#For all that I’m angsting about my parents potential divorce

[herawell]

.

[fishyartist]

Tumblrina 2 me btw. Would ride up and say some shit like “I’m not trans but I believe in their beliefs” or maybe say some shit about leaving to “steal some shoelaces” then kicking Joe Biden in the sack or something

[bellaireland1981]

Starting Over | 8

Summary: You come home to work to find your husband of three years in bed with your supposed best friend. It’s the wake up call you finally needed to take your two year old daughter and get the hell out of Texas. With nowhere to go you head to your big brother in San Diego. The sagger squad takes you under their wings, and shows you what having a family means. You get a fresh start… will you find your happily ever after?

Characters: Jake “hangman” Seresin x Sister! Reader, Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Seresin! Reader (Eventually), Hangman x Phoenix , Adorable OC Gracie!   The Dagger squad

Word Count: 10,161

Warnings: Angst, fighting, cheating husband, emotional abuse, eventual fluff, smut in later chapters, Sweet uncle Jake, Adorable Rooster with a toddler… if I miss any please let me know.

A/N: I don’t own the characters or storyline for Top Gun Maverick. All OC’s are mine. I DO NOT GIVE PERMISSION FOR ANYONE TO COPY OR REPOST MY WORK TO ANY OTHER PLATFORM! DON’T STEAL! Reblogs, likes and comments ALWAYS welcomed. THANK YOU @waywardodysseys​ and  @beyondthesefourwalls​ as always for reading over my work and helping me flush out ideas!!

Taglist is open! If I missed anyone who asked to be tagged, please fill out this GOOGLE FORM  to be added. It’s getting to hard to keep track of asks.

CH 1  CH 2  CH 3  Ch 4  Ch 5  Ch 6  Ch 7 

The weekend flew by, with a much needed beach day with the whole squad on Saturday and a relaxing day spent at the house on Sunday. With Trent in jail without the ability to be released on a bond this time, you finally felt like you were able to breathe for the first time since everything started.

Jake decided to still keep his leave time, using it as an opportunity to help you with Gracie so you could start to look into daycares and meet with Penny to figure out hours for the job she’d offered. He was also making you go to UCSD to meet with an admissions representative to look into masters programs for degrees you REALLY wanted and not just something you were forced into. It felt like your life was finally falling into place and everything was going so well… you were almost afraid to trust it.

Tuesday afternoon your lawyer called to let you know that Trent’s hearing was set for the following week. Since the divorce hearing would also be next Tuesday, it appeared as if everything could potentially be over by next week, or at least closer to being over. She reassured you that with this being the second time that he violated the order of protection he would definitely be looking at jail time, just as the officers had said on Friday. She also said that she’d be surprised if he didn’t go ahead and sign off on the divorce and parental rights ahead of the other hearing as his lawyer would most likely advise it. You doubted that though since Trent rarely did anything anyone advised him to do.

“Tulip, I’m going to take Princess G to the park then to get some ice cream.” Jake said, bringing Gracie into the living room after her nap. “I think Nix is going to try to meet us there. Take some time for yourself this afternoon. Enjoy ‘you’ time.”

“I don’t even know what to do with ‘me’ time.” You laughed.

“Exactly the point.” He said, “Maybe go get your toes painted or whatever girls do. Or go drive to UCSD, or go shopping… get your hair done… just… something that is 100% for YOU Tulip.”

“Ok.” You said, giving in, knowing Jake wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer anyway.

“And do not even THINK about dinner tonight.” He added, “Phoenix and I are stealing this one tonight. Bradley will be coming to get you after he’s off to take you to dinner.”

“I guess you have it all figured out then, huh?” You laughed. “Thank you, Jakey. I love you… and I’m lucky to have you for my big brother.”

“I love you too, Tulip.” He replied. “Alright, Princess G… ready to go to the park? Nix is gonna meet us there!”

“Yes Pwease.” She replied, still sleepily, “Mommy, you go too?”

“No, baby.” you replied, smiling, “You get to have Uncle Jakey all to yourself. Mommy will see you later.”

“Tomorrow morning.” Jake corrected, “We’re going to have a sleepover with Aunty Nix and build forts and watch movies and eat pizza. No mommies allowed.”

“Why no mommies, Unco Jakey?” Gracie asked, looking concerned.

“Because then we couldn’t stay up past bedtime and eat junk food and watch movies IN the fort.” He explained in an exaggerated whisper.

“Otay” She whispered back loudly, “Sowy Mommy!”

“It’s ok, Baby.” You laughed, “You have fun with Uncle Jakey and Aunty Nix.”

“Pack an overnight  bag before Bradley picks you up for dinner, Tulip.” Jake said, winking at you.

“Daddy Woosta?” Gracie asked, “I see him too!”

“DADDY Rooster?” Jake asked, smiling widely and looking at you with eyebrows raised.

“She started calling him that Friday night after everything happened…” You explained, “Bradley melted… I didn’t see a problem…”

“I like it.” Jake said, “I approve, just so you know.”

“How about we stop over after dinner to check on the fort building, Baby Girl?” You suggested.

“Yes!” She said, excited, “I wuv him. We call him?”

“Princess G, Daddy Rooster is flying in his plane right now. Mommy will make sure he comes to see you later, ok?” Jake suggested..

“Otay!” She agreed, “We go park now?”

“Sure can,” Jake said, “Let me grab your bag, Princess.”

“Come give Mommy big hugs, Baby girl!” You said, taking her from Jake so he could go get her stuff packed. “Be good for Uncle Jakey and Aunty Nix, Ok?”

“Otay, Mommy.” She promised, hugging you, “I wuv you.”

“I love you too, my Baby girl!” You replied, hugging her back. You were thankful she was so little and none of the crap with Trent would have any lasting effects on her. She was a happy and loving little girl, living her best life.

“Alright, Princess G, the park awaits!” Jake said, coming back to the living room. “Have fun, Tulip. Love you” He dropped a kiss on your head, reclaiming Gracie and the two were off on their adventure, leaving you to shake your head and laugh at the closing door on their way out.

You decided to go get a pedicure before heading to the Hard Deck to talk to Penny about finally taking her up on her offer of the part time job handling the books and inventory, freeing her up to take time away from the bar during the day occasionally.  You would work 3 days a week, leaving you enough time to take classes if you decided to pursue a master’s degree. You were still undecided on that for the time being. You had enough changes happening, enough on your plate…you were afraid to make any more decisions of that magnitude. You did promise Jake you’d talk to someone from the university to get options and you would, but you weren’t sure you were quite ready to actually pursue the degree yet. You DID need to find a daycare though for Gracie. You knew it would be good for Gracie to have other kids to play with the few days a week you’d be working.

You had just left the Hard Deck and were heading to your car when Bradley called.

“Hey, Sweetheart.” He said. You could hear the smile in his voice. “I’m finishing up here then I’ll be over to get you. Jake talk to you?”

“Yup.” You laughed. “He told me he’s having a sleepover with Gracie and Nix and no mommies allowed because then they can’t stay up late, sleep in forts and watch movies.”

“Sounds about right.” He chuckled, “Mommies are definitely allowed at my sleepover. We can build our own fort, Sweetheart.”

“I think I like sleepovers with you.” You replied, “Gracie requested a visit from Daddy Rooster.”

“I REALLY love that title,” He rasped, his voice full of emotion, “I absolutely need to see my girl tonight.”

“Jake approves of the title too.” You informed him. “I promised her we’d stop.”

“I’m walking out of here in 10 minutes tops so I’ll be there in about 20.” He said, “Do you want me to pick up take out and we eat at my place or go out somewhere?”

“I like the idea of staying in, actually.” You replied, “You make fort building sound very appealing.”

“I’ll see you soon, Sweetheart.” He laughed, “Drive safe going home.”

“You too.” You replied.

You got home and decided to jump in the shower quickly before changing into a sundress and a pair of sandals. Jake and Nix ended up getting back with Gracie as you were coming out of your room before Bradley made it over.

“Mommy!” Gracie exclaimed, running over to you, arms up for you to lift her up. “We pway at the park! And eat ice cweam!”

“Wow!” You said, “What sounds like so much fun! Were you good for Uncle Jakey and Aunt Nix?”

“Yup!” She nodded her head. “I good!”

“Of course!” Phoenix said, “She was fantastic! We had fun, didn’t we, Sweet girl?”

“Yes! Now we make forts!” She informed you, “Mommy, where Daddy Woosta?”

“He’ll be here soon, Baby girl.” You said kissing her head and setting her down, “He’s so excited to see you.”

“Let’s go get you washed up for dinner, quickly Princess G” Jake said, taking her hand and leaning her back to the bathroom to wash her hands.

“Daddy Rooster?” Phoenix gushed, “That’s absolutely adorable.”

“I KNOW!” You exclaimed, “He turned to a puddle when she said it. She just spontaneously busted out with it.”

“How do you feel about it?” She asked

“I’m completely ok with it.” You replied, “You don’t think it’s too soon do you?”

“Sweetie, I think there is no timetable for these things.” She replied, “If you, as her mom, are ok with it, and Rooster, the person on the receiving end of it, is ok, and Gracie is obviously ok… then I say… Daddy Rooster has a new title.”

“Nat, I am 100% gone for that man.” You confided in her, “I know I should feel guilty since I’m legally married to another but my heart fully belongs to Bradley.”

“We all kinda figured that one out already,” She laughed. “But I’m glad to know you’re aware. He feels the same, just so you know. Just promise that you won’t get tied down by timetables or what you think social norms dictate. Do what feels right to you and Bradley and what’s best for Gracie.”

“I promise.” You said.

Bradley arrived not long after. Jake had just finished getting Gracie cleaned up when he came through the front door.

“Daddy Woosta!” She exclaimed, barreling through the living room and straight into Bradley’s arms. He’d dropped down to his knees to be at her level and swooped her up. “I wuv you.”

“Hi Princess.” He said, kissing the top of her head, “I love you too, my girl.”

“You sweep ova wif me?” She asked him sweetly.

“How about we have a sleep over another night, Princess?” He countered, “I hear you have a super fun sleepover with forts planned with Uncle Jake and Aunty Nix tonight.”

“Otay.” She agreed. “And Mommy too?”

“And Mommy too.” He promised.

“Alright, Princess G.” Jake said, “Ready to start our super fun sleepover?”

“Yes!” She exclaimed, then turned to kiss Bradley on the cheek and hug him before wiggling out of his arms and running to say goodbye to you. “Wuv you Mommy! Wuv you Daddy Woosta!”

“Love you too, Baby girl.” You replied, hugging her and kissing her. “Be good for Uncle Jakey and Aunty  Nix, and Mommy will see you tomorrow morning.”

“Otay, Mommy.” She said before running over to Phoenix.

“Ready to go, Sweetheart?” Bradley asked, his hand coming up to rest on the small of your back.

“Yup.” You replied, smiling, “Overnight bag packed, as ordered by my dear sweet brother who said no mommies allowed at their super fun sleepover…. I’m all yours, Lieutenant Bradshaw.”

“Well, then it’s a very good thing that mommies are very much allowed at my super fun sleepover tonight.” He winked, grabbing your overnight bag and guiding you out of the front door.

Back at Bradley’s the two of you ate the take out that he’d picked up before picking you up. Afterwards he sent you to change into comfy clothes while he constructed the promised fort in the middle room. You changed out of the dress, putting on the sleep shorts you’d packed, but opting instead to pull on one of Bradley’s well worn Navy t-shirts. You pulled your hair into a messy bun on top of your head before making your way out to the living room.

“That’s some impressive fort building, Lieutenant.” You said, walking into the room. He’d moved around some of the furniture to make room for the fort, using the dining room chairs and couch as the structure to drape the blankets over.

“Wait until you see the inside, Sweetheart.” He said, smiling. “You look really good in my shirt, too.”

“Thanks.” You beamed, “It looked more comfortable than the one I brought with me.”

“You can wear my clothes anytime.” He said. “Come on inside our very own fort.”

You walked around to the opening in the front where he was holding the blanket open for you. You crouched down and crawled inside to find more blankets laid out on the floor with pillows to keep you both comfortable. He’d found and strung up some battery operated fairy lights to give you some light inside the fort as well as a couple of the flameless battery operated candles. He had his laptop opened for you to watch a movie on and a variety of snacks as well.

“Bradley.” You laughed, “How in the hell did you get this all set up in the short time I was changing?”

“I may have had everything already set up and ready to go…” He replied, a blush creeping up his neck to his cheeks. “Jake and I hashed this plan out yesterday. I ran home at lunch instead of actually eating lunch.”

“Bradley!” You admonished, “Please tell me you didn’t fly without proper nutrition? The only thing worse than you eating vending machine food for lunch is you eating no lunch at all!”

“I grabbed a bag of chips and a granola bar.” He shrugged. “I was ok.”

“You will either bring your sexy ass to the house tomorrow on your lunch to get a proper meal or I will make Jake bring me to the base to deliver the lunch to you.” You informed him

“You like my ass, huh Sweetheart?” He asked, smirking at you, settling against the pillows piled up and pulling you down with him. You settled between his legs, resting your back against his chest.

“That’s what you got from that? You laughed, “But for the record, I do like your ass.”

“For the record, I think everything about you is sexy as hell, Sweetheart.” He said, his voice right by your ear, sending shivers down your body. He had changed into gray Navy sweats, and you were discovering how soft they were against your skin as you ran your palms over his legs.

“So what’s the plan for this super fun sleepover tonight?” You asked, tilting your head back to look up at him.

He leaned his head down, connecting his lips to yours, his arms already wrapped around your middle, fingers splayed wide over your torso.

“The plan is to keep you locked in my arms, while we watch a movie and relax in our super cool fort here.” He said, using his face to nudge your head to the side and drop kisses on and nip at your neck, “Hopefully with a little bit of making out with my girl thrown in.”

“I like that plan.” You replied smiling. “Your girl, huh?”

“Baby, Gracie is literally calling me ‘Daddy Rooster’.” He laughed, “We’re gonna have a very sad little girl if you’re not my girl.”

You turned around so that you were facing him, straddling him and wrapping your arms around his neck, your fingers working into his hair at the nape of his neck.

“I am absolutely yours.” You said without hesitation. “Gracie and I are both yours if you want us. I know we still have a few hurdles to jump and definitely come with some baggage, but …”

“Sweetheart, there is nothing I want more.” He said, interrupting you, his lips finding yours, his hands moving to your hips to anchor you to him. His tongue snaked out, licking over your lower lip seaking entrance. You opened, allowing him in, your own tongue moving to meet his, tasting one another. His hands moved over your back before dropping down to the hem of the t-shirt and moving up and under, until his hands connected with your bare skin. You gasp, burying your fingers deeper into his hair, and grinding down onto him as you deepen the kiss.

“Shit, Sweetheart.” He groans as your core rubs against his semi hardened cock. “You feel so fucking good.”

You continue to move against him, knowing you would need to stop, but not ready to lose this feeling just yet. You kiss your way to his neck, tracing over the scars with your tongue, causing a shiver to move over his whole body. He groans deeply, his hands moving over you feverishly, pulling you closer.

“Mmm” You moaned, panting, “Bradley, as much as I desperately want to continue this, we need to hit the breaks.”

“I know.” He agreed, sucking air into his own lungs, using his hands to gently still your movement, giving him a moment to collect himself. “Just need a minute here, Sweetheart.”

“I want the first time we’re together to be when I’m able to freely give every piece of myself to you, without any legalities standing in the way.” You said quietly, “He doesn’t get to taint anything between us.”

“There’s no way he could taint anything we have, Sweetheart” Bradley assured you, pulling you down against him again, “I would happily wait forever for you.”

You both sat together, recovering from the heavy makeout session for several moments before you were once more tucked with your back against his chest, nestled between his legs with his laptop propped up on the coffee table so you could watch a movie together.

The next morning, you made Bradley breakfast and packed him a lunch while he was getting ready for work.

“I could definitely get used to this.” He smiled, walking into the kitchen.

“Something other than cold cereal or frozen waffles for breakfast?” You asked, smiling at him over your shoulder, soaking in the sight of him in his flightsuit.

“Getting to wake up with you, getting ready for work knowing you’re in the same house…” He replied, wrapping his arms around you from behind and kissing your neck, just under your ear. “And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit excited about this amazing breakfast you’ve made.”

“I knew it was the food.” You teased, rolling your eyes. He easily spun you around in his arms and dropped his head down to capture your lips with his own in a heated kiss.

“Now THAT is how I need to start every day.” He said, once you’d both had to pull away to breathe.

“No arguments from me.” You replied, “Let’s get you fed, fly boy. You need to get to work and I’ve got an appointment to check out a daycare for Gracie today.”

“How do you feel about that?” He asked, carrying plates to the table. You joined him at the table, sitting down next to him while you both dug into the omelettes you’d made.

“It’ll only be part time.” You said, “It makes me nervous, but I know she needs to be with kids, and I need to get out and be around adults… work. Eventually, I’ll maybe look at going back for my master’s degree. One step at a time.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” He offered, “I can get one of the others to cover my class this afternoon. I’m sure Mav will be fine with it.”

“You’re perfect and amazing for offering.” You answered, offering a smile, “I’ll be ok though. I’ll actually probably need you more next week at the court hearing if you’re able to get off for that… if you want that is…”

“Sweetheart, that’s already a done deal.” He replied. “I already have the entire week for leave. Mav put it in for me before last Friday and I told him to leave it. There’s no way in hell I’d let you face that alone. I know you’ll have Jake… but you have me now too.”

“Thank you.” You said, relieved to know he’d be there with you.

“You absolutely do not need to thank me for that, Baby.” He replied, leaning over to kiss your forehead, “We’re officially a team.”

After finishing breakfast, Bradley grabbed his flight bag and the two of you headed out to the Bronco. He drove you home on his way to the base, which was not actually on his way to the base at all.

“In hindsight, I should have just met you over her last night.” You laughed, when he parked in the driveway. “You’re going to be so late, Bradley!”

“Worth it.” He replied, leaning over to kiss you, “Give my Princess hugs and kisses for me?”

“I will.” You promised, “If you’re not doing anything tonight, do you want to come over after work for dinner?”

“As long as you’re not sick of met yet.” He teased, “Jake’s probably ready to boot me to the curb.”

“He’s too busy with Nat to even notice.” You laughed, “But he doens’t mind because he just wants Gracie and me to be happy… and we are.”

“Good.” He smiled widely, “Mission accomplished. I’ll see you after work, Sweetheart.”

“Fly safe.” You said, leaning in to kiss him again.

“Always.” He promised.

The visit the daycare went really well. Gracie loved the room and teacher she’d be with and had already made a friend. Jake had gone with and had asked all the pertinent safety questions setting your own mind at ease. You knew that Trent would definitely be spending the foreseeable future in jail but for your own sanity you needed a plan in place. The daycare had strict policies for who was allowed in and out and nobody was allowed to pick up a child that wasn’t on that child’s list.  

After going through the center, Jake kept Gracie busy while you filled out the needed paperwork to enroll her.

“Jakey I’m adding you as emergency contact.” You told him, writing down his contact information.

“Add Rooster too.” He replied, flashing a knowing smile.

“Shouldn’t I ask him before I add his name?” You asked. “That seems like basic etiquette.”

“Tulip, she calls him Daddy Rooster, and he’s perfectly fine with it… in fact, he actually loves it.” Jake said, “I highly doubt he’ll be upset about being added as Princess G’s emergency contact. I’d be willing to bet he’d be upset if he WASN’T added.”

“You’re probably right.” You laughed, “Ok, Bradley is being added… but what do you suggest I put down as the relationship?”

“Daddy Woosta?” Gracie asked, “I see him?”

“We’ll go see him after we leave here, Princess.” Jake promised, “You heard the Princess. He’s Daddy Woosta.”

“Jake, I cannot put that on here.” You laughed.

“Put down, Dad.” He said, “It’ll make one less thing to change later. And on the pick up list, you might want to add the whole squad.”

“I am not imposing on them by having them pick up Gracie.” You argued.

Jake pulled out his phone, typing out a text before tucking his phone back into his pocket. You continued to fill out the paperwork, trying to hurry now that you knew you’d be heading to base to see Bradley afterwards.

Jakes phone dinged, then your own phone rang with an incoming FaceTime call. Looking at the caller ID you saw it was Nat. You glared at Jake before quicking answering. As soon as the call went through you saw it wasn’t just Nat. The entire dagger squad, minus Jake was staring back at you, giving you ‘the look’.

“Hi guys…” You said. “How’s your day going?”

“Imposing on us?” Nat asked indignantly.

“There’s a question of even adding us to the pick up list?” Coyote asked, “I’m hurt, Y/N.”

“Sweetheart…” Bradley started.

“Oh you’re already emergency contact, Man.” Jake called, “Only hiccup was she didn’t know what to put for the relationship.”

“I’m good then!” He beamed, “And Daddy Rooster is my title, Sweetheart.”

“Not putting that on the paperwork, Bradley.” you laughed.

“I told her to shorten it.” Jake added.

“Sweetheart, just put down whatever you’re comfortable with.” Bradley said, smiling at you. Phoenix took her phone back from him so you were looking at her.

“Hey, seriously, Y/N.” She said, “Add us all to the pick up list. You never know when you’ll need someone to get her and this way you’re covered. You know we’re all trustworthy… some more than others of course… but we all love that little girl. Now, finish filling out the paperwork and bring her to us…”

“Yes, ma’am.” You replied, laughing. After hanging up, you quickly finished the paperwork. You decided to put down Daddy under the relationship and when you handed the paperwork to the director you explained the situation. She smiled and reassured you that yours wasn’t the first nor the last unconventional family to come through the center and the most important thing was that Gracie was clearly surrounded by people who loved hear dearly.

Confident that you’d made the right choice, you all left, with a list of supplies she’d need for her first day the following week.

You made your way to the base, stopping for lunch on the way so that you can feed Gracie. You knew that once you lef the base she’d need a nap.

“Ready to go see Daddy Rooster, Princess G?” Jake asked, as he was waved through the guard gate on base.

“Yes!” She exclaimed happily from her carseat. “Daddy Woosta! We see Aunty Nix too?”

“We sure will, Sweet girl!” You promised, “Everyone is waiting and so excited to see you!”

Jake drove around to the front of the hangar and parked his truck next to Bradley’s Bronco.

“Mommy!’ Gracie yelled from the backseat, “Dat’s Daddy Woosta’s Bwoo twuck!”

“It is!” You confirmed, “And here he comes now.” Bradley was making his way out of the building, too impatient to wait for you all to come inside. Phoenix, apparently just as impatient, but whether it was to see Gracie or Jake you weren’t entirely sure. You unbuckled your seatbelt and got out of the truck as Bradley got to you.

“Hey, Sweetheart.” He said, wrapping arm around your waist and lowering his head to kiss you softly. “I missed you.”

“It’s only been a few hours,” You reasoned,  kissing him back, “But I missed you too.”

“Where’s my girl?” He asked, opening the back door to the truck. “There’s my princess!”

“Daddy Woosta!” Gracie exclaimed, squirming in her seat, making grabby hands towards Bradley. He quickly unbuckled her carseat and pulled her out of the truck. She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back, dropping a kiss in her soft curls.

“I missed you, Princess.” Bradley said, pulling back to look at her, “Did you have fun today?”

“I miss you too.” She said, “Yes! I go pway and Mommy and Unco Jakey ask wots of stuffs!”

“We were thorough.” Jake shrugged, smiling when nugged him. “Not just anyone can take care of Princess G.”

“They have tight security protocols in place?” Bradley asked

“Nobody is allowed inside the center that isn’t on the list. There’s a bell with a camera out front you have to ring in unless you have a keycard. If your name isn’t on the list of approved pick up and you don’t have proper ID you aren’t allowed to take the child from the property.” Jake confirmed, “If an attempt is made by a non-approved pick up person, the parents are notified as are the authorities if there is an order of protection in place.”

“Perfect.” Bradley said approvingly, “So our Princess will be nice and safe while she’s not in with us. Did you like the kids and your new classroom, Princess?”

“Yes!” She squealed, “I have fwends! Mommy says I go back and pway!”

“Next week you’ll go back and Mommy will go to work.” You said.

“How about this weekend, Mommy and I take you to go buy a backpack perfect for a Princess?” Bradley asked. “You’ll need a backpack to carry all your pretty pictures that you color at daycare home in.”

“Yes!” Gracie agreed, happily.

“Hey!” Coyote yelled through the open door, “The rest of the squad and Mav are wondering why you’re keeping our little Gracie Nugget out here and not sharing her? It’s rude.”

“He’s right.” Phoenix agreed, reaching over to take Gracie from Bradley. “It is rude. Come on, Sweetie, let’s go play with the rest of the squad. They’re more fun.”

Friday  night the squad descended on the house for the weekly dinner. While you were normally the one that did the majority of the cooking, this time, they’d all pulled together and organized amongst themselves to pull off the dinner so that you just got to sit back and take it all in. Unfortunately you weren’t very good at doing nothing, so you found yourself full of nervous energy.

“Sweetheart, you running back and forth to refill stuff defeats the purpose of us all taking care of you for a change.” Bradley said gently, reaching for the bowl of cut up fruit in your hand.

“I don’t know if you noticed, but I kinda suck at doing nothing, Bradley.” You sighed, “I also don’t do so well stayin’ out of my head when I’m not busy…”

“Come here,” He said, pulling you into his arms. You wrapped your own around his middle, resting your head against his chest. “I know telling you it’s going to be ok isn’t helpful. The anxiety is real, you’ve been living in this limbo for too long. But I WILL tell you, you are not alone. I am here. Jake is here. The whole team is here.”

“Thank you.” You whispered, “I honestly don’t know what I would do without you, Bradley.”

“Sweetheart, you’re never going to have to find out.” He promised. “I am not going anywhere. I have a strict no return policy, so I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”

“Damnit, Tulip.” Jake teased, coming up behind you, “I told you to read return policies before taking in stray chickens. Now we’re stuck with him”

“You love him and you know it.” Phoenix said, laughing.

“He’s alright.” Jake winked, taking Phoenix’s hand as they walked past into the house.

“He’s an idiot.” You laughed, once they’d gone inside.

“He is.” Bradley agreed, smirking, “But he’s our idiot and we’re stuck with him.”

“We are.” You said, “Wouldn’t want it any other way.”

You spent the weekend getting ready to start your new job at the Hard Deck, which mainly just included making sure Gracie had everything she needed to start daycare. As promised, you and Bradley took Gracie to find the perfect backpack for her. She picked out a Disney Princess backpack (not surprisingly). You let her pick up new toddler panties as she’d done really well with potty training over the last several days. You were hoping it would continue with being at daycare, but you grabbed another pack of pullups just in case.

Sunday Jake and Phoenix one again stole Gracie for the day, taking her to a splash pad and park. Bradley picked you up early and drove you out to a hangar in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. He got Mav to let him borrow his plane to take you for a ride. It was amazing to be in Bradley’s world, to experience a small part of what he loved.

“That, was AMAZING!” You gushed, once he’d landed and come around to help you down from the plane. You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him down to connect your lips in a soft kiss. “Thank you for sharing your world with me.”

“Sweetheart, I’ll happily share my entire world with you.” He replied. “I’m glad you enjoyed flying though.”

“I’ve never been in a plane so small before.” You said. “I think I just enjoyed it because I fully trust the Pilot.”

“I’m happy to hear that, Sweetheart,” He laughed, kissing you again. “Ready to head back?”

After securing the plane and locking the hangar up for Mav, Bradley led you to the Bronco, opening the passenger door and helping you in. He made sure to lean over to steal a final kiss before making his way around to the driver’s side.

“How would you feel about us stealing our girl back from Jake and Phoenix and kicking them out for the night?” Bradley asked as you headed back to town from the Hangar. “I think they need a date night. We can spend time with Gracie then once we get her tucked in we can have our own date night in.”

“I love that idea.” You said, smiling over at him. “I really love that you get to take her to her first day of daycare with me tomorrow. I’m going to be an emotional wreck.”

“I’m not sure I won’t be a wreck right along with you, Sweetheart.” He admitted. “Will she go all day?”

“Yeah, she goes Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while I work.” You said, “I don’t have to be at the bar until 10 though, we’ll have time to recover after dropping her off before I have to go work.”

“I can take you to work and then go take care of some stuff and pick you back up when you’re done.” He offered, “Then we can go get Gracie from daycare after and treat her to ice cream after her first day.”

“Sounds perfect.” You agreed, “Tomorrow night will need to be really low key and an early night. I’m going to be a nervous wreck.”

“Then that’s exactly what we’ll do, Sweetheart.” He said.

When you arrived home, Jake and Phoenix had been happy to take you up on date night, but made it known they would be tagging in for  pick up the next day since they’d miss first day drop off. You had a feeling that Gracie’s first day of Kindergarten was going to be  whole production.

After lots of extra playtime and Gracie insisting on Daddy Rooster being the one to read her a bedtime story, you had finally gotten her tucked in and off to dreamland. You and Bradley spent the rest of the night cuddled up on the couch watching a movie before heading to bed to fall asleep tucked into one another’s arms.

Monday morning you woke up wrapped in Bradley’s arms, your legs intertwined with his. Not quite ready to leave his embrace, snuggle down further into him, tucking your face back into the crook of his shoulder.

“Morning, Sweetheart.” He chuckled, his voice deep from sleep.

“Five more minutes.” You mumbled into his neck, “I’m too comfy. You’re so warm.”

“No arguments here.” He replied, “The alarm hasn’t gone off yet, so I think we have a few more minutes.”

“I like waking up in your arms.” You said, lifting your head just enough to be heard, “And I sleep better with you… listening to your heartbeat… feeling your warmth, the smell of your body wash mixed with jet fuel…”

“I sleep better with you too, Sweetheart.” He admitted, “And I definitely love waking up with you in my arms. I don’t know if I should be offended by the jet fuel comment thought.”

“NO!” You said, shooting up to look at him, only to see the sparkle of amusement in his eyes. You playfully slapped him and settled back down so you were once more laying on his chest, “You just have a unique scent’s that’s beyond just your body wash and it’s very comforting.”

“You’re cute when you’re riled up.” He laughed. “We should probably get going so we can get our Princess some breakfast and make sure everything is perfect without having to rush.”

“We have to make sure we take picture too.” You reminded him, “Jake made me promise I’d get some since he won’t be home this morning to take them.”

“Let’s rock and roll then, Sweetheart.” He said lifting his head to kiss the top of yours.

The two of you got up and got ready before Bradley headed off to the kitchen to start getting breakfast ready while you went in and got Gracie up.

She was excited to go to her new “school” so she sprung right up and you got her dressed in a pair of cute knit shorts and a Disney Princess t-shirt. She wanted her hair in two pony tails so you pulled her curly hair into two matching pony tails with small purple bows to match her shirt. Once she was dressed you ushered her out to the kitchen to get breakfast.

“There’s my beautiful Princess!” Bradley said when Gracie walked into the kitchen, “Are you hungry baby girl?”

“Yes pwease!” She answered, heading directly to Bradley and lifting her arms up to be picked up. Bradley quickly wiped his hands on the towel and picked her up, covering her face in kisses, causing her to burst into a round of giggles. “Dat tickles Daddy!”

“I had to make sure I gave you lots and lots of kisses to get you through the day!” He explained, “I didn’t want you to run outta power half way through.”

“You siwy!” She laughed, but then leaned forward and placed several kisses on Bradleys face in return. “You have powa now too!”

“Thank you, Princess!” He smiled, “Now I’ll make it all day until I see you again tonight.”

“Alright, my two crazies, time for breakfast.” You said, chucklling at their antics, “We need to get you fed, then Uncle Jakey wants us to take lots of pictures so he can see how pretty and grown up you look heading off to your first day!”

After breakfast you all headed outside to the front porch for pictures you made sure to snap some of just Gracie, then took a few of Gracie with Bradley, he got a few with you and her before finally taking some in selfie mode with all three of you. It may have been a little overkill for just a first day at daycare but it was also the first day of a fresh start of sorts.

Drop off went pretty smooth… as far as Gracie was concerned. She went right in and was excited to play with the kids. You and Bradley managed to hold it together until you were back in the Bronco and then there were a few tears shed.

“We’re going to be absolute wrecks when we take her to kindergarten.” He chuckled, glancing over at you.

“Or when she graduates high school.” You smiled over at him. “Does it seem crazy that we’ve only known one another for a short time but we’re already in so deep… that when I picture the future for Gracie and me, no version of it is without you?”

“Sweetheart, it’s not crazy.” He assure you. “I really believe that when people are meant to be and they find each other time doesn’t matter. We will do this at whatever pace we determine is right.” He turned so that his body was facing you and he took your hands in his own, “And the only future I want is one with you and Gracie. You two are my entire world.”

To keep the emotions from bubbling up you leaned over and connected your lips with his in a gentle kiss. Smiling against him.

“We’re on the same page then.” You said.

You sent several pictures to the group chat while Bradley drove you back home.  You got stuff ready for dinner that night before needing to get ready for work. Bradley dropped you off at the Hard Deck, promising to come back as soon as he ran some errands.

Penny showed you the books and the inventory lists on the computer, explaining the system. You spent the afternoon familiarizing yourself with the system and making a list of what was running low and what would be needed sooner rather than later. Bradley arrived a few hours after dropping you off and sat at the bar chatting with Penny until you were ready to head out for the day.

“I think I’ve got a good handle on the current system.” You said coming out to bar area from the back office, “I started a list of what’s running low and can finalize what needs to be ordered on Wednesday when I’m back.”

“Sounds good.” She replied, “So tomorrow morning… what time do you need me there?”

“My lawyer wants to meet before going in, so we need to be at the courthouse at 8.” You replied, “I can’t thank you enough for staying with Gracie, Penny. Just knowing she’s going to be safe and taken care of takes lot off of my shoulders.”

“Sweetie, you do not need to thanke me one bit.” She assured you, “I’m more than happy to spend time with that sweet little girl. You just focus on getting yourself free from that piece of shit and staying strong tomorrow, ok?”

“Ok” You said, smiling. “I can handle that.”

“Perfect.” She said, coming around the bar to wrap you in a hug, “Rooster, take this sweet one home to spend time with her baby and I’ll see you both in the morning.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” He replied wrapping his arm around your waist and guiding you out of the bar.

As per the deal the night before, Jake and Phoenix got to pick up Gracie from daycare and bring her home. They stopped on the way for a slushie to celebrate and to hear all about her first day. When they arrived you had already changed clothes were working in the kitchen on dinner with Bradley.

“Mommy, we home!” Gracie called when they arrived. You could hear Jake prompting her to take off her shoes and little backpack before she came running to the kitchen.

“How was your first day of daycare, Sweet Girl” You asked, wiping your hands of and scooping her up into your arms. “Did you have so much fun?”

“Yes!” She confirmed, “I dwawed, pwayed, and wead books!”

“That sounds like a very full day!” Bradley said, stepping over and kissing her head, “Did you have enough power?”

“Yes!” She laughed, holding her hands out to Bradley, who immediately pulled her into his arms.

“I missed you today, Princess.” He said, giving her snuggles.

“I missed you too, Daddy Woosta.” She replied, hugging him back tightly.

“How did pick up go?” You asked,  as Jake and Phoenix walked into the kitchen, “Did they give you any trouble?”

“Nope.” Jake smiled, “They remembered me from last week and I have the card so no issues. They said she had a fantastic day. Already making lots of new friends.”

“Are we surprised?” You asked, laughing, “She’s one hundred percent her uncle when it comes to being an extrovert.”

“We may need to work on the whole ‘stranger danger’ thing with her.” Jake acknowledged, “She’s probably a little too friendly.”

That night you and Bradley both tucked Gracie into bed after reading her a book and going through the nightly routine of bathtime and snuggles with Uncle Jakey while watching one episode of whatever classic cartoon Jake managed to find for that night. He was determined that Gracie would be exposed to all of the great classic cartoons we’d grown up on.

“Sweet dreams, Princess.” Bradley said, leaning down to kiss her forehead, “I love you.”

“I wuv you too, Daddy Woosta.” She replied softly, smiling at him. He stood up and made room for you to move in to sit next to her.

“I love you Sweet Girl.” You said, leaning down to hug her and kiss her, “Sweetest of dreams, Baby.”

“Wuv you, Mommy” She replied, hugging you back.

The next morning you were on autopilot getting ready. Bradley and Jake did their best to make sure you at least tried to eat some breakfast but your anxiety was really high and the thought of food made you want to throw up.

“Tulip, you need to eat something.” Jake said, “Even if it’s just toast. If you don’t, you’ll pass out in court.”

“He’s right, Sweetheart.” Bradley agreed, “Maybe eat a slice of toast and a half of banana.”

“Mommy, you sick?” Gracie asked, concerned, not knowing what was happening but picking up on something being off with her adults.

“No, Sweet Girl.” You reassured her, forcing a small smile, “Mommy just has butterflies in her belly this morning.”

“Mommy, you siwy” She giggled, “You eat my nana?”

“That’s so sweet of you, Baby,” you smiled, “You need to eat your banana so you have energy to play with Penny today. Mommy will get another banana ok?”

Penny arrived not long after and quickly took over with Gracie so that the three of you could get out the door.

Jake sent a text to everyone letting them know you were headin the courthouse so they could plan their arrival accordingly. You didn’t know but they’d all made arrangements to take the day off to there to support you. Mav had put in a word with the higher ups to get it approved.  

“It’s going to be OK, Tulip.” Jake said confidently, standing outside of the courthouse. “No matter the outcome of today’s hearing, in the end, it’s all going work out. Keep your head up, we’ve all got you.”

“We’re right here by your side, Sweetheart.” Bradley added, “Not going anywhere, no matter what happens. None of us are.”

“There’s zero chance I’d make it through this without you guys.” You said, your voice shaky with emotion. “Thank you both for being my strength when I’m not so sure I can be strong on my own.”

“Y/N Seresin you are the strongest woman I know.” Jake said, “Even when you don’t believe it. You’d be just fine on your own, but you’ll never have to find out. We love you and we’ll always have your back.”

“Every one of us.” Phoenix said walking over to you. You turned to see the entire Squadron and Mav waking up. Overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from your new found family you turned into Bradley’s embrace and burst into tears. Knowing the reason behind the tears, Jake added his support hugging you from behind, sandwhiching you in the middle of himself and Bradley. The rest of team formed a huddle, essentially forming one giant group hug.

“I can add this to the list of unexpected experiences.” Jake joked, trying to ease your anxiety. “Glad I showered this morning.”

You let you a laugh, muffled by Bradley’s chest. The squad started to separate allowing you to take a step back and look at everyone.

“Y’all are the best.” You said, “Obviously I can’t even put into words how much this means to me that you’re all here.”

“Nowhere we’d rather be.” Phoenix said smiling, slipping her hand into Jake’s.

“And that’s saying a lot coming from a bunch of aviators who’d always rather be in the air than on the ground.” Coyote added. “But you don’t mess with one of our own without getting all of us.”

“We should get inside, Ms. Kennedy wants meet with Tulip before going in.” Jake said, ushering everyone toward the entrance.

Bradley took your hand walking along side you into the building. Once inside you all had to go through security and then were directed toward the correct courtroom. Lauren was waiting outside when you all got there.

“Good morning, Y/N.” Lauren greeted, smiling,“Looks like you have your whole support system in attendance today.”

“Yes, ma’am.” You smiled back, “My family has expanded over the last month. I’m very lucky to have them all in my corner.”

“You can never have too many in your corner.” She said, “If you want to come on into the conference room with me, we can go over what to expect today.”

“We’ll go in and get seated, Y/N.” Mav said, “Keep your chin up, Kid. You’ve got this.”

“Thank you, Mav.” You replied, smiling at him, then you turned to Lauren, “Can Jake and Bradley come in with us?”

“Absoultely.” She replied, leading the way into the conference room a few doors down from the courtroom you’d be in shortly. “Jake, I’ve met, Bradley, you  I’ve only heard about. You were there both times Trent showed up and broke the court order?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Bradley replied, “It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for everything you’re doing for Y/N and Gracie.”

“It’s absolutely my pleasure.” She replied, “I’m glad Y/N has such an amazing support team. I take it, you’ve take my advice then and have started living again, Y/N?”

“Yes.” You replied, looking over at Bradley and smiling. “We were actually coming back from our first date when Trent showed up the first time. Things have progressed since then.”

“Good. You look happy,” She observed, “You deserve to be happy. How’s Gracie doing, she’s pretty little, so I’m guessing she’s pretty resilient and not aware of everything going on around her.”

“She’s great.” You beamed, “She picks up on when emotions are running high. She knew something was wrong when Trent showed up and Nat sent her out to get Jake and Bradley. But she’s a happy little girl that makes friends wherever she goes.”

“She’s already claimed Bradley as her own.” Jake added, winking at you. “She’s got the whole squadron wrapped around her little Princess finger.”

“She owns me.” Bradley admitted, chuckling. Looking at you, smiling he added, “Her momma does too.”

“Alright, that’s exactly what I love to hear.” Lauren said, smiling at the three of you. “Let’s make sure when we leave here today we have all the loose ends tied up to allow you to move foreward with your new family, Y/N.”

“Is that a possibility?” You asked, afraid to get your hopes up. “I figured Trent would do something to drag it all out somehow.”

“In this case, his actions have tied his hands. Literally and figuratively.” She said. “He’s established that he’s verbally abusive and left marks on you while trying to forceuflly remove you from your residence against your will. You’re not asking for anything other than what you left Texas with. You’ve got the order of protection that was violated twice… Sweetie, the odds are in your favor that the judge will happily grant you the divorce today. In terms of disolving Trent’s parental rights, again we can establish he’s a danger to Gracie’s wellbeing, we can establish a lack of involvement prior to the request based on the texts we saved, and he was planning on removing her from your residence along with you against your will. He will be doing jail time for the second violation of the order of protection and we can use that to our advantage as well. It at least gets you full custody with zero visitation from him.”

“I don’t want him being anything to my little girl.” You said. “I know I can’t erase her DNA, but I need to erase him from her life on paper… please help me do that.”

“I will be pushing for that, Y/N.” Lauren assured you. “Is there another reason you’d need Trent to sign away his rights or to have them removed?”

“So that I can give Gracie the daddy she deserves.” You whispered, “The daddy she loves and who loves her.”

“Sweetheart.” Bradley said, taking your hand and turning you to face him, “It doesn’t matter what a piece of paper says or what DNA says, or even what her last name is. That little Princess is already my baby girl and will be my baby girl forever.”

“He’s right, Tulip.” Jake added softly, “She’s already claimed him as her Daddy Woosta. She doesn’t care if it’s not official in the courts. To her it’s already real. And he’s ‘daddy’ on the emergency contact list at daycare so I’d say that’s official.”

“I’d say that’s about all that matters too.” Lauren said, “The rest is just the icing on the cake. I’ll do my best to make sure that cake has icing when you’re ready to add it. Sound like a plan?”

“Yes. Thank you.” You replied, wiping tears from your eyes. “He won’t be physically allowed in the courtroom today, right?  Just his lawyer can appear?”

“Correct.” Lauren said, “Due to him being currently incarcerated pending his court appearance and due to the order of protection.”

“Ok.” You replied, taking a deep breath. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

“Alright. The judge is due into court in about fifteen minutes so let’s go in and get seated until your case is called.” Lauren said, “I believe yours is the first one on the docket for the day.”

The three of you walked back down to the courtroom where the others had already gone in and found seats close to them but where you were directed to sit by the court deputy. You tried to keep from bouncing out of the chair with nervous energy. Jake ended up holding one of your hands and Bradley holding the other in order to prevent you from twisting them into knots.

“Breathe, Sweetheart.” Bradley whispered, “It’ll all be over soon.”  

Jake squeezed the hand he was holding three times to let you know he loved you, you squeezed back, looking over with a small smile.

“All rise for the Honorable Judge Edwards” The deputy called out. Everyone stood while the judge walked into the courtroom from his chambers and took his spot.

“You may be seated” He said.

The deputy called the first court of the day, your case. Lauren stood up and addressed the Judge going over what was requested and a little bit of the history. He took a moment to review the files in front of him, asking her clarifying questions here and there. The entire time you sat there, feeling as though you would throw up from the nerves. You regretted eating the  banana and toast that morning, and prayed it didn’t make a reappearence in the courtroom.

“After reviewing everything Ms. Kennedy has provided as well as the countersuits provided by Mr. Andrews on behalf of his client, and taking into consideration the two violations of the order of protection put into place not even a month ago,” Judge Edwards said, “It’s really a no brainer here on dissolving this marriage. Mr. Andrews, you can relay to your client that even though it wasn’t requested, I am ordering that all assets be split equally between parties. I cannot in good conscience allow this young woman who has already been through the wringer, to walk away with nothing, especially when there is a child involved. I’m assuming young lady, and correct me if I am wrong, but I believe I saw an added note for a request for name change in this paperwork, so is ok if I address you as Ms. Seresin?”

“Yes, You Honor.” You said, standing up next to Lauren when she held her hand out to you and smiled.

“Ms. Seresin.” He continued, “I am happy to push that name change through for you as well here today, I’m sure you remember how much work is involved in changing your name, but I don’t blame you one bit. As for the custody and  parental rights of the your child. I would love to settle that for you today, but that is not within my power to do so. I will be referring you to a family court and will personally put a rush on that, there are a few judges over there that owe me favors. Mr. Owens, you would be wise to advise your client it would be in his best interests to think about coming to an agreement ahead of the next court date. Is there anything else I can do for you today, Ms. Seresin?”

“No, Sir.” You replied, your voice shaking with emotion.  “Thank you so much for everything you’ve already done, Your Honor.”

“You’re very welcome.” He replied, “You are a free woman, Ms. Seresin.  Ms. Kennedy, file this at the clerk’s desk on your way out, they’ll get it expedited for you.”

“Thank you, Your Honor.” She replied. She turned towards you and motioned for you all to head towards the exit.

Once you were out of the courtroom you collapsed into Bradley’s arms, overcome with the mixed emotions. You were elated to finally be freed from Trent, but devastated that you hadne’t yet freed your little girl. Bradley held you tightly to him, supporting you against him, letting you breathe and reign in the tears.

“It’s all Ok, Sweetheart.” he whispered, “Let it out. I’ve got you.”

“We’re halfway there, Tulip.” Jake said, rubbing your back, “We had to get you out in order to get Princess G out, Ok?”

“They’re right, Sweetie.” Lauren said gently, “This is good. Judge Edwards was our best case scenario today. I’ve known him for years. He was actually the judge that got me out of my marriage. I knew we had this in the bag when I saw the docket. His friends in the family court will be the same way. It’s no longer a matter of ‘If”, Y/N. It’s now just ‘when’.”

“So what happens now?” You asked, finding your voice.

“Now…” She said, smiling, “I go get copies of these papers, and then I file them with the clerk. These papers mean you, Y/N, are no longer married to Trent. They mean your legal last name is once more Seresin… meaning a very long wait at the DMV and Social Security office… and they mean you get to 100% take back your life. I will get the custody and parental rights forms refiled with Judge Edwards signatures so they’re rushed. I’ll call you when I hear anything, ok?”

“Thank you.” You choked out past the trears once more clogging your throat, “Thank you so much for everything.”

“You’re so welcome, Sweetie.” She replied, hugging you. “Let’s get your copies so you can go celebrate with your family.”

Once outside of the courthouse, you stopped and took a deep breath, tipping your head back to  let the sun wash over your face, the warmth of it washing away all of the worries, the anxiety, the unhappiness. You were finally free of Trent. You were Y/N Seresin again.

“I’d say this calls for a celebration.” Mav said. “Since we’ve got the day off, let’s head to the beach. I’ll get pizzas and coolers of drinks and everyone can let off some steam.”

“Sounds good to me!” Fanboy agreed.

“I’m in!” Bob said.

“Dogfight Football!” Coyote cheered.

“What do you think, Tulip?” Jake asked, “Beach day with the fam? Gracie can nap there under the umbrella when she’s sleepy.”

“I think it sounds perfect.” You agreed, smiling at them all. Jake and Phoenix walked ahead with the others, everyone discussing plans for the impromptu beach day.

“You Ok, Sweetheart?” Bradley asked, slipping his hand into yours, entwining your fingers together as you slowly started to walk to the truck.

You paused walking, pulling Bradley to a stop with you. He looked down at you with a look of concern until he saw you smiling up at him.

“I’m not married.” You said, letting go of his hand so you could wrap your arms around his neck.

“No you’re not.” He agreed, smiling down at you, his own arms wrapping around your waist.

“I’m 100% free to date and give my heart to whomever I want.” You said, your smile growning.

“You are.” He agreed, his own smile growing with your words.

“I was waiting for this moment.” You said, taking a deep breath, your eyes getting lost in his own,  “I love you Bradley Bradshaw, so, so much. I have since the first night you stayed over… maybe even before that… and it scared me at first but only because I thought I was stuck and you deserved someone who could love you freely without all of the baggage… but I AM free… so you’re stuck with me now, no returns and all that…”

He stopped your babbling, leaning down and capturing your lips with his own, pouring all of the love he’s felt but hasn’t said out loud into the kiss. His tongue licked over your lips seeking entrance, which you granted, your own tongue dancing over his, as the kiss deepened.

“I love you too, Y/N Seresin.” He rasped, when the need for oxygen drew the two of you apart. “I love you so damn much. No returns. No givebacks. It’s for keeps.”

“Let’s go get our girl and go to the beach.” You said, stealing another kiss. “It’s time to celebrate our fresh start.”

“Let’s get our girl.” He agreed.

A/N: I am SO sorry for the wait on that one! I promise there is more to come! There are TWO more planned chapters this story, so stay tuned!!! What are your thoughts on this one??? 

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[lurkingshan]

La Pluie: A Masterclass in Conflict Writing in Romance

Here we go, my first attempt to process an absolutely magnificent episode of television. La Pluie episode 10 is a masterclass in building to a multi-faceted conflict that feels like a culmination of every character’s journey and all the little hints at potential problems along the way. It’s big, dramatic angst in which everyone is wrong and no one can communicate effectively, and it’s so spectacularly earned. As @shortpplfedup noted, this show is all about choice and this episode let them make terrible choices. In this post I’m going to break down how we got here with the four core characters, and all the seeds the show planted along the way to make it inevitable. Shouts to @wen-kexing-apologist for helping me grab screenshots and to them, @bengiyo and @neuroticbookworm for talking through a lot of this with me in my initial post episode frenzy. 

Tien

Let’s start with the most straightforward of the character arcs in this episode. Tien, our poor little bro who has just been trying to help everyone, got slapped in the face today. We’ve seen how he and Lomfon have grown steadily closer over the last several episodes. Tien has been nursing a crush, and over the course of the trip to the mountains and since they’ve been back, he clearly started to believe that Lomfon returned his feelings. They have been spending so much time together. Lomfon stuck to him like glue and took care of him through the whole crisis with Tai on the mountain. Lomfon knows how much Tien worries about Tai and wants his relationship to succeed so he can be happy. He knows from Tien what a hard time Tai has had after their parents’ divorce, and how much Tai struggling has hurt Tien as well. Tien spent the night holding his hand when he passed out on the mountain, and they’ve been together since. Lomfon talked to him about how to make decisions about his love life, asked him to stay the night with him, and held pinkies with him (the ultimate act of love in a bl) while he slept.

And then after all that, Lomfon went on a secret date and made a move on his brother. What a fucking blow. A total slap in the face. And to add insult to injury, Lomfon acted like he had no idea why Tien was so upset with him, and Tien was forced to make it crystal clear: he likes Lomfon. He thought Lomfon knew. And now Lomfon has gone behind his back to try to get with his brother. It’s humiliating, its devastating, it’s heart breaking. Poor Tien.

Lomfon

Oh, Lomfon. You just had to do everything in the most chaotic way possible, didn’t you? Let’s start with Lomfon’s claims about his hearing loss - he told Patts, then Tai, then Tien that he has hearing loss and can hear Tai when it rains, and thus Tai must be his soulmate. He told none of them that he can also hear Patts when it rains. There are two ways to read this:

It’s a classic case of confirmation bias and Lomfon is so narrowly focused on his obsession with Tai that he is disregarding any evidence that does not confirm their special connection 

Lomfon is intentionally lying to everyone to give himself an in with Tai

For now I am inclined to go with the first reading. The show didn’t give us any reason to think Lomfon was intentionally lying about hearing Patts - instead he is agitated, confused, and eager for clarity throughout the episode. 

One thing I found quite notable in this episode was the question Lomfon asked Tien. He didn’t ask (as if he was thinking about Tai’s perspective) what would you do if you had two soulmates? Instead, he asked what would you do if you had a soulmate, but already had someone else you liked? To me, that implies that Lomfon does have some awareness of his growing feelings for Tien, and is wondering how he should prioritize these things he is feeling for the brothers. And Tien, who of course doesn’t know why he’s asking, tells him he is a true believer in the soulmate bond and it would be very hard for him to ignore his soulmate in favor of someone else. 

So Lomfon decides to test out what he’s feeling for Tai, and invites him out on a date under false pretenses. He knows Tai is in a relationship. He knows it’s disrespectful to Patts. He knows Tien would be hurt by what he’s doing. But he has to know. Tai confirming that the keychain was his, and he is in fact the one who saved Lomfon from the traffic accident, scrambled Lomfon’s brains even further, and he just started driving toward his need for answers, disregarding how his actions would affect everyone else. And when it starts to rain, he seizes his moment, reveals the hearing loss connection to Tai, and then pushes it even further by going in for an uninvited kiss. I’ll give Lomfon a tiny bit of credit here, because as soon as he pulled back from the kiss he apologized. Tai was shocked and unresponsive. Lomfon should not have kissed him and he seemed to realize it. But before he had the chance to say anything further, Patts and Tien showed up and all hell broke loose.

It’s notable to me that even as Patts is wailing on him, Lomfon does not have the good sense to stop pushing. He keeps belligerently claiming that Tai is his soulmate even as Patts gets angrier and angrier and Tai yells for them to stop. He has fully dug in and he’s not backing down, and the only thing that stops him is Tai screaming to the universe and breaking their three way hearing loss connection (we will be talking more about this below).

And then we get to the heartbreak, as Tai and Patts take off to have their own fight and Tien finally gets to say his piece. And when Tien starts crying and confesses his feelings, Lomfon finally seems to snap the fuck out of it and understand how monumentally he has fucked everything up. He blew it with Tai, he ruined any respect or detente he and Patts had between them, and he has hurt Tien deeply. Throughout this whole episode Lomfon is reckless and impulsive in the extreme, and it didn’t have to be this way. There was a smarter, more respectful way to go about figuring this out, but he chose this, and now he has to deal with the damage he has caused.

Patts

Hoo, boy. As my friends can attest, I have been waiting for weeks for Patts to finally lose his patience and snap, and boy did the show deliver today. Let’s do a quick review of Patts’ arc with Tai up until now:

After they were connected via hearing loss, Patts spent two years waiting for Tai to respond to him, uncertain why his soulmate was rejecting him

In the meantime, his long-term relationship fell apart because of the existence of the connection, with Nara ending things and leaving Patts alone and lonely

When Patts finally found Tai and learned they are soulmates, he also learned that Tai is having a crisis of faith, and the connection was a barrier for them rather than a help

He began dating Tai and focused all his energy on making him feel safe and secure in the relationship, sublimating his own needs along the way

He displayed supreme patience every time Tai progressed the intimacy in their relationship only to immediately retreat (both emotionally and sexually) 

He helped Tai work through his trauma around his parents’ divorce and come to terms with his feelings about their soulmate bond, then carried him down a literal mountain

And then Patts finally got the commitment he’s been yearning for when Tai agreed to be his faen, said he wanted to be together forever, and declared himself ready to solidify their physical relationship

Note also that the show has previously seeded the idea that while Patts is generally a kind and patient person, he’s not a fucking saint. He has expressed some frustration with the barriers Tai keeps putting up between them, and we have heard from his exchanges with Nara that he has a temper that he is mostly able to keep under control, but sometimes gets away from him. We haven’t seen that yet, but everything in the story has been telling us it’s coming.

So with all that established by the show, what happens immediately after he finally got to the end of this long journey and thought he could relax and be happy in his new relationship? Lomfon claims his own special connection to Tai, Tai lies to him repeatedly, and Patts’ anger and insecurity about Tai’s refusal to accept him, which have been present but sublimated all along, come roaring to the surface.

I get Patts in this episode. When he gets that call from his friends, he doesn’t want to believe it. He calls Tai first to check in (Tai lies again). He goes to see Tai in the hopes that Tai will actually be where he said he will (he is not). He tells Tien explicitly - I wanted to believe that Tai wouldn’t lie to me. After everything they’ve been through, he thought there was finally trust and understanding between them, and now he is forced to question his standing with Tai again. As @bengiyo said, Patts deserves to be angry.

And then he arrives and sees Lomfon kissing Tai, and that’s it, that’s his breaking point. He finally snaps, and Lomfon has made himself the perfect target. Now, to be clear, physical violence as a means of confrontation is never okay. Patts should not have hit Lomfon even once, let alone over and over again. But while I don’t condone it, I absolutely understand it. He has been holding in his anger and frustration and hurt the whole time, and he has finally been pushed past his breaking point. And as I noted above, Lomfon doesn’t have the good sense to shut his mouth and back down at this point, and keeps egging him on as Patts gets more and more upset.

The next two conversations that Patts has with Tai are absolutely crucial to understanding his mind set and why he finally broke in this episode. First, he goes to Tai and asks him to explain himself. Why did you lie, why are you here with another man, why did you kiss him? And Tai? Refuses to answer (I will be delving into this extensively in the next section). He retreats from honest communication and just keeps claiming that Patts should implicitly understand him. So Patts gets more agitated. He wants to know, if after everything they’ve been through and the commitment they just made to each other, Tai is retreating again. And it’s a fair question! This has been Tai’s pattern throughout their entire relationship. Patts is asking for reassurance that Tai meant it when he said he was ready to be with him. Do you choose me? And once again, Tai refuses to answer. Patts is begging him for reassurance, and Tai won’t give it.

Patts then goes home and gets drunk, which is very stupid, and decides to go talk to Tai again, which is even stupider. He should have slept it off, gathered himself, and talked to Tai the next day, but he’s too upset, too agitated, too dejected to control his emotions. He insists on fighting it out right there, even though Tai has his walls all the way up and is still refusing to communicate. Patts has tried everything to earn Tai’s trust but he still can’t get through. He is angry and frustrated and he is letting Tai feel it. And here Patts just unleashes what is at the core of his despair: “It’s torturing me not knowing what you’re thinking… Whether you choose me or not, I can accept it, but the only thing I can’t bear is your silence.”

And hasn’t that been the problem between them from the very beginning? Tai left Patts alone in silence for so long. Patts has been giving Tai everything, while Tai continues to hold back. And Patts can’t do it anymore, so he loses his temper again and agrees they should end things. The regret is instant, but the damage is done. 

Tai

More than any of the others, this episode really peeled back the layers on Tai and showed us the dysfunction underneath the way he has been showing up in this relationship. We have been with Tai through this whole journey, so we know exactly what he’s been thinking as he dealt with his family’s split, rejected the soulmate bond, and then met and started dating Patts. More than anyone else, we’ve been in his perspective and encouraged to empathize with his struggles. So it was kind of mind-blowing, in the best possible way, that in this episode the show let him be repeatedly, loudly, egregiously wrong. 

Tai is a bit emotionally inconsistent. He is not a strong communicator. He expects people to put in the work to figure him out without being willing to do his own work to help them. He tries to avoid conflict as much as possible. When he is upset, he often shuts down and refuses to communicate what he is thinking or feeling. And he is also very inexperienced at romantic relationships. He’s never dated before Patts but he’s read a lot of romance novels, and he seems to believe in the romantic notion that his partner will be able to just implicitly understand him without any need to explain himself. All of this showed up today in the way he dealt with this Lomfon situation, and the subsequent conversations with Patts.

Let’s just say this plainly: Tai was wrong to lie to Patts throughout this episode. He was wrong to secretly spend time with Lomfon in order to test Lomfon’s feelings. He was wrong to refuse to explain himself when he was caught in the lies. He was wrong to insist Patts should understand and trust him on faith alone. And he was wrong to refuse to give Patts any assurance about his commitment after everything he pulled in this episode.

I understand what Tai was trying to do. He wanted to avoid any unnecessary drama, and he is still trying to tell himself Lomfon doesn’t really like him. He thinks he can test this out for himself and clear it up if Lomfon tries anything. Everything can stay friendly and Patts never needs to know. You can see him hesitate and question himself both times he lies to Patts (in the car, and then over the phone), but stubbornly press on anyway. And you can see him watching Lomfon closely throughout their day together and getting increasingly uncomfortable as he starts to realize Bow is right, and Lomfon clearly has feelings for him. 

Unfortunately, as we’ve already established, Tai is conflict avoidant. His estimation of his own ability to draw firm lines is a bit off, and he tries to flee Lomfon without clearing anything up. But they get caught in the rain, Lomfon stuns him with a reveal he was not expecting, and he absolutely freezes and just stands there while Lomfon kisses him. He is then stunned again when Patts shows up and things get violent, and he finally loses it completely and shouts to the universe that he is sick of this destiny shit and doesn’t want it anymore. And the universe responds. The hearing loss connection breaks and they can all hear normally again - but ironically, Tai no longer wants to listen.

When Patts demands answers, Tai really shuts down. As @ginnymoonbeam notes, they have diametrically opposed conflict styles. Patts is asking him entirely reasonable questions, but he is uncomfortable and anxious at being confronted so directly and he chooses to say nothing, and then goes even further by getting angry with Patts for asking him to talk. You already know that I love you, can’t you just believe that and accept whatever I do? And of course, that is a completely immature and unreasonable expectation. In relationships you have to use your words. Tai is the one who lied and broke the trust between them. He owes Patts an explanation, and he should be willing to give him reassurance that he’s not going back on his commitment to him. But he feels attacked so he refuses to give Patts what he needs, and walks away.

And in their final conversation, it’s Tai who first says they should break up. He is so uncomfortable with Patts’ desire for direct and clear communication that he would rather threaten to end their relationship than just say what Patts needs. And it’s clear that he is once again expecting Patts to be the one to do the work, make a compromise, and accept Tai’s limitations. But Patts is no longer willing to do it, and when he calls Tai’s bluff, Tai is stunned and devastated. Patts has finally stopped catering to him, and he has no idea how to walk back his words. So once again, he retreats, pushes Patts out of the room, and breaks down.

This is such excellent conflict writing. All of the interactions between them, the way they’re both behaving in these scenes, the mistakes they’re making - it’s all supported by the text and can be traced back to their established characteristics and patterns. We can see clearly how we got here, and we can also see a path forward.

Next week, we are getting back to Tai’s parents, and Tai will finally get the information he needs to reconcile his feelings about their split and recognize how it has informed his behavior. Tai and Patts will have some time to reflect on where they went wrong. And they no longer have a hearing loss connection. The soulmate myth is done and over. If they decide to be together, it will be because they truly choose it. 

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

I mean Personally I’m still glad they they Still made Sasha Waybright a character from Amphibia least get a better character journey than Catra even if we didn’t see most of her arc in Season 3. Which will personally always bug me since she’s my personal favorite character in the show since I usually love developing Villains/antagonists.

In your opinion why do you believe writers seem to have Such a hard time creating full level redemption arcs for these types of characters? I mean there’s GREAT potential in them if writers could just take the time and nuance in them after enjoying their time as the Villain.

yeah, sasha was really an intriguing character. i love how smart she was and how she handled things in a difficult situation. unfortunately, the writing of amphibia was a bit lackluster. they introduced deep elements and interesting lore into it, but never followed up. i feel like the writers really did not know how to balance a good plot and comedic elements. we never learn about why sasha was the way she was. it's implied that her parents are divorced and that could be part of the reason, but we really don't get enough exposition because the writers wanted to focus on wacky shenanigans instead.

as for your question, i think there are two reasons. one is that writers are aware that the audience loves a good villain. people are slowly drifting towards liking complex and terrifying villains. and for a villain to be terrifying, they have to do the most heinous shit imaginable. which is fine, i really don't think there's a limit to who can be redeemed. it's just that the writers either spend too much time developing a villain as an evil threat that they don't have enough time to give said villain a good redemption. or they're just plain bad at writing a good redemption.

another reason, and this pertains to spop especially, is that when writing an enemies to lovers arc, the writers wants to focus on the "enemies" part of it as much as possible. because that's where all the thrill comes from. the audience wants to see two people try to kill each other while being in compromising positions. they want to see tension, angst, drama. in theory, i don't think this is inherently a bad thing. with c//a however, since adora is not being as sadistic as catra is, it feels painfully one-sided. yeah, catra is a villain so obviously she's gonna be heartless, yada yada. but the whole "i always loved you" just adds another layer of toxicity. it implies that catra was torturing adora while she loved her or some might even say, because she loved her. yikes.

so yeah, it all comes down to bad writing. there are certain things to keep in mind when writing a good redemption but these writers just want to speedrun through the whole process so that their blorbo gets a happy ending. very few writers put in effort to build up a good redemption arc rather than slap it on whichever villain they like best.

[evansbby]

oh bestie, you just always have to eat with your fics 😭 i feel bad that i already want a series for captain’s reward but like IT’S SO GOOD the potential is literally SCREAMING at me i don’t even know where to start!

actually, let me start with the “he’ll still fuck other women” bit because all the angst that could arise from this is just 🥺 <— that is EXACTLY how his little reward will be like when she finds out that she’s just an object to him like she’s realizing it’s not a fairytale and she’s nothing more than a toy that steve labels his favorite 😔 i wonder how she’d have to find out though, because i’m assuming that steve never lets her out of his floor so would she have to be kicked out of his room? would she smell the other women on him when she goes to sleep in his bed?? like technically since steve owns her (in his eyes) that clearly means she’s not an equal to him so even if they’re married, reward’s bed isn’t really her bed still :(

on the other hand, i’m sorry but i can’t help to think of steve being so childish at the thought of his reward being with anyone else 😭 because it’s kinda like flaunting your favorite toy around and boasting about it but when other people come to admire it too, steve just hisses and hides his little reward behind him like “no, MINE” 😡 though i wish it would be in better terms and that it would be because steve is genuinely in love with his reward i don’t see it happening anytime soon unfortunately… but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying steve being mad even from the mere idea of another man even looking at his reward 😌

that being said, i don’t even know who’d be worthy of the [not-really] rival though… i’d say peter because of the more closed age gap between himself and reader and the generational (more progressive) difference between him and steve but then it’d become more like poyt and i know that’s probably not what you were going for anyways… i realize that you never mentioned thor when you brought up the other avengers but i don’t know how he could fit in this universe really, oh well we’ll just let cap and his reward be for now

another thing i’m definitely excited for is the wedding! how would reader’s parents react to the news, given that it’s so sudden? they look up to captain america too so would they be proud of their daughter or would they be a little skeptical of their daughter being wed to a man twice her age just out of the blue?? i think the former would be more entertaining, since i could see reward looking the most on-edge in this situation and steve being the most smug knowing that her parents don’t even know he already took her virginity before the wedding 😫 given it’s captain america, would the news of the wedding be publicized or private? i feel like the world would know regardless but i’m wondering how it’d go about, yunno (the smut would definitely be worth the read either way 😁)

again, i know it sounds a bit deja vu but i just know reader’s already pregnant, and i can’t help but wonder how it would change both steve and his reward… because i feel like reader would do just about anything for steve but be more assertive when their child’s finally in the picture

i’m already picturing like a super-angsty moment where reader is just about fed up with steve not being as devoted to their marriage as she is and she’s ready for a divorce, but she wouldn’t up and leave her kid with steve (and definitely not take her baby away from steve knowing that she can’t just provide on her own, she’d obviously opt for co-parenting) so how far is steve willing to be stuck in his ways before he starts to change for his new family? maybe his job as a hero starts to rise in stakes as he realizes that he now does have a family to go home to?? reward could always be an object to him, but surely he can’t think the same of their child, right??? RIGHT????

anyways sorry for going too far but those were all the thoughts in my head about captain’s reward 😭 this is what i meant when i said that the potential was screaming at me 🫣 i just love it so much!

- 🫶🏼 anon (still jenneyquinn but as i’m still using my burner acc i’m reclaiming my old alias for the time being)

ps: thank you for bringing attention to my login situation! because i’ve been busy recently i haven’t had time to reach out to tumblr support but when i get more free time i’ll get on that asap 😭

OMG BESTIEEE I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT YOU! I’m happy you saw that I replied to your last ask and I really hope you get your account back!! Im happy you’re still around tho!!! 🩷🩷🩷 idk why tumblr did you so dirty skdjsksksksk

Alsooooo, the reader in TCR isn’t exactly in love with Steve either 😭😭😭 fr that girl just wants to go home and do her homework 😭 so I don’t think presently she’d care if he “cheated” on her and I don’t think she would even consider it cheating bc she doesn’t like him like that rn!

I definitely envisioned her parents to approve of her marrying Steve! I mean he’s literally Captain America! He’s every conservative parents’ dream son in law! They wouldn’t even care about the age gap bc they’d approve sooo much of him anyways and think it’s a great match 😂 and Steve knows this. His public persona is sooo charming too, it’s only behind closed doors that his true darkness comes out!

And I actually can’t imagine her pregnant rn! I think Steve wants to enjoy her for a while before having a proper family and anyways, he’s literally heartless so I don’t think it’s a good idea for him to have children rn 😭😭😂😂😂 currently, their future storylines would be about her wanting to go home, him not letting her, him charming her parents, him showing her off to his team, his team being suspicious of him and trying to save her, her being scared shitless of him etc etc 😂😂 also her having a little crush on Bucky and IT KILLS STEVE LIKE HE IS ENRAGED BY THIS bc he can tell when he introduces her to Bucky, she gets extra shy 🥹🥹😭😭

[luke-shywalker]

I made a “what if Kylo stayed the villain” post because I was annoyed at Kylo stans who don’t know how to appreciate tragedies (like, stories that end without a happy ending for the character) or a character as a narrative element (appreciating him as the villain in the story and not just my uwu baby). But I forgot that Kylo haters also don’t know how to think about him (he did bad stuff so you can’t like him, you can’t choose to be good once you’ve done so much bad stuff, it wasn’t fair to Han and Leia to have a son like that—to which I say, respectively, wrong, very wrong, and correct but that’s the point) so now I have to write about that too.

Kylo Ren is my favorite Star Wars character (sorry Luke at least you’ll always be my url and pfp <3). I will say he’s my favorite mainly because of the potential there was in his character, not because of how they actually ended up handling him in the movies. I think it would have been much more compelling to keep Kylo’s storyline and character development associated with his family (Han, Leia, and Luke) instead of sticking him with Rey for most of the trilogy.

His costume design in TFA, with the helmet and cape, was rad. It was clever, I think, to have this scary ominous dude with a deep voice, and then the moment when he took off the mask and it was just this awkward-looking Guy.

Kylo haters observe things correctly but don’t understand that that’s the point. Kylo takes off his mask and he’s just some weird-looking emotionally weak pale dude. YES. That’s the point. He wants to be a neo-Vader but instead he’s just this pathetic weirdo. Kylo has done too many bad things and doesn’t deserve to be redeemed—YES. That’s the point. He’s gone too far, done so much, and yet mercy can still reach him too and his parents would still embrace him in the light despite all his sins. It’s unfair that Han and Leia had to experience the tragedy of losing their son to darkness—YES, that’s the point, that’s what makes the story so impactful (at least, the setup had the potential to be impactful).

I love that Kylo was Han and Leia’s son. I hate that TFA had Han and Leia divorce over it, and I don’t think they would. But narratively speaking Kylo being Han and Leia’s son is perfect to me. The idea of two of the Rebellion’s greatest heroes who have dedicated their lives to battling evil, losing their own son to the dark…MMMM chef’s kiss such delicious quality angst.

TLJ (and I think some of the novels that portrayed Han and Leia as neglectful parents) messed this up though, because Ben turning to the dark became portrayed as a result of Luke, Han, and Leia’s failings (I’M STILL NOT OVER HOW THEY DECIDED THAT LUKE, WHO SAW THE GOOD IN VADER, WOULD THINK ABOUT MURDERING HIS NEPHEW??) instead of a tragedy orchestrated by Snoke that the entire Skywalker/Solo family became a victim of. I don’t understand why they needed to blame Ben’s fall on the OT trio, his family who loved him so much, when they established that Snoke had been watching and grooming Ben his entire life. So yeah I’ll be salty about that forever.

I can’t even talk about Kylo and Rey right now but I’m just annoyed that Kylo’s turn to the light was centered around Rey who he spoke to like five times instead of around his family who were the most important people in his life. They took my prodigal son narrative and turned it into a Twilight knockoff.

I think it was narratively good for Ben to be redeemed (looking at you, haters) and narratively good for him to die (looking at you, stans). I said in my other post it would have been interesting if he stayed and died a villain, but I do believe in redemption and the choice we all have to turn from our evil and choose good, no matter how late in life. And I think it was right for Ben to die in the service of good, because redemption comes at great cost.

I understand why people don’t like Kylo based on how the sequels turned out. But Kylo is my fav because I know how good his story with his family could have been, if it had been handled better.

[findroleplay]

hey hello!! 23nb looking for other 20+ writers. i was hoping to find someone who could write their eddie against my richie (it). for whatever reason some part of my brain was set ablaze like i was a sleeper agent or something, but now i’m back in the dying fandom and desperate for fluff. 

ideally, this would be a post-canon, fix-it style au where they were able to actually drag eddie out of the neibolt house and get him some medical attention. standard fair. eddie getting a divorce, moving out to los angeles, and living out the rest of his days with the love of his life. i’m open to slight deviations (I’m especially partial to richie also being a divorcee with a kid and eddie has to learn how to stepdad with all his own parental trauma, but that’s not required.) lots of them filling in the blanks of their memories, learning about what all they missed in each others’ lives. i’m open to flashbacks to when they were kids/young teens, but most of this would take place when they’re older and domestic and no longer worrying about murder clowns. lots of angst!! and potential for fluff!!! just a couple of childhood friends who forgot about each other’s existence falling in love and being in love. what’s better than this? guys being dudes.💕 

literate/novella lengths (depends on the partner,) and pretty active. big on communication, so please connect ready to plot!! my biggest pet peeve in a roleplay is dragging ideas out of my partners, so please be prepared to chat. love swapping headcanons, playlists, and pinterest boards. plotting is one of my favorite parts of the roleplay process so i’m always down to listen. nsfw friendly but not required as i’m usually a more plot-focused writer myself. discord based. if any of this sounds like something you would be interested in, let me know by liking this and i’ll reach out to you from there!! :)

-

[jungk0oksthighs]

Stay With Me | Hope pt.1

exhusband!jungkook, singledad!jungkook, E2L, angst, fluff, smut

Word Count - 3.5k

Your would’ve been wedding anniversary has always been a difficult day. Warnings: swearing, oc is v bad with technology, alcohol consumption, one mention of vibrators, heavy angst 

MINISERIES COLLECTION

Today is a particularly hard day for you, giving that it would’ve been yours and your ex-husband’s wedding anniversary. Thankfully your son Seol is sleeping at a friend’s house this weekend so you have the space you need to mope, though truthfully some company wouldn’t exactly go a miss. It’s nearing five pm when you decide to give Hoseok a call and see if he’s free, but maybe that decision has been influenced by the three glasses of wine you’ve downed.

“Hey, you okay?” Hoseok’s voice makes you smile, you’ve been on all of three dates with him at this point and if you’re being honest he has real potential.

He’s a single father too, he has a nine year old daughter and he’s been divorced for almost one year now. It’s not been mentioned why he and his ex-wife got divorced, but having said that your exes rarely come into conversation when the two of you go out.

“Hey Hobi…” An affectionate nickname people at work, including you, call him. “Everything’s good, are you free tonight?” You chew your lower lip with anticipation, you’re yet to sleep with Hoseok but if he fucks anything like he kisses… You know that you’re in for a treat.

His chuckle is deep on the other end of the phone, “Not tonight I’m afraid, I’m on dad duty this weekend. You sure you’re okay? You never call me.”

“Ahh…” Your disappointment is evident, but you understand entirely. Children come first one hundred percent, you can’t be mad at him for being a good father. “No I’m fine honestly, my son is sleeping out tonight so I just wanted some company I guess, but I completely understand that you’ve got your daughter.”

At this Hoseok makes a tsk sound between his teeth, followed by a dangerous panty-dropping frustrated sigh, “Trust me I would love to come over and keep you company Y/N, but I can’t tonight. I’ll make it up to you another time.”

“Looking forward to it.” You hum flirtatiously, smiling like a school girl.

He chuckles again and you can practically see his big grin through the phone, “Me too, I’ll text you tomorrow.”

It would appear that the stars are not aligned with you tonight, everybody you know is busy, absolutely everybody. Your friends either have parental commitments or have other plans already. It’s okay though, you figure it’s probably best to spend tonight alone in a hot bubble bath having some self-care time rather than getting wild with one of your besties. Though after you’re forth glass of wine you’re halfway there already.

After a soak in the tub you’re feeling pretty buzzed from the alcohol, it’s almost seven pm and you decide to get changed into a pair of red silky pyjamas that always find a way to boost your confidence. Eye mask on, more wine poured… Music, you need music.

“Alexa… play that’s what I like by Bruno Mars.”

Playing marry you by Bruno Mars from Spotify.

“No, no! Alexa! Play that’s what I like by Bruno Mars!”

Playing when I was your man by Bruno Mars from Spotify.

“No! For fucks sake…” You groan, flicking the cap on the wine bottle into the unknown, even technology wants to remind you of what today should’ve been. Fuck Alexa. Fuck everything. Fuck…you? Maybe a few rounds with your vibrator would take your mind away from today’s date, and since you’re home alone… Why the fuck not?

Same bed but it feels just a little bit bigger now, Our song on the radio but it don’t sound the same.

The sound of Bruno singing his about his sorrows drowns your house through every speaker, flooding your senses and causing your heart to ache just a little bit more than it already did. Who are you kidding? You’re not in the mood to fuck yourself right now. 

Fifteen years ago today you married the love of your life, the father of your child, your best friend, truthfully the only man you’ve ever wholly loved. Ever since your trip to the beach with Jungkook you’ve been confused about where you stand with him, now more than ever. Do you miss him? Yes. Do you regret divorcing him? Yes, wait. No. Do you accept his apology? Yes. Would you ever take him back?

I should have bought you flowers, and held your hand, Should’ve gave you all my hours, when I had the chance.

…Maybe.

“Alexa! Stop! That song just makes me think about Jungkook…” You admit with a pained sigh, downing wine straight from the bottle. It’s ridiculous, you divorced him. You’ve no right to miss him, you’ve no right to wonder what your life could be like with him if you ever gave your relationship another chance… No. Exes are exes for a reason, it’s just because it’s your anniversary. Would’ve been your anniversary. That’s why you’re wallowing in self-pity right now.

Calling Jungkook

“What?! No! No no no no no, nooooo!” You sprint to the nearest home speaker, almost slipping on the tiled floor of your kitchen, “Alexa! Stop—”

“Hello?”

“Alexa! Stop!”

The sound of breathy laughter leaving your ex-husbands lips echoes through what was once your shared home, “Trouble with technology Y/N?”

You groan in return, snorting mostly to yourself, “Is it that obvious?”

“So… is this a completely random call or were you talking about me and Alexa decided to let me know?” He’s giggling, he always found it so funny that you’re more than just a little useless when it comes to technology. Even after your divorce there’s been times where you’ve had to contact him for your account passwords and login details for various apps and devices.

“I’m home alone so rest assured I wasn’t talking about you.” You half-lie, technically he was mentioned but nobody save for Alexa heard it. That bitch betrayed you good, as soon as this call is over you’re putting her straight in the trash.

“That’s good to know. Where’s Seol?”

“He’s at a friend’s house for the weekend, hence why I’m here alone.” You sigh, taking another gulp of wine when your throw yourself up onto the marble countertop.

There’s a brief silence as though he’s contemplating what to do with that information, but finally after what feels like way too long he speaks, “Well… I hope you have a good night whatever you decide to do. It’s been nice talking to you, but I guess I have Alexa to thank for that.” He laughs again, you just know he’s shaking his head in disbelief right now.

“Sorry if I disturbed you—”

“Not at all, I’m just in the store buying some wine actually… Rough day.”

A pained smile tugs your lips, a bittersweet feeling coursing your veins. At least you know it’s not just you who is affected by the date. Should you invite him over? Would that be a complete disaster? Because right now it doesn’t sound like a terrible decision. It does beat drinking alone, and things aren’t awkward between you it would be fine. But there is the incident of your almost kiss in the hotel room—

“You still there? Or has Alexa fucked you over again?”

You grin, playfully rolling your eyes, “I’m still here.”

“Alright…”

Fuck it. Why drink alone when you can drink with someone else who happens to know exactly what you’re going through?

“Hey Kook…?”

He sniffs, you can hear glass bottles clinking in the background, “Mmm?”

“Would it be weird if I invited you over for a drink tonight?”

The silence is deafening, your heart is pounding and you’re about to tell him to forget you ever said anything when he clears his throat down the line.

“I mean it does beat drinking alone… Which is all I had planned for tonight anyway.”

You’re smiling again, “Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking.”

After a quick outfit change you’re back in your kitchen wearing an emerald green smock dress, it was the first thing you could find in your wardrobe and you figure it’s much better than answering the door in sexy red silk pyjamas. You’re nervous, and dare you admit it a little excited to see your ex-husband. Why? You’ve no idea. What you do know is that when you open the front door and you’re greeted with Jungkook wearing a simple oversized white t shirt, ripped black jeans and boots of the same colour, you’re happy he’s here.

“Hey… I see you’ve started without me?” Jungkook’s heavily tattooed arm gestures to the almost empty bottle of wine sitting atop your kitchen unit. His smile is playful, gorgeous even when you sigh in defeat and nod.

“Shit, you caught me… So did you bring more wine?”

“Mhm, the good stuff too.” His hum is chipper, he’s looking down at you with a fond gaze that makes your chest swell with something vaguely familiar. “I brought soju as well, good job really cause I’ll need some shots to get on your level since you’re already drunk dialling people.” He winks, and for a moment you forget how to breathe.

You point at the home speaker in protest, “Hey she’s the one who drunk dialled you! I had nothing to do with it!” Except you kind of did, but he doesn’t need to know that.

Jungkook makes quick work of getting a glass for himself along with two double-sized shot glasses from the cupboard. Muscle memory takes over, he remembers exactly where you keep everything because heaven forbid he ever put something back in the wrong place when he lived here. Your organisation skills could win awards. It’s not long before he’s topped up your wine and poured himself a glass too, as well as two shots of peach soju – which just so happens to be your favourite.

“So…” He hands you a shot, when his inked fingertips graze yours you struggle to bite back a coy smile, “To us I guess?”

Your brow quirks, “To us?”

“You’re gonna make me say it aren’t you?” His eyes squeeze shut in feigned embarrassment for a second but he carries on, looking you dead in the eye for a moment you will never forget, “Happy kinda anniversary Y/N.”

Oh shit. That.

You swallow thickly, clinking the tiny glass against his with an apologetic smile, “Happy kinda anniversary Jungkook.”

It’s ten pm when you realise you’re beyond wasted, as is Jungkook. You’re both dancing together in the dining room, there’s distance between your bodies but you can still feel his warmth even from here. His cheeks still have the cutest tinge of pink to them when he’s drunk, and he’s far from coordinated when he sways his hips from left to right in sync with the beat of the music.

“Alexa!” You slur with a lazy grin, near empty glass of wine loosely in your grip, “Alexa! Play that’s what I like by Bruno Mars!” Whether the home appliance likes it or not, you are listening to that song one way or another.

Kook claps excitedly, mirroring your haphazard smile, “That’s such a good song! Nine out of ten, well done!”

Nine out of ten, your smile drops for a moment. Ever since your first date you and Jungkook got into the strange habit of rating things that didn’t need to be rated. Song choices, food, tv shows, outfits, cars, even children’s names when you were pregnant… You name it you guys rated it. It was the first of many inside jokes and quirks you shared throughout your relationship, and it suddenly dawns on you that he never stopped doing it.

Playing when I was your man by Bruno Mars from Spotify.

“No, no no no!” You yell, “Play that’s what I like by Bruno Mars!” But it’s too late, the song has started and the lyrics hit you harder than ever.

Same bed but it feels just a little bit bigger now, Our song on the radio but it don’t sound the same, When our friends talk about you all it does it just tear me down, Cause my breaks a little when I hear your name

Jungkook takes a beat to listen to the lyrics of the song before scoffing humourlessly with a small head shake, finishing his wine in one swift gulp that looks borderline painful. His stare is fixed to your face, you’re looking back uncertain of what to do next when your ex coughs, shouting loud enough to be heard above the music.

“Alexa! Play that’s what I like by Bruno Mars!”

Playing that’s what I like by Bruno Mars from Spotify.

As soon as the preferred song choice kicks in you’re both screaming along to the words, god help your neighbours. Jungkook even going as far to make up impromptu dance moves that have you folded over in fits of hysterics, drunkenly pointing to and grinding on nothing. Sometimes you forget how hilarious he is, he can make you belly laugh at the drop of a hat.

“Kook stop!” You wheeze, “I’m gonna pee!”

But he doesn’t care, his animated facial expressions have you howling with laughter when he gets up on the dining table in one swift jump. He’s snapping his fingers to the beat, bobbing his head along to the song. It’s when he drops his weight in a messy slut drop that you cave, running to the downstairs bathroom before you actually piss yourself laughing.

The realisation of how drunk you are hits you when you’re sitting on the porcelain throne, as it usually does. It’s so nice that you and Kook can have a good time together without it being awkward, in a way it makes you nostalgic of how things used to be between you before it got bad. 

You let out a dramatic sigh, rubbing your temples. Why did things have to get bad? God Jungkook is the perfect man in almost every single way… You miss him so much. You miss your drunken escapades together. You miss waking up to him in a morning. You miss going to bed with him at night, and you definitely miss the way he made you feel in bed.

When you return to the dining area Kook has already poured more drinks, thankfully he’s back on the ground and he’s wearing his signature bunny-like grin that causes your heart to flutter. He’s so fucking handsome. And that’s not the alcohol talking either, he really is breath taking.

“Another shot?” He winks, albeit very exaggeratedly.

You jog over to him with a bright beaming smile, “Thought you’d never ask.”

“This is fun right? We haven’t been drunk together in a while…” Kook playfully cocks his head to one side, watching your reaction closely.

“Yknow I was just thinking the same thing…” You admit rather sheepishly, “This is fun. I’m glad we can do this.”

The atmosphere shifts to something less messy and more familiar, perhaps even fringing on romantic when he closes the distance between your bodies, loosely gripping your waist, “Me too. Alexa! Shuffle music. Come on let’s have a proper dance...”

Playing your song by Elton John from Spotify.

Your heart stops beating. Jungkook’s heart stops beating. Fifteen years ago to the day this was your first dance song that was played at your wedding. It’s like technology itself is screaming at you, constantly reminding you both what today is. Jungkook is the first to move, he tugs your body closer to his, swaying his hips from side to side when you drape your arms over his strong shoulders. It’s familiar, it’s romantic, it’s nostalgic… And in an ironic twist of fate, It's perfect.

It's not long before your head rests against his collarbone, he still wears the same spicy cologne you notice. His fingers dance along the base of your spine when you move with him, a content hum rattling his broad chest quiet enough to almost go a miss.

“Now this song has always been a ten out of ten.”

“Kook…?” You whisper, mindlessly toying with the dark hairs gathered at the nape of his neck.

“Mmm?”

You know what you want to say, but you also know that there is absolutely no way you should say it. You want to tell him you miss him, you want to apologise for everything, hell you want to get onto your tiptoes and plant a soft kiss to those lips that made you fall in love with him. But you can’t, you’re drunk, he’s drunk, it wouldn’t be right… Even if this moment is the most content you’ve felt in years.

Jungkook pulls back just enough to watch your profile curiously, his tongue darts out and wets his lips, drawing more attention to the area you’re already thinking too much about.

“Are you okay?” His voice is quiet, he’s still languidly swaying left to right with you between his arms but his full attention is fixed on your eyes. If you had the power to freeze time you would, because this is it, this is the moment you finally admit to yourself that you still love him.

You’re nodding slowly, gaze never straying from his big brown doe-eyes that are hooded and slightly reddened from wine and swimming with something that can only be described as hope.

“I-, I’m fine.”

He stills his movements, in turn stopping you from swaying while your wedding song continues to play in the background, “Are you sure? Do you want me to leave?”

As if on instinct you tip toe to be closer to him, his breath is warm against your face, “…No, I don’t want you to go.”

“Y/N…” He whispers, bringing a hand up to gently cup the back of your head, “As much as I want to kiss you right now… We can’t.” When your face visibly drops he continues, “Because it would mean something very different to me than it would to you.”

“Kook…” You’re blinking rapidly, trying to find the words you want to say.

“I should go.” He admits with a light sigh, one filled with pain and regret.

You’re cupping his jaw, completely infatuated with the way he’s looking at you, “No… Please don’t leave.”

“I have to.” He swallows, resting his forehead to yours, “Because if I don’t, I’m gonna end up kissing you.”

You wet your lips subconsciously, brushing back a wayward strand of his hair that’s fallen into his eyes, “Then stay...” You breathe, heart hammering inside your chest.

Jungkook walks you backwards until the swell of your ass hits the dining table behind, his arms cage you in either side of your hips. The way he’s staring at you… With so much adoration, so much hope yet so much sadness. It’s enough to make your heart race and break all at once.

“What are you saying Y/N?” His voice is low, his right hand comes up to your chin, tipping it upward and angling your face to his.

“Don’t go... Please don’t go.”

His lips ghost yours, they’re so painfully close to yours that if you move even just a tiny bit you’re certain they’ll touch. “Are you sure...? What do you want me to do?”

Your eyes flutter shut in preparation for what’s about to happen, the next words that leave you are barely audible but Jungkook catches them when he’s gently tracing the front of your chin with his thumb.

“Stay with me.”

x

[jimblejamblewritings]

luck be a (leading) lady | part 3.

Summary: Y/N has always been a background character. That’s just life for some folks isn’t it? But what if she’s determined to not just be another member in the ensemble? What if someone helps her step into the spotlight in her own special way?

Warnings for the Series: a teeny bit of angst but mainly fluff

Pairing: ricky bowen x black!reader

Word Count: 3.4k

A/N: I am not even sorry for starting a third series. I just finished season three of hsmtms and I’m obsessed. Also spoiler now, EJ and Gina are staying as an endgame couple. I’m gonna try to plant those seeds early if I can.

Previous Part | (Series Masterlist)

“These are amazing!” Ricky complimented your sister on the steak tacos. 

Your sister thanked him and immediately started to ask him all sorts of questions. Of course your family was excited. You had clung to your sister and her friends until Kiana came around. And after that, Kiana was the only person they ever saw come over. They wanted to know everything about your new “friend”. Ricky didn’t mind the questions. He actually found comfort in being distracted and then found more comfort in some of your parents’ advice on how to deal with his own parents’ divorcing. 

“Hey, if it’s not too much trouble, I actually think I’m gonna head home instead of sleeping over. I think I should talk with them.” 

“Okay, let’s go.”

“Hmm?”

“You came in my car.” 

“Oh, no, you’re already home. I can just skateboard, your house is actually really close. I’m literally at the end of the street.”

You raised your eyebrows in surprise. If you knew that one of your classmates had lived on your street then you would have gone with Kiana all those times she wanted to sell her Girl Scout cookies in your neighborhood. Maybe you would have gotten to know someone quicker. You walked Ricky to the door and then stood outside as he skated away just to make sure that he actually did make it to his house. The boy gave you a small wave before heading into his own home. 

A grin spread on your face when you went to your locker during morning break at school the next day. Ricky, who had been talking to Big Red whose locker was two down from yours, stuck a hand up to greet you. You quickly held your hand up and lowered it before going back to taking out and putting up books in your locker. You could hear Ricky groan at whatever Big Red must have suggested before you had walked up.

“I’m just saying it’s your chance.” 

“Dude, the last thing I should do is ask Nini to homecoming on the day of the dance. She’s hardcore friend-zoned me.”

“She’s single and ready to mingle.”

“It’s a bad idea, trust me.” 

If it wasn’t for the fact that you loved dressing up, you could have forgotten it was homecoming. You didn’t have a date because of course you didn’t. Kiana would have come but she had practice and you told her that her team and potential scholarships were more important than one little dance. She made you promise to post all the pictures on Instagram. Laughing to yourself, you agreed to post for your four rabid followers to like and comment. 

You were sat at table ten with all the other theatre kids when you got to the dance. You were positive they organized that on purpose but it didn’t matter. Sitting quietly amongst people you kind of knew was better than strangers. The big shocker was Gina and EJ coming to the dance together. Everyone got the Instagram notification at the same time, turning your heads to see that they were in fact taking pictures in the photo booth. Ricky threw back his cup of punch. 

“Unbelievable, he steals my girlfriend and eight seconds after their breakup he’s already playing the field.” 

“Dude,” Big Red said. “That’s what you should be doing, too.”

“Are you actually defending him?”

“No, I’m just saying. You made that pact with your dad to put yourself out there again.”

“That was so he’d stop sleeping on the couch, it’s been a week.”

“Well, it was still a good idea and now is the best time to do it. It’s a dance! Dance with someone.” 

Ricky just shook his head. He didn’t vibe with the idea at all. You all tried not to look suspicious as Gina and EJ arrived at the table. It was still kind of a surprise— the two of them being together. Maybe they weren’t together but Gina was holding his arm the entire time and EJ didn’t seem to mind. Those were for sure signs of dating, right? That was confirmed when Gina asked EJ to get them some punch, making sure to add the word babe at the end of the request. Ricky immediately slid into EJ’s empty chair. 

“Advice, I probably wouldn’t go with a guy like him. Not exactly good news.”

“You’re not really one to give relationship advice, are you? If I want your opinion, I’ll ask.”

“Well, I’m giving it anyway because I thought you were classier than this. But maybe you’re just what people say you are.”

Everyone at the table got silent. 

“And that is?” 

Big Red tried to stop Ricky but he kept going. “A little too ambitious for your own good.” 

You watched Gina grit her teeth before standing up to go find EJ. You were pretty sure that was a lie as she started to make her way more to the gym doors than the punch table. 

“That was mean, Ricky,” you said as you stood up to try and go find the girl. “And you all might think that but you could try to understand her better.” 

“G-Gina, Gina wait!” You chased after her. 

She turned around with a vengeance. “What?! What do any of you want?” 

You stopped in your tracks. Confrontation and dealing with it wasn’t a strong suit of yours. Your feet stuttered backwards a little bit. You didn’t exactly know what you were going to do after finding Gina but you didn’t expect her to raise her voice. You heard your own voice waiver as you tried to say something. A hand landed on your shoulder and a somewhat deep voice came from behind you. 

“Don’t be mad at her, I was the one who said something stupid in the first place. I’m actually really sorry about what I said, Gina. It wasn’t cool at all.” 

“You were just saying what everyone thinks.” 

“Not me,” you piped up. 

Gina gave you a smile. 

“It still wasn’t cool for me to say that. And it’s not cool for us to think that either.” 

“Well, thanks. Seriously.” 

“Where are you going?”

“I think I’ve had enough of the dance for tonight.” 

“Do you need someone to drop you home? I actually have my car tonight… Do you want to come too, Y/N? Since we’re neighbors?” 

You nodded and moved with the other two. While you and Ricky might have been neighbors, Gina lived a bit away. You sat in the back so she could give directions as Ricky drove. Gina began telling you guys all about her home life. It was obvious why theatre was so important to her. With the way she had to move around a lot because of her mom’s job, it was the only place she could even begin to make temporary friends in such a short amount of time. She actually laughed at your joke about how she was doing better than you. Gina turned around in the front seat after Ricky pulled into her driveway. 

“You just need an extrovert to adopt you.”

“That’s exactly what my friend Kiana said to me.” 

“Then it’s settled. We’re besties now… you can tag along too, Richard.” 

He held a hand to his chest in fake offense while you and Gina laughed as she got out of the car. Slipping into the passenger’s seat, you and Ricky waited for the young girl to get inside before pulling out the driveway. Ricky looked at you from the corner of his eye. You were focused on the world outside, looking straight ahead. 

“I think I’ll take Gina up on tagging along.”

“Hmm?”

“We’re besties now. I mean you’re behind Big Red but it’s a pretty close second.” 

“Okay, besties,” you said more to yourself than to him while getting more comfortable in your seat. 

Ricky took the moment that the car was stopped at a red light to fully look at your face. You were smiling as you kept looking outside. You were happy to have not just one but two friends. Ricky thought you were pretty cool. He saw the way you interacted with your family at dinner. Once you got past the social shyness, the person you were was a rather pleasant one. 

He also found himself liking your silence and calmness. He had never meant to blurt out to you that his parents were getting a divorce. But you just seemed like no one else would know until he was ready for them to know. Ricky loved Big Red but he always ended up saying something on accident. And not only was he no longer close with Nini but everything Nini knew, Kourtney knew. It was partly selfish when Ricky told you because he knew you had no one to tell. But he was finding himself glad he made the decision after just observing you a little more. 

“You know the McDonald’s by our houses is now open twenty-four seven. Want to get some and then go to the park?” 

“Sure, I already texted my parents that you were going to drop me back home anyway.” 

The park late at night wasn’t a regular occurrence for you. But it wasn’t a bad time— it was actually made funnier by the fact that you and Ricky were in fancy dance attire. You two sat on the swings eating and talking. Well, Ricky did most of the talking. He was starting to realize that you didn’t like to speak unless you really had something to say. It wasn’t just about being introverted and shy. 

“So I didn’t get into the skating compet— did you just dip your fries in that milkshake?” 

“Yes?” 

Ricky grabbed your cup from you and looked down at it before meeting your eyes again. “In a vanilla milkshake? That’s basically admitting you’re an alien.”

“Because of vanilla?”

“Everyone knows you dip your fries in the strawberry flavor.” He did just that to emphasize his point. 

Your face scrunched up. “I think you’re the alien. That’s so gross.” 

“Nuh uh, try it… Come on, try it.” 

He stabbed a french fry towards you a couple times until you reluctantly ate it. The boy waited in anticipation that ended in laughter when it became clear that you absolutely hated the taste. You shook your head in a very animated fashion. 

“Ricky, your taste buds are broken. You’ve got to be the only one that likes that.” 

“Big Red agrees.” 

“Okay, taste buds are definitely broken,” you said before shivering. 

“Are you cold?” Ricky asked while taking off his suit jacket and placing it around you. 

“But won’t you be cold now?”

“Eh, I’ve got long sleeves,” he said as he sat back down on the other swing. “So, what do you like to do? I mean aside from this whole musical thing.” 

“I kind of just do this musical thing and plays and improv shows but those always scare me. I also do puppet shows sometimes when Larry gets sick.” 

“We have improv shows?”

“Not at school. I’m in a company outside. The Saltwater Company at the Fine Arts Museum, I’m in the Orca Troupe.” 

Both of Ricky’s eyebrows raised up. “So this is basically your life.” 

He listened as you agreed with him and went on to explain more. You were always doing shows. It was the fall musical at school then the winter play and the annual nutcracker production. Then the improv show that brings in the new year. Then back to school for the Spring musical. And back to the The Saltwater Company for their Spring musical, the late spring play, the Shakespeare in the park and then finally ending it all with a summer musical at Camp Shallow Lake. Of course, the occasional puppet show was in there because for some reason kids like you and you sort of became Larry’s automatic understudy. 

“Wow. That’s serious dedication. That’s really cool actually.” 

“Thanks. Oh! I like making coffee and raising butterflies.”

“You can do that?” 

“Yeah, especially monarchs. They’re endangered so it actually helps up their numbers. You raise the caterpillars and then when they become butterflies, they fly away to populate other places. The monarchs tend to flock to Mexico.” 

“Do any ever stay?” 

“A couple of them do each time for a few weeks or so.” 

“You ever name them?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe… Oh, you gotta tell me.” 

“My most recent group? Steve, Natasha, Bruce, Ton—”

“The Avengers?” 

“I was really into the movies at the time.” 

You gently pushed at Ricky’s knees after he looked like he was going to laugh. After a few more conversations that were prompted by him asking questions, you guys finished your food and made your way back to the car. You could see why Ricky was pretty well-liked by everyone at school. He was easy to talk to and always seemed to try and be engaged with whoever he was talking with. You could almost feel like he had been friends with you for years. The car pulled up right in front of your house. 

“Thanks for the ride and the food.” 

“No problem. See you at rehearsal on Monday.” 

“Pro tip, it’s costume day so only wear tight nude or black underwear. Trust me. You’ll want an undershirt too.” 

“Noted.” Ricky waited for you to close your front door before going the very short distance to his own home.

You were surprised to hear your doorbell ring so early in the morning. Quickly finishing up brushing your teeth, you headed downstairs still in your pajamas with a clay mask over your nose to go answer the door. Your sister had gone back to New York for work and your parents always left early to head to their offices so it just left you. Opening the door, you blinked at seeing your down-the-street neighbor. 

“Ricky?”

“Hi, I totally meant to get your phone number yesterday. Somehow no one has it but anyway, we’re neighbors so I figured we could carpool.” 

“Okay… um, there’s still an hour and a half before school starts.” 

“I wasn’t sure when you left for school. You know Nini used to get there at exactly seven ten every morning.” 

“Wow. Well we aren’t leaving till seven twenty… do you want breakfast?” 

Ricky stepped inside so you could close the door. He sat at the kitchen island and watched you go to a very fancy looking machine. That’s right, you did mention the other day that you liked to make coffee. He didn’t know it was like legit. You pulled out three jars from the cabinet above the fancy machine. 

“Light, medium, or dark roast?” 

“I’m not really a coffee drinker, whatever’s good.” 

“I love a newbie. Hot or cold drink?” 

“Hot.”

“One warm cappuccino coming up.”

Ricky stood up from his seat after you grabbed something from the fridge. “You know I’m a professional pancake master. I can do that.”

“Are you sure?” 

You handed over the pancake mix. Ricky got to work at the stove while you kept going with the coffees. You set the drinks on the table before stating that you’d be back after you finished getting ready for school. Coming back down, you saw a nice stack of pancakes on a plate and the skillet already put in the dishwasher. Ricky gave you a smile. 

“Told you I was a pro.”

The two of you finished eating and headed for school. The twenty minute drive consisted of you helping Ricky run all his lines and playing all the songs from the musical. He was starting to enjoy this whole musical thing more and more. It had only started as a way to get Nini back but he was really finding friends and family amongst the cast. While you guys didn’t have any classes together, Ricky did wave every time you passed each other in the hallway or walked by classrooms. You ended up eating lunch with him, Big Red, and Gina. 

“So I was thinking we could get our nails done before the show,” Gina said. 

“That sounds great.”

“Oh, no offense, Big Red, this was kind of a me and Y/N thing. Girls’ day.” 

“What if Ricky and I just happen to be there.” 

“Well played. Anyway, Y/N?”

You agreed right away. Besides, everyone knew that while not needed it helped one get more in character if you did your nails the way that they would. Gina was happy to have actually made a friend. East High felt different than all her other schools and she was really wanting to stay. Even though Ricky was out of line when he said what he did at the dance, the two of them sincerely made up. Gina liked sitting with you, him, and Big Red. Your little group of four was definitely a weird one but you guys were enjoying it all the same. 

You were enjoying it even more when Gina joined in on everyone making fun of Ricky’s wig at rehearsal. Sure he didn’t have straight hair like Troy but the wig’s current state was absolutely horrendous. Ricky rolled his eyes at all the teasing but even he ended up laughing at the ugly hairpiece. You all were eager to change out of the costumes and get back to rehearsal in the drama room. 

“Where’s Ms. Jenn?” Nini asked. 

“Coming, coming. Her car broke down so she had to take it to the mechanic,” Carlos said quickly.

“How’d she get it there if it broke down?” 

“Let’s just get started.” 

The rest of the cast gave each other looks. Something was definitely up. Ms. Jenn never missed a practice. You were actually starting to believe that she lived in her office. Nini moved to stand where Carlos said. Her Gabriella solo was supposed to be worked and then the show was practically over. 

“Um, Carlos, why am I dancing with four boys?” 

“Because as the ballad builds, you’re going to be walking through a forest of boys.”

“What does that even mean?” Nini looked at the rest of the cast and all the girls nodded in assurance that you guys were also confused.

“Gabriella’s heart has just been shattered by Troy and now she’s remembering everything about him.” 

“Ew, what? Troy just broke my heart by selling me out to his teammates.” 

Ashlyn nodded. “She’s kind of got a point. He is kind of irredeemable at this point until he shows up for the musical. A Troy forest is probably the last thing anyone would want.”

“She could cut down the forest,” Natalie, the stage manager, suggested. 

Kourtney raised her hand. “Or be surrounded by a forest of her loving sisters.” 

You all snapped your fingers at that idea. Ricky chimed in. 

“Is it better if she sings an acoustic version of the ballad… or not.” 

“Absolutely not, just start the ballad!” 

“Woah, Carlos, it’s not that big a deal. We were just suggesting stuff. We can always just ask Ms. Jenn when she gets back.” 

“She might’ve been fired!” Carlos blurted out before covering his mouth. 

Everyone stood up from the floor. “What?!”

“They’re saying she lied on her resume application and there’s a school board meeting tomorrow to talk about.” 

“Is this about not being a featured dancer in any of the High School Musicals?” you asked. 

“You knew?” 

“I’ve had the cheerleader dance in What time is it memorized since it came out. The blonde girl looks a lot like her but the credits say a totally different name. Jenn is short for Jennifer not Jenelle.” 

“And you never said anything?”

“Don’t all actors lie? I once said I was five ten so I’d be considered for an audition.”

“Really?” Ricky turned to you. “That’s such a bad lie.”

“I got the part.”

“Impressive.”

Carlos clapped his hands. “Um, hello, Ms. Jenn getting fired?” 

“Right, sorry.” 

“What are we supposed to do about it?”

Natalie stood up. “We don’t have a show without a teacher. Guess we’re done, see you guys later.” 

You and some of the others looked around in shock and confusion as almost the entire cast left the room. Even Nini and EJ ended up walking away. Carlos gave you a look before running out the room to try and chase after some of the cast. You sat back down in a chair. 

Ricky sighed. “There’s got to be a way to save her job.” 

“I’m sure we’ll figure it out. But can we not think about that right now?” 

“Sure… You want to hear my acoustic song idea for the ballad?” 

“Absolutely.” 

Ricky went to take his guitar out of the case.

(part 4)

PERMANENT TAGLIST:

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[atlafan]

Something New - One Shot

a/n: I’ve been working on this for a couple of weeks, rewrote half of it, and now I feel like it’s good enough to post. I guess you could call this enemies to friends to lovers??? they’re both idiots, honestly lmao, anyways, enjoy biology teacher!Harry (not proofread) reblogs and feedback are helpful!

Warnings: a little bit of angst, fluff, and smut

Words: 20K

Divorced, new home, new town, new job, and a new school district for the kids all within the same year. Y/N had been separated from her husband for a couple of years prior, but when he moved in with his girlfriend, she knew it was officially over. It sucked. She knew she’d look back on it someday and be grateful that they ended things, but right now she wasn’t too happy about it. He got to be a weekend dad with his young girlfriend by his side, and there she was looking like the crazy old hang. It wasn’t her fault for not taking the best care of herself. She was depressed, could you blame her. They lived in one of those towns where everyone knew every little thing about you, so it was time to get out.

Securing the new job was the first on the list. If she could do that then maybe the kids would be more understanding about leaving. Y/N was a database manager for a non-profit organization. She was behind the scenes, and that’s how she liked it. She didn’t have to be the one asking for money or on the front lines vising donors. It was a job she could do anywhere, and she’d get paid well because of the software she knew how to use like the back of her hand.

There was a private school she had seen a job opening for. Normally, she’d be more apt to work for a non-profit, and not just some school for snotty rich kids, but their website made it seem like it wasn’t like that. Their donors gave out scholarships for students all of the time, and staff/faculty could send their kids to the school for free. That was a no brainer. Giving her kids a good education was her dream. The school was a K-12, so that would mean an easy pick up and drop off. After thinking it over, and researching the surrounding towns, she sent in her application.

Two weeks later she got a call for a video interview. She accepted happily. A week after that she was asked on campus for a second interview. Y/N put on her best blazer and nicest blue dress, the school colors were red and blue after all. She even made sure to wear red heels. Y/N spoke eloquently during her interview. She had researched everyone in the development office so she already knew faces and names. They were impressed. She spoke about her experience with The Rasier’s edge, the database management system, and they were awe-struck. She was given a tour of the campus, and it was absolutely gorgeous. The elementary school was a separate building, and the middle school and high school were separate, but connected by two connectors to make one large building. The development office was set up in this cute white house. They shared it with the alumni office, and apparently it was one of the oldest buildings on campus. Although, it was taken of so you’d never know it was old. They even showed her where her potential new office would be. There was a pool and ice rink as well that Y/N got to see. She was impressed. She interviewed the people on the committee too, knowing it was a two way street. She liked what they had to say.

A week or so after that, she was given an offer, a really good offer. Now it was time to talk to her kids. She couldn’t just accept without speaking with them first. Her daughter, Riley, would be going into ninth grade, and her son, Ben, would be going into eighth. Y/N was only thirty-three, she was a young mother, thanks to her ex-husband who was about seven years older than her. A red flag she should have been more wise to, but she was young and naïve, and that’s all that needs to be said about that.

It was a difficult conversation with the kids, but after calming down they had become more open to it. They were upset with their father, and the idea of being a little farther away was sounding really nice. Living in a new home to make new memories in was sounding really nice. Making new friends and having a fresh start was sounding really nice.

So, Y/N accepted the position, and was given a moving allowance. She was able to find a home quickly that was perfect for them. A decent three bedroom about fifteen minutes from campus, so the commute would be easy enough. Riley and Ben took a liking to the uniforms, and since you did all of this over the summer, they’d be able to blend in easily on the first day of school. No awkward ‘walking in halfway through the term’ bullshit.

“When am I supposed to see them?” Your ex had asked you over the phone when you told him you were moving.

“Every other weekend, same as before.”

“So now I have to drive an hour out of my way to-“

“It’s not an hour, it’s forty-five minutes at best. Shouldn’t it be worth it? They’re your kids.”

“You’re taking them from me.”

“You did that to yourself, Joseph. The weekends will stay the same. Be happy our kids are getting a good education. Goodbye.”

She knew she was harsh, but after being cheated on, and left for a younger woman, she thought she earned the right. A week before school started, the kids had gotten their schedules in the mail.

“Who do you have, Riles?” Ben asks her.

“Someone named…Mr. Styles for homeroom, he’s the biology teacher too.”

“Thought you took bio sophomore year.” Y/N says to her.

“Nope, my grades were good, remember? I’m in the honors class.” She smiles.

“What about you, Ben?”

“Um…Mr. Horan. Looks like I’ll have him for pre-algebra.”

“No female teachers for that, huh?” Y/N asks.

“I have a woman for Geometry, Mum, see?” Riley shows her.

“Oh good. Got worried for a second there.” Y/N chuckles.

“Are you nervous to start your new job?” Ben asks her.

“No.” She shakes her head. “I’m actually really excited. The time off has been nice, but I’m eager to get back into it.”

//

Y/N drops off the kids on the first day before going over to the staff lot. The program support assistant, Millie, is waiting for her with a cup of coffee and a warm smile.

“Morning, Y/N.”

“Hi, Millie.”

“Cream no sugar, right?”

“That’s right, thank you so much.”

“Let me lead you upstairs to your office. You have a meeting with the director of development, John, in about half an hour, and then you’ll have a team meeting with the rest of the people on your specific team, the gift processors, customer service. Then at lunch the development team and the alumni team will get together to welcome you.”

“Oh my, well, alright.” She chuckles.

“I put everything on your calendar for you.”

“Thank you.”

Y/N was used to doing everything herself at work, this was already a breath of fresh air. She hoped Riley and Ben had a good morning just the same.

It takes Riley a moment to find her classroom. She stops short when she walks in when she sees Mr. Styles, and another student walks right into her.

“I’m so sorry.” She says to the boy that nearly knocked her over. “Um, I wasn’t sure if this was the right classroom.”

“it’s okay.” He says. “Are you new?”

“Yeah, I’m Riley.”

“I’m Chris.” He smiles. “Wanna sit next to me?”

“Sure!” She says and sits a few rows back with him.

“Where’d you move from?”

“Just form a few towns over. My mom just got a job in the development office here.”

“Oh, cool! My mom works grounds here.”

Riley noticed that Chris had a rainbow pin on his blazer. She smiles at it. He notices her looking at it.

“I…uh…like your pin.”

“Oh, thanks.” He mumbles.

“My best friend back home has a lot of rainbow stuff in her room.”

Chris nods in understanding. More kids come in and claim their seats. The second bell rings, and Mr. Styles closes the door.

“Good morning, everyone.” Riley’s jaw drops at his accent and deep voice.

“Get used to it.” Chris whispers to her. “A lot of the teachers here are from other countries.”

Riley nods and continues to listen to Mr. Styles.

“Welcome to another year at our fabulous school. You’re officially high schoolers!” He grabs the handbook. “Which means there’s even more rules to follow, so let’s get through this together, yeah?”

Mr. Styles was quirky. He cracked jokes and made Riley feel excited to have him for biology. She turned to look at all of the lab benches in the back. She loved science in general, so this was good.

“Lastly, open house for parents will be at the end of the month. They begin at 6PM, so hopefully I’ll be able to meet all your folks. We also have a really fun fall carnival on campus. There’s games, rides, and it also gives a chance for families to see where you go to school. It’s all a part of our homecoming weekend.” The bell rings and everyone stands up. “Riley, could we chat for a second?”

She nods and looks at Chris.

“I can wait outside for you.” He says to her and she feels grateful. Their schedules were just about the same.

“Um, hi.” She says shyly.

“Hi, dear, so I was informed you’re new, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Well, if there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask. Usually we have new students stand up and introduce themselves, but I don’t like making people do that. It’s so forced. I can see you’re already making a friend.” He smiles. “Is it just you that’s new to us? Any siblings?”

“My younger brother is in eighth grade. He has Mr. Horan for homeroom.”

“You don’t say? That’s my best mate, believe it or not. He’s in good hands.”

“That’s good to know. I’m sure it’ll give my mom some peace of mind.”

“I don’t want to make you let, just wanted to give you a more friendly introduction.”

“Thank you, Mr. Styles. See you for bio.”

“See you later.”

Riley was making friends right away thanks to Chris. She had people to sit with at lunch, and she made sure Ben did too. He seemed to be sitting at a full table which was great. Her last class of the day was bio, which was perfect so she’d be near her locker.

“Welcome to honors biology.” Mr. Styles says. “This is a mixed class of ninth and tenth graders. Today we’re going to settle on lab partners, and we’re going to get lab safety out of the way. It’s the bane of my existence, but I need to know you all know how to be safe.”

Chris offers to be Riley’s lab partner even though he had other friends in the class. Mr. Styles writes down who is partnered with who. Then he essentially gives a tour of the classroom. He shows them where all of the lab coats and goggles are, the eyewash station, the sanitation shower, and the other equipment they’ll be using throughout the year.

“Now, in biology, we’ll be learning a lot about plants and animals, and we’ll also get into human anatomy. These subjects can be tough at times to grasp, so please, don’t be afraid to ask questions. I want to make sure I’m explaining things properly. I’m always will to meet after school for extra help as well, or put together a study group.” Mr. Styles explains.

Riley was finding that all of the teachers were really nice so far. She meets Ben after school and they walk over to the staff lot where Y/N was. She had asked to save her lunch hour for 2PM so she could scoot the kids home quick. Her supervisor had no problem with it.

“How was it?”

“Mr. Horan is hilarious, and he’s Irish!”

“Mr. Styles is British! And super nice. I think I’m gonna like it here, Mum. I already made a friend, so I had people to sit with at lunch.”

“Me too!”

It warmed Y/N’s heart to hear that the first day went well. It was all she could have hoped for. She gets them home, set up with a snack, and back out the door she goes. She had a couple of hours left of work anyways, so it was a nice break in the day. The lunch she had earlier with her new colleagues was fantastic. Everyone was welcoming and had no problem showing her the ropes.

When she’s walking to the parking lot around 5PM she notices other people making their way as well. She smiles at a few, and she gets some friendly nods back. She’s parked next to a black range rover, and she was hoping to get to her car before the other owner because she had parked a little too close to them on their driver’s side, but it wasn’t her fault. It was the only open spot when she got back.

“Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

Shit, she thinks to herself as she approaches. Not a great first impression to make at all.

“Just crawl in on the other side, H.”

“It’s the principle of the thing! They could have scratched it, or-“

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Y/N yells as she hustles over. “I had to bring my kids home, and this was the only other open spot, and the person previously on the other side of me was parked over the line, so I had to squeeze in, and I know it looks like I’m the asshole, but I swear I’m not.” She panics as she gets her keys out of her purse.

“It’s fine, miss, Harry’s just a jerk when it comes to his fancy car.”

“You sure like riding in my fancy car, so I suggest you shut it.” Harry huffs and looks at Y/N, furrowing his brows. “Look, I’ve had to be nice all day, and I’m exhausted, could you just back out so we can leave?”

“I said I was sorry.” She mumbles. Her eyes widen, though. An Irish accent and a British accent. “Shit, I think you’re my kids’ teachers.” She sighs. “Do the names Riley and Ben ring a bell?”

Harry’s features soften and he runs a hand through his hair.

“You’re Riley’s mum?”

“Yes.”

“Seems like she had a good first day. What department are you working in?”

“I’m the new database manager for the development office.”

“Ben was a delight! Laughed at all my jokes.” Niall says and you smile.

“He said you were funny. Riley liked you too, although now I’m not sure why. Taking a long day out on me. I’m sure the first day is a lot, but it was my first day too, and I’m equally as tired.”

“Maybe you should get home then.” Harry says, and she rolls her eyes.

“Nice meeting you both…well, one of you. I’m sure I’ll see you again, but if not I’ll be at the open house.” She gets into her car and carefully backs out, not scratching Harry’s car.

“You were rude.” Niall says as they both get into the car.

“I paid a lot of money for this car. I park far away for a reason, and someone has to park that close to me?”

“She apologized.”

“Good for her.”

“Harry…”

“Ugh, Francie texted me today, and it just sent me into a fucking spiral, and I had to act like it didn’t all day.”

“What?! When did she text you?”

“After homeroom, she told me to have a good first day. I didn’t even respond.”

“You should just block her number.”

“I haven’t quite reached that point yet, but it’s coming for sure.”

“You still shouldn’t have taken it out on that woman.”

“I’m sure she’ll forget all about it. I’ll be nice next time I see her, alright? Can we please just go get a pint now?”

“You’re the one driving, find a place you wanna go to.”

//

Y/N had successfully avoided the rude Brit that had given her such a tough time on her first day. Riley still raved about him, though. She said he was one of the best teachers she ever had. Ben really enjoyed Mr. Horan as well. He made math fun, which Y/N was grateful for. Ben was never really a good student, but he was doing really well so far.

“I can’t wait for you to go to the open house. Make sure to be super nice.” Riley tells Y/N. “I don’t want my teachers suddenly being mean.”

“It’s not me you have to worry about.” Y/N scoffs.

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing, honey. So, you’ll walk me around to all the classrooms, and you wait outside?”

“Mhm.” She beams.

“Mum, wait until you talk to Mr. Horan. He’s going to tell you the best things about me, I just know it.” Ben says.

“I’m looking forward to it, honey.”

Y/N had a draining day on the day of open house, and she just decided to stay on campus. She ended up taking the kid home at two, and told them she could figure out where the classrooms were herself. She got to have a one on one with Mr. Horan first.

“You can just call me Niall. We don’t need to be so formal.”

“Alright.” She smiles. “You can call me Y/N.”

“Ben’s doing really well so far. I was a little nervous at first, but he’s getting the hang of it.”

“Thank god.” She sighs. “So, he’ll be in ninth grade taking algebra one next year, is that okay?”

“Perfectly okay. A lot of students do that.”

“I just wanted to make sure because my daughter is in geometry.”

“Math isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay. I was checking out his other grades, and he’s excelling in history.” She nods.

The conversation goes well. Y/N makes it through all of the meetings, and her last one is with Harry. She hears laughing from inside the classroom. The door swoops open, and a couple walks out chuckling with Harry.

“Ah, Mrs. Davidson, come on in.”

“It’s Miss Y/LN, or just Y/N if you want.” She says as she sits down on the chair near his desk. He sits down on his chair.

“My mistake, Riley’s last name is-“

“Her father’s last name. I’ve changed mine back. We’re divorced, didn’t really feel like keeping it.”

“I’m, um, sorry, I know how rough divorce can be.”

“Yeah? Been through it yourself, Mr. Styles?”

“Just call me Harry, and my parents were divorced, so I know enough about it from a child’s perspective.”

“They’re not too keen on their father right now. Classic situation of him cheating on me with a younger woman, which of course they found out about.”

“That’s weird.” He rests his cheek on his fist. “You seem pretty young yourself.”

She blushes slightly and clears her throat.

“Could say the same to you. I had them young, yeah, things happen. I don’t regret it though.”

“Riley’s been a real pleasure to have in class, and she’s fitting right in. She seems to like biology the best.”

“She loves science.” She smiles. “Think she gets that from me. I was really into math and science as a kid.”

“Guess you being a database manager makes sense then. New job treating you well?”

“Yeah.” She cocks her head to the side with a smirk. “Although, my almost perfect first day was just about sullied by a man you bullied me in the parking lot.”

“Okay, okay, I was an ass.” He sighs. “Thanks for bringing it up by the way.”

“Why were you so nasty to me anyways? I’ve been avoiding you.”

He frowns at that.

“My ex…fiancé texted me and wished me a good first day, so it just ruined my day and I had to keep it all bottled up. You parking that close just brought me over the edge. I apologize.”

“Yikes, I’m sorry. Well, at least you got out of it before you got married. You saved a lot of money and time.”

“It’s alright…” He looks away for a moment. “Are you bringing the kids to the carnival? It’s all part of homecoming weekend.”

“Yes, and they’re really excited. I have to work technically since a lot of donors come back. I mostly just need to be on the ball. Their father is coming too since it’s his weekend with them technically. I guess it’s good for him to see where they’re going to school.”

“If you need a break from him I’ll be working the candy apple booth.” He smiles.

“Good to know.” She yawns. “Jesus, sorry. I gotta say, I’m whipped.”

“Makes sense, it’s past eight.”

“That late?!” She stands up immediately, and so does he. “I need to get home to them. Um, well, this was a much better meeting.” She sticks her hand out for him to shake.

“I agree. Don’t be a stranger this weekend.”

She nods and leaves his classroom. Maybe he wasn’t as big of an asshole as she thought. Y/N’s had her fair share of bad days, he was allowed to have them too.

//

“It’s like a college campus, this place is huge!” Joseph says once they’re at the football field of the school.

“Yeah, and there’s a pool! I’m trying out for the winter swim team soon.” Riley tells her dad, in a better mood since he didn’t bring his girlfriend.

“It’s really all free for them?” He asks Y/N.

“Mhm.” She nods. “Okay, here all your meal tickets. I have to bee-bop around since I’m technically working. Have fun with Dad.” She smiles and they lead Joseph off towards some of the rides and games.

Y/N meets up with her colleagues and mingles with some of the donors she hasn’t been able to meet yet. She meets back up with the kids later to go on a few rides, and then goes to get food with them. She spots Harry at the candied apples tent, and she goes over there.

“I knew you’d find me.” He smirks.

“I’ve got a sweet tooth, what can I say?” She shrugs.

“You know, me too. Major sweet tooth.”

For whatever reason that makes her blush.

“Um, so I can I have it dipped in caramel and chocolate?”

“A woman after my own heart! I like mine the same way.” He picks up one of the apples from its stick and dips it in the chocolate first. “Any sprinkles or anything?”

“No, the sauces are fine, thank you.”

“So, where’s the-“

“Hi, Mr. Styles.” Riley says as she, Ben, and Joseph approach. “This is my dad.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Riley’s homeroom and biology teacher.” Harry hands you the apple once it’s done, and then shakes Joseph’s hand. “She’s a real pleasure to have in class.”

“So I’ve heard! Nice to hear it straight form the source, though.” There’s an awkward silence. “Um, well, kids do you want an apple?”

“Yeah!” Ben says and tells Harry what he wants.

Harry’s eyes catch Y/N biting into her apple, and how she licks around her lips. He looks a little too long because Joseph notices, and he clears his throat to snap Harry out of his trance.

“You two about ready to hit the road after this?” He asks them.

“Sure.” Riley shrugs. “Bye, Mr. Styles.”

“Have a good weekend, see you Monday.”

Y/N hugs both of the kids, and nods at Joseph.

“So…no kids this weekend?” Harry says to her.

“Nope. It’s funny, I always look forward to the little break, but by the time Sunday night hits I miss them.”

“Any plans?”

“Just relaxing. I’ll probably catch up on some sleep tomorrow. How about you?”

“A few of us are going to the pub after this…if you’d like to join, you’re welcome to.”

“Oh!” She says a little surprised. “Well, that would be great, actually. I haven’t really had time to explore some of the night life around here yet.”

“I could drive us from here if you like. I can always bring you back to your car.”

“You actually trust me to get into that fancy car of yours? I’m shocked.” She smirks, and he rolls his eyes.

“I apologized for that, didn’t I? Can we move on? Let me give you a ride later.”

“Alright.” She smiles. “Sounds like fun. It would be nice to get to know more people.”

“Great, I’ll find you later then?”

“Sounds good.” She walks away with her apple in hand, and he smiles.

After schmoozing with more alumni and donors, Y/N felt pooped. Did she really feel like going out and drinking? She could easily go home, draw herself a bath, and have a glass of fine all on her own. She had socially interacted so much today, and the thought of doing more was draining. Maybe she could go out with Harry another time. She tries looking around for him, but she’s not sure she spots him.

“Y/N!” She hears from behind her. “You ready?” Harry asks.

“About that…I think I’ve changed my mind…”

“How come?” He says with a slight frown.

“I was very social today, so I’m feeling a little tired. I don’t think I have enough pep in me for drinks tonight…but maybe another time?” She clasps her hands in front of her waist, feeling a little nervous all of a sudden.

“Oh, yeah, I definitely get that. Um, yeah, another time for sure.”

“Thanks, well, see you around, Harry.”

“See you…”

//

“Mum, we’re home!” Ben says Sunday evening as he and Riley come inside.

“Hey.” She smiles. “How was Dad’s?”

“Annoying.” Riley huffs. “I can’t stand Margaret. She, like, tries too hard to be our friends.”

“Mm, well, that’s what happens when a forty-year-old man decides to date a twenty-five-year-old woman. She probably knows how to babysit and be a pal.”

“Doesn’t it gross you out that he’s with someone so much younger?” Ben asks as he plops down on the couch.

“Of course it does. It won’t last long, unless she’s after his money.” She rolls her eyes. “I don’t know why, it’s not like we were living the high life before.”

“Ew, what if he gets her pregnant.” Riley says with disgust. “I don’t want another little sibling, one is plenty.”

“Yeah, and then we’d have to pretend like we’re happy for him. I’m glad we didn’t have to do two nights over there this weekend.”

“Me too.” Riley sighs. “Did you do anything this weekend?” She asks Y/N.

“I just relaxed. Caught up on some TV, nothing special.” She shrugs. “Did you get all your homework done?”

“Yes.” They say in unison.

“Alright, go get ready for bed then.”

Riley and Chris meet at their lockers the next day at school and talk about their weekends. They chat in homeroom about their upcoming biology test. Chris was feeling a little nervous, but Riley was feeling confident. She studied almost all day Sunday. When it was last period, and Harry gave out the tests, her eyes bugged out. She read all of the questions over, and it wasn’t at all what she thought. She looked up at Harry dumbfounded. He was typing away at his computer, answering emails. She walks up to his desk with the test.

“Done already?” He jokes with a whisper.

“Mr. Styles…I don’t know any of this.”

“What do you mean? I gave you a study guide.”

“I…I know you did, but I left it at my mom’s, and so I was going off memory…I think I studied the wrong chapters by accident or something.” Her eyes were about to well up with tears.

“Alright, step out into the hall with me. Did you take notes while you studied?”

“Yeah.”

“Grab them for me.”

He stands up and goes out to the hallway to wait for her. A few of the kids in class were watching, but they get back to their own tests. She hands him her notes, and he makes a few humming noises.

“Right, yeah, you studied the wrong chapters.”

“Ugh, I knew it! So…does this mean I fail?”

“No.” He sighs. “It was an honest mistake, you’ll have to take a makeup exam after school sometime this week, though.”

“I can do it tomorrow! I would just need tonight to study. I could study in class now.”

“Get the rest of your things, I can give you a pass to the library.”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Styles.”

“Don’t mention it.”

They both go back inside and she grabs the rest of her things. He writes her the pass and out the door she goes. Chris makes a motion for her to text him before she slips out, and she nods. Tuesday morning, just as Harry was sitting down at his desk with his coffee, he got an interoffice phone call from Y/N.

“Hello?” He answers, voice still deep from sleep.

“Hi, Harry, it’s Y/N.”

“I know…caller ID and all that.” He chuckles.

“Right, well, I wanted to say thank you for letting Riley take her test later this afternoon. She was a wreck last night when she got home.”

“It was an honest mistake. Plus, when I saw how much studying she did I knew I had to give her a chance to just take it later. Do you think she’s prepared enough for later?”

“Oh, definitely. She feels much better. Do you mind if Ben comes to sit in the classroom with her while she takes it? No sense in me zipping him home if she’s going to stay after.”

“Sure, I don’t mind.”

“You’re a life saver, thanks! Talk to you soon.”

“Bye-“ He’s cut off by the sound of the phone clicking on the other end.

Riley stays after class to take her test. Shortly after Ben shyly walks into the classroom and takes a seat. He does his own homework while she takes her test. Forty minutes later, Riley finishes her test, and hands it to Harry.

“I can grade it now if you like since it was all multiple choice.”

“That’d be great.” She smiles.

He looks at his answer key and checks off all her right answers. He writes 92% in big red ink and circles it.

“Well done. I can’t give it back to you until tomorrow, of course, but at least you can rest easy about it.”

“God, what a relief! Guess I’ll be a pro when we reach the chapters I already studied.”

“I bet you will be.”

“Do you mind if we hang out here until our mum’s done with work? She said she was just gonna pull up out front of the building.”

“Sure, I have some other grading to do anyways. In fact, would you like to help? It’s for another class, I could give you the answer key.”

“Yeah!”

Harry sets her up, and he even plays a little music for all of them.

“Mr. Styles?” A boy named Austin walks in. He was a sophomore in Riley’s class. “Thank god you’re still here.” He sighs.

“What’s up, Austin?”

“I was wondering if you graded my test yet? The football coach needs me to fill this progress report slip out. He’s making all of us do it.”

“Oh! Yeah, let me look. I can just tell you your overall grade. Have a seat, it’ll take me a minute.”

He nods and sits down, glancing at Riley briefly. She gives him a small smile and blushes.

“How come you’re here?” He asks her.

“Oh, I needed to make up the test from yesterday. I accidentally studied the wrong chapters.”

“Happens to the best of us.” He smirks. “You’re new to town, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You should come to the football game Friday, since it’s home.”

“Yeah, um, maybe I will.”

“Cool.”

“Alright, Austen, I’ve got your grade.”

He stands up and goes to Harry’s desk.

“Sick, a C+! That’s way better than I thought.”

“Let’s try to keep it that way, yeah?”

“I’ll do my best, thanks.” He walks out of the room and Riley puffs out some air.

“Don’t tell me you have a crush on that guy?” Ben chuckles.

“He’s so cute, I can’t help it. That’s the most he’s ever spoken to me, and now he wants me to go to the game. I have to go Friday, I need to text Chris.”

“If you go, can I go?”

“Sure.” She shrugs. “The more the merrier.”

Riley and Ben had always been close. They were practically best friends. They got a lot closer when their parents were going through the separation/divorce process, leaning on each other for a lot. Harry hear the sound of heels clacking on the floors outside the classroom, and there Y/N is appearing in the doorway looking lovelier than ever. She had a long coat on, synched at the waist, and her hair was down and wavy.

“Hi, kids, ready?” They both get up, and Harry stands as well. “Thanks for letting them hang out for a bit while I finished up.”

“It was no problem. Riley was pretty helpful to me with some grading.”

“How’d the test go?” She asks her daughter.

“Got a 92!”

“Amazing! I think that calls for takeout tonight.”

“You just don’t feel like cooking.” Ben chuckles.

“I’m sorry, are you complaining about getting Chinese food, or?”

“No! Just making an observation.”

“Mhm, okay, let’s go. Have a good night Mr. Styles.” She says to him.

“Same to you.”

On the ride home, Riley gets a text from Chris saying he’s down for the football game on Friday. She sighs with relief, and looks over her mother.

“So…can Ben and I meet up with Chris on Friday? We’d like to go to the football game.”

“A boy asked her to go!”

“Shut up, or you can’t come with me.”

“Hey!” Y/N says. “A boy asked you to go?”

“Well, sort of. He just said I should go if I wanted. I haven’t been to one yet, it could be fun. Chris said the snack bar is pretty stacked.”

“And you’ll keep an eye on your brother?”

“I’m only a year younger than her.” Ben scoffs.

“You’re in the eighth grade, that’s a big difference right now, even if it doesn’t feel like it. What time does the game start?”

“6:30, I think.”

“Sure, you can go. I think that’ll be good for you kids to go to.”

“Awesome, thanks Mum.”

//

“We’re gonna be there anyways, just ask her to tag along.” Niall says to Harry over lunch on Thursday.

“You make it seem like I wanna date her, I just think she’s cute.”

“Just ask her if she wants to go out with us after, would you?”

“Fine, I’ll give her a call right now.” Harry reaches for his phone, and looks up Y/N’s extension. She picks up on the second ring.

“Hey, Harry.”

“Hi, do you have a minute?”

“Sure! Is everything alright with Riley?”

“Yeah…this isn’t about her. It’s more of a personal matter.”

“Oh…what’s up?”

“Niall and I are chaperoning the football game tomorrow night. All of the faculty take turns doing it. We just walk around and make sure no one’s drinking underage. We were wondering if you’d like to join us. We’d be going to the pub after most likely too.”

“I don’t know if I should. Riley and Ben are going to the game, and I don’t want them to feel like I’m hovering around them, you know?”

Niall gestures for the phone and snatches it from Harry.

“Y/N? It’s Niall. Enough excuses, yeah? You’re coming out with us tomorrow night, and that’s final. You need to get more involved with student life.”

“I’m plenty involved!”

“You import and export donor data all day. I bet your kids won’t care.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Y/N did think about it, and then she asked Riley and Ben how they’d feel if she went. They said as long as she wasn’t up their butts they wouldn’t mind. It made things easier for her to drive them there at least. She watches as they meet up with Chris and essentially run off from her. She sighs and looks around for Niall and Harry, suddenly feeling like a loner.

“Oi, there she is!” Niall shouts, handing her a hot chocolate. “This should warm you up quick. You look cold.”

“I didn’t think it would be chilly enough for gloves.” She chuckles. “Thank you.”

“So, basically we just walk around, but we get to enjoy the game for the most part.” Harry explains.

“Is our team any good?”

“We’re decent, yeah. Think our lacrosse players are better to be honest, but they don’t get as much recognition.”

Y/N nods and takes a careful sip of her warm drink. She walks around with the guys, mostly listening to them talk in their accents. It was sort of fun to see all of the parents, staff, faculty, and students at the game cheering the team on.

“See that one, number 11?” Harry says to her, pointing towards the field. “That’s Austin, he asked Riley to come to the game. They’re in my bio class together. I think she likes him.”

“How can you tell?”

“I catch her looking at him from time to time. I might be wicked and assign them a project to work on together.”

“Teachers actually do that?!”

“Oh, sure.” Niall says. “I switch up the seating chart once a term just so I can pair people up. It’s pretty interesting to see what happens.”

“The students gossip to us all the time too.” Harry laughs. “They have no problem sharing personal information.”

“So…you think he might like Riley back?”

“I have no idea, he sits in front of her, and mostly just takes notes.”

“Is he nice?”

“He’s not a dolt if that’s what you’re asking. Definitely not your classic meathead, not to worry, Y/N.”

Y/N nods, and keeps walking around with the guys. The team wins, and everyone cheers. Riley, Ben, and Chris find her in the crowd of people near the exit.

“Mum, can we bowling?” Riley asks.

“With who?”

“Me, Miss Y/L/N.” Chris says and you raise your eyebrows. “Okay, and some of the cheerleaders and football players, but it’ll be fun! It’s cosmic bowling night. My dad said he could drive.”

“Please, Mum.” Ben pouts, and you roll your eyes.

“Alright.” She sighs, and takes her wallet out of her small sling bag. “Here’s some money, have fun. Home by ten, do you hear me? I’ll be out for a bit myself, just in case you get back before me.”

“Where are you going?” Riley asks.

“I’ve made some friends of my own.” She grins. “Go on, have fun.”

“Thank you!” They all say and head off.

“I can follow you both to the pub.” Y/N tells Niall and Harry, and they all walk to the parking lot.

She feels a little nervous going out with them. She had made a few friends so far, mostly her colleagues that she saw every day. There was this weird divide between faculty and staff, so she had noticed. So, Y/N wasn’t sure how welcomed she would be by the others they were meeting up with. She takes a deep breath before getting out of her car, and meeting Harry and Niall at entrance.

“You’re gonna love this place.” Harry says, putting a hand on her shoulder as they go inside. He leads her to a table where a few people were sitting already. “Oi, everyone, this is Y/N, she works in the development office.”

They all look at her and smile, saying hello. Niall takes his seat, and Harry has you sit between the two of them. Y/N learns the names of some other faculty members. Shane, Lora, and Jess. None of them had Y/N’s kids in class so she could rest easier. She found Harry and Niall to be hilarious, often almost choking on her drinks from laughter. She notices that Harry’s rolled his sleeves up, and can’t help but look at his tattoos. He explains a few of them to her. Around 10:05 she got a text from Riley.

Riley: just got in, thanks again for letting us go, it was amazing! When are you home??

Y/N: soon, baby, thanks for checking in

“Well, I should probably get going.” She says to Harry. “My kids just got home, and I don’t like leaving them alone too long when it’s late.”

“Fair enough, can I walk you to your car?” He says, leaning in a little bit. “Just so I know you left safely.”

“Sure, um, that’d be great.” She throws some bills on the table to take care of her tab. “Thank you all so much, I had a great time.”

“See ya, Y/N!” Niall says with a smile. She misses the wink he gives Harry, and Harry mouths ‘be cool’ at him.

“M’just gonna walk her to her car, I’ll be right back.” Harry says, addressing the group before heading out the door with Y/N. “You’re good to drive, right?” He says as they both walk outside.

“Of course, I only had, like, two drinks. You saw me nursing them.”

“Alright, just wanted to be sure.” He watches her fish for her keys out of her bag. “I’m glad you came out tonight.” He rubs the back of his neck. “You’re a lot of fun to be around.”

“Aw, thanks, you’re fun to be around too.” She smiles, biting her bottom lip. He can’t help but let his eyes drift to it.

“Are you in a rush to get home?”

“Well…I…”

“It’s not like they need you to tuck them in, right?”

“N-no…” She raises an eyebrow at him. “Are you…are you making a pass at me?” She was backed up against her car with him a comfortable foot away from her, but she was starting to feel warm.

“Maybe.” He shrugs, stepping a little closer. “Would you feel uncomfortable if I was?” She shakes her head no and swallows.

“Do you do this with all your students’ mums?” She smirks, gaining some confidence back.

“Well, considering that I was in a four year long relationship up until six months ago, I can confidentially say no.” She opens her mouth and smirks. “And no, I don’t usually do this with colleagues either.”

“So…why with me then?”

“You’re cute.” He grins.

“Harry, I…I’m not really looking for anything serious right now, I’ve just started a new job, I bought my own house, I’m juggling teenagers, I can’t start up a relationship.”

“I don’t think I asked you for that. In fact, I haven’t asked for anything, yet.” He says smugly. “M’not looking for anything serious either.”

“Alright, what do you want from me then?” He shifts his weight to his other hip, and just looks at her. Her eyes widen, and her mouth falls open. She looks around, and steps closer to him, barely any space between them now. “You…you want to have sex with me?”

“Why do you sound so surprised? I think you’ve really got it going on.”

“Seriously?”

“Sure, you really know how to fill out a pair of jeans. Your bum looked awfully cute at homecoming.”

“All this coming from the guy who was about ready to murder me for almost scratching his car.” She scoffs.

“I have apologized for that over and over, but clearly my words mean nothing to you…” He puts his hand on her shoulder. “Maybe there’s something else I could do to make it up to you.”

“You’re my kid’s teacher, Harry.”

“Not after 2PM I’m not. Right now I’m just a guy who wants to fuck you.”

“I can’t go back to your place with you right now.”

“My car’s got tinted windows and a spacious back seat.”

“How…how old are you, anyways? I mean, I’m thirty-three, Harry, and you’re a little baby faced. I’m not one of those people who-“

“I’m twenty-nine. Do you wanna go fuck in my car or not? It’s okay if you don’t, I’m not trying to pressure you, but it’s bloody cold out here and I wouldn’t mind warming up.”

Y/N hadn’t had sex with someone in since the last time her and Joseph had sex, which was a few years ago. She also couldn’t remember the last time she had sex in a car, probably when she was a teenager. Was she really about to do this with some she had just started to become decent friends with? Was this is the only reason he wanted to be friends with her?

“Is the only reason you’ve been wanting to invite me out? To get my pants off?”

“No! I genuinely think you’re nice to be around, but I also wouldn’t mind getting your pants off.” He smirks.

“Okay.” She nods. “Yeah, let’s do it.”

“Really?”

“Quickly, before I change my mind.” He grabs her by the wrist and tugs her towards his car. He unlocks his car and he lets her get in first. He reaches forward to turn the car on so the heat is on and there’s a little music playing. He goes to cup her cheek, and she backs away. “I’m a little nervous.”

“We don’t have to do anything crazy if you don’t want. We could just kiss if you like.”

“I just…it’s been a while for me, you know? Like, a long while, so…I want to, I’m just nervous.”

“How can I help you relax?”

“I guess…um…could I sit on your lap and maybe we could hug for a bit?”

“Sure.” He nods.

She moves to straddle him, and she wraps her arms around his neck. His go around her back, and he rubs her soothingly. He gets a good whiff of her perfume, and it makes him smile.

“Comfortable?” He asks softly. She hums her response and he holds her a little tighter. “I like whatever perfume you’re wearing.” He feels her giggle against him.

“It’s just apple spice.” She mutters into his neck, and moves to look at him. “Nothing special.”

“Well, I like it.” He tucks some hair behind her ear. “Would it be alright If I kissed you now?”

“Yeah.” She smiles.

He licks his lips and presses them to hers. Her eyes flutter closed and she tugs at his hair. His hands squeeze her hips as the kiss deepens. He sucks on her bottom lip, and it makes her whimper. She rolls her hips down on his and he grunts. He kisses sloppily from her mouth, to her jaw, and to her neck. He mouths at her neck, full well knowing he can’t leave a mark, but it doesn’t stop him from licking and sucking a little over the area. She tugs at his hair a little harder and continues grinding against him, feeling his bulge getting harder. His lips move back to hers as his hands roam up her front, hesitating before reaching her breasts. She takes his hands and puts them over her boobs, squeezing his hands over them. He takes over from there, kneading them as best he could over her coat.

She gets frustrated, and get shimmies her coat off. He’s happy to see her nipples peeking through her shirt. He moves to suck on it through the material and she gasps. Her chest was heaving when he came off and looked up at her. Her hands move to unbutton her jeans, and he wastes no time sticking his hand inside. Instead of smirking when he feels how wet she is, he presses his lips back to hers, loving knowing that he was turning her on this much. His fingers move along her folds, and he slips his middle finger inside her gently. He groans when he feels how tight she is.

“Christ, you weren’t kidding. Do you never use anything at home?”

“Who the fuck has the time?!” She huffs as he starts bringing his finger in and out. “M’too exhausted half the time, and even when they’re gone I just do something quick.” A moan leaves her lips when his thumb starts to circle around her clit. Her forehead presses against his, and her eyes pinch closed.

He gets his ring finger inside her as well, and he curls them both up. She moves back and forth on him, riding his fingers. She makes fists with his shirt, and she starts panting. He groans from watching her, and just from the way she feels. He pets against her g-spot, and his thumb works into her clit.

“Oh, oh my god.” She says, biting her bottom lip. “I…I think I’m gonna come.” He doesn’t let up on her, doing his best to get her there. Her whimpers and whines were just egging him on. “Oh, shit, oh, shit!” She cries out as she comes around his fingers. He works her through it, and then retracts his fingers, sucking on them while making eye contact with her.

“Well?” He smirks.

“Do you have any condoms?”

“Yeah, get your pants the rest of the way off.” He lifts her off of him and places her on the seat while he reaches forward into the console, and grabs a condom.

“Aren’t you a little old to be leaving condoms in your car?” She says as he slips her jeans and underwear off.

“Wouldn’t be able to fuck you if I didn’t, would I?” He winks, and undoes his belt and jeans. “Think you’ll be able to ride me reverse, or do you need to go missionary to ease you into it.”

“Don’t be an asshole, I know how to have sex, it’s just bene a while.”

“I wasn’t! I don’t wanna hurt you.” Her eyes widen as he pulls his hard dick from his boxers, rolling the condom on.

“You think you’re the first guy with a larger prick to fuck me? Think I can handle it.”

“Now who’s being the asshole?” He chuckles and grabs her to bring her back to his lap, her back pressed to his chest. He reaches around to rub on her to make sure she’s still wet. “You want this still?”

“Yeah.” She lifts her hips and he lines himself with her, pressing up into center. It’s a tight squeeze, like she thought it would be, but she does her best to relax around him. She nearly shrieks once she’s sat fully on him.

“I’m gonna make you feel so fucking good.” He says into her ear before nibbling on her earlobe.

She hooks an arm around his head while he grips her hips, and her head falls back to his shoulder. He thrusts up into her while rubbing on her clit, and her mouth falls open. She hadn’t felt this good in a long time, this was incredible. She tugs on his hair and helps herself move on him so he doesn’t have to do as much work. He frees up one of his hands to grip and squeeze one of her breasts. She looks up at him and yanks his head down to hers. She licks into his mouth and he moans into her. He sucks on her tongue and her eyes roll back. Between that, his fingers on her slit, and his dick fucking up into her, she was about ready to lose it again. She pants into his mouth as she comes again. He thrusts begin to get sloppy, and then he’s spilling into the condom. They sit there for a moment catching their breaths before she moves off him.

They both get dressed, and Harry throws the condom into a nearby trashcan as he walks her back to her car. Her face was flushed, and she for sure looked like a mess, but she felt good. He cups her cheeks and backs her up against the driver’s side door, kissing her tenderly.

“That was fun.” He says.

“Yeah.” She breathes and looks down at her watch. It was already 11:30. “Shit, I really need to get home. Ben gets worried when I’m out late.”

“Sweet kid.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Well, get home safe and all that.”

“You too.” She smiles and opens her car door. He closes it for her once she’s inside, and she starts the car.

As Y/N drives home it starts to hit her what she just did. She just fucked her child’s biology teacher, who she also happens to technically work with. Never in her life had she done something like this. Maybe in her younger days she would have done something this rebellious, but she had grown up a lot, and she was a professional now. She takes a deep breath before keying into her home. She sighs when she sees the light from the TV coming from the living room. Riley and Ben were passed out on the couch.

“Hey, kids.” She coos. “Wake up, I’m home.”

“Mum?” Ben says sleepily. “Where were you?”

“I…I was out with friends, remember? Um, let’s get you both into bed.”

She turns the TV off as they both slowly make their way upstairs to their bedrooms. Once they’re both in their beds, she goes into her own room, and gasps once she gets a good look at herself in the mirror. Her makeup was smeared, and her hair was a mess.

“Christ, Y/N, what did you do?” She says to herself and sighs.

//

The next day, Y/N was walking around like she had a stick up her ass. Maybe her body wasn’t quite ready for someone of Harry’s size. Nevertheless, she had to get up and start her day. She got some laundry going, did some dusting, and then made some breakfast for the kids. They both come into the kitchen around 10.

“Can you both put your sheets in the laundry room for me? I’m doing a linen load in a bit.” They both nod as she puts two plates of eggs in front of them. “How was bowling?”

“So much fun!” Riley says. “I actually got a strike, I couldn’t believe it.”

“You did?! How’d you manage that?”

“Um…Austin helped me, you know the one in my bio class? He’s really nice.”

“Riley, I’m happy for you and all, but I don’t know if I want you dating yet.”

“I’m not dating anyone! At least I wasn’t the one who stayed out until nearly midnight doing god knows what.”

“I’m an adult, I can do what I want, that’s one. Two, if you and this boy decide you really like each other, I think it’s only fair I get to meet him.”

“Just because he helped me bowl a ball doesn’t mean anything.” She rolls her eyes.

“What about you, did you have fun?” Y/N sighs as she asks Ben.

“Yeah, I hung out in the arcade, it was sick.”

Just as she was sipping on her coffee, Y/N’s phone goes off. It was in front of Riley and Ben, and Riley furrows her brows.

“Who is it?” Y/N asks.

“Um…Mr. Styles. Why is he calling you?”

“I…I have no idea.” She snatches her phone quickly. “H-hello?”

“Hey, Y/N! Just wanted to see how you were.”

“I’m alright, um, I’m in the kitchen with the kids, could you just give me a second?” She leaves the room and goes down the hall to her home office. “Okay…um, how are you?”

“Oh, I’m fine. I just didn’t wanna be a dick and not call.”

“Well, that’s nice of you.” She blinks a few times.

“So…you feel okay about everything?”

“Yeah! Wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t. Little sore, but other than I’m good.” She chuckles slightly and so does he.

“Well, next time I can be a little gentler…if you’d like there to be a next time, that is.”

“You…you don’t want last night to just have been a one-time thing?”

“Not necessarily, I had a good time with you, and I think you had a good time with me.”

“I just…I don’t know how smart it would be to start something up with my kid’s teacher.”

“Well, you already sort of did…”

“Yes, but I think to continue it would be stupid. I don’t want to do anything that could potentially embarrass her. Riley and Ben are really starting to make friends. They were cool about moving here for me, so I want to be-“

“It’s not like we’re dating, Y/N. No one has to know.”

“As if you haven’t told Niall yet.” She scoffs.

“I mean he was curious as to why I didn’t come back to the bar last night, but I didn’t give him the full details. He knows how to keep things to himself.” He pauses for a moment. “Look, I get it, you’re just trying to be a good mum, I can admire that. But after a certain point you need to remember that it’s okay to do things for yourself.”

“Like fuck a guy in a parking lot?”

“Exactly!” He laughs. “You’re still so young, why not let yourself have some fun?

“Harry…”

“All I’m saying is, if you’re ever lonely, or if you can’t sleep…you can call me.”

“I’ll…I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.”

“Well, I’ll let you get back to them. Probably wondering what we’re talking about.”

“Yeah.”

“Have a good rest of your weekend.”

“You too.”

She hangs up, completely shocked by the conversation she just had with Harry. She goes back out to the kitchen where the kids were waiting with raised eyebrows.

“What did Mr. Styles want?” Riley asks.

“Oh, um, someone left their wallet at the restaurant we all went to last night, that’s all. He was trying to figure out who it belongs to.”

“There was no ID in it?” Ben asks.

“Apparently not.” Y/N shrugs.

//

At first, Y/N wasn’t sure if she wanted to take Harry up on his offer. She genuinely didn’t want to make things difficult for Riley. When mid-November rolled around, it was time for parent-teacher conferences. These were the more serious one on one meetings before the holiday season to make sure students would be able to pass all of their classes. More often than not Y/N found herself meeting with Ben’s teachers than with Riley’s, but Y/N wanted to check in with everyone to make sure her kids were acclimating to the new school fine. What she wasn’t expecting was for Joseph to want to come to the conferences as well. She got away with blushing a little when they saw Niall. He didn’t make anything awkward, but it was when they made their way to Harry’s room that she was starting to feel like she wanted to vomit. The door swings open and two people walk out. Harry steps out and looks into the hallway, smiling when he sees you, then frowning when he sees Joseph.

“Mr. Davidson! How nice to see you again, please come in.” Harry says, gesturing to step inside. “Hi, Y/N.”

“Hi, Harry.”

“You can call me Joseph.” Joseph says as he sits down and Harry nods.

Harry and Y/N make eye contact briefly, and then he clears his throat.

“Well, I’m not sure why Riley signed you both up.” Harry chuckles. “She’s doing exceptionally well, and not just in my class. She’s a bright girl.” He takes out a few of her lab reports. “The first semester tends to be easier since we’re learning more about plants and those types of organism. Next semester we get into zoology and human anatomy. I always make it known there’s study groups and after school help. I try to make it as engaging and fun as I can. We even play a few rounds of operation.”

This makes you smile as Joseph furrows his brows at Riley’s lab reports. He nods along with what Harry is saying.

“I’m glad she’s doing so well. She was sort of a big fish in a small pond at her last school.” Joseph says. “I was a little worried she’d feel overwhelmed. This transition for them was really abrupt.”

“They had most of the summer to get used to things.” Y/N says, rolling her eyes. “This isn’t a snotty school either, the teacher’s actually help the students succeed.”

“I’m just saying-“

“Listen.” Harry cuts in. “Seems like you two might have some things to discuss that don’t really involve me. Riley’s doing great, and Niall tells me Ben’s doing just as great. Nothing really more to it.”

Joseph nearly had a decade on Harry, but Harry owned this room. Having Joseph be put in his place definitely did something for Y/N. She can’t help but smirk as Joseph sits up straight.

“Yes, well…thank you. We’ll make sure to relay the message to them.” He says and Harry nods. Joseph stands up, as does Y/N.

“Y/N, did you happen to drive separately? An alum emailed me today, and I have a couple of questions about our donation site.”

“Oh! Sure, I can stay a few moments.” She looks a Joseph. He stands there for a moment, looking between the two of them.

“Goodnight.” He says, and out the door he goes.

“So…what’s your question?”

“I didn’t actually have one.” Harry smirks at her and she blushes.

“Oh.”

“You seemed uncomfortable with him here.”

“I don’t exactly enjoy his company anymore.” She sits slightly on his desk.

“I know, shit like that is just awkward. Francie and I still have some mutual friends, and we’ve had to be at a few of the same parties since the breakup.”

“Can I ask…I mean, you said you were together for four years and engaged…what happened?”

“Why don’t we have this conversation over drinks?” He stands up, grabbing his keys and jacket.

“Harry…it’s a school night.”

“And? It’s only seven. Not like we’re gonna be out all night are we?”

“I have two kids at home.”

“You have two teenagers at home. Come on, just one drink and I’ll tell you everything.”

“And then what?”

“Whatever you want.” He winks and leads you out the door.

//

Y/N texted the kids to let them know she was just grabbing a quick bite, and that she was very proud of their hard work. She followed Harry to a pub, and they grab a booth inside. They each order a drink and munch on some popcorn.

“Alright.” He sighs. “So I was with Francie for four years, and we were engaged for all of five months. It was working out great, we were living together, had a couple of pets, you name it. She works for this tech company, right? So, she got promoted, which was great, but it would have involved her to start traveling a lot, and eventually moving to New York. I didn’t want to move, and she didn’t want to do long distance.”

“Why didn’t you want to move? You could have found another school to work at…”

“It was the principal of the thing! She didn’t even ask, she just expected it, like her job was more important than mine. We started arguing more and more, and when I asked her why we couldn’t just try long distance she said that would make things difficult to start a family, and I said we already had a family, and that opened up a can of worms. She wanted kids and I didn’t. After that we ended it. She took our dog and cat, and left.”

“She took the pets?!”

“Yup! Left me the ring though.” He scoffs.

“Wait…so you don’t want kids?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love kids, I love babies especially. But…I just don’t see myself being a dad.” He shrugs. “It’s a lot of responsibility, a lot of money too. I don’t know if I could take care of someone else. And maybe…when she said it…I had this thought of if I did want kids I wasn’t sure if wanted her to be the mother of them.”

“It took you that long to have that kind of conversation?”

“What about you? Did you and your ex have a proper discussion about it?”

“No, he knocked me up, proposed later that year, and we got married in a courthouse while I was seven months pregnant.” She finishes her drink. “Just like a fairytale. Then when he promised we could have a real wedding, I got pregnant with Ben, and all that money went to him. S’alright, though, it would have been a waste of money.”

“Can I ask why you got divorced?”

“Well, the age difference was one thing. He’s seven years older than me, which may not seem like much, but it was. I felt like I couldn’t talk to him sometimes. Then he decided to cheat on me with some other young thing, so we went from separated to divorced real quick.”

“I’m so sorry.” He frowns slightly.

“Don’t be, it was a while ago. I think things worked out for the best. We’re all doing better now.”

“I think it’s admirable that you’ve turned your life around the way you have.”

“Thanks.” She smiles and he finishes off his drink. Once they pay their tab they head out. “I think it’s too cold to do what we did last time.”

“And I couldn’t persuade you to come back to my place for a bit?”

She looks down at her watch and sees it’s already 8:30. She sighs, biting her bottom lip.

“I…I want to, and if I didn’t have two kids at home waiting for me I would. Maybe…maybe you should find someone else to be your little fuck buddy. I’m not easy to be with.”

“Maybe that’s what I like about you.” He says, leaning forward so his lips brush yours, kissing you quickly before backing away. “Have a good night, Y/N.”

She groans once she’s in the car. When she gets home both Riley and Ben are in their rooms unwinding. She says hello and goes to her own room to get ready for bed. Y/N wonders what she would have done with Harry at his place. How he would have touched her and kissed her all over. She sighs and gets into bed, aggravated as fuck.

//

It was Thanksgiving weekend when Y/N took her next shot with Harry. The kids spent Thanksgiving day with her, and they had the rest of the weekend to be with Joseph. When Saturday night rolled around she was bored and lonely, so she called him.

“Hi, Harry.”

“Hi, Y/N. Did you have a nice Thanksgiving?”

“I did…although, I have way too many leftovers.”

“You don’t say?”

“Yeah! Um, you wouldn’t happen to be hungry, would you?”

“Starved.”

“Great, well, if you’d like to come over you can.”

“I can be there within the house. Just text me your address.”

He had assumed Riley and Ben weren’t home. He needed to take a quick shower before coming to see her, and she needed to do the same. She wanted to be as fresh as possible for him. When she heard the doorbell, she raced down the stairs to open it.

“So, I can heat up whatever-mph!” He had gripped her cheeks and pulled her into him, kissing her passionately.

“I didn’t actually come here to eat.” He breathes. “Well, I did…but not food.” He smirks and lifts her up. She wraps her legs around his waist and kisses on his neck as he carries her upstairs. “Where’s your bedroom?”

“Last door on the right.” She mumbles into his hot skin.

He gets her in the bedroom, and sets her down. He starts taking his clothes off, and she does the same. He knees onto the bed to hover over her, and he kisses her, sucking on her bottom lip.

“Glad you finally called me for this.” He says as he licks around her nipple.

“You could have called me.”

“Didn’t want to look any more desperate.”

He nips at her stomach as he works his way down, giving her little to no warning before he licks into her. She gasps, gripping onto his hair. She bites her bottom lip as she feels his warm tongue lapping away at her. He sucks on her clit and slips two fingers inside her.

“When was the last time someone made you feel this good, hm? When was the last time someone made you this wet?”

“Wh-whenever the first time we hooked up was.” She whimpers.

“And before that?” He kitten licks at her clit now.

“God, I have no idea!” She moans out as his fingers pet inside her against her g-spot. He struggles to get a third finger in, so he doesn’t bother.

“Tighter than a fucking finger trap you know that?”

“I told you, I don’t make time to-oh!”

He started sucking on her clit again, and pumping his fingers quickly. She was squirming underneath him, panting and moaning loudly. She cries out as she comes, and he pumps his fingers slowly as her hips move along with his motions.

“Condoms?” He asks when he pops up.

“You don’t me to, um…?”

“Another time, I don’t think I’d last very long if you sucked on me.” He had been rutting himself against the mattress. She nods and reaches into her bedside drawer for a condom she toss it to him and watches as he rolls it on. “Roll over.”

She does as he says, and gets on her elbows and knees for him. He grips her hips, and lines himself up with her, pushing inside. It’s a tight squeeze, but he gets in no problem. They both moan out from the feeling. He reaches around to rub her clit, and she collapses onto the bed.

“God, just do what you want with me, Harry.” She grunts, and he moans from behind her.

“You’re so fucking sexy, you have no idea. Come for me, Y/N, come on.”

She cries out into her pillow, and he spills into the condom. Somehow after they both got cleaned up they ended up back in bed together. Harry through his arm around Y/N and pulled her to his chest.

“What are you doing?” She giggles.

“Cuddling you.”

“Why?”

“Because I feel like it.”

She laughs, but doesn’t fight him on it. Then…they fell asleep. It was a total accident, Harry never intended to spend the night. He just wanted to cuddle for a bit before heading out. He was more tired than he thought, and so was she. She nudges him awake.

“Shit, I’m sorry.” He says, knuckling at his eyes.

“It’s okay. Would you like to take a shower with me?”

“I would.” He smiles and gets up with her.

It was the dirtiest shower she had ever taken. He had gotten on his knees to eat her out, and then he lifted her up, fucking her into the bathroom tile wall. She left many scratch marks on his back, and then he came on her stomach. They got cleaned up for real after that, and headed downstairs for some coffee. Just as she was about to offer him some breakfast, she heard the front door open.

“Oh my god!” She whisper screams. “They’re not supposed to be back until later!”

“Be cool, Y/N.” Harry says.

“But-“

“Mum, we’re…Mr. Styles?” Riley says as she comes in with Ben. “What…what’s going on?”

“I should ask you the same. Why’s your father bring you back so soon?”

“We asked if he could.” Ben says. “Can only handle so much of his girlfriend.”

“So…Mr. Styles, um, no offense, but what are you doing here?”

“Well, your mum just so happens to be one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. She had all these leftovers and asked me if I’d like any, and I said yes. I may be a Brit, but I love Thanksgiving dishes. So I came right over. Just got here a couple minutes before you did.”

“Yeah, I was just about to pull the food out. Why don’t you two go put your things away?”

Riley furrows her brows, but shrugs it off, and goes with Ben upstairs.

“You’re quick on your feet.”

“Wasn’t a total lie.” Harry says, finishing his coffee. “I better get going.” She walks him to the front door, and he gives her a sneaky kiss along with a bum squeeze. “See you soon, I hope.”

“Definitely.” She smiles. “Bye.” She opens the door for him and out he goes. She sighs happily, and goes into the kitchen to make a little breakfast.

//

Riley was a little suspicious after that morning. She spent most mornings in homeroom analyzing Harry’s features. He was his usual chipper self, but there was certainly an extra pep in his step. Then in biology it was the same thing.

“Riley?” Austin was standing in front of her desk, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Oh, hey.” She smiles. “What’s up?”

“Are you free this Friday?”

“I…I think so.”

“Would you wanna go to the movies?” He runs a hand through his hair and she swallows.

“This is gonna sound really lame, but I need to ask my mom first.”

He chuckles slightly at that.

“No worries, let me know if she says yes.”

“I will.” Austin goes to his seat, and Riley looks at Chris who was giving her a thumbs up.

“Alright, if we could all settle down?” Harry says. “Today we’re going over fungi cells so I need all of your attention on me.”

Harry liked attention in general, probably one of the reasons he wanted to be a teacher in the first place. He just happened to also enjoy biology and he was good at explaining it to the youths. During class Riley felt her phone buzz, and saw she had a text from Ben.

Ben: reminder that I have a doctor’s appointment, so you have to wait after school for Mum to come get you

Riley: okay thanks, I’ll just go to the library to wait for her

“Riley!” She snaps her eyes up at the harsh tone from her teacher. “Is that your phone?”

“Y-yes…I’m sorry, Mr. Styles, my brother-“

“I don’t care.” He shakes his head. “You know the policy.” He gestures for her to give it to him.

“But he was just-“

“Is it an emergency?”

“No.”

“Alright then, give it here.” Everyone was looking at her, and it made her face flush. She gets up and walks towards him to hand over her phone. He takes it puts it in his desk drawer. “You can have it back after class.”

She nods, and goes back to her seat. After class she walks out, completely forgetting she had her phone taken away. She gets settled in the library, and gets some homework done. She was there for over an hour until Y/N showed up in a huff.

“Riley Davidson, I’ve been calling you for fifteen minutes!”

“Mum, be quiet!”

“If your brother hadn’t told me you were in the library I never would have found you. Where the hell is your phone?”

“It’s…oh shit.” She says as she packs up.

“What?”

“I forgot that Mr. Styles took it from me.”

“He what?!”

“Ben texted me while I was in class, and I texted back. He caught me, and took it away from me. It’s the policy.”

“I don’t give a fuck, that’s your property. Come on, hopefully he’s still here.”

He was. When they walk in, he was writing something on the whiteboard, furrowing his eyebrows. Looked like it was a chemistry equation. Y/N clears her throat to get his attention.

“Oh, hello ladies.”

“Where do you get off taking my daughter’s phone?”

“Oh! I completely forgot about that. You left right after class, Riley.” Harry goes into his desk and grabs the phone. “Here you are.”

“Thanks.” She says as she swipes through to check any notifications she may have missed.

“It’s the policy, Y/N.”

“What if I got in a car accident and someone needed to reach her? Then what?”

“Did that happen?” He crosses his arms.

“No, but it could have.”

“But it didn’t. There’s no texting in class, no phone use of any kind, actually.”

“Mum, it’s fine, we can-“

“Excuse me, but that’s her property. If I need to get in touch with her, or if her brother does, then she should be able to send a quick text. It’s not like she was scrolling through Instagram.”

“But she could have been.”

“But she wasn’t!”

“Maybe you should hover over a little less, hm? Kids rely on their phones so much because their parents are constantly trying to see what they’re up to.”

Y/N takes her keys out from her purse, and hands them to Riley.

“I’m parked out front, go start the car for me. I’ll be just be another minute.” Riley nods and leaves quickly, knowing how bad it can be to be scolded by her mother. She certainly didn’t want to watch her favorite teacher get bitched out. “You don’t have kids, so I wouldn’t expect you to understand-“

“I have dozens of kids, actually. Ones that come to see me to talk to me about their problems, I’m also always studying trends of the today’s students, so don’t stand there and-“

“Do not interrupt me when I’m speaking.” She says firmly, and he closes his mouth. “You may speak when I’m finished, Mr. Styles. I’m a single mom doing my best for my kids. I will not be lectured in front of my daughter about being a helicopter parents because I’m not. However, I’m doing the job of two while my ex gets to be a weekend dad, who my kids don’t even want to see. It’s my fault Ben texted her at the time he did, alright? I asked him to remind her that I wouldn’t be picking her up until later because I had to take him to a doctor’s appointment.”

“May I?” She gestures that he can speak. “She didn’t need to text him back right then. It’s the school policy to take a phone away if we see it out, I was just doing my job.”

“Well, you should have remembered you took it so you could have given it back to her! I was sitting in the car for nearly twenty minutes waiting for her, I was starting to get worried.” Y/N pouts, and even though this was a very serious matter, Harry couldn’t help notice the blood starting to flow right to his prick.

“I’m very sorry about that.” He puts his hand on her shoulder, and she glances at it before looking at him. “I take ownership for that mistake. I feel terrible that I even caused an ounce of worry. If there’s anything I can do to make it better, please let me know.” His tone was condescending and seductive all at the same time.

She places her hand on his and removes it from her shoulder.

“Have a nice evening.” She says.

“Same to you.” He smirks.

Y/N makes her way to her car, and sighs heavily once she’s in there with Riley.

“Please don’t tell me you just yelled at him. He’s my favorite teacher, Mum.”

“No, we had a very adult conversation, and he apologized for not giving you back your phone when he should have after class.”

“I guess I could’ve waited to text Ben back. I’m sorry I caused all this.”

“It’s not your fault, honey, it’s fine.” She smiles at her daughter and they make their way home.

“I…I was asked to the movies this Friday, can I go?”

“With who?”

“Austin.”

“I’d like him to come to the house first so I can meet him properly. You’ve been hanging out in groups with him. Would this be one on one?”

“I think so. I can ask him if he minds coming inside first before we go.”

“That would be great.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Are you…are you and Mr. Styles, like, seeing each other?”

“What would ever give you that idea?!”

“I just think it’s weird that he was at our house.”

“We’ve become friends, you know I hang out with him and Mr. Horan sometimes.”

“Yeah, but Mr. Horan wasn’t there. It was just you and Mr. Styles, and you both had wet hair.”

“I had showered before he swung by, he must have done the same.” Y/N shrugs. “We’re just friends, honey, nothing more.”

“Okay.”

Y/N could tell Riley didn’t quite believe her, but she knew her daughter wouldn’t press her on it more for now. Not if she wanted to go to the movies with Austin.

//

“It’s nice to meet you, uh-“

“You can just call me Miss Y/L/N, it’s nice to meet you too, Austin.” Y/N smiles. They were all standing in the front hall. “So…it’s just you two going to the movies?”

“That’s the plan.” He says with an innocent smile.

“Have her home by 10:30, please.”

“Can do.”

“Thanks, Mum.”

“Have fun.” She sighs and turns around to Ben. “What about you? No plans?”

“Not tonight. I was just gonna play video games.”

“Well, if you’d like to have a friend over-“ Her cell phone goes off and she furrows her brows. “One second, sweetie.” She goes into the kitchen for some more privacy. “Harry?”

“Hey, what are you up to tonight?”

“Hanging out with my son…why?”

“Oh, they’re not with their dad this weekend?”

“No, they were with him last weekend.” She sighs.

“Damn.”

“Why?”

“Well, Niall and a few other people were gonna go to this place where you can throw axes, and we thought you’d like to come.”

“That sounds like…fun? Um, but I can’t just leave Ben here alone. I’d feel terrible since Riley’s out.”

“Hey, Mum?”

“Honey, I’m on the phone.”

“I know, sorry, Kyle just texted me and asked me if I wanted to sleep over. I know it’s last minute, but-“

“You can go! You can definitely go, I’ll even drop you off.”

“You’re the best! I’m gonna go pack up my stuff.” Ben races out of the kitchen.

“Guess that just solved itself.” Harry says.

“Guess so.”

“Let me come pick you up. Text me when you get back from dropping him off, yeah?”

“Alright.”

Y/N gets herself ready, and then drives Ben to Kyle’s house for his sleepover.

“Why do you look so nice?” He asks on the way there.

“Well, I made plans with my own friends since you and Riley are out. Is that okay?” She chuckles.

“S’fine.” He shrugs. “Feel like you’ve been going out a lot lately. Are you, like, dating?”

“No, baby, I’m not dating. But I am making good friends, which has been nice. I didn’t have many friends back in our old town. Too many judgey moms.” She pulls up to Kyle’s house. “Have a great time, call me if you need me.”

“I will, thanks!”

She watches Ben go inside, and then she makes her way back home to wait for Harry. She liked his car a lot, and it would be nice to actually go for a drive in it, instead of just riding him in it. Y/N was shocked when she heard the doorbell.

“You didn’t have to come to the door.” She says as she steps outside.

“Sure I did. I may be just trying to fuck, but I’m a gentleman at the end of the day.” He smirks as he opens the car door for her. She rolls her eyes at him, and climbs in.

“This really is a nice car.” She says as she looks around.

“Saved up a long time for it.” He places his hand on her thigh as he backs out of the driveway, and he keeps it there.

“So, an axe throwing place?”

“It’s all the rage right now. You can drink and throw axes, it’s pretty cool. I’ve been once before it’s a hoot.” He chuckles and squeezes her thigh slightly. “I’m glad you were able to get out for a bit.”

“Me too.”

She lets him keep his hand on her leg for the entire ride as they chat over the music. He parks the car, and gets out, jogging around to the other side to open the door for her. She smiles at him, and they both head inside. He even gets them their drinks from the bar. It was starting to feel like a date, especially when she only saw Niall with one other person, some woman she had yet to meet.

“Y/N, this is my girlfriend Anna.” Niall says.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Y/N says to her. Harry comes over and hands her a drink. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. We all set?” He asks Niall.

“Yeah, we all just need to sign the release forms.”

They all sign and are brought over to the axe throwing area. They’re told how to do it, and they get going. Harry and Niall go first, and of course their axes stick. Y/N takes a deep breath, and throws her, but it doesn’t stick.

“That’s alright, give it another go.” Harry encourages her.

“I…I don’t think I threw it quite right.” She says to him.

“Would you like some help?” She nods yes at him and he steps closer to her, putting his hand on her back. “You need to release from this point, okay? Give it all you got.” He steps back and lets her throw it. It sticks and she squeals, turning to hug him. “I knew you could do it!”

Anna hits her target as well. The four of them were having a great time. Once their time is up, they all grab table for food. Y/N checks her phone, it was just about nine. No texts from the kids. She hoped Riley was having a nice time on her date, and that Austin was being respectful during their movie.

“Miss?” The waitress says to her.

“Huh? Oh, I’m sorry. Um…” She looks at the menu and then to Harry. Everyone else had clearly ordered.

“She’ll have the same as me, thanks, love.” Harry hands the waitress the menus and then looks at Y/N. “You like turkey burgers, right?”

“Yeah, sorry about that. My daughter’s on her first date, and I was just checking my phone to see if she had text me or anything.”

“You have a daughter that’s old enough to date?!” Anna says, shocked. “What’s your secret, girl? You look fantastic!” She laughs, and so does everyone else.

“I was a young mum, nothing more than that.” Y/N chuckles. “She’s only fourteen, a freshman out with a sophomore boy from her biology class. It’s cute, really, he’s on the football team and she’s been to a few of his games. They’ve been hanging out in groups, but tonight is the first one on one.” She takes a sip of her drink. “Listen to me, it sounds like I’m recapping an episode of The Bachelor.”

“Do you have any other kids, or just the one?” Anna asks.

“I have a son, Ben, he’s thirteen. Niall’s his teacher actually.”

“Yup, great kid. Harry has Y/N’s daughter in class too.” Niall tells her.

“Is that how you two met?” Anna asks, and you smirk.

“No, actually, the three of us met because I parked too close to Harry’s precious car in the staff lot. I work in our development office.” She sips her drink smirking at Harry who had slumped in the booth. “He yelled at me, it was quite the meet cute.”

“Yikes, I’ve never seen Harry yell before.” Anna says. “You’re usually so calm.”

“I’ve had that car for two years, not a scratch on it, and I’d like to keep it that way.” Harry says. “It’s all water under the bridge now.” He puts his arm around Y/N, smiling down at her.

There’s more talking during the meal. Y/N really liked the turkey burger Harry had ordered for her. Everyone was laughing and having a good time. It was about ten, and Y/N wanted to get home before Riley like a responsible adult. She tells Harry this, and he nods.

“It was really nice meeting you, Anna.” Y/N tells her again.

“Same to you, have a nice night.” They all part ways in the parking lot. “Oh, I like her so much better than Francie already.” She tells Niall.

“Me too.” Niall sighs. “But you know they’re not really dating.”

“I know, I know, but this was a very nice glimpse for them to see what a date could be like. They were so cute with each other.”

“I agree, I just think Harry’s still on the rebound. I also don’t think he’s mature enough to be dating a woman with two teenagers. Little kids maybe, but teenagers? That’s a lot to take on. Besides, what if he wants kids? Y/N’s in her early thirties, she probably wouldn’t want more.”

“Isn’t that what Harry and Francie broke up over? She wanted kids and he didn’t.” Anna shrugs. “Let them figure it out.”

Y/N and Harry were parked in her driveway making out. The damn console was in the way, but he was still able to get his tongue into her mouth. Her hands were in his hair, tugging him closer to her even though she knew she needed to get out of the car.

“Harry.” She breathes as he starts kissing on her neck. “I…I need to go inside. I can’t be out here like this when Riley gets home.” She gasps when she feels his teeth nip at her skin, and then he pulls away, almost glaring at her.

“Man, nothing to kill a hard on more than a mention of a student’s name.” He huffs.

“I told you…this might be easier for you if you wanted to fuck someone without kids.”

“Well, I’m kinda hooked on you now, so I can’t do that.” His thumb brushes her bottom lip as he cups her cheek. He leans in to kiss her again. “Do you think we could get together tomorrow since it seems like we can’t fool around tonight?”

“Sure, I have some errands I need to run anyways, so I can add you to the list.” She winks. “I’ll text you.”

“Alright, sounds good.” He chuckles. “I had a lot of fun tonight.”

“So did I, goodnight.” She smiles and hops out of the car. She quickly gets herself inside.

Harry backs out of the driveway just as Austin pulls up with Riley.

“Whoa, who do you know with a range rover?” Austin asks.

“That’s…Mr. Styles’ car.” She swallows as she watches him drive away. “He’s friends with my mom. She texted me saying she was seeing some friends tonight, I guess he drove her.”

“Cool.” Austin says. “I’ll walk you to your door.” He does so, and they linger there for a moment. They hug each other, and he gives her a kiss on the cheek. “Can we do this again sometime?”

“I’d like that.” She smiles.

“Great, well, have a good night.”

“You too. Thanks again.” Her heart soars as she goes inside. She finds Y/N sitting on the couch watching TV.

“How was the movie?”

“Really funny.” Riley plops down next to her. “Where’s Ben?”

“Sleeping at Kyle’s.”

“Oh, nice. So…where did you go tonight?”

“To this axe throwing place. It was fun, look.” She takes her phone and shows Riley a video of her throwing an axe and it sticking to the wooden target.

“Cool! You went there with Mr. Styles?”

“Mhm, and Mr. Horan and his girlfriend Anna.”

“Oh my god, Mum.” Riley gasps. “You went on a double date!”

“I did not.” Y/N scoffs.

“Did Mr. Styles pay for anything?”

“Well…yeah, he did, but he said it was just easier.” Riley gives her a look. “What?”

“Mum, he definitely was making a move!”

“And what do you know about moves, hm?”

“Apparently more than you. You two should go out one on one and see how it goes.”

“I’ve done that with him before.” Y/N shrugs. “We’re just friends, Riley.”

“He drove you tonight, right? I saw him pulling out of the driveway when I got home.”

“He offered to drive, yeah, and I accepted. He’s got a really nice car, thought it would be fun to go for a ride in it.” Y/N blushes slightly, annoyed at her own innuendo. “I’m not dating your teacher, don’t worry.”

“I wouldn’t hate it.” Riley shrugs. “You deserve to have someone, Mum. Dad’s out there with miss thing living what he perceives as his best life, you should do the same.”

“I don’t want to be in a relationship right now.” Y/N sighs. “I don’t have time for it. If Ben hadn’t gone to Kyle’s I wouldn’t have been able to go out tonight.”

“He can stay at home by himself.”

“But I would have felt bad about it. I like being home when you guys are home.”

“We’re not babies, that’s all I’m saying.” She twiddles her thumbs. “Plus, he’s super cute, so-“

“Riley!” Y/N chuckles and throws a pillow at her. “Don’t talk about your teacher like that.”

“He is! I don’t have a crush on him, but anyone with eyes can see how cute he is, Mum.”

“I’ll agree with that, he’s very cute.” She yawns. “Well, now that you’re home I’m gonna go up to bed. Was Austin respectful and all that tonight?”

“Very.” Riley smiles. “He asked me if I wanted to do it again sometime. I’m excited about him.”

“It’s a nice feeling, huh?”

“Yeah.”

Y/N hoped the feeling would never fade for her daughter because she knew all too well how it felt when it does.

//

The next day, after Ben got dropped off, Y/N told the kids she was going out to run some errands, and asked them to get some chores done while she was gone. She genuinely needed to get some things while she was out, so she did that before going over to Harry’s. It felt odd to be going over to his place in the middle of the day for a dick appointment, as the kids would say, but this was happening. She pulls up to a nice duplex, and she recognizes Niall’s car in the other driveway. She texts Harry that she’s down front, and she sees the front door open on one side. She gets out of her car and greets him.

“Find it alright?” He says to her as he lets her in.

“Mhm, this is a cool place.”

“Thanks, Niall and I bought it together, like, five or so years ago. We fixed up one side and then the other.”

“So he gets one side and you the other?”

“Yup, worked out well. I’ve redecorated recently, for, um, obvious reasons.”

“Right, trust me I know how hard it can be living in the same place where good and bad memories were made.”

“Is that why you came out here?”

“One of the reasons she sighs as she kicks her shoes off. “I needed a fresh start.”

He hums his response as he cups her jaw in his large hands, bringing his lips to hers.

“How long do you have?” He says against her lips.

“An hour at most. I have to go to the grocery store after this.”

“Oh.” He smirks. “You won’t be going to the store after this.”

“Wh-why not?” She swallows.

“Because you’re not gonna be able to walk when I’m done with you.” He bends down and lifts her up over his shoulder and she squeals.

“Harry!” She giggles as he brings upstairs to his room. Fuck, he was strong. “What will I tell my kids when I’m walking funny?”

“Tell them good old Mr. Styles cracked your spine in half, I’m sure that’ll go over well.” He drops her on his bed, and gets his shirt off. She looks up wide eyed at him. “Oh, love, I’m not actually gonna do that.”

“I know, I’ve just never seen your tattoos in the daylight like this. I mean when we showered I sort of did, but…they’re so pretty.”

His features soften and he picks her up again, getting himself on the bed and laying her down. He sucks on her bottom lip as she wraps her arms and legs around him. His hands work to undo her jeans, and he tugs them down past her bum. She kicks them off the rest of the way, and he pets her over her underwear. She moans into his mouth, and his dips his fingers inside, sliding along her slit. She could feel him growing hard against her hip.

“Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you blow me for a bit?”

“Of course! Lay down.”

He gives her a relieved smile and lays back on the bed. She gets between his legs and does his pants. She gets them off and tugs his boxers down. She kisses his tip first, then gives his shaft kisses before licking him up and down. She looks up at him and sees he’s already watching her. She smirks and wraps her lips around his tip, sinking down on him as much as she could.

“Yeah, just like that.” He groans. “Fuck, you feel so good.”

She moans against him and bobs her head up and down. This wasn’t her favorite thing to do in the world, but she didn’t mind do it for it for Harry since he was so attentive with her. She gets him to the brink of coming, and then he pulls her off of him. He gets her naked, and opens her legs up, diving right in. The flat of his tongue sliding up her center to her clit. He sucks both of her lips, one at a time before focusing on her clit again. Two of his fingers slip inside her, and her eyes roll back. He has her crying out moments later, and before she knows it he’s getting a condom on.

“Can I go on top?” She asks.

“Sure.” He shrugs and lays down, his cock stiff and ready for her.

She swings her leg over him, and rubs his tip over her clit before sinking down on his. His hands grip her hips as she moves around in a circle to get comfortable. She moves herself on and off his cock, enjoying the stretch he’s giving her. When she gets a little tired she comes down to him chest to chest, and kisses him. His hands slide to her ass, and he moves her on him. He thrusts in and out of her, and she moans into his neck.

“Like the way I feel like this?” He grunts.

“Yes, fuck.” She mumbles. Her clit was rubbing against him perfectly, and she was trying to concentrate on that. “Don’t stop what you’re doing.” She tugs at his hair and he nearly growls.

He thrusts into her faster and faster, it has her panting and moaning. His tip was hitting her g-spot, so the whole thing was really overwhelming. She moans out his name loudly as she comes, and he fucks her through it. He lifts her off of him, and sets her down on her stomach. He gets behind her and pushes back inside. She gasps, but it feels good. He fucks her from behind until he comes, and collapses on top of her. He holds her for a moment before pulling out and getting rid of the condom. She uses the bathroom, and gets dressed. He throws on a pair of boxers and a sweatshirt.

“Thanks for adding me to your list of errands.” He says to her as they stand in his front hall. She giggles into his chest as he hugs her and kisses the top of her head.

“My legs are working just fine, by the way. But I’m too tired to go grocery shopping now.”

“Well, you only gave me a bloody hour, love, and you made me come really fast.” He pouts. “Can’t seem to last that long with you.”

“Maybe you should jerk off before I come over next time so you can handle it.” She grins and he rolls his eyes.

“You came twice didn’t you?” She nods yes. “Alright then, quit your complaining. Go on, get outta my house.” He pats her bum and kisses her one more time. “Enjoy the rest of your weekend.”

“You too.” Y/N drove home with a smile on her face the whole way.

//

Things were like this most weekends, especially when the kids were at Joseph’s. Harry would come over on Friday night instead of Saturday in case he fell asleep. Plus if he stayed the night that meant they could have sex most of the day Saturday, which was really nice. Y/N was having a lot of fun with Harry. Sometimes they’d meet up with Anna and Niall to go bowling, or catch a movie. In a way it felt like dating, but there was absolutely zero pressure. It was the exact companion ship she had hoped for.

When the holidays rolled around, she got the kids for Christmas, and Joseph got them for New Year’s, which meant Y/N could go to the party Harry was having. Apparently it was an annual thing. There were a lot of people from school there so she felt right at home. Y/N hadn’t had a New Year’s kiss in quite some time, so it wasn’t even on her mind until all of the couples migrated towards each other as it got closer to midnight.

Harry was wandering through his home trying to find her. She was in the kitchen refilling her drink. He lets out a sigh of relief. He could hear people starting the countdown.

“Christ, there you are!” He says to her, pulling her into him.

“You were looking for me?”

“Course I was, who else am I gonna kiss, hm?” They hear everyone yell ‘one’ and he plants one on her. She thought it would be a simple peck since there were people around, but no, Harry full on kissed her. “Happy New Year.” He breathes and then kisses her forehead.

“Happy New Year.” She says faintly as he walks away from her to continue being a good host. She was one of the last people there, feeling drained at nearly two in the morning. She was getting her coat, about ready to say goodbye when he looked at her funny. “What?”

“Where do you think you’re going at this hour?”

“Home.”

“Nope, sorry, m’afraid you’re staying with me tonight. Get that coat off, now.” He crosses his arms over his chest.

“Is that so?”

“it is.” He nods, and she smirks at him stepping closer to him.

“Make me.” She grins and his eyebrows raise.

“Right.”

Before she knows it she’s being picked up and carried to his room. They both giggle as he gets her in his room. He gets her jacket and boots off, and he tosses her one of his bed shirts.

“What’s this for?” She asks as she holds the shirt up.

“To sleep? Can’t fuck you right now, I’m knackered.”

“Oh.” She blushes. “Alright, well, thank you. Um…you wouldn’t happen to have a spare toothbrush and a washcloth then would you?”

“Sure, I’ll pull that out of the linen closet for you, one second.” He leaves the bedroom and comes back shortly and gives her what she asked for.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” He shrugs and starts taking his clothes. “Feel free to use the bathroom first.”

She nods and does so. She liked the way his shirt fit, how it hugged her thighs and just barely covered her bum. She washes up and shyly pads back into the bedroom. He smiles when he sees her, and watches as she crawls onto the bed.

“Well, don’t you look cute.” He pinches her thigh as she settled.

“Oh! Don’t do that.” She swats his hand away and he chuckles, getting up from the bed.

“Back in a tick.”

He shuts the lights off once he’s done in the bathroom, and gets into bed with her. She felt awkward until he yanked her onto his chest.

“You can be pretty forceful sometimes, you know that?”

“Does it bother you?”

“Not really, it’s not like I don’t feel safe.”

“You feel safe with me?” He asks softly.

“I do.” She feels him hold her a little closer.

“I just want what I want when I want it I guess.”

“So I’ve noticed. I like a man that knows what he wants, though, so it’s not like it’s a turn off.

“Aw, so you feel safe with me and you like me. A Happy New Year indeed.” She sucks her teeth at that and it makes him laugh. “What’s wrong, can’t take a bit of teasing?”

“I can, you’re just annoying.” She nudges him and he kisses the top of her head.

“You’re fun, Y/N.” He chuckles.

“Let’s get some sleep so you can fuck me in the morning, yeah?”

“I like the way you think.” He sighs and lets his eyes droop closed.

Y/N and Harry spent most of New Year’s day in his best, and neither of them would have had it any other way.

//

“Y/N?” One of her student workers comes into her office. “Mr. Horan from the math department is here to see you.”

“He is?” She raises an eyebrow. “Um, alright, he can come in.” The girl nods and lets Niall in. He closes the door behind him. “Is everything alright with Ben?”

“Yeah, this isn’t work related.”

“Oh…alright, would you like to have a seat?”

“No, it won’t take long…um…did you know Harry’s birthday is on the first of February?”

“I did not know that, no.”

“Right, well, I’m throwing him a party at this pub he really likes to go to. He’s turning thirty, you know? Wanted it to be a little more special for him.” She nods and he continues. “He’s shy about his birthday, and he’d never come right out and say it, but I know it would be mean the world to him if you came.”

“Well, of course I’ll go. It’s not like I haven’t been to a party with him before.”

“Yes, but instead of casually coming over to his New Year’s party…you’d sort of be showing up as his lady, you know?”

“What are you getting at here?”

“Come on, Y/N.” Niall scoffs. “He’s crazy about you, can’t you see that?”

“Niall…” She says in a hushed tone. “You know very well that he and I are nothing more than-“

“Fuck buddies, yeah, yeah.” He rolls his eyes. “This has been going on for months, you seriously don’t want more with the guy?”

“No.” She swallows. “I’m getting exactly what I need from him. He doesn’t want more either, what we’re doing works for both of us. Has…has he said something to you?”

“Not in so many words, but he talks about you enough. I think it’s silly to not go for it.”

“Look, if I didn’t have two kids maybe things could be different between him and I, but it’s not that simple. I don’t want more…at least not right now.”

“Alright.” He sighs. “I’ll text you the details for the party, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Oh, and keep it a secret. He thinks we’re going on a bar crawl.”

She nods and out the door he goes. She sighs heavily and shakes her head. Now there would be all this pressure for his birthday. Did she need to get him a gift? And what kind of gift should it be?

//

“Mum, you look so good.” Riley says sitting on Y/N’s bed when she comes out in a red dress.

“Thank you, honey.”

“And this is for a friend’s birthday party?”

“Yes.”

“Whose birthday?” Riley grins.

“Harry’s.” Y/N sighs.

“Did you get him anything good?”

“I…I got him, like, well, you know how he likes to wear all those rings? So I saw this ring at the store that I thought he might like.”

“You got him a ring?”

“Is it weird? It’s weird right? I just…I saw it and I thought of him, and I-“

“I bet he’ll love it, Mum.”

“Alright.” She nods. “Listen…you’ll be alright with Ben tonight? I…I could either be home really late, or I might not come back until the morning depending on how much I have to drink.”

“He’s setting up some movies and popcorn for us as we speak. We can handle it.”

“Good, okay, thank you.”

“Where would stay if you don’t come home?”

“Mr. Horan has offered me his guest room if need be.” It was a blatant lie but she couldn’t very well tell her fourteen-year-old that she was most likely going to have birthday sex with her teacher.

“Okay.” Riley shrugs and goes downstairs with Y/N. The doorbell rings. “I’ve got it.” She says as Y/N gets her coat on. “Hi, Mr. Styles.”

“Hello, Riley, is your mum ready to go?”

“Mhm, she’s just getting her coat on. Happy birthday, by the way.”

“Thank you.” He smiles and then uses all his willpower to not let his jaw drop when he sees Y/N. He couldn’t even see her dress, but he could tell she’d be a knockout tonight. “Ready?”

“Yes.” She smiles and turns to Riley and Ben. “Don’t be afraid to call if you need anything. I can be home in a flash. I’ll text you later to let you know what my, um, plans are.” She blushes and pushes Harry outside as the kids wave them off.

“She’s not subtle.” Ben says as he plops onto the couch.

“I know, I wish they’d just admit they’re in love and get on with it.” Riley says and starts the movie.

//

Harry opens the backseat of Niall’s car for her, and then he jogs around to the other side. Niall was driving, and Anna was in the passenger seat. Everyone greets one another and off they go. Harry keeps his hand on Y/N’s knee the whole way, and she puts her hand over his. They smile at each other, but nothing is said. Needless to say he was surprised by there being a party at the pub for him, but he was delighted.

Niall had done really well. Lots of drinks and appetizers going around, good music, and people mingling. There was even a cheesy slideshow of every single one of Harry’s school pictures throughout the years, and Y/N had to fight tears from laughing so hard at some of them. Harry couldn’t have asked for a better birthday, especially with Y/N around. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her all night, and eventually his arm didn’t leave from its place around her waist. No one really paid it any attention. Most people knew there was something going on between the two of them, but it was none of their concern. The single men in the room at the least knew not to hit on her. No one really wanted to get on Harry’s shit list.

There was a table for gifts, but Y/N kept hers in her purse, not wanting it to get lost. She also wanted to give it to him in private in case things got awkward. She had overthought the ring over and over. It was this nice topaz band that she thought he’d like. He said he was always looking for a pop of color in his wardrobe.

“Hey.” He says to her, pulling her into him. “Are you gonna come home with me?”

“Yeah.” She smiles. “Are you having a good time?”

“A great time. Couldn’t have asked to turn thirty with better people.” He tucks some hair behind her ear and she shivers. “Can’t to get you back to my place, though.” He leans in to speak in her ear. “M’gonna mess up all this pretty makeup you’re wearing.” He kisses her cheek and lets her go. She was suddenly counting down the moments until it was time to leave.

When it came time, she helped grab all of the gifts off the table and bring them to Niall’s car. She had texted Riley that she wouldn’t be coming home which she felt slightly guilty about. She didn’t like giving up her weekends with the kids like this. Niall and Anna help get everything inside, and then leave Harry and Y/N alone, drinking water in the kitchen. He comes over to her, putting his hands on her hips, and pulling her forward.

“Have I told you how fucking sexy you look tonight? I’ve had to hold my hand under my jaw all night just to keep it from dropping.”

“Idiot.” She chuckles. “Oh! Wait, I got you something.” She snatches her purse from the counter.

“So it’s not lingerie? Sort of thought you were my gift.” He smirks and she rolls her eyes.

“That wouldn’t be very original, and I don’t find lingerie to be particularly comfortable, sorry, Sport.” She fishes the ring box out of her purse. “Here we are. If it’s weird feel free to just kick me out…I saw it thought you’d like it, nothing more to it than that.”

He takes the box from her, furrowing his brows. His eyes widen as he opens it up. He looks between her and the topaz band several times.

“Are you serious?” He says.

“Y-yeah…do you like it?”

“Are you kidding? I love it! I just can’t decide what finger to put it on.”

“I guessed on the size. You have such fat fingers, so I went with a larger one.”

“Think that’s the first time I’ve heard you complain about my fingers. Better be the last.” He slips the ring onto his middle finger and holds it out. “It’s perfect, thank you so much. You really didn’t have to do this.”

“I know, but I wanted to. Like I said, I saw it and thought you’d like it.”

He hugs her and she hugs him back. He kisses her cheek and works his way to her lips. He sucks on her bottom lip, and she tugs at his shirt. His hands slide down to her ass and he squeezes.

“Fuck, I want you so bad.” He says against her lips, and lifts her up onto the counter.

“Mm-mm, just bring me upstairs, I don’t wanna have sex on the counter again.”

“But it’s my birthday.” He pouts.

“Yeah, and last time we did this my back hurt for, like, three days, so bring me upstairs.”

He sucks his teeth and lifts her back up, carrying her bridal style out to the staircase, and up to his room. He sets her down on the bed and takes her heels off, sliding his hands up her calves and thighs. He pulls her to her feet so he can lift the dress up over her head. He tugs her nylons off along with her underwear, and unclips her bra, leaving her naked in front of him. He licks his lips and kisses her. Running his hands all over her body. She works to get his shirt undone, and pushes it off his shoulders. She undoes his pants and lets them drop to the floor, he steps out of them, and they both fall back on the bed. He grinds his hard dick, still clothes by his boxers, right into her core, and she groans. He continues to grind against her, and she moves her hips along with his to get some extra friction.

“I want you to suck me off while I fuck you with my tongue.”

She nods and they switch positions so he can lay on his back. She gets situated over his face, and she lowers herself on his body. His tongue moves back and forth along her slit before entering her. She gasps just as she’s getting her lips wrapped around him. His hands grip her hips so he can lick into her in just the right way. She moans around his cock as she tries to bob up and down on him. He removes his tongue from her so he can finger her, and he licks up to her other hole, something they’ve done before. She chokes on his dick and pulls off, choosing to pump him instead.

“Shit, Harry, oh my god!”

He moans against her as she comes around his fingers. He pulls his fingers away and laps her up. He rolls her onto her stomach, and he grabs a condom quickly. He rolls it on and spreads her legs wide open. She lifts her hips up as he pushes inside her, and he grabs a pillow to put under her back. He rocks in and out of her as his hands knead her breasts. She wraps her arms around his neck to pull him down to her, and she licks into his mouth. He moans into her as their chests touch and sweat starts to form between their bellies.

“Y/N.” He moans into her ear, and it raises goosebumps all over skin. She wraps her legs around his waist to pull him even closer. He kisses on her neck and she runs her fingers through his hair. “I want you to come at the same time as me, think you can do that?”

“Y-yeah.”

He snakes a hand between them so he can rub her clit and her mouth falls open. They make eye contact the entire time, and they cry out as they come together. He collapses on top of her, and she holds him close, kissing his cheek multiple times. He keeps his head buried in her chest for a few moments. He looks up at her, about to say something, but her phone goes off.

“Shit, it could be the kids…”

“One second.” He pulls out of her with a grunt, and lets her up. She gets up and waddles over to his dresser and grabs her phone.

“Ben?”

“Hi, Mum, I’m sorry it’s so late, but Riley doesn’t feel well. I think it’s her period, but she’s on the floor, like, clutching at her stomach and I don’t know what to do for her…”

“Shit, okay, um, get her a glass of milk and two ibuprofen from the cabinet. I’ll be home soon, I’ll set up a warm compress for her. She gets really bad cramps like me sometimes.”

“Okay, thanks, sorry again.”

“No problem, I’ll see you soon.” She turns to Harry. “I…I’m sorry, I can get an uber or-“

“I’ll drive you, don’t be silly.” He says, already throwing some sweats on. “Do you want something to change into so you don’t have to put all that back on?”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind.”

He gets her a sweatshirt and some sweatpants. Once she’s cleaned herself up they’re out the door and into his car. This time around he holds her hand the whole way, their fingers intertwined and everything. When he turns the car off when he pulls in, she gives him a funny look.

“Don’t look at me like that, I’m coming in, obviously.”

“You don’t need to.”

“I know, now come on.”

They get inside, and poor rile is still laying on the floor sucking milk out of a straw. Ben was sitting on the ground neck to her rubbing her back.

“Mum?”

“Hi, sweetie.” Y/N gets on her knees next to her.

“Feels like someone’s squeezing my insides with a spiked glove.”

“I know, baby, the medicine will work soon, I promise.” She sighs. “Ben, in the bathroom cabinet is where the warm compresses are, could you get one for me please?”

“Yeah.” He stands up and looks at Harry, but doesn’t say anything. Riley sees Harry’s sneakers and turns to look at him.

“Hey, Mr. Styles…”

“Hey.” He smiles. “Not feeling great, huh?”

“Cramps.” She says bluntly.

“Ugh, that’s the worst.” He sits down next to her. “My older sister used to get them really bad, I felt terrible.”

Ben comes back with the warm compress, and Y/N snaps it to get it to warm up, and she presses it to Riley’s lower back. She sighs from the feeling.

“See? Better already.” Y/N says.

“I don’t know what happened. I was fine all night, and then I got up to get some more soda, and I basically fell to the ground.”

“The bad ones can creep up on you unfortunately. I need to get you up to your room.”

“I could carry her…if…if that’s alright with everyone.” Harry says.

“That would be okay.” Riley says. “No one else could do it anyways.”

He helps her up, double and triple checking it’s okay that he’s touching her, and he carries her up. Y.N has Ben clean up the living room before he goes to bed. Y/N goes into Riley’s room after Harry’s places her on her bed.

“All set?” Y/N says to her, brushing some hair away from her face.

“Yeah, thank you.” She yawns. “Goodnight.”

“Night, honey.”

Y/N tugs Harry into her room, and closes the door.

“I’m so sorry, thank you for coming in…I don’t know how I would’ve helped her upstairs, I would have had to make a bed for her on the couch.” Y/N starts tearing up. “There are so many things I can do for them on my own until I’m reminded that there are things that I just can’t.”

“Hey.” He puts his hands on her shoulders. “You’re a great mum and you’re doing what you can. I couldn’t imagine being so young and raising two teenagers. You make it look easy, honestly. You’re amazing, Y/N.”

“You really think so?”

“I do.” He nods.

“Would you…I mean…it’s late, um, would you want to just stay here?”

“It wouldn’t be weird for you?”

“No.” He smiles and starts taking his clothes off. They get into bed together and cuddle all night. He somehow was always exactly what she needed, and it scared her a little. “How do you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Put me at ease the way you do?”

“I don’t know.” He smiles down at her. “Didn’t realize I did that for you.”

“Well, you do. And I don’t know how I feel about it.”

“Christ, Y/N, just admit you like me as more than just a guy who fucks you good so we can date already.”

“What?” She sits up and so does he. “That’s not funny.”

“I’m not trying to be. You don’t wanna date? I mean we practically already are when you think about it. I’m not seeing anyone else, are you?”

“With your clingy ass? Who would have the time?!” She laughs.

“Oi, I resent that.”

“You ask me to hang out literally every weekend.”

“Yeah, cause I need to get to you before someone else does.”

“Harry…you realize if you get into a relationship with me you’re getting into a relationship with my kids, right?”

“I do.” He nods. “I know it’ll be a lot, but if it means I get to be with you…I think I could be all in with them. I can’t speak for Ben, but I know Riley likes me. I feel like we could make this work.”

“I don’t want more kids…I’m almost thirty-four, I would hate for you to end up wanting kids of your own. That’s not something I can give you, Harry.”

“You know what I’d really like?”

“What?”

“A dog. I’m great with pets, absolutely great. I miss having a pup around. If we get to a point where we feel like that’s the right move, that would definitely be enough for me.”

“I’ve always wanted a dog.” She bites her bottom lip. “Wow, okay, so…we’re doing this?”

“We fucking better be, I think Niall will explode if we don’t.”

They both giggle, and kiss each other. They settle back down to get some sleep, ready for whatever the morning brings.

a/n: if you liked what you’ve read, and are able/want to support me, please consider buying me a coffee. 

[starfire-s]

here’s a list of the best, mediocre and worst kdramas i watched in 2020

no one asked for this but it’s happening because i have thoughts (also all opinions are my own if you disagree then get well soon i guess... no i’m kidding make your own posts about it don’t hate me please) ahsjsj anyways click to read a lengthy post and if you actually read the whole thing then thank you i hope you enjoy this wild ride! 

THE BEST KDRAMAS -

mystic pop up bar - this show had everything i ask from a kdrama literally i can name it all found family (to real family), well thought out characters, a mystery plot, special effects, soft romances that were well written, a happy ending! no show in 2020 even comes close to how good this one was! the writers literally guided you throughout the whole thing so you could come up with theories and didn’t do a ‘aha! gotcha’ thing where they want to prove the audience wrong but they wanted us to be right and satisfied! the worst part about the drama is that it’s still so underrated and people just brush it off as some random fantasy show but it’s so much more than that! 1000/10

flower of evil - who doesn’t want to see lee joon gi being the son of a serial killer, living with the name of a man who is in a coma, and hiding his real identity from his wife who is a detective? this show constantly had me at the edge of my seat on a weekly basis so the emotions i went through while watching this are unparalleled! the writers also did such a good job on writing a coherent story that made sense and tied up all the plot points in the end. just a really satisfying show to watch! 10/10

where your eyes linger - i literally bought a $8 viki pass to watch this show so it should tell you everything you need to know about how i feel ahsjsj the episodes were 10 minutes long but we got a good story with well written characters who got character development in a total of 80 minutes it’s insane! honestly it’s still hard to believe this show had rookie actors because they were just so emotive that you could feel all the happiness, sadness, yearning and pining! probably one of my fave kdramas this year because of the acting that i always constantly rewatch! would recommend 10/10

crash landing on you - okay so this drama was actually released on my birthday last year and it was a time in my life when i was going through a lot so maybe it’s the comfort this show provided me through that time this is why i have such a soft spot for it? like the romance was good, it was funny, there was found family, the nk soldiers were all softies, there were strong female leads, soft male leads!!! ahh!! no other show on this list made me think about the unification of south korea and north korea irl because i wanted se ri and jeong hyeok to be together 4ever! but the only issue i had with this show was the ending they gave seung jun if they didn’t do that i’d give this show a 10/10 but just for that they get a 9/10

psycho but it’s okay - this was one of those shows where you’re literally like ‘wow everyone here needs therapy’ but this show was amazing i loved the story telling and how each episode related to children’s book/fairytales! the writers also did a good job with how carefully they talked about mental health in depth without villainising their characters but actually tried to make the audience understand why they were this way which included all the side characters too who had a well thought out story in each episode! also the dynamic between moon young, kang tae and sang tae was everything to me the actors all did an amazing job portraying their characters, it truly was a healing drama. the only thing i didn’t like about this show was the whole plastic surgery plot with the mother like that was very far fetched but it provided drama so i’ll let it slide because the rest was amazing. this show is a solid 8.5/10

18 again - another underrated gem! who would’ve thought a remake of that zac efron movie could be this good!! lee do hyun stole this show for sure the way he portrayed his character and gave heart eyes to his kids (when he’s only 25 irl was the best thing i saw this year ahsjs) i loved the family dynamics in this show, i loved how it talked about what it’s like to be young parents and how society still think it’s taboo to be divorced! it’s a show that makes you laugh and cry at the same time and that’s why everyone should watch it! however, the biggest clown thing this show did to me though was that i got sls for the first time while watching a kdrama... hwang in yeop if u’re reading this i love u and u deserved better 🤡 that aside this show was a 8/10

itaewon class - i actually didn’t watch this drama as it was airing because i thought i wouldn’t enjoy the plot but when i watched it i binged the whole thing in 2 days and my biggest regret is i didn’t watch it sooner! everyone knows i have a soft spot for park seo joon since he’s my favourite actor i’ve literally watched all his dramas like he could star in the trashiest drama out there and i’d still watch it and be like wow (looking at she was pretty 👀) this show aside from the acting had one of the best revenge plots in a kdrama! just watching a character realistically hustle his way to reach the top while fighting the corrupt man whose son killed his father was so so satisfying to watch! however, the love triangle in this show was questionable idk what they were trying to do with that but it personally annoyed me! but still i’ll give this show a 7.5/10 because i enjoyed it a lot!

do you like brahms? - kim min jae and park eun bin.. that’s all you need to know about why this is a good kdrama! i’m usually not a big fan of melodramas and everyone knows i prefer rom coms but this show was just so perfectly melo that i loved all the angst and pain we got!! also just watching two introverted people awkwardly fall in love was amazing! the characters story arcs were also handled pretty well with song ah finally learning to speak up for herself and joon young learning to express how he truly feels! but... the love square? was probably the most annoying thing the rest in my opinion was nicely done! i know people had mixed feelings about the ending but i loved that after all the pain joon young and song ah went through they got a happy ending together! 7/10

find me in your memory - okay this show started off very slow and it was confusing at the start but as it progressed everything in the plot started to fall into place! i mean this show really took opposites attract to a new level where the male lead could remember every single detail from his life but the female lead had to forget some of her traumatic memories to help her cope with her life! they were also tied together through a mutual character who was a big part of their lives in a different way! just an interesting melodrama with interesting characters i liked it! and moon ga young... i love you queen!!! 7/10

THE MEDIOCRE KDRAMAS -

more than friends - was the storytelling in this show groundbreaking? no. was the acting decent? yes. also probably the main reason i stuck with this show until the end! i think we can all agree lee soo had the best character development on this show he started off as a bad boy who wore one ear stud to actually becoming a well liked character... who else did it like him? no one. also the chemistry between the mains was 🔥 but the second male lead was so annoying is there a opposite word for second lead syndrome because i had that for sure! i think the best part about this show was the people i watched it with on here... shoutout to the five of us ahsjsj also this show introduced me to a talented actor/singer like ong seong wu (y’all know my kpop knowledge is nonexistent so no i didn’t know he was in a band called wanna one) all in all a predictable show but i had fun watching it so 6.5/10

tale of the nine tailed - i didn’t actually watch this show i watched it through gifs and instagram posts ahsjsjs so am i qualified to talk about my opinion definitely no... will I talk about it anyways yes lmao. lee rang deserved better that’s all goodbye and take care. 5.5/10

start up - probably one of the most awaited opinions. y’all thought this would be in the worst kdramas section but i decided to give this show some rights. the show started off strong, lost it’s way after episode 6 and then the last episode gave me what i wanted so i have mixed feelings. the writing was not the best i think we can all agree, love triangle as a plot device? wow so groundbreaking 🤡 the characters on the other hand... i loved every single one of them i mean ship wars? i don’t know her. the show had a lot of potential that was wasted but we also got some cute moments between the characters so there was really no winning or losing with this show? but in all honesty you can’t put a talented cast together like this and then just decide to give the audience a mediocre plot but the writers did exactly that! i think i can redirect y’all to my ‘crimes this show committed’ post for a in-depth analysis. lastly nam do san was a GOOD and REFRESHING male lead and ji pyeong was also a GOOD and FUN second male lead!!! this show gave me the ugliest ship war ever that i was transported back to my high school tvd days so thank you for that!! but the cast was loveable and all had a lot of chemistry together so here’s a 5/10 maybe that's too generous but... i think the reason why i didn't enjoy watching this show as much was definitely because of the tag on here lmao

THE WORST KDRAMAS -

the king eternal monarch - i miss clowning this show so much. the amount of braincells i lost while trying to understand this plot... i should be compensated by the writers. however, woo do hwan was a treat to look at on a weekly basis... however the writers kept decreasing his screen time even though he had a dual role... make it make sense? and i cannot comment on the plot of this show because i still don’t understand anything? also in my opinion tae eul and lee gon were the most bland couple of 2020, there was no chemistry between them and there was just a random kiss in episode 5 and they randomly said i love you... where was the development? also lee gon was soooo boring and such a one dimensional male lead! literally all the side characters were so much more interesting and the cast was good... but this plot. 2/10

do do sol sol la la sol - i wanna fight the writer who decided that the plot twist on the show would be that jun is a minor? i had no expectations from this show but it looked cute and nonsensical but that plot twist made me run the other way so fast that i never looked back! just because jun is a boy they really thought this would be excused like lmao we all have critical thinking skills???? the clown behaviour. a solid 1/10

record of youth - i hate this show so much. imagine not utilising park so dam who just starred in the biggest oscar winning movie to her full potential. imagine just making her a love interest to park bo gum’s character in the year 2020. i watched it up until episode 6 and i kept waiting for her character to get development... but it never happened so i dropped this show. also this show featured the MOST useless love triangle i have ever seen in my life like what was the point? also park bo gum’s characters family was straight up annoying (minus the grandpa) but they got so much screen time like that should’ve been given to park so dam... also villainising a gay side character for no reason at all in the year 2020? this show was a waste of my time i want the 6 hours i spent watching this back. -100/10 

backstreet rookie - i watched one episode of this and literally wanted to rip my eyeballs out of my head. idk what ji chang wook was thinking when he signed this drama i think he lost his ability to read because that's the only reasonable explanation for why he chose to star in such a dumpster fire show! this show had a racist character... had a high schooler kiss an adult... sexist jokes... just the worst things you can think of in a drama... this show had it. i still can’t believe so many people watched this show to the point where it had better ratings than pbio... really made me question everyone’s taste? but sorry can’t relate my taste is excellent so here’s the rating this show actually deserves -1000/10

if you made it this far... thank you for reading. let’s continue to love some kdramas together and get clowned by others in 2021! looking forward to it 😅

[godofdystopia]

Sasha Waybright: Massive Weeb

So this is my first attempt at a semi-fluffy Sasharcy story.

This was pretty much born from 'Mother Olm.' the minute that Sasha called the Calamity powers ' Cool anime powers' I pretty much decided then and there that this girl was a massive anime nerd.

I also wrote this because The Beginning Of The End just straight up murdered me. I am dead, this was written by the ghost of a Marcy kinnie.

I tried to make this as angst free as I could and yet here we are.

So this is a story where Sasha slowly becomes a massive Anime nerd. There'll be hints of Sashannarcy here and there, but this story will primarily be Sasharcy.

i had thought i had posted this story this mnorning, turns out i just saved it as a draft so whoops!

Potential TW: talk of divorce, unresolved issues about divorce, pre-amphibia Sasha being pre-amphibia Sasha.

With that out of the way, sit back and relax with chapter one of Five Times Sasha Nerded Out Over Anime.

and the one time they nerded out together.

Sasha tried to be a good friend, really she did.

She kept a tight control over Anne and Marcy, making it so that whatever they did it would be for all three of their best interests. She’d seen what a collapsed relationship looked like and the thought of Anne, Marcy, and her ending up like her parents frightened and sickened her.

Almost as much as the thought of Marcy, Anne, and her being married made her feel… strange. Happy, for some reason, but strange.

So Sasha, out of the kindness of her heart, made sure that Anne and Marcy were at their best at all times. That anyone who looked at either of them, even when she herself wasn’t around, would say to themselves ‘Those are two very popular girls, I should probably leave them alone cause I'm not cool enough to talk to either of them.’

Truly, Sasha was a good friend, and she certainly tried.

“... meaning that the entire time, there were colossal titans inside the very walls themselves! Can you believe it, Sash? Of course we don’t know the real reason for that until later, when it’s revealed that the walls are- oh, what am i saying? I was about to spoil the big twist for you! I mean, I guess I already spoiled the wall thing but…”

Sasha tried, she really did.

Sasha tried to retain as much info as she could, but keeping up with Marcy when she was in full infodump was a completely futile effort. Especially when it was about something that she didn’t know about.

Sasha wasn’t really into anime all that much. She’d never really watched much of anything animated to be honest. She was a reality show girl who enjoyed watching messy people cause drama on screen.

“... still can’t believe the shape of the world! I mean, it’s just our world but upside down. A lot of people theorize that it’s a symbolic representation about how the world is, metaphorically, upside down with the Eldian Empire and the Marleyan Empire but i think…”

What was Marcy even talking about?

Sasha had maybe followed when she was talking about german people living behind big walls who flew through the air with cool devices. But then Marcy started talking about her fan theories every five minutes and quickly she got lost as Marcy went down the rabbit hole of tangent after tangent.

Sasha tried, she really does.

“Mar-mar, could you maybe slow down?” She asked as the girl jumped in surprise.

“Sorry Sash! Just wanted to try and convince you to watch it. I mean, it’s a great show and-”

“And you’ve been talking about it for almost half an hour now.” Sasha tried to say it as gently as she could, but she could hear a little frustration leak into her words.

She winced as she saw the moment of hurt on marcy’s face.

“Sorry, i just- sorry.”

The two girls sat in awkward silence as they waited for the third of their trio to show up.

The silence lasted only a few minutes.

“Sooo, are you going to watch it” Marcy asked hesitantly. Looking at Sasha out of the corner of her eyes.

“Probably not, sorry. Got other shows to watch, you know?” She replied, tapping her foot against the sidewalk.

There they waited until Anne finally raced out to join them, and all awkwardness was forgotten. And Sasha forgot all about the show.

**********

Sasha was so bored.

She’d pretty much abandoned her homework (Algebra, yuck) in favor of texting to her friends. Anne and Marcy seemed to be clogging up the groupchat by talking about something to do with the Thai Go. So Sasha went over to the cheerleader groupchat to drill them over practice and upcoming performances.

But that was done with, so she was left with nothing.

The homework was basically done at this point (thanks to the wonderful Mar-mar, who got A’s without trying at all) so there was nothing left to do.

The blonde sighed and began mindlessly scrolling through Netflix, waiting for something to pop out. She checked the movie section but nothing appealed to her. Well, Netflix did just acquire streaming rights for War of the Warlocks, but Sasha only ever watched that movie with Anne and Marcy and it would feel wrong to do it alone without the other two.

And so she had nothing.

She kept scrolling through when her eyes fell upon the sight of a particularly eye-catching logo: an angry brunette with twinblades, yelling and charging forward on some old timey rooftop.

Attack On Titan.

‘Isn't that what Marcy was infodumping about on the walk home?’ She thought to herself. She vaguely remembered the word Titan thrown around a lot so it seemed to be right. 

Sasha glanced at the time on her phone. Her dad wouldn’t be home till later, probably drunk, and her friends had gone offline to do whatever. So she really had nothing better to do.

‘Fine, I'll give it a shot I guess.’ She thought to herself as she got up to grab some chips to eat while she watched. She’d give it an episode or two to see what was what and then tell Marcy she’d watched an anime.

It 's not like i’m going to like it or anything’ she thought to herself as she sat back on a beanbag and pressed play. She nuzzled into the plush chair and sat ready.

A goose flew across an orange sky as dramatic music played in the background. A group of children looked horrified by this.

“At least the animation is good.’ She thought to herself as she watched.

“And on that day, humanity received a grim reminder.”

**********

“Get through the gate already! It’s coming!” She yelled at the screen as the garrison troops rushed to try and close the gate while a giant armored titan sprinted towards the closing doors like a Quarterback.

The big armored titan crashed through the gate, sending splinters of wood and rubble flying everywhere before coming to a stop.

‘Man, if anyone on the football team ran that fast, maybe we wouldn’t be losing this season.’ Sasha thought to herself as she watched the big titan blow hot steam out of his jaws.

Okay, maybe this show was cool.

**********

Maybe this show was awesome actually!

The new recruits of the 104th had just finished their training (And holy shit Mikasa grew up hot!) when the colossal titan showed up, kicked down the door like it was Shiganshina, and then disappeared.

Now everyone was ready to go out and slay titans pouring through the new wall opening. Sasha was breath taken as she saw them fly through the air on 3DM gear, looking like superheroes as they did.

These were the heroes who would save the world, and Sasha felt herself get caught up in the excitement. She cheered them on as they flew across Trost, prepping to face down the titans.

Then the massacre began.

**********

“What? No! Not you Annie! You were my fave!”

Sasha was furious and sad. Annie, her favorite girlboss, just turned out to be a traitor. She could turn into a titan just like Eren could. And helped massacre squad Levi.

I mean, when she actually thought about it, she supposed it made sense because Once Eren could turn into a titan she thought about if anyone else could.

Still, it stung.

Almost as much as it stung to admit Annie was still a badass.

Her and Eren battled it out in the streets of Trost, pretty much wrecking the place as they did so. It was like that Godzilla movie that Marcy and Anne had begged her to go see with them, the one where the human characters took up way too much screen time.

Was still a fun movie, especially since her and Anne mocked the poor choices of the characters all throughout like old timey movie critics or those old muppets who lived in a theater box.

“Come on, Eren! Kick her ass!” She cheered. She barely noticed the soft rays of noon shining on her.

Spending hours and hours watching something throughout the night well into morning, and then past morning, would do that to you.

**********

Markus Waybright hadn’t seen his daughter throughout the entire weekend.

She’d come home on Friday, said she’d do some homework but would be down later, and had only ever come down since then only to acquire food or go to the bathroom. From the look of it, she had been up for hours and hours, not even changing her clothes.

Markus wouldn’t admit to being the best father, but he was at least better than what that horrid she-beast claimed in the divorce proceedings so he was starting to get worried.

He stood in front of the oven, waiting for his leftover pizza to finish reheating so he could go back and start watching the Sunday night game. Looked to be a good one, he wondered if he could convince Sasha to come down and-

“NOOOOOOOOOO!” A voice wailed from the floor above him and Markus launched into action: He sprinted towards the stairs and took them three at a time as he all but flew towards Sasha’s room, his worry growing to near fatal amounts as he heard sobbing coming from behind her door.

He all but tore the door off his hinges as he leapt into the room. “Sasha! Are you alright? Are you okay! What’s… going… on?”

His voice trailed off as he finally took in the scene and just felt, well, confused.

Sasha was still in her pajamas, sitting on a beanbag in front of her tv. A number of empty chip bags and soda cans were littered around her as well as a tissue box. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were red rimmed. she blew her nose and sniffled as she turned a teary gaze onto him.

The screen showed one of her friends' weird japanese cartoons. Some weird hunched over giant creature that looked like a naked mutant was galloping away into the sunset while a blonde girl in a brown military jacket cried for someone named Ymir, probably the monster, to come back.

It cut to a japanese girl carrying some weird brown haired boy with deep eye lines away on her back.

“So uh, you’re fine the- oof!” Markus braced himself as his daughter got up and launched herself at him, wrapping him in a teary hug as she babbled about something that went right over his head.

“Dad! Ymir turned out to be a titan but her and Christa were still in love with each other except she got kidnapped by the traitors and now she’s going off with them and Christa is so sad and, and, and-” She kept crying as on screen, some giant armored man ran off with another, different, brown haired boy in his weird skinless hands.

“You, um.” He swallowed and tried to think about what he was supposed to say about all of that. He wracked his brain for some sort of answer and found none. Finally, he simply just awkwardly patted her on the back. “Why don’t we go down and watch some football?”

Sasha just stared at him disappointedly through her tears. At least she wasn't crying anymore. She kept watching him before sighing and, walking back to the tv, put her weird japanese cartoon thing on pause.

‘Huh, didn’t know Netflix carried things like that.’ He wondered as he saw the logo.

He and Sasha walked back downstairs and Markus put the weirdness out of his mind.

**********

Sasha laughed as Anne made another strawlrus. She knew it looked lame, and she’d definitely need to nip whatever jokes came from this in the bud before they came back to Anne, but she just enjoyed herself.

“Hi girls!”

Sasha and Anne looked up at Marcy’s voice, watching the taiwanese teen run up to them through the lunch crowd. She beamed at them, bouncing on her heels as she stared.

“You okay Mar-mar?” Anne asked her.

“DidyouguyswatchAttackOnTitanyetcauseireallywanttotalkabouteverythingwithyouguysbutidontwanttoannoyyouifyouhaven’tyet!” Marcy said in such a rush that it was near impossible to separate the words from themselves.

Sasha and Anne worked it out in their heads, putting sounds to different words so they could respond.

Sasha wouldn’t lie, she’d actually been hooked by the get go. She hadn’t thought she’d enjoy it but my god was she wrong! The plot was gripping from episode one and she loved every minute of watching Eren and his two friends fighting in a world out against them.

Maybe she did sometimes picture Her and the girls in their places, it would be fun as hell if not for the man-eating monsters.

But the twists. Oh, the twists! Reiner and Bertholdt were the traitors alongside her girl Annie!? She’d felt as betrayed by that as Connie was! Ymir was a titan and also maybe from somewhere else? And her and Christa were maybe gay!

Sasha couldn’t explain why, but she felt weirdly invested by the relationship between the blue eyed blonde and her darker skinned friend and whether or not they were gay for each other. She couldn’t figure out why though.

Either way, Sasha was hooked like a fish.

Which made her feel extra bad about blowing it off before.

Sasha had made her lack of interest clear. She had tried to be somewhat kind about it, but she probably failed. She’d told Marcy she hadn’t planned on watching it.

She couldn’t go back on that now, it’d make her look weak! The girls would needle her over caving and then things would start to go wrong, arguments would rise, and before she knew it they’d be sleeping in separate rooms!

… Okay, maybe she wasn’t as over her parents' divorce as she liked to believe.

“Eh, didn't get around to it.” Sasha lied, scrolling through her phone notifications… and trying to ignore the white hot spike of guilt she felt from Marcy’s incredibly brief look of disappointment and sadness.

Whatever, Marcy knew how much Sasha cared for her.

She’d get over it.

[canary-warrior]

Hournite angst feat. Isaac hypnotizing Grundy

Beth paced back and forth, gripping her goggles in her hand. She couldn’t believe that after all this time, her closest friend could keep something this huge from her. 

“How could you not tell us?” How could you not tell me, was what she wanted to say. “We’re your friends, Rick!”

“I know, Beth,” Rick replied, in that soft voice he started using ever since they defeated the first ISA. That voice that always got to her- it was filled with gentleness and care. But now it only reminded Beth of the betrayal she felt. 

“You told me that I could talk to you, remember? And I did, I opened up to you, and I thought that you trusted me too!” Beth recalled how sweet Rick was when she found the divorce papers at home. 

“I did, I do trust you, Beth, I swear,” Rick pleaded.

“Then why didn’t you tell me that Grundy was out there? Why let us all think that you killed him? I can respect letting him live, but you let him go out into town! And you didn’t tell anyone! Why?”

“I don’t know!” Rick ran a hand through his hair, making it messy. “I was trying to protect you, all of you! Grundy killed my parents, and I thought if any of you were near him, he may hurt you!”

“That wasn’t your choice to make, Rick! We found the ISA as a team, and we took them down as a team! How long did you think you were gonna keep this up?”

“I don’t know,” Rick repeated, “I was going to tell you, I swear!”

“It’s been over eight months since we beat the first ISA, Rick,” Beth deadpanned. Her heart ached, she wanted to believe him, hell she did believe him, but she was still understandably upset. “I think that’s more than enough time, Rick. There are more secure places in the world that Grundy could’ve been held in, all you had to do was tell us!”

“I’m sorry, Beth,” Rick said. He sounded awful, tired. Like keeping this secret was a weight on his shoulders that he carried around every day. “The last thing I wanted was for you, or anyone, to get hurt.”

Beth let out a self deprecating laugh. “I can’t believe that I believed you when you said you got a dog. I also can’t believe that you would lie to my face, over and over again. I thought we were… I thought we were best friends, Rick.”

“We are, Beth, I lo-” Rick was cut off by the heroine.

“Then why didn’t you tell me? You didn’t even ask me how I found out, Rick.” At his confused expression, Beth continued, too angry to stop. “Isaac, of all people, found Grundy and he used his violin to put him in a trance. I literally ran into him and Grundy while I was walking here. The only reason why I am still standing here is because Isaac made sure that Grundy didn’t hurt me. But now, the ISA has him and they can control him.”

“Shit, Beth, I’m so sorry,” Rick said quietly. Beth could tell that he felt guilty about everything and dare she say it, he felt guilty about her potentially almost dying. 

Beth felt the exhaustion coming over her. She got that rant out of her system but now she was just tired. “I know, Rick. And we will deal with whatever this is,” she motioned between them, “later. First things first we need to tell the others and come up with a plan. We may not be able to stop the whole ISA in one night, but maybe we can rescue Grundy.”

Rick nodded. “Okay, Beth, I’ll do anything. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

Beth didn’t need the lie detection skills of the goggles to know that Rick meant every word.

[writefightandflightclub]

Calm after the storm (dad!Nathan x fem!reader)

Summary: dad!Nathan / ex-husband!Nathan and angst. He comforts your son during a storm. You were always better at dishing out comfort, but Nathan is trying his best to learn how. He’s had to, since you left him. If only he could get you to come home, after he pushed you so far away.

Author’s note: my 1st go at writing something emotional / angsty with Nathan. Different to my other Nathan stuff, so won;t be offended if you don’t like it! No-one asked for this but this popped into my head and ended me and I figured I’d drag you down with me. Will add taglists tomorrow :o) (If you DO happen to like it, please let me know! Writing has been so slow for me lately and honestly I’m just pleased to have finished something.)

Warnings: language, themes of children, divorce / separation, angst, alcohol abuse / misuse, parent!reader.

Warning that there is zero smut in this. Nathan is literally a father when I say daddy here. Just to be clear. Some may feel this is ooc (I may have used a bit of license with his character to achieve angst, but actually, I don’t think it’s too far from a potential truth?)? Mistakes etc. maybe, but I can’t look at this a second longer so here it is.

Word count: 8.8k (sorry!)

Nathan’s head whips up from his computer screen as he sees a tiny, shadowed figure appear in the doorway to his lab. He pauses his frenzied typing, but retains the frown weighing on his brow.

“You shouldn’t be out of bed, buddy,” he says sternly, bathed in a pool of blue light and looking at the child from beneath his lenses. Hell, when did it get so dark?

“I’m scared,” a tearful little voice says, and Nathan sighs, pushing back his chair with a small, thin-lipped smile as he regards the boy. His soft, dinosaur-adorned pyjamas have been twisted by sleep, and he is rubbing his balled-up fists into his cheeks, a pet lip trembling beneath. Nathan never did understand the kid’s obsession with dinosaurs.

Unlike father, unlike son.

Things long dead and gone? Nathan didn’t like to look back, after all. He looked ahead. Moved forward. There’s nothing for me over my shoulder.

With his headspace out of his work, Nathan suddenly notices the rain drumming down against the skylight. The rumble of thunder and flash of lightning carving the sky open.

“The storm?” he asks, rising to meet the boy as his little feet pad with trepidation across the cold lab floor to his father. The boy nods. He looks slightly uncertain, since he’s not allowed in the lab, but enters and sticks his arms up into the air all the same. He does that tentatively too, since Nathan hasn’t historically been generous with affection; and yet, this time, Nathan wordlessly scoops him up on to his hip, his heart clenching as the boy’s wet, grabby little hands fist into his Henley. His severe gaze softens instantly; though not all the way. The gesture is still a little rusty.

“That’s illogical, bud - it’s not gonna hurt you. Let’s get you back to bed.”

Irrational. Emotional. Unlike father, unlike son.

You were always better at the comfort stuff. Of course you were. Still, Nathan thinks he’s learning, without you. He’s had to learn. 

Nathan quietly carries the little spider-monkeyed bundle back to his bed. He offers no words of comfort, but he does offer a firm and reassuring pat on his back as he walks. The boy smells of bath bubbles and baby oil, mixed-in with fresh detergent and that indescribable kid smell, and Nathan feels alarmingly soothed as he inhales the scent.

A flood of memories comes back, but he pushes them down. There is nothing for him over his shoulder, after all. Nothing in the past he would care to resurrect.

Carefully balancing the boy with one strong arm, Nathan peels back the covers and slots him back into his soft bed, the glow of the nightlight illuminating the boy in a blue halo.

Like father, like son.

The man securely tucks him in and smooths the covers, his eyes alarmingly gentle now, even amidst his stony face; however, the boy is still not entirely placated. His eyes are still wide. His bottom lip is still trembling.

Nathan sighs and lowers himself on to the edge of the bed, his genius brain struggling with this problem. Apparently, simply telling a 4-year-old they’re being illogical doesn’t cut it. Children; so inefficient. So tiny and fragile and…

The best thing I ever created.

Let’s hope he doesn’t grow up to stab me in the chest.

“Okay,” he begins, with a sweep of his hand over that buzzed head of his. “Do you know what static electricity is, buddy? One of the forces which attracts or repels things? Remember?”

“Repels. Pushes things away?” the small voice asks him.

I pushed her away. I’m a force. A force of nature. A storm.

Fear is often based on lack of knowledge. Nathan imagines if he explains the storm, he can demystify it. Take its power away. Still, the 4-year-old looks up at him in confusion, little fingers tightly gripping the edge of the bed covers. His mess of curls splaying over the pillow like a rolling black cloud.

Maybe you did get your mother’s average brain.

We can hope you got fuck all from me, kid.

“Come on, champ, we talked about this...” Nathan sighs, with mild impatience, and then he thinks some more – just like he’s always thinking, except algorithms make sense to him, and how could he hope to solve this?

Nathan shuffles up on to the bed until his back is against the wall, perpendicular to the boy. “Okay,” he says, slapping his palms gently against his thighs. “Remember when we were at Ankita’s party, and you rubbed that balloon on your head, huh? And then all of your hairs stood-up and it kinda tickled?”

The child giggles – a sound that punches Nathan in the gut. “Yeah, Daddy, and it didn’t work on your bald head.”

Nathan exhales through a small smile which doesn’t quite reach his eyes. 

“So, you remember,” he nods, waving his hand in the air as he tries to find simple language to continue his explanation. “Well. It’s like the sky is having a party, and the clouds are rubbin’ up against each other, making all this static. Understand?” Nathan continues, and the child is rapt, listening to his father’s deep, steady, sandy voice. “But clouds don’t have hair-“ there is another giggle, and this time Nathan’s eyes do crease with his smile, “-so instead they send their lightning forking out in all directions. You got it?”

“A party?” the boy enquires, still unsure. His hands gripping more tightly to the covers and his face inching further below them as a particularly loud rumble of thunder sounds overhead.  

“Right. A party.” Nathan runs with it, pleased that he’s getting somewhere. Moving forward. Making progress. “And parties can be noisy, right? All that dancing and singing and scraping chairs around?”

The kid briefly looks at his father as if he’s stupid -a trait you’d always had nailed- but in the next heartbeat he seems to accept the explanation given, the fear in his eyes beginning to ease, though not entirely gone.

He’s still afraid.

Like father, like son.

It’s evident that Nathan needs to devise something even more soothing. He vaguely considers trying to explain the unparalleled lightning and surge protection in-built into this facility, but he thinks better of it. He instead plumps for something he dearly hopes the kid will understand somewhat better than he comprehends static electricity. “You’re safe here and nothing can hurt you,” he says, raising his eyebrows up from beneath his frames and delivering an intent stare, smoothing a broad hand on the boy’s chest and shoulder. “I promise, kid. Would Daddy let anything hurt you?”

“No,” the boy answers, peeking up at Nathan with big eyes, shaking his little head and rustling his curls against the pillow. It breaks Nathan’s heart that his voice wavers, as if he’s a little unsure of his answer.

“Exactly. Not in a million fuckin’ years.” Nathan says adamantly, his deep, dark eyes intense with conviction to emphasise his point.

“Daddy!” The boy gasps when Nathan curses, little palms rising to clamp down over the shocked “o” of his mouth.

“Ah, shit. Don’t tell your Mama I said a naughty word, okay?” Nathan sucks air through his teeth and delivers a sheepish half-grin.

“I miss Mommy.”

The boy blinks. His eyes sad, his emotions constantly unmasked. Feeling. Always feeling.

Unlike father, unlike son.

Nathan’s chest tightens. He scoops up the plush dog, Crunchy, from on top of the duvet and settles her in the boy’s arms, buying him some time to arrange his busy thoughts.

Thinking. Always thinking.

The dog is so named since it spent the boy’s early years crusted with dried-in food and mud and whatever else. Nathan had dubbed it Crunchy Mutt, and the name had stuck. Memories nip at his heels, but he doesn’t let you creep back in. Doesn’t fill the gaps.

Nathan emits a shallow sigh. He misses you too.

Like father, like son.

His eyes are almost soft, almost apologetic as they meet the boy’s again. He is sorry, in that moment, for depriving the boy of you for half of his time. He shouldn’t have to miss out on you. You shouldn’t have to miss out on your son. Nathan knew all this was because of him.

Nathan had sworn never to let anything hurt you, either. To look after you, and yet...

I pushed her away.

I’m a force. A force of nature.

A storm.

“Mommy’ll be here to get you in the morning.” Nathan says in a taut, gruff voice, his beard bobbing as his throat wrestles around a hard swallow. “To take you… home.” At that, finally the boy finally looks content and sleepy, stretching his little face into a big yawn. Still, selfishly, Nathan no longer wants to be alone in this storm - alone with himself - and so, he keeps talking. “You know, your Mommy loves storms like this.”

“Really? Mommy doesn’t get scared?”

“No.” Nathan shakes his head, eyes becoming burdened with memories. “We would sit out on the deck, wrapped in blankets, and watch the lightning. Listen to the rain.”

“It’s science 101, genius. You can’t work in the lab during a storm. You might create Frankenstein.”

“Fuckin’… how many times? It’s Frankenstein’s monster, sweet cheeks. Frankenstein is the doctor.”

“I know, asshole. At this point I just say it to rile you. Never fails. You stay here then, and play at creating life. If you want to play at living one, I’ll be out on the decking.”

“How about I do both?”

“What are you saying, Nathan?”

“What about we make something together, while the sky is fucking rife with creation?”

The boy springs up in bed, capturing Crunchy in a choke-hold in excitement.

Nathan raises himself to standing - beginning to backtrack, and snapping back to the present day. Compartmentalising you. Putting long dead things to rest. He knows better than to look over his shoulder for too long.

“Can we go outside and watch it, Daddy?”

“Nuh uh. I don’t think so, buddy. It’s way past your bedtime. Go to sleep now, okay?” His voice is sterner again - his gaze back to being more severe.

Still, he guides the boy back down to the mattress and plants a soft kiss on to his forehead, brushing his dark curls back. He kisses Crunchy on the head too, as he is routinely instructed to do.

“Night, kid. Night, mutt. Come on, off to sleep.”

His hands move to his hips, elbows cutting a sharp shape in the near-dark. The boy, however, looks wide awake, a smile playing at the corners of his lips, and an excited glow on his face.  

“Please, Daddy?” the boy pleads, with big, puppy dog eyes. So closely resembling your eyes, which Nathan always was a sucker for. 

Yep. He’s definitely your son.

Nathan is about to use his stern voice, and his finger is moments away from wagging. And yet…

“Fine. Quickly then,” he concedes. “Get your coat and shoes on. And find your little red hat with the Pom-Pom that you look fuckin’ adorable in.”

“Daddy! No bad words!” the kid scolds, even as a smile of glee bursts on to his face and he wriggles out from beneath the covers. 

“Yep, sorry! Don’t tell Mommy,” Nathan repeats on autopilot.

The boy springs out of bed and zooms with enthusiasm to his little closet, while Nathan gathers up some blankets from a neighbouring chest.

Sure - it was past the boy’s bedtime. Yes, Nathan had a lot of coding to rehash. But Nathan had lost you. He had let work consume him until there was nothing left for you. He was always looking ahead to what could be, and he didn’t pay enough attention to what he had, when he had it. He wasn’t going to make the same mistakes again. Not with his son. This time, at least, work could wait.

Once the pair are both dressed in their outerwear, Nathan hoists the boy up on to his hip again, and carries him out to the decking, on the side of the house with the best view of the storm churning over the miserable valley. He clings on to his son tightly as the pulse of lightning illuminates his awed little face, a perfect mixture of your features and his, and yet someone entirely his own.  The boy gasps and shrinks back from the vast, roaring sky, nuzzling closer into Nathan’s chest, grabby hands fisting in his clothes again.

“It’s okay, buddy. It can’t hurt you, understand?” Nathan reassures.

The child visibly relaxes, absentmindedly tangling his fingers into the soft texture of Nathan’s beard.

He does that when he’s nervous. Seems to calm him down, Nathan notes, and files for later.

“Look, Daddy!” the kid points as forks of lightning raze through the blackened sky, sparkling eyes following the display.

“I saw it, champ,” Nathan confirms, as the storm lights up his child’s face in more ways than one. However, Nathan is more awed by his boy than the storm. By the boy you and he created, on a night not unlike this one.

He fixes his eyes on him as he grows in confidence, facing his fear of the braying wind and rumbling thunder. Being a parent is everything Nathan anticipated he would hate. Full of things you can’t control, and yet, he loves every way this boy surprises him.

Shit, he’s braver than me, Nathan thinks, as he cradles the boy in his arms, holding him just a little bit closer – a little bit tighter.  

Nathan isn’t afraid often. In fact, in his adult life, he’s only been truly afraid a handful of times. On those occasions, he didn’t face it like the boy did. He tended to bury his fear, in a landslide of work and drunkenness and insults and excuses. To cocoon himself in his own self-interest.

Nathan was afraid when he fell in love with you, even despite his best efforts not to. He was terrified he didn’t deserve you. 

He was afraid when you told him you were pregnant; he was terrified of creating another thing that hated him.

But Nathan has never been as afraid as when you left him, and took the boy with you. He was terrified that you would never come back.

You were brave. You were so brave that you never ran away from a storm, and yet you had fled from him.

What kind of storm am I, if even you ran from me?

Despite his fears though, Nathan was learning to be brave. He’s had to, since you’ve been gone. For his son, for you, he would fight off any foe or threat. Turns out, he would even do the hardest thing of all, and fight his own demons.

Yes, Nathan knew he was a stern man. Serious. Flawed. Unyielding. An asshole, a lot of the time.

He hadn’t been ready. To be humbled. By you. By the boy. Hadn’t been ready to face his shortcomings and his demons and look them in the eye.

He was afraid of creating something that hated him, but he hadn’t been prepared to create something better than himself. A child who was open, and kind, and brave, and loving. Who wasn’t afraid to feel, and to be kind.

Unlike father, unlike son.

The boy made him strong. The boy was just like you.

“Wow!” the boy gasps at another display of lightning, even though he jumps slightly as a loud rumble of thunder sounds. The shock makes him laugh - a sweet, musical, innocent noise that makes Nathan’s chest tear in half like the sky. The boy watches for a while longer as the storm tires itself out and the boy with it, the rain dying off to a pleasant lulling noise.

Nathan looks up at the sky too and he feels almost complete, until he looks to the other side of him; where you should be. Until he looks over his shoulder. To where long-dead things still haunt him.

“Mommy will be sad she’s missing the storm, won’t she Daddy? Can we send her a selfie?”

No tech after 5pm. Bed by 7pm. One of the co-parenting rules rings in his head.

It’s 2:30am, and he worries you will ride him for this, but surely this is an exception, right?

“Sure we can, bud,” Nathan responds, and he fishes his phone out of his pants pocket. The boy nuzzles into his chest in that adorable red hat, and gives a thumbs-up as Nathan extends his arm to grab a quick selfie. “Great photo. She’ll love it. What shall we tell her?”

“Hmm...” the boy thinks, and then he lands on the perfect words. “Say… I wish you were here,” he says with a toothy grin, unaware of the emotional sucker punch of his words.

Nathan’s chest tightens again, and he attempts to school the frown from his face.

I wish you were here.

Like father, like son.

Smoothing himself, he types out a message.

“Storm watching with Papa bear. Kid says: I wish you were here.”

“Ok,” he says softly, pinging the message away to you. “Done.”

The boy beams at his father.

“Will she type back?”

“Dunno, kid, she might be asleep.”

Tiredness hitting him, the boy nuzzles closer and Nathan gently rocks him on his hip, the boy’s eyes gradually closing.

When Nathan feels his phone vibrate, he lifts it back up, bathing the pair in a halo of blue once again. He is surprised to see a photo. There you are, wrapped up in a chunky cardigan and blanket on your new porch.

You’re watching the storm too, and god, you look so beautiful that it hurts him.

Beneath the picture, you have typed out: “Storm-watching, Mama bear edition. Wish I was there too, baby bear. I’ll see you in the morning. xxx”

He knows the smile and the wave and the words are solely for your son’s benefit, and not for him, but oh, how he wishes.

“Mommy’s watching the storm too!” the boy says sleepily, barely able to keep his eyes open in the comfort of Nathan’s warm, strong arms, as his soporific movements rock him back to sleep.

“Yeah, bud, she is.”

And Nathan tugs the boy into his chest, bouncing him on his hip and stroking his hair -as much for his own comfort as anything- until he is soothed too.

***

After the boy is safely back in bed, Nathan plods sullenly back down to his workshop, bathing himself once again in a blue halo. His fingers gravitate naturally towards the keys, and though he should work, his mind is very much elsewhere. His mind is wrapped up with long-dead things.

With a heavy sigh, he fishes his phone out of his pocket again, and spends a wistful moment staring at the picture you had sent him.

“Fuck it,” he says, and he lifts up the photo frame he’s had face down on his desk for some time now. For months.

Longer.

It’s a picture of you and him and the boy, out on a hike a few years ago. Nathan is carrying your son in a harness on his front, and you are side by side with them, clasping the baby’s hand in yours, and your head leaning on Nathan’s shoulders. You’re all smiling, though none of you had managed to look at the camera, only at each other.

The sight of it makes Nathan’s throat constrict. Lights a fire of yearning in the pit of him. A fire he’s tried to quell and resist for so long – hasn’t let himself feel, because he’s afraid of the power of it.

He stares at his phone again, so many things he wishes to say, but all he has the courage to type is:

“Just letting you know. Byron’s back to bed now, before you ride me for keeping him up. Woke up scared.”

Your reply pings back almost immediately, as if you were expecting him.

“Come on, Nathan. I’m not a monster. It’s a sweet picture. He looks happy.”

Nathan scratches the top of his buzzed head, and he sees the tell-tale dots disappear and reappear, signalling you are considering typing something further.

“Say it,” he types out to you, blunt and demanding as ever, and although the dots disappear for a moment, you come back - finding some courage yourself, perhaps?

“I wish I was there too.” He wonders if you held your breath while typing it, like he did when reading it.

This time, it is Nathan’s turn to convey nothing but dots to you, as he struggles to respond.  As his pulse thrums in his ears.

“Say it,” you echo, just as plainly. 

He takes a deep breath, knowing he’s going to curse himself for his stupidity even as he types the message. He has been earning your trust back. He has been rebuilding. He hasn’t pushed you too far yet, and yet he can’t help but plead with you now.

He says what he most needs to say.

“Come home.”

He stares at the phone, his heart hammering in his mouth.

But there’s nothing. No message. No dots. He throws the phone down on the desk.

Fucking idiot, he chides himself, launching himself out of his seat with a surge of nervous energy, and coming to rest his forehead and elbow against the cool window pane as he tries to steady his nerves. This is why he doesn’t let himself feel. Because when he does, it’s too much.

Nathan’s best quality is also his worst. He isn’t a man of moderation. He doesn’t know how to stop. When to stop. He never has. 

Doesn’t know when to stop working, drinking, striving, fighting.

Loving.

He loved you enough to split the sky open, and god damnit, he doesn’t know how to stop loving you. How can he solve this problem?

I pushed her away and she might never come back.

He feels a tightening in his chest - worse than before - and he has thoughts of reaching for a bottle until he’s blackout drunk, or hitting the punchbag until his knuckles bleed, but he bites those urges back down.

He has to. He has to, because his kid is in the house. For him. For you. For his own good too.

Gradually, Nathan -who once naively believed he had already attained perfection, superiority- has become a lot stronger, and a lot braver. A lot better at feeling his emotions instead of pushing them down. He has learned it from the boy, who learned it from you.

Still, despite this newfound courage -or, perhaps as a result of it- he has his moments of weakness, just like anybody else. He’s not untouchable. Not a god any longer.

Nathan is weak when it comes to you. He loves you. And he doesn’t know how to stop.

Overcome by the impulsive need to hear your voice, and ignoring all reason, he tracks back to the desk and calls you.

You answer almost instantly, as if you were expecting him.

“Nathan...” you say, in your eminently familiar voice, and he can he the agitation and accusation veiled as you say his name. What are you thinking? Always thinking. He’s always thinking. Yet, no- this time, he is only feeling. Finally feeling.

Still, Nathan doesn’t respond until a taut pattern of breaths has been laid like a tightrope for him to walk across.

Then, with a deep exhale, he asks you again. A plea. His face sharp and contorted in the blue light. He is terrified of falling.

“Come home.”

“Nathan...” you say, again. What are you thinking? And the sound of his name in your mouth causes a lump to rise in his throat. He hears your discombobulated breath on the other side of the line, and it is all too familiar. You were always charged, rubbing up against one another, causing static. He was always a storm; the one storm that could drive you away.

Come home.

“I wouldn’t even know how,” you insist, your voice paper thin, syllables soft and measured and sorry like raindrops drumming against a window pane.

You were always his release. If he was the energy and commotion and anger behind the storm -the severe, withholding clouds- you were its beauty and majesty and release. Together, you created life, and you destroyed each other.

Nathan hunkers over on the desk, leaning his head in his spare arm for some morsel of comfort, his guard up over his face.

“Just walk through the door tomorrow and stay,” he says tiredly, as if it’s simple.

He hears you sigh again, exasperatedly - the sound he induced all too often, when you were together.

“It didn’t work Nathan,” you say through your teeth, like lightning might spark through them at any moment. “How would this be any different?” Still, he can hear the tell-tale break in your voice. A gentle plea. God, could you really want to come back to him? If he could find the right answers to your questions?

“I’ll be different,” he promises, all the muscles in his face pulled taut. His face and his body aching with the tension of the sky splitting open, creation or destruction imminent.

Fuck it. Fuck everything else. Enough of this. The measured conversations, the co-parenting, the negotiations. You are what he wants - his family back together; home.

True- love hadn’t come easily to him at first. He was an asshole, a misanthrope, a closed book. Sex came easily to him. Desire. Infatuation. Thoughts of you, bordering on obsession as they took over his busy mind. But love? That too came, in the end. But love as a verb- the act of loving?

Nathan had sworn he didn’t want love at all, but then, there was you. He has sworn he had no desire for the legacy of a child, and yet, then there was the boy. For all his arrogance and grandiose dreams of the ways in which the whole world might remember him, he was finally ready to admit that all he wanted was to be remembered by you as a good husband, and by the boy as a good father.

He had never wanted to create another thing that hated him.

It didn’t come naturally to him at first. He was withholding, stubborn, rigid, and self-involved. Still, when he was motivated, there were other, finer qualities Nathan possessed too. Dedication, focus, discipline. When he was motivated, he possessed those in abundance. Turns out, love is one hell of a motivator.

Turns out, sometimes it is still not enough.

“I’m doing better,” he offers as he is met with silence, clenching his fist in discomfort as he hears you sniffing intermittently through the phone.

“I know,” you enthuse, your voice almost sickly with sincerity. “I know. I’m proud of you, Nathan.”

But Nathan doesn’t want your platitudes.

“Baby, please. I love you,” he pleads, and even in his plea his voice is stern. He refuses to let it crack. He states his truth as a cold, hard fact. He loves you. It’s undeniable. It’s logical, that you should be together.

“You know…. You know that I love you too.” you say, your voice small and full of holes. A sigh billowing out of you. “Shit, Nathan…” You sniff on the other end of the line with greater frequency – definitely crying. Nathan knits his brows together, his eyes brimming with tears that he fights back.

He thinks of all the times you cried and he didn’t reach out to you. He would give anything now to wipe your tears away.

“Come home, then,” he pleads, bluntly, swirling with hurt like silt stirred up by the rains. It hurts. It hurts to feel things. “Fuck, why are you so fucking stubborn?”

You huff out air as he snaps and instantly, he knows he’s fucked it. He wishes he could retract the words but it’s too late. They’ve already become breath. Already thunder, splitting his sky in two all over again.

He throws himself back in his chair in defeat, his hand rasping over his buzzed head in some unconscious attempt to comfort himself. “Shit, look, I just-”

When your voice interrupts him, it is perfectly smoothed out. Cold. Withholding.

So that’s how it feels.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Nathan.”

There is a beat, and you soften. You always soften. “I’ll come get him later so you can have some extra time, okay?”

Nathan sighs loudly, catching a glance of his calendar on the illuminated screen.

“Fuck. I have a meeting at 11am- I thought you would collect him early so I booked a board thing-” he says tiredly.

“Fine,” you bite off.

“No. Wait, I’ll rearrange,” he backtracks. “Let me have more time,” he reasons, his voice softening. He tips up the photo frame – that blessed and cursed item- and brings it to rest on his thigh, torturing himself with your smiling face. “Please. I need more time.”

You are silent for a moment, and this time when your voice comes back, it is level, but infused with intentional warmth. He hates that tone. That tone where he knows you are placating him rather than speaking your mind, just so he doesn’t do anything stupid. He hates that it must feel like you have a guillotine hanging over your head at all times, because you feel like you can’t push him over the edge.  

“Fine. Get some sleep, Nathan, okay?”

He huffs out air, a sharp, self-pitying guffaw, and he rubs his eyes underneath his glasses, the frames lifting from the bridge of his nose. “Right. I can’t even fuckin’ sleep without you.”

There is another pattern of breaths, and whatever tightrope Nathan might have tried to walk across to reach you snaps. “Don’t do that, don’t guilt me, Nathan.”

The worst thing is, you don’t even sound angry. You just sound… tired.

“I’m sorry,” he pushes out, muffled through a hand over his beard, and though this time he means it, the words come out sounding entirely insincere.

“Sure. ‘Night. Try and get some rest, okay?”

Now that -that sounded genuine. Sincere. You never stopped looking out for him. Even if you couldn’t stand to be around him any longer.

“Yep,” he says tautly, with little feeling, and he hangs up, tightening his grip on the photo frame in his lap before slamming it back down on the desk along with his phone.

He leans back in his chair for a moment and buries his face in his hands. “Fuck.”

I pushed her away. I did that. I pushed her away.

With a knot building in his chest, partly out of need and partly out of habit, Nathan drags opens the desk drawer where an ever-replenishing stash of vodka used to reside. Where instead, he has taped a picture drawn by his son. For moments like this.  

It helps, but it’s not always enough.

Nathan knits his brows together, his face set with a stony resolve, and his dark, turbulent eyes awash with a storm of emotion.

The boy. He’s braver than me.

Somehow, because he has to, perhaps- because he’s had to learn how, Nathan smooths himself. He cannot solve the problem of how to bring you home, when this simply isn’t home to you anymore. So, instead, he bathes himself in blue light. He basks in the glow of algorithms he can solve, and works and works his mind until it shuts off. Feeling to thinking to nothing.

I’m a force. A force of nature. A storm.

He can do anything he sets his mind to.

And… fuck. I pushed her away.

Anything, perhaps, except bring you back.

***

The next day, you arrive to collect your son.

It is familiar by now. It is an encounter that Nathan both longs for and dreads, in equal measure. Today, especially so; especially both.   

Byron runs down the hallway and leaps into your arms, the sound of your laughter scooping Nathan out from the inside as you pepper the boy with kisses, a toothy smile on his angel face.

In these encounters, the moments are always too fleeting; always slipping away too quickly. It seems to happen so fast that it’s a blur to him, his mind zoning-out and working through a million things he wants to tell you, and simultaneously hyper-focussed on every single aspect of you he’s missed desperately. He wracks his brain for the right things to do and say, as if desperately searching for the one remnant of code- the one function or command that will simply make you stay.

With effort, he tunes back in to the scene as the boy wraps his arms around his leg.

“Did you pack Crunchy?” you ask Nathan, as he hands over the kid’s weekend bag to your waiting, outstretched arm.

His mouth opens to respond, but you are already unzipping it and rooting through the bag, checking in amongst the clothes and tiny boxing gloves and dolls for the dear mutt. You find him nestled in there safely, and you smile softly at Nathan for remembering.

You shouldn’t be surprised, he thinks. He remembers things – he remembers everything. It’s forgetting he typically needs a little more assistance with. Maybe he does look over his shoulder more than he’d care to admit.   

You ruffle the boy’s crow black curls as he clings to his father’s leg, snapping your hand back as if you’ve been burned when Nathan opts for the same gesture in the same moment.

You opt to fold your arms against your chest instead, casually clearing your throat. “What did you do with Daddy then, baby? Have you had a good time?”  

“We watched the storm,” the boy begins animatedly, swinging around Nathan’s sturdy leg, “and we did boxing and I learned a new combo,” the boy looks up at his father who nods and smiles gently in proud confirmation, hoisting the kid up on to his hip – a gesture that is becoming increasingly less rusty- “and we did a new trail to the glacier, and, um, what else Daddy?” Byron asks, waving his up-turned palms in the air and turning to his father for guidance. Nathan dips forward to whisper a prompt in his ear. “Oh yeah! And we watched Trolls and I put lots of my dolly’s bows in daddy’s beard,” the boys giggles, and scrunches his fingers through Nathan’s wiry hairs.

The kid’s smile is infectious, even fracturing Nathan’s stony resolve, and it has the three of you joined in a smile for a moment, until Nathan sees your eyes mist subtly over with tears as you observe the father and son together. You quickly quell them, but they don’t go unnoticed.

“Oh yeah?” you ask, voice expertly smoothed, and a masking smile on your face. The strength of you. “Did he look pretty?”

“Yeah, I guess he looked pretty,” the boy giggles. “And this morning Daddy taught me about static electric.... um-” the boys stumbles over his words for a second, and again looks to Nathan for guidance.

“You got it -go ahead,” Nathan encourages firmly.

The boy gains confidence, brushing his black curls out of his face with a little hand before continuing. “Static electricity, right?”

“Right, champ,” Nathan says, and as the boy barrels happily through his recital of events, Nathan barely realises that he’s holding him a little tighter, because with each moment that passes, so fleetingly, he feels it’s getting increasingly harder to think about letting him go.

“And Mommy, did you know this whole valley was made by a glacier that crawled all the way along and carved out all the shapes of the hills and then melted, like, a super long time ago?”

“You know, I did know that, but that’s smart of you to know too, baby,” you say fondly, a tremble at the corner of your lips that the kid doesn’t see, but Nathan is sharp enough to catch.

And then, suddenly, Nathan has no trouble contemplating passing the boy over into your arms, because you look like you need someone to hold too. However, as he motions to do so, Nathan can see tears threatening to spill out of the corner of your eyes. You shake your head subtly at Nathan in apology as you brush away a stray tear, in a moment you hope the boy won’t see, so, instead, Nathan sets your son down on the ground. He crouches and pulls the boy’s shoulders squarely to face him, providing you with a discreet moment to compose yourself.

“Hey, buddy,” he says softly. “I remembered I need to talk to your Mommy about boring grown-up stuff. Gas prices and 401ks and… major yawn. So, hot tip, you might wanna go and play in your room for 5. That okay, champ?”

“Okay,” the kid says, unphased, and skips off down the hall.  

That leaves Nathan and you in the hallway. He hover-hands his palm against your lower back and gestures, with his other arm, towards the living space, guiding you towards the seating area.

You sit on opposite sofas, positions stiff and formal, hands clasped on laps. Your gaze looking just past Nathan because you can’t seem to meet his eyes.

“Wanna talk about it?” he asks gently, feeling a lump grow in his throat. He hates this- how tense it is, when you used to be so intimate and relaxed around each other. “Why are you crying?”

Unlike Nathan, you were usually an open book, yet this time, you decline the invitation to share. You pinch your lips in between your teeth.

You’re so strong, and so brave that it breaks Nathan to see you succumb to tears like this. Plus, you’ve given so much already- so much love, and so much heart, and he hasn’t given you nearly enough back.

Still, he looks at you from beneath his lenses, gently encouraging, waiting until you are ready to share. Your gaze fixes on a spot in your lap. “I… It’s just. Seeing you and Byron together. Why in the hell couldn’t you have been this man while we were together, Nathan?”

Nathan’s heart aches at your words. Years ago, even months ago, he would have bristled. He would have snapped back at the insinuation that he was ever in the wrong. Ever less than godly.

This time though, he lets the sad truth settle over him like a dark cloud. And, as much as he wants to pull you towards him, he also- and he can’t believe he’s going to do this- he realises he needs to push you away from him one more time. There is only one way to solve this. To let you go. To realise it’s your choice. You are out of his control. Unsolvable.

He shifts his position, until he is perched on the coffee table in front of you, his palms resting on your knees and smoothing circles there. His dark, calculating eyes intent on yours, and for once unobscured by agendas. For once, he has things to say to you that aren’t intended to provoke a particular response, or establish a particular gain. He has things to say that he simply needs you to hear.

He needs to show you his fear. He needs to face the storm he was never too afraid to create, but was always quick to flee the wake of. Nathan imagines if he explains the storm, he can demystify it. Take its power away. Then, even if you don’t come home, at least there can be calm. Calm after the storm. Both of you able to move on, with all the cards laid out on the table.

With effort, he begins.

“I’m sorry,” Nathan says gently, and even with those two words a gentle sob wracks your chest, perhaps with the relief of a weight you didn���t know you were carrying. “Honestly, I don’t think I told you that and meant it yet. So, I’m sorry.  About last night, by the way. But, shit, about everything that I did, and didn’t do…” Your hands come to clasp his in your lap, fingers gripping fingers tightly as his face contorts with regret. His dark eyes wander over your face as tears stream freely down your cheeks. Where once he would have shied away from you, in a state like this, now he has courage enough to be present.

“I missed you,” he continues, his voice tattered by emotion. “I miss you. I didn’t want to tell you that. Didn’t want to admit that I’m scared either. But I am. Of losing you.  Scared that the best thing for us… the best thing for you, might be being without me. To get out of the black hole I suck everything in to.” Nathan tears his eyes away from yours as his vision becomes blurry with tears, his voice cracking. “I’m scared because I love you, and I love that fucking kid and I... I’m scared that I might get better, and be better… but that you, and him… that you still might deserve better. Better than me. So, I’m sorry. Actually fuckin’ sorry, for all the ways I’ve been a dick. Shut you out. Put you last. Made you hurt.”

“Nathan,” you breathe through tears, as if you can’t fathom this onslaught- this emotion tearing your chest in two, like the sky on that night.  

He reaches up to fumble some tears away from your cheek with the pad of his thumb. “I need you to know that I finally see it, even if it is too late,” Nathan nods to himself, eyes fixed down at your hands clasped in his. “I see that if had to lose you to realise what I had; I never did deserve you. You’re so… fuckin’ unreal. And he’s just like you. And,” Nathan presses on, despite the mortifying ordeal of baring his heart to you. Despite the tears which finally spike out of the corners of his eyes too. “I need you to know. Even if it didn’t last forever… This fuckin’ family? It will always be the best thing I ever created. And if there’s one thing I want to be remembered for- any fuckin’ legacy I wanna have, I just… I need it to be known that I love you, and I love that fuckin’ kid. I want you to be happy, and I’ll always regret that I didn’t make you happy while I had the chance to.” He huffs out another small, self-pitying laugh “Guess in the end, I’m an idiot; not a genius. Guess I should have realised that when I got stabbed by my own AI…”

He drags his big brown eyes back up to meet yours from beneath his lenses, and your eyes are shining softly at him, brimming with bittersweet pain, and you tug him into you for a hug, holding him close and your tears wetting each other’s shoulder.

After a moment he pulls away and settles himself back on the edge of the coffee table, already missing your embrace.

“You did. You made me happy, Nathan,” you promise. “So, so happy, and so, so miserable,” you let out a small, self-pitying laugh too, and then suddenly you are both laughing, as bizarre at that seems, as you palm the tears away from your puffed cheeks.

When the laughter fades, you reach out and place your palm fondly on the side of his face. Nathan knew that even in all his years of marriage, he had never been so vulnerable with you as he had been just now. He knew that had been precisely part of the problem. He had thought it would feel horrible to open up, but he finds that he feels fresh, like ground after nourishing rain.

Your gaze flicks back to him, and he swears he can read the look in your eyes.

Why couldn’t I have been this man when we were together?

Then, it is as if you remember you are touching him. You snap your hand back from him, and back from the brink as if you have been burned. It would be so easy, Nathan thinks. So easy to just fall back into you. As if wrestling with the exact same thought, you surge up from your seat, wiping the remainder of your tears away and immediately putting some distance between the two of you. You track to the nearby mirror, leaning forward to fix your appearance a little, before the boy returns.

Nathan watches you fondly. Longingly.

You turn back to him again, a little more composed, and retake your seat opposite him – in the same spot, but feeling much further away this time.

You bite your lips between your teeth, gazing at that same spot on your lap again.

He wishes he could reach out to you. Take in the textures and scents and feel of you in all your glory. But he does not want you to jump away as if you’ve been struck by lightning.

“I miss you too, you know? I miss our family. When it was good it was…” your voice is small and you trail off, perhaps not wanting to look too far over your shoulder. With a visible effort, you seem to drag yourself back to the present. “Byron adores you, you know that? I don’t think I’ve told you this since we… but you’re a good father, Nathan.”

A pride ignites in Nathan unlike anything he’s felt before.

He opens his mouth as if to speak, and instantly closes it again, his throat bobbing around a hard swallow before he can push his words out.  

“Just a terrible husband?”

You shake your head. “No,” you say, with a wistful expression on your face, and Nathan is surprised that you sound sincere. “No, not terrible at all.”

Nathan knew his flaws well enough, but you always reminded him of his attributes. You never poisoned the boy against him, even though the split was largely on him – a fact he had denied for a long time, because it was your decision. And, because of your strength and commitment to that, the three of you -oddly- had never made a better team than you do now.

He examines your face. Your beautiful face.

Come home. Please.

For your sake, he makes an effort to lift his thin smile up until it creases the corner of his eyes.

“I think you’re forgetting what an asshole I can be,” he smiles lopsidedly at you and succeeds in lightening the air. Lightening it a little too much. Enough that there is an alarming hint in your eyes of what used to be there for him. He hopes it is not the shining of false hope.

It would be so easy. So easy to kiss you.

You chew some words over in your mouth, and Nathan can see their failure to launch on a couple of breaths as you wring your hands in front of you.  

“You, um. Last night… you asked me to come home.”

Nathan’s breath stalls in his chest.

“Did you mean it?”

Nathan can’t speak suddenly. He can only nod, slowly, tears sparkling in his eyes as he looks at you.

“I could… I could never just move back in. It didn’t work, Nathan. But… maybe…”

Nathan holds his breath, like a latent storm, the hint of a new energy buzzing in the space between you.

“Maybe,” you continue tentatively. “We could start over again. See if we can build something new. Not the same old patterns. No looking over our shoulders or trying to resurrect what’s long-dead. Instead, maybe we – I don’t know- try to create something… new?”

While the sky is rife with creation.

“You’re good at that. Building things,” you finish, fondly, everything about you tentative yet somehow hopeful, and Nathan’s chest constricts, his blood thrumming nervously through his body in a blind panic.

Just shut up, Nathan, and don’t fuck this. Just refrain from being a dick for five fuckin’ minutes.

The muscles in his jaw twitch. The vein on his forehead pops, yet his whole body is still. Breath bated.

“Like, fresh code?” he asks, with shining, hopeful eyes.

You nod, and it is the tiniest gesture, but one that means the absolute world to him.

A new way of doing things. Moving forward. Looking ahead.

“Sure, I guess - fresh code.”

Don’t fuck it up, Bateman, you fucking shithead.

“Yeah,” he agrees weakly, yet with all the conviction in the world. “How?”

Anything.

You nibble on your lower lip, thinking things through as you go. “Take me out for dinner. A first date. Somewhere away from this goddamn house. From everything that happened. All the… mistakes.” As Nathan’s eyes swim with guilt and regret, you squeeze his hand, dipping your head towards his to catch his gaze. “Yours and mine.”

“Yeah. Yeah, ok,” Nathan responds, his eyes glowing as they meet yours.

He immediately feels you withdraw from his burning hope, and so he consciously tries to reel his natural intensity in.

“No promises, Nathan,” you caution, firmly.

He nods, slowly. Outwardly disciplined and measured.

Don’t fuck it. Do not fuck this, you mother fucker.

“And please, don’t get his hopes up?” you say as a quick aside before delivering a broad smile over Nathan’s shoulder, signalling that the kid had arrived back in the vicinity.  

The boy runs over and starts happily wheeling a toy news truck over Nathan’s thigh. The man unconsciously, automatically, winds his arm around his son and dips a kiss into his black curls, causing your eyes to shine softly in admiration. “I love you, champ,” Nathan says, the words heavy with the weight of his feeling even as he reaches to tickle the boy’s tummy, earning a chaotic giggle.  

“Love you too, Daddy,” the boy replies, but Nathan pats him gently on the back.

“Time to go though, bud.”

“Yeah, baby. We should… go,” you announce, and yet there is a tug of hesitation in your voice. A rope binding you to Nathan which he is desperate to reel in; however, he pushed you so far away, and he knows that if you do come back to him, it must be on your terms. In your own time. He understands now.

Nathan leads the two of you to the door and helps pile all of the bags into the trunk of your truck. You strap Byron into his car seat, and Nathan dips to bid him farewell. “Ok, get out of here, kid. Look after your Mommy, you hear me? She’s special.”

There is a moment, before you open the door to slot into the driver’s side that Nathan comes to face you, his hands stuffed into his pockets, a familiar furrow in his brow and tight-lipped expression on his stony, impassive face. “When was the last time you had your tyres checked?” he wonders idly, shifting forward to poke at the tread on the front wheel and finding them satisfactorily safe.

He is surprised to find you smiling softly at him when he looks back at you. You seem like you can’t help yourself, but you lean forward and press a kiss into Nathan’s cheek, your face lingering against his as he closes his eyes and leans in to it, just a little.

You pull back from him, your hand clasped around his upper arm. “We love you, Nathan. Will you be okay?”

His eyes grow overcast. “Uh, don’t like it when you go,” he states plainly, his brow pulled down and cloaking his big, brown eyes with shadow.

You nod in understanding.

“Text me later. About dinner,” you add casually before you slot yourself into the truck. Still, he can see you tearing up, just a little.

“You mean it?” he asks, his stare intense.

“Dinner and we’ll see, okay? No promises.”

He had made you so many promises that were broken.

Nathan nods his agreement and you clasp the door shut. Reluctantly, Nathan steps aside as you swing the truck around, and he doesn’t stick around to wave you off, aside from a quick hand in the air for the boy.

He doesn’t like it when you leave.

He knew he had pushed you away, and now, just maybe you would come back to him. He feels hopeful- ecstatic even- at the prospect, but he can’t help but feel a little guilty. A little selfish too. He feels as though he’s sucking you in to a black hole all over again. He thinks maybe it would be better for you if you could escape him.

But, as Nathan settles back in his chair down in the lab, and gazes at the framed picture of his family, he knows that as much as he has grown and changed - because he’s had to, with you gone- that he will never quite be selfless enough to let you go.

I’m a force. A force of nature. A storm.

You had always revelled in storms. You were always happiest when it rained. Maybe this time, he could make you so, so happy, without the miserable.

Oh, how he hopes.

Don’t fuck it up, Bateman, he thinks, glancing at the picture one more time. Don’t you ever fuckin’ push her away.

This time, he pledges to stop looking over his shoulder, and looks ahead to something new.

That’s what he’s best at.

Fresh code.

He types away, and his chest feels lighter than it has in a long time.

The calm after the storm, perhaps.

[tacobell-cheesecake]

Savior Complex

Part 2, part one is here

A/N: Thank y'all so much for all the positivity on Part 1! :) Tag list will be below for all of those who asked to be on it. If you want to be added to the tag list for future parts feel free to let me know :) This series could potentially be a longer one. Also, no hate to "Marks" I just chose a random name! BTW writing Part 3 immediately after so it should be up soon after I post this one. I just felt like this had a nice stopping point to work with. It hasn't reached romance yet but don't worry we're getting there! By the way, someone sent me an ask to be on the taglist and I'm so sorry but I lost your username, so if you were the person and you see your'e not on the taglist, just let me know :) thanks!

Warnings: Mentions of PTSD, failed marriage/cheating/divorce

Generally fluff, some angst

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Y/N sat across from the well-dressed man. Both forces staring deeply at each other, trying to read one another's pasts through their eyes. It was a contest of who would speak first, neither wanting to give up the staring, until finally the man let out a small laugh.

"Your'e eyes look just like hers...well just as stubborn."

"Who's eyes?" Y/N asked

"My wife's. She always stared me down like that when I'd take our son to go play in the rain, or when I'd beat her to the coffee pot in the morning." he reminisced

'Bingo'

He was opening up.

"What were their names?"

"Heike. Heike and Carl." he said as he gave a sad smile

But before the woman could talk more to him, she was caught off-guard by what he said next:

"What was his name?" he asked, motioning his head toward the box filled with picture frames she wanted to forget

They were her wedding pictures.

She had married a year after the Blip. After losing both her parents her and her then-boyfriend decided to tie the knot at the same church her parents were married. It was a small ceremony, but looking back, it was a shit show. The dress was picked out by him, and her bridesmaids were all his sister's "friends" (and all were his past flings). His parents were stuck up, and she felt like a charity case; the bride with no parents and a therapy job. A year into their marriage she cam home with groceries to make his favorite meal: his mom's recipe for spaghetti, when she walked in on him cheating on her with, of course, one of the bridesmaids. The girl was nice, but the two had been having an affair since a week before the wedding. In a short amount of time a divorce followed, and three weeks after that he was engaged again and a soon-to-be father.

"His name was Mark."

"Is he travelling" the man said with a smirk

He knew damn well he wasn't.

But Y/N realized that to manipulate the manipulator, she had to sob story her way through him.

The two could definitely connect through shared sadness: losses of marriage, and the loss of parents. But with both of their backgrounds in reading people and utilizing empathy, this was the best shot Y/N had at getting him to open up about why he was doing what he was doing.

Sam was gonna pay for this.

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taglist: @zizzlekwum @viviace