#But they look fine because they’ve just been sitting in a damp closet for twenty years not being worn

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

As it turns out, I am indeed a shoemaker as well as a musician /hj

[kissinginkitchens]

You Bring Me Home—Chapter Six: Be My Baby

a/n: welcome back lovelies! Thank you once again for all of your kindness and support for chapter five!! I am so glad you enjoyed it :’) As promised: some more Halani sweetness that is truly good for the soul. Can’t wait for you to see what’s in store for our favorite lovebirds <3 I have had so much fun chatting with some of you and hearing your thoughts, so keep ‘em coming! Happy reading :) Much love, Mel <3

Pairing: Hawai’i!Harry x Original Character

Warnings: swearing, sickeningly sweet PDA <3

Word Count: 4.7k 

catch up on parts one, two, three, four, and five 

The rain descends in full force, strong and unrelenting, but Harry and Alani are too wrapped up in their own little world inside the Bronco to notice. They sit facing each other with palms touching, comparing hand sizes while they ramble about everything and nothing at all. Harry still has to remind himself to blink every so often despite the irrational fear that Alani will disappear when his eyes open again. With the knowledge that every moment could be this perfect, she silently curses herself for not crossing the friendship barrier sooner. 

“Think you bit me a little bit,” Harry comments, scanning his lower lip for any signs of bruising. 

“Did not,” Alani defends with a light giggle. 

He pouts his lower lip in her direction and leans closer for her to observe. “Did too, look!”

“Fine. I guess I won’t kiss you anymore if I’m such a detriment to your health,”

Harry sneaks his fingers inside Alani’s sweatshirt and tickles her sides, relishing in the laughter that erupts. 

“Just teasing,” he offers. “But I think I’m ready to get hurt again. Do me the honor?”

“You are such a nuisance,” she grins, obliging his request for another kiss by slotting her lips between his. It’s sweet and chaste, but it leaves her mouth tingling long after they’ve pulled apart. Alani runs her hands through Harry’s messy hair and he hums in response, leaning into her touch. When her hand stills, he plants a soft peck to the inside of her wrist as a plea to continue. She combs through the chestnut curls while he occupies his attention with something in the cupholder between them. 

“What’s this?” Harry questions, lifting the smoothie she had prepared for him earlier. 

Alani glances down and chuckles to herself. “Oh, it’s for you. I knew you’d be suffering from a gnarly hangover,”

Harry’s head tilts and he grins, giving Alani a sighting of her favorite dimple. “So good to me. Don’t know what I do to deserve it,”

“Maybe hold off on the gratitude, I think it’s probably rancid now,”

He takes a polite sip and sure enough, the drink is lukewarm and barely edible. His nose instinctively scrunches with disgust, but he quickly musters an appreciative smile. 

“S’lovely,”

“Liar,”

“Wanna taste?” Harry challenges, leaning in with puckered lips that Alani playfully dodges. He plants a kiss to her cheek instead, trailing down her jaw and to the side of her neck in a way that sends shivers down her spine. Her hands weave into his hair and she searches for his mouth again, but before she does, her phone rings loudly on the dashboard in front of them. 

He grumbles and his head lands on her shoulder. “For fuck’s sake—”

“Sorry,” Alani apologizes, swiping the device to look at the caller ID. Her sister’s name and photo flash on the screen, so she decides to answer it. “Hello?”

Harry traces small circles on the tops of Alani’s thighs, his mind still lost in the heat of the moment while she listens to Pua’s panicked voice on the other end. 

“Where are you?” Alani questions, sitting up straighter in her seat. “Okay, I’ll be there in ten,”

“What’s wrong?” Harry asks, brow furrowed in concern. 

She collects her bearings and sighs. “Pua and her little friends got stranded at the mall because of the storm. Need me to go rescue them,”

“Can I come with?” he offers eagerly, not ready to part just yet. 

“I don’t know if you really wanna be stuck with a bunch of fifteen year old-girls,” Alani laughs bitterly. 

Harry shrugs and toys with the hem of her sweatshirt. “Dunno if you were aware, but fifteen year-old girls love me,”

He stops suddenly and registers the concerning undertones in his statement. “That came out wrong,”

“Yeah, maybe you shouldn’t say that out loud,” Alani giggles with a hand cupped to his cheek. “Let’s meet up afterwards, okay?”

“‘Kay,” Harry agrees, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Alani leans over and presses a light kiss to his parted mouth, indulging his request to deepen it by letting him glide his tongue over her lower lip. 

“I really have to go.” she warns before pulling away reluctantly. 

Harry groans, but he steals one last kiss and slips out of the car into the heavy rain. 

“Be careful!” he calls over his shoulder. 

 Alani waits until he’s secure inside his own vehicle before driving away down the road. 

********

“You’re soaking wet,”

“It’s raining,”

“And you’re blushing,”

Harry shakes his damp hair out as he strolls down the hallway towards his room, Mitch at his heels. 

“So?”

“I’m assuming you fixed things with Alani, then?” his friend probes. 

Harry stomach flutters at the mention of her name. “Yeah,”

Mitch rests his shoulder against the doorframe of the singer’s room and watches as he sifts through his closet and dresser. 

“So why aren’t you with her right now?”

“She had to go pick up her sister, we’re meeting up later,”

“Is it official, then? I mean are you two...” 

Harry rubs a hand along the back of his neck and offers a shy smile in response. “I guess so,” 

“Well I’ll be damned!” his friend cheers, clapping him on the shoulder. “We have to celebrate. Jeff owes me twenty bucks,” 

“Mate—”

Mitch snickers with hands raised. “Kidding! Well, sorta. I actually said that she would turn you down at first,” 

Harry rolls his eyes and continues his search for the right shirt. “Ha ha. Listen, I need a favor,” 

“Anything.” 

“Jeff said that there’s a projector and fairy lights in the shed. I’m gonna need you to dig them out.” 

********

Alani parks in front of the mall and shoots her sister a text. Within a few minutes, Pua and her three friends bolt out of the entrance and climb into her backseat. 

“Buckle up,” she instructs the girls before pulling away from the curb. 

“Thank you,” Pua exhales, sinking into the seat. 

Alani gives her a reassuring wink and glances up to the rearview mirror to see her sister’s friends chatting giddily in the back. Her mind briefly wanders to less than an hour prior and the lingering warmth of Harry’s touch before her sister chirps up next to her. 

“What happened to your neck?” she asks with her nose scrunched. 

Alani’s brow creases in momentary confusion before her entire body heats up in realization. “Oh—uh, nothing,”

“Is that a—?”

“What do you guys wanna listen to?” Alani asks the backseat, avoiding her sister’s questions. 

“Wait, were you with—?”

One of the girls speaks up and Alani passes the aux cord over her head. Pua narrows her eyes and a smug grin spreads across her lips. 

“You were!” she accuses, hushed so her friends don’t hear. 

Alani shoots her younger sister a stern look and mouths the word “don’t,” but it’s no use. Her attention is stolen when the upbeat drums of a vaguely familiar pop song fills the entire car. 

“Oh you’re gonna love this one,” Pua laughs, bobbing her head along to the music that plays. 

Alani feels a strange sense of familiarity in the singer’s voice, but she’s having trouble placing it. She looks over to her sister for an explanation, but Pua simply wiggles her eyebrows suggestively. 

“It’s your boyfriend,” she smirks.

Yeah, so tell me girl if every time we 

Touch you get this kind of rush 

Baby say “yeah, yeah, yeah,” yeah, yeah, yeah

If you don’t wanna take it slow 

And you just wanna take me home

Baby say “yeah, yeah, yeah,” yeah, yeah, yeah

And let me kiss you

Mortification settles into the pit of Alani’s stomach, but a hint of amusement sneaks in as she pictures the various ways that she can tease Harry about this later. 

“Oh my God, could you imagine kissing them?” one of the girls, a redhead with freckles, muses in the back. 

“I think if I kissed Harry Styles, I could die happy.” sighs another one with round glasses. 

The third girl, a slender face with a full afro, chimes in with a dreamy look in her eyes. “Do you guys think he’s a good kisser?”

“Good question,” Pua plays along, turning to her older sister. “What do you think?”

Alani’s jaw tenses and she suddenly feels flustered under the pressure. Glimpses of spearmint and vanilla flood her memory, but she suppresses them and clears her throat. “How should I know?” 

Luckily, the three teenagers have already moved on from the subject and chat amongst themselves about other relevant topics.  

After the last girl has been dropped off at her house, Alani turns to her sister with a glaring look. 

“Before you ask—”

“Are you guys dating now?” Pua interrupts excitedly. 

Alani lets out an exasperated sigh and clutches the steering wheel to ground herself. “No. Well…I don’t know,”

“How was it?” her sister poses gently, a starry look in her eye. “Was he a good kisser?”

There’s a glimmer of eagerness in Pua’s expression that makes it hard for Alani to remain serious. A bashful smile spreads across her lips as she remembers the dreamy boy awaiting her return. 

“Yeah,” Alani confesses. “He was,”

“Oh my god!” her sister shrieks, enveloping her in a tight hug. “I’m so happy for you! This is perfect,”

Alani lets herself be excited for the first time since her feelings had been set free. Everything was still fresh and exhilarating, and while she couldn’t wrap her head around all of it, she was grateful for her sister’s enthusiasm. 

“It’s new,” Alani explains, sorting through the last couple of hours. “So there’s really not much to tell,”

“But you like him?” Pua clarifies. 

“Yes,”

“And he likes you?”

Alani shrugs coyly, thinking of the way that Harry had practically melted in her touch. “I think so.”

“Then what else matters?”

Pua’s words comfort the anxious turning in Alani’s stomach. If Harry feels even a sliver of the affection she has for him, then nothing else could truly ever matter in her world. 

********

Harry’s towel hangs low on his hips as he steps out of the shower. Immediately, he reaches for his phone to see if there are any new messages from Alani, but he deflates when her name isn’t on the screen. He checks the time and registers that three hours have passed since they had last seen each other, though it feels like days in his mind. Quickly, he dries off and steps into a pair of black jeans and a silky red overshirt, adjusting the silver chain with a cross pendant around his neck before slipping a few rings onto his fingers to complete the look. His hair is still damp, so he runs a blowdryer over it and adds a small amount of product—still getting used to the shorter style. Harry spritzes a bit of vanilla scented cologne onto the sides of his neck and takes a deep breath to quell the pounding in his chest. He checks his phone again, but there’s still no news from Alani, so he decides to reach out first. 

Harry: We still on for tonight?

He can hear ruckus emanating from the kitchen, undoubtedly the sound of his friends cooking dinner with a few drinks in their systems. His stomach rumbles when he realizes that all he’s had to eat was a sip of Alani’s warm smoothie. 

Alani: Yes, sorry! Had to cook for my sister but I’m free now :) 

He hums, his dinner plans most likely foiled. 

Harry: I take it you’re not really hungry then?

Alani: I could eat…

Harry grins and grabs the keys from his nightstand.

Harry: Be there in fifteen xx

Fifteen minutes—that’s all Alani has to fix herself up and look somewhat presentable for Harry. She darts around her room and picks out a flowy, black mini skirt with embroidered cherries and its matching cropped tank. Her hair is still a bit messy from not combing it after her bath, so she smoothes it out with some water and curl cream, hoping for the best. She finishes her look with a swipe of red tinted lip gloss across her full lips and honey scented lotion over her skin. By the time her quick routine is complete, she still has four minutes to spare and spends them pacing her room back and forth with deep breaths. Her phone dings two minutes later and she smiles at Harry’s punctuality. 

Harry: Am I allowed to meet you at your front door?

Alani’s heart melts at his consideration, so she quickly makes her way downstairs and decides to respond to him in person. Sure enough, he’s already waiting at the door with eyes wide as if he’d just been caught doing something that he wasn’t supposed to. 

“Wow,” Harry marvels, taking in her appearance. 

“You don’t look too bad, yourself.” Alani compliments, closing the door behind her and with a step forward. 

He clears his throat and offers his hand out to her, palm facing up. “Shall we?”

She accepts it happily and allows his fingers to slip between hers. They walk down the short path to the pink Cadillac waiting for them, glistening under the last bit of sunset. Harry opens her door first, then makes his way to the driver’s side before peeling out of the driveway. As they head to their mysterious dinner location, Harry’s hand wanders from the gear shift to Alani’s palm resting on her thigh. She interlocks their fingers and runs the pad of her thumb over the silver rose around his index finger, wondering all the while about its origin. 

“Hey, what’s with the ring?” she decides to ask, lifting their joint hands to support her question. 

“It was a gift from my mum,” Harry explains. “When I first went away on tour, she was bummed that she couldn’t be at every show to throw a rose on stage. So she gave it to me as a reminder that she’d always be cheering me on, no matter how far apart we were,”

Alani’s chest stirs at the sweet gesture, wishing suddenly that she had a face to put to the lovely woman in her mind. 

“I really like that,” she comments, studying the petals and intricate details. 

Harry glances over at the girl sitting in his passenger seat and thinks that he’d very much like for his mom to meet her someday, though under the right circumstances. He lifts their joined hands up to his lips and presses a soft kiss to her knuckles. 

********

As they pull into the studio, Alani immediately takes note of a giant white tarp hanging from the roof on one side of the building. 

“What’s that for?” she asks curiously, stepping out of the car. 

Harry offers his hand and motions for her to follow him inside. “It’s for the movie,”

“We’re watching a movie?”

“Yeah,” he smiles sheepishly. “Hope that’s okay,”

“It’s perfect,” Alani reassures him with a squeeze of his forearm. 

“I had the food delivered, too. Figured we could eat while we watch,”

When Harry unlocks the door, the unmistakable scent of Alani’s favorite Italian restaurant lingers around the room. She gasps at the sight of two take-out bags from Angelo's perched on the coffee table.

“How did you…?” she trails off with her mouth hanging agape. “That’s my favorite place,”

“Ravioli with extra sauce,” Harry smirks victoriously, taking both bags and retreating back to the door. He sends a telepathic “thank you” message to Pua for the suggestion. 

“Who told you?”

“A good journalist never reveals his source, you should know that,”

“Oh, I wasn’t aware that we were switching professions,” Alani follows with her eyes narrowed warily.

“But don’t expect me to serenade you or anything,”

Harry chuckles and places their meals in the back seat before opening Alani’s door for her. “Not even a little tune?”

“Maybe the alphabet song if you’re lucky,”

“I’ll take it,”

“Actually,” she snaps, settling into the passenger seat as she recalls one of his songs that Pua’s friends had introduced her to. “Maybe I do have a little something for you,”

Harry’s brows shoot up eagerly. “Well let’s hear it,”

Alani clears her throat and tries to wipe the mischievous grin from her lips, but the enthusiasm behind her date’s eyes makes it difficult to execute the joke. 

“Close your eyes, please,” 

“Why?” Harry laughs softly, a mixture of tenderness and amusement settling on his features. 

“I can’t do it with you looking at me,” Alani whines. “Just close ‘em!”

“Okay, okay, they’re closed,”

“No peeking,”

“Yeah, yeah,”

Alani takes a deep breath and tries to remember the tune that had been stuck in her head all afternoon.

“So tell me girl if every time we tou-ou-ouch, you get this kind of ru-u-ush,”

Harry’s eyes fly open and she can hardly contain her laughter, but she continues despite his interjections. 

“What’re you—?”

“If you don’t wanna take it slow and you just wanna take me home—”

“Is that—?”

“Baby say ‘yeah, yeah, yeah,’ yeah, yeah, and let me kiss you—”

“Where did you—?”

“You’re not even listening!” Alani teases through a fit of laughter. “I’m trying to dazzle you with my angelic singing, here,”

“I’m sorry,” Harry apologizes, his voice lowered as he leans in closer. “Please, continue,”

Alani drapes her arms around his neck and sighs. “That’s all I’ve got, sorry,”

“So much for ‘not a fan,’ huh?”

“It was my sister’s friends—”

“—Sure—”

“—It’s true!” Alani sustains with a playful shove. “You should’ve seen how swoony they got over you, it was kinda cute actually,”

Harry brushes a stray eyelash from her cheek and his mouth turns up softly at the edges. “I see,”

“They were wondering if you’re a good kisser, you know, because of the song and everything,”

“And…”

“And?”

“Well what’s the verdict?”

“I don’t know,” Alani ponders shyly, feigning indecisiveness. “I think I need to refresh my memory.”

Harry head shakes gently with his lower lip caught between his wide grin. He takes a minute to lightly graze the curve of her jaw with his thumb in an effort to convince himself that he isn’t, in fact, dreaming before he connects their mouths. Alani weaves one hand into the curls at the nape of Harry’s neck while the other keeps his palm anchored securely to the side of her face. She had never known a touch so warm or soft; so intoxicating, so safe. It was like an extension of her own body—a familiarity that she had unknowingly craved all along. And with a single kiss, every remaining brick in their emotional fortresses comes crumbling down, trampled under foot like sand. If the eyes were the window to the soul, then their lips were the door: inviting, welcoming, begging the other person to stay forever and evermore. 

Their foreheads meet as they reluctantly pull apart for air; the only sound is their synchronized breathing. The sun had sunken into the sea, but twinkling lights strung across a row of palm trees leaves them in a canopy of golden light. 

“So I think it’s safe to say,” Alani begins softly. “Ten out of ten would kiss again,”

Harry’s head bobs, interlocking their fingers. “I have to agree,”

The whirring of the movie projector disrupts their thoughts and turns their attention towards the screen. Alani’s eyes widen, curious to see what film Harry has chosen for the night. 

“Forgot that I put it on a timer,” he confesses. 

“Be My Baby” by The Ronettes starts over the speakers propped next to their car and Alani immediately recognizes the intro to her all-time favorite movie. 

“Dirty Dancing?” she cries, turning to him with an elated tug on his arm. “No way!”

Harry reaches for the food behind them, but keeps an eye on her to relish in the excitement. “Yes way, had to see what all the fuss was about.”

“You won’t regret it, promise.”

Alani slips her shoes off and hugs her knees to her chest, eyes falling from the screen ahead to Harry beside her. He was constantly finding new ways to exceed her expectations, and just when she thought it couldn’t get any better, he raised the bar to unimaginable heights. She wonders what life would be like if he hadn’t stumbled into the café and imagines all the other ways that their paths would have unintentionally crossed, unaware of the bliss that could exist between them. Luckily, Alani will never have to live in a world of such ignorance, a world where Harry’s name doesn’t fall from her tongue as naturally as her own. 

********

“I would have carried that watermelon for you,”

“How romantic,” 

“And I bet we could do that lift,”

“Not a chance,” Alani giggles lightly. “Don’t get any ideas,”

Harry exhales a defeated breath, running the back of his knuckles over Alani’s legs draped across his lap.

“Why not?”

“They probably practiced that for months and had Jennifer Grey rigged up to a wire or something,”

“Nah,” Harry contests. “That’s just what they want you to think so that you don’t try and upstage the actors. Happens all the time in Hollywood,”

Alani’s head turns. “Oh really? And you would know that because…?”

“Music industry, movies, it’s all the same,”

“Sure. So what did you think of the movie? It’s okay if you didn’t love it as much as The Notebook,”

Harry’s head leans against his fist as he studies Alani’s expectant eyes, deep umber and shining in the dim light overhead. They’re the same pigment as the soil after rain and full of just as much vitality. He’d never really had a favorite color, but he suddenly wanted to own every item in exactly the same shade of brown. 

“No, you were right,” he yields. “It’s way better,”

Alani curls into Harry’s side and her cheek rests against his shoulder. “Knew you’d like it,”

“You know me well,”

“I have a question for you,” she poses lightly. 

Harry presses a kiss to her hairline before his chin settles on the crown of her head. “Shoot,”

“How did you do all of this on such short notice?”

The task hadn’t been easy; it involved multiple bribes to each of his friends, though they would have done it for free, and a top secret phone call with Pua. The projector in the studio’s shed that exclusively played DVDs nearly threw a wrench in his entire plan, but Jeff volunteered to search every store on the island for a copy of Dirty Dancing until he emerged from the fourth shop triumphantly. Harry had even hunted down the Angelo from Alani’s favorite restaurant and convinced him to make her raviolis from scratch. He wanted everything to be perfect down to the most minute detail; after all, the girl that he had planned it all for would be. 

“With a little help from my friends,” he hums in the key of The Beatles. 

“Well,” Alani sighs with a feathery kiss to his cheek. “Best first date in the history of first dates,”

“Couldn’t agree more,”

“What was your worst first date?” she pries with a curious wiggle of her brows. 

Harry lifts his head to the glittery night sky above and thinks for a moment before an unpleasant memory resurfaces and makes his nose scrunch. 

“Year ten. There was this girl I really fancied and I practically begged her all term to go out with me,” he laughs lightly. “So she agreed on the very last day of school. A friend of hers was having this party that night and she invited me to tag along. I was so nervous, but you know, things were alright. Well, she disappeared randomly in the middle of the party to go get a drink or something, and when I went to look for her, I caught her making out with some other guy,”

Alani frowns. “I’m so sorry, that’s awful,”

“It’s alright,” Harry chuckles, unaffected. “Wasn’t meant to be. What about you?”

“Probably my freshman year of college,” Alani contemplates. “I was supposed to meet up with this guy that a friend had set me up with. But he was, like, an hour late to the restaurant and didn’t even seem to notice. Then we saw some boring action movie with exploding cars and he was texting on his phone the whole time. I left the theater to ‘go to the bathroom’ and never went back,”

Harry smirks. “Good for you! Sounds like a prick,”

“I honestly don’t know how he didn’t see it coming, I took the bag of popcorn with me,”

“Well it all worked out in my favor, so maybe I should say cheers to the poor sucker,”

Alani raises her bottle of cherry coke to the night sky. “Cheers to terrible first dates!”

“Maybe don’t say that so loud,” Harry suggests with a small laugh. “People might get the wrong idea,”

“Cheers to terrible first dates and this most excellent one!” she corrects. 

“Cheers!”

“I feel like there should be some big musical number and end credits now,”

Harry glances over with a peculiar look in the corner of his eye. “I have an idea,”

“What is it?” Alani questions skeptically. 

“Two words: the lift,”

“No!”

“Come on! Please?”

“You’re gonna hurt yourself. Or me,”

“I won’t,” Harry promises with puppy dog eyes. “Pretty please?”

Alani mulls it over, unable to ignore the kiss that he peppers to her shoulder. “Fine.”

********

“Just bend your needs and jump. I’ll catch you!”

Alani’s toes dig into the sand and her fists clench. Eight feet away at the opposite end of the beach, Harry stands with his arms open and back tall. 

“I’m scared,”

“Don’t be, I’ve got you,”

She takes a deep breath through her nose and exhales out her mouth. Her feet pick up into a jog, then a sprint, and her arms fly out on Harry’s command. Alani leaps and her hands find his shoulders, but she doesn’t get enough air for him to execute the lift. His arms brace her backside as her legs tangle around his waist, but he maintains his balance.  

“See! Gotcha,”

“Did I do it?”

“No,” Harry laughs, highly amused. “But almost! Try again,”

“Harry, I don’t think this is gonna work,”

“Yes it will, love, I believe in you,”

He kisses her nose and sets her back down, running an additional eight feet back. Alani huffs, but she jogs lightly again and springs into the air. Her abdominal muscles tighten in an attempt to strengthen her balance, but she wobbles and clings to Harry with a shriek. He stumbles a few inches and lets out a belly laugh. 

“See, that was better!”

“It was not!”

“At least your legs made it in the air that time,”

“Okay,” Alani pants lightly. “You had your fun,”

“One more try,”

“Harry—”

“Just one!” he pleads. “This is gonna be the one, I can feel it,”

Alani’s eyes pinch shut, but she remembers all of the hard work and sweet gestures that Harry had poured into this date. So much thought had been given to every miniscule detail in the hopes of making it a night that she would never forget. The least she could do was humor him. 

“Okay. Let’s go,” 

“You’ve got it!” 

Her heart pounds with determination as Harry beckons her to join him at the other end. She counts down under her breath before taking off at full speed, feeling the exertion of every muscle in her body. Alani plants her feet directly under her knees and hips, shooting straight up with her arms rooted firmly on Harry’s shoulders. Her heels lift higher and higher off the ground as if they were attached to a string and anchored to the moon. In her mind, she is as graceful as Baby Houseman herself, but the reality is far less picturesque. Harry’s hand slips and he staggers backward; his arms instinctively tighten around Alani’s waist and he brings her body flush with his to break her fall. A grunt escapes his lips as his back meets the sand with a thud, but he manages to crack a smile through his pained expression. 

“Oh my God!” Alani cries, immediately sitting up. “Are you okay?” 

Harry releases a slow, shaky breath. “‘M fine,” 

“Are you hurt?”

“Just a bruised ego,” 

She brushes the curls out of his face and holds back a giggle to no avail. “I’m sorry, it’s not funny,”

“Actually,” Harry coughs, slowly regaining his composure. “It kind of is,”

“We really almost had it that time.”

“S’not as easy as it looks.”

Alani’s head meets the sand parallel to Harry’s and her hand settles on his chest. She watches the rise and fall of his breathing for a moment before her eyes trail up to his. As if the entire night hadn’t already convinced her, this very moment dispels any lingering, microscopic doubt that choosing Harry had been the right decision. It was hard to believe that less than twenty-four hours ago, Alani had no idea how he felt about her or where they stood. But now, under the full moon and shining stars, Harry looks at her as if she is the only view worth admiring and it tells her more than any word ever could.

[cpd5021]

Nightmare

Hailey struggles with a case and Jay helps her through something he's all too familiar with. Just a short, angsty drabble.

    It wasn’t a particularly bad case, certainly not the worst she’s dealt with, but the little details of the case are what got to her. The little girl they had found cowering in a closet, in a bedroom that was strikingly similar to the pink room from her childhood. The bruises they had found on her arms, matching the ones they had found littered across her brothers cold body. Even the fact that the little girl had two brothers, just like her. Hailey tasted blood when they had interviewed the father, seemingly unaffected by the crimes he was being accused of. They interrogated him for hours on end, trying to get him to break. First Adam and Kim, then Jay, and finally Hailey and Voight. The first two played the typical good cop/bad cop routine to no avail. Jay went in a little tougher, started throwing some threats around. But when Hailey accompanied Voight to the cage, hauling the man between them, that’s when things went dark. She knew she couldn’t bring personal matters into her work life, she knew that this was exactly one of those times when she had to fight to keep those lines clear. She heard when Voight said her name, gently at first and then firmly as he pulled her back, off of the man she had pinned against the wall by his neck, his face morphing between their suspect and the face of her own father. She knew when she had bolted to the bathroom afterwards, body shaking as she retched into the toilet, that she had pushed herself too far and to many lines had been blurred. 

    Now Hailey sat on her couch, feeling the numbness engulf her, and sipped on her glass of tequila. Voight had pulled her aside afterwards, asking if she was back in her right mind. She must have been convincing because he let the matter go. Adam came next, knowing enough about her history to know a case like this would get to her. She talked him down though and he left her with a warm smile, really feeling as if he had helped her feel better. But Jay was a harder one to convince and she had failed miserably. He had called her out on her bullshit, telling her that he would be over after work so they could talk it out. She wasn’t sure anything would help her at this point, but she knew it wasn’t a battle she would win so she agreed to him coming over. Hailey had come home, moving automatically through her usual post work routine, showering until the water ran cold and then pulling a bag of chips from her cupboard as a make shift dinner. She picked at the snack for a few moments before giving up and grabbing the bottle of tequila down from atop her fridge. And then she waited. 

    Jay’s knock finally came and she padded her way to the door. She considered giving him a fake smile, but she knew he would see right through it so she just stepped aside to let him in. They sat in silence on her couch, Jay pouring himself a glass of her alcohol and assessing where she was at mentally and emotionally. The tequila broke her down a little and she let Jay in to her head, just a bit. She fought back the tears, refusing to let her emotions fully run rampant. To his credit, he didn’t push her to talk past her level of comfort, but encouraged just enough that she was able to get a little off her chest. They must have talked for longer than she thought, because her next glance at the bottle between them revealed it was almost empty. She didn’t feel that drunk so she knew it had been an equal effort. She wasn’t feeling it too bad, but still wouldn’t be safe to drive and she knew Jay was in the same predicament. So, under the guise of alcohol induced bravery, she told him to stay. He agreed, motioning towards the couch but the alcohol struck again and she told him to come to bed with her. Hailey was too numb to feel any of the awkwardness she might have otherwise felt as her partner slid into bed next to her and she was too hazy from her drinking to notice how he was handling the situation. Despite her earlier protests of wanting to be alone, she found herself glad that Jay was here with her and she wasn’t alone. She’d be lying if she said his presence didn’t bring her a sense of comfort and with that, sleep. 

*******

    Jay was all too familiar with nightmares. His time in the military haunted him the worst at night and too many times to count he had woke up, drenched in sweat and fighting to ground himself from somewhere far away. But when he woke up, in a pitch black room in an unfamiliar bed, to her screams it caused his heart to stop. He sat up and quickly turned on the lamp, illuminating the room around him. His eyes found hers, still adjusting to the dim lighting and his heart broke. Hailey sat bolt upright in the bed beside him, hands clenched, hair soaked and a silent scream plastered across her face. He gently reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, leading her to scream again, followed by some whimpers. Her eyes were open but he knew she wasn’t awake.

“Hailey...” He calmly voiced her name, trying to bring her back to him. More screams. More whimpers. Her clenched hands shook in front of her, defending her from some unseen enemy. He tried again. 

“Hailey..” Louder this time, his hand going back to grip her shoulder and give her a gentle shake. That worked. Her eyes darted to meet his and he saw the absolute terror within them. He didn’t know for sure what she was seeing but he had a idea after the case they had just worked. Her breathing was rapid and uneven, her body trembled under his hand and her small cry’s became full fledged sobs. Without any hesitation, he pulled her into his arms, holding her as tight as possible and pushing her damp hair out of her face. He gently rocked them back and forth as she continued to fall apart against him. Jay felt his shirt soaking through, assuming it was her tears he glanced down, stiffening when he saw the blood. Carefully he shifted them so that she was sitting up and he could assess where the blood was coming from. He looked her over, his eyes landing on her still clenched fists and saw the blood trickling from both palms. Jay scooted himself off the bed, pulling her with him when she began to protest his absence, and led them to her bathroom. Jay flipped on the light, causing them to both blink in the assaulting brightness, and began scouring her cabinet for some bandages. He finally found what he was looking for and turned her so that she could sit on the edge of the tub, gently pushing her shoulders down when she didn’t immediately sit. Jay knelt in front of her, taking both hands in his. He rested them on her lap and then carefully unclenched one of her fists, glancing up when she whimpered with pain. 

“‘I’m sorry, but we need to get this bandaged up.” Jay tried to sooth her and she nodded in response. He wet a washcloth from the tub spout behind her and gently wiped away what blood he could, but it was coming from the holes she had gouged into her own palms with her nails to fast for him to effectively clean anything. Jay reached for the gauze he had found in her medicine cabinet and began to snugly wrap it around her hand. Once he finished the first, he moved on to her other hand, repeating the process. To his dismay, by the time he had finished the second hand her first one had bled through the bandage. 

“Hailey..” He started gently, afraid to spook her. “I think we need to go get you checked out. These are bleeding pretty bad.” 

“M’m fine.” She protested, voice hoarse from her earlier screams. 

“Hailey...look at them. They’ve already bled through.” Jay lifted her hands slightly, raising them to she could see. Hailey shook her head and he knew this would be hard to convince her. “I think Will’s on tonight. I can text him and we can do this without anyone else knowing.” With that her eyes met his, he was relieved to see that the terror had dissipated from within them, but the new darkness they held scared him.

“Fine.” She stated through gritted teeth. Jay stood then before helping her onto her feet. He debated helping her change out of her blood soaked clothes but realized it would be of no use until she was stitched up. They made their way out of the bathroom, through her room and down to the front door. Her complete silence was making him nervous but he knew better than to push her. Jay sent a quick text to Will and, as promised, when they arrived at Med twenty minutes later, they were whisked away to a private room. Jay hadn’t included all the details in his text, but enough that Will wouldn’t ask the wrong questions and set her off. His brother, thankfully, worked to keep the tone light as he worked on her hands. Jay felt the urge to comfort her when she winced from the pain of Will stitching her palms but knew this was uncharted territory for the both of them. Will made quick work of the situation and in less than an hour, they were headed back to her place. The ride home was as silent as the ride in. So far, he had only heard Hailey say a handful of things, most of which was the bare minimum in response to Will’s questioning. Once back at her place, they trudged up the stairs to her front door. Jay hesitated momentarily, unsure of whether she was wanting him to stay or not, but one look at her face and he decided he wasn’t going to leave her alone.  

    Jay watched as Hailey instantly started up her stairs upon entering the condo and he decided to follow her. They made it all the way to her room before she paused, turning to look at him for the first time. His heart broke again when he watched her chin quiver with held back emotions but she recovered enough to speak. 

“I’m going to shower.” Hailey stated, voice void of any emotions. Empty almost. 

“Okay, sounds good.” Jay gave her a nod and stepped out of the room, allowing her the privacy to get undressed. He decided to run back out to his truck so that he could grab his overnight bag and the clean clothes within it. He quickly changed out of his blood stained clothes into a t-shirt and some sweat pants before heading back up to her room. Inside, he could still hear the water running in her bathroom so he opened the bedroom door and assessed the scene before him. Her bed was destroyed, sheets tangled up, comforter hanging off the bed, pillows tossed everywhere. He could see the blood stains littering her sheets so he back tracked to her linen closest and found a fresh set. Just as he was finishing pulling the comforter back on, her bathroom door opened, sending a plume of steam into the room. He turned to face her, taking in her wet hair and bagging clothes. She looked so tiny, so broken, that all he wanted to do was pick her up and make everything better. He knew he couldn’t do that though so instead he climbed into the opposite side of the bed she had. He didn’t know if this was okay, or even what she wanted, but she didn’t protest so he stayed put. Jay leaned back against the headboard, giving her all the time she needed to be silent. 

“Thank you Jay.” Her voice was low, but he could hear the emotion she was holding back. 

“Any time.” Jay replied, darting a glance her way. Their eyes met and he watched her deliberate for a moment before she slid her body closer to his and, to his surprise, curled into his side. He wrapped a hesitant arm across her back, pulling her closer and smiled briefly when he felt her sigh into him. Jay knew she would talk to him when she was ready, but this wasn’t the time. He was glad that he could at least bring her some comfort. He waited until her breathing became slow and steady, signaling she had fallen asleep before he closed his own eyes, feeling the exhaustion kick in.  

[princecharmingmendes]

Just the Way You Are | Peter Mendes

Peter gets even more insecure about his feelings towards you, that you don’t even know about (Best Friends to Lovers).

* Hi! This is my first work ever on this site, so I’d love if you guys could give me some feedback or whatever, it would mean the world to me!

*Word count: 4.7k

*Warnings: mentions of sex, drinking, cursing, adorable Peter, and I guess that’s it!

*Posted: December 2nd, 2019.

                                                        -*-

“Y/N?” Peter asked breathlessly answering his phone.

“Are you okay?” She asked with her voice a little weird.

“Yeah, I was just editing some photos, really focused and only noticed my phone was ringing when it fell of my nightstand, so I had to run or you’d have reached voicemail”

“Sorry, I didn’t even think to text you to see if you’re awake or with someone, or studying”

“It’s okay, so, why are you calling me on a Wednesday at one a.m.?”

“I just got home from that trip I told you I was going with Jake...”

“Oh, great, how was it?” Peter sighed closing his eyes and rubbing his temple with his free hand, already hating himself for asking.

“It sucked” She said pacing around her room.

“Really? Why?”

“He was extremely selfish and rude with everyone, I just wanted to leave as fast as I could”

“Was he rude to you?”

“No, just annoying”

“That’s a little less fucked up, isn’t it?”

“Dunno, don’t care, I dumped him” She said shrugging and laying in her bad, starring at a picture of her and Peter hugging and smiling, with Shawn and Raul kneeled in front of them with the funniest expressions.

“You did what?”

“I ended whatever we had”

“Why?!”

“You didn’t seem to like him that much to care about the reason why I dumped him, I thought that you’d be thrilled”

“I didn’t, I hated him, it’s just, I... how are you dealing with it? I thought you actually liked him and stuff”

“He was... fine I guess, it’s not like he was the love of my life”

“Don’t you miss him?”

“I was with him like, two hours ago”

“You know what I meant”

“I know, I’m sorry... it’s just... is it bad that I don’t? Like, at all?”

“Of course not, just means that you did the right thing, angel... it wasn’t meant to be”

“God, I just wish I could hug you and squeezing you right now”

“It’s late, angel, you should sleep”

“I know, I’m sorry, what are you guys doing this weekend?”

“Nothing, just going to Shawn’s place, he’s getting back tomorrow night”

“Oh, that’s nice”

“Do you want to join us?”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course! They love you as much as I do, and we miss you” 

“Okay, then count me in, are you sleeping there?”

“No, I’m coming back home with Raul”

“Okay, can you give me a ride?”

“Do you want to sleep here?”

“At your house?”

“Yeah, that’s dumb, sorry, sure, I’ll give you a ride”

“No, it’s not, I’d love to crash there”

“Great, angel, see you Saturday then?” Peter asked trying to confirm that he wasn’t going completely nuts with a smile that was already hurting her cheeks.

“Yeah! That will be perfect! Thank you so much, Peter, I love you”

“I love you too, goodnight, angel”

And just like that, they both went to bed with the most idiot smiles plastered on their faces.

                                                        -*-

When Saturday arrived, Peter went to the gym to try to spend as much energy as he could, seeing her after a month is literally almost killing him. They’ve been friends since they wore diapers, the four of them to be precise. But she’s always been closer to him. He had a crush on her since he was seventeen and he hid that like it was the worst thing that had ever happened in his life. Shawn and Raul only found out last year, on Shawn’s twenty first birthday, where they saw Peter drinking more than usual because she was making out with her boyfriend at the time.

What Peter didn’t know was that she started falling for him when they’re fifteen. 

Y/N couldn’t stop thinking about seeing the triplets, especially because they’ve never been so many days apart, except for Shawn that was touring the world. But spending the last month and a half away from her best friends, specially Peter, was actually bothering her. She spent the rest of the days until Saturday counting the hours to see them. She simply couldn’t wait to hug and annoy the he’ll out of them. 

So now she’s sitting in her bed, staring at her closet, trying to figure out what to wear. A nice outfit would be good to say “I’m single but I’m so fine with my self” or “hi, missed you, I’m too intimate with you to care about how I look and I want to be comfortable”. In the end, she ended up opting for a tight tank top, some cute sweatpants and a pair of her favorite sneakers. Her hair was naturally wavy and face bare of makeup, except for mascara and lip balm. 

She grabbed her backpack with her toiletries and a few clothes to change later and headed out the building, deciding to walk to Peter’s place instead of driving, it was only a few blocks away and it was still day. She left early anyway, so since walking would take longer, she opted for that to don’t be early, since he told her to go there around seven.

Well, she was too eager and ended up early anyways. She was in the front of the building deciding if she should go upstairs or if she should wait twenty minutes til seven. When she was almost giving up and heading for the coffee on the corner, she felt someone wrapping their arms around her torso from behind and she completely froze, relaxing a bit when she heard his laugh.

“Hey, baby!” 

“Raul!” She said turning around and hugging him as tight as possible.

“What are you doing down here?”

“I got here too early, didn’t know if I was supposed to just go upstairs or wait”

“Oh, that’s bullshit, you know you can come in anytime, you even got the key”

“Yeah, whatever”

“Let’s go?”

“Sure” I said letting go of him but he never let me, so he kept his arm around my shoulders.

“Pete’s dying to see you”

“Really?” She said lightly chuckling.

“Yeah, he’s been driving me nuts”

“Oh, come on, he’s sweet”

“Of course you’d say that, you love him!”

“Hey! I really appreciate him as a friend”

“Uh sure, so you’re just gonna lie and say you don’t have a crush on my brother”

“Fuck you, Raul” I said pushing his shoulder playfully and he full on laughed getting out of the elevator.

“I’ll be right back” Raul said in the moment we stepped into his place and disappeared on the hallway to his bedroom.

I wandered around the place, seeing new pictures hanging on the wall and admiring every little detail in every single one of them, knowing that Peter probably took it and spent hours editing. Just when I grabbed on that was me and only me I heard his voice.

“Raul, who were you taking to?” Peter asked and I turned around, placing the picture on the couch and pretty much throwing myself at him, wrapping him in the tightest hug I could possibly give “hey, angel” he said surprised as heck, wrapping his arms around me just as tightly and kissing my hair multiple time, taking me off the ground.

“Hey, Pete” I said nuzzling my face on his neck, wrapping my legs around his waist.

“You’re early” he said chuckling.

“I’m sorry”

“Don’t be, I’m glad you’re here” he said kissing my temple.

“God, I missed you so much”

“I missed you too, sweetheart”

“Not as much as I did”

“I doubt that” Raul said coming from behind Peter “dude, put on some clothes at least”

That’s when she noticed that his skin was not completely dry, his hair was damp and he only had a towel wrapped around his waist. Y/N quickly let go of him and walked backwards, feeling her cheeks burn, and she was able to see Peters whole body tint pink. 

“Shit, I’m so sorry, Y/N”

“No, it’s okay, Pete, I don’t mind, go change, I’ll be here”

“I’m sorry” he said going back to his room.

“Damn, I didn’t know you were that crazy about him”

“Oh, fuck off, Raul” I said rolling my eyes “I didn’t even noticed that he was partially naked”

“Oh, but you liked the view, he is working out a lot more than he used to”

“I noticed that, he’s bigger than you”

“He is”

“What happened?”

“He’s just interested in getting built or something”

“Why?”

“Maybe a girl, I don’t know”

“Is he seeing someone?!”

“Don’t know, he doesn’t really talk about it in details”

“Oh”

“Hey, what are you guys talking about?”

“Nothing really” Raul said shrugging “when are going to go to Shawn’s?”

“I don’t know, is he home yet?”

“Probably, I’m just gonna call him to check” Peter said texting him “he said we can go now, he just asked us to go to the market first, to grab somethings”

“Fine, lemme just grab my jacket, okay?” Raul asked going back to his room.

“Sure”

“Do you want to leave you things on the guest room?”

“Guest room?”

“Yeah, we have one now”

“Nice”

“Yeah, so... do you want to leave your things there?”

“Mhm”  She mumbled and following to the room he pointed, dropping her stuff on the bed. 

“Come on, losers, let’s grab Shawn’s list and head to his house” Raul called from the front door.

“Oh, shut up, douche” She said rolling her eyes and trying to suppress a laugh.

Peter chuckled and offered his hand for her to grab, and she happily did it. 

                                                       -*-

They grabbed a lot of snacks and Shawn’s requests which were always the same since he was away for too long and had nothing on his fridge. We went straight to his condo after the little market stop by and Peter parked at his spot in his brother’s garage. When they got in the elevator she was practically bouncing of excitement to finally see Shawn, Raul couldn’t stop himself from laughing and Peter was constantly grinning at her. 

“Go, just get in and hug him” Raul said patting her back.

She quickly did what he said when the elevator doors opened and barged into his house.

“Hey, gu... Y/N?” Shawn sounded extremely surprised, but quickly ran to her and hugged her as tight as possible.

“Hey, rockstar”

“I can’t believe you’re here!”

“No one told you I was coming?”

“No! God I missed you!” Shawn said spinning her around making her laugh.

“Surprise!” Raul announced getting in with the bags “not saying hello to your big bro?”

“Hey, I had lunch with you guys yesterday, I don’t see her in ages!”

“What are the plans for today?” Peter said placing everything in place in Shawn’s kitchen, Y/N running there to help him.

“I thought we could watch something, talk, have a few drinks and maybe play some games, for old times sake”

“Count me in” Raul said.

“I’m cool with it” She said placing a hand on Peter’s shoulder.

“So am I”

“Cool, I’m ordering pizza” Shawn announced.

“Me and Pete are getting the kitchen organized”

“I’m getting the living room ready”

                                                        -*-

After they ate three whole pizzas, a movie in and a few beers down, except for Peter who’s going to drive back, they started debating which movie they should watch next. Shawn was sitting with his feet on the central table, Raul was lying on the floor. Y/N and Peter were on the same side of the “L” shaped couch, she was with a pillow on her lap and her legs on top of Peter’s lap, which he was gently caressing, but never going to far high, always the sweetest. 

“Just put on something random and let’s talk”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, Raul, Friends maybe” she said shrugging.

“Fine”

“So, Shawn, how was tour?”

“Amazing, the last leg was fantastic, everything was great, the crowd was fantastic” 

“That’s so nice, I’m so fucking proud of you” She said smiling and Shawn.

“Thank you, honey, what about you?”

“Me?”

“How was that trip?”

“Shitty, dumped him”

“Why?”

“He didn’t deserve her” Peter mumbled.

“What?” Raul asked turning around to face us.

“He was not enough, he was rude and didn’t treat her the way she deserved”

“If you say so...” Shawn said shrugging.

“Peter’s actually right, he was just... whatever”

“You’re fine?”

“Couldn’t be better” she said lying her head on Peter’s shoulder.

“That’s great” 

“You know what we should do?”

“What, Raul?” Peter asked rolling his eyes at his brother.

“Play some sort of truth or dare”

“Oh no” Y/N said chuckling.

“What do you me by ‘some sort of’?”

“We can just ask questions, like, spin something and ask something, if the person doesn’t want to answer, the person needs to do a dare”

“Okay, that seems innocent enough” Shawn said chuckling.

“Guys, are we twelve or something?” Peter asked playing with his fingers, clearly nervous. 

“Why? Scared?”

“Fuck off, Raul”.

“Are you in?”

“Yeah, whatever” Peter said sighing and she grabbed his hand.

“We don’t have to if you don’t want it”

“No, it’s okay, angel, I’ll do it” Peter said kissing my knuckles.

“Fine, everybody on the floor!” Raul said downing his beer bottle and everybody settled down on the fluffy rug.

“Okay, I’m spinning” Shawn said grabbing the bottle from Raul’s hand and spinning it, the edge pointing to me.

“Okay, you’re gonna ask a question and the three of us are going to answer, if we choose not to, we have to do something, you can propose a dare”

“Cool, who was your worst kiss?”

“Just like that, huh?” Raul asked grinning at her.

“Sure!”

“Mine was with that nurse I dated for two weeks” Raul said.

“Five days, Raul, mine was my ex”

“But you guys were together for a few months, Pete!”

“I know, I liked her, we just didn’t fit”

“Well, mine was my first, awful experience”

“Okay, great, I’m spinning now?”

“Yep!”

So she did and it was Shawn’s turn.

“What was the worst thing you’ve ever done in school?”

“Uuuh, that’s easy, I purposely blowed up the chemistry class so I could go home early to watch a game without ditching”

“I thought you were going to say you burned someone”

“Hey, Y/N, I’m not that bad”

“Whatever, Raul, the worst thing I’ve ever done? Oh, I went on a date with that substitute teacher and the next day we made out on the library, and then I never saw him again, Mr. Harrison was back”

“I can’t believe it! You were like seventeen!” Shawn sounded extremely shocked.

“He was twenty something at the time, not so old, okay? What about you, Pete?”

“Me? I... o helped someone cheat on a test or something”

“Really? I didn’t think you did that” Raul said with his brow arched.

“Well, it was a one time thing”

“That makes a little more sense” Shawn said spinning.

“Peter!”

“Hmm... when was the last time you guys actually liked someone, as in, really like?”

“Last year”

“Two years ago”

“What about you, angel?”

“Me? I don’t, maybe now?”

“Now?!”

“That’s another question, Peter” She said chuckling, making him blush.

“Yeah, right, sorry” he said spinning the bottle.

“Finally! Okay, where was the craziest place you guys did it? And I’d say something like Eiffel Tower I’ll literally murder you, Shawn” Raul said making all of them laugh.

“The jet” Shawn said shrugging.

“On the hood of my ex’s car”

“Holy crap, really? Where?”

“And the end of a cliff we used to hang out at, it was always very empty” she said playing with the throw pillow on her lap.

“That’s nice” Raul said smirking.

“Fuck off”

“And you, Peter?” Shawn asked.

“The end of the bed, I guess” he said lowly and sighing, feeling a hand being placed on his thigh, seeing her fingers lightly caressing the area. 

“Why don’t we play a little bit of Mario kart?”

“Why? This is nice!” Raul said crossing his arms.

“What? Are you afraid to loose for a little girl?”

“Never, let’s play, baby!”

“Fine, will go find the remotes, come help me, Raul” Shawn said getting up.

“Why me?”

“Because you’re a looser”

“Fuck you” he said getting up and pushing Shawn into the hallway.

“Thanks” Peter mumbled under his breath.

“For what?”

“For getting me out of that situation” he almost whispered.

“Hey, of course, you don’t have to thank me, Pete, I’ll always have your back” she said grabbing his hand.

“Thank you” he said kissing the back of her hand “can I ask you something?”

“Sure, shoot”

“Who do you like?”

“We’re not playing the game anymore”

“I know, I just thought that there were no secrets between us, Angel”

“There aren’t, it’s just that it’s nothing serious, he doesn’t even know yet, and I don’t know if I want this to become a thing so yeah, anyway, I’m sorry, I promise I will tell you if I change my mind about him”

“Okay” he said kissing her forehead and she smiled at him.

“Found them!” Shawn said coming back to the room.

“Great” She said getting up and sitting on the couch “ready to loose, Raul?”

“I’m not loosing”

“Yeah, you are” Peter said climbing on the couch as well.

And so they spent their night like that, between teasing, laughing, eating junk food and just spending some precious time together, which has become more rare with their schedules. Around two in the morning Peter decide it’s time to get back home and leave Shawn to rest, so the three of them go back to the boys’ apartment. Raul went straight to his room, not before kissing the top of your head goodnight, and probably fell asleep pretty quickly.

Peter did the same thing, but went to the guest room with her to wish her goodnight and kiss her forehead one more time, before going back to his room. She couldn’t sleep well that night, feeling a little weird towards Peter, he got all weird after the game and wouldn’t talk to her. But what she didn’t know, is that he couldn’t either. He spent the whole night rolling on his bed, thinking how pathetic he was and how she would never fall for him if he was still like that. 

                                                        -*-

One week. That’s how long Peter’s been acting weird. He suddenly attended parties in the middle of the week, wasn’t wearing his glasses, and had a date every single night, but still trying to make time for Y/N by meeting her for lunch. Raul noticed the difference as well and actually asked him what was that all about, but he only got a “there’s nothing different, I just never told you guys about it” as an answer and that only triggered Y/N more. Since when was he lying to her?!

On the next weekend she went to the boy’s house without texting any of them. It’s not something that she had ever done before, but still, it felt weird. So there she was, in front of their apartment door, considering knocking or just barging in. So she just grabbed her key and got in, not seeing any sign of the guys there. She made herself at home, dropping her bag at the couch and went straight to Peter’s room, not finding him there. So Y/N just sat at his bed and waited until he got home, but she ended up falling asleep.

When Peter got home, after going out with another girl just to impress her or forget her, whatever happened first, he could swear his heart melted. She was sprawled on his bed, cuddling the hoodie he left there and curled into herself. He quickly grabbed a blanket and placed over her, leaving his things on his room and heading for the kitchen to make them both something to eat. Deciding to ditch the party he didn’t even wanted to go to be with her.

“Hey?” Her voice sounded soft from behind him.

Peter turned around to see her actually wearing his hoodie and with her hair in a messy bun. 

“Hey, you’re up”

“Yeah, I didn’t even know I fell asleep, sorry”

“Hey, it’s okay, you know I love having you here, everything’s okay?”

“With me? Yes, what are you doing?”

“Pasta, for us, Raul’s at the hospital and he’s not coming back today”

“Oh, sorry to bother your Saturday’s plans”

“It’s okay, you’ll always come first, so, what brought you here?”

“You”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you, Peter, we need to talk, can we?”

“Of course, just let me do something about dinner” he said tiding up the kitchen “wanna sit on the couch?”

“Okay” she said turning around and sitting there with her legs crossed, he sat on the same couch, turning to face her.

“What’s wrong, angel?”

“You are all wrong”

“Me?! What’s wrong with me?”

“What’s wrong with you? In one day you changed completely, started partying on week days, having several dates in 24 hours, ditching classes, not wearing your glasses, you even got your ears pierced”

“That’s me!”

“That’s not you! And really, if that’s what you want to be, fine, I don’t care, I love you, but everything happened so fast and I never thought you would be someone like this”

“Like what? Actually nice? Actually interesting? Someone girls would want?”

“No!”

“No what? What’s wrong with me being lime this? I’m not boring old nerd, I’m actually someone desired and cool, can’t you see it?”

“See what?”

“That like this I’m not invisible anymore, people actually want to be around me, they see me the same way people see Shawn and Raul, I’m not there shadow anymore”

“Pete...”

“No, Y/N, that’s the first time you actually noticed me? Even my best friend didn’t see me, Shawn is the popstar, Raul is the bad boy with a golden heart, and me? Well, I know how to use a camera and can’t say ‘no’ to anyone, wow, the best triplet”

“Pet...”

“People would only talk to me to get to one of them, maybe even Aaliyah”

“P...”

“And to add to the whole equation, I’m not enough for you. I’m not cool enough, I’m not hot enough, I’m not the kind of guy the would be brave enough to have sex with you on the hood of my car in the middle of nowhere, I’m not the guy that parties all night and wear cool clothes, or has a bunch of tattoos and lots of ex girlfriends, or am the best kisser, or the most talented or...”

“Peter, shut up!” She said watching the guy in front of her almost pull all of his hair out.

“I’m sorry, you don’t need to hear this, I’m just...”

“You’re perfect!”

“I’m what?”

“You’re perfect, Peter”

“No, I’m...”

“Hey hey hey, you talked too much already, lemme speak a little, okay?” She asked grabbing his hands while he nodded “yeah, you’re not the ‘coolest’ triplet or whatever, but you’re equally talented and hot, you might not be a bad boy who would fuck me on the fucking top of the Eiffel Tower, or the one that would take me to hundreds of parties, or wear leather jackets, or date a bunch of people” with that Peter lowered his head but she wouldn’t have it, so she cupped his face with both hand, kneeling in front of him “but you’re my Peter, the guy who would light up the whole place with candles and dance around the apartment with me, who would take me to an art exposition and tell me everything about the guys technique, who wears the coziest hoodies and the sweetest glasses, who dates only a few girls, but makes them feel like they are the only one in the world, you’re my person, Peter, you’re the guy I’ve fallen in love since I am fifteen years old and tried to forget all the time cause you’re my best friend and I didn’t want to ruin it, okay? I love you, just the way you are, Pete, don’t you dare change yourself to please somebody else”

“You love me? Like that?” He asked with wide eyes.

“I love you, just like that”

“Oh my God, are you for real?”

“One hundred percent” she said giggling and kissing the tip of his nose.

“I love you too, so so so much” he said placing his hands carefully on her sides.

“Good, now promise me one thing” she said leaning forward.

“Anything”

“Don’t ever lie to me again, if you feel insecure again, talk to me, okay? I’ll always love and support you, no matter what” she said mere inches way from his face.

“Okay, angel, I promise”

“Great, now can I kiss you or not?” She asked with a smug grin on her face that was quickly erased by his lips colliding with hers in the sweetest kiss she’s ever had.

Peter wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him, making her fall on his lap, straddling his body. She ran her hand through his curls, tugging lightly making him groan slightly, and a little after that, she felt his tongue on her lower lip making her part her lips almost instantaneously, deepening the kiss.

They spent a while just lazily making out on the couch, curious hands discovering each other’s bodies in ways they’ve never done before. After a while they parted just slightly, to recover the breaths and he rested his forehead on hers, panting a bit. They both had the most stupid smiles plastered on their faces. 

“Angel?”

“Hm?”

“Do you want to go on a date with me? Let’s say, tomorrow at lunch?”

“I’d love to... Pete?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I sleep here tonight?”

“Of course you can!”

“But like... with you? And maybe cuddle?”

“Yes, yes you can”

“Okay” she said pecking his lips and getting up, receiving a whine from him”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m starving, I want the pasta you promised me!”

“Fine, but then I’m not letting you go, this still feels too much like a dream to me”

“Seems fair” she said chuckling and offering him her hand, which he gladly took.

“Let me finish our food”

And with that, he was back at cooking, bur eventually taking breaks to peck her lips softly. They ate in front of the tv, watching a random romcom and making fun of it. After that, they cleaned everything up and headed for his room, in which he changed into a pair of sweatpants and she took her jeans off, deciding to sleep only in his hoodie (and he wasn't complaining about it). They lied down together and immediately tangled themselves and started to talk about everything and anything until they fell asleep, which she did first, giving Peter some time to admire her and let the facts that happened that night sink in.

He never felt happier, and neither did she.

                                                        -*-

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” They both sat up extremely quickly to the sound of someone shouting at the end of the bed “why were you barely dressed on top of him?” Raul asked in a normal tone this time, but still sounding like he saw a three headed unicorn.

“We got our shit together yesterday and I guess we are together now” She said simply, laying back on Peter’s bed.

“Are you two together for real?”

“Yeah, Raul, now can you just leave? We went late to bed and I’m tired” Peter said laying back and pulling Y/N to lay on his chest.

“Okay, okay, sorry, guess I’ll see you at lunch?”

“We’re going out on a date, but maybe later, now leave” Peter said playing with Y/N’s hair.

“I can’t believe it, I have to call Shawn” Raul said leaving the room.

“Well, I didn’t want you to wake up like that” Peter mumbled kissing her forehead.

“It’s okay, waking up with you beside has always been the best, but now is even better” 

“I’m sorry”

“It’s okay, if we go back to sleep and wake up later we can pretend this never happened”

“That’s an amazing idea, Angel” Peter said kissing her hair softly and going back to playing with her hair.

“I love you” she whispered lightly before going back to sleep.

“I love you too, Y/N”

                                                         -*-

*I have a few more projects planned and a few that are almost done.

*Please reblog or like this post if you liked it so I’ll know if I’m supposed to keep posting or something like that.

*I’m sorry if there are any spelling mistakes.

*Please do not repost this without giving me the credit, this is a completely original piece and I do not give permission to copy this.

*Guess that’s it, hope you guys enjoy it! 

*xoxo*

-🌙

[ijustwanttoexist]

An Almost First Date

This is a sequel to LIJAWITP, just a small little something I wanted to do because I haven’t written in a while and I thought it would be cute in a “I like to make my muses suffer” kind of way.

Also, I have a ko-fi. If you like my writing, please consider sending a bit of financial support my way.

Pairing(s): Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin

Warning(s): Geno gets food poisoning in this, descriptions of throwing up past the break

Their first date is almost tragically bad. Geno imagines he’s in a movie as it happens, because in what other universe except one taking place on film would so many almost comically bad things in confluence.

It takes them nearly a month to make it happen. Sidney has playoffs, and spring is--for some reason--the time of year when people start getting dogs en mass so they’re both stupid busy.

They talk on the phone when they can. They text back and forth throughout the day, and have a few actual phone conversations, but they can never seem to get their schedules to match up for any meaningful time together in person.

The day of the date starts poorly. Geno’s phone charger had apparently died in the night and had taken his phone’s battery charge with it, so his alarm hadn’t gone off. He was two hours late two work, because he’d had to stop at an electronics store to get a replacement charger.

He’d apologized profusely to Angela, but she’d said it was no big deal. She’d looked a little wild-eyed from dealing with pretentious and asshole customers though, so Geno had given her a two hour lunch.

Geno doesn’t know how it happened, but he gets food poisoning at lunch. It’s a place he goes to quite often, and he’s never had any problems with them before, but about a half hour after he eats his lunch it’s making a disgusting return in the employee bathroom.

Angela tries to convince him to go home early, but he refuses to do that to her. She has her own schedule and her own life outside of work, and he refuses to let her take on extra hours when she’s already had a hectic day thanks to him. He sends her home on time, and makes it through most of the last few hours feeling gross and kinda sweaty and nauseous enough that moving too fast makes him gag.

He closes up a whole hour early after he gives all the animals their food and ensures their environments are clean and any bathroom breaks have been taken care of.

He takes some pepto and takes a nap when he gets home, because he still feels tragically awful. He feels better enough when his alarm goes off that he feels perfectly fine not informing Sidney of his early mishap and continuing on a date he’s pretty desperate to actually have happen.

His good slacks don’t fit anymore, is the problem. He hasn’t really gained weight, but he has lost some muscle mass since he doesn’t really work out a lot anymore, and the pants hang off him pathetically. Two of his remaining pairs of slacks smell slightly musty from being left to hang in his closet for who knows how long, and somehow his third pair has a large, dark stain around the crotch.

He goes with the good slacks, and hopes he doesn’t look like a child playing dress up in his dad’s clothes.

And when he goes for a button up, he realizes that he’s got two clean ones, having meant to do laundry for the past week and never quite getting to it. His choices are an off-white one with slightly grey pit stains or a pea-green one that he’s sure will make his slightly sick looking complexion even more washed out.

He settles for a baby blue polo and hopes Sidney doesn’t mind that he’s not dressed super formal.

He thanks his lucky stars that his dress shoes are still in good condition and still fit him.

Geno puts on his fanciest watch, and swears when he looks at it. Is it really that late? He checks his phone and swears again, because it is that late. Even with his usual speeding habit, there’s a good chance he’s going to be late.

He sends a text to Sidney letting him know, then jumps in his car. And gets pulled over for doing ten over. He tries to sweet talk his way out of a ticket, or at least get the man to write faster than his mother types, but by the time he gets to the restaurant he’s a full half hour late.

He has five glorious minutes of peace and quiet. The waitress kindly leads him to a semi-isolated table in the back. Sidney looks bored and a little put out in the moment before he lifts his eyes and sees Geno approaching, and then his face lights up and Geno can forgive the frankly awful beard when it surrounds a smile that beautiful and sweet.

He gives Geno an appreciative up and down look, and Geno preens.

Sidney stands as he approaches and pulls him into a hug, which Geno returns happily. He just wants to stand there in the arms of this wonderful man and never leave, but they’re in public and the waitress is still standing close by--presumably to get Geno’s drink order--so the hug is just shy of perfunctory and then they’re both sitting.

Geno gets water, and then they’re left alone. Geno finds what he wants, and when he looks up Sidney is watching him with a soft smile on his face. Geno reaches a hesitant hand across the table to him and Sidney takes it and laces their fingers. It makes Geno’s chest feel fit to burst with happiness.

And then someone passes the table with a tray of plates full of steaming food. The smell of food wafts over to their table and Geno can feel himself go green as he breaks out in a light sweat.

“Be right back,” Geno says, and nearly jumps to his feet. He walks as fast as he can without seeming frantic to the nearest bathroom, then locks himself in the first open stall to dry heave until he pukes bile.

At this point he can tell that he’s sweated through his shirt and his hair is soaked. He’s sure the only color in his face right now is grey.

He must be in the bathroom for longer than he thinks because he hears someone enter the bathroom and then a tentative, “Geno?”

Geno groans, partly because he feels like shit, and partly because he can’t believe he’s ruined their first and long awaited date because he ate some bad chicken. He kind of wants to curl into a ball and die.

“Yeah, Sid,” Geno asks from his stall, and he knows he sounds rough. He hears Sidney walk over to his stall, and reaches behind him to undo the latch on the door.

“Oh, buddy,” Sidney says, and then he feels a hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles, “Why didn’t you tell me you were feeling bad?”

“Wanted...” Geno gives a shallow burp-gag, and spits more bile into the toilet, “was so excited for date with you. Knew you were excited too. Didn’t want to disappoint you.”

Sidney is silent for a moment, still rubbing gently at his back.

“How about,” he said slowly, “you head home--“ Geno groaned in protest. “Hold on, G, let me finish.

“You head home, and get into something comfortable, and I’ll meet you there.”

“No fun when I’m sick,” Geno said sadly.

“Look, whether we go to some big fancy restaurant, or go to a movie, or we stay in and watch Netflix and cuddle on the couch, I just want to spend time with you.”

“Me too.”

Geno stands with help and washes his face with a damp paper towel. Sidney guides him to the front, and apologizes profusely to the waitstaff. And then Geno is deposited into his car with the promise that Sidney will be over soon.

Geno drives carefully home, afraid that if he doesn’t he’ll throw up in his car. He leaves a trail of clothes to his bedroom, then puts on his most comfortable sweats and a t-shirt. He grabs a heat patch from the box in his bathroom because all that heaving has left his back twinging, and then drags his duvet from his bed to his couch.

Sidney shows up twenty minutes later with takeout chicken noodle soup, in beautifully tailored jeans and a soft looking cardigan. Once they’ve both eaten, Sidney lays lengthwise on the couch and pulls Geno until he’s laying mostly on him, practically swaddled in his blanket. Sidney sets an alarm on his phone for the morning, presses play on some boring documentary sure to put Geno to sleep, and then runs his fingers through Geno’s hair.

“Sorry I ruin our date,” Geno says as he begins to drift off.

“This is still good,” Sidney assures him. Geno falls asleep with a small smile on his face.

[cyberphuck]

"You are not going," Mika growled, "looking like that."

I resisted the urge to look down at myself; I wasn't going to give Mika the satisfaction. "There's nothing wrong with the way I look."

"There's a hundred things wrong with it, but I only have time to do damage control." Mika waved an impatient hand at me. "Go wash your face while I look through this pathetic mound of last year's rags you call a wardrobe."

Perched on the edge of my bed, Adrian said, "I think she looks okay."

"I did not ask your opinion, and please never make any sort of noise in my earshot ever again," Mika said, digging in my closet and throwing clothes over his shoulder. "What is he doing here, anyway?"

"Dropping off your TV dinners." I was standing in the bathroom, looking at myself in the mirror over the sink. Maybe my eyeliner was a little smudged, but who does perfect wings every time?

"I hope they're better than last time, I could hardly gag them down. Day old pig's blood and salt, eugh. Oh, Ash, tell me these aren't all the shoes you have."

"It's a lamb's blood base," Adrian offered. "I'd heard that's what they're drinking at bars these days, and we had some laying around. I filled it out with a couple of vitamin supplements, I didn't think it would affect the taste too much."

"Oh, aren't you a love," Mika cooed, then, "I did tell you to shut up, didn't I?" He glanced over toward me, then did a double-take. "Ash, Ashley, for god's sake I told you to wash your face, not sand it off!" He stomped over to me and snatched the damp washcloth out of my hand. "What are you using? No, this's got alcohol in it, no wonder your skin always looks like shit. I told you to get micellar water, why didn't you listen?"

"Because I don't know what micellar water is, and this stuff has always worked fine," I shrugged.

"You are going," Mika said, "to a vamp nursery. This isn't some half-and-half bar, it's one of those vampires-only places where you won't be welcome unless you've got fangs, or are looking to try some on. And no one is going to want to come near you if you look like a four-dollar whore."

"Yesterday it was two dollars," I said, drying my face on a hand towel.

"Inflation," Mika snapped. "Go and sit down. I'm going to have to do this all myself and hope I can get you good enough to pass."

"This is for a work thing, then," Adrian said, watching us. "What's a vamp nursery?"

I sat down at my dressing table. "It's where you go if you want someone to Turn you and mentor you for a year or two so you can be the best little fanglet you can be. Most of them are monitored by the Order, they have to provide all kinds of paperwork to show that people are going in there of their own free will and not because they've been coerced or something."

"Or Glamoured, right?" Adrian asked.

"Turns out vampires can't actually do that," I said, smiling.

"No, we can't." Mika emerged from the bathroom, armed with moisturizer, a curling iron, and three different bottles of hair product, one of which I couldn't remember actually buying. "We just have a lot of practice in getting what we want."

"Anyway, most nurseries are hard to get into. Vampires are pretty choosy about who they wanna recruit to their army of the undead, and on top of that you have to do things like pass a credit check and have references from other vamps. The process takes ages, and sometimes you'll eventually get rejected for getting too old."

Adrian arched an eyebrow at Mika. "What's the cutoff age?"

"It varies," Mika said, tipping my chin up and frowning at me before turning to upend my makeup bag onto my dressing table. "The Order gets rather stakey if you turn someone under eighteen, of course, and here in the States the dewey-faced youngster look isn't fashionable. Most nurseries on this side of the Atlantic think twenty-four is a good balance between fresh enough to last and mature enough not to get carded at clubs. If you take good care of yourself, you might scrape twenty-eight. Once you turn thirty, though, kiss your chance at immortality goodbye."

"How old were you when you were Turned?" Adrian asks.

"If you don't want to look like a crone by the time you're forty, you're going to have to start using moisturizer with sunscreen in it," Mika says, squirting a dollop of lotion into his palm. "It's bad enough already that you smoke like a chimney. You know it yellows your teeth, right?" "I use that whitening toothpaste," I shrugged. "Besides, I've seen vampires smoke before. I know they don't actually inhale, but it's an aesthetic thing, right?" Mika leaned forward to smear lotion on my cheeks. His fingers were smooth and cool, but not cold-- like a doctor's, clean and sort of impersonal, if someone's hands could feel impersonal. "Have you ever seen a vamp buy a pack of cigarettes?" "...No," I admitted after a moment. "Vampires know, better than anyone else, that fads come and go. It isn't the forties anymore, smoking isn't as cool as it used to be. It had a little resurgence around the end of the century, but it's falling out of favor again." "If I were a vampire," Adrian said slowly, "I don't think I'd want to let myself become addicted to anything." I watched Mika's lashes dip as he tossed a sidelong glance at Adrian, but said nothing as he dipped his fingers into a tub of raspberry lip gloss. "I mean, I don't know if vamps feel the affects of chemicals like humans do," Adrian went on. "But I can't imagine that a vampire would want to give up control to someone else." I look at Mika, who's pretending to be enthralled with sharpening an eyebrow pencil. "Well?" He doesn't look up. "Well, what?" "Do you know any vampire addicts?" "Not personally." It was a brutally short answer, for him. "I've never had a vamp come into the shop, either," Adrian said, then, in an attempt to dispel some of the tension, "maybe they're just smarter than us mortals." Mika snorted. "Of course we are. Wisdom of experience. On the other hand, mortals prove themselves useful once in a while. Bb cream, for instance. Lovely stuff. Hides a multitude of sins." Adrian's eyebrows knit. "What is a bb cream?" "Some kind of hyper-expensive goop that Mika forced me to buy while piling on insults about how horrible my skin looks," I smiled. "You don't take care of it, and someone has to be honest with you, darling," Mika cooed. "Look at this-- you haven't even opened it. I had the lovely ladies at the cosmetics counter color-match it for you and everything." "I, uh, didn't want to waste it?" I try. "Of course not, and that's why I'm here re-making your face so you won't frighten our quarry away. What happened to that setting powder? I know you had some. Ah. Here it is. And the concealer, to cover up those dark circles, you look like Bela Lugosi and believe me, the vamps at the nursery will not appreciate the reference." "Oh yeah, the shady nursery," Adrian said. I try to look at him, but Mika seizes my chin in his hand and jerks my face forward again. "The word around town was that if you wanted to get Turned, but you couldn't afford the fees or couldn't wait for your application to go through, you could go to this other place, a sort of under-the-table thing. Throw some money their way and they'd Turn you on the cheap, no lines, no waiting. They still won't let ugly people in, though." "So, discount vamp emporium. Is that illegal?" "There are rules about Turning because Turning people without rules results in a lot of young vampires who don't follow the law," Mika said, uncapping a liquid eyeliner pen. "The Order could go back to the stake-and-holy-water days, but it's just easier and more cost-effective if everyone behaves themselves. In a regular nursery, an elder vampire mentors you for two years after you're Turned. Sometimes longer. They want to make sure you know what you're doing before they kick you out into the world. That's why the waitlists are so long, and that's why the application process is so strict-- no one wants to waste their time with a vampire who isn't going to be exceptional." "Smells a little like fascism," Adrian said doubtfully. "Oh, don't worry. It's much shallower than that." "Gosh, what a relief," Adrian muttered. "So they want you to stop this cheap place because it's turning out substandard undead?" "It isn't turning out anyone at all," I said, trying not to flinch as Mika lined my eyes. "Plenty of people go in, but no one comes out." "So you're worried it's more dairy farm than nursery," Adrian guessed. Mika tossed the eyeliner back onto the dressing table with a clatter. "Or a slaughterhouse.” ((I am aware that Mika wouldn't have to use moisturizer and bb cream, since bbs usually have moisturizer and sometimes sunscreen in them already. But I forgot while I was writing it.))