#(‘that thing’ being my wisdom tooth that hurts me so so so bad)

[socalledfreethinker]

on Wednesday i begin my journey to tear that thing asunder

[tonicandjins]

it's swowwen."

CHARACTERS: lee donghyuck | haechan x reader

WORD COUNT: 700+

GENRE: established relationship

AUTHOR'S NOTE: this had to be written. please consider donating/tipping me

"it's swowwen." is the (unplanned) fifth installment from 23 moments with donghyuck

“It’s done,” the text message says. “We are on our way.”

The text message from Donghyuck’s manager was enough to make you jump off your feet, barely slipping your shoes properly and almost tripping on your way out of your apartment. Donghyuck worked until one in the morning, based on the evidently exhausted text he sent saying he’d just reached the dorm. It was barely nine in the morning when you’d gotten a call from Donghyuck himself, groaning in pain, saying his wisdom tooth is going to kill him one day.

It’s been bothering him for quite some time now, and you’d told him again and again to have it removed. But there was always an excuse when it comes to the expense of his own health and well-being: his stupidly packed schedule you can’t seem to comprehend despite dating for over two years now.

It would have been the best time to say, “I told you so,” as soon as you’d heard him crying in pain, but of course, the first thing you’d done was call his manager because you know that Donghyuck would never. Because you know Donghyuck’s probably thinking of the comeback and with fear of being placed on an indefinite hiatus again. It’s an unhealthy and risky mindset—the way Donghyuck avoids the H-word by not telling people how he feels—but it’s something he’d promised he would work on.

He needs to work on it harder.

Hence, you find yourself running from your unit’s floor down to the main entrance. Donghyuck needs to be taken care of today, and with Dream’s schedule, none of the managers will be available to tend to him today, which is why they ended up deciding to send him to your apartment for the day.

A few minutes later, with careful eyes ensuring no fan or pap is around to see him, Donghyuck is nestled in the middle of your bed, snuggling with your pillows and comforter. You sit on his side, making sure he’s comfortable by fluffing up the pillows on his side.

“It’s swowwen,” he whines sleepily, evidently high from the dosages of anesthesia they gave him before the surgery. “My face. It’s swowwen.”

Unable to fight the urge to kiss him, you give him a soft, barely-there peck on the forehead, careful not to touch his face especially where it hurts. “It’s not so bad, baby. It’ll come down.”

“It’s very swowwen,” he repeats, sighing as he looks up to you. Donghyuck looks a lot like a baby right now. “I don’t want to look swowwen in pictures.”

“No one’s taking picture of you, baby,” you assure him, fixing your blanket on him and gently running your hand through his hair.

“I did,” he pouts. “I sent it in Bubble.”

You giggle. “If you don’t want to look swollen in pictures, why did you send it to Bubble?”

“My fans are going to keep it a secret,” he answers, eyelids heavy. “Don’t let me fall asleep. This is the only time I ever get to be with you.”

You smile. “Will you sleep if I come cuddle you?”

Donghyuck’s eyes give up on him, but he quickly opens his eyes, exaggeratingly keeping it open in attempts to stay away. “Come cuddle me. I won’t sleep.”

“Sure,” you say, moving one of the pillows behind him and allowing yourself to occupy the space beside your boyfriend. As promised, you cuddle him—carefully, of course. “I told you to get that removed last year. You didn’t listen.”

“You’re starting to sound like my mom,” he mumbles against your hair. “If you keep with that, I might just marry you.”

“You won’t remember anything when you wake up,” you chuckle softly, kissing his clothed chest. “Marry me, then.”

“Now?” he asks, determined. “Can we get married even if I’m swowwen?”

“Sure, we can,” you answer. “Alright. Tell me your vows.”

Donghyuck sighs. “I’m writing you a song.”

Among all the confessions, you’ve never heard this one before.

“But it’s not yet 100% completely done,” he mumbles. He’s starting to fall asleep. “So, I won’t tell you my vows. I’ll sing them to you.”

Then, Donghyuck hums a song you’d never heard of. The lyrics, as expected with his condition at this time, are all groggy and incoherent, but he sings about how cool it would be to run around and dance with you forever.

Donghyuck falls asleep like that. You wonder if he remembers all of this when he wakes up later in the afternoon.

(He doesn’t. He doesn’t even remember posting a picture of himself all swowwen.)

[canirove]

Kenan Yildiz Imagine

Author’s note: I said to myself that I wasn't going to write for anyone younger than Pedri, but I liked this request I got on Wattpad because I myself got a wisdom tooth removed this summer, and even though I've never heard of this player before, my youngest cousin follows him on Instagram and I said to myself, he can't be that bad 😅 So... yeah. Something hopefully cute where I've written a bit about my own experience getting a wisdown tooth removed, but with the addition of a cute guy taking care of the reader 😁 Hope you like it and thank you for reading! 💜

Masterlist

“There you are” Kenan smiles as I leave the dentist’s office. “How are you feeling? Are you ok? They took their time, didn't they? I know it was just a wisdom tooth and that it was in a weird position, but I hope nothing bad happened, because I've read some things and… What are you doing?” he asks me as I move my hand in the air. “I don't understand. Are you ok? Are you in pain? Fainting? Should I call someone for help?”

“Bloody hell” I say to myself while rolling my eyes and trying to snatch my bag from his arm.

“Oh, you wanted this! Sorry, babe” he chuckles as I take it and struggle to open it with one hand, the other holding an ice pack to my face. “Here, let me help you” he says, finally doing something useful and opening my bag for me while I get my phone and start typing. “I can't talk yet. And don't call me babe” he reads when I show him what I typed. “Oh, sorry. Are we allowed to go home? Cool” Kenan says when I nod. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“So…” Kenan says once we make it to my place and I let myself fall on the sofa. “What can I do for you? More ice?”

“Here” I whisper, giving him the list with all the things my dentist suggested. 

“Lots of ice to avoid swelling and bruising, eat ice cream, ice lollies, and nothing hot, just soft foods, a bunch of medicines… Ok. Can I leave you alone for a bit while I go buy it all or would you prefer it if I stayed and gave you some cuddles?” he says, kneeling next to me and gently caressing my head when I lay down. 

“You can go. I think I'm gonna take a nap” I whisper again, barely able to open my mouth.

“Perfect. I'll be as fast as I can, ok?”

“Maybe not too fast. I don't want you having an accident or something.”

“Just a bit quick, then” he smiles, kissing my forehead and leaving. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“Honey, I'm home! Shit, maybe I shouldn't have been so loud, you said you were going to take a nap and… Oh my God, babe. What happened? Why are you crying?” Kenan says, throwing away the bags he was carrying and running towards me.

“It hurts” I sob, sitting up. “It hurts so much.”

“Urgh, I'm so sorry” he says before hugging me. “I should have been back earlier, but there were so many people everywhere, both in the shops and on the road…”

“My medicine?”

“I got it, don't worry. Why don't I make you something to eat so you can take it, uh?”

“Please. I'm starving.”

“Ok” he smiles.

“Kenan!” I yell when he touches my cheek. “That hurts!”

“Sorry, I'm sorry” he apologizes. “I didn't realise and… I'm sorry.”

“Now it is even worse because I hurt myself when I yelled at you!” I cry. 

“I'm so so sorry. I'm an idiot.”

“Yes, you are!”

“I'm sorry” he says once again. “I'm gonna make you something to eat, ok? Something soft and cold. A sandwich, perhaps?”

“Ok” I nod, laying down again and curling myself into a ball, the pain being almost unbearable since besides feeling it all over my mouth, it has moved up to my ear for whatever the reason.

“Your lunch, my lady” Kenan says, joining me again on the sofa a few minutes later. “A sandwich made with the softest bread, jam and cheese. Do you want me to cut it for you so it is easier to eat?”

“Please” I whisper, sitting up again.

“I've also brought you some cold water to drink. It may feel nice.”

“Thank you” I say, trying to smile. But even that hurts. “Oh, c'mon!”

“What happened?”

“I can't drink” I say, looking down at my wet t-shirt and starting to cry again. 

“It is just water, babe. It's ok” he says, wiping away my tears and cleaning my chin with a napkin. “Here, have a bite.”

“Thank you” I sob. 

“What happened now? Is it because I called you babe?” Kenan asks me when I start crying again. “I'm sorry, I know you don't like it, but…”

“Chewing hurts!”

“Ok, umm… Do you want some ice cream instead?”

“What ice cream did you buy?”

“Your favourite, of course” he smiles. “Stracciatella.”

“I can't eat that, Kenan! It has bits of chocolate!”

“Oh, shit. That's true. I… I'm so sorry. I…”

“This is the worst thing ever!” I cry, laying down again. “I'm useless!”

“Hey, no. You are the strongest person I know. You can and will survive this, you hear me?”

“I won't” I whisper.

“You will” he says, getting up from the sofa and leaving me alone while I just cry. Though while I do it, I can hear him talking to himself on the kitchen, opening and closing drawers and the fridge a few times. “Ok, let's try this.”

“What?” I say, wiping away my tears and looking at him as he sits down again.

“Yogurt. You don't have to chew it and it is soft and cold. It is perfect! Now, open your mouth.”

“Are you seriously going to feed me as if I was a baby?”

“Well, you are my baby even if you hate it when I call you babe” he smirks.

“Idiot” I reply, rolling my eyes.

“C'mon, let's start just with a tiny bit” Kenan says.

“Fine” I sigh, opening my mouth as much as I can without hurting myself too much.

“And?”

“It's ok.”

“Another one?”

“We are gonna be here until tomorrow if you plan on making me eat all of that like this.”

“I don't have anything else to do, so” he shrugs, giving me another tiny spoonful. “Besides, even if I did, there is nothing more important than taking care of you.”

“Aww, Kenan… If pouting didn't hurt, I would give you a kiss.”

“We'll save it for when you can, then” he winks. “C'mon. Eat this so you can take your pills and sleep for a bit.”

“Ok. I love you, you know?”

“I know. I love you too” he smiles.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“Oh my God!” 

“What? What happened? Please tell me your teeth aren't falling off” Kenan says, walking into the bathroom.

“What?” 

“It can happen, you know? I saw this Tiktok and…”

“It can't. Don't believe everything you read or see online, especially on Tiktok. And why are you covering your eyes?”

“In case there is blood. You know I struggle with that.”

“There is no blood” I sigh, looking at myself in the mirror. “Though since I look like a monster, maybe you should keep your eyes covered.”

“A monster? What do you mean?”

“Look” I say, turning around. “I look like Yennefer before she became pretty.”

“What?” Kenan chuckles.

“Look!” I say again, pointing at my cheek. “My face is so swollen and bruised that it is as if I've grown another chin or something!”

“Yesterday you got a wisdom tooth removed, babe. That is normal, the dentist said it.”

“This isn't normal. I look so horrible” I say, starting to cry again.

“You could never look horrible” he says, closing the space between us and hugging me. “Ever, you hear me? And this will go away in a couple of days and you'll be back to being Yennefer the hot witch.”

“You know who she is?”

“I've watched “The Witcher” too” he shrugs. “And the only thing that matters now is that you properly recover and aren't in pain. And maybe that your teeth don't fall off.”

“What… Idiot” I say again, rolling my eyes when I see him smirking.

“How are you feeling?” he says, moving to look at me and gently caressing my other cheek, the one that doesn't look like… like whatever the other does.

“A bit sore, but it isn't as bad as yesterday.”

“Good” he smiles, wiping away some of my tears. “So, what do you want to have for breakfast? I thought I could smash some fruit and mix it with the yogurt. Or maybe try with an omelette? I texted my mum yesterday while you were sleeping and she gave some ideas.”

“Did you?”

“Yeah” he says with a shy smile. “I want to take care of you, help you feel better and recover. So I may or may have not spent the day doing research.”

“And watching stupid Tiktoks that make you believe my teeth are going to fall off.”

“That too” he chuckles. “Anyway, what does the lady want for her breakfast?”

“Let's try the omelette. I'm tired of eating like a baby.”

“Ok” he smiles. “And stop saying you look like a monster, because you don't, you hear me? You don't.”

“I don't” I sigh. 

“C'mon” he says, kissing my nose and taking my hand on his before we leave the bathroom. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“It's gone!” 

“What?” Kenan yawns.

“The bruise! The swelling! It's all gone, look!” I say, turning on the light.

“Too bright!” he complains, covering his face.

“Kenan, look!”

“Urgh” he says, slowly opening his eyes. “You look as beautiful as you always do.”

“I didn't look beautiful last week and you know it” I say, hitting his arm.

“To me you did” he smiles. “But see how I was right and you just needed to be patient?”

“Yeah… Sorry.”

“It's ok” he says, sitting up in the bed and caressing my cheek. “I've missed doing this and not seeing you wince because it hurts.”

“Same” I smile.

“And it also is nice to not feel my hand getting frozen as I hold an ice pack to it to help you.”

“Next time you get injured I'll do it for you, I promise.”

“Or you could get into an ice bath with me” he smirks.

“Umm… no.”

“Ok” he laughs. “Should we go make us some breakfast?”

“I'll do it. Let it be my thank you for being the best boyfriend ever and taking care of me these days. And for dealing with my changes of mood too.”

“Any time. I love you… babe” he smirks, making me roll my eyes.

“I love you too” I reply, not being able to hide my smile before kissing him. 

[spicyclover]

Hey! Would you like to write one for Charles where he can't drive his normal car (for whatever reason), so he asks the reader for help, but she's kind of nervous and thinks there will be some judging? 😅

Bad Tooth

Summary: A dentist appointment and a ride home.

Hope you’ll enjoy this part. Let me know in the comments section! And to support me by tipping me!

Little information, I will, for now, only post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Thank you, and Enjoy! :)

Lots of love, xxx Spicy Clover

If there's one thing Charles doesn't like, it is the dentist. He hates it. Even as a child, he would do anything to not go. But after spending a week with an abominable toothache, he is unfortunately forced to.

To be honest, you forced him. You couldn’t take off his complaints anymore, all day, and after treating him like a baby so he’d understand, he finally made an appointment.

So that’s why you find yourself in the dentist’s parking lot arguing for Charles to get out of the car.

"Charles, please can we get out?"

"No, I feel way better now."

"That's a lie. You know it. I know it. Everybody knows it. Do I have to take you by the hand like the child you are?" He evaluates your proposition before saying anything else.

"That's not fair," he wines before getting out of the car, acting like the child he is.

You chuckle a bit before following his step to the dentist's office. You waited for a few minutes before the dentist was ready to see Charles. Before going, he looks at you with puppy eyes, imploring you to say something. But you just rolled your eyes and pushed him to the man.

The appointment took longer than expected, and you start to worry. You go up to the receptionist and ask for an update.

"Hi, sorry to bother you, but do you know what going on with M.Leclerc?"

"Give me a minute," You wait by the desk while she goes behind. You’re wondering if what he’s got is worse than you thought. "Thank you for waiting, so Mr. Leclerc is currently under anesthesia, and the dentist is removing two wisdom teeth. The surgery should end in five minutes, and then you can go home."

"Wisdom teeth?"

"Yes, apparently it was quite bad. The doctor will get to you soon."

You thank her and get back to your seat. "So he wasn't pretending... Oops." You might have thought he was lying when he started complaining about it, and you guessed it was one of his many schemes to get your attention. "Well, we can all be wrong sometimes."

The dentist comes to get you several minutes later, and you're now allowed to see Charles. You walk into the room, and you see him totally buzzed out. He's so high right now, and his mouth is like ten times his normal size, and you can't help but laugh a bit.

You take your phone out and capture this unique moment of Charles looking like a squirrel being high on drugs.

"No... no pic... pict... pictures," he mumbles while drooling.

"Sorry, baby, but the others won't believe me if I don't."

"Ha... hate... hate you."

"No, you don't, you love me, and now your teeth won't hurt anymore." You laugh, trying to be positive.

"I lo... I loov live a squerrel.

"Yeah, you do. But I love my squerrel." You chuckle, kissing the top of his head.

"Hate... hate hich."

"Let's go home, baby."

The dentist gives you the last information for the few weeks to come, and you can't help but laugh at Charles's face when he tells him you couldn't eat solid food or make any physical effort for at least the first week. His look was priceless.

You tried to be compassionate, but Charles makes such a big deal when you get yours removed that you can't help but do the same. You texted the entire grid and his family, his face, for at least a few weeks. Was it a low move? Probably. Was it worth it? Totally.

You get back to the car, and Charles hands you his keys. You look at him for ten seconds before realizing he can't drive like this. Your eyes open wide, and you want to protest, but he shushes you. Well, not really, it’s more drool than anything, but you understand what he wants.

Your sight and get behind the wheel after setting Charles down. It's his time to laugh. You watch him set his seatbelt and hang on to the door while you start the Ferrari.

"It's not funny."

"Oh, ish funny," he gibberish, half joking, half whining by the pain. "Chart ye engine, bae."

You press the button, but nothing happens. You press it again, and nothing. You frustrated yourself, wishing you had taken your normal car.

"hress the hedal."

You start the car and press the pedal but nothing.

"Hress the hedal!"

"That's what am doing!" You say annoying.

"Hress the rite hepal."

You do as he says, and the engine finally goes on. You smile, looking at Charles, thinking it's now only a matter of going home, but no. You try to change the gear, and the car stalls. Charles giggles, completely high by his meds, while you start again and try to get to first gear.

It's gonna be a long ride, you start thinking. You're not even out of the parking, and it's already a nightmare. You complain about the car and look at Charles, who's entirely soon out.

You arrive at the parking doors and start going in the street. You're way lower than the permit limitation, and Charles encourages you to go faster. You're so nervous that you don't even realize you’re holding the wheel with all your might. How Charles trusts you enough with his car in this city?

"Ou doing reat, bae!" Says Charles putting his hand and yours.

It's only then, that you realize the grip you have on the wheel.

"reath." He inspires and exhales at the same time as you.

"I hate this!" You declare when another motorist cuts the road, making you almost have an accident.

You have to brake hard, which makes Charles tighten his teeth, and you know he’s in pain. You apologize to Charles and rant after all the cars you pass.

"God, you must hate me right now. I'm so sorry Cha."

"ish okay. Ou doing reat. Ust ocus on the road." He says, holding on for his life when you almost pass at a red.

"You must thing I drive terribly, but it's your car. Pretty sure something wrong with it." You say, finally pulling in the entry of the complex.

You park the car and finally exhale when the engine stop.

"I'm never doing this again. Next time, we're taking the bus."

Charles chuckles and takes your hand. He leans on you, and you walk to the elevator. Once home, Charles went to rest, and you spent the rest of the afternoon worrying that he might not trust you again with his car.

You prepared his dinner, and his drug wore off after his nap. He still looks like a squirrel, but at least he's not high anymore. You gave him his soup, and he frowns when he says your right hand completely eating up to the flesh.

"Baby. What happen?"

"What?"

"Your nails."

"It's nothing. I had an anxiety episode after we came home."

"Why?"

"Well, I almost killed us."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your car, Charles."

"Oh," he laughs. "You did truly amazing, amour. "I mean you need practice, but you did Wonderfull and we are here, and safe. You should have to wake me."

You smile and hug him tight. Even in your darkest days, he sees your potential and always encourages you to go beyond your limits. You don’t know what you did to deserve him, but you love him. You want to kiss him so badly, but that will wait until he recovers.

"I'm never going back to the dentist," complains Charles taking the pain killers. "It's the worst day of my life."

You laugh and give him the ice for his swollen cheek.

"Did you post the photos?"

"I did." You says, taking your phone out to show him.

It's only then you realize that you didn't send the photos to the group chat but to your Instagram story...

[pensat-i-fet]

A tooth fairy visit (Rúben Dias x Reader)

**Got a request to write something fluffy recently and this is what I came up with. I hope you all like it ❤️**

Word count: 2593

Masterlist

Wattpad

Hearing the alarm going off, you just put your head under the pillow and hoped it was all a dream. But it wasn’t. It was time to wake up and you were dreading today so much.

After having delayed it as much as possible, it was time to get two of your wisdom teeth removed. And if there was something you were terribly scared of, it was the dentist.

Thankfully, your boyfriend promised to be there every step of the way. But not even his presence could calm you down completely this time.

Rúben: on my way! Are you ready? ❤️

He always had to be on time, didn’t he? But you couldn’t really get annoyed at him because he had literally taken the day off to look after you today. 

Since you had washed your hair the previous day, a quick shower did the trick. So by the time you were putting your jumper on, Rúben was knocking on the door.

“Hi”, you said, dramatically falling into his arms. “I don’t want to go”.

He laughed, kissing the top of your head and letting himself inside…while still holding you. You wouldn’t be surprised if that had to be how he ended up bringing you to the dentist’s office.

“How’s the pain?”

“It’s alright”.

But he could tell it was a lie. You had barely been able to get some proper sleep lately because of how bad the pain was. 

“So we went from me not being allowed to stay here yesterday because you weren’t going to be able to sleep, and I wasn’t going to be able to sleep either to being alright? Ok”.

“Rúben, you just don’t get how scared I am. I literally used to faint at the dentist’s when I was a kid”.

His little frown warmed your heart. He was the overprotective boyfriend type and knowing there were things he couldn’t protect you from was not something he enjoyed. 

“But I’ll be fine”, you said to reassure him.

“I’ll be there the whole time, ok?”

“I’ll be sleeping for most of it, thankfully. But knowing you’re there helps. A lot”.

He hugged you tighter, letting you feel how he was always there to help you. And you allowed yourself to close your eyes for a second to try and forget about the fear and the pain and just enjoy the feeling of his strong arms around you.

After a couple of minutes, Rúben went to the kitchen to make sure you had everything you needed…again. And once he was happy about that, he made you a cup of chamomile tea and took it to the sofa, where you were sitting nervously.

“Here”.

“You didn’t have to, but thank you. I hope it helps me relax”.

“Come here”, he said, patting the space between his legs so you could sit there and drink your tea while he hugged you.

He allowed you to tell him about all the reasons why you felt so afraid, not interrupting you once, no matter how much he wanted to say something to make you feel less scared. He only showered you with kisses. Mostly on your shoulder and the side of your neck, since that was the easiest area to reach. But also on your cheek, forehead and the tip of your nose whenever you turned to look at him. Half of the time, he didn’t even notice he was going to kiss you until he did. It just came so naturally for him to kiss you to show you his love. Or to try and calm you down, as was the case this time.

“Time to go, love”.

“Noooooooooooo”, you said, turning to hide your head on the crock of Rúben’s neck. But just as you did, you hit the area that was in pain with his shoulder and couldn’t help the cry that came out of you.

“What is it? Are you ok?”

He was trying to hold your face to look at you, but also feared hurting you more. So he only held one side gently while you closed your eyes and tried to wait for the pain to disappear. Thankfully, it got a little better quickly.

“I guess I really need to go to the dentist”.

“Before I have a heart attack would be nice”.

Only he could make you laugh in a moment like that. And that was why his presence was so vital for you at that moment.

                                           **

Rúben drove you to the dentist’s office and even though you had been giving yourself a pep talk on the way there when you saw the door with the name of the dentist on it, you panicked.

“I can’t”.

“Of course you can. And I’ll be there, remember. When they put you to sleep and when they wake you up. I might give them a hand during the operation if I get bored”.

You only got paler and could feel your entire body sweating.

“Hey, it’s ok. I won’t. We don’t want to risk that pretty smile you got”.

Again, only he could make you laugh at a moment like that. But still, it was so hard to move.

Rúben got out of the car to move to your side and open the door.

“Give me your hand”.

Despite your nod, you still didn’t move. So Rúben crouched down so your faces could be at the same level. “It’ll be alright. Just give me your hand”.

And you did, allowing him to get you out of the car. The walk to the clinic was a very short one, but it took you way too long to get there. Or it felt like a long time anyways.

Once inside, you were told to sit in the waiting area. That literally was the worst part.

“I always read the posters on the walls”.

“What?”

“The posters”, said Rúben, pointing at the wall. “So I don’t get bored. Should we read them?”

But you didn’t want to read anything, you just wanted to hug him again for being such a great support. Bearing in mind you two weren’t alone in the waiting area, you just put your arms around his waist and put your head on his shoulder. His immediate reaction was kissing your head and putting his free hand on your thigh, squeezing it every couple of seconds to let you know he was there.

A couple of minutes later, one of the dentist’s nurses came out of a room to collect one of the patients but it wasn’t your turn yet. It was a little girl’s, who looked just as terrified as you did. Her mum was holding her hand and trying to tell her some soothing words that weren’t really working. The nurse was doing the same, promising her it wasn’t going to be painful at all. 

“Adults always lie”, you said.

“Pardon?”

“That little girl has been told it’s not going to hurt. But it will, a lot. And that’s why she’ll never trust anyone who says those words again”.

Rúben remained silent and you looked up to see him staring at you.

“What?”

“Nothing. I mean, you’re right but I never thought about it. The physios do that to me all the time and I don’t even notice it”.

“Liars”, you whispered, making him laugh. “Also, seeing them, it was like seeing us. But she’s a little girl and has that excuse. I’m just pathetic”.

“You aren’t pathetic, you have a phobia”.

Now it was your turn to look at him with a confused look.

“A phobia?”

“Yes, dentophobia. Fear of dentists. I googled it”.

“Why?”

“To see if there was anything I could do to help you overcome it”.

“I’ll take it there wasn’t a magical solution, then”.

“Not really. It’s like anxiety. So I’m just here as emotional support”.

“Thank you. It might not seem like it, but you being here is helping a lot”.

“Always happy to help”.

                                        **

“Your turn”, said to you the nurse with a big smile on her face before returning to the room where the dentist was waiting for you.

Rúben got up and offered you his hand again, which you took gladly. But once again, the little walk became eternal. To the point where the nurse got out again, just in case you didn’t hear her well.

“Is it ok if I go in with her?”, asked Rúben, making you panic at the possibility of him not being allowed.

“Of course, that’s fine”, said the nurse, trying not to look like she was judging a little you but failing for a second. 

“It’s a phobia”, you said, making her stare at you while Rúben tried not to laugh.

“Dentophobia”, he said.

“Yes, we get a lot of people with it. We aren’t that bad, I promise. And it won’t hurt much”.

When she turned to go back inside the room, you looked at Rúben, who rolled his eyes and whispered the word liar, making you laugh.

“Morning!”, said the dentist brightly. “Who am I operating then?”

Seeing both of you there confused him, so he went back to his papers and looked at you. 

“Just me. I just…I get really scared so my boyfriend offered to be here with me if that’s ok”.

“We’ve had worse requests, don’t worry. Take a seat and I’ll ask for a chair so your boyfriend can sit too”.

While they all busied themselves getting the equipment ready and getting Rúben seated where you could see him, but not next to you, you just tried to take deep breaths.

“You’ll be asleep the whole time, ok? Won’t feel a thing”.

And while the dentist was telling you about random things to keep your mind distracted, you fell asleep and didn’t wake up again until the operation was done.

                                         **

By the time you woke up, Rúben was sitting right next to you. He had been asked to leave while the operation was being done but was called after that so you could think he had been there the whole time. 

“Hey there”.

“Who are you?”

“She might not make a lot of sense for the next couple of hours”, laughed the dentist’s nurse. “But it all went great. Just follow these steps in the next few days and we’ll see you then for a check-up. How does that sound?”

“Why do you talk funny?”

She just laughed and let Rúben get you ready to leave.

Once in the car, he helped you fasten your seatbelt, seeing how you were incapable of doing it yourself. And then started to drive towards your place, looking forward to having you back at home, where he could properly look after you.

“That was so much fun. We should do it again!”

“You think so?”, he laughed.

“Yes! Aaaaaaaand…I’m getting a present today. No, two presents!”

“How so?”

“The tooth fairy! Look!”, you showed him the two teeth that had been removed.

“Right? What do you want to get as a present, then?”

You started to think really hard. It was a very tough question for you at that moment.

“Wait, do you have a tooth fairy in Portugal?”

“Sure, kids’ teeth fall there too”, he laughed. “But it’s called Fada dos dentes”.

“What does that mean?”

“Tooth fairy”.

“Well, not very original”.

“Ask Rodri about this next time you see him. They have a mouse delivering gifts to kids in Spain”.

“Gross. I think I prefer the fairies”.

At one of the red lights, Rúben passed you some ice packs to put on your face and help with the swelling. 

“I want diamonds!”

“Excuse me?”

“For the tooth fairy present. I want diamonds!”

Rúben was trying really hard not to laugh. “That might be a little out of her budget”.

“It’s not out of yours”.

“But I’m not the fairy”.

“Of course, Rúben”, you said, rolling your eyes. “A real fairy will show up tonight to leave me a present. I know!”

He just shook his head and continued driving, highly entertained by all the nonsensical things you were talking about. 

Getting you out of the car was almost as challenging as it was to get you inside of it that morning, but for different reasons. 

“Home sweet home!”, you said, twirling around the living room. 

“Are you hungry?”

“Yes, I want pizza”.

“You can’t eat any solid food”.

“Blend it”, you told him, rolling your eyes.

But when he came back from the kitchen, he didn’t have a blended pizza ready for you, but some lentil soup. How disappointing.

“Can I have a smoothie?”

“Do you want me to make you one?”

“No, Rúben, I want a fancy one. Can you get me one?”

“Promise you’ll stay here resting while I do so I don’t worry…too much”.

“I will”.

Your puppy eyes weren’t really fooling him, but he needed to go out so the smoothie excuse worked for him.

“Do you want the choco protein shake?”

“Yes! And get yourself a little ginger shot as a little treat”.

“Ok”.

You could still hear his laugh when the door closed. 

                                       **

The rest of the afternoon was spent in bed, watching movies and cuddling. You felt more and more awake, which also meant you felt the pain more. But you were trying not to show it too much and worry Rúben.

He had fallen asleep for 10 minutes and when he woke up, he panicked thinking it had been longer and something could have happened to you. It was so dramatic but also so adorable. 

“Time to take more medicine, how do you feel?”

“I can take them?”

Your face showed him how much you had been lying about the lack of pain. But he didn’t say anything. He just brought you some tablets and juice…and you tried to gracefully drink from the glass while part of your mouth still felt a bit numb. 

“If you don’t love me at my worst, you don’t deserve me at my best…or whatever”.

“You’re always at your best for me but I also love you always anyways”.

“Can I have a kiss?”

“Let me do the kissing”, he said, taking the glass from you so you could lay down next to him again. 

And between the pain going away and all the kisses Rúben gave you, you finally fell asleep. Ready to rest properly for the first time in weeks.

                                          **

“Morning. You need to have breakfast and take your tablets”.

You slowly opened your eyes and saw Rúben staring at you with a smile on his face. It really was a great view to wake up to.

“Can I have another smoothie for breakfast?”

“Sure. But take the tablets first”.

While you drank the last bit of juice, you noticed Rúben moving behind you.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing. I just…I think I found something under your pillow”.

“What are you talking about?”

You took the pillow, slightly afraid there could be a bug underneath or something, but there was a box. 

“I guess the tooth fairy visited us last night”.

“Rúben…”.

“Open it. Let’s see what the fairy got”.

When you opened the box, you found a little bracelet and matching earrings. You looked up, not really believing what was going on.

“I guess the fairy didn’t have time to go find the diamonds and had to settle for the little jewellery shop around the corner”, he said with a little smile.

“You’re perfect”, you told, putting your arms around his neck to get closer to him. “I mean, the fairy is”.

[dark-side-blog3]

I had a rough wisdom tooth extraction (as in, the procedure took an hour longer than expected and recovery is slow cause my roots were deep and close to nerves) and I keep thinking of your yanderes who enjoy forced agere with a darling. I think in my current state I wouldn’t be in any shape to resist them babying me… and maybe wouldn’t even mind. But just look at me! With my puffy cheeks, my words slurred and garbled, dropping food or even missing my mouth and making a mess because I can’t open my mouth much. I can only eat soft things, I get so sleepy, and I clearly can’t take care of myself… now what would you call that other than being a baby, hm? I’d be too tired and groggy to argue or fuss much… or if I did, I’d get cooed over for being such a poor, fussy little thing… baby’s mouth is so sore, they know! Of course I’d be cranky, poor dear. By the time I’d be aware enough, they’d be very settled into the new routine. Maybe they’d try to keep me on some of my meds longer… after all, their little darling is so sweet and obedient when I’m helpless and out of it. They can feed me, snuggle me, care for me… they know just what their little one needs. Keeping me drugged up a little longer can’t be so bad if it makes me dependent on them!

yeesh!! I hope you feel better soon, anon! That does sound rough.

Your yanderes would be very understanding that you might be a bit irritable the next few days-- scary dentists and a tooth extraction would make any kid a bit sensitive and whiny. Especially since now eating anything but soft foods hurts-- you can't even drink from a bottle, because the suction you'd need might hurt your poor sore gums more!

Drugging you seems to keep your wails to a minimum, and you don't cry nearly as much, so it's the right thing to do. And with a little extra dosing, you don't show any signs of discomfort! That's what's best for you after a botched dental job. The fact you can't firmly grasp any of your toys afterwards is just a side effect they're willing to deal with for you. It also means you need extra care with hygiene. You can't hold a toothbrush or soap yet. It's like you're a real baby that needs their help with everything!

[xbonecandyx]

Hello, bones. I recently played Lover's Cup. I'm obsessed with Wade and want to know more about him.

What does Wade's hair feel like, and does he mind being touched?

What are the things that make Wade feel shy?

What are Wade's working hours? Will he talk to me about what happened at work?

What else will Wade wear besides his work clothes?

If MC had an impacted wisdom tooth, would Dr. Curtis choose to enlarge the wound and remove the tooth intact, or crack the tooth to reduce the wound?（I think this may be a tram problem. I don't know whether he will use an electric knife or an ultrasonic bone knife? Will it be anesthetized?I want to laugh at the thought of his embarrassment.😆）

II don't know if my many questions and my translator (I can't speak English) will bother you.If it bothers you, please don't reply. I don't want to embarrass you. I just want you to know that I thought of this.😣

I'm sorry. I'm a greedy person.In fact, I'm still thinking a lot about Wade.

Thank you for creating such a fascinating character.

Wade's hair is a bit coarse, but not too bad to touch, and it's usually surprisingly clean given how the rest of him looks! He's very touch starved, even if he won't say that, so touching his hair would make him quite happy!

Wade definitely gets shy when it comes to expressing emotion or outright talking about his love for you, he tends to be a guy to show rather than tell, so verbal affirmation, giving or recieving, is something he gets shy about.

Wade usually works a pretty normal 9 to 5 type day shift at an auto shop, and he's definitely willing to talk about work afterward, but he can be grumpy because he's so tired.

As for an impacted wisdom tooth, it really depends on how much he loves MC. If he's not too attached he'd definitely prioritize the tooth first, but I think he's kinder to MC and less indulgent to himself the more he loves MC. He doesn't want to lose them so he reduces their chances of getting hurt as much as possible- though being honest I don't think anesthetic will be involved either way 😂😅

[fivetrench]

Got some teeth pulled thinking it would be the end of my suffering, just to have things get 10x worse and end up in the hospital 👍🏻

I need to rant about these stupid fucking moronic ignoramus dentists for a second so ignore this if you don’t want to hear about the literal dumbest medical malpractice to ever happen.

I had a cavity in my back molar on my upper left jaw. I went to the dentist four fucking times and they didn’t do anything that stopped the constant nerve pain. I gave up and was just going to live with it until a quarter of my fucking tooth snapped off while I was flossing because it was so entirely rotted that it had no structure anymore. They had told me time and time again that there were no signs of decay on the million x-rays they took, that it was just the fillings settling, that I just needed some fucking prescription toothpaste. Well, they were wrong and my tooth was rotting out of my goddamn skull for so long that the gum around it was inflamed and hurt to touch. So we go back to the dentist, they finally do something and give us a referral to the oral surgeon to get the tooth pulled. We go to the appointment and SURPRISE! They had no record of the prior examination of the broken tooth or the referral to get it pulled. So we had to fucking leave. We got rescheduled for weeks later. When it’s time for the appointment, they pull my rotting molar but also include my bottom wisdom teeth since they would’ve caused problems later on. Cool, great, whatever. They give me a prescription for an antibiotic and painkiller. In the WRONG PATIENT’S NAME. So we try to call them. For a week. Nothing. They did not answer or call back or anything. So I just had three fucking teeth pulled, one of which was literally decaying inside my mouth for a year, and no antibiotics for almost a week afterwards. To no one’s surprise, I got an infection in the area where one of my wisdom teeth was pulled. Constant pain, the wound was leaking a disgusting brown fluid that tasted so bad I thought I was going to vomit, and I could barely open my mouth enough to eat. So we go to the ER. I’m there for eight hours. 12am to 8am. The whole time my mouth tastes horrible, I’m delirious from lack of sleep, and I’m getting blood draws and IVs put in and CAT scans that aren’t helping with the fact that I feel like I can barely walk. Finally, my tests come back and the infection somehow hasn’t spread to the jaw bone, so they give me a stronger antibiotic and more painkillers. The end. I just can’t believe that this happened. All of this shit happened over the course of a full calendar year. 365 days of nerve pain and useless appointments and just being so damn tired. Doesn’t help that school just started and I now have Fs in almost all of my classes since I’ve missed so much. I’m just so angry. All of this could’ve been avoided had they just done their fucking jobs right. We’re never going back to that dentist’s office. If you live in northeast Ohio, stay the fuck away from Hudec Dental. They have no clue what they’re doing and will only make your situation worse. They are dangerously incompetent. Literally ruined a year of my life.

[larcenywrites]

how would Tony (young and regular/older Tony) react if you need to have your wisdom tooth removed and he's gotta take care of you? like, calm you down before the surgery, accompany you to the orthodontist, take care of you during post-op? and you're all sensitive and upset and feeling shitty and miserable :(

It’s been 8 years since I got all of my wisdom teeth removed but that shit was awful and sometimes the scars flare up and hurt to this day 😭 also my fav story to tell is that after my surgery I was so fucked up on those pain meds for a while (mine took a lot longer to heal than normal and hurt so bad so I took the hard stuff longer than most people lmao), and I played Mass Effect 1 all day every day, and completed it like three or four times over the course of a week 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 my two friends got theirs removed during the same summer as me, and there’s went so smoothly??? Like one had no paid after day 2 or 3 and was eating like normal on day 5, and my other friend took a while before chewing felt more normal but she said her pain wasn’t bad after the first day??? And I literally felt like I was dying for almost two weeks 😭

Young!Tony might have gotten his removed too! 3 or 4 years ago probably, but he’s been through it! He’ll drive you there and back, but on the way he’s probably not the best at comforting you 🤧 He’ll tell you it’s not that bad, and then proceed to tell you all about how he woke up mid-surgery 😭 he thinks it’s kinda funny, but it’s not when you’re about to be in that position :( If you’re anything like how I was after mine, instead of being loopy and stumbly afterward, you walk to the car (mostly) on your own (only stumbling a little bit) after being very grumpy and mean to both Tony and the doctor 😃👍 who thankfully think it’s funny, and Tony only annoys you further when you’re staring through the window with an angry glare and he’s busy asking you how you feel or if you remember anything. Yeah, you feel like shit! No wonder you’re so grumpy! He tries to stay quiet for the rest of the ride 😔 but he’ll put on your favorite songs :D He also made sure to put a towel on your lap maybe or maybe not after Maria advised him to beforehand…

If you don’t already live together, he’ll pretty much try to live in your house for the week even though your parents might be right there to also take care of you 🥺😅 buuuut blood makes him a little squeamish, so helping you replacing those first cottons balls might be a little bit of a hassle, meaning: he’ll be wearing gloves and will be visibly disgusted 😭 but you’re too out of it to notice anyway! The first day, you’re probably doing a lot of sleeping :( but he’ll sleep with you :D propped up with you on some pillow and just watches every movie you own! You probably can’t talk really good either that first day or two, which sucks because all Tony does it talk 😩 well, maybe it’s not so bad then? You also won’t be alone in having to eat things like Jello and pudding and mashed potatoes, because he’ll probably eat them too 😋 It kinda gives him an excuse to only eat vanilla pudding all day 😅 He can’t really help you feel any better besides being surprisingly on time for any medication, and while he promises to take you to your favorite restaurant as soon as you think you can eat real food (which is hopefully after the first week unless you’re like me, then it takes almost two 🙃), but that might kinda make it worse because it gets real boring only eating the few soft foods on that list 😭 And it’s frustrating honestly. Don���t feel bad about randomly crying when he brings you a cup of jello 😔 He’ll be like “wait, was that the wrong thing, I’m sorry 😰” and then he has to sit through your mini rant about being tired of feeling awful 😞 and there’s nothing he can do so he also feels awful 😞 But, at least you kinda have an excuse to sit in bed all week and watch movies or play games? Each day will feel a little better :)

Now older Tony, he’s been through a few surgeries, though it’s been years since this particular one. You can rest assured, at least, that you’ll have only the best doctors and best medical advice and stuff? Nah, it’s still stressful ^^;; Tony’s been through lots of surgeries, and he’ll assure you this is one of the easier and most routine ones! It’ll go fine! You won’t be able to eat normally for at least 5 or so days, so he’ll be sure to take you wherever you want to go the day or two before, too 😘 If you’re super freaked out, he’ll try his best leading up to it to avoid any mention of it unless necessary tbh. He’s suddenly around much more, trying to butt it on daily routines and work, chores or cooking, asking you’re opinion of blueprints or about vacation plans. But it’s pretty unavoidable when he’s driving you there :( He’ll ((technically)) be with you the entire time! He’ll be there when it’s done! It may not feel like it in the moment, but he was right when he said you’d literally be out of there within five minutes! Well, from your point of view anyway. You’re probably a little wobbly on your feet, and hopefully not trying to wriggle out of his guiding grip on your shoulders 😅 And sorry to tell you, while you won’t film it, he’ll purposefully be trying to get you to say ridiculous things and asking you all kinds of ridiculous questions 😔 And tell you all about as soon as you’re feeling better!

He made sure to buy all your favorite yogurts and he’ll even make some soups! Luckily he’s seen plenty of blood and had plenty of surgeries, so blood doesn’t bother him and he doesn’t mind having to help you clean up. And though you’re on bedrest for a few days (the surgery may just be in the mouth, but dental pain really takes out all your energy 😭), at least that means he (finally) has to take a break from work to spend all day with you 😁 though, it’d be better for both of you if you weren’t in pain and so over it :( He feels really bad that there’s not much he can do to help you feel better :( You may get a little snappy with him because you feel so bad, and he tries his best not to let it get him down 😔 But he’s still persistent in trying to find way to keep you entertained and keep your mind off of it (sorta). Puzzles, video games, napping as best he can with you- whatever helps! And when you start complaining about having to eat the same stuff all day, he’ll promise to pick up whatever you want as soon as you can eat better!

And either way, the biggest challenge for him is trying not to instinctively kiss your cheek before bed when your laying next to him 😭 those first few days everything hurts, and he hardly knows what a gentle peck is, so he’ll have to remember to swoop to your shoulder of top of your head that first week 😅

[kharmeleon]

4 years ago today my life changed

I was hit by a car and lost my job

A year ago today my life was not looking good

I was living in the floor of my apartment in st kilda

I was addicted to drugs

And my insurance payments ended

I was told to go to Centrelink and apply for the pension

And I wanted my life to end

Today I’m doing much better

All things considered

I had a wisdom tooth pulled out

The procedure took and hour and a half

It was very uncomfortable however for the past month I had been dealing with almost constant pain

Coupled with the stress of a modern life

And since I had no one to drive me there and back again

I did the procedure without any Valium

Not exactly a choice

But one I was ready and able to deal with

I have become an expert in deep breathing

And removing my mind from the reality I am in

And taking it far away

I have my fantasy world

The one I use to help me fall asleep

When my mind won’t rest

Stress from work and following up payments has me smoking way too many cigarettes

Maybe I should of taken the pension

But I was tired of living that way

I wish I could say I paid for this procedure myself

But since my last boss won’t pay me for an entire month of paving work

I had to borrow the money

I’m lucky I have that option

I’m lucky my family are there for me

And I miss them more then ever

Ontop of all this I also have the flu

Ironically I had the flu when the car hit me too

Life moving in circles

Or spirals

I still cannot tell

I woke up to my roommate telling me to leave

I couldn’t deal with the conversation right now

I do not feel she is being fair

But I have no leg to stand on

And I cannot afford the stress of another pointless argument

Especially with the open wound that’s in my mouth

I can’t expect her to understand what I’m going through

And I wonder

If this conversation will continue

This tumblr feed

I am sure that one day you will stop posting

And it will be the last of this connection we have

I’m starting to think it’s time to go home

That I’m not welcome here

That it’s an uphill battle I cannot win

That this city is starting to turn itself

That I should start preparing

For the journey home

Some wounds never fully heal

And I have a place for me in paradise

And I will miss the friends I made

Things could always be worse

Every time I think I have seen the finish line

It moves further away

But I have lived with these pains and these annoyances and the curse of a thousand little mistakes and a hundred big ones

So bring it on

There isn’t much that can hurt me now

And besides

That was my last wisdom tooth

The next July 17th can’t be as bad as the last two

I’ll touch wood and drink to that 🥃

[hekkoto]

Updateeeeee~!

Heya darklings <3 Im coming with update, overall Im doing better so dont worry ;p In last days Im recovering from removal of wisdom tooth, quite problematic one to be honest – it was mostly under gums, at 45^ angle, right next to nerve ;p they had to force my gums away and they had to cut it into pieces to remove it >XD on first day I was in such excruciating pain I was almost walking on walls >XDDD thankfully it got better, I was sleeping for most of days on begining but Im feeling way better now ^^ last two days it hurts more again but I hope it will be fine soon ^^

Oh, Im starting therapy! I already had first session with new therapist and I I gonna have it once per week :> Im starting therapy which should be great for my borderline issues so maybe I will be able to have any progress when it comes to my stupid head. So far I told like half of my story, next appointment I gonna talk about past too so she will know on what we need to work the most. Tho she already told me I suffer from PTSD and that my childhood was really awful, we will also look what personality disorders I exactly have [cause yeah, borderline is sure but it seems there is moooore ;p]

Ye, my health is getting better, both physical and mental, when I have those downs its not that bad now and its easier to cope with. Also Im mostly on euphoric side ^^ yayayaya Im so happy! Of course, Im aware that my issues will need years to get better but at least Im moving forward ^^

And I will tell you something funny, lately me and my husband watch a lot of South Park aaand today I came to realisation... Im like fucking Cartman aaaaaaa >XD Like his behavior and mine have so many things in common >XD damn kill meeeeee XD tho dont worry, my marriage is doing fine, my husband really recognizes I try my best to show my love and affection and I work on myself to be less fucked up [I mean, I told him a lot before we even started dating, I just wanted him to be aware Im quite... problematic person ;p]

I should be fully back this or next week ^^ I have a lot of things waiting to be posted or finished since eternity lolz I have a lot of stuff that is awfully late but yeah, I gonna catch up soon ^^ I must do few more things like cleaning my flat, of course doctors cause I go there so often >XD but I feel like Im finally sorting out my life ^^ ye, Im positive things will get better <3 I again struggle with very often nightmares so my sleep is fucked up, like my insomnia is bad enough without it but now I struggle with often being super exhausted so I cant do too much at once. But step by step and I gonna do everything ^^

oh, I plan to make [probably few] videos cause I feel like I wanna talk about my past, my life, my health, my nightmares and other shit. Maybe someone would be interested and would find something they relate to and maybe it will be useful to anyone ;p if you have request about what you want me to talk just leave it in comment here ^^ and trust me, some of the stuff gonna be so fucked up >XD

Love ya pumpkins, stay tuned <3

[apatcheworkofproblems]

A lot of things have happened and changed for me this year, starting at the end of last year! Some good things and some bad things but it’s been an interesting and busy year.

I was still staying at my grandmothers dilapidated trailer(at the end of last year) after she went into the hospital for a stroke, like she asked me to. (We were living together before, so I was used to it) And I was left with taking care of her three dogs and mine.(all chihuahuas) She lets me take her card to go to the store to buy food for me and the dogs, as well as other necessities. Like normal but I come home alone.

Nana(my grandmother) was moved from the hospital to a assisted living facility to get better, longer term care. This, unfortunately, was a few towns over so I couldn’t just walk over to see her anymore. This also means that I couldn’t just borrow her card anymore to go the store and I had to rely on her sending me a check($200) to put on my account so that I could still get necessities or I had to somehow do it online if I could with just the card info. Her sending me money only happened once or twice before she started forgetting and saying that money is all I must care about since I ask about it when we talk close to the beginning of the month. She hates the place she’s at and wants to come home and that’s what I should care about.

Started having sleep disrupting pain in my face and jaw. Mom made go to ER. There was an infection in one of the erupted wisdom teeth I had been ignoring. Most of the center of the tooth had rotted down to the nerve and had started sending some serious pain signals up and down the right side of my face.

Found out that my state insurance could try to find me a dentist that would take my insurance instead of the other way around the way it used to be. Awesome. And they would pay for everything including the ride there and back!(good thing too, since the nearest one that could take me was a 45-60 minute drive away) The only thing that they don’t pay for is being put to sleep for the removal but they would pay partial instead.(so I was awake but only vaguely remember anything, other than how bad it hurt for the rotted tooth to have been pulled. That memory was semi clear.)

It was because of how bad that one tooth was that the dentist decided to only do the three that erupted and wound do the last one after I healed a little.

A few weeks after, I was told that I couldn’t stay at the trailer anymore. It was December with single digit temperatures and I was still recovering from wisdom tooth removal but there was no real heat in the trailer(though, I was trying to use space heaters), the water froze completely, and the electricity was being funny so I couldn’t make food anymore. I was starting to get scared.

I was technically homeless(more like couch hopping but I was told by several people that I was considered homeless) after that. This is how I started this year. Sleeping on my mom’s too short couch. I spent the next 5 months like this.

Mom helped me as much as possible with dogs, since by that point nana was no longer helping me with buying food. The money she was giving me before was no longer coming and she was very upset at me for leaving the trailer(and all of *her* things) unattended.

I got my last wisdom tooth removed a couple of months after the first three. Wasn’t nearly as bad, even though I got stitches this time. I felt better. After 3-4 years of knowing and feeling that my wisdom teeth were trying to come out and causing my jaw to ache when I ate anything harder than a bologna sandwich, they were finally gone.

Mom made me go to therapy to talk about things. She believes that nana verbally and emotionally abused me for the last 8-9 years that I was living with her. She also wanted some tests and stuff done. This was the longest time I’ve spent with her in the last decade and she thinks I’m still like the young teenager that was at her house last, that I literally haven’t changed at all. This was backed up by my sister-in-law, who was actually the one that pointed out that I apparently didn’t act or think like a neurotypical adult of almost 30. I was diagnosed with ADHD(hyperactive and impulsive type) when I was in high school so obviously I wasn’t neurotypical duh, but okay.

Went to see therapist once and was immediately referred to the nearest neuropsychology place for testing. Found out the place is booked out for consultations for three months. Fun.

I was able to bring one of nana’s dogs to stay with her. She chose her favorite, the smallest, most spoiled one. I’m glad she got to have at least one of them with her but that still left me with 2 of hers and mine.

My thyroid stopped working right and I had to start taking medication for it.

Mom helped me get in to see some social/behavioral health workers to help me with getting better living conditions.

I see a therapist regularly now.

Social workers helped me get approved for food stamps.

Finally got the neuropsych consultation and set up testing day. Didn’t have to wait nearly as long for that, only a week and a half. Spent 6 hours doing tests for my brain, only taking one break for lunch. Had a bad migraine after. :(

Testing results came in. I have ADHD but the inattentive type instead of what I was told as a kid and autism spectrum disorder. Oh. Huh. Psychologist said based on the info and everything that he thinks that it would be very, very difficult for me to actually get and hold a job sustainably and recommends me starting the process of getting on disability.

With the help of my social/behavioral workers, I got approved for my very first own apartment. I had to sign up for a section 8 HRA voucher and get state assistance but I have my own place for the first time in my life. :) It’s even in mom’s same building, so I can just go downstairs to see her.

Me and mom are no longer able to take care of the dogs. She could get in serious trouble with her apartment building for have mine/nana’s three dogs in addition to her own two pets in her apartment and I can’t have all of them in my new place either. Buying food for them is becoming too expensive for her. Nana said that she can’t afford to send money anymore(not that she had been for a couple of months now) and finally, after a lot of back and forth, finally agreed to let them go if that would be better for them. They were all older, had health problems, and had never seen a vet, which we couldn’t pay for either. The only problem was that local shelter charges almost a $100 an animal to take in older ones that have health problems and don’t have any shots.

Mom was finally able to get the dogs to a shelter. She had me stay home while she took care of it. I had to make the decision if I could keep my dog. Unfortunately, I couldn’t pay for her vet stuff in order to legally have her in my place. I was getting no cash assistance from the state yet so I couldn’t get her food or anything else. I had to make the decision that she deserved a better life. I let mom take her to the shelter too. :,( (at least I was able to know that she and the others got taken care of and adopted. The shelter has a Facebook page and made some posts about them with pictures.) I miss them, sometimes.

With the help of my brothers I got all of my things out of the trailer. All that’s left there is nana’s stuff. She’s still very upset about it.

I got approved for cash assistance from the state and can now pay my own bills in my own money! :) I got the electric for my apartment in my name, it’s the very first bill of my own that I pay. I feel very adult. :) :)

Mom got me a Nintendo Switch for my birthday. :) I’ve wanted one since they came out.

Saw nana for a Christmas party at the nursing home she’s at. One of my younger brothers took me. She hadn’t seen him since she was in the hospital. He only recently got his car to where it could travel the 45 minutes to where she was and not have to worry about it dying on the way. I gave her a blanket that I crocheted. She liked it a lot.

That’s all of the important things I can think of. :)

This is the most things that have happened to me in a long time. Sorry for the stupidly long post but I wanted to write it all out.

I’m hoping that next year will be a great year.

[apathyfairy]

.

[forever-rogue]

If you're looking for Bucky requests, may I perhaps request something to do with Dad!Bucky? Like maybe he's surprised on how much his kid (I always see him with a daughter but that's just me) grabs onto his metal hand when they're walking or just gravitates towards it more than his flesh hand and he's always throwing major heart eyes whenever the child does this. 🥺

A/N: Dad!Bucky? Please I’m so heckin’ soft right now - no one touch me 🥺

Pairing: n/a

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: none

BUCKY MASTERLIST

MAIN MASTERLIST

»»————-　♡　————-««

"Daddy!" Bucky was pulled back into reality as he looked up from the ground. A small flock of pigeons had gathered around him as he fed them some seed. They were cooing and chirping happily at him and in some ways had become steadfast friends over the years. But when he looked up and found his daughter grinning and waving at him, his entire heart melted, "daddy! Come and catch me!"

Sofia displayed a gap-toothed grin,  her dark curls windswept and blue eyes wide and excited. She was his little clone in almost every single way. You'd told him that since the day she was born and, almost as if you had a sixth sense, you'd insisted that she would cling to him like glue. You'd been right. Very right.

He couldn’t help but grin as he watched her running around, attempting to catch some butterflies as Falcon, the beloved family dog, followed closely behind. You’d had him since before she was born and they were thick as thieves.  Quickly pulling out his phone, he made sure to snap a few photos of them to send to you before getting up and chasing after her. He was on solo-father duties today as you had a few things for work you had to attend to that day.

Of all the things in the world Bucky thought he would ever have, a family of his own was never one of them.

But as he ran after his daughter, making quick work of catching up to her little legs, and swooped her up in his arms, a wave of peace and calm washed over him. She squealed in delight as she tried to squirm out of his arms, Falcon barking happily at the two of them.

“I’ve got you, little monster,” he peppered gentle kisses over her face as she giggled and attempted to wrap her small arms around his neck, “so easily defeated, little one. One day you’ll be strong enough to fight me off.”

“I don’t want to, daddy,” she insisted as she snuggled against his chest, “I like when you hold me. Besides, my legs are getting tired.”

A lump welled up in his throat at her little declaration; in some ways he wished that Sofia would stay this young and carefree forever. But in others, he couldn’t wait for her to grow up and reach different milestones that he could help her grow through. He still struggled, here and there, with the idea that he was actually good and hoped in some ways that raising her would give him the chance to prove to the world he could do good. Perhaps it would prove it more to himself than anyone else, but that was beside the point. He just wanted to be a good father, just as he worked to be a good husband.

He already was - the best ever - you had consistently told him such. Nothing you’d ever done that had shown him otherwise. It was something he still found to be a miracle at times.

“That’s what happens when you’re a shrimp,” he laughed softly as he kissed the top of her head, “one day, you’ll be tall and running over me. But that’s a long time from now - want to get ice cream before we go home?”

“Yes,” she grinned and looked at him with wide, ocean blue eyes, “mommy said no ice cream though...she said I had too much when I went to Uncle Sam’s the other day.”

“Mommy isn’t here right now,” he put a finger up to his lips and whispered softly, “it’ll be our little secret, okay?”

“I thought secrets were bad, daddy!”

“Only when they hurt other people,” he slowly set her back down and smoothed out her wild curls, “we don’t keep important secrets to ourselves and we don’t do anything to hurt others, yes?”

“Yes!”

“Exactly - and us getting ice cream doesn’t hurt anyone,” he reminded her as the little girl nodded eagerly, “we’ll make sure to brush your teeth extra well and then we’ll bring some home for mommy too. She can’t be mad then, right?”

“She loves ice cream too,” Sofia insisted as Bucky laughed, “we can all get ice cream! Falcon too!”

“Maybe not Falcon,” Bucky into his jacket pocket and fished out Falcon’s leash before clipping it onto his collar, “he can’t eat the same food as us, baby. But we can stop and get him a special treat too at the pet store. We can do that first, get our ice cream, and walk home. Mommy should be back by then too.”

“Okay daddy,” as soon as he straightened back up, he held out his hand to her, expecting that she’d gravitate towards the warmth and gentleness his normal hand offered her. Instead, she reached for the black and gold vibranium of his left side and clung onto it without reservation. She held onto him as tightly as possible, giving him an expectant look with a happy smile.

In some ways, he shouldn’t have been surprised at all. She’d never, even as a baby or toddler, had shown any fear or hesitation when it came to his vibranium arm. When she was tiny, even smaller than she was now, she didn’t understand the difference. She just knew that daddy has a different arm, but she’s never questioned it or made any sort of situation out of it. Even when people would stare, whether they knew of his past or not, Sofia was never phased. In turn, it gave Bucky the confidence not to care either.

You’d started the process of slowly helping to get him comfortable with being who he was, not hiding from the world, and the small girl had aided as well. These days he was able to go out without fear or worry about how he looked. He wasn’t anyone or anything he was just...Bucky. Bucky the husband, Bucky the father, occasionally Bucky the sidekick to Capitan America. And it felt good. For once in his long life, he was just a normal man.

And frankly, that was all he had ever wanted. What a thought - the man that had been through hell and back, several times, and all he wanted was a quiet and peaceful life. It had been a long time coming, but now that he had it, he didn’t plan on ever letting it go.

“Daddy?” Sofia asked softly as she started walking and noticed he wasn’t coming, “what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he promised softly. Bucky squeezed her hand gently before taking a step forward with her and Falcon quickly matching his stride, “Sofia?”

“Yes?”

“How come you never ask about my arm?” if he didn’t ask, curiosity would kill the cat. Typical Bucky Barnes, he knew you would say, asking a mere child for an explanation of something much more complex than anyone of her age would understand.

“Your arm?” her little brows knitted together as she looked up and gave him a confused look.

“You have to have noticed it’s different,” he shrugged as they walked out of the park, “it’s metal - vibranium - no one else has one like it.”

“That’s okay, daddy,” she stopped and quickly turned his hand over in hers, tracing over the palm gently, “it’s pretty. And it’s okay to be different! Mommy always says that and you do too. It doesn’t matter what anyone looks like, as long as they have good hearts. Right? If you’re kind and nice, nothing else matters!”

“Yes,” he felt himself getting choked up again as she started to race along the sidewalk, attempting to pull him with her. Sage wisdom from a five-year-old, “you’re absolutely right. I love you, little monster.”

“I know! I love you too, daddy,” she grinned, “now hurry up before they run out of all the good ice cream!”

»»————-　♡　————-««

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[henry-and-the-seven-lords]

(u can choose for it to be a hc or anything) the brothers go to the dentist with MC and see the process of her wisdom teeth getting removed

Ok! I actually haven't had mine removed, but I have had similar dental work so I am going to base it on that!

So I got REALLY into this for a few days and then I forgot where I was going with it so it turned into headcannons with a super long intro instead of an imagine... Hope you like it!

Warnings: Mentions Dental work, Mentions Needles, Mentions of Blood, Mentions of surgical procedures

Brothers Masterlist | Datables Masterlist

Brothers Reacting to a Wisdom Teeth Removal

MC had been crying out in pain for the past couple of weeks. They had continually mentioned their teeth or jaw being the source of the problem. The Brothers did all they could in the Devildom, but in the end they decided take MC to the human world to see a dentist.

"Well, it looks like your wisdom teeth are coming in. There doesn't seem to be much room left for them, so I would suggest an extraction." The dentist looked at the x-rays and back to MC who was currently surrounded by 7 scared men.

"Extraction!? Ain't no way you are taking anything from my Hum-," Mammon caught himself, "...MC."

The doctor eyed him suspiciously before going back to the x-rays. Lucifer sighed, "Mammon. He is not taking anything. This is going to help MC."

"Will it hurt?" Beel had made his way through the crowd of his Brothers to talk to the doctor.

"They won't feel a thing while they're under. There could be some aching after the procedure, but as long as it is properly taken care of there will be no complications."

The Brothers breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.

"I'll go through with it." MC pipes up.

The doctor smiles and says, "Wonderful. You can set up an appointment and get the paperwork at the front desk." He then turned on his heel shutting the door behind him, leaving MC and the Brother alone in the room.

"Are you sure this is the best idea, MC?" Levi's voice shakes as he speaks.

"It'll be fine guys. This is a common human procedure, plus I have all of you to help me afterwards." This seemed to easy their qualms. MC went to the front desk and scheduled the surgery sometime during the next week.

Before they knew it, a week had almost passed and the procedure was to take place the next morning. All of the Brothers were frantically running around trying to prepare until Lucifer finally got their attention.

"I want all of you to listen closely," He stood tall and spoke to his brothers now gather in front of him.

"MC is not allowed to eat anything after dinner tonight. They are only allowed to drink water," Beel's face turned sullen, as MC was usually his partner in crime for midnight raids of the fridge.

"The surgery is said to take two hours," Levi's face lit up at the thought of being home early enough to join his team in game and maybe even have MC assist. Only for it to fall again as Lucifer continued, "But before we come home, we will need to pick up some human pain medicine for when the medicine from the surgery wears off."

Asmo seemed quite intrigued with the mention of shopping in the human world, but his thoughts were cut short when Lucifer added, "And we will not be picking up anything else."

Lucifer sighed before continuing, "I have already made a shift schedule for who will take care of MC when we get home. It is in the center of the table." Satan reached for the paper as Lucifer droned on while Mammon peered over his shoulder.

"I will also be giving you instructions on how to change out the guaze and other things to stay away from." Lucifer gave the stack of packets to Belphie who didn't even take one. He just yawned and passed them to Beel.

"MC will be unable to participate in most activities for at least four days. So put any schemes you have on hold until they feel better. Understood?" Lucifer's words were stern as he glared at all of his Brothers.

"Understood." They all groan in unison.

MC, meanwhile, had taken their seat at the table and has began to fill their plate.

Satan grabs his pamphlet and sits across from MC. He quickly flips through the papers before skeptically looking up at them.

"You are confident that this is safe?" He eyes the human nervously as they swallow their food.

"Sure it can't be that bad. Some of my friends had it done and they're still alive." The brothers look between themselves as they all begin to read the possible outcomes of the procedure.

Dinner ends with everyone but MC and Beel leaving their plates mostly full. Slowly they all go their separate ways to their rooms.

When morning arrives, Lucifer wakes everyone up. He quickly goes through the house and rushes everyone out the door in order forC to get to the human world on time. It takes a lot of effort, but the group eventually makes it up to the office in one piece.

Asmo sits next to MC holding their hand and talking to them, "They better not mess up your face. If they so much as make a wrinkle on your skin. I will personally tear them apart."

MC chuckles, "Asmo. They have to have something to keep my mouth open. Don't be so dramatic."

As MC finishes their statement, their name is called and the group goes back with them.

They watch as the dentist helps MC into the chair resembling a torture device as he talks to them.

"You should be out for about two hours, you didn't eat or drink anything correct?"

MC shakes their head no and the doctor smiles before putting on his surgical mask, "Great! Then let's start the procedure."

The brothers gather around MC gently laying their hands on the human's body as the needle penetrates the human's arm.

"I'll be fine guys... Don't worry... One... Bit..." They watch as MC's head slowly lulls towards them. They look at the doctor in fear only to be quickly ushered out by the nurses.

Thankfully, there was a small room where they could sit and watched MC being worked on.

As they watched horror struck their faces.

💙 Lucifer

He really just trusted the process and had no idea what was going to happen.

So when he sees a tube being shoved down MC's throat he is upset and nearly breaks down the glass.

Then he remembers that MC is doing this to feel better and restrains himself.

But only because MC wants this done.

💛 Mammon

Mammon did not like this idea from the beginning! It sounded to dangerous and no one should be taking ANYTHING from MC (besides him).

Definitely was not happy when he started to watch them cut into their gums and blood started to get everywhere.

Lucifer and Beel had to hold him back so he didn't rampage.

Immediately grabs MC when this is all over and does not let them go.

🧡 Leviathan

Levi thought this would be a quick and easy process because it was only going to take two hours.

So they pull out a tooth and that is it right? Wrong.

He is horrified when he realizes they have to cut the teeth out and sew MC back together.

Why would they agree to something so invasive!? Why is this normal for humans!?

💚 Satan

He did a bunch of research and was the reason they went to a human dentist in the first place.

He knew what the entire procedure would entail and even tried to tell MC that it was pretty intense.

But he wasn't going to go against MC's wishes if they wanted to get it done.

Definitely stepped out of the room when it was happening... He didn't want to see it.

💖 Asmodeus

Asmodeus was fine to do anything that MC agreed with, then he saw them pulling their cheeks back and he got angry.

He was quite upset that they were stretching MC's precious skin! They could get wrinkled! And don't even get him started on the tube in their throat.

He wanted to march into the room and stopped them, but he remembered how much pain MC was in and that they needed to get it done.

He will get revenge later. Right now, he is focusing on MC.

❤ Beelzebub

Beel just wants to make sure MC is safe and feeling better no matter the cost or procedure.

So when he starts to see all the terrible stuff happening, he steps out with Satan to get some snacks.

By the time he comes back full, the procedure is over and he can walk in with everyone else as they wait for MC to wake up.

He did save MC one bag of chips... he was worried about them not eating breakfast...

💜 Belphegor

Belphie would be upset at what's happening, but more upset that he can't be next to MC to take a nap.

He definitely cares about them being safe, but he knows they agreed to it and human procedures are weird so he isn't too worried.

He just wants to take a nap and he needs his human pillow.

He will lean on MC's arm and immediately fall asleep whenever he is allowed in to see a groggy MC.

[atlafan]

Sweet Tooth - One Shot

a/n: dentistrry is here!! I only researched a couple of things, so if you’re in the dentistry/medical field please don’t come for me if things are inaccurate, it’s just a fic, you know? This ia really cute, sweet, datey fic, so I hope you enjoy! Feedback and reblogs are super helpful! (not proofread) Consider buying me a coffee if you’re able! 

Warnings: fluff and smut (the word molested is used, nothing bad happens or has happened to the main characters, it’s just mentioned during a conversation)

Pairing: Harry x OC

Words: 18K

“Dad, I can go by myself.” Abby groans to her father.

“I have to make sure everything gets billed correctly. Your dentist said only two are impacted, so only half is covered my medical and the other half is covered by dental.”

She huffs out a sigh, but nods her head as they enter Tufts Medical Center. Abby was finally getting a consult for her wisdom teeth. Perhaps at the age of twenty she felt a little late to the game for this, but her mouth had only started to hurt a little this past year. She was a little nervous about being knocked out for surgery, but she also just wanted her mouth to feel better. It was the summer before her junior year of college, so now was the perfect time to get it done. Abby and her dad make their way through the building, and get to the floor they need to be on.

“Abigail Simmons.” Her dad says to the receptionist and she nods.

“Someone will be out for her shortly. Did you have her most recent x-rays sent to us?”

“Yes.” Her dad says, and they both go to take a seat.

Abby’s leg was bouncing and she was chewing on her bottom lip. It was just a consult, there was really nothing to be worried about.

“Abigail?” Her eyes widen as she looks over at the person who just said her name. He had a toothy smile and was wearing a set of blue scrubs. She and her father both stand up. “Hi, I’m Harry, you can follow me.” He smiles to the two of them as he leads them to the consult rooms. He gets Abby situated in the dental chair. “Just so you both know, I am a student, but a competent one, which is why one of the other nurses isn’t here, but one of them will come by shortly, and so will the doctor.” He sits down on the stool and wheels over to Abby as he puts his gloves on. “Heard your mouth’s been sore, huh?”

“Y-yeah.”

“She called me at school in tears.” Her dad says and she glares at him.

“College student?” Harry raises an eyebrow and looks back at the computer to review her x-rays. “How old are you?”

“Twenty.” Abby says.

“Your teeth are, like, really straight. Did you have braces?”

“When she was in middle school. She stills wears her retainer.”

Harry and Abby both look at her father and blink. He was really starting to piss her off. She could answer for herself.

“Well, you’ve got a very good girl here, don’t you, Mr. Simmons? Listen, uh, this is going to take a few minutes. I need to look at all of her teeth and confirm the ones that are impacted and if the other two have room or not. There’s another waiting area right over there. I’ll call you back over once the doctor’s here. Would that be alright?”

“It’s just…Abby’s really nervous-“

“Dad, please, I’m fine.”

“Alright.” Her dad sighs. “I’ll be right over there.”

“Bit of a helicopter you have there.” Harry smirks at her.

“Thank you for getting rid of him. I bring myself to the doctor all the time, but for whatever reason he was adamant about coming to this.”

“It’s major surgery I don’t blame him.” Harry grabs a bib to put around Abby. “So, you go by Abby?”

“Mhm.” She blushes as he clips the bib in place and adjusts her hair.

“Is it true, are you nervous?”

“A little…mostly about the surgery, not so much about the rest. I’m not one of those people that’s afraid of the dentist.”

“No worries, love, you’ll be in good hands with us.” He smiles. “I’m gonna put the chair back now, alright?”

“Okay.”

The chair slowly goes back, and he situates a pair of sunglasses onto her before fixing the light over her eyes.

“Could you open up for me as much as you can? I’ll try to be as gentle as possible since I know you’re experiencing a lot of discomfort.”

She nods and opens up wide. She feels his pinkies enter her mouth and feel around her gums. She winces a few times when he brushes up against the back of her mouth. She hears him whisper sorry a few times. Abby tries to focus on anything else. She focuses on how green his eyes are, and how seemingly perfect his skin is. Her mind wanders to how people get skin like that. What’s his routine? How could she get skin as smooth? Does he see a dermatologist regularly?

“Okay, Abby, I’m gonna out the chair back upright, and go grab your dad and the doctor. Hope that didn’t hurt too much.”

“It was fine, thank you.”

Abby’s dad, two nurses, Harry, and the doctor all come over to her to discuss her teeth. She definitely needed all four removed. They settle on a date for her to come back and have the procedure done, and Harry gives her the rundown on how to prep for the surgery.

“We’ll see you in a couple of weeks, Abby.” Harry smiles.

“You’ll be here?”

“You bet.”

Even though she was nervous as fuck to go under, she was almost excited to see the handsome dental student again. At least it was something to look forward to.

//

Abby had an early morning surgery, and she had to stop eating the night before. So she was exhausted and starving, not to mention she was a ball of nerves. Her dad drove her in for the appointment, and assured her he’d be there afterwards.

“Abby?” Harry comes out all scrubbed up and ready to go. She stands up and waves back to her dad before going with him. He brings her over to a consult chair and types on the computer. “Alright, whatcha have for breakfast?”

“N-nothing, I haven’t eaten since dinner last night.”

“Good girl.” He says without looking at her. “And what about a midnight snack?”

“Harry, I haven’t eaten since dinner last night.”

“You remembered my name?” He asks as he turns to her, and she blushes.

“Sort of hard to forget the British guy that told my dad to go sit somewhere else.” She smirks, and it makes him laugh. “Will you be in the operating room?”

“Yup, I’ll be there the whole time. I’m the hand holder.”

“The hand holder?”

“Mhm, while they’re helping you get to sleep I’ll be holding your hand, making sure you’re alright. I also get to put the IV in your arm.”

“Lucky you.” She deadpans and it makes him laugh again.

“What are you in school for?”

“Psychology. I’d like to be the type of doctor that doesn’t have to deal with all this.” She gestures around the room.

“Helping people on a whole other level, I see.” He nods.

The doctor comes over, and she must have gotten asked about four more times if she had eaten breakfast. She gets settled in the chair in the new room where she’d be operated on. She watches as Harry gets the IV in her arm, and then he holds her hand, just like he said he was. He was wearing a mask now, but she could tell he was smiling.

“Don’t worry, Abby, the next time you wake up these nasty teeth will be gone.”

She nods at him and squeezes his hand as they get the oxygen hooked up to her nose. His thumb rubs the back of her hand as a nurse puts the mask over her mouth, and her eyes slowly start to droop. The last image she has is Harry’s hand in hers.

When Abby wakes up, her eyes immediately well up with tears as she looks around the room. She sees her dad sitting in a chair reading a magazine, and she sees the IV still hooked up to her arm. She makes a whining noise and her dad looks over at her.

“Hey, you’re awake.” He smiles. “Everything went really well, honey. You did great.”

After about ten minutes a nurse comes in and takes the IV out. In her daze she tried looking for Harry, but she couldn’t find him. She was so delirious she could barely walk, and her dad had to help her to the car. She just wanted to say thank you to Harry for holding her hand, but she never got the chance.

//

Several years later, Abby had finished her master’s degree in counseling, and just finished up her licensure program. She already had a few different job opportunities lined up. The one she wanted most was at a local university at a counseling center. Being a student in today’s age was tough, and Abby wanted to be someone they could open up to. She had done extremely well in her postgraduate internship, so she had impeccable recommendations. She just needed to narrow things down to what school she wanted to work for, and that ultimately came down to benefits. She ended up going with UMASS Boston. It was a school a lot of her friends attended, so she sort of knew the campus, it was easy enough to get to by train, and the benefits were great.

After getting the first semester under her belt, Abby was feeling confident in what she was doing. She was truly helping students. She’d even be able to go for her PhD for free after she had six months under her belt. With winter break underway, Abby was getting caught up on some self-care, which meant going in for her annual cleaning.

“Hello, this is MidCity General Denstistry, may I please speak with Abigail Simmons?”

“This is she.”

“Hi, Abigail, this is a call to remind you of your appointment this week.”

“Right, Wednesday at 3PM?”

“Correct, and I have to inform you that your usual dentist, Dr. Morgan, has recently retired.”

“Oh…I mean good for her, I just liked her a lot.” Abby chuckles.

“Don’t worry, our new doctor, Dr. Styles, is amazing and everyone’s really like him so far. He’s taking over all of Dr. Morgan’s patients.”

“Okay, that should be fine. See you Wednesday!” Abby hangs up the phone and puts an extra reminder on her phone so she wouldn’t forget.

On Wednesday, she checked in and was brought into the back by a nurse, Marie. She was the dental assistant that would be doing her cleaning, nothing out of the ordinary. Although, Abby was starting to get aggravated because Marie kept sticking the pick into the same tooth in the back of her mouth. She hears Marie sigh.

“Abby, it seems like you may have a cavity. Dr. Styles will be able to confirm it. Let me polish you up, and then I’ll go get him.”

Before Abby has a chance to respond, Marie was already polishing her teeth. She was left to lay back in the chair while Marie went to get Dr. Styles.

“Hello, Miss Simmons.” Abby’s eyes widen when she hears his voice. He sits on a stool and wheels over next to her. “I’m Dr. Styles, nice to meet you.” He extends his hand to her and she takes it. “Mind if I take a quick peak at everything else before I inspect this possible cavity?”

“N-no, go ahead.”

“Thank you, open wide for me.”

She does so, and he sticks his gloved fingers into her mouth, feeling around her gums, and making sure everything’s alright. Next he grabs the tools and does a quick inspection of her overall mouth before poking at the tooth that Marie said was the problem. Abby notices how he hum along to the music playing on the radio. It was almost soothing.

“Okay, I’m gonna hit the button so you can sit up.” He says to her. Marie moves the light, and Abby takes the sunglasses she was given off. Her eyes widen again when she gets a good look at him.

Abby had come into contact with a lot of people in her life since the time she was twenty. It would be odd to remember someone that helped with her oral surgery, but too much was adding up. A man with a British accent, the same green eyes, and he was in the dental profession. She was finally going to get a chance to thank him.

“You have a cavity.” He sighs.

“I’ve never had one in my life.” She shakes her head.

“Happens to the best of us.” Dr. Styles chuckles. “Are you eating a lot of sweets?”

“Um, well, I’m a counselor at UMASS Boston, and I tend to suck on jolly ranchers when I’m meeting with students. Helps remind me to just sit and listen and not interrupt.”

“Ah, that’s a pretty good trick. Maybe try sugar free gum?”

“No, gum gives me a headache.” She shakes her head. “I prefer to suck than to chew.”

“Right.” He swallows. “Maybe try sucking on some mints then?”

“Sure, I can try that.” She smiles at him.

“Good girl.” He smiles back at her. That just sealed the deal it was definitely him. “Marie here will help you set up an appointment so I can take care of this for you.”

“You’ll be doing the procedure?”

“Mhm, you’re stuck with me now…unless you want to switch to another doctor, which I hope you don’t. Hope you’re not missing Dr. Morgan too much.”

“Not as much as I thought, that’s for sure. Um…this may be a weird question, but did you happen to be a student at Tufts Medical Center?”

“I was! It’s where I went after I got my bachelor’s. I can perform oral surgery, but I much prefer doing stuff like this. Can fill a cavity in my sleep. How did you know I went there?”

“I…this is going to sound so weird, but, like, six years ago you…held my hand when I got my wisdom teeth out.” Harry’s eyes widen at that. “Normally I wouldn’t remember someone so well, but…it’s not every day I have a British doctor.”

“Oh, wow, you remember me doing that?”

“Yeah, and we left before I ever got a chance to say thank you for keeping me so calm. So…thanks.” She blushes.

“I wish…I wish I remembered that. They often had me as the hand holder. How nice for our paths to cross again, huh? Promise to be just as good a dentist as I was at holding your hand.”

“That’s all I could hope for.” She smirks, and it makes him chuckle. “Right, well, Marie, please help Miss Simmons set up her appointment with me so we can get this cavity filled.”

“Sure thing, Dr. Styles.” Marie says as she makes a few clicks on the computer.

Just like that he was gone. He had grown into quite the handsome man since she last saw him. Not that he wasn’t before, but he looked more adult now. She wondered how much older he was than her. More importantly, she wondered if he was single.

//

It was about a week later when Abby came in to have her cavity taken care of. Marie was the dental assistant again which brought Abby some comfort. Marie gets her prepped in the chair as they wait for Harry to come into the private room.

“Alright, good morning, Miss Simmons.” He says brightly.

“You can just call me Abby if you want…” She says shyly.

“Okay, Abby, it is. Let’s fill this cavity, yeah?” He sits on the stool and wheels over to her. “Gotta give you a spot of nova cane, but before I do that we have to numb the area a bit, so this little thing that looks like a lollypop is gonna go in.” Abby nods. “Open up for me.” She does so. “Good girl, thank you.” He places the numbing stick inside her mouth and she scrunches her face. “I know, it doesn’t taste very good, sorry.” He stands back up. “I’ll be back in about five minutes.”  

True to his word, Harry comes back five minutes later, and takes the numbing stick out of Abby’s mouth. Next he has her open up so he can administer the nova cane. He tells her she might feel a slight pinch, and she accidentally grabs onto his thigh.

“S-sorry.” Abby says as she takes her hand off him. “I may not be afraid of the dentist, but I really don’t like needles.”

Harry and Marie share a glance, and then Harry looks at Abby.

“Marie, would you mind handling the nova cane so I can hold Abby’s hand?”

“Sure thing, Dr. Styles.”

Harry hands the needle to Marie, and then Harry grabs onto Abby’s hand. He smiles softly at her, and she’s able to focus on him and not the needle going into her gums. Marie says it’s all set, so Harry gets back into position with the drill.

“If it hurts, just let me know and we can numb you a bit more.” Harry says to her. “It’ll be over before you know it.”

Abby pinches her eyes closed the second the drill comes into contact with her tooth. Thank god Harry was wearing a mask because he couldn’t help but smile at how cute she looked. Luckily, Abby didn’t suffer too much. The procedure didn’t take too long, and she was sitting upright before she knew it.

“You did great.” Harry smiles at her. “So, that side of your mouth will be numb for a bit. Give it a few hours before you eat anything, avoid hot foods.” Abby just nods her head along, too embarrassed to speak because she knew she would sound stupid. “Have you made your appointment for your next cleaning?” She nods again. “Great, Marie, I’m just gonna go over another few things with Abby, feel free to go on your break.”

“Oh, alright. See you in six months, Abby.” Marie smiles, and leaves the room as Abby waves to her.

“I actually already went over everything with you. I…uh…just wanted her to step out.” Abby’s eyes widen at that. “I was actually wondering, um, if you’d like to go out for coffee sometime…you know, when you can have hot liquids again.” He blushes and so does she. She nods yes at him quickly. “You do? Great, um, can I have your number then?” Abby frantically reaches for the phone in her pocket, unlocks it, and then hands it to Harry so he can add his contact. “I’ll call you in a couple of days so we can set something up, yeah?”

She smiles and nods as she takes her phone back. Her heart was fluttering. She felt like she was in a dream or something. Coffee couldn’t come soon enough.

//

Harry called Abby a couple of days later, just like he said he would, and they agreed upon what coffee shop they should meet up at on Saturday. Her mouth was feeling much better, and she was really excited to see him. She was still in shock that he asked her out in the first place. She thought she’d have to wait another six months to see him again.

He got to the coffee shop first, and decided to wait outside for her. He smiles when he sees her and they step inside.

“It’s on me.” He says. “Get whatever you like.”

“Oh! That’s so nice of you.” Abby blushes. “Thanks.” They each order and grab a table to sit at. It was too cold outside to go for a walk.

“I just want to preface by saying I’ve never asked out a patient before.” Harry says to her.

“So…why ask me out then?”

“I just found it really endearing that you remembered me, and all you wanted to do was say thank you to me for doing something so simple.”

“Harry, I had just turned twenty, I was practically still a kid. I had never gone under or had a surgery before, I was petrified. My dad was just as nervous, you were the only thing that calmed me down.”

“So, that would make you roughly twenty-six now?”

“Yes it would.” She smiles as she takes a sip of her coffee. “How old are you?”

“I’ll be thirty-two next month.” It was an age difference both of them might have been against those years ago, but not now. They were both well into adulthood, had their careers, and had some life experience under their belts. “It’s killing me that I don’t remember you.”

“It’s really okay. You’ve probably seen so many patients. I’m sure years down the line I won’t remember every student I’ve met with.”

“Right, you said you’re a counselor at…?”

“UMASS Boston.”

“And how do you like doing that?”

“I love it, honestly. I feel so bad for these kids, they have so much on their plates, under all this pressure. It’s really brave of them to come ask for help, so I like giving them a safe space. Some meetings are more serious than others, so it’s never boring. I feel like I’m doing something worthwhile.”

“That’s amazing. Feel like I do better talking to people in small spurts, that’s what’s so great about being a dentist. People can’t strike up small talk when you’ve got your fingers in their mouth.” He laughs and so does Abby.

“How long have you been at MidCity for?”

“Like…six months, I think. I like it a lot, everyone’s really nice. Marie’s my favorite assistant, though, sometimes her kids come in and they’re really cute, and her wife bakes the best brownies.”

“She’s usually the one to do my cleanings, I like her a lot too.”

“Can I ask why you chose jolly ranchers to suck on? I mean, how many students are you meeting with? You must go through a ton.”

“I do.” She blushes in embarrassment. “I got them when they were on sale after Halloween…I’m definitely going to try the mints like you said.”

“Good, I’m glad.” He smiles as he takes a bite of his bagel.

“So, how does a doctor such as yourself not already have a girlfriend?”

“Getting right to it, huh?” He smirks and she nods. “Medical school takes up a lot of time, and then when I first started as an intern, I was constantly overworked. I was doing surgeries left and right, I was too exhausted to try and make anything serious work. Then I decided I’d rather be working at a practice. I still do a lot of teeth pulling, but not as much as I was. And now that things have slowed down a bit, I just haven’t met someone I’ve wanted to be serious with.” He shrugs. “What about you?”

“Same thing, sort of.” She giggles. “Grad school was a lot, and then interning was a lot. Now I’m just really settling into my job. I survived the first semester, now I feel like a pro.”

“That’s a good feeling to have. Is your commute long?”

“Not really, I just take the green line to the red and I’m there. Obviously the trains can be unpredictable, but it beats having to pay for a car and car insurance. What about you? Are you in the city, or out in the suburbs.”

“Oh, I’m in the city. I drive to work, though, I’ve got my own parking spot at the back of the building.”

“Well, we can’t all be so special.” She smirks.

“No, I suppose not.” He smirks back at her. “How’s your tooth feel, by the way?”

“Oh, it’s fine, thanks. You’re really good at your job. It was nice of you to hold my hand when Marie did the nova cane.”

“I felt so bad that you were scared.” He reaches across the table and places his hand over hers. “When you grabbed onto me I knew I had to do something.”

“God that was embarrassing. I would have felt so violated if someone did that to me.”

“It’s not like you grabbed my dick, Abby, it’s alright.” He gives her hand a squeeze.

“Right.” She lets out a nervous laugh. “So, do you work a standard Monday through Friday at MidCity, or how does all of that work?”

“Yup, pretty much.” He takes his hand away from hers. “I mean obviously if there’s an emergency we have to cancel appointments, but for the most part we leave spots open for surgeries so people are able to book those easy enough. I usually pop by the cleanings in between cavity fillings and other stuff.”

“What made you want to become a dentist?”

“Well, I knew I wanted to work in the medical field, but selfishly I didn’t want the long hours at hospitals. I don’t have to be on call, like, I don’t have to worry about emergencies in the middle of the night. Not often, anyways.”

“I feel like I would get grossed out looking at teeth all day.” Abby chuckles.

“It’s not as bad as you think. I try to separate the teeth from the person. Like, I was able to give all new teeth to this recovering meth addict. She had this incredible story, and I knew I had to help. She had been sober for five years, but no one would hire her because of her teeth. Now she’s working a corporate job doing great.”

“Oh, wow, that’s amazing.”

“You must have some great stories with your students.”

“Yeah, I’ve really bonded with a few of them. Sometimes they just need someone on their side, you know? A lot of them are first in their family to go to school, so they’re doing a lot on their own.”

“That’s a lot of pressure.”

“You have no idea.”

“Well, it’s good they have a nice person like you to help them.” Harry smiles warmly at her and she smiles back. “Would you, um, would you be interested in going out for dinner some time?”

“I…yeah, I’d love to.” She blinks a couple of times. “I’m free most nights right now because we’re on winter break.”

“You don’t have to go into your office at all?”

“I just answer emails from home.” Abby shrugs.

“Sweet deal.” Harry grins. “So, how would Thursday night work for you?”

“Thursday works great.” She smiles.

They both throw out all of their trash and step out of the coffee shop. They share a gentle hug, and go their separate ways. Harry said he’d call in a couple of days to let her know where he’d be taking her, and she was beyond excited.

//

Friday night, Harry picked Abby up in front of her building. When he saw her, he got out of the car to open the door for her and she giggled.

“That’s a nice coat.” He says to her.

“Thanks, I got it on sale at L.L. Bean back in August. Keeps me nice and warm.”

“Oh, I love shopping there! Once in a while I’ll take the drive up to New Hampshire to go to the actual store to get the really good stuff. The boots I got from there for the winter will last a life time.”

“Yeah, it’s just good quality stuff. I usually get a decent coupon in the mail or online.” She chews her bottom lip. Clearly Harry had a little more money than she did. “Where are we eating?”

“You’ll love it, it’s this nice Italian place at the North End. I remember you said Italian was something you liked when we spoke on the phone.”

Abby smiles at him and he looks at her briefly to smile back. He finds a place to park, somehow, and they walk towards the restaurants. She hadn’t been to the North End in a while since most of the places were expensive. Harry puts his hand on the small of her back as they walk in, and he tells the hostess he has a reservation. She leads them over to a table for two and he pulls out the chair for her.

“So, how’s your week been?” Abby asks him.

“Pretty good, fit this one person with a new tooth, did a couple of crowns. Same old, same old.” He shrugs. “How about you?”

“Good, I did some virtual sessions with some students who are having shitty winter breaks. I went into the office for a team retreat, and then I updated some spread sheets.” She chuckles.

“That’s nice of you to do virtual appointments.”

“It’s all part of the job.”

“Good evening, folks.” A waiter comes over with water and a basket of rolls. “I’m Parker, can I start you off with any drinks or appetizers?”

“Abby, would you care to get a bottle of white for the table?” Harry asks her.

“Oh, sure, that’s be great. Would Pinot Grigio be alright?”

“It’s perfect. A bottle of Piniot Grigio, please.” He looks down at the menu and furrows his brows at the appetizers. “Calamari?” He asks her and she nods. “Calamari, Parker.”

“Sounds great, I’ll be back in a moment with the wine and to take your dinner orders.”

“The calamari here is excellent, it’s lightly fried in peanut oil so it doesn’t feel heavy.”

“What do you recommend for an entrée?”

“Everything’s good. What are you in the mood for?”

Abby looks down at the menu and her eyebrows raise at the prices.

“Maybe just one of these pasta dishes.”

“Don’t do that.”

“What?”

“Don’t get the cheapest thing on the menu. Get whatever you like, it’s my treat.”

“Harry, this is gonna be really expensive.”

“I wouldn’t have brought you here if I couldn’t afford it, please don’t worry about it.”

“O-okay, then…maybe the steak tips with the pan seared peppers.”

“If that’s what you want then you should have it.” Harry smiles. Parker comes over with the bottle of wine, and pours the first two glasses for them. “I’m really glad we could do this tonight.” He grins. “I…found something when I was going through some old things the other day.”

“Oh?” She raises an eyebrow as she sips on her drink.

“It was killing me that I couldn’t remember you, but then it hit me.” He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a card. “I’ve never been so thankful to be a packrat in my life.” He opens it and smiles. “Dear Harry, I never got a chance to say thank you when you held my hand before my surgery. I figured I’d drop this off when I came in to have my stitches removed. I hope this finds its way to you. You’re going to be a great doctor someday. Sincerely, Abby Simmons.” He smiles at her as he places the card back in his back pocket.

“You…you kept that?”

“It wasn’t often I got cards like that, so I kept it, and once in a while when I needed a pick me up I’d read it. As soon as I re-read it the other day I completely remembered you. I even remembered telling your dad to go sit in the other waiting room.”

“Oh my god.” Abby chuckles. “That was the greatest thing I had ever seen. Think that solidified the crush I had on you.”

“Telling your dad to basically leave you alone?”

“Yeah.” She smirks. “Super hot to see you be so sure of yourself and confident. Plus, he was really pissing me off, talking over me and answering for me.”

“Wow, so I guess I’m the one that away, huh?” He smirks.

“You certainly were. Although, I hadn’t thought about you in quite some time. It’s crazy that you ended up becoming my dentist.”

“Very crazy.” Parker comes over with the calamari and tells the two he’s going to put their orders in now. Harry watches as she sticks her fork into a piece and takes a bite. “You’re really cute, you know that?”

“I’ll take your word for it.” She smiles. “This is really good.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

The rest of the date goes really well. Abby and Harry continued to joke around and flirt. It wasn’t until the check came that she felt a little uncomfortable.

“How much is it?” She asks him nervously.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He smirks and slides his card into the slot, letting Parker take it. “Would you like to walk around for a bit, maybe get some dessert by the water?”

“That sounds great, but only if I can pay for dessert.”

“Deal.” He smiles.

Harry holds Abby’s hand as they walk through the little park by the water. Even though it was cold out, it was still a beautiful night. They duck into a gelato place for a little dessert. They decide to split something, which ends up being insanely romantic when Harry lifts his spoon to her lips. She makes a show of it as she takes a bite, licking her lips after and everything. He holds her hand during the drive, and lets her pick the radio station. He gets out and walks her up to the door once they get to her building.

“I had a lot of fun with you tonight.” She says to him.

“Me too.” He steps closer to her. “Do you see a third date in our future?”

“Definitely.” She nods. “Do you like bowling?”

“Love bowling. Are you, um, free Saturday night?”

“I can be.” She smiles. “Pick me up around seven?”

“It’s a date.” He smiles. The two stand there awkwardly for a moment, unsure if they should kiss or not, so instead Harry opens his arms for hug, and she wraps her arms around his neck. She kisses his cheek, and then he kisses hers. “I’ll see you Saturday, Abby.”

“See you Saturday, Harry.”

//

Harry was on cloud nine the next day at work. He couldn’t stop thinking about Abby, her smile, her laugh, the little beauty mark she has under right eye. He thought she was gorgeous, charming, and kind. Normally he’d never get involved with a patient, but he couldn’t help it with her. He thought it was so sweet that she remembered him after all this time, and he felt so relieved that he remembered her.

“You’ve had this dreamy look on your face all week, what’s with you?” Marie asks Harry while they’re eating lunch.

“I…sort of met someone, and we’ve been out a couple times…she’s great.”

“That’s great! Anyone I know?”

“Um…well, you know Abigail Simmons…”

“Of course I know Abby! Oh my god, is that why you asked me to step out of the room when you filled her cavity?!”

“I didn’t wanna ask her out in front of you.”

“Harry, since when do you date patients?” She whispers.

“Normally I wouldn’t, but it turns out I met her a long time ago. When I was a student at Tufts I assisted in removing her wisdom teeth.”

“Oh, wow, that’s incredible.” Marie blinks. “When are you seeing her again?”

“Tomorrow night. We’re going bowling, how fun is that?”

“Should be really fun.” Marie grins. “Look at you, putting yourself out there. Now Leigh and I can stop trying to set you up.”

“I’m excited about her. She’s got such a cool job too. I can’t wait to keep getting to know her.”

//

Since they were going bowling, they could easily just take the train, so Harry takes a cab to Abby’s building Saturday evening. He was wearing a nice pair of jeans and a sweater under his jacket. She comes down the stairs in her long coat, and a Patriots hat on top of her head.

“Hey.” He smiles at her, taking her in for a hug. “How are you?”

“Good.” She smiles up at him. “How are you?”

“Good, great, actually.” He takes her hand and they walk towards the nearest t-stop. They both swipe their Charlie Cards and hop onto the next train.  

“I hope you’re okay with candle pins…I’m not good with the big balls.” Abby says to him as they hang onto the same pole of the crowded train.

“I love candle pinning.” He chuckles. “No worries.”

They get to the bowling alley, are given a lane, and get their shoes. Abby takes her hat off and fixes her hair, and then unzips her jacket. She had a pair of jeans on with a red turtleneck. Abby was a short, curvy thing, and Harry absolutely loved it. When Abby first met Harry back when she was twenty, she was a tiny size two, but now she was a comfortable size eight and was fully embracing it. She was healthy, and that was all that mattered.

“Do you want anything to drink? I could get us a pitcher of beer.” Harry says to her as they settle into their lane. “I could get us some pizza too.”

“That sounds great, thanks.” She smiles as she slips her shoes on.

“Be back in a tick.” Harry goes over to the snack bar and gets two slices of pizza and a pitcher of beer. “Here we are.” Harry fills two of the plastic cups up with the beer, and hands one to Abby. “Shall we?”

“Mhm, I already set up the score sheets.” She shows him the large sheet of paper. “Not that I care that much about the score…it’s just fun to keep track.”

Abby bowls first, knocking most of the pins down, and then gets the rest on her second throw. Harry couldn’t help but smile as he watched her to do a little jog and hop as she threw the ball down the lane. He goes up next and immediately gets a strike.

“Woohoo! Go, Harry!” Abby says as she takes a sip of her beer. “I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a strike before.”

“I could show you how if you want.”

“Isn’t it just luck?”

“Nope, it’s all physics.”

“And…you’re good with physics?”

“Had to take it during pre-med, I even tutored for it. Come on, I’ll show you.” Abby gets up and grabs one of the balls. Harry goes behind her, and puts his hand on one of her shoulders, moving her hair so he can speak closer to her ear. “Okay, so what you’re gonna want to do is walk a little closer to the line, swing the ball back, and let it fly.”

Abby turns slightly to look up at him. Her cheeks were flushed. She nods at him, and does exactly what he said to do, and she gets the strike.

“Oh my god!” She squeals and throws her arms around him. “I can’t believe that worked! You’re amazing!” She kisses his cheek.

“You did great! Nice to know you’re good at following directions.” He winks at her and grabs his next ball.

After three rounds of bowling, and two pitchers of beer, they both head out. They take the train back to the stop nearest to Abby’s apartment, and Harry walks her home.

“I had so much fun tonight, Harry.”

“Me too, I’m glad you suggested bowling.” They both stop in front of her steps. “Can I see you again next weekend?”

“I’d like that.”

“Maybe if it’s not too cold we could go ice skating at Frog Pond.”

“Oh, I’d love to do that! I have my own skates and everything.”

“Perfect.” He smiles and steps closer to her. She looks up at him with her big brown eyes. He didn’t think brown eyes as beautiful as hers existed. “Abby, can I kiss you?” He asks softly.

“Yes.” She nods and smiles up at him.

He cups her cheek and leans down to her. His lips press to hers, and he uses is other hand to cup her other cheek. It’s soft and gentle at first, it grows a little needier as she presses her body to his, but she stops him from walking up the stairs. She pulls away first and blushes.

“Um, well, goodnight.” She says to him.

“Yeah, goodnight.” He rubs the back of his neck. He was sorting of hoping she’d invite him up. It was the third date, after all. Maybe she was a fifth date kind of girl, which he had to respect. “I’ll call you at some point during the week. I’ve got a few different surgeries, though, so if you don’t hear from me a lot that’s why.”

“No worries.” She shrugs. “I’m getting ready for the students to return, and I have some meetings to go to, some seminars, so I’ll be busy myself. Wanna just plan for next Saturday?”

“Sounds good to me.” He leans again to kiss her again, and she happily kisses him back.

“Okay, goodnight for real.” She giggles and walks up her steps. She waves goodbye as she goes into her building and he sighs.

Abby sighs happily as she gets into her apartment and squeals. She immediately texts her best friend everything about her date with Harry. She was so excited about him, and couldn’t believe he was actually interested in her.

//

They texted here and there during the week. Abby got a little brave and sent him a mirror selfie of her dressed up for work, and he sent one back of himself in his scrubs ready to go in for surgery. Her jaw nearly dropped when she saw him. She had seen him in scrubs before, but it was ages ago. He filled them out so differently now. Plus, the thought of him being a doctor just did things to her insides that she couldn’t even describe. He thought she looked gorgeous in her pin striped slacks and blouse. He couldn’t but think about how lucky each student was that got to sit and talk with her.

Harry was exhausted by the end of the week. He must have extracted over a dozen teeth, filled a stupid amount of cavities, and put on ten different crowns. He couldn’t wait to see Abby Saturday. He asked her to go to the pond a little earlier in the evening so they could get dinner afterwards. The decided to just meet at the pond. She was easy enough to spot now that he knew what her long coat and Patriots hat looked like.

“Harry.” She smiles when she turns to see him. They hug and share a quick peck on the lips. “Did you catch up on some sleep?”

“I did.” He sighs as they find a bench to sit down on to put on their skates. “Been looking forward to seeing you all week. How’d your seminar go?”

“Oh, it was great! It ended up being more of a training, I have a new certification too.”

“That’s amazing, good for you. I’m constantly going to lectures and stuff to stay up to date. I’ve published a couple of things too to some medical journals.”

“That’s so cool! Once I’ve been at UMASS for six months I can start taking classes for free. I’m gonns go for my doctorate, so hopefully I can start publishing some work too.” They both stand up and make their way into the rink. Abby puts her hand out for Harry’s and he takes it as they start to glide on the ice.

“That’s great that they have a program like that for you.”

“I know! I was super happy when I saw that in the benefits package.”

They skate around the rink a few times, enjoying the music that was playing. Harry guides them over to the side for a little break. He presses her against it, his hands going onto the railing, caging her in. She looks up at him, and he leans in to kiss her. She tugs on his coat to pull him closer, and the kiss deepens slightly. Abby really liked kissing Harry. He always tasted like mint, probably because he was constantly chewing gum, and his lips were insanely soft. She starts smiling and so does he, and he presses his forehead to hers.

“Do you feel like going to eat now?” He says to her.

“Yeah.” She nods.

They end up going to a Mexican restaurant not too far from the pond. They each get margaritas and laugh a lot. Harry talks about what it’s like to extract teeth during a surgery, and Abby asks if people ever want to see their teeth afterwards. He asks Abby how she copes when she has to deal with a heavier situation at work, and she says her little Shih Tzu, Marvin, helps make her day a lot better.

“That’s nice your apartment allows pets.” He says to her.

“Yeah, he’s only, like, nine pounds, if that. He’s so cute, do you wanna see a picture?”

“Of course!” Abby pulls out her phone to show Harry a few pictures of Marvin, and even a selfie she took with him. “He’s so cute, and so are you.”

“Thanks.” She giggles.

“He looks like a little stuffed animal.”

“He really does.”

“Why a Shih Tzu?”

“They’re really smart. They’re tough to train because they’re so stubborn, but once they get a little older they start to listen, and they’re pretty self-sufficient alone during the day. Although, sometimes I sneak him into the office.”

“How old is he?”

“About two. Do you have any pets?”

“Nah, I’m not home enough to take care of anything else. But I love dogs, I think they’re great.”

“Well, maybe at some point you can meet little Marv.”

“I’d like that.”

They square up the tab and Harry walks Abby home once again. They kiss for a while outside her front door. He desperately wanted to feel her tongue on his, but she wouldn’t open her mouth up. His hands squeeze at her hips, and she tugs on his jacket like she had done earlier.

“Well, I better get up inside.” She says against his lips and he hums his response as he continues to kiss her. She giggles into him. “Harry.” She smiles and steps back from him.

“Sorry, I just really like kissing you.”

“I like kissing you too.”

“When can I see you again?”

She takes her phone out to check her calendar.

“Are you free on Friday?” She asks as she furrows her brows at her screen.

“I think so. We could go to dinner, if you like. There’s this really great Chinese place in China Town that I love going to if you’re interested.”

“That sounds great, Harry.” She smiles. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“Maybe…um, maybe we could meet up for lunch, or something at some point during the week.”

“Do you have time for something like that?”

“I’m sure I do. I can look at my calendar and let you know which day works best.”

“Okay.” She nods. “I’d love to meet up for lunch.”

“Great.” He leans in to kiss her again. “Hope you and Marvin have a good night.”

“Oh, we will. He’s probably antsy for me to get up there and give him all the cuddles I can. Text me when you know which day works for lunch.” She smiles and heads inside.

Harry couldn’t believe a little dog was going to be getting all of her cuddles tonight and not him. She was slowly killing him. He respected that she might want to take things slow, but to still not invite him up? He sighs and orders an uber back to his condo, hoping he’ll be able to fall asleep easily, and not stay up thinking about the girl who was slowly creeping her way into his heart.

//

Abby was able to meet up with Harry on Tuesday, but only for a quick walk, which she thought would be a great opportunity for Harry to meet Marvin. She gets his sweater and harness on, leashes him up, and out the door she goes. Harry was standing outside her building, in his scrubs, and a jacket, with two hot chocolates.

“Thank you.” She smiles and takes the warm drink from him. “Harry, this is Marvin.”

“Aw.” He pouts, and squats down to put his hand in front of Marvin’s nose before he pets him. “Nice to meet you little guy.” He looks up at Abby. “He’s even cuter in person.”

“Right? I’m really excited we could get out for a little bit today. He loves when I can take him for a good walk.” Harry stands back up straight and they all start walking. “Were you in surgery today?”

“Yeah, early this morning, and I’ve got another one later this afternoon. Didn’t make much sense for me to put my other clothes back on.”

“You look cute in your scrubs.” Abby says, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

Harry nudges her and he looks down at Marvin.

“He’s pretty quiet, huh?”

“He was yappy when I first got him, but he’s calmed down a lot. First summer I had him I spent a lot of time training him. Pretty much taught him not to bark unless someone’s trying to break in.”

“You must be good with discipline then.”

“I try to be. Although, I’m more of a fan of positive reinforcement.” They pull to the side as Marvin takes a tinkle near a fire hydrant. “Good boy, Marvin.” She says and gives him a kibble as a treat. “Kibbles are great treats. Can’t get fat off what he normally eats.”

“That’s really smart. Have you, uh, been laying off the jolly ranchers?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Dr. Styles, I didn’t realize we were in your office.”

“Abby…”

“I’ve been trying to, but I have a horrible sweet tooth. They’re the only candy I really eat. What’s the harm?”

“Your teeth rotting out?”

“Okay, good point. I mean, I haven’t had nearly as many since I’m not really meeting with students right now, and I’ve already gone out and bought a ton of mints for the next semester.”

“Good girl, that’s what I like to hear.”

“What do you say to your male patients?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s just…you say good girl a lot…do you do that with all your female patients, and if so…what do you say to your male patients? Also, I’m an adult woman. Do you say good girl to all adult women?”

“Abby.” Harry chuckles. “I think I’ve only ever said that to you.”

“Oh, fuck off, I bet you say it all the time.”

“I really don’t.”

“Then why me?”

“You’re cute, and I tend to be a flirt sometimes.”

“You consider calling me a good girl flirting?” She stops short and he turns to look at her.

“I do.” He nods, a smirk growing on his lips. “Do you want me to stop saying it to you?”

“N-no.”

“Alright then.” He grins and they continue walking until they get to Marvin’s turn around spot, and make their way back to Abby’s building. “I’m glad we got to meet up for a bit. Still on for Friday night?”

“Definitely.” She goes up on her tip toes to kiss him goodbye and inside she goes. Harry left her with butterflies in her stomach.

//

Harry was really hoping tonight would be the night something more happens between him and Abby. He just wanted to feel her body on his. He drives to her place around seven Friday night, and he waits outside the car for her.

“Hello, beautiful.” He says to her as she steps outside.

“Hey.” She smiles and kisses him. He opens the door for her and he jogs around the other side to get back in. He takes her hand in his as she drives towards China Town. “How was your day?”

“Good, really busy, but good. I tend to get a lot of kids on Fridays since it’s an easy day for them to miss school.”

“I bet the little kids love you.”

“They do, I like being goofy with them.” They get to the restaurant, and are seated. “Do you want to share a few things?”

“Sure, that sounds good.” She smiles. “I hardly ever come out here, how’d you find this place?”

“When I was at Tufts I used to come to China Town all the time since it’s close by. I got sick of eating at all of the same places, so I decided to come around here and branch out. This is obviously nicer, but I like it a lot.” They decide which dishes they want to share, and tell the waitress when she comes over. They both also order a couple of drinks. “The semester’s starting soon, right?”

“Yeah, on Monday, actually.”

“Oh, wow! Do you feel ready?”

“For the most part.” She nods. “The first week is usually quiet, and then I start to get booked out. That’s how it was last semester, anyways. I already have some of my regulars from last semester on my calendar for next week.”

“I bet they’re excited to see you, I know I would be.” He places his hand over hers and gives it a squeeze. “Abby, um, after dinner…I was wondering if you’d like to come back to my place for a bit.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet of you to offer, but I don’t want to leave Marvin for that long.” She takes a sip of her drink. “Another time, though.” She smiles and he nods at that.

A food runner brings their dishes over, and luckily nothing feels awkward, but Harry was sort of hoping that she’d offer to have him over after dinner instead. They both enjoy the food, and share a few laughs before heading back to Harry’s car. When he pulls up to her place they both linger for a moment.

“Thanks again for dinner, Harry, I had a great time.”

“Me too.” He looks at her. “Can I ask you something?” She nods yes at him. “Are you, uh, seeing anyone else? It’s okay if you are, we never said this was exclusive, I guess I’d just like to know.”

“No, I’m not seeing anyone else. I would have told you if I was dating around. Are you seeing anyone else?”

“No.”

“Okay.” She smiles. “Good to know.” She leans across the console to kiss him, and he kisses her back. He turns his body more so he can cup her jaw. “Are you busy tomorrow?”

“I…I don’t think so, I mean, just usual weekend errand type stuff. Might be grabbing drinks with some friends in the evening, why?”

“I was just thinking maybe, um, you could come over for dinner, but if you’re busy-“

“I can cancel. I can get drinks with them any time.”

“Don’t be silly.” She smiles. “We can do it another night. We’ll figure it out. I better get upstairs.” She pecks his lips. “Goodnight.” She gets out of the car, leaving him speechless. He wanted to rip his hair out at this point.

//

“Harry, how things going with that girl you’ve been seeing?” Greg asks him as they sit in a booth at the bar.

“Yeah, you still like her?” Lenny asks.

“Things are going well.” He nods. “But I can’t seem to figure her out. We’ve been out, like, six times and she still hasn’t invited me up to her place. I invited her back to mind last night, and she said she didn’t want to leave her dog alone for long.”

“Have you kissed?” Greg asks.

“Yeah, we’ve kissed plenty of times. We just haven’t done anything else. I mean, we don’t need to jump right into bed, but it’d be nice to do a little more.”

“I get what you’re saying, man.” Lenny says. “Maybe she’s just nervous.”

“I didn’t think I was giving her a reason to be.” Harry sighs. “She invited me over tonight, but I stupidly told her I had plans with you lot.”

“What are you doing with us then?! Go pick up some dessert, and go get your girl!” Greg says.

“I can’t just show up at her place…I’ll look like a stalker. What if she’s not even home?”

“So text her.” Lenny shrugs. “See if she’s around and ask if you can stop by. Tell her you’re at bar in the neighborhood.”

“But I’m not. She’ll know I’m lying.”

“Dude, just text her and see if she’s around.” Greg says.

Harry takes out his phone and types out a text. He hesitates before hitting send.

Harry: Hey, Abby! Are you home? I’m finishing up with my friends a bit earlier than I thought…maybe I could bring some dessert over?

Abby: Hey! Yeah, I’m home, snuggled up with Marv. I’d love it if you came by, especially if there’s dessert involved lol

Harry: Great! I can be by in about 30 minutes

Abby: sounds good! See you soon

“Alright, I’m gonna go up to the bar and get a lava cake to go. Thanks for being so cool about this guys.”

“No worries, H.” Lenny says. “Good luck.”

Harry races to Abby’s once he’s gotten the cake, and she buzzes him in. He knocks on her door, and she opens it for him.

“Hey.” She smiles and steps aside. “Come on in.”

“Thanks.” He pecks her cheek. “Hope you like chocolate lava cake.”

“Love it.” She takes it from him. “So…this is it. It’s just a studio.” She blushes. “But the kitchen is its own area, which is nice.”

“It’s great.” He smiles at her. “You’ve definitely utilized the space.”

There’s a large monitor mounted on the wall, a desk underneath it with Abby’s laptop, and an HDMI cord connecting both. There’s a small couch a few feet back, and then her bed is up against the opposite wall. Everything was neat and tidy.

“I use this wireless mouse as a remote, and I have a Fire Stick.” She says. Marvin comes trotting in from the kitchen. “Marv, you remember Harry. I’m just gonna stick this in the kitchen. Feel free to make yourself comfortable.” She walks into the kitchen as Harry sits down on the couch. Marvin jumps up to sit in his lap.

“Hey, little guy.” Harry pets his head and scratches behind his ears. Abby comes back out. She looks really cute tonight. She was wearing glasses, her hair tied to the side in a braid, leggings and an off the shoulder sweater. “Hope I’m not intruding on your cozy evening.”

“Not at all! I’m really glad you texted, actually. Did you have fun with your friends?”

“I did, yeah.”

“Are they dentists too?”

“Mhm, we lived together while we were in medical school. Lenny and Greg.”

“Where do they both work?”

“At other practices around the city. Greg’s actually an orthodontist. They’re both junior partners, though, I’m the first of the three of us to become a senior partner at a practice. Guess that was the one good thing about Dr. Morgan leaving MidCity.”

“You’re so successful.” She bites her bottom lip and looks down at Marvin in Harry’s lap. “Look at that, you’re here five minutes and he already liked you better than me.” She reaches and takes Marvin from Harry, snuggling him to her chest before putting him on the ground.

“I didn’t know you wore glasses.”

“Oh, I don’t. They’re just blue light blockers.” She takes them off and sets them on the side table next to the couch. “They help a lot when I’m on the computer for a while.”

“Ah.” He nods.

“What’s your place like?”

“I’ve got a condo, uh, it’s a three bedroom, but I use one as a home office.”

“Wow, good for you.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t always get to live so comfortably.”

“You’ve earned it, I bet you work really hard.” She smiles.

“I’m sure you work hard too.”

“True.” She nods. “But I’m paying off loans, and this is all I can really afford.”

“It’s a great place.” He assures her. “I wish the studio I had when I first started out was half as nice as this. I certainly didn’t keep things as neat as you.”

“Oh, I just rushed around to clean things up before you got here. It was a mess.” She laughs.

“I’m glad you were cool with me coming by.” He puts his hand over hers, rubbing his thumb along the back of her hand. “I’ve been having a great time with you this last month.”

“Me too.”

“My birthday’s next weekend, and…um, a ton of us are getting together at this pub…I’d love it if you could come.”

“Oh! Sure, would it be Saturday?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m there, I’d love to go. That’s so nice of you to invite me.” She leans in and kisses his cheek.

He looks at her, his eyes locking in on her lips. He leans in and presses his lips to hers. Her arms go around his neck to pull him closer, her fingers tangling with the curls on the nape of his neck. His arms wrap around her, hands splaying on her back to have her chest pressed to his. He lightly sucks on her bottom lip, and she opens up wider for him. He nearly groans as he licks into her, finally. She tugs on his hair as her tongue molds to his. One of his hands slides down her back and around to the front of her stomach. He just about reaches the band of her leggings when she grabs his hand, and moves it to her hip. He gives a squeeze and she whimpers into him. He plants kisses along her jaw to her earlobe, nibbling on it gently until he kisses on her neck. He mouths at her skin before sucking on her and she gasps.

“Don’t leave a mark.” She grunts, and she feels him nod against her skin. “H-Harry, is this the only reason you wanted to come see me tonight?” She blurts out and he stops to look at her.

“What? No.” He shakes his head. “I genuinely wanted to see you and split that cake. And…I mean…yeah, I’ve been wanting to do a little bit of this.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I like you a lot, Abby, I can’t help it.”

“I like you a lot too.” She gives him a soft smile. “We can keep kissing.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mhm.” She nods and brings her hand to the back of his neck to pull him back to her. This time she nibbles on his bottom lip and his hands go to her hips, squeezing and kneading. “Mm, but I don’t wanna go any further than this…not yet anyways. I hope that’s alright.”

“Of course it is.”

“I just…sort of wanna see where this is going before something so serious happens between us.”

“I get it.” He smiles. “I know you’ll be worth the wait.”

//

Harry: hope the first day of the semester has been treating you well!

Abby couldn’t help but smile at her phone. She knew Harry was extremely busy at work, so the fact that he took a moment to text her meant so much. The only thing was he texted her during a staff meeting, and her colleague Maya noticed her goofy smile.

“Abby, how was your break?” Maya asks her after the meeting.

“It was good! Um, I sort of started seeing someone.”

“Shut up! That’s amazing, who is it, how’d you meet?”

“His name is Harry…he’s, um, my dentist.”

“Oh, my, a doctor?”

“Yeah.” Abby nods. “We actually met years ago when he was still a student, and he just so happened to take over for my other dentist who apparently retired. It’s been a little over a month. He’s super nice, and funny…and he’s really fucking handsome.” She says the last part quietly.

“Good for you. Do you have a picture of him?”

“There’s one on the practice’s website. I haven’t, like, taken a selfie with yet. Although, I wish I had when he took me ice skating.” She pulls up MidCity’s website on her phone and shows Maya.

“Holy shit! He is handsome.”

“It’s going really well too. He’s met Marvin, and he invited me to his birthday party this weekend.”

“Wow, so you’re gonna get to meet his friends already?”

“I guess so.” She smiles. “The only thing is…do I get him a gift? And if so, what do I get him? I feel like it should be casual because everything’s so new still, but if it’s too casual he might think I’m not as into him as I am.”

“Shit, yeah, that’s a tough one.” Maya steps further into Abby’s office. The girls were close, so they were used to talking about personal things. “Have you slept with him yet? You could wear something for him to unwrap.”

“No, we haven’t.” Abby sighs. “I’m trying to take things slow with him because I really like him. We’ve made out a couple of times…”

“So…is that a no?”

“I don’t know, birthday sex as a gift? I feel like that’s so…cliché or something? Plus, I feel like he’ll be expecting it. I want it to feel more special than that.” She bites her bottom lip in thought.

“Oh! Have you been out to eat with him much?”

“Yeah, a ton, why?”

“Did you notice him order any specific types of alcohol?”

“Yeah! On our first real date he had this really nice bottle of white wine ordered to our table. It was delicious, and he loved it. I remember what it was, I could just get a bottle of that and a card, right?”

“I think that’s a totally acceptable gift. It’s sentimental, so it shows you put some thought into it, but also casual enough to show you’re not a psycho.”

“Exactly.”

Abby: you’re so sweet! It’s been a little busy with meetings and stuff, but other than that no fires to put out. Thanks so much for thinking of me, I hope you’re having a good day too! 😘

//

Harry didn’t want Abby to walk into the pub by herself, so he said he’d pick her up on his way. She insisted he didn’t need to, but he insisted that he did. She had a black dress on with black tights and blue heels. She zips up her long coat and runs her fingers through her hair. Her phone buzzes with a text from Harry that he’s downstairs with the uber. She takes a deep breath, grabs her gift, and heads downstairs.

“Happy birthday.” She smiles and gives him a peck on the cheek.

“Thanks, beautiful.” He opens the door for her and goes around to the other side. “Is that for me?” He points to the bag she’s settled into her lap.

“Maybe.” She shrugs a shoulder.

“You didn’t have to get me anything.” He places his hand on her thigh.

“I said maybe, so this could easily not be for you. I guess you’ll find out later.” She side eyes him and it makes him laugh.

“How was your first week back to campus?”

“Exhausting.” She sighs. “But I caught up on sleep this morning. Everyone was excited to see Marvin.” She chuckles. “And it was good to see my friends and students.”

“That’s good.” Harry smiles.

“What about you? How was your week?”

“Busy. I had four different surgeries, a ton of cavities, and a fuck ton of cleaning check ins. I think a lot of college kids were getting in their bi-annual visits before going back to school.”

“Ohhh, yup, I bet that’s what it was. Is there ever a time of year you’re super busy?”

“I would say summers I do a lot of wisdom teeth removals, so I get bogged down there. Everything’s pretty consistent, though.”

“So, who’s going to be at this party?”

“My friends Greg and Lenny, who are very excited to meet you.” Harry smiles and gives Abby’s thigh a squeeze. “Some people from work, you know Marie, and Dr. Morgan’s going to be there as well. Some other med school buddies will be there. I’m only thirty-two it’s not really a big deal.” He shrugs.

“I’m excited to meet your friends too.” She smiles. “And it’ll be good that I’ll know a couple of people so you won’t feel like you have to babysit me.”

“Aw, babe, I wouldn’t feel like that. I wouldn’t leave your side if that’s what you wanted, no worries.”

She nods and smiles nervously at him. He just called her ‘babe’ and it filled her tummy with butterflies. The driver pulls up in front of the pub, and Harry gets out first so he can open Abby’s door. She smiles at him as he puts his hand on the small of her back to lead her inside.

“There he is!” Greg exclaims. “Happy birthday, H!” The two hug.

“Thanks, mate, this is Abby. Abby, this is Greg.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” She says to him.

“Same to you, you’re even lovelier than Harry described.”

Abby giggles at that, and Harry leads her over to the coat room. It seems the whole pub had been rented out for his party. There was a small table for gifts, so she sets hers down.

“Wow, you look amazing.” Harry says, rubbing his hands up and down her arms.

“Thanks.” She smiles and leans in to peck his lips. “Wanna introduce me to some other people?”

“Yeah, come on.” He takes her hand and leads her back to everyone.

Abby gets introduced to Lenny, and some of Harry’s other doctor friends. She then gives Dr. Morgan a big hug, and she says hello to Marie and her wife. Harry gets Abby a glass of wine, and much to her surprise, he keeps his arm hooked around her waist for most of the evening. He clearly wanted her close by. His friends were kind, not at all arrogant, which was a tad unexpected since there were a lot of people with deep pockets in the room. Maybe doctors weren’t as snotty because they also had large student loan debts. They engaged her in conversation, asking about her work, and why the heck she wanted to spend her time with Harry, which made a lot of people laugh. Harry lit up when he was explaining how he and Abby actually met ears ago, and he talked about the card she had sent along to him, making her blush a bit. Everyone found the story to be quite endearing.

“Are you having a good time?” Harry asks Abby as they go up to the bar together.

“I am, your friends are great. Are you? It’s your birthday.”

“I’m having a wonderful time, even more so since you’re here.” He kisses her cheek and hands her a new glass of wine.

A tray of cupcakes is brought out, and everyone sings happy birthday to Harry. He blows out a few candles and thanks everyone for coming. The cupcakes were delicious, clearly from a nice bakery. Harry notices Abby getting a little bit of frosting on the corner of her mouth, and before she can grab a napkin, he’s catching it with his thumb and sucking it into his mouth. Her eyes widen as he winks at her.

“Th-thank you.” She says, clearing her throat.

“Don’t mention it.” He pecks her lips. “I was wondering something…”

“What is it?”

“Would you like to come home with me tonight? I thought it would be nice to spend some time alone after being so social.”

“Oh, um, yeah, I’d like that.” She nods.

“Will Marvin be alright without you?”

“Yeah, my, um, neighbor’s kid is actually watching him tonight. She’s a great pet sitter. I…I told her I may not be coming home tonight, so she’s fully prepared for a sleepover.”

Harry’s smile grows, and he kisses her again. After making the rounds to say goodbye to everyone, getting their coats, gathering all of the gifts, the two get into an uber to head to Harry’s condo. There’s a doorman that says hello to Harry and gives Abby a warm smile. She follows him through the lobby to the elevators. They step inside, and Harry hits a number on one of the higher floors. He leads her to his door, and he gets it open. She follows him into his living area, and they set his gifts down. He takes her coat for her, and hangs it up in his front closet.

“This is…a really nice place.” She says as she looks around.

“I’ll give you the full tour in a moment, I’ve been dying to open your gift all night.”

“Oh.” She blushes. “It’s really nothing special.”

He gives her an unconvinced look, and grabs the bag he remembers her bringing. They both sit down on the coach, and she watches him reach inside.

“A card, classic.” He smirks and sets it aside. He reaches back inside and pulls out the bottle of wine. “This is one of my favorites! How did you know?”

“I remember you ordering it when we went to that Italian place.” She smiles and he hugs her.

“Mind if I open it, or have you had enough for the night?”

“I’d love some.”

“Great! Just hang tight.”

Harry goes into the kitchen with the bottle. While she’s waiting patiently on the couch, Abby hears music come on. She sees a Bluetooth speaker light up, he must have turned it on from his phone. He comes out with two glasses of wine, and hands her one as he sits back down.

“Thank you.” She says as she takes a sip.

“No, thank you. This was really nice of you. You’ve got a great memory.” He takes a sip and sets the glass down on a coaster on his coffee table. She does the same. “My friends adored you, by the way. I’ve already got the texts to prove it.”

“I’m glad I made such a good first impression.” She inches closer to him.

He reaches to tuck some hair behind her ear, and he leans in to kiss her. She wraps her arms around his neck, and opens her mouth for him. One of his hands falls to her thigh as the other one cups her cheek. Her fingers work their way into his hair, and he squeezes her hip.

“Abby.” He breathes, and moves to kiss on her neck, just under her earlobe.

She lets her heels fall off as she pushes him back farther on the couch. She moves to straddle one of his thighs, and she brings her lips back to his. His hands move up and down her back until they reach just above her bum. She grabs his hands and moves them down to her ass. He groans into her as he squeezes, loving how plump she is. She kisses along his jaw and to his neck, and she rolls her hips down onto his thigh. He raises it to help press into her. She whimpers into his neck, and he cups her cheeks so she’ll at him.

“Do you wanna take this to the bedroom?” He asks softly.

“I don’t wanna go to sleep yet.”

“I didn’t think you did.” He smirks.

“No, I just…I mean, if we go in there…that’s all I’ll want to do.”

“Sleep?” She nods her head yes. “Oh.”

“Harry, I’m sorry.” She sighs. “I know it’s your birthday, and you were probably hoping for some…stuff to go down between us, but I think we should wait a little longer. Is that okay?”

“Abby, I wasn’t expecting us to do anything. I mean, if we had of course it would have been nice, but it’s okay.” He assures her. “I’m just happy you wanted to come back with me.”

She leans back in to kiss him, and they continue to grope each other as they kiss. Their tongues swirl around each other, and she continues to rock back and forth on his thigh. She lets him puts his hands on her breasts, and he kneads them through her dress. He moves her to lay down on the couch and he settles himself between her legs as he hovers over her. He kisses on the tops of her breasts that were now spilling out of her dress. He sucks and bites on the plushier areas, eliciting a moan from her.

“H-Harry, maybe we should cool it before you turn me into a leopard.”

He chuckles against her and pecks her lips before he sits up.

“Would you spend the night?”

“I’d love to.”

He helps her up off the couch and leads her to the bedroom. He flips the switch for the lights, and her eyes widen. His bedroom was neat, almost a little too neat. She raises a suspicious eyebrow at him.

“I…um, have a housekeeper.” He clears his throat. “Let me just grab a few things for you. I’m assuming you’ll want something to sleep in?”

“Please.” She chuckles, watching him move to his dresser for a tee shirt and pajama bottoms.

She follows him into his en suite as he opens the closet inside to look for a spare washcloth and toothbrush. He sets everything down on his double vanity and smiles at her.

“Use whatever you need, beautiful.” He kisses her cheek and steps out to give her some privacy.

Abby strips herself of her clothes, and then washes her face. She brushes her teeth, runs her fingers through her hair, and then puts on the clothes Harry set aside for her. They were so soft and smelled just like him. She sighs happily and makes her way back into his bedroom. He smiles at her and stands up from the bed.

“Get comfortable, I’m just gonna do my thing.” He tells her and she nods. “There’s a spare phone charger on that side of the bed if you need it.” He points to the right side and she smiles.

When he’s done in the bathroom he comes out in a pair of plaid bottoms, but he’s gotten rid of his shirt altogether. He was littered with tattoos which really surprised her. She thought he only had the one little cross on his hand.

“When did you get all of those?” She asks as he gets into bed with her.

“All of what? Oh! My tattoos? Years and years ago, when I was a stupid teenager.” He chuckles. “Haven’t added to the collection in a while.” He looks down at himself. “Do you, uh, not like tattoos?”

“No! I think they’re really cool.” She furrows her brows as she scans his chest. “They’re so interesting.”

“Thanks.” He smirks.

“Did they hurt?”

“Some more than others. You sort of get used to it after a while. I’m assuming you don’t have any?”

“No.” She shakes her head. “Just a few piercings.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm.” She tucks some hair behind her ear. “Got my cartilage, and three holes in each lobe.”

“Noticed those, I love the earrings you wear.”

“And…” She pulls the blankets back a bit and pulls the shirt she’s wearing up slightly to reveal her belly button. “Got this done when I was twenty-two. I always wanted one and said fuck it.”

“It’s cute.” He smiles as he admire the jewel attached to her naval. “Now that had to have hurt.” He says as she puts her shirt back down.

“It honestly wasn’t as bad as I thought. It was just a little pinch, the guy took really good care of me. I was a little light headed after, and it was sore for a few days, but other than that it was fine.”

They stay up talking for a bit until they eventually fall asleep. Abby had moves to rest her head on Harry’s chest, and that’s how she fell asleep, to the smooth rhythm of his heartbeat. Harry couldn’t remember the last time someone spent the night in his bed and it didn’t involve sex, there was something sort of sweet about not doing anything and still be able to fall asleep together comfortably. Maybe there was something to this taking it slow thing.

The next morning, Abby woke up being spooned by Harry. His breath was fanning over the back of her neck, and he had a leg between hers. His arm was strung across her lower stomach lazily. She grabs her phone and sees that it’s about 8:30. She yawns and wiggles a bit to adjust herself. She feels his lips press a kiss into the back of her neck and his arm tightens around her stomach.

“You awake, darling?” He coos and it nearly makes her melt.

“Mhm.” It’s all she can manage to say.

“Good morning then.” He kisses the back of her neck again.

“Good morning.” She rolls over to her other side to look at him and he gives her a sleep smile. He leans into peck her nose, and he rubs at her side.

“Sleep alright?”

“Yeah, did you?”

“Mhm.” He nods. “I’m gonna wash up and then make us some breakfast, how does that sound?”

“Sounds amazing, Harry.”

He gets up and makes his way to the bathroom. When he comes out he’s thrown a shirt on, and Abby gets up to freshen up herself. She washes her face and brushes her teeth, putting her bra on under the shirt he had given her so she wasn’t putting on a show for him. She comes out to his kitchen and smells fresh coffee. She wanted to roll her eyes as she saw him using a French press.

“Hope you like hazelnut, it’s the only flavor I’ve got.”

“It’s perfect. Got any creamer?”

“Mhm, in the fridge.” He points to it and she opens it up, grabbing the creamer on the top shelf. It was pretty much full.

“I don’t use it myself, mostly keep it for guests.” He pours the coffee into two mugs.

“Ah, and do you have guests often?”

“None that I’d want to have a sleepover with, if that’s what you’re asking.” He kisses her cheek, and she pours the creamer into her coffee. “Now, what can I make you? What do you like for breakfast?”

“Oh, nothing fancy.” She shrugs. “Whatever you feel like making is fine.”

“Eggs and toast?”

“Works for me. Can I help?”

“You can help by just having a seat.”

Abby smiles and sits down on one of the stools at Harry’s kitchen island while he works to get the eggs out of the fridge. He ends up making scrambled eggs for the two of them to keep things quick. It was a pleasant breakfast. Abby thought it was cute that Harry genuinely read from the morning newspaper. She was resting her chin on her palm watching him.

“Anything interesting going on?” She asks him.

“Nah, it’s all negative.” He sighs as he flips a page.

“Could I have the funnies?”

“Sure!” Harry finds the chunk with the comics and slides it over to her.

“Thanks, I used to look forward to this every Sunday when my dad would pick up The Globe.”

“What was your favorite?”

“There was this one called Opus. There were all these different characters, and the story was pretty linear, which I thought was cool. I actually saved the last comic strip in a scrap book. The main characters, Opus the penguin, had gone missing or something and he was trying to find himself. It really tugged at my heartstrings.”

“Sometimes I forget not all of the funnies are just for kids.”

“I’m also partial to Family Circus, and I loved Zits.”

Harry smiles and goes back to reading the paper. He liked going over the sports and arts sections most. Abby helps him clean up the dishes and then she goes to get dressed.

“Do you want some sweat pants to wear so you don’t have to put all of that back on?”

“No, I’m okay. I’m just gonna put the dress on.”

“Won’t you be cold without the stockings?”

“I’ll be alright, but thanks.”

“Let me at list drive you home.”

“Okay.” She nods.

The ride was comfortably quiet as Harry kept his hand in Abby’s. He pulls over to the side to stop in front of her building, and they look at each other. Smiles grow on both of their faces.

“You already know what I’m going to ask.” He says to her.

“I know, but I wanna hear you say it.”

“Alright, when can I see you next?”

“Hmm…what about Tuesday night? We could go to a movie. Tickets are cheaper on Tuesdays so we can splurge on snacks.”

“I like the way you think. I’d love to go to a movie. You pick, and just tell me what time I need to meet you.”

“Sounds good.” She leans in to peck his lips. “Talk to you soon.” She gets out of the car and heads up to her apartment. Chrissy, the teenager watching Marvin, was sitting on her couch watching TV. “Hey, Chrissy. I already paid you on Venmo.”

“I saw! Thanks so much.” She stands up.

“Thanks for watching him all night.” Abby scoops up Marvin and cuddles him to her chest. “I hope he wasn’t too much trouble.”

“Not at all, he was great. He was my little study buddy.”

“Perfect. Well, enjoy your Sunday. Tell your parents thanks too.”

“I will, have a good day.” Chrissy heads out and Abby sets Marvin back down.

“Alright, Mumma’s gonna take a shower and then she’ll take you for a nice, long walk, sound good?” Marvin yips excitedly at her. “S’what I thought.”

//

Harry was fucked. He was running late and couldn’t get to a phone because he was in the middle of a surgery. Of course the one time there’s a few delays and complications he actually has somewhere to be. He was supposed to meet Abby at 6:45PM, it was already 6:30, there was no way in hell he was going to make it. He did his best to stay focused so he could do right by his patient. By the time he was done it was 7:45PM. He tried to call Abby, but her phone went right to voicemail.”

“Shit.” He says to himself.

“Dr. Styles.” Marie says. “You should change, you’re still scrubbed up and you have blood on you. Go home and shower, she’ll understand.”

“I just wish she’d turn her phone on…”

“Maybe she went to the movie alone.” Marie shrugs. “She could be one of those good people who actually turns their phone off.”

“Right, yeah. I’m gonna freshen up here, and then I’m gonna try to catch her outside the theater.”

Harry does just that, using the hospital locker room to have a quick shower. He rushes to the movie theater and waits outside. The movie they were supposed to see should be wrapping up any moment, so he goes into the lobby to watch for her. Hopefully she was actually there.

Abby throws out her trash and walks towards the main lobby. She was just turning her phone back on when she saw Harry standing there with a very apologetic look on his face. She sighs and walks over to him.

“I’m so sorry.” He starts. “I tried calling as soon as I could, but your phone went right to voicemail.”

“I turned it off when the previews started.” She chews on her bottom lip. “What happened?”

“My last surgery of the day got delayed, and then there were some complications…everything’s fine now, but it wasn’t an easy extraction. I had to really take my time, I’m so sorry. I swear this won’t happen a lot.” He looks down at his shoes and then back to her. “Was it a good movie at least?”

“It was alright.” She sighs. “Would have been better if I had someone to make comments to.” She nudges his shoulder.

“How can I make it up to you? Are you hungry? We could-“

“I already ate, it’s okay. I know you didn’t do anything on purpose. It’s getting late, so I’m just going to head home.”

“I feel terrible.”

“Don’t.” She smiles. “Shit happens.”

“Let me at least take you home, I drove here.”

“Sure.” She takes his hand in hers as they walk out of the theater. “Are you hungry?”

“Starved, actually, but I can just eat when I get home.”

“Don’t be silly, I have leftovers. You can come up and eat if you want.”

“I’d like that.”

Once they’re up in her apartment, Harry plays with Marvin while Abby heats up her leftover stir fry and rice. She hands Harry the warm bowl and they both sit down at the small table she has in her kitchen.

“Is it hot enough?” She asks him.

“It’s perfect, thank you.” He eats a little and then looks at her. “I really do feel terrible that you waited and had to sit alone…”

“It’s really okay. It’s not my first time going to the movies by myself.” She shrugs. “I’m pretty independent.”

“I just don’t want you thinking this is something that’s going to happen a lot. It’s so rare for a surgery like this to not be timely.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” She gives him a reassuring smile. “It’s really sweet you still showed up at the theater like you did. We’re together now, that’s all that really matters.”

Harry finishes eating and cleans up his bowl. He stands with his hands in his pockets by the door and she stands with her arms crossed. Neither were sure what to do. It was really too late to hang out any longer since they both needed to work the next day.

“Are you free Friday night?” He asks her. “We could go to dinner if you like.”

“Sure, that sounds nice. Wanna say seven?”

“Works for me. I’ll pick you up then.” He caresses her cheek and kisses her. They both linger for a moment before letting go. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” She sighs after he leaves. It sucked being at the movies alone, but it meant the world to her that he still showed up at the end. It really showed his character, and for that she was grateful. She was still trying to gauge what kind of guy Harry was, and she had finally come to the conclusion that he was a good one.

//

“Two months and still nothing?” Greg asks Harry one Sunday evening as he and Lenny came over to watch the hockey game.

“Yeah.” Harry sighs as he sips on his beer. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love kissing her and, and she’s let me touch her over her clothes, but…I don’t know, she’s not as desperate and grabby as I am. What if she’s just not as into me?”

“I don’t think she’d be seeing you still if she wasn’t into you.” Lenny says. “How old is she again?”

“Twenty-six, why?”

“Well, maybe she’s hoping for things to be a little more official before she goes all the way with you.”

“Define official.” Harry mutters.

“Maybe she wants to know if you’re her boyfriend.” Lenny states.

“God, do you really think she’s hung up on some stupid label? We’re dating, we’re together, I think that’s pretty clear.”

“Remember when I dated that younger girl? She was, like, twenty-three?” Greg says and the guys both nod. “Well, she wanted to know what the status was after a few months. Obviously it didn’t work out because of the age difference, but these things matter to the younger women. They wanna know what to refer to you. Boyfriend is a lot easier to say than having to say the guy I’m seeing.”

“So, you have to ask yourself, do you want to be Abby’s boyfriend?” Lenny asks him. “If you don’t see things working out long term with her you should break it off.”

“I definitely don’t want to break it off. I really like her, and I like spending time with her.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I’m going to her place on Thursday for dinner, maybe we can talk about it then.”

“Yeah? She cooking for you again?” Greg asks.

“Mhm.” Harry smiles. “She really likes cooking for me, I don’t know why. I don’t mind it, she always makes something delicious.”

“Do you ever cook for her?” Lenny asks.

“Sure.” Harry shrugs. “We take turns.”

“That’s good, those things should definitely go both ways.” Greg says. “I bet you she just wants to make sure you’re not going to up and leave the second she lets you hit it.”

“I don’t know why she’d even think I’d do something like that…”

“Maybe she’s been burned in the past.” Lenny shrugs. “Have you had the ex talk?”

“No.” Harry shakes his head. “It doesn’t seem like something we’ve needed to talk about…but maybe we do.”

//

Thursday night Harry goes over to Abby’s with a bottle of wine and a box of chocolate chip cookies. He liked bringing dessert the times she made dinner for him.

“Hey.” She smiles and kisses him once he’s inside. She must’ve had a long day at work because she was still in her work clothes. Most times when Harry came over she had already changed into comfier clothes. “How was your day?”

“It was good, how about yours?” He hands her the wine and cookies and follows her into the kitchen.

“Long.” She sighs. “I had some heavier appointments today.” She blinks a few times. “I…I cried with a student today.” She looks at him, tearing up.

“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry, come here.” He opens his arms for her and she’s comforted by his embrace. He rests his chin on the top of her head. “Are you allowed to tell me what happened?”

“Yeah.” She sniffles and looks up at him. “This male student…he had a rough go of it in high school. A teacher…molested him, and it was this whole thing. He’s from a small town in Vermont so everyone knew. He came here to get away from it, you know? Make a fresh start? He’s started to see this girl that he really likes, and he’s petrified of her finding out, and he’s not sure if he should just tell her or if he should keep it to himself. But he’s afraid she might find out anyways somehow. I felt terrible. I mean, what kind of sick fuck uses their position of power over a kid like that, you know?”

“That’s…awful, beyond awful.” Harry frowns down at Abby.

“I just couldn’t keep it together, especially when he started crying, so I cried too. Then we both started laughing, and he was able to calm down and we talked about things more.” She steps back from Harry and wipes under eyes.

“I guess the upside is that you created such a welcoming environment that he felt safe enough to be so vulnerable with you.”

“Yeah.” She nods. “I suppose that’s a silver lining, thanks.” She smiles. “Anyways, we’re going to meet bi-weekly now just for little check ins.” She sighs and moves to stir the pot of pasta that’s on the stove. “I’m making pasta and meat sauce, hope that’s alright.”

“It’s great, Abby. Can I do anything?”

“No, everything’s just about done. Um, would you actually mind taking Marv out quickly for me? He just ate and I haven’t had a chance to take him out to do his business.”

“You got it.”

It wasn’t Harry’s first time taking Marvin out, so he really didn’t mind. He leashes him up and takes him down to the street. Marvin does his business, and Harry gets him back upstairs. By the time he comes back, Abby’s plated up dinner, and gotten the wine open and poured.

“Thank you.” She says to him, and leans down to pat Marvin’s head. “Ready to eat?”

“Mhm, thank you for cooking.”

“Oh, it was nothing.” She smiles. “I like when we get to have dinner together.”

“Me too, babe.” He takes a bite of food and moans. “This is amazing, Ab.”

“Thanks.” She blushes and takes a sip of her wine. “Harry, um, there’s something I…well…I’m just gonna come right out and say it.” She takes a deep breath as he looks at her. “Am I…am I your girlfriend?”

Harry’s concerned face softens into a smile.

“I’d like you to be.” He says to her. “I was actually going to bring this up tonight, guess you beat me to it.”

“Oh.” She says, a little surprised. “Well, good, okay.” She nods and takes a bite of food.

“I like you a lot, and I know it’s been a couple of months. I’m still having a great time with you.”

“Same here!” She assures him. “I just, you know, I don’t know what to tell my friends sometimes when they ask about you.”

“Well, now you can tell them about your boyfriend, yeah?” He smirks. “When do I get to meet these friends, hm? You’ve met all of mine.”

“That’s true.” She chews her bottom lip. “Well, I could arrange for a night out at a bar some weekend. We all love going out to dance and stuff…”

“Sounds like fun.”

“You’d be into something like that?”

“Sure, why not?”

“You just don’t exactly seem like the type of person who would enjoy going to a stuffy club with a ton of drunk people.”

“Hey, I know how to hang. Set it up and I’ll be there.”

“Great, I’ll text them.” She smiles, her body was buzzing with excitement. Harry stands up abruptly and comes over to her side of the table, cupping her jaw. He slots his lips over hers, sucking on her bottom lip and then letting her go before he sits back down. “Wh-what was that for?”

“Just wanted to give my girlfriend a kiss.” He shrugs, a smirk forming on his lips.

“Oh.” Her face had to be beat red at this point. They look at each other and smile. This time it’s Abby who decides to be bold. She gets up and sits on his lap side saddle. She grabs her phone and opens up SnapChat because it was better for taking selfies.

“What are you doing?”

“We hardly have any pictures together. Now that you’re my boyfriend that’s going to change. Smile.” She says to him, and he does as she says, taking a very cute picture.

“Send that to me?”

Abby presses her lips to his. Getting through dinner was going to take a little longer tonight.  

//

Harry could, in fact, not hang. It was midnight and he was fighting to stay awake. He wished Abby had planned their big night out with her friends for a Saturday not Friday. It was a long week, and Harry just wanted to go to bed. He thought her friends were interesting. There was Billy, Abby’s absolute best friend. Billy happens to be trans, which Harry didn’t care about at all because Billy’s life was none of his business. Then there was Amy and Gina, Abby’s roommates from undergrad. They were all getting along fine, but the club was loud, packed, and sticky. Abby was having a good time, though, so what could he do?

“Another drink, Harry? Next round’s on me.” Billy says to him.

“Oh, no thank you. Think I’m gonna cool it.”

“Cool it?” Amy scoffs. “The night just started. Ab, hold old did you say he was again?”

“Don’t tease him.” Abby hooks an arm around Harry’s waist. “He’s thirty-two, a doctor, and he had a long week.” She looks up at him. “You’ve last two hours, go home if you want.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’ll call you tomorrow.” She puckers her lips and he kisses her.

“It was really nice meeting all of you. We’ll have to do it again sometime…maybe on a night I didn’t have two different surgeries.” He kisses Abby again. “Text me when you get home so I know you got back safe?”

“Will do, bye, babe!” Harry heads out, and Abby looks back at her friends. “He’s cute, right?”

“Very.” Gina says. “He seemed like he was having fun at the beginning.”

“He’s just tired.” Abby sighs. “We should have waited until tomorrow. He really is a lot of fun.”

“I’m sure he is.” Billy says with a smile. “So, you really haven’t slept with him yet?”

“No.” Abby shakes her head.

“What’s the hold up?” Amy asks.

“I just haven’t felt ready.” Abby shrugs. “He’s a really good kisser, though, so I know I’m close to getting there with him.”

“You haven’t even sucked his dick?” Gina asks.

“No, but I’ve felt it. We grind on each other a lot. But I always have us stop before it gets to be too much.”

“I’ve literally never known you to not want to fuck a guy you’ve been seeing.” Billy says.

“I know…I just…it all just feels like a dream come true still, and I’m afraid that once we do it something will go wrong and we’ll stop seeing each other. I have no idea why I feel like that, but I do.” Abby says.

“He’d be an idiot to let you go.” Amy says. “Do it when you’re ready, but I think I speak for the three of us when I say we approve of him.”

“Thanks, that means a lot.” The four share a group hug and go back out to the dancefloor to enjoy the rest of their night.

//

It was a rainy Saturday at the beginning of April. Harry told Abby to bring Marvin over to his place so they could get cozy for a lazy day of watching movies and being cozy. She happily accepted. The two of them really needed a day to relax. Abby was booked solid at work right now, and Harry was starting to get booked out with more and more wisdom teeth appointments. Harry liked when Abby would bring Marvin over. He had gotten a little dog bed for him and some toys. Harry even got him a little food and water bowl.

Abby was really falling for Harry. He made her feel safe, and he was beyond considerate. She also couldn’t believe how patient he was being. They were together three months, just entering the fourth, and they still hadn’t had sex yet. She knew he wanted it, of course, and she really wanted it too.

They were curled up on the couch together while Marvin was snoozing on his little dig bed. Neither had ever watched The Mindy Project before so they were binging it. Abby couldn’t believe what she was about to do, but she couldn’t help from blurting it out.

“Harry?” She looks up at him.

“Yeah?” He looks down at her.

“I…I love you.” His eyes widen as he looks at her, his mouth falling open. “Oh my god, it’s too soon, right? I…I…I…” Before she can ramble on anymore, he’s kissing her, hard.

“Christ, Abby.” He presses his forehead to hers. “I love you too.” He kisses her again.

“Really?”

“Of course I do. You couldn’t tell? I’ve got your picture framed on my night table, and I’ve got all this stuff here for Marvin, and I keep your favorite snacks in the pantry…”

She moves to straddle him, pushing his shoulders back into the couch. She slots her mouth over his, and he holds her close to him. She sucks on his bottom lip, making him groan.

“Harry, bring me to your bedroom, now.”

“Y-you wanna go to sleep?” He looks at her confused.

“No, I want you to fuck me.” She looks at him with dark eyes.

“Really?”

“Yes!”

He doesn’t question her again. Instead, he lifts her up and quickly carries her down the hall to his bedroom. He gets her on the bed, hovers over her, and starts by getting her shirt off. His eyes widen when he sees the lace bra she was wearing. He furrows his brows as he gets her leggings off. He glares at her when he sees that her panties match her bra.

“What is it?” She asks innocently.

“There’s this old saying that goes along the lines of if the girl’s wearing matching underwear, then she’s the one who decided to have sex.” Abby blinks at him. “Were you planning for this tonight?”

“I was hoping.” She sits up on her elbows. “I…I’ve been fucked over before, and I really wanted to make sure I knew how we felt about each other before we did this. I’m sorry that I made us wait so long.”

“Don’t be sorry, baby.” He caresses her cheek. “I’ll admit I was a little frustrated in the beginning, but…I’m sort of glad we waited. It’ll be more special now.”

“Exactly!” She beams at him. “Can…can we get back to it now?”

He chuckles and takes his shirt off and pants off. He hovers over her and kisses on her neck and chest. He reaches behind her to unhook her bra, and tugs it away. His lips wrap around one of her nipples, and he licks around it. He sucks on her, and it makes her moan. He licks over to her other breast, and sucks on her other nipple. She pushes his head closer to her chest and tugs at his hair. He kisses and nips his way down her soft tummy. She lifts her hips as he tugs her panties off. He opens her legs and sucks a bruise into her thigh. She gasps at that and groans. He licks a flat stripe up her slit and to her clit. He does this a few times, just to get a good taste of her.

He looks up at her as his tongue flicks back and forth on her clit. He presses a hand on her pelvis and pushes up so he can see her better. He sucks on her clit and she moans out. His fingers work around her folds, feeling her wetness, and then he slides his middle finger in. He gets his ring finger in as well, and starts to pump in and out of her. He moans into her as his hips rut against the bed. She grabs at his hair as his fingers start to rub against her front wall. Abby starts panting and breathing heavier.

“Fuck, Harry, please don’t stop!”

He groans into her as his answer, and keeps doing everything exactly the same to help get her there. Her hips move along with his face, and her body starts to feel warm all over. She cries out as she comes to her release. He retracts his fingers, and he sucks on her wet center before sitting up. She catches her breath and smiles at him. He smiles at her and gets his boxers off. She whimpers when she looks at his hard dick. She crawls towards him and wraps her hand around him. She kisses his tip and wraps her lips around him.

“God, I’ve been dreaming about this.” He groans as his head rolls back while she starts to bob up and down on him. She goes down enough to choke on him, and then she pulls off. “Do you want me to use a condom?”

“No, I’m on the pill. I wanna feel you.”

He nods and gets back onto the bed with her. She opens her legs back up for him, and he rubs the head of his cock along her folds and clit. Her hips press up towards him in anticipation. He slowly presses into her, and her mouth falls open.

“Jesus, you’re so fucking tight.” He grunts as he bottoms out.

“Move.” She tells him. “Move, Harry.” She whines, and he starts to rock in and out of her. She clutches at his biceps and digs her nails in. “Oh my god.” She moans.

“Feels good?”

“Feels amazing.” She bites her bottom lip. “Go harder.”

“Yeah, want me to fuck you hard?”

“Fuck, yeah, really give it to me.”

He gives her a wicked grin, and then pulls out of her. He flips her onto her stomach and slides back in. He grips the back of her neck, and his other hand rests at the base of her spine. He takes a deep breath, pulls out almost all the way, and then snaps his hips back into her. She gasps, and he does it again. He smacks her ass, and continues to fuck into her hard. The hand at the base of her spine slides around to her clit and he rubs it. It doesn’t take her long to lose it again. He pulls out and sits up against his headboard. Abby sinks down on him as he grips her hips. They move in sync together as she rides him. She licks into his mouth and they both moan. His hands grab all over her body, unsure of where he liked squeezing the most. He fondles her breasts for a bit before deciding to stick with her ass.

“You’re so fucking beautiful like this, Abby.” He says as he kisses on her neck. “I want you to come for me again.” He snakes a hand between them so he can rub her clit again.

“Fuck, yes, oh my god, Harry!” She grinds faster on him. “I want you to come inside me.”

“Shit, fuck.” He moans out and they come at the same time. “Fuck, Abby.” He breathes and kisses her, sucking on her bottom lip. Her fingers tangle back into his hair.

“Was it, um, worth the wait?”

“Oh my god, of course it was. I wanna fuck you over and over.” He smirks at her and she giggles.

“I think that can be arranged.” She pecks his lips. “Would you ever want to, um, tie me to the bed?”

“Oh, baby, if I didn’t love you before.”