#I TAKE FIVE CLASSES WHY ARE YOU ALL GANGING UP ON ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[skrunksthatwunk]

mr president a fourth major assignment has hit the two days before a mandatory friday road trip nobody bothered to tell me about until yesterday

[catsukiiee]

# POSITIONS & R&B.

౨ৎ class 1-a & class 1-b boys x masc/fem!reader

[fan favorites only]

wordcount ; 893

paragraphs ; 41

sentences ; 53

songs used ; songs listed by each character.

all of them are their canon ages (24+)

# CLASS 1-A

# TENYA IIDA [ blame by bryson tiller ]

Tenya doesn’t care what position you two start off in, as long as he’s able to get inside you and hear your moans, then he’s sated. Unfortunately, though, our glorious king, Tenya Iida, cannot last long in any position where he can't see your face. That man NEEDS to see your face; he’s absolutely addicted to seeing your every reaction, especially when he goes deep, sound is not enough. He loves having you in the eagle position, don't even try hiding your face in the pillows.

“I wanna see your face, please.”

# DENKI KAMINARI. [ let em' know by bryson tiller ]

Desperate. That’s the only word I have for this motherfucker. Wanna have sex? He’s down. In doggystyle? Even better. Trust he’s losing his mind as soon as he sees you bend over; expect to have your hair pulled and your shoulders marked with bite marks at the end.

“Look at my little masterpieces.”

# EIJIRO KIRISHIMA [ gang over luv by brent faiyaz ]

As gentlemanly as he is, he’s far from a gentleman in the bedroom; in fact, his favorite position is low doggy. Simply because he can push your face into the mattress and go ham. You want to try and crawl away? Nah baby, he’s grabbing BOTH your arms and locking your ass down; you aren’t running until you’re both finished and he’s tired.

“Why are you moving? Cmere baby.”

# RIKIDO SATO [ ballin by partynextdoor ]

Lethal. He’s strong as fuck, so you better expect to have your pussy absolutely obliterated after a couple of deep strokes, but just like Iida, he needs to see your face to cum, and he's not pulling out either. His favorite position to put you in is young stallion.

That's exactly why y'all have five kids.

“A few more won’t hurt, baby.”

# HANTA SERO [ things & such b partynextdoor ]

THIS MOTHERFUCKER RIGHT HERE IS CRAZY.

The moment you mention wanting to have sex, you don’t even need to move to the bedroom, he loves fucking your brains out on the couch anyway, locking one of your legs over his shoulder while his hands hold your other leg down to keep your legs open so he can watch himself going in and out, your hands WILL BE TIED. Sero is obsessed with watching your breasts bounce to, it drives him insane and makes him finish in a matter of minutes, and he’s not stopping even after cumming first.

The messier the better.

“Look at you sucking me in, goddamn.”

# SHOTO TODOROKI [ jaded by drake ]

Probably the calmest man you know outside the bedroom, but when you’re both in the mood? Your back will be hurting. He loves seeing your back arched; if he goes too deep and you ruin the arch, he’s pushing you right back down immediately.

“What did I say? Lower it back down.”

# IZUKU MIDORIYA [ can i by drake ]

A whole power bottom, he loves having you on top of him, guiding your hips while you ride him. When he's feeling a little adventurous, he likes to grab your throat, forcing your eyes to stay on his as he starts to fuck up into you. HE'S A WHINER. The closer he gets, the whinier he gets.

“Can I cum in you? Please let me cum in you. I wanna cum in you so bad, please. Fuck, I'm cumming."

# KATSUKI BAKUGOU [ altitude by monetell fish ]

As soon as the “Wanna have sex” comes out of your mouth, it’s over for you; it doesn’t matter if y’all are in the living room, bathroom, kitchen, or out in PUBLIC. Trust, he’s going to find a way to have your ass folded and panting. He likes folding you into a pretzel just as much as he likes having you on your hands and knees.

Wanna try and move his hands? They’re locked behind your back. Start squirming and crawling away? He’s got a solution for that ass.

“Stop fucking squirming and take it.”

# HITOSHI SHINSO [ first fuck by 6lack ft jhene aiko ]

Gentle touches and hard deep strokes.

He’s far more focused on having his hands explore your body while doing it, might accidentally brainwash you when he asks, “Is this okay?” or “Want me to go harder? I can’t understand you baby.” 

He loves positions where he can see your face as well.

# CLASS 1-B

# NEITO MONOMA [ sweat by zayn ]

This bitch cannot accept defeat; all that shit talking about lasting longer only to cum inside you after a couple of pumps, seeing your back glistening and your ass rippling each time his hips snapped against you was enough to send him over after five minutes. Don't worry though, he keeps going until you're finished, and then keeps going... and going just to get the 'last word' in his own way.

“What was that? All I hear are mumbles, tsk tsk, what a shame.”

# TETSUTETSU TETSUTETSU [ feel it by jacquees ]

Oh baby, he LOVES folding your ass as much as he loves your reactions to him going balls deep each time. Pulling your hair, shoving his fingers into your mouth when you got too loud, and pushing your back down into a deeper arch just to hit it deeper when he has you on your hands and knees.

'Overstimulation is key' is his mindset when he's fucking you.

“Yeah baby, keep cumming.”

i think y'all can tell who i listen to a lot and which characters are my favorite by writing this 💀..

I'M SORRY IF THE SONGS DON'T FIT THE CHARACTERS </3 THIS WAS ORIGINALLY GOING TO JUST BE ABOUT SERO BUT THEN I HAD AN IDEA

TEACHERS ARE NEXT!

[ashtxrie]

submitted 11:59 pm

— alternatively, enhypen maknaes as your typical high school crush!

PAIR. high school! enhypen maknaes x gn!reader (rest under cut) GENRE. fluff, high school au, bullet points WORD COUNT. 1.8k total HYUNG LINE VER.

김선우 — kim sunoo

candy hearts, spotify playlists, good morning texts, easy laughter, crescent smiles

in high school, sunoo's known as being super friendly and sociable

and because of that, he has a ton of friends

like he basically knows everyone

you and sunoo have definitely talked before, and you may have had a teensy tiny crush on him from your... downward of five interactions

he's kind of like your hallway crush!

however, you DON'T know that he has had a crush on you for FOREVER

like a MASSIVE one! SINCE MIDDLE SCHOOL

and his friends are SICK AND TIRED of hearing about it

man's dedicated because he really saw you in every single one of your phases and STILL decides to like you. he's a real one

he's so whipped like he's hitting up the group chat (named "en- gang" by riki btw) at 1 in the morning being like

"GUESS WHAT?!!! she smiled at me today ���️ i forgot to tell you all"

everyone is so done

"did you talk to her though"

"NO. i'm getting there"

"all you did was make eye contact for the past month be srs rn"

so one day jay and jungwon (your mutual friends), who were in the same english class as you both, were feeling DEVIOUS

it was the fall semester final project, and it was supposed to be worked on in teams of 2 to 3

"bro you are NOT working on it with us the love of your life is literally RIGHT there"

jay and jungwon took matters into their own hands and forcefully excluded sunoo ("you guys are so fake")

so now, with no other option, he had to approach you!

"do you have a group already? if not, we could work together?"

wait wtf he didn't say that

hey....

it was YOU???

you approached him first??? he was SHOCKED

tried to play it cool but his smile gave away how happy he was

"yes!!!! let's work together!!!!! :)"

the project actually went so well he has literally never been happier typing away on that document every night

updates the group chat periodically too

"when we were working on the google doc at 2 am in the morning our cursors went over each other’s & it was like we were holding hands :>>"

"how do i unsubscribe"

"you're just mad because you've never been in love <333"

secretly sunoo's thanking his friends though because now you guys are basically close friends!

while doing the project together you started talking about school, friends, life, and everything in between

talking with you just seemed so natural, and sunoo wonders why he was so afraid of it before

i'd like to think that with you, sunoo doesn't feel the need to always put on the bubbly and outgoing side of him

sometimes, he can just be quiet and calm sunoo with you, and the silence feels so comfortable and safe

you start hanging out more and more, and soon you've met so many people through sunoo that they think of you whenever they think of him too

it's like a package deal!

throughout this time he's still madly in love with you btw

he just wants to take things slow! he didn't want to scare you away or anything

and yes, the gc is STILL getting their daily sunooyn Down Bad News Network

"today during lunch she gave me a yakult bottle, i think she’s starting to like me back! :D"

he does Not know you've liked him all this time

the mutual pining is crazy

he (finally) confesses after a whole YEAR

he's super nervous about it, has possible plan b's scripted and sat through 30 minutes of youtube subliminal audios the day before for extra good luck

after he says his whole heartfelt confession, he gives you this handwritten letter with all of his favorite moments with you in the past year, complete with spotify codes next to each one that links to a specific song he thought of at the time

you teared up a bit because oh my gosh it was so cute he was so cute and your heart just melted

you told him you've liked him since forever too and he was FLABBERGASTED

you both also reveal that you've BOTH had hidden spotify playlists dedicated for each other???

let's just say that even years later, the 'en- gang' group chat would NEVER let sunoo live down his digital footprint

양정원 — yang jungwon

strawberries, honors classes, coming of age, familiarity, inside jokes, paper rings

your childhood best friend

who just so happens to also be mr student council president, king of extracurriculars, resident academic powerhouse

and also a LITTLE SHIT about it

since elementary school, you've got some friendly (and not-so-friendly) rivalry going on

"we both know who’s going to get the higher score for this chem final” 

“yeah, and it’s going to be me”

“NAH” 

but the drive you get from the competition is really what brought you guys together

it's what keeps you motivated, it's what keeps you going

and he's funny! (though you'd never admit it)

because yes, you're both trying to beat each other for the top spot in class rank

but you also get each other

you've been study buddies since the beginning of time, and he keeps the two of you accountable

sometimes he's TOO responsible

"jungwon don't let the pomodoro timer dictate you life can we PLEASE take a snack break right nowww"

"we literally did that FIVE MINUTES AGO"

outside of studying he's really chill though

one summer he started to get really into alchemy of souls and you binged the series twice together, effectively destroying both of your sleep schedules right before school started

he just loves existing in the same space as you tbh

definitely loves calling you for hours during the school year, whether to review for an upcoming exam or to just have the two of you do your own things while connected on the phone

it's pretty common for the two of you to fall asleep while on call with one another

late night yapping sessions (hello??? his weverse addiction??)

he feels like he can just let his responsibilities go and you're the only person who really understands him and everything he does and why he does it

lowkey.... he also just wants to make you proud :(

he was so happy that one time you offhandedly mentioned how you've seen and appreciated all the hard work he was putting in for one of the school events

when he eventually confessed to you, everything just made sense

like the way your eyes always lingered on his bright smile when he showed up on your doorstep at the crack of dawn

and how even when you tease each other, you never miss how he would reach for your hand with his own before retracting it hurriedly as if changing his mind

now, oh he just makes you feel so loved

texts you at random times of the day just because, sending you the most random images and captioning them with "us"

he's still got the silliness in him though!

"i want to try every strawberry with chocolate combination with you <333"

西村力 — nishimura riki

neon lights, school dances, sunglasses, finger guns, playful banter, shared hoodies

honestly he's just at school for the vibes

however, he DID take homecoming very seriously

with one goal in mind: to DOMINATE the dance floor

and dominate he did.

he partied in the USA so hard that by the end of the night, everyone was talking about that freshman who left everyone speechless at a HIGH SCHOOL DANCE

among those witnesses of how riki out-danced the entire school population, were you

and you thought he was literally the coolest person ever

fast forward two years, and you're a junior now

it's all good! you've definitely outgrown your month-long admiration of the Guy From Hoco

but yo what guess who sits right next to your seat in class???

it's the Guy From Hoco himself

honestly, you're a pretty chill person so you turned to him and were like "hey aren't you that guy that got famous back during hoco freshman year?"

but now? he’s EMBARRASSED to admit it

"oh uhhh that wasn't me haha"

boy bffr you would know his face anywhere

you kind of gave him a questioning look and shrugged

"oh well, i thought it was really cool though"

he instantly backtracks, because you thought it was cool and NOT an aura loss????

"wait i think i remember now haha that WAS me!!!"

you guys match energy so well tbh

he started to catch feelings for you because of how funny you were and how you two just clicked, but he was stuck in denial FOREVER

"I DON'T CHASE I ATTRACT" (desperate)

heeseung also tried to give him "rizz counseling" but that just ended up with them both saying "mb gang" at everything

which was..... not very rizzy!

you had convinced him to audition for the competition dance team at your school, which he obviously made

he texted you the day he got in too, typing in all caps in everything which he NEVER does

"why would you scream about things in caps lock when you can be cool and nonchalant" YEAH SURE RIKI

updated all his social media bios to @[school]varsitydanceteam the moment he got the acceptance notif

“[name] is my instagram bio tuff”

“WHY ARE U ALR PUTTING IT IN YOUR BIO"

"because i’m committed and it lets them know i’m part of a professional community"

(heeseung told him that it would show his commitment to the sport and thus his potential to commit to you.)

at this point, riki was ready to fire heeseung and switch to jake as his ghostwriter 💀

but little did he know, you started liking him too once you saw how genuinely hardworking he was when he has a goal

like those hours he spent on call with you asking if you thought this one move was clean enough?? he really put in his all (he also wanted to impress you)

you kind of had the idea that he liked you back, because let's be honest he was being a bit obvious about it

the way he almost choked when you hugged him congratulations??? he looked DAZED for a whole hour

you had to confess to riki because his heejake rizz courses consisted mainly of heeseung and jake arguing about whose approach was better

even when you two became a couple, you still had teasing as a love language LMAO

"HAHA 🫵🫵 YOU'RE SO SHORT i still love you though <3"

it's just how he shows his love, but he also loves draping his arm across your shoulders when walking around

made sure to emphasize to heeseung and jake that this was all his doing and they did not help him at ALL

but let's be real, YOU were the rizziest of them all

and riki agrees <3

TAGLIST : @star-sim @boyfiejay @jlheon @jwsdoll @dimplewonie @suneng @en-gelic @mygnolia @asteria-wood

[azrielwingspan]

SOON (THEO NOTT X READER)

Summary : Theodore Nott was just another Slytherin asshole to most of Hogwarts. But to you, he was something much much more.

Themes : Mild kissing and swearing.

A/N : This is my first Theo fic AHHH. Just thought I would give it a shot. Let me know how it is!

P.S.- This is strictly a one shot. There will be no part 2.

"He is quite charming isn't he?" Ginny commented sneaking a glance at Theodore Nott. Seated at the Slytherin table between his usual rowdy gang of friends, he smirked at something Lorenzo had said.

"I think the word you're looking for is enigmatic, Gin. For all we know, he could be Voldemort in disguise." you stated flatly, stabbing a piece of potato on your plate. Earning a smack on the arm for using You-know-who's name so boldly, you ignored Ginny's attempts at convincing you to attend the party being thrown tonight.

"Help me understand why you're so bloody against the idea?! Is it because you have to bring a date?" she raised her eyebrows in question.

"That may be a part of the reason." you refused to meet her owl like stare, instead choosing to focus on the copy of the Daily Prophet in front of you.

"Why would that be an issue ? I can name five people off the top of my head who would say yes instantly." she prodded further, thankfully choosing to redirect her gaze towards the mail she'd received. Taking advantage of her momentary distraction, you snuck a glance at Theodore again. The sleeves of his uniform were rolled upto his elbow and you greedily took in the sight of his veiny forearms.

"What are you looking at?" Ginny broke you out of the reverie, your eyes immediately flitting towards the shawl Pansy was wearing.

"Pansy's new shawl. I can't recall which store I've seen it in but it looks very familiar." The lie rolled out smoothly, misleading Ginny. The pang of guilt ,that never lessened in impact, hit you yet again.

"Oh. Yeah, it does look quite familiar now that you mention it." She went off on a tangent about clothes and you let out a relieved sigh.

Ginny couldn't know. Not for now atleast.

The morning went on, your focus elsewhere during most of the classes. Ginny hadn't brought up the party again but you knew it was unavoidable. You were definitely acting quite strange. Not being the one to turn down an invite, your sudden refusal to attend this massive party did come as a surprise to your friends.

You had your reasons. Utterly selfish reasons.

However as the evening rolled by, Ginny had cornered you into agreeing. On bringing up the issue of the date, she'd simply shrugged and said "I took care of it."

That did not sound very reassuring.

It was worse than you had expected.

"CORMAC MC FUCKIN LAGGEN ?!?" you hissed at Ginny , your back to the boy in question.

Ginny looked away sheepishly and said "He told Hermione who told me that he had a thing for you. So I thought you guys could talk? I mean you don't have to really. Just drop him off in a corner."

"Drop him---" pinching the bridge of your nose in frustration, you whipped around to face Laggen and gave him a saccharine smile.

"Nice to meet you Laggen but I'm not interested."

He looked astounded, trying to wrap his head around the rejection. After a few seconds, he managed to sputter out "We haven't talked yet. How can you--"

"Yes. Yes I can. You have my permission to tell everyone I'm your date but please don't approach me again. Bye." you sauntered off into the party, Ginny keeping up behind you.

"Where's Harry anyways?" you asked, straining your neck to see past the crowd.

"Running late. Neville set his pants on fire so Ron and Harry are helping him out."

Shaking your head in amusement, you let your eyes run around the room searching for him.

There.

Theo sat on the couch near the fireplace, one arm thrown around the back , a glass of amber liquid in the other. The smoke from Mattheo's cigarette made his figure hazy.

"I'm gonna go grab a drink." Ginny said her voice floating by. You nodded distractedly , your attention held captive by Theo.

As if sending your presence behind him , he turned his head around and met your eyes. Slight confusion marred his face making his eyebrows furrow. He hadn’t expected you to be here.

Signalling to you with a quick nod of his head, he excused himself from his group of friends and made his way to his dorms. You stayed down for a couple more minutes , getting yourself a drink to throw off suspicion.

“Hey, I didn’t think you’d come tonight. Ginny change your mind?” Pansy popped out of the blue , startling you.

“Uh.. Pansy, hey. Yeah you know how Gin is.” Pansy was a bit of a talker. Aware that this conversation could go on forever , you tried to come up with an excuse. “Hey listen, I’ve got to use the bathroom real quick. I’ll find you again alright?”

Not waiting for a response , you made your way in the direction of the bathrooms and took a sharp turn in the opposite direction once you made sure Pansy had redirected her attention. Sneaking up the stairway to the boys dorm, you took a moment for yourself outside Theo’s dorm room, straightening out your clothes.

“Took you long enough.” His voice drawled as you entered his room, the familiar surroundings providing a sense of comfort.

“Pansy almost started a conversation.” You said laughing lightly at his wide eyed expression.

“Didn’t take you long then.” He corrected his previous statement , prowling towards you.

“No. I guess it didn’t.”

Wrapping an arm around your waist, he pulled you into a searing kiss that had you holding onto his shirt for balance. The words 'I missed you' played at the tip of your tongue struggling to be let out.

He nipped at your lower lip , a breathy sigh leaving you as you tangled your hands in his hair.

"Cormac Mc fuckin Laggen? Seriously?" Theo muttered , lowering his head to place soft kisses across your jaw. Leaning your head back to give him more access, you let out a soft laugh. "That's exactly what I said. Ginny is the real culprit."

A strangled moan left your lips as he sucked at your neck, immediately soothing it with a sloppy kiss. "T-Theo..you idiot. That's gonna leave a mark." He just hummed in response seemingly lost in the pleasure. Tugging his head back, you made him meet your gaze head on.

"If we stay up here for any longer, they'll suspect." A shiver passed through you as his hands trailed lower and cupped you arse, pulling your hips to his. "Let them." he said dropping his head to capture your lips once more.

"THEO, YOU IN THERE ??" Blaise Zabini's voice boomed through the door making you jump. A string of Italian curses left Theo's mouth as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah give me a minute!"

Cupping your face in his hands, he leaned down to your face placing you at eye level. "It'll all be over soon alright? We won't have to hide anymore. We can be free." The promise in his eyes lit a spark of hope within you, a rush of adrenaline coursing through your veins.

"Soon." you whispered , your eyes fluttering shut as you placed a kiss on his Dark Mark.

[hobie-enthusiast]

UNLIKELY CLASH !

— rulebreaker!hobie brown x perfectionist!gn!reader

— enemies to lovers, swearing (more than last and fuck too), mutual pining, making out, small bit of harassment, rebellious teens, confused feelings, getting together

— hobie brown was everything you weren’t, so maybe that’s what attracted the two of you together so well (pt. 2)

— here part two gang! honestly i have an idea for part three in mind but if that’s something u honestly want pls lmk asap

— part 1 | part 2 (here) | part 3

The next couple of weeks were.. odd between you and Hobie.

Even after a heartfelt confession about the pressure you felt, you still had a reputation to uphold. You kept treating him the way you normally did; ignoring him and pretending he didn’t exist.

At first, this didn't really bother Hobie. He was used to chasing after you, messing with you and poking fun at the student council president. But he was getting bored. The small bits of making you late to class or taking up your time were amusing, but he wanted more of a reaction from you.

When he started interacting less and less, you grew confused. As much as you hated to admit it, you liked the attention and small interactions.

Though it was small, being late and skipping class (very rarely at this point), made you excited. It made you feel.. alive in a way.

But all that was dissipating. And you were upset about it.

You sat in your room after a long school day, mindlessly scrolling through your computer. Your parents had asked that you try and find a prom outfit, but that became boring really quick. You could never wear something truly exciting; just some fancy outfit plain coloured with fancy hair.

A knock on your window startled you from your thoughts. Glancing out, you see Hobie looking in, motioning for you to open the window. You walk over confused, deciding to open the window.

"Brown? It's.." You glance back at your alarm clock. "..10 pm. What are you doing here?"

"Awe, come on sweetheart. After such a confession, shouldn't we be on a first name basis?" He says, inviting himself into your room.

You scoff. "One, no, as you don't use my first name. And two, you can't be here! My parents are right down the hall!"

Hobie shrugged as he looked around your room, analyzing the decor. He noticed the clean desk you had, along with a neat bookshelf of many scientific books and knick-knacks. It suited you, every detail down to the way your game console sat neatly on your TV stand, not a speck of dust in sight.

"Did you show up just to judge my room?"

Hobie shook his head. "Nah, came t' ask ya somethin'." He said, sitting on your desk chair. "Up for an adventure?"

"Excuse me?" You question, taking a seat across from him on your bed. "When?"

"Now."

You know Hobie was.. absolutely crazy in some ways. But this? Going on a random adventure on a Friday night, and asking the person he wants to go with by entering their room via window was.. not the kind of crazy you would categorize him as.

You raise your eyebrows, crossing your arms. "You serious right now?"

"As serious as I always am." He responds with a shrug. "'s up to you. We'll be gone 'till tomorrow. Either 'u're up for a challenge or not."

A challenge he says? Hobie knew that you could be riled up from being challenged to do something. Perfectionists always had to win in his eyes.

And he was right.

"Give me five minutes."

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Next thing you knew, you were on a train from your isolated little town to Brooklyn itself. Hobie blindly led you onto a train, told you to not worry about tickets, then let the train take you both to the destination in mind.

Of course Hobie remembered what you said at the tree. He had been holding onto it for a while now. He knew you wanted to go to a city, do whatever you wanted, just for a little bit. And he was going to be the one to give that to you. Why? Well, that's a question he couldn't answer for himself.

"Brooklyn?" You questioned, looking out of the train window. "Why Brooklyn?"

"You said it under the tree. Ya wanted to go to the city, no?"

You nodded slowly, looking back out the window with a small smile. Of course you were flattered that he remembered your words. At least, you were hoping he did, you practically poured your feelings out.

Once the train stopped, you both stepped out of the station to admire the tall buildings towering over you. Hobie couldn’t help but be amused at the way your eyes shined at the new scenery. He practically came here everyday.

But he couldn’t tell you that. Not without plausible answers to the inevitable questions.

“So..” You turn to look at him, eyes still bright. “What do we do?”

He shrugs, hands in his vest pockets. “Whatever ya want. ‘s ‘ur day, no?”

"But I don't know where to go. I've never been to the city before."

Hobie's eyes widened for a moment, shocked at your words. You were really so sheltered you hadn't been to the city right beside your town? The thought alone was crazy to Hobie. He never understood why adults were so.. controlling.

He sighs, walking ahead. "Follow me then. I'll show ya ‘round."

And so you did just that. You followed Hobie around the city, taking in the sights he's showing you. All around the city, passing and weaving through people, making sure you had a nice time.

There was something you noticed. Before Hobie took you somewhere, he provided you with options on where to go. He didn't force you to go one place with him. He didn't strictly follow an itinerary. He always asked what you wanted to do, giving you full control of the day.

It was.. refreshing. This sense of freedom was exactly what you needed. To feel the fresh air of the city without worrying about impressing anyone. Hobie wasn't judging you, and you certainly weren't judging yourself.

The end of the day came quicker than your liking, and the two of you were on the rooftop of an apartment complex. The sun was setting behind the tall buildings, and Hobie brought the two of you some noodles to eat (he definitely didn't steal them).

You take a bite, setting the cup down with a sigh. "Today was.. actually really nice. I don't think I ever felt that, free before, if that makes sense?"

"Don't worry, you can say it." Hobie said, nudging your arm.

You roll your eyes with a small smile. "Mm.. guess I can. Thanks, Brown."

"Y'know, you can call me 'obie, swee'heart." He responded, shrugging. "'s better than m' last name, I think."

"I can't give you that satisfaction. Not yet."

Hobie raised an eyebrow, a shit-eating smirk crossing his face. "Yet?"

You're ready to correct yourself, but the words die in your throat. You couldn't help but like the sound of "yet". It meant more time with Hobie.. and you enjoyed that. Hobie's company was something you were starting to crave. Almost like a drug.

Hobie glanced over at you. "Gotta admit, didn't expect ya t' come with me. Considerin' 'ur parents don't know ya snuck out."

“Yeah well..” You sigh, looking out onto the building with a soft smile. “Maybe I just needed something different.” You finish, looking over at Hobie.

You’re suddenly very aware of how close the two of you are to each other. Hobie’s eyes flicker; your eyes, your mouth, and back a couple times. It’s almost like.. he was asking you for something. The longer you both stared, the more tempted he became, and you honestly couldn’t blame him.

So why did you pull away?

As soon as he started leaning in, you pulled back, clearing your throat. His eyes widen before narrowing, scoffing gently. Guess he misread the situation.

You really couldn’t tell him he didn’t.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

The next weeks Hobie Brown didn’t show up to school.

You had a feeling you were the cause. Brushing him off like that was such a dick move on your part. You knew that. You wanted nothing more than to find him and run to him, kissing him like there was no tomorrow.

But you couldn’t. You had an image to maintain. A reputation. All the trust you worked so hard to accumulate would go down the drain in an instant.

Of course.. Hobie may be worth that.

Hobie to you is worth that risk. All his rule breaking and crazed adventures are just what you need in your life. Something that gives you the freedom you longed for.

But you had to go and screw it up. And now here you were, three weeks after the incident, at your locker with a guy trying to talk you up.

“C’mon, [Name], just one night! It’ll change your life!”

You groan, slamming the locker shut. “Dude, I said no. Can you stop?”

“Why? I gotta know why!” He persisted, grabbing your wrist as you tried walking away.

You yank your arm away, trying to escape. “I don’t owe you that! Let me go.”

“Not until you-”

“Hey.”

You turn at the sudden voice, shocked at who it belonged to. There stood Hobie Brown, eyes filled with anger.

“They said, let go.” He said, grabbing the guy’s arm and yanking it away. “Learn t’ take a hint, aye?”

The guy’s eyes narrowed. “And who do you think you are, Brown? Their boyfriend?”

“As a matter of fac’-”

Then, Hobie turns you to him, bringing your lips to his. No warning, no asking, nothing. Just does what he’s been craving after three weeks of disappearance.

Everyone in the hallway around you two watched with shocked faces. Nobody could have seen this coming, not even you.

A thousand thoughts rushed through your head as Hobie kissed you, but one screamed to push away. So you did, giving him a shocked look before grabbing his arm and pulling him away from the scene. You drag him to a storage closet, shutting the door.

“Brown, what the hell was that?!” You immediately ask, eyes narrowed. “What, do you disappear for three weeks then kiss every person you were hanging out with? What the hell?”

Hobie sighed, leaning against a shelf behind him. “Guy needed t’ be taught a lesson. Made sure he won’t bother ya.”

“I can do that on my own!” You respond, shoving an accusing finger in his chest. “Where have you been?!”

“Thinkin’.” Is all he responds with.

You groan. “For three weeks? Shit Hobie, I..” You words fall short. You want to say it.. squeeze it out. “I.. missed you.”

Hobie’s eyes widened as he takes in your words. You.. missed him? He never would have seen this coming; a confession from the president in a dingy storage closet? Not on his bucket list.

Your eyes watch Hobie, doing that same pattern he did on the rooftop; eyes, mouth, eyes. You wanted to kiss him again.. feel those lips again on yours. No.. you needed it.

You know what? Fuck this perfect image.

You grab onto Hobie's vest, pulling him in to connect your lips. Your rough with your movements at first, closing your eyes tightly and latching onto him with a white-knuckle grip. Hobie's eyes widened for a moment before they showed a more prideful look, kissing you back with just as much emotion.

His hands find placement on your lower back, pulling you into him as the kiss escalates from one to many. Hobie was like a starved man, slotting his leg in between yours to support you, pushing you back against the shelf and knocking over some cleaning supplies.

That could be fixed later.

Your original intention of one passionate kiss to show him how you felt turned into many heated kisses. The bell for class was drowned out by how into the moment you both were.

“Fuck.. Hobie..” You whisper, diving back in for another kiss.

Hobie groaned in turn, pulling you impossibly closer. “Shit sweetheart.. can’t say m’ name like that.”

“Hmm.. why’s that..?”

“‘s gonna drive me crazy..”

Suddenly, the doorknob to the closet rattles, causing you both to pull away. Your eyes go wide as Hobie grabs it from where he stands, bringing one finger to his lips to make you stay quiet.

The person on the other side tries to open the door, but ultimately fails. They groan and mumble something before walking away. Hobie looks over at your expression, a small laugh escaping his lips.

“Let’s get out of here, yeah?” He whispers, planting a kiss to your jaw. “Or are ya gonna keep pretendin’ you’re too good for it?”

You sigh, rolling your eyes as you take his hand. "Nah, not this time. Come on."

some ppl who wanted to be tagged (🫶): @serenn08 | @rksses | @youronlyauthor | @dotheyevenknowmars | @xoxobabe

[morelikeravenbore]

✨ Hogtober Day 9: Poppy and her unlikely French bestie!

🦋 Below the cut: a short excerpt of Poppy leading a gang of angry Hufflepuff's to accost a certain Slytherin boy for being an idiot to a certain Ravenclaw girlie. Featuring cameos by some of my favourites: Gibby @galaxiasgreen , Siobhan @sloanesallow and Lory @lorriiraine.

No sooner had he set foot beyond the wrought iron snakes that guarded the common room entrance than he was set upon by a gang of angry Hufflepuff's.

'Sebastian Sallow, you heartless brute!'

Flanked on either side by several of Aurélie's new friends, Poppy Sweeting marched toward him with a scowl that ought not to have intimidated him given she was several good inches shorter than he.

'Poppy —' he began, shrinking against the wall.

'Don't Poppy me!' She leered up at him, hands on her hips. 'You've got some explaining to do!'

Several pairs of shrewd eyes narrowed on him: Gibby, her blonde pigtails done up in blue ribbons, seemingly unaware that one of them was coming loose; Siobhan, casting anxious glances over her shoulder every few seconds; and a pink-haired girl he knew only as Lory, who wore a large pair of pumpkin-shaped earrings though Halloween was almost a month past. Sebastian gulped; a singular angry Hufflepuff was fairly easy to deal with, but a group of them was an entirely different situation.

'Me?' Sebastian raised his palms while Ominis snickered beside him. 'What have I done?'

A murmur of distinctly unhappy badger sounds ran through the small but angry assemblage.

'Aurélie isn't helping with the Thestrals any more!' Poppy accused.

'She hasn't spoken a word to us in days!' Lory exclaimed.

'She won't eat!' Gibby cried.

'Right,' Sebastian scoffed. 'And you all assume this has something to do with me?'

Four angry girls threw their hands up in exasperation.

'Why are boys always so —'

'— thought you were supposed to be smart!'

'— and after all the sweets I've given you!'

Sebastian flapped his hands for silence, wary of the crowd of curious onlookers that was starting to gather around them. 'Alright, alright! Bloody hell, keep your hair on, will you?'

Inclined to roguery as he was, Sebastian had been shouted at by a great many people throughout his life: his sister, his uncle, Ominis, almost every Professor, almost every school portrait, both the Ravenclaw door knocker and the Gryffindor Fat Lady, and even a lone tree on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest who he'd sworn had called him a 'lumbering lout' — but being shouted at by a collective of five-foot-nothing, flower-wearing, sweet-eating Hufflepuff's was a novel experience.

'Up until last week, you were drawn to her like a salamander to fire,' scolded Poppy, regarding him less like a salamander and more like a dung beetle. 'Now you don't even sit with her in class. What happened?' Her eyes narrowed dangerously. 'You've lost interest?'

'What?' Sebastian spluttered. 'No, I —'

'You broke up with her?'

'Broke up?' His voice rose as high as his eyebrows. 'Poppy, we weren't even —'

'Then what?' she demanded amid a chorus of fervent nods and angry mutterings. 'Why is she so sad?'

Sebastian raked his hands through his hair.

'She doesn't return my... sentiments,' he muttered to his feet. 'She made that very clear.'

But rather than sympathy, Sebastian was met with another collective groan.

'You can't seriously be so clueless —'

'— should be forced to take lessons in self-awareness!'

'— slaving away in the kitchens and this is how you thank me?'

'Ominis, help me.' Sebastian threw a sideways glance at his suddenly stoic friend, but Ominis, the bastard, only chuckled, 'Help? But you're handling this so well on your own, Sebastian.'

Sebastian turned back to the group. 'Listen,' he implored, 'she doesn't want to see me any more, alright? She told me herself. This was her decision, not mine.'

Poppy drew herself up; Sebastian gulped. 'Oh, it was her decision, was it? And do you think she's in the right frame of mind to make rational decisions? Hm?'

'No, but —'

'Does she look happy about it, do you think?'

'Poppy —'

'Does she?'

'Not every decision leads to happiness!'

'Then it's the wrong decision!'

'Bloody hell!' Sebastian lowered his voice with great effort. 'If you just understood the circumstances —'

'I don't need to understand the circumstances!' Poppy cried. 'You don't abandon someone you love! Especially when they're in pain!'

The truth in her words stuck Sebastian like a pin. He hung his head in shame, but Poppy went on unabashed, brandishing a small but mighty finger at his face. 'You've been through what she's going through, you of all people should understand that she's only trying to protect herself. I'm disappointed in you, Sebastian. — And you!' She turned her wrath to Ominis, who stiffened mid-snicker and fell silent. 'You shouldn't have let her give up on choir!'

'Yeah!' chorused the girls.

'Yeah!' echoed Gibby as she angrily thrust a box of truffles at each of them. 'And if you don't sort this out, these will be the last batch of truffles I ever bake for you!'

— How to Make a Villain, chapter twenty-two. [wattpad | ao3]

[burningembers91]

Take a Chance - Oh Kyeong-Tae x Fem!Reader

Synopsis: Oh Kyeong-Tae is a dedicated police officer. He just needs someone to take a chance on him. That person is you, the beautiful detective who’s looking for a partner as passionate as you are. Kyeong-Tae can’t help but fall for you, but relationships between colleagues are frowned upon and he finds himself caught between his dream job, and the woman of his dreams.

A/N: someone please explain to me how the actor who plays Kyeong-Tae is almost 35. I thought he was 21, but he’s older than me 😱 Also, I found THREE different ways to spell this character’s name, so I’ve gone with the most popular spelling I found.

Typed on my phone when I should be working 😬 so there may be errors

Oh Kyeong-Tae had always known he’d wanted to be a police officer. Ever since he was a young boy he’d dreamt of serving his community, protecting the people he cared about.

The day he graduated from the academy was the proudest day of his life, but he quickly learned that not all officers of the law were as passionate as he was. Many of his colleagues were liars and cheats, doing the bare minimum for an easy life and yet somehow managing to soar through the ranks with ease. He was laughed at by his seniors for showing enthusiasm, throwing himself into even the smallest of cases.

If a woman had her handbag stolen, Kyeong-Tae would work round the clock to make sure her belongings were returned. If a petty fight broke out, he’d be there to stop it. He didn’t understand why his colleagues didn’t put the same amount of effort in, didn’t understand why they reserved all their energy for the big cases that involved rich or influential victims. Surely, as a police officer your job was to protect each and every citizen, not just the ones with the big bank accounts.

He’d spent five years in uniform, never understanding why he wasn’t advancing as quickly as the other rookies. Was he not working hard enough? He solved every case put on his desk, and he was out patrolling the streets from dawn until dusk, and yet opportunities just kept passing him by. He wondered if maybe he was just invisible, if he somehow didn’t stand out from the crowd. He’d always been that way, had always blended into the background a little too much. In school he was picked last for sports teams, left out of class projects and never quite seemed to fit in with any of the groups at school.

As an adult he never had much luck with women, his dates never extending beyond the third one as something better always came up for the women he dated. But his parents had always told him that if he kept his head down, and worked hard, it would all pay off in the end.

While Kyeong-Tae was sure he was as invisible at work as he was everywhere else, he hadn’t realised that you had noticed him. You were sick of the layabouts who cruised through life getting everything handed to them on a plate, simply because they knew how to schmooze the right people. You were tired of working with people who didn’t give a shit about the victims of crime, who came to work simply to rise through the ranks. You’d worked your ass off to get where you were, had given your blood, sweat and tears to the force in exchange for a detective’s badge.

Your job in Major Crimes was your entire life, almost every waking hour spent at your desk or on the street. You’d spent the last six months as part of a team cracking down on gang activity in the area, but you could see some of your colleagues weren’t as enthusiastic as others. They dragged their feet, showed up late to meetings and only seemed to put the effort in when the higher ups came to visit.

You were desperate to have someone on your team as dedicated as you, someone who put an equal amount of effort into every case. You’d heard about Kyeong-Tae from numerous members of the public, their constant praise of the young officer a refreshing change of tone. You couldn’t figure out why your colleagues weren’t singing the same praises, and decided you’d find out for yourself whether the officer was worthy of a place on your team.

From the moment Kyeong-Tae joined Major Crimes, he hit the ground running. The two of you were the first ones in the office and the last ones to leave. You worked well together, and for the first time, Kyeong-Tae felt like he belonged somewhere.

He’d be forever grateful to you, the detective who took a chance on him. You were beautiful, and confident, and quite possibly the greatest officer he’d come across. He found himself thinking of you more and more outside of work, his dreams filled with fantasies of the two of your entwined between his sheets. He found himself getting lost in you during briefings, hanging on to your every word like it was gospel. He couldn’t get enough of you, and finally he had to admit to himself that it was more than just workplace admiration. He was hooked on you, so head over heels some days he thought he might explode. You were the first person to see him, to really see who he was, and Kyeong-Tae spent his lonely evenings thinking about how it would feel to kiss your lips, to hear his name roll off your tongue as he buried his head between your thighs.

But relationships between colleagues were forbidden, and as your subordinate, Keyong-Tae didn’t stand a chance. So he kept his fantasies to himself, his growing feelings for you only surfacing when he was alone in his apartment at night.

He continued to work hard, to show you he was worthy of a place on your team. But with each day, he fell harder for you and the stark reality began to set in.

Kyeong-Tae finally had his dream job, but it came at a price. He had almost everything he wanted, but he couldn’t have you.

[saintsenara]

I hope that you're having a lovely weekend. What do you think about Theo/Harry? We know that Theo could see thestrals that he means that he saw someone die and he is raised by his Dad (no idea what happened to his Mum). Also he is one of the few named Slytherin that appears to not be openly antagonist to HP. Also his Dad gets captured during the Order of Phoenix if I remember correctly so it makes you wonder who looked after him during this time. Also if you take Harry Potter and Cursed as canon then he is at least bright enough to make two time turners that went way beyond previous Ministry's products which is a difficult and impressive piece of magic and in JK interview she wanted to include a scene with him and show he is equal to Malfoy. Raised by an elderly widower and Death Eater and is described as a clever loner who does not feel the need to join gangs including Draco. I feel like there is something to work on.

thank you very much for the ask, anon!

the mention of theodore nott lets me dig up one of the single funniest things harry ever does, from order of the phoenix:

If anything more was needed to complete Harry’s happiness, it was Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle’s reactions. He saw them with their heads together later that afternoon in the library, together with a weedy-looking boy Hermione whispered was called Theodore Nott. They looked around at Harry as he browsed the shelves for the book he needed on Partial Vanishment, and Goyle cracked his knuckles threateningly and Malfoy whispered something undoubtedly malevolent to Crabbe. Harry knew perfectly well why they were acting like this: He had named all of their fathers as Death Eaters.

by this point in the timeline of the series, harry has spent almost five years in at least three potions classes a week, and almost three years spending at least one care of magical creatures classes with him. he might also be expected to have remembered that nott can see thestrals... and yet no recognition whatsoever. hermione has to provide the deets. he literally cannot pick the man out of a line-up.

[although, to be fair, harry does remember his name in half-blood prince... because he sits next to draco malfoy - at whom he's staring - in potions. really beating the allegations there, king...]

i am, therefore, invested in the idea of nott strutting around the slytherin common room talking about how serious his relationship is, while harry doesn't realise he has a boyfriend and/or thinks that the "harry potter's slytherin boyfriend" everyone's talking about is malfoy.

[emberfrostlovesloki]

Your Side of Town [Aaron x Reader]

Photo credits: Left (@taybrinafavs) Center (@dilfgifs) Right (The Killers - From "Your Side of Town" music video)

Prompt: When the reader starts going to UC Riverside to get her PhD, she meets the dangerous and enigmatic Aaron Hotchner in her Tax Fraud class. She is forced to ask why she likes him, and if he is as dangerous as her friend, Emily Prentiss, says. 

Pairing: College!Aaron x Non-BAU!Reader, fem!Reader. The reader uses she/her pronouns 

Category: Angst 

Word Count: 14.5K 

Content Warnings: Language, mention of drinking alcohol, beating [Aaron], mention of gangs and criminal organizations, a brief description of murder and blood. Please let me know if I missed any. 

A/N: Hi all! I hope you are all doing very well! This is a long note, but hopefully, it will explain this fic better before you read it. It started this story a few months ago when The Killers released the song “Your Side of Town.” It gave me such strong Aaron vibes that I had to write a fic based on it. I decided to write a college AU where the reader is in school with Aaron who is working on his law degree. I’ve made some changes to the setting and period, but I’ve tried to keep the characters as true to the show as possible, even with the changes. Much of this chapter is setting up the future storyline and depending on if people like this chapter or not, I might work on a part two. This is something very different for me, so I hope it’s okay. Please be kind to yourselves this week and do something you love, you are so special. If you enjoy this fic, likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated! Love Levi - ❤️

List with all stories 

y/n 

y/f/c/d = Your favorite coffee (or coffee adjacent drink). 

d/b = department building 

y/l/n = your last name. 

y/f/s = your favorite subject 

The California sun beat down on y/n, as she walked toward campus She walked quickly, even if she didn’t need to. Her pace demonstrated her stress. She had barely slept even though she had intentionally gone to bed early. y/n couldn’t tell if it was worse to be in bed unable to sleep or be awake and dreaming, longing, praying for sleep. She couldn’t decide and she was too nervous to think about it at the moment. The walk from the commuter parking lot to the UC Riverside campus was pretty, but it was a hot day. As y/n dipped into her normal coffee shop, it was a bit more crowded than usual, but certainly not as bad as it would be at 10 a.m. 

Perhaps getting up and out of her apartment at 6 a.m. had paid off. As she reached the counter, y/n ordered a coffee straight and an iced y/f/c/d. She lingered by the pickup counter, looking at the mostly older patrons sitting and reading the local paper or chatting with friends who were up as early as themselves. 

These people didn’t seem like students. One or two of the twelve patrons of the shop could be seniors, but it was hard for her to tell. y/n knew she was rubbish at guessing ages. Always had been. y/n’s name was called shortly after and she made it back outside. From the coffee shop, it was only a short walk to the crosswalk that would take her onto campus proper. Because her hands were full, she leaned her hip against the crosswalk button. The electronic voice droned out, “Wait to cross, West Campus Drive.” y/n let out a sigh. She knew her anxiety was unfounded. She had graduated from undergrad, and then grad school, there was no reason she should not be able to obtain her PhD in four or five years or so. 

Even if this was the case, imposter syndrome was still a constant stalker. The crosswalk voice told her she was good to walk. y/n had zoned out, and sure thing. The walk sign was on. y/n got a move on. The road wasn't long, but cars were known to speed down the blind curve, and over the summer, when y/n had moved into her apartment, got to meetings with her advisor, gotten used to campus, and gotten to know her two roommates, she had seen many an accident on West Campus Drive. She didn’t fancy getting into an accident. Not when their life was finally coming to something. 

y/n had agreed that this was going to be the year that she stopped running from her past. She contemplated this as she made it safely onto campus and the short walk to her d/b. As she approached the door, a colleague whom she was getting to know, Ted Anderson, walked up the steps. He saw that she didn’t have a free hand and moved more quickly. He pulled the door open and flashed her a smile before saying, “Moring, y/l/n. You ready for this?” y/n gave him a small smile back and said, “As ready as I’ll ever be. I’ve got my syllabi printed, my two coffees, and Fraud in the U.S. tonight at six, so if it’s not a good day, at least it will be a busy one.” Anderson nodded as he moved behind her into the building saying, “I’m sure you’ll do great.” y/n gave him a soft smile as they diverted paths. Her office was on the third floor and his on the first. y/n wasn’t sure why she had been graced with an office with a window, but she would enjoy the sunlight streaming through the window as she worked. She had nothing to complain about there. 

The first half of the day went well. The two sophomore-level courses on _y/f/s had gone by quickly. The first day both lecture halls had been packed with around two hundred students each. The imposter syndrome seemed to melt away as a learned mask of confidence and the need to be in control took its place, even if the persona wasn’t fully formed yet for herself or the class. It was refreshing. It gave her the boost that she needed until lunchtime rolled around. y/n moved to the department office and got some copies of a reading from the student worker, got a fresh cup of much worse coffee from the shared office pot. 

The last two classes of the day were more varied than the first. One was a junior-level cross-cultural course on y/f/s and the last, at 3:30 p.m., was a freshman introductory course on y/n’s field of study. Although it already felt far too early to be behind on work on the first freaking day of the semester, that didn’t mean that there weren’t things to do. Chief of which was annotating the U.S. Fraud and Compliance course that y/n was auditing this semester. y/n’s field of study and research was primarily in equity and inequality in the United States over the last two decades. As it turned out, things like tax fraud and White-Collar crime turned out many of the policies that caused inequality and not murder or violence as the government and law enforcement liked to tout every year with new stats that “Crime was going up.” 

Sure Organized crime was a part of it, but a lot of the original crime syndicates had come out of the early 1920s because of prohibition and bootlegging. And new crime rings had popped up from the disastrous War on Drugs. The policy had only seemed to push cocaine into marginalized communities which allowed the law to continue over-policing and criminalizing those communities. Thus, the desire to audit the Fraud course. 

The elderly professor, Dr. Porter, had been kind enough to respond to y/n’s email asking if he would allow it. He had requested a meeting with her in his office in central campus. She had gone, and they made their introductions. Dr. Porter had asked, “So why do you want to take the course? It’s a pretty small class, with only twenty-two students. There’d be room for you, I just want to make sure we’re all on the same page. I’d require that you do all the work and participate in the class. It wouldn’t be fair to the other students.” y/n explained her research to the man and he listened and took some notes. When she had finished her explanation, Mr. Porter nodded and said, “That sounds very interesting. I’d be happy for you to take the course as long as you don’t think this coursework along with your teaching and research will be too much for you?” 

y/n had thought about this, labored about it even. However, she knew that it would be a lot. However, taking a course on the subject taught by an expert in the field, felt like a safer bet than trying to learn it all herself. That was just too much history and policy for her to attempt to grasp solo. With a determined look, y/n nodded and said, “Yes. It’d be an honor to Take this with you and your students. Thank you so much for making this accommodation for me. Porter smiled and said, “Well, thank you for your enthusiasm. Fraud and Tax Law isn’t something people usually get excited about. It’s bound to be an interesting semester.” The man’s words were a foretelling of the start of something much bigger than a student taking on an extra class.

         y/n turned her attention to the syllabus for the course. It was thick, with pages on pages about the class, an introduction for the materials to be covered, the four pre-class reading assignments, two pages of prerequisites, and then the grading system, required texts and materials, and lastly, The course calendar. y/n had skimmed it ounce and done all of the pre-readings which were stashed in a file folder in her suede shoulder bag. Now, she was going to sit down and thoroughly annotate the lengthy syllabus. When y/n had finished with that, she moved outside to get a quick bite to eat and another coffee before she would need to head to her office, grab her things, and head across campus to the Law Building. 

The quad was now much busier with students scurrying about to and fro. y/n moved into the crowd and moved her way upstream to the crosswalk she had been at a few hours prior. y/n had intended to pack a lunch, but in the bustle of the morning, it had slipped her mind. She wasn’t going to be too hard on herself about it. She would make sure to bring one tomorrow and all the days after. One meal out wasn’t going to ruin her budget. y/n did have to keep a pretty strict budget. Even if UC Riverside was a preeminent school in California, and even though her department had offered her a position in the program and waived her tuition costs, with rent, gas, and food prices all at a premium, the small pay she got from her lecturing always seemed to be running low by the end of the month. Thus, the need for a budget. If she worked hard enough and was dedicated to her financial plan, she would be able to start some savings. She needed that. She wasn’t going to be caught unawares like she had in the past. She wanted to settle. To stop running. And that took a different kind of work than constant escapism. 

After a light meal, y/n moved back to the coffee shop from before and got a coffee and a shot of espresso. y/n doctored her coffee the way she liked and then walked back to campus. If nothing else, her constant desire for coffee got her some daily exercise. Everyone she had spoken to had promised her that Cali would be a consistent cool temperature. However, as the five o’clock sun beat down on her, if did not feel cool. The month she had moved in with her roommates, the papers and TV kept saying that they were in a “record heat wave,” and that the heat was expected to keep rising until the first two weeks of September. y/n longed for it to be just a bit cooler. A 70-degree day would heal her and put her at ease. The heat did the opposite. 

Back in her office, y/n took off her blazer and fanned herself with some loose papers. She sat, and drained the espresso knowing this much caffeine was a bad idea so late in the day, but that was a later problem. For now, she sat down, took a few deep breaths, and gathered her things for her cross-campus commute. When everything was packed and ready to go, she checked her outfit, choosing to leave the blazer behind. She didn’t need to impress the people in this class as much as she did for her students. Entering the large lux building, y/n moved up the stairs to the fourth floor and found her class. There were still twenty minutes before the lecture would begin, but that would give her time to find a seat that was in the back so the real students could be close to Dr. Porter.

         There were four students already in the class scattered in the small space. There were tables, with two chairs at each table. They were set in two neat rows that led to the front of the room with the wooden lectern and the bulky equipment for the projector. y/n took a seat at the table on the far-left side of the room. There were three extra seats in the room to accommodate the twenty-two students and herself. Thus, she felt alright if she sat in the seat near the row and not next to the wall. It would give her a better view of the screen. y/n had an idea that she was going to be having a lot of eye strain this semester. A few more students moved into the room, and y/n got out her colored markers and notebooks, and the pre-readings along with the syllabus. 

Just as y/n was taking the first sip of her coffee, five students walked in followed by Dr. Porter who called her to the front of the class. y/n flushed slightly but waited for the man sitting across from her to get seated. He had a backpack slung over one shoulder, black Levi’s, a white shirt, and a leather jacket. He was far less professional-looking than many of the other students in the room. 

Some of the younger men even wore suits, though y/n was unsure if such gestures mattered to the law professors or not. The man was, if not professional, at least very attractive. He had smooth light skin and a sharp jaw. His dark hair contrasting his skin was short and had a little curve in the front, framing his face well. The man gave her a wicked smile, his dark brown eyes captivating as she moved past him now that he was finally seated. For a moment, y/n thought that those were the kinds of eyes she could get lost in. The thought only lasted that, though, a moment. She pulled herself together and thought, “Come on now, some pretty boy isn’t going to turn your head like a teenager, this isn’t a romance.’ Those types of feelings were uncharacteristic for y/n, and she let the idea pass quickly the man turned to who appeared to be his friend and said, “Yeah, I’d skip Constitutional with Leery. Try and see if you can get a section with Menendez. He made it fun, as strange as those sounds coming from me.”

         y/n moved down the aisle and got some looks from the other students. When she got to the older man, she smiled at him and asked, “What can I do for you, Dr. Porter?” Porter pointed to the Rolodex and said, “Do you know how to work these things? This one is frozen on a blank slide. I’ve not grown with the technology as you can see.” y/n nodded and said, “Let me see if I can get it working for you, Sir.” y/n moved behind the equipment and knelt. She made sure her skirt was at an acceptable level. Even if no one was behind her to see anything and she was wearing black tights, it was a natural teacher habit to make sure everything was covered appropriately. 

The slide deck appeared to be jammed. y/n fiddled with it with her finger for a moment and it slipped back into place with a satisfying click. y/n looked up to Dr. Porter and asked, “Do you have the deck you want to use for today?” The man nodded and looked around his desk for a second before he found the miniaturized slides and handed them to her. y/n slotted them into the space and pushed them down. She looked up at the screen and it now read the first slide: “Tax Fraud in the United States. LW5000. Fall 1991. Dr. E. L. Porter.” y/n stood up and the Doctor said, “You’re a lifesaver. I always need someone younger than me to help me with this new-fangled technology. How was your first day? Did everything go smoothly?” y/n nodded and said, “I’m happy to help anytime, and the first day was good. Busy but good.” Porter smiled and y/n moved back to her seat. Not all of the class hadn’t been paying attention to what was happening at the front, but some had been watching the two speak so causally with looks of veiled interest. 

y/n moved back to her seat, the man in the leather jacket shot her a quizzical look, one eyebrow raised higher than the other. y/n turned her face away from his gaze, trying to hide the rising blush in her face. She wished someone less attractive had decided to sit next to her. Honestly one of those pretentious suits would do fine, but she was happy with her spot and she wasn’t planning on moving. She was sure the attractive man would do something to irk her and stop whatever little infatuation she felt for him. 

The class started in earnest and because it was such a small class, the professor had everyone give a small two or three-sentence introduction with each student’s name, what year they were in, and what they hoped to do once they graduated. Dr. Porter started at the front and moved back. The answers ran the gambit from a desire to work in the FBI fraud department, to a criminal lawyer, to a CPA. y/n noted names of students who seemed particularly driven but not overconfident. She knew she was going to need help with the course given it wasn’t her area of study. When it got to the man sitting across from her, she looked at him. He raised a lazy hand and said, “Hey, I’m Aaron Hotchner. I’m in L2 and I want to be a public defender when I graduate.” At hearing his name, some gave a little gasp, and others shot him a dirty glare. This reaction didn’t seem to bother him. However, it left y/n at a bit of a loss. She had no clue why this man’s classmates had reacted this way. There was a dynamic playing out here that she was not aware of. 

The university taught around 26,000 students each semester and there was no way she could keep up with half the drama. It took half a second to realize that she was the last person who needed to speak, and she snapped back to attention. y/n gave a small smile and said, “Hi. I’m y/n y/l/n. I’m just auditing this class. I’m a PhD candidate in the y/d department. This class aligns with my research and Dr. Porter graciously is allowing me to sit in.” Porter inclined his head toward her and said, “We’re happy to have you Ms. y/l/n. Now with the introductions over, let’s cover the basics of the Criminal Tax System. It will be helpful if you pull out your readings as I will be calling on some students to answer questions.” 

Everyone shuffled to get the readings out of their bag. y/n looked as Aaron pulled the readings out of his shoulder bag and flipped to the first page of the reading. If he seemed very casual in his dress, the copious notes he had taken on the reading showed that he was at least taking this class seriously. y/n wondered if she should add his name to the list of people to try and befriend for help, but the class's response to his being here had her hesitate. She didn’t want to get involved in some bigger drama that she wasn’t aware of. She looked up from his papers only to catch his dark brown eyes. Both of them looked to the front of the class as Dr. Porter called on the first student for an answer. Neither y/n nor the enigmatic man across from her got called during the first three hours of class. The last slide on the Rolodex was the lengthy homework included a chapter from the required textbook and five separate cases for review. Dr. Porter dismissed everyone. Some students moved to the front to introduce themselves to the professor while others moved out into the hallway. It was dark as y/n moved outside. As she pulled her shoulder bag up and over her neck, someone called her name. y/n turned and found Parker, a student who seemed like a nice and cool student trying to catch up to her. y/n slowed and said, “Hey, what’s up Parker?” The girl beamed at being remembered and said, “I just wanted to hear more about your research. It sounds very cool.” y/n flushed and said, “Really? Thanks that’s nice.” The two walked in the same direction talking a bit about each other, the class, and y/n’s research. The whole walk made y/n feel like her work wasn’t for nothing, or extremely boring. The two women exchanged numbers as they headed toward different parts of campus. 

As she moved, yet again someone called her name. The voice was familiar and she whipped her head to the side to see Aaron now rambling beside her. It had become clear that he had been walking behind her and Parker, and y/n hadn’t noticed him. She chastised herself for not being more aware of her surroundings. y/n let out a breath and said, “Oh, it’s you. Is there something you want, Aaron?” Mr. Hotchner gave a sly smile indicating that he knew she knew there was more to him than he was letting on. Aaron replied to her question with, “Are you really smart or something, or really stupid?” y/n had not expected to be insulted in her first real interaction with this odd, odd, man and said, “Sorry, what?” Aaron laughed slightly and said, “Well auditing Tax Fraud with Porter? He’s like the most demanding prof in the department. He’s brutal from what I’ve heard.” 

y/n flushed, and was grateful that it was too dark for the man to see. She had heard of Dr. Porter's reputation as a strict and demanding professor. She wasn’t going to let on that she was unaware of the man’s full reputation. Instead, she said, “Well, on this subject, maybe I’m somewhere in the middle.” She hesitated and added, “And, he was the only person willing to let me audit the course. I might be a fucking idiot for agreeing to this, but I’m going to do my damn best. It’s the least I can do for Dr. Porter to let me in. The worst that can happen is that I’m the class clown and dunce. I’ll still have learned something if that’s the case.” 

It seemed that Aaron had not expected that response. He stopped in his tracks for a moment and looked at her with incredulity. He gave a very soft, “Huh,” and then kept walking next to her. y/n wondered, ‘Why was this handsome man walking with her? What he could want from her apart from a reaction was beyond her.’ Aaron looked like he was about to say something else, but another, new voice pierced the quiet atmosphere of the near-silent campus. Aaron and y/n looked over as a built man approached saying, “Hey, Hotch. How was the first day?” 

Aaron rolled his eyes and said, “Fine. Normal. How was your first day, Morgan?” The new man stepped into the light. y/n observed the new figure. He wore dark blue jeans and a loose green t-shirt had hid what y/n assumed was a built frame given the man’s strong forearms. The color of his shirt matched the deep tone of his skin well. The man looked her over for one second before saying, “Yeah it was fine. I mean I slept through my first alarm. So I skipped the rest of my classes for the day. Sunk cost ya’ know.” At hearing this, Aaron facepalmed and said, “Morgan, are you trying to buy yourself another fucking semester here?” 

It was clear to y/n that ‘Hotch’ and Morgan were friends given how casually they were addressing each other and Aaron’s use of profanity. y/n felt like she was intruding on a private conversation and was glad when she reached her turn-off. She moved to the left and Aaron called out, saying, “Good luck with all your stuff.” She looked over to the two men and said, “Yeah, thanks. See you next week.” As she moved farther away, she could overhear Morgan say, “Who was that chick man?” And Aaron’s response of, “Just a girl in my class. Now come on. Let’s go home. I’m fucking tired.” There was something so odd about Aaron, his demeanor, and his ‘friend’ to y/n. She shook off the encounter for the moment as she finally got to her car. 

When y/n got back to her shared apartment at around ten p.m., the lights were still burning downstairs. She thought, ‘Must be Emily.’ Emily was the only one that made sense. But the young attractive brunette didn’t normally stay up that late. Emily’s morning shifts required her to be up at around four a.m., so it was odd that she would be up so late. It certainly wasn’t Garcia. y/n’s most eccentric roommate, Penelope Garcia, seemed to be up all hours of the day and night. y/n had wondered if Garcia took uppers to stay up all night at the club or with her coding pals, or sometimes both at the same time. The one time Penelope had dragged her out to a rave, y/n found it miraculous that the spunky blonde with her gang of friends had elbowed their way to the back, found an empty table, and pulled out a clunky PC. The group, and Garcia in particular had a penchant for finding creepy guys online and making sure they got reported to whatever authorities seemed necessary. Pen was fantastic with finding people online, and y/n was glad she wasn’t on that woman’s bad side. Shockingly, Garcia hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol, but all four of her friends took pity on y/n, clearly not in her environment with the strobe lights and deafening music in the background. Each of the friends got her a drink and a nice man asked her to dance. It had been an exciting night, but not one she planned on replicating soon. 

When y/n entered the first story she was met with Emily smiling and holding out a glass of red wine for her. y/n smiled and said, “Em this is so sweet. What’s the occasion?” y/n noticed the uncorked bottle on the counter. Prentiss grabbed her glass and said, “To celebrate your first day of course. I know you’ve been stressed about it. So, first cheers. And then tell me how it went.” y/n clinked glasses with Em and began regaling her with the events of the day. She tried to keep it short, knowing that her roommate would want to get to bed soon. Prentiss listened with rapt attention. Emily never seemed like the type of person y/n could be close friends with. y/n would like to think she was easy to get along with. She kept the shared space clean, offered food when she made it, and tried to stay pretty quiet and unobtrusive, but the more time she spent in Emily’s company, the more she liked her. Emily was so dedicated given all the crap her job threw at her, especially all the sexism and misogyny she faced. But even on top of those hurdles, she generally was just a funny and caring person. Emily was fiercely dedicated to the people she liked and it seemed that y/n was one of them. y/n wasn’t sure if she had taken pity on her when she first moved in or not, but if it was the latter, y/n wasn’t even mad about it. She had felt truly lost when she first moved to the city, and Emily, given her beat as a policewoman for the LAPD, had told her where to avoid late at night and showed her around their apartment area thoroughly. That had been a kindness.  

As y/n finished wrapping up her narrative of the evening events, she included the strange interaction with the man who sat across from her saying, “And there was this really cute guy in my class. Strange but cute. He kind of insinuated that I was stupid for auditing the class which was insulting, but damn was he cute. Everyone else in the class seemed shocked when they heard his name.” Emily raised an eyebrow and said, “Well, who is this dude? Do you remember his name?” y/n rolled her eyes and said, “Well yeah. How could I forget given the reception he got? His name’s Aaron Hotchner. Do you know him or something?” At hearing the name, Em stilled and seemed to pale. This was not the response y/n had been expecting and she said quickly, “Should I know who that is?” y/n was at a loss for this response for a seemingly hot guy in a leather jacket. Emily took a deep breath before saying, “I’d stay away from him. The Hotchner name has a, well a reputation.” y/n furrowed her brows and said, “Okay. Now you have me worried. Who is this guy?” Em let out another breath and stroked her hands through her hair saying, “Well. I can tell you this. His dad, Mr. Hotchner Sr. is the head of one of the largest gangs in this part of the city. The man and his gang are in deep with the drug trade. As for his son, well, from what I hear he’s not involved. At least not yet, but people are keeping an eye on him.” 

y/n couldn’t stop herself from letting her mouth drop open. That was a real surprise. Suddenly the response of the class made more sense. To have someone of that status, studying law was an oddity. How Aaron Hotchner had chosen this path of study was bizarre. It wasn’t her place to think about it, but even if that was the case, the idea stuck with her. Prentiss could see this look stuck on y/n’s face and warned, “Listen, y/n. Just for your sake, stay away from him. I can’t tell you what Aaron Hotchner is doing with his life, but his dad’s not a good guy. I wouldn’t want you to get tied up in some unsafe stuff.” y/n flushed and said, “Don’t worry Em. I’m not planning on it. He might be cute, but given your new information, he’s not that cute. Now, pour me another glass. And I’ll be happy to pay you back for half the bottle, given how good this stuff tastes, I’m assuming it’s not cheap.” Prentiss held out the bottle and refilled y/n’s glass saying, “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. This one’s my treat.” y/n smiled at Emily. She really was the best. Once they had finished off the bottle, both women moved quickly to their rooms and headed to their separate bedrooms. Both women fell into bed bed too exhausted to think about much more than sleep. 

The semester seemed to move like those in grad school had two years before. Without concrete classes to ground her, y/n’s classes and her weekly meetings with her advisor were the only things that kept time a constant. y/n had prepped for the larger sophomore seminar class, but the smaller classes she just arranged weekly. The law class also added a level of stability, if not a whole load of extra work on top of her own research and writing time. It was a burden but also allowed her time outside of her office to make some new friends. y/n found friends with Parker and Steven. They would prep for their case assignments. After the first three weeks of the class, when all three of them had been called on, now, they had a better understanding of how the class would be. 

It was a learning curve to be in a law class. It wasn’t like any of her other classes. There had been plenty of courses centered on discussion mostly, but this type of interrogation that the class required was difficult for her. y/n and her new friends who were more adept at law than her prepped for this type of questioning. Demanding, interrogatory, personal even. The group had all worked on coming up with practice questions, some more accurate than others. After the fourth class, the friend group had each been called. It had been y/n’s first time. She had been called about the United States v. Caldwell case in 2016. Her copious notes had helped her provide a semi-succinct response. The friend group walked across campus after class each going to their respective cars. As they walked, they talked about the class, and y/n’s response, and what she might have said differently. As they moved down the quad, they rambled slowly across the campus not wanting to leave each other’s company yet. 

A new voice was added to the mix as someone left one of the many buildings on the quad. y/n looked up and smiled. It was Spencer. y/n beamed, she hadn’t seen Dr. Reid in some time. She had met him at one of those awkward faculty socials. Everyone else at the social had at least one friend there except for her and Spencer. So naturally they had made their way to each other and introduced themselves. The young and brilliant Dr. Reid was teaching an abnormal psychology class and getting a third PhD in chemistry while also teaching. 

Suddenly y/n had felt very stupid and that her schedule didn’t seem that busy at all. Dr. Reid, having done this for a long time could see the look on her face and he rushed to reassure y/n that she was taking on a lot too and that he was just a freak who literally couldn’t get his mind to slow down no matter how hard he tried. That had made her feel better, at least a little. Then Spencer had asked her about her research and his genuine interest in her field had validated her even more. Her imposter syndrome slipping away. As it turned out, Dr. Reid was a fount of knowledge about her area of interest as well, and the young slender man offered to give her information or loan her any of his slew of books if she wanted. y/n had readily agreed and the pair swapped email addresses. y/n thought that if she was less busy she might have thought Spencer was the type of man she might be attracted to. But she was too busy for an attempt at a romance and she had just moved in. Getting her feet under her was her current goal, not finding a fling. Perhaps, if she survived the semester she would think about it later, However, she would be surprised if the young man wasn’t taken already. From what she could see, he was a catch. After the mixer b, both of them had spent their social batteries and Spencer was nice enough to drive her to her car in the commuter lot. As they parted ways they vowed to meet up for a coffee and chat soon. 

They had met up once before the semester started for coffee at another place the genius liked. They had both bemoaned making syllabi and the heat and anything else they wanted to get off their chests. The conversation had been cathartic. Unfortunately, the semester had picked up at a furious pace and they hadn’t met up since then. Spencer had been kind enough to send her an email or two checking in, which she had responded to. y/n was very pleased to see him again in person. She called him over, and Dr. Reid’s long legs got him to her in a few strides. Reid was in a sweater vest and black slacks with his distinctive brown shoulder bag. The two friends checked in. After a brief conversation, y/n introduced Spencer to her friends. 

Everyone said their hello’s and the four of them now moved across the large campus. The lights on the quad seemed to be placed haphazardly, not fully or well illuminating the space. Emily had told y/n to carry pepper spray when she walked at night. y/n assumed that Preniss had multiple stories of nights gone wrong for young women on campus given her job as a policewoman, and y/n believed her. Thus, y/n always carried some pepper spray with her in the side pocket of her bag, just in reach. The group rounded a corner to see the first strong light of the night. The beam of light from a solitary lamp shone down on a large imposing figure silhouetted against the glow of the light. Suddenly the warm camaraderie of the night that had been forming between the new and old friends felt like it was cut with a knife. Something felt very wrong about the person standing in the shadow and the group of young adults stopped in their tracks. Even though all their cars were in this direction, nobody felt like moving forward. Noting the palpable tension in front of them. 

They all stood there for a minute looking to see if the figure would move, but he didn’t. The figure stood stock still, apparently unaware of the group's intimidation of him. Or, perhaps that was the goal as another, familiar voice came from behind them. The four students turned and y/n was surprised to find Aaron approaching them with a stiff gait. y/n was used to seeing him smooth and loose and what appeared as ease, but this was not that. Suddenly y/n wondered if that apathetic demeanor was all an act that Hotch put on. Aaron stepped forward and everyone in the law class they shared with him cocked a weary eyebrow. Hotch sighed and said, “I’m not joking, beat it. Find an alternative route or take thirty minutes to talk in the library or something. Just don’t be here right now.” Parker, Steven, and Spencer’s eyes all moved to the man in the shadows and then turned, but y/n kept her eyes glued on Aaron. 

After hearing Emily’s warning about him, she had withdrawn a bit in class. Hotch had spoken to her a few times, and she engaged him in light conversation about her research and job as a senior lecturer. It seemed that the conversation never steered in his direction. It was never about his life or his choice to join law school even though y/n had tried to get him to say something about himself. The man was infuriatingly hard to read. y/n wasn’t sure why she was trying to get him to speak about himself. It wasn’t like Aaron was interested in her. For the most part, when he talked to her, it seemed to fill empty silence during the breaks in the class. y/n didn’t want to be involved in any drama, certainly not anything that would get her in trouble. But the enigmatic figures of Aaron were enticing in his way. Perhaps it was just the intrigue of someone like him. She was personally familiar with more white-collar crime, but the grit and darkness of the mob, or the mafia, or whatever his father was involved in had caught her attention. y/n assumed it was like a bad case of curiosity killed the cat. y/n hadn’t turned yet as the rest moved back from the direction they had come from. She watched as Aaron turned toward the man. Aaron’s shoulders were tense beneath his jacket. She could feel that he was ill at ease. y/n caught sight of Aaron’s friend from before, Morgan, standing a few feet to the left of Aaron. She hadn’t seen him in the gloom of the night until now. It seemed that this meeting might have been planned ahead of time given the coordination. 

y/n felt someone take her hand and she looked up at Spencer. Dr. Reid didn’t say anything. He just pulled her away from the scene. The tension only seemed to grow as the group moved farther away. Spencer looked back once as he hustled y/n down the path. Whoever had joined the man who had told the group to leave gave Spencer a grateful nod before moving toward his friend. Reid chose not to look anymore, as he wrapped a protective arm around y/n’s waist and said, “I’ll drive you to your car. Mine’s in lot B anyway. Not far from the commuter lot.” y/n looked up at him again, and gave a small smile, saying, “Yeah, thanks that’d be nice.” y/n resisted the urge to say, ‘You’re a terrible liar, Spence. We both know that lot B and the commuter lot are on opposite ends of the campus’ but she kept that to herself. y/n was grateful to have a colleague like Spencer to give her rides at all. y/n quickly said goodbye to her other friends and joined Reid at the stairs that led down to the parking area with his car. y/n’s head was filled with thoughts about Aaron and what was happening back at the quad. If Aaron was going to be okay. If he had expected to be meeting that man tonight or if it was as much of a surprise to him as it had been to all of them. Given his tone, she assumed that it was a surprise to him too, but she may never be sure. 

Back in the quad, Aaron scowled. How many times had he told his father, and his father’s men over and over again to not find him in public? If he had to be dragged into some sordid affair that his dad had caused. Morgan stepped a few feet toward Aaron but Hotch raised a hand and said, “Don’t get involved Derek. I don’t expect this to be anything but some intimidation crap.” Morgan nodded and took a step back, but the built man still slipped a hand to the back pocket of his pants fingering the cool metal of his diamond back gun. Derek kept his eyes on Jeffries, one of Mr. Hotchner Sr.’s largest enforcers. Derek thought it was stupid to send Jeffries, if Mr. Hotchner wanted his son’s attention, that would not be the man he would send. 

Hotch stepped forward and said, “I don’t have anything to say to my father. He knows that so what the hell does he want with me.” Aaron was standing right next to the man. Even though Aaron was tall, he was nothing compared to Jeffries. Jeffries was a mountain of a man. Hotch was not intimidated. This man was here to threaten him physically. He was here to impose a different kind of demand on the son of the Boss. After an unsettling moment of silence, in a deep voice, one laced with the stress of a chain smoker, Jeffries said, “Mr. Hotchner Sr. wants to meet with you on Saturday at the Mercado Club. His treat.” Aaron scoffed and replied, “You think I’m going on his turf on a meeting night? God the man needs more of a grip than I thought. Jesus.” Hotch took a breath; he took a moment to look to the side, and he saw Morgan uncomfortably shuffling from one foot to the other. Aaron turned back to Jeffries and said, “You can tell my father that’s not happening. I’m out, and I don’t know how many more times I can keep telling him that.” The large man replied, “Tell him yourself on Saturday at the club. I’m not a messenger pigeon, and Aaron, this is the third time you’ve blown off your father. He’s not pleased and you know how he gets, so this isn’t a meeting I’d push off.” 

Hotch let out a big breath and gave a small nod. He wasn’t looking forward to a meeting with his old man, but whatever fuckery his dad could impose on his life wasn’t worth a half hour of animosity and argumentation about his life goals. Jeffries sensing a concession from Aaron, gave a tiny nod and moved out of the solitary spotlight and back into the darkness. As large and imposing a man as Jeffries was, he easily and quickly slipped back and away into the darkness of the campus. Aaron was so angry at having been contacted against his direct wishes. Not only had his father contacted him in public, putting his image in question, but he had done it in front of… Aaron considered what to call the people in his class. They weren’t his friends precisely, but colleagues and classmates felt a bit too dismissive. Aaron thought especially of the woman who was auditing the class. From their first meeting, he had assumed that she had no idea who he was. That rarely happened to him, though he assumed someone had filled her in after the fact. Even if that was the case, she had remained respectful and friendly toward him. Every time she or he entered the class, she would ask how he was doing with an interest that didn’t seem forced or faked. It was the first real interaction he felt like he had had in the department in years. 

Aaron thought it was rather pathetic, but looked forward to the beginning of each class just to have a few words with y/n. Hotch’s mind switched back to the present as Morgan approached him. Aaron looked over to his friend and saint, “Did you know this was going to happen?” His voice came out harsher than he intended, but Derek’s demeanor told him that his friend and pseudo-bodyguard had been more aware than he’d been. Hotch let out a scoff and said, “Unfucking believable. You should have told me and I could have walked fifteen thousand other ways back to my car.” Morgan put his hands up and said, “Listen, Hotch. I couldn’t have stopped it. And I know I stick with you more than your old man, but technically he’s still paying me to look out for you. And there are some things that even I’m not going to argue with.” Aaron could understand where Derek was coming from and he lifted a hand saying, “I get it. I’m just pissed. Now, let’s go home. I need to get wasted or something after tonight.” The pair moved together into the darkness with a sense of their friendship slightly strained. Aaron’s life was taking a turn he had desperately tried to avoid, but it seemed his family, and his past was haunting him like a ghost who just would not quit. 

y/n got home safely. She quietly moved into her room. She took a hot shower, letting the warm water steam up her small bathroom. Even though the rent was outrageous, there was the perk that each of the women had their own bathroom and shower. Her mind swelled with images of Aaron standing in front of the large man. She thought about what Emily had said about his father being the head of some sort of gang. y/n hadn’t had the time time to look into it at all. Her interactions with Aaron had all seemed pleasant and if she didn’t know about his shadowy past, she might have just thought he was some cocky young man trying to look cool with his rings and classic leather jacket. These thoughts persisted until she was in bed and eventually asleep. In the morning, y/n got dressed for a meeting with her advisor and office hours. y/n started a big pot of coffee. She knew that Em would be down in a minute because the shower upstairs had just turned off. True to form, Prentiss was down the stairs just as the coffee was finished. y/n poured her roomie a mugful, and Emily gave her a gentle smile. The brunette in her police uniform with cuffs, and gun and all. As the woman drank their liquid breakfast, y/n’s brain flashed to last night and she asked, “Hey Emily. What kind of gang is Aaron’s father the leader of? There was some threatening guy on campus last night. It seems he was there to talk to Aaron or something.” 

Hearing this, Em’s ears perked up. She had been trying for two years to impress her supervisor. She had gone above and beyond in terms of the effort and hours she put in on the street. She picked up shifts and did the jobs no one wanted. And all her efforts had been for naught. She was still in her entry-level position and had crappy entry-level pay. At this point, Emily was looking at anything to try and get a step ahead of all the other men in the department. She had started looking at stalled cases or those that were backlogged at the department. One of those cases was the Hotchner crime ring. The thought of a new lead had Emily on her toes. Prentiss was excited but also realized that y/n could have also been in a degree of danger. Emily thought about her words before she said, “Well, from my research and knowledge of the gang activity in the area, I can tell you this, Mr. Hotchner Sr. isn’t running some West Side Story turf gang. The man is in deep. His gang is a criminal organization. I’d say that it was closer to the mafia than a gang, but he doesn’t have quite that much influence yet. If the department would only spend a few more dollars looking into that group, they’d easily find more than they have now. Honestly, it’s infuriating.” 

This was all news to y/n. She wasn’t versed in any of the things that Emily was talking about. There was a moment of silence before Prentiss said, “So the guy you saw, the one that spoke to Aaron, did you hear any of that conversation? Did you see the man at all?” y/n shook her head no and replied, “Not really. Aaron told us to leave another way. I can tell you the guy was big, but I couldn’t see him very well. He was weathering a suit, but that’s about it.” Em nodded and took another thoughtful sip of her coffee. When she set the cup down, she said, not to anyone in particular, “I swear gangs and drugs are ruining this city and the cops aren’t doing a thing about it.” 

Just as Emily said this, Garcia entered the room. She was dressed in her normal eccentric style. She had star decals on her face and wore a bubble gum pink lip. From the blonde's energy, it was hard to tell if she was just coming back from an all-nighter or just heading out for brunch. y/n asked the clarifying question, “Pen, you just getting in or going out?” Garcia beamed and said, “I just had a lovely night out. Club, club, another club, and then my friend JJ’s house. You’d both like her I think. Now what did I hear about gangs and drugs? You’re not planning on locking me up, are you Emily?” Prentiss laughed at this and said, “Garcia, you’re forgetting that Lexaporo and Adderal are prescription medications. Unless you’re selling your pills on the side of the road, you’re scott-free in my book.” 

That had all of them laughing. Penelope, after getting a cup of coffee, did ask genuinely, “But really what gangs are you talking about?” Emily looked over to y/n and said, “Well Aaron, the ‘bad boy’ in y/n’s class had a run-in with one of his father’s associates on campus last night. Tense affair.” Garcia’s eyes went wide and she said, “From what I’ve heard about the Hotchner group from my friends and fellow hackers they aren’t to be trifled with. Let’s hope Aaron’s father doesn’t want anything serious with his son.” y/n frowned at hearing this. She had never assumed that Aaron’s circumstances were easy. Clearly, from the class's perception of him, they weren’t, but an actual threat of harm or violence to her classmate set her nerves on edge in a way she had not anticipated. However, the time on the clock on the wall caught y/n’s attention. She needed to leave to make her appointment with a student struggling with grades. y/n burned her mouth as she chugged her coffee and said, “Sorry, gotta run ladies. See you both tonight!” With that, she grabbed her backpack and purse and dashed out the door and toward her car. For the rest of the busy day, y/n forgot about Aaron Hotchner, but she would be reminded of him again soon enough. For now, there were the problems of today to solve. 

For Aaron the week went by both shockingly fast and maddeningly long. Time felt like it was playing a sick prank on him as he waited for Saturday night. Hotch went to his normal classes and studied as much as he could given the circumstances. He did shockingly well given the circumstances. Finally, Saturday arrived and Aaron and Morgan drove toward the Mercado Club on the far East side of town. The club was packed. Saturday nights were disco nights with drinks half off. This ensured that the large space was always packed for meeting nights in the more private backroom of the establishment. Morgan had a designated spot on the street and parallel parked between two of the gang member's cars. As Morgan stopped the car, he grabbed Aaron’s shoulder and said, “Listen, man, don’t make this hard on yourself. How many times has Richard done this to you? Know know what he’s gonna do to you if you say no again, so just… just think about it before you say no. If you make me wash blood out of these leather seats again, I’m making you pay for it this time.” 

Derek said this out of a genuine concern for his friend. Morgan had seen this song and dance before and the look in Aaron’s eyes told him that it would be the same old result. After all, money didn’t matter to Hotch. He had more money than he needed, even if he didn’t want to admit it. The fifty dollars it cost to clean or even redetail Morgan’s car didn’t matter to the older Hotchner sibling. Derek wished it did, for his friend's sake. But he had said his peace, and he couldn’t stop Aaron from walking out of the car with a determined stride. Derek followed quickly after Aaron. 

Aaron, clad in his normal leather jacket moved into the club. He had access to the service entry which led to quieter corridors and direct access to the gang's private meeting room. Aaron, however, refused to use his key and elbowed his way through the thick crowd of dancers and revelers. After about five minutes, he made it to the back corridors and toward the club room. Unceremoniously Aaron, and shortly after, Derek, moved into the crowded room. All eyes of the gang members moved to the two new additions to the room. Richard Hotchner, seated at the center of the room raised a hand and quieted the room. Mr. Hotchner Sr. said, “Good of you to join us, gentlemen. Take a seat and we’ll continue the meeting. There were only two extra chairs open in the room. One was in the back and the room. It was clear that Aaron was to take the seat next to his father. Hotch did as expected and sat next to his father. The young man could have laughed at the scene. It felt like something out of The Godfather, except he knew what was coming once the meeting was over. The meeting which covered Hotchern Sr.’s continued plan to spread drugs and gain ground throughout the East and West sides of town seemed to go on forever. Aaron listened as each sector spoke and gave updates with half interest. His father’s criminal activities and need for power and control were the juxtaposition of the life that Aaron hoped to build for himself. He had seen the real pain that his father had not only inflicted on his men, but on the community the gang encompassed as a whole. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to escape his father's control. 

After another hour and a half, the meeting adjourned as Richard raised a hand. Everyone, including Derek, stood and left the room; that was, except for Aaron. Once the whole gang was out, two large men entered the room. One was Jeffries, the other was another security man just as big and intimidating as Jeffries. Richard looked at his son and said, “You know what I’m going to say already.” Hotch sighed and replied, “And you know my response, Dad.” Richard sighed and said, “Every time we have one of these meetings I pray for a Prodigal Son, but I get a Cain instead. But either way, this is in your blood boy and you can’t fight it forever.” By ‘In your blood’ Aaron knew that his father meant, ‘You will take responsibility for my criminal organization. To take the reigns and make it bigger and better than ever before.’ \

At this comment, Aaron said, “Fuck my blood, and fuck you too.” Almost instantaneously after this remark, Hotch’s face was thrown to the side due to a harsh slap to the side of his face. Aaron leveled a glare at his father and managed to say, “Have me beaten black and blue again Dad. It’s not gonna change my mind. I’m never joining you.” Richard shook his head and replied, “You asked for it. And one day, one day it’s gonna work son. Just you wait.” With that, Richard stood and motioned for the two security guards to do as Mr. Hotchner Sr. wanted. Outside the room, Derek stood and listened to the sounds of violence and brutality that were happening inside the space he had just been sitting in. Morgan cringed as the rhythmic sound of fist against flesh continued. The occasional grunt from Aaron cut through the sound of violence. 

After around a half hour, the two large men dragged the barely conscious body of Aaron from the room. Morgan did nothing to stop them. He just followed after them as they dragged Hotch’s body down the quiet hallway. Aaron was unceremoniously dropped down the two concrete stairs to the back entrance of the club. Morgan flushed his body to the railing as Jeffries and the other man moved back inside. Once the security detail was inside, Derek rushed forward toward Aaron’s prone figure. Hotch muttered incoherently against the concrete as Morgan lifted his friend up and toward his car. Derek thought, ‘Yup, it’s gonna be another interior cleaning job tomorrow,’ as he hauled Aaron’s bloodied body toward his parked car. 

Morgan lifted Aaron into the passenger seat and buckled him in. Hotch made a whimpering sound as he was jostled for a moment. Derek, though he was paid by Richard, cared more for his employer's son than he would like to admit. They had built up a pretty strong friendship over the years they had known each other. It had been tense at first because Aaron didn’t want and resented having a bodyguard. This was when he was still in high school and Richard was in some hot water with both the FBI and another gang that was trying to recruit some of his men. Morgan was already a member of the gang and was a loyal member given how young he was. It was only natural that he guard Aaron from any unwanted attention and keep the Boss’s son out of trouble. 

Aaron was, at the time full of anger from recently losing his mother and was making reckless choices for himself and the gang. He had hated Morgan, but the man had pulled him out of some bad situations numerous times over the years. The more time they spent together, the more Hotch sympathized with Morgan. Not in the awkward pitying type of way that many had when Derek was asked to open up, like in counseling centers or at one disastrous youth program he had been sent to. No. Aaron understood why Morgan had turned to a gang for security, and community too. Even if it was a bad community. One rooted in violence and illegality. Derek had to chalk it up to the fact that Aaron’s father was the leader. Aaron had to have seen to full spectrum of reasons for people to join a gang. And a full spectrum of violence as well. The beating Aaron had received tonight was no different than any other except that Richard hadn’t joined in. This was another thing he and Hotch had in common. The first time Aaron had taken his shirt off in front of Morgan, it had been after a workout or something, Derek had been shocked to see a smearing of dark purple and yellow bruises mottling the man’s skin. Morgan had asked if a group and jumped him, but Aaron’s response of, “I only got jumped by someone I know. Don’t worry about it.” It wasn’t until weeks later that Morgan saw Richard strike his son, and suddenly it all made more sense. Then Morgan felt sympathy for Aaron as well. After they came to more of an understanding, Hotch had stood up for Morgan against his father a few times and that had sealed their friendship. Morgan rode as smoothly as he could back to their apartment, with just the radio playing some rap on a low level and Aaron’s labored breathing for company. 

The next Monday, y/n arrived at class just on time. She was surprised to see that Aaron wasn’t in his normal seat. She did shoot Parker and Steven a smile as she pulled out her notes as the lecturer began. During the break, y/n moved to the ladies room. Midterms were fast approaching and almost everyone in the class was huddled up making study plans. y/n had already made her study plan with her friends in the class. As she washed her hands she heard a pained sound coming from the men’s room which was just a wall away from the women’s restrooms. y/n quickly wiped her hands free of water and moved outside. There was no one in the hallway and she got close to the door of the men's room and called out, “Hey, um… are you okay in there?” There was a pause and then a little grunt as someone from inside said, “I'm fine.” The voice was familiar, but there was a lisp in it which was making it hard to pinpoint. There were still another twenty minutes to the break, and y/n was interested to see who was suffering in the bathroom and stood leaning against the wall. After around five minutes the door opened and she looked up. Aaron Hotchner was the last person she expected to see limp out of the bathroom. y/n’s eyes widened as she looked at his face which was bruised on the left side. His lips were also split on the top and the bottom. Without thinking much y/n said, “Jesus Christ. What happened to you?” Hotch’s eyes snapped to her. He hadn’t thought anyone was outside. He had been stranding himself in the bathroom for longer than he had thought. He wasn’t sure why he had even come to campus in the first place. It wasn’t like he could go to class like this. Or perhaps he was toying with the idea he would go to class. To make his life harder, or to give his classmates something to talk about, or because he just couldn’t care anymore he wasn’t sure, but y/n had caught him off guard. Her use of expletives for one and the genuine concern on her face as she looked him over with an intense stare. 

Aaron thought of fleeing for a moment. Of running, or limping down the hall as fast as he could, but he realized that he needed help. Help from someone not so invested in him as the son of a gangster and criminal. If that was anyone in the class, it was y/n. As the sound of the lecture room door opened, Aaron moved quickly. He grabbed y/n’s wrist and pulled her into a hallway and then left into another hallway. This one was less lit. Half of the fluorescent bulbs in the hallway seemed to be out and those that were functioning flickered rather ominously. The turn of events had happened so quickly that y/n didn’t say anything until they were stopped in the hallway when y/n said, “Aaron, what’s going on? What happened to you?” 

The original concern was still in her voice, but there was an added edge including a hint of fear for herself. She looked around the space as if expecting something or someone to pop out of a doorway or darkened corner. Aaron took a deep breath and said, “Listen. Sorry for being so abrupt. I don’t even know why I’m here really and I’m sure I’m going to get an earful from Dr. Porter when I come back next week, but I saw you and I thought… well I thought I’d ask a favor, even if I don’t deserve one.” Hotch’s left eyebrow was cocked and y/n listened for him for a minute as if he was speaking a foreign language. She snapped back to herself as her watch beeped the five minutes before class started again. y/n asked, “What’s the favor?” Aaron seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and said, “Can I get your notes from today’s class before next week?” You could fax them to me or I could get them from your tomorrow in your office or something? I’d understood if you said no. It’s just that I really can’t fall behind in this class.” 

There was a very short silence as y/n considered. She didn’t have a lot of time to think because she needed to get back to class, like, now. Two thoughts ran through her head. The first was from the more rational and logical part of her brain. The part that Emily would agree with. It said, ‘Ma’am, look at him right now. Something bad happened here and I don’t think he just tripped on the library stairs. It probably has to do with his family or gang involvement or something. Don’t. Be. Stupid.’ But the other part of her brain said, ‘Look at him. That’s gotta hurt and those cuts and bruises were a few days old which meant they had hurt more back then.’ Going against her logical brain she said, “Yeah. I’ll give you my notes. She rummaged around in her purse pulled out an old receipt and pen and jotted down her home number. She handed him the slip of paper and said, “Here’s my number. Call me later and we can coordinate a meeting time.” 

She had just seen the contents of her bag and she noticed that there was an ibuprofen in there along with an assortment of random stuff. She asked, “Have you had any painkillers recently?” Aaron’s eyes snapped back to her. He looked surprised that she was still talking to him. He looked back to the ground and said, “It’s been like three hours now or something.” y/n pulled out the bottle and undid the cap quickly. She really needed to get back to class and she rushed to tip two tablets into her hand. She closed the bottle and half-pressed the pills into Aaron’s hand. She said, “Call me later,” and then ran back to the lecture. The lecture was in full swing when she got back and y/n noticed that she was about five minutes late. She tried her best to slip into the room. At least she sat at the very back, but her tardy return had a few of the guys in suits and one or two girls in the class giving her the stink eye. 

Dr. Porter also glanced at her, but it was brief before he returned to talking. The rest of the class, y/n had conflicting emotions. The first of which was that she felt bad for being late. Dr. Porter had taken a risk on her, and she was probably letting him down. The other thought she had was if she had made a catastrophic mistake in waiting to see who had been in the men’s restroom. She knew that Em would say she was stupid for getting involved, and part of her agreed, but when she had seen the normally cocky and confidant Aaron Hotchner in such a state, she had let her emotions get the best of her. She pondered if that was her fatal flaw or not. y/n did her best to push away these thoughts and focus on the lecture. If all else failed, she could just ignore Aaron’s call. Little did y/n know that getting involved with Hotch would do much more than cause her stress in Tax Fraud. 

The class progressed as it normally would with just a hint of awkwardness. Dr. Porteer did call her, but her response was coherent and she defended her point about the verdict in the U.S. v Ofshe case and how the drugs that had been obtained and the oversimplification of the government violated the defendant's Fifth Amendment rights. After she had spoken a ghost of a smile graced Dr. Porter’s face. He was happy with her response. If y/n was anything, it was thorough. 

When the class ended everyone filed out of the room, and y/n approached Porter. Parker finished asking a 1uqtion quickly and moved out of the room, patting y/n on the shoulder as they left. y/n and Dr. Porter were alone and y/n said, “I’m sorry for being late after the break. Something, personal, came up. I didn’t expect it to take that long.” Dr. Porter looked at her, a hint of concern in the crinkles at the corner of his eyes. He asked, “Is everything alright, y/l/n?” y/n let out a sigh realizing that saying anything was opening avenues to conversations that she might not want to elaborate on. To keep Aaron’s situation private, she simply said, “Well it’s not me that’s having the problems, It’s a friend of mine. They’ve gotten themself into some trouble and I just needed to check in to make sure they were okay. Porter nodded but didn’t look convinced,  and said, “Alright. Well if you ever need anything, or feel overwhelmed with all that you’re juggling this semester, you can always email me or see me during office hours.” y/n smiled warmly and said, “Thanks. Dr. Porter. That means a lot to me.” The older man gave her arm an affectionate squeeze before letting her go for the night. 

The drive home was peaceful,  serene even. It juxtaposed the earlier moment of tension from that evening. y/n hoped to stay relaxed for the rest of the night. Just do some reading, have a glass of wine, a very hot shower, and hit the bed. Her hopes for calm and quietude were crushed when she got into the apartment and Emily was leaning against the kitchen counter with a deep frown on her face. Before y/n even had the chance to ask, “What’s wrong, Prentiss?” The strong-minded brunette said, “You’re ‘friend’ called about five minutes ago.” This stopped y/n in her tracks. y/n knew that Emily was talking about Aaron, and she was about to get an earful. She steadied herself as her roommate started saying, “y/n, Aaron Hotchner is not the type of guy you want to get tangled up with, okay? I might sound nice and charming and play-act as a ‘bad boy,’ but there is nothing good about him or his family. Promise me you’re not going to be so stupid as to meet up with him and give him your notes. What if he starts expecting things from you? Have you ever thought about that scary moment on campus last week?” 

y/n while taking the verbal reprimand hadn’t thought about the fact that Aaron’s injuries could be related to that event on campus. Had something bad happened to him after Spencer had dragged her away? Although y/n realized that Aaron might have been in a serious and dangerous situation, that didn’t stop her from still being concerned for him. In some small way, y/n was annoyed that Em was so tied into her personal life. So what if she wanted to give Aaron her notes? But the logical part of her brain stopped her from snapping back. y/n took a deep breath and said, “I see where you’re coming from Em. But, he looked so hurt tonight. Desperate. If giving him my notes in a public place, like the coffee shop is a crime, then so be it. I told him I would, and I’m one to keep my promises.” y/n expected some sort of reprimand, but instead, Em sighed and said, “Fine. Call him back. I left his number on the pad on the fridge. But for the love of god, either have me. Garcia, or Spence come with you whenever you meet him?” y/n smiled and said, “Thanks Em. I knew you were a softie under that hard shell of yours.” 

Em scoffed and said, “Well I might be a softie for you. Aaron Hotchner is another matter entirely. At least with you knowing him, I can snoop in on his life. You never know, maybe he’ll give you a hint about his dad and you can pass that info over to me.” y/n rolled her eyes and said, “Whatever you say Em. Now let me call him back. Buffy’s coming on in a half hour and I don’t plan on missing another episode. Do you wanna join? There’s a bottle of red in the fridge we can share?” Emily nodded and said, “You bet. I’ll get the channel pulled up while you talk to your boyfriend.” That comment had y/n rolling her eyes again, but she didn’t say anything as she moved into the kitchen. 

As Prentiss had said, there was a note on the notepad stuck to the fridge that read ‘A.H.’s Number,’ and then a list of seven digits. The phone hung to the left of the fridge. It was egg yolk yellow, a design choice that y/n still didn’t understand as the rest of the kitchen was a pale blue with white accents. Ignoring the contrasting colors of the kitchen, y/n tapped on the phone number and held the receiver to her ear as the dial tone beeped. After the second ring someone answered, but it wasn’t Aaron. The low, husky voice said, “This is Morgan. Who is it?” y/n paused for a second before replying, “Um, this is y/n. y/l/n. I’m calling for Aaron. I’m in his Tax Fraud class, and he wanted my notes from today? I was just trying to arrange a meeting.” y/n stopped talking. She felt like she had said too much, or maybe not enough. The silence was awkward and lingered. Finally, Derek who had mercifully pulled the phone away from his mouth called out, “Hotch, a girl’s on the phone for you.” After a moment, Derek  said, “He’ll be here in a minute.” Then there was silence again. y/n tried to think about where she knew Morgan from. The voice wasn’t wholly new. She had scant few encounters with Aaron and she tried to pinpoint each of them in her mind. The night last week came to mind and she thought of the other man that had been with Aaron as Spencer had pulled her away. She assumed this was the same guy. She pinned the name, Morgan in her head in case she ever needed it. 

She had no clue why she would ever need it, but it couldn’t hurt. After another minute there was more sound, a muffled conversation, and a small grunt before the phone clicked a bit and Aaron’s familiar voice tapped in on the line. He said, “Hey, y/n. Sorry I was out back. Thanks for doing this by the way.” y/n nodded and said, “Yeah. No problem. So my schedule is pretty full this week but I can do Wednesday morning, Thursday in the evening, or Saturday morning. Does one of those times work for you?” Aaron replied, “Saturday works for me. Any place work for you? I can come over or we can meet anywhere that works for you really.” y/n didn’t hesitate as she said, “Let’s do the coffee shop near West campus. You can come and copy my stuff while I grade or read or something.” 

There was a softy, nearly inaudible breath before Hotch said, “It’s a date. Is 9:00 a.m. too early for you?” y/n replied, “Nope. Nine is good. See you then.” Hotch replied, “Right on. See ya then.” Then he disconnected the call. y/n did the same. y/n sighed, again questioning why exactly she was doing what she was. Was it care, curiosity, or a little of both? She couldn’t pinpoint it in her mind. There was also the fact that Aaron had said, “‘It’s a date’” in an infuriating manner. Like he knew that was going to spark some kind of response. Of course, it was a joke, but even so, it irked her because it was working. 

y/n let out a sigh of frustration. She looked up at the clock and realized that she needed to grab the glasses and wine as Buffy would be starting soon. Just as the new episode started. Emily and y/n settled in and just like clockwork, Garcia came down from her room. The charming Pen shuffled into the room and sat down on the couch. y/n knew her third roommate would be down once the show started and had already poured a glass for her. Em was looking at y/n as if asking, ‘So, when are you meeting him?’ And Garcia was looking at Emily as if asking, ‘What’s going on? Why do you have that look on your face?’ Thankfully Buffy was the silencing buffer. None of them dared talk during the episode. It was that important to them. The group's shared love of the campy monster of the week show drew them together in a funny way. In the beginning, y/n thought she was too much of a nerd for Prentiss, but it turned out even the dedicated policewoman couldn’t be turned down by Angel and Spike's charm. They would have to debrief once the commercials started in ten minutes or so, but for now, there was a calm as they all sat in front of the TV. 

The week went by quickly. y/n’s advisor got sick on Wednesday night and emailed her saying that he wouldn’t be able to make it to their Thursday morning meeting. This opened up her morning and she planned to sleep in. That was the plan at least. However, at 7:30 a.m. a knock on her door woke her. y/n was groggy as she made her way to her door. A sharp crack of thunder and lightning had her come more to her senses. It was pouring cats and dogs. y/n rubbed her eyes as she opened the door to the hall light. Emily was standing outside in her uniform. y/n asked sleepily, “What is it Em?” Prentiss bit her bottom lip and said, “My car won’t start. Engine problems. Can I borrow your keys or can you give me a ride to the station? The brunette looked embarrassed to ask, but y/n understood her predicament and said, “Yeah I got you. Let me put on a bra and some pants.” In under ten minutes, the duo were out the door. y/n drove slowly and carefully. The rain continued to pour down. y/n felt a small feeling of dread in the air. As they got to the station, y/n said, “Just give me or Garcia a call when you need to be picked up if you don’t get a ride from your co-workers, okay?” Em nodded and said, “Thanks a million. y/n you’re a lifesaver.” y/n got back into her car and drove to campus. Even though she didn’t have an umbrella, she got half-soaked walking to her office, and Mary Janes squeaked awfully on the floor. In her office, y/n sat down in front of a stack of papers, half of them her students and the other half her own. There was a loud crash of thunder and y/n looked out the window when she saw a dark hooded figure standing outside her office in the downpour. She couldn’t see the person's face in the beating rain. A sound in the hallway caught her attention for a moment. Another pair of noisy shoes. By the time she looked back out of the window, the figure was gone. She shook her head wondering if she’d made up the man. She let the thought pass as she kept working late into the night. 

Emily did end up calling y/n and letting her know that Penelope had picked her up already. y/n was grateful for this. She was exhausted from her day and early morning. She quickly packed up the work that she was taking home with her and switched off the lights and lamps in her office. The rain had stopped hours ago, but it left the ground damp and mist and humidity rose off the earth like a dense fog. y/n got into her car and drove toward home. She took a shortcut to avoid a traffic light that was out. As her headlight illuminated a dark back alleyway behind a store, y/n saw for a moment the same figure from earlier that day. They were leaning over something else. ‘Is that a body?’ y/n stalled, startled like a dear in headlights, even though it was the reverse scenario. For a second y/n made eye contact with the person, and she distinctly saw blood on their mouth, staining their chin a gruesome red. y/n’s heart stopped beating and a moment later a loud honk from behind her shocked her. y/n was blinded by the bright lights behind her. She had not seen the sedan pull up behind her car. In a panicked state, she hit the accelerator and finished her drive home terrified of what she’d just seen. 

y/n rushed into the house and found Emily at the stove. Prentiss turned and her, “Welcome home” died on her lips as she saw her friend. Em turned off the fire under her boiling potatoes and asked, “y/n, are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” y/n swallowed trying to get some saliva back into her mouth and throat. She raised her and said in a hoarse voice, “I think I just saw a murder.” Emily’s jaw went slack for a second before she moved forward, police-like, and said, “Okay, y/n. You could have seen anything. It’s dark and gloomy out there.” y/n shook her head and said, “No, Em. Whatever I saw it was bad. I could feel it in my core.” Prentiss nodded, taking y/n seriously, the only one who would for a few days at least. She said, “Okay, y/n. Tell me everything. Think about things as clearly as possible. Don’t try and fill in any gaps, just tell me what you saw.” 

An hour later with Em trying to jog y/n’s memory to get the best information and writing down all the little and big details in her police pad, Prentiss said, “I’ll leave early tomorrow morning and check it out, y/n. Before I head to the station.” y/n’s eyes widened and she protested, “Shouldn’t we look now? There could be someone dying out there.” Emily dropped her eyes and sighed replying, “No, y/n. If what you say is true, then there’s nothing I can do tonight. I’d need more men, dogs, a whole setup.” After a pause Prentiss added, “And, y/n. There is no we in this. It’s dangerous. It’s safest for you to pretend you didn’t see anything tonight. Forget about it and don’t tell anyone.” y/n was frustrated by this response. However, she knew Em was correct. What could she do? Before y/n had a chance to say she was going to bed, Emily said, “Who are you bringing with you to meet Hotchner again?” 

y/n said in an almost deadpan voice, “Reid.” Emily frowned and said, “y/n, I’m going with you for that. I don’t trust Hotchner.” y/n’s head whipped up and she said, “Emily, it’s not like you can just stroll in there with Spence, and I. If Aaron and his family are as smart and powerful as you say, then he’ll know you’re a cop. I don’t think he’ll love that and I do still have to show up to a class with him, and sit across from him for the rest of the semester.” Prentiss could see y/n’s discomfort and replied, “I get it, y/n. And I know you’re trying to be nice, but I don’t want you going alone, and no, I don’t count Reid. I won’t walk in with you, and I won’t talk to you at all, but I will go and just keep an eye out.” y/n rubbed her tired eyes, saying, “Okay, Prentiss. We can talk about it tomorrow. I just want to go to bed now.” Em didn’t try and stop y/n as she moved past her and upstairs. y/n stripped out of her clothes from the day and fell into bed. She’d try and convince Em that she was a big girl tomorrow and didn’t need a bodyguard, but she was asleep before she could think of what she would say. y/n tossed and turned as she dreamed of the man outside her window and the person she’d seen with blood on their mouth, looking into her soul.

Text Break Banne by @cafekitsune

Tag list: @silk-spun @geminitapestry @alicewonderao3 @potatovoyager @samaldonado5 @princessjax @looking1016

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[frootloopscos]

Night Raven Daycare!

This is another fic that I figured I should cross post, let me know what ya'll think of it!

~~~~~~~

(Y/N) hummed along to their music as they drove down the street to their new work building. Turning into the parking lot the smile as the song playing had finished right on time. Unplugging their phone, turning off the radio, and then their car, they check their hair quickly in the Mirror and then grab their Fanny pack. Putting their phone inside and tossing the strap over their shoulder. They exited the car and locked it before putting the keys in the little bag, then they took a deep breath and walked up to the door, pulling it open they look around before they're greeted by who the assumed was the head caretaker.

"Mx (Y/N) (L/N) correct?" The male asked, (Y/N) nods, "that's me." They said with a small smile and extending a hand, "nice to finally meet you sir." The head caretaker smiled and exited his own hand, shaking the enby's. "Yes yes, now today is your first day so you'll be taking care of only one class with another caretaker to get used to it." (Y/N) nods, "makes sense." They say as the two walk down the hall and to a door "this class consists of mainly humans with one beast man and one half fae child, and a robot, they're all around five to seven in common years." The male explained before knocking on the door and opening it. No one was inside except for a cat?

The Enby crouched down and held and open palm, the black fluffy cat came over and allowed them to pick it up. They pet the cats head as Crowley spoke to it. "Ah, Lucius, where is Trein?" He asked, (Y/N) looked to Crowley, "I didn't know we could bring pets or familiars." They said with a small pout, they would've brought their own little kitty if they knew. Crowley cleared his throat, "apologies, did you not get an email that said that?" The Enby shook their head looking at the cat. "Hey kitty, can you go get your master?" They asked before setting Lucius down. The cat meowed at them and went to the back of the room, weaving through toys scattered on the floor until he got to a curtain and went behind it.

The two humans followed the familiar, Crowley pushed the curtain back to reveal an older looking gentleman who was moving around a dark room. The male looked over and grunted quietly to himself. He went over to the two and introduced himself as one of the other caretakers, "Mozus Trein, you may call me Trein, the kids find it easier to say than my first name. You are the new caretaker correct?" (Y/n) (L/n), I look forward to working with you." They said with a smile. Trein nodded, "I have finished tiding up the nap room, why don't we tidy up the rest of the room. If parents drop off their kids then have them put any belongings in their cubbies, their lunches go the the fridge behind my desk to keep them cold."

Crowley left shortly after the two caretakers had gotten acquainted, and as the two were cleaning the first child was dropped off by his dad. (Y/n) walked over "hey there bud, my name's (Y/n) you can call me Mx. (Y/N) or just (Y/n), I'll be helping mr Trein out today." They said to him, the little redhead smiled brightly and waved "hiiii! I'm Ace!" The Enby laughed lightly, "it's nice to meet you ack, why don't you say bye bye to your dad and then put your bag in your cubby, I'll take your lunch and then you can go sit on the mat alright?" Ace gave his father's legs a tight hug and then he ran over to the cubbies putting his backpack inside and giving (Y/n) his lunch box. "Look look! My lunch box has the queen of hearts on it!" (Y/n) nodded with a smile, "I do see, it's so cool Ace." They then went behind the fest and put it in the fridge.

The next child was carried in on someone's shoulders, "alright squirt." The dark blue haired male said putting the mini version of him down on the floor. "You be nice for your caretaker and We can go for a ride with the gang when we're done alright?" The little boy smiled widely at the statement and ne nodded, "okay big bro!" The tall male looked over "yo, call me Spades, pologies if the little sh- er Deuce says anything that might make him seem bad, I'll be here later to pick him up, later squirt." (Y/n) just shook their head confused and introduced themself to the boy, he told her his name was Deuce Spade and gave them his lunch box, it had a blastcycle on it.

The other kids slowly came in and introduced themself to the new caretaker. Jack, Epel, Sebek, and Ortho. Each proudly showing off their lunch boxes and running over to the mat to greet their friends. At that point Trein walked over with (Y/n) and cleared his throat. "Children, I'm sure you've all already met Mx. (Y/n), they'll be helping take care of you and the other kids in the daycare." (Y/n) waved with a smile, "heya kiddos, I'm brand new so you'll have to show me the ropes alright?" Epel's eyes widened at this, "we get to help an adult?" He asked with a grin, (Y/n) nodded, "yep! You'll have to help me out alright? So go easy on me." They said playfully and sat on their knees, "now, Mr Trein has some things he has to do, so why don't you all tell me your names again and one thing you like to do for fun? It'll be a little meet and greet." They said putting their hands together

The kids agreed to this and Ace decided to start. "Hi I'm Ace Trapula! And I really like to play!" (Y/n) smiled, Deuce decided to go next. "I'm Deuce Spade! I really like going on blastcycle rides with my brother and his friends!" "That's nice" (y/n) said with a smile. "Jack, why don't you go next?" The wolf beast man nodded, "I'm Jack Howl....and I really like to run!" (Y/n) nodded, "Epel?" The purple haired boy nodded "I'm Epel Felmer, I like helping my family out with harvest." "Mx. (Y/n), what's harvest?" Ace asked, "harvest is what we call it when farmers pick their fruits and vegetables." (Y/n) explained, "human!" Sebek said standing up "I am Sebis Zigvolt! And I like playing with my neighbors!" "It's very nice to meet you bud." (Y/n) said, "and how about you kiddo?" They asked the robot with blue seemingly flaming hair. The little robot looked up at them "oh! I'm Ortho Shoud and I really like playing video games with my brother!"

——— Hi hi! Thanks for coming in and viewing my new story! This was inspired a bit by a story on Ao3 right here

What did you guys think of the first chapter?

Word count: 1168

Published to wattpad: July 29th 2022

Published to tumblr: Jan. 30th, 2024 Edited: May 8th, 2023

[ramennoodlezzzao3]

Alternate reason as to why Ponyboy joined the party! If you guys want me to make this canon in my fic, it’s not entirely too late, I could add it into a different chapter if you want

My whole life I’ve been devalued, and I was fully aware of that.

Now, of course, nobody downright told me, nobody says that to a twelve year old, but I could tell it was true.

Mom was always too busy keeping Dally out of jail. She always criticized me, comparing me to my brothers if I did anything wrong. When I skipped a grade she barely said anything, she was tryin to figure out what to make for dinner because they had so many. 

They had three, two now considering the fact I wasn’t even a Curtis at this point. 

If the gang went somewhere without inviting me, and I asked about it, she would always go on a tangent along the lines of:

“Oh come on, Ponyboy! You arn’t apart of the gang, your brothers just let you hang around because it would rude not to invite you. Let them spend time with their friends without their little brother nagging them.”

I was ten when she first told me that. That’s when the insecurity started. 

One time, she was trying to bail him out of jail. I hadn’t known he was even jail at the time so I had asked her to come to my track meet. She had never yelled at me so loud and so angrily before.

I never asked her, or anyone for that matter, to go to a track meet again. I just dealt with the fact that I never had a family in the stands and when I won I wouldn’t have a family to celebrate with. I’d be the kid who won but was alone afterwards.

Dad was loved talking to Sodapop about cars and went to every single one of Darry’s football games. Dad was the one that taught Sodapop to fix cars. He was so happy to teach him but when I asked, he was always too busy.

He was always there when Two had a hangover, when Dal needed out of jail, when Johnny was beat up by his dad, when Steve was kicked out by his, when Darry got into a fight or Sodapop had a bad breakup.

But he couldn’t spare five minutes to talk to his youngest son. 

I guess that’s probably my fault. Who would want to talk to me anyways?

Darry never had time, similar to dad. He always had football practice he was hanging with friends. If I needed help on homework, I could always “Do it myself” since I had skipped a grade. If I was ever crying, I was a crybaby.

If Johnny was down, he’d take him to play football or get ice cream. He replaced one little brother for the one he actually wanted. That had stung.

A lot.

But Johnny didn’t have family, so I never said anything. I convinced myself the reason I never got any attention was because Johnny needed it more. So I let him have it. Even if that meant I lost my brother because of it.

Two-bit was always nice to me. I always thought he was the only one who liked me. But that was quickly thrown out the window when I overheard him complaining to dad about beating a babysitter.

I turned down every offer to go anywhere with him after that. I joined tons of free activities at school to keep myself there so h wouldn’t have to babysit. 

I joined the arts club and got really good at drawing and actually enjoyed it a lot. I joined the book club where we all pick a book and read it. We can talk about it when we join again. I joined the fight team, the basketball team, the soccer team, and I kept doing track.

The teachers praised me on how many clubs and teams I joined and always commented on how my family must be proud…they didn’t even know.

I also joined Drama and got any role I wanted, I just had to ask for it. I got Hamilton I the play “Hamilton” and I got Bert in the Mary Poppins musical. My class,ages insisted it was because I was a “Pretty Boy” but I didn’t believe that.

Which is a perfect segway into the next person; Steve. He’s always made fun of me and always told me I was a tag-a-long. Until my mother confirmed what he was saying, I’d always roll my eyes, now I look down and whisper “I know” only loud enough for me to hear.

He would mercilessly make fun of my height and weight. 

“You’re too fat for how short you are”

 “You eat too much, you’re gonna be all chubby when you grow up!”

And everyone laughs. They don’t even try to stop him. Not Darry, not Sodapop. Soda only tried stopping the rude comments after mom and dad died, and I don’t know why.

Dally is self explanatory. He hates me, similar to Steve, and it’s clear. He hates everyone in the world but the gang and I wasn’t apart of the gang. Johnny was the only one he genuinely loved.

He always looked disappointed when I’d go to the drive-ins with them, so I’d make excuses as to why I couldn’t go after I agreed. He’d have a grin on his face when he’d find out it’d only be him and Johnny, or only him and the gang, or only him and Two-bit.

And Sodapop? Sodapop was nicest to me, even more than Two-Bit. He’d invite me places with him and Steve, he’d drive me places after he had gotten his license, he slept in my bed when I’d gotten nightmares.

All it took was for one singular “Shut up! God, you’re so annoying!” To have my one person, my one wall come tumbling down and left in a pile of ash and bricks.

I should have known he didn’t mean it, I should have known he was just having a bad day. But I was thirteen, and growing up how I did, you never think rationally. I asked to stop sharing a room after that too, and Soda happily agreed.

At least Steve couldn’t bug me about that anymore.

Annoying. Brat. Tag-a-long. Stupid. Loud.

Those words rang in my head all the time and they are what kept me in my room almost everyday.

So, I really have no idea why, but I did something insane. I joined a different group. A different gang. The Party.

Sure, I’ve known everyone in the gang since I was still in diapers, we grew up together, but that’s the problem. I’ve known them my entire life they have only known me for, what? Eight years? Ten years?

Sure, that’s a lot, but when they don’t like you it becomes a lot shorter.

They wouldn’t care if I made my own friends. They wouldn’t care who they were. They wouldn’t care that I took off the dog-tag necklace mom got us all when the gang was complete. They wouldn’t care if I got new brothers and new brother figures. 

They wouldn’t care.

But to my shock, they did.

[i-am-baechu]

Chapter Two

Wishes (M) (Season One) 

Summary: After a long day of classes, Min Yoongi decides to take a break at the music hall that has become his second home. He walks in with his cigarette lit and his blank expression quickly changes when he sees a girl playing his piano. The moment their eyes meet, their lives become complicated and Yoongi blames himself for her future pain. Was the love we had honest? 

Genre: Gang au!, college au!,  strangers to enemies (one-sided), strangers to lovers, slow burn, friendships, romance, angst,  little comedy, and smut

Main pairing: Gang leader! Min Yoongi x Pianist! Reader 

Warnings: Explicit language, smut, mature themes, gangs, violence, smoking cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol usage 

Warnings for this chapter: Murder

⇜ Masterlist ⇝

L/N Y/N loved the morning sky. It was a pretty color palette and she sometimes wished that she had the colors archived when she painted. The mornings reminded her of new beginnings like the stories her dad used to tell her when she was younger, hopeful. She continued to stare outside her window with a soft smile until the door opened. She slowly turned her head and smiled when she saw her maid, Sua. 

“Good morning, Sua. Did you sleep well?” 

Sua set the tray on her table and gave her a smile, “Yes I did. It was rather warm last night.” 

“It was but at least it wasn’t cold. Dad hates the cold.” 

Sua let out a small laugh as she poured the tea into her cup, “Which means you hate it as well?” 

“Yes. Are you going to eat with me?” 

“Sadly not today. I have to tend to your mother, she needs help with the party coming up.” 

Y/N rolled her eyes and shook her head, “I hate those parties. Mom always tries to set me up with someone.” 

“I’m sure she means well, Y/N.” 

“I know she does but I don’t like those people.”

“And what do you like?” 

Y/N glanced down at the cup and then back at Sua, “I’m not sure.” 

“I’m sure you will figure it out. I’ll see you after classes.” 

“Bye Sua.” 

She watched Sua leave and she was left alone in her room. Y/N is the only child of William and Arabella Lynn L/N. Two powerful Ceos in business and devoted parents. They loved Y/N with their whole hearts but they could be overprotective at times. They would invest in anything Y/N was interested in. When she was five, she was interested in coloring, so they built her a wing where she could learn how to paint. When she was seven, she was interested in music and dance, so they signed her up with the best teachers. That’s how she became the number one pianist in her division. Being twenty-two, she accomplished a lot. 

She loved her parents but she didn’t want to rely on them forever. When she turned eighteen she started working in a restaurant, her parents disagreed with this but she continued. She also got a side job as data analytics for a bank, something her parents didn’t know about (if they did, they would probably have a heart attack). Everyone at her school thought she was weird for wanting to work when she had the richest parents in the school, they wouldn’t understand. She finished her tea and glanced outside with a smile, the sun looked pretty today. 

She changed into her uniform putting her hair in a ponytail. She headed downstairs to see her parents sitting on their couch watching the news. She smiled at them and gently waved at them, “Good morning.” 

Her dad looked over and smiled at her, “My flower, did you sleep well?”

“I did, why aren’t you at work?” 

Her mom let out a small laugh and kissed her dad’s cheek, “We wanted to go in late, breakfast date.”

“That sounds fun, I’ll be heading to school.” 

“Be safe!” 

“I will!” 

She walked on the paveway, saying good morning to all the gardeners and the other workers. They loved working for the L/N family, they treated them so kindly and sometimes they don’t even feel like workers. She went through the gate and went towards the camera to give one final goodbye to her staff and parents. 

School was a weird subject to her. She had friends and all the teachers loved her but she still felt like an outcast. She didn’t know how to explain it. No one bullied her but she did know people talked about her, it was something she couldn’t stop. It was just human nature. Her best friend, Nam Dawon, was the same as her. Both parents are powerful Ceos but never let their titles get to her head. She was more on the quiet side, which is why they get along so well. Y/N was more outgoing and “troublesome” (that’s what Dawon called her). 

She walked through the gates and ran towards Dawon with a wide smile, “Good morning~.” 

Dawon smiled at her and wiped her hands on her skirt, “Good morning, you're late by the way.” 

Y/N rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders, “The bell didn’t ring so, we're fine.” 

“That’s not the point...how was your piano practice yesterday?” 

The two girls walked inside the building as the chatter from everyone filled her head. She looked at Dawon with a small smirk, “It was...fun.” 

“Fun? How so?” 

“I guess the better word would be unpredictable.” 

“Y/N, just tell me.” 

Y/N let out a small laugh and shook her head. She wrapped her arm around Dawon’s, “There was a guy...he was interesting.”

“Really? What was he like?” 

“Unpredictable...” And that scares me but it intrigues me...annoying really. 

They walked up the stairs but were stopped when Choi Jessica looked at them with wide eyes and panting, “Did you guys hear?” 

Y/N glanced at Dawon and back at Jessica with a confused look, “No?”

“There was another murder by Heliotropes.” 

Y/N’s eyes widened and looked at Dawon, “Joo Won didn’t tell me anything...I was just there last night.” 

“He doesn’t always tell you everything, Y/N. Do you think it has something to do with gangs?”

Jessica gasped at this and hugged herself, “Gangs? Those low lives only want to cause more misery because they think it’s fun. All of them should be in jail.”

Y/N's mouth formed a straight line and glanced at Dawon, “We should get to class…”

Dawon nodded her head and gave Jessica a small smile, “Bye.”

The two walked off before she could say anything more. There have been more deaths happening but this time it was different. It was at a place she frequently visited. She had to call Joo Won to make sure everything was okay or at least hear him lie that it was okay. Anything to decipher murder in some way.

When they entered the classroom, everyone was talking about the murder. It wasn’t uncommon to hear people talk about gang violence but having it near the school was new. It was an uneasy feeling. Class went by slowly and the only thing that was on Y/N’s mind was figuring out Yoongi (she didn’t want to think about the murder anymore). It’s been a couple of days since she saw him well, it’s been a couple of days since she went to the music hall. She’s been busy with her mother’s upcoming party to play the piano but today she wanted to go. A small part of her wanted to see Yoongi but another part of her didn’t really care. In all honesty, she was indifferent toward the cold smoker. He didn’t annoy nor did he make her happy, he was just there. 

As she gathered her things, she quickly made her way out of the school. Waving toward Dawon and other classmates before entering the community college campus. No one paid attention to her and she liked that. She looked around the busy campus and saw everyone talking to each other, it didn’t feel like there was pressure. 

She opened the music hall doors and smiled when she saw it empty. She quickly made her way down to the instrument with a soft smile. She gently touched the dark wood and opened it, revealing the ebony keys to her. She barely touched the keys before she sat on the stool. Her black skirt covered her thighs as placed the headphones in her ears. Her fingers started playing on their own. She wasn’t sure what the melody was but she liked it. 

She was focused but she wasn’t that focused because the smell of smoke hit her nose. She stopped playing and turned around to see a new (handsome) face. She gave him a small smile, “Do you want to play?” 

The guy let out a puff of smoke and shook his head, “No, I was just curious. The melody, it’s missing something.” 

She glanced at the keys and then back at him with her head tilted, “What do you think is missing?” 

“Happiness? It just sounds Melancholy.” 

“Really? I thought it sounded...happy.”

The guy let out a small chuckle and shook his head, “If that’s happiness to you then I would be scared to hear your version of sadness.” 

“People have their own definitions of the words, it’s not always black and white.” 

“Then maybe you should learn what happiness is.”

She gave him a small glare and turned her back to him, “I think you should be kinder to strangers. You can’t just assume things.” 

“Your piano playing tells me otherwise. Bye, Y/N.”

Her eyes widened at this and turned back to the stranger, “How do you know my name?”

“You capture someone’s attention. I wanted to see for myself.”

She scoffed at this and stood up from the stool to glare at him, “Who the hell is this someone?” 

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“That’s why I asked. Who is this someone?” 

“He’s right, you're feisty.”

“I’ll show you feisty-”

“Taehyung, what the hell are you doing here?” She turned her head at the new (familiar) voice. Yoongi stood there with his black leather jacket being highlighted under the lights and his long black hair framing his face perfectly. She scoffed and looked between “Taehyung” and Yoongi, “Should’ve known.”

Yoongi raised his eyebrow at this as he made his way towards “Taehyung”, “Known what Bambi?” 

She went back to the piano with her back towards them, “That you know each other. Tyrants know each other.” 

“The fuck is she talking about?” 

“She's calling us tyrants because we smoke in the music hall. Keep up. Don’t you have somewhere to be?” 

She heard footsteps and she smiled to herself. With the door closing, she started to play the piano but this time without her headphones. She continued to play until she felt a presence next to her. She looked up as her fingers continued playing, “Can I help you?” 

“I want to play.” 

“Well, I’m playing right now-”

“I want to play with you.”

She stopped playing and looked at Yoongi with a raised eyebrow, “You want to play with me at the same time?” 

“That’s what I said. Unless you think your better than-”

“I never said that so don’t put words into my mouth. Sit.” 

She moved a bit and ignored the scoffing. When he sat next to her she glanced at him, “What do you want to play?” 

“Don’t you usually compose your own music?” 

“I do but that wouldn’t be fair for me to do that to you. I can’t expect someone to follow me when they don’t even know my next move. It’s not fair.”

He nodded his head and looked down at the keys, “We can do Mozart.” 

“I don’t have a problem with that...Why did you want to play with me? You don’t seem the type.”

He scoffed and looked at her with a raised eyebrow, “What does that mean?”

“Your vibe just tells me you want to do things your way. That’s all. Not bad.” 

Nothing was said after that because Yoongi started playing without her. She rolled her eyes and started to follow. It was clear to her that Yoongi was a trained pianist. She was kind of shocked that he was playing with ease. The two continued to play and she glanced at his face to see his eyebrows furrowed. He was concentrating hard on the keys. When the song ended, she clapped her hands together, “That was fun.” 

“You kept up.” 

“You didn’t think I would?” 

“No, but you were shocked that I kept up.” 

She glanced at him and nodded her head, “I would be lying if I said no. Obviously, you play piano but I didn’t know the skill level. Did you ever go to school for it?” 

Yoongi rolled his eyes and took out a cigarette, “I didn’t have time for that. I just learned whenever I had the time.”

“You're very talented.”

“I know.” 

She let out a small laugh when she felt her phone buzz in her skirt pocket. She took her phone out and saw her mom was calling her. She sighed and looked at Yoongi, “I have to go.”

“Let me walk you.”

She shook her head and glanced at the cigarette, “No because you're going to smoke. I don’t want to smell like smoke.” 

He rolled his eyes and placed his cigarette back into the box, “Is that okay, Bambi?” 

“Yes...are you really going to walk me?” 

“Yes.” 

She let out a small sigh and decided not to argue with him. She picked up her backpack and glanced at him, “Can I stop by a store?” 

“You're not a prisoner.” 

“I beg to differ.” 

The two left the music hall and she felt eyes on her. It was probably because of Yoongi. She overheard people talk about Yoongi and it seems like he's a loner. He had a set friend group and he didn’t bother to change it until now. She wondered why he was talking to her, she didn’t mind it but it did give her second thoughts on his intentions. She walked into a liquor store as Yoongi followed her closely. She went towards the drinks and turned towards him, “Are you going to pick a drink?” 

“Why would I?”

“Because I want you to have a drink?” 

He glanced at the drinks and then back at her, “So the rich girl is going to pay for me.” 

She scoffed at this and picked up her tea, “Don’t call me that. You know I have a name.” 

“Fine, Bambi.” He opened another section and took whiskey out of the cold. She glanced at the drink and then at him with a raised eyebrow, “You getting whiskey? It’s only four in the afternoon.” 

“Bambi you said pick a drink, you never said I couldn’t get alcohol.” 

“I guess...” 

She walked towards the cashier and went to take out her wallet. She stopped when the cashier looked at her with a nervous look, “You don’t have to pay.” 

She furrowed her eyebrows at this and tilted her head, “I have alcohol...you need to see my ID..”

She watched the cashier glance at Yoongi and then back at her with a nervous look, “It’s covered. Don’t worry.” 

She looked at Yoongi with a confused look, “Is this-”

“It’s fine, Y/N. Let’s go.”

She nodded her head but before she left, she took out 50,000 KRW and slid it to him. She gave him a small smile and bowed her head at him, “Have a good day.”

Yoongi grabbed her wrist and left the store without saying anything. They went to a bench and she sat down next to him. She watched him take a drink and she tilted her head at him. He glanced at her and looked at her drink, “You like lemon tea?” 

“I do. You like whiskey.” 

He let out a small chuckle and nodded his head, “I do. Want a drink?” 

“Sure.” She took the bottle and took a small sip of the dark liquid. She frowned at it and gave it back to him, “It’s not bad but it’s not good.” 

“Do you drink alcohol?” 

“Sometimes. It’s not a common thing in my day-to-day life.”

“What do you drink then, Bambi?” 

She rolled her eyes and let a small smirk appear, “I like tequila...wine...nothing else comes to mind.” That was a lie. She would drink almost anything at the parties that her mother threw. Anything to distract her from the men there. 

“Interesting. Don’t you have to get going?” 

“I do...but I can stay a little longer.” 

He took another sip and raised his eyebrow at her, “You don’t follow orders, do you?”

“I already told my mom I was finishing off my piece. She understands.” He leaned back into the bench and she followed his lead. She opened her tea and took a small sip. She felt his eyes on her and she glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, “You look like you have a question.” 

“What are you majoring in?” 

“Music and programming.” 

He nodded his head and looked her up and down, “Smart.”

“What about you, Yoongi?” 

“Business.” 

She smiled at this and nodded her head, “I can see you as a Ceo.” 

“Why is that, Bambi?” 

“You just have this aura for it.” 

“I hope that’s a good thing.” 

“It is, don’t worry.”

They both stared at each other and she looked into his dark eyes. Normally you would see something from a person rather it be happy or sad but she couldn’t tell with him. His eyes were a mystery to her but she knew some mysteries were left unsolved. She was the one that broke the stare and stood up to throw her can away. She glanced over her shoulders and looked at him, “Are you ready?” 

“I am, Bambi.” 

The two walked in silence but it made Y/N think more. If Yoongi was an outcast at his school, why was he interacting with her? He was weird and she didn’t know if he was a good weird or a bad weird yet. He was just weird to her for now. They stopped in front of her gate and she turned towards him, “Thank you...again.” 

“I wouldn’t want you to walk alone at night. It’s dangerous.” 

“I think everyone knows that...I’m assuming you heard about the murder.” 

He let out a deep sigh and looked away from her, “I did...” 

She nodded her head and pushed the button to go in, “I’ll see you when I see you.”

“Yeah, Bambi.” 

She gave him a small wave and walked through her gates. As she made her through her garden she felt his eyes on her. She stopped herself from looking at him and shook her head to continue looking forward. There was something about Yoongi but she just couldn’t figure it out...she also didn’t know if she wanted to figure it out. 

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

“Oppa?” Y/N pushed the door slowly and looked around the empty restaurant with a frown. It was quiet and that was strange. It was a Saturday afternoon meaning the restaurant should be loud with plates clattering and the talks of someone's ex-boyfriend echoing in the room. Something was wrong. Y/N placed her bags on a table and walked towards the stairs to Joo Won’s apartment. With each step she took, the wood would cry in agony and it wasn’t comforting her. She gently knocked on the door, “Oppa?” 

The door opened and she was looking in familiar dark brown eyes, “Yoongi? What are you doing here?” 

“Bambi? What are you doing here?” 

She tried looking past Yoongi’s shoulder but he blocked her view with the door. She looked at him with a confused look, “I’m here to see oppa...now answer my question, what are you doing here?” 

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Tag List:

@hopefulrascalstatesmantoad

[julesdaydreams]

Okay, so I've been watching a lot of those jubilee videos on youtube (iykyk) and there was one where best friends had to make a split decision of yes or no questions about their friendship... So naturally I wanted to write it with the marauders & co. (Here's the first question, but it's about to get more dramatic I promise)

Pete: “game host”

Pairings:

Sirius - James

Remus - Lily

Mary - Marlene

Barty - Evan

Regulus - Pandora - Dorcas

☆☆☆

“Okay, gang. Lets settle for once and for all who the best friend duo is. Question Number 1 for you. Please step forward if you agree: “I am the more intelligent one in the friendship.”, Peter announced on his little podium (the couch table in James’ and Sirius' living room), looking expectantly at the lined up friendship pairs in front of him.

There was commotion immediately after he stopped talking, a lot of his friends taking a step forward or raising an eyebrow at their opposite if they did so as well.

“Prongs you are not smarter than me. I speak six fucking languages!”, immediately came the outraged voice of Sirius upon seeing James take a step forward as well.

James crossed his arms and looked at his best friend challenging. “Mate, I love you, but the amount of fancy words you know isn't very impressive if you don't know how to cook.”

“James, you burned the Spaghetti yesterday while cooking. You are not in the place to talk right now.”

“I got distracted!! I'm literally studying to become a lawyer right now. Which clearly means I'm the smarter one.”

“Fucking hell. I would be getting better grades in university if I hadn't dropped out and you know it!”

“What?? No you wouldn't! You-”

“GUYS!! Please shut up this is not the Prongs and Padfoot show.”, interrupted Peter, trying to not let the situation get out of hand. “Also, you're both wrong. You're both dumb as fuck, considering you tried to adopt a fucking stag you found in the woods last month and brought it into the flat.”

With that, James and Sirius both seemed to deflate, taking the step they took back. They really weren't that smart.

Peter smiled satisfied and looked to the next pair of his friends who weren't on the same page.

“Remus, Lily. Why are you both saying no?”, he adressed the two, seeing that none of them had taken a step forward.

“Pete mate, I'm thinking the same fucking thing. Lily, you're clearly smarter than me?? You graduated at the top of our class!” Lily rolled her eyes fondly at her friend.

“Because of one measly point that the professor didn't give you because he's an ass. Not because I'm smarter. Also, you're becoming a professor, Rem. If that doesn't mean you're smarter, I don't know what does.”

“Lily you're a nurse! That's not an easy job either!”

Before this could also result in an one hour argument, Pete interrupted again, quickly moving on to three people that clearly had their minds made up.

“Dorcas, Pandora, you agree with Regulus that he's the smartest out of you three?”, Peter inquires, curious about their decision.

“Well, I went with book smarts. Reg was definitely the best of us in school without even trying and he speaks like six languages and plays five instruments or something.”, Dorcas explained and Pandora nodded along next to her.

“Oh? And when it's not about academia and stuff like that? Lets say… common knowledge or streets smarts, is he also the smartest?” Dorcas and Pandora immediately started to laugh at Peter's follow up question, which Regulus seemed very put out by, scowling across them.

“Oh no. Regulus wouldn't know how to survive on his own, believe me. Just what a posh upbringing does with you. Also it took him like a year before he realized his crush liked him back, when we've known the second it happened.”, Pandora giggled slightly, making Reg frown even more.

The mention of a crush apparently peaked Sirius’ interest, head whipping towards his brother the second the word was spoken.

“Crush?? You never told me that you have a crush on someone!”, he complained, earling him a annoyed huff.

“I don't have to tell you everything, Sirius.”

“Yes you do! I'm your big brother!”

“That doesn't give you the right to know everything about my life!”

“Okay okay okay. Maybe we come back to the actual question here?”, Peter interrupted yet again, already questioning his decision to be the game host, if every single one of these people was going to argue about their decision.

“Marlene! You agree with Mary that she's the smart one?”, he quickly moved on, leaving the two Black brother's to argue on their own.

“Fuck yeah. She's all beauty and brains and I'm the muscle.”, Marlene grins, posing to show off her biceps, not without sending Dorcas a little wink in the process.

“Great. Barty, Evan. Why's Evan the smarter one, not that I disagree.”, he moved on, looking at the two boys.

“I think without me stopping him, I would have to bail Bee out of jail almost every week… either that or he would be dead by now. So yeah. I'm definitely the smarter one.”, Evan drawled.

“And I'm very greatful for that, Rosie. Although I still think I would be able to win a fight against a bear.”, Barty grins, making Evan roll his eyes in annoyance, but he clearly tried to supress a smile.

“Right. Sadly we have to see if that's true on another day. I'm sure Prongs and Pads would happily get you a bear from somewhere.” Peter clapped his hands together loudly, drawing the room's attention back to him.

“Next question! Lord have mercy if you're this annoying for every question, I swear.”

[tyrantisterror]

I'm having too much fun with these.

Some context:

I did research on the Dark Urge route before playing it, because I'm the kind of nerd who feels the need to plan out their strategy for Role Playing Games before heading in, and ultimately decided to keep the default race of the Dark Urge as a white dragonborn while changing his class from sorcerer to paladin - the former because the evil albino snake aesthetic is pretty killer, and the later because I think playing a capital H hero with a code of capital H honor while dealing with a supernatural urge to be an evil murder man is thematically fun.

But I also had an ulterior motive in keeping the white dragonborn option - you see, if you romance Karlach, she'll ask you to try to figure out a way to cool her down, and being a white dragonborn gives you the option to blast your girlfriend in the face with ice breath so you can smooch.

I made intelligence and dex my dump stats since I knew Astarion would cover the later for me while Lump the Enlightened would cover the former. Thanks for the Flowers for Algernon crown you man-eating bastard!

I spent one section of the game adventuring with Lae'zel and Wyll in place of Astarion and Shadowheart, because there were two storybeats I thought they'd be well suited for (Karlach remained for obvious reasons). Eventually there was this dowry hidden in a hay bale that NONE of my characters spotted, so I quick went back to camp and swapped Wyll out for Astarion to get some fresh eyes on it. Well, when we go back to the main map, Astarion is inexplicably on the roof of the building and won't leave of his own volition. So I take control of him and make him jump off, which deals a significant amount of damage to him (which I imagine is why his AI wouldn't make him jump on its own) - and worse, during the five seconds or so I was controlling him, the Dark Urge and Karlach jumped on the roof and now have to be made to jump off. It became a very stupid back and forth for a bit and I like to imagine that's why Lae'zel doesn't go out on that many missions with the gang.

One last, "serious" comic about this run after the cut.

(well, last for now I suppose, I might make more of these if the mood strikes me)

So, like I said before, I initially tapped out of this playthrough when I hit the moment where the Urge unavoidably kills Alfira, because I grew to really like her in my Tav playthrough and it kinda fucked me up to see her, you know, die by my hands. I just didn't have the stomach for it.

But as my brainrot sketching has shown, the hook of this playthrough struck a chord with me. There is something so damn compelling about a Dark Urge trying so damn hard to be a good person, to be helpful and kind, all the while his own instincts and even the omniscient 3rd person narrator conspire to make him look at everything through a lens of cruelty and violence. I didn't want to kill Alfira, but I didn't want to abandon the Dark Urge either.

So I read up on the work around where you knock Alfira out cold so she doesn't show up in camp - the game compensates by having ANOTHER bard show up, establish her own distinct and likable personality, and get killed by you instead. Which I guess means that if I had to kill someone, I'd prefer it to be a stranger than a person I know? I don't know, it's emotionally affecting either way, but at least Alfira's alive.

We're going to get through it, Durge my buddy. We're gonna get you the help you need.

[veryace-ficrecs]

Burton "Gus" Guster Whump Fic Recs

This list will include all ratings and tags, so read at your own discretion! :)

Hear my voice by Strangeskulll - Rated T

After a dramatic accident, Gus is in a coma. But that's okay because Shawn’s always by side to talk to him.

I can't do this (without you right now) by umanta - Rated M

“Here’s the deal, Burton. This camera here is transmitting everything that happens here on a one-minute timer to the police station,” he hisses, low. “If you say anything that betrays who I am, I will make sure you die writhing in agony. If you comply with me, I won’t hurt you more than I have to.” “H-How much do you have to?” “Just enough to convince your psychic friend that the case isn’t worth it.” Gus is tortured on livestream. Shawn reacts poorly.

The Slip Up by ExploringWonders - Rated T

When staging a murder-suicide, it's common knowledge that you're not supposed to leave your victims breathing. Whoever broke into the Psych office didn't seem to understand that.

The Definition of Family by emilyjuliet - Rated T

He woke up, his head pounding. The first thing he registered was his soaked clothes and the whirring of a machine. He groaned, groggily lifting his head. He was zip-tied to a chair. He wasn’t dead. The brunette woman who had helped attack him sat in front of him, a hairdryer in her hand. It blew warm air onto him. She was drying him… something he was surprised any accomplice of Yang would be doing.  She lit up at the sight of his opened eyes. “Shawn! You’re awake!” She set the hairdryer down on the floor and clapped. “I’m so happy.” --- "An Evening With Mr. Yang" divergence, where Shawn is kidnapped by the Mr. Yang instead of his mother. Will he be able to find a way to escape, or will he be trapped in a game of pretend forever?

you're going to be okay (you have to be) by emilyjuliet - Rated T

How was he supposed to know it would end this way? This is what Shawn is thinking as he grips Gus’s limp hand in his. How did he not know? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Why Would You Let the Psychic Live When Ruthlessness is Mercy? by ExploringWonders, StarsAndMind - Rated M

“Are you sure you know what you're doing?”

Gus had been asking himself the same question for the last five minutes. “Of course,” he assured both of them. “Remember that first aid class I took last year?”

“Yeah,” Shawn answered. “I didn't know that class taught you how to set a bone.”

It didn't. Gus had learned everything he was about to do from an episode of MacGyver. Speaking of…

“Here,” he said, grabbing the collar of Shawn's unzipped jacket and holding it up to his mouth. “Bite this.”

Shawn and Gus take down five high-ranking members of an infamous gang. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't find the leader, and now the leader is angry.

[hannahssimblr]

Chapter Five (Part 2)

That evening Liam and I walk to the barbeque on our own. The two girls got Shane to drive over and collect them from the mobile home because they insisted they couldn’t walk up the beach in their high heels, but I told everybody that I would prefer to take the long way with Liam. He has been texting me since we left each other last night, and then all through the morning and afternoon today. It’s nice to have a person – a boy – to talk to. It makes me feel like a normal, functioning teenager. We text about everything, about our favourite films and tv shows, the kind of music we listen to, our messages getting longer and longer until they’re huge essay-length blocks of text on the screen. He makes me laugh a lot. I have to keep explaining to my friends why I’m grinning at my phone all the time. 

“There you are!” He says to me when we meet outside the surf shack. He is helping his dad to clean up the last of the rubbish left around the packed bins after another long day serving the holiday-goers. His cheeks and nose are pink and sunkissed and his blonde curls tousled after spending the day on the waves, and I feel a mini surge of affection for him. I’d never admit it to Kelly, but she was right about him. He’s very cute. 

“It’s a long walk down to this house.” He says, nodding his head towards the south strand. “It’ll take over half an hour.”

“Oh, I don’t mind.” I say. 

“Are you sure? I can drive us down on the buggy.”

I imagine what it would look like if we rolled up to the barbeque on a dune buggy and I physically cringe. “No, It’s fine, really. I want to do the long walk with you.”

“Okay!” He waves a cheery goodbye to his dad and takes my hand in his. He leans down and kisses me. “Hi, by the way.”

“Hi!”

We have a lot to say to each other during the walk. It’s a seamless continuation of our text messages from earlier, and we talk about every topic we can think of. He asks me about the best holidays I’ve ever been on and the places I would like to go if I had unlimited money and time. I feel like his answers are more thought out than mine, as I can’t think of anything incredibly interesting or intelligent to say. My family didn’t have a lot of disposable income when I was growing up, so I feel stunted in the travel and experiences department. We usually just went camping around the country, but Liam in comparison seems to have been travelling all his life. 

“My favourite place so far was South Africa.” He tells me. “I’ve never seen anything like the waves down there, like, you could do proper mad surfing like what you’d see on TV. I’d go back there any time. Flights were expensive though.”

“I’d love to go there.” I say, even though I know nothing about it. “Someday, maybe. Or like, Australia.”

“Oh yeah, same with me. There’s also world class surfing spots out there…” He really likes talking about surfing, I think to myself.

The smell of the barbeque hits me before I see the house, and I realise as we get closer that I feel nervous to see it again. The last time I was here feels unreal, and there’s a piece of me expecting to turn the corner around the cliffs and find something entirely different in place of the corrugated iron house, but all of a sudden it’s there and I’m seeing it again and I know I didn’t make it up.  This time Shane and his friends are lounging around outside drinking beer and playing music from somebody’s portable speaker. They have brought some furniture from the living room out onto the beach in front and created their own little shore side hangout spot. Kasper, who is topless again, mans the barbeque. 

“Hey! Evie, Liam!” Kelly has spotted us and is waving over, and I’m relieved to see that she’s in a better mood. “C’mere, sit down with us.” We make our way over to the gang and I’m immediately aware that Jude and Jen are absent, but I’m careful not to ask anybody where they are. The last thing I want is to seem too interested. 

Kelly clutches my arm when I come over to her and I ignore the fact that she smells like cigarette smoke. “Try this” 

I take the cup that she shoves into my hand and take a sip. It’s like rocket fuel, and burns my throat all the way down. I have to try really hard not to splutter and cough in front of everybody, but my eyes start to water badly and I have to turn away for a minute. 

“Oh it’s delicious” I say sarcastically once I’ve regained an ounce of composure, and then I swat her on the arm. “What is that?”

“Tequila” she says impishly. “I’m having some tequila.” I thought tequila was supposed to be this tasty, fun summer drink, but I don’t think I’ve ever tasted something so disgusting in my life. I’m repelled by it, and desperately want to eject the flavour from my mouth.

“Here, Evie.” Liam hands me a bottle of beer with a wedge of lime in the neck and 

I gulp some down quickly to mask the tequila taste, and thankfully it works, a bit. 

“Where did you get that?” I ask Kelly as Liam and I settle into an empty two seater beside her. She rolls her eyes. “It was just here. I think Joe bought it or something.” I feel a bit bad giving out to her, I’m not her mother and it’s none of my business but I know she hasn’t been here for that long and she seems well drunk already to me. It’s a bit alarming. I glance over at Claire to see if she’s noticed, but I don’t think she has, as she is absorbed in a conversation with Shane. I consider his body language for a moment and wonder if she can even tell how obvious it is that he fancies her. 

“Cheers, by the way.” Liam says.

“Cheers” I say and we clink our beer bottles together. For some reason I feel a bit weird doing it, it just doesn’t feel like something that I would naturally do. 

“Lads, does either one of you want a cigarette?” Joe leans over to us and holds out an open packet.

“Oh, that’s really nice of you, but no thanks.” I say, but then Liam and Kelly take one each and I second guess myself and wonder if I should have too. I don’t want to be the only one at the barbeque who’s not smoking, but I also hate the way that that horrible taste sticks in my throat when I do. I look at Liam as he lights up his cigarette and wonder what it will be like to kiss him later when his mouth tastes like ash. 

“Wheeeeey!” Kasper suddenly raises his spatula and cheers, and we all look around to see Jude and Jen skid around the house on a pair of bicycles. Jude is holding up a box of firelighters like a victory prize and Jen has another pack under her arm. 

“We got the last two.” Jude says, dumping his bike in the sand. “Looks like everybody else in the village must be having a bonfire tonight too.”

Jen dismounts and leans her bike against the side of the deck. “Which one of you lucky ducks wants to help Jude bring some sticks around and make a pile for the fire?”

“Not you, no?” He asks her.

“Sorry, bubs.” She says and affectionately pinches his cheek. “You’re on your own, I am wrecked after that cycle.” She drops her box of firelighters and slumps heavily into a chair next to Liam and I. “It was uphill all the way there and uphill all the way back.”

“Lazy.” He comes up behind her to ruffle her hair and lightly shove her head forward. I find myself amused by their relationship. It’s hard to tell if they’re a couple or just really good friends. “I don’t mind getting the sticks on my own anyway, you can all stay where you are.”

“I’ll come” Liam volunteers. 

“Nah, it’s okay.”

“No really, I want to help.”

“You sure, man?”

“Yeah, it’s no bother!” He jumps to his feet eagerly and follows Jude around to the back of the house. I think about how nice he is to help out like that. 

“That’s a very odd accent.” Claire says bluntly when the two boys are gone. “I can’t place it at all.” 

“Yeah, Jude’s Dad is a yank.” Shane tells her. “Ma is Irish.”

“He’s lived here a long time now though.” Jen adds, pouring herself a cup of vodka and coke. “That’s why it sounds kind of mad-confusing to the ear, but I’m so used to it now. He sounds more and more Irish all the time. ”

“Talking about me again?” Jude says as he and Liam come back around the house carrying armfulls of sticks. 

“Don’t flatter yourself.” She says. 

“I was just asking about your accent.” Claire explains, and Jude rolls his eyes theatrically. “Irish-American.” He says, and dumps the sticks, starting a small pile nearby. “Don’t worry, everybody wants to know. Americans think I sound Irish, Irish people think I sound freakish. I’m not doing a good enough job of integrating, apparently.” I hear it more clearly now that I know where the sounds are coming from. Most of his vowels and the melody of his speech are Irish, but the odd word has still got that classic american twang. It’s the way he says “Job” – it sounds like “Jahhb”.

He and Liam finish bringing the sticks around and forming a pile, and then Joe goes over to help them light it. It looks to me like everybody is just standing around looking at it, occasionally making an attempt to light something on fire, only for it to fizzle out straight away. 

“City boys.” Kelly says as we watch them. “Sure they’re useless.”

“Go help them.” Claire says to Shane, and of course, he gets up and he does. Ambling over and immediately getting one of the firelighters to burn. The whole bonfire goes up in flames in what seems like moments and he grins triumphantly at us when he walks back over. 

“Go on Shane!” Kelly cheers. “Show them how it’s done up the country.”

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