#I want a pair of some sick DJ shoes

[l4mbkin]

a comic that I never posted

[creativeashproductions]

When Fate Intervenes // Luke Patterson

IN WHICH: Fate intervenes with a trio of musicians on the night that was supposed to be legendary. Fate puts the reader with a special ability that may or may not be able to save them. Fate puts a clairvoyant, an accidentally upsized pizza and thirteen year old oddly obsessed with a rock band.

Warnings: Swearing, food poison, death, and fluff

Words: 2.8k

A/N: Time to get rid of some fic ideas from my TOO LONG of a list. It’s Julie fault, she keeps encouraging each fic idea I tell her.

TO BE TAGGED SEND AN INBOX/ASK PLEASE!

Masterlist

The Orpheum, 1995

The line up comprised of countless girls wearing homemade band shirts for the new band performing. Your little sister, at thirteen years old, had pleaded for weeks if not three months to go watch it. It was odd since she was more in the pop scene than the rock music. Your parents would never let her go to the rock show at night, so it was you or no show. It took a promise of doing your chores for an entire month and her dessert for two months. That was why you stood beside Harper among the fangirls while you clicked through the camera you’d saved up for years.

“I’m so excited.” Harper buzzed dancing on your feet as the time on her watch dwindled down more and more.

Your eyes flitted from the screen to the ball of energy you called your little sister, “I can tell. Which one do you have a crush on?”

“Reggie. He’s the bassist and so fucking-sorry freaking cool.” Harper gushed, “A good portion of the fans are obsessed with the lead singer Luke. Bobby is the rhythm guitarist, and he’s a ladies man, but he’s sweet about it.”

“And you’d know that how?” You questioned letting go of the camera around your neck. Your e/c eyes meeting her matching pair of irises; well yours were a bit more vibrant.

“I just know.” Harper retorted before beaming as she roughly poked the pin she’d made herself, “This represents all of them. Red for Reggie’s plaid shirt he always has, orange for Bobby’s love of oranges, yellow for Luke’s energy and pink for Alex because he loves the colour!”

The pin had their band design with Sunset Curve on it with the words outlined with a sunset made up of red, orange, yellow and pink just as Harper had pointed out. By far, it was her best work, but that was expected from an art student at Los Feliz High School. An art school for artists and performers. You attended for photography and creative writing just as Harper attended for art.

“That might be your best work Harps.” You complimented your little sister who shivered in the cool night breeze. You didn’t even think about tugging off your warm jacket to place on her shoulders.

You’d rather be cold than your little sister no matter how much you fought with each other, the Y/L/N siblings had each other’s backs no matter what.

“Thanks.” Harper murmured, leaning closer, “So do I meet Reggie?”

Your eyes widened slightly at her subtle goading to a part of your life was cinematic. It was a piece of you that very few people knew about, only your parents and Harper. Like most of the women in your paternal lineage, you carried the ability to foresee events in the future. A clairvoyant.

“Harper!” You scolded the young teenager who blatantly was just over-excited to see the band she’d been talking about constantly.

Harper’s cheeks turned a cherry blossom pink under the crappy lighting from the marquee sign. Even in the light, you noticed the changes in her face as she matured into a young woman, her cheeks while still full didn’t have that baby cheek look now. You saw a stubborn zit that you could see under the makeup that didn’t entirely match her skin tone. It caused an ache in your heart to know that soon she’d have the experience of heartbreak.

“Sorry!”

“You told me these guys are my age. Need I remind you that you are thirteen? If anyone older than thirteen makes an advance I’ll put my softball skills to the test.” You sternly informed the shorter girl with the pout that screamed rebellion, “Just be a kid Harps.”

“Like you said Y/N, I’m thirteen. I’m not a kid anymore.” Harper dropped the attitude to adopt a more mature soft tone. You could see the tinge of sadness in her eyes at losing the part of life where it was easy.

“I know. I can wish you’ll stay that annoying little kindergartener that stole my clothing.” You chuckled, “You’ll always be the Stephanie to my DJ.”

The two Y/L/N siblings momentarily glanced around before hugging as quickly as possible, they still had reputations to uphold. Had you been actually paying attention, you and Harper would have noticed the commotion from the people behind you.

As you and Harper had the sweet moment, the very band performing had raced out the alley into the street. What brought you back to the surroundings was the pizza boy delivering the pizza box to you. 

“Wait, we ordered a small!” You exclaimed finding the boy holding an extra-large pizza. You only received a shrug in response with the right change given back. 

Two things happened with this food mistake, you didn’t have to pay more than what you actually ordered, and you still got the larger pizza. However, the Orpheum didn’t allow outside food, meaning you’d have to force-feed yourself all the pizza or trash more than half. 

“We could shar-” Harper was cut off as a blinding white light became your focal point. Harper knew what was happening by the specific groan coming from your lips.

A nauseating scent of cheap meat, gas and chemicals flooded your sense of smell in the dingy alleyway. It was nighttime with a few people in the general vicinity with a dilapidated table and mismatched chairs on the walls’ edge. A poorly made sign with Sam & Ella’s and going by the vendor selling the hot dogs the name fit. Sam & Ella sounded like salmonella.

From a distance, you couldn’t quite hear the conversation between three male teens, but you had a bad feeling. They all migrated to a ratty couch that had been better days, a rat wouldn’t even crawl on it you swore.

The first boy had slicked back hair with rosy cheeks you dubbed innocent and cute that juxtapositioned his rocker attire. He had polished black leather shoes, pleather if his choice of food was an indication, a leather jacket and a red plaid shirt around his waist. His attention focused on the two guys beside him. In the middle, the boy had the blue hood of his sweater pulled over his messy brown hair as if hiding. Nothing stood out about him, and it seemed like that was intentional. On the other side, the last one was the tallest with his blonde hair hidden by the backwards black hat. A distressed dark grey jean jacket open to proudly display his pink hoodie. Each one wearing black pants and adorning rings.

“This is awesome, you guys. We’re playing the Orpheum!” The middle boy joyfully spoke head in the clouds instead of the questionable surroundings. He arguably had the loveliest smile you had ever seen, and his friends had nice smiles at that as well.

Yet even if this hadn’t taken place, however, it still felt like you were intruding on something incredibly private, “Why am I being shown this?”

Your question went unsurprisingly unanswered.

“I can’t even count how many bands have played here! And then ended up being huge!” He happily sunk into the back of the couch, thinking of all the bands he had CDs to in his room, “We’re gonna be legends!”

“Oh.” You breathed as you caught a whiff from the boys that quickly gave you the understanding of why you saw this. You could only smell what you had dubbed as death, the scent unchanging from the first time you’d encountered it.

The death stench accompanied a clairvoyant vision if the object of your vision was sick or about to die. The first time you encountered, it was a vision of two cars colliding, the sound of shattering glass and crunching metal, the scent of burning flesh overpowering the milder stench. The next morning school was cancelled after a teacher died in a car accident on the way to work.

“Eat up, boys. ’Cause after tonight, everything changes.” The only vocal one continued with his two friends silently listening. The trio toasted their food together.

“No!” You exclaimed as each boy took a bite. You held your breath, hoping that the inevitable in the vision wouldn’t occur.

Unfortunately, it was right away the warning appeared. The blonde one the most affected, “That’s a new flavour.”

“Chill, man. Street dogs haven’t killed us yet.” The leather jacket guy proudly spoke, the least one concerned. 

Even the guy in the middle was concerned but ultimately continued eating.

“Stop it!” You shouted, but it was no use. As with every vision, you had the potential to stop it from coming true, but while in the vision, you couldn’t interact with the people or surrounding. No matter how much you wanted to slam the food out of their hands.

But one thing sends shivers down your spine. The one in the middle made direct eye contact with you. Something that had never happened before nor to any previous clairvoyants. He kept eye contact as he slowly grew sicker and sicker.

The three boys had no chance as the ambulance rushed to the alleyway to save them. The paramedics weren’t as quick as the vendors who’d already packed and fled to protect their own hides.

You watched as the paramedics did everything in their power to save the young teenagers with everything possible. Just like Luke sang in their last song, the boys felt the darker version of an electric hammer to the heart. The clocks freezing in place as they each took their last breathe in the oddest of deaths. You saw the blonde guy die painfully first before followed by the formerly hooded one, the terrified cries of the last one haunting your phantom ears.

How did three healthy teenagers die on the same night of the exact nature within minutes of each other without one surviving? Maybe it had something to do with the hot dogs chilling in the liquid that was a cesspool of bacteria compounded with tained condiments from battery acid.

You roughly came out of the vision shaking and pale-faced frantically scanning the surroundings. Harper had a grip on the extra large pizza box while the other tightly held yours to ground you in the present.

“Are you okay?” Harper softly questioned with the panic hidden inside her body. Harper knew that this vision had been one of the bad ones. The haunted look in your eyes hinting towards death in the near future.

“We need to go.” You frantically replied, grabbing the pizza that would hopefully have a hand in saving three hopeful teens.

Your gym teacher would be proud of the distance diminished and speed you kept towards the area that would further shatter you. Foreseeing death and sometimes unable to stop it always had a nasty impact on you. 

“Where are we going?” Harper yelled, “We’ll miss the doors opening!”

“We’ll miss them if we don’t hurry up!” You shouted back at the disgruntled little sister but at the moment that didn’t matter. 

What mattered was three hungry teenagers about to gorge themselves on death dogs if you didn’t make it in time. It appeared for the first time you’d actually manage to stop the deaths, unlike the previous three times. 

“-tonight. Everything changes.” The chill-inducing rasp helped navigate you to the disgusting couch. Your cold hand slammed the hotdog from the blonde’s hand, the shocked reaction halting the other two.

“Don’t...eat...it.” You heaved bending over at the waist to catch your breath. Wheezing sounded from your little sister as the running and seeing her favourite band up close settled.

“Excuse me! I paid for that hotdog!”

“You’d be buying yourself death literally. Your dreams of playing the Orpheum would be extinct.” You sighed, chugging the water from the pocket of Harper’s backpack for a few seconds before the owner took it back.

“Okay, look I don’t know how you found us but-”

“You don’t have to believe me ’cause I sure as hell wouldn’t have but don’t jeopardize your dreams. Look my little sister wanted to see your show so I brought her and we ordered a pizza. They fucked up the order by giving us an extra-large pizza. We’ll barely eat a quarter of it, and the venue is strict on the rules.” You rambled using tour hands to elaborate the story before Harper roughly elbowed your ribs, “Ow!”

“Oops.” Harper faked a sugar-sweet smile for your benefit as the interaction with the three musicians slowly dove into embarrassment.

“-sorry. You’d be doing us a favour by not wasting our money and food. What do you say?” You hesitantly asked the trio who didn’t speak vocally; their eyes meeting in a silent conversation.

Reggie sighed as he begrudgingly dropped his hotdog in the bin near the couch, “Pizza outranks street dogs even if the dogs are heaven and to die for.”

“Literally.” You grumbled forcefully pushing the obscenely large pizza box into the middle one’s stomach, “I’m Y/N, this is my little sister Harper.”

“Hi.” Harper shyly waved with cheeks turning a dust pink concealed by the dark of the alleyway. The boys’ lips all quirked at the sudden contrast from the confident sister slamming her elbow in you to the bashful teen.

“I’m Luke. This is Reggie and Alex.” The hooded one, Luke, introduced his bandmates as best he could with his hands occupied by the pizza box.

Without the threat of death by the hot dog, you actually took the time to look at Luke with appraising eyes. His eyes were like oceans of blues, greens and even a brown that both exhilarated you; the desire of studying them not surprising. His smile outshone the sun on the hottest day in August.

“Nice to meet you.” You informed the trio with a beaming smile that matched your starstruck little sister. The interaction gave you the opportunity for immense and untiring future teasing on the teen that daydreamed of the bassist. 

You had to admit the trio were incredibly attractive.

“Come back to the dressing room. We can eat there out of the cold.” Alex courteously invited the two formerly strangers. His blues sharing his pure intentions to repay you for saving their lives and offering pizza. 

“Of course.” Harper nodded her head with her eyes barely meeting the ones of the boys. The shell was broken when Reggie piped up.

“That’s a really cool pin! Where’d you find it?”

Gated Community, Los Angeles, 2002

An off-tune humming filled the modestly sized home in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California with the sound of water splashing. Doing the dishes was a mindless chore that typically didn’t bother you, but the pain in your lower back protested. You’d have used the dishwasher, but the thing was perpetually breaking down. Didn’t seen essential to replace when washing dishes by hand was just as productive.

Or it was when you didn’t have the extra weight in your midsection, a symbol of your love with your husband. In fact, you would have avoided doing dishes if you hadn’t just used the last clean plate and glass at breakfast plus Luke hadn’t been home in the previous week.

Sunset Curve had gone on a press tour for the upcoming album and tour planned for next year.

“Oof.” You moaned as the little rascal once more hit your bladder, “Are you breaking electric guitars in there?”

“Not a soccer player?”

“With you as their father? Not likely.” You snorted as the sudden appearance of Luke became clear. You hadn’t been expecting him, “I missed you. We missed you.”

As had it since you first told him Luke’s warm hand came to rest on the front of your swollen belly. In a short month, you’d be cradling the newest member of the Patterson family with Luke singing the lullaby he solely made for baby P.

“Still haven’t given in?” The lead guitarist teased you with a beaming smile splitting his face, “Go sit down. I’ll finish the dishes.”

You didn’t need to be asked twice. 

“I’m not abusing my clairvoyance to foresee our child’s gender, name and appearance.” You pointed one finger in his direction, “I refused Bobby’s pleading to see which models he would bed. The only time I did something like that was to reassure Alex that he would fall in love with a lovely guy.”

Luke’s heart burst with sheer adoration at how easily you had sunk into the friendship with the band after that one night. A night that had given birth to a friendship that slowly evolved into a romance and marriage. To this day, the group got together as much as possible.

“I love you.” Luke chuckled, “Even-”

“-if I came into your life like a completely crazy person?”

“We’re all a little crazy.”

Your house surely would be when a little tornado with Luke’s energy took over the home you’d made with Luke. The very home you would have more children and grow old together until soon you held your grandkids on your laps.

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[leejeongz]

cix as your boyfriend

requested: yes, by anon

bx: (i don’t not need i do not need i do not need 🥲🥲🥲 ok maybe i need🥲🥲🥲)

♡ his favourite date- late night drive + music

♡ he’s the dj and the driver. you can just sit back, relax, and enjoy the scenery. he likes the privacy that you two have without being locked away in a room. you two can talk for hours while he just drives, with no real plan on where you’re going.

♡ skinship- he’s annoying ASF, he just wants to be by you all the time. most skinship comes after teasing, to show you that he was just joking. he loves holding hands, wrapping his arm around you and linking arms in public, back hugging and resting his head on your shoulder sometimes too. at home, there is no limit. there is no skinship that he wouldn’t partake in with you.

♡ his love language- quality time. when you’re together, you’re not getting a word in edge ways. he tells you anything and everything, everything he’s seen, everything he’s eaten, EVERYTHING. but it’s only because he wants to share his life with you, even the moments you don’t see. he loves seeing you laugh at his stories and how your eyes light up when he’s around. but even when no one is talking, he’s content and doesn’t want the moment to end.

♡ kisses- he likes catching you off guard, pressing kisses onto any exposed skin at any time. he loves placing kisses onto your jaw line and then pulling away and looking at you expectedly with a grin on his face. he’s very proud whenever he gets to kiss you. deeper kisses are rare and usually lead to something more, but he’s not apprehensive to initiate them.

♡ uses pet names ironically, to tease you, especially in front of your friends. he has no shame and isn’t afraid to call you his flower anywhere he wants.

♡ he can sense when somethings upsetting you or you’re being off and he’s straight there to comfort you with whatever you need, hugs, a bath, even just a conversation. he’s NOT letting you be upset or down when you deserve to be happy :((

♡ the type of guy to want to stay home with you rather than go out. especially if you’re more on the introverted side. he just doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable and thinks it’s more intimate.

♡ if he’s not getting all of your attention, he’s gonna be hella jealous. when he’s jealous, he can either get real mad or real pouty, but it’s usually something that you can reassure him on with some extra loving that day.

seunghun:

♡ his favourite date- escape room

♡ even if you never manage to escape because brain cells???? he still loves watching you try and helping you where he can. honestly, he’s no help at all because he’s too busy watching you, but you’re so captivating while at work like that hehe, can you blame him?

♡ skinship- his hand is always engulfing yours. he quite often gives you back hugs too. he prefers back hugs to normal hugs since he thinks they’re more innocent and sweet. he loves having you tucked under his arm when you’re sitting next to him, even if it’s in public. this boy does not care, skinship is the same at home or in public.

♡ his love language- quality time. when he’s not working, he’s with you. you do everything together, he values your company over anyone else’s. he knows you must miss him, because he misses you the moment you say goodbye. he wants to be the centre of your attention the whole time and he’ll do anything to make sure that he is.

♡ kisses- first of all he loves when you kiss his neck!! but your lips actually meet regularly. he likes to kiss you when you’re both tucked up in bed, he thinks it actually helps you both sleep better. he’s forever giving you pecks on your cheek too, but he knows when to stop so that it doesn’t become annoying.

♡ you first held hands after he asked you to compare hand sizes. he always thought of the moment beforehand and that your hands are probably a lot smaller than his, but the reality was they were only like 1cm smaller. but he thought it makes it easier to hold your hand so he prefers it this way ><.

♡ he will do anything to make you laugh or to make you smile. he’s hates seeing you upset or down, even if it is over the tiniest thing, so he’ll be EXTRA goofy and jokey with you until you’re happy.

♡ it doesn’t matter where you’re going, who you’re going with, what you’re gonna do, he’s gonna be there. and you can’t get sick of his presence so he doesn’t have to worry about that either

yonghee:

♡ his favourite date- thrifting together

♡ first of all he is NOT gonna get bored while shopping with you and is actually prepared to take an active boyfie role. he’ll help you pick out clothes that he thinks look good on you that you may have not picked out for yourself. when you come out wearing them from the changing room he smiles at you brightly while his heart is just going CRAZY.

♡ skinship- he strokes and pats your hair a lot, he thinks it’s endearing and it always makes you smile and blush, so he does it all the more. he’s a little shy when it comes to skinship, even when you two are in private. he’d rather tell you how much he loves you and show you through his acts of service. that being said, he does love placing tiny kisses on your forehead wherever you are.

♡ his love language- words of affirmation. sometimes all he needs is a little chat with you to make him do that little better. he wants to make you proud, especially since you go out of your way to help him. he often thinks about how lucky he is to have someone like you who gives him that boost of confidence without even realising what you do.

♡ kisses- very romantic. long, passionate kisses are rare but when they do happen, they take your breath away. when you two kiss, it takes away any struggles or any worry that you had for that brief moment. playful kisses are more frequent. he smiles into them and when he pulls away, he covers his mouth because he’s gone all shy 🥺

♡ he still gets a little bit shocked when you ask to do things with him. he’s like “what? me? why?” (his subconscious constantly wanting confirmation? we’ve all been there bby) and when you reply “because you’re my boyfriend” he gets EXTRA FLUSTERED

♡ the pet names he has for you 🥺 make you blush a whole lot 🥺 he hasn’t gone a day since you pair got together without calling you “honey” or “darling”, but he’s also created some more that suit your personality 😭😭

♡ definitely prefers calling you over texting you, or leaving you little voice notes. he likes leaving voice notes for you to wake up to when he’s not there and imagines your cute reaction when you listen to them.

♡ knows exactly what to say and when to say it. he can be flirtatious in a jokey way, but hidden under the laughter there’s sincerity and you know it

jinyoung:

♡ his favourite date- art museum

♡ as well as being able to giggle with you at all the suggestive 😼 art, he also likes having deep conversations with you about how you’re interpreting the art. he likes learning about how you think and how you feel. plus it’s an excuse for you to both dress up nicely and maybe even a little bit… matching.

♡ skinship- there’s not much pda, if any at all. i think he’s someone that would want to keep his relationship private, so not even hand holding in public. he’s that guy who waits for you to fall asleep just so he can wrap his arms around you or place a kiss on your nose. he likes resting his head on your shoulder while you watch movies together, sometimes he even falls asleep like that 😭😭

♡ his love language- acts of service. he really appreciates even the tiniest things that you do for him. when you cook for him, or collect his mail, or clean up while he’s resting after a busy day. he feels a little guilty since he knows that you have a life too though, so he’s never expecting you to do anything for him, which is why it’s even more lovely when you do.

♡ kisses- HOT AND PASSIONATE, DEEP KISSES. they always leave you flustered, but to make things even worse, he’ll then place his cold hands on your cheeks and laugh at how hot it made you. expect tiny kisses throughout the day on your hand or on your shoulder (but you cannot expect the surprise ones ofc which are even more frequent)

♡ his gift giving skills are out of this world. he remembers every date that he should and gives you something he knows that you’ll like, as well as the cliché but still nice things like flowers and chocolate. he gets so giggly when he gives them to you aww babyyyy

♡ gets so whiny when you say no to him 😭 it will be like 2am and he wants to come over but ur like “can’t you wait until tomorrow?” and then he ends up just coming over anyway to complain about you saying no

♡ uses his cuteness against you. either you love it and can’t resist it, or you hate it and give in just to make him stop.

♡ he likes fun but what he likes more is seeing you have fun. catching you smiling when you’re doing something or seeing you on pictures with a massive grin on your face makes him so happy.

hyunsuk:

♡ his favourite date- bowling

♡ seeing u in those shoes is enough. but fr he likes how light hearted it is and how fun it ALWAYS is with you. he almost always lets you win and when he does he pays for your drinks and food while you’re there. he does get a kick out of you getting it down the gutter 3 times in a row, even if it happens every time.

♡ skinship- not much for pda, maybe a little bit of handholding and a discreet back hug while you’re waiting in line. he loves being near to you though. at home, he’s more of a playful boyfriend. there’s lots of tiny little scraps on the sofa about who’s feet get the rest on the other’si laps, and who gets to sleep on the other’s chest in bed.

♡ his love language- receiving gifts. given that he can’t spend much time with you, he thinks about you a whole lot more than he does anyone else, and receiving gifts from you shows him that you do the same. more so than the gifts, he gets excited when he sees how excited you are to give him something. it’s endearing 🥺

♡ kisses- longer kisses are giggly but still full of passion and love. he can’t wait to put his lips on yours and soon becomes more and more comfortable with making the first move. he’s not one for giving little pecks, those are rare, but he loves when you surprise him with them.

♡ even though he always wants to make you flustered, he usually gets wayyy more flustered than you in his attempts to do so. his cheeks burn up and his hands come up to cover his face.

♡ okay this boy LOVES listening to you talk. looking into your eyes while you talk about everything and anything, just admiring everything about you.

♡ sings for you. all the time. even if you don’t request it he’s gonna be belting out a romantic song to you.

♡ sometimes he doesn’t even realise he’s done it, but he’ll drop something really sweet and romantic into a conversation and your heart will be thumping immediately and he’ll panic thinking he said something wrong.

[moonbeamsung]

Bad Dracula

I have no intention of scaring you, baby~

member: jaemin

au: vampire!jaemin x gn!reader, supernatural au

word count: 2.1k

genre: fluff, a little angst, slightly suggestive

warnings: mentions of blood, kissing, implied strict parenting

recommended song: bad dracula by red velvet

author’s note: Based on the song above. This was so much fun to write and I thought it fit well with the time of year, so enjoy!

The dance floor in the large ballroom pulses with energy and vibrations from the DJ booth at the far end of it. It’s packed, so much so that all the people, all the shuffling pairs of shoes, threaten to overflow from the carefully manicured tiles on the ground and into the remainder of the space. This poses a problem considering there isn’t much, due to the dozens upon dozens of fancily decorated round tables scattered throughout the brightly lit chamber, some empty as their occupants sway to the beat of the music and others full with those still finishing their exquisitely prepared meals.

Dancing close to the edge of the massive crowd, you catch sight of the moon’s reflection on the polished floor, oddly clear. A strange feeling starts to overtake you as you continue to gaze at it, physically compelling you to raise your eyes. When you do, there’s a devilishly handsome stranger you’ve never seen before leaning against the wall, directly across from you. The moonlight spilling in through the glass casts a haunting shadow on his chiseled features, but your heart stops when the sliver of a fang peeks out from between his lips, gleaming a blinding white.

How no one else notices him, you’re not sure. What you do know, however, is that he’s definitely bad news.

...Right?

Your gut pinches at the thought, the silent signal begging you to correct your instant judgement based solely on his appearance. How could you possibly be wrong, though? He’s a vampire, for goodness’ sake! You’ve been lectured and warned enough times to remember that they’re always up to no good.

The inner dilemma going on in your mind causes you to stare blankly, zoned out and unaware that your focus is drilling into the boy. Amused, he waits for you to realize this.

Eyes blown wide with surprise, you whirl around to weave in and out of the throng of people, making your way to the center of the crowd in a pathetic attempt to undo what just happened. Attention trained on the ground, a pair of shiny black dress shoes come into your line of sight.

There’s that feeling again. You don’t want to, you fight the urge this time, but trying to resist the supernatural pull makes your head ache. Bracing yourself, you unwillingly lift your eyes again, tracing the length of his figure from the hem of his dress pants all the way up to the lapel of his suit. The wine-colored ensemble seems fitting, considering the craving vampires instinctively harbor for a similarly colored substance.

His looks are even more striking up close. The allure he possesses is something otherworldly, and he has to repeat himself for you to realize he’s speaking to you. “My name is Jaemin, and you are...?” He questions, the lilt of his voice silky and seductive. Stammering a somewhat coherent response, you freeze when his cold fingers grasp your wrist, lifting it to his lips and pressing a kiss to your trembling knuckles.

“Shall we dance?” It’s a statement, not a request, and not wanting to cause a scene, you make no attempts to protest. You get lost in the way his arms feel wrapped around you, every so often being twirled by the graceful movements of his hand.

Your eyes lock with his and they put you in an inescapable trance, casting a spell on your mind until the moment that he breaks the contact, glancing almost worriedly at something over your shoulder. He returns his gaze to yours as quickly as he removed it, and the enrapturing haze settles in around you once more.

For the final minute of your dance, he brings you closer than you’ve ever been to him before, head resting firmly against his chest. A triumphant feeling of rebellion bubbles up inside of you knowing that you’d be in big trouble if your parents could see you right now, in the arms of an enchanting vampire. The mere act of associating with one would be enough for them to explode with fury, so going even further than that would surely elicit a wrath of pure, unadulterated rage.

The song ends, its slow tempo coming to a stop before being replaced by a much peppier tune.

Most of your fright forgotten for the time being, you’re more curious than anything else when he begins to drag you away from the center of the ballroom, pulling you with urgency and a force that completely contrasts with the gentleness of his touches as you danced together. Stepping out from the crowd, he leads you around to the other side of the wide marble staircase, ducking to stand behind a pristine white column that extends all the way up to the heightened ceiling. It dawns on you now that he could actually be dangerous, and all the fear comes flooding back to you.

Jaemin sees it too, the way your pupils dilate to indicate your terror of the situation you’ve gotten yourself into, your terror of him. You’re about to cry out when he stops you by covering your mouth with his hand, the low temperature of his skin startling you even more, and you wince.

“Sorry, sorry!” He whispers hastily, panicked. You take notice of the instant change in his demeanor but it does nothing to calm you down. “It’s alright, don’t freak out, okay?”

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” he breathes, finally providing you with some sort of relief. You relax a little under his hold, still cautious but deciding to give him a chance. Slowly, he removes his palm from your lips, allowing you to speak.

“What do you want with me, then?”

Glancing around with that same look of anxiousness on his face, he leans in, murmuring into your ear with every word.

“Well, I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, but I’m a vampire. I come from a whole family of them. My parents brought me here tonight to... uh, well, you’ve heard the stories. They want me to find someone with the best blood to drink.”

Come to think of it, you do recall seeing a carriage parked outside, black as night and delicately carved like it came from the darkest depths of the underworld. Must’ve been his, you realize.

“And that’s me because...?” You interrupt his explanation, causing him to wave a hand in the air, exasperated.

“Let me finish, okay? The thing is, vampires drink blood but it’s not the only thing we need to survive. In fact, we don’t even need it. Over time we’ve found ways to get the same nutrients in other ways and from other things. Some of us still do it for tradition’s sake. And my family is all about preserving history.”

Inhaling sharply, he continues. “But I... I can’t do it. Not only does it feel morally wrong, but I get sick just thinking about it. On nights like this, I just have to find a way to lie about finding some.”

“That’s,” he leans back to point a finger at you, “where you come in, angel. We just have to make it look like I took some of your blood, and that will be enough to satisfy my parents for a while.”

Too stunned to speak, you gape at Jaemin, leaving him waiting for your answer, wondering whether you’ll commit or not.

“Wow.”

“I understand if you don’t want to help, I can always find someone—”

“You are nothing like who I thought you were.”

Jaemin’s pale skin flushes with a color you’re not sure even exists before he beams at you. A few minutes ago, you would never have guessed the mysterious man leaning against the wall could smile this brightly. “Not all of us are bloodthirsty monsters.”

“I’m sorry I was afraid of you,” you tell him, looking down at the floor with a guilty expression.

“It’s not your fault, you had every right to be.”

“...Hold on, what was all that out there?” You accuse, brows raised in slight suspicion and a hip tilted to the side as you await an explanation.

“What do you mean, ‘all that?’”

“I mean the dance! I mean the way you introduced yourself, the way you spoke, everything... You were so cold, so intimidating. But you’re acting so different now.”

“All to put on a show for my parents, sweetheart.”

Blushing like mad, you shake your head as you remember the reason why you’re back here with him in the first place. “I’ll do it,” you say, heart fluttering at the way his eyes light up with gratitude.

“Really? You will? Thank you! Thank you so much...” he trails off, and you find the excitement in his voice adorable.

“So, how do we do this?” You ponder for a moment, tapping your shoe against the floor before an idea comes to you. “You don’t mind ketchup, do you?”

Jaemin knows what you’re getting at, nodding. “I don’t have a problem with it, so that should work fine.”

“But... how close are they going to look? Would a bite mark make it more realistic?”

Considering your words, Jaemin’s tongue darts out to lick at one of his sharp fangs, the action drawing your gaze down to them.

“You’re probably right...”

Closing your eyes and straightening your posture, you tilt your head to one side, exposing your neck. “Go ahead, I don’t mind.”

Here goes nothing, Jaemin thinks to himself. Only he doesn’t aim for your neck.

When you feel his lips on yours you’re startled to say the least, but just like when he danced with you, you don’t pull away. The kiss is a delicious secret, only for the two of you to know about and no one else. Instead of ice his hands are like fire on your skin, and the sleeves of his satin suit jacket feel heavenly against your arms as they cling to his shoulders for dear life. It’s so intense, so heated and passionate a kiss that you feel yourself back up against the pillar you’ve been hiding behind all this time.

Not wanting anyone to get suspicious about what’s taking so long, Jaemin reluctantly separates his lips from yours and drags them across your skin, down past your jaw to halt at your neck. The magic bestowed upon all vampires gives him the power to temporarily restrict the ability of his fangs to take blood, rendering them harmless. Once he’s done this, he sinks them into the spot above your collarbone just far enough to leave an impression, eliciting a small whine from your lips but nothing more.

“That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” you pant, taking heavy breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth while you wait to regain the strength you lost in the moment. It’s funny, you think. He didn’t take any of your blood, so why do you feel so dizzy?

Jaemin chuckles, brushing your hair out of your face since it had become slightly tousled during the kiss. His eyes widen in sudden realization and he snaps his fingers, “The ketchup!”

“Right!” You exclaim, hurriedly running over to the nearest deserted table and grabbing a single packet.

Tearing the corner, you squeeze a small dot of the condiment onto your finger before smearing it onto the skin below his lips, making it look as if it’s dripping from the edge of his mouth. Jaemin takes it from you and does the same, the red smudge complimenting the bite mark he left on your neck quite nicely, if he says so himself.

Leading you back around the staircase, Jaemin shares a second dance with you in the middle of the ballroom, and this time you’re both more comfortable with each other. From across the room, his parents’ enhanced senses of sight allow them to see your stained skin, humming in approval at their son’s apparent obedience.

“Will I see you again?” You ask in a soft voice, wavering at the possibility of losing the new friend, and maybe something more, you’ve made tonight.

“I don’t know, my dear,” Jaemin admits. “But I’ll try.”

Smiling lovingly up at him, you sigh, the three words you so desperately want to utter on the very tip of your tongue, but you feel it’s a little too soon. One day, you tell yourself.

Hidden amongst the crowd, he ducks down a little to steal a final kiss before a tall figure that’s probably his mother whisks him away and into the distance. You exchange longing glances before he’s forced to turn around, walking completely out of sight.

Taking long strides at an inhuman pace between both of his parents, Jaemin grins to himself, thinking of you and how amazing you looked tonight in that elegant outfit of yours.

From beside him, his father sniffs the air, pale nose wrinkling in distaste.

“Is that ketchup?!”

[starlocked01]

Look Alive, Sunshine

AO3 Link

Dukexiety Week Day 7- Music WC: 1.8K Summary: Remus picks Virgil up from his dorm in the middle of the night to combat an old fear. Content Warning: Swearing, Panicking, references to past suicidal thoughts

@dukexietyweek

A/N: This is actually in the same universe as When Can I See You Again? which is the first dukexiety story I wrote featuring Soul mark timers, lots of miscommunication and drama, and fun. And fight club. If you've liked this week's oneshots, maybe give WCISYA? a try ^_^ Thank you everyone for reading along and sharing this week <3

Despite Remus' progress with Dr. B. and despite over a thousand nights with no incidents, Virgil still could not shake his fear of the Xs. He hadn’t seen them in years, but some nights Virgil stayed up to watch his soul mark countdown the seconds until Remus could reassure him he'd lost sleep for no reason.

Most of the nights when he stayed up watching with growing anxiety, Virgil didn't even try to text Remus. His boyfriend needed the sleep and would just worry when he woke up until Virgil finally rolled out of bed and answered his reassurances. Tonight was too much. Tonight, not even the steady passage of time promising he'd see his soulmate the next day was enough to allay thoughts of horrific unforeseen accidents.

Tonight Virgil texted his soulmate at quarter to two am and watched as the numbers changed without warning.

00:05:17

Five minutes. Virgil gulped and couldn't help but feel like he'd fucked up. He glanced at his phone several times, bewildered by the lack of an answering text, but mostly watched his wrist counting down.

At about the two-minute mark he finally realized he should probably get dressed and grabbed a pair of skinny jeans to struggle into. He struck his foot on the corner of the bed and bit his lip hard to avoid waking up his roommate. Virgil quickly shrugged on his hoodie and shoes before checking his wrist again.

00:00:10

He laughed to himself at the near deja vu feeling, walking over to the window to watch for Remus’ car in the parking lot.

To his surprise, there was a knock at the dorm door instead. Virgil jumped and rushed over to the door, cracking it open just in time to glimpse his soulmate grinning out in the hallway.

"Remus! What are you doing here?" Virgil asked in a hissing whisper, sliding out into the hallway and shutting the door as quietly as possible, "do you know what time it is?"

"Uh yeah, babe. 2 am. You're the one who sent a distress signal, what was I supposed to do?" Remus answered at his normal, too-loud volume, wrapping Virgil in a tight hug before the smaller man could answer or object.

"You coulda just told me you were alright," Virgil grumbled, hugging his soulmate back tighter anyway, "do I want to know how you got in?"

"The desk worker recognized me and let me in. Don't worry, I would only break in if mildly inconvenienced," Remus grinned, starting to pull Virgil with him down the hall, "so why are you up so late? You weren't waiting for me to croak, were you?"

Virgil started to respond but stopped before he got a syllable out. That was what he was technically doing, even if he dreaded that very thing more than anything. "I- don't make it sound like I would ever want that! I just… got worried."

Remus tugged Virgil closer to his side, "I'm okay. And I'm not going anywhere, worrywart." He waved briefly at the night guard and ushered Virgil outside, "c'mon. We're gonna fix this."

"How? You're okay tonight but what about tomorrow? How do I know you're going to be okay every night? What if-" Virgil gulped, not wanting to vocalize his worst fear.

Remus stopped just outside the door and turned to Virgil, "come on, Virgie. I always call when it's a bad day. And I haven't had one in a while."

"Yeah, but what if-"

"If I had a bad day, I'd call. C'mon. We've gotta get your mind off this," Remus murmured, pulling Virgil towards his car.

Virgil huffed but followed Remus easily enough, sliding into the passenger's seat as Remus scanned through a pile of CD cases.

“Oh my god, you still have those?” Virgil asked, a bit surprised to see his old emo collection.

“Of course I do. One of the best your-birthday presents I’ve ever gotten,” Remus giggled and picked the album he’d been looking for, “I get that you get scared. When I die you can listen to The Black Parade and mourn me, but tonight we are gonna Look Alive, Sunshine.” Remus started the car and fed the CD to the center console before backing out of the spot and zooming out of the parking lot.

Virgil hummed happily, giggling as Remus recited the initial traffic report along with Dr. Death-Defying, “I love Danger Days. Remember how you convinced the DJ at Prom to play this song?”

“How could I not? He only did it because of your pouty little baby face back then,” Remus teased, earning himself a smack on the shoulder, “what? He certainly wasn’t doing me any favors.”

“You’re an ass,” Virgil chuckled.

“I’m your ass,” Remus corrected him, headbanging along as he drove.

“So where are we headed, ass of mine?” Virgil asked just over the music, watching as streetlights and neon signs advertising closed stores flashed by.

“Nowhere special,” Remus replied carefully, pretty quickly turning into an empty parking lot and pulling into a space as far from any lights as he can.

“Yeah.. not kidding about that... Is this a bookstore?”

“Bookstore parking lot.”

“Okay, why a bookstore parking lot?”

Remus didn’t answer, just unbuckled and tried to squeeze between the front seats of the car to the back. Virgil watched in amusement until Remus managed to push himself through and got settled in the back.

“C’mon. You do this for me all the time, now it’s your turn.”

Virgil laughed and turned the key to the battery-only position in the ignition and locked the car doors before following Remus, sliding back to the back seat a touch more nimbly. He settled into Remus’ lap and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.

“Thank you,” he murmured, settling in as Remus wrapped his arms around him and started singing along with the music.

“If that's the best that I could be? Then I'd be another memory. Can I be the only hope for you? Because you're the only hope for me,” Remus sang softly to Virgil, running fingers through his hair.

Virgil sniffed and sang the rest of the verse, “And if we can't find where we belong we'll have to make it on our own. Face all the pain and take it on because the only hope for me is you alone,” he tried to relax and let Remus’ presence reassure him that neither of them was going anywhere without the other, “is it weird to say I wish you were around more often?”

Remus stopped humming along with the music to hug Virgil tighter, “not weird at all, V. You’ll graduate soon and we can move in together. Then you’ll really be sick of me.” he smiled and kissed Virgil’s hair, “we’re so close to forever, love.”

Virgil sighed and began to sing along again a few songs later, “we can leave this world, leave it all behind. We can steal this car if your folks don't mind. We can live forever if you've got the time,” he buried his face in Remus’ chest, almost wishing they could just start driving tonight and never looking back.

“My pretty little heart attack in black hair dye,” Remus giggled, “you gotta finish school first so I can just kick Roman and Remy out.”

Virgil laughed at that, “as if you’d ever kick your brother out.”

“Easier done than said. I’ve lived with that asshole for far too long already,” Remus replied pointedly, “you know, we can work out transportation if you would perhaps consider moving off campus next semester.”

Virgil sat there silent in consideration. The only thing really stopping him from agreeing was the wall of anxieties over moving in with his boyfriend and living off-campus and paying rent and having to find a job in between homework and classes. It was a lot to figure out, not even considering the implications of actually moving in with his boyfriend. What if Remus did something crazy like suggesting they get married? What if everything changed and he didn’t like it or get used to it? What if nothing changed and he still woke up at 2 in the morning from dreams of Xs despite falling asleep in Remus’ arms? What if-

“Virgil- where’s your head, Stormcloud?” Virgil’s thoughts were interrupted by the question and a soft steady tapping on the back of his neck.

Virgil sighed and shook his head, “sorry. It got away from me. I kinda want this moment to last forever. It’s safe and predictable.”

“An abandoned parking lot is not life, sweetheart. Trust me, I love how safe this is. I love holding you and knowing nothing can happen to you while we’re here. But life doesn’t happen in safety. We can face it together, we always will. But we do have to go out and face it eventually,” Remus spoke softly, letting his voice mingle with the music.

“You’re here now. You’re here and real and not going anywhere. That should be enough. Why isn’t it enough?” Virgil asked in a small voice.

“Because you care. Your love isn’t limited to this moment,” Remus laughed softly, “your love has saved me before, so don’t you dare try to limit it now.”

“I- oh wow, Rem, I am so sorry,” Virgil caught himself and sighed, “I think I get it now.”

“Oh? Figure something out?” Remus asked quietly, continuing to tap on Virgil to the beat.

“I haven’t been trusting your love. I’m an asshole,” Virgil shook his head, “ of course I won’t wake up and find Xs. You love me. I’m so dumb for not trusting that because of course you’re not going anywhere.”

Remus chuckled, “now you’re getting it, V. I know you can’t help worrying, but you’ll at least let me prove it when the worries get too much?”

Virgil sat up carefully, “I didn’t want to bother you with it before. Goodness knows we both need the sleep, but I think next time, I’ll just reach out like tonight.”

Remus smiled and pulled Virgil back down, “you said it yourself. We need sleep. So sleep, mister. We’re not going anywhere until morning.”

Virgil laughed and feebly tried to push away, “nooo not in the car! At least let's go find a bed.”

“Aww but that’s no fun… unless..”

“Sleep. It’s nearly 3 am. We are gonna find a bed, either mine or yours, and go to sleep.”

“Boo,” Remus pouted but reached to unlock the car, not trusting his ability to climb back upfront.

“Love you too, boo,” Virgil grinned and leaned down to kiss Remus properly, quickly getting lost in the contact. Remus pulled him close, willing to spend the rest of the night that way until the second to last track of the album began and his speakers started blaring a distorted version of the American anthem. They broke apart, laughing together at the awkward background music. Then they managed to kiss the whole way through Vampire Money before climbing out of the back seat and back upfront.

“Alright. Let’s go home. Maybe I can convince you to make it home better from there,” Remus grinned and started up the car again, driving off towards the apartment as the CD restarted the album from the beginning.

[guessimjoiningthespidermanfandom]

Roses of Melrose

Peter Parker x bisexual!reader 

Peter Parker x fem!reader

Peter Parker x black!reader 

Peter Parker x villain!reader 

Warnings: Language, murder, death, mentions of gangs, gun violence, mercenaries, physical abuse, verbal abuse, parental neglect, drug use, underage drinking, mentions of knives, brief mentions of sex, blood, piercings. 

Word Count:  8.4k

Songs: Ultralight beam-Kanye, I love Kanye- Kanye, Good Kid-Kendrick Lamar, Sing about me I’m dying of thirst- Kendrick Lamar, Violent Crimes- Kanye, Apparently- J.Cole, Black Wave- K.Flay, Pretty Little Birds- SZA, Wouldn’t it be Nice- The Beach Boys. 

“  It was the way I fought back. It was my first ‘fuck you’ to everyone to everything. It was my best friend. It was my first love. So to you I’m just another girl with another basic rose tattoo but to me. To me? It’s the way I remember it’s the way I keep my friend with me. It’s the way I’d make sure I couldn’t forget the unforgettable”

A/N: Sorry it took so long to finish this school and home got in the way. Sorry If the grammar is off there was only one proof read. Hopefully you enjoy it. Sorry that there’s less Peter in this one. It’s more character building. 

Series Masterlist   Previous Part    Next Part 

I had my suspicions about Peter being Spiderman, I mean it was kinda obvious he’s always leaving decathlon meetings according to MJ. They both have the same annoying ass optimism. No one is just that sure of anything. Like ever. Thanks to Liz I’d finally know. 

I entered the house having to maneuver past a couple of people standing in the hall past the front door. This party was tame compared to others I’d been to. Flash was DJ-ing he’s so annoying. Liz was cool though she was nice. 

I found MJ standing in the kitchen opening a pack of bread holding a jar of peanut butter. When I walked over and said 

“Only you would come to a party to just eat bread.”

She only replied with a short “Whatever loser,” 

“Hey, Peter Parker. Where’s your friend Spiderman?” Flash announced on the mic.

“Lemme guess with your imaginary girlfriend?”

Peter just stood there stunned 

“That’s not Spiderman that’s just Ned in a red shirt,” Okay that one would’ve been kinda funny if he didn’t add that annoying horn sound.  

“Shut the fuck up!” I said before smiling at Peter and walking off. I didn't do it for him, necessarily Flash was just annoying. Like I’ve never understood how someone with the grandpa name Eugene could talk so much shit. 

 I was making small talk with some random senior boy when I heard a high pitched squeal and excused myself to the bathroom. The sound only got louder and louder and louder. It was so painful it felt like Athena should’ve split my forehead and climbed her way out. My vision blurring together made me not able to grab onto anything as I lost balance. I wasn't going to cry, 

I wasn't. I couldn’t crying’s pathetic I wasn't going to cry. I could push through the pain. I’ve done it before, that's what I always do. Just when it got so intense I was sure I was gonna pass out it stopped. I did not pass out however I did throw up into the toilet. I looked in the mirror after washing my face off and for a second I could’ve sworn my eyes were glowing. Great now I’m going into a psychotic break why would my eyes be glowing. 

I just need some fresh air. Yeah that’s all. I sat there for a while letting my mind wander until I heard MJ’s voice from behind me. 

“So this is where you were? I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” She said as she sat down next to me. When I didn’t respond she turned facing me waving her hands my face 

“You good?” 

I looked up from picking at the grass. 

“I’m just tired MJ,” I mean I have every right to be tired there’s a whole fucking gang war going down where I live. Which makes no fucking sense why are people fighting over streets that no one actually owns. The weapons Vulture is selling make me good money, but they’re getting way too close to where my friends lived. I was snapped out of diving into all my problems by a purple cloud in the distance. Hearing the distant squeal slash siren hybrid. I felt my eyes widen. 

“What was that?” MJ asked. 

Fucking Vulture 

ARE YOU KIDDING ME. I told him to stay out of my neighborhood and he came to my friends. 

“I don’t know,” I said “Let’s just go back inside,”

As we were walking back to the backdoors I took one glance behind me, and there he was Spiderman heading towards the cloud

“Hey,” I called out walking closer to Ned, “Ned!”

He turned around 

“Who me?” He pointed to himself. 

“I mean I don’t see any other Neds around were,” I joked

“Oh, it’s you just usually don’t talk to me,” He pointed out. 

“Yeah sorry about that,” I said “Actually where’s Peter? I can’t seem to find him,” 

“Oh he uh,” he scratched the back of his neck “He had to go,” 

“Aw, how unfortunate,” I patted his shoulder “Well enjoy the party I have to go too,” So Ned knew Peter was Spiderman. 

“Can I get a ride?” I asked MJ to which she just said 

“You don’t have to ask,”

 “Just drop me off at the corner store by my house,”

It never felt awkward around MJ. Normally I had to be on high alert around everyone, but it’s never like that with her. This isn't an “honor” many people have but she’s one of the few I feel comfortable falling asleep around. I knew being in the car would make me feel sick so I drifted off. 

Shutting the door to the car we said our goodbyes and I headed into the gas station when Mr. William greeted me. I felt a warm feeling in my body. It was nice but short lived and replaced by an emptiness that humans like to call nostalgia. I missed feeling “home” I still lived here. I don’t know why It seems like I don't. I guess it was the fact I’d been giving more attention to Queens and Thorn lately. I know it’s not the projects anymore which I am immensely grateful for but it’s the same neighborhood. According to Briana, one of the like 3 friends I managed to keep I “never come around anymore” or “I’m too good for them”. 

I made my way to the bathroom and located the tile I kept my burner phone in. I used to keep it in a shoe box at home until my sister started going through the phase where she feels the need to borrow all my clothes. Stomping on the edge of the tile it flipped up and I grabbed the phone and shoved it in the pocket of my hoodie. 

Getting a soda and some gummy worms before I left. I started to walk back to my apartment complex. I went up to sit on the roof of the building just eating my gummies looking. That was something I did a lot just look. When I was younger I couldn’t stand being alone in my own head, but the older I got the more I began to understand why old people would just sit out on their porch doing nothing but looking. 

When I checked my phone it was 12:47 and I decided it was time to go back in. First I sent out a message on the burner phone to what I hope to God was the right number. 

I headed back down to my room and spent the whole night tossing and turning. When I put on a podcast I slept much easier. I found that the environment I grew up in bred me to not be able to sleep probably without some sort of noise even if it’s just arguing. 

I woke up with my phone on my face and my bonnet halfway across the continent. I checked my phone fully expecting to be late but by some blessing I had at least two hours to get ready before I had to leave. The house was quiet like eerily quiet no TV on or anything. I went to wake up the drama queen, middle child, Aaliyah. When I say drama queen I mean both acting and just straight up being dramatic. And then there’s Sapphire who’s the physical embodiment of a Gemini. I flicked on the lights, revealing toys scattered all over Sapphire‘s side of the room. The only response I got was from Aaliyah who simply whined and pulled her blanket over her head. I picked up a pair of rolled up socks and tossed them at her to which she loudly exclaimed 

“Ow!” 

See what I mean by dramatic but thankfully for me, she woke up Sapphire meaning I didn’t have to step on sharp plastic trying to navigate her side. Not that I could judge her though I can’t remember the last time I had the motivation to clean my room. 

I was fully expecting my dad to be passed out on the couch when I walked into the living room but he wasn’t. He wasn’t in his room either. This was nothing out of the ordinary though, he’d probably be back tonight or tomorrow.

One of the perks of my dad being gone was I could use the bathroom in his room to shower and take as long as I want. Another perk of dad not being here is I can take his car today instead of my skateboard. My sisters don't go to a local school but it’s still way closer to our home then Midtown so they don’t have to go so far away. I,on the other hand, have to skate to the bus stop, get on the metro then get on a subway and skate the rest of the way to school. 

“Y’all wanna get something to eat?” I asked my sisters once we were in the car. 

“Wendys!” Sapphire interjected from the backseat 

“No one wants to eat Wendys,” Aaliyah turned around from the passenger to face her. “Get McDonald’s” she demanded, turning back to face me. 

“Oh so you don’t want Wendys but you can eat the plastic from McDonald's,” Sapphire asked accusingly. 

“Wendy's tastes like shit,” 

“You taste like shit,” 

“That doesn’t even make any sense!”

I just giggled at the fact this is what they decided to argue about. 

“I’m just gonna get somethin’ from Mr. Washington, Since it’s the closest thing to us” was all I said before turning the radio up. 

I pulled into the parking lot. Looking at the buildings that look like they should be dead. With their bulletproof windows with anti robbery bars. It’s honestly depressing if you think about it for too long. But these places are nothing but living and bustling no matter what. Like the roses in the cracks of the sidewalk. I left the keys in the ignition once my sister confirmed they weren’t coming inside. 

“Hey Y/N,” Mr.Washington’s son said from the kitchen. I believe he’s 18 now?

“Hey,” I nodded my head at him walking towards his father to order. 

“Hey, Y/N how are you doing?”

“I’m good how are you?” 

“I’m good thanks for asking, you know you look more and more like your mom everyday,” he pointed out and I just smiled. “She was a great kid,” 

“Yeah…” I trailed off. 

“So the usual?” he asked and I nodded. 

I don’t know how but he remembered everyone’s usual orders and knows everyone’s names. 

Quick rule of thumb the best food comes in brown paper bags.

Once I was back in the car I had to make the conscious effort not to speed. MJ never goes anywhere when I drive because I “drive like I have nothing to live for” which personally I just think she’s dramatic. 

Honestly my sisters are so lucky they go to a local school. I mean yeah the education at Midtown is better than the local highschool, but it’s not like I even belong there. So basically I commute almost 40 minutes everyday to a school I’m not smart enough to go to.  

By the time lunch came around I had a terrible headache the smell of my food made me vomit. And no I’m not being dramatic I really had to stop by the bathroom and throw up. 

Now I didn’t really feel like walking all the way over to sit at my usual table so I just sat with the school stoners. Yes cliques are real and if this were a movie I’d be one of those clique surfers. Pretty much everyone is a clique surfer if we’re being honest. 

I don’t know why they get such a bad wrap stoners have got to be some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Like this one girl Jessica she gave me one of my first tattoos for free in freshman year when I met her. Since she noticed that I looked stressed, she offered to let me hit her cart. I didn’t even have to ask her 

Oh my god I’ll marry you were my exact thoughts at that moment. That I’d apparently voiced out loud because she responded with. 

“I’m down. When’s the wedding?” 

Her and two guys who were sitting at the table with us made their way to the boys bathroom with me. 

 After about 3 hits I could feel the life returning to my body as if the rain finally stopped crashing down and the rainbow entered the sky. I could've sworn I heard God say “I’ll never flood the earth again” 

“Do you think I’d look good with a nostril piercing?” I asked while examining my nose in the mirror. 

“Are you kidding me? You’d look hot as fuck,” Jessica added in. 

“You should pierce her nose, J” the guy who was standing closest to the door said. Zach I think. 

“Yeah I could do that, do you want me to?” She asked. 

I pondered it for a second before the boy who already looked off of cloud nine Tyler I believe his name was interjected with 

“She’s really good at it, she did my girlfriends,” 

You know what? Fuck it 

“Why the hell not,” I said

“Alright,” she said after clapping her hands and walking over to her backpack on the floor. She pulled out a lighter and an earring. She lit the earring to disinfect and I hopped up on the sink and she moved towards the right side of my body. Just as she was asking me where exactly I wanted it we all jumped at the sound of the door creaking open. 

Low and behold Peter Parker of all people walked in. 

“Uh I was just gonna...yeah,” He stammered out still standing by the door. He was still just staring at me. Now I’m not sure if it was because I was a girl in the boys bathroom, if I looked high, or if it was the fact I was about to pierce my nose in a dirty school bathroom but he was starting to make me feel awkward. 

“Can I help you?” I asked. 

“Oh,” he said as a blush raised up his cheeks “I’m just gonna,” he pointed to one of the stalls before scurrying into it. 

Jessica simply chuckled and called him cute.

By the time he came back out to wash his hands the earring was already pushed into my nostril with a slight pinch. Jessica told me that I’d have to clean the piercing everyday for a couple weeks, which is something I could manage. I hopped down the sink and asked 

“Do I look okay?” Referring to my eyes

“Yeah and me?” Jessica asked

“Yeah you’re good,” I reassured her. That was the last thing she needed to hear before her and the other two guys left the bathroom. 

As Peter was washing his hands I turned back around to look at my nose in the mirror. It was still a little red with irritation. It was also slightly sore to the touch. I was shaken out of my thoughts by Peter’s voice. 

“Did that hurt?” He asked. 

He was so adorable. 

“This?” I pointed to my nose and he nodded. 

“No not really,” I said grabbing my bag off the floor. 

“Well this very short convo has been a blast but I gotta go,” 

Okay so, I hadn’t been to the class in like forever because of the sheer fear of what would happen cause I skipped it so much. However, my fear of having to confront Olivia is stronger and she was coming towards me so, I ran in through the door. Ugh I’m such a pussy. I saw her walk out of my view. I was gonna turn back out and leave but ,unfortunately I had already locked eyes with the teacher. Looking around at all the students staring at me I just looked back at the teacher. 

“Y/N! So nice of you to finally join us,” Ms Warren just had to announce. I simply choose to give a curt nod before she said 

“We’re doing a partnered assignment, you can sit by Peter,” She said while pointing near the back of the classroom.  

I made my way to the back of the class and slumped into the seat. 

“Hey,” I said putting my legs on the empty desk in front of me. 

“Hey, didn’t know you were in this class,” Peter pointed out. 

“I mean I don’t think I’ve been here since the second week of school? Yeah I’m not sure. So from the beginning of sophomore year to now would be like maybe 1…2...3. No 2, yeah 2.” I went on before realizing I was rambling “Sorry I’m talking too much I’m like tiniest bit faded right now, and okay let me shut up,” 

“No, no you’re fine. I like hearing you talk” 

“I’ll be right back,” I whispered before raising my hand. 

“Yes Y/N?” Ms Warren asked. 

“Can I go to the bathroom?” 

She sighed “Uh, Yes I guess that’s fine just don’t take to long,” 

I grabbed the pass and started down the hallway. I was never planning to go to the bathroom. In all honesty I was going to the freshmans’ lunch cause I’d gotten hungry. I was in the line to get snacks when I felt a buzz in my pocket. I knew it was the burner phone so I got my chips and went outside to the area of the school with no cameras. Looking around to make sure no one was looking. I opened the text. Which read 

this T?- B 

yes, do you still have it?- T I responded 

I do- B 

ok meet at usual X and Place- T 

ok- B

I’d confirmed my brother could pick up my sisters from daycare. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about them at home when I was doing what I needed to do. 

I was trying to keep a low profile. I don't need anyone to claim they saw Thorn tonight. Since I’ve been on the radar of the police more often lately. No one would be looking in an abandoned train cart anyways. I‘d be fine. I just went with a black hoodie and a bandana to cover my face. 

But of course Black Cat was in her suit because when was she ever not. 

“You sure this is it?” I asked 

“Yes I’m sure,” she said and placed the flash drive in my hand. I stuffed it in the pocket of my hoodie. 

“Don’t forget what we talked about,” she said pointedly. 

“Yeah, yeah I’ve got you,” 

Great now I have to get into the government protected flash drive and clear her name. Just as I was about to turn to leave. The sound of someone sliding open the doors to one of the carts. 

“Were you followed?” she whispered

“No of course not,” I rolled my eyes 

I only had one weapon on me but I knew that Black Cat could handle whoever it was. Although just because she could do this on her own doesn’t mean I was gonna help. I had one expandable baton. Waiting for whoever was here to come in. I got my baton knocked out of my hand. 

The fight that broke out wasn’t really a fight if you could even call it that, it was just like 3 guys trying to get the flash drive and us knocking them out. I did however get my fair share of bruises but that’s only because I was thrown into the wall once. I did have a pretty deep gash on my forehead but I should be able to cover it with a headband.  

I almost gave myself a heart attack when I checked my sisters’ room because I forgot they were at our brothers house. My dad also still wasn’t home so I was just sitting home alone on the living room floor watching ‘Nick at Night’ with a caked up bloody forehead eating cold leftover spaghetti. 

I knew my dad had come home because I heard the keys turning in the door but I was too tired to move. 

I should’ve moved. 

By the way the door was slammed shut I could tell he was in a bad mood. And what’d he do when he was in a bad mood? Take it out on me. 

I don’t remember what happened. I just know he said I looked like a whore and I probably got heated and blacked out, but I do know I was in immense pain and my nose was bleeding and the police were on their way. 

Only two things could come from my dad calling the police: I get sent back to the Psych ward or I get arrested. I wasn’t about to stick around to find out which one was going down. 

I grabbed my skateboard and took off. Technically he did kick me out so he couldn’t say I ran away. 

I can’t exactly recall how I remember where he lived seeing as I hadn’t been there since his girlfriend died. 

I was going to knock but I knew he never actually opens the door. I went around to the back and started banging on the window and I’m sure looking at this from an outsider's view it must’ve looked like I was breaking in. Which I’m not sure that I wasn’t. I could see his shadow. 

“Open the fucking door, Wade!” I yelled from the door I could see his light was on. 

He sleepily strutted down to the door and slid it open. 

“What do you- Oh my god you look terrible,” He stated. 

“Oh really? Thanks, I didn’t notice,” I spat back pushing past him. 

I popped down on the couch. 

“I need somewhere to stay for a minute” I said once I was settled in. 

He moved over to me and grabbed my face but I pushed his hands away. 

“I’m fine,” I lied “Can I stay here though?” 

“Did you really think I’d ever say no?”

He examined my face again 

“Did your dad do this?” He asked. 

He took my silence for the answer that it was. 

“Do you want me to kill him?” He asked as what I thought was supposed to be a joke but I was scared to answer yes cause I knew there was a chance he actually would.

He was never very fond of my dad from the moment he’d met my mom. Wade was always trying to keep my mom away from him.

If only she’d listened. 

“Yes, I was joking and go clean your face before you get infected” 

Oh well I guess I voiced that thought out loud. 

I promise I was just looking for the first-aid kit but who was I to say no to a 6 ounce bottle of Hennessy. It was almost as if it’s eyes bore into my soul calling after me because it knew I was too weak to resist. 

The sweet burning sensation of it going down my throat was relieving and fun at first until I realized I was turning into my dad. Then it wasn’t so appealing anymore it was just depressing. 

The last thing on earth that I’d want would be anything like him. It was pathetic. 

It was pathetic how I had to throw up because apparently I couldn’t handle my alcohol.

It was pathetic how I couldn’t even bring myself to stand in the shower. 

It was pathetic how I couldn’t even hide the fact I was drunk. 

It was pathetic how I broke down crying in front of Wade. 

It was pathetic how he had to lull me to sleep by stroking my hair. 

It was pathetic because I knew he wasn’t mad.

It was pathetic because it wasn’t anger it was pathetic because it was pity. 

Pity. I hated pity with my entire chest. She always seemed to just hold you down underneath the water knowing you couldn’t breath but the feeling around you made you believe you were floating. It’s like the feeling of drowning in the open sea but it isn’t painful but still you know you’re gonna die but you can’t help but look at how beautiful everything around you is. All the fish, the seaweed, the sunlight shining through the water. But still you’re drowning and you know you’re gonna die so how beautiful can it really be?

Pity. That’s what I saw in the hallways so I knew I must’ve looked terrible because no one bothered to say anything negative about me. Everytime anyone looked at me it was like they knew. They knew. They knew that I had a shitty life and a fucked up family. Of course they didn’t but I couldn’t help the nagging feeling that everyone knew. 

Everyone was looking at me with a glint of pity in their eyes because I knew I looked like I was going to pass out at any moment now, I had bruises everywhere, I had no makeup to cover them up, possibly had a broken rib, and the gash on my forehead was probably still visible under the sweatband.  

Literally everyone looked like they felt bad for me. Except Flash. I never thought I’d say this but, thank God for Flash. The only sense of normalcy I’d experienced all day, was him calling me a witch then acting like it was the funniest thing ever and walking off after I told him to go fuck himself. One thing about Flash is he’s unoriginal. He'll find one “good” joke and use it for the rest of his life. The fact I could put out a lit match in my mouth spread around through a tiktok at some point, and he’s been calling me a witch ever since. I’m assuming the fact I had a pretty gothic style freshman year probably played a part in it too. Major small dick energy right there. 

I was on the verge of passing out and all I really wanted was to go out and get high with my old friends but I can never get what I want. Can I? The universe must really fucking hate me.

I just went to the nurses office and slept all throughout lunch but when I woke it was like I was even more tired than before. 

I wonder if this is what zombies feel like. I couldn’t tell if it was getting bad again or if I was just getting sick because the lines were blurred between a depressive episode and a cold or the flu. However my eyes were watery and my nose was stuffed so hopefully it was the latter. 

The odds had finally aligned in my favor and the class I’d skipped like all year teacher was out. We had my favorite sub who was really just the ISS teacher. Normally I would’ve sat by him and caught him up on all the chisme I had but I felt terrible. So I just leaned on the closest person to me instinctively. Once my brain caught up to my body and I realized. I was laying on Peter's shoulder. I shot it and immediately apologized. 

“Oh no, you’re fine I don’t mind,” he said. 

Well okay then. I think I slept at least 10 minutes in every single class today. Which is good I’d need it cause I forgot I promised my brother I’d babysit today. 

After I sent Wade a text that I probably wouldn’t be back in his house for a while. I went to my brother's house. Sometimes I’m jealous of him for getting to escape our dad and live in an actual nice area.  He literally has a house. Like he has his own property, no landlords or anything.  Pros of him having a different mom I guess. However he needs to stop having kids. Like yes I love my niece and my nephews however they can be the biggest pain in the ass. 

“I get off at like 11, so make sure they don’t break anything or die thanks, and you know where everything’s at, so,” He said, giving me a hug before walking towards the door but right before he opened it he turned around with a smile on his face. 

“Oh and don’t get my kids high,” 

I rolled my eyes trying to keep the edges of my mouth from turning into a smile. I lost that battle. 

“Yeah, yeah whatever asshole,” I flipped him off. 

I went into the room where the youngest child was sleeping. Taylon, he was about 1 I believe. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about him for a while. I made it back to the front room where the two trouble makers Kaitlyn and Jason. Kaitlyns the oldest at 4 years old and Jason at 2. Although I don’t think Kaitlyn has ever gotten in trouble like ever because she’s a huge daddy’s girl. 

I had like 36 missing assignments for Physics and about 4 things of homework one test to study for, a partnered project to work on, still had to go two decathlon practice 3 days a week, and a flashdrive to get past the firewall of. God could I use some adderall right now. 

By distracting the kids in the room with me with the Cocomelon channel. 

I’d put my headphones on and nodded along to my music and actually got two homework assignments done in a relatively short time before the screaming started. I went to get Taylon who’d woken up because he peed. I changed his diaper but he was still crying. 

I truly did not have time for this. I fed him and everything. Thank God the Cocomelon was still distracting the other kids. Whoever made that channel needs a raise. I could not get him to stop crying for more than 5 minutes. I found if I held him he’d stop but I didn’t have the time to just sit around holding him. 

I gave him my phone and let him play with that which shut him up. 

Then Kaitlyn decided to come and pester me about food. I made peanut butter jelly sandwiches, but they decided they didn’t want them after I’d already made them. So here I was making spaghetti with a toddler on my hip and doing homework at the same time. 

I’d actually gotten used to all this multi tasking that’s when I heard a knock at the door. 

I put the spoon back in the pot and closed my textbook heading over to the door. 

I open the door to Peter standing there. 

“Uh Hello?” I asked more than said. 

“Uh, yeah hi, we were supposed to work on the project?” 

“Oh shi-” I almost said then remembered I was holding a kid. “Sorry I forgot,” If we're being completely honest I don’t remember anything from school that day nor do I remember telling him to come here but I wasn’t gonna send him away. 

“Well you can come in” I announced stepping towards the side of the door. 

“Sorry about the chaos” I gestured to everything. ”You can go sit on the couch, I’ll be right over” 

He did just that and sat his backpack on his lap. 

“Jason, Kaitlyn bebé ven a buscar tu comida” 

( Jason Kaitlyn baby come get your food) 

They made their way over still attached to the tablet. 

“I thought your dad said no tablet at the table?” I said. I wasn’t really going to take it away, I was just teasing. 

“I thought you were fun tía,” Jason shot back. 

“I am fun!” I said fake hurt and they both giggled. 

I slid the plates across the table towards them. “Here eat,” 

“¿Es tu novio de ahí?” Kaitlyn asked looking over at Peter. 

(Is that your boyfriend over there?)

“No he’s not, but can you watch your brother for me for a little bit?” 

She nodded. I shifted Taylon off my hip and slipped him into his high chair and gave him a bag of chips. 

Plopping down next to Peter I clapped my hands.

“Okay sorry about the wait, so what do we need to do?” 

After explaining the project to me we’d gotten half of it done and Taylon was napping again and everyone else was quiet and watching TV. We probably could’ve finished the whole thing if we hadn’t gone on so many tangents. Peter was actually good at explaining things. 

We talked about literally everything from favorite flavors of starburst to life goals and shit. I don't know what I want in life actually. It’d be cool to go to college but it’s expensive and no one else in my family has been. 

When it got late Peter announced that he had to go. 

“Alright let me walk you out,” I pushed up off the couch.

“You’re really smart, I know you don’t think that but you are,” he said almost out of nowhere once we were out the door. I could feel my face heat up. This is a moment I was thankful for my melanin allowing me not to blush. 

“Thank you, you’re not so bad yourself, Parker,” 

“So we're doing this same time tomorrow right?” 

“Yes, that’s the plan,” 

For the past week I’d convinced my brother to let my babysit everyday so I could still hang out with Peter. I never thought that we of all people could be friends. Before this he was so like “Peter” just way too much. Once you get to know him he’s not that bad. We’d finished the project and I still hadn’t done any of my other work but by the power of adderall I’d gotten into the flashdrive. I was too scared to check anything in it, but I did erase Black Cats name from the police station records. 

It’d been at least three more days and I hadn’t done any work. I hadn’t talked to Peter or MJ or anyone else either. The one other human I’ve had contact with is Wade. Even with me living at his house it was still minimal. I hadn’t gotten much sleep because adderall keeps you up at all hours of the day but I don’t think I could survive without it. 

I knew I had to be walking. I was walking because I had to. I mean I was walking and I had no intention of stopping. I was getting major deja vu. This exact place felt so familiar.

Oh- that’s why.

I was in the projects where I used to live. I was off in Bronxchester off of 156th St. Ann’s Avenue. I hate this place so much.

I hated it.

I hated it. 

I hated it. 

Having to live in a rat infested one bedroom apartment sleeping cramped up on top of my siblings was literally the worst time of my life. The shitty school University Heights where half the girls were pregnant. Not to mention my dad was on a fucking rage rampage all the time cause he couldnt get a job as a felon. 

I was still walking though. I knew I was going somewhere. Not sure where until I’d gotten near the Hartz chicken on the end of the street. That’s where I was going. I knew I was meeting up with my friend. How could I forget that? I was about to cross the street until someone in a grey van rolled down their window sticking out a gun.

I knew she was gonna get shot. There was nothing I could do to stop it. Yet still I was screaming at least I was trying to. I couldn’t find my voice. 

By the time I could it was too late.

I’d seen her. The bullets piercing her skin would be something seared into my brain forever. And as fast as the car came it was gone. 

Then I was running. I was running to get to her because I could still help her. I had to.

She was bleeding and there was too much blood. It was everywhere. I remember my brother told me if someone is ever bleeding out you need to stop the blood. 

I could barely see because my tears were clouding my vision. I was pushing down on her stomach screaming for someone to call 9-1-1. Just to help. 

“You’re gonna be okay,” I remember saying it over and over again I don’t know if I was trying to convince myself or her.. 

The police got here right after I’d watched her eyes gloss over just because that’s how it works in Melrose. Yes she was gone but she was only the first of many. The police had never done anything for me before so why would they start now. 

They had to pry me off her. They couldn't, I had to help, I had to… I had to help. She didn’t like to be alone. Yeah sure she’d done bad things but she didn't deserve this. She was just a kid. I was just a kid. They took her phone while I was screaming not to touch her.

 They asked for my parents' information. I didn’t want to tell them, I didn’t want my dad. I don’t wanna see him. I just wanted my friend back. They loaded her into the back of the ambulance. I

 knew they were driving away. I was running and screaming. I could feel people staring. I knew they were looking at me. I knew they knew. I didn’t care, I had to run. I had to get her. A pair of hands grabbed me from behind and I started thrashing. 

I couldn’t, I can’t, I had to help, I had to help her. I was still screaming and my throat was sore. Her blood was everywhere, it was all over me and I couldn’t I couldn’t help her. I couldn’t help myself. I was scared. 

“Hey,” I felt myself being shook from behind. “Hey!” 

I turned around to Wade’s familiar face. 

“I’m sorry for waking you, I know it’s dangerous or something like that but you were just screaming and I got worried,” 

Wasn’t supposed to wake me?

“I was,” my voice was small I sounded 5 I felt 5 “I was sleeping walking?” 

“Yeah you were”  he confirmed, leading me to one of the stools by his kitchen island. 

He sat me down, walked off and got me a glass of water. I didn’t realize how bad I was shaking until I tried to bring the cup to my lips. 

He brought a towel to the side of my arm dabbing at it. The blood dripped from the side of my wrist all the way down to my elbow. 

“What’d you cut yourself on?” He asked and I shrugged my shoulders. 

“You know they never even said her name?” I said after we sat in silence for a moment. 

“What?” 

“Rose you know my friend,” 

“Oh…” he said as the realization of who I was talking about settled in. 

“Yeah her, they never said her name no one said it around me because they felt I was gonna break, they all just looked at me like I was made out of glass, I don’t even know how people knew I was there. But I was- I was just so angry, ”  

I waited to see if he was going to say anything but he didn’t. He was just going to listen, no jokes to lighten the mood just listening. 

“Even on the news. To everyone outside of St Ann’s she was just a ‘14 year old girl caught up in gang violence fatally shot’ they used a terrible picture of her too. It made my blood boil that, that was all she got, Then I realized that’s just how it was for us and the only way I was making it out the hood was if it was 6 feet under,” 

My mom used to say that’s what they did for black people, used a picture of them looking ‘hood’ some people call it a thugshot. They use a picture that makes them look mean and aggressive. She was neither of those things she was the nicest person I ever knew. She just got caught up in the gang mess because it was the only family she had.  

“I’ve never talked about this before, but I feel like everyone just forgot about her like it’s only been 2 years and I’ve never heard anyone say her name. At least not around me” I ran my finger on the tattoo of a rose. “This was the first tattoo I’d ever gotten I did it myself so it’s kinda shitty but I feel like it keeps her memory alive, because if no one else was gonna do it and If wasn’t gonna then who would you know?” I trailed off for a second. Then noticed he was in the Deadpool suit just without the mask. 

“Where are you going?” I asked. 

“Now I think you know me well enough to know I’m not telling you that,” He smiled and I smiled back weakly. 

“You’ll be okay though?” He asked. 

“Now I think you know me well enough to know I’ll be okay,” I turned his own words against him. 

I glanced back down at the tattoo and I remember looking over the tattoo on my finger for you it means merely nothing. Just another girl getting another basic tattoo. For me it means everything. It was the way I fought back. It was my first ‘fuck you’ to everyone to everything. It was my best friend. It was my first love. So to you I’m just another girl with another basic rose tattoo but to me. To me? It’s the way I remember it’s the way I keep my friend with me. It’s the way I’d make sure I couldn’t forget the unforgettable. Roses are delicate and fragile but they’ll hurt you when you try to pick them. So even the most beautiful of flowers would defend itself if it came to it. To you my rose tattoo is just a flower. However, to me Rose was the most beautiful human this world had ever seen.

Art had to be my favorite subject. Solely for the reason I’ve never had a non chill art teacher, but today it was Physics which is usually my least favorite class. 

Only because the class made me feel like my day was turning around. 

MJ was standing next to me when I opened by locker and loudly exclaimed 

“Yes!” 

“What?” She turned to me “What is it?” 

“Sorry for scaring you, it's nothing. I just found some candy” I held up the Push Pop “See?” 

“Oh if you don’t show up to practice today they’re kicking you off the decathlon team, and make sure you get to class on time though,” 

“Of course when have I ever been late,” 

She gave me a look that had “really?” written all over it. 

“Okay don’t answer that question but I’m going, now you need to get to class you have a test to take,” 

I’d taken the test already because I had Harrison’s class on A day, but MJ wasn’t the type to cheat. She was smart enough and didn’t need my help.

She was very smart but she wasn’t smart enough to know the Push Pop wasn’t really a push pop at all. 

It was a cart that I thought I’d lost. It was just hidden in an empty Push Pop. Nightmares made me stressed and I know the perfect way to relieve stress. I know many actually such as (good) sex, running, fighting, throwing knives at shit, and weed. Luckily for me this is the last one. 

So here I was sitting in the back of the class by the farthest window away from Peter with a “Push Pop” in my mouth and my head down on the desk. I never really paid attention in class but today we were just watching some documentary so I didn’t have to. 

One of the students office workers came in and gave a note to the teacher and I figured it was about the new student I heard some of the students talking about here and there. I didn’t think anything of it until. 

Briana walked in behind Principal Morita. Briana was my best friend from elementary through middle school and the first half of freshman year before I switched schools. She acted... I didn’t wanna say ghetto but you could definitely tell she was from Melrose if you were from there. I can’t blame her with her dad being a leader to the local set and all. 

The teacher told her to introduce herself to the class and she kept it short and sweet. Then she was told to find a seat. I waved her over and she sat next to me. 

“I thought you’d forgotten about me,” She said. 

I laughed 

“As if, you’re the most extra person I know,” I said, taking another hit. 

“First of all fuck you second of all give me a hit,” I smiled handing the “Push Pop” over to her.

”Don’t you dare get caught.” 

She stuck her head under the table lightly blowing out her mouth then inhaling before the vapours could go too far out. 

“So where you been at? Haven’t heard from you in a minute,” 

“Been busy with school shit, but I’ve been around,” I responded taking the “Push Pop” from her again. 

“How’s your dad?” She asked. I just gave her an incredulous look and went.

“How’s your dad,” 

“Same old same old,” 

We spent the rest of the class with her catching me up on the people from our crew and reminiscing. Also might be good to mention we finished half the cart. So I was bugging. We both were. I would not have remembered to go to the decathlon meeting if it weren’t for MJ reminding me again. I didn’t really care for the team. I was just an alternative and I was only doing it so I could pass Mr. Harrington’s class because of the  extra credit. 

Thank God Peter wasn't at the meeting. I hadn’t talken to him since we turned in our project last week. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to talk to him per se. I could just feel myself getting closer to him and I didn't have time for more friends. Because everyone I end up loving leaves me. The more people you let into your life the more people you give the chance to leave. Seeing as I was ‘Thorn’ I probably shouldn’t get close to Spiderman anyway. 

Flash was talking about Briana. He didn't say her name directly but I knew he was talking about her. Since he was talking about the new girl. He talked shit about everyone, so I don’t know why this made me as angry as it did. It just rubbed me the wrong way but it did. Seeing as I naturally gave zero fucks and had no impulse control. I definitely had way less control over myself when high. So before I knew it I’d punched him in the nose. 

“Y/N!” Liz and MJ yelled simultaneously. 

“What the fuck?” Flash screamed, holding his face. 

“Fuck you! Fuck you! Fucking daddy’s money ass bitch,” I pointed in my face. 

“Y/N enough, go to the office,” Mr. Harrington said. 

I could hear Flash calling me crazy as I walked out the room. Which put a smile on my face. The weird thing about principals is that the more you get in trouble the more they like you and the less harsh your punishments. I only got a week of detention which wasn’t too bad but that stupid “so you got dentention” video of Captain America was gonna get extremely annoying. 

I was right it’d only been two days and every time I heard it I wanted to rip my head off. By the third day Peter and MJ had both joined me. 

MJ didn’t even actually have detention she never did; she just liked to “draw people in despair” or whatever it was that she said. Today she was drawing Peter. It was surprising to see him here.  I was scrolling through tiktok. I was going to say something to him but what would I even say?

I grew some balls and I’d said hi. It was just small talk but we still spoke nonetheless. The week was going by so fucking fast. Tomorrow’s the day we’re going to Washington. I did have to spend a lot of my saved money though. I’d spoken to my sisters and they said dad was sober now and he wanted me to come home. Which I’m not sure if I believe. I mean I know he’s sober. I talked to him too but how long would that last. How many times has this happened before? I don’t have time to worry about him. 

It seemed like I had only blinked and now I was on the bus to D.C. Now for the next couple of days I gotta stay in a hotel room. Nothing out of the ordinary for me, except now I get to stay with MJ and Bri. I don’t know how I managed to convince Mr. Harrington to let her come. 

Peter had almost missed the bus but showed up last minute. Liz was drilling people and MJ was sitting near her participating so I had the seat to myself. Bri was behind me on facetime with her boyfriend who just happened to be my ex. None of it was awkward though since we only dated for like a week and decided we were better off as friends. If we were being honest I was so tired. I felt like shit. Listening to sad music when sad is a set routine of mine so I was listening to Violent Crimes and staring out the window before I knew it I had drifted off to sleep. 

Taglist:

@tomdiddlyumptious

[anastasiyaigorevnadobrodevskaya]

Savior (Series 81) - Erik Černák

(This GIF is mine, but feel free to share his beautiful smile. *wink*)

I whish you a wonderful day. I decided to finally post this thing. It is the very first part of a little project of mine. I named it Series 81 (yes very creative of me, sue me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) and it is a serie of oneshots, which should make sense without reading the other parts. I am creating a new universe for this serie and all of the Series 81 oneshots will be from the same AU. Does that make sense? No? Too bad.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Part 1 of Series 81

Word count: 2577

Noise, lights, people and alcohol.

Loud music bouncing off of the isolated underground walls, to prevent the noise complaints from coming, is blending together with the voices of dancers. Dancers, who would stubbornly claim, that the sound was actually singing. If you asked anyone else, they would tell you the exact opposite.

Flashing lights could cause more than one seizure to an epileptic, but make no worries to the tipsy dancers. The dance floor is flooded by not the smallest amount of bodies per say. Only one spot remains almost empty. In the very corner, next to the DJ booth. Just a few seconds prior it was occupied by a group of young girls, dancing their night away. Gradually they slipped away to go god knows where. Safe for one.

Little blond girl is suddenly left all alone, her friends excusing themselves with a promise to be right back. They aren't. But the creepy looking guy, who's been eyeing her the entire night, is. Now he is trying to get closer to her, but she's not having any of that. She makes the bee-line for their table. However, the table is now claimed by some strangers with drinks in hands. She huffs and turns on her heel. He's still looking. More like staring.

She fidgets with her phone and clicks the contact icon. No signal. Is this some kind of a sick joke or bad karma? She thinks. She runs up the stairs and next to the very entrance, the signal is back.

The number is dialed and it rings.

She doesn't pick up.

"Why the hell can't she pick up the damn phone when I need her?" she mumbles desperately under her breath. Suddenly she remembers. Her jacket. It was left forgotten in the booth filled with strangers. She goes back. Speed-walking by the pair of eyes making her skin crawl. She asks for her jacket. When she is handed the jacket she makes a run for the bathroom. In the tiny space she splashes her face with water. It’s times like these she is really grateful for not wearing any make up at all.

She stays there for a little longer than necessary, hoping that by the time she leaves her friends will have returned already.

When she emerges and walks over to the dance floor she is met only with the disgusting stare again. She turns on her heel to leave, but is met with a hard surface she is pretty sure wasn't here couple of seconds ago. A yelp escapes her mouth and she takes a step back.

"I'm sorry, are you alright?"

The hard surface is in fact a broad chest of a tall man standing in front of her. She takes in his features. Light hair, or so she assumes since it is pretty dark in the club, besides the flashing lights. His shoulders are wide and that face...

Recognition flashes in her eyes. Her lips form an "o".

The voice speaks again. This time in English instead of her native language.

"I am fine." She finally responds, in Slovak. "I'm sorry I didn't see you I was... " she trails off. Trying to get away from that creepy dude over here. She thinks.

"Which one?" he looks around.

"What?"

"That creepy guy. Is that him?" he jabs his chin behind her. She looks over her shoulder briefly.

"Yeah," she nods.

"I'm Erik, by the way." says the not so mysterious man and extends his hand to her.

"Lucia," she accepts his hand.

"So, you want some help getting rid of him?"

"I- yeah, actually yes." She mentally face palms for tripping over her own words. He only smiles.

"Would you like to dance?" He offers. She gives him a small nod. She is led towards the dance floor with her hand in his, which makes her heart rate quicken. But not the same way like when she was followed by the creepy gaze. The blaring music pulses trough her veins while she does her best to forget the weird guy. Having Erik as a distraction right in front of her helps a lot, though. The way his eyes stay glued on her face makes her insides warm. His gaze flicks behind her and he reaches for her. He grabs her waist and leans in.

"He's looking." He talks over the music.

"So you're doing it only because he is watching us and you are definitely not using the situation to your advantage." She muses.

"I might be." A smirk stretches on his lips.

Her hands wrap around his neck and her smirk mirrors his own. The roaring noise makes her almost deaf, yet she swears she can hear her heart beating in her ears. That's what his cocky little smirk and touch do to her. She might have just met him, but she's realised one thing the moment she met his gaze. She's fucked and under his spell. She might be a little shy, but she sure as hell ain't giving up that easily. Two can play this game.

Her palm slides down his chest and back up to his arm. She traces the muscles on his arm all the way down towards his wrist. She grabs it and brings it in the air. She makes him twirl like men do to women while they dance. Erik laughs, but plays along. A smile makes its way on her features. He takes her hands. He turns her in his arms, with her arms crossed over her chest. He leans down to her ear.

"Why are you here alone?" his breath fans her neck, making a shiver run down her back.

"I am not alone," she turns and pushes his chest. His hand reaches for her wrist before she can get too far.

He spins her and brings her back to him. Putting his hands on her waist she places her small ones on his broad shoulders.

"I take it there is no boyfriend to worry about."

"If I had a boyfriend, I wouldn't need you in the first place," she answers confidently.

He squeezes her hips dragging her closer. His lips grazing the delicate skin of her exposed neck while he speaks his next words."You sure do run your mouth."

The breath gets caught in her throat. "But you like it," he doesn't miss the teasing in her words. A deep groan rumbles in his chest. She might not hear it, but she does feel it under her fingers.

A familiar song comes through the speakers and she pulls away a bit. She grabs his hands and smiles big. She starts waving around their conjoined hands like a mad person. Apparently this is her dance style.

When his gaze falls upon her moving figure he smiles just as wide. He's just gotten back home from Tampa and decided to blow off some steam in a club with his friends. It's been a long season and corona delaying the playoffs sure as hell made this summer different. Thank goodness for having the bars and clubs open, with limited capacity of course. Tonight he won't be thinking about hockey, though.

Who would have thought that after everything that is happening around him he would quite literally stumble upon a woman like Lucia.

Behind Erik she spots her friends coming back in. They haven't noticed her yet, but are looking around. She slips away from his grip.

"I have to go." She looks away from his piercing gaze and makes a move to step around him.

"Wait," he catches her arm gently. "Don't run away from me. Even Cinderella left a shoe behind," he smiles.

"Smooth." The corner of her lips tugs up into a devilish smirk. "Give me your best pick-up line and I just might leave something behind."

He pauses, thinking. Then he opens his mouth as he speaks. "I've got one, but it's in English," he rubs the back of his neck. Suddenly seeming out of place.

"Try me."

"Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?"

This one is her favourite. If it's finished correctly, that is.

"No, I actually crawled from hell," she gives him an innocent smile. This is the part where she tests him.

"So that's why you're so damn hot." If it wasn't his words, then it was the smirk what did it for her. Lucia motions for Erik to hand her his phone. He happily obliges. She goes to his apps and adds herself on snapchat. He didn't think he would get her number that easily, did he?

"Here," she pushes the small box into his palm. She stands on her tiptoes and leans on his shoulder. She quickly presses a kiss to his cheek and disappears as if she's never been there. But she was. And the proof is now in his phone.

"There you are. Where were you?" one of her friends, a short brunette, asks her as soon as she approaches their group.

"Me? All of you disappeared and left me here alone. Which reminds me. Where the fuck were you?" She jumps into the defence mode immediately.

"I told you I went out to buy cigarettes. Calm down," the girl resists to roll her eyes.

"Wanna dance?" a tall equally brown-haired girl asks.

"Sure," all of them answer as one. The girls make their way to the dance floor. From the very center where they managed to squeeze in, Lucia catches a familiar par of eyes. And then another, one she would rather forget. She fixes him with a glare and resumes her dance moves. Her favourite song comes up and she squeals. She leans toward her friends. "This is my song." She yells over the loud music. They all laugh, but scream the lyrics on the top of their lungs with her.

Suddenly Lucia feels a presence behind her. She tenses, her eyes crying for help.  But her friends are too busy to actually notice that. Hands settling on her waist finally get a reaction out of her. She spins pushing his chest. She is in the middle of the process of raising her hand when she realises who it is.

"Do riti Erik! You scared me!"

"I'm sorry, but that guy was getting close again so I thought I'd give you a hand, " he smiles innocently.

"Or two hands on my waist, right?" she raises her brows, a smirk stretching on her lips.

"Didn't think you'd mind,"mirroring her expression he extends his arm towards her. "Shall we dance?"

Before she has the chance to grab his outstretched hand her friends are dragging her away. She grimaces kind of apologetically.

"I'll see you,"she mouths. Yeah, in the friking TV. She thinks bitterly.

//

After a rather long walk through the town they finally get to the bus stop. Maybe and maybe not four police cars go by and maybe and maybe not one of them actually stops to ask if everything is okay. Because maybe and maybe not some of the girls were dancing on the bus stop.

When Lucia finally gets on the bus she fishes her phone out of her purse. She takes a pic of the darkness behind the bus window and posts it on snapchat.

Erik.Cernak

Are you going by bus?

Lucyy

Yes?

Erik.Cernak

Are you alone in a bus at night??

Lucyy

I mean, there are some people in the bus...

Erik.Cernak

What bus are you on?

Lucyy

N1 why?

Erik.Cernak

Do you get off on the terminus?

Lucyy

Yes?

Erik.Cernak

If anything happens during the bus ride text me okay?

Lucyy

Okay.

He is worried about me?

Why, yes. Erik is indeed worried about Lucia. Finding out a pretty girl from the club is going home alone in the dark, sure does make one feel unsettling to say the least.

The bus ride goes rather smoothly. It's just the fact that the guy sitting a few rows in front of Lucia on a seat facing her keeps looking at her. To say it makes her stomach bubble with uneasiness would be an understatement. The closer to the terminus the bus gets the emptier the bus is.

When it's time to get off it's only her and another older lady sitting in the very back. She steps outside into the dark of the night and looks around to make sure no danger is waiting around.

A tall male figure is standing near the lamp post. His hair is indeed blond, just like she assumed before. She approaches him with a rather quiet "ahoj".

"Hi. Where to?" he asks.

She rises her eyebrows with an amused smile playing on her lips. "At least ask me out first."

"I might. If you are nice." He smirks.

"Too bad. I am a very mean person." She shrugs.

"Are you now?" He lifts his brow.

"Yeah." She moves her shoulders again. "Come on it's kinda cold." She gestures with her hand and starts walking.

"Is that an invitation?" He follows.

"Don't push your luck Erik."

After a minute or so Erik's deep voice cuts through the quiet air of Košice. "Watcha doin' next week?"

She smirks."I am going out with this hot guy I met recently." She answers nonchalantly.

"Really? And who that might be?"He catches on her intentions quickly.

"You see he lives in Florida, you probably don't know him." She shakes her head. Just as the chilly breeze wraps its arms around her a shiver runs through her body. Soon a denim-like hoodie is placed on her shoulders.

"I though he was some local or something." He states as if he didn't just give her the only layer of his clothing other than the tight T-shirt.

"He's a Košice born guy actually." She shrugs. "Won't you be cold?" She looks up at him, but pulls the hoodie tighter.

"Nah, I can hear your teeth clattering. Keep it." He shakes his head. "So when are the two of you going out?"

"Monday at two I guess." She shrugs again. She sure does shrug a lot.

"Good." He nods.

They stop in front of an old flat and she turns around to face him."Thanks for walking me home and making sure and I didn't die along the way."She laughs. He likes her laugh. He really does.

"Mom would be ashamed of me if I let a pretty lady go home alone at night. "She chuckles again. A shiver runs down his spine when the wind blows again. She makes a move to return him the hoodie, but he extends his hand and shakes his head lightly.

"I'll get it back later."

She laughs shaking her head."You guys always let us have your clothes just to see us again."

He smirks. "You caught me."

"Just try not to freeze to death."

"I'll try to stay alive till Monday. Your smile will keep me warm." He winks.

"Gosh you're cheesy." She couldn't help, but roll her eyes.

He takes a step closer."I am glad I met you."

Lucia's confident facade wavers for a second."Same here."

They just stand there looking at each other not letting out a single tone slip past their lips. Erik leans closer, his hot breath fanning over her cold cheeks. Lucia inches towards him, but not connecting their lips yet. She wants him to take the last step. And so he does, slightly leaning in meeting the pink lips of the girl he quite literally ran into.

[softest-cinnamon-roll]

word for the challenge: pina colada ! (does that count as 1 wors?)

(again not part of the challenge, but the word fit into this idea I had so here we go! a/n: richie and eddie have a 5 year age gap!)

* * * * * 

Eddie couldn’t stop smiling. After weeks and weeks of flirting and texting, Richie had finally made a move and asked him out on a date. Three months later and they were still going strong, clearly in the honeymoon phase of their relationship where everything was amazing and Eddie couldn’t be happier.

They had decided very early on in their relationship that they would set aside Tuesday’s and Fridays for date nights. Both of those nights would solely be for them, and that way if their friends wanted to plan something on the Saturday, they would be able to attend without any conflict.

Tonight was one of those nights, a Friday, and Richie had booked them a table at one of the restaurants they both had been dying to try. Since the date was a little more than a take out or a walk around the park, Eddie spent a good hour on the phone with Bev, trying to choose the best outfit to wear. Finally, when his friend had calmed him down and assured him that he could wear anything and Richie would love him, Eddie exhaled and took one last look through his closet.

He settled on a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, a light blue button up and a pair of black slip on shoes that Richie had bought him for his birthday. He fixed his hair, running a little bit of wax through his blond curls to make them stick and stepped back to look at himself in the mirror. He smiled, proud of himself for managing to make himself look...good.

Just then, the doorbell rang and Eddie dashed from his room to open the door, grinning as Richie stood on the other side, a wide smile of his own on his face. Eddie’s mouth went a little dry as he took in Richie’s appearance; the dark grey shirt and dark pants that complimented his lanky figure, the way his hair was styled messily but still authentic. He looked amazing. “Hey.”

“Hey gorgeous, you look amazing,” Richie winked, leaning down to press a light kiss to Eddie’s lips. “You ready? Reservations are at 7.” Eddie glanced at the clock, seeing the time was quarter to 7, and nodded his head. He reached out, taking Richie’s hand as they left his apartment.

One of the things about Richie and his relationship, one that made his friends wary at first, was that Richie was five years older than Eddie and well on his way to success. He was both a radio DJ and a comedian, going on worldwide tours and bringing in millions of listeners to the radio station every day. Eddie still had no idea why someone like Richie was interested in someone like him, but he was and Eddie wasn’t going to complain.

“How was your day?” Eddie asked as they walked down the street. Even though Richie had a car, as well as a driver, they liked to walk to places that weren’t too far away as it gave them more time to talk to one another. “Did you hear back from Netflix about the Comedy Show deal?”

Richie leaned down to press a kiss to Eddie’s hair, wrapping his arm around his shoulders as they walked. “Not yet, but there is still plenty of time for them to make a decision. I’m hopeful. Anyway, we’re not going to talk about my career tonight, we’re just going to have a nice conversation. I want to know what my boyfriend’s been up to.”

They arrived at the restaurant, and the waitress led them to a booth before taking their drink order, with Richie ordering a scotch on the rocks and Eddie a Pina Colada. Once their drinks arrived and their food ordered, they settled into a nice conversation, ankles hooked together under the table. Another thing about Eddie’s relationship with Richie? They were yet to go all the way, and Eddie was more than ready to take that step with him.

“Richie I-” Eddie started but was cut off by an unfamiliar voice coming from behind him.

“Richie? Richie Tozier? No way!” The owner of the voice came into view, and Eddie’s eyes widened just a little. The man was tall, tanned and had very curly, but styled, blond curls on his head. He was grinning from ear to ear as he walked closer and Eddie looked at Richie, only to see him smiling back just as big.

“Connor? Holy shit!” Richie laughed, standing up from the booth and wrapping his arms around Connor in a tight hug. “How have you been? I haven’t seen you since...since LA!” Richie stepped back, but a hand was still on Connor’s shoulder, causing a sick feeling to build in Eddie’s stomach.

Connor just grinned, shaking his head and glancing down at Eddie only for a second before turning back to Richie, “I know. I wanted to call or text but it never felt like it was the right moment. This must be fate, bumping into you here, I’m only in the city for a few days.” He ran a hand through his hair, moving his body in a way that Eddie knew was flirting. Connor was flirting with his boyfriend, right in front of him. “Do you want to get a drink? Catch up? I’m sure your friend won’t mind since we haven’t seen each other in forever.”

For the first time since Richie locked eyes with Connor, he turned his attention back to Eddie, “Oh, I’m sorry Connor, I’m actually on a date with my boyfriend. I’d love to catch up with you, but tonight is date night, it’s our thing.” He explained and Eddie tried not to make the relieved sigh obvious.

However, it seemed that Connor couldn’t quite get the picture and he rolled his eyes. “Well I’ll just join you. I haven’t seen you in years, I think your boyfriend can let go one date night for an old friend.” He winked at Eddie before sliding in next to Richie. He caught the waitress’ attention and ordered food for himself.

Suddenly, the night that Eddie had been looking forward to, had turned on its head completely and all he wanted to do was go home to his bed. Connor had gained all of Richie’s attention, and whenever Eddie tried to contribute to the conversation, Connor would speak up and change the subject. Eddie had barely touched his pasta, twirling his fork around the now cold dish as he tried to think of an excuse to leave.

“I’m going to get another drink!” Richie exclaimed, sliding out of the booth. He stopped at Eddie’s side and leaned down, pressing a kiss to his hair. “I’m so sorry baby, I’ll make tonight up to you, I promise.” He vanished to the bar, leaving Connor and Eddie alone.

The smile that was on Connors face disappeared the second Richie was gone and he leaned across the table, “If you hadn’t figured it out already, I’m Richie’s ex. We were very much in love with each other in college and were even going to get married. We only broke up because Richie had to move to New York and I had to stay in LA. I’m moving back though, and thanks for keeping his bed warm for me kid, but I don’t think he’s right for you. Me and him? We’re meant to be, so scurry off and let us get to it, yeah?”

Eddie’s eyes widened, not expecting Connor to actually...outright tell him to fuck off. He swallowed thickly, all the insecurities he had about his relationship with Richie coming back up from the small box he had locked them in. Connor was just staring at him, an eyebrow raised and Eddie slipped out of the booth and dashed for the door before Richie could see him.

It was freezing now and Eddie kept his arms wrapped around himself as he walked home, trying not to have a panic attack. He was going to tell Richie he was falling in love with him and that he was ready for them to go all the way. Instead he ended up alone and probably without a boyfriend. Connor had probably made up some lie about Eddie and managed to get Richie into bed, officially ending their relationship.

Once he had changed out of his clothes and wrapped himself in a blanket, cuddling into the couch with the television on low. He had only settled down for a few minutes before there was a loud knock on the door, followed by Richie’s voice.

“Eds? Eddie, baby, open up. Baby, what happened?” Richie’s voice was cracking through the door and Eddie couldn’t ignore him, moving closer. “Eds, please, I know you can hear me.”

Eddie unlocked the door and opened it a little, his eyes widening just a bit at the state of his boyfriend. His eyes were red, expression one of complete confusion and his hair was messed up with the wind from outside. “You- you’re here?”

Richie’s eyes widened even more and he ran a hand through his hair, “Yes! Of course I’m here, you’re my boyfriend and you left without saying anything. Of course I’m here.” He took a step closer and Eddie stepped back. “Eds, what did Connor say to you?”

“Nothing that I didn’t already know,” Eddie mumbled. “That I’m not good enough for you, that you deserve better. He said you guys were going to get married and that you were going to get back together because he was moving back to New York. He said the only reason you broke up was because of the long distance.”

A scoff from Richie made Eddie look up at him once more, “Eds, that is the biggest load of bullshit he has ever said. Yes we dated, back when I was in college. Yes I thought I loved him and would spend the rest of my life with him. You want to know why we really broke up?” Eddie nodded his head, biting his lip. “I came home to find him having sex with another man in our bedroom. He had been cheating on me for months, feeding off of my growing success. He was only ever interested in my fame.”

“Richie…” Eddie breathed, shaking his head. “I- I’m sorry I-”

Richie placed his hands on Eddie’s cheeks, bringing him into a kiss, “I was so scared when we started getting to know one another, because I have never felt this way about another man than I do about you. You make me laugh, you make me actually believe that I am a good comedian, you make me feel fucking amazing. It took me so long to ask you out because I didn’t want to put my heart on the line, but it was the best risk I have ever taken.” He pressed his forehead to Eddie’s, staring deep into his eyes. “I am in love with you, Eddie Kaspbrak, and you are good enough for me, more than enough. You are absolutely amazing, you are the best thing in my life and I want to be with you for as long as you’ll have me.”

At Richie’s confession, Eddie burst into tears, burying his head into Richie’s neck, “I- I love you too. I love you too, Richie.” Richie held onto him tight, pressing kisses into Eddie’s hair. “I- fuck I love you and...I wanted to tell you today that I- I’m ready. To go all the way with you.”

“Are you sure?” Richie asked, biting his lip. “Because I’ll understand if you want to hold off for a while longer after tonight. I’ll take as long as you need, there is no rush.”

Eddie nodded his head, lacing their fingers together and pressing a kiss to Richie’s lips before leading him inside. “I’m more than sure, I am 1000% sure. I love you.”

As the door clicked closed, the sound of loving laughter could be heard, making it clear that everything was going to be okay.

* * * * *

@3tothe1 @anellope @annxmatron @appojoos @are-you-reddie-for-it @beepbeeprichiellc @bi-bi-richie @billdenbrough @bitchbrak @callmechee @dadbodrichie @derrylosers @disneyfan567 @eds-trashmouth @eduardoandale @feldmancorey @girasol-eddie @gloire-celeste @halfway-happy353 @hawkinsbabe @inthebreadbinwrites @itfandomprompts @its-stranger-than-you-think @jem-carstairs-is-perfection @kaspzier @lifesucksheres20bucks @loserslibrary @losers-gotta-stick-together @madidraw @mars-14 @marsisaplanetyall @moonlightrichie @nancynwheeler @no-she-wasnt-reddie @oldguybones @pink-psychic @purplepoisonedgem @queen-sock @ransonelovebot @rebecca-the-queen @reddie-for-anything @reddie-to-cryy @reddieforlove @reddiesetandgo @richietoaster @roobarrtrashmouth @rreddies @s-onora @s-s-georgie @sashadrowned @sedanleystanley @sloppybitchreddie @sparklingrainbowdragon @spirited-marvel @stellarbisexual @studpuffin @takeourpure @that-weird-girls-blog @thegoshdiddlydangdoor @thejadeazalea @thorn-harvester-ven @tinyarmedtrex @tozier-boy @tozierking @toziesque @trashmouthtozierr @twoidiotsinl0ve @violetreddie @virgo-luthie @wilding-throught-thehallways @xandertheundead @xcottoncandykatx 

[lovemesomesurveys]

What is the youngest age you can remember back to? I have some vague memories from preschool.

What sports are you trying out for this year? Ha, good one.

Did you wear your hair in a ponytail today? Nope, it’s in its usual messy bun.

Who do you have on speed dial? No one. Is that still a thing?

What colors do you like to paint your toenails? I don’t paint my toenails.

Would it be cool to learn how to DJ at a club? I don’t have an interest in being a DJ.

Where are you going to be three hours from now? Right here in bed, likely sleeping.

What job would you NEVER take, even as a last resort? Something dangerous, illegal, or made me uncomfortable.

If you broke your computer, would you be able to fix it on your own? No, definitely not.

If someone looked in your closet, how would they judge your style? I don’t hang up my clothes in my closet except for my jackets, but if someone were to see my wardrobe they’d see a lot of black, a lot of leggings, and a lot of graphic tees. They’d be like okay she clearly likes to be comfortable.

What was the shittiest hotel you’ve ever stayed at and why? Fortunately, I haven’t had a bad hotel experience.

Have you ever gone on a boat and been sick the whole time? I’ve never been out on a boat.

Did you get a good sleep last night? No, but do I ever?

What is the weather like outside? It’s currently 46F.

If someone makes a spelling or grammar mistake, do you ignore or correct? I ignore it.

Do oversized sunglasses actually look good on you? I don’t wear sunglasses.

What is the most overrated thing in the world? Hm.

Have you heard any completely untrue rumors about yourself lately? I haven’t heard any rumors about me.

What is one word to describe your room? Small.

Have you ever kept something from the wild as a pet? No.

Do your parents try to plan out your future for you? No.

Do you think that surveys are a huge waste of time? I’ve been doing them for a very long time, so apparently not. I honestly really like doing them.

Are you wearing a hoodie today? No, it’s too warm for that.

Did you sleep alone the last two nights? I always do.

You’re single, right? Yep.

How long was your last phone conversation you had? A few minutes.

Who was it with? My mom.

What was it about? She called to ask me something.

Excited for anything? No.

Got laid last night, didn’t you? No.

Do you have drama in your life? No. I have plenty of other issues to keep me occupied, though.

What’s something you really want right now, be honest? I’m hungry.

As of this minute, what is going through your mind? I’m hungry and I also want Starbucks.

Have you laughed until you cried? Yeah. It’s been a very long time since I’ve had a good laugh like that, though.

What are you listening to right now? An ASMR video.

What color are your shoes? I have several pairs of shoes.

Can you crack your neck? Yes.

What is the last thing you drank? Water.

Where would I have found you last night at 11pm? Right here in bed.

What’s your plans for next Friday? Tomorrow is Friday and I’ll be doing the same things I do everyday.

Does anyone hate you? Probably.

Would it be hard seeing someone else kiss the person you like? I don’t like anyone currently. Do you think someone is thinking about you right now? Nope.

Could you go out in public looking like you do now? I’m not going anywhere.

Who will you be sleeping with tonight? Myself.

Is there anyone you wouldn’t mind punching in the face now? No, I don’t want to punch or hit anyone. 

What do you have pierced? Just my earlobes.

Do you know anyone that smokes weed? Yeah, a lot of people.

Where is the person you want right now? I don’t want anyone.

Are you too forgiving? Yes.

Will this weekend be a good one? I just hope I feel better.

What is your favorite thing about being sick? Uh, absolutely nothing.

Have you ever done something you told yourself you wouldn’t do? Yes.

Are there any people who don’t like you? Probably.

The boy/girl you truly care about needs you at 3am, would you go? I don’t have a guy in my life right now.

If you had to get a piercing right now, what would it be? Nah.

Do you have any bruises on you? I don’t think so.

Are you ticklish? Just my neck.

Ever liked someone who treated you like crap? Yes.

Who do you like right now? Sigh.

What’s the largest age difference between yourself and someone you’ve dated? A year.

Are you gonna get high later? No.

What was the first thing you said when you woke up today? I haven’t gone to bed, yet.

Do you blow dry your hair? Nope.

Do you look decent when you wake up? I don’t look decent ever.

Have you ever liked someone older then you? Just by a couple years unless we’re including celebrities.

Is it hard to make you laugh? It’s harder now than it used to be. I feel like I don’t laugh as much anymore. :/

How late did you stay up last night? I’m still up at 8AM.

Which is worse for you: being hot, or being cold? Being hot, most definitely. Ugh.

How many drugs have you done in the last three days? I don’t do drugs.

[suckitsurveys]

What is the youngest age you can remember back to? We lived in an apartment before we moved into the house my dad lives in now when I was 4 or 5 and I have lots of memories of that place, so like 3 or 4. 

What sports are you trying out for this year? Ha, good one.

Did you wear your hair in a ponytail today? I did. I just took it out after I worked out. 

Who do you have on speed dial? No one. Is that still a thing?

What colors do you like to paint your toenails? Summery colors usually. 

Would it be cool to learn how to DJ at a club? Nah.

Where are you going to be three hours from now? Sleeping probably. I’d like to get up and get to the grocery store early in the morning and then clean my apartment. 

What job would you NEVER take, even as a last resort? Food or retail. 

If you broke your computer, would you be able to fix it on your own? Eh, depends on what broke. 

If someone looked in your closet, how would they judge your style? Fat girl. 

What was the shittiest hotel you’ve ever stayed at and why? Some place in Utica, NY. That whole experience was weird.

Have you ever gone on a boat and been sick the whole time? Yup.

Did you get a good sleep last night? It was decent.

What is the weather like outside? It’s currently 55F.

If someone makes a spelling or grammar mistake, do you ignore or correct? Depends. 

Do oversized sunglasses actually look good on you? Sure.

What is the most overrated thing in the world? Superhero franchises.

Have you heard any completely untrue rumors about yourself lately? I haven’t heard any rumors about me since high school.

What is one word to describe your room? Cozy.

Have you ever kept something from the wild as a pet? No.

Do your parents try to plan out your future for you? No.

Do you think that surveys are a huge waste of time? Clearly not. 

Are you wearing a hoodie today? I did. 

Did you sleep alone the last two nights? Nope.

You’re single, right? Wrong. 

How long was your last phone conversation you had? A few minutes.

Who was it with? My husband.

What was it about? I called him to ask about dinner.

Excited for anything? SUMMER AND BEING FULLY VACCINATEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Got laid last night, didn’t you? Nope.

Do you have drama in your life? Eh.

What’s something you really want right now, be honest? To be in shape.

As of this minute, what is going through your mind? ^

Have you laughed until you cried? Yeah.

What are you listening to right now? Low Fi Beats To Sleep/Chill To or whatever it’s called.

What color are your shoes? I have several pairs of shoes.

Can you crack your neck? Yes, but only on one side.

What is the last thing you drank? A smoothie.

Where would I have found you last night at 11pm? In bed.

What’s your plans for next Friday? Next Friday I’ll maybe be at my Dad’s if I don’t feel like crap from my vaccine.

Does anyone hate you? Probably.

Would it be hard seeing someone else kiss the person you like? Yes. Do you think someone is thinking about you right now? It’s possible.

Could you go out in public looking like you do now? No.

Who will you be sleeping with tonight? Mark.

Is there anyone you wouldn’t mind punching in the face now? Yeah.

What do you have pierced? My ears and my nose.

Do you know anyone that smokes weed? Yeah, a lot of people.

Where is the person you want right now? Like 6 feet from me.

Are you too forgiving? Eh.

Will this weekend be a good one? It will mostly be spent cleaning. 

What is your favorite thing about being sick? It’s weirdly nostalgic.

Have you ever done something you told yourself you wouldn’t do? Yes.

Are there any people who don’t like you? Probably.

The boy/girl you truly care about needs you at 3am, would you go? We live together, so. 

If you had to get a piercing right now, what would it be? Maybe another ear hole.

Do you have any bruises on you? Yeah.

Are you ticklish? Yes.

Ever liked someone who treated you like crap? Yes.

Who do you like right now? My husband.

What’s the largest age difference between yourself and someone you’ve dated? 10 years my senior. 

Are you gonna get high later? No.

What was the first thing you said when you woke up today? I don’t know.

Do you blow dry your hair? Nope.

Do you look decent when you wake up? Eh. 

Have you ever liked someone older then you? Uh huh.

Is it hard to make you laugh? No.

How late did you stay up last night? Til 12am.

Which is worse for you: being hot, or being cold? I dislike both equally.

How many drugs have you done in the last three days? No.

[yeols-baekhoes]

Picnic With Kim Namjoon

Rated: F for fluff, DJ for daddy Joon

Picture this: A/U where Namjoon— who has been noticeably distant the last few days— has a surprise for you. A big one.

Graphics:

(baby)

****************•********************•*****************

"Hey, baby?" Came the soft, deep voice from the other side of the wooden door, a knock almost as soft as the man's voice following.

You remain quiet, not only because speaking up had proven to only make your already sore throat even worse, but because at that moment you were avoiding your significant other so that an argument wouldn't occur.

You had been sick for what felt like a century, but really was about a week and a half. Your throat felt like sandpaper, your head had been scalding the past week and your nose stuffed and runny. You knew you were getting better, though, when you woke up this morning sans the fever and runny nose. It felt heavenly after so long of not being able to breathe through your nose properly.

Even though you lived twenty minutes away, you had found yourself taking shelter in Joon's apartment as your parents had left for another work trip.

You usually enjoyed being in Namjoon's company. Ever since you met him almost a decade ago, his friendship had always been your source of comfort when your broken family proved to be otherwise.

It was only until four years back that you had both decided to act on the hidden feelings that had been bottled for years.

But recently, the past few weeks had been strange. Namjoon, always the busy bee, had been extremely distant. It was out of character for him. Yes, he was busy with his projects, but you always understood him. Understood the late nights, the days where he couldn't text you as frequently as he always did. He was chasing his dreams, working damn hard for them, at that. But, he always made sure to at least check in with you so you were aware he was okay. He would still sit with you, gently massaging your aching feet from work, even if it was for a couple of minutes before he ran off. There was always a few minutes of conversation where you would watch as his beautiful eyes lit up and his dimples deepened when he talked about his day or when he watched you speak about yours.

You weren't mad. You could never be mad at your Joon, not when he was finally getting to do everything he had talked about when you were both younger. The things he would smile about as you both sat on the low branch of the tree you both expertly climbed as children. What kind of girlfriend, what kind of best friend, would you be if you did get angry at that?

But your sickness had left you feeling like a child in need of comfort, and you couldn't help but feel upset about how visibly distant Namjoon had been. It was as if he was hiding something from you. It hurt that he wasn't fully trusting you.

When he noticed that you weren't going to respond, the door opened and Namjoon walked in. You looked up from your bag of clothes, looking up at your boyfriend.

"What Namjoon?" You ask, looking away. He knew what he was doing. Coming in here looking like he did, his lips slightly pursed so that his dimples would deepen. He was wearing a simple outfit, a black and white striped t-shirt, blue jeans, and his favorite pair of black high tops.

"I know you're mad at me, but there's no need for that or for you to be packing your clothes." He states. He hated when you called him by his full name when angry. He loved all the nicknames and pet names you had come up with.

You shrug, "I'm not mad at you and I'm taking these home to do laundry."

You hear him sigh and walk closer to you. You feel his arms snake around you, bringing you closer to his front. He knew you loved when he hugged you from behind. It made you smile faintly as his arms tightened around your belly.

"Don't be mad, honey." He whispers softly, his breath fanning across your neck as he brings his body down to reach your neck, where he places a soft kiss.

"You're going to get sick, Nam-" You start, trying to move out of his warm hold. You were annoyed with him, but that didn't mean you wanted him to catch whatever bug it was that you had. Of course he cuts you off, pulling you right back to him.

"I don't care." He turns you around in his arms, looking down at you.

"I do." You say, secretly enjoying how he held you.

He shrugs and chuckles, "Too bad. I want to hold my girlfriend."

You scrunch you're nose as you feel your argument crumble in your mind as he leaves a trail of soft kisses down your neck.

"Listen, I'm sorry. I know I have been distant the past few weeks. I've been dealing with some things and questioning others. I didn't realize until last night that I was distancing myself from you. That's something I never want to do. I'm sorry I made you feel like this." He says, as he looks up again, his big hands cradling your face.

You sigh looking at him. You knew he was sincere. That was something he never lacked. It was so clear in his dark eyes as he looked at you.

"It's okay, Joon. I just want you to remember that I'm here for you, okay? Just tell me whenever you're stressed out instead of pushing me away. That way I can at least try to help you and you won't be going through it alone." You respond, giving in. You touched his cheek softly, caressing the soft skin.

"I know. There's just something I've been thinking about. But I figured it out. So..." He trails off, kissing your cheek.

You giggle, "So?"

"Am I forgiven? Can we cuddle now without you wanting to slap me away?" He jokes, picking you up, his hands under your bottom.

You laugh, your arms wrapping around his neck as he carries you to the bed, nuzzling into your neck the way he did after a long day. He gently places you down, coming down with you but stopping when he was a few inches away from your face. His strong arms were at each side of your face, caging you in.

"Hey there, gorgeous." He says sweetly, making you smile. His minty breath fanned across your upper lip as he looked down at them when the corners lifted.

"Hi, handsome." You whisper, looking at his full lips. Joon's smile was the first thing you had fallen in love with.

"I really want to kiss you right now." He whispers to you, his mouth centimeters away from yours. You close your eyes as you feel him nearing, his intoxicating cologne clouding your senses, one of his hands sweetly placed on your cheek.

You hum as his mouth goes to your collarbone, lightly biting at the skin before lightly running his tongue across it. "Namjoon, you're going to get sick." You mumble as a light moan escapes.

"I don't care." He states again. As his face nears, you close your eyes, reveling in the feeling of his full, soft lips on yours. Warmth spreads through your entire body as he deepens the kiss. His hand holds your chin as his lips continue to dance with yours. Every time Namjoon kissed you, it felt like the world was stopping around the both of you, but at the same time it felt as if everything was ablaze. The passion you both shared almost inconceivable.

You open your eyes as he pulls back, both your breathing shallow. He smiles and looks down at you, the love you both felt for each other clear in his eyes.

He pecks you once and then twice as his hands come up to tickle your sides. You let out a screaming laugh as his nimble fingers continue their attack on your sides.

"I hate you." You laugh as he chuckles at your discomfort.

"No you don't. You love me." He says, falling onto the space next to you.

You turn to rest your head on his hard chest, "Sometimes." You joke. He chuckles and brings you closer to place a kiss on your hair.

"I have a surprise for you tomorrow. I've been planning it on and off for the last few weeks." He says simply, kicking off his shoes. You get up partly, resting your head on your hands that were on top of his chest. You look down at him, his eyes closed, his face peaceful.

"What surprise?" You ask, tracing the lines of his face. Your lips still stung with the electrifying sweetness of your kiss.

He chuckles, the dimples you love appearing. "It's called a surprise for a reason. It comes from the Medieval Latin word 'superprehendere' or seize; Where it was then translated to the Old French word 'surprendre'."

You rolled your eyes and smiled down at him, he enjoyed sharing his encyclopedic knowledge with you. You loved when he did so. Your boyfriend was truly a man of endless knowledge. Learning came easy to him, he craved it.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" You ask, already knowing the answer.

He shakes his head and pulls you back down to rest on his chest. His hand went to your hair, carefully running his hand through.

His steady heartbeat lulls you, and before you know it, both of you are fast asleep.

••

"Joon, can you at least tell me where we're going so I know how to dress." You tell Namjoon who was currently finishing his shower. You had woken up feeling so much better, the pain the sore throat had caused had lessened exponentially. You dared to say it had disappeared overnight.

You were sitting on the toilet with a towel wrapped around yourself, you had just finished showering and washing your hair.

"I'm not telling you what it is until we get there and you see for yourself." He answers. You could practically feel him smiling through the shower curtain. He was really enjoying this whole keeping it a surprise thing.

"Dress warmly, too. Its just us. Think of it as a casual day out." He adds.

You sigh but get up to get ready, nonetheless. You couldn't help but be excited, though. It had been a few weeks since both of you had a night out. Both of your work got in the way a lot of the times, but of course most days you both slept in the same bed. You didn't mind missing a few date nights, as long as you got to fall asleep in Namjoon's arms at night, got to hear his heartbeat as you slowly fall asleep.

You take a few minutes to get ready in where you pick out a big, fluffy, burgundy sweater and some dark ripped jeans. You finish it off with a pair of black boots. You lightly spray your wrists and neck with the perfume Joon got you as one of your Valentine's Day presents last year. He said it was his favorite scent and it reminded him of you when you were away from each other.

Namjoon comes in minutes after wearing a white woolen turtleneck, black jeans, and his favorite boots. It was a chilly day out, but it would only get chillier as it got later.

You blatantly stare at him as the same feeling you get when he kisses you starts at the pit of your stomach.

"You look so beautiful, baby." He beats you to it, coming to your side. He grabs your hand and makes you do a spin.

It didn't matter if all you had on was a pair of sweats and an old t-shirt with holes in it, or if your hair was all over the place after a night in bed with Joon. He always called you beautiful.

You laugh as he spins, "I was going to say the same thing about you. You clean up nicely, handsome." His hands rest low on your waist as he looks down at you, a bright smile on his lips.

"Stop it." He says bashfully. Even after so many years of knowing him, and four years of being in a relationship, Joon always blushed beet red when you complimented him.

"You're so cute." You giggle, lifting slightly on your toes to kiss his warm, blushing cheek. You had missed doing so.

"So, where are we going?" You say nonchalantly, kissing the exposed skin of his neck. Namjoon softly groans in your ears as you leave a trail of kisses up to his sharp jaw.

"You almost got me there. But good try. Like I said, I'm not telling you until we get there and you see for yourself." He answers, pulling slightly away.

You pout as your impromptu plan to get him to tell you where you were going, fails. He laughs and pecks your bottom lip.

"Don't pout, baby. Come on, I already put everything in the trunk of the car so you won't be able to see anything." He says, grabbing your purse from the ottoman at the foot of the bed and handing it to you.

"Okay, lets go." You say as you notice how excited he was. You decide to stop pestering him and just 'go with the flow' because you just loved that excitement in his eyes, the twinkle of it in his gaze.

You wait next to Namjoon as he locks up the apartment, holding your hand and leading you down the hall when he did so.

"I can't wait until we get there. I hope you like it." He says excitedly. You laugh admiringly at his excitement, "I'm sure whatever it is, I'll genuinely love." You tell him, slightly swinging your hands back and forth as you wait for the elevator to reach your floor.

"I hope so." He answers as he brings your hand up to kiss it.

When you are both seated in Namjoon's car a few minutes later, seatbelts buckled- he never started the car unless everyone had theirs on— is when Joon speaks.

"Road trip." He says, wiggling his eyebrows, looking at you as he turns on the radio and connects his phone to the Bluetooth. You look at him, feeling the excitement bubble in you. You finally were going to spend some needed time with him. No work to worry about, just the two of you.

You smile at him as he grabs your hand, placing it on his lap as he drove with the other.

Even though it was chilly out, the day was beautiful. All blue skies with a few scattered clouds. There was a comfortable silence in the car as a song played on the radio. It was something about your relationship you appreciated. That there could be absolute silence and neither of you felt the need to disrupt it because it was so peaceful and both of you were comfortable to just sit in each other's presence.

The thing about being Namjoon's girlfriend was that even in completely silence, he would unknowingly do little things to show he was attentive to you. The way he caressed your hand, the way he'd harmonize whatever you were disastrously singing along to, the way he'd look at you or lean over to kiss your cheek at a stop sign or light.

You sighed happily, softly rubbing your thumb on Namjoon's, feeling the chilly but soothing wind come in through the opened windows and playing with your hair, 'Frequency' by Jhené Aiko filling the car.

You went through her entire new album 'Chilombo', before you spoke up. "It's beautiful out here." You say. You had never traveled this way before, there was no need to. A while ago, wooden areas had covered both sides of the highway, deep rooted trees that had been there longer than you could imagine. All greens, oranges, and reds. But now, the woods had broken and you were driving in between green hills, a big orange and grey flat top rock in the distance.

"I knew you would like it. Me and the guys found this area a month ago. Remember when we went camping?" He asked, quickly looking at you.

You hum, remembering the very eventful camping trip the boys- Joon's best friends- and Joon had talked about for weeks after they had gotten home.

"Well, I told you we got kind of lost. But it was more like incredibly lost. You know how Yoongi and Hoseok get when they're together. Everyone was super distracted so we ended up around here and just decided to camp in the area." He explained, tapping his long fingers on the steering wheel as the car went around a bend.

Every time the boys were together, it was as if the world was ending and it was their last time together. Especially when they started their 'crackhead' behavior, as everyone whoever met them described. You had been with them for years so you had come to get used to their energy, even look forward to it.

You shake your head and laugh, imagining just how distracted they were with Yoongi, Hoseok, and Teahyung probably screaming the whole way, Jimin and Jungkook teasing each other, and Jin and Joon unintentionally acting like they were in a marriage and fathers to the rest of the group.

"We're almost there by the way." He says smiling. "It's just a little ways down."

You smile excitedly, looking around to see if you saw anything that would help you decipher where you were going. But you couldn't see anything but luscious hills and rocks and sky.

You wait until he starts slowing down the car, parking it on the side of the road in front of a hill with a pathway leading up into a wooded area.

"Oh, I see what's going on. You're going to kill me and dump my body." You say jokingly, unbuckling your seatbelt.

He looks at you, his face completely serious, "How did you know?" Your smile falters a bit before he laughs at the same time you do.

"Haha, good one." You say blandly, shoving his shoulder.

"Come on. I can't wait until you see this." He says, getting out and walking to the back of the car and opening the trunk. You follow behind.

"What are you getting out?" You ask, trying to look over his broad shoulders. You noticed him taking things out of a white cooler and into a brown picnic basket.

You realize what he was doing and stop, a warmness filling your chest. You remember a few months ago, you had been sitting in Joon's backyard watching a movie on the home made theatre Joon, the boys, and you had built days before with a white sheet and a projector, when you had expressed to him that you had never been to a picnic after he had asked you.

You couldn't imagine he had remembered something you thought had been an insignificant comment on your part.

"Oh, Joon. You remembered." You whisper.

He turns around and smiles, nodding down at you. You quickly close the space between the both of you, hugging him to your body. His warmth envelops you as he chuckles into your hair.

"Come on, I want you to see something." He says, grabbing hold of a thick blanket and putting it on top of the basket, the handles keeping it in place.

He grabs your hand and leads you to the path. It's a bit steep but you manage to both get up easily with each other's help. The area is slightly wooded and looks undisturbed except for the fresh feet prints on the path.

You walk for a few minutes, admiring the life around you. The blue sky peaks through the trees and birds call to each other, chase each other like lovers. You walk across a small bridge, a bustling stream under, splashing the wood of the bridge. You step over rocks and discarded tree limbs bigger than any you have ever seen. Then you came to a break in the trees. You couldn't see what was the through it, but you could see light and hear something that sounded very familiar. Like a big body of water crashing against rocks.

"Okay we're near, close your eyes and don't peek." He requested, taking back the blanket you had taken from him to help with the load.

You grin and close my eyes, opening one to see what he was doing. "No peeking." He quipped.

"Okay, okay. What if I fall?" You question, putting your left hand over your eyes as he take your right with his.

"I won't let you get hurt." He promises. Of course you knew that. Namjoon has kept you safe long before you even developed any romantic feelings for him. But it was fun to tease him a bit.

"Okay, there's a rock in front of you, just sidestep it. To your left." He informs you, slightly tugging you so you wouldn't trip.

"Good, baby." He says, a kiss landing on your cheek.

"Namjoon, I smell the sea." You say as soon as the salty smell of the ocean hits your nose. It was a smell you had loved since you were little. You loved the ocean, the sand. The feeling of being in another world altogether when you spent a day in the beach.

Your boyfriend hums beside you, "Do you now?"

You can almost taste the sea when Namjoon stops walking. "Okay. Wait, let me set everything up. Don't peek." He says before running off. You hear him stop a few yards away.

"Don't peek." He yells from his place. You laugh, "I promise I'm not peeking."

"I can't wait for you to see this. The guys and I discovered it and it reminded me of you." He says as you hear him shake the blanket.

"How did it remind you of me?" You ask genuinely, itching to remove your hand and open your eyes.

"You'll see." He answers a few seconds later, the rustling of plastic and containers being popped open reaching your ears.

"Okay, open them." You jump slightly as his voice comes from right next to you, closer than you thought he had been.

Namjoon grabs your hand as your eyes open and you blink away the blurriness. You gasp as you take on the view. You'd never seen something so beautiful in your entire life. It was almost as if your brain couldn't fully comprehend that what laid in front of you, was in fact real.

"It reminded me of how equally beautiful you are, if not more." He whispers your ear, placing a soft kiss there.

"Namjoon-I can't-" You stop speaking as your breath gets stuck in your throat. In front of you was the ocean at the bottom of a cliff. That was what you had heard crashing against rocks, what you had smelled. The blue sky met the water in the horizon, until you couldn't decipher which one was which. The sea was empty, no boat in sight. It looked peaceful. How was it that something that could be so destructive, also be so beautiful?

You were standing in a field just as alluring. It was full of tall flowers, little dandelions, lilies. It was a field of whites and golds and greens. You loved the way the weeds and wildflowers grew freely in the area. It truly seemed as if you were the only ones who had discovered it.

A few yards away, Joon had prepared and set the picnic. The white blanket with little black floral detailing was spread in the only flattened section of the field. It was surrounded by even more wildflowers. On top of the blanket was an assortment of food, two glass bottles of your favorite  drink and two wine cups. There was a small radio playing a soft song that matched the ambience.

It felt like you were in another world. A world far away from civilization, where Namjoon and you were the only ones.

"You like it?" Namjoon's deep voice meets your ears.

You look at him, your eyes wide, your mouth agape. "Like it, Namjoon? I love it. Thank you." You look at him and smile, watching his dimples rise as he smiles back.

"Come on." He says, leading you to the blanket.

It felt like for the next few hours you could do nothing besides eat, smile, laugh, or jokingly shove Namjoon. You were happy. So happy that you had almost completely forgotten that a few days ago he had been distant. You reminded yourself to ask him about it.

Namjoon had taken a break from reading to you his new adventure, a book called The Amazons: Lives & Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World by Adrienne Mayor, your head resting on his lap fully immersed in what he had been reading, when you decided to ask.

"Joon?" You say, playing with a loose thread in his jeans. "Yes, babygirl?" He answers, his eyes closed as his head faced the sky.

You smile at his pet name. You would never let anyone but the man above you call you such names. You loved when it came from him.

"Yesterday you said had been questioning some things and that's why you were distant. What have you been questioning?" You ask. You feel him tense under you. It makes you sit up. A plethora of scenarios going through your head. What if something was wrong with him? What if he was questioning your relationship?

"I've been meaning to talk about this with you for a long time. Don't look like that baby, it's nothing bad." He says pulling you to his side.

"Come on, let's go for a bit of a walk." He adds, getting up and holding his hand out to pull you up.

You take his warm hand and walk where he was leading you. Closer to the sea.

(A/N: Play the next song now and listen to it as you imagine yourself sitting in the cliff from the fifth picture with Namjoon, the sea under you, the sky full of the colors that come with the sunset)

You walked across the field and closer to the edge where you both sat down looking over at the view. It was truly stunning. The ocean lapped peacefully at the rocks under you. The sun had begun to set a few minutes ago so the sky was bleached a harmony of pinks, blues, and oranges. Behind you both, the radio had started to play Instagram by Dean. You felt truly at peace. You had the person you loved most in the world next to you, sharing this magical moment with you.

You look next to you, hoping to see Namjoon as transfixed with the scene as you were. But he seemed tense, frightened even.

"What's wrong, Joon?" You ask him, caressing his cheek.

"We've been together for so long. You know my heart belonged to you from the moment I came back from Korea five years ago. But it belonged to you way before that, even when we were friends. Do you remember how my mom would say we were meant to meet, that it was our destiny?" He asked, turning his whole body to look at you.

You nod, there was something in the air, something that was telling you not to speak, to listen.

The time when Joon went to Korea for three years was the moment you realized that you didn't see him just as a best friend, the feelings that had been locked inside you wanted to do nothing but kiss Namjoon, make him happy, spend your days with him. You realized that your heart had left with him. Had been ripped out of your chest the moment you saw that plane take off. The moment you realized that it wasn't a vacation, that he was really staying oversees, your feelings became clear then. You loved Namjoon. You were in love with him, with everything about him.

When they were in the airport, Namjoon's mother had seen how distraught you both were. She was a spiritual woman who believed in spirits, auras, etc. She had told you both that your destinies were intertwined, starting when you both met, tied together, for all eternity. For some time Namjoon and you thought it was just a mother trying to console her child and a girl she had seen grow up.

"She was right. I can feel it. I know you can, too. I can see it in the way you look at me, the way you care for me. I can see it in your selfless actions, the way you support my dreams even though sometimes you can't see me for days. I feel it in the way I can't imagine myself with someone that isn't you. I can't imagine ever ending what we have, waking up to someone who isn't you or even sharing my bed with someone besides you. I can't see myself laughing with anyone else while they cook breakfast, I can't see myself reading my books to someone else. I can't imagine myself making love to anyone else. I can't see myself growing old with someone who isn't you, love.

But that's the thing. It's not just that I can't. I won't. I won't love anyone else as much as I love you. I won't spend the rest of my life with someone who isn't you. This decision was easy for me to make, I knew as soon as it came to my head that I was going to ask you. But I was scared. Then I noticed my fears were making me do the opposite of what I wanted to do and grow distant from you. But I'm sure now. This is what I want. What I need." He finishes. Your eyes water at the sincerity and raw emotion in his voice.

You understood everything he said because you felt the same way. When you thought of the future, Namjoon was always by your side. It didn't matter how far into the future it was- five years, ten, or twenty years- he was always there at your side, smiling with those dimples that you would never give up seeing.

"What-?" You mutter, wanting to ask him what he meant by all of this, already having a clue, already feeling the excitement and pure love surround your heart, but he cuts you off.

"Marry me, love." He continues, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a little, black velvet box. "Spend the rest of your life with me."

[buckys-old-habits]

Wet T-Shirt Contest

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Prompt: College AU

Word Count: 2k 

Warnings: Fluff

This is my entry to Lani’s Mysterious Writing Challenge by @propertyofpoeandbucky.  I got the prompt College AU and I hope I didn’t bend it too far so it still fits into the category.  It was fun and thank you for letting me take part. 

The sun was beating down on the running track and you push your sunglasses higher on your nose, partly happy that you don’t have to run today. 

Other students are running or walking their rounds for a good cause. All to save up money for an organization who takes care of abused kids and adults. 

Your college really boasts about these charity events and every year another class has to organize them and make the other students run and collect money for a social organization. 

This year your class was the one organizing it and you are happy to finally kick back and watch the other students run. All these years before it was the other way around and you hated the smug looks the organizing class gave you. 

But now that the sun is trying to burn the track under your feet, you feel guilty and worry about the runners. So you grabbed a few of the water bottles your class bought for people who have no water anymore, and stand on the track, handing them out when someone reaches for them. 

Clint is standing beside you, a white strip of suncream down his nose and hands out the elastic bands to the runner who pass them. 

In the end, they will be counted and the money will be racked up accordingly. The donors pay per round, so the more the runner runs, the more money they will get. 

“It’s so hot today”, Clint groans beside you and you chuckle, turning his cap to the front. 

“It would be better if you would wear your cap the right way.”

He blows you a raspberry and arranges his baseball cap like it was before, the peak pointing to his neck. 

“I’m so happy we don’t have to run today”, Wanda sighs from the other side of you, handing an elastic to a runner. 

You hum and uncap a water bottle when you see the outstretched hand of an approaching girl, silently begging for the cold beverage. 

In her run, she grabs it and throws you a smile, Clint jogging after her to hand her the elastic for this round.

“Yeah, it’s beating down. And we were worried it would rain”, you agree to Wanda’s statement. 

“The weather report said it would be a possibility”, she shrugs and you look into the sky, not even a cloud in sight. 

“And now I wanna see some fun on the track!”

The microphone carries Tony’s voice over the whole track and he turns up the music again, blasting some AC/DC song. He wanted to be the DJ so bad and now he has the time of his life, screaming into the microphone and playing his music taste. 

“He didn’t even play one of the songs we collected”, Wanda grumbles and you smile, knowing that it’s true. 

“Let him be. At least he is not moaning about the money counting like that. He has his fun and we silence.”

She hums in thought and nods, agreeing that you are right with that. 

“How much money did we collect until now?”, Clint asks and you hand over another water bottle, frowning at the question. 

“I actually don’t know. Pepper said that she will make an update in a few minutes.”

You look back to the pavilion where the money gets collected, seeing Pepper still counting some bills. 

“Oh, here he comes”, Wanda nudges your side and you turn back to the track, confused who she means. 

Along the many runners coming your way, there is Bucky Barnes, a classmate of yours and one of the few who decided to take the chance and actually run and not just give some money. 

Bucky Barnes is clad in a white shirt and black gym shorts, his blue running shoes matching his blue eyes. His short hair is hidden by a black baseball cap and his sharp jaw glistens with a bit of sweat. 

He slows down in front of you and smiles gently. Bucky breathes a bit faster and you look down to his wrist, counting five colorful elastics. 

“Here, Bucky”, Clint holds out a red elastic and Bucky takes it, adding it to the other ones. 

“Thanks. The sun is really killing me today.”

You hold out a water bottle and Bucky smiles, taking it and moving beside you, deciding to take a small break. 

“So, you don’t run?”

You look up at him and frown, shaking your head. Bucky hums and tips the water bottle, taking a huge sip. 

“I gave some money. It’s our cause, so even if I don’t run, I want to take a part in this”, you explain and Bucky nods, smiling at you. 

“And now. My beautiful girlfriend and the update on the collected money”, Tony’s voice echoes around the field and you see Pepper smack the back of his head, shaking her head. 

“You all are here for two hours already and ran 49 laps collectively. Now to the fact you all want to know. We collected over 1000 dollars already.”

A cheer comes from the stands and you smile, happy that you already made so much money. 

The music starts blasting a few moments later and you shake your head at the choice and Sam, standing beside Tony, makes some weird dance moves to fire up the crowd. 

“Bet he will be sick tomorrow”, Bucky says beside you and you look up at him. 

“Why?”, you frown and Bucky chuckles softly. 

“He is sitting in the sun and moving like an idiot. A perfect combination for a sunstroke.”

You tilt your head and Bucky taps the rim of your cap, before pulling it into your face. 

He laughs when you yelp and try to slap him, but he already started to run his next round again. 

“Oh, lover’s quarrel”, Clint coos and you roll your eyes, throwing an empty bottle at him. 

“Shut up”, you hiss and try to write off the heat in your cheeks to the high temperature. 

Half an hour later, Pepper made another update and you frown at the only slightly higher sum of money than before. Not much changed and you think about another idea to get the other students more fired up. 

“You know… We have some hot guys in class”, Natasha says beside you and downs her bottle of water, looking onto the track. 

You follow her gaze and your eyes meet Bucky’s, who is waving at you before he talks to Steve again, running beside him. 

“He is wearing a white shirt”, Natasha continues and you hum softly, still not sure where she wants to lead this conversation. 

“Yes, and?”

She shakes her water bottle and smirks, her eyes glinting with mischief and it slowly dawns on you. 

“Are you saying that…”, you trail off and she nods. 

“Make it a bet with some students and you will make some money. I can see that it annoys you that the sum didn’t rise more.”

“That’s insane, Nat.”

“Is it?”, she tilts her head and takes another swig of her water. 

“Yes, I won’t do it.”

You grip the bottle of water in your hand, your heart thumping loudly in your chest. You said you won’t do it, but now… 

Bucky runs towards you, each footstep bringing him closer to you and you uncap the bottle. 

You will regret this, for sure. But you have 150 dollars on the line, all given by a few students and your friends. 

Bucky has no idea and you sigh, hoping that he will take it as a joke and not hate you. 

The man comes closer and you try to smile at him, meeting his own. 

Here goes nothing, you think and Bucky is in front of you, wanting to run around you. 

“Hey, Buck. I’m sorry”, you call and before he can ask you what you mean, you grip the water bottle and squeeze. 

The spurt meets his shirt and soaks him, making his white fabric transparent and clings to his skin. 

You bite your lip and Bucky stops, looking down at himself and then to you, his eyes wide with shock. 

“Oh, a wet T-shirt contest. I didn’t know that was on the list”, Tony’s voice is loud and you cringe when you hear it, feeling all eyes on you and Bucky. 

“Bucky, I…”, you try to explain, shrieking moments later when Bucky makes a step towards you, a glint in his eyes that only can mean trouble. 

“Better run, sweetheart”, he warns you and you take the hint and start to run across the grass field in the middle. 

“It was for the greater good”, you call back, trying to shake off the pursuing brunet. 

A body collides with you and you yelp, being thrown to the ground, an arm breaking your fall. 

“Got you”, Bucky grins and you feel his wet chest on your side. 

A ticklish feeling comes up your side and you start to giggle, Bucky attacking you with his hands. 

“I yield”, you laugh out, your breaths coming shorter and your side starting to hurt. 

Bucky pulls back and lays beside you on the ground, his laughter slowly dying down. He turns his head to you and his blue eyes twinkle from the sunshine reflecting in them. 

“So, how did I deserve this attack?”, he asks and you meet his eyes, slowly calming your breath again. 

“It was a stupid idea, I agree. But the donation didn’t rise that much in the last half hour, so…”, you shrug and he pokes your side, a silent warning that he will tickle you again. 

“I made a bet with a few others, that I would soak you in water, and yeah…”

Bucky shakes his head and you shrug apologetically. 

“How much did you get?”

“150 dollars.”

“You are trouble, doll.”

“Didn’t you know that already?”, you retort and he laughs, rolling onto his side and watches you. 

His white shirt is now a little green in some places, it still sticks to his skin and you swallow, trying to look away. 

He was handsome, always made your butterflies flutter in your stomach, but you always told yourself that you don’t have the time to have a relationship. Plus, Bucky was a crush for many women and men. 

So how high would be your chances? Yes, you had some group projects together and you were in his circle of friends, but still… He had so much more to do than make googly eyes at you. 

But now, it feels like he really only wants to look at you, his eyes mustering your face and you look back, your breath calm and your heart hammering in your chest. 

“I know”, Bucky starts and you hum softly, watching his lips move. “I know that I want to kiss you, doll.”

Your eyes widen and your breath stops for a moment. Did you hit your head and this is all a dream now? 

“Did you get a heatstroke?”, you ask quietly and Bucky chuckles, laying his head on your shoulder, laughter shaking his body. 

“No, I assure you that I’m fine”, he glances up at you and his eyes are searching your face for something. Maybe rejection. 

It seems like he made up his mind and leans closer to you, his breath fanning over your cheek and he smiles. 

“So, can I kiss you? Since you made me wet already?”

You scrunch your nose at the bad joke and chuckle before you lay your hand on his cheek and nod softly. 

Bucky leans closer and his lips brush yours, at first it’s soft, testing almost. Then he pushes more into the kiss and you respond. Your hand glides from his cheek to the back of his head and you smile a bit. 

It’s like a dream come true, as cliche as it sounds. 

“Oh, it’s getting hot on the green field. Don’t catch a heatstroke, lovers.”

You groan softly when Bucky pulls away, an embarrassed laugh escaping his lips, hearing Tony’s voice booming across the field. 

“Permission to chase him across the track?”, Bucky asks softly and you hum, but shake your head. 

“No, but you have permission to kiss me again. All for a greater cause.” 

[pftones3482]

The Smell of Juniberries

(A Klance Commission for @aquacanis). 

Under a cut for length, set about two years post season 8. Yeeeee. 

~~

Juniberries smelled like how cranberries tasted – tart, pungent, with hints of sweetness that paired well with almost any other smell they came into contact with. They were wonderful for bouquets, if one knew what they were doing, and after nearly two years of working with them, Lance was very confident in his ability to make floral arrangements.

“You just about done here? I need help with the sound equipment,” Pidge piped from his shoulder.

Lance let his hands fall from the flowers, studying them with a critical gaze for one last moment before twisting to the gremlin at his side. She’d shot up nearly four inches since the end of the war, perfect arm rest height, and Lance used this to his advantage now, leaning on her shoulder. “Can’t get Hunk to do it?”

Pidge rolled her eyes, glasses reflecting the early afternoon light of the open-aired pavilion as she nodded over to Hunk and Shay. “They’re working on lighting and the dessert table. Ask me, they’re just flirting incessantly.”

Lance smothered his grin and nodded, letting a chuckle slip loose. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be over in a minute, Pidgeon. I’ve got two pieces left.”

She gave him a two fingered salute and then walked back to the DJ booth, adjusting her suit as she moved. Lance took the second of reprieve to straighten out his own suit, a dark jacket over a soft, baby blue button down with a pink bowtie. His eyes perused the pavilion, lips quirking at the sight of Hunk and Shay laughing, at Coran and Iverson (THAT had been a surprise, but was admittedly adorable) bickering on how to hang the black and white streamers across the room.

“Need some help?”

“Quiznak!” Lance hissed, nearly elbowing Keith in the throat as he whipped around. “Don’t do that to a guy, Kogane!”

Keith’s smile was genuine, a hint of mirth in his eyes. “Sorry,” he said, though he didn’t sound it.

Lance huffed a breath and attempted to compose himself while simultaneously giving Keith a once over. He was the best man, dark suit jacket and maroon colored button down. The bow tie at his neck was pink, like Lance’s, though a different shade, more suited to match the color of his shirt. His pants were form fitting, flaring just slightly at the shoes, and Lance caught himself staring just a little too long at his thighs. He shot his eyes back up, but Keith hadn’t seemed to notice. “You good?”

Keith pulled his gaze back from where he’d been studying the room. “Yeah. Yeah, just can’t…can’t quite wrap my head around it.”

Lance nudged into him gently, smiling in the hopes of easing his nerves. “Hey. He’s basically your brother. It makes sense you’re nervous.”

Keith snorted, a small sound, but one that sent Lance back years. “I shouldn’t be. Obviously he can handle himself, and Curtis is amazing. It’s just…I spent so long worrying about him and trying to…I don’t know.”

His brows were furrowed now, and Lance let him sit for a moment in silence. Took the time to collect his own thoughts.

For two years, he’d been working on the family farm. Integrating juniberries into Earth’s atmosphere had been shockingly easy, though it wasn’t that much of a surprise, given how similar the atmosphere of Altea was to Earth. Since the war, they had been the most coveted type of flower, worth hundreds, and Lance was determined to make sure people knew about them, their history, about the woman who had made their existence once again possible.

Lance pressed his lips together and glanced around.

She was here, in subtle ways. The pink of the bow ties, at Shiro’s insistence. The juniberries in everyone’s lapels. The scattered pictures on the tables, dozens featuring goofy selfies and group photos that mostly Lance and Pidge had forced everyone into. He was glad they had done it, now.

She was there in the way Coran’s gaze lingered too long on the juniberries, in the way Iverson’s hand slipped over his shoulder and squeezed, reassuring. In the way Pidge paused at the DJ booth, eyes shut, fingers clamped around the headphones over her ears, murmuring words in Altean rather than English. The way Hunk’s fingers shook over the pastries on the table, juniberry shaped and infused cookies and cupcakes, Shay’s hands quelling the trembling.

She was there when Lance turned, to reassure Keith, the halo of light that circled his body as he looked back to Lance, a crooked, anxious smile on his face.

He knew that she would tell him to go for it. That she’d want him to be happy. It scared him to the depths of the oceans, but he knew she’d encourage it. This feeling he’d had, for far too long.

“Lance?”

He shook his head, shoving his hands in his pockets to keep him from doing something stupid. “Yeah, sorry?”

Keith’s head tilted. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail, wisps of escaped pieces dusting his forehead. “Are you okay?”

Lance countered it. “Are you?”

Keith’s lips pressed into a line, thin, looked away. “I…”

Curtis’ mother came flying into the room from the adjacent church, clapping her hands. “Chop chop everyone, let’s go! Five minutes until we need to be in places!”

Before he could lose his nerve, Lance settled his hand on Keith’s shoulder and squeezed. “Later. Help me with these arrangements.”

They ended up a little sloppier than the rest, but Lance couldn’t bring himself to care.

~~

The summer after the war, a year after the end of the Galra empire, found Lance kneeling in the dirt outside his house, hands muddy from fixing the fallen juniberries. There had been a storm the night before. It had taken out trees, bushes, roses, the like. Juniberries had never been exposed to rain until they were planted on Earth. They did well in it, as one could expect, but they were delicate. Couldn’t take a lot.

They had fallen, wilted, were on the verge of dying.

Lance couldn’t see. His vision was blurred, hands shaking too hard to move any of the flowers properly. His family was asleep - it was early. The sun was barely on the horizon.

It felt cruel. Like the universe was playing a horrible, nasty joke on him. “Here’s this plant that reminds you of your dead girlfriend! Lol time to kill it.” What kind of sick sense of humor did the universe have?

Hands closed over his. Slow. Meticulous. Uncaring of the mud and the dirt and the tears. Lance looked up to find Keith kneeling before him, still dressed in his Blade uniform. His knife was on his hip, a weird detail that set in Lance’s mind and never left. Behind him stood the others, in various forms of dress, all of them looking tired and sad.

He looked back to Keith, drowned in the depths of his gaze. When he opened his mouth, Lance found himself focusing on the way his lips moved, caught himself, very briefly, wondering what they felt like.

“How can we help?”

They spent the day cleaning, restoring, throwing mud and just laughing. It was the first time since her death that Lance had felt truly at peace. At the end of the day, they’d joined Veronica and the kids for lemonade on the porch and surveyed the saved fields.

Keith’s arm had draped around Lance’s shoulders, Blade Uniform replaced with one of Marco’s old college t-shirts. A friendly hug. The weight still registered in Lance’s head. He still didn’t know how they had known to come. “I’m sorry we couldn’t save all of them.”

A glance to the left, at the wheelbarrow of unsalvageable juniberries, and then back to the right, at Keith. The others, behind him. He knew, then. Felt his cheeks burn, but he couldn’t tell if it was a blush or those damned marks. “We never could.”

The hug grew tighter.

~~

“I do.”

“You may now kiss the groom,” Coran announced, eyes twinkling and mustache quirked.

Lance whooped louder than almost anyone as Shiro and Curtis closed together, grinning through their kiss. Hunk grabbed him and Pidge up in a tight hug and Lance sank into it, smiling so widely that he knew his cheeks would ache in the morning.

A look to his left, Keith clapping politely but smiling like he’d just seen the sunrise for the first time. Lance nudged Hunk, jutted his head, and in seconds the man was being swept up along with them, yelping in surprise but laughing as soon as he knew what was happening.

The after party went long. Speeches read, by Keith, one of Curtis’ old friends from before the war that Lance didn’t know very well. One by Coran, that Shiro had requested, one that made the old man cry even as he read.

And then dancing.

Too many partners to count. He danced with Pidge, goofily, twice. Took it more seriously the second time before nudging her off to the woman she kept eyeing in the corner. Lance thought she might be related to Curtis, but wasn’t sure how. Danced with Hunk, mock slow-dancing, and then with Shay, sticking his tongue out at Hunk over her shoulder as she giggled. With Coran, a dramatic waltz that made them both crack up and laugh like children. Coran’s face was soft when he left, his eyes settled on Lance’s cheeks. Lance knew it hurt him to look, sometimes. He didn’t hold it against him.

Somewhere into the night, Shiro approached. “Dance with me.”

Lance took his human hand in surprise but let Shiro lead him out onto the floor. Curtis was dancing with his little sister’s niece, swinging her around the dance floor as she squealed in delight. “How do you feel?” Lance asked, glancing back at Shiro. He realized, with a start, that he was just a little taller than him now.

Shiro’s smile was soft, barely there, but so genuine it ached. “The same? But different. If that makes sense.”

Lance hummed. “It does.”

“I’m sorry.”

Lance lifted his eyebrows, looking at Shiro in confusion. “What for?”

Shiro shrugged, spinning a little until Lance could see Keith over his shoulder. “For putting so many elements of her into this. I just…wanted her to be here, you know?”

Lance locked eyes with the man and softened, squeezing Shiro’s shoulder tightly where his hand rested. “Hey. I do. It’s your day. Of course you wanted her here. We all did. And she was. Here, I mean.”

Shiro’s lips pressed into a thin line. “I know it must have been harder though. For you.”

Lance spluttered out a laugh, shaking his head. When he looked back up, Shiro was watching him. Not in surprise, or irritation, but just…watching. Gentle. “It’s okay,” Lance promised. “I miss her. Of course I do. We all do. But I…”

His eyes drifted again, falling on him, on the way Hunk was trying to teach him the wobble, of all fucking things. His hair was disheveled, suit jacket gone, top of his shirt unbuttoned. He was grinning, eyes sparkling.

Shiro spun so fast Lance barely registered the change in direction until he was watching Veronica and Nadia dancing on the opposite side of the room. Shiro’s lips curled into the most mischievous grin Lance had ever seen on the man. “Oh. OH. Lance.”

His cheeks were burning again, and he lowered his gaze. “I’m…”

“Do it.”

Lance looked up, somewhat embarrassed. “What?”

Shiro’s smile was softer, now, as he took in Lance’s anxiety. “Do it. He’ll say yes. I promise you that.”

He stepped back, pushed him gently in Keith and Hunk’s direction, hand lingering in Lance’s. Shiro squeezed, once. “I promise,” he whispered.

He walked away, then, stepping in and taking Curtis’ niece from him. Lance turned back to Keith and Hunk. Hunk was gone, helping Pidge with a technical issue. Keith was sitting alone, punch in hand.

He glanced up at the night sky, crystal clear and glittering with stars. “Allura, give me courage,” he muttered.

His marks burned as he walked.

Keith looked up when he approached, eyebrows raising, and Lance held out a hand, trying for a genuine, careful smile. “Would you like to dance?”

Keith studied him for a long moment, lips parting and eyes softening into something that Lance found magical. His hand settled in Lance’s with a tension that Lance could feel in his whole body. “I’d love to.”

[hazthediv]

Kisses

Requested by anonymous:  Hi, idk if you take requests but if you do could you do like a angst to fluff where the reader and harrison are in the same friend group and he always liked her and flirted with her they kissed a few times but then suddenly he realised he actually felt smth for her so he shut it down but then he sees her talking with other guys and gets jealous so he gets mad at her but it ends in fluff???

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield X Fem!Reader

Word Count: 3.8k

Warnings: Alcohol, a bar fight, some really badly written angst

A/N: I’ve rewritten this like three times and I still can’t seem to make it better so whatever, here it is haha

-

It all begun months ago – years even.  When you had met Haz and his group of friends back in boarding school. You had kinda been friends the moment you had met but only that. You were closer to your girlfriends who were actually friends with him. That meant you often hung out with him and the boys but still you weren’t particularly close to him.

The first time you had kissed Haz was back at prom. You had drunk a little too much and you had danced with him all night. His lips had found yours at the end of the night, as the DJ had announced the last song. The kiss had tasted of alcohol and his lips had been soft against yours as he had kissed you almost hungrily.

It had happened again at your first college party, a few months later. And then it became frequent. Well, you didn’t see Haz frequently but when you did you always found yourself kissing him as if your life depended on it. Welp.

Tonight was not going to be different. At least you hoped. You were kind of into Haz and you liked kissing him once in a while. After all, he’s an attractive guy, who could blame you?

Your friends were coming to your place to pre-drink so you got ready listening to music as you waited for them. When they arrived, you drank with them, slowly getting tipsy, slowly getting excited for the night that was to come.

The club you were going to – Annabel’s Mayfair – was a fancy club and you were surprised that you’d even be able to go. Thanks to Haz though. The Uber ride to get there was spent listening to music, chatting with the driver who was extremely nice, explaining to you all how he had become an Uber driver.

He dropped you off in front of the doors of the club. Haz was waiting there, standing next to the bouncer. He was on his cellphone and he looked up from it as you all walked towards him. Your friends all hugged him, greeting him. When he pulled away from Laura, he looked at you for the first time that night. Your heart skipped a beat as you smiled to him.

“Hey there”, he greeted you.

“Hey.”

You just stood there for a moment, feeling awkward underneath his icy gaze.

“No hugs for me?” he asked, his brow cocked.

You chuckled as you stepped towards him, hugging him. “You div.”

He laughed in your ear as you pulled away. He looked at your face and his brows knit together. His hands fell to his side and he looked away. That sudden change of behaviour made you feel strange inside and you looked down to your feet.

You got in the club, the music already loud in there. You tried not to look at Haz, who was now stubbornly avoiding your gaze. You parted ways, you ended up with your three girlfriends. You drank some more, ordering shots with Laura, Mae and Harper. You also talked with Tom (yeah, Tom Holland, the perks of being in the same group of friends as Haz) but not once did you talk with Haz. It was almost like he was avoiding you.

It felt strange and you would be lying if you were to say that it didn’t hurt you. But you sucked it up, pretending that you were fine as you spent the rest of the night with your friends, the ones that actually talked to you.

Towards the end of the night, you found yourself standing in front of Haz. He had come out of nowhere and you were stunned to see him. He smiled softly, his eyes slowly taking in your features. His smile then fell and he looked away.

“What’s up, asshat”, you said, not even caring about the insult that had slipped from your lips.

His brows furrowed. “Hey.”

You mimicked his expression. “Have you been avoiding me, Osterfield?”

He looked away, gulping. “No, I … Why would I?”

You moved to stand in the direction he was looking at so he wouldn’t have the choice but to look at you. “I don’t know, you’ve been acting strange all night.”

“I haven’t.” His eyes fell to his feet. “Listen. I think it’s better if we stop, you know, if we stop kissing each time we… uh… go out.”

Your heart fell and you looked away. “Oh.”

Tom arrived then, throwing an arm around Haz’s shoulders. He had a goofy grin on his lips and it took him a moment to realize that he had just interrupted something.

You wondered when tears had started pricking at your eyes as you looked up to Tom, smiling sadly. “I’m going now.” Your eyes trailed to Haz as you blinked a couple of times. “Bye, Haz.”

“Woah”, Tom said. “Are you guys okay?”

You didn’t reply as you started walking away, making your way through the dancefloor. You took your phone out of your pocket to call for an Uber, never once stopping. And the part that hurt you the most was that Haz didn’t walk after you. He didn’t try to stop you.

You stepped outside as your Uber arrived. You got in, looking towards the doors of the club, hoping that Haz – anyone – was going to come check on you but nobody did. You cursed yourself mentally for having run away as the Uber driver started driving away. You hadn’t even told your friends that you had left.

You texted the group chat to tell them you were on the way home. Mae texted back a couple of minutes later.

Mae: Already? Didn’t u say u wanted to go back with Haz?

You had did. You had told the three girls about how you had developed a crush on Haz. After all, kissing him once in a while had gotten into your head.

You: Haz told me we shouldn’t kiss anymore so I guess he doesn’t have a crush on me.

Mae: Oof :/

You put your phone away, looking out the window as the driver turned on your street, slowly coming to a stop in front of your flat. You thanked him and got out, climbing the stairs to your door. You unlocked the door and got in, kicking your shoes off as you directly moved toward your room. You plopped yourself down on your bed, your thoughts wandering back to Haz.

What had changed? Why didn’t he want to kiss you anymore? It was just some harmless fun… Right? Unless he had met someone? That was the only explanation that you could come up with as you slowly drifted to sleep.

The next morning, you woke up feeling a little out of place. As if something was wrong. It took you a moment to remember what had happened with Haz. Your heart sank again and you hid your face in your pillow, trying to figure out when things had gone wrong.

You had gone out the week before and everything had been okay. You had danced together and kissed and he had even asked you to come back to his place but you had said no. Because you hadn’t yet realized about your crush and you kept repeating to yourself that you couldn’t have a one night stand with one of your friends.

Whatever.

For the next few days, you tried not to think about Haz. Which was quite harder than it looked. Somehow, each time you looked at your social media, he was there, in a story or on a picture. He was always there, behind your screen, smiling from ear to ear. It made you think that maybe Haz didn’t care about you at all. Maybe he truly had someone else in his life now.

You went on with your life, going to work and hanging out with your friends. Until one day your friends decided to go out again, with the whole group of friends. Meaning Haz would be there.

At first, you didn’t want to go. You told your friends but they weren’t having none of it. They kept telling you that you should go and make Haz jealous. Which sounded like a really good idea until you actually had to do it.

You finally decided to go, a part of you hoping that maybe you could talk to Haz. To ask why things had changed. Because even though it’d been a while you were still thinking about it. And you deserved an explanation right?

This time, you only went to a pub. Because your group of friends wanted to catch up. Which was better this way if you were being honest. It would be easier to talk to Haz that way.

You got there, looking around the pub to search for Haz. You found your group of friends and you walked towards them. You were disappointed to see that Haz was nowhere to be seen.

You sat with your friends, talking to them a little. Mae noticed how you kept looking around and she understood that you probably were waiting for Haz to arrive. So she put a drink in front of you and sent an apologetic smile your way. You tried to ignore her because you didn’t want her to know how disappointed you were. Which was way harder to do than it looked.

So Haz wasn’t coming after all. Maybe he didn’t want to see you so he had figured it was better not to come. Whatever his reason was, it made you feel sick inside. Didn’t you even deserve an explanation?

You downed your drink to Mae’s dismay before getting up, telling your friends that you had to go to the bathroom.

You went to the bathroom, taking your time on the way. You needed some time to think and to get over the fact that Haz wasn’t coming. It was the least you could do if you wanted to have some fun tonight and to not be a burden to your friends.

Before you left the bathroom, you looked at yourself in the mirror, taking a couple of deep breaths to get the courage to step out. Once you did, you moved towards the bar, where you ordered yourself a beer.

As you waited for your beer, you looked around the pub, your eyes falling on the booth where your friends were sitting. You were stunned to see that Haz was there and he was looking your way.

“Can I get something to drink for the pretty lady?” a voice said behind you.

You glanced at the guy who had talked to you before looking back at Haz who was now talking to Mae and Tom.

“Uh, already ordered a beer”, you chuckled.

“Crap”, the guy laughed and you noticed he had dimples when he smiled. Which you found totally adorable.

His grey eyes found yours again. You smiled to him as the bartender gave you your beer.

“There you go”, you said, taking a sip.

The guy smiled, tilting his head to the side. “I’m Gavin”, he softly said. “You are?”

“Y/n.” You shook his hand, your cheeks turning red as he smiled again.

“Well, Y/n, you have a beautiful smile”, Gavin complimented you.

You looked down at your beer as your cheeks turned even darker. “Thank you.”

Gavin just looked at you for a moment until you looked up, your eyes finding his. “Actually, I wanted to ask you, can I have your phone number?”

You hesitated a little but eventually gave him your number after having glanced toward Haz, your eyes finding the blue gaze you kept seeing in your dreams. If you wanted to make Haz jealous you knew you had to begin somewhere. “Text me”, you told Gavin once your eyes landed back on him. You boldly kissed his cheek before walking back to your table.

Haz was staring at you and you noticed how he had clenched his jaw as you got closer to the table. You smiled to him, a cold smile, and he looked down to the table.

“Hey, Haz”, you greeted him.

He looked up at you, his eyes dark. “Hey.”

You sat down next to him, as close as you could. He avoided your gaze, looking up to Tom, quietly asking for help.

You decided not to push him more, even though you were suddenly very angry. You didn’t know where that came from – maybe it came from the fact that he had been staring at you as if he was jealous when there was nothing between the two of you, especially now that you guys couldn’t even kiss anymore.

The night went on as you chatted with your friends, glancing to Gavin once in a while, smiling to him as you tried to see if that would make Haz jealous. And indeed, each time you looked back to Haz, he was already staring, his brows furrowed.

You ignored it for most of the night but as you drank more and more, it began making you even angrier. And your patience was slowly wearing off.

You got up from the table, moving towards the bathroom. Your eyes caught Gavin’s gaze, who moved toward you. From the corner of your eyes you could see Haz staring at you so you stopped walking, waiting for Gavin to catch up with you.

Once the guy did, you shot a look to Haz, whose eyes were still on you. Great. Time to put on a show.

“Hey so, I know you told me to text you but I was thinking that…” Gavin began but you grabbed him by the cheeks and pressed your lips on his.

He didn’t move for a moment, a little startled but then he relaxed into your touch, kissing you back. But not for long.

“Leave her alone”, Haz spat, pushing Gavin away.

Gavin chuckled, raising his hands. “You didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend, Y/n.”

“He’s not my boyfriend”, you growled, looking at Haz. “Leave me alone, Osterfield.”

“It’s time to go home”, Haz said.

You chuckled dryly as Gavin talked. “She told you to leave her alone, mate.”

“And I’m telling you to mind your fucking business”, Haz spat, venom dripping from his words.

Gavin pushed Haz as the blue-eyed boy tried to grab your arm. Things were getting out of hands but all you could do was to stand there. You watched as Haz hit Gavin and Gavin grabbed Haz, pushing him against the wall. That’s when you reacted. You tried to step between the two guys but Mae arrived behind you, pulling you away.

Gavin hit Haz, right on the cheekbone and you stared as a drop of blood rolled down Haz’s cheek.

“Hey, woah”, you yelled, getting out of Mae’s grip to push Gavin, whose fist was raised again, ready to hit Haz.

You noticed light glistening on a ring which explained why the blow had cut Haz’s cheek.

“Stop that”, you said, getting between the two guys.

Gavin chuckled dryly. “You know what, Y/n? You ain’t worth it”, he growled before walking away, his friends waiting for him a couple of meters away.

You watched him walk away for a moment, before looking around. Mae was standing behind you, her mouth agape. Behind her was Tom, who was walking your way, a concerned look on his face.

You turned around to look to Haz. “What the fuck is your problem, Osterfield?” you enquired, your voice harsh.

Haz shut his eyes before punching the wall.

“Woah, calm the fuck down”, you spat. “I’m calling an Uber and we’re leaving and I’m giving you a single chance to explain what the fuck is wrong with you before I fucking punch you myself, okay?”

Haz looked at you and you were surprised to see that his eyes held sadness. Lots of it. Your anger died down and you were just left standing there, looking at him.

“It’s not like you’d care”, Haz mumbled before walking away, toward the door.

You followed him, walking past Mae and Tom, not once glancing their way. The two of them didn’t try to stop you, knowing damn well that you and Haz had to talk.

You had to wait a full five minutes before the Uber arrived, a five minute that felt like an eternity as Haz and you both just stood there in silence. Haz was staring at his feet and he looked like a lost puppy. You almost wanted to take his hand in yours, to reassure him. Almost.

The ride was even more silent, if that was possible. Haz was looking out the window, his hand resting on the seat between the two of you. You wanted to reach out and put your hand over his… but you didn’t. You couldn’t, not after what had just happened.

The Uber dropped you at your place and you got out, thanking the driver. You moved toward the door but Haz didn’t follow you. You turned around, your eyes searching for Haz’s gaze but he was looking at his feet.

“What are you doing?” you asked.

Haz looked up at you. “Why did you kiss that guy?”

You scoffed. “Why did I kiss that guy? Why do you even care?”

Haz shook his head. “Are you serious?”

You took a deep breath, closing your eyes. “Let’s get inside, I wouldn’t want my neighbours to hear us fight.”

You opened your eyes to see Haz staring at you. He sighed deeply before moving toward you.

You fumbled for your keys, unlocking the door and then walking in. Haz hesitated before following you. You shut the door behind him, locking it before turning towards him.

“So, care to explain?” you told him.

He glanced at you before chuckling dryly. “You’re oblivious, aren’t you?”

You furrowed your brows. “Why’s that?”

Haz walked toward the living room, running a tired hand through his hair.

“Why’s that?” you repeated.

“I have feelings for you!” Haz burst out.

The silence that followed was the heaviest you had experienced in your life. “What?” you eventually let out.

“I’ve got feelings for you”, Haz said, his voice lower.

You gulped. “Then why did you tell me we couldn’t kiss anymore?” you whispered.

Haz shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, I had this plan in my mind but things didn’t go as I thought they would”, he admitted.

You sighed, suddenly feeling drained. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

You moved to the bathroom, where you took a wash cloth that you wet before moving back to the living room. Haz was now sitting on your couch, his chin resting on his closed fist. You sat next to him, slowly raising your hand toward the blood on his cheek.

“Mind if I…” you trailed off.

He glanced at you. “Go on.”

You gently washed the dry blood from his cheek and then washed the small cut, earning you a grunt from Haz.

“You’re gonna have one hell of a bruise on there”, you murmured as Haz glanced at you.

He chuckled looking down at his closed fists on his thighs. “Right.”

You put down the cloth, silence spreading between the two of you. What were you supposed to say now? That you were sorry for being oblivious and not realizing that he had feelings for you when he had been the one to say he didn’t want to kiss you anymore?

Haz saved you by talking first.

“You know”, he softly said. “I had this plan to ask you out on a proper date but then you ran away and I didn’t know what to do.”

“You could have just texted me, you know?” you replied. “Or you could have followed me.”

“I didn’t know what to say”, Haz admitted. “And it’s not like we’ve texted before, we barely talk outside of our group of friends.”

“Well, that doesn’t mean we aren’t friends, right?”

Haz glanced at you. “If we were, I’m pretty sure I’ve ruined it by now.”

You held his gaze before looking away, your eyes landing on the wash cloth that was stained with blood as his gaze stayed glued on your profile. “I don’t think you have”, you finally said.

Haz looked away as the silence spread again. You figured it was your turn to speak now.

“I ran away because you hurt me”, you slowly said. “I kinda have feelings for you too and… hearing you saying that you didn’t want to kiss me anymore… it hurt me, you know.”

Haz chuckled. “I couldn’t have chosen my words in a worse way.”

You chuckled too. “I gotta admit I overreacted. And…” you paused, searching for your words. “I was trying to make you jealous. With Gavin. Didn’t think it would lead to a bar fight.”

“Sorry about that”, Haz apologized. “I… I don’t know what happened.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry”, you whispered.

“You know, I had planned to tell you we couldn’t kiss in bars anymore”, he explained. “Not like we couldn’t kiss anymore. And then I wanted to ask you out. I don’t know, it sounded great in my head.” He chuckled. “Guess I was wrong.”

You gently put a hand on his thigh. He looked at you, his eyes falling to your lips before finding your eyes again. There was a softness in his gaze in which you knew you could get lost if you were to let yourself go. His eyes made you think of the blue of the sky on a summer evening, when the sun had just set and the first stars were appearing up there. His eyes were truly the most beautiful thing about him, if you were being honest and now they were staring at you and all you could do was stare back.

Haz slowly leaned in. His hand found your cheek. He gently brushed your cheek with his thumb as his lips hesitantly found yours. You kissed softly, your lips barely touching. The kiss was entirely different from what you were used to. Kissing Haz usually was more tongue and hands trailing on your body. But right now, it was soft, hesitant and the total opposite of what you were used to but at the same time so much better than anything you had experienced before.

You pulled apart slowly, your eyes fluttering opened to find Haz already looking at you.

“Hey”, he whispered and you chuckled.

He rested his forehead against yours and you shut your eyes.

“Will you go out with me?” he enquired, hope intertwined with his words.

You laughed. “Yes, you div, I will.”

“Great”, he chuckled.

Haz kissed you again and you could feel him smiling through the kiss.

“Next time begin with that”, you murmured when you pulled apart to catch your breath. “Instead of saying some stupid shit.”

He chuckled, nodding. “I promise I will.”

You smiled to him before pressing your lips against his again.

 -

Leave some feedback here! You can also send me a request or just talk to me about how Haz is going to be the death of all of us!

Taglist:

@justasmisunderstoodasloki | @nedthegay | @starksparker | @h-osterfield | @madmadmilk | @stealth-spiderr | @hazhasmycoffee | @hazownsmyass | @hollandroos

[sunkissedpages]

We’re Only Kidding Ourselves- Part Ten || Tom Holland x Reader

A/N: we did it folks we made it to part ten!! ngl I’m lowkey emotional. thank you all so much for reading and inspiring me to write :)

Prompt: Enemies to lovers au (from @marvelellie‘s 1k writing challenge!!)

Summary: You work as a production assistant for the Spider-Man: Far From Home crew, or rather as Tom Holland’s handler. The two of you don’t get along very well to say the least, but you won’t quit and he can’t fire you so you’re stuck with each other.

Warnings: swearing, angst (okay but there’s minimal angst this time!! are you proud of me???), mentions of sex, vomit ((again) I’m SORRY)

What I listened to while writing: this very nice coffeehouse playlist and landmark by hippo campus suggested to me by @whimsicalmistakes a while back that’s one of my favorites now! 

Word Count: 3.5k for the anon who requested me to hook y’all up with a lengthy chapter, everyone say thank you anon

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine

“Why are you acting like you care about me?”

“Who said I didn’t?”

You blinked up at him in confusion. “You’re fucking with me right?”

“What?”

“You said you didn’t care about me, Tom! Multiple times!”

“I-“

You interrupted Tom by leaning over and spewing into the bushes one again, effectively stalling whatever bullshit was about to come out of his mouth. He looked on helplessly, fists balled like he still wanted to argue, but held back.

“Y/n? Are you alright?” Haz’s voice called out from around the corner, making you want to shrivel up and die. He was quite possibly the last person you wanted to see you like this, aside from Tom, but it was already too late for that.

“Does she look alright?” Tom answered for you.

“I wasn’t asking you, mate.”

“Yeah, well she’s a little preoccupied at the moment.”

You groaned and sat back on the ledge. “Can both of you do me a favor and shut the fuck up?” Their heads whipped towards you. “I’m fine. I should get back inside.”

“That’s not happening,” Tom sighed at the same time Haz said “absolutely not.”

“I can’t leave, it’s a mandatory event, guys.”

“We’ll cover for you.” Haz insisted. He held the cup of water in his hands out to you. You took it gratefully and rinsed your mouth out and spat into the bushes.

“Let me walk you back to your hotel room, y/n,” Haz offered. “That way Tom can go back to the party.”

You flashed Tom a look of panic, a look he reciprocated. Harrison would undoubtedly want to stay and take care of you like the good friend he was, but both you and Tom’s things were all over that room and he couldn’t know the two of you were staying together. No one could.

“You can’t!” you said a little too forcefully and you swore you saw Tom curse under his breath out of the corner of your eye. You took a deep breath and gathered yourself. “Tom’s already walking me back.”

“Are you kidding?” Harrison scoffed, looking between you and Tom in disbelief as Tom held out an arm helped you up. “You’re serious?”

“Yeah, he already offered,”

“Is this about earlier?” Haz whispered. “Because I’m really sorry about that, it wasn’t any of my business and-“

“I can’t talk about this right now,” you hissed and pushed past him. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Harrison watched dumbfounded as Tom slung your arm around his shoulders to steady you and began walking you back in the direction of the hotel. You felt guilty for being so harsh, but after everything you’d been through for this job you couldn’t risk losing it now.

You stumbled together underneath the watchful eye of the moon, carrying your heels in your free hand. It was a peaceful night. The paths were dark, barely lit by the streetlamps and starlight. Water in the canal lapped at the edges of the pavement lazily and chatter echoed from distant restaurants. The cobblestone sidewalk was cool to the touch, making you shiver.

“Are you cold?” Tom asked.

“A little,” you admitted, not entirely thinking it through.

Tom paused to unbutton his shirt and drape it over your shoulders. “There.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” you said, but smiled at him thankfully, and buttoned it up around you before slinging your arm back around him.

“You’ll catch a cold,” he stated simply, staring straight ahead as you walked. “And if you’re sick I’d never get anywhere on time.”

“We can’t have that.”

“No we can’t,” he agreed. It fell silent between you for a moment before Tom spoke again. “So...DJ?”

“What about him?”

“You like him?”

“I barely know him.”

“He likes you.”

“He likes,” you hesitated, “aspects of me that’s for sure.”

Tom gave you a knowing glance. “You mean assets of you?”

“Yeah I guess he probably does like my ass,” you said thoughtfully and Tom burst out laughing.

“No, assets.”

“Ohhh. Well I’d say my ass is an asset of mine, wouldn’t you?”

“No comment.”

“No? Now you don’t have anything to say?”

Tom crinkled his eyebrows at you questioningly. “Hm?”

“I’m just saying, you never shut your mouth about anything ever.”

“You’re lucky I don’t let go of you and let you fall into the canal,” Tom snipped, dipping you towards the water playfully. You cried out and clung to him harder in fear of him following through.

“Okay, okay!” you relented and he pulled you back upright, pausing to let you catch your breath.

“Hey, um, what was Harrison talking about back there?” Tom asked. “What is he sorry for?”

“For being a fucking cockblock,” you sighed, blinking up at him. Tom gave you a hint of a smile. “It’s a long story-” you paused suddenly. By some amazing instinct Tom hauled you over to the shrubbery in front of an apartment building just in time for you to throw up again. He held your hair back and rubbed circles on your back, repeating the mantra of ‘shhh it’s okay’ just like he had before. “God, this is so embarrassing,” you moaned.

“Not the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done,” Tom pointed out. “Remember the day you fell into Harrison and knocked over the craft services table?”

“Is this you trying to make me feel better?”

Tom grinned. “Is it working?”

You rolled your eyes at him and straightened back up, grimacing. “The people who live here are going to be so mad.”

“Then we better get going.”

The trek back to the hotel was a long one. The staff were less than pleased when you both walked in looking like a wreck, you with no shoes, Tom with no shirt. You were obviously wasted and the people at the front desk narrowed their eyes at Tom as he dragged you gently over to the elevator. You gave them a little wave to assure them you were fine and they relaxed a little. You appreciated the fact that they had been concerned and made a mental note to thank them in the morning.

Once back in the room you immediately flopped on the bed like a starfish. Your head was throbbing and you were still nauseous.

Tom moved over to you, standing at the edge of the bed in between your legs. He leaned over you. “Can I?” he asked, reaching up to the the collar of his shirt that you were still wearing. You nodded and he began to unbutton it. His breath tickled your neck as he worked. “Did you drink on an empty stomach?”

You wracked your brain trying to remember if you’d had  anything besides alcohol all day. “Maybe?”

“Y/n,” he groaned.

“I know! I wasn’t thinking.”

“No, you weren’t.”

He finished unbuttoning the shirt and pulled it from underneath your body. He tossed it into a corner, then made his way over to your suitcase. He threw a pair of pajama pants that had been resting on top of your stuff to you. You shimmied them on under your dress.

“Put this on too,” Tom said, trying to hand you an old  t-shirt of Harrison’s you’d stolen in the Czech Republic. You just moaned and swatted his hands away. You were so tired. All of your muscles felt like jello. “Here, sit up,” he instructed and pulled on your shoulders gently. You did as asked. “Arms up.” You raised your arms and he fingered the edges of the silver dress hesitantly. “This okay?”

“Mhm.”

He took a deep breath then started working your dress up over your head, his cold fingers brushing your sides, leaving goosebumps in their wake. Once the dress was off and you were sitting in only a bra he managed to get your arms into the sleeves of the t-shirt and then your head before pulling it down over your torso. You expected to feel at least a little embarrassed or exposed at experiencing something so intimate with your boss, but you only felt exhausted and dizzy. Maybe the shame would come in the morning.

The morning did come, but the first thing you felt was nausea. Nausea and pain. Everything hurt. You opened your eyes slowly, realizing you were alone in bed. You were in your pajamas, but you didn’t remember changing out of your dress. You glanced over and saw that Tom was fast asleep in the armchair beside the bed, legs propped up on his suitcase. Your heart clenched with something at the sight.

He was shirtless as he had been when you last saw him, still in his slacks from last night. Socks on, shoes off. His hair was a mess. You vaguely remembered him running his hands through it with worry in the early hours of the morning when he had checked to make sure you were still breathing.

Your head throbbed. You rolled over to the other side of the bed where Tom had conveniently placed a trash can in case of emergency and began dry heaving into it. Your stomach was empty, but the nausea still crashed over you in waves.

Your choking sounds must have woke Tom up because he started shifting in the chair and opened his eyes.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to wake you,” you said with a raspy voice once the dry heaving had stopped.

“S’okay. How are you feeling?”

You threw yourself back on the bed with a groan and covered your face with your hands. “Like I was hit by a truck. I didn’t say anything too embarrassing last night did I?”

“You don’t remember?”

“I remember some things, like when you threatened to push me into the canal.”

Tom chuckled. “Of course you remember that. Well, you threw up into a lot of people’s bushes.”

You felt your cheeks get warm. “I can never come back to Italy.”

“I’d give it ten years at the least.”

You rolled over towards him to face him properly, noticing that the sun was up behind the curtains of the window. “What time is it?”

He checked his phone. “About sevenish. I actually have to run to a meeting with security and then I’ll be back. I’ll bring some gingerale and stuff back for you. Is there anything you want in particular?”

Tom was still being oddly nice to you and you weren’t entirely sure why. “No thanks, I’m good. Why do you have a meeting with security?”

“Something about ‘disappearing from a party without telling anyone’.” He grinned sheepishly.

“No!” you gasped and threw your arms over your face. “That’s my fault too! God, Tom, I’m so sorry!”

“I could have told someone if I wanted to, but I didn’t. That’s on me.” Tom stood to change and started unbuttoning his pants. You quickly averted your eyes to give him privacy, but he only chuckled. “You need to drink that water,” he said as he looped a belt around his waist. You looked over to the side table and realized Tom had left a bottle of water for you sometime this morning or last night.

“Thank you.”

He ran a hand through his hair haphazardly and looked in the mirror before turning back to you. “Okay, I’ll be back in half an hour. That bottle needs to be empty by the time I’m back. Don’t do anything stupid.”

You felt like you only blinked before Tom was back with everything. The loud crinkling of the plastic shopping bags made your head pound even more.

“Alright, we’ve got like an hour and a half to turn you into a functional human being,”

You groaned. “I don’t know, Tom, maybe I should call in sick.”

“No, they’d definitely know.” He set the bags down on the foot of the bed and began rifling through them. “You’ll be good as new in no time.” He glanced over to the side table and made a face. “Don’t tell me you didn’t drink the fucking water.”

“I drank some of it?” you offered weakly.

“Y/n!”

“Sorry! I fell asleep!”

“God, you have to make everything difficult. This is going to take more work than I thought. Okay, I got some extra strength ibuprofen, gingerale, bananas, crackers, and your favorite,” he held up a jar of pickles and shook them at you with a shit-eating grin on his face.

You narrowed your eyes. “Motherfucker. But thank you, really.”

Tom looked up from working on opening the bottle of pills to wink at you. “Don’t mention it. Least I could do after I was such a dick when I was hungover.”

Least your could do after you were such a dick every fucking day on this god forsaken job.

“Take these,” he instructed, pressing two white pills into your palm. You threw them back with a sip of water. You gagged instantly. “Shit, sorry, should’ve had you eat something first.” He tossed the box of wheat thins onto the bed near you. He watched you carefully as you nibbled on crackers, making sure you were actually swallowing. You kept your fingers crossed they’d stay down.

Once you’d finished enough crackers that Tom was satisfied he moved on to what you were dreading most. He popped the lid off the jar of pickles effortlessly and passed them over to you.

“Drink up,” he said cheekily, repeating the same words you’d said to him only a few days ago.

“This crueler than what I did to you,” you whined looking at the full jar in front of you.

“Payback’s a bitch.”

“So are you.”

“Drink.”

You brought the lid of the jar to your lips hesitantly. If you threw up again you were never going to forgive Tom. Pickle juice was supposed to be good for hangovers. You didn’t let yourself dwell any longer before taking a big sip. It wasn’t nearly as horrible as you thought it’d be and you started to force yourself to chug, trying not to think about how nauseous you already were.

“Good girl,” Tom praised as you drank making you choke and spit pickle juice onto the carpet.

“Fucking hell,” you sputtered with embarrassment and moved to clean it up.

“You stay, I’ve got this,” Tom assured you and disappeared into the bathroom, reappearing only seconds later with a handful of tissues to dab the carpet.

If marvel knew Tom Holland, their beloved Spider-man, was currently cleaning up something you’d spat on the ground they’d snipe you where you stood. You honestly couldn’t believe this was happening right now.

“I’m so, so sorry,” you apologized, cheeks burning.

“It’s not a big deal, y/n, I promise. I’ve seen way worse,” Tom pointed out. “Plus I can hold this over your head for the rest of your life.”

“Oh fuck you, and you mean the rest of your life. There’s no way you’re outliving me.”

“We’ll see,” he shrugged.

“Is that a threat?”

Tom gave you a sickly sweet smile. “Of course not.” He checked his phone for the time. “You should shower before you get ready, it’ll make you feel better.”

Tom was surprisingly good at this, and surprisingly caring. Not even your best friends cared this much when you were hungover. You kept waiting for the other shoe to drop because there was no way he was being this nice for no reason.

You took Tom’s advice and took a scalding shower, letting the water run over your temples and shoulders to try and get your muscles to relax. You scrubbed at your skin roughly in an effort to erase the night before. Your entire body was raw by the time you got out of the shower but Tom was right, you did feel a little better.

Two antacid tablets, a pair of sunglasses, and a yellow hoodie later you were downstairs and somewhat put together. The lobby was already bustling with familiar faces much to your quiet horror. Lucky for you, you weren’t the only one who’d apparently had a rough morning. Various cast and crew members were dressed similarly, looking pale and exhausted. It had been a long night for everyone. At least you wouldn’t stick out.

Tom left your side to make his rounds saying good morning to everyone. Usually it made you cranky because he always skipped you (you were convinced it was to spite you), but today you thought it was actually kind of nice. Everyone looked a little less miserable when he approached them.

Zendaya looked even more radiant than she had the day before. Of course, she didn’t drink, but even if she did she’d probably still look fantastic this morning. She came up to you and bumped your shoulder lightly with hers.

“Saw you left early last night, you okay?”

“Yeah, just went a little too hard a little too fast,” you joked lightheartedly. She didn’t know the half of it.

“Oh sorry to hear that, babe,” she said genuinely. “Honestly thought it might have had something to do with Haz, he was in a shitty mood after you left.”

“Really?”

“Yeah he kind of sulked at the bar the rest of the night, I wasn’t sure if the two of you had gotten into it, but maybe it was because he was missing his other half. Who knows.”

“Wait, Tom never came back?” you asked.

“To the party? No I don’t know where he went but that boy was M.I.A the rest of the night. Wouldn’t answer calls, texts, anything,” Z explained. “See, this is why he needs a  handler- I mean another assistant,” she corrected herself.

You nodded in agreement and gave her a dry laugh, but guilt was burning in your chest. Tom had said, or rather implied, that he’d go back to the event after he dropped you off at the hotel, but apparently he never had. You couldn't remember much after leaving the party, but the fact that Tom had stayed with you the whole night was news to you. You wondered how much trouble he was in because of you.

No one talked to you for the rest of the morning and you were relieved. You only needed to focus on getting Tom to set and to wardrobe and that was all you could handle as horrible as you felt. Tom didn’t talk to you, but would shoot you texts every twenty minutes or so of how are you feeling? and make eye contact with you from across the lot or the trailer or wherever you were. You’d subtly slide him a thumbs up or thumbs down in response and he’d nod in confirmation. It was the most pleasant interaction you’d ever had with him at work, and it was nice.

Haz had been avoiding you all day, but came up to you finally after lunch, when the ibuprofen was wearing off.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, taking a seat next to you on the pavement under the work tent.

“In a word: miserable. In several: exhausted, dehydrated, mortified about last night, I could go on.”

He smiled softly. “I’m sorry. Do you need anything?”

“I don’t suppose you could put me in a coma, could you?”

“Sorry, I should have specified: anything that won’t send me to jail?”

“Oh, then no. Thanks, though.”

He nodded absentmindedly. “Now probably isn’t the best time, but I just wanted to apologize for being an idiot last night. It wasn’t my place to say anything about you and, uh, DJ and I’m sorry for making assumptions.”

You turned to face him better. “Thanks, Haz.” You took a deep breath. “And I’m sorry too. You were probably right. I think I would’ve regretted going home with him if I’d stayed.”

“But it should have been your decision to make.”

“It was. You were just trying to help.”

He gave you a smile then took out his phone and started scrolling before seeming to remember something else he wanted to ask you. “Hey, did Tom happen to mention where he was going after he dropped you off last night?”

You cleared your throat. “No, why?”

“He never came back to the party. Everyone was kind of worried about him,” he leaned back on his elbows and sighed. “Bet he was probably with some girl, just used you as an excuse to slip away. I wouldn’t put it past him.”

You weren’t sure why that comment rubbed you the wrong way, but it did. You wanted to come to Tom’s defense, but knew you couldn’t. So you just shrugged. Tom had been with some girl- you, but no one could know that.

“Speak of the devil,” Haz said as Tom jogged over to the two of you and you couldn’t help the ‘literally’ that slipped out of your mouth automatically. Force of habit.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” he asked you, still breathing heavily from the scene they’d just been shooting.

“Like you give a shit,” Haz scoffed and Tom shot him a look.

“What’s your problem, mate?”

o shit. anyway, thank you guys again for reading! i appreciate you all more than you know! 10 parts of woko! here’s to 10 more! lmk what you guys think I always appreciate feedback :)

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[doggendoodle]

New Horizons Status Report #26 (Day 17)

Session 1

No special announcements today, but Isabelle gave everyone on the island the recipe for an outdoor picnic set! Kicks is in the plaza today, too, which is nice. I get my mail - my Nook Shopping, my customizable phone case, a thank you gift from Tank (a garden lantern) and a thank-you letter from Elise

I visit Kicks in the plaza and buy a pair of jester shoes and a couple of bags to compliment some wand outfits. Then I do a bit of crafting and sell some kettle bathtubs (amongst other things) to pay off the final bit of my current debt and level up to the next one

I find a recipe from "Chops" for an acoustic guitar, sick! I also catch an awesome-looking Madagascan sunset moth, and find a couple fossils, though they're both skulls we already have. I make a pink guitar and give it to Pinky, since she wants to be a pop star, and she gives me a sleeveless tunic in exchange

I head to the Able Sisters, running into Olaf just outside the shop - and he's wearing my Autumn Daisy design, which is neat. I actually unlocked some dialogue between Sable and Mabel, talking about Label and their promise to her. It seems Sable's really warmed up to me ^ ^ Then I go on a shopping spree and come up with my final wand outfit based around a bulldog jacket

Elise asks me what kind of books I read, and I go with Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Tank very fittingly gives me the recipe for a barbell. Knox has an Aquarius urn in his house (which I desperately want) and I give him my spare bulldog jacket, receiving a dolly shirt in exchange. I find another fossil in the orchard - a brachio pelvis, which we already have - and make a peach umbrella

I pop into Resident Services and check in with Isabelle about island evals. We've doubled our star count - to 2, but it's still doubled! We need more flowers and less items lying around

Session 2

I go up to my windflower garden to tend to our hybrids, and while I'm moving new buds and watering plants, I catch a peacock butterfly!

Boots is asking me to help him weasel out of showing his eight-pack abs to the whole island, but Jeremiah wants a sneak peek, and I could swear this has happened before. In any case, I am all in favour of seeing the abs, but Boots is very protective of his lower torso. Right after that whole mess ends, I shoot down a recipe for a cherry-blossom wand, and find another recipe from "Capt. Sherb T. Crafter" for a shell arch. I also shoot down a ventilation fan, which seems kinda unsafe

Paula gives me an athletic jacket while I'm on the beach collecting shells, and I later overhear her and Elise talking about something. Apparently there are bugs in Elise's house, and she's scared to remove them. Elise asks me for help, but I agree with Paula - just take 'em outside. Elise is too horrified to take any course of action

I go up the cliffs to place the picnic set at the picnic site, and the peacock butterflies are out in full force, since the raised cliff with the garden is right by the raised cliff with the picnic spot. Then I got stung by wasps despite *having* my net because my character decided to shake the tree again instead of catching the wasps. I get a towel rack from a different tree, and get attacked by more wasps but manage to *catch* them this time. Jeremiah gives me some medicine he had on him

That kid is precious and must be protected at all times

Knox gives me some mocassins to go with my prince outfit, and it fits extraordinarily well. Olaf gives me a thick-striped shirt too- man, everyone is just giving me clothes today, huh. I also find a tapestry in a tree

I talk to Isabelle about island evals - this time, she suggests planting more trees. I catch Knox grooving to the DJ turntable by the plaza, and shoot down a recipe for a sakura-wood wall

Boots gave me a nickname - "Iron D."... yeah, no. I shoot down that idea and a plasma ball

Session 3

I finally collect enough shells for an arch, and Aurora gives me the recipe for a classic-library wall. Elise is visiting Mitzi at her house. Knox complimented Paula on her athletic outfit and she's taken it so well, she's skipping with joy, and gives me a bathrobe offhandedly. I shoot down a soup kettle

I have way too many Nook Miles, so I buy a couple of tickets and go tarantula hunting. I end up on a bamboo island, which is decidedly not a tarantula island, but can be turned into one very quickly. Unfortunately my stone axe breaks while chopping trees and I didn't bring a spare, so I have to content myself with robbing the island of *most* of its natural resources instead of *all* of them. I do find a fossil, though - a new left megalo side, meaning the Megaloceros is complete! - and relieve Olaf of his second flea. I also catch a tarantula outside the museum, and Tank gives me a western shirt, so I just need a cowboy hat

I shoot down a cherry-blossom-trees-wall and do some more redecorating before buying another ticket and heading out, though not before putting Imperial K.K. on the DJ turntable for Pinky. The island doesn't have much, but I do find a high-end stereo in a tree and catch more wasps

I shoot down a recipe for a cherry-blossom pochette, turn on K.K. Jazz for Olaf and learn Curiosity from Pinky before jetting off for the third time; this time I end up on a cherry island and dig up a fossil. At this point I figure I'll go to bed and sell these babies in the morning