#I think I look like a tourist taking a ton of pictures on my walks haha

[artvaris]

More Lapland pics! I feel like there is so much beauty to be found in small, "ordinary" things such as a small twig lying on the ground Update: some soundtrack stuff because why not: Jon Henrik Fjällgren - Gie Datne Jon Henrik Fjällgren - Mountain Dance Jon Henrik Fjällgren - Elmie (Creatures In Nature) Shaman - Vuojan

[lunajay33]

Am I Good Enough

🩸🖤♟️🍷

Summary: You were on a solo trip to Italy taking a tour of an old castle when everything changes, but will this random guy accept you for who’s and what you are?

Pairing: Alec Volturi x human f!reader

•Masterlist•

Taking a trip to Italy was a last minute decision, firstly needing a break from my boring life and for some reason Italy always just called to me, like there was something waiting there for me

After a long tire some flight I finally landed in Italy, stepping out into the hot heat, waving down a taxi before anyone else could cut infront of me, only traveling with my backpack for easy travel, I told the driver to take me to Volterra, only an hour drive from the airport, seeing pictures of it on a guide and thought it would be a beautiful start to my trip

Finally we arrived in volterra, I paid and now standing infront of this beautiful castle, the town was fully stone built, it was beautiful unlike anything I��ve ever seen before, as I was walking down the street I got stopped by a woman, her hair luscious, he skin was flawless, her eyes so beautiful even though they must be contacts since they were such a rich red, her smile enticing

“Hi there you seem like a girl who’d love a good tour and I just so happen to be showing the castle right now for free! Does that interest you at all?” Her voice was so melodic like she was a siren I was pulled in nodding immediately watching as her smile grew, I followed her to the castle like a puppy meeting up with a group of other tourists

She led us through the castle not stopping to tell us about anything interesting we passed, finally we got to a set of big wooden door that looked like they weighed a ton but she pushed them open with ease, there beyond the doors was a huge room, marble and tile covered every inch, three thrones sat on the pedestal further back in the room, where three men sat seemingly looming over us all, others stood around the room watching us like they were ready to pounce, the doors behind us slammed soon hearing the first scream of many, it was a blood bath as the people dressed in black went from person to person until I was the only one standing

“It seems we missed one brothers and sisters”

“I’ve got her” a tall man said as he started right for me before he was stopped by the older man that sat on the throne

“WAIT” his voice boomed through the chamber, everyone stopping to look at him

He got up off the throne seemingly weak as he glided over to me

“Dear child it seems someone here has been waiting for you for a long long time” he smiled as he turned to a guy who was the most ethereal beautiful person I’ve ever seen, everything about him lured me in, he eyed me the same way and in an instant he was infront of me

“My Lord are you sure about this, she is my mate?”

“Yes child she is your other half”

“But she is human, this can’t be”

“It was meant to be, don’t over think this, it’s the best gift the universe could give you”

“Come we must talk” he said as he led me back out through the doors, silently walking through the vast halls until we finally made it to a huge room decorated in black and ruby red, books covering the walls

“Sit” he demanded as he gestured to the bed

“You haven’t said a word this whole time you must be in shock” he said sitting opposite of me on the bed

“No……surprisingly I’m the calmest I’ve ever been, but I still don’t know what’s going on”

“I must admit you are cute, most beautiful human I’ve ever seen” his words made the blood rush to my cheeks making him smile

“I’d say the same for you but I don’t quite think you’re human….right?”

“You’d be right my rose, we are vampires some much older than others but we rule over the vampiric world, we enforce the laws so the humans don’t become suspicious about our kind”

“Then why are you telling me, why didn’t you just kill me like everyone else in the room”

“Some of us vampires have special powers, the one that talked to you was Marcus one of our lords, he can sense the bond of those who are mated to each other, he could sense that we are meant to be with one another” my heart was racing fast, I was sure he could hear it

“Mates? That’s…..are you sure I mean I’m just a human am I good enough for you?” His eyes softened for the first time

“We will figure this out this isn’t the first time a vampire has been mated to a human, I just got lucky enough to get such a diamond”

It’s been a month now and it’s been well……amazing I didn’t get a lot of alone time with Alec seeing he had a lot of guard duty but when he’d wake me at night so I could curl up to him as he held me, sometimes he’d leave cute notes in the books I’d be reading that always got my heart beating, sometimes leaving red roses on the table for me whenever he had to work late, he made me feel like a goddess, giving me a love I’ve never thought I’d feel before…….well until today

Walking into the library to grab another book hoping to find something more intriguing than the books Alec had collected over the years

Looking on the second balcony I stopped when I heard voices on the main level, Alec always warned me of some other vampires, newer to the Volturi that may not have a reign on their blood thirst as the older vamps, as their voices got louder I recognized them as Jane and Demetri

“You seem more cruel than usual Jane, something the matter?” Demetri asked, I stood completely still as I listened to the conversation

“Alec won’t stop going on and on about that….that rat, complete filth of a human, I mean what fates put them together, she’s just a lowly human, I could kill her in a second and her life would mean nothing”

“Jane don’t be so harsh have you even spoken to her, she’s quite the girl, she’s perfect for Alec”

“No human is good enough for Alec” she scoffed before she stormed out, the doors slamming behind her, I let out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding

My heart felt like a ton of bricks, maybe I wasn’t enough for Alec I mean it’s been a month and we haven’t moved past just holding each other in bed, or a little pec on the check, maybe I’m over thinking everything but there still that nagging at the back of my mind that Jane might be right I mean she’s his twin she knows him best

I ditched my journey to get a new book and headed back to Alec’s and I’s room hoping to just clear my head and try and forget about this gut wrenching feeling

I threw myself down on the bed when a voice shocked me out of my fleeting moment of peace

“What seems to trouble you amore?” I shot up in the bed looking across the room to where the voice came from seeing Alec sat on the couch looking beautiful as ever

“Oh umm it’s nothing just tired” in a flash he was kneeled infront of me at the side of the bed, his hands holding mine

“Amore you know you can’t lie to me, I hear your lovely heart race everytime, now tell me”

“I just…..I don’t know, I feel sometimes that I’m not everything you need we haven’t even kissed yet and i know the others think this too”

“My love, you are everything I have waited for, you calm me down when I feel my anger rise, you thaw my cold dead heart, and for the other I haven’t kissed you yet because I wanted to take this slow for you, I’m quite into courting if you haven’t noticed, this is special so I’m enjoying my time with every little moment” he smiled running his thumb over my hand soothingly

“I….I love you Alec, and I know I can have my doubts sometimes but I really do, you’ve made me feel more loved than I ever have before” I said placing my hand on his cold cheek

“I love you to my angel, and I want you to never worry about my I devoted love for you, nothing with ever change than no matter if your human or a vampire, I’m yours till the end of time”

More alec oneshots are on their way

Story inspired by @kimi240302 Alec story go check it out!!

[karmas-chameleon]

Finished with doing stuff for today, and I've got a ton of pics

Most of those are pictures of the insides and outsides of mosques, because I saw like 4 today, but I'm not gonna post all of em (Tumblr image limit and all)

So here's just some random stuff

Saw a cat in the Hagia Sophia (and in many other places. Apparently Istanbul has lots of cats!)

This was on the upper level, and I have no idea how it got there. Also, the upper level is the only part tourists are allowed to visit (as of like. the beginning of this year or something? So basically all the pics from people online will show things I couldn't see because it used to be a museum and is a mosque again now)

Here's a view from where I was, you can still see most of everything, from a distance anyway.

Here's a rack of shoes. They had these in all the mosques I was in, and we had to take off our shoes before walking on the carpet. They also required women to cover their heads while inside, so I had to put on a headscarf and take off my shoes, take pics, put on my shoes and take off the headscarf (I did this 3 or 4 times today? But I don't think we're seeing any more mosques tomorrow)

Also apparently the women's prayer section is hidden behind the shoe cubbies! It was like that in all the places I saw, at least. The main part of the building is only for men to pray.

We went around to shop some, and bought a bunch of stuff at this place, which had Turkish delight in a bunch of different flavors, and a lot more too.

I bought a tiny chocolate umbrella. It's adorable.

Saw some construction going on in multiple places, mostly on minarets.

Here's a bird standing on some old foundations for a hippodrome during the Byzantine Empire, or something. It was a pretty large bird.

A panorama I took not too far from the bird

And trees? Plants? Things? that were shaped to make this cool looking thing

Other stuff I saw but didn't take pics of:

The Grand Bazaar, which had a bunch of stuff for sale at exorbitant prices (and most of the stuff is for sale elsewhere in the city for less...but I saw some soap I wanted and my dad managed to haggle it down to a more reasonable price)

A spice market, with various stuff for sale including but not limited to spices

Got some chestnuts as a snack. There are carts cooking corn and chestnuts all over the city, and I can't believe I've never eaten a chestnut before, so I had some. They're alright.

[laurenetuttle]

Japan Day 8 (September 13, 2024)

Happy Friday! We went to sleep super early last night since we were so exhausted from our day. I think I fell asleep around 9pm. So not surprisingly, we were both up before our alarm clocks this morning. This hotel does not have a kitchen, so they bring everyone breakfast in the morning. The earliest they will bring breakfast is 8:40 am. So we relaxed this morning and took our time getting ready. Then they brought us breakfast, which consisted of a pastrami sandwich and chips and orange juice. It was more like a boxed lunch. Despite not being an American style breakfast, we both actually really enjoyed the sandwiches.

After breakfast, we headed out for the day. I mailed some postcards at the post office on our way to the bus stop. We took the bus to Kyoto station to then take a train to Nara. We got a little confused by the regional train system here in Kyoto. Apparently, we had to buy separate tickets for this regional train. So we boarded the train without tickets! As soon as we realized this, I purchased tickets as quickly as I could on my phone. But I purchased tickets for a different time. When they came to check our tickets, either they didn’t notice or didn’t care, but it worked! There were hardly any people on the train so it was ok if we were sitting in random seats (the seats are otherwise assigned). We then had to transfer trains to get on the train that actually goes into Nara. The whole journey was about an hour. Nara is the famous city that has a bunch of free-roaming bowing deer! Basically as soon as we exited the train station, we saw the deer! I swear there were thousands of them. All roaming around the city. We had to dodge all the deer poop. But the deer come right up to you looking for cookies. We did not buy any cookies to feed the deer because I did not want to be harassed by the deer. But we did bow to the deer, and they did bow back! It was kind of cute. We took some pictures with the deer and then headed to the famous temple in the city, Todaiji temple. We started to overheat during this walk, so we decided to buy a ticket to the museum so we could take a break in the air conditioning. The museum housed a lot of the artifacts from the prior iterations of Todaiji temple. Many of the artifacts were from the 8th century which was pretty cool! The temple itself has been burned and rebuilt several times over the centuries. We very much so enjoyed the air conditioning. No talking and no photos were allowed in the museum. There are a lot of no talking situations in Japan, we noticed. Almost no talking on the trains. No talking in escalators. Everyone is very quiet and mindful of the people around them.

After wandering through the museum, we took a break at the museum cafe and had an iced tea and a soft serve ice cream. After this lovely break, we continued through the complex to the actual temple. This temple is the largest wooden structure in the world! It was so cool!! It also houses the largest bronze Buddha in the world as well! It was quite magnificent to see in person. After admiring the temple, we made our way back into Nara. We stopped by a famous mochi shop to try some of their homemade mochi. I have no idea what flavor it was, but it was very good. After that, we needed another break from the heat. So we took respite in a nearby Starbucks. Had a similar, but very different menu than in the US. We both got iced teas and quiche for a light lunch. After this, we walked back to the train station to head to Osaka!

The train ride to Osaka also took about an hour. It was a nice break from being outside and on our feet. Most of the trains in Japan are air conditioned with comfy seats. We took the train to the Dotonburi neighborhood. It was quite an overwhelming neighborhood with tons of bright lights and street food. Osaka is known for being a big foodie city for Japan. I got vibes that were similar to Vegas. Lots of lights and tourists. We walked up and down the streets and the river. We stopped to get cold drinks and a strawberry mochi. We took a sitting break to people watch. We then headed to the neighborhood of sinseshi (?) to start our food tour of Osaka! We booked three hour tour through viator to try some of the local foods! We stopped at a total of five different restaurants and tried thirteen dishes and two drinks. Our tour guide told us about some of the history of the neighborhood. It was designed after Coney Island in New York. So it has a boardwalk vibe with carnival games. We also learned that Osaka is pretty “lawless.” The drinking age isn’t really enforced, gambling is prevalent, the police don’t really give out tickets for much. It definitely had a party atmosphere. The first restaurant we stopped at, we tried two different types of chicken skewers. I also had a beer while Liz had plum wine. The second stop was a standing only little hole in the wall place. We split a bowl of udon noodles. It was delicious!! The third spot, we tried takoyaki, which are octopus balls! I dug out the actual octopus bits and just ate the deep fried dough haha. The fourth place was also standing only. We tried mushrooms, a Japanese omelet, cold noodles with a dipping sauce, and lastly, Liz tried sting ray jerky. I passed on this. We also tried some sake at this location. At the last location, they brought out for us Japanese chicken wings, fried yams, fried shrimp, and some fruit! I passed on the chicken and shrimp. I was definitely fading at this point. We both really enjoyed the tour. We got to know these sisters from Austin and a girl with her parents from Germany. Everyone was super nice. The Germans gave Liz and I some food recommendations for our trip to Germany in three months. We’re leaving for that trip three months from today actually!

After the end of the food tour, we took a train to another train to get back to Kyoto. The whole ride was maybe an hour and 20 minutes. Unfortunately, it was apparently the busiest time for the trains! So they were all pretty full. We stood for the first train and half of the second train until enough people got off for us to get seats. My feet are definitely hurting today!! That was definitely a bummer. Thankfully we got to sit for the second half of the ride. We then hopped off and walked 15 minutes back to the hotel. We got back at around 10 pm and are now getting ready for bed. I’m definitely exhausted. I think it was one of the longer days we’ve had. And maybe one of the hottest. It’s hard to say though because the weather has been miserable every day. We’re both excited to go back home Sunday and leave this humidity behind! Tomorrow should be more relaxed. We don’t have any booked tours. We’re just going to take our time and explore a few other parts of Kyoto.

[pointreyesjournal]

The Amnesiac : ep29

Her Soul On Holiday

Thursday

Highway 101 north of Eureka is a tapestry of greens, browns and blues. The route follows the rugged Northern California coastline, a grassy verdant route with swampy freshwater lagoons on the inland side of the road and sandy seawater lagoons on the beach side. Osprey and red tailed hawks keep watch over the elk filled landscape. Less than an hour into our morning ride I feel River tugging urgently on my jacket pocket. I glance over my shoulder to see her pointing excitedly toward the highway exit. She needs an emergency pee break I suppose.

I swing the motorcycle to the right at the last moment and barely make the exit. When we reach the end of the offramp River flips open the windscreen on her helmet and yells into my ear “It says Fern Canyon Loop this way.”

“So?”

“So? You dummy. The back of the first drawing is a picture of me walking through a narrow canyon filled with ferns!”

“Oh wow, do you think this could be …”

“Yes. I think this could be a clue. Let’s go check it out!”

I thumb the starter button and the Ducati roars to life. We turn left, toward the coast, and the road immediately devolves into a dusty, unimproved single lane path through a dense forest of gigantic coastal redwoods. Ferns and heavy vegetation line the road. We proceed with caution. The last thing I want to do is skid out on a patch of dirt and crash in the middle of nowhere.

After five treacherous miles we emerge from the redwood forest at an empty toll booth in the middle of nowhere, which we ignore, and continue on a straight unpaved beach-sand covered road heading due north along the coast. The bike is extremely unstable in the sand with the weight of two people onboard, so I ride the entire way in second gear with my feet off of the foot pegs near the ground to catch us (or at least attempt to catch us) if the front wheel slides out. After a few miles we come to a deep water crossing. Deep enough to give us pause. But I decide not to stop and just power through before she can protest. We splash our way across the creek, the tires dancing across the slick river-rock covered bottom and emerge unscathed on the other side. After a short distance we reach the end of the road and a little dirt parking lot. With seemingly nowhere else to go except to turn around and head back, I park the motorcycle and we hop off to stretch our legs for a minute. River decides to take off her helmet, so I follow suit.

“What the hell are we doing here?” says River.

“I don’t know. I don’t see ferns or a canyon anywhere.”

“Do you think the road in was the fern canyon? I mean, there were a ton of ferns.”

“I guess so. I don’t see anything else around here. So it must have been.”

“Sorry about that. It seems like this road was kind of a bust.”

“Well look on the bright side, we have to ride through all that crap again to get out of here.”

“Oh shit.”

The sound of splashing in the distance tells us that a car is fording the river about a quarter mile behind us, and within a moment a Subaru appears. A young Asian couple wearing bougie outdoor gear hop out of the car, toss posh little ruck sacks over their shoulders and start walking north along a barely visible foot trail near the cliff wall. They walk about an eighth of a mile, then magically disappear into the forest.

“It seems like they know something we don’t” River tells me.

“It seems you’re right.”

Curiosity piqued, we hang our helmets on the rear view mirrors and toss our motorcycle jackets over the seat follow the bougie couple north along the little path. We pass a yellow triangular sign that, quite humorously to us, depicts a tourist getting mauled by a large bull elk with the warning CAUTION AGGRESSIVE ELK. “Duly noted” River chuckles.

After about a thousand feet of hiking the trail abruptly ends at a tree line where a creek washes out the trail. The creek, as it turns out, is running out of a narrow, vertical-walled fern covered canyon that looks exactly like that back side of the first chalk drawing. River gasps when she sees it. The cognitive dissonance of knowing that I’ve been here before and having no recollection of it causes me dizziness. I bend at the waist, and put my hands on my knees as I try not to fall over.

“Oh my fucking God Floody” River says in astonishment. “This looks exactly like your drawing.” My amnesia headache returns with a vengeance as the memories fight like warriors to escape from my brain. The pain is instantly debilitating and and feel faint. “Floody, you’re as white as a ghost” River tells me. I feel beads of sweat perspiring from my forehead and I wipe them away with my forearm. I take a moment to regain my composure and evaluate my surroundings. I close my eyes and the image of the fern canyon is burned into my brain.

“Floody?” I hear River saying. I open my eyes. “Floody, can you hear me?” she says as I look at her with a gaze of confusion and bewilderment. “You’re going to pass out Floody, take my hand.” The instant River’s hand touches mine our energies unite and my universe is altered completely. I regain my balance and composure. The headache disappears completely and my eyes clamp shut. I begin channeling memories.

“River, I see you. I see you in the canyon. You’re in your white sweater and you’re hopping from rock to rock trying to keep your feet dry. You’re coming toward me down the canyon. Right here. You were right here with me.”

Astonished at what I’m saying River lets go of my hand and the headache roars back to life instantly as the memories evaporate.

“No! Don’t let go!” I yelp. “Don’t let go under any circumstances.”

I feel her fingers grasp mine and the headache disappears instantly. “River” I whisper “We have to stay connected or the memories wont come back. I’m feeding off of your energy. Hold my hand and walk with me.”

River grasps my hand tightly and we take a few steps forward, dancing from rock to rock trying to keep our feet out of the creek. It’s about two inches deep and ten feet wide, with many little islands of river rocks and fallen logs to hop from and to. We only go fifty or so feet upriver before the scene matches my memories exactly. I stop on a little bank of river rocks and my eyes instinctively clamp shut.

“River I see you. I’m standing right here, in this exact spot. You appear out of nowhere. You’re coming down the canyon toward me. I see your strawberry blonde hair, it’s parted right down the middle. I see your big sweater, and you’re wearing shorts. Like, hiking shorts. And big boots with wide red laces like they wear in the Alps. They’re leather with heavy cotton socks pushed down around your ankles.”

“There’s something around your neck. It’s a necklace or a strap or something. You’re getting closer. It’s a camera! You’ve got a camera around your neck. You look up and see me for the first time and give me a little wave with one of your hands to acknowledge me. ‘Good morning’ I hear you say as you continue navigating the rocky islands in the stream as you make your way toward me. You’re getting close. I can see everything clearly. But I can’t see your face. You’re like a ghost. The memory is blurring your face. You raise the camera and snap a photo of me. ’Keep those feet dry’ you tell me as you go past, and then you’re gone. Gone from site. Gone from the canyon. Just gone.”

I open my eyes and look at River, then I carefully release my grip of her hand. I know instinctively that the memories are free from my brain so the amnesia headache won’t return, and it doesn’t.

“You were here with me.”

“That impossible. I was in Pacific Grove.”

“No, you were here with me. I saw it. I felt it.”

“Impossible.”

“River, what are the chances that we both have amnesia? And that we both were here before?”

“Zero Floody. I can tell you everything I did for the past month while you were gone. Every single day.”

“But I saw you here, clear as day. When you held my hand just now, those were memories, clear memories, not dreams. I saw your sweater.”

“I have that sweater for sure, but not those boots, and I definitely don’t have a camera.”

We stand in silence for a minute trying to comprehend what just happened. It’s clear that I’ve been here before. Those are memories, not dreams. No dream could have that much detail. Plus, the drawing, it represents exactly what I just experienced, clear as day. But if River wasn’t here with me, then there has to be another explanation.

“Okay, so let’s say definitively that you haven’t been here before. Then there are only two other possible explanations. The first is that your spirit diverged from your physical self, and that your soul, or spirit, or whatever you want to call it was here in the canyon with me at some point in the past. Or second, is that when we join hands we have the ability to have precognition and see into the future. It makes perfect sense. When we were under the influence of magic mushrooms, we were connected via our lovemaking, and that give me ability to visualize this moment in the future.”

“No that’s impossible.”

“Why, you don’t believe in clairvoyance and psychic ability?”

“No, because if it was clairvoyance, you would have seen us standing here holding hands, not me walking down the canyon.”

“Well we’re still here, maybe that moment is still in our future. Maybe it’s going to happen in the next few moments?”

“But I can just turn around right now and go back to the parking lot. I can make sure it never happens.”

“Shit. Okay, so it’s not clairvoyance. But that’s good! That means we’ve ruled out one of the two possibilities. It means that we’re spiritually connected somehow. We have a universal bond, and when I was here the last time, your spirit was here with me. That’s why you had the camera, your spirit was on holiday from the coffee shop.”

“Floody, you sound absolutely batshit crazy right now. But it just might be crazy enough to be true.”

[saganandkatelynindc]

Day 3, Monuments, Golf Carts and Heat

July 17, 2023

I can say with great confidence that this day kicked our butts. Temps in the 90s and a haze from I'm not sure where - but it took a toll.

We started our day around 9:30 and at that time the temps were great and the breeze in the golf cart was delightful.

First stop was the Viet Nam War Memorial. This place is the most emotional of all the monuments for me since the names on the wall are my generation. Katelyn had just read a book about the Viet Nam war and she also found the wall and what it represented very emotional. I had them look up some names; a kid from my high school, someone with the Last name of Eberle (no relation) and Mary Klinker one of only 6 women on the wall.

We went in search of the names and got deeper and deeper into the hole that was the Viet Nam war.

We found all the names and discussed Mia Lin's design and how too many Americans acted poorly when they saw that this bright capable artist had physical features of an Asian as her parents were from China. It was an ugly time.

Next we went to see the statue dedicated to the nurses. I am aways so pleased to see how these kids truly analyze everything and THINK!

As the kids circled the statue, asked and answered questions, I counted way too many adults who just took a look and walked on by. They saw the desperation and fatigue in the women's faces. They saw the the soldier laying in the arms of the nurse had little to no chance to live. They saw the woman watching for a helicopter to airlift this soldier, with her hand tenderly on her colleagues arm. They saw that race and age didn't matter. Being here with these young minds is such a joy!

Next up was the Lincoln Memorial. We had spent a lot of time this AM talking about the design or this memorial, the material used, and the speeches that are written on the wall. With this background they could experience this with different eyes and they did not disappoint.

There is renovation happening here and the block where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr gave his "I have a dream speech" is in the work area - but they kids still could feel the power of that moment from the top of the monument. They also understood so much about Marian Anderson's free concert on August 9, 1939 and why that mattered. The photos taken from here show the air quality of that day.

Next up Declaration of Independence Signers Island. This is an often missed gem on the mall. It is the perfect venue - free from pesky tourists - to talk about treason and the decisions one has to make regarding personal safety and ideals to make a better world. The truth is that so many of the men who signed that document have faded into anonymity, it took the kids and I several minutes to find names we knew. Then I asked them to do a rubbing of the names.

They liked this activity which left time for discussion. The last question on the Island...Knowing that this signature meant treason and the penalty for treason was death, would you sign?

Katelyn said, she didn't think so. Sagan was maybe, yes - kinda'. Daphne was a yes and I was a HARD NO!!!

Next up was the WWII Monument and it was here the 90+ degree heat caught up with us. The Viet Nam Memorial has trees - and shade. The Lincoln Memorial has a covered statuary hall - and shade. The Declaration of Independence Signers Island is mostly in the shade but the WWII Monument is tons of white marble and sunshine... heat!

First I asked the kids to find the very well hidden "Kilroy was here."

The imagery of Kilroy, suggests that “someone is watching”. It's a connotation that Adolf Hitler appeared to take seriously. In fact, it's believed that German intelligence considered the phrase a code name for a high-level Allied spy and they had an entire department with the mission of finding "Kilroy. In reality it was easy to draw and was a picture of support to the American soldier. But we liked that Hitler wasted resources trying to find "him."

The kids were overwhelmed with the more than 58,000 names on the Viet Nam wall - but here - each of the 4048 gold star represented 100 dead. Katelyn's eyes were so big - then I reminded them that these stars represent only American soldiers and that it is estimated that 70 - 85 MILLION people were killed during the war.

We found Michigan, Daphne took a pic and we headed out to find shade and then lunch.

Lunch was nice in a beautiful setting - but still hot!

All of us agreed that sitting under this fountain would have been refreshing break. The fountains was designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, who also designed the Statue of Liberty. He was a busy guy!

On to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. More renovation and we picked the wrong direction and has to walk almost 3/4 around before we found the entry. YIKES!!! Hot!! Good ol' Thomas was also in a covered hall, so that helped. We talked about him and learned some words like "polyglot" and "polymath" and "paradox."

I presented the kids with Two Dollar Bills to, so they will never be broke - if they keep that forever.

Then on to Franklin Roosevelt.

The only Presidential Memorial that honors the first lady as well. Katelyn and I do love Eleanor!!!

And that was it! I called the day DONE! Despite our Golf Cart we still had logged more than 8,000 steps. Sagan was done, Katelyn was done, Daphne was done and Damma was done, done, done. Our golf cart took us right to our hotel and we relaxed in air conditioned comfort. The kids worked on their books, Daphne read and I took a nap. We will have some re-arranging to do - but we can do it. Later in the afternoon, we watched short videos on The Old Guard, the sentinels who guard the "Tomb of the Unknown" and after dinner (leftovers from China Town) we turned on Part 2 of Apollo 13.

Tense times as the CO2 numbers started to rise in the ship and then as they entered the earth's atmosphere and the radio silence ticked in to 4 minutes, but finally they were home. The kids were very interested in seeing the old time methods of recovering the astronauts and the capsule. That led to a discussion about the upcoming Artemis moon project. It is hard to believe that so much time has passed since that mission.

We played Euchre - and although I told the kids "PREPARE TO DIE", they beat Daphne and me. Then it was 9:00 and we all agreed that going to bed sounded great. It is currently almost 8:00 AM - Tuesday. We are spending the day at the African American Museum of History and Culture and we have to be there at 10:00. We are taking an Uber - so I'm letting people get the rest they need.

We will be inside today - but we are taking sweatshirts. It seems it is either too cold or too hot. But, whatever the temp the learning and the laughter continues.

Stay tuned.

[sakebytheriver]

So sorry to bother you. I think I just need someone to help ground me, and you seem really nice and genuine. I’m planning a trip to New Orleans (to see Lizzo and get my hair cut and highlights and That tattoo I’ve always wanted) and then flying out to DC (for another Lizzo concert and it was a great opportunity to visit and get a feel because it’s a place I’ve really really been considering to go and work and live). I was going to stay with my friend for the New Orleans part of the trip but now I can’t (which is fine she has company so I get it) but now I’m getting all in my head that this is a sign and this trip is a bad idea especially because I’m traveling alone. I don’t know anymore. If you have any advice I will greatly appreciate it! If not that’s okay too!

Oh wow, I mean first off I wanna say that sounds like a super fun trip, I've been to both New Orleans and Washington DC and they're both incredible places. DC has tons of museums to visit, my dad and I went to basically every single one we could, I adore museums and DC has some of the best. And New Orleans is a beautiful place in a million different ways, when I went it was for a high school trip and they'd arranged all these cool experiences for us to go on like we went to downtown and walked around all the different shops and we did a swamp tour, this family owns a gater farm and they take people out on boats to see the area and they had snakes and turtles and a bunch of different animals for us to meet, the son was a professional wrestler and he wrestled the gaters in front of us and their entire family was on Wife Swap 😭 we watched their episode on the bus after. They were both trips I will never forget and I suspect this trip will be one you never forget too even if there's some bumps in the road. I had tons of bumps in the road with these trips, bad things happened before them and during them that made me feel like the whole thing could be ruined, but there were things on these trips that were amazing and make every bad thing look like nothing in comparison. I mean, you're going to see LIZZO that's fucking awesome and the other things too, haircuts and tattoos, these are great plans, just because there's a bump in the road doesn't mean all of that awesome stuff is negated. Traveling alone is always scary and can feel isolating, but sometimes it's better that way, then the only person you're dependant on is yourself. If you wanna wake up early and go on a sunrise hike you only have yourself to convince, if you wanna sleep in and have a lazy day there's no one else pushing you to do something else. I recommend looking into some stupid fun tourist things you can do on your trips, maybe join a bus tour, you could probably look online and find groups of people to hang out with while you're there, idk if it would be applicable, but I use this app called Meetup where there are groups of people who post fun things they want to do but they don't want to go alone but they have no one else to ask, I'm even in a group called I always wanted to do that but I didn't want to go alone, so there's tons of stuff out there for you to meet people. Also you're def going to meet people at the concert, another personal story incoming but I went to Taylor Swift's Reputation concert in Boston 😭 (im sorry im a swiftie) and I went alone, but when I got there the people sitting behind me were super nice and they were both around my age and we started talking and complimenting each other's looks and we took pictures and videos and cried together on emotional songs. I never spoke to those two after the concert but I'm always gonna have the pictures and videos we took and so will they, I'll remember them as two nice strangers and they'll remember me as one nice stranger.

In the end your trips sound incredible and you should be excited for them even if there's a few bumps, the good stuff will outweigh the bad in the future, I promise

[writingjjfics]

Vacation with JJ

~ Headcanon (not my gif)

I just got back from Venice, Italy and I just couldn't help but think about how romantic it would be to be there with JJ 😏 Sooo enjoy this headcanon I thought of! The ending sucks I'm sorry.

You and JJ had started saving for this trip the moment you started dating.

Going to Venice was already high on both of your bucket lists, so when it came up in one of your conversations, you promised each other that you would go one day.

It wasn't your first vacation together, but it was the first vacation to Europe.

Normally you would stay a little closer to home, which made it less expensive.

But you and JJ both just graduated and earned some extra money.

So it felt like the perfect moment to have a well-deserved vacation.

Plus your parents paid for the hotel as a graduation gift and gave you some extra money to spend.

They also wanted to give JJ something for his graduation, because his father didn't care and they felt bad.

You arrived at the hotel around 7 pm on a Tuesday.

The hotel was in a quiet area, but not far from everything else.

After checking in and freshening up from the long flight you decided to drink a spritz at the hotel bar before searching for a restaurant to eat dinner.

You and JJ sat along the water with your drinks.

"Cheers baby"

"It's so beautiful here"

The sun was slowly setting, gondolas sailed by and the Italian language immediately gave you that romantic holiday feeling.

After your drinks, you and JJ walked around the area a bit.

Discovering that the street behind your hotel was the place to be for eating.

A lot of small bars and restaurants along the water.

You sat down at a pizzeria, both craving pizza.

Almost got in a fight with JJ because he wanted to order a pizza Hawaii as a joke.

"J, no they will literally kill you here"

You ended up sharing a pizza Funghi as the pizzas were huge.

The next day you decided to visit all the tourist spots right away to get that over with.

Starting from a busy shopping street and visiting some souvenir shops as you walked towards the Rialto Bridge before continuing to St Mark's Square.

You bought some souvenirs for the Pogues and your parents.

JJ insisted on buying a penis-shaped limoncello for John B and Pope.

You thought it was childish and a waste of money as it was way overpriced.

"Don't be jealous babe, you'll get my dick ton-"

"Don't fucking end that sentence"

It was extremely busy and hot, but luckily the alleys were quiet and with plenty of shade.

The rest of the days you didn't have a plan but just strolled through all the streets and enjoying Venice from the water on the Vaporetto.

Visiting some of the places you pinned in google beforehand.

Eating pasta or pizza almost every night.

Get lunch from traditional bakeries and eat it on the stairs along the water.

Drinking a lot of spritz.

JJ wanted to be a gentleman and pay for almost everything even though he got the money from your parents.

But it's the thoughts that count.

JJ holding your hand or walking behind you with his hands on your waist as you walk through busy crowds.

Knowing how easily JJ can get distracted, you came up with a spot in every place to meet if you would lose each other.

You loved that there were no cars or other traffic.

But extremely tired feet because of all the bridges.

Unfortunately, you didn't go on a gondola ride, because that was too expensive, but you did take the gondola once to be able to go to the other side of the water. Which took about 2 minutes.

JJ getting jealous every time you mentioned a hot Italian guy walking by.

Or when a waiter tried to flirt with you.

"He only does that for his job. He probably didn't even mean it"

But JJ wasn't convinced and gave the waiter angry glances every time he complimented you.

Forcing JJ to take photos of you.

He complained about it but secretly loves to encourage you by telling you how pretty and sexy you look.

And quickly airdropping the pictures to his phone so he could have them as well.

Setting his favorite picture of you as his new lock screen.

Having lots of sex.

In the morning, late at night and when the boy was extremely horny he even made you go back to the hotel during the day.

You also went to the beach in Lido.

Where you have been sunbathing most of the time.

And went surfing for a bit.

On the last day, you and JJ made a promise that one day you would come back to Venice with your kids to show all the places 'mom and dad' had been years ago.

You were so tired you fell asleep on JJ on the flight home.

JJ didn't mind. He was just really happy.

[1-800-seo]

Pairing: Lee Taeyong X Gender Neutral Reader

Song: The Louvre - Lorde (lyrics mentioned)

Genre: Fluff/Artist!You + Poet!Taeyong

Warnings: suspicions of cheating, alcohol consumption, slightly tipsy-ness, some kissing, implied sexual content but not explicit. 

Word Count: 4000 approx. 

Summary: As wandering, travelling college students on a gap year, meeting each other in the Louvre was purely coincidental, and usually summer flings weren’t your thing, but Taeyong was different. And like a moth to a flame, you were entranced.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

The floorboards creak as the tour group shuffles down the hallways of the Louvre, passing many other tourists. The tour group leader stops at another painting and begins his explanation of the painting you see in front of you; well, you would be able to see it if you weren’t at the back of the group. Craning your neck to see, you stand on your tiptoes, before realising it is all in vain. Forgetting the other artwork, you swivel to see another painting on the wall adjacent to it and peer upon it instead. A young icy blond haired man stands beside you, examining the artwork too. He wears a baggy striped t-shirt that shows his delicate collarbones, tucked into a pair of black skinny jeans, a necklace gently hanging around his neck. He looks positively comfy, but effortlessly chic; you can’t help but stare at his chiselled jawline either. The man looks as if he was carved out of marble, angular lines with delicate features, he was stunningly beautiful. And suddenly, you realise you’ve been staring way too long when he turns his head and catches you. 

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” He says, but you sense no malice in his voice as a warm smile creeps up his face. Looking at the ground, the painting, anywhere, you apologise; “Ah, I’m sorry… uhm I like your outfit.” You reply gingerly, unsure of what to say to remedy the situation. “Thank you! It’s new.” He sits down on a near bench, eyes trained on the painting ahead. “As great as this painting is, I cannot stand scenes of suffering - I really struggle to find the beauty in them.” He blurts out after a moment. “Why’s that?” You curiously reply. You’ve always liked paintings from the romanticism era, the painting in question being ‘The Raft of the Medusa’ by Theodore Gericault. “For instance, this painting shows their suffering, and just that itself is not nice to see, but the colour palette is so murky to me. What do I know though, I’m no artist.” You understand what he means, as an art major, you had to analyse this piece one semester. “I get where you are coming from, the aging of the paints makes it appear murkier than the artist intended, and I think that adds to the whole ‘suffering’ aspect.” As you end your sentence, you turn your head and realise the tour group has moved on. You pat him on the shoulder and point in the direction of the crowd. He swears under his breath before standing up and leading the way back with the group. What a beautiful stranger. 

Once the tour group has ended, you vacate the Louvre, more sightseeing to do. After a busy day of staring up at the Arc De Triomphe and climbing the stairs of the Eiffel tower, you end up walking by the Louvre again since you previously spotted a cute cafe you wanted to try out. Now dusk, the water display is illuminated, bathed in light and bubbling. You see a familiar figure sat on the wall beside it, looking slightly lost and reading from a notebook. Unsure whether to help, you continue walking on to the cafe, this would only take a minute or two. Once done, with two coffees in hand, you walk back to the Louvre and the figure still sitting on the wall. 

“Are you ok? You seem a bit lost?” You gently ask, testing the waters. The man from the gallery looks back up to you, big expressive eyes staring back, and you sense a hint of worry in them. “Hi, yeah, I’m a bit lost. My phone died and I can’t find my way back to my hotel.” He says, forlorn. “Well, I bought you a coffee, if you’d like it, and I don’t mind helping! I can maybe help with directions.” You hand the coffee towards him, and he takes it from you, eyes lighting up as he does. “Aww thank you! That would mean a lot to me, and thank you for the coffee.” You sit down on the wall next to him as you pull up Google maps on your phone. “It’s no problem. Where are you staying? I’ll put it into maps and have a look.” “I’m staying at the mur de coquelicots hotel.” “Oh no way! I’m staying there too! I know exactly where it is, we can walk back together.” “That sounds great.” He replies with a smile, eyes shining. 

The pair of you walk through the city as the sun sets and the moon begins to shine. Conversation flows easily, and you find yourself totally enamoured with this stranger. He’s bubbly and friendly, charismatic and charming, simultaneously shy and chatty. It’s hard not to stare as he speaks to you, it’s an added bonus that he’s gorgeous. Unfortunately, the walk is over quicker than you’d like and you two enter through the lobby of the cheap but nice enough hotel. You make your way into the elevator with him, and press your floor. “Well it was nice meeting you. I just realised I don’t even know your name.” You giggle. “I’m Y/N.” “Thank you for your help Y/N, I’m Taeyong by the way.” “You’re welcome, goodnight Taeyong.” You bid your farewell and exit the lift, the doors opening as you finish your sentence. 

As you reach the door to your room, you fiddle with the key card, excitement bubbling up inside of you. What a lovely guy. You flop down on the comfy hotel bed once you’re inside of the room. Spending all summer in Paris was becoming more and more like a dream come true. 

The sun shines through the translucent curtains as you gather your things into your tote bag and get ready to leave the hotel room for breakfast. You wander over to the quaint bakery across the road from the hotel, and spot a familiar figure sitting in the outdoor seating with a newspaper. The blonde haired man sports a beret, and looks positively relaxed as he munches away on a croissant. You pick out a pastry, before walking over. “Is this seat taken?” You ask, and pull out the chair to sit down. “No, feel free to sit.” He replies with a smile. You sit opposite to him and shift in your seat to get comfortable. “What a lovely morning, right?” His smile beams as he looks your way. “Definitely! I love the warm weather.” You say, “it’ll be perfect to paint in.” “Oh so, you’re a painter? That’s cool, Paris is perfect for inspiration. It’s certainly aiding me.” “Yeah, I’m a painter, I’m here as an international student on study leave. What do you do?” “I’m an English literature major, specialising in poetry, so I’m here finding inspiration for poems of my own.” “Well, you’re certainly at the right place. Speaking of inspiration, I’m going to visit the Palace of Versailles today if you’d like to come with me and are not busy. I thought since you’re alone here, you might want to?” You ask, rubbing your hands over your arms, a slight shiver of nervousness at your sudden offer. “That sounds amazing! Thank you for the invite. What time are you thinking of leaving?” His eyes light up at your offer and your nervousness is put at bay. “Around 12pm, and you’re very welcome.” You reply.  “Sounds good, I’ll meet you here at 12pm then?” He responds chirpily. “Sounds good to me.” 

Okay I know that you are not my type (still I fall.) I'm just the sucker who let you fill her mind

(But what about love?)

Nothing wrong with it

Supernatural

Just move in close to me, closer, you'll feel it coasting

This wasn’t something you usually did. Asked our strangers or chose to spend time with ones you are not familiar with. But it was almost a supernatural attraction. He was not your usual type at all, but something strong and lulling was moving over you. Something indescribable, beyond enchanting. 

Walking around the luscious gardens of the Palace of Versailles was just a sight to behold. The beauty that is held within was stunning. It was as you strolled around it that Taeyong took your hand in his; so casually that you didn’t think anything of it at first, but then it hit you and your heart fluttered. You smiled wide as he looked at you with tender eyes. It’s not wrong to move this fast right? Nothing wrong with a summer fling. 

Nothing wrong with it, supernatural. 

As the two of you walk around, conversation flows freely. You speak of previous art pieces and he talks about writing, he tells you about how long he’s been in Paris and so many other things. Before you know it, you two find yourselves under a grand stone archway, and conversation trails off delicately. “You’re so beautiful, I love the way the sunlight hits you. I think you’d make a beautiful painting yourself.” He says unexpectedly. A bubble rises through your chest, and you know what you want to do. You lean forward, placing your hands gently either side of his head and you kiss him. His soft lips meet yours and you are drinking each other in. The kiss is brief but heavenly all the same. As you pull away you notice a light blush over his cheeks and a dorky grin on his face. You feel the same grin on yours. 

After a lovely day together walking around the palace’s gardens and opulent rooms, you decide to head back and get some food together. Being students and not having a ton of money, you both decide to get food from a local convenience store and to eat it on the hotel room balcony. “What do you fancy eating?” He asks, his hand still grasped around yours as you peruse the items in the shop. “I think I fancy some quiche, what are you thinking?” “I think I’ll get some cheese and crackers.” He adds, checking out the foreign cheeses. Once the pair of you have your haul, you head back up to the hotel room, and lay out your spread on the balcony table. The sun is setting gently in the distance and it illuminates the skies in gentle peaches and pinks. In his company, it just feels so comfortable, so cosy. 

A rush at the beginning. 

At the shop, you also purchase a bottle of wine, and the two of you share it together. Perhaps the cosy feeling is from that, you don’t know, but either way; you enjoy being in his company and don’t regret talking to the beautiful stranger in the Louvre. After some time, you’re both positively tipsy, not drunk, just giggly and happy. Taeyong starts dancing on the balcony, languid movements and sharp ones intertwined into a beautiful choreography. You’re not quite sure how he learnt to dance this way, he deserves to be on a stage. But for tonight, you were his audience. 

Drink up your movements, still I can’t get enough. 

He flows freely, not unlike a puppet on a string, controlled by some unseen forces to move his body in ways you could never. “Where did you learn that dance?” You ask, intrigued to no end. “I’m freestyling, just making it up.” Of course, he’s beautiful, intelligent, kind, and talented. “That’s crazy, you’re amazing.” You reply, and he blushes at your compliment. “One minute, I’m just going to go to the bathroom.” He replies, and sets his phone down on the table. “See you in a sec.” Whilst he’s gone you sit and stare at the beautiful dusk sky that is out ahead. You’re aware that what you have with Taeyong is quite the whirlwind, but you really can’t find the space to care. There isn’t any damage being done, and you’re young so now’s the time to have fun and be carefree. You’re in Paris, maybe it’s called the City of Love for a reason? 

As almost to interrupt your thinking, Taeyong’s phone buzzes on the table and the screen illuminates in front of you. You can’t help but see what the message says, it’s right there in front of you. The message is from “이 소연” and it reads: “Missing you, my dear, can’t wait to have you back in my life. Enjoy Paris <3” 

Is it possible he has a partner? Were you not the only one? It’s entirely possible that you were just a summer fling to him, and he actually has a partner back home. 

I overthink your punctuation use. Not my fault, just a thing that my mind do.  A rush at the beginning. I get caught up, just for a minute. 

Were you just getting caught up with everything? Did you really just rush into things without even a second thought. Of course, you were being naive, you didn’t even ask if he was single before kissing him. And yes, he reciprocated but what did that mean? You were just the enabler. 

Alas, you had to move on with the night, getting suspicious of him and acting weird wouldn’t help right now. So when he comes back onto the balcony, you continue the night as normal, pushing down your feelings. Perhaps it was his sister. You really cannot presume. Despite your logical side being sensible, your emotional side still fought a battle. Warring to be front and centre of your thoughts. You know you can’t let it get the better of you though. And so, you carry on with the night, albeit slightly stilted now; and you make an excuse to go to bed earlier than you normally would. You scuttle off to your hotel room across the hall and settle in for the night. Thoughts swirling around and around in your mind. 

Can you hear the violence? Megaphone to my chest, broadcast the boom, boom, boom. 

The sun rises overhead, almost fully above the buildings as you nibble on your croissant quietly. The streets are starting to come to life as you watch from the local bakery with your morning coffee. Desperately, you try to put your mind at ease, try to push down the onslaught of intrusive thoughts; illogical as they come. After 20 minutes, you start to feel more at peace, you watch the dainty flowers sway in the morning breeze in their pot. You almost expect to feel worse when you see him. He approaches you, leather satchel hanging at his waist, and waves as he comes. Instead you don’t feel worse, you just feel oddly numb. Completely sensationless as you put on a smile in return to his wave. He sits down in the chair across from you, and places his satchel on the floor next to his chair. 

“Good morning! How are you today? I hope you’re not hungover from the wine last night.” He says with a giggle. “I know I certainly am, but I’m trying to be positive.” He adds, and you notice his slightly ruffled bed head, must’ve been from a rough sleep. “Ahh, you certainly are doing a good job of being positive then,” you reply with a smile that reaches your eyes and crinkles them, “luckily, I don’t feel hungover. I’m just enjoying the morning slowly and as it comes.” Which is true, you decided you’d take today as it comes. “I’m glad you don’t feel too bad then. I’m just going to nip inside to get something to eat, do you want anything?” He rises from his chair and gestures to the shop door. “No thank you, I just finished a croissant before you came, but thanks anyway.” “No worries.” And he leaves to enter the boulangerie. 

I’m just the sucker who let you fill her mind. 

You didn’t want to make things awkward with Taeyong. It wasn’t worth it, at the end of the day, all you did was kiss him once. Perhaps you needed to find out more about him, get the full context at least. When Taeyong sits back down the conversation starts back up again and turns to family life. “So do you have any family back home?” You ask curiously. “What, in Korea? Yeah, I do. I have my parents back home and a sister. Yerin, she’s 15 and quite the handful. I miss her, but for now FaceTime calls will suffice.” He lets out a low chuckle at his own joke, making the situation a bit lighter. His answer doesn’t provide any clues to your questions though. “Aww that’s nice, I have a sister too. But she’s older than me. Do you have a partner at all?” You ask now, testing the waters. “Nope, just me, myself, and I.” “Same for me.” Well, that also doesn’t answer your questions. You’re pretty sure that the text earlier wasn’t from his sister, and you expect his mum to be down in his phone as a term of endearment; not a full name so it can’t be her. Is it better to give up the search? Maybe asking Taeyong more later would help. But what to say? Future you would deal with that. For now, you had the whole day ahead. 

“So what do you have planned today?” He inquired now, breaking you from your thoughts. “I’m just going to go paint in the local park, do you fancy being my sitter? I need more anatomy practice.” “Ooh of course! I’ve never done anything like that before.” And so today’s plans were set. How could you pass up on the opportunity to paint someone built so divinely like Taeyong? Personal interests aside, Taeyong was made to be immortalised in artwork forever. His sharp jawline, large emotive eyes, and slim frame all coming together to create the perfect sitter for you. A painting of him, no matter the artist who painted it, should be hung in the Louvre. A masterpiece deserving of being viewed by everyone and adored. 

Our thing progresses

I call and you come through

The spot you are situated in is perfect, a lush knoll leading out onto a tulip field, the many colours like a rainbow behind Taeyong. You’d decided to paint him in watercolour, partially because of the easy clean up, partially because you want to capture his true beauty, the delicate tones of his skin, hair, and eyes; the gentle dips of his collarbone, the sinewy muscle of his arms. 

Taeyong poses quietly, the silence a comfortable one, as you begin painting him. He looks thoughtful, looking out into space behind you, he almost seems meditative, eyes blinking slowly and breathing even. As you mix the colour of his skin tone on your watercolour pan, you see him sigh, and wonder what he is thinking about. From what you know, Taeyong’s an introspective person, much like you, and perhaps that’s the mood he is in today. You are the same. It’s hard in the silence for your thoughts not to turn to the message. Intrusive thoughts fly around like bats in the night time; even if he was cheating, could you not push it aside for the sake of a summer fling? Logical thoughts cross out that of the intrusive ones - of course not, how could you be the other person in his relationship for the sake of selfishness? It’s important to be communicative, and if you have your worries - suspicions - then should you not speak to him about it? Sometimes things are better left unsaid, yes, but this is not one of them. 

With a new resolve, you decide to talk to him come the evening. Clarification is what you need, and you must bolster up the courage to get it. 

I am your sweetheart psychopathic crush

You know what they say about alcohol, it’s liquid courage, and after a glass of wine or two, you finally feel bold enough to approach Taeyong. You open your hotel room door, and cross the hallway to his. A sharp rap on the door brings you to Taeyong��s attention, and he pads across the room to open the door. You stand near the threshold, looking almost alarmed, like a deer in headlights. Perhaps you came underprepared and unrehearsed. “C-can I talk to you?” You ask, words stuttering on their way out. “Of course, come in.” He replies gently, sensing your unease as he gestures for you to come in. 

Once you’re both situated on the balcony in those damn uncomfortable plastic chairs, you begin to talk. “Do you have a partner, Taeyong?” You fiddle with your hands, eyes glued to them in aversion from his eyes. “No, why?” He replies, head cocked to the side in confusion. “When you went to the bathroom the other day, your phone was on the table directly in front of me, and pardon me for breaking your privacy, but I couldn’t help but read the preview of the message that came up. It said “missing you, my dear, can’t wait to have you back in my life. Enjoy paris,” and then there was a love heart at the end. I’ve probably got the wrong end of the stick, but I’ve been so cautious because I don’t want to be that other person in a relationship. I don’t think you’re lying to me, I just wanted to be sure, and ask you since it’s been bothering me.” 

Taeyong takes a hold of your hand in his and smooths his thumb over the back of it in a comforting gesture. “I promise darling, I’m not dating anyone. That was my crazy ex. I broke up with her roughly six months ago, and she’s still sending me random messages. The only reason why she knows about me being in Paris is because she keeps hounding my mother for information. She keeps mentioning about me being back in her life, but I promise to you that I have no intention of even seeing her or speaking to her. She’s a mad woman.” At his words you feel tension release inside your chest. Your body feels lighter and you feel a wave of relief. Thank goodness for that. 

“I’m sorry you’re having to deal with that Taeyong, and thank you for clearing things up. None of this is my place but, I appreciate you filling me in.” Now you look into his eyes, the dark earthy spheres look back at you as the remaining sunlight gives them a glossy shine. You smile back and he leans forward, lips meeting yours in a kiss. You drink him in now, no longer hesitant to taste him. To him you taste so heavenly, the remaining mature hints of red wine mixed with something inherently just you, has him high with the feeling. He moves his hands to your waist now and you climb onto his lap, eager to be closer to him, to touch him. He fiddles with the hem of your shirt in his grip as you kiss down his neck now, lapping at the warm tan skin. “Let’s go inside, yeah?” He whispers in your ear, and you nod in agreement. 

Well, summer slipped us underneath her tongue,

Our days and nights are perfumed with obsession, Half of my wardrobe is on your bedroom floor, Use our eyes, throw our hands overboard. 

The morning light spills into the room through the translucent dainty cream curtains as they flow in the wind. The window is open to let the summer air flow in, and you don’t feel a chill at all. Taeyong’s warm skin radiates a heat you’ve never quite experienced, it’s so homely and cosy. The feeling of your head on his chest as you listen to his heartbeat unlike any other else. It’s nice to just be held, to feel the closeness of another human being and feel utterly comfortable. 

You think back to the portrait of him you painted yesterday, and somehow you think it’s your best piece. There’s nothing like being able to capture a person with the aura whole. The piece emits something wholly him, just him. You think that’s why it might be your favourite. Maybe someday they’ll hang it in the Louvre, you giggle to yourself at that thought and Taeyong stirs underneath you. “What’s so funny, baby?” He asks, spoken with a gruff morning voice low and gravelly. “I was thinking about your portrait, and I thought about how you could hang it in the Louvre. But only because it’s you.” 

“They’ll hang us in the Louvre, down the back, but who cares, still the Louvre.” He replies, a blissed out look on his face. He’s right, maybe not about yourself, but about him. He might just be the ultimate muse. 

But we’re the greatest 

They’ll hang us in the Louvre

Down the back, but who cares - still the Louvre

thank you for reading! this fic is for the ‘Now Playing’ collab by @haechanblr and it was a joy to take part!! I hope everyone liked this hehe :))

If ur interested in more of my works my masterlist is here <3

[lovemeleo]

New York State of Mind (Part 2)

I had planned to have this posted earlier but here I am, right before the end of our Peanut’s birthday. Whoops. Here is Part 1 if you haven’t read it yet.

These OCs and their world belong to @lumosinlove.

cw: mentions of food

_________________________________

It took the three of them around 30 minutes to finish getting ready with only minimal interruptions, which honestly wasn’t bad. Sometimes they could take an additional hour if they were distracted enough. But once Finn was reminded of the plans, he was not going to get off track. 

Finn knew people didn’t think he was good at presents. They honestly weren’t wrong, he was really bad at buying gifts. He never knew what to buy. But experiences. That he could do. He liked planning things that he thought the people he cared about enjoyed. And his boys. He knew his boys better than anyone. So when it got close to Leo’s birthday, him and Logan sat down and began planning. While Leo was easy to please, and would’ve probably been happy just having dinner at their house, this was 20th birthday. It had to be perfect. And it honestly had been so far.

He watched as his boys pulled on their jackets, tucking wallets and phones into pockets, “Don’t forget gloves. And a hat. Not a snapback, Lo. An actual keep your ears warm hat. We’re walking and I’m not gonna give you mine when you get cold.” Finn announced, pulling his own hat down over his hair. He also made sure to grab a small backpack, just in case they purchased anything while out and that way it was all easier to carry.

“How far we walking, Harz?” Leo asked as he pulled his gloves out of his suitcase, tucking them into his pocket as he followed the other two out of their room to the elevator.

Finn hummed, glancing up from his phone, “Ah, less than three miles. But we’re going to make some touristy stops on the way to the final destination.”

Raising an eyebrow, Leo glanced over at Finn, “Final destination? Sounds sorta ominous, mon rouge.” He said as they made their way out. A wall of cold air hit them as soon as they walked out of the hotel.

Finn began leading the way to 7th Ave, tucking his phone back into his pocket. This was his city, he knew where he was going. 

Him and Logan had taken turns planning days during the trip, and today was his day. It was probably his favorite one that he planned. He even kept most of it a secret from Logan.

As they walked down the sidewalk, Leo’s head was constantly on a swivel as he took in the huge busy city. He had been to New York for games, but he never really got to look around or do any of the fun touristy stuff that everyone talks about.

“I know where we’re going.” Logan shouted as he looked around, recognizing the area from when Finn had shown him around. “We’re go-” 

A swift elbow to the ribs cut him off as Finn gave him a look, “Don’t tell him!” He interrupted, hooking his arm through Logan’s as they kept walking. 

Letting out a chuckle, Leo looked up ahead to see tons of lights and people. His eyebrows furrowed before his eyes lit up with recognition, “That’s Times Square, isn’t it?” He asked, bouncing excitedly on his toes as he picked up the pace a bit.

Finn grinned, dragging Logan along as they tried to keep up with the giant speedwalker, “You got it, baby. We’re gonna do a longer stop here later in the week to look around and shop and such but I figured you’ve gotta get your tourist in Times Square photo to start out with.”

As they finally got into the square, Leo couldn’t help himself as he stopped right in the middle, spinning a bit to try and get a look at everything. He’s seen it in movies and pictures, but those could never do it justice. “This is insane! There’s just so many people.” 

Finn took a couple pictures as Leo looked around, a grin spreading across his face, “Peanut, this way. I’ve got the perfect place to take a picture.” He insisted before he began leading the way.

“The top of these stairs is the perfect spot. You can get like all of downtown in the background.” Finn explained excitedly as he led Logan and Leo up to the top. The two boys shared a look as they followed him up, a warm smile on both of their faces as they listened to him talk. “So first we’ll do Leo by himself for his birthday, and then we’ll ask someone to take one of the three of us, okay?”

Leo smiled, making his way up carefully, “Sounds good, sweetheart. This a good spot? Can you get everything in?” He asked, as he leaned on the railing. Finn leaned back with Logan standing behind him to make sure he didn’t fall.

“That’s great, Nutter Butter. Now gimme a big smile!” Finn said, unable to hide the giant grin behind his phone as Leo smiled. He loved that smile. It took over Leo’s face, lighting up whatever area he was in. You couldn’t help but smile right back at him.

Him and Logan both quickly looked at the pictures, smiling as they scrolled through to make sure they came out okay, “Perfect, Sunshine.” Finn said with a soft smile as he looked up at his boyfriend.

As he showed Leo the pictures, Logan found a lady to take the pictures for them. She followed him up the steps with a grin, “Alright, who’s phone should I take it on?” She asked.

Finn quickly switched over to the camera app and handed it over, “Mine please. Thanks so much.” The three of them moved to the top again with Leo in the middle as she situated herself to get the best picture.

“Alright, boys, smile!” She said with a grin. Logan couldn’t have picked a better person, as she seemed to take a bunch for them, moving to get better angles and everything. When she handed the phone back to Finn, there were at least 20 photos taken.

Finn scrolled through them, setting his favorite one as his background before looking back at her, “These are perfect, thank you so much.” 

She shrugged with a smile, “It’s no problem at all. Hope you guys have a good rest of your day.” They watched as she headed back to her group.

“Can you send me all of those please?” Leo said, resting his chin on top of Finn’s head as he looked at the cute shots of them. Finn had already created an album on his phone just for pictures from this trip, so he added Logan and Leo in so they would have access.

Looking at his boyfriends, Finn smiled happily, “Y’know, we’re pretty fucking adorable.” He said, holding up his phone background.

Logan shook his head with a laugh before pressing a kiss to Finn’s cheek, “Well yeah, mon rouge. I could’ve told you that.” He said with a smile. It was still weird to be able to kiss or touch in public without worry. They had only come out a month or two ago, so there was still that brief moment of panic of ‘Oh no, did anyone see?’ before realizing that it didn’t matter if they could. It was nice. 

“Alright, let’s keep moving. If you see anywhere you want to stop today, we can. We’re actually a bit ahead of schedule.” Finn said as he glanced at his watch. They made their way down the stairs and continued heading down the street.

They hadn’t even made it two blocks down 7th Ave when Logan let out a gasp, his eyes wide as he clutched at Leo’s hand. The taller boy followed his gaze before letting out a laugh. On one side of the street was Hershey’s Chocolate World. The other had M&M’s World.

“Guessing you wanna make a stop, Lo?” Leo asked, squeezing his hand.

Logan looked over at Finn, puppy eyes in full effect, “Pleeeeease, baby. You know how much I love chocolate and it’s Hershey and M&Ms, I promise I won’t be too long! Please please please!” He begged, his hands coming up to squeeze Finn’s cheeks.

Letting out a laugh, Finn nodded, “Of course, Lo. But what if we just do one today? We’ll be coming back this week and that way you don’t have to rush through both of them?” 

“Yes! Hershey’s it is! Let’s go!” Logan cheered, quickly making his way to the shop. Leo and Finn quickly walked after him, following his red hat as he ran through the doors. When they got inside, he had stopped in the doorway, eyes practically the size of saucers. The store was covered in different types of Hershey’s chocolate, as well as things like caramel apples covered in Hershey’s chocolate. 

Finn chuckled softly as he watched Logan’s face, quickly snapping a couple of photos of the awe on his face. Fingers intertwined with his as Leo came up next to him, snapping a couple pictures of his own, “I’m gonna send a picture to Loops. He’s going to be so jealous.”

“Lo, you okay? I think this might be the quietest I’ve heard you.” Finn asked, nudging his other boyfriend with his hip.

Logan turned to him, eyes still wide, “I think this is heaven.” He whispered.

The two boys couldn’t hide the giant smiles that formed as they watched the shorter man start to wander the store. After the fourth bag of candy was handed to them, they finally relented and grabbed Logan a cart.

“Lo. Babe. Love of our lives. My backpack is only so big. Where do you think we’re going to put all this chocolate?” Finn asked as he leaned on the cart.

Logan shrugged, putting an XL KitKat bar into the cart, “It’s alright, Harz. The nice Hershey’s lady told me I could leave it here and pick it up later.” 

Throwing his hands in air, Finn let out a laugh, “Of course she did. Is she gonna let us use the cart to carry it to the hotel?” He shared a fond look with Leo over the cart. In all honesty, he would carry all of the chocolate in the world on his back if it kept that smile on Logan’s face.

After around 30 minutes in the store, Logan had fully filled their cart as well as got on first-name basis with the ‘Nice Hershey’s lady’ who’s actual name was Liz. Now he was finally finished. They left his treasure of treats in the capable hands of Liz before heading back out to the road.

“Alright, now we’re heading to the surprise. It’s about 30 minutes, but it’s a nice walk. We go past part of the park.” Finn said, fixing his hat over his hair again.

They started their trek, stopping every once and awhile to take pictures at various spots like Strawberry Fields and The Dakota. Then they finally arrived, Finn stopping abruptly in front of a cool looking building. He was practically bouncing in place.

“We’re here!” He said, gesturing to the building.

Leo looked up, reading the name across the side of the building, “Rose Center for Earth and Space.” His eyes widened as he turned to look at Finn.

“C’mon then, it’s almost time for our turn.” Finn said with a smile, opening the door for them. 

As they walked in, smaller versions of the planets were above their heads. Finn walked up the front desk, talking quietly with the man at the desk who smiled. He looked back at Leo and Logan, “You guys ready?”

Leo was clutching Logan’s hand as he looked around before nodding, “I mean it’s hard to be ready when I have no clue what’s about to happen, but let’s go.”

The man behind the front desk led them to a dark room that had a theater set-up, “Welcome to the Hayden Planetarium. You guys can sit wherever you’d like.”

“Where’s everyone else?” Leo asked as they sat near the middle, staring up at the huge screen.

Smiling, the man shook his head, “This is everyone. You have it to yourselves. Enjoy.” He said before walking out.

“Mon dieu..” Logan said, eyes wide as he looked around. 

Finn fiddled with his shirt as he watched their faces, “They were advertising their newest show on the hotel website.. This one is called Journey to the Stars.” He shrugged before looking up at Leo. “Told you I’d bring you the stars, Le.”

Reaching forward, Leo quickly pulled Finn in for a kiss, “Sweetheart..” He murmured, resting his head on the other boy’s forehead.

They pulled apart as the show began to start, sitting back in their chairs. Logan smiled softly, reaching across the back of Leo’s chair to grab Finn’s shoulder, “I don’t think anyone can say you’re bad at gift-giving anymore, Harz.” He whispered. 

Leo sniffled softly as he watched the solar system spread around him, the planets and the stars right there in front of him. Finn really got him the stars. His boys took him to New York just for his birthday. The amount of love he felt for them was overwhelming while also never being enough. He would spend the next 20 years and all of the years after that giving his love to these boys. 

Watching as the entire universe flew in front of their very eyes, Leo smiled. 

Because he already had his entire world. Right next to him.

[starshipsofstarlord]

Vaping - Elizabeth Olsen x reader x JJ Maybank

Masterlist Link

Summary; introducing your girlfriend to your best friend takes an interesting turn. Much evolves from a couple beers and a vape, JJ finally lets go

Warnings; mentions of nudes, vaping, underaged drinking, mentions of sex, some angst, swearing, mentions of cheating, angst, rejection, unreciprocated feelings

As the two of you kissed, a strong scent hit you, like a ton of breaks causing collateral as it fell from a building, though it smelled specifically of a pungent lemon scent. The pair of you pulled away, and there was a vaping blond stood above you, quirking his brow at the sight. It was no surprise that he had chosen to intervene with your casual date, you knew how he felt about your new relationship.

As the two of you kissed, a strong scent hit you, like a ton of breaks causing collateral as it fell from a building, though it smelled specifically of a pungent lemon scent. The pair of you pulled away, and there was a vaping blond stood above you, quirking his brow at the sight. It was no surprise that he had chosen to intervene with your casual date, you knew how he felt about your new relationship.

He was appalled to hear that you were committed to another, angry, jealous, he could go on about the emotions that were raging on inside of him. Time before you had even knew of Lizzie’s existence, you and JJ had a thing, more specifically, you had broken the pogue on pogue rule. The two of you would go at it with ample lust fuelling your every action, but the stick in the mud was, JJ had actually caught feelings.

When you had cut things off with him, claiming that you wanted to see other people, he was outraged, though he played it off as though it were no big deal. You remained close friends, and hardly noticed how he had been reading your messages to Elizabeth over your shoulder, nor how he frowned every time he heard of someone by that name. It pissed him off, she had his prized jewel, she didn’t have to fight for you like he had tried.

She was gifted your affection on a silver and clean platter, there was no dirty or guilt ridden scrubs that endured the profanity in your relationships, the two of you could be open with your turn of adoration for one another, but when JJ thought that he had you, it had to all be a secret. Even the pogues weren’t permitted an insight of your transactions, even if they had a keen eye for how the pair of you mysteriously tended to wander off together.

Kie, Pope and John B had been supportive when you told them that you had began to like someone, at first they thought it was JJ, which had gotten his hopes substantially up, but then it was revealed there was a girl in the picture. It didn’t matter if she was pretty, or kind, or out of the class laws of OBX, JJ resented her, even though he was a stranger to her and vice versa. But the one thing he liked about this unknown lover of yours had been how she made you happy, that was always his goal.

Without it being the matter that he was supposed to be concerned about, JJ thought hard about his own feelings. Yes, he tended to be a screw up, but he had an inkling that he was more than smitten with you. He was in love with you, and staring down at you with this new partner of yours, gave him great staking pain in his chest. “Why are you here Maybank?” In defends, JJ raised a cartridge of four beers to your view, the cock of your head being an invitation for him to take a seat.

He cleared his throat, as though that would be a primal factor in establishing his dominance, as he turned to your girlfriend. “How are you liking Outer Banks so far?” He handed her a beer, to which Lizzie willingly accepted with a thank you and a too kind to hate smile. “Most tourists think the views are nice.” He prompted to the conversation, watching a riddle spur in the brunette’s eyes.

“Oh, the views are more than fine.” She looked at you, running her green orbs down your form as she shamelessly checked you out in front of the boy. Lizzie cracked the lid from the bottle, weaving it off as she took a gulp from the liquor, draining her extraction of it like a champ. “I’m Elizabeth by the way.” Oh, he knew. A part of him wished that he in fact did not, the impartial knowledge of being aware of your exclusivity status had him crumbling from the inside out.

He had been getting into more fights with the kooks lately, taking his anger out on the prissy teens to establish some kind of reputation, even if that not carry the title of your boyfriend. “We get quite a few storms, like Agatha, she was a right bitch, didn’t hear from y/n for like a week. She was getting it on with Kelce, he’s from the other side of the island.”

“Figure Eight.” She noted, having recalled you mention it before. Your eyes widened, kicking him in the shin as you realised what he was doing. “How long ago was that, I know you said the power went out.” JJ realised what she was trying to do, it was her attempt at creating a time line of actions. She was building up a map of your entanglements with actions, and seeing if you could be held accountable for cheating.

“Just before the two of got together, which links to this funny story....” Oh no, no he wasn’t, was he? “We’d had our fun in the past, me and your girlfriend, and turns out when I heard about you two, we were still fucking.” Snatching the vape from him, you breathed it in, as though you were preparing for Lizzie’s reaction. She simply shrugged, taking the item from you and lulling in the acidic smoke that filled her lungs.

“That’s okay, we didn’t know each other too well then, and it seems there is quite the tight knit on the island.” God were you relieved, and endorsed in the sight of smoke blowing out of her nostrils as she took another swig of the liquidised joint. “I don’t have a problem with it as long as you don’t. What was your name again, I seem to have forgotten.” Forgotten on purpose it was more like, she wanted him out of the picture, he was simply a blockade in his way.

“Me?” He laughed lightly whilst pointing at himself. Yes him, the guy that was being an absolute dick and disrupting your supposed to be peaceful evening. “Oh, I’m JJ. I have no problem with you being here, in fact, I think it’s great. You’re just another hot chick that has caught y/n’s eye, when you go back to wherever the hell you came from, she’ll probably start hooking up with some random; wouldn’t be the first time, doubt it’d be the last.”

“I’m from California.” She stated unimpressed by JJ’s behaviour. You had mentioned him to her, filled her in on all valid details, but you didn’t say that he was this much of a dick. “And I don’t have to worry about that, I have my reasons.”

“Oh, because you trust her so much?” He laughed, taking a heavy slog of beer, hurriedly gulping it down as though it were some kind of coping mechanism. “She’s not trustworthy, she doesn’t give a fuck about any one’s feelings, she uses them for her own pleasure, and then makes things neutral between them.” Was he being over the top? Definitely. Were you astounded by the scene that he was causing? Sure as hell.

“J settle down.” You tried to coax him, but he swiftly stood, tears rimming the inclination of bud pain staked eyes. It was clear that he was not settling down; not in the slightest. He breathed in the vape once more, the lemony scent burning down through his chest for a moment, before he released the cloud out into the air, it swimming above like a wave out of the ocean.

“Don’t J me.” He mimicked you, rifling his destructive hands through his blond locks. “I don’t even know who you are, yet you took everything from me.” Lizzie felt a little bad for your friend, he was clearly experiencing symptoms of emotions towards you, it made her feel guilty for your shared secret.

“I’m moving JJ.” You revealed, his face becoming stoic with wide eyes. Lizzie squeezed your hand as you physically and mentally stood up to your best friend and past friend with benefits, causing him brash surprise that burned through his lungs. “To California.” You finished.

“With her?” He asked astounded, taking a step back as he dropped the glass bottle, allowing it to drop upon the dock, causing both you and Lizzie to jump from the smash. “I can’t believe you.” He breathed from his vape, turning away with a shake of his head.

“J.” You tried to call out for him, but he nevertheless continued on his path away. “Come on, don’t be ridiculous.” Him, being ridiculous? What a stupid annotation, he was allowed to be hurt. Yet it seemed that you wanted him to feel nothing, be a mute to emotions.

“I’m ridiculous?” He huffed, spinning around so that your noses touched, forcing you to throw your head back in shock. “You’re the one that ditched me, for some girl, that doesn’t know that you have a peeve of people not putting their ankle through the loop when they surf because otherwise it just hangs there, and how it makes you absolutely crazy when Kie dresses like a kook. Wait a moment, did you tell her that you were a kook?”

He laughed, noticing how a frown formed upon Lizzie’s face. “That’s truly amusing, lying about your wealth to attract the attention of a pretty girl, when you have a guy that absolutely adores you for who and what you are. He’s pogue and proud, and currently speaking in third person because he’s scared to openly admit that he’s in love with you.”

It was an unexpected reveal, that statement of how he truly felt, it unfortunately was not just a crush. “She didn’t tell me that she was a kook, you just want there to be issues between me and y/n, which there isn’t. So I suggest you continue walking, she is not interested in you, or your fucking feelings. We are dating, and she is moving with me, so grow up and deal with it.”

“Wait-“ your words ended as he continued walking. You knew he would take the news terribly, but you never guessed it would be him walking away, rather than the other way around. You were going to be 43 hours away from your home to spend time with the one that you were coiled in a relationship with. It was not how you wanted things to end, instead you wanted him to breathe his vape into your face and be like normal.

[strangeinternetwasteland]

Finding Home- Dabi x Fem! Reader

This is my submission for Day 6 Places of @konoblog-simps server collab

Warning: Angst, Lots of Fluff, Soft Dabi

WC:2k

Leaving everything behind was the best decision he’d ever made. He was finally free, especially after emptying the bank account his father had for him. Nothing was holding him back. The few days after the big fight the anger was still there. It didn’t come to any physical blow but felt as if there had been. There was no looking back now, he will no longer be the unwanted son. He could change his name, his personality, and his whole story. He could be the person he truly wanted to be.

His first destination was the small city of Takayama in the Gifu Prefecture. The city always held a special appeal to him since it was known for the olden style of Japanese Culture. Something he’d always been interested in since a young boy. He stayed at the Hida Takayama Hostel for a few days. On the last night, he decided to stay at the Takayama Ouan with its breathtaking view of the city. It was here where the two of you met. Both of you spent your time talking about your future dreams and plans, and just enjoyed one another’s company.

The next morning he was planning on moving to a small picturesque town in the southern islands of Japan. ‘It was the perfect beginning to his new life.’ he told you. You decided to join him before continuing your next adventure. Here, the two of you spent two days watching the perfect sunsets the beach was named after. Most people didn’t pay any attention to you both assuming you were lovers lost in the moment.

You two exchanged numbers, in case your paths were fated to cross again. He left for Singapore, and you to South Korea. The few days spent with you left a wonderful impression on Dabi. The following days since Japan Dabi couldn’t stop thinking of you. The way your face lit up when talking about something you were passionate about, or the way you giggled when you were excited. It was those honest and earnest emotions from you he truly enjoyed. The memories helped him on the long and tedious train ride from Singapore through Malaysia. He got off a few times to get food or walk around.

Every stop he thought of calling or texting but restrained himself from doing so. He didn’t want to seem needy or clingy. A week later, when he was staying at a little hostel in Kluang in Malaysia, sipping on the most delectable cup of coffee when his phone chimed from you. You had sent greetings and wished him well. You had traveled through Russian and sent pictures of yourself at the Kremlin. How happy you looked in your picture. He wished he would’ve just joined you at that moment. He sent back well wishes and shared that he was currently enjoying a cup of coffee, with the promise to be the first one to text next time.

As the world trek continued for him, he found himself wandering through China trying all the delicacies he had heard about as he traveled. He spent a few days looking at the pandas, walked along the Silk Road, and saw the Terracotta Army before making his way through Mongolia, and taking in the breathtaking scenery of the grasslands. From Mongolia, he headed to Russia.

When he arrived at the Kremlin in Moscow, he stood exactly where you did, and snapped an identical picture to yours. He texted it to you as soon as he took it. He wore a small smile. You had texted him you were enjoying the beautiful colors of the Grecian seas, and how delectable the food was. He promised to visit Greece as soon as he could but had wanted to visit Mumbai, India first. You smiled knowing that you weren’t truly on this trek alone.

A few weeks had passed after the last text. You decided to text him to check on him. You found out he had been to see Mumbai, and sat on the famous Konkan coast. He also went to Jaipur to try Rajasthani cuisine and the street food in New Delhi. From there he went to Greece to learn and see the architecture of Athens, see the beautiful city of Santorini and see the first university in Greece.

He currently was in Lyon, France, while you were staying in Paris. He had plans to come to Paris in a couple of days. You made plans with him to meet in three days in Paris at a little restaurant called La Maison Rose in Montmartre. You were excited to see him, to say the least. You spent that morning going through all of the clothes you packed only to choose basic black slacks and a black shirt.

When you arrived you saw Dabi sitting at a table he definitely stood out against the Pink building. Your breath caught in your throat looking at him. When he looked up he saw you smiling. You knew that most people stared at him most of the time, and he did a good job ignoring them most of the time. However, with you, he seemed to fidget under your gaze. You weren’t sure if it was because you made him uncomfortable or if he was just like that.

“Hello, Y/N.” He greeted you with a kiss on each cheek. You felt electricity run through your body.

“Hello, how have you been? How is your trip going?” You asked with excitement. The two of you shared the highs and lows of your adventures, the pictures, and every ridiculous story you could. When the day got later you and Dabi grabbed dinner and wine. The feel of the city may have gotten to you, or perhaps it was the alcohol. You took Dabi back to your room and participated in evening affairs, as two lovers would do. This continued for another week. Waking up in his arms, enjoying the Parisian life with tourist flair, and getting to know another human through scandalous endeavors, and philosophical discussions post-coitus were the highlight of your time together.

You two had not discussed what would happen afterward, but deciding to part ways was a mutual agreement. You traveled south to Portugal and Spain, and he went north to the UK, Scotland, and Ireland. Another month had passed before you two had contact. For you, it wasn’t the most wonderful of occasions, but the positive pregnancy test you held in your hand deemed the matter important enough. You hoped he would be some sort of knight in shining armor, but you didn’t put a lot of faith in it. When you reached his voicemail all hope deflated, and you abruptly ended your trip and headed home.

Two more weeks had passed, and while you were still debating on the fate of your unborn child, you wondered what Dabi was up to. After his time in Morocco, he had traveled to Johannesburg, Durban, and then Cape Town in South Africa. When he was finally able to charge his phone properly for more than an hour, he heard your voicemail. His first thought was to call back since it had been two weeks since you had left the voicemail. You didn’t leave any clues or hints to the importance of your message, but you knew he’d call when he could.

It was early when you received his phone call you were in the middle of getting ready to work. You picked it up assuming it was your mother asking you to run an errand after work for her, or your boss asking you to work another double shift today. When your eyes looked at the name on the screen, your heart stopped for a brief second. You grew more and more nervous as you brought the phone to your ear. Without thinking, you pressed the green button.

“Hello.” Dabi’s voice said on the other line. “Hello? Y/N? Can you hear me?” His voice melts your insides. You thought back to the week you spent in Paris together tangled up in one another not caring about anything else.

“Hello?” You finally said into the phone.

“Hey, I am sorry about not calling you back sooner. I haven’t been able to charge my phone properly for some time. How are you doing? How’s your trek going?” His voice seemed light and carefree with a hint of exhaustion.

“Yeah. I am good. I have been back home for about 6 weeks.” You told him as nonchalantly as you could.

“Is something wrong? Are you okay? I thought you had another two weeks left?” His voice was gentle and full of surprise.

“Actually, I have something to tell you. The reason I ended my trip so abruptly was that I found out I was pregnant.” You felt nauseated from telling him. On the other line, you heard some shouting.

“Sorry, Y/N. I have got to go, but I will call you again as soon as I can.” Dabi rushed to say before hanging up the phone. The news hit him like a ton of bricks. He couldn’t remember exactly where you said you were from. He hoped he could find you on any social media site and figure it out from there. After an hour of searching, he figured out you lived in a small town in California. He immediately booked a flight to the closest Airport and hoped that would be enough.

Three days later without any phone calls or news from Dabi, you gave up. You figured that if he really cared, he would’ve called, or at least text you. You were in the middle of your day off when you heard the doorbell ring. Your mother was home for the day and you let her answer the door. From your room, you heard a deep voice speaking with your mother, but you couldn’t make out the words.

“I am very sorry ma’am, I was hoping to find Y/N here, but it seems I have the wrong house. Have a pleasant day.” Dabi spoke and turned around to leave. You rushed down the stairs and saw him.

“Dabi!” You cried out. He lifted his head at the sound of your voice. You tore down the stairs and straight into his arms. You hugged him as hard as you possibly could. You were astonished to see him standing before you, you started to cry. He wrapped his arms around you and buried his face in your hair. He stood and let you cry. Your mom walked away to let you two have a moment. After some time, you seemed to have calmed down. Dabi got down on one knee and proposed to you. You happily agreed.

In the months following, Dabi found a full-time job and rented an apartment for the two of you and the baby. You had a small wedding with your family present. A couple of years after the baby was born and you felt more stable, you planned a vacation for the three of you. You wanted to surprise Dabi and try to reconnect him with his family. After many phone calls to his parents when he wasn’t home. The three of you made your trip back to Japan. You thought back to where it all began on that serendipitous meeting. When you arrived at the airport you were met with open arms from Dabi’s family. You learned about his life growing up and his real name, which you promised to call him only when he was in real trouble.

In a quiet moment alone, Dabi took you aside, kissed you passionately, and thanked you for bringing him home to his family. A few days later, his mother and father thanked you as well. They loved seeing him as a loving husband, and doting parent, but most importantly you brought him back to them. Now their family was whole again.

[rudysrings]

TEACH ME

The lifeguard at the beach yesterday inspired me to write this...y’all tell me that’s 👆👆👆not JJ!!!!

Summary: The reader has to train a new lifeguard, a certain blonde who can’t seem to stop hitting on her.

Word count: 4.1k (Holy shit what did I do)

Warnings: Uh mentions of drowning, weed, fluff? Not much this is really just a sweet oneshot

Credit to @alexa-playafricabytoto for the killer idea...I don’t think I did it justice but here we go anyways 😂

DISCLAIMER: I don’t know shit about lifeguards and was too lazy to do research so this it’s extremely likely that this is HIGHLY inaccurate and I’m sorry about that but just go with it for fanfic purposes, eh?

“Hey, Y/N!” Mr. Rodriguez, your manager called out for you from his office in the beach’s visitor center. You had just clocked in, still in your jean shorts and tank. 

You quickly walked over, popping your head in the doorway of his office. Seated in front of him, you noticed, was a blond in a red snapback, a Kildare County Marina T-shirt on. “Yeah, boss?” You asked.

He gave you a rare, sweet smile, gesturing for you to sit down. 

Confused, you cautiously walked over, sliding into the empty chair beside the blonde boy. You felt him glance at you but you looked straight at your manager.

“So Kyle’s out on some family emergency this week…” Your manager started.

You scoffed inwardly but didn’t say anything out loud for the sake of being professional. Kyle’s family emergency was most likely him passed out and hungover after a night of drinking, smoking and a shit ton of coke or molly or acid or whatever he was taking these days. 

“And seeing as he was your partner and was supposed to train the newbie,” Mr. Rodriguez continued, gesturing towards the boy beside you, “So meet JJ Maybank, your new partner until I decide he’s learned enough from you.”

Your beach’s lifeguards worked on a partner system, due to its size. There were always two lifeguards in every tower to maintain maximum security.

You tried not to groan. JJ Maybank? Of all the people in the world, you had to get stuck with the one notorious for recklessness, theft, and starting fights? Of fucking course, you did.

“Right,” You nodded, giving your manager a tight-lipped smile, maintaining your politeness while subtly letting him know you were not happy with the cards you had just been dealt.

Again, without looking at JJ, you stood up, your hands on your hips. “When do we start?” You asked.

“Right now.”

You nodded, turning on your heel and calling over your shoulder. “You coming, Maybank?”

You heard shuffling as he followed after your long strides. You grabbed a rescue buoy for yourself and tossed one to JJ, who caught it with ease. You walked toward the front desk, smiling at Cheri, one of the receptionists your own age who was always nice to you, letting you get away with things she probably shouldn’t have. Picking up two whistles, you walked out the door and finally greeted the boy.

“So you lifeguard now?” 

He shrugged. “I do whatever to pay for my pot.” 

You rolled your eyes, walking down the beach towards your assigned tower for the day. “I can respect that.”

“So there are a few things you should know,” You began, to which JJ listened intently.

“I figure Rodriguez has already been through the list of your duties?” You raised an eyebrow in question.

JJ nodded. “Thoroughly. He doesn’t think I’ve a single brain cell, that man. He tried to draw me a picture of the lifeguard tower.”

You held in a smile. “If you ask me, he’s right to think that,” you quipped, making JJ pout.

“Anyways, apart from that, you need to know a few other things that are kind of unwritten. For example, don’t bother telling people to get off the rocks, just be ready to save them if they fall.”

JJ wrinkled his brows. “The fuck kind of rule is that? Not even going to warn people?”

You shrugged. “Unless you want to make a scene with a bunch of Karens shouting at you for dictating rules on a public beach, then you’ll do as I say.”

JJ grumbled. ‘Yes, ma’am.”

“Bob your head every once in a while so you don’t miss the people right below you.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Keep the buoy on you wherever you go.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And lastly, don’t ever think someone is faking anything. Doesn’t matter if your friend is pranking you, we gotta do what we gotta do. We have to save every last imbecile on this beach.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Frustrated, You turned towards him, stopping in the sand, one hand on your hip. “Oh, shut your trap with that ma’am nonsense, Maybank. Trust me, you lucked out with getting me as a partner over Kyle—”

JJ nodded. “I sure did, guy’s a total tool. Besides, hot girl over junkie guy,” he whistled low, “no debate there.”

You tried not to blush at JJ calling you hot, but you felt the tips of your ears turn pink.

“Right, well, you can’t be hitting on me while we’re working together, Maybank.”

“Why not?”

You stepped forward, poking him in the chest. “Because you’ve known me since we were kids, yet we’ve never spoken. So don’t go pretending that I’m not invisible anymore.”

JJ frowned. 

You turned, “Come on, there’s work to do.”

One the two of you climbed up the tower, you put on your whistle and gestured for JJ to lean forward, so that you could toss it over his neck. He did so, accidentally knocking his forehead on yours. “Sorry,” he mumbled, stepping away. 

As he settled in, you stripped your shorts and tank, now left in your ruby red lifeguard one piece.

Today was slow, being a Wednesday off-season, and JJ tried to start a conversation. He pulled out a joint and offered it to you. 

You gave him an “Are you kidding me,” look and he shrugged, unbothered, lighting it up and taking a long hit. “So what’s Keith really doing if he’s not having a family emergency?”

“Kieth? You mean Kyle?”

JJ nodded. “Right, him.”

You laughed dryly, “Probably wrecked after popping ten too many pills and sleeping with a few too many girls. Guy doesn’t know when to stop.”

JJ didn’t look at you, looking out at the sea. “So when did you two break it off?”

“What—We—” You spluttered.

JJ took another long inhale from the joint. “It’s easy to see, babe.”

“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” you snapped, pulling down your sunglasses from atop your head, hoping to hide the emotions that were most definitely swimming in your eyes. 

“S’not, I know,”

“Then why ask?”

“Just curious as to how a girl like you ended up with a douche like him.”

You were quiet for a moment, before you said, “He wasn’t always like this.”

“Only doing coke, not into molly yet?” JJ joked.

You chuckled. “No, not like that. He was incredibly kind, he had the biggest heart.” You fingered the wood on the arm of your chair.

“Then what happened?”

“Then his mom died, and I wasn’t enough.” Your hand retreated into your lap. 

“He dump you?”

Your eyes narrowed. “No, I dumped him. I’m smart enough to know when I’m getting less than I deserve.”

JJ hummed. “I think I have a chance then.”

You laughed. “You’ve got nothing more than wishful thinking, Maybank.”

“Come to the kegger tonight. I’ll show you wishful thinking.”

You almost gasped at his forwardness. “No, you idiot.”

He turned towards you, meeting your eyes, pleading. You didn’t relent. 

“Fine, miss, I’ll just let you keep that stick up your ass then.”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”

When lunch came around, you let him go first, and when he returned, smelling of way too much weed, you asked, “You mind if I catch some waves? Think you can hold your own for a half hour?”

JJ gave a toothy grin. “Hell yeah, and watch you ride those waves? It’s going to be hard for me to watch anything but you.”

You smacked him over the head. “Do your job or we’ll both be in trouble, Maybank.”

You grabbed your board and climbed down, racing across the sand towards the water. Finally, you let yourself relax, sinking into the waves as they came. You even caught yourself doing a couple tricks, unconsciously trying to impress the blonde boy who was watching you from the tower. You felt high as a kite when you even managed to successfully execute several cutbacks in a row. You thought you heard a celebratory whistle from the direction of the tower and you jokingly gave a salute towards the beach.

As you climbed back up, JJ cheered. “Holy shit! I knew you were good, but god damn, Y/N! You gotta teach me how to do that Rodeo Flip! I’ve been trying to get it down for years!”

You laughed. “We’ll see, Maybank.”

His hands tugging at his hair in excitement, he asked, “How are you not going pro?!”

You shrugged. “I don’t do it for sport. It’s just something I do for me.”

JJ nodded, a renewed look of respect in his eyes. “Word.”

You spent the rest of your shift laughing at the ridiculous tourists on the beach, especially the ones that forgot sunblock.

You told JJ to go on ahead of towards the visiting center as you had a couple of things left to tidy up. 

When you returned, he was chatting up Cheri, a thousand watt smile on her face as she enjoyed the attention from the pretty blonde.

You rolled your eyes, shoving past them to dump your equipment and clock out. You didn’t know what that bubbling feeling in your abdomen was, or why your stomach lurched at the thought of Cheri and JJ, or maybe you did, but you chose not to think about it too hard, afraid of the conclusion you’d come to.

As you walked out of the visitor center, turning towards home, you heard JJ call your name. You stopped, closing your eyes and muttering a silent prayer for the patience to deal with this boy.

He jogged out, making his way to you. “Hey!” He greeted, out of breath.

“Here to give me another half-assed invite to some kegger?” You asked.

JJ frowned, shaking his head. “No, I just wanted to clarify something you said this morning. You-You said that I thought you were invisible, because we’ve never spoken.”

“And?” you didn’t see where he was going with this other than to insult you.

“We’ve never spoken because I had the biggest crush on you Y/N. I’ve avoided you everywhere. You were hardly invisible to me. If anything, I didn’t think you saw me.”

You laughed. “Sure, Maybank.”

JJ shuffled his feet, shoving his hands in his pockets. “It’s true,” he mumbled.

You smiled, “Have fun at the kegger, JJ.” You gave him a peck on the cheek before walking off into the night, the darkness hiding your flaming cheeks. 

You heard a celebratory whoop from behind you and bit your lip as you smiled. 

Your heart felt light all week as you got closer to your partner. He was actually great at his job, especially with the children patrons on the beach, which greatly surprised you. 

You remembered one day in the middle of the week, when you were dropping your equipment off, JJ didn’t have his whistle. 

When you asked about it, he simply laughed. “This kid near the docks kept pestering me for it. Little guy wanted to be a junior lifeguard. Couldn’t say no…”

It was at the end of the week when you met his friends, the infamous, self-proclaimed pogues.

The trio had shown up near the end of your shift, claiming to be curious of the job that JJ actually managed to keep for longer than a day. JJ saw them approaching and immediately swore, turning towards you to say, “I’m going to apologize now for what you’re about to experience.”

Before you could ask what that meant, he had left, climbing down the towers to stop his friends from reaching you. 

Confused, you made your way down, too, watching as a boy with shaggy brown hair clapped JJ over the back, ruffling his hair aggressively. “So this is what you’ve been missing out on pogue days for?”

A dark haired boy, who looked nervous about simply existing, added, “Not what, who,” nodding at you, standing with your arms crossed over your chest and an eyebrow cocked. 

JJ had a permanent blush on his face, but you couldn’t puzzle out why. Meanwhile, you received a slightly reserved smile from the girl holding hands with the nervous boy. She waved politely. 

The boy with shaggy hair marched forward, arms wide open to give you a hug. You thrust your hand out on instinct, which he looked at like a difficult algebra equation, before brushing it away gently and pulling you into his tight embrace. The boy gave great hugs, you had to admit. The kind of tight bear hugs you expect from your mom. 

You laughed nervously, patting him on the back and looking over his shoulder at the other three, who all laughed. JJ mouthed I’m sorry at you and you responded with I’m going to kill you.

When he finally let you go, he tussled your hair and said, “Nice to meet the girl who’s got my boy tripping over his own feet to get to work. I’m John B.”

You flicked your eyes over to JJ, who was as red as a tomato. He buried his face in Pope’s shoulder, muttering something. You snorted. “Hardly. I’m Y/N.”

The dark haired boy grinned, “Trust me, we know. I’m Pope and this is Kie,” he introduced himself and what you assumed was his girlfriend.

In the next hour, you learned that JJ’s friends were loud, blunt and lacked basic manners in some ways, but they were youthful and thick as thieves, clearly a family. 

There was something warm about Pope, something that allowed you to trust him immediately, completely. So when the other three were surfing, and he joined you on the sand, asking you, “So are you feelin’ my boy or what?”, you weren’t afraid to be completely honest.

Giving a short laugh at his bluntness, you admitted, “I don’t really know. There could be something there. There is something there, I think.”

“Then what’s stopping you?”

You would feel pathetic to confess this to anybody else, but Pope seemed like he wouldn’t judge you if you admitted to having three children. “I don’t know if we want the same things. I don’t see a guy like that in a serious relationship. Doesn’t seem like the type to settle.”

Pope grinned. “You know him well, then.”

Your heart fell as you thought that Pope was confirming your fears.

“But not well enough, I think. You’d be surprised. He’s kind of...obsessed with you. But not in the “Pokemon gotta catch ‘em all!” kind of way. He doesn’t see you as some sort of spiky eared Pichu…”

He trailed off and you looked at him, absolutely baffled. “I’m sorry...I don’t follow?”

Pope cleared his throat. “He likes you, Y/N, like really respects you and wants to make you happy. Any fool can see that.”

You were sure your entire body was on fire with how hard you flushed. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh. Well, you keep him on his toes so we don’t mind. And it’s made him a little softer, a little more careful, which we definitely don’t mind. He needs to be checked, that one.”

Pope stood up, reaching his hand out and pulling you up. “Now, JJ tells me you have a killer cutback. Wanna show me?” He asks.

You give him a big smile, grateful for his kind words and ability to seamlessly bring you back to reality from that heavy conversation. “I’d love to. If you can keep up!” 

Laughing, Pope followed you into the ocean, JJ giving you an excited smile as you joined him in the water, content to see you getting along with his family.

Later that night, when his friends left, and JJ was helping you towel off your hair while shaking his own like a wet dog, making you giggle and shriek at the sensation, he asked, “You wanna actually catch some waves outside of this beach sometime?” 

It was your conversation with Pope earlier that gave you the confidence to say, “How about tomorrow? It’s our day off…”

“I’ll pick you up before dawn then?”

You nodded, “Sounds perfect.”

He tossed you your towel, casually throwing an arm over your shoulder as the two of you walked back to the visitor’s center.

The next morning, you were a mess. JJ had never seen you in anything aside from your lifeguard uniform and you nearly lost your mind trying to figure out what to wear. You felt like a middle schooler deciding what to wear on the first day of school to impress their crush. 

Eventually, you thought to hell with it, and just went with a blue romper over your swimsuit, letting your hair down for once.

You didn’t bother with makeup since you were planning to get soaked anyways. 

When you heard the distinct sound of a large engine approaching, you walked out of your house, curious.

When the image of JJ on a dirt bike came into focus, you couldn’t help the cackle that tittered out of your mouth. 

He slowed down to a complete stop in front of your driveway, swinging his leg over and walking up to you, spinning the key ‘round his finger.

“Hey, dude!” He greeted, sweeping you up in an unexpected hug. Still, you melted into his frame, letting your usually rigid spine relax, feeling JJ nuzzle into your shoulder slightly and sighing.

You pulled away after a moment and JJ rubbed the back of his neck shyly, shuffling his feet awkwardly. “Sorry, I-uh, I really needed that today.” This boy was touch-starved. 

You patted his chest as you walked towards the dirt bike. “S’alright, it happens to the best of us.”

JJ followed you. “You ever ridden one of these before?”

You cocked your head at him. “Oh yeah, all the time.”

He looked surprised, before handing you the keys and raising his eyebrows in challenge. “Prove it.”

You simply smirked and mounted the bike, pretending you didn’t hear JJ mumble “That’s hot,” under his breath. Instead, you started the engine and nodded at him to get on behind you.

JJ smiled before climbing on behind you, scooching forward until every inch of your back was flush against his front. 

“Let’s go, babe!” You said, before taking off down the street. 

JJ gave you directions, steering you into areas of the Cut you had never been, which was saying something since you knew this town like the back of your hand.

Finally, he pulled up to a small cove, where you saw a small patch of sand. It was the farthest land towards the sea, meaning you would probably find the biggest waves.

“Holy shit, how did I not know this place existed?”

JJ grinned, bringing you to a small shack where a couple of boards were hidden from view in the foliage. 

He handed you a board. “I’m full of surprises. Your hair smells nice, by the way.”

“Stop that!” You laughed.

“Stop what?”

You slapped him over the head. “Making me blush.”

“Don’t think I will.”

You rolled your eyes and simply unzipped your romper, ignoring the whistle from JJ as you stepped out in only your swimsuit. You laid the fabric over the handle of his dirt bike and turned towards him. He was still in his T-shirt and swim trunks.

“Aren’t you going to take your shirt off?”

JJ gave a shit-eating grin, “My, my, Y/L/N, at least take a guy to dinner first.”

You shoved at his chest. “No, you dumbass, I meant you can’t surf in that.”

JJ opened his mouth as if to say something before pausing and wrinkling his nose. “It’s just not a good idea for me today.”

“What did you eat a little too much? I can promise I’m not afraid of a food baby, Maybank, I can deal.”

JJ tried explaining before just giving up and pulling his shirt off, leaving you shocked and incredibly confused, not to mention concerned.

Bruises littered his body, beginning at his shoulder and ending far below his ribs. Involuntarily, your hand brushed his skin. “What the fuck happened, JJ?”

He shrugged. “S’my Dad, you know. Gets angry sometimes is all.”

You shook your head sadly. “You don’t deserve that.”

JJ laughed darkly. “That’s up for debate.”

You stomped your foot. “No, it’s absolutely not! No one deserves that, especially not you.”

JJ softened. “You really think so?”

“Of course I do.”

He gave a small smile. “So you won’t make fun of me for not being able to keep up with you today? It’s only because I got my ass kicked, otherwise I’d surf circles around you all day.”

His words made you frown, but you recognized the coping mechanism and simply said, “Oh sure, Maybank. You know as well as I do that there’s not a world where you can surf better than me.”

He shrugged, walking towards the water. “I can sure as hell try, babe!”

Surfing with JJ was an experience on some whole other level. Sharing a wave was something even the most experienced surfers didn’t attempt, but something in you trusted JJ and the two of you tried it out. It was absolutely surreal, until JJ didn’t resurface.

Your euphoric smile quickly turned into a panicked cry. “JJ? JJ?!” You looked around and caught sight of him hanging on to his board, eyes closed. You swiftly untied your board from your ankle and swam over to him, pulling him towards you. He was like dead weight. You dragged him over to the shore and dumped him there, immediately leaning down to check his pulse. 

You felt it clear as day, but tears filled your eyes. “JJ! Wake up!”

You began chest compressions immediately. Before you even got to ten, however, you heard a giggle. 

Bewildered, you looked at his smiling face, his amused blue eyes laughing at you.

You instantly flinched away, retreating from him. “You were faking?”

JJ nearly choked on his laughter. “You-you should have—” He tried to breathe through the guffaws “—seen your face! Priceless!”

You slapped at his chest with your fists as he sat up, ignoring his slight winces given his prior injuries. “Ay, ay what’s up with that! Stop it, Y/N!”

“You bastard! I thought you were dying!”

JJ softened, before holding the back of your neck and pulling you towards him, leaning in to capture your lips with his. It was sweet and short and he pulled away quickly, asking. “Was that alright?”

You shook your head, pouting. “No, another!” 

He smiled, but gave in to your pleas gleefully, his other hand coming over the front of your neck, pulling you closer to him by your throat. You bit his lip harshly, still angry from the stunt he had just pulled and his whined quietly, moving his hand down your spine, hands brushing the bare skin that your swimsuit exposed. 

He lay back, pulling you on top of him. You straddled him, allowing him to deepen the kiss. You didn’t realize how much you had wanted this until you were doing it. You were kissing JJ Maybank. And it felt right. It felt as right as surfing did, maybe even better, you dared to think. 

Maybe it was the fact that he kissed you like he had all the time in the world and didn’t care, because he was hungry right now. Maybe it was how he held you like he was afraid you would let go. Maybe it was how he managed to wordlessly beg for your skin on his, clearly touch-starved. Whatever it was, it solidified the growing feelings you had for the blonde, blossoming into something new, something stronger, something better, until you couldn’t hear any of your own thoughts other than his name--over, and over and over again. 

When you finally broke that time, you smiled into his neck, trying to catch your breath. “Wow,” sighed JJ, “That was some kiss, babe. If you kiss me like that forever, I’ll die a happy man.”

You giggled, but sat up slightly, flicking his nose. You knew you had to get this awful, insecure doubt of yours out of your mouth right now before you let it fester into something that could ruin this beautiful thing you were creating with JJ. “If you ever break my heart, JJ, I swear to God, you better not cheat on me.”

He frowned. “Wouldn’t dream of it. I’ve wanted this forever. Can’t fuck it up now.”

You smiled, bending down for another kiss. JJ stopped you. “Wait. While we’re making promises, let me just say, if you ever get back with Kyle, I will sue.”

You thought the whole town probably heard your laugh then.

K so not my best work but hope y’all liked it!

Tagging @rretrophilee @jjsbxtch @drewsephsmiles @uwubonebabie bc we talked about it! You don’t have to read if you don’t want to lol 💛

[youngerdrgrey]

better me than him (you know, sisters) // a Black Widow fic

About: SPOILERS FOR BLACK WIDOW (2021) // Yelena says, “Even as a Widow, all the girls looked up to what you could do. I would tell them, ‘Natasha is my sister. Natasha is coming back for me. Natasha—’” Yelena spits at the ground. Her despair and her rage overtake her face, and her nose could scrape the clouds, she turns it up so high.

or, an alternate scene for Black Widow, where Natasha talks to Yelena after the kitchen table breakdown instead of Alexei. + read on ao3

Yelena shirks out of Milena’s touch. She snatches up the vodka from the table and turns for the bedroom. Natasha struggles to find the words to respond to her. Some kind of explanation for disappearing, or some way to take back what she said about the reality of their mission together. But it was a mission. It had to be.

“Yelena.”

Yelena doesn’t break her stride. “No.” The door clicks shut behind her. Tense air makes breathing harder. Natasha parts her lips for a bit of extra oxygen. Zones out and misses the moments where Alexei and Milena exchange words. When Alexei goes to move though, Natasha lifts a hand to stop him.

“I’ll go.” At least then Yelena can’t say Natasha never did anything for her. Yelena probably doesn’t remember that Natasha had held a gun to the soldiers who tried to take Yelena away. What does that matter when Natasha failed, right? Without another word, Natasha goes after Yelena into the guest bedroom.

Yelena’s already on the floor with the bottle of vodka in her hands. Her knees bent up to her chest, her elbows just barely on top of them — she looks so small. Defiant. Natasha closes the door behind her.

Yelena looks too tired to glare. “I came in here because I didn’t want to talk.”

Natasha calls, “Bullshit. All you’ve done since we met up is talk. Talk about feelings and futures and our pasts.” She can’t quite tell if her voice sounds disparaging or wistful. Lonely or yearning for whatever part of Yelena still thinks they could be a family.

“We have a lot of time to make up for,” Yelena snaps back. “Or we would, if any of it were real.”

Natasha takes a sharp breath in. “Come on. I do not want to sit here, holding your hand when there are other Widows out there who need us. Drekhov is still alive and ruining their world.”

Yelena gestures to the door with her vodka bottle. “Go then. It’s what you do best.” She won’t look right at Natasha’s eyes. She glares at her forehead, or her chin. At the walls that Milena has looked at for who knows how long instead of looking for either of them. “You left me. You left the Widows. You even left the Avengers to hide out in the middle of nowhere in a camper with a barely functioning generator. You called Mom Milena a coward. But all you do is run and kill and hide from anybody who tries to care about you.”

“And you care about me?” Natasha doubts that. Why would Yelena still care? Yelena was six the last time they really saw each other. Sure, they crossed paths a few times on missions, but the Red Room took great care to make sure they wouldn’t fall back into old patterns. “Because of some assignment?”

Yelena screams, “Because you were my sister! You-you were someone to look up to! Even as a Widow, all the girls looked up to what you could do. I would tell them, ‘Natasha is my sister. Natasha is coming back for me. Natasha—’” Yelena spits at the ground. Her despair and her rage overtake her face, and her nose could scrape the clouds, she turns it up so high. “They told me again and again that Widows are not a family. But I beat your records, and I thought, ‘One day, she will call me on beating her. She will want a rematch. She will want….’”

“You.” Natasha finishes in a whisper. Yelena grinds her teeth and sends her gaze back down to the vodka bottle. “Even if I did want to know you, that’s not how things are done.”

Yelena takes a swig. “You broke your Accords like a week after signing them. Rules are nothing to you. If you want to lie to yourself to make yourself feel better, then go ahead. But do not lie to me like I am a child. I stopped being one the moment you let them take me.”

“I was a child too, Yelena. Dad—” Natasha cringes at the slip. “Alexei knocked us both out. You can’t keep holding onto this.”

“Tell me what I should hold onto then. Hmm?” Her lips curl into a sad snarl. “I have a vest and some memories of-of handstands in the dirt and chasing after your bike because I was too little to have my own.”

“You crashed your own,” Natasha corrects. “We found it before we were supposed to. I tried to teach you how to ride, and you slammed into the garage door. Woke them both up.”

“Great, another wrong memory.” Yelena shakes her head. “It could have been you.” Yelena snorts like the pigs. A sad, strangled sob follows.

Natasha gives Yelena her privacy and averts her eyes. Maybe that’s the cowardly choice here too. Shield herself from Yelena’s emotions. Pretend that… pretend that none of this hurts her too.

Natasha’s not the one who gives the big speeches. That’s Steve’s department. He stands there with his broad shoulders and his bright eyes, and he talks like he’s still that scrawny kid who couldn’t back down from a fight. But he understands what it feels like to be out of place. He made her feel less alone. He made her feel like she was actually helping people. She was an Avenger. Or, like Yelena said, ‘the trained killer little girls call their hero.’

“Do you remember when I first dyed my hair? Probably not. You were, like, four.” Natasha chuckles, and she wonders for the first time if Milena and Alexei are listening in. She walks over to sit beside Yelena. “Milena did it as a science experiment. We used kool-aid to temporarily dye my hair blue, and you got so scared that the blue on your tongue from drinking it would never go away. So I drank a bunch to turn my tongue, and so did Milena. By the time Alexei got home, my whole head was bright blue, and so were our lips and a little bit of your nose.”

The memory makes Natasha laugh, and when she chances a glance across her shoulder at Yelena, she can see the deep knit of the younger spy’s eyebrows. Yelena doesn’t remember, does she? Doesn’t know about some of the little days that made all the other ones that much more bearable.

Natasha clears her throat. “After Budapest, I had my own life again. And I wish I could say that I felt free. But I felt exactly like I did in Ohio. Like someone was waiting to rip me back out of what little peace I could find. So, I did the only thing that I could think to do. I went to the store and bought a jar of peanut butter, a loaf of bread, and a shit ton of blue kool-aid. And I dyed my hair in the S.H.I.E.L.D safe house into the grossest shade of purple that I have ever seen in my life. Clint has pictures somewhere, I’m sure. They’re….” Embarrassing is a word, but they’re the first look at her trying to take her life back.

She’d thought about getting a tattoo back then. She’d gone to a parlor and had flipped through the books of available designs for an hour. Clint had waited with her, making smart ass comments about placement and goading her into making a decision. His personal favorite had been an arrow that he swore would look amazing on the side of her neck. But those permanent changes didn’t feel like her. Not like recreating the memory did.

“I have no idea what they made you do, or what they took from you. We’re going to get the others out, and then you can do whatever you want, Yelena. You never have to talk to me, or Milena, or Alexei again. You can make your own family. Make some new memories. Those days in Ohio, they don’t have to be your best ones.”

Yelena’s lip trembles. She pouts around the emotion. “What if….” She exhales slow, and even that shakes. “What if I wanted that? The… ‘Don’t slouch,’ and the embarrassing parents.”

Natasha lets her voice drop into its raspiest. “They are pretty embarrassing.”

“She raises pigs. Who does that?” Yelena laughs.

Natasha blinks her red-rimmed eyes and nudges her shoulder into Yelena’s. “You and your vest, you fit right in.”

“Don’t be jealous. I could show you where I got it. Make a day of it maybe.” Yelena’s watery eyes find Natasha’s, and they’re so damn hopeful. They ask what Yelena won’t. What if Yelena wants Natasha too? What if they could be sisters again?

Natasha reaches for the vodka bottle, and Yelena hands it to her without question. “Maybe. Once we stop Drekhov.”

“And you get the others,” Yelena adds. “The witch needs new clothes. She looks like a tourist.”

Natasha snorts. “I’ll be sure to give Wanda your fashion advice once she’s off the raft.” They might get along actually. Both younger women, lost a lot as kids, used as violent weapons, but now they’ve got a second chance. It wouldn’t be the worst thing if Yelena tagged along. She’d make a few bad jokes. Get Steve to laugh whenever he comes out of hiding. God, if they ever make up with Tony, he would have a field day at finding out Natasha has a sister. “Do a good job on this mission, and maybe I’ll let you meet them. No autographs though.”

Yelena shoves Natasha’s leg. “I don’t want autographs from your friends.” She pauses to reconsider. “Hm, maybe Captain America. Alexei would shit himself.”

“Did you hear him in the bathroom earlier? He probably already did.”

Yelena groans, and the only thing sweeter than the laughter to follow is the small smile she gives to Natasha. Like maybe there’s still something in Natasha worth looking up to.

“Hey,” Natasha’s voice comes out more serious than she intends it to. Yelena lifts an eyebrow as she waits. “You were always the best of us, you know that?”

The words make Yelena’s lip tremble again. Her nose pitches up, and she sniffles before putting on her best Widow smirk. “That’s why I beat all your records.”

Natasha rolls her eyes. “Сука.”

Yelena pushes herself up from the floor. “I’m not a bitch.” She reaches her hand out to pull Natasha up. Natasha accepts the assist.

“You’re a brat; that’s what you are.” Natasha leads the way back out of the bedroom.

“What are little sisters for?”

Hope. Not that Natasha would admit that part. Way too sentimental, way too honest. She sticks her tongue out instead. Yelena understands though. It’s what they do. Or at least, what they could do, if they keep showing up instead of running away.

"Tell me when you figure it out, okay?"

.

.

notes: Natasha is her (foster, mission) mother's daughter, in more ways than one, and Yelena should say it.

I also want to thank you all for the very warm reception to my other Black Widow fic. I have at least one more in the chamber. You are welcome to send in requests, and if any speak to me, I will do my best to write them. Mostly, I just care about this family a lot. Go figure. Let's talk about them. Or anything else in replies/reblogs/asks.

[winterrose527]

The Favor: Part 1, Paris, France (for @amillcitygirl, thanks for the prompt bb!)

“Meet back here in one hour, is that clear?” their teacher, Miss Eglantine said.

“Bien sur!” Margaery called, already pulling her away.

“Marg!” she laughed.

“Okay, what first? Shopping? A glass of champagne?” Marg asked.

Myrcella rolled her eyes, “We can’t drink, what if one of the chaperones sees us?”

“Joffrey really is significantly more fun than you sometimes,” Marg told her.

Her cheeks flamed and she pointed at her, “Take that back.”

Margaery’s eyes glimmered, “Make me.”

That look was bad. That look had caused her to think it was a good idea to skinny dip in Harry Hardyng’s pool. That look had caused her to ditch class for the first and last time ever. That look was trouble.

She crossed her arms, looking around her. They were in Paris for goodness sake. She had been wanting to come here ever since she’d seen Sabrina for the first time, she wanted to live in the world, and of the world, just like Audrey.

And now she was here. On her own. Sure she was with twenty-five classmates and a few chaperones, but it was her first trip to Europe unaccompanied by her mother. She was in a square with a direct view of the Eiffel Tower. And she’d just turned sixteen yesterday.

If ever there was a time for that look, it was right now.

She sighed, “Well what did you have in mind?”

“Hmmm…,” Marg said, tapping her index finger against, looking around. There were tons of tourists, in a couple of years she was sure they’d both ridicule people who came to Paris and went to the Eiffel Tower, but not yet. There were couples all around them, smiling and laughing and posing for pictures. Marg’s eyes landed on one pair and she said, “You need a picture to commemorate this experience.”

“That’s it?” Myrcella asked, unable to hide her disappointment. Marg usually had far better ideas. “A picture?”

Marg smiled widely, “Well not just any picture. A super-cheesy-romantic-I’m-in-love-in-Paris-kissing-at-the-Eiffel-Tower picture.”

“Well Marg, only problem there is that I’m not in love at the Eiffel Tower and I have no one to kiss and don’t you dare volunteer,” she warned.

Marg laughed, “One day, my sweet. But no, today… hmm… who could you kiss…? How about…” Marg started looking around and Myrcella found herself looking too. “Him?”

“Him who?” Myrcella wondered.

“Him, the boy directly in front of the Eiffel Tower who is just exactly your type and ooh if you don’t kiss him I will,” Marg noted.

Myrcella followed her gaze to where an undeniably beautiful boy was standing, looking at a map. Next to an equally beautiful girl.

“Oh you mean the one standing with his girlfriend?” she asked, feeling a tug of disappointment. Which was silly.

“She’s his sister, you ninny,” Marg told her, “They look more alike than me and Loras, and besides, they are wearing matching t-shirts, which is admittedly really lame but he’s cute enough that I won’t even penalize him for it.”

“So what I just… go up to him and kiss him? Isn’t that like… assault?” she wondered.

Marg laughed, “Honey, he’s what? Seventeen? His wet dream is being assaulted by you.”

“We get it, you’ve had sex,” Myrcella rolled her eyes.

Marg narrowed her eyes at her, “I dare you.”

Well there it was. Myrcella Baratheon never backed down from a dare.

“Fine,” she sighed, “How do I look?”

“Camera ready,” Marg promised.

“How’s my breath?” she asked.

“Sweet,” Marg said. “Now give me your bag.”

Myrcella handed her the bag her Uncle Jaime had given her money to pick out for herself for her birthday, claiming that at sixteen she was old enough to make her own decisions and that way she could lord it over all the girls who had gotten their Chanel bags at Saks.

She fluffed her hair and started walking, saying over her shoulder, “Get your camera ready.”

Marg cackled and the sound followed her as she walked across the square. The girl he’d been standing with had walked away but he was still looking at the map.

When she was about five feet away from him, she began to realize how stupid this was.

Even still she said, “Excuse me?”

“Yeah, look I don’t know where the Louvre is okay?” he asked her before looking up.

She laughed, “I don’t need to find the Louvre.”

He looked up and she felt exactly like Audrey did when William Holden asked her to dance for the first time.

His eyes even wandered over her as William’s had looked at Audrey in her yards of Givenchy, even though she was just wearing boring old skinny jeans and a sweater.

“Can I,” he started and then cleared his throat and his voice was deeper when he asked, “Can I help you?”

“Yeah, yeah the thing is… so um… my friend over there,” she pointed at Marg which was a mistake because the boy would probably fall in love with her instantly. Or he might have, if he’d even glanced in her direction. She blushed, “Um so she dared me to take one of those super cheesy kissing-at-the-Eiffel-Tower pictures. And… I was hoping you’d help me with that?”

He raised his brows, “Sure uh, I’ll take a picture of you.”

She laughed, “No, um… no… just…”

He was looking at her like she was a little bit crazy and she proved it by closing the remaining distance between them, and then jumped at him, because he was far too tall to kiss with her feet on the ground. He caught her easily and finally seemed to catch her meaning right before she leaned in and kissed him.

Fireworks exploded in her mind as she felt his arms tighten around her, dipping her backwards ever so slightly as he lowered her, though not all the way to the ground, and he kissed her back.

“Robb?” she heard someone call behind them.

His lips froze against hers and he set her down gently.

“My uh… Mom,” he said, his cheeks turning pink. “I’m on a family vacation…”

She nodded, stepping away from him ever so slightly, “Class trip.”

“Right,” he nodded.

“Robb Stark, we will be late for our tour,” the woman informed him.

She bit her lip to stop herself from laughing, but Robb didn’t and he let out a pained chuckle.

“Coming Mom,” he called. “Well I guess I should…”

“Yeah, um,” she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, “Thanks for your help.”

“Nope, no,” he shook his head, “The pleasure was all mine.”

This time she did laugh and nodded.

“Well, bye,” he said, grimacing as he did.

She smiled and channeled her inner Margaery and admonished, “You can’t say that in Paris, Robb.”

“Oh, no?” he asked.

She shook her head, stepping away from him, enjoying the way he watched her as she walked backwards.

When she turned on her heel he finally called, “What do I say then?”

She smiled to herself, and then turned just her head, and she wasn’t sure that she’d ever seen a prettier sight in the whole world as him standing with the Eiffel Tower framing him.

And it was Audrey she channeled when she all but cooed, “Au revoir.”

(Part 2)

[al3x1ss]

Santa, Tell Me

Sakusa Kiyoomi

First one of the Christmas oneshots ✨

THIS IS WRITTEN WITH A GENDER NEUTRAL READER!

Based off of the song “Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande

Angst(?) to fluff!

Authors note: Hopefully this is the first of multiple oneshots, the plan is to hopefully get out 3-5 before Christmas, but it will really depend on school and “Just a Friend to You”. Other than that, enjoy! 🖤

Warnings: None!

“I don’t understand why you don’t want to commit, Sakusa.”

“Y/N I do want to be with you, I’m just not ready-“ Sakusa sighs, running his hands through his hair as he looked at you once again. Your arms were crossed, still following him with your eyes in his apartment.

“Sakusa, I have so many feelings for you, it’s unbelievable. I want to hold your hand, kiss you, wake up next to you, but I also want to be able to introduce you to my family as my boyfriend, NOT that we’re dating so that I have to explain the situation just so that my father can say that I’m wasting my time.”

You had Sakusa had been in the “talking/exclusive” stage for about 5 months, with liking each other for about 9. Now, you understood Sakusa wanting to take his time. His past relationship wasn’t the best, and especially with his habits, he warned you immediately when you asked him out, giving you a chance to back out.

But, you never did. And you never thought of backing out, despite how much is hurt to say that the boy you possibly love could possibly not love you back.

“If I’m not ready, I’m not ready, Y/N. When I’m ready, I’ll be ready, but please just be patient with me.” Sakusa said, walking up to you to grab your hand, but you retract your hand before he can even touch you, clasping your hands together.

“I’ve been patient for a while, Saku. Just, figure it out before the holidays. If not, then I don’t really know.” You say, and turned to make your way out the door, without him stopping you.

Santa tell me, if you’re really there

Don’t make me fall in love again

if he won’t be here next year

Turning the corner, you walk 3 more blocks, your apartment building slowly coming into view. Despite your, “thing”, being a germaphobe himself, you and your own roommate as well, living in New York City was a dream of yours. Now, you weren’t as extreme as Sakusa, it more was just avoiding getting sick. However, seeing someone sneeze near you? Take out the hand sanitizer please and thank you.

Santa tell me if he really cares

Cuz I can’t give it all away

if he won’t be here next year

Unlocking the door, you stepped into your apartment, coming in to see your roommate, Lex, on the couch with her laptop.

Did I just add this because I didn’t feel like putting in an OC? Yes.

“Woah.” Lex says, and you face her.

“What?”

“Tell me why you got that look on your face like someone just made you drop your $4 bagel in the middle of a crosswalk.”

“Ugh,” you groan, throwing your head back as you throw down your bag, plopping face first into the couch next to her as she types away.

“Sakusa again.” You mumble, turning your head to the side so that it’s actually audible. Lex sighs, putting her glasses on top of her head, closing her laptop.

“I think- ya know what I think, I think, you just gotta go on a walk. Get that Christmas tourist in you ya know. Just go to the Macy’s-“

“Too many people-“

“AS I WAS SAYING, go do the basic tourist stuff around the city. I know you hate it, I do too, but even if it’s gross, it makes you happy. I’ll give you money to go ice skating later if you want.” You sit up, staring her in the eyes.

“You’d do that for me?” Lex nods at you, giving you a small smile as tears start to form in your eyes.”

“EY- WHY ARE YOU CRYING-“

“YOURE NEVER THIS NICE-“

“OH SHUT UP!” Lex tosses a pillow at you, hitting you in your chest. You run and change, grabbing your bag and waving at her as you head out the door.

Walking into the large Macy’s, you stroll around the store, seeing things that you like or you’d want to get for someone as a gift.

A shiny glimmer catches your eye, coming up on a sleek black and silver watch.

Sakusa would like that, you think, about to turn to the employee to ask for the price, however you stop yourself, looking back at it.

Don't make me fall in love again

if he won't be here next year

You walk past the watch, going up the escalator as you stare back down at the section, thinking of Sakusa once more.

I've been down this road before

Fell in love on Christmas night

But on New Year's Day I woke up

You shake your head, turning forward to make your way towards the kitchen section to hopefully find something for your mother.

and he wasn't by my side

You don’t end up finding anything, instead grabbing a jacket for your mother, and purchasing it. After shopping around for another hour, you decide to leave. Walking the streets, you pass by the large nut crackers, taking a picture of them to send to Lex as you know her sister loves them.

Stopping at Baked By Melissa, you pick up a pack of small cupcakes, looking behind you as you wait for the cashier to pack them. You see small flurries of white start to fall, smiling softly at the sight of snow.

“Apparently we’re supposed to get a storm soon, maybe it’ll be a white Christmas.” The cashier says as you turn back to him, nodding slightly as you take the bag out of his hand, giving him a wave as you open the door to leave.

You check your phone, deciding to actually go ice skating with the money Lex gave you. After putting your belongings in a locker and buying your skates, you make your way towards the ice, skating along the icy floor.

While you busy yourself, staring at the families around, Lex opens the door to reveal Sakusa at the door, letting himself in.

“Alright come in I guess-“

“Where’s Y/N?”

“Wow not even a hello the tREATMENT I GET”

Lex shakes her head, faking disappointment as Sakusa sighs, flicking ear forehead, her hand immediately shooting up to mask the pain.

“RUDE I SWEAR!”

Sakusa smiles at Lex, taking her dramatics light heartedly as she shakes her head.

“I sent Y/N to clear their head. You really got up there today, Saku.”

“I know, that’s why I’m wondering where they are.” Lex sighs, slightly shaking her head.

“An apology isn’t just gonna fix this again Sak-“

“No Lex, I want them to be mine. I don’t care anymore I just want to tell Y/N I’m in love with them.”

Lex’s eyes immediately soften, a small “aww” falling from her lips. She then throws her head back, slightly groaning in frustration.

“Can’t you do it tomorrow? It’s freezing outside and I don’t wanna change-“

“No it has to be now, Y/N has to know I love them.”

“But Sakusaaaaa,” Lex whines, slightly stomping her feet, “I was gonna shower-“

“LEX!”

“UGH FINE!”

After a while, Lex grabs her coat and the two head down the stairs and onto the streets of the city, flooded with people trying to get home and avoid the cold. Calling for a taxi to head to Rockefeller rink. The two sit in the taxi as the traffic told on, finally getting there after 30 minutes. Getting out of the taxi, the two speed walk their way into the center. Trying to spot the passing people coming off the rink, neither can spot you.

A glimpse of light blue passes Sakusa’s eyes, seeing your familiar bag as you walk away.

“Y/N!” He tells, trying to go towards you, but you couldn’t hear him over the load chatter of passing New Yorkers. Leaving Lex to follow him, he starts randomly saying excuse me as he pushes his way through the walking people.

You walk up the stairs, hearing the screaming people around you, seeing the classic clutter around the tree. You stare at it from a distance, then decide to walk towards it.

“Y/N!”

At this point Sakusa couldn’t care who he was touching. Lex had tripped over her shoe, leading her to sprint back to Sakusa as he finally got a clearing, seeing you walking towards the tree.

“Y/N!”

You hear a yell of your name, you lifting your head and quickly looking around.

“Y/N”

Your eyes finally fall towards the voice, facing Sakusa with a heaving Lex behind him.

“God damnit asthma-“

He walks closer to you, coming within a few feet of you.

“I love you.”

Santa tell me

If he really cares

Time feels as if it stops, you hearing those 3 little words that you’ve wanted to here for the longing months. Your body moves to its own accord, beginning to sprint towards him.

Cuz I can’t give it all away

You grab him by his collar, pulling Sakusa down to lock lips with him, your eyelashes fluttering closed as he holds you tight by your waist. You hear a faint cheering, but your ears block it out, only focusing on your love right in front of you, continuing to kiss him until you’re breathless.

If he won’t be here

Next year

~ Lex 🎲

if you do enjoy, remember to reblog! It helps a ton 🖤