#(I had her bio all finished yesterday

[soulsxng]

Nirbhi, trying to explain her matter and spatial manipulation abilities (Which she calls “balancing”, since that’s usually more or less what she has to use them for.

“Oh, gee...that’s a complicated one. Here, so um...ah! Think of it this way! When the vibes of a place are off, I can just like...okay, essentially, I reach in there and give it a good shake! I tell it to behave, or it won’t pass the vibe check, and then it does!”

[mxigo]

soul sick | part 1

SERIES SYNOPSIS: It’s hard enough watching the male that holds your heart pine for another woman, one that is the definition of beauty and grace, but to watch him fall for another yet again after you feel the mating bond snap into place is its own hell. A hell that makes you dangerously ill.

CHAPTER SYNOPSIS: you get ready to go out with Azriel after his check in with the Illyrian camps, but things don’t go as planned.

WARNINGS: 18+, angst, swearing. a relatively tame first chapter

WORD COUNT: 3.7k

MINORS & AGE-LESS BLOGS DO NOT INTERACT. YOU WILL BE BLOCKED. YOUR AGE MUST BE SOMEWHERE IN YOUR BIO OR YOUR BYF.

NEXT CHAPTER

a.n. if i get anything wrong i’m blaming it on my shit memory and the fact that i haven’t finished acowar and haven’t read acofas and acosf. really just going off what i remember and what i’ve read in other fics. enjoy!

It has been three months since Feyre’s sisters were Made and subsequently brought to the Night Court. You’ve done what you could in aiding their transition to fae life, even getting as far as calling Nesta a friend, cold façade and all. But while you have gained a friend, you’re beginning to lose your best friend, and the male that you love, all at the same time.

It first started with him checking in for a second after the two of you had come back from being out and about in Velaris, then it turned to him apologetically explaining that he already had plans with Elain for the evening, and now, you hardly see him at all anymore.

It’s become more often than not that he spends his time with Elain, leaving you on the back burner, as a second thought to his plans now. You have other friends, yes, but you don’t remember a day where you haven’t at least sent notes back and forth to each other since you became close. It’s like you’re missing a part of you, something that is supposed to be there but isn’t anymore, and your body knows it. Why did it have to be him? She has a mate waiting for her for crying out loud, one who you can tell just genuinely wants to know her, and Azriel is entertaining her, knowing full well what her position is.

Guilt eats at you for these jealous feelings, knowing that the girl has been through so much when her entire life was ripped away and was literally turned into something that she was taught her entire life to fear. You want to be accepting and carefree about the situation, but it is literally impossible when you catch him looking at her with the intense adoration that you have yearned for decades for, and she has simply swooped in and stole him from you.

But tonight, you and Azriel have plans to go out into Velaris for the night for dinner. It’s your tradition that you’ve had for years to catch up after his return from his visits to the Illyrian camps, something to help him unwind. You just hope that for a single night that you can forget about it.

The new dress you bought just yesterday is a beautiful deep burgundy color, the hem falling just above your mid-thigh, long-sleeved, and the neckline plunges lower than what you are used to wearing. You were able to find a pair of nude heels that fit you perfectly in a corner shop. You were even successful in keeping your hair styled for the occasion. It was safe to say that you looked stunning, and there was a glimmer of hope that it wouldn’t be left unnoticed by him.

The heels’ click echoes off the paneled hallway as you scramble to finish getting ready, knowing that you need to leave. You stride into your bedroom, beelining for the jewelry tree on your vanity. Considering the colors that you’re wearing, you think a gold set would be the best, and you know exactly which to wear. Gently, you pick up the teardrop Alexandrite earrings and necklace that Azriel had bought you after one of his trips to the Summer Court. The gem’s color shifts between purple and green depending on the light source, easily making them your favorite pieces.

It hurts a bit when you try to put the earrings in, meeting a bit of resistance as it’s been a while since you’ve last worn any, but you’re able to get them through without too much trouble. The necklace thankfully clasps easily around your neck, the pendant falling in the middle of your chest. The delicate gold glitters in the candlelight, making you smile at the memory of Azriel giving it to you. With a shack of your head, you snap out of the memory’s haze, misting yourself with perfume as a last thought before leaving your bedroom.

The click of your heels echoes off the buildings lining the road as you make your way to Rhys’ townhouse to meet Azriel for drinks before dinner. The night’s cool breeze causes your flesh to break out in goose bumps, but it feels nice over all.

The door unlocks as you turn the knob, and the house becomes alight as you enter. The candles flicker to life to bring the house into a cozy atmosphere, and even the fireplace roars to life to stave off the last of the early spring chill.

The grandfather clock in the foyer chimes, signaling the turn of the hour at seven o’clock. Your heart flutters, excitement filling you knowing that he’ll be here any minute. You make your way into the kitchen, pulling out Azriel’s favorite whiskey and your favorite liqueur, grabbing two tumblers out of the cabinet to set it all out on the table.

Minutes tick by as you wait for him to winnow into the kitchen like he always does, a soft smile on his face as he holds out his elbow like the gentleman he is to winnow you wherever you want to go. You settle into a cushioned seat in the adjoining living room, picking up a book that has been left out and flipping open to the page that you had left on.

Those couple of minutes turn into five, then into fifteen, and then by thirty minutes, you’re constantly glancing between the clock and the kitchen, anxiety eating away at you. Azriel has never been late like this before, and if he’s ever late, it’s only by no more than five. Your stomach rumbles as hunger makes itself known, and you set down the book on the table to stand up. Maybe something happened that’s causing him to be late, but there’s a little voice that’s whispering to you, saying that he’s forgotten about you, that he’s preoccupied by a certain sister.

You shake your head, setting the book back into its spot to stand up and head back into the kitchen. You pour a drink and watch as the dark amber liquid swirls into the cup before settling around the ice. More minutes pass as you finish the drink only to pour another, still waiting, hoping that he will pop into the room, spewing apologies as he tries to explain why he was so late.

But it doesn’t happen. Instead, it is Rhys that winnows into the kitchen, startling you so bad you nearly fall off the stool.

“Mother, Rhys, give a girl a warning before you snap in like that,” you joke, righting yourself up. Your eyes meet his, and you’re confused because he’s confused, staring at you like you are crazy.

“What are you doing here? Are you meeting someone?” he asks, his head tilted slightly as he stares still.

There is a sinking feeling in your stomach, but you want so badly to be wrong about what’s happening.

“I’m meeting Az here. We’re supposed to be going out tonight like we always do when he comes back from the camps, but he’s late. Have you seen him by chance?” A look passes over Rhys’ face, and you recognize that look immediately, your face dropping, heart hammering as you wait for those few words.

“Oh, sweetheart, he left the House with Elain,” he whispered, like you would shatter at just those words, and you suppose you do.

Your breathing stutters, and it’s like the world goes fuzzy, the sounds muted as your breaks cracks. Never in all the years have you been friends with Azriel has he ever forgotten about your nights out when he comes back, let alone either forgetting or just flat out choosing to spend it with another female and not tell you. And of course, it’s with Elain.

Your lungs shake as you take your next breath, reality coming back into focus as you realize that Rhys is still in front of you, worry etched across his face as he too realizes what has happened. You knock back the rest of your drink, and your hands shake as you pick up the glasses to take care of them and to put the bottles away. In an effort to try to get Rhys to go away, to be alone, you put on a fake smile, looking at him.

“Oh, well, I guess I shouldn’t have expected that we’d be going out tonight without checking in with him to see if he was free. That’s my mistake, but thank you for telling me, Rhys. I’ll clean up here and I’ll get going,” you try, but he just shakes his head.

“Nonsense. Leave it, I’ll take care of it later. Let me take you home.”

“Honestly, Rhys, I’m ok. It’s just a misunderstanding on my part. And my home isn’t far from here at all, and the night is nice. You don’t need to winnow me,” you insisted, already done with rinsing out the glasses and putting them away. But your voice is shaking ever so slightly, sick to your stomach, and you know that Rhys notices.

He grimaces, debating with himself on what to do.

“If you’re sure,” he asks, raising an eyebrow, and you nod. “I’ll talk to him when he gets back.”

“No! No, you don’t have to do that. Seriously, Rhys, it’s not a big deal,” you beg, and finally, he relents.

He nods once before stuffing his hands back into his pockets.

“You’ll let me know if you change your mind, right,” he asks.

“Of course,” you promise, and he pops back out of the house, leaving you to truly process the situation.

He took Elain out instead. He left you, that same voice whispers, louder this time. Tears sting your eyes, and a half-sob rips out of your lungs, a hand flying up to your mouth to prevent any more from leaving. But you’re fruitless in your efforts to contain your emotions as tears start spilling over, splattering onto the table.

You leave the townhouse in a flurry, harshly wiping at the tears. The house goes dark behind you and the lock snicks shut, leaving you in the night’s chill. Then all at once, your face crumbles as your emotions make themselves known. You try to reason with yourself that there’s no reason to be upset because it was true when you told Rhys that you never did confirm with Azriel if he didn’t already have plans, you just assumed.

But you never have to check in, he has always been there.

“Fuck,” you whisper, walking down the cobbled road back to your townhouse, furiously wiping away the stray tears.

The walk back is quiet for the most part, and you’re thankful that you don’t run into anyone. You would never let yourself live it down if someone saw you in the state that you’re in. You almost make it back, but as you look up, your heart drops and your veins fill with ice as you recognize two figures walking your way. They are so enraptured with each other that they haven’t noticed you yet, so you quickly move over to the edge of the road, hopefully giving yourself enough space that they don’t see you.

You continue walking, arms crossed, and hair falling around you to shield your face, and you’ve just passed them when you spare a glance, making eye contact with him.

Fuck. You walk faster, eyes trained on the ground.

“Y/N?” he calls out, but you keep walking, quickening your pace.

“Y/N! Hey, wait,” he shouts, and this time catches up with you.

A calloused hand closes itself around your arm, effectively stopping you. You whip your head around to face him, and he looks at you in confusion. His form towers over you, and you’re so close you can smell the cologne wafting off of him. You watch as his face crumbles while he looks you over, and it almost seems like he’s panicking.

“Please, just allow me a moment to explain,” he begs, but you shake your head, eyes screwing shut to prevent him seeing the frustrated tears.

“It’s fine, Az, really. I just wish you would have told me instead of having Rhys be the one to tell me where you were,” you whisper, your eyes now trained on his chest, still avoiding his eyes.

If there’s one thing you hate, it’s confrontation. Even if all you want is for someone to feel what you’re feeling, and to confront them about what they’ve done, you can never bring yourself to do it, to hurt them like they had hurt you. So right now, you just want him to let you go so you can let yourself fall apart and piece yourself back together in the comfort of your home.

He is helpless as he sees you put up your walls, trying to keep your emotions in check by shutting them off entirely. It’s something that he’s never been on the receiving end of, and it crushes him to know that he’s who caused this.

A cold whisper ghosts over your wrist, and you look down to find a shadow caressing you anxiously, but it only makes you even more upset, the corners of your lips forcefully tugging down and eyes burning. Blood thunders in your ears, and you can feel your hands shaking, and no doubt Azriel can feel it too, which just makes you panic harder.

“Please, let me go I just want to go home.”

“Y/N,”

“No, Az. Just—”

“Azriel? Is everything ok?” A soft, ethereal voice breaks the moment, your eyes snapping over to the culprit.

You’re horrified as she walks over, the object of your ire making herself known. She looks absolutely breath taking dressed up, and you can’t help but understand for a moment why he would choose her over yourself. She’s absolutely perfect, and you’re… not.

She stops just behind him, placing a delicate pale hand on his back, looking up at him with worried eyes. His gaze snaps from you to her, and it makes you sick as you watch his face soften for her. You take the moment of weakness to rip your wrist away, giving yourself a step to breathe.

Azriel looks between the two of you, confliction painting his face as he tries to decide what to do, but you don’t give him the chance.

“I used to believe that you wouldn’t go as far as this, but I can’t say I’m surprised.”

He reels back like he was physically slapped, looking back at you in astonishment.

“What is that supposed to mean,” he begs, his eyes wide as his grip grows tighter around your wrist, but if you say what you want to say, you’re going to irreparably damage your relationship with him. Despite how you feel, that’s the last thing that you want.

You sigh, closing your eyes and shaking your head, just wanting the conversation to end. “It doesn’t matter. Enjoy your night, Azriel.”

You spin around and high tail it away from him. Although you just want to be left alone, it still makes your heart break even more when he doesn’t try to come after you.

The guilt eats at you again knowing that you ruined his and Elain’s night, but that selfish part of you is glad that you did and made him feel like shit.

Thankfully, you make it back home before you lose it, sobs racking your body as it all comes out. The pain of being pushed aside for someone else yet again comes to a head from tonight’s events. In a fury, you rip off the dress and heels, slinging them somewhere to be found later. You all but drop your jewelry onto the vanity, letting it clatter against the dark wood top. Tears still pour out of your eyes as you rifle through your liquor cabinet, pushing to the back to grab a bottle of dark and strong whiskey, but you slam the door shut as the thought of whiskey being Azriel’s favorite pushes itself to the forefront of your mind.

So instead, you crawl into bed for the night, staining your white sheets with your black-tinted tears.

-

Heavy thudding at your door drags you from sleep, making you groan as you have to peel open your eyes. The sun is blocked out by the thick curtains, confusing you even further as you try to figure out what time it could be. A headache makes itself known, pulsing behind your eyes causing you to groan as you sit up. The thudding continues, and you can’t help but snap.

“Give me a Mother-damned second! Fuck!” You slip from the sheets, stumbling across the room to get to your dresser. You pull a pair of pants and a t-shirt from a drawer, throwing on them on as you make your way to the door. You pray it’s not Azriel, but it’s more than likely it is. He’s the last one you want to see right now. Hopefully, he’s smart enough to stay away for a little while so you can cool off, allowing the whole situation to blow over.

You yank the door open, squinting at the bright sunlight, but they snap awake when you see Mor and Cassian in front of you instead, the latter standing against the door frame with his arms crossed.

“Uh…” You’re at a loss for words, guilty for the way that you had screamed at them.

“Get ready, we’re going to lunch, and you’re going to tell us why Azriel came home like his fucking puppy died,” Mor says, inviting herself in and grabbing you to lead you to your room. You look back at Cassian, eyes begging for help, but he just shrugs. Bastard.

The blonde immediately starts riffling through your wardrobe, picking through dresses and outfits, but you’re not sure what she has in mind. You allow yourself to flop back onto your bed, staring up at the ceiling. Cassian’s footsteps announce his entrance as he takes a seat on your love seat.

“What’s this?”

You pick your head up to see Mor holding your dress that you left in a ball on the floor. Your face flickers for a moment before you reign it back it, allowing the emotionless mask to take place.

“Nothing,” you whisper, letting your head fall back onto the bed.

It’s silent for a moment as Mor and Cassian look between themselves then back to you. It’s obvious something happened between you two last night, and the story won’t come easy from either of you.

The bed dips as both of your friends sit on the edge, one on either side as the flop down next to you. They remain quiet, but the tension and everything that you’ve been feeling makes your chin tremble, and you bite your lip to try and conceal it. But the tears sting at your eyes anyways, making the ceiling go blurry.

You sit up, digging your elbows into your knees, heaving a great sob. A small hand rests itself on your back, rubbing in circles as you allow yourself to finally fall apart.

“He fucking stood me up,” you choke out. “We always go out when he comes back from the camps. I got dressed up and everything, waited at the townhouse for a half hour just for Rhys to show up and tell me he wasn’t coming. Then I ran into him with Elain on the street on my walk home.”

They’re silent as they let you recount what happened last night, Mor’s face twisting as she watches one of her closest friends fall apart in front of her.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N,” Cassian whispers, but you just shake your head.

“It’s fine—”

“No, it’s not fucking fine. He’s either blind or just outright stupid to not see what he’s doing to you.” Cassian’s face is set in a scowl as he thinks about his friend’s behavior after Elain came into the picture.

He knows that his brother has a history of fawning over unavailable women, but for him to entertain one who already has a mate, one that lives with them and wants to engage with her nonetheless, makes him question if Azriel is really that ignorant to the entire situation. It’s not exactly a secret that you harbor feelings for the shadowsinger, but he has been oblivious to the way that you look at him, and Cassian can only imagine how you are with him when no one else is watching.

Mor’s heart breaks while she is helpless watching your face crumble and tears drip off your chin. There’s been a lot that has brought you down, but nothing like this. You keep a strong face around your friends, always trying to be a happy and fun person to be around, letting yourself be the shoulder to lean on when they need it.

Although Mor was the first obstacle between you and Azriel, she was always a good friend to you since you first joined the Inner Circle decades ago. Her warm and confident nature brought you out of your shell when she introduced you to everyone on that fateful night at Rita’s, which in turn brought you to Azriel.

You let your feelings ruin it all, the voice whispers, if you had just kept your feelings in check then you wouldn’t be in this position.

Then, with a deep breath, the mask comes back.

You wipe your face of the tear tracks, sniffling to try and clear your sinuses before looking at Mor and Cassian with a watery smile.

“So, what were you guys saying about lunch?”

A look passes between your friends before looking back at you.

“Well, we thought today would be a good day to try that new place on the Sidra for lunch,” Cassian answers, a slight smile on his face.

“I would love to. Will you two help me pick something to wear?”

“What else would we be here for, angel,” Mor giggles, standing up and taking you with her.

I’m so lucky to have them as friends.

[basaltbutch]

The Lion King 2 dashboard simulator

👑 kingofpridelands4 follow

hey guys my daughter just roasted me and tried to stand up for the guy who just tried to kill me what should i do to punish her.

👑 kingofpridelands4 follow

um. guys she's gone.

👑 kingofpridelands4 follow

@notscar2.0 where?

👑 kingofpridelands4 follow

@notscar2.0 where?

👑 kingofpridelands4 follow

@notscar2.0 where?

(1205 notes)

😼 notscar2.0 follow

um. hi guys sorry to make this post so soon but i just got kicked out of my girl's house and am now homeless on the streets so 😭 if anyone could throw something my way id really appreciate it its really cold and i haven't had a meal in forever. venmo in bio 🙏

(0 notes)

🥩besthuntereva follow

LMAO JUST ROASTED MY DAD HARDCORE AND GOT OUT OF BEING GROUNDED!!!! said he'd never be like his father he's such a tryhard 😜 @notscar2.0 baby where are you im omw

🥩besthuntereva follow

@notscar2.0 where

🥩besthuntereva follow

@notscar2.0 where

🥩besthuntereva follow

@notscar2.0 where

(3 notes)

🪲hakunamatata follow

Hey everyone, today we've got a little story to share with you about how we went out to go get pastries yesterday 🥰

Read More

🪲hakunamatata follow

Update: just got word back from my lawyer, turns out the whole situation might be more serious than we thought and we might have to take this post down. Stay tuned!

🐗mamaboar505 follow

How Come You Never Answer Your D*mn Phone Son. I Know You Have One.

(705467 notes)

👑 kingofpridelands4 follow

Hello loyal followers! Apologies for today's earlier post, we think there might be a slight issue with internal security. Looking to resolve the issue now!

👑 kingofpridelands4 follow

@notscar2.0 where did you take my daughter

(2045 notes)

🦁worldsbiggestqueen follow

going out today with the bestie ✌️ family left me home alone so we're going shopping!!! and then wine night after!!

🐒rafikiscrystalguide follow

Just Finished Shopping This Haul Is Going To Shock You. Wine Time.! #win #winenight #youllneverguesswhatwegot

🦁worldsbiggestqueen follow

godd im soooo glsd my husbndn went over that cliff ! He was chaeting on me with my gay bst friend ALL ALONG.... lmao! didnt realize i set him up yo dothat and cried to me about it... married him for his looks and money not his brains!!!!!! tht man was soooo beautiful but lmao glad to have my bestie back!!!

👑 kingofpridelands4 follow

MOM?????????

🥩besthuntereva follow

GRANDMA?????????

👑 kingofpridelands4 follow

KIARA GET HOME RIGHT THIS INSTANT

👑 kingofpridelands4 follow

DID YOU BLOCK ME??? YOU'RE SO GROUNDED

(5276 notes)

🍖scarsbiggestfan follow

Tonight, Outsiders, we strike back against the man who killed my lovable baby boy and return the pride lands back to their rightful owners! We will be triumphant!!

🍖scarsbiggestfan follow

Hopital.

[islesnucks]

SOCIAL MEDIA AU

Mat Barzal x Singer!Reader - Pt1 - Pt2 - Pt3

enews

13,529 likes

enews Singer Y/N Y/L/N and hockey player May Barzal seen hanging out last night, it seems after she finished her tour last week she went straight to New York where he plays. The pair haven’t made it official yet but they seemed pretty cozy with each other. What do we think? Couple or just friends?

View all 3,249 comments

y/nmyqueen the way she looks at him, honestly same

islesterritory we didn't even had to do the anna kendrick thing this time

y/ndaily guess we'll have to learn about hockey now

y/nnation

302,945 likes

y/nnation Y/N was a surprice guest at Harry Style's conert last night. She played an acustic version of her song State of Grace, sounded beautifully. After it she said a "friend" had helped her learn it on the guitar, many speculate she's talking about Mat Barzal since they've been hanging out a lot and he plays guitar.

By the way she was smiling the whole song 🥰

Swipe left to see the videos some fans took.

View all 61,002 comments

_y/l/n_ i was there!! she was so into the song really felt every lyric it was magical 💕💕💕

lovelyy/n if shes happy we're happy and she looks really happy

barzal97

Liked by ny_islanders, yourusername and 209,582 others

Apparently im a good teacher

View all 53,497 comments

laurenrodycheberle showed this to J, he said 'the student has become the master' ... he said more things but they are not instagram appropiet

barzal97 oh i bet he did

titobeavu91 guess we’re not that close of friends because ive never gotten a guitar lesson

rpulock me neither al_rom26 me neither n_dobson me neither zeekerr me neither owahstrom97 me neither mattymarts17 me neither pagertrain me neither josty17 me neither barzal97 im blocking all of you

barzyy/n he's in a music studio?

y/nmyqueen yes!! and im almost sure thats the studio y/n records when shes in ny

y/ndaily

Liked by yourusername and 203,471 liked

y/ndaily Y/N was seen leaving the studio yesterday. She just finished her tour 3 months ago, but could it be new music already?

View all 65,090 comments

y/n382 OMG SHE LIKED ITS SO HAPPENING

sparksfly its gonna be full of balands I can feel it

stateofy/n pun on the detective hats guys is that the studio the hockey player was in??

y/nmyqueen it is!!!!! i knew it looked familiar

yourusername

Liked by barzal97, harrystyles and 4,002,185 other

Something’s cooking

View all 330,285 comments

zendaya already my favorite album

owahlstrom97 need backing vocals?

n_dobson i can play a mean triangle yourusername ill keep you boys in mind

tmz_tv

190,875 likes

After months of rumors, secret outings and hints on their social medias Y/N and Mat have been caught smooching at the singers sound check before her appearance at tonight’s VMAs. Head to the link in our bio to read the full timeline of their love story.

View all 49,067 comments

y/nn1fan this is a huge invasion of their privacy tho

spacestar true but also they look so cute

islanders27 way to go barzy!!!!!

nhlwags official wag now

-

that's it for now, sorry it took so long!! already working on pt3, hope you liked it <3

[katareyoudrilling]

Construction Corner (Joel Miller AU) Episode 5: The Peña Family

Fandom: The Last of Us/Pedro Pascal

Pairing: TV Host Joel Miller x divorced Female Reader

Summary: Filming out of town has Joel thinking about the past and the future

Word count: 2.1k

Rating: Mature (18+ only. NO MINORS)

Content Warnings: Joel’s POV, Alternate Universe, cameos galore, inaccuracies about tv show production, filming, and construction, allusions to sexy times, dry humping (?)

A/N: This episode took so much longer to finish than I had hoped.  Thank you for hanging in there with me while life got busy and then threw me a curveball.  We only have the Epilogue left after this!  Huge thank you to @wheresarizona for the beta and for letting her Learning to Live Javier and Cielito come play in Construction Corner!

Comments and reblogs very much appreciated!

Previous | Next

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Taglist – link in my bio and on my Masterlist

Want to get dinner?

Joel presses send and sets his phone down on the nightstand.  He has to admit, texting does have its uses.  He’s getting faster at it too, which definitely helps.  He continues putting his clothes for the week into the hotel drawers while he awaits your reply.

Filming weeks spent in hotels were not his favorite, but this project had captured his imagination, and he was eager to get started.  He enjoyed all types of projects – the ones when he was teaching a useful skill, like fixing plumbing, and the kinds that allowed him to design something interesting.

This one had to be his favorite, though.  He spent hours drafting plans, taking into account the homeowner’s ideas but also adding some of his own.  Just thinking about it gave him a bounce in his step as he organized his jeans and t-shirts in the drawer.

Of course, being in a hotel also had advantages as far as you were concerned.

He had kept you in his home and in his bed for as long as he possibly could over the weekend, reluctantly letting you leave yesterday afternoon so you could pack for the week.  In fairness, you seemed reluctant to go.

It just all felt so good.  Eating breakfast with you at the kitchen table.  Watching a movie, snuggled under a blanket on the couch.  The quiet domesticity of the weekend just felt… right.

Then there was the sex – nothing quiet or domestic about that.  Joel adjusts his jeans as memories of the noises you made – how you called his name and begged for more – wash over him, causing his cock to swell against his zipper.

You were so enthusiastic and free.  In those moments with you, looking deep into your eyes while he buried himself in your warm heat… he could see the future.

His phone chimes on the nightstand, pulling him from his reverie.

Sure.  Maybe breakfast too ;-)  Lobby in 5?

He snorts out a laugh but then stares down at his phone screen, puzzled.  He replies in the affirmative and scratches at his scruff absentmindedly as he stuffs his wallet in his jeans pocket and switches off the lights.

You are already in the lobby when the elevator doors open, sitting in an armchair and flipping through a Laredo travel guide.  Warmth rushes over his body at just the sight of you.  Your easy smile when you spot him is like a warm hug.  He can’t help the dopey grin that spreads across his face.

“Ready to go? I heard of a good place downtown.  We can take my car,” you say, gathering your belongings.

“Sounds good, sunshine, but first… what does this mean?” he holds up his phone, pointing to the collection of symbols you had texted him.

“It’s called an emoji, Joel.  It’s a winking face, see?” you turn his phone sideways and wink at him.  “Sarah hasn’t taught you those yet?”

He squints and looks at it again.  Just when he thought he was getting it…  He shakes his head and follows you out the door with a chuckle.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It happens sometimes that a homeowner is reluctant to accept help on their project.  Usually, their spouse had been the one to apply to the show.  The ones who were actively hostile to the idea were quickly weeded out, while some who just needed some convincing made it through.

Today is one that needs some convincing.

Joel had been looking forward to this project since he saw the initial photos.  Now, standing in the Peña’s backyard, looking up at their massive oak tree, he can barely contain his excitement.

The homeowner next to him, Javier, is another story.

“I really do know how to do this.  I built the whole sunroom by myself,” Javier grumbles next to him.  His wife ducks under his arm to wrap her arms around his waist.

Joel had met a lot of couples over the course of filming this show, but these two are special.  The way they look at each other… it’s like the other hung the moon.  He glances up and spots you across the lawn.  Might you look at him like that someday?  Could he be so lucky?

“I know you do, but it has been a year, Javi.  The children are getting restless,” Cielito teases her husband gently.  Javier’s face softens at the mention of his children, and he looks up at the unfinished treehouse—a generous description for the collection of boards nailed to the tree—and sighs.

“Look,” Joel turns towards the couple, “I’m just here to help.  I can tell you know your stuff.  Big projects – heck, even small ones – are difficult when you have little ones runnin’ around.”

“That’s the truth,” Javier chuckles, dragging a hand down his face and smoothing his mustache.  The three Peña children had been packed off with their grandfather that morning for the duration of the project but would be back for the reveal in a few days.

“Let’s build a treehouse that will be the envy of the neighborhood this week so you can focus on spendin’ time with your kids and each other.  Deal?” he extends his hand toward Javier.

Javier grabs his hand for a firm handshake, “Deal.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Joel could watch you all day – he kind of has.  It’s a good thing Javier Peña is so handy.  The project may have suffered otherwise.

The two of you barely made it through the hotel room door before he pulled you on top of him, fully clothed, on the bed – like a couple of teenagers.  You’re an angel above him – breathless and moaning.  You feel so good against him.  Your softness against his hardness.  His fingers dig into your hips, urging you to continue rocking against his cock.

It started as making out, you teasing him by grinding into him while he hiked your skirt up your legs, but he watched as you pulled your bottom lip between your teeth, and your eyes went hazy.  Your teasing became focused as you chased your pleasure on his clothed cock.

He’s just along for the show now, and that is just fine.  Your whimpers as you angle your hips just right and speed up your rocking are driving him wild.  If he was younger, he’d probably have come in his pants by now.  Points to middle-age.

“Does that feel good, sunshine,” he rasps as he digs his fingers into your hips, and you moan in response.  His cock jumps, and a satisfied little smile flits across your face.  You know what you do to him.

Your brow furrows in concentration, a little line forming on your forehead, so you must be getting close.  He loves that he has started to notice these little signs.  He’s not an expert on your body yet, but he wants to be.

Your breath catches as your legs clamp around his hips, and you shudder through your orgasm.  He strokes down your back as you relax onto his chest, then slide off to snuggle into his side.

Right or wrong, Joel had neglected his personal life while Sarah grew up.  He went on a date here or there or met someone in a bar, but he hadn’t even been interested in anything serious.  Lately, though, with Sarah thriving off at college, he’s been thinking more about himself.

And he’s been thinking about you.

Beautiful, smart, kind, capable, remarkable you.

It has only been a few weeks since he found out you were single, and the world tilted on its axis.  It feels like so much longer, though, with all that has happened between you.

“Do you think anyone has noticed that I haven’t been sleeping in my room?” you muse lazily, dragging your fingers down his chest.

“I have a feelin’ they have.  I’ve been gettin’ some looks.”  

“Does it bother you?  The crew knowing?”

“Not one fuckin’ bit, sunshine.  You?” he shifts on his side so he can see your reaction more clearly.

You shake your head and kiss him gently.  Your soft lips molding perfectly with his own.  You snuggle into his side, letting out a satisfied, sleepy sigh.  “I love you, Joel.”

Your eyes pop open, and you clasp a hand over your mouth.  His heartbeat pounds in his ears.

You look at him, panicked, “I didn’t mean t-to say that – it’s too soon… you’re freaked out.  I mean—I mean it, I just…”

“Calm down, sunshine,” he pulls your frantically fluttering hand into his own and presses it to his chest over the rapid thumping of his heart.  He gazes deep into your eyes until you are fully focused on him and have started breathing again.  “I love you, too.”

“You do?” you exhale in relief.

“Absolutely.”  He brings your hand to his lips, pressing a kiss into your knuckles.  “I’m kinda glad you said it first, though.  Lord knows I was gonna say it soon,” he chuckles.  “In the back of my mind, I worry that I’m rushin’ you – goin’ too fast – because I just know.  Now I know you know too.”

“I do know,” you whisper, tears sparkling in the corners of your eyes, and his heart feels too big in his chest.  How did he get so lucky?

He bends down to capture your mouth with his own, imbuing the kiss with all the feelings he can’t put into words.  You meet him eagerly.  A little later, when that line forms on your forehead again, he kisses it gently as you both tip over the edge together.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Ok, kids, your dad worked really hard this week.  Are you ready to see what he built for you?”  The three Peña children stand lined up in the backyard, dutifully covering their eyes.  Joel crouches beside them.

“Yes!” they scream in unison.  Javier and Cielito stand on either side of them, beaming.

“Then… open your eyes!”

Three sets of brown eyes are uncovered, followed by three little voices squealing with excitement.

He has to admit, it turned out well.  He wanted to build a place that could grow with the Peña children, from being the crow’s nest of a pirate ship, to the top of a castle tower, to a hangout to read in.

He had the same philosophy when he built Sarah’s playhouse.  She taught her stuffed animals the alphabet there, served him soft drinks through a drive-up window, and even cashed checks with Monopoly money.  

Javier clears his throat, interrupting Joel’s trip down memory lane. “Thanks, Joel.  I don’t know how much longer it would have taken me to do this on my own.”

“It’s been my pleasure helpin’ you out.  I hope y’all enjoy it together.  They grow up so fast,” Joel’s voice catches in his throat as he watches the kids scramble up the ladder and pop their heads out the windows, waving to their parents below.

For just a moment, it’s Sarah’s curly head popping out of the window.

Her playhouse stayed in the backyard long after she was done playing with it, but he couldn’t bear to tear it down.  It made him sad – the idea of her growing up – but as he watched her come into her own as a bright, considerate young adult, he realized he was missing out on the present by holding on so tightly to the past.

Sarah has so many wonderful adventures in front of her, and Joel can’t wait to see what she does with her life.  He still looks at the photo albums of her as a little kid, but not with sadness that those days are gone, but with gladness for the times they spent together.

Joel clears his throat and turns to Javier, “Get up there and make some memories.”  Javier nods and follows his kids up the ladder.

Joel looks across the yard to where you’ve been watching and catches your eye.  Sarah isn’t the only one with adventures ahead of her.  There’s so much time ahead for him too.  Time for making more memories with her and time for new memories with you.  He can’t wait.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A/N: This episode’s cameo comes from Narcos via Learning to Live by @wheresarizona

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[writers-ex]

a night with itzy: choose your prom date

classmate!reader x classmate!2shin

a/n: hannie here :] welcome to another choose your ending ff, i put a poll asking what genre everyone wanted and while i was washing my hands yesterday i thought of the idea and blam here we are, thanks for your patience with me in school and life this story along with your asks will be uploaded with time, prom season is coming and for those of us who are, never went, or don't want to go then i invite you to sit back and relax while you enjoy a night with itzy

warnings: switch!itzy, car sex, praise kink, being tied up(?), horny teenagers being teenagers, oral, exhibition kink, dom!reader, sub!yuna, dom!ryujin, dress up kink, more will be added if i forget to mention <3

it was another regular day here at itzy high school, yuna pulls up next to your parking spot and winked as she waves you over. lately she has been parking near and talking to you since you both had classes together. you began talking and walking to class before realizing you had a lot more in common than being lab partners. ryujin your oldest childhood friend began to tolerate her presence in your life as they both helped you navigate the jungle that is high school.

this week was no different until you noticed on the way to bio as usual a tap on your shoulder caused you to turn around and cup your hand against your mouth gasping. there behind you was yuna holding a bouquet of daisies on one knee as she gives you the brightest grin you’ve ever seen. peers crowd around the two of you as she clears her throat and takes a deep breath. 

“i won’t beat around the bush but i want to take you to prom and i won’t take no for an answer. i’ll literally stalk you around school and back to your house until you give me a reply and-“

“YUNA??!?” whisper yelling your cheeks redden as you accept the flowers from her smug face. “I-ILL GO WITH YOU IF YOU PROMISE TO GET UP!!” standing up yuna shoos away the crowd as the flow of the hallway and students continues per usual. arm in hand she guides you to your class humming the whole way. 

“remember love prom is next week so let me know the color of your outfit and we’ll coordinate.” turning her head to the side yuna takes a look to the left and a look to the right before placing a light kiss against your cheek. “i promise to be there so we can dance all night, don’t worry about a thing other than looking even more amazing than you already look.” waving goodbye her figure leaves your sight as you clutch the flowers close to your chest. 

during class, you begin thinking of outfits to wear when the bell rings signaling for lunch. making your way to the cafeteria your best friend appears at your side making you feel relieved and not alone. 

“hey ryujin~ you’ll never guess what happened to-“

“yuna did a promposal to you in the hallway before bio right?”

“damn word travels fast around here.”

“you’re going to say no right? i mean she’s yuna the unreliable, always leaving class randomly, getting odd grades. you should be going with someone that’s stable, someone who makes you feel comfortable and loved automatically. someone like your best friend maybe or-“

“-you?” finishing her sentence ryujin stops wide-eyed in the middle of the lunchroom frozen in place. “ryujin? hello? what’s wrong what are you-“ mumbling to herself ryujin takes a bold step forward and holds your hand in hers. with the bouquet on the other hand, you look up and see your best friend the coolest and most confident person in your life looking scared.

“this is not how i wanted to ask you, but i’ll take it.” inhaling ryujin stares into your eyes giving your hand a slight squeeze. “yuna beat me to the punch but i wanted to surprise you in my room when you come over after school today with balloons i blew up and the rose petals spelling out prom on my bed and then-“ stopping ryujin you place a finger on her lip and blush.

“ok ok ok i’ve heard enough!! i’ll have to consider the two of you and decide tonight, i promise i’ll let you know first ryu who i pick.” removing your hand from hers you nudge toward the exit. “if it’s ok with you …i’d like to eat alone today. i’ve had an exciting first half of the day.” she nods and watches you leave outside to sit by a bench alone with your thoughts. the rest of the day you ponder over this morning’s events- the most popular girl in the school and your best friend since childhood asked you to prom. who would you choose?

as you get home and go about your day you’re about to unwind for the night when your phone vibrates and both their names appear on your phone, you read both their messages and decide to reply back to one.

"so love i'm thinking we could coordinate and go shopping this weekend are you free for a date?"

"hey...i wanted to check on you and see how you're feeling, want me to come over with your faves for a binge and therapy session?"

[something-tofightfor]

Competing For Christmas 5: Holly Jolly Christmas (The Event)

Pairing: Modern Din Djarin x Female Reader

Word Count: 13,100

Rating: M. Language. 

Summary: It’s a good day to build some snowmen... and also, apparently a good day to find out some secrets. 

Author’s notes:

Got carried away with this one, but I had very specific things I needded to include. Needless to say, 6 won’t be coming out tomorrow ... I haven’t even started it yet. Sorry about that.

Questions, concerns, comments? My inbox is open!

I’m so glad that everyone still seems to be enjoying this story. I hope that this chapter answers some of the questions that you might have about Din’s past - and in a way that makes sense! 

* reference pictures of the snowmen that they make can be found on the masterlist page!

To get alerted when I post new chapters/stories, follow @somethingtofightfor-shares​ and turn on post notifications - you can also ask to be added to my tag list (link in bio or at the top of my taglist reblog)

Masterlist  / Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5.1 

“So let me get this straight.” Cara eyed you from over the sandwich she was eating, the woman leaning closer as she spoke. “He was the one that put a stop to things?”

“Yeah.” Sipping from your straw, you nodded. “He’s the one that put an end to it last week at my place, and then last night, the guy went from hands on my back under my shirt and kissing my neck to telling me that we couldn’t continue in the span of like five seconds.” 

“Weird.” Stacy frowned, head moving from side to side. “Did he say why?” 

“No. He just said that it couldn’t go any further yet, but he’d explain some other time.” You hadn’t meant to spill everything to your friends, but when they’d asked who you were buying a tree skirt and extra ornaments for and you’d immediately given his name, they’d demanded to know more over lunch. 

And you’d spilled - the details of the trivia night, the way he’d taken care of you when you were sick, the kiss you’d shared under the mistletoe at the community center and the following ones the previous night. 

Cara’s eyes widened at the admission, the woman keeping them on you while you finished up, but it was Stacy that had cut in, asking you more about the man himself - and what you’d been able to tell them was surprisingly sparse. 

So you focused on what you did know - that he was kind and thoughtful, eager to learn and willing to let you teach. You told them about the way he was with Grogu, and about how many of the competition elements and things relating to Christmas in general were new to him, thanks to the way he’d grown up. And you ended it with telling them that unlike so many other men, Din hadn’t pushed you for more - urging you past the point that you were comfortable with when it came to physicality, even though it was clear that it was something both of you were interested in. 

“Have you looked him up at all? Cara wiped at her face, chewing. “I know you said he doesn’t have social media, but there’s got to be something about him online.” 

“I haven’t.” It hadn’t occurred to you  to do so, but after Cara’s suggestion, it seemed like an immense oversight on your part. “To be fair, though, I just found out where he’s from yesterday, so -” 

“What’s the name of the place?” Stacy was on her phone, eyes moving from the screen to you and then back. “Mala-”

“Mandalore.” Sighing, you rested your chin on your hand. “I don’t know how to spell it, but -”

“Oh, shit.” Stacy’s eyes widened, Cara leaning over to look at her phone’s screen. “It’s a small country in northern Europe, they’re known for their exports of some sort of steel variant called beskar. I guess it’s used to make spaceships and planes?” She glanced up. “Really valuable shit. But the country’s not even as big as the state of New York, so it’s rare.” 

As she continued to read from the screen, you contemplated pulling your own phone out but chose not to, sighing as the woman asked you how to spell Din’s last name. When you told her, she typed and then scrolled for a few seconds, her frown deepening. “What? What’s that look for?” 

“Nothing’s coming up. Not even a LinkedIn page for him here.” That’s weird. “Are you sure that Din is his full name? Like it’s not short for Brandon or Aidin or -”

“No, I’m positive that that’s his full name. At least… that’s what he goes by at work. It’s on his badge, and it’s on payroll like that, too.” But it could be short for something else, and …

“Holy shit they have a king.” At that, Cara’s attention was fully drawn to Stacy’s screen, and you had to admit that yours was too. A king? “And he’s hot as hell.” You stood from your chair and circled around to where they sat, pushing one of the unused chairs away from the table behind yours to stand between your friends, eyes on her phone. “No clue how old he is or anything like that, but look at him.” 

You did - focusing on the page she was scrolling through, images of a bald man with broad shoulders and sharp - but kind - eyes filling the screen. “Don’t a lot of those tiny little European nations have kings and queens or whatever the equivalent term is? Dukes and lords and -”

“Yeah, but this one’s got an actual name for it. Mand’alor. It’s in some other language, but -”

“Mando’a.” You mumbled the word, surprised as your friends both turned their heads to look at you. “What? Din mentioned it a couple times. He trained Grogu to follow commands in it, and …”

“Ok, so he’s not hiding where he’s from entirely.” Stacy returned to scrolling and you looked, too, reaching out as you gasped when you saw a familiar face on the screen. “What?”

“I know her.” Blinking rapidly, you leaned in. “That’s one of Din’s friends. He showed me a picture of her a couple weeks ago because she won some sharpshooting contest.” And he sent her a picture of me… “Why is she on this page with their king?”

“What’s her name?” You racked your brain, trying to remember if Din had told you, and then it came to you - another unfamiliar sounding one, but one that was difficult to forget. 

“Fennec. I don’t know if it’s a first or a last name, but it’s definitely Fennec.” It was quiet for a few moments as she typed, and while you waited for the page to load, you could feel your confusion growing. He said she was a bodyguard. A sharpshooter, and she was in a picture with … “Oh my God.” 

You whispered the words, one hand gripping the back of Cara’s chair tightly as you scanned words on the screen, but were unable to say anything else. There’s… what? “Your guy’s close with the head of personal security for the king of Mandalore?” Cara turned her head to look up at you, one brow arched. “Interesting.” Yeah, it is. 

“So there’s a lot here, but it says that Fennec Shand was personally appointed as head of security for the Mand’alor, Boba Fett almost ten years ago, and …” You tried to listen - really - but at the mention of the man’s name, you felt your blood run cold. Boba Fett? Fett? As in the other person Din told about me? This can’t be… You felt a hand on your arm and shook yourself back into focus, sucking in a breath. “You alright? What is it that -”

“Nothing. I just…” You didn’t want to lie to them, but also didn’t want to feed them any information until you’d heard it from Din himself and knew what was true - and what wasn’t - so you shrugged and hoped that you’d play it off like nothing was bothering you. “It’s kind of a shock to find out all of this, you know? That Din’s close friend is someone responsible for something like keeping the Mandalorian version of the President safe, and …” You shrugged. “Feels weird to know this because we looked it up.”

“Are you going to say anything?” Stacy darkened the screen and you stood up straight, heading back to your mostly finished lunch. “I mean he can’t blame you for looking him up, right? You guys are basically dating. And it’s not like you found anything about him, just… his friend.” Friends. You corrected her in your head but stayed silent, nodding your head as you began to eat again. 

“Yeah. I’ll probably let him know that I looked up Mandalore, and see… see what he says from there.” 

“Let us know.” Cara winked at you, swiping her fingers through her hair. “I can’t wait to see how he reacts.” Yeah, neither can I. 

— 

But you knew that you wouldn’t say anything to Din right away, and at the sight of the man heading across the parking lot and toward you, you second guessed saying anything at all. “You ever built your snowman in an actual snowstorm before?” His smile was wide and bright, the man glancing up at the sky - covered in gray clouds, though it wasn’t dark thanks to the fact that sunset was still an hour or so away. “At least it stopped snowing so you could get your shopping done.”

“It did. And no, It’s never been snowing like this during the competition before, Din.” You fell into step next to him, fighting the urge to reach over and take his hand. “It’ll keep things interesting, at least.”

“Yeah.” As you reached the pathway to the central gazebo and warming tents, he spoke up again. “Did you get everything done you needed to today?”

“Sort of. The mall was really busy so we had to skip some stores, but I think I only need to get one or two more gifts and then I’m done… so I’m ahead of schedule.” The two of you ducked underneath the tent, five of the other teams already inside and waiting, and took your places near the back of the crowd. “I did get that tree skirt for you, though. And I have the extra ornaments in my trunk, too.” 

“Great. Thank you.” He moved closer and you felt his hand resting on the center of your back. “I scheduled a pizza delivery for 8:45. Figured that since they said the judging happens at 8, we’d be getting back to my place around then, so we could eat before we started on ornaments.”

“Lights first.” Turning your head to face him, you shrugged. “Gotta put lights on before the ornaments, Din.” 

He didn’t have a chance to say anything before someone called for your attention, both of you looking to the front of the tent as the speaker introduced herself, welcoming everyone to the competition. “Most of you know the rules, but for those that don’t, I’ll be quick. All eight teams are here, so as soon as I’m done talking, we’ll start.” 

“So we get extra time.” You checked your watch, seeing that it was twenty minutes before the scheduled start time of the event. “That’s good.” 

“This event is simple: we want you to create a scene that features snowmen. Your scene has to match the theme, and it has to be contained within your allotted space. Each team will need to build at least three figures in order to qualify. And you must use the provided props in some way on each of your snow creations.” That’s simple enough. Nothing different from last year there. “You have from now until 7:15 to finish, and then we’ll need fifteen minutes to remove the fencing and privacy screens.” 

She paused, looking around the room. “They’re on a really tight schedule.” Din leaned over, speaking into your ear. “It’s snow, and -”

“A lot of kids come out to see these. They don’t want it to get too late for them to cast their votes.” He was still touching you, the man moving closer so that his side was pressed against your arm. “Plus they’ve gotta clean up after everyone’s done, so it’s easier to do that before it gets really dark.”

“Good point.” He mumbled the words, his hand sliding from the center of your back to your side, urging you closer. I need to talk to him. I need to…

“As a reminder, this tent will remain open during the competition and act as a warming tent. Plan on taking breaks to warm your hands and feet. There are towels and heaters.” She pointed at one side of the tent. “Hot chocolate and coffee are available. The park’s bathrooms are open, too, and ready for your use.” 

You shifted on your feet, antsy to get started - and to get Din alone, and were rewarded a few seconds later when the woman made the final announcement of the night - telling everyone what the theme was. 

“We thought about this one a lot throughout the last few weeks, and we’ve decided not to deviate from the typical contest themes.” The crowd murmured, but she kept going, one hand tight on the microphone. “The theme this year is going to be Christmas movies and TV shows.” 

You groaned - you couldn’t help it. “What’s wrong?” Din leaned closer, concern evident in his voice. “What’s wrong with that theme?”

“It’s boring.” Rolling your eyes, you turned your head toward him. “Just once, I’d love to do something different, like superheroes or animals or -”

“Do we have to follow the theme?” He said your name, drawing your attention completely. “Is there a way we could -”

“If we don’t follow the theme, we can’t win.” And if we lose another event, we’re going to lose the competition. “So yeah, we’ve gotta follow the theme, Din.” 

The two of you listened to the woman finish her spiel - reminding you of the time you had and the location of your props, and then dismissed everyone, telling you to have fun. You lingered under the tent for a few minutes, arms crossed and your head turned to the side. This is going to be hard because he doesn’t know Chrismtas movies, and … 

“Hey.” He reached out, putting a gloved hand on your shoulder. “Let’s just make snowmen.” 

“But that isn’t -” 

“They didn’t say what movies they had to be from, right?” He shrugged. “Let’s go see what they have for props, and we’ll figure it out. “

“But if we don’t have a theme, we -”

“I don’t care.” He turned completely toward you, reaching out with his other hand and laying them both on your upper arms. “We’ll figure it out, or we won’t.” He leaned in, eyes bright. “The way I see it is that we’re going to see a ton of people making snowmen in Santa hats and reindeer.” He paused. “And that one snowman from the -”

“Frosty.” You rolled your eyes. “That’s why this is such a dumb theme. It’s just going to be a bunch of -”

“Let’s just have fun.” Din shook his head. “This is supposed to be fun, and you’re standing here stressed because of a snowman, and -”

“You’re right.” Admitting it helped - it loosened the anxiety in your chest, your lips parting as you looked up at Din. “You’re right, Din. This is supposed to be…” Closing your eyes, you nodded. “Let’s go see what they have in that gazebo.” 

Stepping toward the tent’s opening, you weren’t surprised when he reached over and took your hand, fingers interlocking with yours in the moments before he squeezed. 

— 

An hour later, the two of you had three snowman shapes built, and you were working on turning them into characters. 

Once you’d seen the props available, it became clear to you that most people were going the predictable route and creating Santa snowmen or going straight Frosty with their choices. After a few minutes of contemplation - and digging through boxes - you decided to make three snowmen from three different movies. 

And as you’d worked, you and Din talked to each other, the man helping you to push and lift the heavy snow into place, Din suggesting that you stick branches into the center for added support - and to ensure that they stood up straight. 

You knew that you probably wouldn’t win, but the longer you spent in the cold with him, the snow falling around you and the sounds of the other teams muffled by the makeshift walls, you realized that you didn’t care. Because being here with him is better than winning. 

He flashed you a smile before standing up straight and pulling his phone from his pocket, lighting the screen up. “So I’m going to finish up this Frosty guy here, and then take a break.” He pointed at his face. “My nose is cold, and I want some of that hot chocolate.” 

“Ok.” Eyeing your snowman, you sighed. “I’m going to stay here while you do that, because this guy has to be big. I remember him always looking huge in the story, and -”

“I’ll help you when we come back.” He shook his head. “I’m not leaving you out here in the cold.” It was snowing harder, but in that moment, you didn’t feel the cold or damp - you felt the warmth of Din’s smile, the heat in his gaze. “Alright?”

“Yeah.” Biting your lip, you took a deep breath, the shiver coursing through your body not at all due to the cold. “Yeah, that’s alright.” 

Fifteen minutes later, Din finished his snowman’s hand - carefully molding it around the handle of a broomstick that was securely embedded in a pile of snow on the ground, and turned back to you. “Coming?” With a final glance at your own snowman - the body shape almost to where you wanted it to be, you let out a sigh and then stepped away from it, out and into he open. Din followed, and only a minute passed before the two of you were under the soft, warm light of the tent, cups of hot chocolate in hand. “I think we’re making pretty good progress.” 

He sipped his drink, waiting. Yeah, I think so too. “Your’re almost done, and it won’t take us too long to finish the third one, since all we have to do is make it dirty and make a really simple face.” 

“We still have about an hour. I’m not worried.” He shrugged. “This is good hot chocolate.” It was, and the longer the two of you stood there, the better you felt; feeling coming back into your fingers and toes, the snowflakes on Din’s hat melting and dripping down, creating small puddles on the ground around him. “Grogu left the tree alone, by the way. I was worried he’d knock it over.” 

“Nah. He’s probably going to be more interested once there’s stuff on it, but unless he gets really excited, I bet it stays upright.” Din went to reply, but two more pairs of contestants walked in and so he didn’t, tossing his cup into the trash and then moving to stand next to you - much closer than he had before. “Din?” 

“We should get back to our snowmen.” He sighed, eyeing one of the women, who was holding her phone up and recording the interior of the tent. “C’mon. The sooner we do that, the sooner we’ll be done.” 

“I thought you liked the snow.” Wrinkling your nose as you carefully made your way back to where you’d been building, you questioned him. “Are you cold Din?” 

“I do like the snow. And I’m a little cold, yeah, But to be honest, I’m looking forward to later.” It was the most straightforward he’d been with you about anything, and it stopped you in your tracks. “What?” 

“I’m looking forward to it, too.” There was more you wanted to say - much more, starting with telling him what you and your friends had discovered earlier in the day, but you knew that if you did, the snowmen wouldn’t ever get finished. Because it’ll either be a really long conversation… or a really short one. 

He smiled at you and then used his chin to motion toward your space, and the two of you began walking again, stepping off of the path and onto the snow. 

You settled back into the rhythm you’d established earlier - Din finishing Frosty up to the point where all you had left to do was put his hat on - and then coming to help you with your snowman. It went so much faster with his help - the man hefting large armfuls of snow onto the body for you and packing it in while you worked to shape the arms and legs. 

Like in the earlier events, you worked well as as team, and soon enough, your snowman was done, too - a green scarf and hat settled onto his head and neck and tiny, black eyes and a thin mouth adorning his face. You hadn’t been able to find an orange for his nose, so you’d substituted with a piece of orange fabric wrapped around a tightly packed snowball - but you were happy with it. “And then there was one.” 

Taking a breath, you turned toward Din, hands on your hips. “I don’t know how we’re going to make this thing dirty, this snow is pure white, and …” 

“Yeah, I’m not sure either.” Turning, the man rummaged through your box of props. “If we had actual coal, it would be easier.” Yeah, it would. But all we have is fake, plastic coal, so… “Hold on a second.” He hurried away, leaving you standing in the snow and staring after him, confused. What is he doing? 

While Din was gone, you checked your watch - it was nearly 7, which meant you had about fifteen minutes left to finish. We’re cutting it close, and … He surprised you when he reappeared, one hand stuffed into his pocket and the other holding a handful of white packets. “Din, what -”

“Hot chocolate powder.” He grinned. “I saw the extra packets when we were standing in there earlier, and I figure it’s brown - like dirt, so -” Oh, you’re a genius. 

You didn’t even try to stop yourself from lunging forward, your arms going around the man’s neck and your lips finding his cheek, the skin chilly beneath them. “You’re brilliant, Din Djarin.” 

“No one’s ever said that to me before.” He hugged you back, tucking his head down and nosing along the side of your neck. “But you can say it again if you want.” You would have been content to stay there in his arms for the rest of the night, but Din pushed you away gently, wetting his lips as he let out a breath through his nose. “We’ve gotta finish this.” 

“Yeah.” Swallowing, you closed your eyes. “Yeah, we do.” Instructing Din to just sort of throw the mix at the snow, you took a couple packets from him and removed one glove, pouring the mix into your free hand and then holding it up in front of your mouth, blowing in short bursts. 

Between the two of you, it didn’t take long for you to cover parts of the surface of the snowman in the dust, the air filled with the sweet scent of the cocoa powder. “That good? Or should I go and get more?” 

“No.” You eyed the snow, watching as the powder began to dissolve into muddy looking splotches, bright white peeking through in places. “No, this is good. We don’t want the entire thing to be chocolate soup, it just needs to look…dirty.” In a stroke of inspiration, you reached out, pressing your bare hand to the center of the snowman’s body and letting the heat of it melt a little - a handprint left behind.

Din did the same and when you both stepped back, you laughed, tossing your head back and closing your eyes. “What? It doesn’t look that bad.”

“No. It looks perfect.” Bending down, you wiped your hand on the ground and then kicked snow over the dark space, drying your skin on your jeans before slipping your glove back on. “All we have to do now is put the hat on Frosty, and we’re done.”

He’d taken pictures throughout the night - marking progress with his phone - but you were still surprised when the flash went off as you lifted the hat from the table, eyeing it. “Sorry, I figured I’d take a picture of you putting it on our guy’s head, but I should have asked, and…” 

“Here.” You reached for the phone, holding out the hat. “Trade me.” He looked confused but did as you asked, passing the phone to you and taking the hat, his fingers running along the brim. “It’s your first one, Din. You’ve gotta be the one to finish it.” 

Instead of taking pictures, you switched it to video and aimed the camera at the man, biting your lip as he moved to stand next to the snowman and then rose up onto his toes, lifting the tophat. “Am I doing this right?” Glancing over his shoulder at you, Din waited for your quiet yes to continue, returning his attention to what was in front of him and settling the hat into place, reaching up and giving it a tweak with his fingers to bring it forward. “Done.” 

We’re done. Panning away from Din, you took video of each of the snowmen and then moved it back to him, your smile growing.  You didn’t know if your group would win, but you’d had fun building with Din, and that was all that mattered. I hope he did, too. 

Ending the video, you handed him the phone and then started to clean up your space, loading all of the trash and spare props into the box you’d carried them over in. When you finished, you checked your watch and found that you had five minutes to go before the competition ended, leaving you and Din with enough time to stand back and admire your handiwork.

You could see people beginning to congregate near the gazebo and tent, but you didn’t focus on them, instead leaning into Din’s side and sighing. “We did a good job, Din. Thank you for talking me down earlier. It… I don’t know what was wrong with me, but -”

“You’re welcome. But I meant what I said. It would be nice to win, but if we don’t, we don’t. I said yes to doing all of this with you to spend time with you, not to win a couple prizes.” Oh. Oh, that…. “But I think we’ll win.” 

“You have much more confidence than I do, Din.” Locking eyes with him, you gave him a soft smile. “I hope you’re right, though.” 

There were questions you needed to ask him - things you needed him to clear up … but you wanted to kiss him again, too. And it’s going to happen, it … Din closed the distance between the two of you, turning his body and lifting one arm so that he could wind it around you, and when his mouth met yours, you sighed, feeling the upward curve of his mouth against your lips at the sound. 

The kiss was interrupted, though, when a flash went off, the sudden brightness forcing your eyes open as Din stiffened in front of you, backing away almost immediately. “What was -” He looked around, obviously on alert, and it only took a few seconds to find the source of the light - someone was walking around and taking pictures of the event, but since it was later at night, flash was necessary. 

“They’re just taking pictures of  the entries, Din. The same way they came around and took pictures of the cookies.” It hurt - the fact that he’d had such a visceral reaction to potentially being photographed kissing you - and it only added to the mountain of things that you wanted to ask him. But if he’s associated with the king of Mandalore, it makes sense. “Look.” 

The flash went off again, closer, and Din finally relaxed, saying your name. “It’s not that I don’t want to be -”

“We can talk about it later.” You stepped further away, sticking your gloved hands in your jacket pockets. “We don’t need to get into it right now.” He frowned but agreed, and when, a few minutes later, the judges finally got to your section of the park, it was Din that spoke first, giving your team name, and then turning things over to you to explain your snowmen. “This one’s Frosty.” You pointed, turning the top half of your body to follow your arm. “And that’s The Snowman from the silent British film.” 

“And this one’s Pigpen’s snowman from the Charlie Brown Christmas special.” Din cut in, his arm jutting out to indicate the third snowman. At that, the female judge laughed, her smile growing by the second. That’s good. That’s… really good. 

“It smells like chocolate over here.” She raised a brow, looking between you and Din. “Why?”

“We used cocoa powder packets to make him dirty.” You shared another look with the woman, your shared amusement apparent. “So hopefully it works out.” 

“I like it.” She shrugged, making a few notes on the clipboard she held. “Alright, we’ll take a picture of the two of you and what you built for our records, and then you can head over to the main crowd until it’s time to announce the winners.” 

Unlike the previous picture scenario, Din moved back to stand next to you, slinging an arm around your shoulders as you faced the cameraman. There wasn’t any distance between you, but you felt it nonetheless, a slight shift in the closeness that you’d been building over the previous weeks. I don’t like that at all. 

It worried you, but you didn’t have time to dwell on it, the judges dismissing you and thanking you for participating. “Let’s see what everyone else built.” Din nudged you as you walked, pointing with his other hand. “Take the long way back and circle around. 

So you did, a few of the walls already down to expose the creations by the other teams. Oh, some of these are impressive. 

One team had somehow created Santa, Hermey and Rudolph. Another had made three vaguely reindeer-shaped snowmen, one of them with a bright red nose. A third team’s focus had been on the movie Elf, a large-humanoid snowman dressed in green and yellow, and then a smaller snowman wearing a coat and scarf were joined by something that you identified as a narwhal only by the massive horn sticking out of its face. 

Snowmen dressed as Santa and Frosty were abundant, but it seemed that you and Din had been the only ones to mix movies together for your group, and you hoped that it would set you apart. We’ll see. 

You passed your friends on the way back to the tent, Cara lifting her hand in a wave as she looked between you and Din, the flakes still swirling through the air. You wondered if they’d know which group was yours, and as you and Din dropped off the remaining props at the gazebo and then headed back to the warming tent, you let the thoughts consume you ,

As much as Din said it didn’t matter if you won, part of you knew that it did - to both of you. He was competitive, too, and even if the main reason he’d agreed to participate was to spend time with you, it wasn’t like he’d tried to throw any of the previous events. And he seemed really upset at the thought that he might not be able to contribute to trivia. 

“You either did the Elf snowmen, or you made the ones of Santa and the reindeer.” Stacy’s voice made you turn, Din moving with you and steadying you with one hand on your back again. “And I think it was Elf, but -”

“No, it’s the one that had Pigpen’s snowman.” Cara cut in, swallowing a long sip of cocoa. “Definitely.” 

“How’d you know?” Din shook his head. “We -”

“I’m just that smart.” Cara winked at him, but then lowered her cup, laughing. “No, Din, you’ve got cocoa powder on your jacket. I saw it when you walked by us earlier.” Oh. That makes sense. “Good job, guys. They looked great.” 

Thanking her, the four of you started talking, but it wasn’t long before Stacy pulled you away and toward the snack table. She only waited until you were out of earshot to lean over, hissing out her questions. “Did you ask him? What did she say?”

“Not yet.” You picked up a bag of popcorn, fingers closing around the handles. “There wasn’t time, and if I would have asked before or during the competition, we wouldn’t have finished. I’ll ask him tonight. And that way if it goes bad… I can just leave.” 

“It won’t go bad.” She shook her head, grabbing a bag of popcorn for herself. “I think he’ll appreciate that you looked him up, and that you’re asking him questions, not just assuming things.” You hoped that she was right, and when the two of you made your way back to Cara and Din, and you offered him the popcorn, you really hoped she was right. Because I don’t want things to go back to how they were. 

“I think they’re coming back now.” Din pointed with one covered hand, his gloves the same pair from the previous night - black with yellow fingertips, a bright blue triangle on the backs of his hands. “At least some of them.” 

He was right - the judges were all back, and the gazebo crowd was starting to increase in size, too, everyone huddling together and talking. The sounds of the conversations grew louder as more time passed, and though you and Din spoke to your friends without any awkwardness or extended silences, you were still very aware of what was happening around you, eyes darting between your group and the rest of the crowd and waiting. 

He was beside you but not touching you, though that changed when the woman climbed up the steps to the gazebo, microphone in hand. “Here we go.” Din whispered, bumping your shoulder with his. “We’ve got this.” Do we? 

The woman’s speech was congratulatory, highlighting the impressive creations by each team, but she didn’t waste time with long-winded stories, instead getting right to the important parts. “To start, we want to thank our local hardware store, who donated sleigh shovels to make the creation of these snowmen much simpler.” People clapped but not for long, the woman beginning to speak again. “Each participant will receive one of those as a thank you from us for your contribution to the park’s decorations. 

“That’ll come in handy. I can make Grogu a path in the back yard.” You snorted back a laugh, keeping your eyes forward. 

“In third place and earning fifteen points, with their take on The Nightmare Before Christmas, we’ve got  Team Holi-daze.” The two cheered, the crowd reacting along with them. “Second place goes to a pair that chose to make characters from a few different movies - Clan Mudhorn, your Pigpen snowman was a hit and scored you fifteen additional points.” You tried to listen but were distracted, adding the new points in your head to your running total. 

“We’re still winning.” Din leaned over, mouth close to your ear. “We -”

“And the winners, with their Elf inspired snowmen, we have team Smarty Pints!” The entire crowd cheered, but the woman wasn’t done, her smile genuine as she looked over the people gathered in front of her. “In addition to the previously mentioned shovels, each winning team will have a donation made in their name to a charity of their choice. Third place’s donation is in the amount of $100, second’s is $150 and first place is $250.” 

“I like that.” Din nodded from next to you. “That’s a surprise, but I really like that.” You did, too, and were just about to ask Din if he had any idea where he wanted to donate to when the man spoke again. “You can choose the charity. You know more about the local businesses, and I have no doubt that you’ll pick someone that deserves it.” 

“The animal shelter.” You responded immediately. “Everyone donates to people at this time of year, but they forget that there are plenty of pets that need to be fet and kept warm, and -”

“Really?” You nodded. “That’s fine with me.” He put an arm around you and pulled you close, the one-armed hug brief but warm. “Come on, we’ve gotta go and tell them who we want to donate to, and then we can get out of here.”  

You followed him to the front of the crowd, getting in line behind Holi-daze, the two of them talking quickly about their planned donation. You and Din stayed quiet, though, waiting your turn and taking the offered shovels before Din urged you forward, a small smile on his face. 

After you gave the name of the organization and ensured that it was written down correctly on the sheet of paper in front of you, you and Din made your way back through the crowd and toward where your friends had been - though they were nowhere to be seen. “Thought we’d say goodbye, but …” 

“Text them?” Din stuffed his hands in his pockets. “See where -”

“Nah.” Releasing a long breath, you shook your head from side to side. “They would have waited if they wanted to see me.” I think? “Let’s just get back to your place. It’s going to take a few extra minutes because of the snow, so the sooner we leave, the better.” 

“Alright.” Din eyed you, one brow arched. “Ready for some pizza?” 

“Of course.” Grinning, you hoped that he couldn’t see the conflict on your face  - and that he wouldn’t get upset when you brought up what you’d learned. But it would have come out at some point, and … “I’ll follow you?” 

“Sounds good.” 

And without another delay, you and Din headed for your cars. 

— 

You got two strands of lights on the tree and ornament hooks on most of the ornaments before the pizza arrived, and even though you didn’t want to ruin anything, you figured that dinner would be the perfect time to talk over your discoveries. 

You’d changed as soon as you got to his house - swapping out your jeans and thick socks for a pair of comfortable sweatpants and slippers, and Din had done the same, stripping down to what could only be described as pajamas - dark gray sweats and a pullover hoodie, the sleeves pushed back to expose his forearms. The casual attire helped to put you more at ease even though inwardly, you were freaking out. Just say it. Just say it and get it over with and…

“So how many lights go on here?” He gestured to the tree with his pizza slice before raising it to his mouth and taking a bite. “We have I think 6 more boxes. Is that enough?” 

“It should be.” You eyed the tree, squinting. “We can finish the lights and then start the ornaments, and then you’ll have your first real Christmas tree, Din.” 

“Yeah.” He chewed, finishing his slice. “And I wouldn’t have it without you.” 

You hated to bring things up and potentially ruin everything, but you couldn’t keep quiet any longer. Setting the remnants of your diner down, you wiped your fingers on a napkin and then said his name. “I… have something I need to tell you.” 

His shoulders slumped immediately, Din sitting up straight and locking eyes with you. “What? Is everything alright?”

“When I was shopping earlier, I told Cara and Stacy why I picked up the tree skirt, and we started talking about you and the competition, and …” Shit this is hard. “We looked you up, Din. Looked up Mandalore, and…” Trailing off, you sighed and closed your eyes. “There was a picture… lots of pictures, actually, of your friend Fennec with your king… or your Mand’alor, and -”

“Oh.” He sounded dejected, and when you looked over at him again, Din was visibly deflated, the man looking almost small in his chair. “Why’d you decide to look?”

“Stacy looked. She just thought it was weird that I knew almost nothing about you, so she wanted to see if anything came up.”

“Did it?” 

“No.” Rubbing at the bridge of your nose, you laughed. “No, it didn’t. Just stuff about Mandalore and Fennec and Boba Fett, and beskar. But nothing about you, not even a LinkedIn profile.” He stayed quiet, and since you figured he was about to ask you to leave, you went on. I’ve already started, so… “When you said politics, Din, I didn’t think that you meant your family was close with your country’s royalty. Hell, I didn’t even consider that that was possible.” 

“My family isn’t close with them.” He stood, taking his plate to the sink. “Are you done?”

“Yeah.” You’d only eaten about a slice and a half, but your appetite was all but gone. “Yeah, I’m -” Din leaned over and took your plate, too, carrying it to the trash and dumping the contents before it joined his plate in the basin. “I’ll get my coat, Din, and -”

“Why?” He turned to face you again, arms crossed over his broad chest. “We have a tree to finish decorating.” What? I thought … “You had every right to look me up. I’m surprised you didn’t do it sooner.” 

“Din, I -” He cut you off, stepping forward and reaching out with one hand. “What are -”

“Come on. I’ll explain while we decorate.” 

A few minutes later, the two of you were back in the downstairs room, the fire roaring and Grogu snoozing in his chair. You and Din were on opposite sides of the tree, passing the strands of lights to each other as you secured them in place - but Din hadn’t said a word. Instead, the only noises that you heard were the crackling of the fire and an occasional burst of sound from the TV, turned on and playing one of the Santa Clause movies. He said he’d talk but he’s not. He’s not going to say anything, and -

“I lost my parents when I was really young.” Din cleared his throat. “I don’t really remember them much. Just small things - my mom’s laugh, my dad’s dark hair. I remember our house. But there was … an accident. A fire. I got rescued, and they didn’t.” 

“Din, I’m so sorry.” You tightened your hold on the wire, unsure of what to say. “That had to … that had to be really hard.” 

“I don’t remember much of it, like I said. But thank you.” He bent over and plugged in another strand of lights, the colors dancing over his skin, though he was frowning. “In Mandalore, the foster system isn’t like it is here. The people really care about making sure that kids are taken care of.” 

“That’s good to hear.” You figured it was easier over there, since it was a much smaller country, but decided not to elaborate. 

“Yeah.” He scoffed. “It was an interesting couple years, and I lived with a couple families, but then…” Din paused, tucking lights beneath a branch before he passed the bundle to you. “People started to notice me. I was smart. Strong. I understood mechanical things and even though I was only 10 or 11, I impressed my teachers.” 

“You’re really smart, Din. I’m not surprised that people were impressed.” He thanked you and you fought back a smile as you ducked behind the tree, winding lights around the branches there. “Did you skip grades?”

“Sort of.” He took the lights back from you, finishing with that strand and going to grab another. “I-

“You have to plug it in somewhere else.” Reaching out, you settled your hand on his to stop him. “No more than 400 connected at one place. They could short out.” He thanked you and stuck his hand into the center of the tree, reaching for the extension cord there to plug in the new lights. 

“I got pulled from school when I was 12. Moved to a private one, where I could still learn things but was also exposed to other … different opportunities.” You had no idea what he was talking about, but still stayed quiet, waiting. “I got pulled from regular school and sent to what you’d call a boarding school here. I didn’t know it at first, but it was run by the ruling family. They only accepted kids that were gifted in some way. But it wasn’t… you didn’t have to have money or status to go there.” 

“Oh.” That wasn’t what you were expecting, but it made sense to you - at least in some ways. So they really try to help these kids.

“I was an orphan. I had no one. And while I was there, I met Fennec. And I also met Boba Fett.” The king. The king was a … “I didn’t know it at first, but Boba was being set up to rule Mandalore, and he had been for years. He was older than us, and so he left the school before Fennec and I did. It was a huge surprise when he was named Mand’alor, but we were all there. We got to skip class and go to the ceremony, and I remember thinking how fucking cool it was that my friend was the ruler of a country.” 

“That would be pretty neat.” You were both sitting on the ground, working on the lower portion of the tree, and so you leaned to the side, making sure you could see him. “I bet the kids all left you alone.”

“They did but it had nothing to do with Boba. I wasn’t… I’m pretty quiet, so I mostly kept to myself aside from him and Fennec and another guy that was a couple years older - Karga. Karga was the one that hired me for my first job after I graduated from our equivalent of high school, and I worked for him for a long time - until I came over here, actually.” 

You worked in silence for a few minutes, plugging in a new set of lights and wrapping them slowly around the branches. It was a lot of information that he was giving you, but none of it seemed to be false - he hadn’t paused or embellished anything, and Din seemed to genuinely want to tell his story. 

“Hey, you still with me?” He reached over, taking the lights from you - and covering your hand with his. 

“Yeah, sorry. I’m just … this is a lot to process.” 

“I’m not even to the good part yet.” Din smiled, his head cocked to the side. “Boba became Mand’alor a little over ten years ago. And when he did, he pulled Fennec from what she was doing to take her with him. She got special training and became his personal bodyguard, and she’s the best I’ve ever seen.” 

“You said you were good, but she was better.” He nodded, wetting his lips. “So does that mean you’re security for him, too? How would that work? You’ve been here for a year, and -”

“Mandalore is different. We train for different things as we grow up, and one of them is something that’s now more just to honor the past.” Din closed his eyes and then reopened them, looking away and focusing on the tree, his fingers working to deftly tuck the end of the last strand of lights between the branches to hide it. “It’s not quite military boarding school level, but we did practice things like shooting and combat and …” He shrugged. “It’s normal for us. Mostly used for ceremonial stuff, but…”

“I get it.” You leaned back on your hands, eyes on him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” 

“It’s fine.” He leaned back, too, looking up at the tree. You watched as his lips twitched, the man’s smile apparent as he looked at your handiwork. “I’m not security for Boba, no. He asked me if I’d ever want to join the team a while back, and I said no.” Ok, so there’s one question answered. “Because that would have meant a public presence. It would have meant that people would know exactly who I am, and …” Din sighed. “That’s the big thing.” 

“I understand wanting privacy, Din.” You were still confused, though, not understanding why if they were such close friends, no pictures of Din and Boba had come up - why there was zero mention of the man’s name anywhere. “Was he mad?”

“No. Disappointed, maybe. And he knows that if he needs me, I’d be there for him, but … if I’d said yes, it would have changed his other plans, too.” Din stood and then held a hand out to you, waiting for you to take it before he helped you to your feet. You noticed that he didn’t let you go right away, instead tightening his grip on your fingers and pulling you a little closer. “Do you want to know what those are?”

“Yes.” You had no idea what he was going to say, but nothing could have prepared you for what came next. 

“In Mandalore, the ruling title isn’t inherited. It can be, and it has been in some cases, but it isn’t always. Boba was chosen, and he’s been a great Mand’alor. The people love him. But it’s a demanding job, and …” Din let go of your hand and then pulled his fingers through his hair, looking down at his feet. “The reason there’s nothing about me online - no pictures or pages or accounts or… anything is because Boba named me as his successor years ago. He has no kids and wouldn’t have any that will be ready to take over and lead in time, and so …” Din sighed. “Until the moment that it’s announced, it’s like I don’t exist. No one knows my face. No one knows my name. I’m like any other Mandalorian. But when it’s my turn to go and take that vow … that all changes.” 

“What?” You shivered, blinking furiously. “Din, that …” 

“Yeah, it’s crazy, right?” He rubbed a hand over his face. “I thought I still had time. But the last couple years, Boba’s been talking about stepping down, just because he wants to live his life, and so my time is … I don’t have as much free time left as I thought I did.” 

“So you’re going to become the Mand’alor?” Squaring your shoulders, you wet your lips. “And it’s going to happen soon, and -”

“Yes. And yes. I don’t know when, but we’re probably talking within the next couple years. I’ll have to go back and for the first time, I won’t just be a nobody that happens to be friends with Fennec and Boba, I’ll be … everyone will see me.” 

You didn’t say anything, staring at Din and fighting to keep the frown off of your face. That’s why he’s so content to just work and stay in the background. Because it’s what he wants. His admissions were a shock to you, but you believed him. 

He’d mentioned Boba and Fennec before you knew who either of them were. He’d never outright lied to you about who he was or where he was from, just kept certain things a secret. Until I asked. Until… “So you weren’t lying when you said you were a prince.”

“I wasn’t. It’s not … it’s a little different than what you’d think of when you hear the term, but …” He took a seat on the edge of the couch cushion, looking up at you. “People obviously know that I exist, you know? They’ve seen my face out in public in Mandalore. But keeping a low profile is important because if I don’t, enemies of the crown could try and use it against Boba. And against me or Mandalore, and I can’t… that can’t happen.”

“Of course not.” You sat next to him, both of you staring straight ahead and at the tree - and Grogu. “I’m sorry I made you upload your information on that website. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have even asked.”

“It’s fine. You said nothing came up when you searched, so it isn’t…” He shrugged. “But that’s why I got nervous with the flashes later, when we were …” Din trailed off. “No one knows where I am or who I am here, but I promised Boba that if I left, I wouldn’t… I just wanted some time to myself before I have to …” His shoulders slumped again, Din’s sigh heavy. 

“You don’t want the position.”  Reaching over, you took his hand without another thought, your fingers lacing with his. “Din, you -”

“I don’t. But … Boba is family and he asks me for so little. It’s not about what I want.” Din said your name, waiting until you were looking directly at him to speak again. “I like you. And I like being here, but I can’t… I can’t stay. That trip over summer was to go home and talk all of this over with him and the others. He’s starting to get things ready so that he can step down, and …” 

It terrified you - the suddenness of the anxiety that filled your chest at the thought of Din leaving, despite the fact that you’d just started spending time together. That’s not good.  “Is that why you said things couldn’t go further?” Of course it is. Of course that’s my luck. 

“Yes.” He squeezed your hand, thumb circling over your knuckle. “It’s one of the reasons. Because you deserve more than someone that’s just going to give you some small part of themselves and then give you an ultimatum without anything else.” 

You gasped at that, his words hitting you hard. It meant that he’d listened to what you’d said about James. That he understood that while you weren’t looking for a set future, you needed to know that there was the possibility of one, no matter how small. And if he’s leaving, there’s no chance. “Then why, Din? Why’d you kiss me in the first place? Why’d you -”

“Because I couldn’t help it.” He laughed, but it was a sad sound, the man’s chin dropping again. “Fennec told me it was a bad idea to get close to you, especially with everything going on, but …” He swore quietly, taking a breath. “I thought I’d be able to keep myself from getting too involved, because I knew I had to. It just … didn’t work.” 

“No, it didn’t.” He’s a prince and he has to go home, and that means he’s leaving, and this isn’t going to… You felt the tears welling in your eyes, but were determined keep them from falling. “You introduced me to your kid the first night we hung out, Din. I’d say that’s pretty involved.” 

It worked - your joke breaking the tension in the room, and when Din let go of your hand to pull you in for a hug, you let him. He buried his face in the side of your throat, and you settled your cheek on the soft tumble of his hair, one hand stroking over the back of his head and neck. He could be the ruler of an entire country at this time next year, and he’s sitting like this with me right now. You held onto each other for long moments, and when Din pulled away, it was only because you said his name, whispering the word softly into his ear. 

“Thank you for telling me. At least now I know that it’s not me or something that I did that was keeping you from wanting -”

“Oh, believe me, I want.” His eyes darkened, gaze dropping to your mouth and then rising. “You have no idea.” 

“I think I do.” It was a night for honesty, and so you gave it right back to him, allowing yourself to be vulnerable. “I want, too. But we have a tree to finish, right?” He widened his eyes, watching as you leaned in and kissed his cheek before you stood, taking the few steps toward the light switches on the wall. “And before we put the ornaments on, we need to make sure the lights are in the right place.”

Flipping the switch, the room was plunged into darkness, the tree glowing from its place by the sliding glass door.  It was self preservation - distracting yourself for your own sake - and so he couldn’t see the few tears you had to wipe away once the lights were down. “Oh, that looks … wow.” He stood and headed for the tree, reaching out to touch the needles. “We did a good job.” 

“We did.” Standing next to him, you reached out, too, adjusting a few of the lights and repositioning some of the branches. “Just trying to fill in the dark spots. It’s much easier to see them with the lights off.” It didn’t take long for both of you to be happy with the state of the tree, but before you could move over to flip the switch up, Din stopped you, one of his large hands settling on your waist. “Din?” 

“I never meant for this to happen.” Voice low, the man stepped closer, his other hand joining the first, both of your arms rising to hook around his neck. “And I’m sorry that I had to dump all this on you. It would have been easier not to tell you. To just let … to just let things go, and deal with it later.” 

“It would have.” You were toying with the ends of his hair, a lump in your throat as you spoke. “But I’m glad you didn’t. Says a lot about you as a man, Din.” He hummed in agreement and you realized that the two of you were rocking back and forth slowly in front of the tree, the lights bright enough that you knew he could see the glistening of more unshed tears. “I won’t tell anyone, by the way. Cara and Stacy, I mean. I’ll have to tell them something, but I won’t tell them the important stuff.” 

“I appreciate that.” Din leaned in, pressing his forehead against yours and taking a long breath. “I hate that you’ll be lying to them, though.” 

“Won’t lie.” You tilted your head back, lips barely apart from his. “I’ll just avoid the whole truth.” His laugh that time was real, and only seconds later he was kissing you, the man’s mouth soft as it met yours. Wait, what… no. I can’t …. This can’t… “Din, I’m sorry.” Breathlessly, you pulled away from him, your hands going to his shoulders. “I didn’t mean to -”

“Don’t apologize.” He squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his lips together. “That one was kind of my fault, too.” He let you go then, his hands stroking over your sides before he stepped completely away from you, yours falling back to hang near your waist. “Ornaments?” It took you a little while to recover but when you did, you spoke with resolve. 

It wouldn’t do you any good to let yourself get upset by his revelation. Even if he was a prince, Din was still Din, and for the next week, the two of you were competition partners. You could work with him - and you would, both of you too far in to give up or drop out. One event left. One event and then we’ll go back to seeing each other at work, and that’s it 

“Yeah, Din. Ornaments.” Bending down, you picked up a few and then held them up. “So you start with the ones that aren’t spherical. And then you use those ones, the round ones? To fill in the places that need it.” 

— 

A half hour later, you and Din were finished with the ornaments, both of you standing back with your hands on your hips as you eyed the tree. It was less full than yours, the ornaments much more spread out, but with the addition of the lights and skirt, it looked good, and you hoped that Din thought the same. 

It had been fun to hang them, the two of you laughing and joking as you did it, your explanation of the way you left the back of your tree mostly bare and using it only as a place for the ugly ornaments making Din laugh hard, one hand rising to rube at his face while his shoulders shook. 

It was like his admission had changed something between you - making things almost easier, even though that shouldn’t have been the case at all. But he’d trusted you with arguably his biggest secret, something that it was clear only a tiny handful of people knew - and that spoke volumes to you. 

It would all be out in the open soon enough, but Din coming clean with you even though he hadn’t needed to was what kept you from spiraling - it kept you there, in the room with him instead of allowing you to get lost in your thoughts of what it would be like when he was gone. 

He hadn’t tried to kiss you again, but he’d still touched you - and you’d done the same - both of you navigating around the tree, ornaments in hand. It was small touches - his hand on your back, your fingers brushing his arm, Din reaching out to adjust ornaments at the same time you did - but it was comfortable, the same way it had been to play the games with him throughout the competition. Because we fit well together. 

That was a painful truth, too - and something that you’d have plenty of time to think about later - the fact that you and Din were good together on many levels, but there was no time to explore it. Or not enough time. 

When you stepped back to admire your handiwork, Din crossed his arms over his chest again, nodding. “I like it. It looks like … a real tree.”

“It is a real tree. And I’m glad you like it because you’re going to have to look at it for the next couple weeks.” He laughed again, the two of you turning your attention to Grogu only when he stood up and stretched, the dog yawning before making his way to the sliding glass door. “Figures, he slept through the whole thing and now that we’re done, he’s awake.”

“That’s Grogu. If he’s not eating, he’s sleeping. Been that way since I found him.” You moved as he spoke, your hand on the door handle - and when you pulled it open, you gasped at the breeze that blew in and brought a flurry of snow with it. “Is it still snowing?” The dog darted out past your legs, and when you turned the porch light on, Din swore from right behind you, the press of his chest against your back a surprise - but not at all unwelcome. “Shit, it’s really coming down.” 

“Yeah…” Closing the door, you slipped past him and toward the front door, climbing the steps slowly and with a sense of growing dread. If it’s snowing that hard, it’s not going to be a fun drive home. “Oh, damn, Din.” You opened the front door and stared out - both cars and the street covered in a thick blanket of white. “I didn’t think it was supposed to pick up until tomorrow, but it …”

“They haven’t plowed yet.” He was behind you again, clearing his throat. “Do you want to check the radar? Or do you want me to drive you home?” 

“I can drive.” Pinching the bridge of your nose, you sighed. “I’ll just go slow. It’s only a couple inches, and if I don’t leave now, it might not stop til morning, so -”

“I have a spare room. The house was furnished when I moved in, and there’s an extra bed. Grogu sleeps in there sometimes, but he’s the only one that’s ever used it. If it’s too bad for you to drive,  you can sleep here and wait til the plows come through.” It was tempting - the thought of sleeping under the same roof as Din - but you didn’t want to appear too eager, especially after what he’d just finished telling you. Because that’s all it would be - sleeping under the same roof.

“It’s just a few minutes away. And if you drive me home, that means you have to drive back in it. Only one of us on the road is better than -”

“Neither of us out in this is even better.” He gestured to your outfit, one hand on his hip. “You’re already in your pajamas. You’re comfortable. Why risk it?”  

It was a logical question, and you had no real reason to refuse him. You already knew that he didn’t expect anything from you - that his invitation for you to stay was based on a concern for your well-being and that there was no ulterior motive. He’s just being a nice guy. “Alright.” Closing your eyes, you rubbed at your face. “I don’t want to impose.” 

“You aren’t.” He was grinning at you, the man pointing at the kitchen. “Now I can offer you a drink. I have some bourbon, I can make us a couple spiked hot chocolates?” 

“That sounds great.” Stepping away from the door and back toward the kitchen, you stopped behind one of the chairs, settling your hands on the top of the backrest. “Thanks for offering to let me stay, Din.” 

“Why wouldn’t I?” He was busying himself with a pot on the stove, heating up milk as he stirred it with a long-handled wooden spoon. “I know you’d probably make it home fine, but there’s no reason for you to go. We’re both adults, right?”

“Right.” You continued to watch him, Din adding cocoa mix to the liquid and continuing to stir, his back to you. “Will you tell me more about Mandalore, Din? About your life? I don’t know if you’re allowed to, but -”

“If you want.” He turned his head toward you, nodding. “There’s not really much to tell, though. Aside from the foster homes and boarding school, my life was normal. I dated. Played some sports. Had friends. I just had to be careful as I got older. People know I was friends with Boba, but after he took the throne and started setting up the plans for the future, we saw each other less, at least publicly.” He reached up and into the cupboard, pulling out to large mugs. “The bourbon is in that cupboard by you. Grab it?” 

You did as he asked, carrying it over and standing next to him. “Want me to pour it?” He nodded, still stirring. So you added a measure to each cup, lifting the neck of the bottle to your nose and inhaling. “So you’re still friends with him? Even though no one knows how close you are?”

“Yeah. I’m still friends with Fennec, too. We see each other a lot, or… we did, before I came here. But Boba, it’s more … formal now. It has to be. There are a few people in his inner circle that know the plan, and Fennec does too, but it’s a secret. Part of it is because it’s dangerous to identify me before I become Mand’alor, but it’s also because … if people knew? They’d try to use it to their advantage.” 

He poured the hot chocolate into the cups, setting the empty pot in the sink and then reaching into another cupboard and pulling out marshmallows. “Their advantage? What do you mean?” 

“Boba’s gotten - and turned down a hundred marriage proposals since he took the throne. None of them came before.” Oh. “If people knew that I was going to take his place, and that I’m single?” He dropped three of the fluffy cubes into his drink and then passed  the bag to you. “It would be overwhelming.”

“A lot of guys would love that, Din.” You added your marshmallows and then opened one of the drawers - the one you’d seen him grab knives from - for a spoon to stir your drink. “Their choice of women? People throwing themselves at -”

“Don’t get me wrong. Mandalorian women are something else, but …” He sipped from the cup, his eyes closing. “I’d never know if they’re after me or just using me for my title.” Oh, I didn’t… that’s awful. “Boba’s never married, either. And I think that’s part of why he wants to step down. He wants …” Din looked down, waiting until you took a drink to say anything more. “He wants a regular life. And I can’t blame him.” 

“Even though it means your life changes?” Din nodded, pointing back at the downstairs level of the house. You headed back there, curling up on the couch while Din added more logs to the fire. “Maybe it won’t be as difficult as you’re thinking. You could have stayed in Mandalore, Din. Found someone that knew you before you took the crown, let them grow into it with you.”

“Part of me’s always known that this would happen.” He let Grogu in and then came to sit next to you after turning the overhead lights off, the mug held between both hands. “I don’t like lying to people. Here, it’s easier because no one knows anything about Mandalore so it doesn’t come up, but there? It’s harder to pretend.” So does that mean he was alright with lying to me? “It was nice to get to know you without worrying. You just thought I was Din, the IT guy with the cute dog.” 

“I still do.” Swallowing another mouthful and letting the liquid warm you, you turned toward the man next to you on the couch. “That doesn’t change just because you told me the truth, Din. And we don’t need to talk about this anymore if you don’t want to. Just … give me a heads up before you’re leaving for good, alright? I want to be able to say goodbye.” 

That wasn’t what you wanted to say - you wanted to know more, wanted to question Din about his life and his friends and himself. You wanted the man to feel free to give you whatever answers he wanted to … but you didn’t want to push. Because I’m no one. I’m going to be a memory for him, and that’s… I don’t get to know everything. “I’m not leaving soon, “ he replied, setting his cup down on the side table. “ It’s not like I’ll be out of here in the next few weeks. Boba promised me at least a year, and that year isn’t up until March.”

“So I get you for another three months?” It slipped out, your eyes going wide as soon as the words finished, and you hastily set your mug down, holding your hands out. “I mean, we, here in Mistletoe, we -”

“Yes.” He leaned in, eyes on you. “You get me for at least another three months.” You were happy for the confirmation, but at the same time, dreaded the passage of time, because it meant that he was leaving - eventually. “And honestly, I don’t mind talking about any of this with you. It’s … a relief that you know. And that you didn’t walk out as soon as I told you.”

“Oh, come on. You really think that little of me?” Licking stray drops of hot cocoa from your lips, you rolled your eyes. “I wouldn’t go anywhere. You didn’t lie to me because you wanted to, you kept something really important and extremely confidential from me. There’s a difference.” Nodding in response, Din watched you wordlessly. “But you don’t have to lie to me, Din. If there’s something you can’t tell me? Just say that it’s about this, and I’ll let it go. I’ll be curious, but I’ll let it go.” 

Grogu had laid down by Din’s feet, and after you set your almost empty mug down, you reached forward, scratching between his ears. Almost like clockwork, as you bent down, you felt Din’s hand on your back, the pressure comforting. “I still can’t get over how much he likes you.” 

“Yeah, well.” You sat back up, eyes moving to Din as you turned your head. “I like him too, so…” You both laughed. “Want to find something to watch? We’re snowed in, we might as well.” 

“Sure.” He settled back and you did, too, crossing your legs and flipping through the channel schedule menu. “Hey, what’s that? Lights, Camera, Christmas? Sounds like -”

“I’m not making you watch a Hallmark Christmas movie, Din. They’re so dumb. They all have the same plot and they’re really sappy, and -” 

“But it’s a Christmas movie?” He shifted next to you, the cushions moving under his weight. “Put it on. Might be fun.” So you did, flipping to the channel and setting the remote down on the table in front of you before you settled back, too. 

It was cozy - the two of you relaxing on the couch in the near-dark, the room only illuminated by the flickering flames and the soft glow of the tree’s lights, Grogu sleeping at your feet, the snow falling outside. I could get used to this. You sighed, chewing on your lower lip. I could really get used to this, except… I can’t. 

As the time passed, you let yourself get more comfortable, Din’s arm stretched out behind you and over the back of the couch. The movie - admittedly - was holding your attention, and you caught yourself smiling a few times, the sound of Din’s quiet laughter from next to you surprising you, too. “I’m going to stretch my legs, sorry.” He moved again, lifting both of them and settling them on the coffee table while you leaned forward and moved your empty mug to the opposite end. “You can too, if you want.” So you did, the new position making it possible to sink deeper into the cushions, the heat of Din’s body next to you lulling you into a contented state as the movie played on.

You opened your eyes a while later, startled awake by the pop of a piece of wood in the fireplace, and realized that you’d fallen asleep, your body gravitating toward Din’s - your side pressed into the place below his arm and your cheek resting against the front of his shoulder. Oh, shit. He was sleeping - quiet, even breaths making his chest rise and fall, and you tried to remain still while you watched him, the man’s features relaxed. We both fell asleep. 

Grogu was back on his chair, and the fire had burned low, which meant it had been a while, the movie on TV a different one than you’d started watching. But it doesn’t really matter, they’re all the same anyway. 

You didn’t want to wake him, but knew that the right thing to do was to suggest going to sleep - separately - before he could wake up and do the same thing. Just do it. You inhaled, humming out his name. “We fell asleep, Din. C’mon. Let’s go to bed.” The words made your chest ache - you didn’t want to go to sleep in separate rooms. You didn’t want to get off of the couch, or have him remove his arm from where it had fallen to settle around your shoulders. But it’s the best thing to do. “Hey, Din.” You spoke a little louder, resting your hand on his chest. “Come on, bedtime.” 

“No.” He mumbled the word, not even bothering to open his eyes as his arm tightened around you. “Comfortable here.” You were, too - but instead of just letting it go, you opened your mouth again. 

“Your feet are propped up on a coffee table, Din. That can’t be comfortable.” 

“Then we should lay down.” He did open his eyes then - halfway - staring at you with a sleepy smile on his face.  “Couch is oversized so we’ll be fine.” 

You wanted to say no - you should have said no - but instead you peeled yourself away from him and stood, grabbing the blanket from the back of the couch as you looked down at where he was still sitting. “Then lay down, Din.”  You caught the surprise in his eyes momentarily, but then he did shift, pulling his feet back and then laying down, stretching out with his back pressed against the thick couch cushions. “Is this a goo -”

“No.” His smile widened. “No, it’s not a good idea, but I want to do it anyway.” You did, too, and so you unfolded the blanket before sitting back down on the edge of the couch. I do, too. 

Stretching out next to him, you rested your head on the pillow as you pulled the blanket over the two of you, kicking your foot out so that it covered your entire body. “This alright?” You didn’t recognize your voice, the sound of it thin with apprehension. Shit. The feeling of his arm sliding around your waist and his hand settling against your stomach put you more at ease, your eyelids fluttering shut as you exhaled. “I guess so.”

“As long as it’s alright with you.” He cleared his throat and then leaned in, the man’s mouth just above your ear. “Sleep well.” His breath was warm against your skin and you nodded in reply, eyes still closed as you shifted backwards and into the firm expanse of his body. 

“You too, Din.”  He didn’t kiss you, but when he pulled his head back, you felt the tip of his nose drag along the skin directly behind your ear and then down before stopping, his arm flexing to draw you even closer. 

It would end poorly for you - and you knew it. Din would go back to Mandalore and do his duty as the named heir to the throne, leaving you in Mistletoe. He’d become the face of his country, and his time with you would be nothing but memories to recall when he thought about the past. 

There wasn’t a future with him to look forward to - no possibility of getting to know each other over multiple dates and through the changing seasons, no opportunity to talk about moving in together or taking things to the next level. Not even gonna get to go past a kiss, if he sticks to what he said earlier. 

But for the first time - and unlike with James - you were content to live in the present and enjoy each moment you had with Din while you could, future be damned. Because no matter what happens, I’ll always have this. 

It was you that nodded off first that time, Din’s arm wrapped tightly around you, your easy, even breaths in sync with each other long after you were both sound asleep.

— 

Tag list reblog coming soon! 

[doodlenovaa]

MKAY

I GOTTA RANT ABT SMTH THAT HAPPENED AT SCHOOL WITHIN THE LAST 2-ISH HOURS

Story under the cut:

BIT OF BACKGROUND INFORMATION BEFORE WE START

So, This is my biology teacher, We’re gonna just call her Mrs. Bio

Well, last week I came to school, Monday, Mrs. Bio wasn’t there, my friend Eevee (she loves Pokémon) had told me and my friends in the gc we had, we were thrilled because the thing about her is that,

That’s not a joke either! She will get upset if we get out of our seats 5 seconds before the bell rings, not exaggerating. And our teacher assistant, she’s chill, for the most part,

But, last week on Monday, when she wasn’t there, we were given a 2-paged packet, no biggie I get it done before class ends, I turn it in,

The very next day when I get in there and Mrs. Bio handed packets back, she didn’t give me mine back, I wasn’t that bothered about it because oh I already did the assignment

BUT NO

She gave me a new one when she seen me drawing and listening to music, because she asked me why I wasn’t ’doing my work’

It was already done

I did it the day before

Now, I didn’t re-do it- nuh uh I refused to

Same thing with the next because we spent three days on it, (we have a few days per assignment unless it’s like,, a YouTube video we need to watch, then it’s due at the end of class)

So, yesterday we were given study guides (our assignments we did all stapled together) and that one 2-Paged assignment? Wasn’t there, so I finished an assignment that’s due tomorrow, then I watched YouTube

Now, note, Eevee wasn’t here today because they had Girl Scout stuff to do, but when the Mrs. Bio said we can go to the lounge if we had all our work done, she told me I couldn’t go

It was the fucking packet

I argued that I had it done, and she refused to believe me, like she didn’t even look through the papers on her desk, she said I didn’t do it and tried to make me do it again. I once more refused and I verbally said I’m not going to do it,

Oh- and she then proceeded to say, that for the 3-day length that this assignment was given she watched me mess around and draw

All three days

.

SHE WAS ONLY THERE FOR TWO DAYS.

Best part about this? I have 4 people as witnesses for all of this, 3 watched me get my work done, Eevee, my friend (fuck it we call him robo) Robo, and my friend (his initials (middle and first)) EP,

The fourth person was in front of me, and my friend Robo was nearby, when she said this wonderful line

‘I will videotape you doing nothing the next time this happens’

For those of you unaware, without mine or my parents/guardians consent? That was illegal.

So, me and Robo then reported this to an admin that we ran into the hall,

This all happened in roughly 20 minutes. And this isn’t the first time Mrs. Bio was reported, this is the second time from my class specially that she’s been reported,

—

thank you for reading this,

I SWEAR ILL UPDATE YALL ON WHAT HAPPENS

[mrprettywhenhecries]

i don’t think you notice (what you did to me) [b.h]

four. | hot blooded

Billy Hargrove ✘ Win Lewis (ofc)

⇾ w.c. 4.2k words ⇾ warning(s). canon x oc pairing, f!oc, we finally get to the smut!, obligatory car sex (gotta break that camaro in eyyyyy), angry sex, unprotected sex

[ masterlist ] [ win lewis bio ]

The next morning, Win grinned to herself as she poured her orange juice, still riding the high of her victory over Billy the day before.  

“Somebody looks happy,” her father pointed out, glancing up from the morning paper.  “Did something good happen?”

Win opened her mouth to brush off his question when a heavy knock sounded at the door.  For a moment, she was half afraid it might be Billy, up to some new scheme to get back at her.

“Who the fuck could that be this early?” David asked, groaning as he got up from the table.

Of all the people Win expected to see on their doorstep that morning, the Hawkins’ Chief of Police was not among them and a shot of fear ripped through her.

“Chief Hopper, was it?  Uh, come in,” David faltered, taken as off guard as Win as he stepped aside to let the man in.  “What can we do for you?”

Hopper pulled a small notebook from his pocket and flipped through it until he found the page he wanted.  “We’ve had a report of an illegal street race that happened yesterday on the Quarry Road.  You know anything about that?” he asked, his eyes flicking pointedly to Win.

Quickly tamping down the flare of panic, she carefully avoided her father’s suspicious glare.

“Why are you asking me?” she asked instead, projecting as much innocence as she could muster.

“Because–” Hopper replied, peering at her as if trying to puzzle her out “ –we received an anonymous tip this morning that a black Chevelle was involved, and the only person in town that has such a car registered in their name is–”

“Me,” David finished for him, crossing his arms and Win winced, knowing that look on his face.

“I’m afraid I don’t see how that’s possible, Chief.  I haven’t driven that car since we moved, and Winrey doesn’t have access to it.”

Win’s brows rose at her father’s bald faced lie, he knew damn-well she was guilty.  Well, technically it wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t like her father kept his keys locked away or anything.  

“That’s right!” she added hastily.  “I don’t even know where the keys are.”

“Is that right?” Hopper mused flatly, looking between the two doubtfully.

“It is,” David insisted.  “Perhaps this anonymous tip was nothing but a childish prank,” he suggested, punctuating his words with a sharp glance at Win.  “I mean, is there any other evidence that this actually happened?”

Hopper pursed his lips, but didn’t answer, catching onto the tension between father and daughter.  “Perhaps…” he finally murmured.

Win nearly suggested looking into a certain someone whose car might be mistaken as theirs’ when flying down the road, but she held her tongue, deciding better of it.

“Is there anything else we can do for you, Chief?  Win has to be leaving for school soon,” David said, hoping to nudge the police chief along.

“Nope, I guess not,” Hopper replied slowly, flipping his notebook shut and returning it to his place.  “Let’s hope there’re no more childish pranks going forward,” he said pointedly before heading to the door.

“I should hope not, Chief,” David agreed, showing him out.

As soon as the door latched shut, Win heaved a sigh of relief, but the emotion would be short lived.

“What were you thinking?” David exclaimed as he turned from the door to fix her with the sternest glare she’d ever seen from him.  He didn’t give her a chance to answer before steamrolling on, his face and neck growing redder with each passing moment.

“No, I’ll tell you what you were thinking–you weren’t!” he cried, pointing a trembling finger at her.  “Because if you had been, you’d have thought about how fucking dangerous that could have been.  You could have caused a wreck.  You could have killed somebody.  You could have killed yourself!”

He looked at her expectantly, as if waiting for her to say something.

“Well?  Let’s hear it.  What reason could be good enough for you to do something so reckless?  I thought we were past all this, Winrey!”

Win opened her mouth to answer, though she knew full-well that whatever she said would be the wrong thing.

“This guy–” she began, but David threw his hands up.

“I should have known a boy was involved,” he exclaimed, pacing furiously across the linoleum floor.

“But–”

“Ah, ah!” her father once more interrupted.  “I don’t care if you were trying to impress him or embarrass him, you know better, and now I’m afraid I can’t trust you.”

Win gaped at him as he grabbed a padlock from the drawer and strode to the door, throwing it open and heading to the garage.  Win ran to the window in time to watch him lock the garage door shut and pocket the key.

“There,” he said when he returned.  “Now I can sleep in peace.”

“Dad–”

Tina’s horn blared from the driveway and her father shook his head, done with the conversation.  “Your ride’s here, go to school,” he added brusquely and Win scoffed, grabbing her bag and turning to stomp toward the door.

“And I want you to come home straight after–!” he called after her, though his words were cut off as she slammed the door behind her.

––

Tina could sense her friend’s sour mood, thankfully keeping quiet during the short drive to school.  As soon as they parked, Win slammed her door shut and strode toward Billy’s Camaro, planting her hands on her hips as he climbed out.

“Lewis,” he greeted, looking her up and down.  “Just couldn’t wait to see me, could ya?” he taunted, his usual smug smirk tugging at his lips.

“Did you call the fucking cops on me?” she demanded, unswayed by his charm.

Billy’s grin slipped.  “I’m no snitch.  Why would I do that?” he asked, and for a moment Win almost believed him.

“I dunno.  Luckily, my dad lied for me, but now there’s no way I can sneak his car out again,” she grumbled.

“Can’t say I feel all that bad for you, Princess,” Billy snorted, flicking his spent cigarette away as he stepped around her, heading inside.

“You’re an ass, Hargrove!” Win called after him, hating how petulant she sounded.

It seemed like the rest of the day Billy was intent on ignoring her for the most part, aside from the glances he shot her way when he didn’t think she was looking, and she very purposefully avoided her usual smoking spot, just in case he was there.

By the end of the day, talk of Win’s victory over Billy in their little race was already trumped by the news of Steve and Nancy’s breakup, with Nancy already seen leaving school early with Jonathon Byers.

“Look at him, he looks so sad,” Holly murmured, hugging her books to her chest as she stood next to Win’s locker, watching Steve from across the hall.

Win turned to look as well–he did look rather rough, and Billy had once again creamed him on the court during gym class, as if to add insult to injury.

“Maybe someone should ask him out,” she suggested and Holly’s eyes went wide.

“He just got out of a relationship!  I don’t wanna seem… predatory,” Holly exclaimed, lowering her voice as she glanced around to make sure no one had overheard.

“Then, ask if he’d like to hang out, you know, platonically,” Win countered, dropping her books into her messenger bag and shutting her locker door.

“Oh yeah, as if he won’t see right through that!” Holly cried.

“Then I’ll go ask him.” Win said matter-of-factly, not waiting for Holly’s reaction before crossing the hall toward him.

“Win!” Holly hissed after her, but Win didn’t stop, striding up to Steve’s locker.

“Hey, Steve,” she greeted and he turned, somewhat taken aback by her appearance.

“Uh, hey Win,” he replied hesitantly, shouldering his backpack.

“I know we don’t really talk much, but I wanted to say I was sorry to hear about you and Nancy,” she said, frowning slightly.  “If you’d, I dunno, like a distraction, Holly and I are going bowling this Friday, if you’d like to join,” she offered, gesturing to her friend across the hall.

She really did feel bad for the guy.  He genuinely seemed like a nice guy, plus maybe she wanted to set her friend up, if only so she’d actually talk to him instead of pining from afar.  Before Steve could answer, however, Billy’s voice cut through their conversation and Win turned to look.  For a moment, it seemed he was headed her way and she braced herself, only for him to walk straight past her and stop, instead, by Vicki’s locker.

“Wanna go out Friday night?” he asked, loud enough to be overheard.

Vicki looked him up and down, clearly considering.  “I thought you had a thing for Win,” she said, watching him expectantly.

Billy paused before shrugging.  “I’ve lost interest.”

Fighting the urge to gape at him, Win set her jaw, determined not to give him the pleasure of her reaction.  She knew this was just another ploy for him to get under her skin–at least, she thought it was.  It had to be.

So then, why did her stomach churn with jealousy?

“I’ll go.”

Steve’s response barely registered and Win blinked, snapping her attention back to him.

“Huh?”

“Bowling sounds fun.  I’ll go,” he repeated.

“Rad,” Win replied distractedly, definitely not straining her ears to listen for Vicki’s answer.  “Meet us at Hawkins’ Lanes at eight?”

“Sounds good.  I’ll see you guys there,” Steve replied, waving at Holly before nodding to Win and taking off.

“Oh my God, he said yes!” Holly cried, grabbing Win’s arm as she joined her.  “Thank you thank you thank you!” 

“It was nothing,” Win laughed halfheartedly, her eyes once more wandering to where Billy stood, leaning against Vicki’s locker.  She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but soon he straightened, his eyes catching hers, and as he stalked away a ghost of a smirk graced his features.

––

Friday night the bowling alley was hopping, with most of the lanes already taken.  Luckily, when Win, Steve, and Holly arrived there were still a couple left, and they paid for a game, sitting down to change their shoes.

“I hope you know how to keep score, because I always forget what to do with the spares and strikes,” Win said, leaning over to tie her ugly neon pink and orange bowling shoes.

“Oh!  I know how!” Holly said.  “I bring my brothers here a lot,” she explained to Steve.

“Cool, sounds like we’re covered,” he replied, flashing her a grin and Holly’s face flushed bright red.  

“I’m gunna go see if my favourite ball is free!” she cried, jumping up and hurrying away before Steve could see her blush.

Steve chuckled softly, watching her go.  “Thanks for inviting me,” he said, turning his attention back to Win.  “I really needed this.”

“It’s no problem.  Besides, I figured I should widen my friend group,” she joked, her laughter cutting off as Billy and Vicki walked past, heading to the empty lane next to theirs.  “Oh shit…” she hissed, a moment before Steve noticed them as well.

“You gotta be kidding me,” he muttered under his breath.

When Billy spotted the two of them together, his brows furrowed deeply in surprise for a moment before his expression smoothed.  “Well, well, well, what do we have here?” he drawled, slinging an arm around Vicki’s shoulders. “Looks like we got ourselves a double date,” he taunted. “This isn’t a date,” Steve said as Holly returned, her eyes going wide at the sight of Billy, his grin growing when he realized it was the three of them there together instead of just Steve and Win.

“C’mon Billy,” Vicki said, tugging at his sleeve to get his attention and he let himself be led away, though his gaze kept flicking back to the others.

“I’m so sorry,” Win exclaimed in a hushed voice.  “I had no idea they were gunna be here tonight.”

“How could you know?” Steve sighed, directing a stern frown at Billy’s back.  

“We can go somewhere else,” Win offered, but Steve shook his head.

“No, we already paid,” he replied.  “Just don’t pay them any mind.”

“Yeah, easier said than done,” Win muttered, but she went to grab a ball for herself, trying her best to ignore the intrusion.

Billy didn’t make it easy though, crowing loudly every time he got a strike and heckling Steve at every opportunity, purposefully trying to get under his skin–just like gym class all over again.  Every time he noticed Win glance over, he smirked wider, leaning in to say something to Vicki or pull her closer.

Win rolled her eyes, turning her back on him.  “Come on, Steve!” she called, clapping encouragingly as he got up to take his turn, finally reaching the tenth and final frame.

“You okay?” Holly whispered, sitting down next to Win, though her eyes were still on Steve’s back.

“Why, because of the dickhead in the lane next to ours?” Win muttered.

“Yeah…”

“I’m fine, really,” Win insisted, jumping to her feet to cheer when Steve’s ball soared right down the center of the lane, knocking down all the pins with a deafening clatter.

“Steve, you’re amazing!” Holly cried, quickly distracted by his strike, much to Win’s relief.

“Thanks,” he chuckled, a grin spreading across his face when he turned back to them.  “It’s your turn, Win,” he said, clapping her on the shoulder as he passed.

Win nodded, grabbing her ball from the rack and taking her spot in front of the lane, waiting for the machine to set the pins back up.  Feeling eyes on her back, she glanced back for a second, finding Billy watching her, no sign of the smug smirk on his face from earlier.

Grinning to herself, she threw the ball down the lane, bowling a perfect strike as well.

“Hey, once we’re done, what do you say we get outta here and go get something to eat,” she suggested, plopping back down next to her friends.

“Yeah, sounds good to me,” Steve replied.  

“Perfect, I’m in the mood for a milkshake,” Holly exclaimed, counting up their final score–Steve winning by a fair margin.

Offering to take the girls’ bowling shoes back up while they put their street shoes back on, Steve leaned against the counter while he waited for the manager to make his way over.

“Harrington, fancy meetin’ you here.”

Steve let out a weary sigh, turning to find Billy sidling up next to him, dropping his bowling shoes on the counter carelessly.

“I don’t want any trouble, Hargrove,” Steve warned, but Billy merely leaned in imposingly, lowering his voice.

“You know, when I told you there were plenty of bitches in the sea, I didn’t mean her.”

“We’re not on a date,” Steve countered, turning to fix Billy with a level glare, knowing exactly who he was talking about.  “We’re just hanging out.”

“Just hanging out, my ass,” Billy scoffed, leaning in closer.  “Last I checked, I don’t take kindly to people messing with what’s mine.”

“That’s funny, last I checked, you came here with someone else,” Steve replied flatly, pushing away from the counter.  “Besides, Win doesn’t belong to anyone.”

As soon as he turned his back, however, Billy gave him a shove.  “Don’t walk away from me, Harrington,” he called, drawing himself up taller.

Setting his jaw, Steve turned back to face him.  “I’m not gunna fight you, man.”

“What, you too pussy?” Billy scoffed, pushing Steve back a second time.

“Hey, take it outside!  Don’t make me call the cops!” the manager snapped, pointing toward the door and Win finally noticed the commotion.

“Oh shit,”she breathed.  “I knew we should have left when he showed up,” she grumbled, grabbing Holly to go break things up before they got further out of hand.

“This is all your fault, you know,” Vicki sneered as she fell into step with the other girls.

“Oh will you shut up,” Win huffed, pushing the door open with more force than necessary.  “This is just getting fucking childish!” she exclaimed, striding between Billy and Steve without breaking her stride.

“Win, what’re you doing?” Holly cried, fidgeting anxiously as she watched, worried Billy might ruin Steve’s pretty face.

“Cut it out.  Now,” Win snapped, glaring at Billy, her hands planted on her hips.

“Yeah, c’mon Billy, let’s go.  I’m bored,” Vicki whined, though Billy ignored her, peering down his nose at Win.

“You gunna make me?” he scoffed, but it was Win’s turn to ignore him.

“Steve, can you take Holly home?” she asked, glancing back at Steve.

“What?  No, I’m not leaving you here,” he exclaimed, looking between her and Billy.

“I have something I need to settle,” Win insisted firmly.  ”I’ll get home alright.  I promise,” she added gently. “Yeah, go home Harrington,” Billy taunted. “Are you sure?” Holly asked, joining Steve, torn between leaving her friend and getting at least a little time alone with Steve. “Yeah.  Go on,” Win insisted, her anger seething just under the surface.  “Please Steve?” she asked when he still didn’t look convinced.

“Alright fine,” he finally grumbled, though he clearly wasn’t happy about it.

“Call me when you get home, okay?” Holly murmured before nervously following Steve to his car.

“Billy!” Vicki repeated, crossing her arms over her chest impatiently, not liking where this seemed to be heading.

“Jesus, will you shut up?” Billy scoffed, turning to look at his date as he placed a cigarette between his lips.  “Harrington, you wanna take her home too?” he joked.

Vicki’s mouth fell open, realizing he was being serious.  “Forget it.  You’re an asshole, Hargrove!” she spat as she pushed past, heading back inside to call someone for a ride, hitting Win hard with her shoulder.  “And you’re a slut, Win,” she added under her breath.

Win waited til she heard Steve’s car pull away before finally losing it, turning back to wipe that smug grin off Billy’s face.

“What the fuck are you doing?” she cried, marching toward him, her finger jabbing him in the chest.  “Did you really just ask Vicki out to make me jealous?”

“Is it working?” Billy chuckled, backing up.  When Win didn’t answer, his grin grew.  “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Fuck you.”

“Now, or later?”

“You are infuriating!” Win growled, snatching the cigarette from his lips and tossing it away.

“Has anyone ever told you how hot you are when you’re mad?” Billy snorted, circling around her.

“Stop changing the subject!” Win huffed, trying to regain the upper hand.

“Why don’t you drop this little charade, it’s getting old,” Billy huffed, stepping closer.

“What charade?” Win snapped back, backing up until her back hit the side of his car.

“The one where you act like you can’t stand me when really you can’t stay away from me,” he drawled, leaning in, his arm resting against the car door, boxing her in.

“Yeah, well, I’m not the only one,” she huffed, meeting his lidded gaze defiantly, her heart pounding in her ears.

“No?” Billy asked, tilting his head.

“No,” Win repeated, wetting her lips.  “You can’t stay away from me either,” she pointed out.

Billy huffed a soft laugh.  “Guess not.  What are we gunna do about that?” he breathed, holding her gaze as he waited for her answer.

Something in Win snapped, and without a word, she grabbed him by the collar, yanking him forward til their lips collided.

Billy let out a surprised grunt, but before Win could think better of it and change her mind, he was kissing her back just as hungrily, pinning her tighter against the side of his car as his hands greedily traversed her body and his tongue invaded her mouth.

He tasted of nicotine and spearmint, and Win couldn’t hold back the soft moan that caught in her throat as her tongue met his, though she hated how needy it made her sound.  When Billy chuckled in response, a wave of heat rolled through her and she tangled her fingers in his golden curls, tugging hard enough to draw a moan from him in return.

Pleased with his reaction her kisses grew fiercer, as if trying to outdo him, and Billy’s grasp on her waist tightened, his fingers digging into her skin hard enough to bruise.  Pulling back long enough to gasp a breath, Billy’s mouth moved impatiently to her neck, his tongue carving a searing path to her pulse point, leaving a quickly cooling trail of saliva that made Win’s skin pebble as the night air hit it.

“Fuck, you better not leave a mark,” she warned, hissing at the flash of sweet pain that he quickly soothed with a swipe of his tongue before his lips brushed the shell of her ear.  

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart,” he chuckled huskily, his hips pressing into her, letting her feel his arousal straining beneath those tight jeans of his.  “See what you fucking do to me,” he growled breathlessly and Win let out a whimper, heat flooding her, pooling between her thighs.

When she lifted her gaze, she saw her desire reflected in his eyes and the dam burst.  

“What are we gunna do about that?” she breathed, clutching tightly to his shirt lest her knees gave way.

Without a word, Billy yanked the door open and Win slid in, Billy following, his mouth finding hers in the dark back seat as he shrugged his jacket off, only pulling away long enough to slip his shirt over his head and bring her hand to his chest.  “Tell me you want this,” he groaned in between heated kisses, needing to hear her say it.

“I want this,” Win gasped, her hand moving down his chest to his stomach, before palming him over his jeans.

Billy let out a groan, his kisses growing bruising as they awkwardly undressed in the cramped space.  

“Do you have a condom?” Win asked breathlessly, chasing his lips when he pulled back.  

“There’s one somewhere…” he grunted, reaching blindly toward the front seat.

“Oh fuck it.  Nevermind, I can’t wait that long,” Win groaned.  “Just don’t cum inside me, okay?”

“You got it,” Billy drawled, pulling her closer, fumbling his cock free from his jeans and guiding it to her slick entrance.  It took several small thrusts for him to finally press inside her.

“Fuck, you’re so tight,” he grunted, pausing to let her adjust and to catch his breath.

“It’s been a little while,” she admitted reluctantly.

“You haven’t fucked anyone else in Hawkins?” Billy asked, a grin spreading across his face, the thought going to his head.

“Don’t sound so smug,” Win said wryly, the effect ruined somewhat by the moan that caught in her throat when he began to move his hips.

“You like it,” he taunted, hiking her leg up to thrust into her deeper, finding a rhythm despite the cramped space and soon the car was filled with the lewd sound of skin slapping softly against skin and their breathless gasps that quickly fogged the windows.

With each desperate rut, Billy’s grunts grew louder in her ear, his silver pendant pressing warmly against her bare chest while Win’s hands roamed his sweat slicked back, slipping down to grab his tight ass, urging him to fuck her harder.

“I’m close,” she whined, trying to angle her hips to keep him hitting that spongy spot deep inside that sent pleasure rolling through her.

“M’ not gunna stop til you’re shaking,” Billy growled, his movements only growing rougher.  With a sharp gasp, Win went rigid, her toes curling as her pleasure crested, washing through her like a flood.  

“Oh fuck!” she cried, her voice cracking as she clenched around him, her nails digging into his back as Billy fucked her into the seat, his movements turning jerky.

“Shit–” he hissed, barely pulling out in time to spill his load against her stomach.  

For a long moment neither of them spoke, merely trying to catch their breaths, Billy’s messy curls falling against Win’s shoulder.  

“I knew you wanted me,” he finally said, lifting his face to look at her, a grin playing at his kiss swollen lips.

“Don’t gloat,” Win huffed, pushing herself up when she realized the door handle was digging into her back.

“Not gloating, just stating facts,” Billy chuckled, grabbing his discarded shirt to wipe the cooling jizz from her feverish skin.

Win didn’t have a comeback, unsure if she was more upset that he was right, or that he’d seen right through her.

“So,” he ventured, tossing the shirt away and tucking himself back into his jeans before looking at her, “you gunna be mine tomorrow, or just tonight?”

Win was halfway through pulling her shirt back on when she frowned.  “Who said I’m yours at all?” she countered, though her words held no bite.

“C’mon Lewis, throw me a bone here,” Billy sighed, a weary edge to his voice that Win had yet to hear from him.

“Only if you ask me properly,” she said, sitting up straighter.

“What, no that’s stupid,” he scoffed.

“Then no.”

Billy growled in annoyance.  “Alright, fine.  You’re the most interesting thing about this bullshit hick town,” he grumbled, holding her gaze.  “Will you go out with me?" he asked, the words dragged from him.

Win considered him for a moment, letting him sweat before a soft smile spread across her face.  “Yeah, I think I will.”

⇾ taglist: @oliverscheshiresmile @santacarlahorrorshow @wherethewitchersare @super-unpredictable98 @elliethesuperfruitlover @b1tchywheeler

[myveryownfanfiction]

18+ MINORS AND THOSE WITHOUT AGE IN BIO DNI

Warnings: none just fluffy otto in love

Morning light filtered through the window and I rolled over to try to avoid it. I expected to be met with the soft body of the man I chose to share my bed with but instead I was met with the cold pillow and blankets that adorned his side of the bed. I groaned and buried my face into the pillow, hoping to get a few more precious moments of sleep.

“(Y/N)?” Otto peaked around the door and smiled softly when he saw me wrapping myself up with the blanket. I rolled over and squinted at him. A small smile spread on my face and I untangled a hand to hold it out to him. “Oh no darling. Not today. You need to get up.” I groaned and let my arm fall across my face, covering my eyes.

“Why?” I whined as otto entered the room and sat down next to me. The side of my leg was pressed up against his as he leaned over me slightly.

“Because.” He mocked my tone. “We have an errand to run. For Peter.” Nodding behind my arm, I reached up for his hands. Otto took my hands and gently pulled me up into a hug. “Or did you forget today?”

“Took me a moment.” I mumbled into his shoulder. Otto chuckled and gently nuzzled the side of my neck. “I can’t believe he’s finally proposing to MJ.” Otto hummed and ran a hand down my back.

“Seems like only yesterday I proposed to you.” I hummed in contentment. “And even shorter since I married you.” I pulled back and looked at him with love.

“Peter will be marrying her before any of us know it.” Otto nodded before he dipped his head to kiss me.

“We best get ready.” He murmured against my lips. Sighing, we broke apart completely and went about getting ready for our friends’ special day. Before we knew it, we were crossing the park and heading towards the tree that Peter had in mind for his proposal. “Peter my boy!” Otto reached out for him and Peter hugged him. When he pulled away, Peter moved to me. I hugged him tightly when I felt him shaking.

“Nervous?” I whispered. He nodded against my shoulder. “Don’t be. There is no world where she says no to you Pete. Everything will work out.” He nodded again before squeezing me one last time.

“Peter, a word?” Otto gently led the young man away while I started to set up the picnic that Peter had brought along as everyone’s reason for being out here. Peter jogged back over as Harry and Gwen showed up. Looking over Peter’s shoulder, I saw Otto running his hand down a nearby tree lost in thought. I smiled softly and made my way over to him, silently slipping away.

“I can’t believe that’s still here.” I joked as I wrapped my arms around him from behind.

“You expected it to be grown over?” I nuzzled my face into his back and shrugged.

“I don’t know how tree biology works.” Otto chuckled as he threaded his fingers through mine.

“come on. Peters going to do it soon.” Otto kissed my knuckles and squeezed my hand. “The boy is too excited and anxious for his own good. I imagine he would ask her as soon as she showed up but he knows better than to do that.” I laughed and squeezed his hand back.

“Almost like you did?” I leaned over and kissed his cheek. Otto blushed and shook his head at me as we rejoined the group. MJ joined us shortly after and Otto was proven right. Just after we finished eating, Peter got down on one knee and pulled out a ring. She said yes and we all cheered. As everyone started to disperse to give the happy couple their privacy, Otto gently tugged me along.

“Come on. You know what’s coming next.” He whispered and I nodded, smiling up at him with pink dusting my cheeks.

“A lifetime of love in a short amount of time.”

[faithshouseofchaos]

everything that happened to me this week

My uncle came over to look at the AC unit and figured out why it quit working so my parents had to order a new part so he can come over this weekend to finish it

I also never had a conversation with him before He’s only a few years older than me and he’s marrying my aunt maybe I should try talking to him. We’ve known him for years and I’ve never talked to him

Mars went missing for two days my brother let him outside before the storms started and one of mg neighbors brought him inside. I posted about him on the neighborhood Facebook page and this lady waited two days to respond. Mars also has a collar with my name number and address 🥲 so…

My sister is thinking about getting a snake and I’m like girl no you don’t need a snake when you can’t even take care of your dog.

She’s mad at me for speaking the truth 🤨

My ex friend texted me asking how I was and I left her on read. I’m not responding to her 🤷‍♀️

My brother took my phone and began reading the NSFW messages in my discord chat 💀💀💀💀 I bit him not hard but enough to distract him so I can grab my phone back 👀

ITS RACE WEEK

I have worked on some fics I have two of them queued up for Saturday night /Sunday morning

The 2010 can’t be tamed Miley Cyrus album owns me

Vampire!daniel and Vampire Carlos are living rent free in my mind

Experienced gender envy the other night

I’m wondering who misses me on tumblr. I don’t think anyone has but that’s because I wouldn’t miss me.

I didn’t have any phone service all day Tuesday

I got the stomach bug ☹️

Three military cargo planes flew over my house last night and I also forget how loud they are I live near an army base I also see them (the helicopter) take off and land it’s pretty cool

The ghost is back and this time it isn’t a good ghost this one is really negative I told yall a while ago about my voice being mimicked which kinda freaked me out especially when I was asleep in my moms room ever since that happened my dog bruiser has been barking and growling at me like he would to a stranger it’s almost like he’s afraid of and I’ve never done anything to him to make him act like that towards me. Everyone at home has been seeing shadows/shadow figures lights have been randomly turning on and door opening and slamming shut yesterday my mom got out of the shower and called me freaking out asking if I was in her room and I told her no well something closed her bathroom door and threw a roll of toilet paper at her. My siblings were at school when this happened. There’s also been things knocked down things that have sat in places for months just randomly knocking down. And recently I’ve been waking up with bruises on my arms three of the bruises are finger prints my mom thought it was from my brother because we play rough with each other but I told her that we play hard but nat that hard and no one else grabbed me in that spot. So it’s time to get cleansed and safe the house.

I'm on Threads as @icemangoesbwoah. Same with twitter both links are in my bio

[randomestfandoms-ocs]

Ok yes hi tell me all the headcanons and vibes for that Richie & Kirsty au? 🥺

okay okay so it all started bc in one episode I watched yesterday, one of the challenges was learning a swing dance routine and of course my first two thoughts were "twins at the danceathon" and then "twins on the amazing race"

(warning, in my mind this is delicate-verse, just don't ask the logistics of when Richie is the first gentleman idk)

so first of all, amazing race always loves a Story™ with its competitors so of course i mean, you've got this set of twins raised by a single teen mom, completely non contact with their bio father. Richie overcoming a severe anxiety disorder to be on the show, being all but disowned by his grandmother (and actually disowned by his dad’s parents) for his sexuality, married to the first openly queer (and polyamorous, and latino) president of the United States, became a cardiologist primarily as a response to his grandfather’s two heart attacks and his twin sister’s near-fatal heart condition. Kirsty battling alcohol and drug abuse as a teenager, having her first two children at 18, professional ballerina and former Broadway actress who had to quit after almost dying in labour due to a heart condition, and so many injuries that she was told she’d never be able to dance again. The twin dynamic, really raising each other, Richie being the one to get Kirsty sober and to be her primary support through all of her health issues, Kirsty being a surrogate for Richie’s daughters despite the risks to her own health, both twins having service dogs, maybe something about how Kirsty had lost out on a lot of dreams for her life because of her heart (particularly after the triplets) and she used to love the show, and despite his anxiety Richie wants to give her a chance to still (relatively safely) have some of the experiences that she thought she’d never get to have.

But also the vision for the challenges, Kirsty wanting to do all the adrenaline ones (bungee jumping off a cliff especially) and Richie for sure doesn’t want to but is also very worried about her, all the time spent in the car and the camera crew keep getting the most precious clips of him getting her comfortable for the drives, Richie showing everyone up at puzzles, both of them and all of their very random trivia knowledge from Lorelai and their knowledge of different languages, and they quickly become everyone’s favourite because when they start to struggle, most teams I’ve seen get snippy with each other and start blaming each other and fighting and can get kind of nasty but the twins always just take a minute to hug, breathe, and either try again or decide together if they need to take a break (or a penalty)

And then I just have a vision of the story through some gifs of the twins doing interviews & of challenges but mostly being told through social media (mainly twitter) edits of people watching the show and reacting to it (eg - user: I don’t even think I’m as careful getting my kids into car seats as Richie Gilmore is when he’s getting his sister in the car / user: okay but kirsty finishing the bungee jump and then stopping to show richie that she’s okay before getting a clue? my sister would have pushed me off the cliff without the harness)

This has been 98% of my brain capacity for the last 24 hours it’s a problem

[ninja-muse]

April was not a good reading month but wow, was it a writing month! I spent a lot of my home-based reading time working on my current WIP instead, so I’m trying not to have regrets about how much I didn’t read. I also didn’t truly manage to read anything off my physical TBR, but I’d wanted to reread The Goblin Emperor since I finished it the first time and so technically that’s off my TBR now?

My main bookish achievement this month, besides reading The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi, was pulling off another Indie Bookstore Day at work a couple days ago. I had help, my coworkers are awesome, I wasn’t organizing or running it alone or anything, but it’s still a lot of work to put together a party while handling the regular bookstore day-to-day, and then there’s set-up and twice the customers on the day and the tear-down which took all of yesterday…. I did unhaul a bunch of my unread ARCs for a book giveaway as part of this, which I’m very glad about. That’s really going to help my end-of-year stats, I think. (I also unhauled a few of my read ARCs that I was keeping for … some reason?)

And I accidentally bought two books. A Long Day in Lychford was a planned buy, but I got a gift card from my parents for Easter, which went impulsively towards The Gashlycrumb Tinies, and then yesterday I bought some bookish things for a little one and somehow the Pratchett bio found itself in my stack. No idea how that happened. 😅 No regrets, either.

May is going to be a lot like April, I think, or at least it hopefully will involve more writing than reading when I’m home. I’d like to ride the inspiration as far as it’ll take me, after all. It’s also going to be like April in that I’m waiting for the library to come through with a lot of my holds. I’m tag-teaming on a few of them, with physical and e-book reserves. I have no idea what I’ll read when I’m done the ones I’m working on now.

And now without further ado, in order of enjoyment…

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi - Shannon Chakraborty

Amina, mother, retired pirate, signs up for one last job. She should have known better.

8/10

multiracial Muslim protagonist, Indian secondary character, Middle Eastern secondary characters, Muslim and Hindu secondary characters, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (gay, gender-questioning), Muslim author

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen - KJ Charles

Days after Gareth ruins his chances with a charming stranger, he finds himself elevated to an estate in the country—and threatened by smugglers a few towns over. Fortunately (or not), the head of the local smugglers is very familiar….

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonists (gay), Black British protagonist and secondary character, African-American secondary character, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary character (not gendered)

warning: child abuse and neglect, mild sexual assault

Once Upon a Tome - Oliver Darkshire

A Millennial offers a behind-the-scenes look at rare bookselling.

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 author

Tasting History - Max Miller

A cookbook featuring historical recipes reworked for a modern kitchen.

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 author

Episode Thirteen - Craig DiLouie

A ghost hunting show is the first to investigate the most haunted house in America. It’ll be fine.

7/10

African-American secondary character, 🇨🇦

Eight Strings - Margaret DeRosia

Franco escapes his childhood home to apprentice as a puppeteer and reunites with an old friend, which might mean hope for the future—or his destruction.

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (trans man), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (lesbian, sapphic), 🏳️‍🌈 author, 🇨🇦

A Sleight of Shadows - Kat Howard

Sydney sacrificed much to destroy the violent House of Shadows and rebalance the Unseen World of New York—but it looks like the House may not be entirely gone.

6.5/10

African-American secondary character, Latina secondary character

Picture Books

We Don’t Lose Our Class Goldfish - Ryan T. Higgins

Penelope Rex has to look after Walter the goldfish but he scares her.

Grandad’s Pride - Harry Woodgate

When Milly finds a rainbow flag in her grandad’s attic, she learns he hasn’t been to a Pride since before Gramps died—so she finds a way for him to have one.

🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (the whole spectrum), 🏳️‍🌈 author

Reread

The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison

Maia suddenly finds himself Emperor of the Elflands and must find a way to be true to himself while navigating thorny court politics.

🏳️‍🌈 secondary character (gay)

Currently reading:

Magisteria - Nicholas Spencer

A history of the interactions between science and religion. Out in May.

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath - Garth Nix

The booksellers of Bath must rescue Merlin after he’s trapped in a map—which might mean taking on an unknown Entity.

🏳️‍🌈 main character (genderqueer), Black British secondary character

Stats

Monthly total: 7+1 Yearly total: 44/140 Queer books: 4 Authors of colour: 0 Books by women: 4 Authors outside the binary: 0 Canadian authors: 2 Off the TBR shelves: .5 Books hauled: 3 ARCs acquired: 7 ARCs unhauled: 14 DNFs: 0

January February March

[lumilasi]

UPDATE: Yep, I had to revamp Harrow quite a bit; I realized that his anatomy and perspective were all kinds of wonk, and I didn't like his face either after all lol. Now he looks much better

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First day without fever yay. Still feel kinda like I was hit by a truck, so didn't have energy for any of the more complex drawing ideas I had.

Instead, I finished Jurou's new Main outfit I started yesterday (basically I've felt like none of the ones I made him so far felt like "the outfit" so I tried to design one more, this time without leaning so heavily into realistic fashion), edited Yui's old bio image to give her a new dress for this modern world story, and repurposed a sketch I had for Angus into Jurou's father, Harrow. Yes, he has a present dad in this new story.

Some notes about them below already for those curious:

Jurou mostly comes after his mother, but he did get the blue part of his hair, his glowing purple eye, and the spiderweb pattern under it from his father.

The more theatrical side of his personality is combination from both parents, though he is closer to his mother who is a bit more down to earth than larger-than-life Harrow.

Harrow's hair is light grayish blue now, because he has reached the age where Soul Eaters begin to age again. It used to be the blue hue Jurou has.

Jurou's preference in beard style is obviously inspired by his old man.

Yui is a Spider woman spirit, and ages slower than her husband.

Yui is also a popular Jazz singer. She was introduced to the music genre by Harrow originally, and already loved to sing so it was a natural match.

The Araknos family crest is on Harrow's hat. it is a spider forming an A shape.

Since he is a fugitive, Harrow mainly hangs out in the human world, often getting involved in the human criminal underworld. mainly to keep an eye of dangerous mirror world objects to make sure the dumb meat sacks don't injure themselves with those.

Harrow also enjoys wearing colored glasses like his son.

Harrow has kind of a villainous, scary laugh, though he's not really evil.

His fugitive status mainly came from the fact he murdered two members of a Council he was a part of, something he did to protect his son as those two were planning on abducting his son due to him being born with this unique and dangerous powerful ability known as "god eater"

Harrow used to be more beefy like his son, but with aging he's lost some and is physically weaker. He's still very powerful soul eater warlock though.

Harrow's magic aura is blue, Yuis pinkish red. (Basically darker shade of Jurou's aura)

[safedistancefrombeingsmart]

Hey there, this is re for anon who wrote about AA and RB's terfines. I'm glad somebody finally brought this up here. I'm honestly convinced you're giving Rachel too much benefit of the doubt and many of Martin's fans have been doing so for a while, so many of them very vocally supporters of trans people and some are trans themselves and seem to ignore Rachel's 'leanings' towards that.

Rachel seems to be, or at least was until the most recent deletion of her IG account, arguably very non bothered by presenting as 'gender critical'. In addition to the 'rumors' about her likes on Twitter (they weren't rumors - I was around before she cleared her tracks on Twitter and they were *blatant*. I'm trying to remember who had screenshots) , up until a few weeks ago she was following, for at least a year and even longer, accounts by terf "thought leaders" and reporters like Debra W. Soh (she no longer does, but she did a few weeks ago), Katie Herzog (still on her follow list) and AT LEAST another two French female 'gender critical' journalists whose names I don't remember but were very clearly and loudly TERF to the point of putting it in their bios. I would look every once in a while to see if she unfollowed them or not over the last year or so, because I imagined she might want to at least pretend she doesn't condone these accounts in any way. As I said, she removed all follows but the Katie Herzog one just in the most recent deletion. Which suddenly makes sense to me with all those recent different postings since she reopened the account. They're different from the older posts and it feels like she's gearing up or aiming for a different kind of attention, maybe she's hoping for modeling or acting roles. It's definitely a 'scrubbed' account this time. A feature film she wrote finished production so maybe she had actual PR remove her follow list and remove Debra Soh and the French journalists. I don't see a point saying 'she's still young'. She's in her 30s (was in her late 20s back then) and doesn't come off as stupid or not socially unaware, I'm sure she's aware that terf discourse is problematic. Maybe she honestly doesn't care. Doesn't bode well for Martin's opinions in that sense, which is why I've been distant from MF's fandom for a while, especially the 'forgiving' Rachel discourse. She comes of as far more problematic than we even realize. She's his partner and he's welcome to it, I'm convinced he's aware and doesn't care - but I do.

You see, this here ↑ is the reason why I was a bit reluctant to answer yesterday's post, why I didn't tag it. Because I knew it would attract more of ... this. I've thought long and hard about what I would write and if I even should answer at all. But you certainly made an effort and deserve an answer.

Clearly, transphobia is a huge problem and should never be ignored. That much I know. You clearly know much more about the topic. I honestly don't know any of the names you stated above. But then again, it's also not my agenda to unmask every terf on this planet. If that is yours- great. Everybody needs a purpose in life. 😉 But I don't have the time or the energy or the wish to check who follows who on twitter /Instagram and who likes what. That's not what I do and that's not something you will find on this blog.

And yes, I do give Rachel the benefit of the doubt. Does that make me naive and possibly even ignorant? Maybe. But I am also not a fan of Rachel- I am fan of Martin (which should be quite obvious xD). And Rachel happens to be a part of Martin's life. But like I wrote yesterday: people are not defined by their partner's opinion.

That's all I will say about this topic on this blog.

Just one more thing (even tho it should be obvious): I don't support any form of transphobia.

PS: I answered both your asks in one post. There really is no point to make another post about it. The answer would have been the same.

[skz317cb97]

This is gonna be a whole ass rant I'm so sorry but....

WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH PEOPLE COMFORTABLY DEAD NAMING ME LATELY!

Story time...

Yesterday a regular of mine (that I've actually complained about on here before) came in and said "Hi I'm here for my appointment with 'dead name.'" ALL of my stylists have only EVER known me as Cal, NEVER my dead name. So Christina (who transferred from the other salon with me) was like "Oh you mean Cal!" At this point I was walking up front to pull her back and she was like,

"Ooooh yeaaa I don't call her that." Now I'm USUALLY really REALLY chill about my pronouns and whatever as long as people call me by my preferred name. Even with my name, with my clients, I've been a bit lax on but when I heard her say that it irritated me to no end. So I said,

"No one here knows me by that name, they aren't gonna know who you're talking about unless you call me Cal." And she was like,

"Ohhh I just can't." Now I was trying to be professional and polite AND stand my ground so I used my #1 argument when I'm in this situation, which is,

"Well my mom named me and she calls me Cal so I think if she can you can also." Then she says,

"You know I'm not good with change." Still I'm TRYING to be polite, I've done this woman's hair for like 10 years and have considered her a friend for a long time. I said,

"You could try." And she just smiled and said,

"Luckily you love meee." ALL I could think was 'I don't love anyone enough to let them disrespect me' but instead I just dropped it and pulled her back. The whole haircut was awkward and tense and she kept trying to conversate and called me 'dead name' a couple more times in my chair. I didn't really say anything and just let her talk. When we were done I checked her out and USUALLY I'd walk around and give her a hug goodbye. I DID NOT. After she left I walked in the back and Christina was there. I said,

"I am..." and Christina immediately was like,

"I know I couldn't believe her just now!" So for someone that doesn't like change she's going to be really upset when I stop taking her calls and texts and she has to find someone else to do her hair because I will NOT ANYMORE after that. She could have dealt with little change and called me Cal now she deals with BIG change and finds a new stylist. She also has hella hard hair to work with and is stupid picky so good luck to her on her new journey.

Then today another regular who's hair I've done for like 10 years came in.

"I'm here for 'dead name'." My assistant manager had heard about the incident the day before so she said,

"Oh! You mean Cal!" And he went.

"Oh yea Cal." No problem a slip, it happens, no harm no foul, thank you for correcting yourself. But then he accidently called me tonight instead of his ex mother inlaw because he still has me saved as 'dead name' in his phone after almost 3 years of going by Cal. He went on a whole schpeal about a family situation before he realized it was me on the phone. So he asked my opinion about the issue anyway and I gave it to him. (Big shocker he was the one wrong!) Then he proceeded to go on about an email he got from someone at work (he's a cop🙄) and how it had pronouns at the bottom so I was like,

"Yea, lots of people put their pronouns in their bio on socials or at the bottom of emails..." He cuts me off and goes,

"Well they didn't 2 years ago." So I went to finish my sentence.

"Yea probably not but a lot of businesses are trying to be more inclus-" Cuts me off again.

"Well they didn't do that before." Again I tried to say,

"Yes but business are trying to be more inclusive for trans and non-binary-" Again.

"Well no one used to." It was like talking to a fucking wall. I was like,

"You KNOW I wrote my pronouns on my mirror at the other salon." And he groaned and was like,

"Yeaaa I know, I don't get it. Binary I thought that meant book. I don't know." Fucking FACE. PALM. I was so pissed by the time I finally got off the phone with him. I just can't with this shit. I'm TOO easy going about it for people to be so blatantly disrespectful. I'm over it.