#will never FORGIVE them for cancelling his show Selfie… he was so good in it 😭😭😭

[whumpypepsigal]

john cho’s talent and his screen magnetism truly saved “cowboy bebop” (the man can do no wrong, he is so good in everything he is in). also, mustafa shakir’s jet black - BRAVO! loooooooved spike & jet’s chemistry. actually the whole cast was a joy to watch and they did their best with what they were given. the show doesn’t deserve the heavy hate it’s getting. the only thing i feel this adaptation didn’t have is the original’s spirit of melancholy and regret.

unpopular opinion: radical ed is a kind of character that works in cartoon form, but doesn’t work well in live action. they shouldn’t have included ed in the adaptation. that being said, kudos to the young actor playing ed 😬

i hope there is a 2nd season of 'cowboy bebop' but with original creative team instead. *fingers crossed*

and yes my friends, there is whump and it’s 😋 *time to get to work makin’ them gifs hehehe*

[orionhere]

Road Trip!

Just for fun! A random prompt that I found on Twitter lmao, and I thought, 'let's try it with the pgr's boys'

And also to distract me from my never-ending works

First, I'm not good at writing and English is not my primary language. And also you may find some character seems ooc, so forgive me! 😖 I just wanna having fun lol

Watanabe

The one who drive no questions

But sometimes he will switch with Chrome to rest a bit

Yells at others to use the seatbelt multiple times

But got ignored all the time

Doesn't really get road rage; at the most he will just clicked his tongue and will pass the cars that are going "too slow" for his liking

Will put his coat on you when you fell asleep

Won't let anyone beside Chrome to switch with him, the reason?

Kamui: the last time he did it, they almost crash the roadblock because he got distracted by a wild deer

Lee: you know it

Camu: *distant yelling and Deja Vu playing in the background*

Banji: he will definitely fall asleep in the middle of his turns

He snores during his rest, but if anyone pointed that out, he will deny it

Until Camu give him the recording

After that Watanabe refuses to sleep even when you begging him to take some rest

Eating mint gum every 10 minutes

"Watanabe, how many gums do you have with you?"

"Enough until this trip is over."

"But our trip is 2 weeks long?"

"Exactly"

Sigh a lot during the journey

He almost regret everything now

Save him please

Chrome

Claiming shotgun (so he can switch with Watanabe easily)

The one in charge with the snacks ,(Yes, I'm looking at you, Camu)

The only level-headed person in the van

In charge with the radio station

Will straight up choosing a classical music station (if there's one, idk)

Slap Kamui's hand when he tried to change the station to a more lively one "Kamui stop-"

A softie for you

If you ask for more snacks, he will reluctantly give you more

Will pointed some wild animals he spots and secretly took photos and send them to his father

Light sleeper. Even when you stare at him, he will suddenly be very awake.

One time Kamui tried pulling a prank by doodling on his sleeping face

Chrome suddenly jerk awake and scared the hell out of Kamui

Will keep an eye for everyone, especially Kamui & Camu

"Kamui, be careful! Don't stick your body out of the window!"

"Camu stop encouraging him!

"DON'T GO THROWING YOUR TRASH OUTSIDE!!!"

Save him please #2

Kamui

Sit in the middle row with Lee and you inbetween to separate them

You think his normal voice is already too loud? Wait until he starts bickering with Lee about ANYTHING

Bless your ears

Telling Watanabe or Chrome to stop for a while so he can pet some wild animals they found on the way

"Kamui, that's a bear-"

"So what? It looks like it need a hug-

"STOP! It will attack you!"

"Let him be. One less passenger, the better."

Will post a selfie or short videos and posting it on his social media

When you fall asleep, he strangely didn't speak at all. He instead made a shushing gesture whenever someone ask him something

Snoring so loud you need to borrow one of Banji's noise cancelers.

Lee tried to stuff his mouth with a cloth to muffle his loud snoring

Pull out his gaming console when he's bored. He brings two of his consoles so he can play together with you, making Lee lowkey jealous annoyed

Lee

Backseat driver just because he will told Watanabe or Chrome that they're going to the wrong way

Will bicker with Kamui

Probably trying to show off to Kamui (mainly YOU) by stating random facts about the landscape from wikipedia

If Kamui finds out he's just trying to impress you, he will deny it with pink cheeks and stop talking

Liked to open the window, until a bug flying in and he nearly screamed

Will compete with mama chrome to remind you to drink water (gotta stay hydrated, people)

"Here's water."

"Lee, Chrome just gave me some earlier…"

"It was long ago. Stay hydrated, it's pretty hot out there."

"IT WAS 5 MINUTES AGO!"

If Camu annoys him, he will throw the plastic bottle to the back

Also a light sleeper. But not as bad as Chrome though. He will just grumbled or mumbling when you're whispering with anyone

A grumpy boy when someone wake him

Camu

Lost at the rock paper scissors with Kamui & Lee so he abandoned on the back with Banji

Doesn't use the seatbelt even after Watanabe screamed at him

He's a rebellious man, leave him be Watanabe

Will annoyed the hell out of Lee and Kamui (like blowing their ears or purposely using his earphones with maximum volume near them)

Leaned forward so he can chat with you

He and Banji sometimes forgotten there when either Lee and Kamui forget (read: purposely) to lifts the seats

Steal Kamui's snacks

When he get bored, he will put his headset and listen to some hard rock songs

If Lee annoys him, he will put the headset near Lee's head and turn the volume to max

Heavy sleeper, like, even when there's storm and lightning outside, he won't even twitch

He has his own snacks that he bought at gas station without Chrome noticing

Got along with Banji really well (mainly because Banji sleep all the time and gave him one of his comfy pillow & blanket)

Banji

This mf sleep all the way

Put the headset, use his eye mask, and no one can disturb him

Even when he hits his head during the bumpy road

He choose the back seat so he can sleep peacefully

The only time he awake is when he need to use the bathroom

But sometimes at terrible timing

"Hey, are we near the rest area yet?"

"What? No-"

"I need to use the bathroom"

"BUT WE JUST LEAVE THE LAST REST AREA 10 MINUTES AGO!"

His and Camu's seat is full of comfy cushion, blanket, and snacks that Camu steals from Kamui

"Why'd you bring so many pillows?"

"Just in case of emergency"

"?????"

Strangely, he has everything that you'd need during the trip

Need a tissue? Here you go. Had motion sickness? Here some medicine. Want some gummies? He will sneaked a pack without Chrome noticing

Also doesn't use the seatbelt

He sometimes kick the middle seat when Kamui is too noisy

Once Watanabe saw a pair of leg from the back seat and he yelled at Banji to sit properly

Will use Camu's lap as a pillow without hesitation

[daddystevee]

Worlds Collide - part 1

(steve harrington x fem!reader)

A/N: Okay, i think this is gonna be good, but at the same time im not sure. Its a good concept but im just not good at putting my thoughts onto paper. So please forgive me if this part sucks. I wanted to try writing another multi part fic, but this one might be shorter, but who knows anyways.. Enjoyyyy <3

Warnings: none yet

Summary: Modern day au where Steve and reader meet on a dating website, but things don’t exactly go according to plan.

Word count: 1.2k

part 1/?

masterlist

><

You tried to convince yourself that this would be good for you. Everyone needed someone, no one could take on a world as crazy as ours alone. So when your best friend and roommate told you that you should try to get out there and to sign up for this online dating website, you didn’t fight her on it. 

“Alright, that should be fine.” your roommate Cami said to you, adding the finishing touches to your makeup. 

“I feel like this is.. just too much.” you say getting up from the chair moving over to the vanity in her room, getting a good look at your ‘new’ face. You don’t think you had ever worn this much makeup in your life, not even for school dances.

After staring at your face for a little bit longer, you feel two hands being placed onto your shoulders, “Y/N, you look amazing.” she says turning you around to face her. “Okay, now we have to go out on the balcony to take some bomb ass selfies.”

><

On the other side of town, you would find Steve Harrington surrounded by 6 teens. All huddled around a small computer, each person shouting out different things.

“You should put on there that you LOVE kids. Girls love that.”

“No, I would for sure put something about puppies.”

“Oh, yeah. Puppies.”

“No, no, no. Steve don’t listen to them, add some cheesy pickup lines. Those always work.”

And so on and so on. After so long, he could only take so much,

“Alright! That’s enough.” he says a little louder than anticipated, “I’ll put down what I think would sound good.” With that, the kids go silent but continue to watch over the older boys shoulders.

Once Steve has everything he thinks would attract girls, along with a few of the things the kids mentioned, he reluctantly agrees to let the girls help pick out some of the pictures from his phone to put on his profile. Not even 5 minutes later they have several photos uploaded to his computer and onto his page.

Some of him and the kids on Halloween in their matching costumes, showing off that he does in fact love his kids. A few of him out at bars, to prove that he is a social and outgoing person. And even one with him holding a puppy from the time the kids convinced him to go look at dogs at a kennel, because puppies are cute.

><

After a few days of swiping through the app, you seem to be having shit luck. The guys who have super liked you, aren’t exactly your type, and they guys you’ve had even the slightest interest in never seem to swipe on you. 

“I don’t think I can do this anymore Cam, it’s honestly so boring and I’m not getting any matches-” you start to say before she rips your phone out of your hand before plopping down next to you on the couch.

“That’s because you’re not doing it right. Just because you and someone match, doesn’t mean you have to reach back out to them.” she then proceeds to start swiping on almost every single guy. As she’s doing so, you do seem to be getting more and more matches, then right as she’s about to swipe left on someone you stop her.

“Wait, he’s really cute.” you say, emphasis on the ‘really’, while peering over your friends shoulder, “Steve Harrington huh? Has kind of a ring to it don’t ya think?” 

She hands the phone over to you and allows you to do the honors. Upon swiping right, it’s an immediate match. You gasp and turn to Cami, with a look of complete shock on your face. You hear a ding, then a little notification comes up on the screen saying, 

what are ya waiting for? make your move!

“What do I say?” you ask still in shock that someone, you thought was cute matched with you. “Oh wait, I got it.” 

"Be honest. Is that dog really yours or just for props?" 

You giggled to yourself at your question thinking it was hilarious, hoping he would find it funny too. But when the ‘sent’ changed to ‘read’ your laughter stopped, it was no longer funny. What if he didn’t think it was funny, what if he matched on accident? What if he unmatched because of your stupid opener.

All of your worries went away when you saw that he was typing…

“alright, you caught me. not my dog, but you're cuter than any dog i’ve ever seen.”

><

“Dustin!” Steve yelled, snatching his phone out of his smaller friends hand, “Dude you don’t just blurt that kinda shit out.” 

“i’m sorry, that’s not something i would actually say.” 

“Alright, try again lmao.” 

“it’s my friends, they set me up on this app. i’ve never really done anything like this before, so they’re trying to help me out, but aren’t doing a very good job.” read 

“okay, okay. how about, you let me take you out on a date and we can talk, and get to know each other. no distractions” read

A few minutes pass with no response, “Shit! Shit, shit, shit.. this is awkward, she thinks I'm an idiot.” 

Steve feels a hand on his shoulder, he turns around to see Will looking over his shoulder.

“Just give her some time, maybe she’s busy. Or trying to come up with a response?” As soon as the words come out of his mouth, a ding comes from Steve’s phone. He snaps his head towards his hands and his face lights up with a smile. 

“Sure, sounds good to me. Gives me a chance to do this on my own, my roommate’s been up my ass this whole time. You got a snapchat? You know so I can get in contact with you outside the app.”

“Guys! I did it! She wants my snapchat!” Steve says looking to the teens who are sitting around a laptop, watching Netflix, paying no attention to him.

“yeah, totally. it’s stevethehair”

“Okay, hold on I'll add you.”

You go and add him on snapchat, the two of you hit it off instantly, and start to plan out your date. He’s planning on taking you to this diner named ‘Benny’s’ for dinner later in the week, due to busy work schedules throughout the week.

><

As the days go by, and you spend your time on your bed watching Cami go through the clothing in your closet. Walking from room to room pulling pieces of clothing together to make a full outfit.

“You don’t wanna over dress, but you also don’t want to under dress. You feel me?”

You nod your head when your phone vibrates on your leg. Picking up the phone, the smile that was once on your face slowly turns into a frown.

Cami turns around with a pair of jeans and a cute crop top to go with it, but notices your face and drops all of the clothes.

“Wait, what just happened you were so happy like 2 seconds ago.”

“It’s Steve. He just canceled.”

[bbaronpiper]

Moment of weakness pt.3

Finally, here’s the last part. Sorry it took so long to post. I was busy and got stuck somewhere in the story. Anyway, it’s quite long than the previous parts. I hope you like it. <3

Paragraphs on Italic are lyrics form Lany’s songs I don’t wanna love you anymore and If you see her. I just altered some words to fit it with the story.

You can read the previous parts here. Part 1 Part 2

Arón x reader

Y/N’s P.O.V

I used to love these sheets Dark hair against the white I missed watching you get dressed in our hazy bedroom light

Sometimes I just wanna talk for a minute But I can't bring myself to call Because I know that your heart's not really in it And whatever we had is gone

It’s been ten long months since I last saw him or had any contact with him. The first few months were the hardest. I missed him terribly. His scent, his voice, everything. Even his snoring. I’m lying if I say that going back to him and forgiving him didn’t cross my mind. Not after I heard what he said in his sleep. “She’s not worth it, Bebé”. Five words. Just five words but it haunts me every single night. His voice was still ringing in my head over and over again like it was just yesterday.

It’s been ten long months  and I’m doing a lot better now. I have a new job, new apartment, new friends.

Sick of staring up at the ceiling The only way to get past this feeling Is to tell myself I’m not coming back

The sound of my phone ringing snapped me back into reality. It was Danna. Probably confirming if I will be coming over to her place this afternoon. She called me two weeks ago inviting me to her birthday party. Out of all of his friends, me and Danna was the closest. I loved her outgoing personality. I love her like a sister. I didn’t even felt an inch of jealousy when Arón gave her a rose on Valentine’s day. Hell, I would’ve given her one myself too.

“Hola chica! See you later! You don’t have a choice! You promised! Okay! Bye!” she said enthusiastically and hang up the phone. She didn’t even give me time to answer. Typical Danna. I just laughed to myself as I get up from the bed and start to get ready.

I thought of backing out and watch Netflix in the comfort of my own apartment instead. But I convinced myself that it was time. Besides, I’m doing a lot better now right?

“I can do this. It’s been a while and It’s just a party” I said to myself as you rang the door bell to Danna’s house. Danna opened the door and squealed so loud I thought my ears are gonna bleed.

“Bitch you came! I missed you! I had to hug you just to confirm I’m not seeing things!” She laughed and winked at me. I laughed and gave her the dirty finger in return.

“I missed you too! Happy birthday, hermana!” I said as she leads me to her backyard.  There I saw everyone: Ester, Alvaro, Omar, Mina, Miguel, Itzan, all of Elite’s casts and a few of Danna’s friends, whom I didn’t know. Everyone was there except him. He was nowhere to be found and it gave me a slight comfort as I sighed in relief.

They were all looking at me like they’ve seen a ghost. Probably shocked that I came after all this time. I can’t blame them though. At times like this, I would be thankful if the ground opened and swallowed me whole. It was Omar who came running up to me screaming my name excitedly. “Y/N! I see you came down from Mars now, eh? Damn, girl. We missed you a lot!” he said laughing at his own joke while hugging me so tight. “So I see, you haven’t changed a bit huh?” I loved that about Omar. His sarcastic but fun personality always makes me laugh. “I missed you too. Hot stuff!” I said truthfully. They all hugged me and said their I miss you’s eventually. I felt something inside me. Like a spark of joy. I missed these people so dearly.

---

I am now sitting alone in a wooden lawn chair sipping on my drink as I watched everyone. A smile plastered across my lips. Thinking this wasn’t a bad idea after all. When Danna called me, I was sure I wouldn’t be going. I couldn’t be around these people. There was a reason why I cut ties with them. Not because I wanted to but because I needed to. They really did become a family to me but this wasn’t my life anymore – not after what happened with him.

“Y/N! Smile!” Danna appeared out of nowhere with her phone trying to take a selfie with me. She and Omar laughed so hard when they saw the photo. “You guys are the worst! I wasn’t ready!” I said pretending to be pissed but laughed with them after I saw myself. The laughter died down eventually. Omar was now sitting beside me while Danna sat across from us. “But Y/N, how are you doing, really?” Omar asked seriously. Oh boy here it comes. “I’m doing good” I answered simply. They both looked at me as if they know I’m holding back. “No, really. I’m doing a lot better than I thought I would be.” Danna smiled at me proudly as Omar put his head on my shoulder. “That’s good to know Y/N, it was nice seeing you today. It’s been so long.” She said. “I just don’t think you’re aware how much you’ve been missed, Chica.” Omar added.

The smile I had faded away as a heart wrenching guilt dawned on me. I sigh as I remember all the last-minute cancellation of plans I had with them. All those rejected calls. They even came over to check up on me but I didn’t open the door for them. I completely shut them out of my life when all they wanted was to be there for me. That’s how fucked up I am. He really did a number on me. Suddenly I felt the need to at least explain and apologize. I owe them that. “Guys, you know I’m really s-” Omar cut me off as he squeezed my knee. “Y/N, it’s okay. We understand why you did it.” I smiled at him as my tears are now threatening to build up. But these tears are different from the ones I shed the past months. This was tears of joy. “We all had bad break ups, Y/N and we all have our own way on dealing with it and that was yours. You did it to save yourself and we couldn’t use that against you.” Danna added as she looked at me with happy tears on her eyes. Oh god, now I am crying. “Thank you guys, that means a lot to me”.

The door bell rang once again. “I got it!” Danna announced. Leaving me alone with Omar. He then grabbed my hand and pulled me up. “Okay chica, enough of this now. It’s time to parttteeyyy!!!” He dragged me where everyone was. Itzan and Jorge are now dancing on top of a table. While Ester and Mina, laughing their asses off. I can’t believe I survived ten months without these crazy people.

Arón’s P.O.V

Just look at us You'd never bet against our love Got that kind of thing that lasts Table for two She said "for life" so I'm confused How'd she turn it off so fast

Well, I wasn’t confused how she’d turn it off so fast. I mean, I broke her heart. It’s been ten long months since the last time I saw her and I’ve been dreading to see her. Damn, I’d settle even just for her silhouette just to make sure she’s safe.  Not that I didn’t try. I did. But there’s no way I could find her. She completely cut ties with everyone and it was all because of me.

She won’t talk to me anymore So if you see her Tell her I’d do anything, I need her I know I’m not perfect but we were She says she doesn’t love me don’t believe her If you see her

It’s a hot summer afternoon and I’m here on my balcony smoking, staring at the sky. It’s all I ever do nowadays and write songs to reflect what I’m feeling. That’s the only thing that keeps me sane. Bored out of my mind, I decided to open Instagram and saw Danna posted stories of her birthday cake, her house decorations, and birthday greetings from her friends. I totally forgot what today was supposed to be. But it’s fine, I don’t feel like coming anyway. That’s until I saw her last post. It was a picture of her and omar, and Y/N. I blinked twice making sure it was really my Y/N. it was a bit blurred like she was caught off guard. But I know my Y/N too well. I know it was her. I quickly throw my cigarette on the ground, stomp on it and got on my car. I drove so fast as anxiety took the best of me. I think I broke every single law on my way over to Danna’s. I rang her door bell as I waited impatiently.

She opened the door and smirked devilishly when she saw it was me. Like she knows why I’m here and it was not because it’s her birthday. “Sooo, look who decided to show up” I hugged her and wished her happy birthday. Act natural I thought but I’m so close on peeing myself. “They’re out at the back. Go grab yourself some drinks at the bar. You know your way around here, chico” Danna spoke again and wink at me before disappearing out of my sight. I did what I was told. I was about to go out to the garden when I froze in track. There I saw her with everyone. Goofing around. My Y/N. She looked so beautiful. Her hair was now shorter than I remember. She’s in a floral summer mini dress which complement her curves. She was glowing. She looked so happy.

I felt my stomach flip at the sight of her. Excitement now replaced with fear. I’m scared that I’d hurt her again. How would she react when she see me? Will her smile fade the moment she found out I’m here? I don’t think I can do this to her again. I thought to myself. Suddenly I felt the urge to turn back around and leave. Until I heard Miguel’s voice calling after me.

 Y/N’s P.O.V

I don't wanna love you anymore I don't wanna love you anymore From the start, I never thought, I'd say this before But I don't wanna love you anymore

I don't wanna love you anymore I can't forget, the way it felt, when I walked out the door So I don't wanna love you anymore

I was having so much fun catching up with everyone’s lives but at the back of my mind, I can’t help but to think if he was coming or not. Part of me, the confident me, wanted to see him. Thinking I’ve come way too far from where I’ve been since that night. I’ve become stronger and definitely better having to go through all that shit alone but the other part of me, the lonely, curious me wanted to know what it feels like to see him again. Will I go back to the dark place I’ve been the first few months I left. Will I be shattered to pieces again? No one knows but I hope it was the first one. All the questions inside my head stopped when I heard Miguel say his name. I looked at the direction he was looking at. My heart stopped for a moment when my eyes landed on him. He was already looking at me with a sad smile on his lips. All I can do was give him a small nod in return acknowledging his presence.

He said his hellos to everybody and hugged them. When it was my turn, he stopped for a second. If I didn’t knew him I’d think he just didn’t wanna hug me. But I saw it in his eyes. He was scared. I inhaled his perfume mixed with an almost faded smell of cigarette. Oh, how I missed this. Train of memories starts to hit me and I suddenly knew the answers to the questions in my head.

--

It was now dark and everyone’s drunk as fuck. If not, passed out somewhere in Danna’s house. I lit a cigarette. My guilty pleasure, remember? And looked up. I always loved the night sky. How the darkest nights produce the brightest stars. Somehow, it gives me hope. We all needed a little darkness to shine right? I took another puff on my stick and turned around only to see Arón staring back at me from a short distance. My heart started pounding against my chest and I felt a little dizzy when he started walking towards me.

“Can I join you? Y/N?” his deep voice sent shiver up to my spine.

Arón’s P.O.V

So if you see her Tell her I'd do anything, I need her I know I'm not perfect but we were She says she doesn't love me, don't believe her If you see her

We both know she's not perfect either But if she says she loves me, let me see her Let me see her

She bit her lower lip, something she does when she’s nervous. her body movements became uneasy. For a while, I thought she was gonna refuse and tell me to leave. But she nodded her head yes. A smile crept in to my face as we sat down next to each other. No one dared to say a word. Probably afraid to ruin the moment. I like this. Just the two of us under the moon, sitting in silence enjoying the view. Cold air blowing gently on us. Oh how I would give anything to do this with her every single night.

“Danna really knows how to throw a party, no?” I said trying to start a conversation. “She was always the life of the party.” She said laughing a little. Still looking up at the sky. I sunk on my seat further back, just looking at her from behind as the wind blew her hair gently. The light of the moon and stars illuminating her beautiful face. I tightened my grip around the bottle I’m holding as an attempt to hold back my self from touching her. I want to hold her so bad. Tell her I felt so incomplete without her. Tell her I know how stupid I am to let it all fall apart. My Y/N, How could I ever let her go?

“Y/N,-” “Arón, save it. We’re fine like this” I felt a sting on my chest as she cut me off. But I’m not gonna make the same mistake I did ten months ago. This time, I’m gonna fight for her. “No, please just let me get this out. Por favor” I heard her sigh as she looked back at me. The first time she looked me straight in the eye and I can still see the pain on it. or is it pain? or disgust? or anger? I dunno. I shifted on my seat so now I’m facing her. “Y/N, please know that I deeply regret all the things I did to you. I’m sorry you had to suffer alone when I promised you otherwise. ” I can tell she’s trying so hard not to shed a tear. “I just want you to understand that none of this was your fault. There’s nothing wrong with you. It was all on me” my voice getting shaky as I remembered the night she asked me if she was the one to blame for my unfaithfulness. I can’t believe I made her think that. I could hear myself apologizing over the things I did wrong and the things I didn’t do for her.  My heart breaking as I spit out words after words. The look on her face made me wanna pull her in. wrap her in my arms so tight I might glued her broken pieces back together. “I hated myself for it every single day. But most of all, I hated the fact that It cost me to lose you just to realized you’re exactly who I wanted”. I said almost out of breath. I waited for her to say something. Please Y/N, say something. My leg bouncing up and down. 

She took a shaky breath and finally spoke. “You know, Arón. I really thought it was me. All this time, I kept on thinking where did I go wrong, what did I do for you to find comfort in someone else.” I barely heard her as her voice was so soft. Like she’s just so tired of all the bullshit I put her through. Like she gave up on me. On us. “I loved you. I truly loved you, Arón.” Loved? Past tense? Fuck! “I thought we were gonna end up together. You know? Build a family and all that shit” she took a deep breath as her chin starts to quiver. “But you broke my heart.” That’s when a single tear escaped from her eye. “You broke my soul, Arón.” How could I do this to her? My Y/N. I felt a familiar pain in my stomach at the sight of her. That gut wrenching pain I hate so much. “but thank you for tonight. For the closure. We can now both sleep in peace.” And in that moment I knew she was about to leave me. Again. She started to get up and without thinking, I grabbed her wrist and pull her down to me. My heart broke a little more when she pulled away quickly. “Stop, please. I just wanna go home.” She begged. I couldn’t let her go. I won’t.

“Y/N, almost a year ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life. I’ve regret every second of it.” I was ready to pour my heart out to her. It was now or never. “I Still love you. I never stopped loving you. I know you’re terrified I’d do it again but I won’t and if you ever give me another chance, I will be glad to spend the rest of my life proving to you how much you mean to me. I wouldn’t stop until I’ve made you believe how much I wasn’t willing to lose you.” I said as I cried with her. My chest was pounding like a drum now.

 Y/N’s P.O.V

I looked at him with wide eyes trying to absorb all the things he just blurted out. Arón, the love of my life just said that he wanted to be with me for the rest of his life. That he will never hurt me in anyway possible. I was torn to pieces. My head was screaming at me to run. Run as far away as I can but my heart. My stupid heart wanted to give him another chance. What if he’d do it again - he won’t - he will Y/N, don’t be stupid. I love him but I’m scared to death. It took me a lot of courage and a lot of sleepless nights just to get to where I am right now. I know I would die in agony if it happens again.  But, on the other hand, don’t I owe this to myself? To at least try again?

Arón’s face started to drop as he figured I wouldn’t give him answers. he looked down at his feet shutting his eyes as pain grew stronger inside him, swallowing the lump on his throat. He sighed in defeat. He knows he’ll never have me back now. It’s too late. He looked back up at me again and gave me a small smile “okay, Y/N. I get it.” he whispered as he leaned in to kiss me on the cheek. I swore I saw a tear rolled down his eyes just as he started to walk away. 

What am I doing here just standing like an idiot. He just told me he loves me and I still love him. So what the fuck? Y/N? It’s been a while and we’re both different person now. Stronger, and probably better. Your heart finally won the battle when you yelled his name. “Arón!” he instantly looked back at me. We both walked towards each other and meet halfway. I placed my hand on his chest desperate to feel his warmth as he looked down at me with hopeful eyes. “te quiero, asshole” I saw a smile form on his lips before he grabbed my face and smashed his soft lips into mine. We poured so much passion into the kiss and it felt so right. Like every pain I felt these past months just vanished. I felt his left hand leaving my face tracing down to my neck and down to my lower back pulling me closer and there’s nothing more I wanted right now than to have him. All of him. We pulled away out of breath as he pressed his forehead against mine. I brushed the tip of my nose to his slowly. Savoring the moment. “Y/N. Gracias. I swear you’ll never regret this” he whispered so lovingly I almost felt myself melt. “Take me home” I never ever had to ask twice. 

Next thing I know, we were back in our old apartment. He lifted me up as soon as we got inside. My legs wrapped around his torso as I hold onto him like my life depended on it. His wet kisses on my neck sent shivers to my whole body. Oh how I missed this feeling. Soft moans left my lips. His soft kisses now became rough and needy as he throws me into the bed. He just stood there looking at me. 

 Arón’s P.O.V

I can’t believe this is happening right now. I had to pause for a moment and stare at her laying on my bed. Our bed. I wished I could take a picture and frame it on our wall but I have to have her now. I pulled my shirt over my head quickly as she sat up and start to unbuckle my belt. I did the same for her “Oh, bebe, you wouldn’t need this anymore” I said referring to her dress and threw it to the floor.  I climbed on top of her. Just hovering over her. Kissing her on places I knew would drive her crazy while I palmed her right breast onto my hand and I smirked when I heard her moaning my name. I aligned myself to her entrance and looked at her waiting for her approval. I didn’t waste any second and pushed myself inside of her as soon as she nodded yes. Both of us moaning in pleasure.  I realized how much I missed being inside her. How much I miss her. “Y/N, you don’t know how long I’ve waited for this. I missed you” I saw her smile for me for the first time since I saw her today. He reached up to me and kissed my mouth. I thrusted into her faster and deeper earning loud moans from her. “Faster! oh, I’m so close baby” she said almost out of breath as she dug her nails on to my back which I’m pretty sure would leave marks and buried her face on my neck biting it. “Cum for me bebe, like you used to” and with that she let herself go. The sight of her trembling beneath me with her eyes shut, screaming my name, telling me she loves me was enough for to send me over the edge. I collapsed on top her. Trying to calm down my beating heart. She kissed my shoulder and gently run her fingers up and down my spine. I kissed the tip of her nose in return as I slowly pulled out of her. We made love and it got me smiling like an idiot.

I held her all night. I couldn’t get enough of her. I couldn’t let her go I’m scared that if I did, I would wake up tomorrow and she’d be gone again. The room was so quiet all you can hear is our breathing and our beating hearts. I laid here thinking I’m a one lucky son of a bitch. I knew Y/N was the one for me. I am so sure that it’s her who I want to spend the rest of my life with. I know what it feels like to lose her I almost died by the way and I won’t let that happen again. I looked down at her lifted her chin up and kissed her softly.

“te quiero mucho” I felt my heart flutter when she said those words. I released her from my grip and reached on my side table leaving her confused. “Baby, No, where are you going?” I didn’t answer and pulled out a small box I bought for her months ago before things went to shit. Nervous as ever, I faced her again.

“Y/N will you marry me?”

“Yes!”

--

That’s it guys. I wasn’t sure about the ending... but here we are. haha!  P.S. Don’t settle for anything less. You deserve better. *wink* <3

[middleinthenight21]

‘’Ain't that the worst thing you ever heard? 1''

 @ravenfan1242 You are beautiful and I have no words

Thank you ❤❤

***

They didn't talk for a week, and that was enough so that the tension could be cut with the edge of a knife. She could feel it, his emotions were always easy to detect, his aura shone in different colors, marking the yellow tones representing happiness and joy, emotions that were difficult to achieve for someone who is half demon, whose control over her feelings and emotions contained her powers or these would consume her human side, and unwittingly would be liberating her father to destroy the world that for years participated in her salvation.

She was sitting next to him with the phone in his hand taking selfies for his social media and interacting with his followers, Raven had a book in her hands as she slurped a tea pretending that her mind absorbed every single letter, But she couldn't stop thinking about the moment everything broke down.

Were they too different for it to work? Should she have been surprised when everything went wrong?

She felt his indifference, as he also pretended not to have seen it and she could not blame him. Nor could she blame herself.

Sometimes she wondered what would become of her if she were a normal girl, if her fate wasn't a constant struggle, her worst nightmare ran through her veins and had imprisoned a demonic being destroyer of worlds in a glass resting on her forehead that responded to the name of her father, who was also the murderer of her mother and all the people who were part of her upbringing, What would happen to her if she was still that girl?

She had no right to forget all those people, who died on a childish whim.

She did not forget her heritage, going back to the worst-case scenario, but even with all that she could not help but see more. She glanced sideways at Garfield, who was resting on the sofa with a small smile on his face, tapping into his phone, felt a pinprick of emotion running through his body, his sadness resting between the layers, and she continued to dig as soon as she could contain it.

It wasn't hard to feel his emotions, Garfield was never someone who held back and lived every day as the last. Two drops from different ponds.

When they started dating months ago, everyone in the tower applauded. He was so happy that he wanted to post it on each of his social networks, but Raven had grimaced, because she wanted to keep her privacy to herself; no one should know. She wasn't ready for a public-domain relationship, she wasn't happy that everyone knew about her intimacy, so she wouldn't let him.

Garfield turned out to be a loving boyfriend, he wasn't afraid to touch her in front of the titans, when they watched movies he'd circle her shoulder resting his head against hers, After the missions he'd come over and put one hand down on her waist and smile happily for defeating all those bad guys by placing a kiss on her forehead, every time he had a chance to touch her he did, like she was something he could claim. Raven wasn't used to being touched, her last tokens of affection she remembered had been from her mother, before her life was completely transformed and ended in hell where contact with her father and half-brothers was as painful as the flames of fire, it had made her reluctant to show affection to her friends. She never initiated contact, nor desired to receive it, but Garfield was cut from a different cloth.

She was awakened by that feeling, that emotion of desire that she detected whenever the young man's thoughts moved away from reality, as if he were desperate for something or someone he would never have, and it was not her.

Raven figured it out. She was just hoping that one day she could forgive him, but she had understood, she didn't own his heart and she had grown tired of thinking that it would be Terra's life if she had given herself one more chance and stayed with them, Garfield would sigh every time he appeared in the halls, his emotions were strong enough for her powers to be detected from her room. It was different than what she noticed when they were together.

She remembered how his jokes and good humor could ease her reserved personality, cast his head back laughing like a little boy, as if he had never witnessed gruesome crimes and the deaths were only obstacles that jumped with a smile on his face, but there was a sadness in his eyes that he refused to reveal before her. Maybe his was a masterpiece until the two of them destroyed it.

He gave her flowers and let them die, she'd wanted him to open up, be serious for a few moments and tell her what was hurting him, but he didn't.

She wanted him to sit next to her and have a moment of peace, a space where he would walk away from social media and try to understand each other. Raven felt like she was the one who noticed the internal bleeding, she didn't mention it, and he kept giving out samples that didn't fill her heart anymore, she just felt cold every time he kissed her.

She knew he was doing his best.

Raven hadn't seen him until that breakfast. That morning she rose early, the sun hardly caressed the city, the fog covered the port and from a distance she saw the activity on the dock, small figures loaded the forests, collected the nets and filled containers with products of the sea; That tiny boat that took tourists along the coast of the city was hoisting their fictional pirate flags.

The steam from her tea burned her fingers, but she didn't care. It was a typical winter morning covered by a gray sky like a thick, spoiled soup, and the teenager sat in the chair facing the window in her pajamas, which consisted of a thin fabric blouse, shorts and thick woolen stockings.

She drank her herbal infusion, poaching on her tongue.

Turned off her father's voice, but her mind was restless and distant. She thought Garfield was probably still sleeping, seeing her consume tea would make him grimace and express how disgusting it is to drink hot flavored water; he would eat his yogurt with cereal and make so much noise until others would be bothered.

'Isn't it too early? ' Damian showed up in a sweaty sport outfit. Titus was walking behind Batman's son with his tongue hanging out of his muzzle, gasping, but he was still wagging his tail when he saw her in the kitchen "Come" He took the leash off his pet.

Damian had grown since he first arrived three years ago. His bones grew so big that Raven felt her pain at the first sprout of growth, his hair was short and dark black like the color of tar, his eyes green and his chin took a square shape; Anyone who saw him without his Robin costume would relate him to Bruce Wayne, it was his vivid image, except for the color of his eyes and the toasted tone, inherited from his Arab ancestry.

"Good morning to you too." After all this time she had to remind Damian of his manners. She drummed her fingers to the rhythm of a loose melody on the table. The marble brought the cold on her skin, it was like touching a snowflake "You want to take a cup of tea?"

He nodded, passing a towel around his neck to keep the perspiration away. His sweatshirt was broad in a black hue matching the pants, probably from a European designer whose surname she could barely pronounce.

They sat in front of each other in silence. They weren't very talkative people, Damian had been one of the few people who kept their emotions and feelings hidden behind an impenetrable wall, trained since childhood to be the perfect soldier and not make mistakes, never give the enemy the chance to use any emotion as a weakness, yet he was the person who understood most possibly because they had no social skills and had pasts from which they could not escape. Birds of the same feather.

Both had made an involuntary connection by saving each other.

There were uncomfortable silences, he was not easy to deal with and preferred to maintain distances before interacting, he had heard the whispers saying how creepy she was and did not fit in the middle of the group, In spite of being a heroine, there was an aura of mysticism and rarity that she couldn't shake off.

Damian turned out to be the least social Robin, keeping his appearances in the alleys of Gotham, patrolling and fighting criminals since he was a child, a stranger. He listened to the news in the online newspapers, testimonies from apparent nearby sources, and home video footage of witnesses as the team ended up with a criminal showing Robin's distance from the Teen Titans.

A few weeks ago, a video had gone viral that showed him after a battle where Damian was wounded, and Starfire came up to help him stand up but rejected her by waving his arm. The others weren't surprised, it was just Damian being him, however, people made it a topic of discussion whether or not Robin was a jerk to his peers, None of them would have found out if it wasn't for Garfield who expressed his dissatisfaction at seeing Robin in trends and not his name, but seeing what was going on, he told the team.

Damian snapped his tongue over the subject and went to his room. The whole drama moved people into twittering on Twitter about Robin's bad behavior towards the team, Justice League even with Batman himself showing blurry pictures of his fight a few years ago with Batman and before you know it Robin was canceled on social media without having any.

Garfield calmed things down by sending a friendly Tweet, but it was too late, and Robin's name was already tainted.

Now Robin was dealing with the constant images and videos taken on missions criticizing what he did. It would be easier if Damian was an anonymous person, but he's the son of one of the most powerful billionaires in the whole world and people were obsessed with knowing who he was dating and how the years made him into someone desirable in the eyes of teenage girls there were constantly photos of his body being on social networks under yellow titles such as: Bruce Wayne's son is already a man, look at his picture, Incredible!

Damian took a hard sip of his tea.

"How was the warm-up? "

He shrugged "I guess good."

He finished taking the last sip of his hot drink and got up to wash his cup.

"Do you have the first edition of David Copperfield?"

Raven raised an eyebrow, now curious. She turned around leaving her cup still soaped and her wet hands dripping on the floor "Have you read David Copperfield? "

He frowned analyzing the cover and back cover. The book was covered by a thick soft green fabric to the touch, had stains and pages fattened with a yellowish tone, plus a permanent old aroma, Raven had gotten it in a used book store and cost her two months' savings, but it was worth it.

Damian nodded and her heart leapt from emotion, but quickly neutralized "Yes. A few years ago."

"What did you think?"

"It was fine."

Frowned "I love your emotion."

Raven turned around and finished washing her cup by taking advantage to store the few dishes from the dinner the night before. Okay, maybe David Copperfield can be just ''It was fine'', but it's a book that needs to be analyzed more deeply and had more meaning.

"It's not bad" She froze "In fact, it's a good book, although a little childish for my taste and we all know that David wasn't going to stay with Dora."

She smiled "I have to agree with you. I think David always knew that the right one was Agnes, but he doesn't belittle Dora or that he didn't love her."

Arms around her waist stole the words she was about to say. She looked down, encountering green limbs, which left her quickly to kiss her hair muttering between yawns a greeting.

Looking at him, he was still in his pajamas and judging by his messy hair he had just woken up.

"Hey, Damian, you're all over the internet."

He folded his arms wincing at the sight of Logan, if there was one thing Damian hated was lazy and noisy people, Garfield getting up late and stirring the refrigerator in search of his favorite yogurt was the combination.

"Am I still canceled?"

Her boyfriend smiled with his mouth full of dried cereal "Robin, of course he did. Damian Wayne, heir of Wayne Enterprise, went out for a run with his pet, it was so adorable and hot that you're all over the gossip pages."

He picked up the phone showing a collection of photos of Damian jogging through a city park accompanied by Titus, in some photographs he was shirtless shaking his clothes from his pet's hair, in others he gave the dog a bottle of water to drink, Which drove the internet crazy.

"Worse."

And walked away.

Garfield shrugged, brushing the subject aside. Raven hugged the book on her chest and waited for him to finish breakfast, the silence was a monster that consumed her inside and wanted to break this, but she didn't know how.

She looked at his face, wondered if he noticed it too.

It made her feel like she was crazy, like she saw things that were never there. Raven wanted to know why they were keeping this thing afloat when it clearly leaked from the start, because he didn't see it, because Garfield kept clinging to it, she wanted to ask, but he was never that open.

He smiled at a post and slid his finger down, surely sharing with his followers.

Raven let the relationship go first, before it ended up destroying them both. He didn't love her.

It was a painful but powerful truth and she had refused to understand it until then.

No matter how much her heart was broken, she could not replace anyone or love a person who gave his heart to another. She'd made mistakes in her past, her road to hell had been full of good intentions, yet she wouldn't do that to him, she wouldn't do that to herself, In her time on earth he learned a thing or two about relationships and hers was doomed to failure from the beginning.

The others had known it. When the demonstrations of affection ended, they understood that the story had an end.

Not all couples are like Dick and Kory, who in spite of time and distance kept sticking together, going back to each other at some point; Raven had seen the connection to the minutes of seeing them facing each other, felt the nerves, lust and love floating between the heroes, like a thread that was electrified with every touch. She knew it.

When she was a child she had not believed in love, that of myths and legends that were so tragic and passionate that culminated with the death of lovers, nothing but explanations of natural phenomena, however, she did not expect herself to understand it in a bad way.

***

Walking down the street carrying the grocery bag for that weekend, they were heavy packed with a collection of products of different shapes and sizes that struggled to escape from the cloth bags.

It would have been a good idea to be accompanied, so I could share the work with someone else. She volunteered to make the purchases trying to get away from the tower, even for a while and did not accept the offers of her companions.

She wanted to be alone for a few minutes, but she didn't expect how difficult it would be to walk the streets with two bags loaded to the brim. The fabric was strapped through the circulation of her fingers, and her limbs were pulling as if she was carrying the bluntest weight in the world. She snorted, reminding herself that she should exercise more in the future.

An apple fell from the bag rolling into an alley and cursed.

'"Girl idiot, you deserve everything that happens to you"

"Shut up."

A figure cleared up next to her and was familiar. Damian was dressed in civilian clothes (which is strange) he wore a sweatshirt three times his size, some loose pants and on his face a white mask that made others think he wanted to get away from a potentially dangerous illness, but he never got sick. She never saw him once.

This covered outfit was given to be nothing more than a disguise so that no images of him would emerge and then she thought about what people would say if Damian Wayne were close to a stranger in an activity as casual as carrying grocery bags. She could feel the annoyance, caution and irritation of her friend, which was normal in him, but this time it was directed outward, towards anyone with a cell phone in their hands.

She genuinely felt sorry for him, for Robin was an identity where he had always felt comfortable and allowed him to go unnoticed. Damian always preferred action to conversation, privacy to public demonstrations and didn't ask for recognition; she looked at him sideways wondering what it felt like to be embedded in a family of vigilantes, the weight on his shoulders, to bear an inheritance so great that he could not escape. Raven could relate to that.

She remembered something.

"Weren't you on patrol?"

His eyes turned to the apartment building, a white-colored concrete block; it looked like a residence for wealthy people. She was able to feel his reluctance to talk about the issue of patrols.

"It's no longer so simple" He folded his arms "Every time I fight criminals, I only see the cameras pointing at me. People make work difficult."

Robin's name was currently repudiated, she found it somewhat strange since the reception of the previous Robin was good, and every child wanted to be Batman's helper. Boy Wonder.

She adjusted one of the bags over his shoulder with a grimace.

"You're popular on Twitter."

"Being canceled is not the same as being popular," he snarled. His voice behind the mask sounded thick "Before I can avoid it a new act is already being added to a thread. People have a lot of free time."

She gave herself a few minutes to think "Garfield calls it cancellation culture."

He made a face when she mentioned that name.

"I heard you broke up."

Raven put her head down. It had been three weeks since that conversation at breakfast, the wound was not fresh, but it was still there; she wondered if she had made a good decision. The doubt haunted her every time she heard him laughing with Jaime while they were playing video games and watching him approach other people giving out hugs, but it wasn't so painful anymore. She made peace with not having him in her life.

She was surprised that Damian brought up the subject of her previous relationship, not that he was very interested in the Titans' love life, and when they announced the relationship he put on an expression of boredom. Raven didn't expect any reaction, he never got along very well with beast boy barely withstanding his screams.

They were friends, so he'd have something to say, wouldn't he?

Damian always had an opinion.

"We did," she replied.

They passed by some shops where big posters were displayed announcing discounts, apparently wanting to get rid of last season's products. Jump City was located at the beginning of the summer, the rays of sun burned the skin of its inhabitants and dyed the city of an apparent atmosphere of festival proclaiming in each of the local media the upcoming events and fairs.

A group of teenagers was making their way to a clothing store. One of them pointed at Damian's face with her cell phone, and he hid his face in the sweatshirt, walking faster, holding her arm, and got into a car parked a few blocks away.

He looked back "We lost them."

She had not realized the extent of the people's persecution of Damian. She glanced at him sideways as he took off his mask showing his sculpted jaw, his face was free of imperfections and he looked like something from an old film where he played the gallant protagonist.

In Azarath there was a word to describe how precious and charming beyond words, that beauty that hurt and made you wonder if something like this could exist, she had not found a translation or a word that could describe that feeling, so she left him as he was Arratax sounded in her head when she looked at his profile. Raven knew that Damian was conceived and trained to be perfect, designed, but that didn't stop her from feeling a pinprick of anger, for a demon's daughter, someone with unholy blood, beauty escaping from her hands.

"I hate this."

Raven arranged the bags in the back seat of the car. You could feel the aroma of new leather, the interior is luxurious and well cared for, it was probably a car made to withstand high speeds, last generation, probably exclusive.

"Do you think someone filmed you?"

He put his hands on the steering wheel "I don't think so, but they did take pictures of me."

She grimaced.

"I'm sorry" Raven apologized for all the shit that was going on, even though she had nothing to do with it.

Damian stared at her for a few seconds with a frown, as if he were figuring out the meaning behind her words, measuring whether there was a double intention. He started the car quietly and headed for the Titans' tower.

She looked out, the buildings and houses passed through her vision in a blink of an eye and leaned her head against the glass. She closed her eyes, quietly repeating a prayer taught to her by the monks, a plea for tranquility and new beginnings.

After months of a stormy relationship, a painful breakup and change after that, she needed some peace. For the first time in a month she really felt calm, yet it still seemed to her that this summer had been cruel, full of ups and downs.

She started it by being in a stable relationship, or at least that's how she classified it, if they'd told her she'd break up with Gar, she wouldn't have believed them because everything was fine. What an irony.

"Whatever," he said. His fingers tapped softly on the steering wheel like he was sending out a message in Morse code "It's not like it matters."

Raven bowed her head.

In her hands rests a book, she had not been able to finish it during these three weeks, unable to focus her attention on words. She kept the stories of Edgar Allan Poe clinging to her chest, as if to guard the letters.

"Have you read The Raven?"

"I think we all have. It's the writer's most popular story."

Damian folded through the intercept; his greenish gaze fixed on the road. There was something comforting about talking about books while he was driving, an atmosphere hovering over the two, a soft, protective mantle.

"I read it for the first time in the library."

She had to imagine that the Wayne mansion had its own library, after all Bruce Wayne was known to be a billionaire who visited charitable events talking about current issues with powerful people. He may be a playboy, but that didn't make him a fool.

His library probably had first editions and collections that would cost houses.

"What's your favorite?"

He glanced at her sideways, it was a fleeting glance. His brow was still wrinkled in a frown, and his mouth twisted in a grimace, like a pouty child when he was rebuked. Damian didn't like to talk, rarely had he shared with the Titans beyond the missions, so they saw him with a book in his hands, name a certain character or quotes were surprised, But Raven knew it, saw the momentary interest every time he watched her read or made sure she wasn't disturbed.

He was full of surprises.

"Oliver Twist."

His gaze relaxed and for a few seconds his mind escaped, as if flying in a different direction. She didn't need to be empathetic to understand that it was a private memory.

The rest of the journey was peaceful, but Damian gradually became more bitter, spoke less and frowned more, as if a being were returning to his body.

Damian Wayne's exhibition and Robin's cancellation had only made him distant (more than usual), he realized how his friends could find themselves in the tabloids and media for more than missions if they were discovered by his side. Damian Wayne captured attention for his heritage, Damian Al Ghul was destined to lead the world's most powerful league, Robin is the companion of one of the most popular and beloved heroes, who is also part of Justice League, But the Damian who drank tea cups and added brown sugar reading poetry, won prizes at the fair for children and was amazed at the taste of sweets, enjoyed the silences and whispering conversations; that Damian didn't appreciate it.

Raven sighed as the car pulled up in front of the Tower of the Titans.

Back to reality, it was said. She had pretended to be a lonely evening, she wanted to engage her thoughts in something other than that fateful morning, in her failure of love that her father mockingly reminds her of declaring that demons fell in love, that it was her fault and doomed to destroy everything, just like she was meant to destroy the earth.

She had been angry, tired and hurt, and the walls of her room already threatened to drive her crazy. Normally she would be in her room meditating, drinking tea or reading a book, but not anymore.

She needed to get out.

She seriously considered making up an excuse to be away for a while. She looked upon the city, the rays of the sun reflected on the windows of the buildings like lit candles, and the mountains were dyed a pastel pink shade.

The first stars appeared in the sky. It was getting dark.

"Thank you for the ride."

She felt the need to speak, though she knew she would get no answer from Batman's son, so she got out of the car with the grocery bags. "You're welcome."

Raven stopped wondering if she heard, but the car was already pulling away.

***

In her head everything went well, he called her and replied with a smile, but it was all a montage.

A montage she wanted to erase from her head.

Garfield would knock on her door, offer a smile in peace and feel the world fall at her feet. His heart would pound into his chest, his fingers would itch to get her close, to taste her skin, and how it would feel to say she was his. The worst lie ever.

She sat on the floor of her room facing the window, the city was a dark painting filled with thousands of lights turning on and off. The sight comforted her, sheltered her heart and she remembered why she was doing this.

Raven turned off the light and remained silent, just looking out.

She had been described as a lonely person with whom she was difficult to deal, her past was a chain she could never cut, could learn to wear the chain and share when she weighed the chain. A few years ago, she had said she had a bad judgment, believed that she had not changed at all.

She wondered if she would ever learn from her mistakes.

Love was not for her; she was much better off alone; no one had to deal with a demon's daughter. As much as she hated her father and would ignore each of his words, she recognized that he was right in a sense, people like her were not meant to be loved, for others to give them their hearts.

I could live with that.

***

After that mission Robin's name echoed on social media, apparently someone had taken a picture of the moment the superhero hit Beast Boy in the stomach after he yelled in his ear. Damian's reaction was bad, he didn't like surprises, so every time someone managed to scare him, he would respond with blows.

That's not what they said on Twitter.

Garfield was a beloved titan, as much as his peers rolled their eyes when they saw him doing live on their social media and posting everything that happened to him was not a world opinion, his more than five million followers lived for each of his interactions, So, they didn't react well to the image.

Garfield tried to calm the situation, But the photograph of Robin's fist crushing his stomach and the justification he gave was enough for his followers to believe he was some kind of martyr and make petitions gathering signatures so that the Boy Wonder would no longer be part of the Titans.

"OMG… Robin assaulting another of his companions, what a surprise'"

"Beast Boy is a love. He doesn't deserve this''

''We should all cancel Robin. I don't understand how Batman can have him as a partner, and even the Titans, he just shouldn't be there''

''Beast Boy is a very calm person, he's never bothered anyone, but Robin treats him very badly #JusticeforBeastBoy''

The hashtag became a worldwide trend with the video going around the world. The Justice League intervened saying that Robin is just a boy and that his action did not reflect on the Titans, and Batman found himself contacting Starfire.

Damian rolled his eyes away from the situation. In the last few days he was quiet, spent his days training or patrolling being invisible, a shadow appearing to save them and disappear in smoke.

In the few moments he was in the tower he was absent when he heard any comments about social media, Starfire had suspended the posting of photos on the tower or other titans, as well as the mention of a certain team member.

Garfield protested, but Kory's frown was enough for him to nod.

Being around Damian had only caused her emotions to overwhelm her.

The teenager was a tide of anger and frustration, she felt it in his veins, like a monster waiting for a provocation to come out. His emotions were there, deep down he was affected by the situation, had something else to show besides latent anger.

She was not mistaken when she said that inside he is a noble and generous soul, she still believed he was that person, but sometimes she would like to do more than just scratch the surface.

Interrupted her meditation by paying attention to his blade by tearing apart a hologram. He was not wearing his uniform, only a pair of shorts and a loose T-shirt revealing his arms, his frown falling drops of sweat and holding the sword stronger than necessary. The last time he was like this was after a discussion with his father about a mission.

"You've been gone five hours, Damian."

He didn't pay any attention. "It's okay. Ignore me."

Raven was not in the mood to put up with Damian's mood, could normally bear his rough edges and understood that none was easy to deal with, however, this time she preferred to walk away.

She headed for the exit.

"Are you still reading Edgar Allan Poe?" He frowned.

She was struck by surprise, took a few moments to understand his words and process a response.

Was he stopping her?

"Yes" She turned. He looked into her eyes but bowed his head and the sword swung in his hands without purpose. "I almost finished the stories."

Damian sighed.

He ran a hand through his hair. His face is covered with sweat, small drops descended on his forehead and he put the sword in the holster; he walked towards the controls and for a minute she thought he would reschedule the program from the beginning, but he took a book out of a backpack.

Raven wanted to look away, she sensed it was a book she planned to read, but the title made her look back at the play. She recognized it wherever she saw it, she'd been looking for it for days on the internet sighing disappointed at the price.

The first edition of The Raven had been sold out, yet the price was enough to make her pocket hurt. The book is dark, of a worn color, on the cover a raven on a pillar with the title barely standing out from a yellowish shade, and its pages thickened over time.

"How?"

He shrugged "Family Library."

Oh.

"Keep it" He paused "If you want it… "

Only Damian could make accepting a gift sound like an order. She made a mental note not to underestimate his detective skills, however, by her lips slipped a smile against any thought of exhaustion about the behavior of the younger Wayne.

He handed her the book, while he was away with the sweat on his forehead with a towel. She stared at the work passing one hand across the cover feeling the softness of the paper, as well as the relief of the title and the dust accumulated between its pages, as if it were awaited by Raven for a long time in the most hidden place in the world.

"Thank you very much, Damian."

He did not respond, but she could feel his shoulders relaxing and the tension seemed to leave his body. The emotion came to her like a wave on a quiet day, a softness that invaded her spirit and almost let out a sigh.

There was something intimidating about the scene, Raven holding a book leafing through its pages like devouring its contents, Damian drinking water and wiping sweat from the body.

They had a good relationship, they went through a few moments of roughness when they met and that is that the circumstances could not have been worse, but they were forged since then. She begged him to stay away, now she just wanted to keep him close.

Her heart was forming new strings around him, handled by the worst puppeteer she'd ever met in her entire life. She put that feeling away before it came up, it was just excitement for the gift and nothing else.

You want to take advantage of the boy. Her father's voice roared in her head, a tone of mockery and the smile disappeared from her face, Are you that easy, you filthy witch? Demons devour love, feed on feeling, and make it worse. We are made for this, ungrateful. When are you gonna learn?

Raven frowned at that.

She stared at the book, it was so beautiful that in a few seconds it became a sign of uncertainty, a reminder of the fate of all this. She wanted to return it, just like the little injection of feelings that shook her heart and nip it in the bud like a rotten thing before it branches off elsewhere and she couldn't do anything, just cry in the dark at the end.

She watched Damian, the boy was at the height of his reputation, each of those people who took the time to write comments against him hated him, repudiated his image and wished him out, as Damian Wayne was no better, the world was leaning at his feet and was haunted by magazine photographers starving for an update on the life of the Prince of Gotham's son, So much so that it affected the teenager's personal life by avoiding going out, and when he did, he tried not to be recognized on the streets. She felt that people should see him beyond titles and flaws.

Do you want to ruin this one too?

"What is it?"

He put the towel aside and came over. When there was something that aroused his curiosity, he demanded an answer and was content with nothing but the truth, she felt exposed and overwhelmed, perhaps it was because of her father's voice that no matter how much it cost her he was right, she never learned from her mistakes.

Put an end to it before the prologue is written and ends badly.

Raven retreated in one step, then two, but Damian continued to approach.

"What is it?" he repeated.

She opened and closed her mouth like a fish, unable to utter a single word, but what would she say? what if this was just a nice gesture and she was confusing everything, she didn't want to ruin a friendship by a prick of confusion.

She Looked into his eyes. In a second her whole mind lit up completely and she realized that that feeling was not unknown, his green eyes brought her hope and strength in the moments when the world was falling apart even when they were just getting to know each other, they had seen so many bad things, they could have opted for a life of pain and destruction, but here they were waiting for the best, that kind of familiarity embraced her and made her entrails turn.

The feeling was not new.

They were inches away. She raised her head squeezing her lips out of sheer nervousness, wanted to divert attention to whatever it was, but Damian's eyes were demanding, being empathetic she felt his anxiety about knowing what was going on, It was almost as if he was calling her and emitting a magnetic force that made it impossible to lie to him.

She embraced the book on his chest "I…'

"You're all over social media, Wayne"' Jaime stopped dead. He appeared holding a cell phone and showing the teenager casually conversing with a waitress in a restaurant; the latino exchanged a glance between the two and scratched his hair, insecure "I'm sorry."

Damian frowned and rolled his eyes as he processed the words. He collected his belongings with angry grunts, probably tired of all the media scandal surrounding his life.

He made a grimace of discomfort.

"Brother, everyone is linking you to the waitress and all the girls are suffering," said Jaime. He had pretended that the words were a mockery, but no longer knew if his friends would take it as a joke, in any case, not that he had a sense of humor; he would swear that he was not welcome "Rae, you should read the comments."

She looked away from him.

Raven shrugged "I'm not interested."

"I don't want to know anything!" Damian put his backpack on his back and walked to the door in strides "I can't order coffee anymore" he snarled.

Garfield showed up with his tablet accompanied by Conner "Look what they did to Robin…"

Damian pushed him, and he slammed the door so hard he sent a draft of air. Beast Boy backed away issuing complaints, the device almost slipped between his hands like butter.

Conner laughed, gripping his stomach, mocking his friend.

"What's wrong with him?"

Raven sighed.

Sometimes she was surprised at how dense the three are, Jaime could be calmer, but as for the feelings and what his companions experienced, he was totally unaware of it, while Garfield only saw the truth if he came face to face and danced to it.

About Conner, well, she doubted he saw anything but his own vanity.

"He's frustrated," she said.

Garfield and Jaime exchanged glances, finally shrugged, while Conner continued to mock his friends for a reason that eluded her knowledge. She was used to people reacting like that when she spoke, as they related it to her powers and her mysterious aura, they assumed that she saw something that others did not, in some cases it was real, in others the problem was them.

Raven stared at the book.

The gift in her hands, the beating of her heart, the fire in her cheeks, which would burn to ashes.

She wasn't meant to love.

[kennythecarrot12]

I’m Leaving

Taken from one of my stories in AO3, maybe someone on this site might enjoy this. 

-

Ever since Jumin and I came back from our honeymoon, I thought everything would change.

I mean, those days left at the resort were heaven. I spent so much time with my husband, it felt like a dream.

….was it?

We got back, and he got triple the work he usually got. Many businesses, contracts, projects, and deadlines were coming up and it felt like I was being pushed aside.

“Jumin, dear, I thought we could go out and see-” I try to say. “Not tonight, MC, I've got to work until late today. The office has been chaotic as of late. I'll be back later.”

And with that, he was gone. It's been this way for months.

I don't think I can live like this.

Because you don't listen to what is so close to you,

Only the outside noise

And I that I'm by your side disappear from your eyes

But… I wasn't helping either.

During his day off, he asked me:

“MC,” I turn to him on the bed. He stared at my eyes. “I was thinking we could go out and look for a new dress for yourself. Seems that you're in need for one.” I narrowed my eyes.

“I already made plans.” He seemed confused. “Which I've already told you. Two days ago.” I turn back to my side of the bed. “I told you I was going out with Yoosung to the park with his cat. You even told me,” I clear my throat. “Alright. Have fun.” I try to imitate his voice.

He only stares at me. I feel his body leave the bed, and I sit up to see where he's going.

He goes to the bathroom and shuts the door. I jump at the sudden noise.

After getting up and dressing up, I see him with his suit on and suitcase in hand.

“I thought it was your day off?” I ask before he heads out the door.

“I have plans now too.” and with that, he leaves before I can answer.  

I'm not going to cry and say I don't deserve this,

Because it's probably that I deserve this but-

That day, I decided to cancel my meeting with Yoosung.

“Are you feeling alright, MC? You've never canceled on me… or anyone actually.” he says over the phone.

I sigh. “yeah, sorry Yoosung. I'm just… not in the mood, ya know?” I say. I felt bad for canceling on him but… I couldn't bear myself faking a smile when i felt rotten inside.

“Alright, but call me if anything comes up! You know you can count on me for anything!” I smile and nod, as if he could see me. “you bet.” and with that I hung up.

Jumin has been even more distant from that day on. He left on more overnight trips than usual, almost like he was asking for it.

I usually called Yoosung or Seven when I was feeling down, as they knew how to cheer me up easily. But I stopped calling.

I wanted to leave.

Leave this worthless life, being a wife that is not even loved.

Being a member in the RFA that didn't deserve their friendship.

--But I don't want It,

And that's why I leave

I began thinking about this a lot.

It would be best to leave. Jumin would be better off.

Before I knew it, I was sending letters to each of the RFA members. I thought it would be better to also send little things that remind me of them.

I told Yoosung that I was sorry for this, that I never meant to say goodbye this way. I kept thinking of my last words to him… but I couldn't remember no matter how hard I tried. In his package, I gave him LOLOL plush toys, of his and my avatars.

To Seven… I now knew what it would be like to run away from family. And that I was sorry I was doing it to him again. I wished him happiness. I gave him a cat plush toy with the words “God Seven” sewn into it.

To Zen… I wished him success in his career and that I would be watching him succeed. I truly appreciate him. I gifted him multiple face masks of his favorite and a copy of our first selfie together.

I wrote to Jaehee how I regret not spending as much time with her, as she was always busy because of Jumin. ‘I always begged Jumin to give you days off.’ I gifted her a coffee machine with her favorite type of coffee in it. I also gave her a poster of Zen.

To V…. I actually recorded to him. I knew he was losing his eyesight and was refusing treatment.  I gifted him a photograph I took of him with his camera when Jumin and I came over. It was a picture of him looking at the sky.

“Hey, V. I um… I decided to leave. Leave RFA and… to leave Jumin. It's just… not been okay for me. I felt unloved. Lonely. I even…” I chuckled. “I even wanted to escape forever without telling anyone… the only difference here is that I'm saying goodbye.” I inhaled. “You will all hate me for leaving so suddenly, but… I hope you understand, V. You know… knew… Jumin the best. You know how he is,” I smiled. “He is perfect in my eyes…” a tear escaped my eye but I quickly wiped it off my face.

“But even perfection has flaws. I wasn't happy by his side. Don't get me wrong, we were okay for a while but… I was too lonely and too neglected. I just hope you can forgive me.” I give a sad smile and turn off the camera.

I send the tape to V’s home to arrive the day the letters will arrive to the other members.

The last one is Jumin.

Because I know that something better waits for me,

That which sweetens salt, and makes the sun come out

Me, that thought I would never leave you, 

that this love was good and for life, 

but today I understood that there isn't enough for both of us.

I went to a lawyer and got the divorce papers. It was easy to move around since Jumin was never around.

The bad thing was paying people off to be quiet about my whereabouts.

Except to Driver Kim. He asked where I would like to go, no questions asked. I trusted him.

Eventually, I got home with the papers ready and signed from my part.

I wrote to him now.

“Dear Jumin,

It's been a hard year. You've been away so long, and I couldn't take it anymore. I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you this in your face, but I knew that once I told you this, you would convince me to stay. I can't do that anymore. On the bed, I left the divorce papers. They're all signed from my side. When you sign them, call my mother and she will pick them up. Please don't try to contact me or tell Seven to locate me… it won't be possible. I'm sorry I couldn't be stronger for you. I'm sorry I didn't have what it takes to be with you. I'm sorry I never gave you a family like you always wanted. I'm sure someone better awaits for you.

Someone that isn't me.

Please take good care of yourself.

P.S. Please take good care of Elizabeth the 3rd, she seems to miss you a lot.

Signed,

MC

I'm not going to cry and say I don't deserve this,

Because it's probably that I deserve this

but I don't want it

so that's why I leave

What a shame but goodbye

I say goodbye to you and I leave

What a shame but goodbye

I say goodbye to you

I could feel my heart pounding out of my chest as I leave the note next to the divorce papers. This wasn't going to be easy. But I need to leave.

To get away.

I pick up my luggage. I leave almost all my clothing, the one Jumin had bought me. I take the one I came into this home with. Mostly consisting of sweaters, leggings, t-shirts, underwear and such.

I inhale deeply as I pet Elizabeth the 3rd. A couple of tears escape.

“I'm sorry… that I'm leaving. If there was a way I could keep you, I would. I know how lonely you'll be here. Same as me… but even worse. You won't have me as company anymore.” Elizabeth purrs and rubs her head on my leg. I exhale.

I leave food and water for her.

A temptation comes from going in my phone. I sigh and log in the RFA chat.

Yoosung, Seven and Zen were in.

MC has entered the chat room.

Yoosung☆: MC! Hi hi hi!

707: MC!!!

707 : SO GLAD YOU'RE HERE!! ☆☆

707 : TELL ZEN HERE THAT CATS ARE THE BEST PLZ

ZEN: *annoyed emoji*

ZEN: There's no point in trying to convince me, I'm allergic lol

MC: hey guys

MC: leave Zen alone lmao he's allergic

ZEN: Finally someone with common sense!!

Yoosung☆: Hey MC you ok?? You haven't been missing your meals have you??

ZEN: Yeah, you have barely logged in this week

707: do u want me to come over?!?!?

707: Jumin is working late today right??? I can keep you company AND see Elly!!!

707: B☆O☆N☆U☆S☆!!

MC: lol I'm ok just tired

MC: and yeah he is working late as usual

MC: but don't worry I'm ok lol

Jumin Han has entered the chat room.

Jumin Han: Hello, MC. Are you and Elizabeth the 3rd doing alright?

MC : yeah.

Jumin Han: I'm glad.

707: ooooooooohhhh!!! Is our heir busy tonight?!?!?!

ZEN: *yet another annoyed emoji*

ZEN: That dude is always busy, I have a feeling MC is always alone;;

Yoosung☆: Yeah… me too.

Jumin Han: Nonsense. She understands I'm busy.

MC: …..

MC: I got to go. It was nice talking to you guys

MC : I love you all

707: awww!!

707 : *hearts emoji*

707: We love you back!!!!

Yoosung☆: have a good day MC! Don't skip meals!

ZEN: call if you need a friend, MC;;

Jumin Han: She has other people she can call other than you, Zen.

MC has left the chatroom.

You didn't realize you had been crying. That was your last chat with them.  

You wipe the tears away and leave the phone beside the letter and divorce papers before leaving the penthouse.

You get some looks from people inside the building, as you were carrying luggage.

Once inside Driver Kim’s car, you told him to drive you to the airport. He seemed worried for you.

You smiled at him. “I'm… okay.” He nods and continues driving. Once there, there was no going back.

“Next flight to… New York… leaving in 10 minutes.” that was your call to your new life.

That Night.

Jumin opened the door to his penthouse, noticing how quiet it was.

A sudden ‘meow’ startled him. It was only Elizabeth the 3rd rubbing against his leg.

By now, he would be hearing MC giggling at the TV show she usually watched. But… the house seemed quiet. Too quiet.

“MC?” He asked out loud. “I'm home.” he was met with more silence.

He checked every room until he got in the bedroom.

He saw a couple of papers on the bed and MC’s phone. He looked confused.

Once picking up the papers, his face went white.

“W...What…?” He said to himself.

‘Divorce Documentation’ read at the top.

This wasn't possible. It couldn't be.

He saw how every page was signed by MC.

He then noticed the paper next to those.

It was a letter from MC. He read it, and hasn't realized he was crying. It was not often he cried, but…

He physically felt his heart shatter.

He had driven his wife away from him.

Jumin then grabbed the phone she left behind, to tell him any clue as to where she had gone off to.

Jumin signed on her RFA account.

MC has joined the chat room.

Jaehee Kang: Hello, MC. How are you?

MC: ljkip

Jaehee Kang: MC?

MC has left the chat room.

Jumin couldn't believe this.

He called his chief of security, telling everyone to see or find out where she went.

He spent all night and all day the next day looking for her.

Jumin received a call from Driver Kim.

Jumin answered immediately. “Yes?? Do you know?” there was a pause. “airport?”

He hung up.

He went to his bed, no, -their- bed and cried. She was gone.

What a shame but goodbye

I say goodbye to you and I leave

What a shame but goodbye

I say goodbye….

And I leave.

☆☆☆EXTRA☆☆☆

His phone suddenly started ringing. It was V.

“Jumin… please go to the RFA chat room. Something has happened.” Jumin immediately logs in from his account.

Jumin Han has entered the chat room.

Yoosung☆: Did anyone get a weird package from MC??? I haven't opened it yet

707: …….

ZEN: yeah… I did too. Open it, Yoosung.

Jaehee Kang: So did I…

Jaehee Kang: Mr. Han…..

V: I don't know what to say. She sent me a tape.

Yoosung☆: a tape?? Why you?? I only got a letter T_T

Yoosung☆: oh nvm there's stuff here!!!

V: She was worried I wouldn't be able to read because of my eyesight.

Jumin Han: She gave me divorce papers.

ZEN: ?????!???????

ZEN: what???

Yoosung☆: omg …

707: she's leaving?????

Jumin Han: She already left… she hasn't been in the penthouse since yesterday, around the time she came in last time.

Jaehee Kang: Wait, Mr. Han. Are you sure? She came in last night and wrote random letters and left.

Jumin Han: That was me. I wanted to see with my own eyes that this was her phone and her app.

ZEN: Wait so she's gone?

ZEN: what the HELL did you do Jumin!!?

Jumin Han: …..

Jaehee Kang: Zen… please. Mr. Han must be having a hard time right now. He hasn't come into work all day today.

Yoosung☆: ….. We were supposed to go roller skating next week. How could she leave us like that?

V: She was having a hard time, Yoosung…

Jumin Han: it's all my fault. If I had been home more often to be there for her… I shouldn't have been mean to her.

ZEN: mean??? So you admit to treating her badly????

V: Not in the way you think, Hyun.

ZEN: Then?? What the hell is going on?;;

707: Jumin

Jumin Han: ?

707: I know where she went, but I'm gonna need time to locate her exact spot as she has no cellphone

Jumin Han: Where is she????

Jumin Han: TELL ME!

707: New York, USA

Yoosung☆: …..

ZEN: How did you find out so quickly??

707: She used Jumin’s account to pay for the ticket with card, but it shows she deposited the same amount of money later on on his account in cash

Jaehee Kang: I can only assume that she didn't want to owe Mr. Han any money…

V: Are you going after her, Jumin?

Yoosung☆: Obviously he is!!!!

ZEN: Yeah… He can't just leave her;;

707: idk

Jumin Han: No.

Yoosung☆: ???????

Jumin Han: She left for a reason. I can't change that. She's as stubborn as…

Jumin Han: point is… she doesn't want to be found.

Jumin Han: I'm signing the papers.

Jumin Han has left the chat room.

[mercurysnitch]

You Make My Dreams Come True (One Magnificent Year)

Summary: The year Joe and Reader got married turned out to be a very big one for their family.

A/N: It’s finally here! The “bonus chapter” is finally done, and it only took three and a half months 😆 (life got in the way for a while there, it wasn’t supposed to take quite this long). I am so so pleased to finally be sharing it with you (I hope it lives up to all the anticipation). Now that you can see how long this is you’ll understand why I thought including these events would have dragged out the main story too much 🤣. For reference, this starts soon after the climax of part 6 (Reader and Joe getting engaged) and goes on from there.

Some disclaimers: I should have mentioned in Part 6 that I’ve never been to the USA so all parts in New York are based on what I’ve picked up from watching many many movies and TV shows set there. Sorry if anything’s horribly inaccurate, I tried to be at least somewhat realistic. This story features an overseas wedding being planned in only three months, which seemed feasible to me, but I’ve never planned a wedding so I might have been a bit optimistic there. I’ve never been pregnant or had children so all of that stuff is based on research. I think it’s mostly realistic, but some of it might not be completely accurate for twins/preemies, so sorry in advance. Also I think I might have outed myself as an old school music fan with some of the songs mentioned in here.

Because this is the story of a single year, it’s broken into months with little timeskips between sections. The months are all different lengths, so hopefully it’s not too choppy. I feel like it rambles a bit towards the end, but I think overall it works.

As always, please forgive any typos I may have missed.

Italics indicate reader’s inner thoughts.

Warnings: pregnancy, vomiting, children, babies, non-graphic birth, premature birth, some angst, allusions to sex, mild illness

Word count: 20.6k (grab a cup of tea and settle in, it’s a long one)

*******************************************************************************************

New Year's Eve in New York City. Just like last year, and yet at the same time, so very different. This year, Joe’s traditional New Year’s Eve party was going to be a celebration of so much more. Lucy and Rami insisted on coming to celebrate your engagement as much as the new year. Joe had of course sent an announcement to the ‘band’ group chat almost the moment you got home, and you’d spent the next three days in a whirlwind of calls, texts and video chats. Joe wanted to post something on Instagram almost immediately, but you persuaded him to hold off until you could tell his extended family in person at Christmas. He was annoyed until he saw their reactions to your announcement. Needless to say, it went down very well.

And then he finally made his Instagram post on Boxing Day, which lifted his mood enormously. He chose a sweet selfie he’d taken of the two of you hugging Tallulah, whose face was hidden, with the hand bearing your ring held close to the camera. He captioned it ‘Well we had a great Christmas celebrating this… Two weeks ago she said yes. Still can’t believe I get these two for the rest of my life now.’ The reaction was practically immediate and overwhelmingly positive. Even Brian left a comment: ‘Congratulations to a lovely couple! Wishing you endless happiness. Bri.’ You couldn’t help smiling at all the positivity. “They’re all so happy for us, Joe” you commented. He was confused. “Well, yeah, it’s happy news, right?” “It is,” you agreed, “but I thought people might be put off by the whole stepkid thing.” “Most people actually think it’s really sweet” Joe assured you.

All in all, you were a very happy family when New Year’s Eve rolled around. Joe’s various friends were keen to celebrate with you, Tallulah was eagerly counting down the last few days before Roger’s arrival, and you felt a general sense that all was right with the world. Ben’s unexpected arrival at the party was a nice treat too. Even Tallulah was pleased to see one of her favourite people in the world. Sitting with Joe after your midnight kiss, you felt incredibly content. “This year’s going to be a good one, isn’t it?” You mused. “Definitely” Joe agreed, kissing you gently. “It’s going to be great.”

January

You weren’t expecting to get into wedding planning after being engaged for less than three weeks, but Joe was keen to set a date as soon as possible. “I’m an actor, I need to know when I’m not going to be available” he explained one night, when you questioned his urgency to make plans. There was just one decision you needed to make before making any firm plans: would you have the wedding in New York or back home in the UK? You fretted for nearly a week after Joe first raised the question, not wanting to inconvenience any of your potential guests. "Babe, wherever we have the wedding someone's going to have to travel to get to it" Joe reminded you, after you told him about your severe indecision on the matter. "We might as well just pick the location we want, and leave it to the guests to decide if it’s too far for them." You considered this for a moment. "I suppose you're right" you agreed finally. "I usually am" Joe quipped. "Seriously though, where do you actually want to do it?" "I think… I'd rather get married in Britain" you replied, hesitantly. Joe smiled. "Britain it is then."

He paused. "Actually I was kinda hoping you'd say that, I'd love for Roger and Brian to be there." "Why?" you asked, surprised. "Well, we wouldn't be here without them. Especially Roger" Joe explained. "Don't you think it'd be a little strange for Roger to be there?" you questioned. "He is sort of my ex, you know." "He's also the one who introduced us" Joe pointed out. "Still a bit weird, but I suppose you're right" you conceded. Why is my life so bloody weird? It'd be nice for Roger to be there, spend some time with Loolah, see my family… oh God. You must have groaned out loud, because Joe suddenly looked concerned. "You ok babe?" he asked. "Yeah, I just realised that if Roger comes to our wedding he'll have to meet my parents" you explained. "Is… is that a problem?" Joe was confused. "Well, considering my father is under the impression he got me pregnant and then basically abandoned me to raise the child alone for five years, let's just say Roger's not exactly my dad's favourite person" you clarified. "I'm sure they'll be fine" Joe reassured you, "Roger's, like, ridiculously charming and friendly when he wants to be." "I know" you replied gently. "So, you still want to get married in England?" Joe asked jokingly. You smiled. "Yes." "Well then," he replied, smiling contentedly, "looks like we've got a location, so let's set a date."

Setting a date, however, proved to be easier said than done. You quickly realised that getting married in England would be an excellent excuse for a holiday, so you decided to make it a two-week trip, with the wedding in the middle followed by a week's honeymoon, during which Tallulah could spend some time with her dad. This meant you needed to find a convenient time of year for you and Joe to have a holiday, that would also be ok for Roger. And then you'd need a venue that was available at the right time.

Finding a venue in England, while more or less stuck in New York was something of a challenge. Google was of course immensely helpful, but it soon became clear you would need someone on the ground there too. You were wondering who to ask when you realised most of your bridal party still lived in the UK. Destiny was your maid of honour, and she was more than happy to help. "Anything you need, lovie, just give me a call" she assured you. You soon found yourself asking her to look at a venue for you, an old stately home in a country village barely an hour outside London.

The house looked beautiful on the website, and best of all, you, Joe, Tallulah and some of your guests would be able to stay there ahead of the ceremony. Destiny went to look at it as soon as she could find the time, and her report was very positive. “It’s gorgeous” she gushed to you down the phone. “You’d love it. The grounds are lovely too, I think Loolah’d have fun exploring them.” When Joe saw the photos Destiny sent you he agreed it looked practically perfect for your wedding. All that was left was to find a date the venue would be available.

You had a stroke of luck on the date front a few days after you and Joe put yourselves on the waiting list for a booking. A sudden cancellation had left the stately home with a week free in April, just after Easter. The timing couldn’t be better. “Work’ll be quiet, it’ll be a good time for me to have off” you explained to Joe. “And it’d overlap with Loolah’s school holidays too.” Joe was thoughtful for a moment. “I think I’m pretty free in April, actually” he said eventually. “So you wanna take the booking?” “Yeah, let’s do it” he enthused. A couple of days and several emails later the venue. “We’re getting married in April” you marvelled to Joe, after receiving the final confirmation. “Yeah” he replied contentedly. “Three months to plan a whole wedding. Are we nuts?” You really hoped not.

February

February brought cold season to your little family. First Tallulah came home with a sore throat and a fever which kept her away from school for three days, during which time Joe was luckily free to stay home with her. Then you caught her cold, though you managed to escape the worst of it, developing nothing worse than a sniffle. Finally, a week later you woke to find Joe pale and feverish beside you. He didn't wake until you were getting dressed for work. "Darling, are you alright?" you asked him, concerned. "No," he groaned. "My head hurts, my throat is killing me and I've got chills, I think." "Sounds like you've caught our cold then" you commented. "Can you stay home with me babe? Please?" Joe begged. You smiled sadly. "You know I can't, dear. Besides, you have a cold, you're not dying. You’re a grownup, you can survive eight hours on your own." "But baaabe!" he protested. "You sound like Loolah, you know” you grumbled, smiling fondly at Joe despite your exasperation. "But I'll come home as early as I can." "Thanks babe" he mumbled, peering blearily up at you from his spot under the covers. You returned to your morning routine, and Joe was asleep again within minutes.

Joe stayed home for a week. He never got any worse than Tallulah had, but sometimes it seemed that way because he was such a drama queen when he was sick. After two nights of listening to him sniff and cough miserably next to you, you banished yourself to the couch in the hope of finally getting some sleep. It barely worked, and you made sure to tell Joe the next day. "That couch is terrible! If only we had an extra bedroom…" "What, don't you like my apartment?" he grumped. "No, I do, Joe," you reassured him, "it's just… it feels so small sometimes. Like we're all on top of each other all the time, you know?" Joe looked thoughtful. "I actually saw a really nice house for sale the other day. Not too big, little bit of yard at the back… don't know if we can afford it though" he told you. "Well, it can't hurt to take a look" you grinned. Joe smiled back. "Let's go then."

The house turned out to be a nice little townhouse, with four bedrooms, but surprisingly right in your price range. Best of all, it was still on the market, but not for long. One very tense week later it was yours. There was just one small catch. "So, we close on the house in a month" Joe told you, following a phonecall from the real estate agent. "Which means we can't move in until April." "We're getting married in April though, we're going to be super busy and then away for a fortnight" you pointed out. "Yeah, the timing's not the best, is it?" Joe laughed. "I suppose we could move the week before we go…" you suggested. "Yeah, we- oh no, wait, we can't, I'm going to Vegas for my bachelor party that week" Joe told you. "And that means we can't move because…?" you asked. "I'm not leaving you to deal with moving by yourself" Joe replied stoutly. You looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "As much as I want to go all 'independent woman' on you, I actually think you're right. I'll have enough to do that week as it is." "So we'll move after the wedding?" Joe suggested. "Yeah. As soon as we can." Gee, we’re doing a lot this year.

March

Most of your free time in March was taken up with planning of one sort or another. When you weren’t sorting out last minute wedding details, you were busy attempting to organise the move into your new house. On top of finding a removal company you were planning to have some of your stored furniture shipped from England to fill the extra space. But you weren’t convinced it would be enough. “Why did we buy a four-bedroom house?” you questioned Joe, after yet another attempt to work out what you would still need once your things arrived. “We only needed two, and now we’ve got so many rooms and not enough furniture…” “Well I thought we might want to fill those extra bedrooms soon…” Joe said suggestively. “What do you mean, Joe?” you asked, confused. “I mean,” Joe sighed, exasperated at your obliviousness, “I hoped we could try to grow our family?” You thought you knew what he was getting at now, but you wanted to check. “D’you mean… try to have a baby?” “Yes” Joe replied, smiling. His face fell slightly at the sight of your expression. “Do you not want to? Cause we don’t have to, I just thought…hoped-” “Of course I want to have a baby with you Joe,” you reassured him, “just… can we maybe wait til after the wedding? We’ve got enough going on right now as it is.” Joe nodded in agreement. “You know, the honeymoon is after the wedding…” he pointed out suggestively. “It is.” “So, extra fun honeymoon then?” Joe suggested. “Sounds like a plan” you agreed. At that Joe kissed you much more lustily than you were expecting. Should be a very enjoyable honeymoon if he’s going to be like that.  

As the weeks rolled by your focus increasingly shifted to the various parts of the wedding you and Joe still needed to plan. Of course, one of the most important components, at least to you and Joe, turned out to be the first dance. The first challenge was agreeing on the music. You both thought a Queen song seemed appropriate, but which one? "Love Of My Life?" Joe suggested. You looked at him incredulously. "What, it's a classic!" he insisted. "You do realise it's not actually a love song, right?" you asked. He was confused. "What?" "'Love of my life, don't leave me'?" you quoted. "It's a break-up song, Joe. I'm not doing the first dance to a break-up song!" Joe threw his hands up in surrender. "Ok, fine. Do you have any ideas?" You thought about it for a moment. "Um… Queen love songs. They didn't actually write all that many, did they?" Joe looked thoughtful. "Not straightforward happy ones, no" he agreed.

Suddenly his face was alight with inspiration. "We could do it to '39!" he suggested. "I know we both like that song." You were hesitant. "Um, I do like that song, but…" "But what?" He asked indignantly. "That song… it's kind of about me and Roger. Partly at least." you told him. "I just think it would be weird to have that for our first dance." Joe was very confused. "I thought Brian wrote '39?" "He did" you confirmed. "Roger told him about… us… once when they were both drunk, and Brian thinks that might have inspired the chorus. And the whole 'year of 39' bit." Your fiance looked at you blankly. "Roger and I were living 39 years apart at that point" you explained. "Oh." Joe sighed. "I guess that song would be kind of weird then" he conceded. “Actually, maybe a Queen song for the first dance was a bad idea” he pondered.  “Yeah” you agreed. “Maybe we should just stick with one of the classics.” “The classics?” Joe questioned. “Yeah, you know, Frank Sinatra or At Last or something.” “Or ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’?” Joe suggested. “Slow dance and fast bits, we could have some fun with it.” “That’s perfect!” You agreed. So much for Queen for the first dance.

April

The arrival of April Fool’s Day signalled your wedding day was almost upon you. Everything important was booked or ordered, which meant you were now faced with sorting out all the little things you’d put off organising initially, knowing they could be dealt with at the last minute. Number one on the list was sorting out who would be looking after Tallulah when she wasn’t fulfilling her flower girl duties. “Isn’t Roger looking after her after the ceremony’s over?” Joe asked, when you tried to explain your dilemma. “He’s going to be at the reception, Joe” you pointed out. “Along with basically my whole family. And I can’t ask Destiny because she’s maid of honour, and Carla’s her date, so she’ll be there too.” Suddenly Joe understood. “Well I guess she could just come to the reception. Roger could keep an eye on her there. And your parents.” “I suppose…” you sighed. “Actually, Lucy and the other bridesmaids could probably look after her during the day, until Roger can take over at the reception. But then we’re going away at the end, and what if she wants to leave early?” “So what if she does? Roger can take her to his room, right?” Joe reassured you. “You’re right,” you agreed, “he’s her dad, he can deal with it.”

Your other major concern was the potential for the combination of your very ordinary family and several famous people to end very badly. “They were fine meeting me, they’ll be fine at the wedding too” Joe tried to reassure you. “You’re just one person though,” you pointed out, “they’re going to have several people to embarrass themselves in front of this time.” Joe was still unconcerned. “I’m sure they won’t be that bad, babe” “You don’t know my Auntie Marie… ah shit” you trailed off, hit with a sudden realisation. “What about her?” “She’s a mad Eastenders fan, has been for years. Got my cousins into it too, and Steph… Peter Beale was always her favourite” you explained. “I think she might still have a bit of a celebrity crush on Ben.” Joe nearly laughed. “You know he won’t be that bothered” he reassured you. “Even if she spends the whole day practically hanging off him?” “Not if she’s cute” Joe quipped. He rapidly backpedalled at the sight of your expression. “She won’t be able to stick to him all day, he’ll be busy being best man for some of it.” “Thank god for that” you quipped. In the end Joe managed to reassure you Ben was perfectly capable of handling himself around overexcited fans. Even so, you still resolved to ask your mum to remind a few of your relatives to behave themselves before the wedding.

You felt as though you’d hardly blinked before Tallulah’s Easter holidays had arrived, and the three of you were on a plane to London. The plan was to spend a few days there catching up with friends and sorting out the final last-minute details before heading to the wedding venue on Thursday. You had a big dinner party for all your wedding guests planned for Friday night, ahead of the main event on Saturday. On Sunday you were off to Italy with Joe to unwind for a few days before you had to go home. Tallulah was going to spend that time with Roger, and she was very excited.

You tried to get some sleep on the plane, but it was difficult to relax with so many last-minute worries buzzing through your mind. You kept dozing off only to wake up in a panic about something. “The bridesmaids! What if their dresses look bad with mine?” “Babe, it’ll be fine. Lucy picked them, and she’s an expert” Joe soothed drowsily. Lucy had become one of your closest friends since you’d started seeing Joe. She’d adopted you more or less instantly, along with the rest of the Bo Rhap crew, and been your guide in the strange new world in which you’d found yourself as an actor’s girlfriend. But she was also an extremely supportive friend while you wrestled with the realities of a long-distance relationship. She empathised deeply with your struggles, being in a very similar situation with Rami, and had all sorts of advice on how to deal with them. She continued to sympathise as you adjusted to life in a new city, having had similar experiences when moving around for different projects. 

Including Lucy in your bridal party was therefore a no-brainer in your view. Her experience with fashion had proved very useful when you’d enlisted her to help you select bridesmaids’ dresses. The only small issue was that you had never seen the dresses in person, as your entire bridal party lived in the UK. As well as Lucy, and of course Destiny, there was your sister Eliza and Annabelle, an old uni friend who was one of the few people who’d actually stuck around after Tallulah was born. Quite a lot of your friends had made all the right noises while you were pregnant, only to disappear when confronted with the reality of your new situation. In any case, you were now very much looking forward to seeing all your bridesmaids again.

Despite your restlessness the flight passed quickly enough, and before you knew it you were settling into your temporary holiday flat in central London. Your parents insisted on coming to meet you as soon as possible, having not seen you in months, so most of the afternoon was spent lounging around the flat and catching up with them. Your sister had been keeping your mum in the loop about the wedding preparations, so she was full of useful last-minute advice and reassurance. “I’ve seen your sister’s dress, I’m sure all the bridesmaids will look wonderful” she told you, after you’d voiced to her your concerns about the dresses you hadn’t seen in person. “They’ll work beautifully with your dress too, I’m sure.” You weren’t entirely soothed, but you didn’t have the energy to argue by then.

Your worries were proved unfounded at the final fitting the next day. Lucy’s taste was clearly excellent, and everyone looked absolutely beautiful in their light aquamarine gowns. You spent a very enjoyable day getting fitted and hanging out with your bridesmaids, who got on well despite barely knowing each other. Well, they do all get on with me, they must have something in common. Tallulah had fun too, sitting in the fancy bridal shop with some of her favourite adults, and then getting to wear a very pretty dress. “You look so pretty, lovie!” Lucy gushed, when she finally got to see Tallulah in her flowergirl outfit. “Of course she looks pretty Luce,” you smiled, “you chose the dress.” All in all it was a productive day, and you felt much calmer about your imminent wedding at the end of it. 

The days passed in a whirlwind of lunches, coffee dates, and frantic final preparations. You even squeezed in a surprise hen night with your bridal party. But then, quick as a flash, Thursday had arrived and you found yourself on the road to the stately home where the wedding was being held. Joe had insisted on driving, but he wasn’t coping very well with having to drive on the opposite side of the road. “God, this feels so wrong even though I know it’s not.” “Just concentrate” you urged him. “And I’m driving next time, it’ll be a lot less stressful.” Fortunately you made it to the wedding venue without incident, despite a couple of near-misses.

Thursday night was spent having dinner with the entire bridal party, who had never been together before. They would all be staying in the actual stately home with you and Joe for the duration. Joe had picked Ben as his best man, after much agonising. Rami and Gwilym were of course groomsmen too, alongside Joe’s brother. To your immense relief everyone got on well without much effort, and the evening passed surprisingly quickly. You went to bed with the feeling that the countdown was now on, and you were very excited. 

Most of Friday was spent preparing the venue for the events of the next day, setting up a location in the grpunds for the ceremony and arranging flowers and decorations. The evening, though, was set aside for a relaxed pre-wedding party, to give the guests an opportunity to meet each other and see you and Joe before you were swept up in the wedding tomorrow. The guests themselves arrived in dribs and drabs as the day went on. The bridal party were already there, of course, and their various partners had all arrived by lunchtime. Your parents appeared in the early afternoon, and Joe’s mum followed soon after. The day was full of enjoyable reunions, and the night promised even more. 

The party started in the early evening with light finger food and cocktails. There was no formal sit-down meal, because people were coming from all over and would be arriving at various times throughout the night. You and Joe tried to remain in a central position so you could easily greet people as they arrived. Later in the night there were a couple of quick speeches from Joe and Ben, welcoming everyone to your wedding. After the speeches you and Joe took the opportunity to mingle with some of the late arrivals. Among them was Brian, who swept over to introduce you to Anita, who was just as warm and lovely as he was. "I told her the truth about you. And Tallulah. Hope you don't mind" he told you in an undertone. You smiled reassuringly. "Of course not.” Not long after he trotted off to catch up with the rest of the Bo Rhap contingent, currently hanging out in a quiet corner, your parents came up to you, bringing Tallulah with them. "She was asking for you" your mother explained. At almost the same moment Roger came over with Sarina to say hello. Oh lord, here we go.

"Hello, love! Good to see you back on home soil" Roger greeted you, cheerful as ever. "Hi Roger. Sarina, lovely to see you again." Your mother leaned over while Joe greeted them both. "Wait, how do you know him?" she asked. Before you could reply Roger was looking at you curiously. "Roger, these are my parents" you explained, in response to his unspoken question. "Roger Taylor. How do you do?" He smiled cheerfully as he reached over to shake their hands. Something about his expression seemed to catch your mother’s interest, and you could almost hear the wheels turning in her head. "Hold on, are you-?" "Daddy!" Tallulah cried, rushing over to embrace him. "Hello darling" Roger murmured, bobbing down to hug her back. "'Daddy?'" your father repeated incredulously. "Yes," you confirmed, "this is Tallulah's dad. And his wife Sarina" "Wife?" your father echoed. "Yes" Roger replied, straightening up. "You never said he was married" your father muttered darkly. You tensed up at your father’s tone. “He never told me.” "He was- you were married then?" your father spluttered at Roger, clearly angry. He didn't even need to explain what 'then' meant. "Dear, please, don't make a scene" your mother urged quietly. Roger, surprisingly, was unfazed. I suppose it's easy to ignore accusations when you know they're not actually true. "Yes, I was. And yes, I did some things I'm not proud of back then, but becoming Tallulah's father sure as hell isn't one of them" he declared stoutly. Your father seemed to accept this, but was still unwilling to back down. "Still can't believe you had the nerve to show your face here" he said unpleasantly. Joe had been hanging back, unwilling to get involved, but at this he felt he had to intervene. "If you must know," he explained tensely, "I insisted we invite Roger. Your daughter and I wouldn't be here without him, and besides, he's a friend." Your parents gawped at him but said nothing. "I know it's an unusual situation" Joe pressed on, "but we've all managed to get along despite the circumstances, so the least you can do is respect that. And respect Roger too, he's a good man." Your father was evidently flabbergasted at Joe's outburst, to the point that he was apparently unable to form a response. Your mother seized the opportunity to steer him away from you towards some nearby relatives, having apparently decided the conversation had gone far enough. 

"Was that too much?" Joe whispered when they were safely out of earshot. "No," you reassured him, "he just needs some time to cool off. He'll be okay." You were suddenly acutely aware of Roger looking at you with concern, while chatting with Tallulah. "You alright?" you asked casually. He grinned. "Yeah. 'S not the first time I've had to deal with an angry dad. Been a few years though…" There was a thoughtful pause. "What exactly is his problem, by the way?" Roger asked lightly. "He thought I ruined my life when I got pregnant by someone who didn't stick around" you explained. Roger looked downcast. "Oh. I see" he muttered. "You know, it kills me a bit that you had to raise her alone for so long" he said suddenly, quietly enough that no-one would overhear. "I wasn't alone, Rog" you reassured him. He still looked downcast. “I know, but still…” “It wasn’t your fault you weren’t there, I don’t blame you for it, so stop beating yourself up about it” you told him. “I made my choice expecting I’d never see you again, I knew what I was signing up for.” Roger stared at you curiously. “Well, I thought I did, anyway” you clarified. Roger grinned at that, but it disappeared quickly. “D’you ever wish-” he started to ask, but you cut him off. “Things had been different? Of course. I’m pretty happy with how they’ve turned out, though. Thanks to you.” Roger was confused. “Thanks to me?” “Technically, you introduced me to Joe” you pointed out. He grinned broadly at that.

Suddenly you realised Joe had disappeared. Before you could do anything, though, Ben appeared at your shoulder. "Y/N" he said quietly, making you jump. “Ben! What’s up?” The blond looked uncharacteristically serious. “It’s Joe,” he told you, “he’s… he needs you, I think.” “Well where is he?” You asked, suddenly concerned. “Come with me” Ben murmured, leading you away from the party. He took you down a corridor to a quiet storeroom, away from the noise and movement. “What’s he doing in here?” You asked, whispering urgently. “He’s… upset, I guess” Ben replied. “But he’ll be able to explain it better. Just go in, please.” A worrying thought struck you. “We’re the guests of honour, won’t people notice we’ve both gone?” Ben shrugged. “Even if they do they’ll just think you’re shagging or something.” “Ben!” you chided him, scandalised. “Relax, I’ll cover for you if anyone does notice” he reassured you. “Thanks” you muttered, turning away to face the storeroom properly.

You cautiously pushed the door open. “Joe? Are you alright?” Your soon-to-be husband looked up, startled. His eyes were red-rimmed and full of tears. “How did you-?” “Ben told me” you explained, cutting off his question. “But darling, what’s wrong?” You asked him tenderly, sitting down next to him. “After I saw you with your dad, before, it just… it suddenly hit me, really hard.” “What hit you?” You prompted, wrapping your arms around him. “My dad’s not here. I’m getting married and he won’t be there. He should be here, meeting your parents, defending you to your own father like I did, but he’s not” Joe explained sadly. “And I feel like I should be super happy right now, and I am, but I’m really sad too.” “Oh, darling, you’re allowed to feel however you want” you comforted him. You held him quietly for a moment. “Why didn’t you tell me you were upset?” You asked quietly. “It came on really suddenly, like out of nowhere… and you looked so happy back there, I didn’t want to bring you down” Joe admitted. “Joe, darling, I don’t mind. We’re nearly married, that means it’s my job to help you when you feel like this” you reassured him. “Thanks wifey” he said, looking slightly happier. You kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Any time, babe.” You paused, sitting in silence for a while. “Are you ok now, or do you still need a minute?” You eventually asked, sensing your husband-to-be was starting to feel better. Joe looked thoughtful for a moment. “I’ll need a little bit longer, I think.” You sat together in silence for a moment. Suddenly Joe turned his head and kissed you. “I love you so much” he murmured as you broke apart. “Love you too” you replied automatically. “You can go now, if you want” Joe announced. “I’ll be out soon.” But as you reached the door he stopped you. “Actually, can you get Ben to come in here?” He asked calmly. “Ben?” You questioned, surprised. “Just…please?” Joe’s expression spoke such volumes you suddenly didn’t need to know any more. “Of course, dear.” You paused just before you left the room. “I’m sending Ben into a private space with you, should I be worried?” you quipped. Joe laughed at that, and you finally relaxed, knowing for sure he would be ok now. 

The rest of the party rolled on without incident, and you went to bed that night with an odd mixture of contentment and nerves bubbling in your head. The next morning you woke relaxed and refreshed, and most unusually, alone. Joe was rather fond of certain wedding traditions, and had insisted on sharing Ben’s room for the night. You thought it was probably for the best, you’d have to get ready separately anyway. Lucy had suggested Tallulah have a sleepover with her and Rami as well, so you could have a break and she could look after your daughter in the morning while you had a bit of a lie in. 

As you got out of bed and started on your morning routine you were hit with a sudden wave of pre-wedding jitters. What if it rained? What if something went wrong? Were you doing this too soon? You’d only been living together for nine months, after all. Your stressful thoughts were interrupted by a knock on your door. “Y/N? You up?” It was Destiny, fulfilling her first job of the day. “Yeah, come in” you called. She took one look at you and rushed over, enveloping you in her arms. “What’s up love?” “I just… I don’t know” you gulped. “I’m having all these doubts all of a sudden. What if this is too soon?” Destiny smiled reassuringly. “You’ve been together for years, this is hardly a whirlwind romance.” “I know, but-” She turned to look you straight in the face. “You love him, don’t you?” You were bewildered at the question. “Of course I do, but-” “And Joe loves you, right?” Destiny pressed on. “Well, yeah, I think s-” You were interrupted by Lucy entering your room, Tallulah in tow. She immediately sent Tallulah off to the bathroom so she could talk to you alone. “What’s going on?” Lucy asked. “Pre-wedding jitters” Destiny explained. “Anyway, you love Joe and he loves you, doesn’t he?” You were oddly uncertain. “I think s-” “He does” Lucy chimed in. “He adores you, Y/N, everyone can see it.” “You see?” Destiny went on. “You love each other, you want to be with each other, and at the end of the day that’s what really matters here.” You sighed. “I know Dess, I just… this’s all happened so quickly, how do I know we’re not moving too fast?” Lucy stepped forward, and Destiny wordlessly let you go so the younger woman could take over. Lucy put her hands on your shoulders and looked into your eyes. “Y/N,” she began firmly, “Joe loves you, he really does. Everyone can see how you make each other happy.” “I know that, but-” “So what if you’ve moved quickly?” She cut you off. “When you know, you know. Joe knows, even if you don’t.” You were confused. “How do you know that?” “Rami” Lucy said simply. “He’s never seen Joe look at anyone the way he looks at you, and you know as well as I do how long they’ve known each other.” You were taken aback. How could you have doubted what you and Joe had? “I suppose when I think about it this does feel right, even if it is a bit quick” you declared. Lucy smiled. “Of course it is lovie. Now come on, let’s get you married.”

In the end, the ceremony went off without a hitch. You looked beautiful, Joe only got slightly teary when he saw you at the end of the aisle, and all the guests agreed it was lovely. Even the previous night’s tension with your father was forgotten as soon as he saw you in your full regalia for the first time. The expression on Joe’s face when he first caught sight of you was so adoring, and so happy, all your doubts vanished instantly when you saw it. By the end of the ceremony you were fairly sure you were both wearing identical joyful smiles. You really were glad to be marrying him. 

The reception went well too. The first dance, which you and Joe had positively slaved over, was performed flawlessly, and earned rapturous applause from your guests. The speeches were all excellent as well. Ben's was probably the most polished, but then, he was an actor. You wanted to thank him during the dancing afterwards, but he seemed to have vanished. Joe was strangely unconcerned by this. "He's probably just gone for a smoke, wifey.” He seemed to have been gone a long time, but before you could consider this further you were distracted by Rami and Lucy coming to congratulate you, accompanied by Tallulah. Somehow, in the midst of all the hugs Joe disappeared off somewhere. You couldn't work out where until Lucy led you to a chair near the front table, closest to the little stage area where the sound system was, and urged you to sit there with Tallulah. You were surprised to see there were microphones and amps and even a drum set up, even though you hadn't booked a band.

Your confusion lasted only until Joe and Ben stepped up to two of the mikes. "What are they doing?" you muttered to Lucy. "Just watch" she told you, grinning. Suddenly you noticed a familiar lanky figure wandering over to the third mike. Joe, in the middle, cleared his throat. "Uh, hi everyone, if I could have your attention for a minute? Relax, I'm not doing another speech. So you might know we three have a bit of a side interest in music, even though we don’t get to play together very much. So I just wanted to take the opportunity tonight to do something special for the two very special ladies in my life. To the extremely talented musicians in the audience, please bear with us. Everyone else, enjoy." With that, he picked up a bass, Ben picked up a tambourine, and Gwilym, down the other end, sat on a bar stool at his mike, acoustic guitar in hand. Ben counted them in, and suddenly Gwilym started picking out the very familiar chords of '39, with Joe on bass and Ben on bass drum and tambourine. Then Joe began to sing directly to you and Tallulah, and you thought you might cry, though Tallulah immediately started to sing along. Gwilym and Ben harmonised nicely on backing vocals too. When the end of the song brought rapturous applause, your new husband and his friend beamed, while Gwilym just smiled modestly. When things died down, Joe spoke up again. "Ladies and gentlemen, Gwilym Lee!" he introduced. "And on drums, Ben Hardy!" After a brief round of applause he grinned cheekily. "You liked that?" he asked the crowd. "Lucky for you, we have one more. It's a bit of an oldie, but a goodie" he explained. Another count in from Ben led to the intro to "Hello Mary Lou." Joe looked distinctly nervous as he started to sing again, but you beamed at him as he sang straight to you. The song finished, your guests applauded, and with a wink and a "That's all folks!" the musicians left the stage, taking their instruments with them.

Moments later the three of them appeared in front of you. You promptly threw your arms around them all. "That was amazing! You're so talented, all of you." Ben blushed. "Oh, well, I'm no Roger…" he faltered. "We had excellent teachers” Gwilym added, looking slightly uncomfortable at the praise. "You what?" you asked, surprised. "Brian and Roger taught us Hello Mary Lou" Joe explained. “We already knew ’39 from the movie, just had to refresh our memories a bit.” "Well you all did wonderfully" you mused. "Anyway, 'Hello Mary Lou'?" "I know how much you like it, and it seemed… appropriate for us" Joe shrugged. "I suppose. You really love ’39 though, don't you?" you commented. "Well it always reminds me of us a bit, you know, lovers separated, longing to be together again, it's kind of the story of our relationship, y'know?" Joe explained. "It kind of is" you agreed.

Suddenly Brian and Roger descended on the trio of groomsmen to congratulate them on the performance. You took advantage of their celebration’s rapid turn into an in-depth conversation about drumming between Ben and Roger and embraced Brian. "Thank you for teaching them" you murmured. "That was wonderful." He smiled. "You're very welcome" he said warmly. "You know, it was a bit strange watching them all up there. Joe looks so much like Deaky when he plays, it’s almost alarming." “You should tell Joe that” you commented. “Oh, he knows” Brian replied airily. You were glad, but you thought Joe was extremely talented in his own right too. 

The laughter and dancing seemed to go on forever, but soon enough, the festivities were over and you and Joe were retreating to the bridal bedroom. Even though it was your wedding night both of you were too tired to do much more than undress each other and cuddle. “I love you, wifey” Joe murmured, as you dozed off wrapped in each other’s arms. “I love you, hubs” you murmured back. You weren’t sure you’d ever been happier in your life.

You spent the following week in something of a post-wedding haze. You spent several happy days honeymooning in Rome, enjoying spring sunshine and Italian food. You revelled in the feeling of being married, and in being responsible only for yourselves for a change. It was an odd sensation after so many years of single parenthood. But all too soon the honeymoon was over, and you had to go home to New York. Back to work, school and responsibilities. But also to your new future, which was looking brighter than ever.

May

You returned home still floating in a blissful honeymoon fog. Joe could only stay home for a week before he would be needed in LA again, but you made the most of it by moving house two days after you got back from England. Your wedding gifts had been shipped to the new house ahead of you, bringing with them a few pleasant surprises. In addition to the gifts left by your guests there were a number of cards sent by people who hadn't been able to attend the wedding. You and Joe made sure to read them all together, occasionally asking each other who the senders were. However, there was one card that mystified you both.

One afternoon you wandered into the kitchen to find Joe at the table bent over a stack of cards. "Babe, do you know a John and Veronica?" he asked as you passed him on your way to the pantry. "No, why?" you replied casually. "There's a card here from 'John and Veronica' and I don't know who they are so I figured they must be people you know…" "Maybe I do" you mused. “Show me.” Joe passed the card over, and you started to read. “Joe and Y/N”, it said, ‘Congratulations on your wedding. May your marriage bring you a lifetime of happiness.’ It was signed ‘John and Veronica,’ but you didn’t recognise the handwriting. “Weird,” you murmured, "'John and Veronica' sounds sort of familiar somehow…" Joe looked at you thoughtfully. "It sounds kinda familiar to me too" he said wonderingly. Suddenly he gasped. "John Deacon… John Deacon's wife's called Veronica… you don't think?" Joe babbled frantically. "Could be" you replied evenly. "But how would he have known we were getting married?" "Luke" Joe responded instantly. "Luke Deacon DM'ed me after I did the engagement post on Instagram, just to say congrats, y'know." "Nice bloke" you commented. "Very nice" Joe agreed. "He must've told his dad, I guess. But then how did he-" "Know where to send the card?" you completed. "Sent it to Roger and Brian, probably."

A quick phonecall to Roger confirmed your suspicions, and lead to some interesting revelations. "He knows the real story about you and Loolah now" Roger confessed. "He recognised you in the engagement photo. And her. At least, he knew immediately she was mine" he explained. "I suppose he would" you mused. "And he wanted… he wishes Joe well, he really does. He just wants to stay as far away from the business as possible, you know" Roger added. "I get that now, so much" you laughed. Joe, listening in, looked as though he might cry. He understood exactly what Roger meant, and it made him so very glad to hear it.

All too soon, Joe had to go back to work in LA, again. He was gone for three weeks, until mid-May. By the time he came home a hint of summer was starting to creep into the city air. Annoyingly, though, you were unable to make the most of Joe's eventual return. Lately, you had been so tired all you wanted to do was sleep, even on your days off. You'd been feeling like this for a week by the time Joe came home. The next morning you woke up feeling extremely nauseous. You tried to get up without waking Joe, but the movement made things so much worse you had to jump up and sprint for the toilet. Thank god we have an en-suite now. "Babe?" Joe groaned from the bed. "What's up?" You didn't want to open your mouth to respond. While you were curled over the bowl you heard footsteps. You were suddenly aware of Joe standing behind you. "Oh, honey" he murmured sympathetically, leaning down to rub your back in soothing circles. 

When you finally stopped heaving you looked up to see Joe studying you with a mixture of concern and curiosity. "Are you sick, babe? You seemed fine last night…" "I was" you told him crossly. "Or at least, I wasn't feeling like this. I have been really tired though" you explained, thoughtfully. "Maybe you've caught something from Loolah?" Joe suggested. She was always passing things on from school. "Maybe" you echoed, unsure. "She hasn't been sick lately though." You hauled yourself upright and went to brush your teeth. "I've probably just eaten something dodgy" you assured your husband. "If you say so" he replied, sounding unconvinced. "You don't believe me?" you asked him. Joe stood behind you at the sink while you brushed, looking uncertain. "I do, it's just… well… we were, ah, trying all honeymoon, maybe it worked?" he said, rather suggestively. "I doubt it" you told him, "It’s only the first month. Besides, I'm about to get m-" Wait, what's the date? You were abruptly silenced by a sudden realisation. "What?" he asked frantically. "My period. It's two weeks late. How did I not notice that?" He smiled. "So you think-?" You nodded. "I really could be. I think I'd better go to the pharmacy today..."

Joe had to go to work that day, but by some weird stroke of luck, you had a day off. You ran out to the pharmacy that very morning and bought two tests, rushing home to do them as soon as you could. The results were clear as day. Positive. Both of them. Oh my god, it actually worked. I’m really pregnant. I have to do something cute to tell Joe. You immediately started to develop a plan for your very special announcement. I’m so happy. God, he’s going to be so excited. He’s going to be the best dad too.

Joe arrived home that afternoon to the usual enthusiastic welcome from Tallulah. When you finally managed to persuade Tallulah to let him go, you sent her off to watch cartoons while you took Joe upstairs to freshen up. "So did you get to the drugstore today?" he asked quietly. "I did" you replied, trying to sound casual. "And?" he questioned, as you reached your shared bedroom.  “I, um, I also got you a present today” you told him, pointing at a white box sitting on your shared bed. “Ookay?” Joe looked at you, confused, as he sat down and opened the box. He pulled out the tiniest Yankees shirt you’d been able to find. “This is so cute!” Joe exclaimed. “But why'd y-? Wait." He stared at the shirt intently. Suddenly he looked at you, thunderstruck. "No. Way" he breathed. "Holy shit. The honeymoon worked?" he asked excitedly, breaking into a huge grin. You nodded, wordlessly showing him the tests you'd hidden in the bedside drawer. Joe’s face lit up, as he broke into happy tears. "Oh my god. You’re actually pregnant?” he asked wonderingly. "Yes, Joe, I’m really pregnant” you echoed, tearing up yourself despite your joyful smile. “We're going to have a baby, darling.” “Oh my god. Oh my god. I’m gonna be a dad!” he exclaimed, pulling you in for a bear hug and kissing you deeply through the tears.

“I’m so excited babe, I want to tell everyone” he gushed as he held you. You pulled back to look at him. “Joe, darling, I literally just peed on the sticks this morning, I haven’t even been to the doctor yet. We can’t tell anyone for now, ok?” Joe looked at your serious face and nodded, disappointed. “Ok” he agreed. You paused. “Actually, we’ll need to be careful when we go back down, even Loolah doesn’t know.” “Crap” Joe cursed. “I even have to keep this from your child who lives with us? I know I’m not the expert, but that seems like a bad idea even to me” he said. “It’s only for a few weeks” you reassured him. He sighed. “I know babe, it’s just, I’m so excited, I don’t know if I can keep it in for that long.” “Well you’ll just have to try” you replied quietly. You held each other wordlessly for a moment. “I love you, did I tell you that?” Joe murmured, finally breaking the silence. “Both of you” he added, smiling broadly. “We love you too” you replied dreamily. You didn’t think you’d ever been happier than you were at that moment.

June

By the time you managed to find a doctor and get an appointment a few weeks had passed, and you were already 9 weeks along. In the meantime you had at least managed to get your pregnancy officially confirmed by a blood test at a walk-in clinic. You were still holding off on telling people about it, but it was getting difficult to hide the fact that something was happening to you. You were constantly nauseous, and it was a battle to get through a whole day of work without a spontaneous nap. I swear it wasn’t this bad last time. I suppose I was a lot younger then. This time seems so different though. Joe had managed to keep his promise so far, even with Tallulah, but you weren’t convinced he could go much longer without exploding. In any case, he was very excited about your first appointment. He made sure he was free to go with you on your afternoon off, while Tallulah was at school.

Doctor Baker was a slightly older woman with a calm, pleasant manner and a sterling reputation. You sat quietly in front of her as she checked over your paperwork. “Ok, well, that all looks good. So, just to confirm, is this your first child?” She asked pleasantly. You and Joe looked at each other. “Uh…” he muttered.“It’s my second, but it’s his first” you explained, pointing to him. “Ok, and how old’s your first?” The doctor inquired. “She’s seven” you and Joe replied simultaneously. Doctor Baker smiled kindly. “Well, as it’s been a few years you might find things are a bit different this time around, but that’s totally normal” she told you. “Now, let’s have a look at what’s going on in there.”

You moved over to the bed in her office while she bustled around preparing the ultrasound machine. Joe sat next to you, nervously holding your hand while the doctor put the gel on your stomach and turned the machine on. “Ok, let’s see” the doctor murmured, moving the ultrasound wand around experimentally. “Ah! Here we go” she said suddenly, as the room was filled with the familiar sound of a tiny heart beating. But that doesn’t sound like I remember. “You hear that?” You nodded quietly. “That’s two heartbeats. Two strong heartbeats” the doctor informed you. What?! "There's… what?! Joe cried, his mouth opening in shock. “Two? There’s two of them?” You asked Doctor Baker, equally stunned. “Yes,” she smiled, “two healthy babies. Congratulations.” You and Joe turned to look at each other simultaneously. “Twins!” You both exclaimed. “Oh my god, twins!” Joe gushed, overjoyed. You were both tearing up at the news. “Here, have a look” Doctor Baker said quietly, moving the wand so you could see both babies. “Wow” Joe breathed. “Yeah” you agreed. You made sure to get printouts of a few images from the ultrasound. You wanted to remember this moment forever.

Joe was bursting with excitement when you left the doctor’s office. “Oh my god, babe, we’re having twins!” “I know Joe, I was there” you quipped, exasperated. “I know babe, it’s just, I can’t believe this is actually happening” he explained. “Oh, it’s really happening” you quipped, smiling. Getting home brought another challenge. “Look, I know we’re not telling people yet, but I swear to God if I don’t tell someone soon I’m going to explode” Joe told you later that day. You were still reluctant to tell anybody until you were further along, but you decided to compromise. “We could tell my parents later if you want” you suggested. Joe enthusiastically agreed, so later that afternoon you FaceTimed them while holding one of your ultrasound photos. Your mum gasped when she saw what it was, and you were pretty sure she squealed when you told her you were actually having twins. Your dad was pretty happy too, the semi-argument before your wedding now long forgotten. Joe was very pleased it wasn’t a complete secret any more, and to your immense relief he managed to keep calm once Tallulah got home. You were very excited too, but you knew it was best to wait just a bit longer before telling her. Just a few weeks, and then we can tell everybody.              

July

The arrival of July heralded the beginning of Tallulah's summer holidays. This also meant a visit from Roger, who was taking her to his house in LA for a few weeks, although he was going to enjoy a couple of days with her in New York first. The final day before their departure, which Roger spent showing Tallulah around some of the New York sights, very conveniently coincided with your next visit to Doctor Baker. It was a glorious summer’s day, and you took a minute to enjoy the weather with Joe after your appointment. Both babies had received a clean bill of health, so you were in a buoyant mood as you lounged on a park bench together, basking in the sunshine. “Please tell me we can tell Tallulah now,” Joe pleaded, “keeping this secret is absolutely killing me.” “We’ll tell her tonight” you reassured him. “Oh, wait, Roger’s coming for dinner” you realised, thinking out loud. “So?” Joe responded. “We’re gonna have to tell him at some point, might as well get it over with.” “True” you murmured. “So, we’ll tell them tonight?” he asked. “Yeah.” “And then we can tell the world” Joe added. “And then the world” you echoed, smiling contentedly. It was going to be a good summer.

That night, before dinner, you presented Tallulah with a t-shirt that said ‘World’s Best Big Sister’ on the front. Roger saw it and immediately glanced at you with a knowing smile, but said nothing. Tallulah stared at the shirt in confusion, until suddenly her face lit up when she realised what it meant. “I’m gonna be a big sister?!” She cried, beaming with excitement. You smiled at her obvious joy. “Yes, darling.” “So does that mean… there’s a baby in your tummy, Mummy?” She asked, a little uncertainly. “Actually, Loolah,” Joe cut in, sitting down beside her at the dining table, “there’s two babies in Mommy’s tummy.” “Twins?” Tallulah squealed happily. “Yeah, twins” Joe confirmed, pulling some ultrasound pictures out of his pocket. “Have a look, sweetie.”

Tallulah chattered excitedly all through dinner, clearly delighted at the prospect of two younger siblings. It sounded like she’d had a nice day out with Roger too. Finally dinner was finished, Joe was cleaning up and Roger was putting Tallulah to bed, giving you a rare moment to sink onto the couch and enjoy some peace and quiet. Joe soon returned from the kitchen to sit next to you, holding you close. "You feeling ok?" he asked softly. "Just tired" you reassured him. You cuddled quietly together, chatting lazily about nothing in particular, until Roger reappeared. "Loolah's finally asleep" he told you, settling himself into an armchair next to the couch. "She seems happy, she had lots of questions." "Which you'll have to answer for the next three weeks" you quipped, grinning evilly. "True" Roger commented thoughtfully. "Now, as I haven't said it yet, congratulations, both of you" he added, smiling warmly. "Thanks, man" Joe replied, looking pleased at Roger's obvious joy. "Twins!" Roger mused. "That's… really great, actually. I'm so pleased things have worked out for you two." You and Joe both smiled at that.

“So when are you due?” Roger asked pleasantly. “January” you replied. “Which I guess means I’ll be too pregnant to take Loolah home for Christmas like I was planning.” Joe looked surprised. “You’re already planning Christmas in July?” he asked incredulously. “Not really,” you explained, “I just remembered I’d said to Mum that we’d go back to them this year.” “Well maybe your parents’ll just have to come over here instead” Roger suggested. “Perhaps” you mused. “I could come for New Year’s, have a late Christmas with Loolah” he added, thinking out loud. “That could be fun” Joe commented. You suddenly realised your next New Year’s Eve would be very different to previous celebrations. I’m definitely looking forward to it though.

You and Joe waved Tallulah and Roger off the next morning in an extremely good mood. You were determined to make the most of Tallulah’s holiday in LA, given it was likely to be the last time you were kid-free for quite a while. First on the agenda was a long-awaited band reunion. Unusually, Ben and Gwilym were both going to be working in New York at the same time, so it had been decided that a band dinner simply had to be arranged. You and Joe had decided to make an announcement at this dinner, but your plans went slightly awry when Ben dropped in that afternoon. You didn’t want to tell him early, but he saw you dashing for the bathroom at one point and was immediately concerned. “Are you ok Y/N?” he asked you when you came back. “You look a little pale…” “I’m fine, Ben” you assured him. “What’s up?” Joe asked, wandering over to his friend. “I had to run for the loo again” you explained. “Aw, you’re still sick? I thought it was getting better” Joe sympathised. “You’re sick?” Ben asked. “Um, kind of…” you muttered sheepishly. “Kind of? Guys, what’s going on?” Ben demanded, clearly confused. Joe glanced at you, and you nodded slightly, giving him wordless permission. “It's fine, Ben, it’s just morning sickness” he explained. "Oh. Right" Ben replied automatically. Then he processed Joe's comment properly. “Wait, morning sickness? Does that mean you're-?" He looked expectantly at Joe, who nodded silently. Ben beamed in response "Oh my god, that’s so great! Congratulations!” he gushed, pulling you both into a warm bear hug.

Telling the rest of the band was easy. They knew something was up as soon as you turned down the wine they were sharing. You noticed Ben smirking slightly at their confusion as to why before Joe spoke up. “Yeah, Y/N can’t drink for the next six months… cause I knocked her up.” There were a few giggles, which were followed by a shocked silence as everyone realised Joe was serious. “Yeah, and he did a great job” you added. “I’m having twins.” This revelation triggered an explosion of happy noise around the table. “You sneaky buggers, you didn’t tell me it was twins!” Ben cried, grinning at you regardless. Lucy just squealed with happiness. Dinner was interrupted while everyone stood to embrace you and Joe and murmur their congratulations. Rami looked positively overjoyed for his old friend. "Twins. Wow" he muttered to you. "Yeah, we might need your expert advice some time" you commented. "Oh, of course. Anything you need, just let us know" he assured you.

Later on Gwilym wandered over, beaming at you. “Congratulations love, it’s wonderful news.” “Aw, thank you” you replied, smiling. “They’re not going to play baseball are they?” he asked, half-seriously. “I don’t think they’ll get much choice” you sighed, grinning. “But I’m definitely teaching them cricket too, they’re British after all. I suppose we’ll just have to let them choose when they get older.” Gwilym smiled. “How modern of you.” You grinned wolfishly. “They’re both going to be cricket fans though. No children of mine are allowed to leave me to suffer through a whole Test series alone.” Gwilym laughed at that, and you could feel his happiness for you and Joe. You really were amazed at just how happy everyone was for you.

August

August should have been blissful. Tallulah was back from LA and Joe had arranged his schedule so he'd be working in New York until she went back to school. Even then, he didn't have much on, just a bit of press for his new movie and a few meetings. You were planning to enjoy some time as a family of three, a relaxed interlude before school returned and your family grew. But you spent only a week back together before getting a sharp reminder of some of the less-welcome aspects of life as an actor's wife.

It was Sunday morning, which meant Tallulah was watching cartoons while you and Joe unwound in the kitchen with cups of tea. The peace was suddenly shattered by the jangle of Joe’s phone. Joe glanced at the screen and then at you. “Text from Lucy” he told you. “Apparently we’re on TMZ again.” You’d been attracting a bit of paparazzi attention since appearing at the premiere of Joe’s new movie a few weeks ago, and you were starting to wonder whether they suspected something. “What are they saying?” you asked casually. “I don’t know, I haven’t found it yet” Joe grumbled, scrolling rapidly on the ipad resting on the kitchen bench. “Here we go.” He turned the screen around so you could read it.

At the top was the headline ‘Bo Rhap baby on board?’ over a picture of you and Joe walking down the street, in which your bump was clearly visible under your sundress. “Bloody hell, I knew that dress wasn’t covering anything” you cursed. “Does it matter? Everybody knows anyway” Joe pointed out. “Instagram doesn’t.” “I forgot about that” Joe commented. “Maybe it’s time they did?” he suggested. You had been hoping to hold off on a public announcement a little bit longer, but now it seemed like you didn’t have much choice. “I think it is” you agreed. You spent a lot of that Sunday planning out the perfect announcement, and you found yourself surprisingly excited at the prospect of sharing your news with the world.

The next day you had a doctor’s appointment, and you made a point of getting printouts of your latest ultrasound. You all got a clean bill of health too. When you got home Joe took some very nice pictures of you holding the printouts against your now very obvious bump, as well as some of you just cradling the bump. In the end he picked one of the latter shots to post, along with a close-up of the ultrasound photos against your stomach. Underneath them he wrote: ‘Just when I thought this year couldn’t get any bigger, this happened. Our little trio will be a family of five in January. Yep, double trouble is coming for the Mazzello-Y/L/N household next year (swipe for visual evidence). I almost can’t believe how much I love our little aliens already.’ You couldn’t help smiling when you saw the post. “Good?” Joe asked. “Very” you confirmed. “You’re so cute sometimes, you’re such a softie.”

Joe’s post was instantly deluged with happy comments from all and sundry. Even Brian left a nice message: ‘So pleased for you both. These kids will have wonderful parents, and be loved by so many others too. All the best for January! Bri’. “He’s so lovely” Joe commented. “He is” you agreed. “He’s right though.” “What, that everyone’s going to love our kids?” Joe joked. You smiled. “No, silly, the other thing.” This statement seemed to surprise your husband. “You really think I’m going to be a good dad?” “Joe, you already are” you said softly. Joe was confused. “Huh?” “You’re absolutely Tallulah’s parent at this point” you explained. “Not biologically of course, but that’s not what makes a good parent anyway.” “You think I’m a good parent?” Joe questioned, blown away by your statement. “Of course darling, do you think I would have moved across the pond for you if I didn’t?” You were joking, but only partly. Joe smiled anyway.

Joe ended up needing to fly to LA in the last week of Tallulah’s summer holidays. He was extremely put out that all his careful planning had still lead to him being away over the summer, but you assured him you could survive the last few days before school on your own. Tallulah spent two of them on a sleepover, and you took the last Friday off so you could have a long weekend with her as an end-of-summer treat. You spent most of the day doing back-to-school shopping, even though you wanted nothing more than to lounge on the couch all day. You were able to do that on Saturday, while Joe was helping Tallulah pick out her first day of school outfit via FaceTime. Joe insisted on taking on that particular parent duty, even while he was on the other side of the country. “You wouldn’t understand the importance of this,” he told you. “You always wore a uniform.” You just shrugged; you didn’t have the energy to argue. You weren’t that bothered, truth be told. You were glad to see Joe making the effort to spend some one-on-one time with Tallulah while he still could, even if it was over FaceTime. Oddly, watching them made you miss Joe more, but you knew he’d be home soon enough.

September

Joe had to stay in LA until mid-September. He was quite disappointed about missing Tallulah’s first day back at school, though she didn’t seem to mind much. She was too busy reuniting with all her friends and getting to know her new class. You were glad she was happy to be back at school, and there were a few parents you were pleased to see again too. Many of them had already heard about your impending new arrivals, and those that hadn’t were made aware by your now very obvious bump. In any case they all seemed quite happy for you, which made for a very positive first day of school on all fronts.

You went to a doctor’s appointment by yourself while Joe was away. You didn’t mind particularly, but it felt a bit odd given he’d been so involved up to that point. Doctor Baker seemed surprised to see you alone. “No Joe?” she asked casually. “He’s away” you explained. “Working in LA.” The doctor nodded in understanding. “Of course.” There was a pause while you prepared yourself for the examination. “When you’re ready we’re going to do an ultrasound” Doctor Baker explained. “We should be able to find out the genders today, if you want.” I totally forgot I was getting to that point. Do I want to know though? You hesitated to respond. Wait, does Joe want to know? He should be here when we find out. If we find out. “I think I’d prefer not to know for now” you finally told her. “We can always find out later if we decide we want to know, right?” The doctor nodded. “Absolutely. You’ll have plenty more ultrasounds after this one.” Something to look forward to, then.

Joe was pleased when you told him you hadn’t found out yet. “I definitely want to be there when we find out what we’re having” he told you, when you were FaceTiming that night. “So you want to know, then?” “Yeah” he confirmed. “Don’t you?” You shrugged. “I’m not fussed. I never found out with Loolah, and-” “You weren’t desperate to know?” Joe was shocked. “I didn’t really care what I had, it made no difference to me” you explained. “Plus I didn’t want to freak Roger out, finding out before the birth wasn’t an option in his day.” Joe grinned. “Well it is now, and I don’t want to wait four more months to find out.” You smiled contentedly. “We’ll find out when you get back then.”

Finally the day of Joe’s temporary homecoming arrived. He would have to leave again in only a fortnight, but you were very glad to be getting him back in the meantime. Joe's eyes bugged out when he saw how much you'd grown since he'd been away. "Has it really only been three weeks?!" "Growth spurt" you shrugged. "Or maybe you just didn’t notice how big I was when you left. Anyway, welcome home." You smiled, leaning in for a quick, chaste kiss before Tallulah came barrelling down the hallway to greet Joe. You decided to leave them to it, and shuffled off back to the couch. You could hear Joe clumping around for a while, chatting with Tallulah and putting his things away. Suddenly it went quiet, and then you saw your husband flop down next to you. "Hi honey. I missed you" he told you, leaning over and giving you a deep, hungry kiss. "I missed you too" you murmured, as you broke apart. Joe put his hands on your bump, leaning down to kiss it. "And I missed- what was that?" he asked frantically, eyes wide with shock at what he'd just felt. "I think that was a kick" you told him, smiling. "Keep talking." "What?" Joe asked, confused. "They seem to like your voice" you explained. "Oh. Ok. Well, um, this job kinda sucks and I don't like the director at all. I mean-" Joe stopped abruptly, staring at you with a mixture of joy and shock. "They both kicked" he murmured, looking slightly teary. "Suddenly this all feels a lot more real." "Oh it's plenty real, darling" you told him, smiling broadly. “Yeah but… they’re really real. I have actual living kids in there” Joe marvelled. “I’m actually going to be a dad.” He was practically crying at that. “It’s going to be great Joe. You’re going to be great” you assured him.

Joe’s hands barely left your bump for days. He was determined not to miss anything while he was home, no matter how small. He was particularly excited about attending your next appointment now that you were going to find out the genders of your babies. Your twins weren’t identical, so both babies would need to be checked. You and Joe were both rather antsy as the ultrasound got underway. “Ok, we’re almost there” Doctor Baker told you, smiling at your obvious excitement. She peered at the screen for a minute. “So this one is Baby A, and it’s a boy.” You turned to Joe. “A boy!” he beamed, slightly glossy eyed. Your moment was broken by Doctor Baker clearing her throat. You turned your attention back to her. “I’ve found Baby B now, and it looks like…” You felt a flutter in your belly as you saw the baby turn away from you on the screen. “Well they’re not cooperating now,” the doctor went on, “but from what I saw before it looked like a boy too.” You and Joe were quiet as you digested the news. Two boys. Bloody hell. Your reverie was broken by Doctor Baker’s voice. “I feel I should warn you, with the ultrasound we can’t guarantee what we tell you is right, but I’m pretty confident about Baby A being a boy.” “You’re not confident about Baby B?” Joe asked her. “Not entirely, I didn’t get a very good look before they decided to hide.” “It’s fine” you assured her, wanting to get on with the appointment before Joe got worked up. Whatever happened, you’d deal with it when the time came.    

October

Joe spent quite a lot of October flying back and forth between work in LA and your home in New York. His shooting schedule turned out to involve a lot of three day breaks, just long enough for a quick visit home. You would have quite liked to spend most of them relaxing together, but Joe was determined to do as much baby preparation as possible while he was home, to save you the effort. He was thrilled to be having twin boys, and had dived into nursery set-up with gusto. He was determined to get the big things like the cribs sorted out nice and early, just in case. “You’re having twins, they’re likely to come early” he reminded you after you told him for the umpteenth time to relax. “They’re not due for months, Joe. Besides, the doctor said everything’s on track for January.” Your husband wouldn’t be persuaded. “Things can change very quickly. You never know when something might happen.” You stopped arguing the point when you realised he was never going to change his mind, and eventually Joe admitted he was doing it because he felt guilty about leaving you alone at home so much.

You weren’t actually alone very often though. There was Tallulah, of course, and plenty of your friends and family were dropping in regularly to check up on you (you suspected Joe might have told them how he worried about you). Joe’s mother was a frequent visitor, spurred by the desire to both help you and reassure her son. One afternoon you were sat with her drinking tea, not long after Joe had FaceTimed you. “So how was the daddy-to-be?” she asked. You smiled. “Same as usual. Annoyed he’s not here, missing us desperately.” Joe’s mother smiled affectionately. “Didn’t want to talk about work then.” “He never does” you told her. Suddenly Tallulah trotted up to the couch. “Did you say Daddy?” she asked eagerly. “We were talking about Joe, darling” you explained. Tallulah was confused. “But he’s not Daddy.” “He’s not” you agreed. “But he’s their daddy.” You patted your swollen belly, indicated Tallulah’s unborn siblings. “Oh.” Tallulah looked thoughtful; you wondered whether she understood. “Does that mean I have to call Joe Daddy when the babies come?” she finally asked. You smiled reassuringly. “Not if you don’t want to. But other people might” you explained. “Oh. Ok.” Tallulah looked unhappy at this development. “Could I make a suggestion?” Joe’s mum asked gently. “Loolah, do you remember how I told you Joe’s half-Italian?” Tallulah nodded. “Well the Italian word for daddy is ‘papa’. Maybe you could call him that instead?” “Papa…” Tallulah pronounced the word experimentally, testing how it sounded. Suddenly she smiled. “I like it!” She wasn’t the only one. Joe beamed when he heard her greet him with a happy “Hi Papa!” on FaceTime. We’re really a family now, aren’t we.

November

Joe had hoped his work schedule would continue to allow him frequent trips to see you, but it was not to be. He had one break before Thanksgiving, for a single day, which he spent alone in LA, desperately wishing he was home. As the weeks rolled on he was increasingly worried about how you were managing on your own. “I’m not on my own, Joe” you assured him down the phone. “Your mum visits twice a week, and Lucy texts me five times a day to check on me.” Lucy was coming to New York to spend Thanksgiving with Rami, and you were already making extensive plans to get together while she was in town. “I know she is, Rami told me” Joe grumbled. “I’m just worried that you’ll be alone with Tallulah and something’ll happen and I won’t be there to help.” His concern for you was evident in the tone of his voice. “Tallulah’s seven, babe, she’s perfectly capable of calling someone if we need help” you pointed out. “I suppose…” Joe sighed. “But what if they come early and I’m not there?” “You’re going to be back a month before they’re due, and even the doctor thinks they’re unlikely to come before Christmas.” Or so you thought.

Joe finally came home for Thanksgiving weekend, and the day after the holiday you had yet another appointment with Doctor Baker. Carrying twins meant you needed frequent checkups to make sure things continued to progress smoothly. This time you got some unexpected, and not entirely welcome, news. “So are you all ready for these guys to arrive?” the doctor asked pleasantly, while you were tidying yourself up after your examination. “Uh, kind of” you and Joe both stuttered. Doctor Baker looked slightly worried. “Well, I don’t want to alarm you, but I think you should be aware that realistically you could go into labour really any time from now on.” You were both shocked. “But isn’t it still too early?” you asked, suddenly scared. “I mean. I’m not due for another seven weeks.” Doctor Baker hurried to reassure you. “That’s true, and at this point it’s early enough that our first move would be to try and stop the labour, but that doesn’t always work.” You and Joe looked at each other with concern, not particularly reassured. “Look, I don’t think you’re going to go into labour tomorrow, and even if you did I would expect your babies to be absolutely fine” the doctor told you calmly. “But I would be prepared for them to arrive some time before Christmas.” “But that’s still three weeks early at least!” you spluttered. “Three weeks early is nearly full term” Doctor Baker said calmly. “And twins are very often born early. Not always, but it’s very common. In any case, I’m only telling you this because I think it would be a good idea if you started to make a plan now for what you want to happen when your babies do come. Just in case, you know. It never hurts to be prepared.” “Of course Doctor. Thanks for the advice” Joe replied, sounding calmer than he looked as you left the doctor’s office.

On your drive home Joe let the façade drop. “They can’t come yet, I’m about to be away for two weeks” he said, seemingly on the verge of panic. “And it’s still so early, what if one of them’s sick?” “They won’t be, Joe, we’re in good hands” you told him, not entirely believing it yourself. “Anyway, we definitely need to make a plan. I don’t want them to come while you’re not here either, but I’d much rather be at least somewhat prepared if they do.” “You’re right” Joe sighed. “When we get home we’ll work something out.”

In the end the plan you came up with mostly involved going to the hospital and ringing Joe as soon as possible so he could get on the next plane home. “What if I don’t get there in time though?” He fretted. “I’ll make sure to record it for you” you reassured him. “But they’re my first kids, I want to be there. I’m supposed to go through it with you!” You wrapped your arms around him in an attempt to comfort him. “I know, darling, I want you with me too. But sometimes life doesn’t give you what you want, and that’s ok.” Joe shook his head. “No it’s not. I don’t want to be that dad who wasn’t even there when his kids were born.” “You could never be that dad, Joe” you reassured him, pulling him close. “If you do end up missing it, it won’t be your fault at all.” Your husband suddenly peered intently at you. “How are you so calm about this?” “Last time I had a baby I had absolutely no way of knowing if the father would be there, and neither did he” you pointed out. “As much as he wanted to be there, neither of us had any control over it. This time we do, and I know you’ll move heaven and earth to get here in time if it comes down to it.” Joe still wasn’t entirely soothed, but he at least had faith you would be alright, whatever happened.

The knowledge that the babies could come at any time made Joe more worried than ever about leaving you alone while he was on the other side of the country. Fortunately, your wonderful friends were more than happy to step in when they were informed of the situation. Lucy was staying in New York until New Year’s, so she organised to visit you every day she could while Joe was away, and she promised to send Rami on the days she couldn’t. She even volunteered to be your hospital buddy if necessary. Ben also happily offered support, though of a slightly different kind.

“Uh, babe, would you be okay with a houseguest while I’m away?” Joe asked you at dinner, the night before he was due to fly back to LA. “Depends who it is” you said casually. “Why?” “Ben’s in town for press next week, and we thought maybe he could stay here, help you with Loolah til I get back.” That would be helpful. “How long’s he here for?” you inquired. “Two weeks, we’re gonna hang out for a couple days when he’s done working” Joe explained. “When’s he get here?” “Monday week” Joe told you. I’d only have to spend a week alone while Joe’s not here. You smiled. “Okay then.” Relief swept over Joe’s face. “Oh good. I feel a lot better about leaving you now I know you won’t be alone” he told you. “In the meantime I’m telling them they’re to stay put until you’re home again” you said firmly.        

December

True to her word, Lucy had visited you nearly every day after Joe returned to LA. The first day after Joe left turned out to be the one day she wasn’t free, so Rami dropped in to check on you instead. He insisted it was no trouble, despite his busy schedule. “I had a day off today, I wasn’t busy” he told you, after you thanked him for making time to see you. “Anyway, I’m always here for you and Joe. Me and Lucy. If you need anything, honestly, just call us, anytime. Even the middle of the night, we won’t mind. Seriously, we’re here to help however we can.” “Thanks, Rami” you murmured, hearing the sincerity in his words.

The first week without Joe passed surprisingly quickly, and before you knew it the day of Ben’s arrival was upon you. You were looking forward to having some adult company, but you were slightly nervous too. You’d never spent any substantial time alone with Ben, and now he was going to be sharing your house for a fortnight. Tallulah, on the other hand, was extremely excited about one of her favourite people coming to stay. So excited, in fact, that she tried to stay home from school to be there when he arrived. You eventually won the battle, but the whole process of getting her to school tired you out so much that you spent a lot of the morning napping on your couch. You awoke to the telltale sound of a car in the driveway, and waddled as fast as you could to the front door, opening it just in time to see a cab disgorge Ben, a large suitcase and two other bags.

Ben smiled when he saw you in the doorway. “Y/N!” he called out happily. “Don’t come out, I can sort myself. Go and sit down, I won’t be long.” You made agreeing noises, realising you wouldn’t be much help with anything in your present state. Besides, you were officially banned from heavy lifting, you wouldn’t even be able to help carry something. Several minutes of shuffling and yelling directions up and down your stairs later, Ben was settled into your guest room. When he came downstairs again he was smiling warmly. “It really is good to see you again, love.” “You too” you agreed. Ben’s eyes went wide when he finally got a good look at you, and your enormous bump. “God, you’re…” He trailed off, looking apologetic. “Go on, say it. It’s fine” you assured him. “Well then, you’re kind of huge. Joe’s told me about the bump, hell he’s even shown me pictures, but seeing the real thing… how do you even get that big and not, like, break?” “With great difficulty” you quipped. You weren’t offended by Ben’s honest reaction, you knew he was just a bit shocked.

Five minutes later you were sat on the couch nursing a cup of tea while Ben made himself a coffee. You were quite grateful to be sitting down as the monsters were suddenly restless. “I’m done here, do you want anything else?” Ben called from the kitchen. “I’m good” you called back. Ben returned to the couch to see you holding your tea rather gingerly while looking uncomfortable. “Are you alr- … what is that?” His eyes widened when he glanced at your bump and realised it was moving. You smiled reassuringly. “They’re just kicking. D’you wanna feel?” Ben grinned eagerly. “Yeah! If that’s ok with you?” “Of course it is. C’mere.” He’s so lovely. Half the planet doesn’t even bother asking before touching the bump. You placed his hand over the spot the babies were kicking at. His jaw dropped at the feeling. “That’s so weird! It must be weirder for you though, feeling that from inside.” You grinned. “It is a bit, but it’s sort of reassuring too, getting to feel that they’re still there, still ok.” Ben smiled. “Well it seems pretty cool to me.” You grinned back. “Oh, it’s very cool.” 

Tallulah was very excited to come home and find Ben waiting for her. “Benny!” She yelled, running over to embrace him. “Loolah!” He cried back. “You’ve grown so much since I saw you, you’re getting so big!” He gushed. “I heard you’re going to be a big sister soon too.” She nodded seriously. “Mommy’s having two babies. That’s why she’s so big.” Ben smiled. “I heard. Now come into the lounge room, I’ve got a present for you.” He smiled at you on the way past. “I’ve got a present for Mummy too.”

Ben had brought your daughter a kid’s cricket set, complete with plastic wickets. “She’s English, she shouldn’t be playing bloody softball” he quipped. “Also Gwilym may have told me I have to save her before she goes native.” You just laughed. For you, Ben had brought over a big jar of marmite and two large packs of Jaffa Cakes. “Joe told me you’d been craving them” he explained. You were surprised. “Joe talks to you guys about pregnancy stuff?” Ben smiled exasperatedly. “Mate, he hardly shuts up about it.” You smiled affectionately. “Not that it’s not cute how excited he is,” Ben said hurriedly, “but he’s barely talked about anything else for months.” Okay, I can see how that could get annoying. Still adorable though. 

Ben slotted surprisingly easily into the routines of your household. He was out working or socialising at various times of the day or night, but when he was home he was an excellent guest. He took Tallulah to and from school as often as possible, knowing leaving the house was fast becoming a big effort for you. He also insisted on doing as much housework as he could, helping you with washing, cooking and cleaning whenever he had time. “Joe’d have my head if he thought I’d left you to do everything in your condition” Ben joked one day, after you’d told him for the umpteenth time you were fine to do light chores. You didn’t particularly mind, if you were really honest, you actually quite liked having an extra adult around.

Joe finally came home in the second week of December. You shared a very long hug in the doorway when he finally made it home. He nearly cried with relief when he saw you. Of course he’d already known that you were ok before he left LA, but he’d spent two weeks worrying about what ifs, not to mention the several interminable hours he spent unable to talk to you on the plane. “If we ever have another I’m staying home the whole time, I never want to deal with that much worry again” he declared later. That night Ben had dinner at home with the three of you. Joe had wanted to go out, but he took one look at your expression when he suggested it and immediately changed his mind. During the meal he took a picture with Ben, which he posted to Instagram with the caption ‘Finally reunited.’ Naturally, his comments exploded in minutes, but he was too focused on catching up with both of you to care. 

You were so looking forward to spending a few days just relaxing with Joe now that he was finally home. But apparently your children had other plans. The very next morning you lurched awake at 5am with a sharp pain in your belly. You didn't think much of it initially, you'd been having all sorts of pains on and off for weeks. Then you realised you were lying in a wet patch. Well shit. "Joe." You tried to shake your husband awake gently. "Joe, wake up." "What?" he groaned, still mostly asleep. "I think my waters broke" you said urgently. He lurched upright. "It's go time? Even though it’s still five weeks early?" he asked, suddenly awake. "Looks like it" you said dryly. Joe leapt out of bed, looking frantic. "Shit. Ok. We need to get the bag, and get dressed, and-" "Joe, calm down. There's no need to rush, we've got plenty of time" you reassured your frantic husband. He immediately stopped babbling. "Well, you're the expert." You smiled. "Help me get dressed?" you requested. "Of course babe." Joe's eyes were soft and loving as he spoke. It took only a few minutes for you both to be ready to leave the house. But you had a couple more things to attend to before you could head to the hospital.

First Joe helped you across the landing to the guest bedroom currently occupied by Ben. He entered quietly with you waddling behind him. "Ben" he whispered urgently, nudging his friend, "Ben, come on." It didn't work, so Joe reached across to hit him gently with a spare pillow. "Ben!" Ben rolled over, groaning, only to snap awake at the sight of the two of you leaning over his bed. "What, what's going on?" he asked, concerned. "The babies are coming" Joe explained. "We have to go to the hospital." "Perfect timing" Ben quipped. "Yeah, if this had happened this time yesterday you’d have been driving me" you joked. "Look, I’m pretty glad this guys held off until now" Joe cut in. "But anyway, I know you're here for work but can you do us a huge favour and watch Tallulah today?" he added, pleading a little with his eyes. Ben smiled. "Of course I can. I think I'm actually free today anyway" the blond man told you both. "Great!" you smiled. "Now brace yourself, she's probably going to come and jump on you after we wake her." "So make sure you're decent under there" Joe added, as he helped you out of the room. Ben just groaned. It was too early in the day for humour. 

You had one more stop before leaving. Tallulah's room. "Loolie?" you said quietly, reaching over from the chair next to her bed. "Mommy?" she replied in surprise, peering at you sleepily. "It's ok darling, I just wanted to tell you the babies are coming today" you reassured her. "Today?" Tallulah echoed. "Yes, darling. Joe's taking me to the hospital in a minute" you told her gently. "Ben's going to stay and look after you, so be good for him, okay?" you instructed. "Yes Mommy" she murmured back. "Ok, big sister, I'll see you later" you said happily, leaning over to hug your daughter. "I love you" you whispered into her wavy blonde hair. "Love you Mommy" she whispered back. You felt oddly emotional as you kissed her goodbye and left the room. Next time I see her she'll be a big sister.  

You managed to stay calm while Joe helped you into the car. But almost as soon as you started moving you burst into tears. "You ok?" Joe asked casually. Your weird moods were nothing exceptional any more. "Mostly" you told him. "It's just hit me as we were leaving that Tallulah's not going to be my only child after today" you explained. "That's a good thing, though, isn't it?" he replied, concerned. "Of course it is" you assured him. "It's just that, it was just me and her for so long, and even after you came along we were so close, and now it's not going to be like that any more" you explained, rather sadly. "Babe, you're not going to lose your bond with Loolah just because you've got other kids to raise" Joe reassured you. "I mean, it's going to be different now, but a good different, right?" "Yeah, good different" you agreed. "Plus, she's so pumped to be a big sister, it's gonna be so cute" he told you, smiling. 

It was fairly quick, in the end. You had wondered whether Doctor Baker would attempt to stop the labour, but she told you the best option at this point was to let it happen. “You’re far enough along that your babies are more or less fully developed, even though they’re not quite full term” she assured you. “They’re very healthy, they’ll be perfectly fine.” She also gave you an injection soon after you arrived at the hospital to help the babies’ lungs develop. I don’t think it’ll have much time to work, but I suppose even a little bit helps.

Joe stayed at your side for almost the entire labour, holding your hand, rubbing your back and doing anything and everything you needed him to. Finally, just before noon, the first baby arrived. "Here he is!" Doctor Baker called out, as his piercing cries filled the room. You were flooded with relief when you heard it. His lungs must be ok then. Joe sniffled as he cut the cord, and then there was a sudden flurry of activity on the other side of the room as various people descended to check the baby over, concerned about the potential consequences of his early birth. The doctor had told you earlier that a team from the NICU would be present to check both babies immediately after delivery, but you couldn’t help worrying at the sight of the crowd around your tiny son. He was only five weeks early, but what if something was wrong? Fortunately, nobody in the room seemed overly concerned so far.

Moments later, calm descended, and a nurse came over to you, carrying your son in a loose blanket. "He’s a bit small, but he’s totally healthy” she told you, smiling. “You want to help keep him warm while we wait for the other baby?" she asked. You shook your head. "Dad gets first go" you told her, smiling. Joe was wide-eyed with wonder as she placed his baby on his exposed chest for skin-to-skin bonding, showing him how to support his son's body correctly. "Hey buddy" he murmured, in a sing-song voice. His overjoyed face when he looked over to you, barely holding back happy tears, was a memory you would treasure forever. "We have a son babe" he marvelled. "I have a son."

You smiled, then suddenly groaned. "I think we're about to have another o-aaargghhh!" "Alright Y/N, time to push again" Doctor Baker said brightly. Well duh. You could have slapped her if she'd been in reach. But then you looked back at Joe, happily cradling your son on his chest, while trying to hold your hand at the same time and looking desperately conflicted, and you suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of calm wash over you. It was strangely grounding as you gathered your remaining strength. Doctor Baker started gently talking you through the process, but your energy was rapidly running out. "Almost there Y/N, one more push now" she instructed you. "I can't do it any more," you cried, "I'm too tired." "You're so close now, just one more push" the doctor encouraged. "I can't" you cried again, shaking your head. Suddenly Joe squeezed your hand. "Babe, look at me" he said, voice low and soft. You turned to see him wearing an expression that was somehow adoring and determined at the same time. "I know you're tired, but you're so so close to the finish line. You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met, I know you can do this" he told you encouragingly. "Ok" you replied in a small voice. Joe smiled at you adoringly. "Now let's go. I'm right here with you." You gripped his hand tightly as you summoned one final effort. Moments later crying rang out through the room once again.

"Well done Y/N, you did it… oh, and it's a girl!" Doctor Baker announced. "What?!" you and Joe yelled simultaneously. "You said they were boys!" he spluttered, utterly shocked as he leant over to cut the cord again. You were rapidly becoming too exhausted to care much. The doctor was unfazed. "Well, I was wrong" she responded calmly. "Ultrasounds can be tricky to read sometimes, especially with twins. But I made a mistake, and I'm sorry about that." "It's ok" you replied. Joe still looked indignant, but at that moment a nurse came and placed your tiny daughter on your chest. His expression softened immediately, and he quickly broke into happy tears. "One of each" he sniffled, gazing between his newborn children. "We've got one of each now." You just smiled contentedly. "Yeah we do." Joe leaned over to kiss you gently. “You’re amazing honey, you really are. I love you so much.” You smiled contentedly at him “I love you too dear.”

You could have stayed there forever, you thought, just gazing at the two little beings you’d created. They would need to go to NICU soon, but they were breathing well and doing everything they were supposed to, so you were given some time to bond first. You spent the first half hour enjoying first cuddles and skin-to-skin time. You were actually encouraged to go skin-to-skin as much as possible to help the babies regulate their body temperatures. You were hardly complaining though. Joe eventually got out his phone to take some photos of you and the twins. You were very pleased you managed to capture some of him too, especially the heartwarming expression on his face when he did skin-to-skin with both babies at once for the first time. Soon after he took a similar picture of you, which he promptly sent to Ben to announce the birth. “Couldn’t resist, sorry. You just look so happy.” “So do you” you told Joe, grinning. He smiled. “I feel ridiculously happy right now.” Thirty seconds later Joe’s phone buzzed. “Ben says congratulations” he told you. “Oh, and he’s told Tallulah. He wants to know if he can bring her in to meet them yet.” Joe looked at you with concern. “Should we let him? Will they be ok?” he asked nervously. “Joe, they’re basically fine” you reassured him. “I’m sure the doctor would have told us if visitors weren’t allowed.” You smiled. “Tell him to head in. It’ll be nicer for Loolie to see them now anyway, before they go in the incubators.” Three minutes later Ben texted again saying they were on their way, and you and Joe spent a few minutes making yourselves presentable before settling in to wait.

Suddenly a pair of blond heads poked through the door. "Are you ready for a visitor?" Ben asked, smiling gently. "Definitely" Joe smiled. Ben stepped aside to reveal Tallulah, who rushed into the room with a happy cry. Joe stopped her just inside the door. "We need to be quiet and gentle, okay? The babies are delicate, we don't want to hurt them by accident" he explained. "Ok" Tallulah nodded gravely. Joe led her to your bed, where the babies were resting against your chest. "Hello Mommy" she said quietly. "Hi Loolie" you replied. "You're a big sister darling!" you told her happily. "Come and sit next to me so you can see them." "Ok" Tallulah beamed. There was a bit of awkward shuffling while Joe arranged a chair for her. During this interlude you glanced up to see Ben lurking at the door to your room. "You're allowed to come in, you know" you commented. "Oh, I don't want to intrude…" he muttered, slightly embarrassed. "You could never" Joe reassured his friend. Ben smiled at that. "Well, if you're sure…" "Yes" you and Joe insisted simultaneously. "Come on, I'll grab you a seat" Joe added, trotting off immediately.

You turned your attention back to Tallulah, now sat near your head. "Darling, this is your brother Joey" you told her, pointing to the baby on the right. "And this" you added, indicating the other baby, "is your sister. She doesn't have a name yet." Tallulah's face lit up at this news. "I have a brother and a sister? Cool!" You had to smile at how pleased she was. "Wait, she's a girl? I thought they were both boys" Ben chimed in, from his spot facing Tallulah's chair. "Yeah, so did we" Joe quipped. "It was a nice surprise though" he added, voice softening enormously. You smiled quietly to yourself for a brief moment, before Tallulah's voice broke through your reverie. "Can I hold them Mommy?" "Of course" you smiled. "Who do you want to hold first?" 

You had expected Tallulah might be extra pleased to have a sister, but she was equally entranced by both babies, evidently thrilled just to have siblings of her own. She seemed very comfortable holding them too, despite Joe’s nervous hovering and many reminders to “be gentle, they’re delicate.” Clearly she was a natural big sister. Ben, too, looked like a natural with a newborn in his arms, even if he was a little freaked out by just how small your babies were. "He's so little" he cooed, after being handed Joey by Tallulah, who was now gently cuddling her new sister. "Seriously, I don't think I've seen a baby this tiny before, and I've definitely never held one." "You're not nervous are you?" you asked half-seriously. "Little bit" Ben admitted. "I'm worried I'll accidentally hurt him cos he seems so fragile." Joe smiled reassuringly. "You're doing great, man" he told his friend. "They actually are kinda small though, even for newborns. But you’ll be fine, don’t worry about it." You thought both babies did look particularly tiny against Ben's muscly frame, but you said nothing. Joe, though, snapped a very sweet picture of Ben holding your daughter on his phone. “I have to preserve this image for posterity” he told you. Ben took some pictures too, after he handed the babies back to you and Joe. Your favourite was the shot he got of your whole family, gazing adoringly at its newest members. "You look so happy, guys" he commented, showing you the picture afterwards. You and Joe smiled contentedly at him. "We are" you replied. And you were.

You were well enough to be released after three nights in hospital. The twins, however, were required to stay in NICU for a few more days. “It’s mainly for observation” their doctor told you. “They’re doing very well, we just want to be sure there’s no issues before we let them go home.” You were reassured there were no concerns about your babies’ health, but it didn’t make it any easier to be forcibly separated from them, even if it was only when you went home at night.

The many hours spent watching over the twins in NICU proved somewhat useful, as you and Joe were now faced with the unexpected dilemma of choosing a name for your newborn daughter. You’d agreed long ago that your first son would be officially named after Joe, though you’d decided to nickname him Joey to avoid confusion. But discussions about girls’ names hadn’t gone very far before you’d been given the impression you were having twin boys. Since that impression had turned out to be incorrect, you were now facing an uphill battle to agree on a name for your little girl.

"Madison?" Joe suggested. "No. Too American" you responded instantly. “You do realise she is American?” Joe pointed out. You didn’t particularly care. “Only half. Anyway I don’t like the name. Any other ideas?” "Fine” Joe huffed. “Uh, Amy?” You considered it for a moment. “Amy Mazzello. Mhmm, maybe.” “Maybe?” Joe spluttered. “Well what’ve you got then?” “Matilda?” You offered. “I don’t like it” Joe replied. “Way too English. And, Matilda Mazzello?” “Yeah, that doesn’t sound great” you conceded. “Ooh I know! Poet” Joe suggested. You didn’t like it. “God no. We’re not Hollywood hippies, Joe” “You totally are a hippy” he snorted. You quirked your eyebrows. “What makes you say that?” “Uh, you called your first kid Tallulah Rainbow?” he pointed out. “Tallulah is a perfectly respectable name!” You protested. “Besides, the Rainbow part came from her father, not me.” “That… kind of makes sense” Joe conceded. “Still a bit hippy though.” “It’s really not” you grumbled, explaining the significance of the Rainbow Theatre in Tallulah’s life story. “Actually, that’s quite sweet” Joe admitted. Nevertheless, you and Joe were still struggling to find any names you both liked.

In the end, the solution arrived from a rather unexpected source: miss Tallulah Rainbow herself. “Amber” she suggested, when you asked if she had any name ideas to offer her sister. “Amber…” you and Joe considered. “Amber Mazzello…” “I like that” Joe told you. “So do I” you agreed. Joe feigned shock. “We both like it? I don’t believe it!” “Oh shut up” you grumped. “Anyway, do we want to try and find a middle name we can agree on, or just give her one name and be done with it?” “Actually, I was hoping we could slot in a Queen reference somewhere” Joe admitted. “I was thinking maybe her middle name could be Mercury?” “That’s such a cool name” Ben interjected. “It is” you agreed. “So, Amber Mercury Mazzello?” Joe suggested, carefully sounding out the full name for the first time. “Amber Mercury Mazzello” you repeated. “I love it.” 

You felt bad for messing up Ben's plans, but you could also see that having him around was an utter godsend while the twins were still in hospital. Despite supposedly being in town for work, he spent a lot of that week looking after Tallulah and generally being helpful around the house. This had the dual benefit of freeing you and Joe to spend most of your time with the twins, and ensuring Tallulah didn’t feel too left out in all the chaos. Ben did end up having to cancel a couple of interviews, but he didn’t mind too much. “They were group interviews, the rest of the cast still went, it’s fine” he assured you over dinner one night. "Besides, one of them was with Screenstuff, so I’m quite happy to have missed that." “With Marcie?” Joe asked, in a very sympathetic tone. “Yep” Ben replied. “Uhh, Screenstuff?” You asked. “Entertainment website. Marcie’s their main movie reporter and she’s… not the brightest” Joe explained. “Has a really obvious thing for Ben too.” You were confused. “Is… is that a bad thing?” “It is when I’m trying to promote a project and my body is all they ask about” Ben clarified. “Apparently she got all miffed when I didn’t turn up today, said half her questions were for me” he told Joe. Joe whistled. “Bet that went down well.” A sudden thought occurred to you. “You didn’t tell them where you were, did you?” you asked frantically. “Only the other cast members, and they didn’t tell anyone” he assured you. “They just told the reporters I was sick, no one’s going to work it out, don’t worry.” You were very relieved, seeing as no-one outside your immediate circle knew the babies had arrived yet, and you wanted to keep it that way at least until they were out of hospital. 

Finally, the big day arrived. The twins were finally released from hospital after six days in NICU. Joe was a bundle of nervous excitement as he very carefully placed them in their carseats and drove you all home. The excitement seemed to win out for most of the day, until you put both babies down for an afternoon nap. As you sank gratefully onto the couch, you noticed Joe staring into space with a rather stricken expression. “What’s up, love?” “It just hit me a minute ago…” he mumbled. “What just hit you?” You had a hunch about what was bothering him, but you wanted to hear him say it. “I just realised I’m now responsible for two whole human beings for the rest of my life, and I’m freaked out” he told you. “Like, I’m super happy that they’re here and they’re healthy and they’re ours, but…” You smiled gently. “I know you are, dear, I am too.” Joe suddenly looked at you with confusion. “Wait, why aren’t you freaking out right now?” “Been here before,” you said airily, “I’m still a little freaked out, I just knew it was coming.” You paused. “Plus, it’s less scary this time” you added. “It’s not so new and different, and I’ve got you.” Joe smiled at that. “Indeed you do. You’re not slightly terrified by having two though?” You waved a hand. “We’ll manage. There’s two of them, but there’s two of us too.”

Joe was slightly startled the following afternoon when he picked up his phone and realised he hadn’t even looked at Instagram in nearly a week. “It’s so weird” he muttered, scrolling through everything he’d missed. You wondered what he’d seen. “What’s weird?” “It feels like my whole world’s… shifted since I got home, but on Instagram everything seems exactly the same” he explained. “Even my Insta looks like I’ve just been hanging out with Ben all week, but I’ve barely seen him.” “Everyone knows Insta’s mostly not real life” you reassured him. “Yeah,” Joe agreed, “but this is such a huge thing in my life and it’s not there at all.” “Well, if you wanna announce it, feel free. We’ve told all our friends and families now anyway” you pointed out. Joe grinned excitedly. “You’re ready to tell the world about them?” “Absolutely.”

Joe agonised over his baby announcement post. In the end he picked a picture you’d taken of him with the twins dozing on his chest. He posted it with a lengthy caption: ‘So this week I was supposed to be relaxing with Ben… Instead I spent most of it at the hospital since these guys decided to make their entrance last Saturday, five weeks early. Everyone’s healthy, they just needed a bit of time to adjust to life earthside. Anyway, meet my new favourite people: Joseph Francis IV (but we’re calling him Joey) and Amber Mercury (she’s in the dino onesie) Mazzello. Also my wife is amazing and I love her so much more than I can ever express.’ Gwilym very quickly commented ‘So incredibly happy for all of you. Can’t wait to get over and meet these cuties!’ Lucy just posted a line of heart eyes emojis. Later on Brian left a lengthy note. ‘Delighted to hear these two arrived safe and healthy, if a bit ahead of schedule. Hopefully everyone’s adjusting well to their new roles. Huge congratulations and warmest wishes to you all. Bri’. Even Ben eventually chimed in: ‘They’ve stolen my man but they’re so cute I’m not even mad.’    

The next day you got a rude shock, when you realised that despite the lavishly decorated tree in your lounge room you and Joe had entirely forgotten Christmas was nearly upon you. By the time you remembered it was only a week away. “There’s so much to do” you fretted to Joe. “We’ve got to wrap everything and do cards and… shit, two of our kids don’t even have any presents yet.” “They’re a week old, I don’t think they’re gonna care” your husband tried to reassure you. It didn’t help. “But it’s their first Christmas, they’ve got to have something” you insisted. Joe smiled reassuringly. “Well in that case, I’d better go shopping tomorrow” he declared, kissing you gently.

Joe went out alone the next day. But he had a surprise for you. “You were worried about getting everything sorted in time, so I’ve called in reinforcements” he told you as he was leaving. You quirked an eyebrow. “Reinforcements?” “Lucy’s coming over later to help you out” he explained. It wasn’t the solution you’d been expecting, but it turned out to be a good one. With Lucy’s help you made surprisingly quick work of your to-do list, and by the time Joe got home the house was tastefully decorated and there was a small pile neatly wrapped presents under the tree. She even helped Tallulah bake and ice some Christmas biscuits for you all. Her reward was some time spent cooing over your sleepy newborns. “They’re beautiful, lovie!” All in all, everyone ended the day satisfied. 

Christmas Day was fairly peaceful in the end. You enjoyed a relaxing morning opening gifts at home ahead of Christmas dinner with Joe’s family. You and Joe had agreed not to go overboard on presents this year, knowing you’d have a lot of other things going on at Christmastime. But Joe did manage to sneak in a small surprise for you. “From Joey and Amber” he said, handing over one last parcel with a soft smile. You delicately undid the wrapping to uncover a framed copy of the picture Ben had taken of the five of you in hospital the day the twins were born. “Oh, it’s lovely!” you gushed, leaning over to hug Joe. “Thank you.” “Don’t thank me, they got it for you” he replied, grinning. You smiled. “You must have helped though.” “That I did” Joe agreed. “Well thank you for helping them” you told him, leaning in for a chaste kiss. “You’re the best.”

Joe’s family were very excited about meeting the twins, of course, but Tallulah had a lot of fun too, playing with her cousins and generally enjoying all the little treats of the day. You were glad to see her having fun; you’d been worried she might end up feeling a bit left out in all the fuss over her new siblings. She was very disappointed when you had to leave soon after the meal to get the babies home before their bedtime but she seemed happy enough to spend the rest of the evening watching movies and enjoying her presents.

Your family spent Boxing Day largely doing as little as possible. As always everyone was a bit flat after the excitement of Christmas Day. Except for Tallulah, who was very much looking forward to seeing Roger the next day. He arrived in the afternoon, and came to your house almost immediately to take Tallulah out for afternoon tea. You could tell by the way she was beaming when they returned that she had enjoyed the individual attention. Her expression seemed to highlight her resemblance to her father. Roger was slightly startled when he noticed. “Gosh, I’d never realised how much she takes after me.” “She looks more like you every day lately” you told him. “She’s grown up so much since I saw her last” Roger mused. “Well she is a big sister now” you pointed out. He smiled. “Ah yes. How’s she going with that, by the way?” “Very well, actually” you replied. “I was expecting her to be a bit jealous, but so far she just adores the twins. She loves holding them. Even got them Christmas presents.” Roger smiled with pride. “Well that’s good to hear. Hopefully the adoration continues.” You weren’t convinced it would but you still smiled. “Yeah, hopefully.” 

Roger had booked into a hotel, but he still stayed at your house until well past dinnertime every day of his visit. Tallulah was clearly very appreciative of the time with her father, even if she didn’t say it out loud. The days of Roger’s trip sped by, and suddenly it was New Year’s Eve, again. The day held many happy memories for you, but this year was going to be very different. Joe had called off his traditional party, knowing none of you had the energy for a late night. Instead, you were having a sort of open house afternoon to give all your friends an opportunity to meet Joey and Amber at a time that was easy for your family. Adjusting to looking after twin newborns was exhausting enough without trying to find the energy to organise visits every other day. Of course a few of your close friends had dropped in already, but they were a select group amongst your wider acquaintance.

You were amazed at just how many people showed up to meet the twins and have some lunch with you. Even Gwilym made an appearance. “Surprise!” he declared, grinning widely. “I had some time off, and I’ve been dying to see you all, so here I am.” He was amazed when he got his first glimpse of the twins. “Christ, I thought Ben was exaggerating when he told me how tiny they were.” “Would you believe they’ve already grown since Ben saw them?” Joe asked, beaming with pride. To be fair, they did still look ridiculously small in Gwilym’s arms. “They’re not that tiny now, are they?” Joe asked you in an undertone, as you both watched Gwilym enjoying his first cuddles. You smiled reassuringly. “They’re still a bit on the small side. But Gwil is also a bloody tree of a man, he’s making them look even smaller.” Joe laughed at that. 

Gwilym stayed all afternoon, helping here and there and generally enjoying some rare time with Joe. His relaxed mood seemed to have spread throughout your house that day, though the energy lifted considerably when Rami and Lucy finally arrived. Naturally Gwilym was thrilled to see them both, and they spent a long time lounging on your couches catching up. People gradually started to leave as the afternoon wore on, and eventually they were the only guests left other than Roger. Lucy smiled when she noticed this.

“Now that we’re alone, lovies, we’ve got something for you” she declared. Rami gently handed over a bulging gift bag. “Christmas presents. From all of us” he said softly. You started to protest but he waved it away. “Just open them. There’s something for all of you in there.” Indeed there was. The bag held a number of packages, each containing part of a matching set of red baseball shirts, made to look like the D-backs uniform from Undrafted. Yours and Tallulah’s had your surname on the back; the others were labelled Mazzello. Two of these were very small, although closer to toddler than newborn size. Rami looked apologetic. “That was the smallest we could get.” “Rami, they’re perfect” you reassured him. “They really are” Joe chimed in, sounding rather emotional. “Thanks man.” Lucy smiled. “I told him the important thing was that they matched.” You glanced at Joe, wondering why he was so incredibly touched by the gift. “You’re all on my team” he explained, before you could even open your mouth to speak. “You’re my family, even if you don’t all have my name, you’re all mine.” You smiled. “Honey, of course we’re yours. We’re your team.”    

You were still cuddling Joe when Roger suddenly appeared next to you carrying a couple of parcels. “I brought you a little something too” he said sheepishly. “The top one’s from Brian, by the way.” Joe looked surprised. “Brian sent us a baby gift?” Roger smiled. “Of course. That’s what friends do, you know.” Brian had given the twins a stuffed badger and a fluffy hedgehog. “Just a little reminder of their roots” the card said. You and Joe both laughed. “Brian and his hedgehogs. Typical.” Roger’s parcel contained a pair of onesies. One had a photo of John Deacon printed on the front, while the other featured Freddie Mercury. “I heard her middle name and I just couldn’t resist” he said, grinning mischievously. Joe grinned back. “Thanks Roger, they’re perfect.”

Midnight on New Year’s Eve. In years past you’d enjoyed the ritual of sitting up to watch the fireworks, or going out somewhere in search of a New Year’s kiss. This year, though, all you really wanted was to get some sleep. But of course the twins had other ideas. In the end, midnight found you and Joe sat together on the rocking chair, each soothing a baby back to sleep. Joe’s loving gaze suddenly shifted from his children to you. "Thank you" he said softly. "For what?" you asked. "I always wanted a wife, and kids, but before I met you I was starting to wonder if it would ever happen for me" he explained. "And now you've given me both in a single year." "I suppose I have" you mused. "So, thank you. For giving me everything I've dreamed of" Joe said, kissing you gently. "I love you so, so much." You smiled back. "I love you too, babe." You were both quiet as you tenderly set the twins back in their cribs. “It’s been a good year, hasn’t it?” you mused, as you and Joe returned to your bedroom. “It’s gonna be a hard one to top” Joe agreed. “It’s been magnificent.” And the best part was, it was only the beginning.

*******************************************************************************************

A/N 2: This is really the end for these guys now, and I’m a little bit sad about that. I’ve got one Tallulah oneshot I want to finish (there’s lots of Freddie in it, it’s a lot of fun) and then I’m going to take a break from this universe (for now anyway) and work on my ‘possible Freddie Mercury descendant’ story. At this point I’m planning on keeping it as a oneshot, but I’ll see how I go. Hopefully it doesn’t take as long as this one did!

Taglist: (send me an ask or dm if you want to be taken off) 

@wandering-at-midnight @fruityfreddie @trumanjo @ohmygoditsanthonyedwardstark @itsametaphorbriansblog @theedwardscollection @bookish-oreo @simplyvictoria-93 @kotoamor @j1224 @closertothesunwhenimwithyou @florenceivy @jennyggggrrr 

(line through means the tag didn’t work)

[nancydrew65]

SKAM NL Season 2 Episode 9 Thoughts

Well, this episode happened. I was less angry than disappointed in how they handled several scenes. I enjoyed the last clip and the second clip, but beyond that... not so much. Now, I don’t know how you guys felt about this episode, if it was similar to my reaction or different. I would really like to know.

Filming Without Permission

OK, I have to confess that at this point in time, I am very disappointed in SKAM NL. For a variety of reasons, the first of which I shall explore in this clip.

Now, I thought overall the scene was filmed very well and I thought the acting was fantastic. That is not my issue, here. My issue is that this scene felt a lot like SKAM France Season 1 and 2 felt: copy and pasted. This scene played out almost exactly like the scene in OG, like even a lot of the dialogue was the same. And that would not be a terrible thing if this was SKAM France or SKAM Austin where the sexual assault storyline was very similar to OG’s. However, there is a difference between getting photographed naked (Noora) and being sexually assaulted while filmed (Liv). I tend to think the latter is a more grave matter. Throughout the scene, Liv kept asking Morris to delete the video. I was like, “Screw deleting the video! Get him to admit to the sexual assault and then take him to court! The video on his phone will help convict him!” I am honestly so surprised by they way they filmed this scene. Morris should be going to jail! SKAM NL, you can’t just drastically change one aspect of the storyline (like making Liv actually be sexually assaulted) and then not change the rest of the scenes correspondingly. The choice to play this scene this way is frankly astonishing to me. And makes me very disappointed in SKAM NL.

Negative Energy

Liv bought a plant! She struggles to take it home because it is so big! That was a cute montage.

Jayden and Ralph tease her about the plant before all three engage in a pillow fight. Very satisfying.

Then Liv gets the dreaded text from Morris which implies he lied to Noah about what happened that night. If I hadn’t already seen the next clip, I would be praying for Noah to react in a more understanding way. But… oh, well.

Yes or No

I love how the girls are theorizing that Morris didn’t actually tell Noah. They are so sweet.

Aw, Engel is offering food to Liv. She is probably noticing that Liv isn’t eating much. How the tables have turned. The pupil has become the teacher.

Then Noah storms up and this awful scene happens. I really wish they had had him react differently, but after the cruel awakening with SKAM Austin, I realized I can no longer hope for such a miracle. A lot of people were warning against turning against Noah, saying Liv didn’t get to explain (which is fair) and he doesn’t know the full story (also fair). But honestly? I am tired of people being willing to give guys the benefit of the doubt when the people who are more impacted and hurt by the situation are women. Noah’s not totally ~ canceled. Liv wasn’t able to explain (she did say she didn’t know whether she slept with his brother which is such a red flag) and from the texts SKAM NL has released, it seems as though she didn’t tell him over text, either. It was at this point that I could never forgive William because he knew the whole story (that his girlfriend might have been sexually assaulted) and he still treated Noora like shit. That hasn’t happened so far with Noah, so I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but just a sliver.

Also, despite how much I hate this scene, I have to say the way SKAM NL edited it was superb. Possibly, the best version of this scene. Visually, anyways. Content wise, not so much.

I love how the girls run to Liv and hug her. After Noah throws her to the ground (!) I repeat, THROWS her to the ground.

No Worries

Liv is cleaning out her room when she comes across a photo of herself taking a selfie. In the photo, she looks extremely skinny. Ah, here’s the reveal that Liv herself struggled with an eating disorder. She throws the photo in the trash.

She also gets a call from the record company, asking to schedule a meeting. She asks if she can call them back and they say yes. Oh, please let her be able to make the meeting, please!!!!!

Liv finds the note Noah gave to her at the end of Season 1. And does it contain a message asking her to go on a date with him? No. It reads: “Unconditional, With no one holding you back, And away we go.” Ever the poet, Noah. Please don’t disappoint me.

This prompts Liv to message Marie, the woman from the party, to find out what truly happened.

Only Left For A Moment

So, this scene plays out almost the same as OG. The only real difference is that Morris is messed up because his dad got remarried very soon after his parents divorced. OK, not the same as having a mother addicted to drugs. So, I don’t cut him any slack. Especially since what he did was worse than what Niko did.

Apparently, Marie went to the bathroom for just a minute and that was when Morris must have filmed Liv and sexually assaulted her.

God, we don’t even get the line where Noora says she reported Niko. Come on! What happened to Liv needs to be reported. SKAM NL is killing me here. And not in a good way. This isn’t how sexual assault and its aftermath and the consequences for assaulters should be portrayed. I am very pissed off at the show right now.

I Want You to Think of Yourself As Beautiful

I loved this scene. Liv finds Engel waiting for her outside her apartment. Engel starts making tacos for Liv.

At some point, she finds the photo of Liv that was thrown out. She remarks that she looked beautiful then. Liv reprimands Engel, telling her that she was unhealthy back then and one should not consider that beautiful. This was such a great message to put forward. And this scene was more explicit in saying Liv had an eating disorder.

Liv tells Engel that she is beautiful. Engel comments that Liv is not eating that well now, herself. And Liv remarks that she knows, that she is trying to change.

Engel tells Liv she needs someone to look out for her now and then. She can’t do everything by herself. Engel and Liv hug and ugh, I love their friendship.

Liv goes sit on the table and gets a notification. It is a post Noah made about having a going away party for himself. So, we’re going down this path. Great. Not really. That was meant to be sarcastic.

General Thoughts

I really don’t know how to feel about this show right now. SKAM NL was one of my favorite remakes, but how they handled the sexual assault storyline this past episode really makes me question that standing. I hope Noah doesn’t react badly when Liv tells him the truth and I hope they rectify the mistakes they made this episode. REPORT MORRIS!!!!!! Please. 

[fanficimagery]

Imagine befriending the God of Mischief as he and the Asgardians seek to make Midgard their new home. He becomes quite attached to you, the unflappable Midgardian, and is more than a little upset when his favorite human shows up with a myriad of bruises (Part 1 of 2).

Author's Note: So I recently watched Thor: Ragnarok and I fell in love with Hiddleston's portrayal of Loki in this film. It was, by far, my favorite! With that said, I got an idea for a Loki imagine when Loki asked Thor if he thought it was wise he be taken back to Earth. With that said, please excuse the OOC-ness of Loki. I tried! I really did.

Trigger Warning: Mentions a physically abusive relationship/the damage left behind.

Loki X Reader

The streets of New York have always been noisy, but today it's just a little bit... more. There have been gaggles of boys and girls- teenagers, really- every few blocks, all of them gushing about something on their phones. But not one to dig too deep into something that's not your business, you keep your thumbs hooked into the straps of your backpack and thank God above that your Professor cancelled your last class.

You spot a hot dog vendor and immediately get in line, your need for sustenance winning out for the time being. And it's as you're waiting in line that you hear it- it being the rather posh and articulate voice arguing back and forth with an amused accented one.

"Oh my god, are you Thor?!" Someone from behind you squeals. "What happened to your hair?"

You wince and barely contain yourself from glancing over your shoulder, but you can't help yourself from turning around when you hear people start asking for selfies. You roll your eyes when you see a very tall and muscular, dirty blonde individual bending at the knees to make sure he's in the frame of the current picture being taken, and then snort when you see his dark haired companion rolling his eyes as well. You're immediately on edge when you continue to stare at the dark haired individual and realize just exactly who he is... but then you take a deep breath and realize you're overreacting.

Thor's one of the good guys, so if the God of Mischief is with Thor... then he must be good. Sort of.

"This is why I don't like going into public with you," Loki huffs when Thor's fangirls disperse.

Thor smiles. "Brother, you're just jealous you have no fans of your own."

"And that's where you're wrong, brother." Loki's quick to retort. "One look at that Midgardian girl's shirt," he says while pointing at you, "and you'll see her green shirt bears an image of my horned helmet."

You freeze and your eyes widen when Thor looks directly at you. His gaze falls to the image on your shirt before his sparkling gaze meets yours and he flashes you his megawatt smile. "I-I'm sorry!" You blurt. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

"Nonsense," Thor chuckles. "It is pleasing to see one wear something that belongs to my brother."

"Yes," said brother drawls. "But it begs the question, how crazy are you to dare to be so bold and wear something that belongs to the man who tried to conquer your planet?"

Gaping, your gaze darts back and forth between the brothers. "Um. I- I liked it? Earth was pissed at you a while back, hell a lot of people still are pissed, but-"

"But?" Loki smirks.

"But someone called into question your sanity at the time because it came to light that you might have mind-whammied too, and since Thor never gave up on you a lot of people dug deep into the SHIELD files that were released onto the internet and learned some interesting things." You take a deep breath, your heart pounding in nervousness, and then exhale. "You've got some fans now. There's Loki merch that some people are happy to buy."

"And you liked this shirt?" Thor muses happily.

"Sure," you shrug. Then you briefly meet Loki's gaze. "Your guys' armor is pretty cool. I liked the horned helmet. I'm just glad you don't look so... sickly anymore," you bravely tell the pale God. "But you do need some sun, man. Sunlight is your friend."

Loki chuckles. "Oohh. I like her, brother. Can I keep her? I'd very much like my own fan."

"Nay." Thor claps his brother on the back. "I believe you'd be too much for any Midgardian to handle."

You shake your head in fond amusement, glancing over your shoulder when the hot dog vendor asks you to step forward. Seeing that you're up next, you fully turn around to place your order. Then when you grab up your dog and step off to the side to start eating, you pause by a trashcan to have a place to throw your trash once done.

Your’re halfway done with your dog when you something feels off. Your hot dog... it's moving. And it's only when it's halfway to your mouth that you glance down at it, the once weenie now turned into a snake. You scream and throw the bun encased snake, only once it hits the ground it turns back into a weenie and bun.

Hearing laughter behind you, you find Thor and Loki staring on in amusement. Your panicked expression turns into a scowl.

"I had to leave my fan with something to remember me by."

"Just be glad it wasn't he as the snake and then he stab you once he transformed back. That was his favorite trick when we were children."

"Charming," you deadpan. Then glancing at Loki, you say, "You owe me another dog. I only had enough money for one and you made me drop half of it."

"Very well, little Midgardian. Just this once I shall grant you what you seek."

Loki returns to the hot dog vendor and Thor beams at his brother. As you watch Loki interact with those he once tried to rule over, you can't help but think that Loki isn't as villain-y as he once was. Maybe he could get others to overlook his past mistakes. Then again, you think as you glance at your half eaten hot dog on the ground, if he pisses off other humans they might not be too keen on the God of Mischief.

Loki is sitting on a bench in the park when you find him and pause a good twenty feet behind him. You take a moment to take him in, marveling at the fact that the Trickster God actually listened to you and took to wearing jeans with button down shirts instead of expensive suits that made him look so out of place in the middle of Summer.

Throwing caution to the wind, you readjust the sunglasses on the bridge of your nose and tug on the long sleeves to your shirt over the palms of your hands. You paste on a smile and close the distance between you and your Asgardian... friend.

"Hey, Trickster, long time no see."

Loki glances up and he smiles. "Ah, Y/N. I was beginning to think you've grown tired of my company."

"Nah. I've just been.. busy." You shrug and then attempt to sit, and are unable to hide the wince when you bump into the edge of the bench.

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

Loki's eyes narrow on you. "The wince. Why did you wince?"

"I, uh, I bumped into the edge. It hurt."

"Yes, but a bump like that one is usually able to be laughed off," he retorts. "Your face crumpled momentarily with actual pain. Now again, what was that?"

You sigh as you sit down. "I took a fall down the stairs," you mumble. "I'm still a bit sore."

"You're an abysmal liar, Lady Y/N. I will not ask a third time." Apparently you take too long to answer because Loki's hand flashes out and he tugs the sunglasses from your face. You flinch and turn your face away, but are greatly surprised when gentle fingers tug your face back around. Loki tuts at what he sees. "Who did this to you?"

"It's nothing," you say and snatch back your glasses.

"Darling, you are speaking with the God of Lies and Deceit. Now tell me or I'll-"

"You'll do nothing," you hiss and hurriedly cover up your black eyes. "I was in a shit situation and finally got enough sense to remove myself from that environment."

Loki bristles, but reigns in whatever he was first going to say in anger. "So it was a beating so severe that you refused to meet up with me until you've mostly healed?"

"I-" Tears sting your eyes and you groan before wiping gently at them. Inhaling and then exhaling deeply, you reply "Thor sings your praises, you know? Says how much you're like the brother he grew up with and how he can see a bond that's formed between you and I."

"What does that have to do with why you refused to see me until now?"

"I didn't want you to see me and do something stupid," you mumble. "Just because I find some of your meaner tricks hilarious doesn't mean other people will. If you were to cause some form of harm to my ex and people found out, the media and the other Avengers who've yet to forgive you would be all over you."

"Be that as it may, he hurt you. I'm sure there are a variety of other bruises I've yet to see. Am I right?"

Your nose scrunches as your curl in on yourself. "Unfortunately."

"Then he will burn."

"Loki!" You're quick to straighten up and then whimper when you aggravate your bruised ribs. Sucking in a deep breath through your teeth, you glare at your friend. "It's over and done with. Let it go."

"I don't think I want to."

"Come on, man. He's sitting in a jail cell. I've pressed charges. It'll be okay now," you assure him. Loki's still frowning and you know he's calculating something in that god-like mind of his. "If you let it go, then after I've healed I'll let you magic me into a cat. I'll dive bomb Thor's head from every high shelf you perch me on and since you'll be walking around as yourself, he'll unlikely guess it's me terrorizing him for the day."

It takes a moment for him to respond, but when he does he relaxes in his seat and slides his arm along the backrest of the bench that's directly behind you. "Well if it's to terrorize Thor.."

"Anything to terrorize Thor," you chuckle. Leaning back, you scoot closer to Loki and are surprised when he curls his arm around you to tug you flush up against his side. "And I promise that the next time I end up in a shitty situation, you'll be the first person I run to." Loki scoffs and you grin while tempting fate to lay your head on his shoulder. "If I'm being honest I would have came to you to get revenge for me, but the neighbors heard everything and called the police before I could get out of there."

"And if I'm being honest, there will be no next time," he utters. "Not while I live."

"Aw," you coo. "Thor was right. You like me."

"I tolerate you."

"You adore me."

Loki scoffs. "You're delusional."

"And you're an ass-gardian." You poke him in the side and giggle when he flinches from it. "Stop lying to yourself, Trickster, and just accept it. The sooner you do, then the sooner I will accept that I actually like you too and that there's no other man I even want to spend time with besides you."

"Fine. I find that I've grown quite.. fond of you."

"Yeah, you are," you laugh. "Now come on, Mischief Maker, you're taking me out for some ice cream."

"As you wish, sweetheart."

[nakamotorcycleyuta]

The Perfect Snapshot p.II

Lucas x Reader

Genre: angst/fluff

Word Count: 3.4K

Warnings: swearing, very minor mentions of alcohol and drugs 

A/N: I’m really happy part I got a lot of attention so here is part II!! Lo siento that it took so long to publish my birthday was a literally yesterday and other stuff came up but all in all, ehnjoi!

Part I 

You and Yukhei sit in silence for a moment while you both savor your ice cream. “Do you remember me?” he asks all of a sudden. You try your hardest to recall anything that had to do with him. “If I’m not mistaken, you came up to me...was it freshmen year? And you confused you with another friend of yours with the same name as me.” Yukhei pinches the bridge of his nose. “Ah...I was so embarrassed about that I’m sorry about that.” You giggle and shake your head. “Nah, don’t worry about it I haven’t thought about it since.” 

Yukhei was using his spoon to dig some more ice cream. “Say, speaking of that, I never really saw you after that. When I was taking pictures in the halls that one day, I thought you were a new student.” you explain and noticed how Yukhei stopped his actions. You can tell he was having a debate in his mind then he breathed out, “We-we just never happened to cross paths I guess.” You looked at the tree in front of his car. Something in your head there’s something you don’t know. 

“Did I know you from somewhere before?” Yukhei sighed, but before he could say anything, your phone went off. “Yeah....yeah.....no I’m good....okay....give me like 5 minutes and I’ll be home...okay bye love you.” And the phone call ended. You gathered your things and looked at Yukhei., “sorry, mom wants me to go home since she has something to show me. What were you gonna say?” He smiled and shook his head. “No, it’s okay, you can leave, I’ll see you when I pick you up.” You smiled and waved as you got to your car. 

You got home and you see both your parents with huge smiles plastered on their faces. “Hey baby how are you?” your mother chimed and you gave her the look. She always raises her voice 2 pitches higher than normal when she’s hiding something. “Mom, I swear I was joking when I said I wanted pig for a pet I-” “Oh lord y/n, I would never allow a pig in my house, now close your eyes and hold out your hands.” your mother rolled her eyes and smiled even more brightly. 

You feel your father placing an object in your hands and you immediately gasp. “No way, you didn’t I swear-” “After a couple years of searching, we managed to find that old vintage camera you wanted along with some film. We wanted to wait till your graduation but seeing how busy you are with yearbook, we decided to give it to you now.” your father said with amusement laced in his voice. You admire the piece of photography history in your hands and squeal. “This is perfect! I can use it when Yukhei takes me to go take pictures.” 

Your parents stopped smiling. “Who?” “Yukhei. Wong Yukhei. He’s in my grade and he seems to have a thing for photography as well. He invited to take me somewhere to take pictures.” You notice the concern in your father’s eyes. “Is that a problem? I can cancel if-” Your father interrupted you. “No. Don’t. He’s- he’s a good kid...I don’t know why we haven’t heard from him in years but I forgive him. He was just a little boy.” 

You look at them confused. “Wait, you know Yukhei?” You mother pulls you down next to her. “Listen honey,” They explained the history between your two families and what Yukhei meant to you back then. Your parents apologized profusely for not reminding you of him and your mother pulled out a little album filled with pictures. It all makes sense now. He was your best friend before you broke your head open. 

You don’t feel any resentment towards your parents since their primary concern was your well-being but it’s better to know things later than never. But what does strike a chord in you is the fact that Yukhei hasn't said anything. Why has he been avoiding you all of these years? You bid your parents goodnight and head off to your room. You are tempted to text Yukhei about what you just learned but you pause your actions. “Maybe there’s a reason....” you thought. 

Nonetheless, you managed to reconnect with Yukhei and that’s all that matters. 

Saturday strolls by rather quickly than expected and you are caught in a ball of stress trying to pick out an outfit for a boy you just found out that was your best friend. “Seulgi I’m going to cry I have nothing to wear!” you wail as the mountain of clothing seems to be ignored by you. “Girl, you have enough clothes to dress a small country you are just too indecisive. It’s Yukhei, he won’t care what you look like.” You eventually told Seulgi about your recent discovery and she has been acting rather strange since you told her. “Yeah but we are going somewhere to take pictures and maybe he’s going to post them somewhere and I don’t wanna look like poo on a tagged picture it happens every time!” 

She chuckles and examines your choices. “It seriously doesn’t matter y/n he’ll think you’re cute either way. You stop. “Okay Seul, what are you hiding? You’ve seem to have something hidden and you’re not telling me.” you place your hands on your hips and await an answer. “Well, you know how I’m lab partners with Yukhei right?” “Yeah?” “Well, way before you and him started talking, he asked me about you since I guess he’s seen us hang out a lot in the red room and taking pictures around campus.” She breathes. “Look, y/n, he told me what you and him had years and years before and it was hands down the cutest shit ever and the way he talks about you, has me thinking he might like you even after not seeing you for a hell of a long time.” 

You stare at Seulgi. “He will think you’ll look beautiful in anything. So stop fussing over what to wear and just wear what you think is pretty.” She smiled. 

That's all you really needed to hear. You settled on a really cute white blouse and some mom jeans that were undeniably comfortable. You slip on some shoes that match and Seulgi did your hair and makeup. As your preparations came to an end, you grabbed your vintage camera, your actual camera and your phone. You placed them all in a bag where everything fits. As soon as Seulgi finished taking a selfie with you and captioning it “with the prettiest of them all <3″ You heard the doorbell go off. Your parents went out for lunch and so it was just you an Seulgi. You rush to the door and

and

y-you

you greet-

*nervous sweating*

*hyperventilating*

“Holy hell you look amazing.” You thought at the sight of Yukhei. 

“Hey y/n you look great!” Yukhei shoots you a cheeky smile. You recompose yourself mentally and smiled as natural as possible, “thank you Yukhei, same goes for you.” 

Seulgi, seconds later, comes behind you and wrapped an arm around you. ‘Hey-ah lab partner!” “Hello, didn’t realize you were here.” He chuckled nervously. “Just sending off my beloved y/n. If anything happens to her I won’t hesitate to eliminate you.” Seulgi threatened with a smile. “O-KAY thank you Seulgi for that we should get going shall we?” You shoot a mild glare at Seulgi and she just smiles innocently while waving you both goodbye. 

“I’m sorry about her, she can be a little-” “scary? She’s my lab partner for physics. I’m used to her saying stuff like that since she doesn’t want me ruining her grades.” Yukhei laughs. He starts the engine of his car and you both are off. 

On the drive there, you can’t help but debate if you should discuss with Yukhei about what your parents told you or not. Maybe he’s waiting for the perfect moment to talk to you about it? Maybe he just doesn’t want to bring the pain of not seeing you for years back? Is something--or someone holding him back? 

“When I was 10,” you flinched at the sound of Yukhei’s deep voice disrupting the silence between you both. “I used to buy these disposable cameras from this store that was like 3 blocks away from my house. I wasn’t a normal kid who would hang with friends every weekend and shit nah, I would spend my weekends sometimes alone and go around my neighborhood taking pictures with the disposable camera I bought. I’d take pictures of sunsets, flowers, squirrels, you name it. I still haven’t developed the film and frankly don’t plan to since the angles might be trash,” you both laugh, “but I think it’s safe to say around that time I really enjoyed photography and developed a big interest in it.” 

“Why didn’t you join yearbook?” you asked. “I play lacrosse year round. I’m in a club so I play for them before school lax season starts so I wouldn’t have the time to do it.” You can tell he has something else to say. “....And?” 

He inhales rather sharply. You both halted at a red light. “And....your skills intimidated me.” He looks at you and you can tell it took a lot in him to say that. “Me? Intimidating? They’re just pictures for the freaking yearbook book, those aren’t even my best works!” He chuckled. “Those aren’t even your best shots? Wow, I’m nothing compared to you.” “You still should’ve joined.” 

He shakes his head. “I would’ve had competition. I always liked your work ever since freshmen year. You’re really talented.” You blushed at his sincere comment. “Thanks....that means a lot.” 

He shot you his, what seems to be, signature smile. Oof. There goes your last brain cell. You both pull up at what seems to be a park. “You could’ve just said you’re taking me to a park.” You comment. Yukhei stares for a couple seconds and pouts. “She must not remember this place huh?” he thought. He pushes that thought away and gently grabs your wrist. “It’s not the park I’m taking you. Come on.” 

The yelling and squealing of little kids brings back memories of when you were at the rehab center in Germany. You were playing with other kids in the playground but deep inside, you always felt like you’re missing something--or someone. 

You both cross a wooden bridge, heading farther and farther away from everyone. Willow tree branches drape over the end of the bridge. Yukhei was a couple steps in front of you. With a swift move and flick of the wrist, you took a picture of Yukhei with a scenic background on your vintage camera. You wait to show him. 

“Close your eyes.” He turns around, blocking what’s behind him. You do as told and close your eyes. “3...2...1...open!” 

You physically gasp at the sight in front of you. There was a cute little lake with a couple willow trees draping over it. There was a dock where it lead into the lake. Flower beds filled with roses and tulips and many other gorgeous plants surrounded the majority of the land. But then, you spot it. A little swing made up of a plank of wood and rope tied securely from a thick branch of an oak tree. Nostalgia hit you. “That swing...looks oddly familiar.” You point out to Yukhei. “Wanna start over there then?” he smiles, completely dodging the opportunity in telling you the truth. You smile and nod back. 

You both had a blast taking pictures in this little plot of land. Everything was so fairytale like and you both felt like all those years lost, somehow were made up in a single day. 

After purchasing food from a nearby stand, you both decide to sit in the shade of, you guessed it, a willow tree. “This has been the most fun I’ve had in a while.” You let out. “I agree, I didn’t think you’d actually agree to come with me since this is the first year I’ve talked to you.” 

“Why didn’t you talk to me before?" You let out. He looked at you and sighed "Like I said before, we just never happened to-" "Don't pretend like you never knew Yukhei...or should I say Xuxi..."

Yukhei's eyes were huge when you called him Xuxi. "You-you remember?" You shook your head. "Not exactly but my parents told me what happened. You meant to run into me that one day freshmen year. Why did you just...give up?" You stood up and you felt a knot growing in your throat. It's true though, why did he just give up on you? It hurt to know that you didn't matter enough for him to try again.

"Look it's not that I wanted to-" Yukhei stood up as well. "Y/n I always remembered you and when I saw you I was so fucking happy. It was my parents who told me to not speak to you in fear of more disputes erupting." "My parents are so over that there's no need to avoid me! I always felt like something--more specifically someone was missing from me. You shouldn't have avoided me we could've talked it out.." you manage to say without any tears spilling. "I missed you Xuxi."

He looked at you with sparkling eyes. "I missed you a lot more."

You couldn't resist anymore and gave him the biggest bear hug your body can give. He hugged you right back but tighter. 

Since graduation happened a couple hours ago, it is graduation tradition that some rich senior throws a huge party at their place. You, Yukhei and Seulgi decide to go together. These parties are wild lemme tell you. Filled with crazy graduates that are psyched to leave this hellhole you call high school and start new in the upcoming year.

But this party, it's even more wild since someone brought in kegs and other contraband. People are already gone to another dimension or on cloud nine by the time you 3 arrive. Seulgi seems to be interested in the guy in the corner so she turns to you and says “KAY so I’m gonna go ‘get a drink’ so you and Yukhei have fun, wear condoms and don’t drink and drive.” You smack her arm after she said that and she scurries away to corner dude. “But the drinks are-” “She spotted her next victim.” You explain loudly to Yukhei over the loud music blasting through the speakers. 

People dancing and basically dry humping are all over so you both decide to take aid in the backyard where there’s a huge pool and dj setup. “Damn, Jaehyun really went all out this year.” Yukhei admired the scene. You nod your head as you take a sip of your drink. “I wonder who paid for this..” “Jaehyun is spoiled rotten I’m thinking he just asked his parents and they threw in the Dj as well.” He laughed. You were both standing dangerously close to the pool. 

Seconds later, what appears to be the seniors from the lax, came howling and screaming “YUKHEI AYEEE MY MAN ITS YA BOI YUKE-HEYYYYYYYY” Yukhei set his drink down and warned you to stand back. “Guys please not now I like these clothes.” He put his hands up as he looked like he was surrendering. Mark, Johnny, Jaehyun, and Yuta all hollered as they started to take Yukhei’s phone and wallet. “Shut it Wong you have to be the first in the pool, you were MVP and you know the rules.” Johnny laughed as everyone started to pick Yukhei up and started swinging him. 

1

2

3

SPLASH 

Everyone was laughing at the sight of Yukhei being literally thrown in the pool. He came up to surface and swished his wet locks back. He stood up a little. It was enough to see how defined his muscles are. How defined his collarbones are. Boy, stare at him any longer and you might get a bloody nose like in the animes. He caught you staring. “Y/n can you help me get out? Pretty please?” And there you go, ‘helping him get out of the pool’. As soon as you were in his reach, he grabbed your wrist and 

SPLASH

There you go, in the pool. Thank the Lord you left your phone and wallet in the car. It caught you so off guard that when you came up to surface, you were coughing like a madman. “Dammit Yukhei I hate you!” you laugh as you push your hair back. “No you don’t you love-” he stopped talking. He admired the way you look. How effortlessly beautiful you looked. The way how your shirt stuck to you and really accentuated your curves. You began to feel self-conscious. “Take a picture Wong, it lasts longer.” You wink. He shook his head in defeat, “let’s go get changed before you catch a cold.” 

You both end up in Jaehyun’s room to change. You brought an extra hoodie but you had to borrow Yukhei’s shorts. They were so big on you, you had to tie the strings the tightest you can and roll them up 3 times. “Aw you look so cute struggling to fit in my shit.” he laughed. “I wouldn’t have to wear this if you didn’t drag me in with you.” You stuck your tongue out. When Yukhei turns around to see you changing out of your wet shirt and into your hoodie, he gawks at you again. He can’t believe his best friend turned into such a beautiful individual who not only has the looks, the body, and stunning intelligence, but such a cultivating personality. Recently, Yukhei came to terms that he likes you. 

No scratch that, he loves you.

Ever since the day at the park he felt more connected towards you. More memories were made than lost and you would be lying if you didn’t say that you fell for Yukhei as well. In the short time you came to befriend him again, you realized just how much of a heartthrob he is and you catch yourself day-dreaming about him on a regular basis. Being alone like this only left Yukhei one thing to do. 

He stopped his actions and poked your shoulder. “Hey y/n..can we talk?” 

You popped your head through the hoodie and adjusted your hair. “Yeah what’s up?” He paused as he gathered his words. He looked like he was blushing but you could exactly tell since the lighting in here is pretty shitty. ‘I-I wanna say that..” “Come on you can tell me anything. I’m your best friend.” He winces when you said ’best friend’.

“What’s wrong?” you asked getting closer to him. “That’s the thing, I don’t wanna be friends anymore.” You’re taken aback from what he just said. Before you have the chance to say anything, he says “I’ve liked-I’ve liked you for quite some time now and I know you and I have just reconnected and shit, it feels like you and I were always together and nothing changed between us and as much as I love being with you, I wanna go out on dates, I wanna hold your hand in public, I wanna give you back hugs and all that cheesy shit you always cringe about when we see chick flicks and-” You grabbed him by his face and pulled him gently to you where both your lips met in harmony. 

Instead of pulling back, he grabbed your waist and pulled you closer and held you tight. As if he was going to lose you for good if he let go. You finally pull away and both your forehead touch. “I like you--no I actually love you  Wong Yukhei. All those things you wanna do, it’d be an honor to do them with you.” 

He gave you one last cheeky smile before he asked, “will you be my girlfriend y/n?” You nod quickly and gave him a quick peck on the lips

Then a click was heard from the door. You both see Seulgi cheering as she waved the picture of you both in each other’s embrace. 

[sweetnestor]

You Look Happier | Chapter 15

university au, teamiplier + jack

platonic/romance/angst/smut

previous chapter

hey i actually have a song for this chapter: Clean by Taylor Swift

“I am… so glad to be apart of the team,” I said in a stiff voice, a fake smile plastered on my face. I was facing the camera, but not looking directly into it. “I am honored to be… to be - I can’t read the card,” I added in a soft voice.

This was my “introduction” video to go on Mark’s channel. I was sitting in front of the camera that Ethan was holding, and I had to pretend like I was forced to read cue cards. But there weren’t any, and I had to improvise.

“I-I’m honored that Mark asked me to join,” I continued in that stiff, staged voice. “And-”

“No, no, no,” spoke the devil himself. “You begged me to join.”

“Right. I asked like, twelve times and they finally let me in!” I smiled in a way that screamed for help. You could say I was acting. “And I am… excited for all of you to see what I can contribute.” Awkwardly, I gave a thumbs up, my smile looking less and less convincing.

Then, Mark came and sat next to me. “Okay, okay. Honestly, though, Bella is one of us now, and I asked her to join. We’ve got some good stuff coming in the future. Also, we’re stranded in Boston!” He went on another tangent that was completely extra before finishing the video.

It was true, though. After PAX, our flight back to LA had been cancelled due to the blizzard. I wasn’t sure what was worse, being forced to be away from my home or the impending doom of having to get back on a plane. While I was able to function somewhat properly after a crying fit, I found myself wearing thin. I know, what else is new? That feeling was probably going to stick for a while, but I guess it’s apart of recovery.

We stayed at Amy’s friend’s house for the time being. At the moment, it was uncertain how long we would be here in Boston. Three days, possibly. I tried not to let that get to me. These things happen. They happen to everyone… except Signe, who got on her flight back to Denmark just before the blizzard hit. Jack would have gone with her, but it was still the middle of the semester. He did mention that they would be okay while he was still at uni, though.

Speaking of YouTube University, I wasn’t sure what my future was with that school. I mean, I was going to be on the road in a few months, on tour. I was going to have a hand in creating the show. I was going with them. It was safe to say none of us were returning to YouTube University in the fall. It felt weird to have future plans.

Since we had nothing else to do, we made a movie trailer. Mark, being Mark, got naked and sat outside in the snow. After all this time, I still didn't know what went on in his head sometimes, but you had to admit he was dedicated. It was fun, though. I got to contribute ideas… and hold the camera for most of the shots.

I also decided to properly look through my social media later at night. We all had to sleep in the living room of the small house, and it was the first time I had a moment of silence. I was stuck between Ethan and Amy, but they were both asleep already.

The same stalker photo of Ethan and I holding hands had been reposted many times. Added to that were professional photos from his signing. I was caught in the background in several of the fan photos, along with the selfies I took with some of them. The various captions are what made me smile, though.

“I met Bella at the signing!! She was so nice and she's so cute with ethan!!”

“THEY'RE SO CUTE OH MY GOD”

“Amyplier whomst? I only know ethella!”

“My new parents”

“I hope Ethan and Bella know we love and support them a whole lot :’)”

It was like a breath of fresh air. I was tempted to post that stalker picture on Instagram with the blue and sparkly heart emojis, but it was probably too soon for that. I knew some of my followers came from Ethan's community, yet I wasn't expecting them to be nice and supportive. It was a different reaction from my last relationship, that's for damn sure.

I let out an audible sigh, glancing at Ethan, who had already fallen asleep. I was still experiencing insomnia from being so far from home, so I sat up and tried to find more ways to keep myself busy.

“Can't sleep?” asked a quiet, deep voice.

I turned, finding Mark sitting on the couch. Last time I saw him, he was lying down next to his girlfriend.

“I won't sleep until we get home,” I replied as I locked my phone and shoved it under my pillow.

He nodded. “I still can't believe you actually came here. You got on a plane.”

“Yeah, and I had to resort to drinking in order to do it,” I told him as I crawled up onto the couch and sat next to him.

“You still did it, though,” he said. “You didn't back out of it. You accomplished a lot this weekend. You should be proud.”

I shrugged. “I guess I can't disagree.”

A silence fell over us, but it was comfortable. I had been alone with Mark plenty of times in my life. I hadn’t been alone with him in a room in a very long time, despite the fact that we had been around each other a lot lately. Well, even now we weren't exactly alone, but we were the only ones awake. Any other time, I would have gone to extreme lengths to avoid seeing him at all. But given the last couple of months or so, I was finding it easier to coexist with him. Here we were, sitting in the dark, with the other five asleep soundly around us. We knew this moment was inevitable, and while it was awkward, it was kind of liberating. As always, I wasn’t the one to start the conversation.

“Are you happy with him?” he asked quietly.

Moment of truth. Everything was already out in the open. Everyone knew about my suicide attempt, everyone knew about Mark’s plan to leave me before Amy came along, and everyone knew about me and Ethan. All that was left to do was tie up the loose ends.

“Are you happy with her?” I asked in response. It was bold of me to say that, and Mark knew it too.

He cracked a smile. “I asked you first.”

“Honestly? Yes,” I answered. “Actually, I think… I think this is the happiest I’ve ever been.”

Mark smiled wider. “That’s really good to hear. I’ve wanted to hear that since… I don’t know how long. You deserve to be happy.”

I couldn’t believe I was still fond of him after all this time. My heart swelled up at his words, but I didn’t want to dwell on myself for too long. “So what about you?”

“I’m absolutely the happiest I’ve ever been,” he said. “Not just with Amy - and she does make me very happy - it’s everything I’m doing. I finally feel like I’m doing something good, I don’t even have the words for it.”

“Good.” I was smiling so wide, it was hard to hide it.

“Do you still hate Amy?” It sounded lighthearted, but I took it seriously.

“I never hated her. All the anger and resentment was directed at you, no offense. I mean, it was hard. I won’t lie, that was the most devastating breakup I’ve ever had. And, I think there’s always going to be a part of me that will see her as the girl you left me for. But, for the most part, I’m over it, and I’m glad you two are happy.”

Mark nodded, sitting back against the sofa. “Fair enough…” Then he sighed and brought his knees up to hug them. “I just… I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for leaving you like that, and for driving you to that point.”

I reached over and placed my hand over his. “Hey. You didn’t know I was going to do that. No one saw that coming. You did what you had to do in order to be happy. What I did, that’s all on me. And look at me, I’m still here and I’m happy, and I’m telling you to move on from that. There’s bigger things going on now. It’s okay.”

“Bella, if I had lost you…”

“But you didn’t. You can’t put the whole blame on yourself. It’s just something that happened. I had it coming, anyway. With or without you. But it's in the past now.”

He nodded. “I know. I’m glad you’re still here. I’m glad that we can still be friends.”

That brought another thought to mind. “I think… I believe that people come and go into our lives for a reason. I think we’re meant to be in each other’s lives, whether we’re lovers, exes, or friends. And if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have met Jack, and then I wouldn’t have found Ethan. I wouldn’t be here talking to you now, and realizing just how important you are to me. You've brought good things into my life.”

Mark was smiling, and he squeezed my hand.

“And I think you were meant to find Amy,” I continued. “Whether I was mentally stable or not, she was meant to come along. I know plenty of things have contributed to your happiness now, but I know she’s done way more for you than I ever could have.”

“That’s what I think about you and Ethan,” Mark told me. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile this much. He's got you getting on planes and going to signings and panels… It's incredible.”

“I made those decisions, not him,” I reminded him.

“Right, of course,” Mark said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you… without anxiety, either.”

“Yeah… I think anxiety is always going to be apart of me. And… I think I’m trying to be okay with it. Like, a bunch of shit happened and the effects of all of that is my anxiety disorder. But I’m trying not to hate it as much, because I’m stuck with it for life.”

“So you might as well work with it,” he finished for me. “That’s good. You know I’ll be here to support you through all of that, right? Despite everything that’s happened between us, I still care about you so much.”

“I care about you too.”

“And you’re actually happy with Ethan?”

“Yes. I don’t even have the words for it.”

I looked over at the guy sleeping beside me. All of these emotions surged in my chest. Here I was, in good terms with my ex, and having a happy relationship with my new boyfriend. My anxiety was at an all time low, something I never thought I would feel. I had people I could call my family.

We heard Tyler groan in his sleep, mumbling something about keeping it down. Mark and I smiled at each other, and we knew there was nothing left to say.

_____

stay tuned for a thank you post following this chapter :)

OH LOOK ANOTHER FIC

[markyishanthonymartinez]

4/7/17

hello hello hello.

im a bad person. like actually a bad person. i did something legitimately bad that i dont really want to talk about but i have to be honest with this blog and like idk it’s on my mind so i gotta. okay how do i say this. fuck okay i’ll just do it.

i missed class today. for the first time all semester. i’m a bad person. i was just so tired after this week and our story last night. my alarm woke me up, and i went pee, and got back in bed, and the next time i opened by eyes it was 9:47. aka 47 minutes after class started. i feel bad. i always feel bad when i miss class. poles is funny. he took a selfie with all his friends who showed up to class. aka himself and 3 stick figures drawn on snapchat. 

at least i got to eat breakfast and then go to the ecc and study for our quiz. also, bags did the exact same thing i did and thus was not able to wake me up and stuff.

studying was chill, i listened to new music. i’m mad kendrick didn't drop his album today, actually mad. i was looking forward to it. the new harry styles track was actually enjoyable and I'm surprised. the new chainsmokers was... fuck them. just not listenable like i can't I'm sorry. i had never listened to halsey before, but its exactly what i thought it was, overproduced hipster girl pop trash. not that overproduced hipster girl pop is inherently bad, but she’s bad. other new tracks were whatevs. wait wait i almost forgot, the new french montana track was horrendous. like what even is that fam. idgi.

had a quiz in systems. it wasn't horrendous, but still pretty bad and that made me a sad mark. 

i got froyo with poles after and then he came over and hung out with bags and kyle and i. we made kyle wait outside for like 15 minutes and pretended we weren't home lmao. 

oh yeah kyle’s here btw. his spring break trip got cancelled and he figured why the heck not.

but yeah then kyle left to go day-drinking with kassandra and bags went to work and poles and i literally just hung out in my room doing pretty much nothing.

it made me happy cause like poles and i literally were not doing anything but we still had super fun times and that’s so qt and he’s my bestest bff. 

he left to go on a tinder date. she didn't come. fuck that b. who would stand up mr alex s poles. like wtf. that hanna bitch better watch her back. 

played games with buds.

then kyle came home drunk and i kinda just turned netflix on and left him and kassandra downstairs. like i guess that kinda makes me a bad host but, idk i was just trynna play games with buddies and they just ran up on me all drunk and high or something idrk.

but yeah

time for deep mark.

okay i kid you not, but i googled questioning general beliefs and the first link was an lds.org video lmao.

but really uh time for thoughts and mark ideas.

okay so like I'm not some all-knowing jerk that is a super genius but i’ve always considered myself to have really strong reasoning skills and i guess that leads me to fake deep mark.

i say fake deep cause idk I'm not a psychology major fam, buzz off.

okay so i’ve had this conversation extensively with myself and my parents and friends and actually quite a few people, but okay.

wait on second thought this one isn't really some psychological deep thing. but kinda will turn into it maybe, if this plays out how my head thinks it will. 

okay so, we as a developed society will more than likely face a frightening revolution within our lifetimes. not like uprising type of revolution but a revolution in the way our entire economic system and the way people function. okay so within my lifetime, i am near certain that self-driving vehicles and the technology behind them will be perfected and mass-produced. what does that do? it gets rid of a huge part of our economy. not in a bad way for economic reasons, but in a bad way for people who need jobs and a method to contribute to society and a reason to exist on this planet. perfected self driving cars won't crash (once perfected), self driving cars will move efficiently and won't be late and won't brake too hard and won't cause damage to themselves and so on and so forth. truck drivers, won't need em. body shops for cars, nah fam. the huge chunk of the medical field that dedicates time and money to car accidents, meh. even car manufacturing and sales will go down cause like why would people need new cars. if you can just nap in your car and tell it to drive to LA, plane travel will take a hit. road work will take a knock, when there’s not people driving poorly on the roads. hoping by this time gasoline powered cars are gone, but if not, self driven technology will be a lot better at accelerating and braking to use it’s energy source as efficiently as possible. the fields go on and on and on and in most of the senses it’s a good thing. like it would be great to not waste money on these things, but people lose jobs, but not like jobs because we have a recession, but if anything jobs would be lost because we’d be doing too well. now i named one field, but consider the continuation of “robots” and computers and machines taking human labor jobs. but not just that, I’ll be a lil harder to replace, but in a perfect world computers take my job too eventually. a computer with infinite options and an understanding of which options are preferred will always be quicker, more efficient, and probably even better at engineering than i may ever be. it’s just a matter of developing a very complicated code. 

i’ve talked a lot but i’m just now getting to my actual thing. what do people do when they have nothing to do? like it’s easy for me to sit here and say idk fam watch netflix and relax, but no really. if even 20% of all currently employed people had their jobs taken by a computer tomorrow, what do they do? like they didn't lost their job because of economic issues or they fucked up, no like their method of bringing bread home is no longer available. what do people do? looking past the economics of it, let’s say the government is super aware and like wow people you’ll just get paid to exist cause we dont really need you as laborers. what do people do? have we forced people into just being laborers? i feel like there’s so many people who are nothing more than their 9-5. they go to work. they have small talk and perform a simple task over and over. they come home. they eat dinner. they stare at a screen for 4 hours, they go to bed. they do it again. i dont think anyone is inherently a mindless zombie like this, but i think it’s happened. if you just told everyone they didn't have to work tomorrow or the day after that or after that, people would have no idea what to do with their lives.

i dont think this, but i should mention it, what if some people really are just zombies? what if some people really don’t think anything. what if some people dont have any real deep down interests. or they can, but they dont care enough to. what i become that. 

i dont ever want to be that. i want to be me. i never want to go through the motions.

i’m better at closing this conversation off in person but i am scared to see what happened when we reach a society where laborers aren't needed. (please forgive me, i dont mean this sourly) where, the less intellectual are put in a place where they have to sit around and feel purposeless to society? of course i’m looking at this in a dystopian sense, i assume that similarly to the renaissance, art and knowledge will be further pursued when we are chilling financially, but idk it’s interesting to think about things like that. also the general public will grow more and more knowledgable along with this and maybe we’d have a super crazy smart culture. idk fam, this wasn't actually that deep but just something i thought of and not really on the theme of questioning things. that will come mañana and beyond that i’m still working on it. sry

-mark

[nancydrew65]

SKAM Austin Season 2 Episode 9 Thoughts

So, I thought this was the last episode, but then a clip was released today. I’m guessing there will be ten total episodes in this season. Like I said before, Daniel is officially canceled in my book, so if you don’t want to hear me ranting about what an asshole he is... maybe don’t read this.

Home

Grace had to drive out to Clay’s school just to talk to him. God, can she get a break?

Clay is trying to laugh things off, but Grace is serious AF.

And then that asshole calls Grace a slut. He is such a horrible human being. Why does Daniel believe him over Grace? I will never understand this storyline. He knows his brother is psycho, why would he believe anything he says?

Grace “apologizes” to Clay and he says: “It is a scary time to be a guy, you know?” I thought that was an especially good line to put in to SKAM Austin. Men in the United States say that all the time now that #MeToo is a thing. Heck, even our president says it. It is disgusting. I mean, you think it is scary to be a guy and be accused of sexual harassment? How about being a woman and experiencing sexual harassment. That is a hell of a lot scarier.

Then Grace goes off on him, exposing him for the terrible person he is. She is such a badass in this scene. I missed this beautiful, strong woman.

Clay rushes to assure Grace that he didn’t do anything to her, but it is hard to believe him. Grace just threatened to report him to the police. I am willing to bet he would lie to her, just to get her off his case.

But I have to say, my favorite part of the clip is when Grace walked away and Megan was waiting for her on the curb to drive her home. This brings up a small issue I have with Austin. It is not even really an issue, but something I would have liked to see. I wish we could have seen Megan and Grace’s relationship more this season. Last season, we didn’t really get much and we didn’t this season either. I think it is a problem with the remakes in general. The Eva character kind of gets sidelined in Noora’s season. The remake that portrays these girls’ friendship the best is SKAM NL in my opinion. I love seeing scenes of Isa and Liv together because they are just so close.

That being said, I adored this scene. I think it may be my favorite iteration of the confrontation scene yet.

Ready to Talk

Grace texts Daniel about everything, explaining that she might never know what happened, how terrifying the whole ordeal was, that she might have been drugged. Daniel starts texting back, but never sends anything.

This is the point of no return for me. Let me tell you a story. When I first watched SKAM Season 2, I didn’t find anything too inherently wrong with it. At this point in time, I wasn’t aware of the whole social media and text aspect of the series, so I was just watching the full episodes without any of the context of the instagram posts or text messages posted. Sure, I definitely felt uncomfortable about some parts of the storyline, like William constantly pressuring Noora to go out with him or come to his parties. Even when the scene came out where William confronted Noora about the Niko situation, despite how awfully he treated her, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I thought, “Well, he doesn’t know the whole story. Who knows what Niko told him and Noora really didn’t get a chance to explain herself.” I finished off the season with this mindset. It was only later that I learned about the text messages posted online. I learned that Noora had explained what happened to William, telling him that she had most probably been sexually assaulted. This is where the character of William lost any sympathy I might have had for him. Going back to SKAM Austin, Daniel disregards his girlfriend’s feelings when he has full knowledge that she might have been drugged and sexually assaulted. He treats her like shit after this, not texting her or talking to her. Nothing he does can ever redeem him in my eyes. Grace deserves better.

God is a Woman

The girls are all chilling, getting ready to go to Prom later. Kelsey waltzes in, looking gorgeous in her pale blue prom dress. She talks about she used to feel that she had to be skinny to be successful, but now she realizes otherwise. She pulls out a water bottle that is filled with alcohol.

Megan refuses a drink when Kelsey offers, saying she wants to take a break from drinking - and from Marlon.

Kelsey whole heartedly agrees, stating that they don’t need boys to validate them. This is one of the most flawed parts of Season 2 for me. Kelsey and Megan realize that they don’t need boys to have self-worth (which is such a great message for teenage girls), but Grace (the lead of this season) experiences the opposite of that. She is strong and confident without a man in the first season and the beginning of this season, but by the end she needs Daniel to be happy. There is so much disconnect between the two messages this season is trying to put forward.

Jo complains about her boy trouble with the guy she’s been talking to online and the girls assure her she doesn’t need him.

#Prom

OK, well this Prom is a hell of a lot nicer than the one my school offered. We actually had Prom on the exact same night, so…

Pen-Joe comes up to Jo and Grace, asking Jo for a dance. Like the boss lady that she is, Jo replies “I already have a boyfriend” in Spanish. That is right, Pen-Joe. You lost your chance with the beautiful woman that is Josefina Valencia.

Back inside the dance, Abby announces Daniel as Prom King, but apparently he didn’t show up. This reminds me of yet another awful thing Daniel did to Grace. He said they were going to Prom together, but then he never shows up. Dude.

Zoya wins Prom Queen!!!!! I wasn’t sure if we were going to get this scene, but we did and I am so damn happy for her. She deserves it.

Grace asks Pen-Joe where Daniel is, but he just says that “family stuff”. What the hell is that supposed to mean?

Out on the dance floor, Kelsey is dancing with a nice-looking dude, Zoya and Megan are dancing together, and Jo accepts Pen-Joe’s offer for a dance. You better make him apologize for the rude way he treated you, girl.

Aw, Grace posts a selfie of herself looking happy, but you can tell it is all a facade. She goes to join Megan and Zoya.

Welcome to My Life

It is the middle of the night and Grace gets a message on instagram from xxtrinity2121 about Clay.

A conversation ensues between the two girls. Apparently this mystery instagram girl is their version of Mari, telling Grace nothing happened between her and Clay. Obviously, this news is a great relief to Grace.

They also talk about how stressed they both are, with xxtrinity2121 confessing that she is very depressed and sometimes thinks about killing herself. Since this clip was posted, a chat was posted on SKAM Austin’s website between Grace and this girl which leads me to believe she has a more important role than just being the Mari stand-in. I have heard a lot of theories of who she is. A lot of people think she is Tyler, who is either trying to fool Grace or he was actually the person in bed with her and Clay. I don’t think the latter option is true because it looked like a girl in the bed to me when I re-watched that clip. Another interesting idea is that she is the Austin version of Even. I mean her username xxtrinity2121 has the number 21:21 in it. I really like this theory and hope it is true. That would be so interesting.

Usually Never Wrong

Zoya and Grace are walking down the hall, when Zoya pulls Abby over. She apologizes for not believing Abby about what a bad guy Hunter is. Abby tells her no problem and says she is really happy how everyone came together to support Zoya as Prom Queen, how it would have been racist if Zoya hadn’t won. Now, I don’t think Abby was trying to be mean. I genuinely think she was trying to be nice, but obviously it really hurt Zoya. She walks away. God, I feel so bad for Zoya. She deserved to win Prom Queen on her own merit, not because people think it would be racist for her not to. I think this is really gearing up to her season and I really hope she gets to have one.

Grace spots Daniel in the quad and rushes up to him, asking where he’s been. He says he’s been to see Clay. No elaboration. Then he tells her he’s going to New York for the summer. Well, I guess it’s not as bad as moving to London permanently like William was planning on doing.

Grace says she wants to talk and Daniel says “I’m done talking. It’s too much.” Too much? For you? Grace could have been sexually assaulted and this asshole has the nerve to claim it’s too much for him?God, I hate Daniel.

Grace runs after him, yelling her most iconic line yet. “Daniel, stop being a little bitch.” She tells him off. She says that a lot of stuff happened and it sucked. For her. I’m really glad they gave her that line. Because it is so damn true. Then she starts talking about how no one has loved her like Daniel has, blah, blah, blah. I wish we’d gotten more of Grace’s parents backstory because that would have given better context to this scene.

Daniel still gets in the car and drives away. As Grace is crying at the curb, we see him run back to her and they embrace.

She says she can explain everything, and he says she doesn’t need to. A lot of people were overjoyed at this line, but…. She already explained everything in the text she sent him and he ignored her and treated her like shit afterward when he finally saw her. This line makes no sense to me.

Whatever, I know a lot of people were happy they finally got together, but I can never fully forgive Daniel.

General Thoughts

This was a weird week because we got a bunch of clips on Saturday and then on one Monday and nothing else the entire week. I do think there were a lot of good parts of the clips, aside from Daniel drama. Also, the clip where Grace and Clay talk might be my favorite clip this season or for SKAM Austin in general. I think they executed it beautifully. See you next week for the last episode of this season!