#Apple Store employees HATE him
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Shark boy tummy full of phones heehee
don’t leave ur phone out around this mf bc he will go out of his way to eat it right in front of you and he will think it’s the funniest thing ever
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In the wake of the new pizza hut collab and that one specific emote of schneider threateningly looming behind pizza hut regulus with a gun, I got possessed and created an au where ezra, matilda and regulus work with each other in the same branch.
May or may not have gotten carried away with it. AU below.
matilda is the long suffering branch manager that doesn't even want to work there. this poor french girl is really going through it (customer service)
alas she stays because of a certain redheaded customer. sonetto visits sometimes to check on regulus and that the store is relatively close to where she lives.
matilda constantly five seconds away from firing everyone and handing out her resignation but then sonetto walks inside and suddenly everything is good (sotheby just accidentally created ketamine in the back)
she hates her job because all the people that visit here are fucking lunatics.
ezra is the least problematic of the employees and he sometimes supplies the mushrooms because of his mycology hobby, but one time he accidentally switched up the button mushrooms with similar-looking hallucinogenic ones and matilda put a stop into it because a customer got high (desert flannel)
kanjira is their one and only delivery driver and while she drives matilda up the wall by always stealing from the cash register, she'd terrifyingly efficient and fast with her deliveries (at the expense of being a menace in the highway)
regulus works as an all-rounder but sometimes takes kanjira's place whenever she's not around. she always gets a traffic ticket. she and kanjira are in a competition on who can amass the most
apple is here and is the only other voice of reason working in this place. matilda respects him because he's the only one that can rein in regulus
The one story that started this whole AU. sorry schneider's dead in this universe
one day vertin comes around to catch up with regulus. regulus was on the process of serving pineapple pizza when suddenly someone appears behind her to chop her in the neck and curses her out in the most horrific ear-bleeding italian. vertin catches a glimpse of regulus' attacker, then crumples into the floor in shock because its her dead mafia girlfriend.
matilda comes to the scene only to see regulus passed out and vertin silently weeping on the floor.
someone still has to serve the damn pizza. fucks sake.
after the pineapple pizza incident there's now a ghost haunting the store that really really has an agenda against pineapple pizza. at this point matilda is very much inclined to blackout the hawaiian in the menu just to placate the damn ghost.
A comprehensive list of all the weirdos that come in here:
there's an absolutely pleasant and nice lady that sometimes eats here but the thing is she has this thing where she puts yellow bug things in her pizza as some kind of condiment and its so damn weird because those things are still ALIVE. but she gets a pass because she's done no trouble and is nice to everyone
one time the store had a break in and for some reason all the greens in the inventory were eaten. everyone checks the security cameras. it was. it was a fucking deer.
(yes, jessica is an actual deer here.)
constantine came here once only to pull the "i demand to speak to your manager" thing
pickles at one point ordered something here by himself. in the words of regulus: what the dawg doin?
ezra's collegemates (the laplace crew) sometimes visit and its a hit or miss depending on who is it
the last time x came here the stove got legs and sentience then it left pizza hut and never came back. some say it became a famous track and field runner
medicine pocket was banned like. years ago even before matilda started working here. does it stop her? no. he caught wind of sotheby's ketamine thing and tried to recruit her at one point. matilda chased them off with a spray bottle.
mesmer jr is the least chaos-inducing person of the group but at the same time because of the childhood friends that have baggage with matilda the tension between then is. frankly you could cut through it with a knife
one time she, vertin, and matilda were in the same proximity and regulus passed by and started asphyxiating
sometimes their research advisor enigma gets dragged here because someone has to feed him something other than his twentieth cup of black coffee. matilda has beef with him for some reason.
the only people matilda remotely respects that has entered this pizza hut is shamane and kaalaa baunna
but at the same time she has witnessed kaalaa stumble here at an insanely late/early hour with three giant cups of coffee then proceeded to chug all of it down then order something. she is visibly shaking from the caffiene. matilda is scared.
matilda called shamane 'dad' once and after that she has sworn to never show her face to him again
pavia exists here but keeps a wide berth of pizza hut because it contains the insult to italian cuisine
one time a foreign singer (isolde) came here to have lunch with her wife then got possessed by schneider and started angrily lambasting and threatening to haunt everyone from the grave if they've ever dared to eat pineapple pizza. she later passed out then woke up all normal again
lilya is also on the pizza hut blacklist because she crashed her motorcycle into the windows trying to pick vertin up
broke as hell researcher windsong stumbles into pizza hut with the biggest smile on her face as if she won the lottery (she did. it was the amount of the cheapest thing in the menu) then proceeds to hork down her food like she's starving (she probably was.) fun fact this is inspired by her voiceline that is basically the same story
bear with me on my vilasong propaganda for a sec.
local schoolteacher vila comes into the store because her student wandered off and is now talking windsong's ear off, and then the two have this weird but sweet meetcute that's almost the same as canon
windosng tells her "oh god hey i swear im not a child abductor" then vila just laughs and fucking sniffs her and says "yeah i know you don't smell threatening at all."
they are both so strange. next time they come together hand in hand.
matilda is malding can't she have a nice meetcute like that with sonetto (minus the whole. child abduction statement. and the sniffing thing. actually she just wants a normal nice meetcute)
37 came there with the aperion gang and all she did was calculate the precise circumference of the pizza and then tell the matilda it was an imperfect circle. matilda then says 'do i look like i give two shits about whether or not this is a perfect circle. fuck you want me to do' but in customer service language
would arcana even step inside a pizza hut.
a knight sometimes comes here and he and apple are the investments in pizza hut's old men yaoi stocks.
hofmann and marcus came in once and marcus was the one trying to order but the poor thing kept stuttering so badly that hofmann heaved out the most world-weary sigh and ordered for both of them
besmir came in there once while vertin was there and vertin shot up from her seat and went 'MOTHER???!?!??!?!?!!!!!!!!" and thus came the most awkward family reunion that happened. (regulus screamed out "SO YOU HAVE A MOTHER" while the two were watching each other awkwardly not knowing what to do)
#reverse 1999#certified storm moments#im not tagging anyone there is so many people here#thanks to l3xdrigo for letting me drop this insanity yesterday on their messages#there is no canon info or really anything about vertin's mom but im just gonna make it that she's besmir here
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redacted men as male thot jobs
david: mechanic
the youngest at the job
shoots shit at all the old farts there
vincent: roller coaster operator
evil
enjoys faking the count downs, nothing brings him more joy than that
swings around that fucking landyard like his life depends on it
milo: barista (starbucks specifically)
doesn’t play with tall, venti and grande (either won’t take ur order if u say it incorrectly or will jus be annoying about it)
has his favourite milfs orders memorized
writes people’s names wrong/in a weird way for entertainment purposes
asher: footlocker employee
always be yelling across the damn store
laughing at his coworkers jokes
somebody asks for their size, he just goes to the back and sits there on his phone
sam: counter employee at an apple store
never at the counter
jk (maybe)
dw he sees you
fixes your phone by turning it on and off (you’ve done this 7 times already) after your 1 hour wait
damien: delivery man
finds happiness in riling dogs in the windows
on a good day, he’ll take extra good care of your package
avior: library assistant
hates everyone
(surprisingly finds it soothing putting books back on the shelves)
(he still hates everyone)
huxley: personal trainer
wouldn’t understand why the ladies are always bringing him gifts n asking abt his personal life
ollie: substitute teacher
kids LOVE him
they fist fight over whether he’s their sub or not
(likes to bug the teachers next door, especially during class time)
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
regulus
unemployed
geordi
subway sandwich artist
gavin
bath & body works employee
tricks u into buying the 3 wicked candles
cam
nurse
vega
club promoter
lasko
EMT
elliott
cheesecake factory server
olive garden line cook
door to door salesman
fucker has a lot of jobs okay
#redacted audio#redacted asmr#redactedverse#redactedasmr#redacted memes#redacted headcanons#redacted david#redacted asher#redacted milo#redacted sam#redacted vincent#redacted damien#redacted avior#redacted huxley#redacted ollie#redacted regulus#redacted gavin#redacted geordi#redacted cam#redacted vega#redacted lasko#redacted elliott
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Over twenty years ago, I read a story on a fat fetish site. The author is unknown to me, and it's been so long, I'm not sure how to search for it.
I've decided to re-write it in my style. It's certainly not the same, and my memory is going to write it differently. But, mainly, it is an homage to one of the stories that inspired me to write my own, decades ago.
Feel free to post a link to the original in the comments if it rings a bell to you!
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I hate grocery shopping, and I had put it off for a while - until I couldn't anymore. I didn't want to drive all the way to the big grocery store considering I really just needed basics, so I drove down the street to the corner store. It was late, and I was glad to get there before closing time. It was completely empty, except for one employee manning the register. He sat on a stool behind the counter, wearing sweats that looked awkwardly tight on him. I found the tightness extremely intriguing, being able to see all the rolls of fat on his body. I almost couldn't concentrate on shopping. I grabbed a few essentials then got to the counter. He put down the book he was reading and without a word began to ring my items up. As he did this, an apple fell behind the counter. He grunted with annoyance as he lifted his fat body off the stool. Leaning to the floor to pick up the apple a loud rip could be heard. His face turned red. I heard him swear under his breath. He stood, and noticed that his sweatpants had ripped. I could see the fat of his rear and thighs bulging through the hole in his pants. His eyes closed and he swore again.
I asked, "is everything okay?"
He contunued to look annoyed and said, almost to himself, "well, I can't fucking get on the bus like this... the store is closing, and... fuck... I don't have a change of clothes."
I don't know what was going through my mind at the time, but I had a sewing kit at home, and I lived down the block. I spoke, "I can fix it for you. My car's outside, if you don't mind going to a strangers house. I'll sew it up for you."
He had a combination of suspicion and relief on his face and he said, "well, it seems that's my only choice. Do you mind waiting for me to close the shop? I also have a few grocery bags myself that I was going to bring home, could you fit them?"
I nodded and said, "no problem, take your time. I'm parked on the street."
He asked, "would you mind pulling in the back? I don't really want to go out the front door like this." And he motioned to the huge rip in his sweatpants exposing his fat ass and thighs.
I understood and said, "oh yeah, I'll just drive to the back then."
He looked grateful and said, "I'll be out shortly, thank you."
I drove my small SUV down the alley to the back of the store. I parked and lit a cigarette as I waited for him. After a few minutes, the lights inside the shop turned off, then I saw him waddling out of the back door. He had a few grocery bags hanging on his left arm, as he locked the back of the shop.
I exited my car and walked over to help. He waved me away and said, "I've got it. Where should I put these?" He motioned to his shopping bags.
I opened the trunk and said, "you can put them here."
He grunted in acknowledgement, then placed the bags in the back and closed the trunk. He waddled to the passenger door and opened it. Pausing for a minute, he looked at the seat then said, "I... I'm not sure I'm going to fit."
I replied, "well it's a short drive, it might not be comfortable, but it'll only be a minute."
He seemed to agree, then faced his left side to the open door. He grabbed the top handle as he shifted himself towards the seat. He seemed to jiggle more than I expected, and I couldn't help but stare at his exposed flesh, as his fat rear wiggled into the seat. He let out a frustrated breath once he had sat, then he grabbed the fat of the side of his belly and pulled it towards him to get the door shut. I don't think I took my eyes off his body for even a second.
Once the door was shut, I reached to the gear shift. My hand immediately landed on a soft roll of fat. I jerked back and he tried to look down to his left. Realizing his fat was covering the gearshift, he lifted up the roll and said, "I'm sorry. Try it now."
I was able to wiggle my hand under the fat and put the car into drive. Luckily it was a quick trip, as I worried that his fat might press the button and accidentally shift it into neutral or reverse as we traveled. He seemed to be aware of this, and had his body leaned towards the right, pushing his weight into the door to avoid the center console.
My place was just a few minutes away. We arrived swiftly, I put the car into park, and then exited the driver's seat. The man from the store had opened his door, but was struggling to exit. He wiggled his body towards the opening, but then fell back. He tried again, and again... slowly jiggling himself closer and closer to the edge of the seat. Finally he was able to put his feet on the ground, and he used the handle to heave his weight out of the car. I thought to myself, "thank God it's late and my neighbors aren't seeing this."
After all, here's a morbidly obese man with his ass hanging out of the rip in his pants struggling to get out of my car.
He had gotten out though. He closed the passenger door, then said, "I have some perishables in my bags, do you mind keeping them in your freezer in the meantime?"
I said, "oh, of course."
Then we both grabbed his bags and went into the house.
He had a very distinct waddle, his belly and rear end wiggling side to side as he tried to walk. I wanted to watch it, to stare at his fat body trying to move, but I didn't want to be rude, so I went ahead of him.
I guided him and his grocery bags to the kitchen. We placed them on the counter, then I went to look through them to figure out what needed to be in the refrigerator and what needed to be in the freezer. To my surprise the bags contained only ice cream. It looked like there was gallons of it. I glanced at him and he looked embarrassed. He said, "I, well... I have a sweet tooth."
I didn't want to stress him out, so I didn't say anything. I opened the freezer to find that there was no way I could fit all of his ice cream. I didn't say anything about it, just grabbed each pint and placed the ones I could fit into the freezer.
Two remained on the table and I had to say, "that's really all that is going to fit."
He replied, "that's okay. At least we got most of them in."
I don't know what came over me, but I said, "I mean, we shouldn't let these go to waste. We can have them while I sew up your pants."
He seemed excited about the ice cream, but nervous about the pants. He asked, "about that... what am I going to wear while you're fixing them?"
I thought for a second. Then said, "you could sit on the couch and I'll give you a blanket to put over your lap?"
He agreed and we walked to the living room. I grabbed a quilt from one of the couches as he untied his sweatpants and let them drop to the floor. My intention was to hand him the quilt while I looked away to give him some semblance of privacy. But, obviously, I couldn't avoid looking at him. The fat of his belly hung out from under his sweatshirt, his thighs were so huge that they forced his legs apart, and I saw the rolls of thigh fat that practically covered the indents of where he knees were.
Thank God he didn't notice me staring. He lowered himself gently onto the couch and took the quilt to cover himself. His sweatpants were still at his ankles, and he tried to lean over enough to pull them off his legs entirely, but couldn't reach.
I took the initiative. I said, "I've got it."
Then gently took each leg off, guiding them over his sneakers.
I placed them on the chair so I could go get my sewing kit from upstairs. Before I reached the staircase, he gently reminded me of the melting ice cream. I turned quickly towards the kitchen and said, "I'll be right back!"
I grabbed both pints and two spoons. I had no intention of having any of it, but figured that it might make him more comfortable if he thought I was going to have some as well. I handed him a pint and a spoon, then placed the other pint on the table next to him.
I said, "I'll be right back!"
Then ran my way up the stairs to find the sewing kit. I loved being near such a fat man, so I rushed to grab what I needed so I could get back downstairs to him.
It was only a minute or so, but he was already digging into the ice cream. He noticed me staring. His mouth was full as he said, "... well, it's melting quicker than I thought..." As if he needed to explain his gluttony.
I wanted to encourage him and say, "oh go ahead, eat as much as you can. It's so sexy."
But I nodded instead. Almost disappointed in myself for not speaking up about how gorgeous I found him to be.
He continued to dive into the ice cream. I saw some dripping from the corner of his mouth. His fat hand reached up and he wiped his mouth with the back of it. Then looked at me as if he didn't know what to do. I immediately said, "oh, let me get some napkins!"
I grabbed some from the kitchen, then gave them to him. He burped and thanked me. The burp seemed to embarass him, but it excited me.
I almost didn't want to fix his pants. I literally had my dream man in my living room, stuffing himself with ice cream, belching every few minutes like a glutton. It was heaven.
I did promise him that I would fix them though, so I sat next to him on the couch and began to thread the needle I'd be using to sew them up. They almost seemed like a blanket themselves. I'm a small woman, so they draped across my lap almost enveloping me with the fabric.
He continued shoveling spoonfuls of ice cream in his mouth, as I sewed up the ripped pants. Only a few minutes passed until he had finished the first pint. He placed the empty container on the table and motioned to the second one. I mean, I had brought out a second spoon, so perhaps he thought I wanted some of it. He asked, "do you mind?"
I nodded no, and he tried to reach for the second pint. He grunted as he tried to reach over his belly for it. So I grabbed it for him. He belched after having bent down, and said, "thank you."
We both remained on the couch: him shoveling more ice cream down his throat, and me desperately trying to pay attention to sewing up his pants instead of watching his impressive and sexy gluttony.
I heard his huge belly gurgling as he ate. I continued to sew, but kept glancing his way. As he stuffed himself I noticed his sweatshirt rising, exposing more of his stretchmark-ridden belly. I tried to be subtle, but was given away when I accidentally pushed the needle into my thumb. I shouted, then put my thumb to my mouth, cleaning the little drop of blood.
At this point, he definitely realized I had been watching him instead of the needle. He put the spoon in the container as if done eating and said, "I'm sorry."
I finished up the stitch I was on, then said, "no, that was my bad, you don't need to stop."
He smiled, grabbed the spoon, then asked, "so, you're sure you don't want any?"
I nodded, "oh, I'm good, you can go ahead and finish it."
He seemed relieved, and continued to shovel it into his mouth.
Only a few more minutes passed and I was done sewing his pants. I almost didn't want to let him know I was done. I was tempted to feign sewing as if I was still working on them, just so I could continue to watch him eat.
But, I was finished with them, so I folded them in my lap and placed them on the chair next to me.
With his mouth full of ice cream, he mumbled, "are they done?"
With disappointment that he didn't pick up on, I said, "Yup, all fixed."
He burped. Then placed the second empty pint on the table. A moment passed and he looked at the two empty pints of ice cream with a sense of disappointment in himself. He groaned quietly and said, "I can't believe I just ate all that." As if he didn't eat like that all the time.
He motioned to his pants and said, "I'll get these on and get to the bus."
I wanted him to stay. I wanted to tell him he was beautiful and that I wanted to see if he could eat all the ice cream he brought - not just the two pints that didn't fit in the freezer. But that would be weird, right? So I grabbed his pants and handed them to him.
He put his feet into each pant leg, then he tried to stand. He belched again with the movement. He said, "excuse me."
I smiled. I just couldn't help it.
He tried to stand. He wiggled himself to the end of the couch and placed his right hand on the arm of it, trying to get up. He grunted with each thrust upwards until he was on his feet. He pulled the pants up as much as he could, then realized his belly was too bloated to fit them.
They had rested on his belly originally, so tucking them under his stomach was not an option. I heard him say, "oh shit." Under his breath.
I asked, "is everything okay?"
He paused for a moment before replying. Then he stuttered, "I, uh, I don't want to trespass further, but I think I've outdone myself. They wont fit over my belly." After a pause, he said, "I can't believe this. I'm so sorry. I'm probably gross to you."
I finally said what I had been thinking this whole time, "oh no. Actually it's quite the opposite, I think you're incredibly handsome..."
For a second he looked offended, as if he thought I was lying to him. But he looked me in the eyes. His facial expression changed to one of slight surprise and he asked, "really?"
I stood up with him. I took his hands in mine. Just holding the huge fat hands in my small ones was such a pleasure. I gestured for him to sit back down. He didn't question it, and lowered his body back on the couch. It groaned under his weight.
I remained standing and said, "there's still quite a few more pints of ice cream in the freezer..."
He smiled at the suggestion
#ssbhm belly#ffa#ffa bhm#ssbhm#bhm#fat belly#ffassbhm#fat#fat fantasy#ssbhmstory#feedingstory#female feeder#femalefeeder#female ffa#femalefatadmirer#female fat admirer#fatfantasy#fat fantasty#obese#obese belly#obeseman#obese man
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Oh Brother!
Peppino gets a letter from someone called “Maurice” who says his ma wants them to spend time with each other. After Peppino barricades the entrance to his restaurant, he turns around and, to his horror, sees that Gustavo has let in a man who looks a lot like him. Peppino introduces Gustavo to his older brother, who wears a blue and green outfit with a cap.
First impressions are already sour as while Peppino is nervously trying to be nice, Maurice chastises him for running the dump of a pizza joint. Even when they try to serve him a meal on the house, Maurice is disgusted by the mediocrity of Italian cuisine and demands for steak. Peppino reveals to Gustavo and Brick that Maurice has always been like this, but can’t do anything about it because he's much older and stronger than him.
That night, Peppino reluctantly invites Maurice back to his house, with yet more criticisms from him about Peppino’s living conditions. Maurice takes the bed while Peppino sleeps on the couch. The next morning, Peppino wakes up to Maurice not being in the house anymore. He’s relieved, believing that the visit has come to a quick end, and is happy to go back to his restaurant.
When Peppino arrives at his business, he is absolutely horrified by what he sees; a huge pile of garbage at the back of his restaurant, and the sign has changed to say “Maurice’s Garbage Factory” Maurice reveals he signed a contract with Mr Stick to buy the rights to the land. All that empty space for a failing pizzeria was a waste, and he’s making better use of it. Mr Stick begs an angered Peppino not to hurt him because he wasn’t just motivated by greed, Maurice threatened to hit him with a bag of nickels. Peppino sadly heads back to his house, with Gus and Brick having to stay behind since they’re now Maurice’s employees.
We see how Maurice bothers the rest of the cast over the next few days.
Maurice brings in his own lunches because Noisette’s cafe is “disgusting on the eyes and tastebuds”
He’s very unresponsive to Noise trying to bother him several times, much to Noise's frustration.
When Pepperman tries to give Maurice a house tour, he asks if Narcissus reincarnated into an apple because there is no other reason someone would want to look at their own grotesque reflection so much.
When Fake Peppino tries to imitate Maurice, he just calls him a pathetic attempt at a doppelgänger who belongs with the rest of the trash.
When Pizzahead tries to blow up the joint, Maurice reveals he has a lawyer on speed dial and will sue for property damage. The legitimacy of the lawyer is questionable, but Pizzahead doesn’t want to take any chances.
Even Mr Stick gets sick of Maurice. He outright refuses to pay rent because he doesn’t believe in taxes and he throws Mr Stick’s gadgets away, calling them useless gimmicky toys. Mr Stick rips up the contract and gives Maurice his money back, but Maurice reveals he has a copy of the contract and more stored somewhere safe.
After work hours, the gang gathers to talk about making Maurice leave and bringing Peppino back. Not only because of everything else that happened but audiences of the cartoon will not respond well to such an unpleasant main character. They go to Peppino’s house, only to be greeted by Maurice again. Apparently, Maurice kicked Peppino out because he didn't want anyone jobless living with him. The rest of the gang panics to look for Peppino.
Eventually, they find Peppino tucked away in an alleyway, filthy, disheveled, and roasting a tree branch on an open fire, as all the garbage he could’ve eaten is at Maurice’s. They all beg for Peppino to come back, with Gustavo saying how everyone really likes him… well, Noise says he likes to hate Peppino, unlike Maurice, whom Noise just hates to hate. Pizzahead tries to encourage Peppino as well, saying that he’s been such a good enemy who’s thwarted so many plans, so he can’t give up just because a grouchy relative told him to. This gives Peppino the confidence boost he needs to head back.
Tomorrow at Maurice’s business, Peppino and his friends/enemies show up, demanding the restaurant back. Maurice is not budging and reminds everyone that he owns the joint. With much encouragement from everyone, Peppino doesn’t back down despite clearly being scared.
Maurice decides that if Peppino’s so desperate for the restaurant, they should fight for it like men. They sit at a table and prepare for an arm wrestle. Peppino looks petrified while Maurice is unphased. Noise does the countdown, everyone eagerly watches, and… Peppino instantly wins, accidentally throwing Maurice on the ground and breaking his arm.
Cut to the waiting room of the hospital, where Peppino’s in shock at what happened. He believes he’s going to get beaten up with Maurice’s bag of nickels once they’re face to face again. Maurice arrives with a cast around his arm and torso. He chastises Peppino for breaking his bones, making him unable to work for a while. Peppino’s extremely apologetic. However, Maurice compliments Peppino on impressing him for the first time. He agrees to destroy all the contracts and give Peppino his restaurant back. While the brothers aren't necessarily on good terms, Peppino is satisfied knowing he doesn’t have to let Maurice walk all over him anymore.
.
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This is a mixture of shower thoughts fic and lying in bed after taking a sleep aid fic, so is it good? who knows. but apparently ao3 is down so enjoy! lol
Warning: not proofread at all.
the band has been working diligently to make a name for themselves and while they have a decent following, they’ve all had to take day jobs
on one of the days they are all working, julie almost misses a call form a record label that recently saw them perform and would like to sign them on
she says she is excited by their offer but would need to speak to the rest of the band first, to which they are understanding and even offer to email a pdf of the first draft of the contract to them to review and they can set up a time to meet if things look satisfactory
she rattles off the band email before ending the call and texts the band group chat before heading back to work after her break
“a label wants to sign us! contract in band email. can’t wait to go over it with you guys! <3 <3″
she feels her phone buzz with an incoming response as she’s walking back to the front of the store she works at and quickly checks it.
L- yes! rock n roll hall of fame, here we come!
as she is reading that, another texts arrives and she laughs at Luke’s impatience
L- emails not there yet :(
back at the front, the afternoon rush hits and julie doesn’t have time to check her phone, but she’s felt it go off several times in her work apron and, while she’s never hated the customer service industry, she absolutely cannot keep a giant smile off her face the whole rest of her shift
so she’s a bit blindsided when she finally gets to check her phone again as she grabs her things from her work locker and the first message she sees is
L- I’m not signing this.
it must be a real bad deal then. her heart sinks as she continues reading
A- ?
R- oooo bad money deal?
L- money is fine.
L- not a good fit for the band
A- how do you mean?
luke didn’t respond and the next message comes 20 minutes later
A- F that. i’m not signing either
R- guys. what is going on?
R- oh
R- okay, yeah no
by now Julie’s anxiety is starting to climb because how could it not be a good fit? this label is known for signing bands in the pop-punk genre. What on earth would make the guys turn this opportunity down? an opportunity they have worked blood, sweat, tears and years to get. How could they dismiss it so easily?
she needs some time to think (but does she really? it’s the anxiety talking) so instead of responding, she pulls her bag strap over her shoulder and begins walking towards the exit, tying her hair up in a real messy bun to keep herself from picking at her fingernails
The clouds in the sky are pinkish purple against the darkening sky as the sun is low enough to be blocked by the surrounding buildings. heat still emits off the parking lot pavement, alluding to the Hot summer days thar have fallen upon the city.
Julie takes a deep breath before heading to the employee parking
Luke is leaning against the back of her car
"Luke? What are you doing here? Is everyone okay?!"
"Yea, Boss. Everyone's fine," he reassures her before pulling her into a hug. "I just wanted to see that million dollar smile."
Julie can't help but smile
She holds him tighter as her thoughts quickly jump back to the contract. She questions him about the group chat. How could they possibly all be saying no?
His arms tense around her, before letting her pull back to look at his face. He reveals that the contract actually starts off pretty decent. The label just had one stipulation that was a deal-breaker.
What? What could possibly be a deal-breaker when the rest is that good?
"If we sign it, they'd be able to force the band to undergo cosmetic dentistry."
"Oh." Her stomach drops. She wants to look away from the boy she's described as having the perfect smile. Alex and Reggie are basically right there with him. She forces her hands to stay put, but they scream to cover her mouth, her face. Her eyes drift down and stop on his Adam's apple. This is about her.
One of his hands gently cups the side of her face, tilting it so she is looking up at him again. His eyes are sad.
She can't stand it. She can feel tears welling in her eyes "I- I could do it."
He's shaking his head vehemently before she can finish. "No, Jules! You are perfect and beautiful just as you are. If they can't see it, then they aren't the label for us."
"But-"
His other hand moves up to cup her face in his hands.
"Be who you are, don't compromise, julie. Fuck them."
Julie is overwhelmed in that moment. Tears break free of her lashes, but a laugh rings out as she pulls his face to hers.
His lips ground her and she cant believe how lucky she is to have such a supportive boyfriend. She pulls back and remembers the others immediate refusal to sign as well. She couldn't ask for a better band and family. She thanks her mom for the millionth time for bring them to her.
She sniffles from the tears but a smile is back on her face as she teases him. "Did you quote our own song at me just now? What a dork."
He's grinning back. "Well, the gal who wrote that line is pretty smart."
He pulls her to the passenger door "let's go home"
#idk#lol#me with 2000s fob fic 'i will never write text fic again'#the very next thing i write has a bunch of texts#i mean#i know its not a fully fleshed out fic or anything but still#joolee's crack-like thoughts#joolee attempts writing#jatp#julie and the phantoms#juke#jukebox#julie molina pov#also fun fact#i get these ideas for a fic#and its as i'm writing them that i'm like#OH LOOK I CAN TIE IN THIS CANON BIT HERE#and it's all very serendipitous#i wish i could say i'm clever from the get go but it's all subsequent#a verry merry un-juke day to you
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lawrusso superstore AU but they’re very much still enemies and all of the karate kid trilogy happened just they end up working in a supermarket and having a terrible time (and falling in love).
johnny ran away from home because of sid and got a job at the first place he could think of. right now he’s living in his car but he’s going to probably soon do some couchsurfing at his friends’ places.
daniel has been working at the store for a few years now, HATES IT, is super competent and cannot fucking believe that johnny has found him here.
ali got a job there a few months ago to pay for college because her parents are not as set on sending her to medical school as she thought they would be but they accepted to finance half of it if she manages to show them she really wants it.
susan and barbara, like daniel, have a pretty steady job there. barbara manages the makeup section but she is not all that good at applying makeup and all her clients leave with neon green cheeks. susan really went up the ladder and she handles the employees and security (like dina).
for some reason the boys also get a job there because i just think dutch having to help a little old lady pick apples would be funny as hell.
im imagining this around the time they’re all 22/23 but im open to suggestions and ideas!
(terry silver comes to do his grocery shopping and annoy daniel pretty often and the group comes up with ways to either hide daniel or absolutely ruin silver’s day. barbara keeps dropping products in his coat pockets so he has to get searched at the exit every time)
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The Musk Files - Crossed Out
No commentary this time around. I haven’t posted anything about Space Karen in a while so the articles have been stacking up.
Enjoy.
Juli Clover • MacRumors
Twitter or “X” CEO Elon Musk today said that he plans to speak with Apple CEO Tim Cook about lower App Store fees for creators who earn money through subscriptions on the Twitter/X social network.
Charlie Warzel • The Atlantic
This question, with its exclamatory urgency, has never been more relevant to Twitter than in the past 48 hours, when Musk decided to nuke 17 years’ worth of brand awareness and rename the thing. The artist formerly known as Twitter is now X. What is happening?! indeed.
Tom Warren • The Verge
Twitter Blue, which Elon Musk is currently rebranding to X Blue, now includes the option to hide the notorious blue checkmark. Twitter Blue subscribers recently started noticing the “hide your blue checkmark” option on the web and in mobile apps, offering the ability to hide that they’re paying for Twitter and avoid memes about how “this mf paid for twitter.”
Asher Notheis • Washington Examiner
Actor Mark Hamill has called for people on social media to partake in a boycott of X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Robert Reich
Yesterday, it was reported that Elon Musk’s X Corp., parent of Twitter, has sent a letter to the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) accusing the nonprofit of making “a series of troubling and baseless claims that appear calculated to harm Twitter generally, and its digital advertising business specifically” — and threatening to sue CCDH.
Casey Newton • platformer.news
The X Corporation has in recent days devoted more time to signage-related issues than is prudent for a company that continues to lose advertisers, employees, and users’ time. But it’s consistent with Musk’s current incarnation as a cultural vandal, using his money and power to deface once-influential institutions and dare anyone to stop him.
Daring Fireball
Any normal company planning a product name change would have everything sorted out with the iOS App Store and Android Play Store ahead of time. Needless to say, X Corp is not a normal company and so of course they didn’t have anything sorted out.
Matt Binder • Mashable
Elon Musk and company take @x handle from its original user. He got zero dollars for it.
Rumman Chowdhury • The Atlantic
Everyone has an opinion about Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter. I lived it. I saw firsthand the harms that can flow from unchecked power in tech. But it’s not too late to turn things around.
Casey Newton • platformer.news
On Monday afternoon, a crane rolled up to Twitter’s headquarters on Market Street. The plan was to remove the sign from the historic building’s facade, putting a symbolic end to the company that owner Elon Musk had over the weekend re-branded to X.
Taylor Lorenz • The Washington Post
Far-right Twitter influencers first on Elon Musk’s monetization scheme
Reuters
Elon Musk said Twitter’s cash flow remains negative because of a nearly 50% drop in advertising revenue and a heavy debt load.
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On my 24th birthday, I wrote down 24 things I've learned in this life (REAL) (NOT CLICKBAIT)
You will never regret skydiving, unless something bad happens
You can tell someone’s social security number based on their posture
Dance like nobody’s secretly taking a video of you to go viral on TikTok
Dolphins will be totally cool to your face, but talk about you behind your back
If you write him dozens of letters, you too can get a restraining order from Jay Leno
We’re all going to die some day, except for me, who is immortal
If you go to McDonald’s and ask for “a taste of reality,” the employee will punch you in the face
If Bruno Mars ran for president, he would win
Never go drinking on Arbor Day
Every member of The Go-Gos were in the CIA
If you send five typos in one email, autocorrect kills itself
The Muffin Man hates that everyone knows where he lives
The LMFAO guys are uncle and nephew
It is not sad to eat old popcorn for breakfast
Any store is a library if you’re brave enough
I can’t fit three whole apples in my mouth, but I sure had fun trying
Cabs don’t want to hit you, but buses do
I could have won any war except for World War I
Two of the Ten Commandments are bs, but I won’t tell you which
Love. Laugh. Live.
I should be the next speaker of the house, except I’m not really a morning person
A pound of turkey feathers weighs just as much as a pound of gold
Leprechauns are real, but they don’t live in Ireland
The best pizza topping is friendship
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Elon Musk's "Go To War" Post Against Apple's Tight Control On App Store
San Franisco: Twitter owner Elon Musk on Monday opened fire against Apple over its tight control of what is allowed on the App Store, saying the iPhone maker has threatened to oust his recently acquired social media platform.
Musk also joined the chorus crying foul over a 30 percent fee Apple collects on transactions via its App Store — the sole gateway for applications to get onto its billion plus mobile devices. A series of tweets fired off by Musk included a meme of a car with his first name on it veering onto a highway off-ramp labeled “Go to War,” instead of continuing onwards towards “Pay 30%.”
The billionaire CEO also tweeted that Apple has “threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why.”
Apple did not immediately reply to an AFP request for comment.
Both Apple and Google require social networking services on their app stores to have effective systems for moderating harmful or abusive content.
But since taking over Twitter last month, Musk has cut around half of Twitter’s workforce, including many employees tasked with fighting disinformation, while an unknown number of others have voluntarily quit.
He has also reinstated previously banned accounts, including that of former president Donald Trump.
Yoel Roth, the former head of trust and safety at Twitter who left after Musk took over, wrote in a New York Times op-ed that “failure to adhere to Apple’s and Google’s guidelines would be catastrophic,” and risk “expulsion from their app stores.”
Describing himself as a “free speech absolutist,” Musk believes that all content permitted by law should be allowed on Twitter, and on Monday described his actions as a “revolution against online censorship in America.”
He also tweeted that he planned to publish “Twitter Files on free speech suppression,” but without clarifying what data he had in mind to share with the public.
Though Musk says Twitter is seeing record high engagement with him at the helm, his approach has startled the company’s major moneymaker — advertisers.
In recent weeks, half of Twitter’s top 100 advertisers have announced they are suspending or have otherwise “seemingly stopped advertising on Twitter,” an analysis conducted by nonprofit watchdog group Media Matters found.
Musk on Monday accused Apple of also having “mostly stopped advertising on Twitter.”
“Do they hate free speech in America?” he asked, before replying with a tweet tagging Apple CEO Tim Cook.
In the first three months of 2022, Apple was the top advertiser on Twitter, spending some $48 million on ads which accounted for more than 4 percent of the social media platform’s revenue, according to a Washington Post report citing an internal Twitter document.
San Franisco: Twitter owner Elon Musk on Monday opSarah Roberts, an information studies expert at University of California, Los Angeles, told AFP that “Musk didn’t understand that Twitter itself was a brand, had cachet.”
“Now companies don’t even want to be associated with it. It’s not even that they worry about the content. Twitter is a tainted brand, a brand non grata companies don’t want to be associated with,” she added.
- Tarnishing Tesla? -
Musk on Monday also called Apple’s fee on transactions through its App Store a “secret 30% tax.”
He shared a video released last year by Fortnite maker Epic Games that portrayed Apple as an oppressor in a mocking spin on a famous “1984” ad for Macintosh computers.
Apple has clashed in court with Epic, which has sought to break Apple’s grip on the App Store, accusing the iPhone maker of operating a monopoly in its shop for digital goods or services.
A federal judge last year ordered Apple to loosen control of its App Store payment options, but said Epic had failed to prove that antitrust violations had taken place.
Musk’s controversial moves at Twitter, along with the possibility he will need to sell more Tesla shares to keep the social media platform afloat, has taken shine off of the electric car company and its stock, according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.
“The Musk vs Apple new battle is not what investors want to see,” Ives said in a tweet.
“(Wall) Street wants less drama, not more as this Twitter situation remains the gift that keeps on giving for the Tesla bears with every day a new chapter.”
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Alright, I'll bite. Dump the oc info
HAHAHA LET'S GO!
So I'm just gonna explain them all badly with one sentence or less in groups so hehe
🌻 Flower Family
Sunflower Seed Cookie (she/her)
I am no longer evil I want to be loved
Peanut Cookie (she/her)
Convenience store employees are the backbone of society
Lavender Cookie (they/she)
Sleepy bitches should get paid 100000 dollars an hour for existing in society
Olive Cookie (he/him)
Only straight oc
Queen Anne's Lace Cookie (she/her)
[Insert world's best mom mug here]
⏳ Tk Variants
Clockmaker Cookie (she/they)
The ONLY healthy one
Clockbreaker (she/they)
Sicko mode
Timebreaker (also ancient swap) (she/they)
Hates their job
Bread Crescent (also ancient swap) (she/they)
Scrunglo
Timelord (she/they)
L+ratio
Clocktaker (she/they)
An actual murderer. No exaggeration. They have murdered billions of people. With the dumbest name ever. Slay.
General (she/they)
Evil. Awful. Terrible.
Beta TK (she/they)
Relationships are hard
Unstoppable Protector (she/they)
Thinks they're better than everyone (they're right but they didn't have to say it)
⚡ Ancient Swap
Vanilla Extract Cookie (he/him)
MUAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA
Wilted Lily Cookie (she/her)
Sometimes you just gotta walk into the woods and never walk out
Mistletoe Dart Cookie (she/her)
Hates her friends
Sickly Sweet Cacao Cookie (he/him)
:)
Shredded Cheese Cookie (she/it)
:(
Light Sorceress Cookie (she/her)
Bad at her job but god she's trying
Ocean Nymph Cookie (she/her)
Honestly just wants to be left alone
Moonglow Cookie (she/her)
Kind of a stalker
Frozen Yogurt Cookie (she/they)
Hey maybe let's not give children overbearing expectations they can never live up to maybe
Twizzler Cookie (she/they/he)
Stares at the ceiling fan for hours
Cherry Rope Cookie (they/he)
Makes bad decisions
Spun Sugar Cookie (she/her)
Match Breaker
🌑 The Mysterious Case of Lemon Tea
Blueberry Lemonade (they/them)
A small
Strawberry Milk (he/him)
One of the only ocs that makes good decisions 👏👏👏👏
Lemon Tea (they/he/it)
WOOPS! Teehee *twirls*
Banana Smoothie (she/her)
She's just like me fr
Apple Juice (she/her)
"Lol" (was never heard from again)
Honey Mocha (he/they)
Ngl this is just a persona for my friend but I still use em as a character sometimes (I have permission and they help me write with him!)
Silkweaver (they/he/it)
WIG SNATCHED
✨ Other
Butter Cream Cookie (he/she/they)
Me
Waffle Cone Cookie (she/her)
Actual criminal
Starburst Cookie (all pronouns)
Pretty...
Ghostberry Cookie (she/it)
Idk what to do with it but she's cute so I'm keeping her
Powered Up Pup (male)
Gold Leaf Cookie (he/she)
Actual criminal 2 except he got arrested lol
Activated Charcoal Cookie (she/it)
"If I weren't so small it'd be over for you hoes"
Crumpet Cookie (she/her)
Grandma!!!
Updated Mar 29 2023
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Wooing for Beginners by sunsetmog | T | 4362 There's a girl at school Louis is dying to impress, but Louis ends up impressing Nick instead. A sort-of bookshop/high school/Saturday job AU with extra baking and not enough fish fingers.
Things Unsaid by LadyLondonderry | G | 4439 "That chunky oversized sweater is like a clown outfit made for winter." It feels like time slows down. Those words echo in his mind, familiar. Why are they familiar? The— the sweater he saw last week. The one with all the knit squares. The train slows to a stop and Louis just— he doesn’t move. He feels frozen in place as people surge around him. Suddenly everyone is moving too fast and then just as suddenly the car is near empty, taking off again. The man is gone. His soulmate is gone. Or, where you have a tattoo of the first thought your soulmate has when they see you.
Bookworm by i_amthecosmos | E | 7247 Liam is a bookstore employee who hates books. Louis doesn't know about the second part.
You're a Nightmare, I'm a Disaster by lululawrence | nr | 7413 As Nick scanned the shelves, his eyes caught on a bright blue binding. Snooki, it read, A Shore Thing. “Oh my God,” Nick mumbled, trying not to laugh as he picked it up. He’d watched bits and pieces of Jersey Shore way back in the day. Without bothering to look any further around the store, he headed up to the counter where Blue eyes was watching him. Nick cleared his throat nervously and set the book on the counter and the man immediately flashed him a look of disdain. “Seriously? Out of everything we have available, you chose the book we special ordered for a customer?” “Well, it can’t be that bad if someone specifically requested it, right?” Nick said, trying to keep a teasing tone. “Why do you think we still have it if it was a special order?” the man asked with a scoff. “They returned it after reading something like three pages.” Nick frowned at the book. “Well that doesn’t seem very fair.” Or the one where Nick is a writer, Louis works in a bookshop, and things don't exactly start off on the right foot, but they might just end on it.
Dancing Away With My Heart by thewherethefislouisface | M | 7970 “You’re not the boy I thought you were Harry Styles.” Louis isn’t sure if he’s talking about teenager Harry or grown up Harry. “Yeah?” Harry swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing. Louis is rather drunk so he’s bound to say shit he might not normally. “I wanted to kiss you so bad that night,” Louis whispers. It's the first time either one of them have made mention to prom night years earlier. “You remember that?” Harry asks, his eyes glossy. OR Harry and Louis are prom night cliches, who meet again years later!
Anonymous Said by alivingfire | T | 21158 When Harry was sixteen, he reached out for someone, anyone, to help him through the hardest days of his life. When Louis was eighteen, he answered. While they didn't know each other's names or faces or lives at all, really, it didn't stop them from falling a little bit in love. And when Harry moves to Manchester for uni two years later, he meets a boy in a bookshop named Louis and wonders why it all feels so easy. Or: two boys, two blogs, two years of anonymous messages, and a bookshop where it all comes together.
Singing To Tiny Dancer by BriaMaria | E | 22734 “Yes!” Harry punched a fist into the air. He laughed at the confusion that wrinkled the little space between Louis’ brows. “What?” “You’re flirting with me,” Harry smiled, letting his dimples pop. Louis’ face went blank for two seconds and then he rolled his eyes, one side of his mouth lifting. “Am not.” “You soooo are,” Harry sang out, poking him in the shoulder. “You like me.” “I was simply showing you how to actually bring… what did you call it? Your A-game.” Harry adopted a patronizing expression, sure it would piss him off. “And you did great. Really.” “Oi, fuck off,” Louis said, but he was actually laughing now. Outright. It was gorgeous and Harry wanted to live in this moment forever. It was the very best one he’d experienced. He wanted to always remember the image of Louis’ crinkled eyes, the sound of his breathy giggles, the smell of citrus that radiated off him as he swayed in his amusement. And Louis didn’t even know his name. Or ... When everything gets to be a bit too much for A-list actor Louis Tomlinson, he runs back to the town he had never really called home and the boy who was the only one he did.
The Changer and the Changed by homosociallyyours | M | 59496 It’s the spring of 1977 and Harry Styles has just moved to New York City after graduating college. She knows she’s a lesbian. She just needs to figure out how to meet other lesbians. Louis Tomlinson works at a popular women’s bookstore in the Lower East Side, Womon’s Direction, where she spends her days reading feminist literature, writing poetry, exchanging friendly barbs with her boss Niall, and dreaming of finding someone to love. When Harry and Louis meet, their connection is instantaneous. Slowly but surely, Louis welcomes Harry into her community of women. Stonewall veteran and old school butch Niall; Liam, a land dyke who’s moved to the city for love; and Zayn, a lesbian musician who’s been ostracized by a vocal part of women’s community for being trans, welcome Harry with open arms, ready to help her find her place in New York City’s bustling lesbian scene. It’s a time of growth for everyone involved.
Lightning Strikes Twice by dinosaursmate | E | 104570 Louis slipped his hand onto Harry’s thigh, snaking his fingers up and inwards. “I’m a big fan. You’re so talented, and I have to admit that I actually fancy you a bit.” “Yeah?” Harry reached up to push Louis’ fringe out of his eyes. “Well, you know, I like to try and be accommodating to my fans.” “You’re quite well known for that,” Louis whispered as he turned his head some more, their mouths an inch apart. “So I hear.” --- Rock star Harry Styles was nineteen when he met Louis, a groupie with a huge heart that Harry couldn’t quite shake from his mind. Fate granted him a second chance at the age of sixty, his washed up and lonely existence being transformed by a widower with a bookshop.
#bookstores#Lightning Strikes Twice#dinosaursmate#the changer and the changed#homosociallyyours#Singing To Tiny Dancer#briamaria#anonymous said#alivingfire#thewherethefislouisface#dancing away with my heart#lululawrence#bookworm#i_amthecosmos#You’re a Nightmare I’m a Disaster#things unsaid#ladylondonderry#wooing for beginners#sunsetmog
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Finding You (Bucky Barnes x Reader) 3/?
A/N: Hey everyone, sorry this took so long!! This chapter was kinda hard to write, I felt like there wasn’t much that I could add but I did my best! I wanna get to Bucky as much as you all do! 😭😩
Summary: You’ve been one of SHIELD’s top spies for years but what happens when the organisation you’ve put your trust in crumbles and Captain America gives you a mission to help him find his best friend? The last thing you expected to happen was to fall in love with your assignment and become best friends with a witch.
Taglist ~ just comment if you wanna be added
@buckylokisimp, @white-wolf-buckaroo, @austynparksandpizza, @markandlexies
Word Count: 2098
Masterlist
Chapter 1 ~ Chapter 2 ~
Warnings: none
Chapter Summary: You and Steve run from HYDRA
Chapter 3: TOMORROW ISN’T PROMISED TO ANYBODY
I enter a shopping mall where I buy a hoodie for myself and a jacket, glasses and a hat for Rogers using cash. I pass by JD sports and see some Supra Vaders I know the Captain will just love so I go in and grab a pair, and get a pair of Nike Dunk Sky His for myself. I leave and meet him where he waits, away from any crowds and we put on our simple yet effective disguises.
“First rule of going on the run, is don’t run. Walk,” I say, recalling my operations training.
“If I run in these shoes they’re gonna fall off.”
I smirk. “Sorry, thought you’d be bigger.”
Ignoring my innuendo, Steve huffs. “They’re ridiculous, why can’t I lace them up?”
“It’s a fashion statement.” I glance at a map as we pass by. “Apple store’s upstairs.” We ride the escalator and enter the store.
Finding an empty laptop, I get to work. “The drive has a Level 6 homing program so as soon as we boot up, SHIELD will know exactly where we are.”
“How much time will we have?” he asks, surveying the area not so subtly.
“About 9 minutes from…” I insert the drive. “now.” I enter the coding commands to unlock the intel but something inverts each one… now comes in my training from the Academy of Science and Technology. “Fury was right about that ship. Somebody’s trying to hide something.” As I look through the coding script my inputs are rewritten to counter the commands. “This drive is protected by some sort of AI.”
“Like Stark’s robot voice? Can you override it?”
I raise a brow as I type away. “The person who developed this is slightly smarter than me. Slightly. I’m gonna try running a tracer. This is a program that SHIELD developed to track hostile malware, so if we can’t read the file, maybe we can find out its origin.” The map tracks a location and pinpoints it as we are approached by a store employee.
“Can I help you guys with anything?”
I react quickly and give him my best charming smile. “Oh, no. My fiancé was just helping me with some honeymoon destinations,” I giggle, placing my hands on Rogers’ shoulders.
“Right,” he adds awkwardly. “We’re gettin’ married.”
“Congratulations! Where are you guys thinkin’ about goin’?”
I go back to the laptop and the state has been pinpointed.
“New Jersey,” the Captain reads aloud.
“Huh,” the employee lets out, surprised. “I have the exact same glasses,” he says after a pause.
“Wow, you two are practically twins,” I remark as I type away.
“Yeah, I wish!” he chuckles. “Specimen. Uh, if you guys need anything… I’ve been Aaron.”
“Thank you,” Rogers rushes out. “You said 9 minutes,” he checks his watch. “Come on.”
I shush him. “Relax… I’m working.” The screen reads Wheaton, New Jersey. “Done.” I look up at him and he has a frown on his face. “You know it?”
“I used to. Let’s go.” He pulls the hard drive out of the laptop and we walk out of the store. “Standard tac team. Two behind, two across,” he turns to face forward. “two comin’ straight at us. If they make us, I’ll engage, you hit the south escalator to the metro.”
As he speaks I roll my eyes, this guy was definitely not meant for the spy world. “Put your arm around me and laugh at something I said,” I say.
“What?” he sounds utterly confused.
“Do it.” I feel his arm rest on my shoulder and he gives the most awkward laugh I have ever heard come from a person. “See, Captain? No need to make such a scene.” We work our way to the escalator and I spot Rumlow on the escalator coming up. I turn to look up at Rogers. “Kiss me.”
“What?” he says again, flustered.
“Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable.”
“Yes they do!” he whispers.
I put my hand to the back of his neck and push him towards me so our lips meet and I feel his hand fall on my waist. I open my eyes and pull away slowly after enough time has passed.
“You still uncomfortable?” I ask turning and walking down the escalator.
“That’s not exactly a word I would use,” he murmurs and quiets down as we get to the parking lot.
“We could get bus tickets to New Jersey, think I’ve got enough cash for the trip,” I suggest.
“Keep a look out,” he says approaching a truck as I frown but do as he says. In no time I hear the start of an engine and whirl to look at him. “Come on, we don’t have all day,” he says smugly.
I get into the passenger’s side and he starts to drive to the Garden State.
“Can’t believe Captain America can steal cars…” I say striking up a conversation.
He chuckles. “Kind of a necessary skill when you’re fighting a World War and you’re in enemy territory.”
I hum and he glances at me. “And it’s not stealing if we give it back so get your feet off the dash.”
“Bossy,” I remark but do as he says. “I like that,”
There’s a pink tint to his cheeks and his jaw clenches but he doesn’t say anything.
“So I have a question for you…” I start with a raised brow. “But you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, although no answer is an answer in itself so-“
“Get to it, L/N,” he interrupts authoritatively.
“Was that your first kiss since 1945?” I smirk.
“That bad, huh?”
“I didn’t say that!” I laugh.
“Well it kinda sounds like that’s what you’re saying.”
“I was just… wondering if you’ve had practice… since going… into the ice,” for a super secret agent, that answer lacked finesse. “It’s just, I don’t know how you did it in 1945 but guys normally move their mouths for a long kiss like that,” I shrug.
“I don’t need practice.”
“Everyone needs practice.”
“It was not my first kiss since 1945. I’m 95, not dead.”
“Oh?” I say, curiosity piqued. “Who’s been kissing Captain America then?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Someone special?”
He chuckles. “It might come as a surprise to you but it’s hard to find someone with shared life experience,” he says sarcastically.
“That’s okay, you just make stuff up.”
“What, like you?” I know he doesn’t intend for it to sound mean so I shrug it off.
“Not everyone can handle the truth, can they? I wouldn’t mind a few white lies to keep something good going… and you don’t need shared life experience, right? Not really… there’s that whole opposites attract notion, after all.”
“But it’s good to have someone who understands what you’re going through, right?”
I shrug… sometimes not knowing is better. Safer. “Maybe. But in this occupation…” I sigh. “Well I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been in love.”
“You’ve – you never had someone?” Looks like I threw him for a loop.
Shaking my head I turn to look out my window at the trees we pass by. “I don’t hate love or anything… it’s just dangerous to love someone like… us. Isn’t it? They’d either get hurt by people we go after or… ya know, if we don’t come back… it hurts them too.”
“But tomorrow isn’t promised to anybody,” he reasons. “So why deprive yourself of something as great as love on the off chance you die?”
“Because it’s easier.”
“For who?”
“Why the interest Rogers? You wanna fill that spot? Play a little house? Imagine we don’t have to save the world from domestic terrorists?”
He hums at my decision to not answer the question. “No, that’s not what I need right now.”
“And what do you need?”
“Just…” he sighs. “a friend.”
Of course. “Well, there’s a chance you might be in the wrong business, Rogers…”
“Maybe we could start with not calling each other our last names?” he offers.
I smile. “Maybe.”
We arrive at the location the tracer indicated as the sun is setting.
Camp Lehigh is on a sign but it seems to be long abandoned.
“The file came from these coordinates,” I say as I pick the lock on the chained fence.
“So did I…” Steve says looking up at the sign in nostalgia. “This camp is where I was trained.”
“Change much?”
“A little…”
I wonder around, scanning the area for any thing to indicate a power source. “This is a dead end. Zero heat signatures, zero waves. Not even radio. Whoever created the file must have used a router to throw people off.” I tuck the scanner in my back pocket and the Captain looks up at me then shifts his gaze to behind me, frowning. “What is it?”
He starts walking and I follow. “Army regulations forbid storing munitions within 500 yards of the barracks. This building’s in the wrong place.” He breaks the lock with his shield and we enter as it leads us underground.
I turn on the lights and it reveals the insignia painted on the wall. “This was SHIELD. The early days, after it evolved from the Strategic Scientific Reserve,” I say, recognizing the outdated logo.
We wander around, finding a wall of three portraits. “The three founders.” He looks at me. “What? The history is one of the things they teach at the academies. Colonel Philips, Howard Stark and Margaret Carter.”
“There are academies?”
“Three. Very tough admission.”
Rogers spots something and looks closer. “If you’re already working in a secret office…” he pushes the shelves apart. “Why do you need to hide the elevator?”
Using my SHIELD issued code breaking device I type in the code for the elevator which takes us down even further to a room of computers, monitors and servers.
“This can’t be right… this equipment is ancient how could it be used to make the files?”
There was one place that looked like it came from this century and I decide to take a risk and plug in the usb drive. The servers whir and more lights come on.
“Initiate system?” a computerized voice says.
Yes, I type. “Creepy.” As we wait for the system to boot up I smirk. “Shall we play a game?” I laugh at myself. “It’s from a movie that was really pop-“
“I know,” he interrupts. “I saw it.”
A camera moves to Rogers and a voice recites his name and year of birth. Then it turns to me and does the same.
“Is this the AI that was blocking my commands back at the mall?” I say looking closer.
“I may not be the man I was back when the Captain took me in 1945 but I am.” A photo appears on one of the other screens.
“You know this… thing?”
“Arnim Zola was a German Scientist who worked for the Red Skull.”
“He’s been dead for years,” I add, remember something of the history lessons.
“First correction, I am Swiss. Second, look around you. I have never been more alive.” The robot voice recounts his end of life story and how he uploaded his consciousness into databanks.
“How did you get here?”
“By invitation.”
“It was Operation Paperclip after World War II. SHIELD recruited German scientists with strategic value. Always thought they shoulda just locked them all up… we probably wouldn’t be in this mess if they did.”
“HYDRA would have died with the Red Skull.”
“Cut off one head… two more shall take its place,” I recite their mantra aloud.
“When history did not cooperate… history was changed.” A flurry of photos of the Winter Soldier in the back ground of significant political events appear on the screens.
“That’s impossible, SHIELD would have stopped you,” I say, moving closer.
“Accidents would happen.” News of Howard and Maria Stark’s car accident shows up next.
Rogers punches the screen as Zola provokes him.
Does that mean…? I don’t finish the thought as the mad scientist explains what the drive contains.
“What kind of algorithm? What does it do?” I ask.
The doors begin to close as Steve is too late to throw his shield. A beeping comes from my communicator, detecting something. “Steve, we got a bogey. Short range ballistic 30 seconds tops.”
“Who fired it?”
“SHIELD.” I pull out the drive and Steve pulls a grate from the floor. I jump in and he follows, putting the shield up above us as rubble rains down on us. He strains against the weight of it all and the debris settles.
💖💖
Thank you for reading!
I'll be gone until Monday again but I'll try to write on my phone!! I have literally never been so busy throughout this summer until now!
Chapter 4
#bucky barnes x reader#bucky barnes#steve rogers#x reader#steve rogers x platonic!reader#flirty!reader#marvel#mcu#marvel rewrite#captain america#winter soldier#catws rewrite#reader insert#fanfic#enemies to lovers#slowburn
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Sorry to be annoying but I asked awhile ago and I think tumblr ate my ask but did you ever do tattoo Harry blurb? I love them and I miss them:( I’ve looked through your tags and there isn’t any on there if you have posted one
I CAN POST ONE I WROTE A WHILE AGO RIGHT NOW :D I DONT THINK I POSTED HERE BUT LET ME KNOW HERE YOU GO PET
i.
“Baby -- baby, c’mon!”
It was rare that Harry ever woke Y/N with more than kisses and cuddles. Maybe an abrupt shoulder shake if the both of them slept through their alarms (and, considering that they are the only ones with the key to open up their own respective stores, they never typically arrived late facing happy employees -- or in Y/N’s case, employee -- Niall, in particular, was always more of a grump in that situation than Riktor even), but even that still managed to be tender, and soft. He always treated her so delicately, as if she were made up of porcelain in the morning and it was imperative to speak in a low, soothing voice with careful touches or she might shatter. And she really didn’t think it was because she was an absolute terror to wake up -- Y/N did quite well, even as early as 5 AM she was still in somewhat of a pleasant mood, certainly nothing to be fearful of -- she thinks he’s just gentle in the morning. He’s gentle all the time, but for some reason or another, he’s extra soft with her then.
They had both had a bit of a busy day, so by the time that they made it back to Y/N’s flat (Harry said he liked it there best because it smelled like her, and -- well, he softens her up and calls her Darling when he wants them to go over there, so it’s hard to say no), both of them were ready for bed. Neither of them could barely keep their eyes open as they scarfed down the burgers they’d picked up on the way home, and once they’d finished and brushed their teeth, they toppled into each other on the mattress. Y/N would reckon they both fell asleep before their heads had even hit the pillow -- she doesn’t even remember crawling beneath the blankets.
Apparently she had though, because now as her brain tunes in with the world around her and she realizes that the distorted voice that had begun to prod her dreams was actually a grumpy, dry throat Harry, she’s cuddling herself closer in the covers. This only makes him grumble at her more, “You’re such a blanket hog,” he whines and Y/N finally blinks her eyes open, being greeted with Harry’s disgruntled, pouted face illuminated by the sunlight beginning to slip through the blinds, “I’ve been trying to unravel it for like ten minutes, but you’re all wrapped up! I’m cold.”
Y/N smiles sleepily at him, not understanding the gravity of the situation entirely as she begins to un-burrito herself from the covers, “G’morning, beautiful,” she murmurs as she does so, finally disentangling from the blankets and while she was a little less warm, Harry was quick to wiggle in beneath them, “Sorry.”
“Don’ be sweet when m’tryin’ to be angry with you,” she puckers her lips at him dramatically, and though he sighs, he leans in and presses their mouths together softly, “Your kisses aren’t g’na sweeten me up, m’still grumpy, blanket hog.”
She can only hum as she cuddles closer to him, “Sorry,” she repeated, this time adding, “Like to swaddle myself like a lil’ baby. Reckon you weren’t holdin’ me well enough last night.”
An offended gasp leaves through his lips soundly, enough that it startles her, but his arms worm around her waist and draw her closer to his body, “Brat,” he grumbled, dipping his nose into her throat, “I held you so well and you just wiggled right out of my arms and took all the covers with you.”
“Like a worm -- I wiggled out like a worm or somethin’,” she tried to sit up but his arms tightened around her, “This worm has to pee though and she’ll soak the bed if she isn’t allowed.”
His arm loosens around her, “This worm sounds like she’s a sleepy sort of delusional that requires about two hours more of rest.”
Y/N stumbles toward the bathroom in her room, “Noooooooo,” she whines, frowning at nobody, not bothering to swing the door shut before she plops on the cold toilet seat to relieve herself, “We’re supposed to go get hot chocolate, no more sleep.”
“Baby, it’s 6 AM and I’ve been up the last 30 minutes freezing my bits off!” He calls back to her and she giggles some, her eyes trying to accommodate to the bright white lights of the bathroom, “Sleep just a bit more and we’ll get the hot chocolate when we wake up next.”
She waits until she flushes and washes her hands to respond to him, and though she knows that she is definitely going to crawl back in bed and fall asleep, she stands at the foot of it with her hands in fists at her hips. He had let his eyes flutter closed by then but she thinks he could feel her eyeballing him, so he looks up past the mountain of blankets now covering him so she could only see his eyes and his nose, “What’re you doing?”
“You’re telling me, you don’t wanna go at 6 AM, three hours before the kiosk even opens to get hot chocolate with me? You must really hate me, don’t you?”
He huffs a sharp breath through his nose which is how he usually laughs in the morning, when he can’t muster up the strength to have a proper giggle, “Absolutely loathe you, baby doll, but could you please come back to bed so I can loathe you in the warmth?”
It takes little persuading -- as she said, she knew she was just going to crawl right back in beside him -- and instead of relying too heavily on the blankets to provide her warmth (like wrapping up half of it around her so she was cocooned entirely. . .this is what she normally does, and she would say that’s probably why Harry almost never has any of the covers in the morning), she relies on him. Picks up his arm so that she can fit herself underneath it and lies her cheek on his chest, “Your pits better not be smelly.”
“I make no promises.”
. . .
“I love your hair.”
“Stop it, Sweetheart, I’m g’na start blushing.”
They had slept for four more hours rather than the two Harry had originally suggested, but that always happens with them. Y/N would say that they are just too content cuddled up with one another that they milk it for all it’s worth. If one of them wakes up before the other, then they just settle their head back down and close their eyes again. Unless they had somewhere to be, of course, but Harry had a free Saturday (no clients schedule, even though Saturday’s could often be some of his heaviest days) and he’d elected to spend it with her -- whether they were awake or asleep didn’t much mater, they just liked to be near each other.
When they finally did wake up, they lazily got dressed into about thirty layers so they wouldn’t freeze outside. The weather had grown frigid quite quickly this November, and neither of them stood the cold very well, but there was a park lined with little pop-up kiosks with hot chocolate, sweets, little holiday goodies, and an obscene amount of knitted blankets (it was a clever marketing tactic, Y/N thought -- everyone is more willing to spend money on a blanket when they’re freezing cold - she and Harry had certainly fallen for it today). Y/N bought them shoe warmers to keep their toes at least not numb, and Harry lets her borrow a pair of his gloves because she keeps forgetting to buy some of her own. They both have hats fitted over their heads too, and since Harry’s let his hair grow out, his curls stick out from beneath the pumpkin orange print and Y/N can’t stop staring at it. She’s always loved his hair, she told him as much one of the first nights they’d sat on her bookstore’s floor and talked about just a bit of everything. Back when she barely realized she had a crush on him. . . .when she didn’t know that in just a little time, she would be over the moon.
And she’ll never forget that people used to make him feel like shit about his hair, so she maybe overcompensates by telling him every time she has thought about loving it. Which means today, in the span of a short three hours they’d been awake, Y/N had complimented his hair about twenty different times. If she was running her fingers through it, fixing his beanie, or just staring at him, she let him know just how much she adored his curls.
“I hate to tell you this, Button, but your cheeks are already red as apples,” she shifted the paper cup of hot chocolate from her hand closest to him to the other, so she could reach up and tuck them behind his ear, that had reddened from the cold, “The air has you more bashful than I ever could.”
“Not true,” he murmurs, lowering his voice as he knocks closer to her ear, “I always blush when you go down on me.”
“God,” Y/N shakes her head, “You’re too much, d’ya know that?”
He laughs, nudging her with the cold tip of his nose, “You want the peppermint bark? We’re coming up on the seller.”
“Of course, I want peppermint bark,” she reaches for her wallet, “I’m stocking us up for the next hundred years or so.”
Harry slows for a moment, sliding his gloved hand into her own and squeezing, “Hey,” he begins, his voice soft, somewhat reflective and it brings her attention to him at her side, “Y’know when -- you remember how you said you just get random flushes of love for me and s’a whole lot and you just don’t know what to do with it?”
Y/N nods, “Yeah, like every waking minute practically. Why?”
He smiles shyly, “I’m having one of those moments.”
“For the peppermint bark?” She teases, but his brows furrow and he swats her shoulder playfully, “Hey!”
“I’m trying to be sweet on you, and you’re still going on about this bloody chocolate,” he rubs the arm that he swats, even though Y/N has so many layers on plus the blanket that she bought wrapped around her, that he made no real contact with her body.
Y/N pulls him in for a hug, narrowly avoiding a child running past them as she does so, “Oh, you know m’only kidding. I love you too, Bug, more than words can describe and ten times more than the chocolate I reckon. . .well, unless it’s made really well this year.”
“I’ll leave you here, blanket hog.”
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mixtape | track fourteen
| masterlist | faceclaims | playlist |
“Today’s lecture is on end of life. Death. Passing. However you want to refer to it, it’s about the process of a human being who was here, not being here anymore. And it’s particularly about your role in helping them go peacefully.”
Indy swallowed hard.
The wound was still fresh. It didn’t matter that it was May. Bekah’s funeral could have been just yesterday. She could see the wood grain of the podium she’d delivered the eulogy at in front of her if she closed her eyes for a few seconds too long.
Instead, she looked forward, found her professor in the front of the lecture hall. Dr. Ginn. A quirky woman, who seemed determined to live up to Indy’s first impression as she climbed onto her desk and sat with her clicker in her hand, legs criss-cross.
“Now. Doctors and death, they don’t mix. If I had to guess, a doctor’s worst fear is death. They spend their whole lives fighting it. But nurses? We’re different.”
Indy liked the sound of we.
“For us, the priorities shift. As nurses, your job is just as much to push epi as it is to hold someone’s hand. And you are the one that makes that call. You are the last comfort that a lot of people have in their lives. You are the backbone for the family, for the friends who are there to say goodbye. And you are there to make sure your patient goes as peacefully as they can. That is the most important part of your job, hands down. And if that’s not something you can see yourself doing, then you need to rethink and probably change your career.”
The hall was silent apart from the clicking of laptop keys.
“Now. On that lovely note, let’s get started. A code blue, or as I call it, an ‘oh shit’...”
A message notification appeared on the right corner of Indy’s screen as she opened her notes.
Coffee after class?
Indy smiled, and in lieu of listening for a moment, she let her mind wander back to February...
Grayson was really trying. But it was hard to break habits that he’d been so comfortable with since the first day that he met Indiana. It took so much mental effort to not hold her hand, to not brush her hair behind her ear - so much that Indy nudged him in the side as they walked.
“Where’d you go?”
“Sorry, just thinking.”
She had a good guess of what he was thinking about, or more specifically what he was waiting for.
An answer.
Indy could hear Nicole in her mind, telling her to be careful, to be careful with her heart. She thought of what her mother would say if she met Grayson as she walked beside him on the sidewalk. It kept her mind busy until they got to the familiar door that Grayson pulled open for her. If nothing else made sense, at least there was always Jet’s, with it’s comforting constant vanilla smell and that favorite blue chair that Indy beelined for while Gray went to the counter.
Patrick looked ready to commit murder when he realized who was ordering, but Indy shot him a smile from across the store that softened him up just enough for Grayson to make it out with their coffees unscathed.
“So he definitely hates my guts,” Gray mumbled as he sat down, making sure his back was to the bar.
“He’s a protective one, you know this,” Indy teased as she sipped her coffee.
“How soon did you start working here again after… after I left.”
“I gave myself a couple days. I definitely wasn’t at my peak on my first day if that’s what you’re asking.” She let out a dry chuckle.
“Did you start here or the hospital first?”
“Same time. The tech job kinda fell in my lap, and I needed the money for rent. I only really came back here so I could afford therapy. They have a benefits package for all their employees.”
Grayson froze, but his cup quivered in his hand as he shook.
“I… because of…”
“No, no no, not because of you. I mean, I did talk about the stuff going on with her cause we’ve been having sessions but I was planning on going since graduation. I wanted to get a handle on the whole flying thing.”
The reason went unspoken, and Grayson’s hands didn’t stop shaking, though his breathing came a bit easier.
“Is it going okay?”
“Yeah, I think so. I mean, haven’t really been on a plane to test anything out. But I did better than I thought I would when you were flying out, considering. So that’s a good sign. And my therapist is really nice, we’re a pretty good match.”
“Good. That’s good.” It wasn’t lost on him what it meant that she still cared that he was on a plane. Hope riled in his belly and he beat it back down as best he could.
There was a lull that was filled with the sounds of coffee beans grinding until Indy spoke up again.
“What have you been up to out in LA?”
Grayson swallowed. He looked at her quickly, her soft smile that made him feel like he could tell her anything, no matter how embarrassing it was.
“Honestly? I did fuck all. I mean, I did the basics I guess, with the companies and stuff. But I kinda let the misery have me. You did a hell of a lot better than me, that’s for damn sure.”
“I wasn’t doing great, believe me.”
“But at least you were trying,” he sighed, running a hand over his face. “And I caused all this, I didn’t really have an excuse.”
“It’s in the past now. Nothing we can do to change it.”
“For the record, I wish I could. More than anything.”
“I know.”
“I really am sorry Dee. I know it’s not enough, but I am.”
“I know that too.”
The next beat of silence was painful, and it took a moment for Grayson to realize that it was now or never.
“Remember how bad our first date went? How I had that whole plan that just totally didn’t work?”
“The thunderstorm. I remember.” It made her smile, and she could picture every frame of it, from the ocean hallway to the remnants of apple juice on his lips.
“And I told you I was gonna save the real date for later.”
Indy nodded.
“Could we… can I do it now? Can I take you on a date?”
The thought brought butterflies to Indy’s stomach, but she blamed it on the coffee.
“Yeah. Yeah, that would be nice. What did you have in mind?”
“I’ll show you. Technically Jet’s was first on the list anyways, but the next part is a surprise.”
With that, she stood up and followed him out into the street.
They started their walk separate, but it only took a moment for Indy to grab onto Grayson’s hand. He told himself it was out of necessity so they didn’t get split up in a feeble attempt to keep his hopes from getting away from him. Still, his stomach fluttered high above the pavement as they enjoyed the setting sun and willfully ignored the chill of the wind whipping around the buildings of the city. Eventually, his plan unfolded when they reached the entrance of the Highline. It was one of Indy’s favorite places in the city, but she knew she’d never told Grayson that. He just knew her well enough it seemed.
They walked in peaceful silence for a while, hands squeezed tight against one another’s despite the lull in the foot traffic.
Indy smiled at their luck when they finally found an empty bench with a nice view of the skyline. She tugged Grayson over to it and kept her eyes forward for a moment before she looked over at him. His eyes were on the sky, skin flushed pink from the pigment on the clouds or the chill of the wind, she couldn’t tell. It didn’t matter. He was beautiful, and he was hers if she wanted him.
Across the walkway, a young girl walked with her mom, who had a baby carrier strapped to her chest with a head of fuzzy hair just visible within it. The mom was rushing it seemed, and Indy realized the baby was crying loudly, sharp wails that became more audible as they passed by. The girl was dragging a small lion stuffed animal behind her, and Grayson watched as it slipped out of her hands and onto the concrete.
“Joey! Momma, momma I dropped Joey! Joey!” The girl cried out, but her mom continued to tug her along as she reached back for her lion.
Grayson was on his feet before Indy could say a word, jogging by and scooping up the small stuffed animal. He politely tapped the mother on the shoulder to get her to stop, then squatted down to the girl.
“Is this Joey?”
She nodded, her eyes brimming with tears as she held her hand out for her toy. He passed it over slowly with a smile.
“Hold on tight to him okay?”
“Okay mister,” she said, voice high and quiet.
And right then, Indy saw everything she ever wanted. She saw her kids, with Grayson’s hair and Grayson’s eyes and Grayson’s laugh, she could see him carrying them up to bed, see him dancing with a little girl standing on his toes in their kitchen somewhere, see him passing her a little stuffed animal. She could see him in every facet of the future she hadn’t let herself imagine since he’d left, but her fantasies came rushing back so fast it felt like she was floating.
As if she could ever want anyone else.
She reached over for his hand as he walked back over, intertwining their fingers and letting him sit down before she finally spoke.
“I love this city. I love this city so much. It’s always been all I really needed.”
Grayson felt lightheaded as he prepared himself for what she was going to say.
“I know,” was all he could say.
Indy took a deep breath and turned towards Grayson with a soft smile. She could see the apprehension in his eyes as he waited for her to say something else.
“Did I tell you that Devin came to see me while you were gone?”
He shook his head.
“He came to check on me, since I wasn’t answering anyone.”
Grayson’s throat was tight as he pictured it in his head, the guilt overwhelming him. He reached over and squeezed her knee - a silent apology.
“He helped me figure out that I want to go into nursing, helped me get my head on straight.”
“He’s a smart guy,” Grayson said quietly.
“He told me I need to go for what I want. ‘Ask yourself what you really want the rest of your life to look like, and then do whatever you have to to get there’. That’s what he said. And I thought that’s what I was doing. I was going after a PhD, and my life in New York, and all these things I always wanted. Things I thought were really important. But they aren’t.”
He frowned. “Dee, your dreams are important.”
“I know, I know, and I’m not saying I’m giving up on that. I just mean my priorities I guess. I had them twisted, and I was missing the most important thing.”
She smiled his favorite smile as he tried to swallow.
He couldn’t make himself ask, just in case he was wrong, but she put him out of his misery after a moment.
“You. You’re the most important thing.”
She was suddenly blurry as his eyes filled with tears.
“I’ve never been good at change, but you’re worth it to me. If being with you means spending less time in New York, then it’s worth it. And I’m sorry if I ever made it seem like you weren’t.” She was crying too, and Grayson lifted his free hand to her cheek, wiping each tear with his thumb.
“Never. You never made me feel like that. I was the one that ran, because I never wanted you to feel like you ever had to give up anything for me.”
“Because you don’t realize that you’re worth giving things up for. You don’t realize how worth loving you are.”
He was fully crying now, a broken laugh making it’s way past his lips.
“Does that mean you still love me?”
She smiled.
“Never stopped.”
And she kissed him, and all was right in the world again for a moment. It didn’t matter that there were people walking by, and that their cheeks were wet from their tears. They were kissing and that meant that everything would be okay.
Any stranger that walked by surely had to feel the relief in the air when they pulled back and realized they could lean right back in without a single care in the world. He let go of her hand only to move it to her other cheek, to hold her steady there cradled in his palms as she kissed him between smiles - his whole world in his hands.
In that moment, he wanted more than anything to love her loud.
He pulled back just enough to bring her up to her feet and then his arms were wrapped around her waist, spinning her around until she was breathless and the city was a blur behind both their eyes. And for the first time that he could remember in too many years to count, he didn’t care who could hear him, and he didn’t care who was watching.
“I love you,” he said. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too. I missed you.”
Being back in each other’s arms was as easy as breathing. She didn’t stray an inch from his side, soaking in the warmth of his body next to hers as they made their way down from the highline as the city started to light up. By the time they made it home her toes were numb from the cold but her cheeks were still warm, seeing that every time they had to wait for a crosswalk Grayson ducked down to kiss her again.
When they got to the lobby, Grayson squeezed her hand.
“I gotta get something out of the truck, I’ll be right back.”
“You want me to wait here or head on up?”
He pondered it for a minute.
“Wait for me.”
She nodded. She always waited for him, after all.
He disappeared out of the glass doors at a jog and Indy heard a chuckle from the side of the lobby. She looked over to see the receptionist smiling down at her computer. Indy prided herself on being a very low maintenance tenant, but she still smiled and waved to the woman behind the counter whenever she passed by. Her name tag read Cara in neat white letters.
“Sorry if we were loud,” Indy said sheepishly. Cara laughed.
“Just happy to see you smiling that’s all. I’m glad he’s back.”
Indy blushed bright red before she answered. “Yeah. Me too.”
Grayson was slightly winded when he came back, and he was grateful for the long elevator ride as he held the small gift bag in his hand. Indy pretended she didn’t see it like her mom had always taught her to when she received a gift. Still, her eyes flickered to it each time she knew she could get away with it, her curiosity getting the better of her.
When they finally got inside the apartment he led her over to the living room by the hand and passed her the bag.
“I didn’t know how today was going to go, but I wanted you to have this either way. Figured you could put it on your shelf. When you’re ready.”
Indy pulled the tissue paper out and saw the rose gold edge of a picture frame. She pulled it out and her breath caught in her throat.
“Oh.”
Bekah was smiling.
It warmed the whole image in a way that had Indy’s eyes burning as she tried to place the day. She was curled up on the bed next to Beks, but she wasn’t looking at the camera. Instead, she was looking at the girl beside her. Her little sister in a way, who was tucked away under her halloween blanket.
“That’s the night we had the word search tournament, and you both schooled me,” Grayson explained quietly, wrapping an arm around her waist and squeezing at her hip under her sweatshirt. She remembered then, noticed the activity book in the corner of the picture.
“I didn’t even know you took this.”
“I know you like pictures, I meant to take more of you guys. But I like her smile in this one. Yours too.”
Indy sniffled and leaned her head back onto Grayson’s shoulder. “You’ve made me cry twice now you know.”
He kissed her temple and moved a hand to her forearm.
S-O-R-R-Y
He drew a heart afterwards, and even invisible on her skin she could tell it was lopsided. It made her smile, and she soaked in the feeling of him next to her for a moment before she spun around to kiss him.
“Thank you,” she whispered against his lips before pulling him in for a tight hug that had her up on her tiptoes when he wrapped her up. They held each other for a moment before Indy got an idea.
“I have something for you too. Wait here.”
Grayson kept his hands on her waist, thumbs rubbing over her skin underneath her sweatshirt.
“Stay,” he pouted.
“It’ll just take a second, I promise. Just wait here.”
She kissed him quickly just because she could and disappeared into the bedroom, pulling the door closed behind her.
He lasted about 45 seconds before he was picking at his fingernails. Then he was taking a few steps towards the door, fighting the urge to stick his ear up to it to see if he could get a hint at what she was doing.
Another minute passed, and he felt like he was going to lose it.
“Indyyyy,” he whined. “You’re killin’ me babe.”
“You’re so dramatic oh my god it’s been like a minute tops.”
“One minute too long,” he teased just in hopes of making her laugh. It warmed his heart to hear it, even muffled through the door. It still felt like an eternity before she finally reappeared with her hands behind her back.
“You know, you didn’t need to get me anything. Having you back is more than I deserve already.”
Indy’s laugh was louder this time since she was right in front of him.
“Who knew a Jersey boy could be so damn sappy,” she teased. “I don’t have a frame or anything, but here.”
She pulled out a piece of paper and passed it to him quickly, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet while she waited for him to read it. It felt like an eternity while she watched his eyes scan over the letters, seemingly missing the UCLA logo in the top corner.
“Did you… are you reading? Did you see it?”
Grayson looked up with a smile and drew a circle in the air around his face.
“Dyslexic,” he reminded her gently.
She bit her lip and tried her hardest to be patient, waiting until his brows furrowed in confusion.
“Wait… wait. What is this? UCLA? Nursing?” He looked up at her cautiously, trying to keep his excitement in check in case he’d misread. “What is this?”
“Well. There’s a lot of good nursing programs out there. And LA has some top notch hospitals too. Especially pediatric ones. Figured it couldn’t hurt to apply, and they’ve got a pretty good tuition coverage package, it’s close to your house, and-”
Grayson’s lips were on hers, his excitement palpable.
She kissed him back with a smile, relieved to finally tell someone about the grand plan she’d made in her head now that all the pieces had come together.
“You’re sure?”
Indiana smiled. “You’re worth it. You’re what I want, forever.”
He kissed her again, making up for lost time and telling her everything he couldn’t find the words for. They walked backwards until the back of his legs hit the couch and she ended up crawling onto his lap, beaming down at him when they finally broke apart.
“You’re actually coming to LA. We’re gonna live there.”
“Guess I gotta start apartment shopping,” she mused.
Grayson rolled his eyes. “Shut up and c’mere.”
He bailed them to the side until Indy was fully on top of him.
“I’ll build you a shelf for our bedroom. Fuck, I’ll build you 50 shelves as soon as we get there. Wait when do classes start, when do you have to move?”
“You’re cute when you’re excited,” she hummed, leaning down to kiss him again. It was slow and purposeful, warm in that familiar way as they remembered each other fully. “We’ll figure it all out,” Indy said eventually, scooting down his torso until her head could rest comfortably on his chest. She listened to his heart beat, a bit fast from either her presence or the coffee, she couldn’t tell. Either way, it was still her favorite sound, and as his hand moved through her hair gently, she knew she’d made the right choice, no matter where it took her.
3 months later, the place it took her was the passenger seat of Grayson’s brand new tesla, which was delightfully cool despite the warmth of the incoming summer making the LA air dry and warm. Grayson held out a hand for her to pass her backpack, tossing it into the backseat as if it wasn’t weighed down with three textbooks. She pulled the door closed behind her and let her head rest back against the seat for a moment before she turned to him.
“Hi.”
He beamed, leaning over the console to give her a quick kiss. “Hey. Good day?”
“Long day, but yeah, it was fine. Got a shit ton of assignments per usual.”
“Hey, three day weekend next week though, and we’re going to New York. What’d you learn?”
“Oh you know, the usual. Meds, codes, diseases, death. Truly uplifting stuff.”
He reached his hand over to her thigh, rubbing circles with his thumb as his other hand moved the wheel effortlessly, pulling back out onto the road.
“Still want coffee? You didn’t answer.”
“Do I ever say no to coffee?”
“Fair points. Text E squared and see if they want anything.”
“They weren’t home?”
“No, they ran to the store, but they should be back by the time we get there.”
“If Eden went to Target without me I’m gonna be pissed,” Indy mumbled halfheartedly, typing out the text in their group chat quickly. “You know she’s gonna say she wants Jet’s.”
“Believe me I know, just ask Ethan. You’ve created a monster. We’ve gotta start asking Patrick to send beans in bulk or something, we go through them so fast now that she drinks it too.”
Indy just laughed and turned up the radio, unsurprised to hear Cudi from Grayson’s playlist he’d made for their car rides. It was routine now for him to pick her up from class, save her from the hassle of trying to find parking on campus. And it gave them some more alone time considering they lived with Ethan and Eden at the house. So, it wasn’t abnormal for Grayson to happily add 20 minutes to the drive to pick up coffee on the way home. Purdy’s was right down the street after all, and though their lattes weren’t quite as perfect as Jet’s, they held their own.
“We should buy Patrick some fancy beans somewhere and take them with us next weekend,” Grayson mused.
“You’re such a suck up, it’s not like he’s giving us free coffee,” Indy laughed. “You’re just still scared of him.”
“Fuck yeah I am! Every time we’ve gone home he looks like he wants to straight up murder me.”
She reached over to hold his cheek for a moment as she bit back her laugh.
“Baby. Patrick can barely lift a 50 pound box of syrup. Believe it or not, I think you could take him.”
He rolled his eyes but the comment wasn’t lost on his ego, especially when his girl leaned over to wrap her arm around his bicep and rest her cheek on it, enjoying the feeling of his bare skin left behind by his tank top. They ordered through the drive thru, surprised when neither Eden or Ethan responded to them. The car was peaceful, even more so when Grayson put it on autopilot and gave Indy more of his attention, trying to ease the stress he could feel coming off of her like it always did when she got out of class.
“Tell me about your lecture,” he said, hoping talking it through would help her.
She sipped on her coffee as she spoke, starting without many details but eventually going more in depth as she got more excited. It was one of Grayson’s favorite parts of listening to her talk about the things she cared about, and even though half of the information went right over his head he listened intently anyways, tried to take it all in as the car drove them home.
By the time they pulled into the driveway, Indy’s coffee was gone along with her stress, and Grayson knew all the steps to running a code blue. He hopped out first, grabbing her bag from the backseat and slinging it over his shoulder as they headed to the front door.
The first sign that something was different was the quiet of the house. Any other time that E squared was left alone, Grayson and Indy would come back to the speakers blaring, a scary movie on the living room TV, or the distant sound of a headboard knocking against the wall.
But it was dead silent, and the pair looked at each other before they scanned the room.
“They’re up to something,” Indy muttered, peaking around the wall to make sure Ethan wasn’t going to scare them.
“For sure. Something is off with Ethan, just don’t know what it is.”
“Oh, you got a feeling huh?” Indy teased, bumping him with her elbow. He took her waist in his hands and pulled her back against him, making her laugh as he tickled her and buried his face in her neck. He never got tired of having her so close - it was just as intoxicating as the first time.
“Sorry you don’t understand the twin connection.”
“Well, use your psychic powers to figure out where the fuck they are then.”
He closed his eyes for dramatic effect, smiling when it got the laugh he wanted out of her. Just as he lifted his fingers to his temple, a bang sounded from the backdoor, making Indy squeal and cling onto Grayson. He went to move her behind him until he saw the culprit - a tennis ball bouncing away across the yard.
“You’re okay, it’s just E,” Grayson breathed, relaxing and moving towards the door to find where his brother was hiding. They walked into the backyard hand in hand, following the sound of music coming from the pool, which was finally finished in the back corner of the property.
Ethan was at the entrance, his biggest smile on his face as he waited for them to get closer. Impatient as ever, he started walking towards them, meeting them halfway across the grass.
“Took you guys long enough to get home. We bought new stuff for the pool, come look at it.”
“E, bro, I told you not to buy random shit on your own,” Grayson grumbled, obviously weary of his brother’s interior design skills.
“Eden was with him,” Indy reminded him at a whisper.
“Just come on,” Ethan said, grabbing onto his brother’s hand and starting to drag him towards the pool.
“Jesus bro, calm down.”
Ethan ignored him, looking to make sure Grayson was bringing Indy along too until they made it around the corner where the small pool was in view.
“Surprise!” Ethan beamed, holding his hand out towards the water. Beside it on the concrete were some new additions.
Four loungers, a beautiful teal color with rounded contour that looked perfect for tanning. In fact, Eden was on one of them sprawled out in her bathing suit, and she looked so comfortable that Indy barely noticed the miniature fifth chair next to her at the end of the line up.
Brain fried from class, it took Indy a moment to piece it together.
5 chairs. 4 people. One smaller than the rest.
“No way,” she gasped, hand coming up to cover her mouth. “Eden no way!”
Indy was already moving towards her best friend before she could get to her feet, ignoring Grayson’s confused calls of “what? huh?” from behind her.
“Yes way,” Eden sniffled, a nervous laugh coming through as she put a hand over her stomach.
“How far along? When did you find out?”
“A couple days ago, we went to the doctor to find out for sure this morning. She said we’re about 7 weeks.”
Indy pulled her in for a hug.
“Wait. Wait.” Grayson was yelling now, catching on with no doubt a few hints from Ethan. “Holy fuck. Holy fuck, you’re pregnant?! She’s PREGNANT?!” He grabbed his brother’s face with both hands and shook him just barely.
“I’m gonna be a fucking dad,” Ethan said, and Indy melted when she realized he was about to cry.
“You’re gonna be a fucking dad,” Grayson repeated, shaking him twice more before he pulled him in for the tightest hug Indy had ever seen them share. The girls watched them for a moment before Indy turned her attention back to Eden.
“How are you feeling with all this?”
“Well I’ve just started having morning sickness, my appetite has been super weird, vegan cheese makes me want to straight up die…”
“Right right, but I mean like… mentally. You okay? This is a big change.”
Even just standing there, the boy's excitement was slightly overwhelming, especially with Grayson literally running around yelling about being an uncle. She was sure that Ethan had been excited from the moment of a positive test.
“A very big change that we weren’t really expecting,” Eden said quietly, looking down at her manicured toes.
“How are you feeling about it?” Indy asked again, reaching out to hold her hand. Eden squeezed tightly.
“Honestly? I’m fucking terrified,” she admitted. “And Ethan’s been great, it’s not that, it’s just… there’s a human in me. Right now. Just chillin’ in there.”
“Yep, there do be a human in there,” Indy laughed at her bluntness. “What are you scared about?”
“Everything. I’m afraid I’m gonna do something that’s gonna hurt them. I don’t know shit about pregnancy, like real pregnancy, and don’t even get me started on trying to push this thing out of me.”
“We’ve got a while to figure all that out. And you aren’t going to do anything that’s going to hurt them. You’re a good mom.”
“Jesus, a mom. Ethan keeps saying that but it sounds different coming from a woman. A fucking mom. You’re gonna have to teach me all the medical stuff… wait actually no I don’t think I even want to know what’s going on in there. I’ll just focus on figuring out how the fuck I’m gonna be a mom.”
“You’ll be great. And you’ll have Ethan too. Those two were pretty much born to be dads,” Indy said. They turned and looked to see Grayson hauling Ethan up to sit on his shoulders before running what she assumed was a victory lap around the backyard.
“Yeah… remind me of that for the next nine months. Regularly.”
They both started laughing and pulled in for another hug.
“I’m so happy for you,” Indy sighed with the warmest smile, images of baby showers and Eden’s bump and the office as a nursery already spinning through her mind.
“Love you aunt… Indiana? Indy?”
Indy scrunched her nose. “We’ll have to work on that one,” she teased, taking her hand and leading her over to their boys, who were still somehow yelling.
They both came running, but Grayson was faster, scooping Eden up and spinning her around so fast that Ethan was immediately scolding him, urging him to be careful.
“She’s not that delicate bub, it’s okay,” Indy reassured him, getting up on her tiptoes to give Ethan a hug. He squeezed her tight and whispered in her ear.
“She okay? You guys are the first ones we’ve told.”
“Just a little scared, like all pregnant people are. Totally normal.”
“Good. I’m glad you know, she’s been dying to tell a girl. Only so much I can do.”
She leaned back with a smile. “You’re doing great already.”
Those words meant more to Ethan than she would ever know, but all he could do was smile and head back over to Eden, a hand across her tummy when she leaned up against his side.
“We’re gonna tell Li when we’re all home next weekend, but Eden’s parents are coming over for dinner in a little while and we’re gonna tell them now so we can do it in person,” Ethan explained, pressing a kiss to Eden’s hair.
“We’ll make ourselves scarce for the evening,” Indy offered, sensing the nerves already rising for Eden. She’d have enough of an audience.
“Okay but first we gotta get a picture of everybody, we’re gonna make an album of telling everybody.” Ethan was already moving as he spoke, setting his phone up on the patio table with the timer on. They all posed with Ethan pointing excitedly to Eden’s non-existent bump before they all headed back inside, still buzzing with excitement.
Grayson stayed particularly close as they gathered around the island, his hand resting on Indy’s hip as they all settled after a few moments. They all helped to straighten up the house in preparation for Eden’s family’s arrival, and Grayson appeared behind Indiana with a smile as she placed a blanket over the back of the couch.
“Date night?”
Indy had lost count of how many dates they’d been on, but those words never failed to make her stomach swirl.
“What’d you have in mind?”
“Well, I know you said you have homework so… Monty’s, secret beach… with flashcards?”
“You truly know the way to my heart.” She kissed him softly and followed him to their room to change into beach clothes. As she sifted through the drawers, she couldn’t help but look at the shelf. It was bigger than the one she’d had in New York, more sturdy with thicker wood and longer, able to hold more frames.
That was a good thing, because there had been some new additions. The picture of Nicole, the baby picture of her and Charlie, and the engagement picture with them and Devin all stood tall beside each other. Down the line came the picture of Indy and Grayson at her graduation, the one where he was dipping her back slightly and wearing her cap. Then was Bekah in her hospital bed - it still made Indy’s chest tight when she looked at it. There were two new ones since then - one of the four of them taken by Lisa in front of their tiny homes, and another of all of them at thanksgiving that they’d finally gotten printed.
“We need to get that picture we just took from Ethan, I wanna put it on the shelf.”
“I’m gonna have to build you another shelf,” he teased as he pulled his swim trunks up.
“Think you’ll probably be building stuff for the nursery first.”
“Shut up, do you really think they’ll let me?” His eyes lit up and Indy laughed as she pulled her New York sweatshirt down over her bikini top.
“I don’t see why not.”
“Fuck yeah, that’s gonna be so much fun! What all do you need in a nursery though? I mean a crib, obviously. A dresser? Do you need a dresser for baby clothes or can you just stack them up cause they’re so tiny?”
“We can talk about it while we drive,” Indy redirected him, taking his hand and leading him out of their room, down the hall and out to the car before he could bombard the other couple of the house with questions.
The excitement was palpable for the whole drive, buzzing within the cab as they made their way to Monty’s, ordered their vegan burgers and raspberry lemonades and snuck away to their secret place on the beach.
Considering it was a Wednesday evening, they didn’t expect it to be busy, but they were particularly excited to see that it was completely empty apart from a few stray crabs that went scurrying away at the sound of their footsteps.
Grayson set out the blanket that was always in the back of the tesla for trips like this and Indy set down their bags and drinks, getting everything settled so they could simply sit down and enjoy their meal.
It was peaceful, calm as the ocean lapped up against the sand gently and they filled their tummies. Grayson was done before Indy, per usual, and he basked in the last remnants of the sun while she finished her fries.
“Wanna swim?” Indy asked.
“Thought we were supposed to wait 30 minutes.”
“That’s a myth,” she teased, standing up to her feet and helping him to his. They walked down to the water quickly, gasping a bit at the cold of the water. Still, there was nothing that compared to the feeling of being in the waves, and Indy braved it. Grayson had every muscle tensed against the cold, but he’d follow her anywhere. Soon enough they were up to shoulder height water, kicking gently to get over the waves when they needed to, arms wrapped around each other to keep warm.
“I can’t believe they’re gonna have a kid. Were gonna be Aunt Dee and Uncle Grayson. What the fuck,” Grayson murmured, half distracted by the way the orange of the sky was starting to reflect off of Indy’s eyes.
“It’s gonna be so much fun to have a little one around. They’re gonna be such good parents.”
“You know who would be even better parents? Us,” he beamed. He looked so beautiful when he smiled, and Indy ran her thumb along his jaw.
“Let me finish school and find a job before you go putting a baby in me,” Indy laughed, but her heart warmed at the thought. She remembered the little girl on the highline, and she wanted it for the two of them.
“You’re done in like a year and a half.”
“Correct,” Indy confirmed it.
“I always thought I’d be married before I had a kid,” Grayson said, trying to bite back his excitement.
She wasn’t sure if it was the bliss of the water around them, or the steadiness of his arms, or the fact that she always felt like she was home when she was with him, but in that moment, she knew.
“Okay. Then let’s get married.”
“Are you serious? You aren’t fucking with me? You really wanna get married?”
“Did I ever give you the impression that I didn’t want to marry you someday?” She teased.
Grayson could only laugh, and look up towards the skies and thank whatever angels were listening and watching for all that he’d been given.
He was pretty sure he knew at least three that were there with him.
“I love you. I love you so fucking much. Don’t know what I ever did to deserve you.”
Indy kissed him. The feeling was mutual in the most effortless way, and there was a sense of peace that she wasn’t used to in that moment, knowing that everything would somehow work itself out and she would have him with her for the rest of her life.
And for once, the timeline of her life wasn’t her priority anymore. She didn’t care what date she’d finish school, or when she’d get her job. And she didn’t care when he would propose, or when they’d find out they were having a child of their own. Because in all those moments, whenever they happened, he would be there, and that was all that really mattered at the end of the day.
They kissed slow, quiet for a while, and as the sun dipped below the horizon Grayson carried her back out onto the sand. They wrapped themselves up in the same towel and found each other’s lips again, warm and familiar and safe as they lost themselves within one another over and over again.
Her lips were chapped by the time they pulled away, both giddy at the realizations that they’d always know finally being said out loud.
“How much homework do you have?”
“Just studying, I can do it in the morning. What’s the plan?” She knew he wouldn’t have asked if there wasn’t something he wanted to do.
“I’ll show you. Just trust me.”
“Okay,” she answered without a second thought.
Twenty minutes later, with salty hair and big smiles, they pulled up to a tattoo parlor.
“I thought you got all yours from Alexis now?”
“Gotta get this one tonight. Special day.”
Indy looked at the neon signs, and the artwork on the walls through the window. She pondered it for a minute, and something in her told her to go for it.
“I think I’m gonna get one too.”
Grayson perked up at that. “Really?” He knew every inch of her body, knew it would be her first one.
“Something small. Something for Beks.”
He smiled and kissed her temple before he got out to open her door.
Indy went first. A small lightning bolt, like the one on Bekah’s headscarf. And, the thunderstorm of their first date in the city. She got it tucked away behind her ear, in the same place of Grayson’s triple threes. His angel number, and her reminder of both of hers. It didn’t hurt as badly as she thought it would, but Grayson sat beside her anyways, rubbed soothing circles on the back of her hand while he held it.
D-O-I-N-G G-O-O-D he wrote.
“Thanks,” she smiled softly. “Bet you won’t even flinch during yours.”
“That's the idea. You can study while I get mine, I want it to be a surprise.”
Hers only took a few minutes, and her lecture material was at the back of her mind once the artist cleaned her up and moved over the Grayson. He grabbed his wallet from her backpack where he’d stowed it and Indy took a seat in one of the chairs in the lobby, occasionally turning her head towards the mirror so she could see her new ink.
Across the shop, Grayson took his shirt off.
“You can pull the letters from these, and I want it right here.” He passed over the stack of flashcards he’d snagged, sure that they’d be able to find what they needed.
“Bitch of a spot,” the artist said quietly as he prepped over his ribs, but he just laughed. From the view of Grayson’s covered legs, he wasn’t sure there was any spot too painful for him.
“She’s worth it,” Grayson said, closing his eyes and waiting. The sting of the needle was familiar, and it did hurt as he moved over each bone. But when he looked in the mirror, it was all worth it. He didn’t even bother putting his shirt on as he paid the artist in cash, including a big tip, and headed out to the lobby.
Indy was sifting through her bag.
“Looking for these?” Grayson held up a small stack of flashcards with a devious grin. “Sorry, had to borrow them for my tat.”
Indy’s brows furrowed, and she stood up, moving closer as he lifted his arm and showed her his ribcage.
In small handwriting, her handwriting, was the word ‘forever’.
“Right where you always trace it.”
To her surprise, her eyes started to burn.
“Gray…” She knew how important his tattoos were to him, what each and every one of them meant.
“Consider it a promise. I’m with you. Forever.”
He ducked down to kiss her, and she smiled against him, hand resting on his torso right below his promise.
She liked the sound of forever.
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uni!au with ateez — [ part one ]
—[ san - performing arts ]
ironically, you met when you helped him after a taller male shoved him down whilst in a heated argument.
he burst out laughing when you asked if he was okay.
“don’t worry, we’re just practicing our lines!”
you quickly glanced up at the building and grimaced once taking sight of the gleaming silver ‘performing arts building’ plaque.
of course.
to say you were embarrassed was only scratching the surface.
you had no regrets, because the incident was the catalyst that formed your friendship and eventual relationship.
will never let you live that moment down.
“remember when you tried to save me from mingi?”
“i thought we promised not to bring that up again-”
“why can’t i? i was saved by an angel that day?”
san invites you to both his dance and theatre shows.
will appear to be very professional on stage, but you catch his eyes frantically darting to the crowd to try and spot you.
and once he does, he will repeatedly smile and wink in your direction.
you’re always early, so you manage to snag a seat in either front two rows.
likes when you bring him bouquets as a congratulation gift after his performances.
gets very loud backstage just to let everyone know you bought him a gift.
a huge show-off.
is very good at facial expressions.
you fall for every time he pretends he’s crying or hurt when you don’t give him attention.
he will imitate different characters and repeat after actors while you two watch movies together.
“it sounded sexier when i said it, right (y/n)?”
is a very clingy cuddle bug.
and a leech.
will always have his arms around you while walking at campus.
loves to give you back hugs.
is the type to wait outside for you until you finish class.
and takes you to the cafeteria afterwards for lunch.
embarrasses you in said cafeteria by spinning the lunch tray while waiting in line.
also likes to spin your phone just to freak you out.
also the type to excitedly text you about the donuts and coffee they’re giving away at the library’s breezeway.
likes to refer to you as ‘angel’.
will beg you join the different clubs he’s in.
and then brag about you to the others once you do.
will hype your choice of attire even if he’s already seen you earlier that day.
the type to also sneak you a latte in the middle of your class.
also the type to sneak in with you during your auditorium classes.
you regret it sometimes because he leaves no room for you to pay attention to your professor.
often times, so much so that you have to lightly pinch his side in protest.
“do you want me to fail this class?”
he likes to participate in the many events held at campus.
everyone knows him.
challenges you to dance offs in the middle of campus.
you refuse and push forward a startled mingi instead.
“mingi wants to have a turn this time!”
also likes to lay in your arms whilst you play with his hair.
“were you a cat in your previous life?”
he will then proceed to meow in your ear.
“i’ll take that as a yes.”
—[ hongjoong - fashion design ]
dating him would consist of always admiring his new projects.
supplying him with unhealthy amounts of coffee.
trying out new pieces he made.
offering to carry his overly large portfolio binder sometimes.
sitting down and listening to him rant about how his roomates fail to wash clothes properly.
he has a guide taped to the washing machine with the different symbols of clothing labels.
“no, san, you can’t use shampoo as detergent.”
“but seonghwa finished all the detergent!”
using seonghwa’s lint rollers to remove all the fabric fibers stuck on hongjoong’s clothes.
you scold him while cleaning the bleeding scratches on his fingers from his sewing needles and pins.
“don’t worry, it’s nothing i can’t handle.”
“but i don’t like seeing you get hurt, you bum.”
you bought him strawberry bandaids because he thought they were cute.
sometimes, when he has time, he’ll custom make clothes just for you.
he insists on having multiple matching outfits.
will ask you to model his work for his social media page.
thinks you look best in skirts.
you’ll be the source of comfort during presentation week.
he’ll be a wreck whilst making a new collection.
but you’re always there to pick him back up.
most of the time, you’re the source of his inspiration as well.
you insist he shouldn’t sit for hours writing essays or sketching numerous ideas for future work.
but he’s stubborn as a mule.
nights with him include binge watching fashion shows or cute cartoons.
or painting your nails.
you both enjoy coffee dates when you have time.
he tells you he wants to open a fashion line one day.
you’re trying to stand still as he plucks numerous pins into the dress you’re trying on.
“what do you think i should call it?”
“hj couture? does that sound too basic?”
he pauses momentarily before spooling the leftover red thread.
“(y/n). i’ll call the line (y/n).”
—[ wooyoung - culinary arts ]
invites you to his dorm and cooks for you.
his apartment always smells of warm spices and comforting meals.
pretends his roommates’ teasing doesn’t affect him, but the tips of ears always glow red.
will always bring over leftovers he made in class.
“i just thought you wanted to try this mille feuille.”
“which one is better? the salted rosemary loaf or the oregano and olive oil one?”
loves to bake and cook with you.
will make your birthday cake from scratch and will go all out decorating it.
has an annoying habit of taking pictures of you mid-bite.
“delete that right now.”
“but babe, you look so cute.”
“jung wooyoung!”
will wrestle with you as you attempt to take his phone away.
“okay, look! i swear i’ll delete it!”
he saves it in a hidden folder.
calls you his ‘cupcake’ or ‘sugarplum’.
teases you nonstop when you fail at something in the kitchen.
“babe! no! gentle folds! you pulverized those poor blueberries!”
“but the instructions say to mix!”
“the dough isn’t supposed to be blue!”
he’ll whine nonstop about how much he hates baking bread in class.
“do you know how abnoxiously long the fermentation process is!? i’m losing my mind.”
will wave and yell your name to catch your attention if he spots you nearby at campus.
you hear him every time.
he’s just that loud.
drags you to new restaurants just so you can rate them with him.
also drags you to go cutlery shopping.
accidentally dropped a plate in the store.
and when the employee came sauntering in the aisle suspiciously-
“(y/n) did it.”
once gave you food poisoning by accident.
you never wanted to eat scallops again.
you don’t mind his hands smelling like garlic or ginger most of the time.
or stained with spices.
“turmeric is a bitch.”
“woo, who wears white while cooking with turmeric anyway?”
will show off and brag about his knife skills.
demands to race with you to see who can chop the vegetables the quickest.
“you’re going down, (y/n).”
“uh- i don’t think i ever stood a chance to begin with.”
he lets you win sometimes though.
will beg you to visit him at his part time job at the cute cafe not too far by.
you always try to when you have the time.
and when he finds out you went to the rival cafe across the street one day..
“on a scale of 10 to 10, how bad is kang yeosang’s cooking?”
“what?”
“answer the question, (y/n).”
“woo, it’s 3 a.m.”
the next day, you explained that you were merely invited by your classmates to that particular cafe because one of them was a former employee there.
he childishly ignored you with crossed arms and a subtle pout.
“your jajangmyeon is much better. they didn’t even like the food there!”
he finally perks up with a large smile.
“wait, really?”
you think he looks endearing with his apron and chef’s hat.
will post cheesy captioned pictures of you after serving you delicately decorated plates of food.
‘two delicious meals for tonight, hehe.’
“gross. did you really have to say that?”
—[ jongho - kinesiology ]
you met him at the university gym and instantly clicked.
found yourself months later agreeing to go out with him.
a giant goofball.
sometimes makes faces at you while you exercise across the gym.
makes sure you watch him when he deadlifts.
loves when you hype him up.
opens all the jars for you.
and cuts all the fruit for you.
“why use a knife when you have my hands, love?”
you nearly choked on your saliva when he punched open the watermelon.
“can we ever just have a perfectly sliced watermelon!?”
“no- unless i break my arm one day.”
insists you jog with him around campus early in the morning.
likes to practice wrapping elastic tape on you.
you own half of his hoodies.
takes you to watch basketball matches.
then challenges you to a match when you go on dates to the park.
will persistently tease you about your poor aim.
and will absolutely not let you have the ball for more than a few seconds.
“stop cheating!”
“i’m not cheating! you just suck!”
joined you in some of your elective classes.
will also wear sleeveless shirts because he knows how flustered you get while his sculpted muscles are on display.
“what did professor kim just say?”
“what?” you tore your gaze from his biceps to glance at his face.
“are you staring at my arms again?” he snickers.
“no,” you say too quickly, face heating quite considerably.
despite his teasing, he’ll always baby you and take care of your needs.
has the cutest gummy smile.
you like to call him your gummy bear.
he hated the name at first, but grew to accept it over time.
likes to randomly pick you up.
sometimes will throw you over his shoulder.
has a habit of patting your thighs.
sometimes asks you to sit on his back while he does push-ups.
your eye bulged at the sight of a mop of ruby hair.
“don’t say anything.”
“you like apples so much you dyed your hair red?”
“i lost a bet.”
“you look cute though.”
you tugged at his tresses, smiling as you admired the shade against his tanned skin.
“baby?” you brushed his bangs away to display his forehead.
“hm?”
“you’re the apple of my eye.”
“i’m-,” he sucked on his teeth and pursed his lips, face scrunching in a mock grimace, “i’m going to throw up.”
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