laughs and high-class conversations wafted through the halls as you watched on in awe.

You knew you weren't exactly a part of this society, let alone this world, but you wanted to at least experience something like this. Watching from afar, you still needed to get changed into your dress for tonight. As for Loki and Sylvie, you hadn't seen them, so you wandered through the long hallways on your own.

Whilst wandering past small fruit and nut bowls displayed in the marble corridors, you thought as to what was happening between your two friends. Things had subtly changed between the three of you and even though they did their best, you knew something had happened between them. They would hopefully tell you though since you had known Loki ever since you could remember, and the thought of him keeping you out in the cold on a secret sent shivers up your spine. Sure, people can keep things to themselves but this felt - different, it put a strain on your friendship and you had the thought that maybe it was your fault that they became distant from you. Did you say something or do something that they weren't a fan of? You didn't like to think like that but it felt like your only option.

You pushed open your door and closed it behind you, making sure to lock it. The cold summers breeze met your face as you drifted over to the small window overlooking the wonderful scene that was graciously displayed below you. Accompanied by the royal gardens, you breathed in a sigh, as your eyes settled on the stars that trickled over Asgard like glitter on a golden trophy, and made sure to capture every single feature the Realm happened to have. You felt like you were home, yet your brain knew that you weren't. The reminder: The Bifrost. It sat in the very distance, its attention gravitating towards you like a persistent magnet, propelling you to come back to your true home and yet, you continued to push back, making sure you stayed here a little longer, just to see things out.

All the while, your hands sneaked their way to your neck, fiddling with a necklace that Loki gave you from your younger years. It became a habit of yours when you were worried about something, and the mischievous scamp had caught you out on it a few times, which then lead you to spill every worry out in front of him. He practically knew everything that you were afraid of and you were secretly proud to say that you knew things about Loki even Thor didn't know about. You two had a lot of history together and you couldn't imagine it any other way, but it wasn't until later that the two of you became a trio. Sylvie was a nice person but the resemblance of her next to Loki was oddly similar, and you still hardly knew anything about her - even to this day. But Loki seemed comfortable around her and when he was happy, you were. The three of you had a lot of fun together and tonight was going to be one of them again, having fun and messing around with anything you could get your hands on. It would probably be the fruit or Odin's staff like last time.

Contemplation was caught short when you heard a knock at the door. You tucked the necklace in your shirt, slid the window shut and closed the curtain. Walking over to the door, you opened it to a smiling Sylvie. Her black outfit was muddy all over and her hair was frazzled, yet her face held the joy of a child which was a new look on her.

Inviting her in, she strode in and sat on your bed, the clean mattress became mucky as her boots trailed in mud from outside. Her stubborn demeanour had dropped and she was talking about something that you didn't quite understand. You stopped her mid-sentence as you calmed her down, telling her to breathe slowly in and out. This was completely new and unrehearsed between the two of you as she started to wind down.

"Is this what you're wearing tonight?" She asked, "It looks nice" stroking the gown carefully.

"Thanks" You replied "Are you going tonight?"

"Yes, I am."

"Awesome! We can get up to all sorts of things tonight! We can steal the fruit, tip some hard liquor into the drinks, or maybe we could-"

"Actually, I don't feel like doing that type of stuff tonight" Sylvie interrupted you this time. "Could we have just one normal night? Like civilly?"

You were taken back. She had never said no to mischief before. This became strangely scary for you. Is this the same Sylvie you knew? She seemed so... mature.

"Oh, oh ok. That's fine." You said. "You better go and get dressed! You definitely need to go and have a bath!" You laughed.

Leading her to the door again, you let Sylvie pass through. An uneasy feeling settled as you watched her float down the hallway, the same grin plastered on her face.

What was going on with her? And where was Loki? He should be in the Palace by now? He was probably with Odin, or Thor letting guests in.

You turned back to face your room and walked towards your long vanity. Its clean mirror and your makeup kit sat proudly upon it, eagerly ready to be used. Sitting down at the station, applying your makeup routine always made you feel like you were going to a grand ball. Well, you were, but the feeling of actually going made butterflies break that pit in your stomach. You gazed at your own reflection, one of a goddess staring back at you. It was one of those surreal moments when you felt like the baddest bitch of them all, feeling like no one could ever stop you from doing anything.

The gown you had picked out slipped off the hanger pricelessly as you delicately slipped it on. Its expensive fabric clasped your figure elegantly as you zipped up the back, making extra sure that it didn't snag on anything. The makeup was wonderfully done and the hair was styled on your head just so, but there was one thing missing.

You untucked the necklace and layed it on top. Perfect.

Doing a small twirl with your heels on, you stood in front of the closets' large mirror for a minute, taking in your gorgeous outfit for the night. Tonight was the night you felt like a princess.

You grabbed your clutch as you glided out of the, now dim hallway. The main light now coming from the grand hall as it coaxed you its way, making your gown glisten with its warm appeal.

Finally basking in its glory, you peered down at the fully decorated hall. So many people had gathered as you watched on again, spotting Odin and Thor right below you, yet no sign of the other God. You stayed up the higher floor, weaving through the bannisters to see if you could catch a glimpse of the green cape. The orchestra played beautiful symphonies as you swayed on from above, fiddling with the golden chain. You slowly got carried away by the addicting melody as you glided down the grand staircase, blending in with the Asgardian crowd. People were beginning to look at you with admiration and smiles started to appear in front of you. You embarrassingly smiled and nodded back, trying to fit in with the night greetings.

You reached your hand onto a passing wine glass tray as you stepped to the outskirts of the crowd, allowing your heated face to cool and your breathing to slow. It had only been a couple hours and you were already flustered. But where were Loki and Sylvie?

You squeezed your way back through the large assembly as you crept up the stairs once more, getting slightly worried as to where the two were.

"There she is!" A familiar face grinned.

You turned and met with the face of Loki, his hair gelled back and that all too familiar smirk brought a chuckle to your lips. He stood at the top of the staircase, dominating the space around him. People had started to notice the young God positioned above them and started to utter whispers and occasional glances.

Your eyes studied his features like a book. The Emerald and Gold colour scheme never seemed to fade on him and his cape shadowed behind his tall and broad shoulders courageously like it always did. The addicting cologne lulled you into a warm embrace, his arms wrapped around you shallowly. Loki never was one for hugs but he didn't mind breaking his "reputation" for you. The gesture ended too soon as Loki scanned the grand room, his daring eyes searching for something. He turned to you.

Mischief chuckled. his eyes filled with amusement. "I should think so, she should be fine this evening, however."

"Have you seen Sylvie? I need to speak with her?"

"Uh, no I don't sorry, but she was acting a little strange earlier today. She was all smiley and a little too happy. Is everything alright with her?"

You nodded, taking his words with a pinch of salt.

"Speak of the lady." You muttered.

Sylvie glided up behind him and suddenly, everything went mute. Nothing but the sounds of your heartbeat entered your ears as you stared. The crisp sound of the orchestra was now muffled and guests discussions became mute. Your breathing shallowed yet you continued to stare.

Eternity flew by in a matter of seconds as you looked at your two friends before you.

Both were wearing Gold and Emerald. Sylvie's long dress complimented Loki's cape and boots and around what was around her slender neck was the cherry on top of this momentous cake.

You looked down at your hands that went to a necklace. All of its meaning had now been transferred to the new owner.

Everything had slotted together. Why Sylvie was smiling so much, Loki's mysterious absences, his short discussion, their secretive behaviour.

The noise came flooding back into your ears once more, making your eyes water. The chattering and clinking of glasses recentered you.

"Is everything alright?" Loki questioned. His arm now linked with Sylvie's, her face displayed the same curiosity.

Your mouth uttered something, yet nothing tumbled out. Instead, your body forced you to turn around and walk.

You walked. Just walked. Walked as far away as you possibly could. Your shoes took you further and further away from the Hall and outside to the gardens. More tears started to fall as you stupidly peered through one of the Palace's windows.

Your stained eyes met with the crowd making room for the event you didn't want to witness, yet couldn't help but watch. It made way for your two friends starting the evening. The urge to pull your eyes away from the situation unfolding became numb. You stood still as Loki took the small of Sylvie's back proudly as they began to waltz, the cushioned sound of the strings and flutes echoed outside as they floated around the room, their eyes never left one another's. Your body became weighted but you knew that one final flick would send you crumbling. Your hands clenched into fists and you couldn't do anything about it.

Loki looked so happy. Still, you weren't. Perhaps it was better for this to happen. They didn't fully know how you came to be in Asgard and thinking it through thoroughly, you didn't want to tell them, not now.

The God of Mischief never looked so proud to be in the centre of the crowd like this, so to keep this secret from you made your heart ache with either pride or betrayal, you couldn't make up your foggy mind.

The Hall became absent of one guest as they slowly walked into the gardens. The stillness of the night's air felt nice against your bare skin and the flowers bloomed gloriously around you. The tall shrubbery loomed over you, blocking out nearly all of the Palaces' light, but you couldn't escape the moon's view.

You strolled in and out of the beds, touching every delicate bulb that you passed. Relishing in its dainty scents, your path came to end with a wooden bench. Its worn planks provided support as you perched on it, resting your killing feet.

Now, what do you do? It was clearly evident that they were fine without you and to be completely honest with yourself, you knew the time to leave this world was drawing nearer and nearer.

The thought of leaving everything behind caused you to break down properly this time, that awful feeling of disgust and hurt pounded at your stomach as your throat was caught on itself.

The night's sky helplessly observed as the air blew colder and colder, the moons light leaving as you trailed back slowly.

Silent sobs resounded off the Palaces back stairwell and to your guest door. Heavy footsteps sounded on the damp carpet as the priceless dress was shrugged off, flopping on the floor lifelessly. The smudged makeup was wiped off and the styled hair was ruffled once more. Silence.

A piece of scroll and a quill were picked up and written on, the scratches of ink were all that could be heard in the small bedroom. Still, no words could be mustered.

A luggage bag was lifted from the top of the closet as t-shirts, jeans and essentials were folded neatly and zipped up. A sniffle was collected.

The open letter was placed on the bed and with a tearful kiss, so was the necklace.

"Thank you for letting me stay, but now I need to leave." A weak voice was finally projected.

The hurt walked down the hallway and back into the Palaces Grand Ball. It walked through the marble pillars, passed the infamous throne and out of the doors.

"Would you like me to carry your bag?" A smooth voice asked.

You whipped your head around to see Heimdall. Of course, he knew what you were doing. The man positioned himself humbly, his uniform reflected the warm lighting come from inside.

"Go and have one more look, I shall meet you at the Bridge."

You gave him a small smile and walked back to the large doors. You lingered in the doorway, eyeing the many guests and savouring the memories that were fading fast.

The vision fell on the young couple that were at the very far end of the room, They were talking to some of the guests, actually socialising. They looked so happy together, his hand draped around her like it was always meant to do that. Her eyes beaming with pride as she glanced up at him only made you cement your choice.

You smiled.

You took yourself on a little tour around the public square, seeing the many beautiful pictures of people houses, lavish fountains and well-kept marble streets. Each of its precisely cracked lines etched in gold, eventually directed you to the edge of the idyllic city. You laughed as you spotted the overly known spots the three of you used to meet at. You walked over to the tree as you looked on fondly at the permanent markings on its trunk. Your head lifted up to prevent an emotional collapse, you didn't want to make this harder than it should be, yet you were all the same.

Hours became minutes and you spotted Heimdall at the bridge, your suitcase grasped in his hand. Just one more time.

You made your final view on Asgard, from the Palace at the back from the small houses and shops at the front. Everything looked so much larger than from your bedroom window.

"Are you ready?" Heimdall said and offered his arm.

You chucked as you accepted, grandly strolling down the bridge to the Bifrost. The array of colours danced below you as Heimdall unexpectedly spun you around politely. His chuckle filled the air as you joked around on your way, forming even more moments that your heart desperately wanted to cling to. The evening's glitter shone above the both of you, customising spotlights on the two trying to make this special night one to remember.

"I am going to miss you Mid- Guardian."

"I'm gonna miss you too Heimdall."

The Biofrost expanded bigger and bigger until it was practically on top of you both. Your dance ceased to a stop as the gatekeeper placed a soft kiss on the top of your hand.

Footsteps bounced off the hollow walls as the two of you walked inside the orb. The cold interior made you shiver as your infinite time was now mere seconds.

"After you Heimdall" you laughed, trying to hold back tears that were starting to erupt again.

"Thank you, but before I forget, may I request you do something." He said. "Do you mind turning around?"

Confused, you obliged. Turning around, Heimdall's cold hands came to the back of your neck and left just as swiftly.

You stared down, your tired eyes widening.

"Heimdall how do you have thi-"

You spun back around but didn't come face to face with Heimdall.

You froze, paralysed to the spot as your breathing sharpened.

Your bags thudded to the Bifrosts floor and you crashed into him, your hands grabbed at his cloak as you sobbed into his leathered outfit. He dropped to his knees and pulled you in closer, his face burrowed into the crook of your shoulders. The jet black hair was becoming ungelled as the two of you stayed in that hug for a long time. His breathing became shallow and your shoulder was becoming damp. You pulled the hug in, infinitely closer, desperately not wanting to let him go. Your mind was scraping back at the fleeting moments as your exit grew bigger and bigger, applying pressure on top of the emotional wreckage to part ways.

Alas, you sadly tore away from one another, looking directly into one another's eyes, his green ones pierced into yours, pleading you to stay. Nonetheless, you both knew that couldn't be the case.

"I could stay here with you, you know"

"You know that can't happen Mid-Guardian. It pains me that you must leave. We have caused a lot of mischief together and I am so proud of the person you have become, even if you were under my influence." He choked, tears forming in his eyes. Your hand cusped his jawline, your thumb dragged along his cheek and to his eyes. His skin was made of pale velvet. His yearning tears were smoothed away from his eyes as he breathed out a shaky sigh.

You both dragged back yourselves up to your feet, his taller shadow looking down on you. He slowly picked up and passed you your luggage as you both locked eye contact for one last time.

He knew he had to let you go but for once in his life, this was the hardest goodbye he had to be a part of. You meant so much to him and the way he behaved tonight finally made him realise that no matter what he did or who he met, no one would be able to make him feel or experience anything like this the way you did, not even Sylvie.

"Don't forget me Loki."

"Oh my Dear, I won't be forgetting you for a very long time." He gave you a grin before wiping his eyes once more. "Now go and make some more mischief down on Mid-Guard for me."

You placed a sensitive kiss on his cheek as you edged closer to the Bifrosts vacuum. You turned around to admire the God of Mischief once more, a small tear leaked from your red face again.

Loki gave you a wink and then soon he wasn't there anymore.

Loki stood there painfully as you were soon out of sight, his mind racing with everything he should have said that never escaped his mouth.

He peered at the Bifrost that had now shut, hoping that for some miraculous reason that you would return, as his hand ran through his tousled hair. His breath became ragged once more as his knees buckled, his white-knuckled fists slammed into the floor, the impact caused the portal to shake slightly. If he didn't behave like such an arse hole tonight, maybe things could have turned out differently. how long did you know that you had to leave him one day?

His unanswered questions marinated as he regrettably crawled back to his feet and trudged back towards the festivities, his cape dragged behind him heavily. His bottled emotions made his blood boil as he let out a singular scream, cascading into the dark void of the Realm.

But if he loved you, then he had to let this happen.

[mudhornchronicles]

festivals | din djarin 

pairing: din djarin x reader; din djarin x military!reader; din djarin x general!reader

warnings: remembering of aq vetina, mentions of war

a/n: i’m back ya’ll. school really messed me up ANYWAYS we back with another dinny fic. the festival idea came from my own culture in Mexico with a celebration called Danza de los Viejitos! 

masterlist

_______

Spring on your planet was the time of a cycle where your planet gets the most visitors. You would know… you had to authorize every single ship that came into the atmosphere. You sat in the control center every day for the past 9 rotations authorizing ship after ship – making sure none of them came to cause trouble. Your planet could not take a hit like that anymore.

But it was finally the day.

Pink and purple skies, green leaves, and warm winds created the perfect day to hold the celebration of your culture’s history – the day your people escaped imprisonment and a life or servitude.

In 19 BBY, your planet was invaded by Gamorian raiders and the elders fought them off. Civilians and military, all passed 40 years old, stayed behind while they forced everyone younger on escape ships. They wanted to “protect the able ones from extinction.” Your father stayed behind, a 38-year-old general in the emperor’s army, stayed behind as your mother your two brothers, ages 12 and 16, and a 5-year-old you were loaded onto the ship, leaving your father behind to fight for his people.

When the fight was over, he became this planet’s emperor after Emperor Molur became ill and unable to rule.

That same year, a few civilians claiming to be from an attacked settlement named Aq Vetina entered the atmosphere. Your father couldn’t turn them away as he saw “fear and a cry for help” look in their eyes. He knew that look. He lived it. It hurt him when he saw a group of dirty, shaking individuals in need of help with nothing but the clothing on their backs. Their red robes and frightened demeanor became engrained in your mind and as you saw safer days, so did they.

Your father painted visual minds of how the elders, 60-year-olds, fought off the raiders with the skill set they once knew in their youth. The determination they had to fight for their planet was motivating and drove you to also protect your planet they way they did for you. That was when you decided to serve. You trained day and night all throughout your youth and into adulthood. When your father, or your emperor you should say, deemed you well, you entered the military along with your siblings.

Your eldest brother left the planet when he met his partner. He wanted to see what the galaxy and so he went. Your other brother left the military to pursue education. He loved children and took advantage of his patience and knowledge. You remained.

You worked and worked as you climbed the ranks. You wanted to earn your position and so you did. Your peers were elated for you and served well under you. You knew every soldier in the force by name and up to their grandparents. You loved your planet and everyone in it even if they weren’t born there.

Your father deemed this day in remembrance of those who gave the planet’s inhibitants the right to remain happy on this planet and celebrate their lives. He decided that spring would be the best season as the brightest colors came to light.

A tradition this festival had was a performance by civilians wearing an elder-resembling mask and clothing too big and dated to be their own. These masks were decorated in white rope hair, wrinkles, and big smiles. These civilians would wear these to bring their elders alive for one night. They would dance through the street as watchers threw flowers and cheered them on. It never failed to put a smile on your face.

This was a tradition ever since and now, in 19 ABY, it was bigger than ever. Every species you can possibly think of has been present at some point, but you have never seen a Mandalorian enter your planet.

That is until today.

“Identify yourself, Razor Crest,” you hear the private ask.

What in the Maker is a Razor Crest doing here?

“This is Razor Crest requesting to land.”

You roll your eyes. Yeah, no shit, you thought.

You gesture the private to hold. You walk over and hold down the button on the comm.

“What is your business here, Razor Crest.”

“The festival. Should there be another reason?” a gruff voice answers.

You tilt your head. Why do I have a bad feeling?

“Stage 91 is clear to land. Over.”

“Stage 91. Heard.”

You allow the private to move on to the next ship in line. You take a deep breath in and decide its best to quiet this questioning voice in your head. You’ll just see for yourself, you said to yourself.

“Are the Sergeants on the field?” You ask the private.

“Yes, General. All 12 Sergeants and 38 Captains are out in the field making their rounds.”

You nod. “Very well.” You look over your shoulder and look at the other privates on the datapads. “Private Lukis,” you call out.

The poor young man, no more than 21, quickly stands, dropping items from the desk, and salutes. “Yes, General. Private Lukis at your attention.”

You stifle a laugh, and you shake your head in disbelief. “Private. I understand you’re new, but I’ve told you numerous times that you simply answer with yes, General. None of that is needed okay, son?”

Still saluting, he replies with, “Yes, General.”

“Put your hand down, son, and call a land speeder for me.”

He quickly nods his head, gives a yes general and proceeds to call in for a speeder.

As you go to walk towards the door, you look over to him and call for him again. He looks at you, saying yet another yes general and smiles. “You’re doing great, Private. I’m appreciative of your aid in the force.”

“Thank you, General.” He exclaims, his face turning red. “I am happy to be here.”

With that you left to go see this Razor Crest.

You waited as you saw the ramp go down with a hiss. You stand at attention with a Sergeant to your right and a Captain to your left.

Your eyes widen at the glimpse of beskar and take a deep breath. You slowly exhale as the broad warrior makes his way down.

“Is this how you greet all of your guests?” he dryly says.

“For the guests we find unsual, yes. What’s your business here, Mandalorian?” you sternly ask.

“Heard there was a festival.”

You simply nod.

“Am I allowed to be here?”

You remain looking at the warrior as you command the other officials to move on.

“I take it you brought more guests on that ancient craft of yours?”

“Just me.”

You take a couple of steps towards him. He doesn’t flinch.

“I’ve never seen a Mandalorian on this planet before. You leave your clan somewhere else?”

“Yes.”

“How unfortunate. They would have loved the festival. Do you enjoy dancing, warrior?”

“No.”

You let out a single chuckle. “By the end of the night, you will. Enjoy the festival, Mandalorian. I suggest you have plenty of credits on hand… with the treats they sell, you’ll want to buy some for the trip.”

“Thank you, General.”

You bid farewell and walk towards your landspeeder. You look back at the warrior and notice he’s still looking at you. “How did you know I was a general?”

“Your confidence. It would be a waste for you not to be.”

You smirk at this. “And the stars on your lapel give it away,” he continues.

You look at your embroidered stars and smile. “Good eye, Mandalorian.” He nods in appreciation as you hop on the land speeder.

“I’ll see you around, warrior.”

“I’m sure,” he says.

You ask the droid to be taken to the palace. You have to get ready too.

Bright colors flow as you walk the streets of the festival. Paper decorations and string lights go from streetlight to streetlight and the sound of laughing children sing songs to your ears. You walk with your father as you both greet anyone who comes in your way. Your father, dressed in an intricate silk number with florals and bright colors, is the embodiment of happiness. His smile is even brighter than the jewelry he wears. You, having gone with a black number with an embroidered masterpiece of bright colored patterns, take in the sight of it all.

As you continue on, you spot a glimmer of silver in the corner of your eye. You turn your head and spot the Mandalorian from earlier, leaning against a tree. You offer a small wave and he returns a nod.

“I want eyes on my father at all times while I’m gone, do you understand?” you speak into the commlink.

“Yes, General. Delta and Sierra on him,” your captain replies.

You excuse yourself from your father’s side and receive a kiss your hand as he smiles at you. You can be the most frightening general in the galaxy, but you are never too tough for a kiss from your father.

You walk towards the Mandalorian and spot the wooden trinket in his hands. “I see you found Mister Ferin’s stand. His work is stunning, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” he replies. He sounds much different than earlier today. Is he upset?

“I must admit I have many of his trinkets. He made me a carousel when I was young and I still cherish it everyday.”

“He’s very talented.”

You look at the Mandalorian and are met with your reflection in his visor. “Would you like to walk with me, warrior?”

He pushes himself off the trunk of the tree. “Very well. Lead the way.”

And so you do.

You showed him your favorite drink stand and even convinced him to try one. He refused to take off his helmet, so you improvised. You connected two straws so it would slide under his helmet.

It worked.

You showed him the dance of the elders. He paid attention to every detail of it. He asked about the history, the significance of the colors, and even the music. You felt comfortable. You were more than happy to talk about and when he asked for specifics, your heart fluttered.

How was this beskar-clad stranger so much more interested in the history than anyone you have ever met? Everyone else came for the parties, but he wanted to learn.

He came to learn.

You walked some more as he drank from his two-straw drink. He asked to stop by again and you happily agreed. You got to know him too. You had learned that he had a son – a foundling, he said. You knew he was taken in by Mandalorians and you knew about the events of the last couple of rotations. His stride was confident and was openly speaking to you as if you were best friends the whole time, but then he stopped abruptly. You looked over at him.

“Mando? You okay?”

His visor stayed fixed at the view in front of you.

That’s when you saw it.

He became vulnerable.

His stance turned frail, and his chest began to heave. You looked over and spot an elderly couple sitting on a bench in their red robes, taking in the scene of the festival.

You asked again. “Mandalorian, what did you see?”

“Where did they get those robes?” He gruffed out. There was no emotion behind the question. It felt as if he wasn’t there anymore.

“I… They’ve always had them. That’s what they came here with.”

“Came from where?” He turned to you.

“Their settlement. It was a long time ago. Remember when I said our planet got attacked? So did theirs, except… not many survived from their settlement.”

He stomped over to the couple and you hurried after him. He stopped in front of the couple.

“Where did you get those robes. Where are you from?”

The woman gasped at the Mandalorian, but the man remained still. He eyed the warrior before him.

“What’s it to you, bucket?”

You quickly answer. “I’m so sorry to alarm you, Mister and Missus Pescur.”

“What settlement did you come from?” The Mandalorian asked, more softly now. “I- I know these robes.”

“I doubt it,” the elderly man says. “We were not Mandalorians. Just peaceful civilians who were attacked.”

“You are from Aq Vetina.”

“So what?”

“I… I was born on Aq Vetina. My mother and father were killed in the attack and I was taken in by the Mandalorians. I- I didn’t… I didn’t know there were any survivors.”

“Yeah? Well, you know now, bucket. We have lived peacefully on this planet so do not go around running that rusted helmet about it. The Emperor and the General have kept us safe. You mess that up, I’ll hunt you down myself.”

“Mister Pescur, I assure you this warrior means no harm. He is my guest.”

His wife stands and looks at the Mandalorian. “You are from Aq Vetina?”

He sighs. “Yes.”

Her frail hand slowly reaches for him. He eases his body’s tension and allows Mrs. Pescur to pat the back of his gloved hand. “You’ve seen many things in your life, haven’t you son?”

“Yes,” he chokes out.

“You needn’t be so rude!” She says slapping her husband’s knee. “This poor young man was blind sighted! Apologize!”

Mando chuckles, shaking his helmet side to side. “I should be apologizing.”

Mr. Pescur stands in front of Mando as he sizes him up. “Prove it.”

“Prove what?”

“Prove to me you are one of us,” he says. “I’ll apologize when I see that you lost something just like we did.”

You shift your gaze over to this beskar-clad warrior. You hear a sigh modulate through as he whispers his agreeance. You watch him as he lifts the lapel of a pouch on his belt and pulls a beaded bracelet. Obsidian pearls polished to perfection all tied together with a braided red string. He reluctantly hands it to Mr. Pescur with shaky hands.

“My family name is Djarin,” he states. “My father was a mechanic, fixed anything with a gear… and my mother was a sea-“

“A seamstress,” Mr. Pescur finishes. “Din? Little Din that always ruined his red robes when it rained?”

His wife gasped. “The little boy who would always ask to be hidden from that womp weasel in the market?”

What a small galaxy, you thought.

Within a blink of an eye, the old couple had their arms wrapped around Mando. “My boy,” Mr. Pescur tearfully says, “look how you’ve grown.”

Mando, or Din as you learned, did not reciprocate the hugging interaction. He was paralyzed. “I don’t remember a Pescur family,” he mentions.

“We changed our name here!” Mrs. Pescur exclaims. “My name is Lurina. Do you remember? You’d hide at my mother’s post at the market and would always ask for a berry treat when you left. I must have been in my 20s at the time.”

“Yes!” Din remembered. “You would always carry a blue satchel with the extras for the post.” Mrs. Pescur laughed as she confirmed his memory. Din turned to Mr. Pescur and pointed. “You would help my father when he would fix the generators. You’d always stop by her post.”

As the couple went on and on about the memories they remember from their settlement, Din looked over to you.

“I had no idea that there were any survivors… let alone ever find them. Thank you.”

You shot him a confused, yet genuine smile. “Why are you thanking me?”

“For allowing me to walk these streets.”

You placed a hand on his arm – a wordless you’re welcome. You remained with the couple for a few more minutes before they decided to go back home. You watched as they bid their farewells and Mrs. Pescur sliding the ornate bracelet on Din’s wrist. Din stopped them with a low wait.

He slowly removed his helmet and looked back up and the couple. Mrs. Pescur smiled and ran to him. She wrapped her arms around him as he did her, giving her a short squeeze. As they let go, Mrs. Pescur pressed a chaste kiss on his cheek as she spoke, your parents would be so proud.

Mr. Pescur took his time walking to Din. He reached a hand up and laid it on Din’s other cheek, gently patting it. Din took matters into his own hands and hugged the elder man, giving him a squeeze too. Mr. Pescur laughed and joked Squeeze me with that build of yours and I’ll pop, boy.

The lights over your head became brighter the more you stood there. You patiently waited for Din to slide his helmet back on, but he took a hold of your hand instead. A bold move, you thought. He looked to you and smiled.

Who knew you liked dimples and brown eyes? He wore them well.

“General,” he promptly said. “The night is still young. I’d like to see more of this festival.”

“You a dancer? Because that’s what you are going to get dragged into at this time,” you joke.

“As long as it is with you,” he confesses, “I am willing to make a fool of myself.”

“You don’t even know me, Mandalorian.”

“You can call me Din.” You nod.

“Alright Din, still doesn’t; change the fact that you don’t know me.”

“You’re right… but I’d like to.”

You can’t help but to blush at that. You nod and look around as you hear the music in the background. “Squirt some oil in that armor of yours, Din.” You interlock your fingers with his. You shot a grin in his direction as you bobbed your head towards the music. “We’re going to a festival.”

______

permanent taglist: @spideysimpossiblegirl​ 

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[kissinginkitchens]

You Bring Me Home—Chapter Six: Be My Baby

a/n: welcome back lovelies! Thank you once again for all of your kindness and support for chapter five!! I am so glad you enjoyed it :’) As promised: some more Halani sweetness that is truly good for the soul. Can’t wait for you to see what’s in store for our favorite lovebirds <3 I have had so much fun chatting with some of you and hearing your thoughts, so keep ‘em coming! Happy reading :) Much love, Mel <3

Pairing: Hawai’i!Harry x Original Character

Warnings: swearing, sickeningly sweet PDA <3

Word Count: 4.7k 

catch up on parts one, two, three, four, and five 

The rain descends in full force, strong and unrelenting, but Harry and Alani are too wrapped up in their own little world inside the Bronco to notice. They sit facing each other with palms touching, comparing hand sizes while they ramble about everything and nothing at all. Harry still has to remind himself to blink every so often despite the irrational fear that Alani will disappear when his eyes open again. With the knowledge that every moment could be this perfect, she silently curses herself for not crossing the friendship barrier sooner. 

“Think you bit me a little bit,” Harry comments, scanning his lower lip for any signs of bruising. 

“Did not,” Alani defends with a light giggle. 

He pouts his lower lip in her direction and leans closer for her to observe. “Did too, look!”

“Fine. I guess I won’t kiss you anymore if I’m such a detriment to your health,”

Harry sneaks his fingers inside Alani’s sweatshirt and tickles her sides, relishing in the laughter that erupts. 

“Just teasing,” he offers. “But I think I’m ready to get hurt again. Do me the honor?”

“You are such a nuisance,” she grins, obliging his request for another kiss by slotting her lips between his. It’s sweet and chaste, but it leaves her mouth tingling long after they’ve pulled apart. Alani runs her hands through Harry’s messy hair and he hums in response, leaning into her touch. When her hand stills, he plants a soft peck to the inside of her wrist as a plea to continue. She combs through the chestnut curls while he occupies his attention with something in the cupholder between them. 

“What’s this?” Harry questions, lifting the smoothie she had prepared for him earlier. 

Alani glances down and chuckles to herself. “Oh, it’s for you. I knew you’d be suffering from a gnarly hangover,”

Harry’s head tilts and he grins, giving Alani a sighting of her favorite dimple. “So good to me. Don’t know what I do to deserve it,”

“Maybe hold off on the gratitude, I think it’s probably rancid now,”

He takes a polite sip and sure enough, the drink is lukewarm and barely edible. His nose instinctively scrunches with disgust, but he quickly musters an appreciative smile. 

“S’lovely,”

“Liar,”

“Wanna taste?” Harry challenges, leaning in with puckered lips that Alani playfully dodges. He plants a kiss to her cheek instead, trailing down her jaw and to the side of her neck in a way that sends shivers down her spine. Her hands weave into his hair and she searches for his mouth again, but before she does, her phone rings loudly on the dashboard in front of them. 

He grumbles and his head lands on her shoulder. “For fuck’s sake—”

“Sorry,” Alani apologizes, swiping the device to look at the caller ID. Her sister’s name and photo flash on the screen, so she decides to answer it. “Hello?”

Harry traces small circles on the tops of Alani’s thighs, his mind still lost in the heat of the moment while she listens to Pua’s panicked voice on the other end. 

“Where are you?” Alani questions, sitting up straighter in her seat. “Okay, I’ll be there in ten,”

“What’s wrong?” Harry asks, brow furrowed in concern. 

She collects her bearings and sighs. “Pua and her little friends got stranded at the mall because of the storm. Need me to go rescue them,”

“Can I come with?” he offers eagerly, not ready to part just yet. 

“I don’t know if you really wanna be stuck with a bunch of fifteen year old-girls,” Alani laughs bitterly. 

Harry shrugs and toys with the hem of her sweatshirt. “Dunno if you were aware, but fifteen year-old girls love me,”

He stops suddenly and registers the concerning undertones in his statement. “That came out wrong,”

“Yeah, maybe you shouldn’t say that out loud,” Alani giggles with a hand cupped to his cheek. “Let’s meet up afterwards, okay?”

“‘Kay,” Harry agrees, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Alani leans over and presses a light kiss to his parted mouth, indulging his request to deepen it by letting him glide his tongue over her lower lip. 

“I really have to go.” she warns before pulling away reluctantly. 

Harry groans, but he steals one last kiss and slips out of the car into the heavy rain. 

“Be careful!” he calls over his shoulder. 

 Alani waits until he’s secure inside his own vehicle before driving away down the road. 

********

“You’re soaking wet,”

“It’s raining,”

“And you’re blushing,”

Harry shakes his damp hair out as he strolls down the hallway towards his room, Mitch at his heels. 

“So?”

“I’m assuming you fixed things with Alani, then?” his friend probes. 

Harry stomach flutters at the mention of her name. “Yeah,”

Mitch rests his shoulder against the doorframe of the singer’s room and watches as he sifts through his closet and dresser. 

“So why aren’t you with her right now?”

“She had to go pick up her sister, we’re meeting up later,”

“Is it official, then? I mean are you two...” 

Harry rubs a hand along the back of his neck and offers a shy smile in response. “I guess so,” 

“Well I’ll be damned!” his friend cheers, clapping him on the shoulder. “We have to celebrate. Jeff owes me twenty bucks,” 

“Mate—”

Mitch snickers with hands raised. “Kidding! Well, sorta. I actually said that she would turn you down at first,” 

Harry rolls his eyes and continues his search for the right shirt. “Ha ha. Listen, I need a favor,” 

“Anything.” 

“Jeff said that there’s a projector and fairy lights in the shed. I’m gonna need you to dig them out.” 

********

Alani parks in front of the mall and shoots her sister a text. Within a few minutes, Pua and her three friends bolt out of the entrance and climb into her backseat. 

“Buckle up,” she instructs the girls before pulling away from the curb. 

“Thank you,” Pua exhales, sinking into the seat. 

Alani gives her a reassuring wink and glances up to the rearview mirror to see her sister’s friends chatting giddily in the back. Her mind briefly wanders to less than an hour prior and the lingering warmth of Harry’s touch before her sister chirps up next to her. 

“What happened to your neck?” she asks with her nose scrunched. 

Alani’s brow creases in momentary confusion before her entire body heats up in realization. “Oh—uh, nothing,”

“Is that a—?”

“What do you guys wanna listen to?” Alani asks the backseat, avoiding her sister’s questions. 

“Wait, were you with—?”

One of the girls speaks up and Alani passes the aux cord over her head. Pua narrows her eyes and a smug grin spreads across her lips. 

“You were!” she accuses, hushed so her friends don’t hear. 

Alani shoots her younger sister a stern look and mouths the word “don’t,” but it’s no use. Her attention is stolen when the upbeat drums of a vaguely familiar pop song fills the entire car. 

“Oh you’re gonna love this one,” Pua laughs, bobbing her head along to the music that plays. 

Alani feels a strange sense of familiarity in the singer’s voice, but she’s having trouble placing it. She looks over to her sister for an explanation, but Pua simply wiggles her eyebrows suggestively. 

“It’s your boyfriend,” she smirks.

Yeah, so tell me girl if every time we 

Touch you get this kind of rush 

Baby say “yeah, yeah, yeah,” yeah, yeah, yeah

If you don’t wanna take it slow 

And you just wanna take me home

Baby say “yeah, yeah, yeah,” yeah, yeah, yeah

And let me kiss you

Mortification settles into the pit of Alani’s stomach, but a hint of amusement sneaks in as she pictures the various ways that she can tease Harry about this later. 

“Oh my God, could you imagine kissing them?” one of the girls, a redhead with freckles, muses in the back. 

“I think if I kissed Harry Styles, I could die happy.” sighs another one with round glasses. 

The third girl, a slender face with a full afro, chimes in with a dreamy look in her eyes. “Do you guys think he’s a good kisser?”

“Good question,” Pua plays along, turning to her older sister. “What do you think?”

Alani’s jaw tenses and she suddenly feels flustered under the pressure. Glimpses of spearmint and vanilla flood her memory, but she suppresses them and clears her throat. “How should I know?” 

Luckily, the three teenagers have already moved on from the subject and chat amongst themselves about other relevant topics.  

After the last girl has been dropped off at her house, Alani turns to her sister with a glaring look. 

“Before you ask—”

“Are you guys dating now?” Pua interrupts excitedly. 

Alani lets out an exasperated sigh and clutches the steering wheel to ground herself. “No. Well…I don’t know,”

“How was it?” her sister poses gently, a starry look in her eye. “Was he a good kisser?”

There’s a glimmer of eagerness in Pua’s expression that makes it hard for Alani to remain serious. A bashful smile spreads across her lips as she remembers the dreamy boy awaiting her return. 

“Yeah,” Alani confesses. “He was,”

“Oh my god!” her sister shrieks, enveloping her in a tight hug. “I’m so happy for you! This is perfect,”

Alani lets herself be excited for the first time since her feelings had been set free. Everything was still fresh and exhilarating, and while she couldn’t wrap her head around all of it, she was grateful for her sister’s enthusiasm. 

“It’s new,” Alani explains, sorting through the last couple of hours. “So there’s really not much to tell,”

“But you like him?” Pua clarifies. 

“Yes,”

“And he likes you?”

Alani shrugs coyly, thinking of the way that Harry had practically melted in her touch. “I think so.”

“Then what else matters?”

Pua’s words comfort the anxious turning in Alani’s stomach. If Harry feels even a sliver of the affection she has for him, then nothing else could truly ever matter in her world. 

********

Harry’s towel hangs low on his hips as he steps out of the shower. Immediately, he reaches for his phone to see if there are any new messages from Alani, but he deflates when her name isn’t on the screen. He checks the time and registers that three hours have passed since they had last seen each other, though it feels like days in his mind. Quickly, he dries off and steps into a pair of black jeans and a silky red overshirt, adjusting the silver chain with a cross pendant around his neck before slipping a few rings onto his fingers to complete the look. His hair is still damp, so he runs a blowdryer over it and adds a small amount of product—still getting used to the shorter style. Harry spritzes a bit of vanilla scented cologne onto the sides of his neck and takes a deep breath to quell the pounding in his chest. He checks his phone again, but there’s still no news from Alani, so he decides to reach out first. 

Harry: We still on for tonight?

He can hear ruckus emanating from the kitchen, undoubtedly the sound of his friends cooking dinner with a few drinks in their systems. His stomach rumbles when he realizes that all he’s had to eat was a sip of Alani’s warm smoothie. 

Alani: Yes, sorry! Had to cook for my sister but I’m free now :) 

He hums, his dinner plans most likely foiled. 

Harry: I take it you’re not really hungry then?

Alani: I could eat…

Harry grins and grabs the keys from his nightstand.

Harry: Be there in fifteen xx

Fifteen minutes—that’s all Alani has to fix herself up and look somewhat presentable for Harry. She darts around her room and picks out a flowy, black mini skirt with embroidered cherries and its matching cropped tank. Her hair is still a bit messy from not combing it after her bath, so she smoothes it out with some water and curl cream, hoping for the best. She finishes her look with a swipe of red tinted lip gloss across her full lips and honey scented lotion over her skin. By the time her quick routine is complete, she still has four minutes to spare and spends them pacing her room back and forth with deep breaths. Her phone dings two minutes later and she smiles at Harry’s punctuality. 

Harry: Am I allowed to meet you at your front door?

Alani’s heart melts at his consideration, so she quickly makes her way downstairs and decides to respond to him in person. Sure enough, he’s already waiting at the door with eyes wide as if he’d just been caught doing something that he wasn’t supposed to. 

“Wow,” Harry marvels, taking in her appearance. 

“You don’t look too bad, yourself.” Alani compliments, closing the door behind her and with a step forward. 

He clears his throat and offers his hand out to her, palm facing up. “Shall we?”

She accepts it happily and allows his fingers to slip between hers. They walk down the short path to the pink Cadillac waiting for them, glistening under the last bit of sunset. Harry opens her door first, then makes his way to the driver’s side before peeling out of the driveway. As they head to their mysterious dinner location, Harry’s hand wanders from the gear shift to Alani’s palm resting on her thigh. She interlocks their fingers and runs the pad of her thumb over the silver rose around his index finger, wondering all the while about its origin. 

“Hey, what’s with the ring?” she decides to ask, lifting their joint hands to support her question. 

“It was a gift from my mum,” Harry explains. “When I first went away on tour, she was bummed that she couldn’t be at every show to throw a rose on stage. So she gave it to me as a reminder that she’d always be cheering me on, no matter how far apart we were,”

Alani’s chest stirs at the sweet gesture, wishing suddenly that she had a face to put to the lovely woman in her mind. 

“I really like that,” she comments, studying the petals and intricate details. 

Harry glances over at the girl sitting in his passenger seat and thinks that he’d very much like for his mom to meet her someday, though under the right circumstances. He lifts their joined hands up to his lips and presses a soft kiss to her knuckles. 

********

As they pull into the studio, Alani immediately takes note of a giant white tarp hanging from the roof on one side of the building. 

“What’s that for?” she asks curiously, stepping out of the car. 

Harry offers his hand and motions for her to follow him inside. “It’s for the movie,”

“We’re watching a movie?”

“Yeah,” he smiles sheepishly. “Hope that’s okay,”

“It’s perfect,” Alani reassures him with a squeeze of his forearm. 

“I had the food delivered, too. Figured we could eat while we watch,”

When Harry unlocks the door, the unmistakable scent of Alani’s favorite Italian restaurant lingers around the room. She gasps at the sight of two take-out bags from Angelo's perched on the coffee table.

“How did you…?” she trails off with her mouth hanging agape. “That’s my favorite place,”

“Ravioli with extra sauce,” Harry smirks victoriously, taking both bags and retreating back to the door. He sends a telepathic “thank you” message to Pua for the suggestion. 

“Who told you?”

“A good journalist never reveals his source, you should know that,”

“Oh, I wasn’t aware that we were switching professions,” Alani follows with her eyes narrowed warily.

“But don’t expect me to serenade you or anything,”

Harry chuckles and places their meals in the back seat before opening Alani’s door for her. “Not even a little tune?”

“Maybe the alphabet song if you’re lucky,”

“I’ll take it,”

“Actually,” she snaps, settling into the passenger seat as she recalls one of his songs that Pua’s friends had introduced her to. “Maybe I do have a little something for you,”

Harry’s brows shoot up eagerly. “Well let’s hear it,”

Alani clears her throat and tries to wipe the mischievous grin from her lips, but the enthusiasm behind her date’s eyes makes it difficult to execute the joke. 

“Close your eyes, please,” 

“Why?” Harry laughs softly, a mixture of tenderness and amusement settling on his features. 

“I can’t do it with you looking at me,” Alani whines. “Just close ‘em!”

“Okay, okay, they’re closed,”

“No peeking,”

“Yeah, yeah,”

Alani takes a deep breath and tries to remember the tune that had been stuck in her head all afternoon.

“So tell me girl if every time we tou-ou-ouch, you get this kind of ru-u-ush,”

Harry’s eyes fly open and she can hardly contain her laughter, but she continues despite his interjections. 

“What’re you—?”

“If you don’t wanna take it slow and you just wanna take me home—”

“Is that—?”

“Baby say ‘yeah, yeah, yeah,’ yeah, yeah, and let me kiss you—”

“Where did you—?”

“You’re not even listening!” Alani teases through a fit of laughter. “I’m trying to dazzle you with my angelic singing, here,”

“I’m sorry,” Harry apologizes, his voice lowered as he leans in closer. “Please, continue,”

Alani drapes her arms around his neck and sighs. “That’s all I’ve got, sorry,”

“So much for ‘not a fan,’ huh?”

“It was my sister’s friends—”

“—Sure—”

“—It’s true!” Alani sustains with a playful shove. “You should’ve seen how swoony they got over you, it was kinda cute actually,”

Harry brushes a stray eyelash from her cheek and his mouth turns up softly at the edges. “I see,”

“They were wondering if you’re a good kisser, you know, because of the song and everything,”

“And…”

“And?”

“Well what’s the verdict?”

“I don’t know,” Alani ponders shyly, feigning indecisiveness. “I think I need to refresh my memory.”

Harry head shakes gently with his lower lip caught between his wide grin. He takes a minute to lightly graze the curve of her jaw with his thumb in an effort to convince himself that he isn’t, in fact, dreaming before he connects their mouths. Alani weaves one hand into the curls at the nape of Harry’s neck while the other keeps his palm anchored securely to the side of her face. She had never known a touch so warm or soft; so intoxicating, so safe. It was like an extension of her own body—a familiarity that she had unknowingly craved all along. And with a single kiss, every remaining brick in their emotional fortresses comes crumbling down, trampled under foot like sand. If the eyes were the window to the soul, then their lips were the door: inviting, welcoming, begging the other person to stay forever and evermore. 

Their foreheads meet as they reluctantly pull apart for air; the only sound is their synchronized breathing. The sun had sunken into the sea, but twinkling lights strung across a row of palm trees leaves them in a canopy of golden light. 

“So I think it’s safe to say,” Alani begins softly. “Ten out of ten would kiss again,”

Harry’s head bobs, interlocking their fingers. “I have to agree,”

The whirring of the movie projector disrupts their thoughts and turns their attention towards the screen. Alani’s eyes widen, curious to see what film Harry has chosen for the night. 

“Forgot that I put it on a timer,” he confesses. 

“Be My Baby” by The Ronettes starts over the speakers propped next to their car and Alani immediately recognizes the intro to her all-time favorite movie. 

“Dirty Dancing?” she cries, turning to him with an elated tug on his arm. “No way!”

Harry reaches for the food behind them, but keeps an eye on her to relish in the excitement. “Yes way, had to see what all the fuss was about.”

“You won’t regret it, promise.”

Alani slips her shoes off and hugs her knees to her chest, eyes falling from the screen ahead to Harry beside her. He was constantly finding new ways to exceed her expectations, and just when she thought it couldn’t get any better, he raised the bar to unimaginable heights. She wonders what life would be like if he hadn’t stumbled into the café and imagines all the other ways that their paths would have unintentionally crossed, unaware of the bliss that could exist between them. Luckily, Alani will never have to live in a world of such ignorance, a world where Harry’s name doesn’t fall from her tongue as naturally as her own. 

********

“I would have carried that watermelon for you,”

“How romantic,” 

“And I bet we could do that lift,”

“Not a chance,” Alani giggles lightly. “Don’t get any ideas,”

Harry exhales a defeated breath, running the back of his knuckles over Alani’s legs draped across his lap.

“Why not?”

“They probably practiced that for months and had Jennifer Grey rigged up to a wire or something,”

“Nah,” Harry contests. “That’s just what they want you to think so that you don’t try and upstage the actors. Happens all the time in Hollywood,”

Alani’s head turns. “Oh really? And you would know that because…?”

“Music industry, movies, it’s all the same,”

“Sure. So what did you think of the movie? It’s okay if you didn’t love it as much as The Notebook,”

Harry’s head leans against his fist as he studies Alani’s expectant eyes, deep umber and shining in the dim light overhead. They’re the same pigment as the soil after rain and full of just as much vitality. He’d never really had a favorite color, but he suddenly wanted to own every item in exactly the same shade of brown. 

“No, you were right,” he yields. “It’s way better,”

Alani curls into Harry’s side and her cheek rests against his shoulder. “Knew you’d like it,”

“You know me well,”

“I have a question for you,” she poses lightly. 

Harry presses a kiss to her hairline before his chin settles on the crown of her head. “Shoot,”

“How did you do all of this on such short notice?”

The task hadn’t been easy; it involved multiple bribes to each of his friends, though they would have done it for free, and a top secret phone call with Pua. The projector in the studio’s shed that exclusively played DVDs nearly threw a wrench in his entire plan, but Jeff volunteered to search every store on the island for a copy of Dirty Dancing until he emerged from the fourth shop triumphantly. Harry had even hunted down the Angelo from Alani’s favorite restaurant and convinced him to make her raviolis from scratch. He wanted everything to be perfect down to the most minute detail; after all, the girl that he had planned it all for would be. 

“With a little help from my friends,” he hums in the key of The Beatles. 

“Well,” Alani sighs with a feathery kiss to his cheek. “Best first date in the history of first dates,”

“Couldn’t agree more,”

“What was your worst first date?” she pries with a curious wiggle of her brows. 

Harry lifts his head to the glittery night sky above and thinks for a moment before an unpleasant memory resurfaces and makes his nose scrunch. 

“Year ten. There was this girl I really fancied and I practically begged her all term to go out with me,” he laughs lightly. “So she agreed on the very last day of school. A friend of hers was having this party that night and she invited me to tag along. I was so nervous, but you know, things were alright. Well, she disappeared randomly in the middle of the party to go get a drink or something, and when I went to look for her, I caught her making out with some other guy,”

Alani frowns. “I’m so sorry, that’s awful,”

“It’s alright,” Harry chuckles, unaffected. “Wasn’t meant to be. What about you?”

“Probably my freshman year of college,” Alani contemplates. “I was supposed to meet up with this guy that a friend had set me up with. But he was, like, an hour late to the restaurant and didn’t even seem to notice. Then we saw some boring action movie with exploding cars and he was texting on his phone the whole time. I left the theater to ‘go to the bathroom’ and never went back,”

Harry smirks. “Good for you! Sounds like a prick,”

“I honestly don’t know how he didn’t see it coming, I took the bag of popcorn with me,”

“Well it all worked out in my favor, so maybe I should say cheers to the poor sucker,”

Alani raises her bottle of cherry coke to the night sky. “Cheers to terrible first dates!”

“Maybe don’t say that so loud,” Harry suggests with a small laugh. “People might get the wrong idea,”

“Cheers to terrible first dates and this most excellent one!” she corrects. 

“Cheers!”

“I feel like there should be some big musical number and end credits now,”

Harry glances over with a peculiar look in the corner of his eye. “I have an idea,”

“What is it?” Alani questions skeptically. 

“Two words: the lift,”

“No!”

“Come on! Please?”

“You’re gonna hurt yourself. Or me,”

“I won’t,” Harry promises with puppy dog eyes. “Pretty please?”

Alani mulls it over, unable to ignore the kiss that he peppers to her shoulder. “Fine.”

********

“Just bend your needs and jump. I’ll catch you!”

Alani’s toes dig into the sand and her fists clench. Eight feet away at the opposite end of the beach, Harry stands with his arms open and back tall. 

“I’m scared,”

“Don’t be, I’ve got you,”

She takes a deep breath through her nose and exhales out her mouth. Her feet pick up into a jog, then a sprint, and her arms fly out on Harry’s command. Alani leaps and her hands find his shoulders, but she doesn’t get enough air for him to execute the lift. His arms brace her backside as her legs tangle around his waist, but he maintains his balance.  

“See! Gotcha,”

“Did I do it?”

“No,” Harry laughs, highly amused. “But almost! Try again,”

“Harry, I don’t think this is gonna work,”

“Yes it will, love, I believe in you,”

He kisses her nose and sets her back down, running an additional eight feet back. Alani huffs, but she jogs lightly again and springs into the air. Her abdominal muscles tighten in an attempt to strengthen her balance, but she wobbles and clings to Harry with a shriek. He stumbles a few inches and lets out a belly laugh. 

“See, that was better!”

“It was not!”

“At least your legs made it in the air that time,”

“Okay,” Alani pants lightly. “You had your fun,”

“One more try,”

“Harry—”

“Just one!” he pleads. “This is gonna be the one, I can feel it,”

Alani’s eyes pinch shut, but she remembers all of the hard work and sweet gestures that Harry had poured into this date. So much thought had been given to every miniscule detail in the hopes of making it a night that she would never forget. The least she could do was humor him. 

“Okay. Let’s go,” 

“You’ve got it!” 

Her heart pounds with determination as Harry beckons her to join him at the other end. She counts down under her breath before taking off at full speed, feeling the exertion of every muscle in her body. Alani plants her feet directly under her knees and hips, shooting straight up with her arms rooted firmly on Harry’s shoulders. Her heels lift higher and higher off the ground as if they were attached to a string and anchored to the moon. In her mind, she is as graceful as Baby Houseman herself, but the reality is far less picturesque. Harry’s hand slips and he staggers backward; his arms instinctively tighten around Alani’s waist and he brings her body flush with his to break her fall. A grunt escapes his lips as his back meets the sand with a thud, but he manages to crack a smile through his pained expression. 

“Oh my God!” Alani cries, immediately sitting up. “Are you okay?” 

Harry releases a slow, shaky breath. “‘M fine,” 

“Are you hurt?”

“Just a bruised ego,” 

She brushes the curls out of his face and holds back a giggle to no avail. “I’m sorry, it’s not funny,”

“Actually,” Harry coughs, slowly regaining his composure. “It kind of is,”

“We really almost had it that time.”

“S’not as easy as it looks.”

Alani’s head meets the sand parallel to Harry’s and her hand settles on his chest. She watches the rise and fall of his breathing for a moment before her eyes trail up to his. As if the entire night hadn’t already convinced her, this very moment dispels any lingering, microscopic doubt that choosing Harry had been the right decision. It was hard to believe that less than twenty-four hours ago, Alani had no idea how he felt about her or where they stood. But now, under the full moon and shining stars, Harry looks at her as if she is the only view worth admiring and it tells her more than any word ever could.