#But no really im clearly not ready for the training wheels to come off

[wilsonthemoose]

I forgot to debrief my second ever patient? client? whatever she was and her family. :( I just said thank you and bye bye and left :(

I did run back like 80ish seconds later but they were at the door by then :( like the mother did ask a few questions and I was able to address those concerns but fuck I feel so bad T.T

[havethetimeofyourstyles]

in which harry joins a new gym and you’re a trainer there.

a/n: happy new years loves! wishing you all a lovely and happy 2021! first fic of 2021 and im so excited to write more stories this year! to start the new year, here is boxer!harry for you, and this is for my very own timetravelathon fic challenge! if you’d like to join, please let me know, I’d love to have you on board! this story takes place in the 1990, and i know some of the songs mentioned weren’t released specifically in 1990 (just a few years after), but just pretend it was lol because they’re too good to not mention in this story hehe, but happy reading and pls reblog and leave feedback <3

thank you to @sunflowers-styles for beta reading this for me, love you always!

WORD COUNT: 22.6k of (kinda) boxer!harry x trainer!yn filled with angst and smut

WARNINGS: mentions of abandonment and blood 

COME INTO MY INBOX AND LETS TALK ABOUT ‘143’ i’d love to know your thoughts!

pls rb to share! <3

16 August 1990

With every move he made, Harry felt a bead of sweat drip down the side of his face, down his back, and trailing down his chest. Small huffs of breath were released from his mouth, trying not to make it known that he was exhausted, but he continued until all of his energy was used up through the very end. 

“C’mon,” he muttered to himself, anticipating the certain words to be yelled out. 

He’d been going at it for a while now, muscles aching as he felt like he was about to collapse any minute. But he was determined to finish, to feel the satisfaction running through his veins, knowing that this was his best round. 

“And time!” His trainer yelled at him, clicking the stop button on his timer. 

Harry got in one last punch before putting his arms down, the soreness made his limbs feel like jello as he shook them out. The black leather punching bag was swinging back and forth, the chain that held up the speed bag rattled and slid against the metal bar. Harry loved that sound because it indicated that he was going his hardest to where the chain couldn’t keep up. 

“Nice one, kid.” Henson, his trainer said as he fist-bumped Harry’s red glove. 

Harry simply nodded in appreciation, too exhausted to speak as he placed his gloves onto his knees, leaning down as beads of sweat dripped down onto the matted floor. Several harsh breaths came out of his mouth as he sniffed in the fresh oxygen that was mixed with the musky scent of the gym. 

Benny, Harry’s best friend, exited the ring, wiping the sweat off his forehead with his arm before walking towards Harry, who was still leaning on his knees. Benny tapped Harry’s glove, making him stand up straighter, and Harry patted Benny’s back. 

“Good job out there, mate,” Harry told his best friend. Benny was in the ring with one of the other trainers, Mike, doing one of the nonstop routines. Harry liked training with Mike in the ring, but not when it was for cardio and timed rounds; he liked when it was chill, so he knew how hard he had to hit the target, which were the pads. But for the timed rounds they did, Harry was usually by the speed bags and Mike was in the ring. 

“You too, man,” Benny breathed out with a smile. 

They headed over to the bench to take their gloves off and catch a breather. The pair would do a  cardio day every Thursday to get a good, sweaty workout in, and it always left them exhausted, but definitely much stronger. 

“Hey, I’m not gonna be able to workout next Thursday,” Benny mentioned. Harry furrowed his brows as he put the end of the strap between his teeth to pull it off from the velcro, taking one glove off. 

“What? Why not?” Harry asked confusingly. They never really had to call off a workout, especially Thursdays, unless one of them was sick, but other than that, neither of them missed any workout days. 

“I’m taking the wife on a date,” Benny smirked, clearly very excited to spend some time with his wife, but Harry wasn’t amused. 

“On a Thursday? Why can’t you do that on Friday?” 

Benny rolled his eyes. “Because we both called off Friday, so we’re having a four day weekend to ourselves,” he explained. 

Harry huffed, clearly not entertained. “Guess so…” 

Benny knew Harry was always like this, ever since they were younger. The two had been so close ever since they met, now that Benny had a wife, Harry always felt like the third wheel and that he rarely saw Benny, however, that wasn’t entirely true Benny exercised with Harry every night during the weekdays, and sometimes they even grabbed a bite to eat afterward when Benny could use that time to be with his wife, Marianne. 

Harry had an overwhelming fear of abandonment, it led him to have anxieties about how Benny could just get up and walk out of his life, even though he wouldn’t. Maybe it was why Harry is so attached to him; he’s the closest to Harry and it would completely destroy him if Benny ever decided that he didn’t want to be his friend anymore. That fear only grew based on an unfortunate turn of events that happened in college, four years ago, and it left Harry to pieces. Benny had never seen Harry so broken where he literally had to pick him up and take care of him. He never wanted to see his best friend like that ever again because it absolutely crushed him. 

“It’s two days that we’re not going to be seeing each other, chill out. Didn’t know you were that in love with me,” Benny joked, hoping to lighten up Harry’s mood. Luckily, it worked because Harry breathed out a chuckle, throwing his towel at Benny’s face.

The two collected their belongings and walked over to the trainers as they always do at the end of every workout to have a light chat with them. Henson and Mike told them they did a great job and asked to confirm if they were still on for tomorrow, which Benny and Harry both agreed to. Benny also mentioned about not being able to work out next Thursday and Friday, including the reason why he wasn’t able to. 

Henson and Mike looked at each other as if they were keeping something from the two. Harry titled his head  and looked at Benny as if he was asking if he knew the reason why they were looking at each other weirdly, but Benny just shrugged his shoulders, just as clueless as Harry. 

“Are you gonna tell us why you’re acting suspiciously?” Harry asked. The two trainers both sighed defeatedly. 

“About that…” Henson started. “Next Friday…we’re closing,” he added. 

“Like, closing for the day?” Benny asked innocently, hoping they didn’t mean what he really thought. 

“No…for good,” Mike stated. Harry and Benny’s eyes both widened, words coming out of both of their mouths profusely. They were both talking over each other, disagreeing and not accepting the fact that the gym was shutting down. 

“You can’t just do that-”

“-No, we refuse to let you close down-”

“Alright, guys! Settle down. You’re starting to act like kids, for god's sake,” Henson interrupted the tantrum that was about to start. 

“You guys can’t just do that!” Benny exclaimed. 

“Why are you guys even doing that?” Harry asked. 

Mike sighed. “We mutually decided that it was best to close down because…we really need the money. My rent has been skyrocketing crazy high because more people have just decided that moving to Los Angeles is fun.” He rolled his eyes, and Harry slightly chuckled because it was true. Hollywood was the place to be and people from out of state had just figured out their new profound dream to move to one of the busiest cities. 

“Fight Night will never be forgotten, alright? We’re just ready to let this place go. Plus, the roof is leaking and the wall is tearing apart, and that’s gonna be a pain to fix,” Henson added. 

Mike and Henson were brothers and built Fight Night when they were in college. With the help of their father, they decided to build a place to gain strength and power, all while helping others defend themselves. Harry and Benny had been frequenting it ever since college, and it felt like home to them. Aside from the yelling and stuffy scent, it was a place for them to release any type of anger or stress.

Benny introduced Fight Night to Harry when he had physically picked Harry up from the ground on, what possibly was, the worst night of his life. It was something Harry looked forward to after classes, anxiously bouncing his leg up and down, waiting to get to the gym. Fight Night helped rebuild him, and now, he was in disbelief that the gym was closing. 

“We’re old as fuck now. We wanna live our lives freely. Time to retire now, don’t you think?” Mike said with a sad chuckle. They were both in their late fifties, so Harry and Benny understood why they wanted to be free of work. 

The four of them hugged it out, a very emotional and sentimental hug that was heartwarming but sad. Eyes were slightly watered before Henson pushed them and said, “We’re closing the gym next week, not fucking dying! We have time for this bullshit for an entire week.” 

Harry and Benny left the gym with bittersweet hearts, but they kept Fight Night close to them, knowing that they owed a lot to the gym and the two men who built the facility. Mike had recommended some gyms that were close by if they were still interested in boxing, which they definitely were, so they were planning to check them out first before signing up. 

“Do you wanna get something to eat?” Harry asked once they were outside of the gym. The air was humid, nothing different from inside the gym since it was summer and the sun was beginning to go down. 

“Nah, I’m good. Gonna get home to Marianne. I’ll see you tomorrow?” Benny pat Harry’s back, nodding. 

Harry waved. “See you.” He watched Benny walk away before getting into his silver 1990 BMW 5 series, sighing. He always hated going home, and he always tried staying out for as long as he possibly could. 

As he drove home, he anxiously tapped his hands on the steering wheel as he couldn’t quite keep them still. It’d been happening for a while, a lot more often than he’d like, but he couldn’t help it. 

Walking into the darkness and emptiness of his home, he sighed sadly as he sulked all the way to the restroom to shower. The hot steam relieved his achy and sore muscles, but he was hoping for this shower to also release any occurring and bad thoughts he had in his head. 

He couldn’t help but think about the gym closing down. After going there for years, he couldn’t imagine going to a new gym; he’d adapted and adjusted to Fight Night that it would take him forever to find a gym that truly made him feel wanted. He was scared, to say the least. 

Harry was never a big fan of change. He liked being comfortable and stable and didn't like to move around a lot. So, the thought of going to a different gym that wasn’t Fight Night, terrified him. It only added to the list of things that had abandoned him. 

Once he was out of the shower, white towel secured lowly on his hips, showcasing his beautiful toned torso that was filled and inked with tattoos, his pager beeped. He wondered who it was as he walked over to his nightstand, considering that it was nearing nine in the evening. 

He deeply sighed when he saw the pager read ‘345987,’ immediately knowing who it was. The pager code meaning ‘I’m horny’ could only mean it’s coming from Lizette. 

Deciding not to answer the page, Harry set his pager down before walking back to the restroom, only for his home phone to ring, causing him to stop in his steps and answer the phone. 

“Hello?” Harry answered. 

“Hey, baby,” Lizette said seductively. His brows furrowed, holding the towel to his waist as it had loosened up a bit. 

“What do you want?” 

“You know what I want…” He knew exactly what she wanted. If she hadn’t paged him, he would still know what she wanted from him since all he provided to her was sex. “Isn’t it such a coincidence that I’m outside of your door right now?” Harry didn’t say anything but pinch the bridge of his nose before hanging up. 

He walked towards his front door, sighing before opening the door that revealed Lizette on the other side, wearing a low cut top, cleavage clearly showing, and high waisted denim shorts. She leaned on the doorframe, smirking as she looked Harry up and down, noticing that he wasn’t wearing anything but a towel. Harry gulped as she stepped forward, placing her hands on his stomach before completely taking the towel off, and a smug smile plastered on her face. 

Harry lets her take over like he always did. The feel of someone else’s body holding his, and lips kissing his own and his skin was something he couldn’t compare to anything else. Harry simply only did this to have some companionship, and Lizette made him feel a lot less lonely even if she was only there to have sex with him. He enjoys it twenty-five percent of the time—the other seventy-five percent was him actually wallowing in wanting someone to love him for him. 

After they were done, Harry immediately covered himself with the blanket as Lizette got out of the bed to change back into her clothes. Even though they had sex multiple times and she’s seen him naked, there was something about the vulnerability after the sex that he didn’t want her to see because she didn’t quite deserve that if he was being honest. 

“I had fun. Call you next time,” Lizette bid him goodbye before smacking a big kiss to his cheek, leaving a lipstick stain on his skin. She walked herself out, and once Harry heard the slam of the front door closing, he cringed slightly, wiping the lipstick off. 

He turned onto his side, deeply exhaling. He didn’t feel anything but numbness—it was always like this. He used sex to cope with how he felt, but it only made it worse. Honestly, he didn’t know what else to do, so it was the only thing he turned to, other than boxing. 

Harry fell asleep in his lonely room by himself. His heart was empty and felt like an isolated building that only carried his sadness. 

The entire week had gone by in a flash — Fight Night was officially closed down for good. 

Harry and Benny helped clean the space out as they reminisced and talked about the memories that were made in that gym. A lot of the stories had to do with girls walking by the gym, glancing through the window to see men working out, and then promptly walking into the gym to try and hit on the guys. 

Harry had tried convincing Henson that he could run the gym, but he shot down the idea before Harry could convince him. 

“Kid, look. If you want to run your own gym, do it. I want you to own a gym under your name. Not mine or Mike’s. You deserve to have something of your own, and whatever that may be, work for it. Work hard for it. I know you got it in you because you’re a hard worker, determined. You need to see that for yourself.” 

A conversation that was supposed to convince Henson to let Harry run the gym turned into a sentimental series of words that Harry really needed to hear. Harry didn’t say anything else and nodded as he took in Henson’s words to his heart. Henson was someone Harry looked up to. He was an old man with wise words, and everything he said was either meaningful or mean, in a way to show tough love. So, his words were something Harry lived by. 

The following Monday after Fight Night closed, Benny and Harry were on the search for their new gym. They didn’t plan on quitting the gym after their favorite one had closed down, and Henson and Mike made them swear they wouldn’t stop working out. 

Now, the two were walking into a gym that was up the same amount of time Fight Night was. ‘Don’s Box’ was what the gym was called. The building was newly reconstructed, making the place seem more modern and a little less dingy. The space was quite big, able to fit two rings, six punching bags spread throughout, eight-speed bags, and a weight rack. The walls were painted black, but the amount of natural light from the window was plentiful enough to make the gym feel bigger and brighter. 

A decent amount of people were at the gym, sectioned off with a few kids from eight to twelve on one side, and the rest of the adults on the other. There was a good mix between women and men, and everyone hyped everyone up with motivating words and claps over the music that was playing through two speakers that were hung in the corner. 

“Can I help you?” An older man with gray hair had asked the two. He looked quite intimidating; wearing nylon sweatpants and a black long-sleeved shirt that was rolled up to his elbows, showing his gold watch. The look he had on his face was stern as he crossed his arms, waiting for an answer. 

“Uh, yeah. We’re interested in joining your gym,” Benny told the man. The man looked the two up and down and scoffed. 

“Sure you guys are ready for that?” 

“We’ve been boxing for years, so yeah, we are.” Harry chimed in, a slightly defensive tone added to his words. 

The man glared at Harry, stepping towards him. Harry was slightly taller than him, but he knew the man could definitely take him at any given moment, but Harry wasn’t looking to fight the man, honestly. He wanted to act and look tough in front of him, so the guy wouldn’t give him any crap for it later down the road during his workouts. 

“Alright, alright. Take it easy, pa.” You interrupted, placing a hand on the man’s shoulders, making him turn his head. You raised your brows at him before tilting your head a bit, telling him to step back. The man backed off, giving Harry a snarly glance before huffing. 

“I’m just messing. Gotta know how tough my athletes are to be here,” he spoke in a lighter tone than he was to the man in front of him, putting his arm around you. 

“Thought you were gonna ‘stay on the sidelines’ and let me handle it?” You quoted your father’s words back to him, and he chuckled, putting his hands up, surrendering as he knew he couldn’t win against you. 

“Alright, alright. I’ll let you handle it.” Don, your father, quickly looked at Harry up and down, and you rolled your eyes, knowing he wouldn’t do anything to potential customers. He walked away and you breathed out a chuckle, scratching your head. 

“Sorry about that. You two are interested in joining?” You asked the two men in front of you. They were rather…attractive, you noticed. The one on the left was gorgeous with beautiful brown skin that looked so smooth. He was wearing a pair of red short-shorts and a white muscle tee. You noticed that he was wearing a wedding ring, so you averted your eyes off of him. The man next to him, however, was absolutely stunning. His left arm carried a sleeve-full of tattoos, and you wanted so badly to examine and look at every single one. With chocolate brown curls, his green eyes had a tad bit of a glimmer to them, not too much though, because if you were being honest, they were a bit dull, like he was exhausted and needed to let off some of the stress that he held based on how tense he looked. 

You tried not to observe and think about it too much as your ability to read individuals thrived while meeting new people. You shook it off the thought, not wanting to assume things about their lives and seem too creepy in front of new and potential members. 

“Yeah, we are. I’m Benny, by the way.” He shook your hand, smiling. 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Y/N. I run this place.” You offered the same smile back. Your eyes looked over at his friend, and he gave you a soft smile. “Y/N,” you repeated, taking your hand out for him to shake. 

“I’m Harry. Harry Styles,” he introduced fully. A beautiful name for a beautiful man, you thought. He shook your hand as you felt the softness of his skin mixed with a tad bit of roughness from the callouses, probably from heavy-lifting. 

Something about Harry introducing his full name had made you a bit weak in the knees. His deep and accented voice had made you a bit flustered as chills ran up your body. You’re acting like a fool, your subconscious told you. You were never one to show your obvious attraction for men, you were more into watching them from the side. But once Harry walked in, it seemed like you didn’t know how to keep your chill. 

“Perfect. Nice to meet you both. Signing up shouldn’t be too long—don’t want to keep you two from working out.” You led the two men to one of the offices, knocking on the wooden door to greet Jamie. “Hi. These two are looking to sign up. Do you mind helping them out?” 

“Of course! Come on in, guys,” Jamie greeted them, offering them to take a seat along with some water, which they both said yes to. 

“I have to get back to my session, but you both are in great hands. Jamie is one of our best,” you told the two. You sent an innocent wink at Jamie, which he sent one back while Harry watched the entire interaction, feeling uneasy. 

It was quite obvious how attractive and pretty you were. The moment he first saw you, his breath had immediately hitched in his throat. You had the most gorgeous face he’d ever seen, and when you spoke, your voice was soft and gentle, making Harry a bit more safe in a place he’s new to. 

Jamie had gotten their details and credit card information down before asking them if they needed a tour of the place. They both had said no, seeing as things were pretty self-explanatory and they’d been to a boxing gym before. 

They headed out of Jamie’s office and to the main floor, walking over to the heavy bags since the section was less crowded to start stretching. Harry rolled his shoulders and neck around, swinging his arms forwards and backward as he looked around the gym. 

This was something he had to get used to—being in a new place, surrounded by new people. At Fight Night, he was around the same people for four years, and he was comfortable — he was fine with it. But now, he had to go through the same process all over again. Nerves and anxiety crept up his skin as he tried to jump around lightly, warming up a bit but also trying to shake off the unwanted feelings. 

“Hey, you okay?” Benny asked concerningly as he stretched. 

Harry’s brows raised, covering up his anxiousness. “Hmm, yeah, I am. Y’know, just a, uh, new place, that’s all,” he brushed him off. 

“Okay. Well, whenever you’re ready to go, just tell me,” Benny told him before going into his bag to grab the wrapping tape. 

Harry nodded, smiling in appreciation. Benny had always been a great friend to him, and Harry was a great friend to Benny as well. They always took each other’s feelings and concerns into consideration—always making sure the other is okay. They both really appreciated it because some friends weren’t lucky enough to talk about their feelings and be that vulnerable with one another. They trusted each other; they were like brothers. 

Harry grabbed his jump rope, deciding to do a little five-minute warm-up to get his heart rate going. He faced the boxing ring to the left of him, noticing that you were in the ring, so he decided to casually watch you box. He then noticed that you had boxing pads on instead of gloves, and the people you were training were the kids that he had seen earlier. 

He watched you instruct the excited kids who were prancing around with their boxing gloves on, in every color imagined. You helped them fix their form, their stance, and their punch; telling them that they had to be quick with their hit to bring their glove back to the side of their face quickly, so their opponent doesn’t have a chance to take a hit. The kids demonstrated for you, punching your right hand that was covered with the pad. You praised all of them, of course, correcting a few things, but overall, everyone was a natural fighter. 

Harry’s heart rate definitely started to pick up, and he didn’t know if it was how fast he was jumping rope or because of the flutter he felt as he watched you interact with the kids. He truly never felt this kind of feeling where his heart picked up from the simple act of looking at someone. 

You had definitely noticed Harry staring at you from your peripheral view, and you had thought it was a simple glance, but he never looked away. So, you took the opportunity to take a quick look at him while the kids were practicing. 

Your eyes met him and you sent him a small smile, along with a wave with your boxing pads. Harry’s eyes widened, realizing that you were waving at him, and what happened next had embarrassed him even more. With how fast he was jumping, he suddenly got tangled with the rope, causing him to trip against it. Luckily, he caught his fall, but he was already embarrassed enough. 

Harry’s heart completely dropped, cheeks flushed. He couldn’t believe he had made a complete fool of himself, especially at his new gym. He so badly wanted to tell Benny that he was ready to leave, but when he looked over at his friend, he had already started his workout, being so focused and in the zone that Harry didn’t want to be a burden. 

When he turned back around to see if you were still looking, he jolted back a bit as you were behind him. 

“Are you okay?” You asked concerningly. 

“Uh, yeah. I…yeah, I’m okay. Thanks.” He cleared his throat, trying to cover up the fact that his voice almost cracked. He was so stunned by you. The way you made sure he was okay was possibly the nicest thing someone had done for him as you looked at him with your sweet eyes, and your posture was giving him your full attention. His heart pounded through his chest; the simple action and effort that was being put into this was making him overwhelmed. 

“Okay. Let me know if you need anything, yeah?” You told him as you looked at him intently. He simply nodded, knowing that he couldn’t process any more words. 

You gave him one last smile before quickly going back to your students. He watched you climb into the ring so effortlessly before continuing your training class. 

Harry took a deep breath before walking over to one of the speed bags that was in the corner, hoping to hide away from the embarrassment that he felt. Wrapping his hands up, he anxiously scanned the room, noticing that everyone was doing their own thing. There was a possibility that no one else had seen him almost fall on his face, except you, which he really wished that it was the entire gym who saw him instead, not you. He lazily hit the speed bag, trying to warm up and shake off his mortification. Harry continued hitting the bag, eventually getting into a rhythm as his fists alternated between one another, along with the rhythm of the music of Montrell Jordan’s ‘This Is How We Do It.’ 

Soon enough, all the worry and stress that was in Harry’s head and body was shaken off and completely forgotten about as he focused on his strong punches, making sure to connect his mind to his muscles, so he could feel his muscles working. 

And for the time being, life wasn’t all that bad. 

A month had passed since being at Don’s Box, and Harry and Benny quite liked it. They had newer equipment and their music was always on point, playing the best of 90s R&B and Hip-Hop. It was their favorite music to listen to, especially while working out. The people there were nice and cool, never getting in each other’s way and letting everyone do their own thing while still having fun, keeping the space safe and comfortable. 

Harry found himself walking into the gym at nine at night, an hour and a half before it closed. Usually, he wouldn’t work out this late, but during the day, he had felt so unmotivated and lazy to even get out of bed. He could put the blame on Lizette because she had gone to his house the night prior, doing the same thing they always do, but he knew she wasn’t the one to blame. Something about saying no to her and having her not talk to him had physically pained him. They were in a specific arrangement, he knew that. But having someone leave him again was something he couldn’t go through. 

‘What’s Luv?’ by Fat Joe, Ja Rule, and Ashanti was playing when he set his bag down onto the ground against the wall, next to the heavy bag. He started to stretch as he took a look around; not many people were working out at this time, which he liked. 

His eyes continued to search the gym, in hopes he would find you still here. Before the slightest bit of disappointment could settle, he saw you walk out of the hallway with Jamie, smiling and laughing at something he had said. He made a face as a hint of jealousy rushed through as he saw you with Jamie. He knew that there was no point in being jealous because he barely even knew you. But for the past month that he’s been at Don’s Box, you always had this look of excitement on your face when you saw and greeted Harry. It made his stomach flutter every time you would flash him your beautiful smile as you would carry the conversation, asking him about his day and if the music was good, which he commends you for putting his favorite songs on. 

Looking away, he decided to just focus on the quick workout he could get in before the gym closed, so he retained his attention back to stretching before bending down to grab the tape from his bag to wrap his hands. 

“Uh, hi, Harry,” you smiled as you greeted him. He looked up at you. The way the light was positioned behind your head made you look like an actual angel; you were ethereal. 

He stood up and smiled softly. “Hi. How are you?” He asked, trying to contain his nerves from just looking at you. You were gorgeous, as you always are every day. You were wearing a pair of black leggings and a light pink t-shirt that was tied into a knot with the word ‘angel’ that was surrounded by wings printed in the middle. Kind of a coincidence, he thought, thinking back to when he called you an angel in his head. 

“Good, good. You’re here later than usual—without Benny too,” you pointed out, but immediately cursed at yourself for making such an odd observation and telling it to his face as if you were keeping track of the times he’s gone into the gym. 

“Yeah, I was pretty…tired during the day, so the only time I got a burst of energy was right now. And Benny is with his wife and in-laws tonight, so it’s just me tonight,” he explained with a soft chuckle. 

“Well, glad you got the chance to make it in,” you said genuinely. He simply nodded, not knowing what else to say but instead he captured himself into you as you stared at him with your captivating eyes that spoke right through him. What was happening to him? He thought. This hadn’t really happened before, and he was good at letting his walls go up and guarding his precious heart. 

“Hey, I’m gonna head out,” Jamie said, greeting you goodbye, and taking Harry out of his thoughts. “Hey, man. Have a good workout.” He shook Harry’s hand, and Harry smiled, nodding. 

“See you tomorrow,” you told Jamie, smiling a bit as you waved. Jamie left the gym, and it was just you and Harry, along with a few other people who were wrapping up their workout. 

“Are you not gonna go with him?” Harry asked, and you raised your brows in confusion. 

“Why would I go with him?” You wondered. 

“Oh, I just thought you would leave with him, y’know, your boyfriend…” he trailed off, slyly slipping in the word boyfriend in that sentence. 

You giggled, shaking your head. “No, no. Jamie isn't my boyfriend. I’ve known him since I was ten, but nothing’s ever happened between us. Besides, he has a boyfriend of his own.” Harry raised his brows in shock as his shoulders visibly relaxed. “No need to worry, Harry. I’m all yours,” you flirted a bit. You normally wouldn’t flirt so easily with someone, especially if they were a member of your gym, but something about Harry had made you release all the stress you had once you saw and talked to him. 

Harry blushed, grinning as his dimple popped out on his cheek. Your eyes lightened once you noticed that feature, making you think that he was ten times cuter than he already is. 

“You’ve been in the ring, right?” You asked curiously. Harry nodded, and the corner of your lips turned up. “Great! We have about a little less than an hour and a half, so if you’re looking for some intense cardio, I could do it with you—y’know, train you and guide you, and whatnot,” you suggested. 

If Harry’s being honest, he wasn’t planning on doing cardio today—just a few routines to get his muscles warm, but the way you’re looking at him and how you spoke to him so softly and effortlessly, he couldn’t say no. 

“Yeah, I’m up for it,” he responded. Your eye brightened, resisting the urge to squeal from excitement, telling him that you were going to get the mitts and to meet you in the ring. He chuckled slightly as you walked over to the equipment room to get the mitts. Harry quickly hit the speed bag to warm up until he saw you walk out of the room. 

He put on his gray sweater and a green packers beanie, so he could sweat more before he met you in the ring with his gloves pressed between his arm and the side of his body. You put the mitts in between your legs as Harry handed you one of the gloves. Holding onto the end of it, he put his hand inside as you pushed the glove towards him, so it would sit on his hand tightly before strapping it securely for him before proceeding to the next one. The proximity between you two was quite close as you helped him put on the gloves, and you could smell the faint scent of cologne mixed with the slightest bit of sweat, giving him that unique musk; the one that doesn’t smell horrible at all but lured you in. 

You quickly snapped out of your thoughts and looked up at Harry. “Good?” He nodded, punching the gloves together to make sure they felt comfortable. “Ready?” 

“Let’s do this,” Harry said, skipping in place to warm his body up before getting into his stance. His left leg was a few feet away from his right leg as he bounced around a bit, waiting for you. 

You faintly smirked, nodding your head before you put on the mitts. Since Harry was very familiar with the mitt workouts, you figured that you didn’t need to explain what each number represented since mostly all trainers and coaches use the same numbers for the same punch. 

“Okay, let’s warm up a bit. Give me one,” you instructed. Harry put his gloves up to protect his face as you held your right mitt up. With his left hand, he punched your mitt, not giving his full strength. “Is that all you got?” You challenged, knowing that he had more power in him. 

“I-I don’t want to hurt you,” he said honestly with a small pout, standing straight from his boxing stance. Usually, you would take offense to that statement, barking back a comment saying that just because you were a girl it didn’t mean you couldn’t take a hit, but you didn’t go that far into it, knowing Harry didn’t mean it that way whatsoever. 

“You’re not gonna hurt me, Harry. I’ve trained so many people—all with different body types and strengths. My hand has felt all different types of power, so hit the mitt like you mean it.” You hit his shoulder, building up his motivation. He nodded, getting back into his stance as did you. “Now, give me one.” 

This time, Harry’s glove met your mitt with full potential and force, and you took the hit well—not moving back or being stunned. 

“There you go! Keep going,” you told him, and he continued giving you jabs. ‘In Da Club’ by 50 Cent was blaring through the speakers as Harry breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. Several huffs of breath came out loudly as he punched, moving and dancing around the ring with you as the two of you occasionally shifted and switched positions. 

Harry got in a few more punches before you switched it up, telling him, “1-2.” Harry jabbed with his left hand and crossed jabbed with his right hand, putting his full range of motion into his right punch. He did that combination five times as he started to feel sweat dripping down his back and the sides of his forehead. 

You were yelling out words of encouragement and motivation, praising him for his punches, to which he responded back with a better and solid punch to your mitts. 

“Nice!” You took a step back to move around the ring to take advantage of the space as Harry jumped and skipped around to wherever you directed him to. “Wanna take a break?” You asked. He shook his head no, determined to finish this workout that he couldn’t even think about wanting to take a break because he really didn’t want to. “Okay, 1-4-3,” you told him. With force, he jabbed, hooked with his left hand, and hooked with his right hand. 

This feeling that he had felt—being in the ring with you—was something entirely different than when he was in the ring with Henson or Mike. The stress that he physically carried onto his shoulder had washed away into nothingness, leaving him with a drive that didn’t include overthinking and fear. The fear that had left him worried and depressed, that his life would amount to nothing—that fear disappeared inside him once he threw the first punch. It was exhilarating and fun, and he didn’t know he could have this much fun in the ring. But this was the most pleasure he’s ever felt while boxing. 

You ordered him to do some different combinations, such as ‘1-2-3-5,’ which was a jab, cross jab, leading hook, and rear uppercut. You also included moments when he had to duck because you were swinging at him. He definitely had gotten into a rhythm, punching and moving faster. You were the trainer, the person that was supposed to instruct him, but you matched his rhythm and energy and moved quicker with him as well. 

You were starting to get a sweat in as well, and that was mostly because of the adrenaline rushing through your blood as you moved excitedly around the ring. 

After a while, a timer had gone off, telling you that it was time to close up as Harry’s focus was cut off—the sound making him look up hastily. Throughout the time you were working out with Harry, people were slowly starting to make their way out, but the two of you were too focused on working out that you hadn’t even noticed that it was just the two of you left in the gym. 

“Oh, guess we’re closing.” You stood up straighter, wiping the sweat on your forehead with your forearm. “Feelin’ good?” You asked Harry with a proud smile. 

“Feelin’ great,” he smirked. 

“Good, I’m glad. You did great!” You complimented, ripping the velcro strap with your teeth as you took off the mitts. Harry did the same, shaking out his arms as he clenched and unclenched his fists to relieve the ache from making a fist for more than an hour. 

“Thank you. You’re a really great trainer, by the way. This was…the first time I had fun in the ring,” he told you honestly, and without knowing, the slightest bit of him had opened up to you. 

Your eyes brightened, a glimpse of shimmer reflected on your eyes. “Really? Thank you, that makes me really happy, actually.” You felt like you were going to cry on the spot. No one, except your younger students, had ever told you that they had fun in the ring since most people used boxing as a way to get stronger and improve their punches. But fun? That was the first, and you would definitely keep that with you forever. 

You and Harry walked to one end of the ring as Harry held open the top two ropes with his hand as he stepped on the bottom two ropes with his foot, holding it open for you to get out. You blushed, thanking him before you got out of the ring as he followed you out. 

Once you two were on the ground, you turned around to face him. You watched as he took off his beanie, shaking his hair out as they bounced; curls were now formed into waves because of the heat and the sweat that had produced in his beanie. He looked…extra good right now. With his cheeks flushed, hair messy, and sweat dripping down his forehead, you couldn’t put into words how incredibly sexy he looked. 

You cleared your throat, not wanting to get caught for ogling him. “I, uh, have to check on some things before closing. Take your time! And I’ll see you on Monday?” You raised your brows and curled your lips in as you looked up at him. A sense of flustered-ness settled in you as you waited for his answer. 

He breathed out a chuckle as he looked down briefly before looking back into your eyes again. “Yeah, I’ll see you.” You nodded your head, waving at him before you headed over to the office. Harry smiled as he watched you walk into the hallway until he couldn’t see you anymore. 

A small blush formed onto his cheeks as he contained himself from smiling too big and too wide. He put all of his stuff back into his bag, grabbing his towel, ridding the sweat off his skin. Grabbing his belongings, he took another glance at the hallway, hoping to get another look at you before he took off, but you were occupied with closing the gym, so he didn’t bother staying any longer. 

With a small smile on his face, he walked out of the gym, taking in this new profound feeling that he’d never felt before, hoping this feeling would last. 

The next morning, Harry had a sudden urge to go back to the gym. His upper body was quite sore, but he figured he could do some leg exercises to balance the soreness he felt. He normally wouldn’t workout on the weekends since those were his rest days, but despite being sore, he didn’t feel tired. It could also do with the fact that he wanted to see you again, not wanting to wait until Monday to do that again. 

When he walked into the gym, ‘Ride Wit Me’ by Nelly was playing and his head slightly bopped to the music, walking over to the corner of the gym to warm up. He scanned the gym, looking for a particular person, but couldn’t find you. There were a decent amount of people, not too crowded or too little, so it should’ve been easy to find you. Thinking that you were probably in your office, he shook off the slight disappointment and got ready to workout. 

Throughout his workout, his head wasn’t in it. He kept glancing through the mirror to see if you had shown up, but you hadn’t. His eyes were always looking over at the front door every time someone would walk in, but a small frown settled onto his face when he realized it wasn’t you. 

He wrapped up his workout an hour later, thinking that he somewhat still got a good workout in. He walked out of the gym, saying bye to some of the guys that had caught him before he left. 

It was nearing noon when his stomach had growled, urging him to consume some food. There was a Mediterranean hole-in-the-wall restaurant right across Don’s Box, and his mouth watered at the thought of it. He walked to his car that was parked on the side of the street to drop his bag off before walking across the street to the restaurant. 

He scanned the menu, standing on the side since he didn’t know what he was ordering yet. The sound of the door ringing and a voice that was speaking to him brought him out of his thoughts. 

“Are you in line?” Harry turned his head towards the voice, and his heart nearly beating ten times faster when he saw you. He had a shocked expression on his face, not expecting to see you, especially when you were wearing the complete opposite of what he normally sees you in. You were wearing a pair of blue denim overalls with a black t-shirt underneath, along with white Reebok sneakers. You had a bit of makeup on; an orange sparkly eyeshadow look with some mascara that made your eyelashes look full and natural. Your lips were painted in a red-orange lipstick stain, bringing out more of your natural lip color. 

The beauty that Harry’s eyes were blessed with made his knees weak, sending shivers to his skin. Your angelic appearance had struck him so hard that he was sure he would see the light of day, hoping to meet you up there since you were a real-life angel. 

“Y/N…hi,” he managed to spit out. 

“Hi, Harry. Did you just workout?” You asked. 

He nodded, feeling a bit nervous. “Uh, yeah, I did.” 

“You don’t usually go in on Saturdays…” you noticed, only seeing him during the weekdays. You’re off on Saturdays, but there was one Saturday that you had gone into the gym briefly, and you didn’t see him there. 

“Yeah, I felt like going in today,” he said, obviously leaving out the part that he only went to the gym to see you again, but you didn’t need to know that bit. There was a moment of silence between you two until Harry remembered that he was probably holding up the line for you. “Oh, you could go ahead. I’m not ready to order yet.” 

You smiled, nodding your head as you stepped forward in the line. “Have you ever been here before?” 

“No, I haven’t. Do you have any suggestions?” 

You slightly squinted your eyes at him. “Do you trust me?” You asked. 

That was a difficult question for him, and somewhat vague. Did you mean overall, at the moment, or for his food order? Either way, he nodded because he knew that it didn’t matter what you meant--he had this sense of security with you that he would trust you with his life, and that said a lot, considering that he’d only known you for a month. 

“Yeah, I do trust you,” he stated honestly. 

His words brought a grin to your face, looking at him appreciatively. Based on your observations of him, you noticed that he was a bit closed off; he didn’t open himself up, and if he did, it took a lot in him to do just that. So, hearing him tell you that he trusts you made you grateful, and you would never do anything to take advantage of that trust because he didn’t just give it out easily. 

“I got you,” you simply said before turning back around towards the cashier. Harry softly smirked as he took a step forward to stand next to you. You looked at him, flashing him a toothy grin before quickly facing forward. 

You ordered your favorite dish from the restaurant, which was a beef kabab plate, for the both of you. Harry quickly got his wallet out, offering to pay, but you told him that you got it this time, hoping your words conveyed that you wanted there to be a next time. He shyly thanked you for the lunch, keeping your words in mind because he would definitely be up for a ‘next time.’ 

Luckily, you didn’t have to wait long for your order to come out, which was fortunate for Harry because he was starving. You suggested eating outside since it was a beautiful day out and Harry agreed, following you out of the restaurant. 

You two sat on the metal chairs, digging into your dishes. Harry’s mouth watered as he ate, his stomach being satisfied. There was a comfortable silence that settled between you two, only making small conversation when you asked if he liked the food, which you were glad to hear that he loved. 

“So, how long have you been running Don’s Box?” He suddenly asked, wanting to get to know you better. 

You raised your brows at his question. “For about two years now. My father, Don, opened the gym when he was twenty-five, that’s when he had me as well. But when he opened the gym, it practically changed his life. He’d boxed all of his life, and he was happy training other people when he started getting more people to come into his gym. When I was about six, he told me that he wanted me to run the gym when I turned twenty-five, only if I wanted to. But of course, I did. I looked up to him all of my life, and the gym made me happy as well,” you explained, smiling at the memory of when you were younger, being excited to turn twenty-five to do the same thing your father did. 

A soft smile appeared on Harry’s face as you reminisce on the memory. 

“How long have you been boxing?” 

“Since I was eight. Don showed me the ropes when I told him I was ready. There used to be a seating area on the side of the ring because when I was younger, I used to sit there and watch him work and train people. So, I was pretty interested and intrigued about fighting to get myself stronger, even at the young age of eight,” you chuckled. 

You were a daddy’s girl, always had been since you were born. Don had always set a pretty amazing example of how you should go about living your life. He would always say ‘Live your life with a strong punch. Keep your head up, and don’t let anything get to you because you’re so much more than what other people say. But if you need to cry, you can—there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.’ 

As your eyes watered from the thought of your father’s words, Harry watched as you got emotional and he couldn’t help but think that you’ve crossed a line in asking too many questions. 

“Sorry, I always get emotional-”

“I’m sorry if I’ve overstepped—I should’ve kept the questions to myself-”

“Oh, no! You didn’t overstep whatsoever. I’m glad you asked me those questions, I just get soft and emotional over my dad, so hence, I’m tearing up,” you let out a somewhat pathetic chuckle as you couldn’t believe that you almost cried in front of this gorgeous man. You dabbed the corners of your eyes with your napkin, stopping the tears from falling out. 

Harry nodded understandingly, waiting for you to regroup yourself. You kept apologizing, but he kept telling you that you had nothing to be sorry for. 

“Really, if you need to cry, you can…” he told you. Your eyes widened; you were just thinking about your dad’s words two minutes ago, and for Harry to say the exact same thing Don had always told you without even knowing that Don had said those words. 

Not wanting to cry in front of him, you simply nodded your head, holding the napkin on the outer corner of your eye, so the napkin would catch your tears. 

Harry quickly changed the subject, sensing that you needed it, and you really did, so you were grateful for that. He busied himself by telling you what his favorite ice cream flavor was since he was suddenly reminded that there was a shop just down the street. He kept you occupied by talking about all the sweet treats that he used to eat with his mom back home, and how much he missed walking down the streets in the city to eat some ice cream. 

“My mum used to make this really great chocolate mousse pie, and we would eat it every weekend. It was extremely sweet, but it was delicious. I really miss it…” he told you. That had been a while ago, but it was like he could still taste the dessert as if he just ate it yesterday. 

“Is your mom back home in England?” You asked, figuring that there wasn’t any harm in asking to get to know him since he asked you some questions as well. 

“Uh…actually, I don’t know where she is…” he said honestly, and you knitted your brows in confusion. “I mean, honestly. I don’t know where she is. Ever since I went to uni, she’s been all over the place, taking vacations and barely calling. I-I feel like she’s forgotten about me,” he spoke ever so softly as he was fragile. 

You listened to him intently, giving him your full attention as he was opening up a part of his life that you knew he doesn’t tell a lot of people. A part of him that he’s kept in for so long and just the passing sense of relief he felt saying those words and speaking up about this subject had made him feel so much better. 

“I’m sure she didn’t forget about you.” 

“Seemed like it. We inherited my grandfather’s will—left us a generous amount for each of us that’ll take care of us for the rest of our lives. And she took that and ran with it. I mean, I get it—she wants to live her life, and now’s the time to do that because she’s got the money for it, but I feel…abandoned. She got up, said goodbye, and just…left. It just makes me think that I’m not good enough—that I wasn’t good enough to stay.” Harry opened a can of worms that he can’t take back anymore. But the trust that he had in you already made him want to talk about everything with you; to open up about all of his stresses and insecurities. 

Boldly, you reached your arm across the table but immediately pulled away because you didn’t want to touch him without asking. But before you could open your mouth and ask, Harry had reached forward, meeting your hand halfway as his palm was facing up as if it was a way of saying ‘you can hold my hand if you want.’ Blushing, you reached forward again and took your hand into his. 

The touch was sweet and tender as you two held hands; the want to hold each other tighter was present, wanting to take away Harry’s pain. 

“Harry, you will always be good enough. I know we just met a month ago, but I already know that you’re the sweetest, kindest person. Please know that. You are enough, and I’m grateful that you’re here and that I’m sitting across from you, eating lunch,” you declared. Harry sniffled, not knowing what to say as he put his head down, so you continued. “For as long as we’re friends, I’m gonna stay.” You spoke with complete honesty as you caressed the back of his hand with your thumb. 

Harry’s head lifted up at your last statement in disbelief as if this was the first time someone had ever said that to him. 

“Really?” 

You squeezed his hand, making his heart flutter. “Yeah. As long as you want me to,” you reassured, nodding. 

Harry gave you a soft and appreciating smile as he took a deep breath. The breath that he held in throughout the entirety of the conversation was finally let out in relief. He shrunk back into his seat, still holding your hand as you continued rubbing it, and he breathed out a chuckle. It was an overwhelming feeling that was riddled with happiness and a sense of security washed over him. 

It was like he had been waiting for you; someone new that unexpectedly came into his life was scary because it was change, but it was a good change. A change for the better. He had been vulnerable enough to open himself up, and it all led to the tight bond and trust you two had with one another, sealing your friendship and relationship. 

And you both knew this moment was going to change everything. 

Time had passed by rather quickly as it was nearing the end of October. The weather was getting chillier as the sun was beginning to disappear behind the clouds earlier. There was something about the fall weather that Harry adored. It may have to do with the fact that the gloomy sky had occurred more often, or how he got to call it a night early. Whatever it may be, he liked it, or he used to. 

In recent times, he wanted the sun to stay out until it was time to go to bed. He wanted warm days instead of gloomy. His new changed attitude towards life had to do with you. 

You and Harry had been hanging out quite a lot; getting to know one another, getting a bite or drink, and working out together, it definitely gave Harry the chance to let go of his past. He was happier, smiled more, and laughed a lot which he didn’t know he was capable of doing those things again until he met you. 

Benny loved it, though. He sure cherished it because seeing his best friend happy again was something he was afraid he wouldn’t see again. But that didn’t stop him from having a little talk with you, trying to protect Harry and set you straight. 

When Harry was occupied with hitting the speed bag, Benny walked over to the ring, where you had just finished another class with your younger students. 

“Hey, Benny!” You greeted him once you saw him walk towards you. 

“Hey, do you mind chatting for a minute?” You raised your brows, nodding your head. Benny usually didn’t talk to you privately nor was it anything serious, but by the look on his face, it seemed pretty serious. “So, you’ve been hanging out with Harry a lot, hmm?” 

You smiled softly. “Yeah! Hope you don’t mind that? Know I’m taking your best friend and all…” 

“No, I don’t mind. I’m actually glad you are. He seems quite taken by you, and I haven’t seen him like that in a very long time,” Benny said honestly. You seemed to know where this conversation was going now, and now that you thought about it, you expected this from Benny because they were like brothers and Benny would do anything to protect Harry. “What I’m trying to say is…if you’re only hanging out with him to fuck with him, don’t bother. He’s been through enough, and I know he can’t handle anymore of that and I can’t stand to see him like that again.” 

“Like what?” You hesitatingly asked. 

“Like…just know that he was a mess. He couldn’t get up, eat, drink, shower, or anything. I had to physically help him. I don’t want to see him like that ever again.” Benny shook his head as if he was reliving the horrible nightmare that he went through a few years ago. 

“Is this about his mom?” 

“He told you that?” He asked, just to make sure, and you nodded. “Kind of. But that’s only half of it. He’ll tell you when he’s ready, but I’ve already said too much. Just…take care of him, okay? He tries to act tough sometimes, but he’s trying his best to not break down. Although, I haven’t seen that kind of look on him since he’s been hanging out with you, so you’re probably doing something right.” 

You nodded understandingly. “Thanks for talking to me. I don’t plan on breaking his heart at all, and I’m quite taken with him myself,” you admitted. 

“Good. I’m glad you are. He’s a great guy.” Benny smiled, and you agreed. 

Benny didn’t talk to you for much longer before he started getting cold from standing around, so he ended the conversation and went back to working out. 

Meanwhile, as you and Benny were talking, Don took the chance himself to talk to Harry, seeing as you were occupied. 

“Harry.” Don made himself present around him. 

Harry immediately stopped his workout, greeting your father. “What’s up, Don?” 

“So, I’ve noticed that you’ve been hanging around Y/N a lot.” Don’s stance changed as he crossed his arms, sporting a slight frown. Harry gulped; he always found Don to be quite intimidating, ever since he joined the gym, but Harry didn’t want to seem like he couldn’t have a serious conversation with the father of the woman that he’s slowly falling for--no, he couldn’t act like that. “What’s that all about?” Don added. 

“I’m just…we’re friends, so we’re just hanging out. Nothing more,” he told Don honestly. Although he would like there to be more, he didn’t know how you felt about him or if you even felt anything for him at all. 

Don nodded. He could tell that Harry was holding back on something he wanted to say, and he had an idea of what that was. So, he let loose of the intimidating and protective act, knowing that wasn’t really him anyway, and his expression softened as he uncrossed his arms. He placed a comforting hand on Harry’s shoulder, taking a deep breath. 

“You have this look of wanting to say more and you don’t have to tell me, but I will tell you this…if you want to date her and go out with her, you can. This isn’t approval and a ‘yes’ for you to take her out because I don’t need to do that--she can make her own decisions. All I’m saying is that if you want to, go for it. Life is too fuckin’ short to not do anything, to not say anything.” 

Harry’s shoulders relaxed and he smiled in appreciation at Don’s words. “Thanks, Don. I definitely want to take her out, but I just don’t know how she feels about me.” 

“Oh, I’m pretty sure she feels something for you--she hasn’t told me, but I just know. You’re the first guy in a while that she’s been hanging around with consistently, and that comforts me, in a way. Knowing that she’s living her life and not holding back anymore.” Harry stayed silent, taking his words in. He tried not to overanalyze what Don had said because you’ll tell him and open up to him when you want to, just like how you’re patiently waiting for Harry to open up fully as well. “Just…don’t break her heart, okay? She’s been through enough and I just want her to be happy.” 

Harry nodded understandingly, saying a soft ‘okay’ before Don changed the subject and talked about how  Harry should train with him one of these days, which Harry immediately said yes to and they planned for the following week to train. Don left him to finish his workout, telling him to have a nice night as you and Harry were going out to dinner. 

Benny and Harry finished up their workout, and before they were able to head out the front door, Harry stopped, telling Benny to give him a minute. Harry fast-walked towards you, lugging his bag on his shoulder. You were coming out of your office, which was why Harry couldn’t say goodbye to you after his workout. 

“Hey, we’re heading out,” he said, wiping the bit of sweat on the back of his neck with his towel. 

“Oh, okay. I’ll see you later?” 

“Yeah, I’ll pick you up,” Harry suggested, pursing his lips into his mouth as he contained his smile. You nodded, eyes sparkling as you looked up at him. “I’ll, uh, page you,” he slightly smirked. 

“Okay,” you mindlessly responded as you were getting quite lost in his green eyes that looked at you intently with a gleam that sat so perfectly against his irises, making his eyes glimmer brightly.

He gave you one last smile and a little wave before walking out of the gym with Benny. You were left stunned as you stood there, completely drifted away from reality as you were in a dream about Harry. You felt a small nudge on your shoulder, causing you to snap out of your thoughts and dream as you turned around to see your father laughing. 

“Get back to work.” A smug plastered on his face. 

A breathy chuckle was released from your mouth as a hint of embarrassment emerged onto your face with wide eyes. You got back to work, focusing your attention on training your next client, but your mind was racing at the thought of Harry. 

As he promised, Harry paged you when he was outside of your apartment complex. He wanted to knock on your door like the proper gentleman that he is, but the buzzer machine to let people in wasn’t working, so paging you would have to do for now. He waited for you outside of his newly washed car, making sure it was nice and clean for you as he leaned against the passenger door. 

You walked out of your building, and Harry was immediately blown away. You were wearing a black skirt with stockings that hugged your legs, and a white knitted sweater since it was on the chillier side. 

Every time he saw you, his heart would beat incredibly fast, pulse pounding through his veins. His stomach was in flits of butterflies, soaring in his heart and stomach, making him extremely nervous. Every time he saw you, everything would stop, like you were the only person in the world and everything was okay. 

“Hey, H,” you flashed him your smile, one that he looked forward to every time he saw you. 

“H-Hi,” he stuttered, clearing his throat to start over. “Hi. You look really nice.” 

You blushed. “Thank you! You look great as well. Love this top.” You reached forward, lightly tugging at his red-orange knitted long-sleeve. He paired it with blue jeans that flared at the bottom with white sneakers. His fingers were covered in beautiful silver rings, making his hands look quite gorgeous. 

“Thank you, shall we?” 

“Yeah, oh, I got you something.” You reached into your bag to take out the cased CD, and before Harry was about to protest, you handed it to him. “I made you this mixtape. Just some songs that I think you’ll like—I’m sure you know all of them, but they just made me think of you,” you said shyly. 

You weren’t normally shy and you would call yourself a pretty strong and confident person, but you had been so nervous to give this to him—even making the tape left you anxious and shaking. 

“Wow, this is…very thoughtful of you. Thank you so much.�� Harry looked at the CD with the songs written in your handwriting. There were 10 songs, and Harry knew all of them. They were all…romantic songs. 

“That’s not weird, right? Y’know, making you a mixtape?” You asked unsurely. The odd feeling had popped into your mind at the last second as you watched Harry observe the CD, not giving a bad nor good reaction to your gift. 

“No, not at all! I really appreciate this. No one has ever made a mixtape for me before, so this is really nice and special. Thank you again.” He reached forward, wrapping one arm around your shoulders as both of your arms found their way around his waist. You somewhat weren’t convinced that he liked it, and he could tell just by how you were looking at him--looking for some more reassurance--that it seemed like he didn’t like it. When he pulled away, he looked at you before saying, “Really, it makes me happy that you took the time to make this for me. It’s so sweet and thoughtful of you, and I already love all the songs on here, so I’m one-hundred-percent going to enjoy this.” 

You nodded, smiling softly as he opened the door for you and you thanked him, blushing as you got in. It seemed very much like a date and you couldn’t help but smile at the thought of that. 

Harry drove to the sandwich shop that waited for you both. It was twenty minutes away on the other side of the town, but Harry had been raving about it so much to you that you told him that you two should go, which Harry was more than happy to take you. 

The sound of Boyz II Men filled the speakers of Harry’s car as the two of you sang your hearts out to ‘On Bended Knees,’ putting full emotion and passion into singing. You held up your water bottle, pretending that it was a microphone, and Harry kept shifting his gaze on you, trying to keep his eyes on the road, but also wanting to look at you as you sang. He smiled to himself, absolutely loving how you were so carefree--something that he admired about you. 

His heart fluttered, curling his lips into his mouth before he did something that was quite bold of him to do. Reaching over, he grabbed your hand, intertwining your fingers together. Your body was frozen, but you continued to sing, covering up the fact that Harry was holding your hand so casually. You were stiff as a board, so you tried loosening up, swaying your body from side to side, slightly averting your eyes towards him as he continued to drive. 

The moonlight cast through the car window, giving him a dim glow, accentuating his features; jawline prominent, his lashes shadowed down onto his cheeks, and his eyes were calm; the light reflecting against his glassy green eyes. Your heartbeat a million miles a minute as you looked at him. You had this appreciation and admiration for him--that you were lucky and grateful that you have him and that there was nothing more beautiful than the man sitting beside you. 

With your face on fire, you smiled as you carried on, singing with the warmth of Harry’s hand connected with yours. 

You were sitting across Harry, munching on your sandwich as you listened to him talk about how he wanted to actually find a job. He’s been sitting around, living quite wealthy as his inheritance sat safely. But he’d been getting bored. Every day was a routine for him and it was a pretty boring routine, he would say. The only places he really went to were the gym and the places that the two of you went together, but that was it. He needed a hobby, something that he could escape to that doesn’t require breaking a sweat from punching bags and mitts. 

“You said you like books, so maybe you could see if the bookstore down the street from the gym is hiring. That would be a nice little place to work at,” you suggested. 

Harry’s eyes lightened up, apart from thinking that was a great idea and the other part from being surprised that you remembered such a small detail about him when he’d talked about books briefly with you. 

“I should definitely do that, thank you. I love that bookstore, it’s-”

“Y/N?” Harry was interrupted by a man who had walked over to your table. Harry looked up, observing the guy as he was looking at you so intently. He quickly looked at you as you were looking up at the man with a shocked expression on your face, wide eyes and mouth slightly opened. 

“Uh, hi,” you said, feeling slightly uncomfortable. Your eyes glanced at Harry and he had a worried expression on his face, eyes asking if you were okay. You nodded softly, bringing your attention back to him. 

“I-I’ve been calling the gym and paging you, but you haven’t been answering any of them…” the man mentioned slyly. You were quite speechless, not expecting him to be here and not knowing what to say. 

“I, uh-”

“Can we talk right now?” He asked. You were flickering your eyes between Harry, someone that you were completely infatuated with, and the man that you were completely irritated with. But if you didn’t talk to him right now, he wouldn’t leave you alone and wouldn’t stop calling you, so you made the mistake of saying a soft ‘okay’ as you got up, looking over at Harry, giving a subtle smile. 

Just by the way he was looking at you, you knew you had regretted your decision and you wished that you hadn’t given in so easily. 

Once you were outside, you crossed your arms, in a way to seem reserved and closed off, but in reality, you really were. The uncomfortableness you felt was something you haven’t felt in a while as it felt like your stomach was boiling as bile salivated your mouth. Your fists were hidden underneath your arms, clenching, and your lips were curled into your mouth to immediately spew inappropriate sayings and vile remarks. 

“What do you want to talk about?” You asked, brows pinched together. 

“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for quite a while now, but I just wanted to talk. I hate how we ended things…” he said remorsefully. You tried not to fall for the pouty look he was giving you as if he knew quite well you would fall for it. 

“It’s been six months, Max,” you reminded him. You and Max had an ugly breakup, and you had been picking up your own pieces yourself. You two had been together for nearly a year until he started to act differently. Noticing that he was going home late, staying at the bars until the early hours of the morning, and being quite rude and dismissive towards you, it ended in a screaming match where he ended up spitting out rude comments at you--calling you ugly, useless, and boring. It also caused him to confess that he was cheating on you for half the time you were together with him, and you thought that was a lie he made up just to make you angry, but a month after the breakup, you had found out that was true because you had accidentally bumped into the girl he was cheating on you with. At the time, you couldn’t blame him because the girl was absolutely gorgeous and seemed a lot of fun, but now, you know your worth and you absolutely didn’t deserve that whatsoever. 

For six months, you hadn’t seen him, but he had been leaving you countless calls to the gym phone. However, Max wouldn’t dare to step foot in the gym ever again because Don had clearly threatened him when he saw Max on the street, pinning him up against the brick wall by his shirt and yelling in his face that if he ever came close to you or the gym ever again, he wouldn’t see the end of the day. 

Don would’ve lost his shit if he saw Max in front of you. 

“This is pointless. I was fine living my life for the past six months without you. In fact, I haven’t even thought about you until you showed up. Couldn’t you see I was doing just fine? Why can’t you just leave me alone?” Your tone was scornful, not wanting to be in front of him anymore but instead the lovely man inside. 

“I just assumed you wanted some sort of closure…” 

“If I wanted closure, then I would’ve called you. But I don’t need closure. I was doing okay-” 

“With who? That man inside the restaurant?” He interrupted, brows raised. His demeanour suddenly changed just because you had given him the slightest bit of attitude. Max went from soft, wanting forgiveness to the Max that you saw last--completely offensive, rude, and a dickhead.  

“Yeah, his name is Harry, by the way. I was doing okay until you showed up!” You rolled your eyes, making your way back inside to Harry, who was waiting for you inside. 

Of course, Max wasn’t done until he got the last word, so he yelled out, “You know, whatever you’re doing with him, he’s gonna leave you; just like how I left you.” You slowly turned around, heart aching as his words had definitely done something this time. “You think Harry cares about you Y/N? Think again, he’s gonna leave you and you’re gonna be alone. You’re nothing, Y/N--not without me, at least. You aren’t worth anything, and you had to take over your dad’s gym to feel like you are. Stop fooling yourself.” 

Your eyes watered, trying your hardest not to let them slip from your eyes. You had already felt weak tearing up in front of him, so you couldn’t imagine what he would think if you bawled your eyes out. Suddenly, you heard the bell above the restaurant door chime. You didn’t bother turning around, but you somehow knew that it was Harry who was behind you. 

“Everything alright here?” Harry asked warily, eyes pointed towards you. 

“Yeah, man. See you, Y/N.” With that, he walked away, hopefully for good. Harry knew everything wasn’t alright with how you’re ready to burst into tears. As much as he wanted to follow him, force an answer out of him as to why you were in such distress, he was more worried about you. 

Standing in front of you, Harry placed an arm on your shoulder, his other hand held the brown paper bag that had both of your leftovers as he didn’t want to eat without you. Your body was tense, not because of Harry’s touch but because of the words that had taken such an effect on you, and you were doing everything to not break down in the middle of the sidewalk. 

“Hey, you okay?” Harry asked softly, bending down slightly to look you in the eyes. Your eyes were pointed down at the ground, thinking that if you looked Harry in the eyes, you were going to break. 

“Uh, c-can you take me to the gym, please?” You asked once you fully gained the courage to speak, but your voice was shaky. 

Harry immediately nodded. “Yeah, yeah, of course. Let’s go.” He put his arm around your shoulders and you comfortably nuzzled into his side as he guided you to his car. 

The drive back was silent—the complete opposite from the drive to the restaurant. Instead of happiness radiating out of your bodies, the space felt gloomy. Harry’s mind had spiraled as he drove, thinking about what that man could have possibly said to you. He was torn between wanting to be angry, but he was more concerned for you because you had never been this silent before. 

Once Harry was in front of the gym, you immediately got out before he was able to turn off the car. Using your keys, you unlocked the front door, turning off the alarm system before throwing your purse, not caring where it landed and rushed towards the heavy bags. 

This was where you let all your anger out. The place where you screamed at the top of your lungs with no care on who might hear you. This was your safe space, and if someone was going to judge you for utilizing your safe space, then they didn’t belong there. 

You screamed, punched, and kicked the heavy bag with full force as your tears had streamed down your face. Your heart was beating painfully with every scream you forced out of your body. Your punches were solid, making the bag swing back and forth, but your knuckles were starting to redden because you didn’t wrap your hands. 

Harry quickly followed you, a frown plastered on his face as he watched you let your anger out all on the heavy bag. He let you do your thing, watching from the sidelines before he waited for the right moment to cut in. 

“You. Fucking. Stupid. Piece. Of. Shit,” you yelled out with every punch. You sniffled, continuing to punch the bag, eyes glossy from your endless amount of tears. 

The friction from the leather and your bare skin was rubbing against each other, cutting and peeling open your skin. Your hands had numbed the pain, so you carried on with your punches until Harry had wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you into his chest and away from the heavy bag once he started to see redness and blood scattered onto your knuckles. You screamed, your body protesting, wanting to continue punching, but you knew you didn’t have any more energy. 

Turning around in his arms, your face was met with his chest, sobbing into his shirt. Harry’s hands soothed your back, comforting you as his heart ached from the sadness you radiated. Your bloody hands clutched his shirt as you cried, tears staining his shirt. Your whines and whimpers filled the empty gym, echoing back at you. 

Everything hurt—your heart, eyes, body, and your hands were now starting to sting. Harry held you tighter, carefully taking a seat onto the ground and bringing you down with him. You sat in between his legs and your head rested on his shoulder. 

After a moment, he felt you calm down and your body physically relaxed. Mindlessly, his hand brushed your hair back from your forehead, pressing a kiss to your skin. Harry hadn’t realized he did that until he pulled away and he hoped he hadn’t crossed a line by doing that. But when he kissed your forehead, you pulled him closer, burying your face into his neck. 

“Talk to me—tell me what you need, angel,” he said softly, wanting to help and be there for you. The nickname had completely slipped out as he’d been calling you that in his head. He’d never seen you break down at all, so this was very new to him. 

You shook your head, nickname going over your head. “Nothing. Just you.” 

Harry nodded his head, heart fluttering at your words as he held you tighter. He continued to soothe your hair and back as he heard you sigh deeply at the comfort. Looking down at your hands, he realized they were still bloody and cut up, and he knew that your cuts needed to be treated as soon as possible. 

“Can I take care of your hands? I’m still gonna be close, just wanna bandage you up.” You sniffled, nodding your head. Harry slightly smiled, carefully getting up before helping you up. He wrapped his arm around your shoulder, first asking you where the first aid kit was, and you two walked to one of the offices to get the kit before going to the restroom. “Wanna sit?” He asked, patting the cold counter. Nodding your head, you placed your hands on the counter, but he quickly stopped you, taking off his jacket for you to sit on. 

“Thank you,” you softly said to him gratefully before jumping to sit on the counter. 

Harry opened the box that contained multiple and different types of bandages, an instant cold pack, thermometer, antiseptic wipes, and scissors. Harry washed his hands well before grabbing the antiseptic wipe and ripping it open. He situated himself between your legs, gently grabbing your hand to rest on his. He looked up at you, first asking you if it was okay to start, and when you said yes, he slowly and carefully started to wipe the area around the cut. 

You watched him as he cleaned your cuts; he was so focused on wiping the blood that stained your skin and was careful not to press too hard because you were starting to bruise already. As you watched him, you felt immensely grateful. It’d been a while since you had a true friend that would help you with anything and take care of you. Your feelings for him had skyrocketed, heart pounding so loud you could feel it in your ears. 

“The guy at the restaurant was my ex-boyfriend, Max,” you suddenly said. Harry looked up at you to let you know that he was listening as he continued to clean your hands. “It was a bit of a messy breakup; he called me names, insulted me, and confessed that he was cheating on me. When I saw him at the restaurant, that was the first time since the breakup, and it was like I relived that day again.” 

“Did he say anything to you?” Harry asked, holding back his anger because he knew the answer,  Harry watched through the window the entire time and noticed your posture and demeanor change, causing Harry to quickly pay and rush outside just in case anything happened. 

“Y-Yeah.” Your voice croaked. “Said I didn’t amount to anything—that I wasn’t anything without him-”

“That’s bullshit, Y/N-”

“I’m so mad at myself.” Tears were forming in your eyes again as you looked down at your lap. Redness brimmed your eyelids as you sniffled. 

“What? Why?” Harry asked confusingly. 

You shook your head at yourself. “For years, I’ve been training—learning how to defend myself for when I need it. I was raised to have a strong mindset, to not take shit from anyone because Don told me not to. But when he came around, I didn't say a word, let alone move a muscle. I hate how he made me weak. I hate how I didn’t stand up for myself.” Your voice was shaky and your tears streamed down your face as you paused for a moment. “He told me that you were gonna leave me just like everyone else in my life did,” you added. 

Harry was seething, breathing in through his nose as his face hardened. He masked his anger because his priority was to comfort you, so he tried to let go of his anger for a moment. 

“Listen to me.” He placed his hands on the outside of your legs, bending down to look you in the eyes. Your glossy eyes looked at him, a small pout on your face. “You’re the strongest person I know, alright, angel?” This time, you heard the pet name loud and clear, making your heart do backflips. “You didn’t let him walk all over you, no, you’re much more mature than him to ever start something. He wanted to see you angry, and frustrated. He wanted to add fuel to the fire, and you didn’t give him the satisfaction. You aren’t weak at all. You’ve got a strong heart, and I’m sure that punch of yours to his nose would damage it for good.” 

You breathed out a chuckle at his last statement, nodding, knowing he was right. Harry smiled, dimples showing proudly as he wiped the tears that were falling from your eyes. Giving him a half-smile, you leaned forward, pressing your face against his collarbones. He stood up straight to wrap his arms around your back. You daringly placed a kiss onto the exposed skin that was peeking out from his shirt. Harry’s face warmed up at the touch that was so soft and delicate, yet felt like it was burning through his skin. You pulled away, looking up at him as you thanked him. 

Your eyes darted between his eyes and his lips as your face was just inches away from him. His face was delicate and his beauty shined over the darkness of the world. It was as if he didn’t seem real like you couldn’t believe someone so beautiful and breathtaking was standing right in front of you. You studied every curve, movement, and freckle on his face as they all very well defined him, heightening your admiration with every look of his perfections and imperfections. 

Harry blushed under your stare, clearing his throat as he felt nervous. He pulled his face away a tad bit, offering you a small smile. “Of course. Always gonna be here for you. Now, let me just finish cleaning your hands before taking you home.” 

You nodded, letting him finish with his task. His hands were gentle as he wrapped the bandage around your hand. Your heart was filled with so much admiration and gratitude that you simply wouldn’t know what to do if Harry weren’t there today. The growing feelings had taken over your heart and mind that you were a bit scared, but nonetheless, you let them take over. 

Harry sat at the bar next to Benny, nursing a beer he had ordered ten minutes ago. It had been a while since they hung out together, but that was because Benny was trying to get his wife pregnant, so when Marianne calls, they spent their time baby-making. The other reason was that Harry was spending most of his time with you, which he loved every minute of. 

“So, a little bird told me that you’ve been going to the gym on Saturdays now,” Benny mentioned, a hint of tease in his tone. 

Harry chuckled. “Really? And who told you that?” He asked, taking a sip of his beer. 

“Starts with a D and ends with an N,” Benny laughed, giving you the obvious answer. 

“Well, I’ve been going in on Saturdays because Don always schedules our training sessions on Saturdays. Nothing else,” he slightly lied. After his first training day with Don, Harry told Don that he wanted to continue training with him because he gets a good workout with him rather than by himself, hitting the heavy bag or speed bag, so Don always scheduled for Saturdays since those were the easiest days. 

But other than the training sessions, he also got to see you on Saturdays, which he really enjoyed because sometimes after his workout, you two would grab a bite to eat or plan to hang out later that day. He liked it, he liked you. 

“Hmm, interesting. It doesn’t have to do with a particular trainer who also happens to own the gym?” Benny raised his brows. 

“Not really into Don, to be honest,” Harry joked, bouncing around Benny’s question. They both laughed, slamming their hand on the bar top. 

“Really, though. I’m happy for you. You’ve been in such a happier mood, and that’s all I want—is for you to be happy. She’s doing a great job,” Benny said honestly. Seeing his friend happy after everything he’s been through had lifted a certain weight off of his shoulders, and it seemed like he didn’t need to worry about Harry. 

Harry simply nodded, smiling as words weren’t necessary. He always felt like Benny was always concerned about him, and although he appreciated him being worried, he didn’t need to anymore because Harry was finally feeling much happier than he was before. 

“There you are.” A voice was suddenly heard next to Harry along with a hand on his shoulder. Harry tensed up, and he hadn’t in a while, but he knew that wasn’t your voice nor was it your touch. Harry turned his head to the side to find Lizette sitting on the stool next to him, giving him a smug smile. He didn’t say anything but look at Benny, and saw his eyes narrow, confused as to why Lizette was here. “I’ve been calling your home and paging you. Why haven’t you been answering me?” She pouted. 

Harry knew that pout all too well. She used it to trick you into saying yes to her and getting what she wanted, but Harry was stronger than that now; he knew how to hold his ground. 

He hadn’t seen Lizette ever since the week before he joined Don’s Box. With all of his time spent with you, he hadn’t really thought about Lizette, if he’s being honest. You had fully taken every inch and space of his mind that it was maximum capacity, but he still found a way to make space from the invading thoughts of you. 

“Just been…busy, Lizette, that’s all,” he said, not giving her his full attention as he looked at his bottle. 

“Too busy for me?” 

“Yeah, something like that.” He didn’t want to outright be rude to her because naturally, Harry was a kind and thoughtful man, so he kept his harsh thoughts to himself. 

She inched closer to Harry, close enough to where her mouth was against his ear as she whispered, “Well, since I so happened to run into you, how about we go back to yours?”

Harry took a deep breath. He felt like he was his old self again—making impulsive and not so thought out decisions that end up fucking him and his emotions over in the future. Being with Lizette was something, and it helped make him feel a little less lonely, even though she immediately left right after she got what she wanted. 

But Harry hadn’t felt lonely at the moment and in months. He had his best friend next to him, having a drink, and he had you. He wasn’t lonely at all. So, why was he getting off the stool and putting his coat on before closing his tab for the night? 

Benny’s eyes widened, looking at Harry as if he was asking what the actual fuck was he doing. Harry simply shrugged, patting his friend on the back before following Lizette out of the bar. The air was cold, but it wasn’t a delightful cold that he wanted to be in. It almost seemed kind of eerie as the gray clouds hovered over them. 

Lizette hugged Harry’s arm. “I’m glad you agreed.” She leaned up to kiss his cheek, but he immediately pulled away, taking his arm out of her hold. 

“You should go home,” he told her. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out as she was confused. “Get a ride home. I’m not taking you home nor am I going with you. I don’t want to do this anymore, Lizette.” 

“But you came with me-”

“That didn’t mean I was saying yes to your offer. I came out here with you to get you off of me and not embarrass me in front of my friend and the entire bar.” Harry’s voice was stern as he crossed his arms. “I know you’ve never really cared about me, so please just do me a favor and leave. I’m happier now-”

“You’re happier? With some other girl, huh?” Harry nodded and Lizette rolled her eyes, expression annoyed as she was beginning to get angry and defensive. “You think she cares? Guess what, Harry, she doesn’t. She’s gonna leave you just like your mom left you, your ex-girlfriend left you. Remember when she fucked your best friend in college? That she left you to be with him? And look at them now, they’re married! They don’t give a single fuck about you! What makes you think that this girl you’re seeing does?” 

Lizette had definitely hit a nerve. Harry had gone four years without hearing the story on how his ex left him for one of his friends from uni. The situation was quite sad, and it left Harry in pieces. Not to mention, Lizette was his ex’s best friend and she somehow seduced him into regularly having sex with her, which wasn’t entirely her fault because Harry was lonely and needed to feel something to fill the void of his loneliness. 

“Don’t think you’re so easy to love, Harry. It takes a lot of effort to do that, especially with you. You’re gonna continue being scared and closed off, and people are gonna continue to run away-”

“Harry?” Lizette was suddenly interrupted by you. You were walking to the bar because Benny had invited you, thinking that it would’ve been a nice surprise for Harry and to hang out with just the three of you. But you had seen Harry and some woman on the street and his face looked angry. “Uh, hi.” 

You turned towards the unknown woman as she looked you up and down before turning towards Harry, raising her brows as she figured out who you were and who Harry had been spending so much time with. 

Harry completely blocked you out, his attention was towards the statements Lizette had made. He had been doing so much better, and all of a sudden the relapse hit him ten times harder, like his accomplishment of being okay with himself completely disappeared. 

 Was he that hard to love? He knew that he pushed people away, that’s for sure, but he didn’t realize that it was difficult to love him. Harry then thought about the people that had left him because they didn’t love him enough to stay. His ex left him for his friend, it seemed like his mum had forgotten about him, and soon enough, Benny was gonna get tired of him and so were you. 

“And you are?” You asked, scowling at the woman in front of you. Lizette smirked, seeing as there was an opportunity right in front of her. She didn’t find you 

intimidating whatsoever. 

“Oh, guess Harry didn’t tell you, but we’ve been sleeping with each other for years. Friends with benefits, if you will,” Lizette answered with some sass and a snarl to her tone as she watched your expression turn into a hurtful one. 

Your face had softened as your eyes welled up with tears, but you didn’t dare let them fall. You looked at Harry and it seemed like he was in his head, but you had no clue he was ‘seeing someone.’ It felt like you had been cheated on, even though going out as friends didn’t mean anything to a fuck buddy. All of the moments you spent with him—the laughs, storytelling, training, and tension-filled moments had connected you both to one another. It made you feel special that you were seeing a side of Harry that no one else had, but you were wrong. 

“Guess you’re the new girl he’s seeing?” 

“What’s it to you?” Your brows knitted. 

Lizette shrugged. “Nothing. Just know that Harry’s difficult and loveless. So, just get out while you can.” She reached over to touch your shoulder, but you quickly stepped back before she could. She was talking as if Harry wasn’t right next to you two, and if this was a ‘women looking out for women’ type of situation, you weren’t going to accept it because she outright just insulted Harry. 

You were livid as your eyes turned dark, stepping closer to her. “Stay away from him, or I swear to god-”

“Or what? What are you gonna do?” Lizette challenged, stepping closer. She was slightly taller than you since she wore four-inch leather boots.

“Wanna find out? Next time I see you with him or hear you talk shit about him again, then you’ll find out because I can guarantee you’ll never see the light of day.” You held eye contact with her as she looked at you with such fierce emotion. 

“Cute. Harry’s got a little bodyguard,” she scoffed, stepping back. “I should go,” Lizette suddenly said, breaking you out of your heartbreaking thoughts. “I’ll call you,” she told Harry, despite what you had just said. It seemed like he wasn’t even listening as his blank stare was trained onto the ground. She walked away, her heels clicking against the cement. The satisfaction she felt right now felt good, knowing her words had definitely affected you both. 

When Lizette was far enough, you turned back towards Harry. This time, he was looking at you in a confused state, and it didn’t seem like him. 

“I-I didn’t know you were seeing someone-”

“You should go…” he said straightforwardly. You raised your brows as you were taken back. 

“I’m sorry?” 

“You should leave. For good. Get out of my life while you can. I promise I won’t get mad.” His voice cracked and was shaky. He couldn’t even look you in the eye while he was talking because he knew that would break his heart even more, especially if you were to actually leave for good. The negative thoughts had taken over, and this was what he did—pushing people away and giving them a way out before they realized that Harry wasn’t a lovable or worthy enough person to stay around for. 

“What makes you think I’m going anywhere?” You questioned confusingly. You wondered if he even thought about the conversation you two had a few moments ago when you had told him that you were staying for good. 

“They all do, anyway. They all leave and they never come back.” His voice was starting to raise slightly, frustration and anger pouring out of his veins as his eyes were starting to tear up. A pout remained on your face as you watched the distress never leave his angelic face. “Just please go.”

“I’m not going anywhere-”

“Why won’t you-”

“Because I care! Why don’t you get that?” You raised your voice, not too loud to startle him, but enough to convey your emotions and frustrations to him. 

“Because you’re going to eventually! You’re gonna leave and use me and never love me. I’m used to it, so you could go now!” Harry was starting to cry, light sobs were coming out of his mouth as he was trying to hold them back. You took a step forward, wanting to comfort him as your heart broke at the sight, but he stepped back, not wanting your touch. 

Your heart sank when he stepped back away from you because he had never done that before. You two were always comfortable with one another that both of your touches had felt like security. Your tears had streamed down your face, quickly wiping them. 

“Harry, I’m not gonna leave…” 

“It’s fine. You don’t know what it’s like for someone to leave and never come back. You don’t know what it’s like to feel completely loveless that someone physically had to get out of your life and not want to be in it anymore. You don’t know what it’s like!” He spoke firmly as he cried, tugging his curly locks in frustration. 

“I don’t know what it’s like?” You spoke loudly, and Harry looked up at you. “I know exactly what it’s like because my own mother left me when I was eleven-years-old, and I have no idea why!” You vented, sniffling. “You don’t think I know what it’s like to constantly wonder what you’re doing wrong because the people that were supposed to be there for you completely vanished? Because I do! I know that feeling quite well. So, don’t tell me I don’t know shit because it seems like we’re in the same boat.” 

Harry was speechless. Sure, you two had been close and had talked about your lives and childhood, but this was something that you two had to dig deep for because it wasn’t something you regularly spoke about nor did you tell new people that you’d just met. 

“I-I’m sorry I had no idea…” 

“You couldn’t have had any idea, Harry. But just know that that day my mom left me still confuses me. The look on my dad’s face when he told me that mom left still haunts me. The crying I did since I was eleven hurts me because she didn’t love me enough to stay.” 

“Y/N…” 

“It’s fine, I get it. I know we’ve known each other for only a few months, but I did not expect this from you, especially because of all that we’d talked about. I’d say I’m the newest person in your life but I’m also the closest, besides Benny. So, don’t shut me out.” Your heart was beating through your chest and all of your emotions began to pile up like they were leaves, falling from the branches of the trees. 

Harry looked defeated, knowing that you were right. He sniffled, not knowing what else to say because all he felt was a painful feeling in his chest since Lizette had gone up to him at the bar. 

When he didn’t say anything, you just nodded, knowing that it was best to give him some space so he could realize that you were here for him and that you weren’t going anywhere. 

“Call me when you wanna talk…” you told him before turning around. Harry watched you—he knew that he should go after you, not be scared and let you in, perhaps tell you that he’s practically in love with you, but he doesn’t move, feet glued to the ground. 

When you were only a few feet away, you turned back around, knowing that you hadn’t gotten your final words out yet. Harry looked up when he heard footsteps approaching him. 

“Fuck whatever people say to you; trying to degrade and bring you down because whatever they say, it’s not true. I will always be there to defend you, Harry. Don’t think I won’t be because I will always be on your side.” You paused for a moment. Your heart was fully opening and was beginning to be vulnerable. Trying not to let it overwhelm you, you continued. “Don’t think you’re not easy to love because you are. You’re extremely easy to love, y’know that? I would know because…I love you. And that’s crazy to say because we’ve only known each other for a short period of time, but I can’t help what I feel. So, there you go.” 

Before Harry was able to say anything, you walked away, and he could hear you sniffling and crying. Harry’s mouth was ajar, completely speechless and shocked, but his heart fluttered as he took in your words. You really loved him, he thought. No one had said those words and really meant them or they hadn’t felt real to him when he heard them, so the shock that he felt was new. 

You were far enough where Harry couldn’t see you. He hadn’t even moved an inch, and he knew that later on, he was going to be very disappointed in himself for not chasing you down and telling you that he loved you too. But for now, he needed to take it all in and hope that when he did tell you, it wouldn’t be too late. 

Taking a deep breath, you walked inside to your apartment, sniffling as you went straight to the bathroom to take a long and hot shower. Before you left your place to go to the bar, you had been contemplating your appearance because you wanted to look good. Nerves were all over your body as you were getting ready, and you sulked at how the events had completely turned tonight around. 

When you were out of the shower and changed, ready to get into bed despite the night only being nine in the evening, your pager beeped. Picking it up off the bedside table, the message was sent from Harry, reading ‘143.’ You raised your brows, reading it again and reading it once more. Your heart was pounding, studying the numbers to make sure you read them right. The simple code for ‘I love you’ was printed on your pager and you wanted to scream. 

Before you could actually scream, there was a knock on your door. You walked quickly, opening it as Harry was standing behind it, holding his pager out as he smiled softly at you. You had just finished crying in the shower, so your eyes were red and a tad bit swollen, but you were close to crying again because of how overwhelmed you felt. 

“Did you mean it?” You asked hesitantly, holding your pager up. 

“Of course I do. Did you mean it?” He retaliated back, wondering if you meant your three words as well. 

“Of course I mean it, Harry. Why wouldn’t I?” You asked, wiping the tear that had slipped down your face. 

“Because I love you. I love you so fuckin’ much that it hurts,” he claimed in one breath, feeling the tension and weight that he held in his shoulders release. “You’re everything to me, and you make my world less frightening. I just see your pretty smile and my day completely turns into a great one. I don’t wanna waste a day not telling you that now, and it feels pretty damn good to say it.”

You slightly nodded until you remembered one of your concerns earlier. “What about Lizette?” 

“Lizette was someone I used to sleep with. I haven’t seen her nor slept with her in months—before I even met you, I promise. And I’m sorry for assuming that you didn’t know what it felt like for someone to leave and that you had to tell me under those circumstances. But just know, that I’m not gonna leave, unless you tell me to, that is.” Every bit of him was opening up and he wasn’t hiding away. He was being completely vulnerable and it had scared him a bit, but when his words came out, he felt himself get better. 

You looked at him through your glassy eyes, vision blurred for a moment until you adjusted them and clearly saw the gorgeous man in front of you. His eyes were filled with tears as well, and you thought, how could someone still look so pretty while they cried? But that was Harry for you; someone who was genuinely beautiful no matter what. Someone who had a heart of gold and a flashing smile that made your heart swoon and knees weak. 

You simply reached your hand out and Harry walked towards you, into your apartment as he came close to your face as your bodies were pressed up against one another. The back of his fingertips gently brushed the side of your face, admiring the beauty that stood before him as he opened his heart up completely, not wanting to go another day without saying those three words back to you. 

The corners of your lips turned up and your tears were replaced by happy ones. You had walked away from Harry after you said I love you because he was looking at you like he had seen a ghost, not a friendly one, but more of a scary one. So, hearing those words were just music to your ears. 

“You mean that? That you love me?” You wanted to hear it again and again and again. 

“Ever word. I love you, angel,” he repeated, adding your nickname. He pressed his forehead against yours, inches away from your lips. 

“Never stop calling me that,” you instructed him, smiling. The first time he had said it, you came to the conclusion that you absolutely loved hearing that name come out of his mouth, especially if it was specifically for you. 

“Only if you never stop telling me that you love me,” he slightly smirked, dimples poking out. He was so immensely happy that his heart could burst just because of the love that he felt for you. 

You giggled. “I love you, baby-” 

“I, uh, wait. Do you mind…not calling me that?” He hesitated, and you raised your brows confused. “Someone else called me that, and I just don’t like hearing it. Never have since it came out of her mouth,” he explained shyly. 

A sudden realization came to your face as you realized that Lizette probably called him that. “Okay. I won’t call you that, ever…darling.” Harry’s lips began to slowly turn up, already liking that name so much better than the other one. He hugged you; and you smiled, closing and opening your eyes to make sure you weren’t dreaming. Your arms snaked around Harry’s waist as he cradled your delicate face in his hands. 

“Never stop calling me that,” he repeated your words as you two smiled and laughed until your jaws started hurting. 

His eyes flickered down to your lips and back up to your eyes. You pursed your lips, blushing as you watched his eyes glance back up and down. You rubbed the tip of your nose against his, pulling him closer; hearts beating in sync as butterflies filled your stomach. 

He brushed his lips against yours before fully connecting them, feeling every spark and shiver that traveled down his spine. You smiled into the kiss as the softness of his lips moved and molded against yours, feeling completely in bliss. The way his lips slotted perfectly with yours made you saturated and dizzy off of his love and touch. Butterflies were still in your stomach, but they were calm like they had been fluttering around for this moment, his touch, in order to relax. 

Pulling back, he smiled down at you, eyes love-struck, before giving you another kiss, and pulling away and kissing you again once more. 

“Kissing you is my new favorite thing,” he stated, drunk off kisses. You breathed out a giggled, wrapping your arms around his neck as you breathed in his scent. You felt his breath against your neck, feeling completely happy and content in each other’s arms. 

There was no fear in the air; just the two of you with open hearts and arms, welcoming in the new and profound feeling that you both took in, knowing that it’s going to change everything for the better. 

You pulled him inside and Harry kicked the door closed with his foot. His arms were holding you tight as you walked back to your bedroom. Opening your mouth slightly, Harry took the chance to meet your tongue with his, swiveling and tasting each other causing a shiver to run down your spine. 

You pulled back when Harry laid down on the bed, taking in the gushy feeling you had as you smiled. 

“Want you,” you simply stated. 

“You have me, angel.” 

“I know, but I want you. Need you,” your eyes pleaded for his touch, to feel him inside of you, for him to make you feel good. You desperately craved for his hands on all of you, his mouth kissing every inch of your skin, and his love passionately pouring out of his veins. 

Harry nodded, smiling. “Need you too. Need you forever,” he said, connecting your lips again as he hovered over you. 

You two kissed for a while, giggling against each other’s lips and having his weight on top of you as your hands roamed his back. You bucked your hips into his, feeling the hard-on that was growing in his pants, which made Harry grind into your center, moaning softly into your mouth. 

“Please do something,” you said, and he nodded, getting off of you before taking his jacket and shirt off swiftly. His tattoos were showcased in front of you and all you wanted to do was kiss every single one of them. “You’re beautiful, Harry,” you complimented, and he blushed, a soft ‘thank you’ came out of his mouth. Next was his pants, and before he was able to take his briefs off, you stopped him, telling him that you wanted to do it. 

You got off the bed, switching positions with him as you were now standing up as Harry laid down on the bed. You smiled, eyes glancing all around his body. He suddenly felt shy and intimidated under your stare, but he knew he had no reason to be because you were simply admiring him. This time around when it came to physically be vulnerable with someone, he knew he didn’t have to worry anymore when it came to you. 

You took off your lilac nightgown, exposing your body to Harry’s eyes. Your nipples had hardened due to the exposure to the cold. His eyes glimmered as he gazed at your stunning and beautiful body. Every curve and inch was something he tried to remember, and he was quite speechless at the sight. He reached out, gently grabbing your hips as he roamed his hands up your body and to your breasts, grabbing both in each of his hands. 

He looked up at you and you smiled down at him as he placed his mouth on your left pebbled nipple, sucking and licking it as his hand fondled with the other. You laced your fingers through his hair, scratching his scalp as he did so, switching over to your right nipple. 

Harry pulled away, looking at you. “You’re an actual angel. You’re so beautiful.” 

“Harry…” you blushed. 

“You are, angel. So beautiful. Can’t believe I get to see you like this.” He kissed the valley of your breasts and down your stomach before getting up and pushing you down onto the bed with ease. He settled in between your legs, arms hooked under your thighs. 

Continuing kissing down your stomach, he reached the hem of your underwear, looking up at you before asking, “Can I take these off? Wanna make you feel good—the same way you always make me feel good.” 

“Please. Take them off. Wanna feel your mouth on me,” you pleaded as your arousal heightened. You wrapped your legs around his back, eagerly pulling his head towards your center, making Harry let out a chuckle. 

“Easy, angel. Not going anywhere.” Harry kissed your stomach once more before pulling off your beige underwear. You were glistening below him; you made a complete mess in your panties. “Fuck, you’re so wet. This all for me?” 

“Mhm. All for you, Harry, please,” you whispered impatiently. Harry’s dirty talk had only increased your need for him as it was quite surprising to see this side of him since he was more on the shy and reserved side outside, but nonetheless, you loved both sides—you loved him. 

Harry leaned down, pressing multiple kisses to your inner thighs, nibbling on the skin gently. You bucked your hips as he trailed his kisses towards your pussy that was eagerly waiting to be touched and licked. When he got there, he pressed a kiss to your clit before kitten-licking your sensitive button, making you softly moan. 

His tongue licked into the entrance of your pussy, gathering your arousal on the tip of his tongue to lubricate your clit even more. 

“Fuck,” you groaned as your hands found his curly locks, tugging at them gently. 

“You could do that harder, I don’t mind it,” Harry told you before going back to eating you out. You pulled harder and Harry deeply groaned against you, sending vibrations up your body. 

His hands wandered around your body, feeling the softness of your skin against his hands. Your skin had formed goosebumps due to his touch, and Harry smoothed out your skin so you were warm. He sucked on your clit quite harshly, earning a moan of his name from your lips as he grabbed both of your tits in his hands, squeezing them. 

You placed your hands on top of his, squeezing them with him, and Harry almost came at the sight of that. There you were, moaning his name out, getting your pussy eaten, and squeezing your tits on top of his hands. A sight he truly was lucky enough to see. 

Harry pulled one hand away to rub your clit as he tongued around your wet hole before tongue fucking you. He rubbed your clit at a moderate speed, enough for you to thrust your hips off the bed. Harry pulled his other hand that was still on one of your breasts away to pin your hips down onto the bed. 

“Stay still for me, angel,” he instructed, voice deep that made you even wetter. “You taste so good. Could eat you out all day.” 

“Harry…” you trailed, whining desperately for your release. “W-Wanna…cum…need to.” Your sentences were broken and Harry thought that was a good sign, knowing that he was doing so well you couldn’t form a proper sentence. 

“Tell me what you need. Let me know, so I can get you there.” 

“F-Fingers,” you told him, and he immediately brought his fingers to your clit, rubbing it before inserting two fingers inside your pussy. He thrust slowly, curling his fingers up to feel your walls.

He felt you pulsing around him as your legs were wrapped tightly around his back as you screamed his name over and over again. 

“C’mon, love. Give me one,” he encouraged, thrusting his fingers a bit faster. 

Once he hit the spot over and over again, you saw stars. Your vision had gone white for a few seconds, and you felt dizzy. The pleasure that ran through your body was overwhelming in the best way possible and you choked out a few sobs. It had hit you like a brick that you saw coming, but you were still surprised and shocked by the impact. 

Your hands held Harry’s hair tight that he thought for a moment that you might actually rip it off. Harry rubbed your pussy as you came down from your high, licking your orgasm that was seeping through your cunt, taking every drop of it. He looked up to see your head thrown back, chest heaving, and a vein that was bulging against your skin. He kissed your thighs while his other hand trailed across your body. 

When you finally were able to catch your breath, Harry kissed up your body, leaving the softest and loving kisses to your skin as you were quite sensitive. You grabbed his face, bringing his lips to yours as you immediately stuck your tongue in his mouth, swirling it with his to taste yourself on him—a mixture of his taste and your orgasm all on his tongue had made you wetter. 

Harry was grinding himself against your leg, trying to relieve some pressure. 

“Want you,” you told him once he pulled away, looking at him intently. 

“You sure?” 

“Absolutely. Please? Only if you want to-”

“I definitely want to. Just wanna make sure you were sure,” he breathed out a chuckle. 

“Course I want to.” There was a bit of silence between you two as you were simply just admiring him as he hovered over you. “Are you gonna fuck me, Harry?” You broke the silence, and Harry broke out of his trance, shyly giggling before getting off the bed. 

He peeled away his briefs, cock standing straight up from the slight painful restraint. He was big—girth and length wise, and you felt your mouth salivating from just looking at him. He got back on the bed, in between your legs as he sat on his knees. Spitting on his hand, he grabbed a hold of his dick, stroking it to relieve the pressure. The view was beautiful in every single way possible, and you didn’t dare to bat an eye because you didn’t want to miss one second of it. 

Wanting to take over for him, you reached forward, replacing his hand with yours as you slowly stroked his cock for him. Harry had a smug smile on his face but soon changed into a face of pure pleasure as your hand worked against him. His mouth was open as he let out a soft moan, looking down at your eyes as you were looking up, completely loving his reaction to your touch. 

“You’re so pretty, Harry,” you complimented as you continued to touch him. Your other hand reached forward to fondle with his balls, rolling them into your hand as Harry whimpered. “Love seeing you like this. Most gorgeous man I’ve seen in my life.” 

“Please, angel, you’re being too nice…” he managed to groan out, hands gripping your thighs. 

“But it’s true. Look so pretty when you’re like this, but also when you’re hitting the heavy bags. When we go out to eat and you mindlessly drink your entire drink while waiting for the food. But I think you’ll look extra pretty than you already are if you cum.” Your words of declaration were getting him on the edge as you stroke him. The way your voice slightly changed as you looked up at him with the most innocent eyes made him thrust into your hand, gripping the flesh of your skin as he threw his head back. 

“You think so?” 

“Mhm. Gonna be so pretty when you cum all over my body, my tits. Can you do that? For me, can you do that? Please?” You were completely begging for it, but even with all the begging, he knew that you had all the control right now. 

Your feet rubbed his calves up and down, and it was the simplest touch, but it heightened Harry’s need to let go. 

“Wanna cum for you, yeah.” His breaths were heavy and harsh as your touch was focused on his tip, wrapping your delicate hands around the head where he was most sensitive. 

Harry’s moans stuttered as a series of profanities slipped from his lips, spilling onto your stomach and breasts. You smiled to yourself as you studied his face when he came undone; his mouth was open, occasionally biting his lip, and eyes shut closed as his head was thrown back—he was the most beautiful person you’d ever seen, and the fact that you got to see him like this was an honor. 

When he came down from his high, he slowly opened his eyes, meeting yours, staring right at him. You smirked, body covered in his orgasm, and he thought that was a picture worth taking. You were gorgeous covered in his pleasure that you caused, and you seemed to love it too since you made no effort to wipe it off. 

Boldly, he leaned down, dragging his tongue from your stomach to your tit, spending the most time on your breasts as he nibbled and licked your nipples, collecting his orgasm from your skin and held it on the tip of his tongue until he reached your mouth. You willingly opened your mouth as his tongue delved right in, feeding you his cum. 

You two passionately kissed, tasting him ever so sensually. You moaned into his mouth, thinking about how the sight of Harry licking his orgasm off of your body was the sexiest thing you’d ever seen. With your hips jerking up, you felt yourself getting wet again and in need to release once more. 

You whimpered, pulling away. “Please. Need you so bad.” Harry nodded, agreeing. 

“Condom?” He asked, and you immediately reached over to your bedside table, ripping open the condom before rolling it onto his dick that was still hard. 

Harry curled in his lips, watching you. You gave him a few extra strokes for good measure, earning a soft moan from his mouth. He took his length in his hand, running the tip up and down your slit, collecting your arousal and lubricating his cock. He gave you one last look and you nodded before he slowly pushed in, indulging in your wetness and softness. 

A moan came out of both of your mouths, feeling completely full and warm for one another with the stretch Harry had on you. He planted his elbows on both sides of you, holding himself up over you as he slowly began to thrust. 

“Fuck,” he groaned. “Feel so good for me.” He placed a kiss on your lips as he whispered. He found a rhythm as he started to move faster, rocking his hips against yours, making you moan. 

It was a feeling like no other, and it was the amount of love you two had for one another that made this experience much more special. Love was practically oozing out of both of your veins, filling the room to its maximum capacity as the both of you moaned out in pleasure. 

You wrapped your legs around his waist and your arms looped around his back, hugging him closer to you as if he couldn’t get closer. You whined into his ear, the sounds of your pleasure were music to his eyes, sending a shiver down his body, making him jerk. But that jolt had hit your g-spot, and you screamed out in ecstasy. 

“Right there. Keep doing that. Keep fucking me,” you managed to say. Harry maintained his pace, going deeper, and fucking you into oblivion as you kept crying and screaming his name out. 

Harry’s lips attached to your neck, nibbling and licking your skin, leaving a few decent size love bites that he was sure to admire when they’d fully formed. Your nails had raked down his back, leaving a burning but pleasurable sting down his skin, letting him know that he was doing an amazing job. 

“You like that?” He groaned into your ear, leaving chills rising onto your skin. 

“Mhm. Just like that. Don’t stop. I-I’m so close.” You threw your head back into the pillows, and Harry took the opportunity to attack your exposed neck with kisses again. Your hands found Harry’s hair, tugging at his curls as he kissed you. That encouraged him to fuck you harder and faster, repeatedly hitting your special spot. “O-Oh…” 

“Come on, angel love. Cum for me, please. Wanna see you make a mess around me,” he encouraged you. 

With a few more thrusts, you were done. You had fully and completely released around him as your orgasm hit you like a ton of bricks. Your vision had gone white for a few seconds, head dizzy, and your breaths were caught in your throat as your hips involuntarily jolted, meeting his thrusts that were fucking you through your high. 

Harry started to thrust sloppily, burying his face in your neck as he spilled into the condom. His hot breath was against your skin as he started to slow down, coming down from his orgasm. 

The room was silent as the only sounds present were the heavy breaths and the post-orgasmic whimpers coming from your mouth as you two held one another. Your nails gently scratched down his back, contrasting to the desperate and needy scratches that you had given him just a few minutes ago. 

Harry lifted his head up, meeting your eyes before connecting his lips against yours, tongue meeting first before your lips moved in sync so passionately and lovingly that you both unspokenly agreed to never taste another pair of lips again. 

“I love you so much,” Harry said, resting his chin on your chest. 

You smiled down at him, eyes gleaming as you looked at your love, your entire heart, the man that had stolen your breath and heart just by one look. 

“And I love you too.” 

Waking up to the warmth of the body next to you was your favorite thing in the morning—had been for six months now. The sight next to you was something you wouldn’t get used to as you always found yourself feeling so lucky every single time you woke up next to him. 

But a pout formed onto your face when you saw that the space next to you was empty. The crinkled yellow sheets were left, missing a certain person that you had been excited to see this morning since you closed your eyes the night prior. 

Turning over to your bedside table, you grabbed your pager, seeing if you had any messages, and one specifically stood out to you, making you sleepily smile at your pager. 

“Goodmorning, angel,” Harry greeted as he stood in the doorway of your bedroom. He was wearing a gray sweatsuit, holding a white paper bag in one hand and a smoothie tray, that held two smoothies, in the other hand with a loving smile plastered on his face, making his dimples poke out. 

“Mm. Hi, darling.” Your arms reached forward, gesturing him to come to you, and he gladly did, situating himself on your body as you wrapped your arms around him. 

You two stayed like that for a moment, basking in the presence and gratitude of one another. It was nice until your stomach started growling, making Harry chuckle. 

“C’mon, gotta feed my girl before we head to the gym.” He got off of you, helping you up and out of the bed before helping you make the bed. He walked over to the kitchen before you went to the restroom, and when you walked out, Harry had your breakfast set on a plate. 

You two made light conversation, mostly enjoying the silence and tastiness of the food before you got ready to go to the gym. 

When you walked into Don’s Box, you were immediately greeted by a few of the members, giving you high fives, as well as saying hi to Harry. The entire gym had found out you two were together when they started to notice Harry coming into the gym almost every day and staying until the gym closed, so a few people had their speculations. Don was certain you two would get together from the very beginning, and he had told you that the only reason he was trying to act intimidating when Harry first walked in was that he sensed that something would happen, and he was right, something did happen. 

Benny was ecstatic; jokingly telling Harry that he could now spend time with his wife since you had taken all of Harry’s time now, which Benny earned a push from Harry towards the ropes of the ring. Benny’s wife was also pregnant and wanted Harry to be the godfather, which Harry immediately took on that responsibility and role. But that also meant since you and Harry were planning on staying together for the long run, you were becoming a godmother as well, which you were very excited about. 

You climbed up into the ring as Harry followed. You had a day off, and no one needed your attention other than Harry, so you helped him put on his gloves after you wrapped his hands in tape, and you put on your mitts, making sure they were tight before clapping the mitts together—Harry punched his gloves together, making sure they were comfortable. 

You raised your brows at him teasingly. “Ready, darling?” 

“Ready as always, my angel,” he responded, and you smirked. 

“Give me a good one. Give me 1.” 

talk to me about your favorite moments, your thoughts and feelings about this pls! thank you for reading <3

[caramelcal]

someone you loved

Request: Hi, could you write some Luke Patterson x Reader based on Someone you loved from Lewis Capaldi, please? But I also would like a happy end if it is possible, although the song is sad one. Thanks in advance :)

Word Count: 2k

a/n: hellooo! its currently 1:15 am and i have school tomorrow lol...im so tired but i needed to finish this so enjoyyy! 

Masterlist

I'm going under and this time I fear there's no one to save me This all or nothing really got a way of driving me crazy I need somebody to heal Somebody to know Somebody to have Somebody to hold It's easy to say But it's never the same I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain 

Remembering that day was something that you found yourself doing constantly, which was incredibly unfortunate. As you sat up in your room, curled up in a ball your mind drifted to him, the way the other girl had her arms around him, something you and only you were supposed to you.

You remembered the way she leaned against him, her body against his, her short tank top doing nothing to stop her skin from coming in contact with Luke.  Anger had bubbled in your chest as well as your throat tightening up, fists clenching at your sides. You saw the way her lips were pressed against his. Against your boyfriend’s. He pulled back away from her, and the way she went up to his ear, whispering seductively before her eyes caught onto you. Then she smirked.

Luke’s bandmates surrounded him, Bobby with two girls, both with the same minimal clothing that the one that was all over your boyfriend was wearing, Reggie was pawning over one that walked slightly in front of him and Alex looked dreadfully uncomfortable. Yet, you didn’t care about them, all you cared about was the way that girl was all over Luke. And if things couldn’t get any worse, whilst she maintained eye contact with you, she whispered in his ear again, why the hell was he not pulling away from her? Suddenly, after the girl said something, pointing a manicured finger in your direction, and his head snapped over to where you were, your eyes flickering between him and the girl, who was now walking backward away from him like her job was done.

“You know what, Patterson?” You shouted angrily at the boy, getting the entire group’s attention, “Fuck you, we’re over.”

And with that, you stormed off. Yet, it was weeks later and you were still crying about it, you missed the way put his arms around your stomach, pulling your back against his chest, the way he laughed with you, the way he cried with you, how he would have one hand on the wheel and one on your thigh when he was driving, you missed the way you blasted songs and just sang together. You missed everything and even though he hurt you, you still love him.

Now the day bleeds Into nightfall And you're not here To get me through it all I let my guard down And then you pulled the rug I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved

Trying to convince yourself to get ready and go out after so many days of staying in your dark room, in pajamas, and wallowing in self-pity was hard but you did it. You got out of bed, got ready, and went on your way to get a drink at the local cafe; a hangout place that a lot of the students at your school used. You planned on meeting a friend here, but as you walked in and you saw him in there you knew it was a bad idea.

It wasn’t only him either, his bandmates were there too, talking, conversing and he had his arm around another girl. You shouldn’t have been surprised if he was willing to get with a girl when you guys were together, why would it be any different in the weeks after your break up? You’re staring at them for a while before one of them notices you, Reggie, smiling at you and waving you over.

“Y/n! Come over and join us for a milkshake!” Innocent Reggie. You don’t miss the semi-discrete nudge that Alex gives Reggie. He always did seem like the one person in the band with half a brain cell, and he was nice too. He looks up at you, casting you a sympathetic smile as Bobby, who again has another girl with him informs Luke that you’ve arrived. Yet, as your eyes catch onto him, you can’t help walking out.

He frowns at your retrieving figure, his body itching to run out and ditch everyone here to get you but he doesn’t as Bobby nudges him again, “Dude forget about her.”

Luke doesn’t say anything as he hesitantly nods, looking down and meeting eyes with Alex, who is sitting across from him. Luke had known Alex long enough to know what look he was giving him: almost begging him to chase after you, knowing that both you and Luke would benefit from it. But he didn’t. Luke stayed exactly where he was, arm slung over the girl’s shoulder.

He didn’t even remember the girl’s name, she wasn’t a bad looking girl but she wasn’t you. She was nice, but she didn’t know Luke as you did, she didn’t have a laugh that she hated but Luke found so adorable like you. Bobby said that these girls were distractions, to get Luke’s mind off of you but even as he sat there at that moment, not a single one of his thoughts strayed from you.

I'm going under and this time I fear there's no one to turn to This all or nothing way of loving got me sleeping without you Now, I need somebody to know Somebody to heal Somebody to have Just to know how it feels It's easy to say but it's never the same I guess I kinda liked the way you helped me escape

Sleep did not come easy to you that night, it never did without Luke there but after seeing him today at the cafe, you couldn’t even take a sip of water without being reminded of Luke. You knew it wasn’t a great idea, but you needed to clear your head, and if this was the only way to do it then so be it.

With your coat clung tightly around your body, you venture down the street, the window blowing softly against your face. It’s creepy, not something you saw in the peppy little town but as you walked down dimly lit streets, the streetlights buzzing slightly overhead you couldn’t help but feel a little jumpy. 

“You shouldn’t be out here at this time,” You hear a voice call from the shadows, making you jump around with eyes wide. You walk backward slightly as your head whips around, trying to catch where the voice came from as you catch onto his figure.

Clad in a plaid red flannel, Luke leans against the wall, arms crossed over his chest with eyes trained on you. You clear your throat, feeling a blush rise to your throat at the thought of Luke seeing you so on edge as you speak, “Luke.”

He’s rather far away from you, still lazily leaning against the building wall with his hair in its usual messy way. You liked it like that. The chain on his jeans rattles slightly as he shifts to face you, but still stays leaning against the wall, “y/n.”

It’s quiet for a few moments and for the first time in forever you feel incredibly uncomfortable around Luke. Even before you two got together you had always felt comfortable with Luke; at home. He can feel how much you don’t want to be there, he’s always been able to read you and you aren’t hiding your awkwardness well.

“Well if that’s all,” You say, clearing your throat as you eagerly swivel on your feet to go in the direction you came in, suddenly feeling like going home.

Yet, as you start to walk, you can’t help but stop when you hear Luke chuckle. Did he find this funny? When you peer back at him, seeing him shake his head as he continued to chuckle quietly, “What?”

“Nothing,” Luke dismisses but yet continues to laugh. His hands are in his jean pockets now, a smirk evident on his face.

“Clearly it’s something, what are you finding so funny?” You ask, not hiding how defensive you are you speak. You’ve completely turned towards him again, eyes watching the guitarist’s figure as he calms his laughing down.

Kicking his feet off of the wall, Luke stands up, walking closer to where you stand in the middle of the sidewalk. He pretty much closes the gap between the two of you, until he’s about a foot away from you, peering at you with hazel eyes.

“I just think it’s funny how because we broke up you think we can’t even speak to each other anymore.”

You almost stutter as you break eye contact with the boy. You knew that whatever you said was probably going to lead to an argument and honestly, that was the last thing you wanted right now, “I have to get going.”

“No you don’t,” Luke swiftly responds, shaking his head at you as your eyes snap back up to him, leaving him to rock on his heels.

Your eyes close into slits as you feel annoyance bubble in your stomach. Even if Luke did know when you lied, he should know to let it go, to avoid confrontation but maybe he wanted this, “I left without letting my parents know. If I’m just missing from my bedroom they’ll probably be worried.”

“Your parents aren’t even home, y/n, they’re away on a trip,” You can’t hide the surprise on your face when Luke says that. How he knew that was beyond you because no one else knew but you and your parents. Yet, he elaborates, eyes never leaving you, “even if I couldn’t tell when you’re lying, y/n, I would still know. Your parents stopped me on the way out of town saying they were leaving town for a bit and wanted me to keep an eye on you. They’re worried y/n, ‘said you haven’t been yourself lately. You didn’t tell them we broke up, did you?”

Lips apart, you stare up at Luke, shaking your head, voice quiet and low, “I couldn’t. They really liked you. I couldn’t tell them you cheated.”

“You wouldn’t have to because I didn’t.”

“I saw you, Luke! I saw you with that other girl!” You yelled, your voice no longer low as you felt the rage start to bubble at the bottom of your chest again. The fact that you caught him in the act and he still denies it angered you, why couldn’t he just own up to it? “Are you going to say I imagined it? That I didn’t see anything?”

“I’m not, no,” Luke replied, keeping his voice calm as he shook his head, “What I am going to say is that you don’t know what you saw.”

And I tend to close my eyes when it hurts sometimes I fall into your arms I'll be safe in your sound 'til I come back around

For now the day bleeds Into nightfall And you're not here To get me through it all I let my guard down And then you pulled the rug I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved

Suddenly, everything made sense. It wasn’t his fault and you felt so dumb. You were almost speechless after he finished talking, leaving both of you in silence for several moments.

“I-I’m sorry,”

“Why are you sorry?” Luke asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked down at you.

“I should have let you explain and we wouldn’t be in this mess, we both wouldn’t have been-”

Luke doesn’t let you finish, almost feeling how guilty you felt for immediately assuming the worst of him. He knew it wasn’t your fault, he would have been just as angry if he was in the situation you were, “Hey it’s alright. I should’ve run after you and explained everything then.”

You don’t say anything as he pulls you into a hug, a warmth that you had yearned for over the past few weeks. He has a hand on your back, holding you close, and a hand on the back of your head, softly running his fingers through your hair.

“I missed you so much,”  He whispered to you, leaving you to hug him closer to you, to enjoy the warmth before it disappeared again. You never wanted to let go, you felt safe in his hold, you felt at home.

He placed a soft kiss against the top of your head, still holding you close before you looked up at him, “I missed you too, Lu.”

He flashes you a soft smile, one that had always melted your heart, “How about we go home, huh?”

[championofdnd]

Gonna rant for a bit. Normally I wouldn't put anything about work online but I am so freaking frustrated. I came into this job (Sys Admin) with 0 experience. My boss and team lead knew this. In my interview (with both of them, not with hr) I was very honest about how much I actually knew.

So they hire me for my enthusiasm. I spend the first week getting my work station set up, doing the mandatory trainings, and learning people's names. The standard. And then I ask for work... The team lead is swamped with an emergency fix, use this website to start working on this cert that we want you to get. Okay cool I get it, I'll ask again tomorrow, and the day after that, and the next week... And oh I got access to the servers, I need to go test my log in to ALL of them k. Anything else I can do to break the tedium? Documentation. Documentation of what? Oh right of stuff I haven't been shown how to do... Okay...

Like I can go google how to create a user on the system or how to install an operating system, but that doesn't tell me how your system is set up. Even if i had experience I'd still be asking, hey whats this server for? How do we move code between the environments? What software suites do we use for this task? Do we have a license for this product and what does the license allow? How do we normally access the systems, as root, as an individual user, as a group user?

And since I have 0 experience, I don't always have the right words to ask the question. So I end up with a lot of just show me. But I wouldn't get shown unless I ask 100 times. And I take notes but they aren't perfect so I have to come back later for clarification. But I'm expected to have finished this document on how to do this process I've seen done once so the doc can be used in an AUDIT??? So it has got to be right! And yeah my team lead is to busy to review it...

So I talk to my boss every week or so, how are things going. Well I've been working on the cert training and I've learned this and that recently. Does team lead answer your questions? Yeah sometimes he takes a while to get back cause he's always swamped but he's super friendly about it when I do get ahold of him. (Did I mention I started this job during quarantine, so guess who wasn't physically in the office the first 4months, team lead, so I'm relying on him answering my calls or calling back or responding to email/im). I mention it'll be easier when he can come back into the office but I of course understand why he can't at the moment. So boss asks if I have enough work. Well, I have a hard time getting work from team lead cause he's always swamped so finding time to delegate work is hard especially since he's so used to working alone but I'll keep asking and also since I don't have a lot of experience it can be hard cause he has to set aside to show some basic stuff. But again once he's in the office I'm sure it'll be better. Until then im keeping busy, after all itsy IT there's always plenty to do and it all needed to be done yesterday! So I'll keep working on that cert for now.

I pick up a few new small tasks every week, and report what I'm learning to boss. He double checks I'm busy enough cause he doesn't want me getting bored and leaving, they really want to keep me on. At some point I ask the receptionist if I can help her out with anything since team lead is swamped and my work load is light. I get chewed out by boss a few hours later and team lead calls and says he can give me some work tomorrow (which he does).

So I finally get to start ramping up it seems, boss wants everything I'm learning documented yesterday but I shrug that off cause that's normal IT proceedure. But team lead is still swamped so it takes a day to get answers to anything especially since he's still working from home.

This whole time I'm hearing about all the mistakes my predecessor (actually the last three) made, and how it's left team lead gun shy of trusting people with certain environments. And I'm like you know that's fair, I'm really process driven and quite cautious so I think it will work out. And so I'm like hey why don't I watch you do it a few times and then I'll do it a few times with you watching over my shoulder to point mistakes before I make them and then I can give it a shot on my own. And that's a great approach for me, makes me more comfortable with the work, and it's supposed make my team lead more comfortable.

So we're about 4mos in. Team lead comes back into office. There's some adjustments to be made. My workload is a rollercoaster of several things due yesterday to just doing cert training cause team lead is swamped and I know better by now than to bother asking. I'm still pretty well giving the same update to boss. There's been a few hiccups, missed a meeting here, messed up something small here. I learned how to fix the mistakes, documented everything for future reference. Boss says what matters is we don't make the same mistake twice. And I show where I documented it and I dont make the same mistake twice.

And so month five I ask boss if they're gonna hire me full time (i was on a 6mo trial) and how to start that process. And he says send him my updated resume so they can create a position and he has to double check with team lead just to make sure but that everything should be good to go.

Everything was not good to go. He comes back the next week and says team lead isn't sure I can do the job so I need to work extra hard these next two weeks to prove I can.

And well I deflated. How was I going to prove I could do the job? I'd done the tasks given me. I'd gotten good reviews. Was I asking too many questions? Team lead had commented several times that I didn't ask enough. But I'd only had a month to be able to corner him to ask things. And by this point I knew the answers to the tasks I was given, I'd done them all before. Was it because I'd missed/been late to some meetings? That was on me but it hadn't happened as of late and that mostly seemed to bug my boss not my team lead who brushed it off or missed/was late himself. And I'd fixed that problem. Was it because I wasn't surgically attached to my phone? Seriously get over it. If that's the issue I'm out, and you also need to be more clear on that expectation from the get go. So i spinu wheels and flounder for two weeks the work I'm assigned clearly isn't proving I can do this job amd my motivation flies out the window. It was a bad two weeks and I didn't know how to fix it (honestly I still don't entirely).

Team lead pulls me aside to say boss is very unimpressed (no duh, I've done nothing for two weeks) and wants to know if I still want the job since I've seemed very unenthusiastic as of late. Yes I still want the job. I do actually like the work I've been given. I'll try and fix my attitude (this was on a Thursday, a lot of people don't work Fridays at this office).

Monday the contracting company that's handling this trial period sets up a meeting, with their hr. I'm not meeting snuff. Why. I need to fix this. I need to attend meetings. I need to meet deadlines. Im legit like no duh, if I knew what the issue was I'd of already fixed it. Im as frysty as anyone but sure if it makes you happy I'll say I'll do those things.

Then Tuesday I have the epiphany. This is stupid. Of course I'm not doing the work. The work is pointless from my perspective. It's not gonna prove I deserve the job. It's the same I've been doing for months that I was told was good enough only to find out at the last minute that actually no it wasn't? If course I'm going to struggle. There has been a massive miscommunication here!

So after talking it over with the SO to make sure I'm not crazy and to hash out what I want to say I set up a meeting with my boss. This was last week. Team lead is gone for fourth of july already. I explain my epiphany that if team leads wants me to prove I can do something he needs to give me work that will prove it. I accept I've had a bad few weeks, the trial has been extended a month and I'm ready to bounce back.

Except team lead is gone so I've got the same old work to do that Thursday friy. And I don't do it, I'm still not convinced it matters. We came back in the office on Tuesday. I own up to not having done that work yet but knock it out quickly that morning and start asking questions about my next task. Oh it's the same thing you've done before but on a new server, you need to select one different option when you do it... Oh..kay... Whelp it's gotta be done its a new server I convince myslef this will prove something to team lead and go knock it out. End of the day I swing by to ask a question and team lead had to leave early (it was a legit reason, had to take dog to the vet, but it's annoying at this point). But he didn't bother telling me this, boss has to tell me.

So Wednesday (yesterday) I come in and flounder, I still have the same old tasks. After luch i worj up the resolve to tey asking team lead what else I can do. I can knock out the tasks I have pretty quick. He'll have to find something for me. I don't hear back that day.

So here I am this morning, I'm fed up. SO thinks I should call team lead out to boss. I'm having a hard time with it though. Is it really his fault? Maybe I'm not pushing hard enough for more work? I mean haven't explicitly gone to his office and said give me more challenging work or else. Like how do I say that. At this point I'm struggling to complete the easy tasks I have, why would he give me something harder? But they themselves have said the receptionist could do what I do. I just. I don't want to even bother at this point...

[angstalottle]

Why Are You Here?

Part 2:

The air in the room seemed to grow very thick as the two brothers stared at each other neither really believing what they saw.

For Diago he was seeing a face he had long since assumed was gone forever, a brother that abandoned them and left a hole in their family that was never to be filled again.

For Five he was realising he had gone much further forwards then he ever imagined. It made him feel both excited and honestly terrified at his own power. How could he come so far without even realising it?

The silence dragged on, neither wanting to break the fragile composure they currently had.

Thankfully it wasn't left to the brothers to take the first step but instead a nurse who awkwardly knocked on the door carrying a tray of food.

“I hope i'm not interrupting” she cleared her throat shifting under the pair of eyes that snapped towards her. “The doctor said he will be needing something to eat.”

Diago looked to his brother, however fucking crazy this current situation was the ratinal part of his brain knew that whatever questions he had (and there was a shit ton of them) could wait until after Five didnt look like he was about ready to pass out.

Five stared at the woman not saying anything as she placed the tray onto his lap and shuffled out with an uncomfortable smile.

Diago sighed and leaned back in his chair waiting for Five to hurry up and eat so he could finally start to figure out what the hell was going on.

But as seconds ticked by Five remained perfectly still staring down at the boxes of food letting his dark hair fall onto his face.

At first Diago thought maybe being down a working arm was getting in the way and Five was just too stubborn to ask for help…

But then a cold realisation settled in his stomach as he watched Five cautiously poke the container of jello.

He didn't know what was in front of him and he didn't know it was safe.

Diago escaped his fucked up family home over a decade ago but it looked like Five had only just left.

Wordlessly Diago took one of the sandwiches from the tray and took a bite. He hated doing this, showing his own brother that it was safe to eat and that it wouldn't hurt him.

The worst part was that it was working, Five ripped off a small piece of the bread and began to slowly eat.

Bit by bit they continued this, with Diago tasting first then letting Five finish the rest until the tray was clean save for a few crumbs and empty packets.

Everything about Five was skittish and untrusting, it hurt to see honestly. In Diagos mind Five was always so big and strong abel to stand up to Dad when no one else could.

Now though, seeing him though his adult eyes Diago could see what he really was. And that was a worryingly skinny and hurt kid.

An abused child that wanted so desperately to protect his siblings that he made himself the target.

How could Diago ever think he willingly left them?

“What year is it?”

Five was so quiet Diago almost thought he imagined him talking.

“What?” he asked, swallowing the lump in his throat that had formed over the last few minutes.

“What year is it Number Two.” Five said louder this time.

“2018… October to be exact you just missed our birthday.”

Five nodded solomly “ok. Ok i can work with this, i just have to go back and…” he trailed off looking down at his damaged body.

His arm was currently in a white cast carefully held close to his chest in a sling. Diago assumed his leg was similarly encased in plaster hidden under the thin blanket.

Five swallowed nervously, his eyes skittering across his injuries finally realising just how bad it all is.

Diago decided now was the time to step in.

“Five what's the last thing you remember?”

He looked down at his free hand for a moment. “I was fighting with Dad at dinner, I wanted to time travel but he said I wasn't ready. I ran out and i did it… but then nothing.”

“Yeah that would be you getting hit by a car. You appeared in the middle of the road. Considering how fast the guy was going, you're lucky to be alive.”

“Lucky?” Five turned to glare at Diago in a way that sent flashes of nostalgia and also made him wonder how he ever found tiny Five intimidating.

“How can I be lucky when I'm stuck useless in bed until I can teleport again? Time travel was hard enough to do with all working limbs; it's practically impossible now.” Five pulled at his hair.

He was clearly frustrated but something felt off to Diago.

While he didnt understand time travel the same way his brother did then surely it didn't matter when he left he would end up exactly when he left. The only problem was Diago knew Five never made it back home.

Did that mean his brother is going to die here? Or maybe decide to stay?

He knew which he would prefer, even without the morbid possibility Diago would want him to stay, Reginald was a monster and Five was his favourite punching bag.

It was something Diago never really noticed until his brother was gone and that buffer zone they grew up with was ripped away.

Diago took a deep calming breath “look, like it or not you're stuck here for a while. You can either mope around the whole time or enjoy the future. You can even stay with me so you don't have to deal with Dad.”

Fives brow creased “you don't live at home anymore?”

“Five im almost 30, only Luthers stayed at home and even he ended up leaving a few years ago.” Diago rolled his eyes watching as the wheels in Fives head turned.

“Who’s Luther?” He asked confused.

Shit. Diago compleatly forgot about the name thing.

“Mom gave us normal names as a 16th birthday gift, One is Luther I’m Diago, Three is Allison, Four is Klaus, Six wa- is Ben and Seven is Vanya.”

God that reminded him Five didn’t know about Ben.

How the hell was he supposed to tell him his brother died only a year after getting his name?

Thankfully he was saved from having to worry about it for the moment because Patch walked in carrying two large disposable cups of coffee.

“So you're awake then” she smiled thankfully saving Diago from explaining the fact Luther is living on the moon while he rents a boiler room.

Five glared at her “who are you?”

She placed the coffee down to remove her badge and show it to him “I'm a police officer, I was the one to find you and call Diago. Are you up to answering some questions?” She asked clearly, having no idea what she had just walked into.

“What kind of questions?” Five asked suspiciously. They had always been trained to distrust the police, to never tell them what was going on at home and well… Diago realised why once he left home and found it wasn't normal for a kid to be held underwater so long they realised they could breathe the stuff.

“I just want to know your name and if there's a parent or guardian i can call. I saw your tattoo but i still need to hear it from you so i can release you into Diego's care if you want.”

Diago had always been impressed with how she handled herself around victims.

Diago was all sharp edges and quick words never really bothering to comfort while he got information.

It wasn't that he was uncaring, he just always figured the best way to help someone was to get the bastard that hurt them in the first place.

Five just glared at her, his annoying stubborn streak flaring up at the worst possible moment.

“His names Five and he is my brother” Diago supplied, earning the glare turned on him instead for his betrayal.

“Five as in…”

“Yeah one and same. Look Patch I need you to do something for me. You need to make this case disappear, don't let the driver report anything and don’t leave a paper trail” Diago asked standing up, taking the cups from her and placing them down on the bow empty seat and leading her away to the corner of the room.

“Dad is well connected and richer than God, if he finds out Five is here he will take him legal or not”

“I can’t just make the kid disappear” she replied chewing her lip as she glanced over at Five watching them with annoyance. “I’ll keep the tattoo quiet but anything else is a crime.”

Diago smiled, honestly it was more then he was expecting “thanks, I owe you one.”

“By my count it’s more like ten” she snarked back lightly punching him in the shoulder.

As her touch lingered on his arm Diago couldn’t help but wonder if something was still there.

If he could just tell her he still loves her maybe things could go back to how they were.

Then a empty chips packet hit the back of his head and the magical moment that held the potential to fix his relationship was broken.

“Quit talking about me like I’m not here!” Five snapped getting ammo ready for another throw.

Patch just chuckled “oh yeah you two are definitely related”.

She stepped away from Diago and sat on the edge of Fives bed handing him a business card. “If you need anything I want you to call me ok?”

Five turned the piece of card over in his hand sceptically “and who are you exactly?”

“I’m someone you can trust.”

Five responded with a snort.

This time Diago couldn’t blame him, Reginald had a way of taking any trust you had and step on it. There was a time in his life where he trusted his family with his life.

Then after Ben died and everyone left one by one that unbreakable bond he had relied on for years shattered.

Diago half expected Five to spit in her face, instead he looked to him and Diago realised that the relationship his siblings had was still alive and well to Five.

It was a new kind of terror to realise a child trusted you enough to look for your guidance, he wanted Diago to give him the right answer.

The Five who had always been so sure of himself, who would lead his siblings in a way no one else could, who in his arrogance acted like the smarter person in the room and everyone knew it was true… he wanted his big brother to tell him if it was safe to trust a stranger.

A police detective too.

It was weird, but then again what about this situation wasn’t?

As if he were just testing the waters Diago gave a tiny almost missable nod.

And just like that Five relaxed and tucked the card safely into his arms cast.

“While I can’t see myself ever needing help from the likes of you I’ll accept the offer” Five huffed.

“In case you're curious that’s the closest to thank you your gonna get”

Patch just chuckled again “well your very welcome then.” She glanced over at Diago before returning her attention to Five “I’ve got to head to work now but please might or day if you need help please call.”

This time Five only nodded which was good enough for Patch as she got up to leave.

“Oh Diago one more thing.”

“Yeah?”

She tossed him a small wad of cash that Diago didn’t want to know how she got.

“Buy the kid some clothes and some real food. And Raw eggs don’t count.”

With that she was gone leaving the brothers once again in an awkward silence.

“Your girlfriends weird.”

“Shut up” Diago grumbled as he went to find whoever the hell it was that could discharge Five and he could get him home.

——————

It took three separate doctors to finally find one that was willing to release Five into his care.

Even then there was a pile of paperwork to fill out.

It was worth it though as soon as he got Five into a wheelchair and saw him visibly relax upon finding out they were getting out of there.

As suspected his leg was in a cast up to the knee. Something Diago was almost thankful for considering the little shit tried to wheel himself away while he was wrapping things up with a nurse.

Something told him if he could walk there was no way he would have caught up with him.

It was an uncomfortable drive back, mainly because Five had to half lay out on the back seat to fit his leg in.

Even trying to hide the pain he was in Diago heard every sharp intake of breath he made anytime the car went over a bump in the road.

The worst part however was when they got to the boxing club and Five raised an eyebrow.

“The old man fall on hard times or something?”

“No, dad doesn’t pay for my apartment this is… temporary until I can find a better place”

Like he’d been telling himself for the last three years, he was just looking for something better…

“It looks like a dump” Five grunted as his chair was pushed over the threshold.

“Better than the academy let me tell you that”

Thankfully Five didn’t try to argue after that and instead focused on taking in the gym.

However the world had a way of always pissing on Diego's parade as Al spotted the two of him.

“Diego! You piece of shit you were supposed to mop the floors today!” He yelled scurrying over. He looked like he was about to co tinge when he saw Five.

“Who’s the kid.”

“The kid can talk.” Five growled.

“He’s my brother, I just picked him up from the hospital. Look I know it’s a lot to ask but do you mind if he stays a while. Just till I can set us up somewhere permanent.”

They both knew Diego wasn’t going anywhere. He had been saying the same line every couple months for years now.

“I’ll see if there’s another cot spare” he replied wavin them off.

Al didn’t know everything about Diego’s past, he made sure of that, but he knew his family life was bad.

If he wanted to put two and two together about why Diego was now bringing a never before mentioned younger brother home from the hospital he wasn’t about to stop him.

“Thanks Al.”

“Yeah yeah, just don’t forget to mop!”

Diego snorted. They both knew he had more important things to do now.

He wheeled Five into the boiler room choosing to ignore the multiple snarky comments of the places appearance, smell and overall shabbiness in favour of dumping him next to the bed.

“Bathrooms there, kitchen, tv and bed everywhere else”

“Nice to see the old man was wrong about us not needing him” Five mumbled.

God yet another thing Reginald has always held over their heads.

The idea that if they left they would have nothing and no one…

Was he really wrong on this one?

Hell if it weren’t for Patch and Al, Diego would have nothing but a box of cold pizza to offer Five.

“It might not be the Ritz but it’s warm and dry and far away from Dads bullshit.”

“I imagine Number three had a lot to say about the decor” Five said as he picked up a pair of discarded shorts and dropped them again in disgust.

“Allison hasn’t exactly seen the place.”

Five nodded “I guess if you're not planning to stay long you really don’t want to give her ammunition like this.”

Man this was going to be tough.

“Actually Five we don’t really-“

A knock at the door cut him off.

It couldn’t be Al already, but it’s not like anyone else would be there.

Cautiously he opened the door the find a ‘Hello’ tattooed hand shoved through the gap.

“Do me a favour dear brother mine and let me in. I’m in desperate need of a shower”

Diego groaned as he opened the door to Klaus “it really isn’t a good time right now.”

“It never is for you” Klaus teased as he shoved his way in “just because you like to spend your nights clad in leather and climbing through strangers windows”

“Seriously not now” Diego tried to block his view but it was too late.

The plastic bag filled with all Klaus owned in the world was dropped to the floor and his already pale skin dropped a few more shades.

“D-do you see a little number Five or is it just me?”

Five turned to see him blinking in surprise “number Four?”

Diego sighed, clamping a hand on Klaus’ shoulder “he’s here Klaus and he’s alive.”

[sugarchains]

Title: 12 Months 

Chapters: 1/1

Pairing: Kepcobi

Rating: Explicit!

Notes: HI HELLO My friend made me listen to this podcast and it killed me very slowly and very publicly for weeks. Also when I’m obsessed with a thing, I either cosplay it or write fanfic of it. Have a fanfic. Also I fudged timelines because I love Maxwell and I need her present always. 

LMAO BONES IM SO SORRY BECAUSE THIS WAS FOR YOU LIKE 2 YEARS AGO I LOVE YOU!!! forgive me ok

~

There are numerous ways that he has fucked Daniel Jacobi within the past year. Fucked up, fucked over, mind fucked-he’s been fucking Jacobi since they first met. 

Technically. 

It starts with what could be called a mind fuck because, let’s be real. Daniel’s not stupid. Impulsive, brash, and every bit as loud as his job requires him to be. But he lets himself be eased into it- blows up an office for an appraising look the first month, demolishes a city block for a wink and a smile month two, murders for a hand cupping the back of his neck and good boy stated fondly into the air around them. 

-

SI-5 training was different than other set ups. They’re not military and they’re not Black Ops technically- nor are they spies. Also technically, they’re all three and it’s better to not ask questions and just do as you’re told.  (Rule number 3).

They need to be ready for anything, and that’s the excuse Kepler gives when he calls Jacobi in to spar, just the two of them. He wipes the floor with him, more than once. It’s 4 months since he picked Daniel up at the bar and in this month he lets Warren press him hard, throw him harder into the mats.

-

The fifth month, Warren fucks him over lets Daniel get shot and it runs like this: He took a risk and it backfired and he didn’t even realize it until almost too late.

The rest of the fifth month is eventful, from an objective perspective. 

(“Promise me you won’t fall in love with him.”

“What?" 

”Promise me, Daniel. You know how you are.“

"I have no idea what you could be hinting at.”

“Needy, desperate for approval, hanging on his every word like a-”

“OK, ok! …I promise." 

"You promise what?”

“Are you really gonna make me say this?”

“I’m going to record you so I can play it back when you make a bad decision later on." 

"Fucking….I promise not to fall in love with the Major. Happy?”

“Yeah. I don’t believe you, by the way.”

“That’s fair." 

Warren watches this scene play out from afar, watches Alana curl up on a hospital bed next to Daniel (Maxwell and Jacobi, he reminds himself-there’s no reason to get so comfortable when it’s only been five months and even less for Ala-Maxwell. No reason to be so comfortable right now either) from a small screen on a tablet in Cutter’s office. Internally, he’s a combination of swirling emotions, but externally? Perfect mask of the perfect soldier.

"Well! Serious stuff there; wouldn’t you agree, Warren?”

“….Yes sir.”

“Do you have any ideas about ~who~ they could be talking about? Hmm?”

“As far as I know, sir…they don’t work for anyone else." 

"And Warren,” Cutter states, taking the momentary pause to use his thumb and forefinger to gently force eye contact between the two of them. “Do you make a habit of falling in love with your employees?”

“…..No sir.”

“Excellent! Keep it that way. I know you can and will do everything in your power to stop something silly from happening." 

"Of course, sir." 

He doesn’t immediately go and warn/remind them that they are being watched. What he does do is visit Jacobi in the hospital the next day (sans flowers), lets Maxwell guilt-glare him into leaving while Jacobi is still sleeping to go pick up flowers, visits again in the same day so that Maxwell can yell at him-

("We were here a week, Major!" 

"There were matters that needed to be attended to." 

"More important matters than Jacobi nearly dying?" 

"Calm down, Doctor. I never said that.”) 

-gives Jacobi the flowers and smiles back when Jacobi beams at him.

He also takes them out to eat when Jacobi’s healed, lets him pick the place, and waits until they’re all eating before he drops the surveillance bomb on them. Can tell from the way Maxwell won’t look at him and the way Jacobi is only looking at him that they know exactly what conversation was heard and how they feel about that he doesn’t know and he may have just found the one thing he can’t read his team on-) 

-

Six months in and the mind fucks turning into something beyond his carefully set up control. They had just completed a beautiful mission that had involved blowing up a building and a high speed chase. He could feel adrenaline still buzzing under his skin, and he can feel Daniel’s eyes on his arms on the wheel, so he presses harder on the gas to hear the breathless laugh from the passenger seat. The ride to the safe house is uneventful otherwise, but inside sees Daniel pushing him against the door and kissing him breathlessly. Warren can tell Daniel didn’t think this through clearly (of course he didn’t)-he clearly thought that it might get him punched in the face, or worse, get him a polite and distant reprimand, but at this point life is good and Warren is tired of denying himself so he. He kisses Daniel back, changes their positions against the door so Daniel is pressed up against it. They kiss until they’re both hard, until both their hands are pulling and pushing at each others’ shirts to get at skin and they’re pulling away to ask “Shower?” and “Please” respectively. 

Daniel lets himself be manhandled into a shower where the water runs hot pressure down his side as Warren presses him hard against the wall, tangles a hand in his hair to pull his head to the side, trails a line of biting kisses across his neck while his other hand is jacking them both off frantically. 

Warren swears he can hear Cutter’s “~stop something silly from happening~” playing in his head, warring with the way Daniel moans out please and oh fuck each time he twists his hand around just right, but he chooses to ignore it in favor of feeling the way Daniel’s nails drag lines down his back when he comes between them seconds before Warren.

He’s fucked.

-

The seventh month has Warren teaching Daniel the color system and they spend all the free time they have that month pushing their limits. Warren’s trying to be mindful of the limits but there’s only so much he can take of Daniel looking up at him, eyes wide and blurry with tears of frustration, mouth slick and bruised and begging, telling him please please green the color is green don’t stop again fuck, while he grips bruises into his thigh with one hand and fingers him deep, stretches him wide with the other. 

-

The eighth month reminds him that he’s not a romantic, except that he is. Because in the same month he’s discovering that Daniel likes to be choked when he’s sitting in Warren’s lap, grinding against his cock, he’s also lining up the missions for the upcoming months and taking care to avoid anything at the end of four months out from now. 

He purposely doesn’t think about the way Daniel smiles when he chokes him harder for digging his nails into Warren’s back.

-

The ninth month finds Warren fucking Daniel’s mouth in the office. He didn’t mean to, of course. But it had been weeks since they had last touched, the amount and intensity of the missions beginning to pile up as the trio’s notoriety grew. There were no machines who didn’t love Maxwell and Jacobi’s explosive version of delicate destruction left more than a few people in awe. And the fact that they would only listen and work for Kepler? Icing on the cake. 

But of course that doesn’t go unnoticed and of course Cutter calls Kepler and Jacobi into his office one day in early in the month. Jacobi has a terrible poker face when he’s expecting the bluff, but his ability to lie is almost catastrophic when he’s caught off guard. So that’s how he flushes pink when Cutter asks if he knows how to make something obvious, if he knows how to make something so people can see it from afar. 

“There’s up and coming companies, Daniel. We don’t want to let them get the idea into their heads that they can compete with Goddard, right?”

“Of course, sir." 

"So I need you to make it a statement. Let them know who runs this. Can you do that for me?" 

"Absolutely sir." 

"Good!” And he’s turning his attention to Kepler now. “What a good boy you’ve got there, Warren. I can see why one might do something silly." 

Kepler glances at Jacobi quickly, internally proud of the fact that Daniel didn’t have a reaction to that beyond his eyes widening. 

–It’s weeks later when Jacobi gets the bomb right, runs a test run of the bomb at a location that Cutter set up personally for this, a location that Kepler almost didn’t see if Cutter is to be believed. 

"He asked for you personally, Warren. Can you believe that? Seems I wasn’t enough company for him. Shame really." 

And internally, Kepler is smug as all fuck. Even though that means Jacobi showed his hand, even though that means whatever Cutter guessed about them is now solidified in his mind, it also means-something.

He’s not sure yet. 

"I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it, sir,” Kepler says mildly, gaze carefully directed outside the car they’re traveling in.

He’s fine when they pull up to the area where Jacobi has everything set up. He’s fine when Jacobi sets of a series of explosions, all triggering a bigger bomb down the line. He’s fine when Cutter congratulates Jacobi on a job well done, but it cuts out when Cutter plants a quick kiss to the side of Jacobi’s head in continued celebration. Cutter catches his eye and the intent is clear-

You can have your plaything, but whats yours is mine and I get what I want when I want. 

It’s a message he hears loud and clear, but it doesn’t mean Kepler won’t still claim what’s his. Which is how he ends up back in his office, one hand bracing himself against the door, while the other hand is cupping the back of Jacobi’s head so it doesn’t hit the door when he fucks his cock into Jacobi’ s mouth.  

Jacobi’s hands are behind his back, not tied just behind his back because he’s not allowed to touch right now he just has to take it as Warren fucks his cock deeper into his throat, take it as he presses deep enough to stop him from breathing oncetwice, before he’s pulling his cock out to slide across Daniel’s cheek. The hand against the door balls into a fist when Daniel runs his lips up the side of Warren’s cock, the fist in his hair tightens when he slides his lips over the head, and Daniel moans long and muffled when Warren starts fucking back into his mouth in earnest. 

He let’s himself get lost in the motions of fucking into Daniel’s mouth, lets himself get lost in watching the sight of his cock stretching Daniel’s lips before it becomes too much and he’s fucking forward onetwothree times and pulling back just enough that his cock slips out of Daniel’s mouth and he comes across his face. Pulse after pulse of come leaves him and arcs across Daniel’s cheeks and bruised lips, marking him as he pants openly on his knees.

Warren braces himself heavily against the door while he catches his breath, caging Daniel in, walling the world out, and maybe it’s a little symbolic but his thighs are still shaking too much to move and Daniel’s expression is too fucking open, he wouldn’t move even if he could walk. He takes the moment to slide his fingers across Daniel’s cheek, before pushing come covered fingers into Daniel’s mouth. They hold eye contact while he sucks them clean.

They’re fucked.

-

The next two months are filled with missions, surveillance, and destruction, so much to the point that before Kepler realizes it, he hasn’t touched Jacobi in nearly eight weeks. Ten months, eleven months fly by with minimal contact and even less down time and suddenly it’s been a year since Jacobi has started working for him. So when he gets a mission thrown at him to vet a candidate for Goddard that is due by Tuesday, the 24th, it’s all he can do to not punch his desk in frustration and throw the file back at Rachel. 

“Maybe you should take Jacobi with you on this one, Warren.”

“Excuse me?” 

“Oh, I just mean I mentioned this mission in passing to him earlier today and he looked ready to blow something up.”

“Ah. Well-”

“It could be because your one year anniversary is coming up, isn’t it?”

“…Anniversary?

“Of him coming to work under you here? Surely you haven’t forgotten. He’s really worked up over it.” 

He didn’t forget, (of course he didn’t forget who does she take him for he’s been steady stockpiling fireworks both illegally and legally for the past two weeks) but he doesn’t want to give her the benefit of having something to tell him about his own employees, so he just stares blankly at her until she rolls her eyes in disgust and leaves. 

-

It ends up not being a big deal to accomplish surveillance on the prospect and return his findings before the 24th. He does it without the team, figuring there’s no reason to pull their efforts into this. Instead, he focuses on studiously ignoring the hints about the upcoming anniversary commemoration from Jacobi as he tells him about the “upcoming assignment” they have. 

In all honestly, it doesn’t occur to him that Daniel would be hurt by this. They’re special operatives for an agency that has their hands in everything. This isn’t the type of thing that should upset people like them. 

Still though, they’re fucked. He’s fucked. So when Daniel eloquently starts complaining about Warren ignoring the date, he realizes that oh.

Oh, they’re on the same page about this. Which is. 

That’s good. 

-

He forgot how stupidly easy it is to loose himself in Daniel, how quickly he gives into need and want, and he looses time somewhere between Daniel setting the first firework off with a brilliant smile and crowding him against the side of the truck with a hand on his throat and one tight on his hip.

Looking up at Jacobi while he’s riding him feels a little too intimate A Little Too Much like this is a love thing, A Little Too Much like they would already die for each other, so Warren buries his face in Daniel’s neck, works bruises into the skin there while Daniel’s fingers tangle in his hair.

He keeps his hands on Daniel’s hips, holding him steady while he leans back and he listens to the way Daniel’s breathing speeds up, listens to the way Warren falls from his lips- not desperate and needy, but wanting-

It’s on a particularly good stroke where Warren twists his hips when he’s in Daniel and he slips up, a desperate oh fuck Sir, falls from his lips. And.

And he has control over himself, he really does, but something about hearing Daniel say sir in that context has him moving quicker than he thought to pin Daniel underneath him and fuck into him hard. Daniel looks up at him in shock for a moment before melting into the motions, fucking himself back when Warren fucks himself in and he’s truly relieved that Daniel closed his eyes because his face is too open and too expressive to be getting fucked by his boss under some fireworks like it’s this big romantic fucking gesture-

He can feel his orgasm building in the base of his spine, feel the heat settling in the pit of his stomach, and he can tell Daniel is close too-from the nails that are digging into his shoulders, to the way that Daniel’s moans are turning into a louder, steady chant of fuckfuckfuck sir please sir please, to the tightening of his thighs around Warren’s waist. 

Warren is close, he’s so close, he feels like he’s fighting it off and loosing as he pulls one hand away from where he is gripping Daniel’s hip tight enough to bruise and moves it to press against Daniel’s throat. His whines choke off almost immediately and Daniel tenses up, eyes rolling back, his mouth, slick and red and bruised, falling open as he tries to gasp for air before Warren’s pulling his hand away, and Daniel comes gasping, stroking himself off to work the come out, grinding back against Warren as he fucks into him twothree more times before coming inside him. 

Warren knows they have to clean up and head out, there’s no way they actually get enough downtime to lay back and enjoy the afterglow-they may have certain immunities, but they are in public, they just set off a fuckload of explosives, and there’s only a matter of time before they have to report back. But for right now, he leans over Daniel (while he’s still in him, savoring the low moan he gives) and kisses him slow and deep, and acknowledges that this is absolutely fucked, but they’ll deal with it.

It’s what they do.

[niiwa-angel]

Coming Home

//This is a prequel to Late At Night, a Halbarry story I wrote and posted on both tumblr and ao3, you can find me on Tumblr under niiwa-angel or on a03 as Niiwasong for any requests. This story will contain mentions of violence, medical procedures, and mentions of underage nudity though nothing sexual, and pedos can gtfo. As well, I am not a doctor so im relly just making up procedures from what makes sense to my uneducated mind and what I saw on Grey's Anatomy. If i’m wrong just take it with a grain of salt. And don’t be scared to reblog and like. :p //

Hal collapsed on the sofa next to his boyfriend with a tired sigh, he stretched one arm around Barry’s shoulders and nestled the bowl of popcorn between them. Barry laughed and continued to scroll through netflix without sparing a glance at his partner.

“Look, this is the first movie night we’ve had in three very long months. I am not half assing our entertainment with some crappy half cooked comedy!” Barry exclaimed, drawing a theatrical moan from Hal.

“Babe, there was nothing wrong with Spaceballs! It’s a wonderful comedy, you like that movie!” he said, with a tone that suggested he had had this argument more than a few times. His partner paid him no mind, continuing his search for a perfect movie.

“Hey, we haven’t seen “Grown-ups” have we? It’s got good reviews.” the blonde exclaimed, finally looking at Hal, who just shrugged.

“Whatever babe, as long as you’re happy.” he said, pulling his lover closer into a kiss. Barry grinned against his mouth, moving one hand to the back of Hal’s head. Breaking apart, Barry quickly started the movie and dipped his hand into the popcorn bowl.

“Thanks for the snacks love.” he muttered, curling against the taller man and resting his head on his shoulder. Predictably, Hal wrapped his arm around him and squeezed his waist. Both turned from the T.V. as the intro was broken by Barry’s cell, Iris’s name and picture lit up the screen as Barry removed it from his pocket.

“You mind if I take this?” Barry asked, biting his bottom lip with an apologetic look at Hal, who just shrugged.

“Yeah dude, she’s your sister! You answer if she calls, I would never come between you and your family!” Hal said, nudging Barry up, and reclaiming the popcorn bowl. Barry laughed.

“And you’re scared of her!” He crowed, raising from the green soda and making his way towards the kitchen. Hal nodded sagely.

“Everyone in their right mind is scared of your sister. You know she threatened to cut my balls off if she ever found out I hurt you?” He joked, though he grimaced as he remembered the fiery red-head turning those intense emerald greens at him, a whispered threat if anything happened to her adopted brother. Barry chuckled.

“She did mention it. I’ll tell her you say ‘hi’. Don’t eat all the popcorn!” He smirked, hitting the answer button and stepping into the kitchen. Hal smiled and leaned back, turning the volume down on the movie and popping a piece of buttery popcorn in his mouth. He sat dead up, as Barry’s angered “What?” came from the kitchen.

Barry stormed out like a man possessed, his normally kind blue eyes were hard and he looked ready to murder. Hal could hear Iris’s muffled voice from the other end, she sounded like she was biting back tears, though he couldn’t make out what she was saying.

“Yeah we’re on our way, be there as soon as we can.” he snapped, a tone he would normally never be caught dead using with his sister, but clearly whatever had just been passed on violated any sense of normalcy they had. Hal stood as Barry turned his attention to him.

“What’s going on?” the short question carried more weight than it should have, Hal was mentally going through what could be wrong. Had Joe had an accident, was something wrong with Iris? The possibilities were horribly endless.

“Wally’s in the hospital, in critical condition. Iris said he might not make it and we need to be there to deal with the cops.” Barry was pulling on his coat while simultaneously trying to lace up his boots. Hal jumped up, slamming the remote and bowl onto the table, movie still playing in the background.

“I’ll drive, you shouldn’t be behind a wheel right now.” Hal said, racing towards the entrance and snatching the keys from Barry.

“Oh and you should be?” Barry snarled, reaching for them, only for his lover to hold them out of reach.

“I’m military, we’re trained to stay calm under stress. It would be safer if I drove and this is not a debate,” Hal’s voice dripped with authority, and Barry slightly deflated. “We will get to Wally, love. I’ll get us there as fast as I can.”

Barry nodded and the pair slipped out into the cold November air, movie still playing on the television, popcorn abandoned on the coffee table.

~~~~~~~At The Hospital~~~~~

Barry raced into the waiting room and straight into a pacing Iris, eyes wet with tears. Hal rushed in just in time to see the too hug, drawing small comfort from the other, Barry grabbed Iris’s shoulders and pushed her away, looking her directly in the eyes.

“What happened? Where’s Wally?”  He asked, bringing another round of tears from Iris. Hal gently placed an arm around both of their shoulders, guiding them to the hard plastic chairs near the wall. As soon as they were seated Iris told what she knew.

“I got a call from the police about half an hour ago. The neighbours heard Rudolf swearing and yelling and they called the police, then they called again when they heard crashing. Rudy was taken to the police station drunk, apparently they found Wally at the bottom of the basement stairs with his head bleeding really badly. He wasn’t breathing, they had to restart his heart in the basement, and twice more in the ambulance. As soon as they got here they took him to an operating room and nobody told me anything since!” She sobbed, wiping her face with her palm.

“Well that’s a good thing right?” Hal asked, receiving disgusted looked from his boyfriend and his sister. “Guys, if their operating, it means Wally’s alive, at least. It’s a start.” identical dawns of realization crossed the sibling’s faces and Hals brain marveled at how similar they were, despite not being biologically related.

“What about Mary?” Barry asked, breaking Hal’s unhelpful train of thought. Iris shook her head.

“I don’t know, I haven't seen her though and I imagine they wouldn't have called me if she were. I’m Wally’s emergency contact, they only call me if his parents are unavailable.” The redhead looked to the male pair.

“I can’t believe Rudy would do that to his own son.” She shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself.

“Wait, hold on! Are we sure Rudy is responsible for this? I mean I was never in this guy’s fan club but we’re talking what might be attempted murder.” Hal said, though his mind already knew what the answer was, kids didn’t do that kind of damage to themselves.

“From what the police told me, there were injuries that were…” She swallowed hard, like she was trying to keep the words from being said. “That had to have been done by another person, and Rudy was holding the weapon!” Her voice failed her as she trailed off into sobs yet again. Barry wrapped his arms around his sister and both of them clung to each other, the only sounds being muffled reassurances and choked sobs, Hal sat in silence, pointedly looking towards the hallway, giving the pair a sense of privacy. Iris took a deep breath, breaking away slightly, though still with her right hand grasping her brother’s forearm.

“I just can’t believe Rudy would do this! Bear, did you ever think that he would be capable of-” she broke off, green eyes taking a sudden interest in the tile floor. Hal snorted.

“Barry and I haven’t seen much of Rudy since we announced our relationship and Rudy told us in no short terms we weren’t welcome in his home. After that, he and Barry agreed on which holidays they got with the family and left it at that. That was around four years ago.” The trio collectively nodded. “Well Wally was only three then, and I never noticed any signs.” Barry muttered, trying to remember if anything in particular stood out to him but coming up with nothing.

“I think it may have started after Rudy lost his job. He started acting weird, I should have noticed something.” Iris sighed, her nephew should have been safe, and now here they were, three people who all cared deeply for a certain red haired child, sitting in an impersonal waiting room hoping to an inattentive god that their boy made it through the night.

~~~~~~~~~Hours Later~~~~~~~

Dr. Samanta strolled down the hallway from the operating theatre, most late night operations ended in crying relatives and having to call time of death, but tonight she got to tell a family that their loved one was able to live to see another day. Ducking into the waiting room, she instantly saw a trio occupying the corner of the waiting room, a red haired woman curled against a blonde man, with both of them tucked, sleeping, against a brunet who was gazing at her with a desperate look. She knew it well, it was a look many families gave her, as if silently pleading with her would change her news, like she wouldn’t keep all of them alive if she could. She knew who they were here for but she still called.

“Family of Walance West?” The blonde and red head jerked awake and the brunet straightened his back, waiting for the others to rise before standing himself. All three of them rushed to her, all with scared  expressions adjourning all of their faces.

“He suffered three broken ribs, one of which punctured his lung, a concussion, a bad sprain to his left wrist, multiple welts on his back are infected, and some mild internal bleeding. Because of the concussion, his brain started to swell but we were able to fix that. We patched his lungs up, though we do have him on oxygen for some time and in a medically induced coma, but he should make a full recovery.” She smiled as the trio started celebrate, the red head hugging her tightly, with a whispered, “Thank you for saving my nephew”

“Just doing my job. He’s still sleeping off the anesthesia and visiting hours are technically over, but if you all promise to be very quiet, you can sit with him for awhile-” she broke off as all three started on promises to be quiet and begging to see their family. She turned and gestured for them to follow her down the hall toward a small room in a corner, Wally lay in the middle of a cot that dwarfed him, making him look smaller than he was. A cobweb of wired and tubes disappeared into his gown and connected into his body, a pale turban of bandages covered his head, hiding his hair, while a tube connected to an oxygen mask rested over his mouth. The blonde put a hand over his mouth to cover a choked sound that came from his throat while he slipped closer.

“Wally?” he gasped, putting his other hand on the bed next to him, tears falling next to it, to quick for him to catch them all. The brunet crept next to him and put a comforting hand around his shoulder.

“You said he’s in a coma?” he whispered, turning those eyes on her. Dr. Samanta nodded. “A medically induced coma, just for a while. It should give his brain time to heal and for the swelling to go down, he’s young so the risk is small considering. You can talk to him, let him know you’re here.” The redhead nodded, slipping her hand into the childs. Dr. Samanta nodded, and turned, walking into the hallway, removing the surgical cap and replacing it with her Hijab.

“Doctor!” She turned to see the Brunet stalking towards her, freezing as he saw her head covering. She stood taller, bracing for a islamiphobic rant. Instead, he put his hand over his chest.

“I can not thank you enough for saving my nephew, my husband and I, and my sister in law are so grateful.” He nodded toward her head. “I was in Afghanistan, I met a lot of inspirational men and women there. If anyone gives you trouble for your faith, I will have some of my brothers in arms come talk to them.” She smiled.

“Thank you, Mr?”

“Jordan, Hal Jordan. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Wish I didn’t have to. I will keep you in mind, go take care of your boy. He’s had a rough time of it.” And with that, she turned down the hallway and disappeared around the corner. And there she finally allowed herself to truly smile.

~~~~~The Next Day~~~~~~

To say the atmosphere was tense would be an oversimplification. The police and social services had filled Iris, Barry and Hal in on what had happened and were trying to work out what came next.

“Listen, as much as we would love to place him in your care, the state requires married couples!” The social workers sighed, massaging his temples. “We can work out with a foster family to let you have visiting rights but right now none of you have the necessary requirements to house him. I agree it’s unfair, but there is nothing I can do.” With that, he stood, gathered his coat and hat, and left the room. Hal looked to Barry, who was quietly fuming in his seat.

“This is Bullshit! We know Wally, we love him, and we could care for him! But they want to put him with strangers because we aren’t married!” He hissed, blue eyes icy.

“We cannot let him disappear into the system!” Iris snarled, just the thought of strangers having unlimited access to her nephew was enough to make her sick. Hal nodded.

“He won’t be.” Getting out of his chair he pushed it away and knelt next to Barry, who startled.

“What are you doing?” He demanded, while Iris broke into a grin behind him. “Well they said we couldn’t take him because we aren’t married. We can fix that really easy.” Hal chuckled, putting his hands on Barry’s knees. The blonde smirked.

“I do believe you’re asking for my hand.” He joked.

“I am. Right now I’m just thinking a courthouse wedding, that way Wally’s safe but if you want a big ass, balls to the wall wedding, we can do that after we get settled. Hell, I’ll even wear the dress.” Barry smiled and threw his arms around his lover.

“Yes, I would love to marry you. We don’t need a huge service, we can have a small garden service in our yard, just some close friends and family. A small dinner, with cake.” He laughed, wiping his tears away happily. Hal nodded, touching their foreheads together.

‘Whatever you want love. But first, let’s make sure our boy is safe.”

~~~~~~A Week Later~~~~

Wally’s head hurt. His mind felt like he was thinking through a heavy fog, he was clumsy, his limbs never seeming to follow his thoughts.

“Useless” his father’s voice whispered in his head, causing him to stiffen up. His uncle noticed from where he was settled in the corner of the hospital room, getting up and coming towards him.

“Don’t hurt me! Please, i’ll be good! Pleasepleasepleaseplease!” He mentally pleaded as his Uncle Barry came closer, one hand slightly extended.

“Hey, you doing okay kiddo?” Barry whispered, though even that sounded too loud. The doctors had said that that was because of the concussion, he was already tired of it, the lights were too bright, the noises to loud, and he was jittery.

Wally nodded, though he still wouldn’t look Barry, who looked toward the door for Hal, who was finishing up paperwork.

“We’re really looking forward to having you live with us Wally. We have your room set up, just a bed and desk right now, but all your stuff from your parents house just needs to be unpacked, and ofcourse we can paint your room whatever colour you like.” Barry told him, desperately trying to engage his nephew, Wally was distant, barely speaking and flinching whenever Barry or Hal got to close. The oxygen was still required, though the face mask was replaced by a tube under his nose feeding it into his lungs when he breathed.

“Well, that’s the paperwork done! Ready to head home you two?” Hal asked, rushing into the room, a small mountain of paper under his arm. Both adults looked to Wally, who just shrugged. Barry looked to Hal, eyes sad as he went to get Wally into the wheelchair.

“I gotta pick you up kiddo, you okay?” He asked, getting another shrug. Barry settled the oxygen tank into Wally’s lap before slipping his arm under his legs and around his shoulders, carrying him bridal style across the room and placing him into a wheelchair. Hal put the papers into Barry’s satchel before taking up the handles of the chair and pushing him out into the hallway.

“The nurses have your last dose of painkillers at their station, though Barry and I will pick up your prescription later okay squirt?” Hal asked, when he received nothing he leaned closer and whispered.

“Personally, I think they just wanted to see you one last time before you left. I mean it’s not every day you get to spend time with THE Wally West.” The got a reaction, the adults noted, as Wally ducked his head, cheeks flushed a little.

“There’s my favourite redhead!” A man in nurse scrubs exclaimed, jogging up to the trio with a dixie cup and a ketchup cup. “I got your meds here little man.” Wally nodded, accepting the outstretched items and downing the pills.

“Now those should make you feel drowsy, so no driving. Other than that, you guys are good to go.” The nurse gently clapped Wally on the shoulder and Hal pushed him towards the exit. Leaving the wheelchair with the front dsk and carrying his nephew out to their car.

Wally vaguely felt Hal clip his seatbelt into place and shut the door, he leaned his head against the window as Barry crawled into the passenger seat, turning to face him.

“Do you mind if I put on some music, Wally? I promise to keep it quiet.” Wally shrugged.

“I don’t mind, Sir.” He muttered, listening as Barry pluged his phone into the USB and Hamilton started playing from the speakers.

“You guys like musicals?” He asked, noticing how Barry lit up as he asked the question, though it was Hal who answered.

“Oh yeah, we go see local productions all the time, and we choose one Broadway musical a year. How about you?” Hal didn’t stop trying to navigate them out of the busy hospital parking lot, but he did glance at Wally in the rear view mirror, Wally just nodded.

“Yeah, but Dad never let me listen to them, he said boys weren’t meant to like them.” Barry rolled his eyes hard, knowing his adopted brothers stance on musicals and other “soft” passions, but he didn’t voice his opinions.

“Well, we don’t mind and musicals are absolutely for boys to like!” Barry said, turning as much as the seat belt would allow to look at Wally. The young red head smiled, before his face spit into a yawn.

“You just rest kiddo, we have about an hour drive ahead of us. We’ll wake you when we get home.” Wally nodded at his uncles words and leaned his head against the window, the cool glass pulling him into sleep.

~~~~~~At the House~~~~

Barry and Hal quietly shut their car doors and Barry went to grab Wally. Hal threw their overnight bags over his shoulder and went to go unlock the door for his lover carrying their kid, Pushing his way inside, he waited while Barry carried a sleeping Wally over to the couch in the living room.

“Hey babe, can you go draw a bath in the upstairs bathroom?” Barry asked, eyes not leaving the sleeping child on his lap.

“Are you sure he’s up for a bath right now? Kid will barely talk to us.” He pointed out with a frown. Barry just shook his head.

“I’m not really concerned about that right now, he hasn’t had a proper bathe since before the hospital, his immune system is already weak and we don’t need any of his wounds getting more infected than they already are.” He said with a finality that made arguing pointless, though Hal had to agree with him, the poor kid was filthy.

“Alright, I’ll come get you when it’s ready, kay?” he asked, pressing a kiss to Barry’s head, before darting up the stairs to the rarely used main bathroom, Hal and Barry often used the adjoining bathroom to their bedroom so the main was often only for guests, which they didn’t get a lot of. Hal turned on the water and pushed the plug into the drain, watching as the tub filled to about half before shutting off the tap and heading back downstairs to his husband.

“Baths ready.” He muttered, watching as Barry stood up. Wally was a little more awake, though from the look on his face it was iffy, the kid looked like he could pass out at any given moment. The blonde carefully took the stairs and slipped into the bathroom, setting Wally on the closed toilet, before gently removing his clothing.

“W’er you doin?” Wally mumbled, squirming a little as Barry lifted him up again before transporting him into the bath.

“Just cleaning you up love, you’re okay.” Barry comforted, trying to simultaneously keep the child upright and clean the grime off him. Hal grimaced, he had seen Wally’s injuries but somehow, when they were all displayed, they seemed worse, it didn’t help that he was drugged and clearly on the verge of panic. Barry was getting stressed as well, trying to keep the boy’s head up with one hand and clean the dirt off with the other, when it got to be apparent that it wasn’t working, Hal placed his phone and wallet on the countertop before gently pushing Barry to the side.

“What are you- Hal!” Barry yelped, watching with sheer disbelief as his husband slipped into the water, cradling Wally against his chest.

“Helping you. Now he can sit up without you having to hold him.” Ha said, plainly as though he was discussing the weather. Barry looked at him, dumbstruck for a moment, before he burst out laughing.

“god, I married an idiot!” He exclaimed, before he put some soap on a washcloth and gently started washing the dirt off Wally’s skin, careful of his bruises and cuts. Hal just pressed a gentle kiss to Wally’s head, and hummed a tune under his breath. Wally started giggling.

“Uncle Hal, you’re gonna get your clothes wet.” His voice still had the slur brought on by heavy painkillers, but he seemed a little more aware of his surroundings. At least enough to take in the hilarity of the situation.

“Oh, I think he knows squirt.” Barry sighed, shaking his head at the nonsense. “He probably thought it would be funny. Hal, did you seriously not take your socks off!” Barry demanded, causing Hal and Wally to sit up slightly to examine Hals socked feet, now soaking wet.

“Well, what do you know?” Hal asked, his face a picture of innocence, “I guess I didn’t” He smiled at Barry, who snorted and muttered something under his breath, while Wally laughed again, harder this time.

“Well I’m glad you two find this funny, but we only brought one towel in, so Hal, you have to stay in the tub till you dry.” Barry scolded, unsuccessfully hiding his smile. “Okay squirt, all done.” He slipped his hands under Wally and lifted him from the water, wrapping him in an oversized, fluffy red towel, before carrying him out of the room.

“Whoa, hey, babe! Come on please, just bring me a towel.” Hal called, sitting upright as the pair left the room. Barry looked at Wally, tilting his head.

“You hear anything squirt?” He asked, laughing when Wally shook his head. “Me neither, come on let’s get you to bed.” Hal groaned as Barry left the room.

Five minutes later, Barry strode in carrying a green towel, offering it to his grumpy partner, who was now quite soggy, Hal took it and started to dry himself off.

“I don’t know why people say you’re the merciful League member, you have a wicked side.” Hal grumbled, walking towards the master bedroom, Barry chuckled.

“Only when my husband get into a bathtub fully clothed.”

“Well, jokes on you, because I got Wally to giggle!” Hal said, pulling Barry into a hug.

“Ah, you moron, you’re all wet!” Barry squawked, pushing away from the pilot, who pulled him closer. Barry rolled his eyes as Hal changed from wet clothes into clean pajama, settling down into bed.

“You know? I think we can pull this parenting thing off.” Hal whispered, hugging Barry close. The two fell asleep with their hands entwined, the house one member up, and a little bit happier.

[bbrandy2002]

The Brothers Beaumont

Liam x MC, Maxwell Beaumont, Bertrand Beaumont, Drake Walker, Hana Lee, Olivia Nevrakis, Madeleine and OC.

Pixleberry owns all characters except OC.

Riley and Liam sat with their friends at a posh boutique in downtown Capitol City.  Madeline had summoned them there to partake in wedding planning and preparations. With one month to go until the most anticipated wedding Cordonia had ever hosted, time was of the essence.

Madeline had put together a rather large binder, that she handed to the bride, the groom and the Ladies of the Court. She explained step by step, down to the nano second, what each was expected to do, where to be, whom to speak to, when to eat, use the restroom and maybe, breathe. 

"You can give me a binder, but, youre delusional if you think I work on your time!" Olivia stated matter of factly, as she tossed the binder to the empty seat beside her. Madeline slowly picked the binder up, letting out a breathy sigh and held it to Olivia, raising both eye brows.

"Olivia, Madeline has worked very hard on preparations, let's do our best to be civil" Liam stated as he gave a desperate glare in her direction, with her ultimately yanking the binder from Madeline's held out hand. "That's what I thought", Madeline remarked with a gleeful grin before turning on her heels to sit before Liam and Riley.

Hana seeing the fury in Olivia's eyes over this, quickly, but, gently grabbed Olivia's arm as she reached for a stilletto, held in place to her thigh, under her skirt. " No, no" Hana exclaimed softly, before Olivia pulled her skirt back down with a small huff.

All the major decisions were made, Hana would be Maid of Honor, Drake the best man, Regina would preside over the ceremony and the ladies of the court were to lead the procession.

"Riley, the last thing is, who will walk you down the aisle?" Madeline asked. Riley's heart skipped a beat. She knew that question would come up at some point in her life, however, the escalating emotions that hit her like a tsunami, caused her breath to hitch slightly. She closed her eyes and clearly recalled a memory of her deceased father, dancing with her at a family friends wedding when she was 9....

...."Riles, your mother has been showing me up on the dance floor all night, come help your old dad out". Riley grimmaced and quickly scrunched up her nose, "this music is old, it doesnt even have words to it!". Michael couldnt help but chuckle at his very outspoken daughter. "Riley, music with no words are sung through your movements while you dance....besides, one day I'll walk you down the aisle and share a dance during your reception, I need to see what Im working with" he grinned with wink. Riley gave him a sideways glance and remarked "I'll dance with you, but, we will be dancing to N'Sync when I get married". "If you say so sweetheart". Michael took his daughters hand and guided her to the dance floor. "Okay Riley, put this hand on my shoulder and hold your other one in my hand like this......... perfect!".

Michael lead her through the box step, then the progressive steps, ending with the promenade. After several tries and do overs, Riley felt a little more confident and somewhat carefree. She looked up at her father, a gleam in her eyes, as she finally went a full set without a mistake. "I did it all the way through daddy!" "Yes you did, and you did it without words to the song".  She smiled at her father and asked, "So do you think we're good enough to dance at my wedding someday? Michael leaned over and hugged his daughter replying, "oh you're definately ready, your quick step is a little... slow...but, we'll practice a lot before the big day to make it perfect."

Riley opened her eyes suddenly when she felt Liam's hand on her back. "Are you okay love" he asked with concern and empathy. Liam, having recently lost his own father, felt the sadness she was experiencing; his father was supposed to perform their wedding ceremony.

Before she could answer him, Bartie let out a soft moan that caught her attention. She looked across the room where Bertrand sat in a cushy chair, cradling his sleepy son in his arms. Maxwell, sitting on the arm of the chair, leaned over to rub Bartie's leg. Bertrand began to caress Bartie's scalp, in an attempt to ease the baby back into his peaceful slumber. Bertrand has two looks, the stern, serious look he had for most people, and, the kind, gentle look he reserved only for his son and his son's mother. In that moment, Riley was witnessing the latter.

She stood from the couch where she had been seated and turned toward the two men who were her brothers in every sense of the word. She walked over to them both and kneeled down with an adoring smile.

"Bertrand" she says softly as she places her hand on his forearm, "no one can drive me crazier than you, but, you've always pushed me to do better, to go above and beyond that which I didn't always think I was capable of, and to find meaning behind those things I thought were....well..a little mundane." Bertrand attempted a scowl as he recalled Riley's all day cutlery placement training, in which, she seemed completely uninterested in and at one point threatened to stab him with a cocktail fork.

Bertrand softened his face and spoke, "Lady Riley, I didnt always believe in you and I'll forever regret that. With that said, once I really opened my eyes to see you for the strong, capable woman you are, I have been nothing short of proud. You are more than an honorary Beaumont....You are a Beaumont."

Riley bit her top lip and closed her eyes; those word went straight to her heart. When she opened her glossy eyes, she looked up at Bertrand with a slight sob, "My brother, would you walk me down the aisle." Bertrand looked away from her for a moment, taking a hard swallow, before turning back to meet her adoring stare. He inhaled in a shaky breath, "It would be my greatest honor." Riley smiled at him, "thank you Bertrand."

Riley stood up from her kneeling position and moved in front of Maxwell. Maxwell had a hand over his eyes and looking the opposite direction. "Maxwell?" Riley asked inquisitively. He didn't acknowledge her. "Maxwell? she would ask again. "Too many feels Riley....just too many feels" he would say through his silent sniffles. "Hey, look at me please, I want to ask you to do something also." Maxwell continued to look the other way.

"Maxwell, I'm due for a sparring session with Mara in 20 minutes, if you make me late, I'd like to warn you I have two stillettos and a dagger on me, that I'm prepared to use" Olivia shouted as she stood up giving her signature raised eyebrow and crossed arms. Maxwell quickly sat up, almost at attention, "Okay, Okay, can't a man get emotional"? "Of course you can Maxwell" Riley exclaimed with a sympthetic tone, patting his back.  As quick as his mood was somber, it suddenly changed to cheerful. "You wanted to ask me something, hit me with it!" 

Riley grabbed both of Maxwell's hands and shared, "Maxwell, my father once told me he would practice dancing with me, so that when we danced our Father-Daughter dance at my wedding, it would be perfect." Maxwell looked down at the floor, he knew what she was about to ask him and he didn't know how he felt about it, was he worthy of such?. "Maxwell, you have practiced with me since I first arrived in Cordonia. You have been my mentor, my biggest cheerleader, and the reason I'm here in the first place. I want you to dance that perfect dance with me in place of my father." Maxwell began to get emotional again, but, caught the death stare from Olivia. "In order to prevent the shedding of my blood, I will quickly say,....AGENT BREAKDANCE WILL BE AT YOUR SERVICE!". Maxwell pulled Riley into a bear hug and quickly swayed her side to side.

"If you're done with me, I could use a drink" Drake remarked as he sat up from his chair, headed for the door. "Yes, we are finished, but, don't forget your binder",  Madeline exclaimed as she pointed out the thick binder Drake had secretly slid under his chair. Drake hung his head and slowly turned around, "yeah, wouldn't want to forget that" as he reached far under the chair to retrieve it.

Gladys walked over to Riley, with Liam joining immediately after. She told them they would need to go upstairs to try cake samples and choose their cake style. "Go ahead love, I'll be up in a minute" he said as he kissed her cheek. "Liam, is everything okay?" Riley asked with concern. "Of course, I just need to do something that is long over due. I promise its nothing to be worried about." "Okay, but, you better hurry or I'm liable to eat your samples too" Riley playfully stated before giving him a quick kiss and walking out.

Liam walked over to Bertand and Maxwell who were trying to figure out how to open Bartie's stroller. "This blasted, useless, piece of sh....OH....your majesty" Bertrand stood with a embarrassed grin. "Bertrand! I got it, Just twist this thing off here and break this piece off, then rip this cloth thingy off and voila!" Maxwell said proudly as the side of the stroller now lay hanging open with broken and tattered parts. Bertrand stared at Maxwell, then the stroller, then back to Maxwell. "Yeah, I think its broken", Maxwell remarked coyly.

Liam observed the pair and in the back of his mind was wondering how his fiancee made it through each social event successfully. He cleared his throat and this drew their attention back to the King. "Oh, our apologies your majesty, Maxwell...stop kicking the stroller! What can we do for you?", Bertrand asked through a stressed smile. "Bertrand, please, no formalities." Liam replied. "Very well, did you need us for something Liam?" Bertrand asked curiously.

Liam held out his hand. Bertrand stared at it for a moment before relunctantly grabbing it with his. Liam shook Bertrand's hand, then offered the same to Maxwell, who after dropping the dislodged wheel of the stroller, obliged. "Whats up Li?" Maxwell asked. 

"Maxwell, Bertrand, I've never truly thanked you for what you've done for me", Liam stated with a tone of gratitude. Both brothers stared at him for a moment with Bertrand speaking up, "there is nothing to thank us for Liam". 

"That's not entirely true Bertrand" Liam replied while putting his hands in his pockets. Liam glanced over at the window as a ray of sunshine lit up the room. "You handed me my dreams and made it possible to live the life I always wanted, for that, I thank you." Maxwell grasped the King's shoulder with a proud smile, "You deserve it Li."

"No, no I don't.....Maxwell, we've always been friends, but, how often did we spend time together before that New York bachelor party? And Bertrand, we really haven't spoken since we were kids." Bertrand and Maxwell look at one another with solemn expressions. "Today, my fiancee made me realize just how important you both are to her and what you did to get her to where she is today. I understand that part of it was to restore the Beaumont name, but, you were asked to walk her down the aisle and you were asked to fill her father's shoes for a wedding dance....thats...thats".  "What a family does", replied Maxwell. "Indeed", Bertrand murmured as Bartie started to wake from the travel playpen he was in. "You're going to be part of our family now Li, so, we will definately be spending a lot more time together, just the three of us", Maxwell was happy to point out.

Bertrand picked Bartie up and Maxwell stepped over to disassemble the playpen. "You're doing it wrong Maxwell! Push the button on the side", Bertrand quipped. "I'am Bertrand, but, this button is in the way" Maxwell snipped as he ripped a plastic piece off the playpen. As Maxwell reached across the other side, the playpen gave way and collpsed, with Maxwell yelling he could fix it. Liam stared blankly at the two brothers as they continued their banter back and forth. He slowly eased his way out of the room, closing the door to the sounds of crashes, yelling and Bartie continuously repeating the curse word he just heard from Bertrand.

Liam leaned against the wall adjacent to the door,  running his fingers through his hair and sighing, "what am I marrying into?"

[molllyhernandez]

RUNAWAYS SEASON 2 TEASER SHOT BY SHOT RUNDOWN

well.....shit

I’m going to assume this is the “life form” the parents were being tricked into digging for. i can’t really tell who all is getting flung backwards. i’m not sure if it’s the parents or the Runaways because only one of the parents really has any sort of power or ability to fight Jonah, but it also looks like there are way more than 6 kids present

“They’re our parents...how could they be such monsters?” yeah they pretty much suck

Yeah fuck you all (except the Yorkes’ y’all are just kind of idiots)

AND FUCK YOU MOST OF ALL GOOD SIR (that weird ashy part of his face looks similar to how his body looks when he’s weak and has not gotten a sacrifice. i.e. while he was lying in bed and the scene in the final episode with Frank when he pulls back his sleeve)

IM ABOUT TO SQUARE TF UP WITH WHOEVER MADE YOU SHED A SINGLE TEAR (please just let her be happy this season)

Why is it so hard to let them be happy? (also important to note that it looks like maybe they have not found the Hovel yet since all these shots look to be outside...it’ll be interesting to see how long it takes them. I also want to know why there are so many people sort of standing around her)

“We can fix the world that they broke” yeS MY BEAUTIFUL GAY RAINBOW CHILD I MISSED YOU

Those sort of look like tents in the background? I think they may hang out in a homeless community for a little bit RIGHT after they run away. This theory is backed up by the next screen cap-

You can clearly see the tents in the background with people in them. I think that the season will pick back up immediately after they start running in the last few seconds of season 1. They’ll chill in a homeless community until they eventually go off and find the Hostel.

All 4 of the past shots seem to be in the same lighting as well (Molly crying, Gert’s face, Nico and Karolina talking, Chase and Alex) so buckle in for an emotional Runaways talk around the fire :-)

Bless you

I’m guessing the Hostel will be somewhere near the observatory up in the mountains if they don’t outright use the observatory as their base (in the comics, the Hostel was an abandoned hotel, but they could certainly take some creative liberties with this)

They’re still in the same clothes (which doesn’t tell us much because they did sort of just take off without anything) as when they raid the thrift store but thERE IT IS, THERE IS THE HOSTEL IM SO READY

Look how strong and beautiful :’)

Here, it looks very much like an abandoned hotel so i’m thinking they’ll pretty much keep this aspect the same

Ugh this whole plot of them finally being runaways on their own with only each other is going to be so amazing and open up so many opportunities for character relationships (if you know anything about me you know I’m beyond excited for the Chase/Molly, brother/sister dynamic that’s so prevalent in the comics)

(”No, you’re not the light of the world but you shine on me”) I am: concerned but also happy bc look at my rainbow baby with her hands all lit up wow

His outfit has changed here but I have no idea what’s going on with that package? Not to be That Bitch but everything Alex does highkey makes me suspicious so...

She’s learning how to control the staff and my heart is exploding. Also her oUTFIT WOW SHE LOOKS AMAZING????

yeeEEESSSSS

Hooooooly shit molly can flip a while damn car now-

AND NOT EVEN HAVE TO FALL ASLEEP? AN ICON (high key my favorite shot in the entire trailer look at my badass baby)

Project this on my grave, thanks

“Nothing is more important than knowing who...what you are” KAROLINA’S ORIGINS PLOT LINE LETS GOOOO. Tbh this season seems like it’s going to be very Karolina heavy and I’m living for it

Fuck u x2 :-)

Everything about this shot is beautiful, HOWEVER the context is what’s confusing to me. Did Karolina just agree to meet up with Jonah? Did he find them? And why does she look confused as to why she’s glowing, I’ll be pissed if Jonah can somehow activate Karolina’s power on his own

At first glance, it looked like Karolina was fighting Nico, but this brief shot shows that this is not the case-

She is clearly fighting Mrs. Minoru. However, I am confused because in the screenshot before, you can see Nico holding what looks to be her staff (which she also has in the shot 10 screencaps ago, apparently AFTER they find the Hostle) but Mrs. Minoru has one of her own

OK so here we have new mystery guy that has been filming with the cast. He’s obviously a mutant (based on his eyes) and if I had to guess, this may be the character of Topher, who is in the comic and whose story-line I will not spoil for those of you that have not read

“GET DOWN” is concerning, but the next few shots look to all be from the same scene, an airport. Chase looks like he’s jumping out of a luggage trolley here

Same setting I believe, she may be coming out of the luggage trolley as well

It looks like they’re specifically trying to stop this plane

If this trick ass bitch doesn’t stop shooting at my babies in .4 seconds someone is dying

I can’t tell who is in the car but it sort of looks like the same car from the other shots that the Runaways are driving around in

Alex saving some girl from the shot. Not sure who the foot behind the door belongs to but it sort of looks like a Molly shoe

This is The Car, but the steering wheel???? Is on the right side of the car???? The background also looks like the same setting as Karolina battling Mrs. Minoru

I’m not even going to try and unravel the context of this scene but whoever threw Molly like this...your mom’s a hoe

Old Lace attacking someone on a bike? You can see the Runaways right next to the hill down the road, so presumably this person was following them

I’m just confused as to where they’re going on bikes? Based on their outfits, it looks like this may be the same day they discover the Hostel (Also Alex’s scooter I’m cackling)

Who tf is this and why does he have the fisticons on his hands?

Looks like Gert’s driving and someone please get her some driving lessons 

I’m wondering if the shootout turns into this car chase let them fuckin breathe

SHE’S CRYING AND SCREAMING “NO” IM SO WORRIED THIS IS GERT’S DEATH SCENE?

However, my theory that this may possibly be Gert’s death scene is really thrown by this shot? It’s obviously the same lighting as the previous shot and Molly is almost smiling here

This lighting is the same as well and come to think about it, it almost looks similar to the very first shot of the trailer with Jonah. They’re obviously back at the construction site here. Nico’s scream and face worries me PLEASE DO NOT KILL GERT

I seriously cannot wait for them to start training and mastering their various powers

HELL YEAH

My body will not rest until I get stronger Gertchase content than this (however Gert’s outfit is so cute SO)

stOP STARING AT HER LIKE THAT YOU SMUG LITTLE ASS IM GOING TO BUST A LUNG

Oh my God this season looks amazing, I’m so excited

[daehwifi]

Skype Calls - Jinyoung Au

- admin xion 

genre: fluff member: bae jinyoung word count: 934 requested: yes side note: i highly suggest listening to the song ‘nyla’ by blackbear... or like the first 4 lines lolol-

requested by: anon

some fluffy baejin please? ㅠㅠ love everything you write sm!!!!💘💘

- FLUFFY BAE JINYOUNG LETS GOOOO - WOOOOSH - you were best friends with jinyoung (wow a total cliche) - and he happened to be in busan for 2 years or so due to his family's work place - you both promised to skype call each other every single day - calling... jINYOUNGIEEEEEEE - he soon picked up and turned on his cam - you saw his familiar face with wet hair and a towel around his neck as he continued to rub his hair dry with his left hand, behind his neck - you could clearly see his bare chest - "i just got out the shower," he spoke as he noticed you staring - a slight chuckle escaped from his lips as he adjusted the camera more upwards, making it so that you can't see his chest - "so you're telling me, you got out of the shower just to answer my call? without even putting clothes on?" you asks - you could feel yourself becoming flustered a but didnt show it at all - "who said i didnt put clothes on? i have shorts on right now y/n," jinyoung said with a huge smirk across his face - "yA KNOW WHAT ALL I SIMPLY WANTED TO DO WAS TO CALL MY BEST FRIEND AND NOT BE ATTACKED" you raised your voice as jinyoung broke out into laughter - he threw on a shirt as he drank some water - you blankly watched his every mood as he chuckled - "staph looking at me like thatttt" he says in a childish tone - he smiled sheepishly as you chuckled a bit and immersed yourself further into your bed, slouching as the laptop was placed on your lap - "looking at you like what?" you asked as you rose an eyebrow - jinyoung rose his upper lip as he rolled his eyes and kissed his teeth - he took his laptop and changed locations to his bed - it was both late for the both of you - you yawned softly as jinyoung began bursting into laughter for some reason - "wAHTTT?" you asked as you stared at the screen in confusion - "HAHAHA SORRY ITS JUST-" jinyoung speaks as you notice his phone on his hand - "are you texting someone?" you asks - "mmhm," he replied softly - "wOW I LOVE BEING A THIRD WHEEL," you blurted out loudly - jinyoung giggles a bit as a smile remains on his face - "we'll make a tricycle then," he says as he sneaks in a small wink - staring blankly you let that process through your mind for a minute or so - "jINYOUNG!" you yelled as you threw a blanket over your body - he begins laughing a bit as he turns off his phone and throws it onto his bed, tucking himself in - you hummed the tune to the new song you found in which you loved - (its an actual song called ‘nyla’ by blackbear you should listen to it) - “hEY I KNOW THAT SONG,” jinyoung blurted - he hummed the tune alone with you as he mumbled some of the lyrics - you scrunch up your nose as you could feel the wave of tiredness come upon you - jinyoung continued to dry his hair with the towel around his neck as he noticed you slowly falling asleep - he smiled a bit watching your head flop around as silence filled the air - time skip woosh lol - you woke up as usual and was beginning to head to school - when suddenly there was a single flower at the front of your house - it had a small sticky note on it in which read “you’re beautiful when you laugh,” - you scratched your head in confusion as you ran back inside your house to place the flower down onto your table - you then headed for school like always - time skip again woosh woosh bitch- - it was around the time when you were about to sleep when you called jinyoung - he answered almost instantly - “yo someone gave me a rose this morning im cackling” you told him - he chuckled - “really? damn i wish i was that hot to get a rose from someone” he spoke - you rolled your eyes as you twirled the rose in your hand - “i wonder who gave it,” you mumbled to yourself - “obviously someone who’s into your dumb ass,” he spoke with a small smile on his face - you scrunched up your rose and raised the corner of your upper lip and kissed your teeth - “how rudeee” you scoffed as jinyoung rolled his eyes - you saw him texting on his phone again - “wOW AM I LIKE THIRD WHEEL MATERIAL OR SOMETHING?” you asked - jinyoung laughed as he shook his head - “nah, it’s nothing don’t worry,” he replied calmly - you rolled your eyes as he chuckled - “seriously, it’s nothing,” he added on as he turned off his phone - time skip again woooosh - you woke up - repeated the same process of your morning routine - and headed out the door as another rose was at your doorstep - picking it up, you read the sticky note - “you’re in la, i’m in new york” it wrote - you chuckled a bit - it was your favorite song called ‘nyla’ - heading back inside, you repeated the same process of placing the rose onto the table and heading out for school - time skip again wOW SO MANY TIME SKIPS FUN - jinyoung woke up a bit later than you did - he took a shower - ate - packed his schoolbag and was ready to go to school - when he opened his apartment door, there was a rose at his doorstep with a sticky note attached to it - he smiled as he picked it up - “i drive to work, you take the train,” the note read

[eddiekaspbraklives-blog]

I never should have said anything. (1/?)

Summary: Bill has some unspoken feelings he’s not sure how to deal with; especially when those feelings are centered around his best friend.

Pairing: Stanley/Bill

Word Count: 2,115... I’m sorry

Warnings: A bit of swearing, angst(but it WILL turn happy !!)

A/N: Everyone is 16+ in this, so they’re in high school. Inspired/modeled after something that happened with my best friend at the time and me. Why not incorporate my life into stories, right ? This will have a few chapters, so stay tuned !!

-

Bill had been the first member of the losers club to get their drivers licenses. Richie had been next, then Mike, Beverly, Ben, Eddie, and last but not least Stanley. Because of this order, Bill had been the first to get a car. Richie had been slacking and wasn’t practicing his driving, so he only had his permit and couldn’t drive everyone around. The rest hadn’t gotten in enough hours to be eligible for the drivers test that would permit them their full license. Given the circumstances, Bill had pretty much become the bus driver to the losers club.

As usual, it was a Friday night and the 7 friends had decided to gather at someone’s house to hang out. Richie’s, to be exact. This was actually a rare occasion, but this evening his parents wouldn’t be home until late at night so they would have the house to themselves.

Unsurprisingly, it was Bill’s job to pick everyone up who didn’t have a ride and bring them to Richie’s. Which was... Well, everyone.

With the other 6 teenagers in his car, he made his way to Richie’s house across town. Mike was riding shotgun, playing some tasteful music on the aux cord while the other 4 were squeezed in the back. Ben, Bev, and Eddie were arguing over the best cake flavor, while Stan stayed quiet and glanced out the window. He felt weird not saying anything, but in his opinion cake was nothing to argue over, so he kept his eyes trained on the trees passing by until a voice pulled him back to reality.

“What do you think, Stan?” Beverly questioned.

He turned to look at her, confused from his lack of attention to the conversation.

“What do you think the best flavor is?”

He shrugged. “If I had to pick one, I guess red velvet is pretty good.”

The 3 beside him erupted into sporadic chatter, trying to talk over each other to discuss how good red velvet really was. Stan rolled his eyes, beginning to turn back to the window until Bill spoke up from the front seat.

“That’s m-m-my favorite too.” He said, smiling softly and looking at Stan through the rearview mirror.

Stan grinned back, glancing up at Bill and meeting his eyes. The two gazed at each other for a moment before Bill tore his eyes from the mirror and focused back on the road, pulling into Richie’s driveway.

“Alright everyb-body, out.” Bill announced softly, putting the car in park and twisting the keys to power it off. He watched everyone file out one by one, resting his hands on the wheel until Stan was the last one in the car.

“If Richie makes us play truth or dare again I’m going to kill him.” Stan mutters, looking at Bill before stepping out.

He laughed shortly and followed the other 5 to the front door, letting Ben knock and seeing Richie open the door to greet them.

“Sup fuckers!” He smiled widely, making way for everyone to come inside.

“Wow, real classy Richie.” Eddie teased.

“Fuck off.” Richie scoffed and rolled his eyes, pulling him inside.

Stan and Bill walked in next to each other behind the group, laughing at Eddie and Richie and giving one another a knowing look, heading into the kitchen for snacks.

Bill opened the pantry while Stan went for the fridge. They piled snack boxes and bags into their arms and headed back to the living room where their friends were. As the group saw them approaching, Mike greeted them.

“Thanks mom and dad.” He teased, as the two handed food out.

Stan felt his face flush. The nicknames technically grouped them together as a couple. Don’t think about it too much. He thought to himself.

The 7 found themselves getting situated on the seats available, squeezing themselves in wherever they could fit. On the loveseat were Ben, Mike, Beverly, Stan and Bill. Richie and Eddie were on the reclining chair with Eddie on top of the other boy.

“Well, this is a tight fit.” Ben noted, gesturing to the fact that the 5 of them were packed into the couch like crackers in a box.

“Would you rather sit on the floor?” Richie challenged playfully.

“Don’t be rude!” Eddie scream-whispered, smacking his hand lightly. Richie just tazed him in response.

“Not really, no.” Ben said, looking at the cold wood floor.

Richie rolled his eyes, picking up the remote and setting up a movie on the tv.

“What are we watching?” Beverly asked, looking to the tv.

“Insidious. Chapter 2!” Richie beamed, clearly excited.

A few in the group rolled their eyes, but Bill looked next to him to see Stan’s reaction. He knew he hated horror movies. Stan glanced back at him, giving him a look that could only mean oh shit. Bill leaned over to whisper in his ear.

“D-don’t worry. I’ll p-protect you.” He said with a sweet smile.

Stan felt his face heat up a little bit, smiling at Bill. “That’s appreciated.” He said simply. They both turned back to the television as they heard the previews start to play. Richie quickly skipped through them, and the movie began.

They all kept their eyes glued to the screen as the night went on and the movie progressed, subconsciously huddling together even more than they had been before. By the time 2/3 of the movie was finished, Stan found himself curled up to Bill with their hands intertwined, pressing into him any time he knew a jump-scare was coming.

He had definitely taken notice of the fact that his hand was in Bills. To be quite honest, he didn’t know if that was normal. The two were very touchy-feely and that was a common and comfortable thing for them, but they’d never done this before. He had seen Richie and Eddie hold hands often, but the whole group knew they liked each other. He tried not to pay too much mind to it and just watch the movie, but it seemed like an elephant in the room to Stan.

As the movie was coming to an end, both Bill and Stan had found themselves growing tired. Bill had wrapped an arm around Stan and was rubbing his back at this point, while Stan rested his head against Bills chest. Half asleep, Stan heard Richie yell something in one of his obnoxious voices and lifted his head, realizing where he was currently placed. He looked up to Bill who was also waking up a little and smiled down at him. Stan smiled back but sat up, checking his watch.

“It’s 9:50. My curfew is 10:30 and you have to take everyone else home first, should we get going?” Stan asked Bill, being honest but also making an excuse to get out of his current situation. Bill nodded in response and stood up after Stan pulled his hand apart from his friends.

“Okay, is everyone r-ready?” Bill asked the others, looking at their nodding heads and slipping on his shoes. The others said their goodbyes as Richie stood in the doorway, whispering something in Bills ear before he walked out. After Bill made his way outside, the others followed him like a group of baby ducks with their mother as everyone loaded into the car. This time around, Mike switched seats with Stan so he could ride shotgun.

Stan plugged his phone up to the aux, playing death cab for cutie for a relaxing ride home. Bill looked at the speaker and then back to Stan, grinning.

“You and your indie m-music.”

Stan briefly twisted the corner of his mouth up into a half smile and lay back in his seat.

The ride home was quiet. Bill dropped off Ben first, then Beverly and Mike. Stan’s house was the farthest away, so Bill was taking him home last.

As the slow music played through the car, Stan noticed a change in the environment once Mike got out of the vehicle and said goodnight to his friends. He turned to look at Bill and noticed the troubled expression on his face, his eyebrows scrunched up as if he was thinking too hard about something.

“Are you okay?” He asked quietly.

Bill almost did a double take, obviously being pulled out of thought. He glanced at Stan for a few seconds before speaking.

“W-was I coming onto you?”

Stan’s eyes widened slightly. “No.” He said simply, feeling uncomfortable at the question.

“Yes I w-w-was.” He mumbled, looking to the road and avoiding eye contact.

“I didn’t-“ He stopped himself and paused. “I mean, I didn’t think so.”

“I’m sorry.” Bill said flatly. “Richie s-said something to me b-before we left. He said it l-looked like I was coming onto you. He-he started asking m-me if I l-l-liked you.” He struggled to get out.

Stan felt his stomach sink a little at the last comment. He noticed how Bills stutter was much worse than usual. That usually only happened when he got really anxious. He cringed as he realized he had pretty much ‘set the mood’ with his choice of music, hearing Hold No Guns begin to play.

“I mean... Do you?” He asked quietly, looking down at his hands. He didn’t like this. He didn’t want to be having this conversation.

Bill didn’t say anything.

“Bill?”

“Y-yeah.” He paused for what seemed like an eternity. Stan was unclear if he meant that as in he liked him, or if he was just responding to his name being called until Bill spoke again.

“I do.”

Stan’s heart sped up.

“F-fuck. That’s p-probably s-so weird to you, isn’t it?” He said in an almost frustrated tone.

“It’s okay.” Stan answered, not sure what to say back.

“I didn’t m-mean to come onto you. I know I c-c-crossed a line.” He informed Stanley, picking up speed in the car.

“Slow down, Bill.” Stan said calmly.

“Why w-won’t you say anything? Anything im-important?” He asked, growing more and more upset.

“You’re going too fast.”

Bill didn’t lose any speed. “I don’t even know w-why I m-mentioned this. I shouldn’t have.”

“It’s okay, Bill.” Stan repeated flatly as they pulled up at the top of his street.

“I know t-this isn’t your street.” Bill told him, parking the car and gripping the wheel tightly.

Stan didn’t answer.

“I know you don’t l-like me.” Bill threw out. Stan felt his heart lurch. “I j-just need you to know, I guess?” He said, stress and self doubt evident in his voice. “I know you’ve heard R-richie and them joking about-about us dating. They’re jokes, I k-know that. But at the same time, they’re... They’re not.” He confessed. “I don’t know when it h-happened, it just did. You’re just so cute and-and you always make me laugh and I t-think it’s adorable how you bird watch and all these o-other.. Other things. There’s a l-lot to love about you.” He cut himself off as he realized he basically confessed that he was in love. Bill froze, as did Stan.

Stan felt like he was going to throw up. He looked to the screen in Bill’s car that read the title of the song playing, and cursed death cab for cutie in that moment. This was like a movie scene; he didn’t like it. Swallowing his pride, he looked at Bill only to see he was already looking back.

There was something in his eyes. Stan knew that look. He knew that if he didn’t make as much distance between them as possible, the distance would soon be closed.

“I r-really want to kiss you.” Bill said, throwing his pride out the window.

An uncomfortable silence fell over them. Stan looked at the clock in Bills car desperately, reading the time. “It’s 10:28. I need to get inside.” He said flatly, reaching for the door handle.

“I’m s-sorry Stan. I shouldn’t have brought it up.” He began to panic. “I don’t want to l-lose you, you’re my b-best friend.” He whined.

“You won’t.” Stan said, but he knew he couldn’t guarantee anything.

“I’m s-so fucking sorry. I n-never should have said anything.” He apologized again, realizing what he had just done.

Stan opened the door and stepped out, closing it as Bill rolled down the window.

“S-stan!” He called out, watching him make his way down the street and towards the house.

Stan looked back as he stopped in front of his doorway and saw Bill resting his face on his steering wheel. He looked away and sighed, entering his house. He felt like the whole weight of the world was resting on his shoulders. This was bad.

What had just happened?

[labyrinthofleah]

Always a Black Fox, Never a Bride: Part 2 | Mamoru/Aiko fic

Read Part 1 here! 

@letstalklikefangirls​ @josiesparklelove​

Part 2: Better Off Unwed

“…This is stupid.” He muttered to himself as he grabbed his unironed jacket from the back of his chair. He muttered as he retrieved the invitation from the desk and Aiko’s letter from the drawer. He muttered as he found himself behind the wheel of his car, heading in the direction of the venue stated on the invitation.

“This ain’t my problem. What’m I even gonna do when I get there? Gettin’ this messed up ‘cause of a woman… what’m I thinkin’…”

The streets were fairly familiar, since the venue was close to the route he took to work. He let muscle-memory take over a bit as he drove. As a result of that, and the fact that he had no one to grudgingly rant to but himself, he almost didn’t see the woman in white trying to hail a cab on the side of the road.

By the time he’d realized who she was, he’d already driven right past her. He considered driving back to her, but turning around would take too much time. He finally just pulled over and got out of the car, and began to walk towards her.

“Taxi—You have got to be kidding me!” She bit out as a cab sped right on by. He hadn’t heard her voice in weeks, and until that moment he hadn’t allowed himself to admit just how much he’d missed it.

“Ain’t ya got somewhere to be, sweetheart?” He pushed his hands into his pockets to stop them from reaching out to her.

Aiko whirled around as he drawled at her, eyes flying wide open. “M-Mamoru! How did—“

“I know where you were? You got your nosy sister and friend t’ thank.”

“Josie? And… Leah! They told you? Oh my god, I’m going to kill them.”

He pulled the note out of his pocket and waved it in the air. “Looks like you had somethin’ to tell me, though.”

She flushed. “I… just didn’t want you to come looking for me. It would’ve caused problems.”

He couldn’t stop himself from frowning. “So we’re a problem? You ‘n me?”

“No! I mean, yes, I mean…” She dropped her gaze. “My parents were going to be a lot more critical of the men in my life after…”

“And yet here y’are.” He noticed a TV set in a nearby shop window; it was displaying the news, along with the time. The wedding should have started ten minutes ago. “What about your pals?”

Her lips thinned. “That’s the thing. I overheard my parents talking; they never intended to keep their end of the deal. I have to warn Riki and the others.”

“…Got it. We’ll talk later.” He reached out a hand to her at last.

She looked at it, and he thought he saw equal measures of confusion and hope blossom across her face.

He smirked as he added, “It’ll be faster if we take my car.”

***

They were all there when Aiko burst into Le Renard Noir, Mamoru following on her tail at a more leisurely pace. Boss was scrubbing at a glass like his life depended on it. Riki was frowning at a comedy show on the TV in the corner of the bar. Kenshi stared pensively at a can of beer in his hand; Takuto’s permascowl was darker than ever as he tapped at his smartphone screen. Hiro was the first to notice them walk in.

“Oh my god! Aiko!” He all but screeched. He almost looked like he was ready to leap into her arms, but clearly thought better of it.

As one, the heads of the other Black Foxes snapped up and swiveled in her direction.

“Aiko?!”

“What are you…?”

“Why—“

“There’s no time,” she cut them all off as they surged towards her like some sort of relieved, overprotective wave. “Listen, my parents are going to figure out where I went any minute now, if they haven’t already. They were never going to keep quiet about you. You have to get out of here!”

“What?” Boss looked stunned; then his expression turned grim.

Even Kenshi wore an uncharacteristic glare. “The only reason we were ever going to just sit back and let you marry some random guy was because you were so insistent it was for our safety…”

“Yeah, well, that’s clearly out the window.” Riki was the first to recover, snapping into action. “We need to figure out what to do now.”

“Don’t just stand there, idiots!” Takuto was already shoving his phone, nearby laptop, and numerous color-coded electrical cords into a bag. “Obviously we get out of here like she said—“

A voice rang out from the door. “Not so fast, Noodle Boy.”

He nearly tripped over a cord as Josie Sparkle stalked into the bar like she owned the place.

“…You again.” Mamoru glanced over, totally unimpressed. “That means…“

“Josie! I told you to wait!” Leah wailed as she dashed in moments later.

“There we go.”

Aiko stared at them. “What are you—I thought I asked you to distract my parents!”

“W-we did!” Leah hastened to reassure her, grinning even as she gasped for air. “They happened to overhear me and Josie talking about you, and…”

“Right now they’re chasing you down on the opposite side of town,” Josie finished.

Aiko’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? What did you say?”

Leah finally caught her breath and threw out her arms in a dramatic pose. “’Oh, Josie! It is so sad that Aiko simply couldn’t find it in her heart to go through with this farce of a matrimonial union!’”

“’Indeed, Leah!’” Josie proclaimed theatrically back. “’But never you fret! For she is surely on her way to safety with the dastardly Black Foxes even now, who are eagerly awaiting her at the train station!’”

“’Do you speak true? Would not their get-away car be a more prudent run-away option?’”

“’Only think for a moment, and consider! Their car would be far too obvious, too easy to tail! The train, however, offers far more anonymity amongst the rush of the crowds, forsooth!’”

“’Oh, happy day! In that case, our dear Aiko will surely—‘”

“Okay, thanks, I got it! Enough!” Aiko cut them off.

“Aww, but it was just getting good, Ai-chan,” Hiro pouted.

She rolled her eyes. “Anyway. They might be distracted right now, but that won’t last long…”

“Leave it to me, sweetheart.”

Everyone turned to look at Mamoru, clearly experiencing varying levels of shock. Well, not like he blamed them. He half-couldn’t believe what he was saying, himself.

“What do you intend to do?” Riki asked at last.

“You’ll see.” He shrugged. “But it ain’t gonna work unless you all help out.”

“So you’re proposing a group effort for… whatever you’ve got planned?” Boss mused.

Kenshi folded his arms and nodded. “Okay, sure. Count me in.”

“Hold on, genius,” Takuto spoke up sharply. “We don’t even know what Smokey’s thinking.”

“Does it matter?” Hiro was practically bouncing on his toes. “I’m in, too! Anything for Aiko, right, Takkun?”

“Yeah, Takkun,” Josie cooed cajolingly. She patted Kenshi lightly on the chest. “Just be a good sport like our firefighter friend here.”

Takuto looked like he’d just swallowed something sour. “You don’t even like the smokestack, though!”

She shrugged. “Well, when it comes to my sister, I’m willing to let bygones be bygones. I mean, temporarily.”

“So, it’s settled!” Leah declared before Takuto could open his mouth again. “All in favor of Operation: Maiko, say ‘aye’!”

Hiro’s hand shot into the air. “Aye!”

Kenshi laughed. “Uh, aye?” The other Black Foxes soon followed suit.

“’Maiko’?” Aiko asked.

Leah nodded.

Mamoru pushed his hair back out of his face. “…I don’t really care either way, but what kinda name is that?”

“It’s your ship name,” Leah informed him, as if it should have been obvious from the start.

“Ship wha—“

“ANYWAY,” Aiko said loudly. “Shall we get started?”

Mamoru blinked at her. “Your buddies’re one thing, but… You’re gonna go along just like that?”

“Of course.” There was no doubt in her face or voice. He suddenly felt strongly, maybe for the first time ever, that he couldn’t let her down.

“Okay. Then…” He swept his gaze over everyone gathered in the bar. “Hey, Tiny.”

Leah slowly pointed to herself, raising an eyebrow.

“Who else’d I be talkin’ to? You’re buddies with that prince, ain’tcha.”

It wasn’t a question. She nodded, looking surprised. “You need Roberto’s help, too?”

“Yeah, ‘xactly.”

Her phone was already in her hand by the time he finished speaking. “I’ll text him. What should I say?”

“See if he’s free this afternoon.”

Her fingers flew over the phone. “He says he’ll clear his schedule.”

Josie snorted, and even Aiko laughed a little. “Poor Alberto.”

“Good. We’re gonna need him to meet up with us. Don’t matter where.”

Another flurry of texting ensued. “He says we can just come over to the Villa.”

Mamoru found himself smirking. “Better’n I thought. Tell ‘im we’ll be there… and Aiko’s folks’ll be there too.”

Aiko’s face promptly fell. “What? But—“

He turned to her and gripped her hands in his. Meeting her gaze head-on, he murmured in the gentlest voice he’d heard himself use in a long time: “Trust me, sweetheart.”

She glanced around, but for once the other Black Foxes were silent. They just looked back at her with obvious trepidation… but more than that…

“It’s your call, Aiko,” Riki finally said.

“You know the detective better than us,” Boss added, his expression finally relaxing. “If you trust him, we’ll trust him, too.”

Kenshi gave a firm nod, grinning, and Hiro dug his elbow into Takuto’s ribs.

“Ow! What—“

Then Josie took his hand, her voice trembling just the slightest bit as she pleaded, “She needs our help, Takuto. My sister. Your teammate.”

“…Okay, fine. I… trust you too, Aiko!” The hacker grumbled. “So you and the walking carcinogen better not screw this up!”

He was so intent on keeping his gaze trained on the floor that he didn’t notice a triumphant smirk promptly appear on Josie’s face.

Aiko gave an exasperated shake of her head before finally looking back at Mamoru, nodding as she softly squeezed his hands in return. “Let’s do it.”

***

Part 3 can be read here!

[viralhottopics]

Why The Little White Lies I Tell My Children Arent Going To Hurt Them

Id like to preface what I am about to say by stating that I am actually a brutally honest person. You can rest assured that 99 percent of the time, if you ask me something, I will shoot it to you straight. That being said, parenting little humans is ridiculously hard, both physically and emotionally. And, there are situations that call for parents to fib just a little bit from time to time, or in my case, every day. See, I am capable of telling the truth.

Everyone and their mothers best friends sister like to remind me that the years are short and to enjoy every moment I have with my children, whether they are good, bad, or really ugly. But, when your day includes your toddler coloring the couch cushion with a sharpie, or projectile vomiting in the snack aisle of Costco, that can be tough, and sometimes downright impossible.

There are days when you feel like you will not survive until bedtime, and, on those days, it is quite easy to convince yourself that opening a bottle of wine at 3 p.m. does not mean youre an alcoholic, but in fact is just standard procedure while parenting toddlers.

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If the day decides to take an unexpected and unpleasant turn for the worse, and I am on the cusp of losing it, I will do anything in my power to save myself from a little misery, even if that means telling a small, and I mean teeny, tiny, lie to my unsuspecting children.

I lie without any hesitation or guilt and for my own sanity, and well being, you should too. Im giving you permission. Youre welcome.

Here are some of my go-to, cant fail, white lies. Enjoy and use at your own discretion!

1. No honey, its broken.

What exactly broken? Anything and everything you do not want to deal with at that moment. Broken! Done!

Your toddler wants to watch Little Einsteins for the bazillionth time. Nope, sorry, that show is broken right now.

Your toddler wants the car window up, no down, no up, no down Nope, sorry, that window is now broken. All done. Kaputz.

Youre toddler really wants to listen to Taylor Swifts “Shake It Off,” but you fear that you might bash your head into the steering wheel if you have to hear it even one more time? Whoops, broken, sorry, not sorry.

It is literally a catchall. I encourage you to use it freely, and be creative.

2. Your teeth will fall out if you dont brush them.

I feel slightly guilty about this one. Brushing teeth in our house is a power struggle, a fight to the death really, which usually results in me forcing a Thomas the Train toothbrush into my toddlers mouth and her crying that the toothpaste is spicy (its bubblegum flavor) and that she doesnt like that toothbrush (she has four to choose from).

Ive told her multiple times about the importance of brushing, but that doesnt really get through to her. So, I told her that her teeth would fall out if she doesnt brush them. In reality, this is kind of true, they will actually fall out when her adult teeth are ready to come in, so I think it is really just a half-lie, and a good way for her to prepare to take good care of her permanent teeth.

That being said, last week she stopped dead in her tracks half-way down the stairs in pure panic that she had forgotten to brush, held her hands to her mouth as she ran back upstairs, to ensure that none of her teeth fell out. Clearly, I use this one a little too much.

3. Its bedtime.

I dont care if it is 5:30 p.m. and still light outside, if it has been that kind of day, the bedtime routine is starting early and that is that!

I will warn you though, this almost always results in an early morning wake-up call. You cant have it both ways, but if you really need a break, or just cant deal with any more whining, pushing, yelling, or mess-making that day, do it. Do it without a second thought. Most likely, they are acting like little monsters because they are overtired, so in reality, you are doing them a favor too.

4. And finally say its chicken for anything not chicken.

I have two very impossible eaters. Saying they are picky is the understatement of the century. They wont eat anything for dinner except Annies mac and cheese, hot dogs, and vegetable lo mein from the local Chinese place. Anything else is a fight, one that usually ends in tears, mostly from my children, but I definitely join in on the waterworks from time to time.

If we make any kind of meat or fish, the little humans put their noses up in disgust. Gross they say. My response is always the same, but, its just like chicken, you like chicken. This isnt exactly true, they dont really like chicken, but theyve eaten it before, and so it is a glimmer of hope in the very dark space that is dinnertime at our house.

Toddlers like what they know. New food is scary and foreign to them, so if you want any chance of them eating something different, compare it to something they know. Chicken works for me, but you can swap that out for anything you know your mini beasts will eat. Good luck!

I know I am not alone here, what lies do you tell your little humans?

For more from Jenna Stewart, visitMotherhood with a Twist of OCDand herFacebookpage.

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