#It would just be such a nice memory to have of the tour that we poured so much time and feelings into

[wheels-of-despair]

Welcome Home Pairing: Eddie Munson x You Summary: Honey, they're hooome! Eddie and Evil Woman are back from their honeymoon and ready to move in together. Contains: Lots of cleaning, lashing out, memories of childhood trauma, getting busted, and as always, a happy ending for all. Words: 3.3k

A crunch of gravel.

They're here.

"Are we good?" you ask, skidding on the recently re-scrubbed kitchen floor as your eyes dart around the room. Two car doors close.

"We're good," Eddie confirms.

Footsteps on the porch.

A knock.

You and Eddie look at each other, out of breath from your rushed cleaning, and share a nervous smile. You nod. He opens the door.

"Welcome to our humble abode!" he announces, stepping aside to usher your mom and Gareth inside.

At the start of the summer, just a few days before your wedding, you and Eddie had put down a deposit on a trailer in Forest Hills. The renting family was planning to move when school let out, and the place was yours as soon as they vacated. You'd spent a few weeks honeymooning at Rick's hunting cabin and exploring Indiana in the van, and when finally you came back to Hawkins… the place was yours.

"It's… nice," your mom lies.

The previous tenants had cleaned it out like The Grinch on Christmas in Whoville. They'd taken every last lightbulb, and apparently wanted to show their landlord what they thought of him by leaving behind every piece of garbage they'd ever accumulated. It had taken five long days of scrubbing and hauling trash and leaving every door and window open for you to give your mom the okay to come over.

You didn't have anything but cleaning supplies and some makeshift furniture inside, including a few lawn chairs you swiped from a curb next to someone's trash cans, but dammit, it was home.

"We're gonna put a couch here, and a TV over here eventually," Eddie points proudly. "And the kitchen table here." Your kitchen table is currently a piece of plywood precariously balanced on a bucket, but you hope your mom appreciates his vision as much as you do. "Let me show you the kitchen!"

You let Eddie lead the tour of the living room, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. That's all there is. You weren't crazy about it the first time you stepped inside, mostly due to the smell, but you and Eddie spent a week busting your asses to make the place presentable. This is going to be your home, and dammit, you're going to make it into something you can be proud of.

"What do you think?" Eddie grins, wrapping an arm around your shoulders once you return to the living room and have the space to do so. You snake an arm around his waist and give him a squeeze. Eddie Munson is almost as proud of himself as you are.

"It's cute!" your mom smiles. "I bet those curtains we had at the old house would really brighten the place up!"

You nod, fondly remembering the yellow flower print. Probably not the aesthetic Eddie would go for, if given the choice, but who are you to refuse free anything?

"I'll see if I can find them when I get back home," she says happily. "They're in the basement, somewhere. I have some lamps you guys could use, too!"

"Thanks," Eddie beams.

"Let me look at this kitchen again," she says, already on her way to inspect the stove and the rattling fridge. "We've gotta get you some pots and pans!"

"You're being suspiciously quiet," Eddie says to Gareth, who is standing in the middle of the living room with his arms crossed. "Are you not impressed?"

"It's a piece of shit."

Eddie's face falls, and you feel it in your heart.

"What?" Mom asks from the kitchen, whirling around and staring pointedly at her offspring. They hold eye contact for a few seconds.

"It's a piece of shit," he says again, louder, planting his feet and doubling down on his scowl.

"You're a piece of shit," you counter, stepping forward, ready to deck him.

"Don't," Eddie warns, holding you back.

"HEY!" your mom barks, making you all freeze.

"Apologize."

You're not sure which one of you she's talking to, but you are absolutely not going first.

A blonde blur stomps past you and out the front door, slamming it behind him with enough force to make the walls shake. Good thing you don't have any pictures up yet.

Your mother heaves a sigh. If you had curtains, they'd be blowing with the force of it. A car door slams.

"He didn't mean it," she says.

You seethe, glaring at him through the open and curtain-less window. He's sitting in the front seat of Mom's car, arms crossed, staring at nothing.

"It's not that bad," Eddie defends.

"It's not about the house, honey," she says gently, touching Eddie's arm when she approaches. "Your new home is great, and I'm proud of you both for doing all this on your own. He's upset because he doesn't want her to leave."

"Why would I ever want to leave such a sweet and loving baby brother?" you deadpan.

"You've been his best friend and protector for sixteen years, smarty-pants," she rolls her eyes. "Eddie?"

"Yes ma'am?"

"Why don't you take me home so my children can work this out amongst themselves," she suggests, placing her car keys on the kitchen counter. "I'll teach you how to make lasagna. You two can join us when you've made up."

You nod, knowing better than to argue.

Eddie snatches his keys off of the makeshift table and gives you a quick kiss before following your mother out the door. You wait until the van has disappeared from sight before approaching the car where Gareth is still fuming.

You reach for the driver's side door handle, and he flies across the console to push the lock down. You reach for the back door, and he stretches back to lock that, too. He gets the two on his side for good measure.

"That's very mature of you," you note.

He flips you off.

You fish your mom's keys out of your pocket and dangle them in front of the window where he can see it. When you aim for the lock, he leans back over and holds it down.

This could go on for hours.

So instead of breaking off a key in your mother's car door and leaving your poor husband a widower this soon, you pocket the keys and sit on the hood with your back to him.

He'll break eventually. He'll get hungry or get bored or have to get out and pee. And then you can beat some sense into him and drive him home in time for dinner.

Much to your surprise, it's not creative ways to kick his ass that are on your mind. It's your mother's words: "You've been his best friend and protector for sixteen years, smarty-pants."

She's not wrong.

"Remember when we were little, and Mom and Dad used to fight, and you'd come hide under my bed?" you ask, not bothering to turn around and see if he's listening or not. "I'd be listening to them and waiting for door to open and the light from the hall to shine in. Then you and Bear would creep in and crawl under the bed and I'd take Mr. Buttons by the ear and lower him down to the floor to protect you."

You haven't thought about that for a very long time. You can still picture that ratty old teddy bear that Gareth carried around until it fell apart, and the cream-colored rabbit with button-eyes that you gave to him the day there wasn't enough Bear left to hold. Unlocking one memory seems to unleash a flood of others, and your chest aches as everything comes back to you.

"Do you remember The Bite?" It's a struggle to say it loud enough so that he might hear. You don't remember the whole incident, but the parts that are still with you are vivid.

"You were wearing a green and white striped shirt with a yellow collar." You swallow, closing your eyes and trying to remember. "I was in my room and I heard you screaming. I opened my door just in time to see Dad dragging you down the hall by the collar. That's what I remember. The veins bulging in his hand, clenched around the back of your shirt. You were… I don't know, three or four? Tiny. He had to lean over to avoid picking you up completely. Dragging you down the hallway, slipping and sliding and fighting every step of the way. I told him to leave you alone, but either he didn't hear me or he ignored me. And then… I remember my mouth filling with blood. Just… utter surprise. I don't know what I thought would happen, but that wasn't it. But I bit his arm and I wouldn't let go, because he wouldn't let you go. I don't remember what happened after that. I don't remember spitting it out or cleaning up or changing clothes. But I remember a few days later, I heard him tell someone on the phone that he got bit by the neighbor's dog, and I remember the feeling of satisfaction… and then wondering if I was going to Hell for it."

You wipe away the tear you just noticed rolling down your cheek. You feel his weight shift. The car door squeaks open, and shuts gently. Gravel crunches. He leans against the car, near where you're sitting, but you don't dare look at him yet.

"I hope he still has that fucking scar," he mutters.

You snort, sending a stream of snot down your lip. You swipe at it quickly, then turn to your baby brother. You don't care how old he is; that's how you'll think of him, always.

"I'm not leaving you, dummy."

"You kinda are," he argues, not meeting your eye.

You shake your head.

"We're just a few minutes away. We're gonna see you all the time."

"It's not the same."

"It's better."

He scowls, and you smile.

"You don't have to watch us suck face as much," you offer. "Instead of threatening to move, you can just tell us to go home."

"Like you'll listen to me," he grumbles.

"We won't," you laugh, "but you can still try!"

He groans.

"You wanna know the best part about me gettin' hitched?" you ask.

"What?"

"Eddie is now legally obligated to offer you the same protective services I do," you smirk. "Under pain of ass-kicking. Courtesy of moi."

Gareth lets out a snort of laughter, and you strike fast and wrap your arms around him before he can squirm away.

"I'll always be there for you, Baby Bro. Whether you like it or not."

"Fine," he sighs.

You'll take it.

"Ready to go home?" you ask, pulling away.

He looks at the trailer, then back to you.

"Sorry I insulted your house."

You hesitate before asking: "Wanna know a secret?"

He nods.

"You're right."

"I'm what?"

"You're right," you sigh, sliding off the hood. So does he. "It's a piece of shit. But it's our piece of shit," you give him a light shove, "so watch your fuckin' mouth."

"It's not that bad," he grins.

"We had to do a sweep before you got here to make sure we hid all the mouse traps and roach motels."

"Ew."

"The people who lived here last were disgusting," you confess. "Eddie went in the bathroom when we first got here and gagged and wouldn't let me in there to see why. The windows and doors have been open for days, and it STILL smells like bleach and hot garbage."

"Really?"

"Yeah," you sigh. "I bought a pack of air fresheners this morning and we hid them everywhere so you and Mom wouldn't notice how bad it was. We keep saying 'we'll let it air out one more night' and sleeping in the van instead. We're paying rent for the fucking driveway."

"That's fucked up."

"I'm aware."

"Why here, then?"

Why here? Because you can't afford anywhere else, obviously.

"They're remodeling the mansion we bought in Loch Nora," you snark.

Gareth scrunches his nose.

"It's not for forever," you shrug. "We'll survive. Don't tell Mom."

"Why, would she be less than thrilled about her favorite child living in squalor?"

"Squalor?! Look at you, learnin' fancy new words!" you tease, giving him a shove. "Get in the car, loser, let's get you out of this bad neighborhood."

"Was it always bad, or did it just get that way when you and Eddie moved in?"

You shove him against the side of the car, and he bounces off of it laughing.

The drive back to your mom's house passes by in a comfortable silence.

"You guys make up?" she asks when you step inside.

She glances at you, but your focus is on Eddie. He's wearing an apron splattered with red sauce.

"Shut up," he orders before you even speak, brandishing a sauce-covered wooden spoon at you.

"Yes, dear," you answer, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Yeah, we're good," you tell your mother. "Right, butt-for-brains?"

"Sure thing, heifer."

"Oh, good, things are back to normal," Mom says sarcastically.

You all sat down for a normal dinner that felt just like old times. But when it was over, instead of joining Eddie on the porch for a smoke and a long kiss goodnight, you got in the van with him and went home.

Eddie killed the engine in the driveway and stared at the front door. Your heads slowly swiveled toward each other at the same time.

"One more night?" he asked.

"One more night," you echoed.

You're having a nightmare about being eaten by rats when a loud noise jolts you awake. Eddie hears it too, because you've both tensed and grabbed each other. You can't see much in the dark, but you know his eyes are as wide and terrified as yours.

Think, Evil Woman. Where are you? The van, in your driveway. Who are you with? Eddie. What's happening? You have no fucking clue.

Three more. It's knocks. Someone's knocking on the van. You're still too scared to move, but Eddie crawls toward the back door on his knees. He unlocks the door and cracks it open. The blinding sunlight streams in, making you both reach up to shield your eyes.

When your eyes adjust to the brightness, you see your mother.

"Good morning," she says, pushing her sunglasses to the top of her head so you can see the not-amused look in her eyes. "We need to talk."

Half an hour later, you and Eddie are sitting at her kitchen table staring at a plate of muffins that you have no desire to eat. She's sitting across from you with her hands wrapped around her favorite coffee mug. You have no idea what she's going to say, or why she told you to come here, or why she showed up in Forest Hills this morning. You do know that Gareth has been dropped off at Grant's, who just came back from a vacation with his mom, so at least he doesn't have to witness whatever this is.

"Have you been sleeping in the van every night?"

"That's what we did on half our honeymoon," you shrug. "It's basically home."

She heaves a sigh and leans her elbows on the table.

"I lied."

You and Eddie both look up in surprise.

"I don't like the new place. I don't like the feeling I get when I'm there, I don't like the aroma, I don't like the chain-smoking lady in curlers who sits and glares from her window into yours, and I don't like that all the clean-up was piled on you two."

And what does she want you to do about it?

"What if I found you somewhere better?" Before you can protest, she adds, "with better neighbors and lower rent."

You and Eddie glance at each other, and then focus on her.

"It's close, it's affordable, and it includes access to a working fridge and a washer/dryer… but it does come with certain strings attached," she says, taking a sip of her coffee.

Strings? What strings? Why hadn't you heard about this place before you dropped a deposit on Satan's Taint?

She stares at you, then at Eddie, then rolls her eyes to the ceiling and leans back in her chair.

"For cryin' out loud, children, it's the basement," she groans. "I want you to move into the basement! The strings are that you need to hang out with your brother! That kid has been absolutely miserable all summer. You two disappeared, and then Jeff took off to tour the college he got into and hang out with a cousin that lives nearby, and Grant's been on a cruise with his mom. He is miserable when he's alone, which means I am miserable, and you two are going to fix it."

"Mom, we're--"

"Upgrading," she cuts you off. "You will be paying rent. Significantly less than Roachtopia - you forgot to hide the trap behind the toilet, by the way - but this isn't charity. And it isn't permanent. This is so you can save up enough to move into somewhere you actually like. This is you helping me keep my sanity."

You glance sideways at Eddie, and are relieved to see his eyes twinkle.

"This is too much house for just two of us," she continues, like you're not already sold on the idea. "If you really left, I'd have to consider downsizing. And what would become of my garden? What of your goldfish?"

"Mom," you laugh, "calm down, you're gonna hurt yourself."

"You see what living alone with him has done to me?!" she cries. "It's been a month! Imagine two more years!"

"Okay!" Eddie laughs. "You win!"

"I do?" she grins.

You look at Eddie, have a silent agreement, and turn to her and nod.

"Thank God," she sighs. "Okay, some ground rules!"

"Ground rules?!" you ask indignantly. "How long have you been plotting this?"

"Since you got your college acceptance letter," she says matter-of-factly. "I figured it was either let Eddie move in here, or let you move in to Wayne's. There's more room here. I wasn't counting on you two actually putting down a deposit somewhere else without telling me."

"Really?" you ask.

"Yeah," your mom chuckles. "Wayne and I knew there was no keeping you apart after you were finished with school."

"Aww," you and Eddie say together.

"Shush. Ground Rule #1: I do not want to ever hear you having sex."

"MOM!"

"NEXT!" she changes gears abruptly. "I've grown quite accustomed to coming home to find dinner already made. I would like that to continue, please."

"Aye aye, captain," you salute.

"Next up, I want to see you both saving money. No more caviar or diamond jewelry. The swimming pool will have to wait."

"Check," Eddie grins.

"There will be no drugs in this house."

You waited just a second too long to "okay" that.

"What did I just say?"

"No drugs in this house?" you ask.

"Mhm," she hums, giving you a meaningful look. And then Eddie. He looks terrified. You can't wait to tell him that the key words were in this house. She is an occasional customer of his, after all.

"I reserve the right to modify these terms at any time, for any reason. Any questions?"

You glance to Eddie and share a smirk.

"When can we move in?" you ask.

"As soon as you move out of the House of Horrors."

"Let's see…" Eddie ponders. "A bucket, a sheet of plywood, and some stolen lawn furniture that's already falling apart. You think any of that's worth going back for?"

"Nope," you grin. "Guess we're home."

[vanswarpedtour]

We sat down to chat with MySpace’s beloved MILLIONAIRE$ about their return to the Warped stage, old mems, and excitement for what’s to come. Learn how to LIVE FA$T and PARTY HARD before catching them at all three stops in DC, Long Beach, and Orlando this year!

How does it feel to come back and play Vans Warped Tour in 2025?

Melissa: When we got the offer, I legit was like, “REALLY? It’s actually back?!?” In my mind, it was not gonna come back.

Meredith: When I found out I was in disbelief, I was like, “Really???”

What’s your craziest Warped memory?

Melissa: [The realization] didn’t hit me until the moment I walked onto the stage for the first time. I’d never done a FESTIVAL festival…nothing like Warped Tour. I remember walking on stage and being like “Woah! Am I ready for this?”

We were treated like the losers, like the outcasts. Another girl in the band, someone threw a shoe and hit her in the face. We got a lot of shit talked to us that we laugh about now. I think it’s this redemption thing, playing this year. Like, “Fuck all you guys! Look who’s still fucking here bitch!”  

Meredith: I was going to Warped Tour every summer…I have great memories of lying to my mom and telling her I was spending the weekend at a friend’s house, and then getting in a car with a bunch of kids and driving up to Dallas in a beater not knowing if we’re gonna make it *laughs.* And then just getting a gnarly sunburn, and hanging out with my friends, not even really caring who’s on the lineup, we’re just going for the vibe.

What’s something you have to do before every performance?

Meredith: For our headline shows, we’ll have our DJ play a set, and we’ve curated that playlist with our favorite music. We hype up beforehand and dance around backstage!

Melissa: We also do our little “double double” hand thing…

Meredith: Yeah we also do uh, *patty cake/elevator hand game motion* little hand clap thing–

Melissa: And we also have nails on, so it’s like this *awkwardly does the hand motion.*

Meredith: Yeah, instead of a huddle we do a little secret handshake thing.

What’s your favorite song to perform live and why?

Melissa: I don’t know! That’s a hard one! No matter what order the set is, the first song when we jump on stage is the most hype. Also, we normally play “Alcohol” last. I think that one is so ingrained, everyone is having fun. I’m so excited to be on stage, and it’s sad to have to leave the stage, so it’s like giving my last moment of “Let’s just do it!” even if I’m exhausted.

Meredith: Yeah, that one’s just so iconic. And no matter who you are, I feel like everyone knows the words, and it’s easy to sing along even if you don’t. By that time, everyone’s balls to the walls. My favorite song is “Stay the Night.” The melody is really fun, and the dance we do to it is like old school Dream Girls vibes, and I like those types of songs.

Describe MILLIONAIRE$ in three words.

Meredith: Unapologetic. Iconic. Hot.

Melissa: Party. Besties 🫶. DGAF.

What’s your favorite part of Vans Warped Tour?

Meredith: Seeing so many friends that are also on the lineup. I think it’s really fun that we all get to do this together and it’s gonna feel almost like summer camp in a way *laughs.* Hanging out, seeing lots of friends, and watching a lot of bands that we love–there’s so many bands on the lineup that we’re both fans of. At the end of the day, even though we’re playing, we’re fans of this music, so that’s cool!

Melissa: It’s so nice to hang out again with the people we grew up listening to. Getting to see them perform and performing alongside them is a really cool feeling. I’m so happy to say they’re keeping the scene alive in Warped Tour too.

If you could collaborate with any other band or artist, who would it be and why?

Meredith: We got asked this last year at When We Were Young, and I think we said Charli XCX. That would be crazy. Maybe a metalcore band would be cool. We’re both fans of metalcore and there’s a lot of bands in the scene that are awesome right now. Yeah, I think that would be so fun!

Melissa: Yeah, and we could sing with them, or do our cutesy rap too! I would want to do a song or a tour with people that still want to keep the scene alive. I just wanna have fun, it’s not some competition. When we do shows and songs, I want it to be fun, I like that part of music!

Do you have anything exciting planned for your Warped set (that we can know about)?

Meredith: Party vibes, fun, and high energy. We’re working on a way to spice it up even more.

Are there any new or upcoming releases fans should keep an eye out for?

Meredith: We’re planning to do another release with Graveboy Records which is really exciting. To be determined when that’s gonna be, but new music is on the way, and maybe some other stuff that we can’t talk about yet.

What tips do you have for up-and-coming bands/artists?

Melissa: Never give up. No matter who talks shit about you, I don’t care, never give up! Just believe in it. It’s always been in my heart, a lot of people are like, “How are you still wearing the bow?” and all this mean stuff–it’s like dude, this is just me! Believe in your music, because other people will believe in it too.

[the-jam-to-the-unicorn]

Ze is in Kryvyi Rih

[fightingwithtruelove]

I will just say it, being a European Swiftie kinda sucks.

[fastandcarlos]

Little Boy Growing Up : ̗̀➛ Daniel Ricciardo

summary: you can't contain your emotions as your son attends nursery for the very first time

As the car came to a stop, a lump ran down your throat as you studied the building that you had toured a couple of weeks ago. Next to you, Daniel was just as nervous, knowing what was about to come, not quite sure he was fully prepared for it. 

“Shall we go in?” You smiled, turning back in your seat to look at your son. “This is the place where you’re going to be staying today sweetheart.” 

“Let’s go!” Your son cheered, hurrying to get out of the car. 

Daniel climbed out and walked around to help him get out, unfastening her seatbelt and lifting him out of her seat. “I can’t believe my baby boy is growing up.” 

“Daniel,” you chuckled, climbing out of the car too and giving your son a hug. “He’s only going to nursery, he’s not going to prom or anything just yet.” 

Since you agreed to start taking your son to nursery, Daniel had been relatively calm. But now that he was here, he was struggling to contain his emotion and not let it get the better of him. 

“Baby,” you whispered, pulling your son closer to you. “Do you think you could go and give daddy a really big squeeze, I think he’d love that right now.” 

Your son did as you asked, sprinting over to Daniel and leaping into his arms. “Are you excited?” Daniel asked him, forcing a smile onto his face. “What am I going to do without you by my side today?” 

“You’ll have fun too,” your son assured him. 

Your eyes were drawn to the tight hold that Daniel had on him, refusing to let him go. “Come on, we can’t stand out in the car park all day,” you tried to tell them both. 

Daniel reluctantly let your son go as you took his hand, Daniel deciding it was best for him to wait in the car. A member of nursery staff was immediately at the door with a warm smile, especially as she saw how excited your son was. 

“Hi sweet boy,” she chimed, kneeling down so that she was at his height. “It’s lovely to have you here with us.” 

Your mouth opened to say goodbye, but your son was already off and beginning to explore the place. You handed his bag over, standing in astonishment at how easily he took to nursery, quickly finding the toys that he liked and talking to the other children who were with them playing. 

“It’s nice not to deal with tears for once,” the staff member joked. “I’ll make sure to keep an extra close eye on him today and see how he settles in. If we have any problems, I’ll make sure to give you a call.” 

You waved goodbye before heading back across to the car. As you opened the door, Daniel quickly wiped underneath both of his eyes before smiling across at you. 

“Everything good?” You asked, watching Daniel closely. His head nodded, but the look on his face told you a completely different story.  

You stayed still for a moment before reaching across and taking a hold of Daniel’s hand, silently reminding him that you were right there with him. 

“I didn’t think I’d find this so hard,” he admitted in a whisper, “especially as he’s found it all so easy.” 

“It’s nice to know he’s excited,” you responded. 

Daniel hummed in agreement, “I’m glad that he was looking forward to this, I guess I just wasn’t looking forward to losing him.” 

“You’ve not lost him Daniel, you’ll see him in seven hours.” 

The two of them had always been undeniably close, when Daniel was home every second was spent with your son, hanging out, doing whatever they wanted to do, making as many memories together as possible. 

Daniel had worked hard on preparing your son for nursery, prepping him with skills, conversation starters and teaching him about sharing too. Daniel wanted his son to be liked, he knew that he would be popular, he was a mini Daniel after all. 

Your hand squeezed against Daniel’s tightly, “I bet he would want for us to enjoy ourselves whilst he’s at nursery you know Daniel.” 

Daniel’s eyes widened, “I can’t believe I have to spend my day with you now, can’t I go and get him back and hang out with him instead?” 

“Excuse me, we’ll have a great time together.” 

Daniel’s eyes rolled as you hit against his arm, encouraging him to put his foot down and get driving. You knew that he was only messing with you, but at the same time, you knew no one could fill the void that your son left in his life when he wasn’t around. 

“He’s going to learn a lot being at nursery, he’ll grow as a person,” you told Daniel. 

“There’s plenty that I could teach him though,” he argued. 

Your head shook as Daniel continued to protest. Although he had taught your son plenty, there were some things in life that a parent couldn’t teach their child. 

“He’s going to be around kids his own age, not around stinky drivers who are sweaty and gross,” you teased, “and it means we get more time together too.” 

Daniel’s eyes narrowed back across at you, “there’s nothing wrong with hanging out with racing drivers, we actually happen to be pretty cool guys.” 

“I know, I was stupid enough to marry one of them.” 

As the two of you pulled out from the nursery, you could see Daniel arguing with himself. There was a small part of him that wanted to run in and take your son, but he knew that he couldn’t, eventually listening to you and driving away, as much as it killed him. 

Despite his protests, Daniel knew that nursery was going to be good for your son, it was a chance for him to see more, do more, meet new people, everything that Daniel had ever wanted for him.  

After a few minutes he began to relax again, leaning back in his chair as he focused on the road, trying to forget about the fact that he had lost his little man for a few hours. 

“What are we going to do now that it’s just the two of us?” You asked him. 

Daniel’s eyes flickered across to you, “well, seeing as I’ve essentially just lost a child, there’s a bit of a void in my life now that needs to be filled.” 

“You’ve not lost your child, he’s just growing up, that’s what we all do Daniel.” 

His shoulders shrugged, but still his eyes looked suggestively across at you. Now that your son was growing up, the two of you had more time on your hands again, and Daniel definitely wasn’t happy just settling on having one child. 

“We’ve been blessed with one incredible child; would it be so bad if we thought about another one?” Daniel quizzed, offering you a wide smile. “Doesn’t now seem like the perfect time to start thinking about these things, like you said, we’re not getting any younger.” 

“How long have you been planning this?” You chuckled, shaking your head across at him. “We’ve just said goodbye to one child for the day and now you’re planning the next one.” 

Daniel’s shoulders shrugged, an innocent expression etched upon his face. “I’m not necessarily thinking about having a child straight away, but it’s important that we get lots of practice in for it beforehand.” 

“Is that really where your mind is at? You’re impossible sometimes Daniel Ricciardo.” 

“Hey, look at you! Can you blame me?” 

˗ˏˋ 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 ! ´ˎ˗

[stevieschrodinger]

Part One Two Three Four

Eddie’s vaguely aware that his finger is now actually hurting, but he can’t seem to make him self stop gnawing on the fleshy bit next to his nail. It hurts, but feels kind of good. If he goes much longer he’s probably going to taste blood.

His mating gland itches like fuck, and gnawing on himself is better than scratching at it.

The scent of himself is becoming insufferable.

Eddie’s not a masochist or whatever, he doesn’t like, enjoy pain, or anything like that, but the finger chewing is kind of nice. His stomach gurgles unpleasantly but he can’t tell the difference between nausea and hunger.

He decides to go and try and find Steve, make him earn his pay, or whatever.

Steve’s walking laps of the lounge, making a wide birth of Eddie’s gaudy sofa, following the edge of the massive rug that practically fills the room, just a slither of wooden floor left at the edges. He’s looking down at his phone, it dings, and Steve says something fucking unintelligible. Another positive noise, and Steve does a little fist pump to himself in celebration, it’s possibly the saddest fucking thing Eddie’s ever seen.

Another tinkling noise, and Eddie vaguely recognizes the noises that green owl makes when it’s trying to force you to learn something.

Steve finally spots him, coming to a slow halt, “sorry, did I disturb you?”

“You’re real disturbing Steve, but I think I’ll make it. What are you doing?”

“Trying to learn some Italian,” he shrugs, “always wanted to go.”

Eddie shrugs back vaguely, “it’s hot. Ice creams good, I think it’s pretty.”

“Yeah?” Steve perks up, “got any pictures?”

“I...maybe, actually,” Eddie slopes off back to his room, finding his laptop. Chris is pretty good at saving all his photos and back ups and whatnot, Eddie is pretty criminal at losing phones, dropping phones, throwing phones in a fit of pique. He finds his laptop eventually, almost surprised he doesn’t have to blow dust off the thing. Eddie switches it on, carrying it through the house as it wakes up.

Steve is sitting on the ugly couch, waiting patiently as Eddie comes back.

Turns out he’s got a lot of photos, like a lot. Stuff Eddie has forgotten about. He doesn’t exactly forget about the Italy thing, but he gets distracted, and Steve doesn’t seem to mind. He finds pictures of himself as a teenager. Pictures of himself with the guys, “Jesus. We look like kids,” and they do. They look so young in the early pictures.

Eddie finds pictures of himself with Wayne. Wayne at the trailer. Their first Corroded Coffin poster. Their first gig.

Probably not first. Definitely not their first; there are actually people in the audience.

Their first golden record. Their first platinum. The history flicks by so fast, pictures of people that Eddie can’t even name now. Crowds of screaming fans. Videos of fucking fancy hotel rooms from back when Eddie was still impressed with that sort of thing.

They trail off. Drunken and blurry.

“Sorry,” Eddie flicks back, “got distracted. Pretty sure this is Italy.” Eddie doesn’t actually know, but the beach is beautiful and the sea is the same color as the sky and Chrissy is eating gelato out of a sweet bread roll; it tickles a memory, “Sicily,” Eddie adjusts, “yeah, Sicily.”

“Looks beautiful.”

Gareth with awful sunburn. Banks of squat little white washed houses with blue shutters. Fishing boats resting high on shingle. Eddie remembers the smell of that photograph. “I really liked it there, we had a villa, I think we had a few days off during a tour, or something.”

Eddie closes the laptop; he’s pretty sure this all happened before he fucked it up.

“Would you like to go back?”

“What, on tour?”

Steve shrugs, “on tour, or just to...go.”

“Yeah. Maybe. Maybe both. I like touring, but...maybe those big tours aren’t for me any more,” it’s the first time Eddie’s admitted that out loud. The stress and blur and five shows a week and sleeping on buses and on planes and never having a second to yourself. Doing the exact same performance again and again, some guy reminding you of where the fuck you are thirty seconds before you go out just so you don’t say hello to the wrong fucking city.

Thinking a line will get him pumped for the show and before he really knew it, he couldn’t get out of bed without it.

Steve breaks him out of his spiral, “you played your guitar lately?”

“Not since before- before being admitted.”

Steve doesn’t say anything, but Eddie goes and gets the old acoustic anyway. He sits on the deck with it, just doodling with the strings. No real direction, snatches of song. Everything is still working fine though. He knows how to do this, it’s not been lost.

Steve brings him a cup of tea of all fucking things, and Eddie sips at it while Steve listens to him play.

“Go and have a bath.”

“Meep meep meeep meep, that’s what I hear Steve, when you talk, did you know that? You know that muppet, the Swedish chef? That’s what you sound like.”

“Pretty sure that was Beaker.”

“What?”

“The Swedish chef was more kind of hurdy gurdy chicken in a basket, sort of thing.”

“Why do you even know that?”

Steve doesn’t look up from his computer, “I used to babysit.” Eddie scoffs, but he doesn’t know if he believes it or not. Steve keeps typing, “go and have a bath.”

“Jesus you’re obsessed.”

“Don’t then. Makes no difference to me that I get to write in an email to your very good friend that your ass hasn’t seen a bar of soap for nearly forty eight hours.”

“Chrissy doesn’t give a fuck.”

Steve turns his head, looks at Eddie, raises his eyebrows like, the most minuscule amount. Like you’d probably need professional scientific equipment to detect how small of an amount Steve just raised his eyebrows.

Eddie sighs, “Chrissy is my friend and she cares about my well being.”

Steve nods, and goes back to his typing. Eddie wonders if it’s about him.

“What’s in it for me? Good behaviors get rewards right, as part of the training process?”

“Treating yourself well is it’s own reward,” Steve says without so much as missing a beat with his typing.

“Find that in a fortune cookie?”

Steve sighs, closes the lid of the laptop, and gets up.

It’s a repeat of the first time this happened, Eddie trails after like a lost puppy, and Steve runs his bath and Eddie gets in it. Steve cleans again, but not as long as last time, it’s only been a couple of days, Eddie hasn’t managed to make too much of a mess.

Eddie’s vaguely aware of Steve changing his bedding, he can hear it from where he is, the rustle of sheets, the lid of his laundry hamper. Eddie wonders vaguely how Steve changes the cover of that king size comforter all on his own, but quickly decides that it’s just Steve being good at everything.

“Come and wash my hair,” Eddie whines, just to be a bitch.

Steve huffs in the doorway, “what did your last save die of?”

“Nothing, he’s still alive and has stupid hair.”

“You wish you had my hair,” Steve grumbles, but he gets the stuff out of the cupboard anyway.

Steve puts a massive glass of water in front of Eddie. And an orange juice. And a coffee.

“Trying to drown me?”

“The nurse will be here at eleven, she’s going to check you over as well as take bloods. Drink, I’m already concerned she will have trouble getting anything out of you.”

They did have trouble, at the center, Eddie’s veins elusive under his pale skin. Some of them probably collapsed and abandoned ship after all the naughty things Eddie did. They ended up taking it from his foot more than once. Eddie didn’t like it, so he drinks the coffee, then moves on to sipping the juice.

Steve puts toast in front of him; peanut butter and sliced bananas. And so it goes on. Steve insisting on feeding him. Eddie’s loath to admit that he feels a little better for it.

The nurse has choppy copper hair and isn’t even remotely dressed like a nurse. She introduces herself as Robin as she’s putting the blood pressure cuff on him. Explains that she’s taking four vials of blood and they’re testing for everything. Tells him as she tightens that thing on his arm that he should make a fist. She says this might hurt after she’s already put the needle in. Tells him she’s weighing him before the final vial is even filled.

Eddie is left with a plaster on his arm and Robin is packed up before he even realizes what’s happening.

He sits there, bemused, on his own couch, wondering vaguely if she has a hundred other clients to get through today, because she was in such a fucking rush Eddie feels a little turned upside down by the whole thing.

He goes to look for Steve once she’s gone, but can’t find him anywhere.

Eventually he thinks to look outside, and when there’s no sign out back, Eddie looks out front.

Steve is sitting in the passenger seat of, what Eddie presumes, is Robin’s car. Both doors are flung wide open and they appear to be sharing a packet of chips. Robins laugh is like a braying donkey, Steve with his hand over his eyes like he can’t believe it.

Probably Eddie, what else is there to laugh about?

Eddie shuts the door.

Part Six

[evielmostdefinitely]

scorned earth |young!coriolanus snow x capitol!reader|

prompt: the last stop on your honeymoon tour of the districts, leaves coriolanus to show you parts of his past, making new memories with you. based off this ask from the other day :)

contains: smut 18+. dark!possessive!coriolanus. mentions of corio's past. dom/sub dynamics. skinny dipping, semi-public sex. pinvsex. mean-ish!coriolanus.

“Where are you taking me?” You looked around at the tall trees, the sun peaking through the branches onto the moss covered ground. Your hand in Coriolanus’, fingers intertwined, letting him lead you through the thicket of trees. 

“It’s a surprise, my love. I told you.” Coryo’s eyes were bright, daring with excitement. Turning back to look at you over his shoulder, the sun caught in his baby blues, making your heart skip. “You trust me, don’t you?” 

You melted at his words, smiling softly. “Of course, I do.” You whispered, letting him tug you through the forest. “I-I’m just worried about snakes, or bears, or-” 

“-I won’t let them hurt you.” Coryo smiled, squeezing your hand. The pistol resting on his hip offered some comfort to you. “That’s why I’m going first.” 

You’d blame it on the warmth of the day, hot but breezy, as the reason you were so flustered at his words. The heat in your cheeks, tingling up your spine. District Twelve was the last stop on your tour, the last stop on your honeymoon. Coriolanus insisted on showing you around, to some of his favorite spots from his Peacekeeper days. After putting the town on a strict lockdown- you weren’t sure why he did it, but you didn't dare question it- he dragged you out here. 

“This is…” You looked at the water, sparkling from sunlight, and the greenery all around it. 

“Breathtaking isn’t it?” Coriolanus’ arms found your waist, chin tucking over your shoulder. The breeze fell between the two of you, fresh air, not smoggy or stuffy like the polluted city air of the Capitol. 

“It is.” You nodded, hand sliding over his biceps, leaning back into his touch. “How’d you ever find this?” 

Coriolanus paused for a moment, heart skipping a beat at the thought of her. He wouldn’t tell you about her, not now, at least, it was your honeymoon. “We used to come out here on our days off.” He said instead. It wasn’t a complete lie, he supposed. 

“Stay in that cabin, sometimes, when it would rain.” Coriolanus pointed to the cabin, a little more worn than he remembered, a lot colder looking too. 

You turned, smiling at the sight. “That’s… This is very nice.” You grinned, head tilting back to meet his gaze. You looked pretty like this, Coryo decided, under the bright District Twelve summer sun. 

“Would you like to go swimming?” Coryo smiled, hand brushing over your hip, squeezing it gently. 

“Swimming?” You giggled. “In what, Coryo? I didn’t pack any swimwear.” 

“Do you think they have swimwear here?” Coriolanus scoffed lightly, shaking his head at you. “Just go in your undergarments.” 

“Coryo.” You blushed, looking around like there might be others to overhear. It was so improper, you were surprised he even suggested it. 

“Or just go without anything on.” Coryo rasped, his crotch grinding lightly into the fat of your ass. Your body jolted with electric heat, grabbing at his arms. “No one’s out here, darling. I won’t mind.” His breath was hot on the shell of your ear, leaving you shivering at the thought. 

Your hands trembled lightly with excitement, pushing down the straps of your dress, gaze on Coriolanus. He grinned proudly as you stripped, your eyes on him so obediently- just as he trained you to be. You were bare, arms covering your most private parts, standing in front of him on the small dock. 

Coriolanus followed, slinging off his slacks, his shirt, grinning at you with that familiar, wild look in his eyes. It made your heart flutter, his gaze animalistic, roaming all over your body. 

“I’m going to throw you in.” Coriolanus growled playfully, though his eyes were primal. 

“Don’t you dare, Coryo.” You pointed at him, walking back on the creaking dock. “Coriolanus Snow, I swear-” 

Coryo lunged at you, laughing at how you shrilled, your scream bouncing off the trees, the mockingjays echoing it through the breeze. Your bare feet padding against the wood, ass jiggling with your run, taunting him. You skidded to a stop at the edge, whipping around to look over your shoulder. Coriolanus pacing towards you, arms reaching out for you, eyes narrowed with a primal sense that had you reaching your arms out in instinct. 

“Coryo, no!” Your squealing pleas were cut short, his hands on your waist, slinging both your naked bodies into the lake water. 

Cool water plunged around you, hands clawing at Coriolanus even under the murky water. You surfaced, a large gasp of a breath, hands hitting the rippling waters with a panicked fury. You could swim, sure, but not very well, especially not when you were thrown in unexpectedly. 

“I’ve got you, I’ve got you.” Coriolanus hummed, hands pulling you into his wet chest, bobbling with you through the water. You crawled up his back, legs wrapping around his waist, hugging him tightly to you. 

He could feel your heart beating on the back of his chest, your pebbled nipples from the cold water pressing to his back, making his cock lurch with lust. 

“Don’t you dare let go of me.” You hissed, nails digging into his shoulder. “There’s no telling what’s in this water. I can’t even see the bottom.” 

“Oh,” Coryo taunted, chin hooking over his shoulder to grin at you. “Might be a monster, hm? Might come up and bite you.” His fingers pinched the fat of your ass, you squealed in his ear, feet pushing up on his hips, dunking him slightly. 

He sputtered, water, feet kicking steadily under the water to keep you both afloat, wiping the droplets out of his eyes. Your pouting face greeted him once his vision cleared, brows creased in a deep furrow. “That wasn’t funny.” You grumbled. 

“Oh, don’t be pouty with me, darling. I was only teasing.” Coriolanus’ hands found your waist, pulling you around his body so you rested on his hips, legs still tight around him in a vice. “You know I wouldn’t let anything hurt you, petal.” He muttered, cupping your jaw gently. 

It was a rare pet name, but by far your most beloved, which is why Coriolanus used it so sparingly. Only when he was especially in love, when he wanted you to know. 

You ducked into his kiss, your own hands on the back of his head, pulling you closer and closer to him. His lips moving on yours, noses brushing, teeth gnashing in a positively sloppy makeout. It felt exhilarating to be doing this in public, showing such crude affection outdoors, even if no one else was around. 

Coriolanus’ hand on your hip, squeezing gently, sliding under the water up your back to cup your breasts under the water. You giggled breathy into his kiss, legs tightening under the water. Coriolanus tipped you into the kiss, dunking you under the water accidentally. 

You sputtered, coughed at the water invading your nose, glaring back at him. He grinned cheekily, squeezing the fat of your left ass cheek firmly under the water. “Maybe this isn’t the best idea.” He hummed. “Far easier in the bathtub, I’m finding out.” 

You blushed, shoving his shoulder playfully. “So what then? On the banks? Like animals?” 

Coriolanus’ eyes left your gaze, darkening at what he saw past you. You could see the change in them, that crossed over to something sinister and dark, it made your stomach flip with thrill, anticipation. 

“No,” Coryo’s eyes met yours, lips curling in a sinister smile. “I have a better idea.” 

“That’s it, that’s perfect, my love.” Coriolanus grunted, head tipping back into the hardwood of the floors. 

The floorboards squeaked beneath you, with every rise and fall of your hips. Your hair was still damp, as was his, bodies still soft from the water that hadn’t been wiped away. His hands pawed at your breasts, squeezing them with every roll and rise, riding him in the small cabin. 

His mind flooded with memories, memories of before, everytime he looked around. The dark day he didn’t want to remember, a dark time before you. Coriolanus felt guilty, thinking of her while you were on top of him- his wife. So he did what he could to keep his mind from wandering, pawing at your breasts, grabbing at the fat of your ass, but he swore- swore he could hear the mockingjays singing that same song over and over. 

“Wait, just a- hold on, darling girl.” Coriolanus grunted, pressing on your hip to stop you. 

“What?” You panted, chest rising and falling sharply. “What’s wrong?” You muttered, purely lust drunk, your eyes told him so. 

Coryo smiled, cradling your jaw gently, pulling you to him. Your body folded over his, lips on his, kissing him passionately. Coriolanus flipped the two of you, rolling you lightly onto the wooden floor, the floorboards groaning at the shift. His hands cupped under your knees, pressing your thighs forward, letting you hook them over his shoulders while he bottomed out in you, smug at how your eyes rolled back. 

“C-Coryo,” You whimpered at the sudden change of pace, his hips snapping and rolling into you sharply, cock spearing that spongy spot that had your eyes rolling back, mouth falling open dumbly. 

Coriolanus’ pace didn’t stop, fucking you nearly barbarically, at a punishing pace. You hadn’t expected it, truthfully, he normally saved this type of sex for when you’d been bad, when you needed to get fucked like this. Maybe he needed it. Something about District Twelve had him off, but you didn’t pry. 

“Look at me.” Coriolanus growled, hands pushing into your hips, fingertips curling so sharply you knew there would be bruises. 

Your eyes fluttered open, glazed with ecstasy from every punctuating jab of his cock into you. “Who do you belong to?” 

You were confused, mind dwindling away, thoughts following them. Coriolanus tapped your cheek lightly, hard enough to get your attention, eyes snapping obediently back to him. “Answer me.” Coryo repeated through gritted teeth, his pace not letting up, not once. “Who do you belong to?” 

“Y-You.” You shuddered, body rolling with another wave of pleasure, thighs trembling around him. 

“Say it again.” Coriolanus spat, reaching forwards, hand cupping your cheeks, squeezing them between his fingers so your lips puckered. “Who do you belong to?” 

“You, Coryo, you. You- oh!- it’s only you. Only you.” You babbled, tears leaking out of the corners of your eyes as your orgasm consumed you. He didn’t stop, squeezing tighter around your cheeks. 

“You’re all mine. Mine. You belong to me, you got that? Not anyone else.” Coriolanus growled, his thrusts faster now, leaving you no time to recover. You whimpered at the sensation, the sensitivity. 

“You’re never leaving me, either. You got that?” Coryo snarled. Your eyes had glazed, looking at the wood ceiling above him, half heartedly pushing at his arm. 

Coriolanus’ hand pulled your chin back to him, stilling suddenly, still deep inside of you. “Look at me.” He sneered. Your eyes fluttered to him. “You’re not leaving me, ever.” He held your gaze, his wild eyed one peering back at you. 

“Say it.” Coryo demanded. You whimpered, his hips pressing further into you, filling you more- you didn’t even know he still could, you felt so full already. “Say it!’ 

The sheer possessiveness, his tone, a chilling edge that had you shuddering. “I-I’m not going anywhere.” You whispered, voice caught around the lump in your throat. “I’m not going anywhere, Coryo, staying with you.” 

“Forever?” Coryo hated how needy he sounded, but he doubted you noticed, not with the way your lip was trembling, eyes glazed. 

“Forever.” You repeated, squeezing his wrist lightly. “Forever with you. Only you.” 

Coriolanus dropped himself over you, face buried in the crook of his neck to breathe in your sweat soaked scent, rutting into you like a mutt in heat until he was spilling, presseed deep inside of you, milking his load into you. 

The walk back to the train was much slower this time. You clung to Coryo, legs wobbly and unsure, his arms wrapped around your back. It was silent, the chirping of the birds, the breeze floating between the leaves, your only sound. 

Coryo left you later that night, tucked into the bed, pressing a kiss to your head. You didn’t pry as to where he was going, and he was grateful for that. You didn’t ask why he smelled of smoke when he came back, why he was just as ravenous as before, which he was even more thankful for. 

As Coriolanus left you, meeting with the General over the Peacekeepers, leading them back through the thicket, he thought of her. Her smug grin, her in his mother’s shawl, how she’d just left it- left him. He thought he’d never recover after Lucy Gray. Then he met you. How you treasured every gift, only looked at him, craved him the way he did you. 

You wore his mother’s ring with pride, and he knew she’d be pleased with you. 

Which is why he had to kill all of his past before you. 

Kill the woman who wrecked him, the girl who took his heart and shredded it, made it jagged for your hold. 

And as the cabin burned, scorched under the starry night sky, Coriolanus was pleased knowing his last memories of the cabin were with you instead of her. 

Knowing that part of him was ash like the wooden cabin was now, soot mixed with the soil of District Twelve. 

Coriolanus returned back to you, holding you as close as he could in his arms, skin to skin, heartbeat to heartbeat. You were his, and he was yours. Now until forever.

[crushpunky]

singer!reader writes a song about drew

masterlist

fic inspired by ‘you are in love’ by taylor swift :)

Drew had only just dropped her off at her house moments ago, but already she was fighting the urge to call him. The two of them had been going steady for a few months, bouncing back and forth between each other's houses and barely spending a second apart. Y/n always thought she’d grow annoyed by spending so much time with someone else, but with Drew, it felt so easy. It felt so natural.

With a sigh, y/n flopped down onto her bed. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a second alone in her house. Between tour and house meetings and Drew’s constant visits, there always seemed to be someone there. Now, however, with tour over, her manager out of town, and Drew having to leave for an early morning meeting halfway across the country, she found her house to be filled with only her and her many, many thoughts. For anyone else, it might’ve been terrifying, but for a musician it was a blessing in disguise.

Y/n turned over onto her side, glancing at the vase that sat on her bedside table that hadn’t spent a day empty since she’d met Drew, and a smile spread across her face. Y/n stood, crossing her room before grabbing the acoustic guitar that sat in the corner. She picked it up, the familiar weight of the instrument quickly entwining itself with her fingertips as if it were part of her, and in many ways, it was.

As she strummed the chords lightly, she hummed to herself, lyrics beginning to string themselves together in her mind. Each word conjured images, recounting memories that stirred a fluttering in her heart.

One look, dark room, meant just for you / Time moved too fast, you play it back / Buttons on a coat, lighthearted joke / No proof, not much, but you saw enough

The moment was seared in the back of her mind. She’d just come off stage, the adrenaline from the performance still coursing through her veins. She took a towel from one of the stagehands, patting off her face as she found her way back to the green room. Y/n opened the door, a group of her friends and team cheering as she entered.

“Oh my god, y/n, you were so good!” Her friend Madelyn said, pulling her into a hug. The two of them had met only a few months ago when Madelyn slid into y/n’s dms telling her how much she loved her music and would love to meet up. Y/n reflected the sentiment, telling Madelyn about her lowkey obsession with Outer Banks. The two of them quickly grew inseparable, going out every night and FaceTiming when they couldn’t.

“Thank you, thank you.” Y/n said, stepping away from Madelyn before finally taking a good look at the people around the room. She recognized the familiar faces of managers and assistants, friends of hers and the band, but there was one face she was surprised to see. Standing next to Madelyn was a tall man, his ringed hands running smoothly along his buzzed head as he greeted y/n with a smile.

“Oh, y/n, this is Drew.” Madelyn said with a grin, resting a hand on y/n’s back as she gestured to Drew.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you, I’m a really big fan.” Drew said, offering his hand out for y/n to shake. Y/n was well aware of Drew was, but she still found herself in awe of the handsome man in front of her as she blankly blinked up at him. Whether it was because of the adrenaline still coursing through her or the silent electricity that was bubbling between them, y/n found herself feeling extra spontaneous.

“We can skip the handshake,” y/n said, stepping forward with her arms out, “any friend of Madelyn is a friend of mine.”

A bit of blush rose in Drew’s cheeks as her hands wrapped around his chest before he wrapped his own around her. The moment they touched, y/n swore she could feel a literal spark jump between them. It felt as if time had stopped, her cheek pressed against one of the cool buttons of Drew’s jacket, his smoky scent filling her lungs. Drew wasn’t much better, his heart hammering as he looked down at the subtle shimmer of her skin under the lights.

It was a moment the two of them wouldn’t soon forget.

You can hear it in the silence (Silence), silence (Silence), you / You can feel it on the way home (Way home), way home (Way home), you

After the show, y/n and Drew had spent the rest of the night chatting. The lively atmosphere of the bar around them faded to nothing, the only thing in the world that seemed to matter the two of them. They talked about everything and nothing at the same time, the words ringing in her ears and refusing to leave. Their conversation only changed when y/n mentioned she needed to get home soon to get some sleep before the early meeting she had in the morning.

“I can drive you, if you’d like.” Drew offered, toying mindlessly with the keys that hung from the carabiner on his jeans. Y/n felt her heart skip at his offer, an offer to continue this conversation for longer, even if her house was just a short drive away.

“I would appreciate that very much.” She’d said, grinning graciously as Drew stood from the barstool.

“I’ll pull up out back,” Drew said. “Avoid paparazzi.”

Y/n nodded, watching as he exited the back exit to the bar. The mere moments he was gone had her reeling. She rocked back and forth on her heels, watching as he pulled up to the back of the bar. As soon as the car stopped, Drew hopped out before quickly rounding the car.

“M’lady,” Drew said with a smirk as he opened the door for her, allowing her to quickly duck in before closing it behind her.

“Thank you.” Y/n laughed once Drew got back into the car. He flashed a smile at her as he shifted the car into drive. Despite the endless conversation they’d had in the bar, the two of them found themselves falling into a comfortable silence. The only sound in the car the gentle hum of the radio and the passing cars outside.

As the car pulled up to a stoplight, y/n turned to look at Drew, but was surprised to see he was already looking over at her. Their eyes met for a brief moment before quickly focusing their attention ahead with nervous giggles. Unable to resist, y/n turned back to Drew. The red light of the stoplight illuminated his face, highlighting the sharpness of his cheekbones and the curve of his nose. Drew’s eyes flicked back over to her, his gaze subtle as he looked through his eyelashes. His lips parted for a second as if he were about to speak when the light suddenly turned green. With a small sigh, Drew focused his attention back onto the road as the car continued forward.

Morning, his place, burnt toast, Sunday / You keep his shirt, he keeps his word / And for once, you lеt go of your fears and your ghosts

The smell of burnt toast emanated through Drew’s apartment as y/n stretched her legs out. Light filtered in through the curtains of Drew’s bedroom, his scent still lingering on the sheets even though he’d already departed the bed.

“Good morning.” Drew hummed as he entered the room once more. In his hands he carried a tray filled with steaming eggs and toast alongside two tall glasses of orange juice. He smiled at the way y/n’s eyes lit up, chuckling lowly as he sat next to her.

“You didn’t.” Y/n said, her mouth falling agape at the site in front of her. Last night the two of them had been watching a movie where the main character was served breakfast in bed. Y/n had made a passing remark about how she’d never had breakfast served to her in bed. In reply, Drew said he’d have to do it for her in the morning. 

She had laughed, assuming he was kidding. She’d never had someone care about her that much. Never had someone wanted to treat her that way, to give her something just to make her day a bit brighter. To do something just with the expectation of the look on her face in return.

“I told you I would, did I not?” Drew said, bringing a hand to smooth down the top of y/n’s hair before pressing a kiss to her head. She looked up at him with a flushed grin, his hand gently slipping under the fabric of the t-shirt of his she wore to rest on the skin of her back.

“You’re too much, Starkey.” Y/n laughed, kissing Drew’s cheek before turning to take a sip of her orange juice.

And you understand now / Why they lost their minds and fought the wars / And why I've spent my whole life trying to put it into words

Y/n never thought she’d feel this way about someone. Unable to stop thinking about them, unable to explain the way it felt to be around them or god forbid without them. She’d spent countless hours hunched over the piano or scribbling in her notebook, trying to translate the  heat of Drew’s skin under her fingertips or how her heart skipped a beat whenever his eyes lingered on her. 

It wasn’t something you could explain. It wasn’t something you could understand. She tried to tell her friends how she felt, but each time she tried to, words failed. This… feeling was something that defied all rules she’d thought had existed.

The feeling that being with him was as easy as breathing. The feeling that his laugh was more beautiful and melodic than any song ever written. The feeling that her whole world revolves around getting to see him and feel him and hear him…

'Cause you can hear it in the silence / You can feel it on the way home / You can see it with the lights out 

You are in love, true love, you are in love

[oofmybad]

Hometown glory

synopsis: you’re with billie while she’s on tour in london - your hometown - so you show her around some of your old spots.

warnings: billie x female!reader, fluff, londoner reader, lowercase intended

a/n: i need y’all to suspend disbelief for me cuz they’re walking around like billie wouldn’t get spotted in 0.5 seconds. just go w it please 😭 not proofread, sorry!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“ahhhhh! i’m so excited to show you! where do you wanna go first, baby?” you turn your head to look for billie’s response. instead, you’re met with billie cooing at your overzealous enthusiasm.

“i don’t mind, my girl. you should probably decide, though, ‘cause you’re the local ‘n everything” billie says to you as she’s laid out on your bed - her legs crisscrossed.

while billie has a week residency at the O2, you’ve managed to convince her to stay in your london flat with you. you’ve missed being home, and it seemed silly to stay in a hotel together if you have a home here.

“ok, let me think of the most efficient way…” you pause to map out the different locations in your mind, “have you seen camden? it’s only down the road.”

“a little bit. i did a night at the electric ballroom a couple years ago, and dad took me for a walk around the lock years before that.” billie says, her eyes squinting in an effort to sort through the rolodex of travel memories she has.

“ok, maybe we don’t do camden then” you think out loud, “it’s a nice day, so we’ll go to the heath and - wait,” you put your hand up in a ‘pause’ motion “would you rather go thrift shopping, or go where i spent my time when i was at college?” you ask.

“second one” billie nods, replying with ease.

“you’re a cutie” you reply with blush at billie’s interest in your life, “when it gets darker we can go towards central, then. and maybe take a walk along the bank - it’s so pretty at night.”

“whatever you say, pretty girl” billie’s face is still very enamoured with your energy.

you cover your own face from embarrassment while saying, “okayyy. come on, then. chop chop” clapping your hands at the end of your sentence.

“yes, ma’am!” billie stands and mock salutes you, “what do i wear?”

“just be comfy… actually, bring a good jacket for later.”

“baby, it’s july” billie raises her eyebrows at you.

you reply in a sarcasm-laced tone, “baby, it’s london” and roll your eyes.

*** time skip to hampstead heath ***

“this hill is killing me. my feet hurt” billie whines from a couple steps behind you.

“i told you to wear comfy stuff! and parliament hill is barely a hill” you teasingly shake your head, then peer back at her.

“these are comfy!” she almost shouts back “just stop walking so fast.”

you stop in your tracks and turn around to wait for your girlfriend, “ok, miss short legs. MY bad.”

“hey?! what was that for?! sorry, miss supermodel legs” billie huffs.

“what can i say?” you sarcastically flip your hair over your shoulders, a smug smile adorning your lips.

billie just smiles, accepting defeat, and once she has caught up to you she softly places her hand on your hip and reaches up to peck your lips.

you smile in return and pat her ass twice, “let’s go!” you spin around and continue to charge ahead.

“UGGHHHHHH” billie’s loud groan and heavy stomping feet are all you hear from behind you causing you to giggle at billie’s antics.

once you’ve both reached the top of the hill, you’re welcomed with a full view of london’s skyline - the whole length of the thames in front of you.

“pretty right?” you ask, squeezing your hand that’s wrapped around billie’s shoulder. “i used to come and study here during my summer exams” you continue.

“so pretty…” billie pauses “… like you.”

you wince and look away from her yelling, “cringeee!”

“i knew you’d say that” billie tuts.

“and you still went ahead with it?!” you’re both laughing now.

*** time skip to central london ***

“ok so this is where i went to university” you say, pointing to the modern buildings standing to the east of you two.

“do you miss it?” billie asks you, a pout on her lips because she knows the answer to her question.

“all the time. they were the best years of my life” you say, now matching billie’s pout.

“rude” she says in mock offence.

you lightly slap her arm and say “don’t be silly, you know what i mean.”

“i do, baby. i’m just teasing you” billie smiles at you.

“i still get to visit my old sports team, though. alumni privileges” you cheese while singing the last part - evidently proud of yourself for the years of hard work you put in there.

“down here is the north side of the bank. we can walk along it, towards the west, and then go to south bank - that’s where the london eye is!” you propose to billie.

“lead the way, princess” she holds her hand out for you.

“we have to go over one of the bridges that had your album promo projected onto it last year!” you say, slightly skipping from your excitement. you’re so happy to be showing your girlfriend the city that you love.

when you got to LA, billie was sure to take you to all of her childhood spots. now, you get to return the favor.

“how do you know that?!” billie asks, “i didn’t even know that!”

you’re on a tangent now, “i have a picture of the blohsh on the oxo tower, too!” you say, bouncing in your steps again. “i never showed you?!” your girlfriend lightly shakes her head.

“i went to go find the promo posters in borough market and everything. i can’t believe i forgot to show you - that’s why i took the pictures!” you pull your phone out and scroll up to may of last year, showing billie all the spots you found her promo in.

billie pulls your phone out of your hand, tucking it in her front pocket - capturing your full attention. “you’re so precious” she says, her arms holding either side of your waist.

you only manage to let out a little “stoppp” in response - now embarrassed of how earnest you’ve been.

“don’t be embarrassed, baby. i think it’s sweet” billie says, fully interlocking her arms around your back, and pulling you in to cuddle, “the fucking sweetest.”

[mischievousmoony]

𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚎

𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝟷 ⟡ 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚗

⟢ james potter x fem!reader

⟢ summary: modern restaurant au; it's your first day on the job and james is your trainer . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ 2.4k

⟢ warnings/tags: is profanity a tw pls lmk actually, coworker!james, coworker!marauders, accidentally wrote an anxious!reader, trying out that headcannon where remus is a bit of a hothead, only lightly grammar checking this series bc i just wanna have fun w it

⟢ the new hire masterlist ⟡ main masterlist

note: here, bc i gotta chill and write something light for once. i think this will be an ongoing fic. also im not beating the mentioning tea in ever fic allegations anytime soon how does this always happen.

“Welcome in! How many in your party?”

“Oh! No, I’m Y/N. It’s my first day.” Your fingers pitter patter nervously on the host stand.

“You’re the new waitress!” the bubbly hostess exclaims, “I’m Mary! It’s so nice to meet you. Stay right there, I’ll go get the manager.”

She disappears into the busy restaurant, leaving you rocking back and forth on your heels nervously.

Mary, you repeat the name in your mind, recalling what she looked like so that you wouldn’t forget who the name belongs to. You had a thing with learning names—you just hated forgetting them. It felt so humiliating to have to ask someone to remind you of their name. One time, you worked with someone for months and their name lived on the tip of your tongue the entire time. Luckily, they quit before it ever came up.

“There she is! Ready for day one?” The manager, Nate, greeted as he followed Mary back to the host stand.

Not in the slightest. You always hated first days, with all the pressure to make a good impression. Not to mention it’s only the start to the slow climb over the learning curve. You hold out hope that everyone will be as nice as Mary seemed, it would make today a lot easier.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” you say, straightening out your black shirt. The dress code for this job was essentially the color black from head to toe. You used the lack of a formal uniform to your advantage, expressing your personal style as much as you could within the confines of business casual.

Nate clapped his hand together, “Right, first up is a tour and introductions. I have all your paperwork already, right? So, after that we’ll get you in an apron and find someone for you to shadow.”

“Sounds good,” you try sounding cheery and excited, only for you to start worrying about whether or not you sound too eager.

“So, front of house is up first. You’ve already met Mary, our lovely hostess—“

Marry wiggles her fingers at you as a playful wave while she takes a phone call, “Yes, we do takeout!”

“You don’t need to worry about the host stand, but I’ll show you the book so you can get a feel for the sections and how we operate. We’ll only give you a small group of tables at first…”

You try to commit everything Nate says to memory, wanting to do well here. You really need this job. Rent isn’t cheap, especially without roommates. And you really don’t want a roommate. Plus this place pays their servers well, so you want to be good at it. You really really need to listen to Nate if you’re gonna be good at this.

But, jeez, Nate seems like he loves to talk. He’s going on and on and on and you’re fighting back a yawn when Mary swoops in like a hero, telling Nate she needs the book back to make a reservation.

“Sure, I think you’ve got the idea of it anyway, right?” Nate asks.

You blink, “Oh, yeah. Sure do!”

Shit, you think. You totally zoned out.

“Great, let me show you to the bar,” Nate says, already walking away.

Another reason why you really want to work here was for the ambiance. It’s a contemporary place with a grungy interior, all while remaining slightly upscale for restaurants in this area. Another upside was the live music. If you’re gonna be working, at least let it be somewhere nice with good music.

“Sirius! New server’s here,” Nate interrupts the bartender who’s in the process of mixing up a cocktail. You introduce yourself with a shy smile as you study him, trying to make a permanent link between his name and face in your mind.

Sirius the bartender—mischievous gray eyes and long black hair. He wears half of it tied up in the back of his head, surly to avoid having it fall in his face while he mixes drinks.

He puts the shaker down and rolls up the sleeves of his satin black dress shirt, “Hey there, doll, y’alright? Natey not being too boring for ya?”

“Alright, back to work, Sirius.” Nate says, sounding snappy.

You follow Nate to the back of the restaurant.

“This is the kitchen—“

“Who the fuck rang in scallops? We’ve been 86 scallops all fucking day.”

“Don’t look at me! Was probably James, the bloody dolt.”

“This seems like a bad time,” Nate spins on his heels and ushers you out of the kitchen quickly, “Whoever trains you will get you acclimated to the kitchen later. That’s Remus, just so you know, head chef.”

You nod, not having anything else to say as you begin to worry everyone won’t be as nice as Mary.

You want to take a moment to commit Remus’ name to memory like you had Sirius and Mary’s, but you only caught a glimpse of him. Still, you were sure you wouldn’t forget who the name belonged to now that you’ve had such a lovely first impression.

Next, Nate takes you down a hall, past the bathrooms, to show you his office and the staff area complete with a rickety table for breaks and some lockers. In the corner are two plastic bins with fading sharpie scrawled across the front of them: CLEAN and DIRTY. Nate reaches into the “clean” bin and picks out a slate gray apron.

He hands it to you, and you try to tie it the way the server in the kitchen had it. Nate starts leading you back out into the dining room as you continue to fiddle with the ties.

As you dart around the restaurant, the “fast-paced environment” detail from the job listing is really starting to materialize, and this was only the tour.

“Right, now where are my bloody servers.” Nate mutters under his breath, “Slacking off by the host stand, of course.”

There’s two servers at the host stand: a girl with red hair hanging in two braids on either side of her face and a tall boy with glasses. They’re huddled with Mary, looking like they’re sharing hot gossip.

You and Nate make it to the host stand at the same time as the other server from the kitchen.

“Hey, team!” Nate says, but it falls on deaf ears.

“Chef’s fuckin’ pissed at you,” she says to Glasses.

“What I do!?” He asks, whipping his body out of the huddle. Mary and the red-haired girl keep talking without him.

“Thinks you rang in some scallops,” she shrugs, blowing a strand of blonde hair out of her face.

“Why would I do that? We’re 86.”

“Yeah, but I forgot,” she says nonchalantly, leaning her back against the host stand.

“And you let him think it was me!?”

“Oh yeah, obviously. Anyway, I should probably go tell my table they’re not getting their scallops.”

“Servers!” Nate interrupts loudly, finally making your four new coworkers quiet down. You feel all eyes suddenly train on you. You smile through the uncomfortable sensation of your stomach lurching.

“We have a new member joining our team today. Please give a warm welcome to Y/N.”

“Hi,” you flash a smile to the new faces in front of you.

“Welcome!” The red-haired girl returns a bright smile of her own, “I’m Lily, I love your earrings.”

“Marlene,” the blonde says plainly.

And finally—

“Hiya, Love. I’m James,” the one with glasses says coolly as he rests an elbow on the host stand. He exudes confidence, and it makes you want to shrink into yourself.

You try to study the three of them to commit names to faces.

Lily—fiery red hair, kind eyes, and a fair complexion with a sprinkling of freckles.

Marlene—you like the way her blonde hair is cut into a shag. She also kind of intimidates you, so you really want to remember her name.

James—glasses, tousled dark hair, very attractive. That last part probably wasn’t a necessary attribute to help you remember his name, but it was true. He has a tall, toned frame that would’ve made him seem intimidating if not for the way his eyes transformed into the physical embodiment of sunshine when he smiled. Were your hands getting sweaty?

“Alright, great. Introductions are done, now I need someone to be a trainer.” Nate claps his hands together, waiting for a volunteer.

“I have to go give a table bad news, so-”

Nate cuts Marlene off before she can hastily run away, “Wasn’t gonna ask you anyway.”

James is eyeing you, sizing you up it seems, when he pipes up, “I’ll do it.”

Marlene snorts. “Weren’t you saying an hour ago that Nate better not dump the-”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Marls,” James says through clenched teeth, glaring sideways at her.

You felt like quitting on the spot, thinking that you were obviously a burden on these people. Being a burden to James, specifically, felt particularly embarrassing. It had your face heating up.

“Great! Thanks James,” Nate says, “Y/N, you’re in good hands. I’ll be in the office if you need anything. The rest of you, get back to work!”

With a reluctant groan from Marlene and a “nice to meet you” from Lily, the small crowd disperses. All except for you and James.

“I’m sorry you got saddled with training me.”

“Aw man, no! Marlene was just-” James cuts himself off with a sigh, “Fine, I didn’t think I’d want to train today. But I changed my mind, so don’t feel like you’re a burden or something, alright?”

James seems pretty genuine, so you digress. Not without a joke first, though.

“Just remember you asked for it later when you get tired of me.”

“I have a feeling that’s not gonna happen,” James says, a certain playfulness dancing in his eyes.

As a new party walks into the restaurant, James leads you toward a nearby order station so that you’ll be out of the way.

“So, you’re gonna wanna forget everything Nate told you,” he says as you walk, “I’m gonna show you how we actually run this place.” He shoots a boyish smirk over his shoulder.

“That shouldn’t be very hard, I don’t think I was awake for any of it,” you admit with a chuckle.

“Ooh, I’m gonna like you!” James swings his body around when you reach the order station, “We love Nate slander here. Behind his back of course.”

“That’s worrisome,” you say, trying to find a comfortable way to lean against the terminal. You end up just standing up straight, “He seemed kind of nice.”

“You ever work in a restaurant before?” James leans toward you, looking coy, and you do your best not to shrink away from him.

“Yeah, I was a hostess.”

“You ever been friends with any of your old managers?”

You think about it for a minute, “No.”

“Exactly,” James leans back and you feel your shoulders relax at once. “He’s alright, but he’s still the boss. Plus, it’s good for server morale to have a common enemy.”

James earns a laugh from you, and he smiles brightly as if it’s the biggest honor.

“So, when do you get off?”

“I’m closing, I think.”

“Nate has you closing on your first shift? Diiiiick move.”

“He asked first and I told him I could handle it.”

“He shouldn’t have asked.” James insists, then he waves it off as if deciding what’s done is done, “That’s alright, you’ll be able to stick with me. But in light of that, I’ll make today easy for you. You can watch while I take orders, and I’ll show you how I ring them all in here,” James pats the POS terminal, “And you can help me get bread and refills out to tables mostly. I won’t make you take orders today ‘coz it’s a bit rowdy in here, but maybe if we’re sat with an easy table we’ll see how you’re feeling.”

You nod along, not having anything to say, not that you had the chance. James is a fast talker and you’re beginning to notice how full of energy he is. It’s a tad amusing, and it’s beginning to show on your face.

“What?” James asks, eyes flicking down to your growing smile.

With a slight shake of your head, you say, “You a big coffee drinker?”

“Y’know, I get that a lot,” James reaches into the underside of the order station, and pulls out a canned beverage, “But I’m partial to these.”

Your face scrunches up as James takes a sip of what you like to call battery acid in a can.

James makes a big show of acting refreshed, emitting a long sigh when the can leaves his lips, “Not your cup of tea, I take it?” James raises an eyebrow.

“My cup of tea would be actual tea. Or coffee-“

“Coffee’s any better?”

“A million times, yes.”

“I beg to differ.”

“You can’t be serious.”

James’ eyes light up like you’ve just handed him a prize, “You’re right, that’s the bartender. ‘Ave you met him?”

It takes you a moment to register what he means, and then you’re rolling your eyes, “Oh, I’m gonna hear that joke a lot from you aren’t I?”

“You’re gonna hear that joke all day from everyone, Love, it’s a house favorite.”

As you’re about to quip back, Lily squeezes between you two to ring in some food.

“James, enough flirting. Some of your tables are starting to look pissed,” she says, tapping on the screen quickly to get the order in.

“I’m not flirting,” James protests, but the wink he shoots you begs to differ.

Lily takes a break from noting modifications for a sandwich order to look at you, “James is always flirting, you’ll learn to ignore him.”

James is looking at you over her shoulder, shaking his head and swirling his index finger by the side of hers, mouthing “she’s crazy.”

As Lily resumes removing tomatoes from the order, she catches James in the act and swats his hand away, “Seriously, James, they’re starting to flag me down because they haven’t seen you in ages.”

James clutches his hand close to his chest. His eyes flit between you and Lily, a mock-horrified look on his face that communicates “see, I told you she’s crazy!”

“Who?” he asks.

“Your tables, you dunce,” Lily hisses, but there are notes of humor in her voice.

James bares his teeth as grimaces and checks his wrist for a watch that doesn’t exist, “Bollocks, look at the time. Come Y/N, I’ll show you how to turn an angry table into a happy one.”

You have to stifle a laugh as you follow James to his tables, mentally adding him to the list of reasons why you really want to work here.

[wishful-thinking-is-dumb]

can you write for platonic yandere X-men men with a mutant reader who is very reluctant to join the school/ X-men

Platonic Yandere - Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters

You hated it here, even though you’ve been on campus for 20 minutes. Your parents didn’t trust you to control your abilities without guidance, so here you are, on a tour of the school.

Your parents dragged you along, talking eagerly with the headmaster, Charles Xavier, while you mope behind them. You kick at the pebbles in boredom as you walk along the path up to the stairs. Your parents ask to do a tour of the grounds first before going inside.

Your mother gives you a warning smile to catch up, you glare back at her. You don’t want to be here, you would rather be back at home where all of your memories and things are.

But after.. the incident.. your parents made the decision to send you here. Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. To many people for your liking, to much that is unfamiliar. It makes your skin crawl and the anxiety well up in your chest at the idea of such a big change in a situation you have no control over.

You follow your parents and the headmaster as he gives a tour of the gardens, and your mother stops to take photos of every single flower. She loves to garden, you feel irritated by her behaviour. Thinking that she is doing this on purpose so that you have to be in the tour for longer.

“And that right there, is a tree my grandfather planted many a year ago.” Charles says, a big smile on his face as he reminisces about how he would spend his days under that tree. Your mother eats up his storytelling, you glance at the tree for a moment.

“That’s so sweet! What a wonderful property!” Your mother gushes, and Charles smiles. He looks over to you for a moment and smiles at you. You make no effort to recuperate the gesture. Charles doesn’t seem to take any offence.

Your mother lightly smacks you on the arm, scolding you for being rude to the nice man. You turn to look at your mother and father, and you fight the urge to roll your eyes.

“Be polite to Mr. Xavier, and fix your posture.” Your mother scolds, a smile on her have but annoyance in her eyes. Nothing is wrong with your posture, but she feels the need to remind you.

You don’t respond, and your mother huffs. Your father speaks to Charles.

“I apologize, she isn’t usually this unenthusiastic.” Your father talks to the man, as if you aren’t standing right next to them. You feel your irritation rise, and you bite the inside of your cheek to stop yourself from lashing out.

“No need to apologize, we get kids like this all the time. Change can be very difficult.” Charles smiles at your parents then at you again. You feel a weird sensation in your head as he keeps talking to your parents about the property and all the activities that they offer.

You turn to the man, Charles, you just know that he is the cause of the weird feeling that he’s clouded your mind. You narrow your eyes at him and he smiles, the feeling disappears.

The tour continues, the property is large. It has tennis courts and an outdoor swimming pool in the back. Your parents tell him how you used to play tennis when you were younger, and all you feel is frustrated and upset. Do they know that you are right beside them?

You feel a pair of eyes on you, and you then your head towards the school building. You see a man with reddish hair and sunglasses in the second floor window. His arms are crossed as he looks out the window, you turn away. You are now hyper aware of your movements knowing someone is watching.

Finally, after about 45 minutes of touring around the outside gardens and recreation areas that the school offers, you follow yourparents and Charles into the school building through large wooden doors.

It’s a Saturday, so none of the kids have any classes. It’s mostly empty in the school building, except for some staff and the tour group. You dislike how echoey it is in the entryway.

“Please, follow me to my office. You told me on our email chain that there was an incident recently?” Charles asks, gesturing towards you as we ascend the stairs to the second floor where the man in sunglasses was. You reluctantly follow, your tolerance for this is beginning to decline rapidly.

On the way to Charles’s office, the group passes the man in the sunglasses from before. He smiles at you and your parents as you pass, giving Charles a quick greeting.

You can’t help but feel anxious, now that you know that the.. incident.. will be discussed very soon. The man in sunglasses tails along with the group. He introduces himself to your mother and father, firmly shaking both of their hands.

“It’s very nice to meet you both. I am Scott Summers, I am the math teacher here.” He says, shaking hands with your father as they walk into Charles office.

“Oh, very good. Y/n over there sure could use some help with her math. It’s not her favourite subject.” Your father laughs with Scott, and you clench your teeth in irritation.

“Please, take a seat. I would like to discuss the matter at hand.” Charles offers your parents seats right in front of his desk while you sit on a chair against the wall, right beside the door.

Scott smiles at you, seemingly trying to lighten your mood a little bit as he closes the office door for privacy. You feel your heart rate increase as Charles asks my parents to explain what happened in detail. Scott takes the seat right beside you, you cross your arms over your chest.

“Well.. it was very sudden..” your mother starts, and you bounce your foot anxiously. She always was one for dramatics, you wonder if she will play the story up at all.

“She was.. well she in the basement by herself.” Your mother turns around to look at you, “you were reading, right?” You shrug at her question, to be honest, you don’t remember much of the.. incident.. but you remember enough to remember how stressful and traumatic it was.

Your mother sighs and she turns back around to face Charles. “Anyway.. I heard her screaming and I ran downstairs..”

You roll your eyes a little, does she have to tell him every single detail? Just tell him what you saw, mom..

“And she was glowing, and violently shaking.” You keep your eyes on the ground as she explains. Scott and Charles notice your behaviour but make no comment while your mother explains.. the incident..

“I thought she was having a seizure! I was about to run over to her but there was a big explosion! I had to go to the hospital!” Your mother is crying as she explains, this was months ago, but she remembers like it was yesterday.

Your mutation had somehow been triggered and you had sent a shockwave all around you, practically blowing the roof off of your house. And several hours after that, you where still crying. Scared, confused and guilty that you had hurt your mother. You screamed so loud all of the windows in your neighbourhood had shattered.

Charles looks very concerned and amazed by what your mother is describing. Charles was typing all of this down on his computer, making notes that he can refer to later if anything similar is to occur.

Scott looks down at you from where he is sitting beside you with a blank look on his face. He can feel the guilt and frustration rolling off of you, he wants to say something but knows that now is not the time.

[after-the-end-times]

Is it Christmas Magic or is it Love?

For @steddieholidaydrabbles Prompt: Hot Chocolate ☕ Rating: G ☕Words: 1000 ☕ cw: none ☕ Tags: Getting Together, single dad Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson loves Steve Harrington, Sometimes just having someone help feels like magic, Eddie hears what Steve's really saying and does something about it Ao3

Steve pushed rewind on the vhs player and sat back down on the couch, the blue of the tv screen lighting up the room and the sounds of Eddie and Robin shuffling around coming from the speaker of the phone Steve had pulled to the couch.

“You know, I kinda wish Santa and all that Christmas magic stuff was really real.” Steve said wistfully, thinking about how much easier Christmas would be if he didn’t have to be in charge of every single aspect of creating Christmas memories for his daughter.

“Um, what? You don’t think that’d be pretty creepy in real life?” Robin asks skeptically. They, and Eddie, had just finished their monthly movie night via speakerphone, Christmas themed since it was December, and Steve thought it’d actually be pretty handy if some nice old guy in town really was secretly Santa. Except,

“Ok, maybe you have a point about the whole ‘always knowing what you’re doing’ or ‘sneaking into houses in the dead of night’ thing being creepy.” He glances over at the boxes with the tree and decorations that still needed to be put up at some point. “Still. Would be nice.”

“What’d be nice?” Eddie asks.

He sounds like he’s honestly wondering, so Steve takes a moment to try to explain it.

“I suppose...it’d be nice to have the help, you know? If “Santa” could just take something off my plate so I wouldn’t have to do everything? Like, I would love if Santa could actually just magically know what Annabelle wants even after she changes her mind fifty times and then just poof! magic it here.”

He pauses, trying to articulate this other feeling he gets on Christmas morning, without sounding too woe is me. “Also, sometimes- Ugh! Nevermind.”

He tips over on the couch, pressing his palms to he eyes.

“No, what is it?” Eddie asks, his voice gentle in the silence of Steve’s living room.

“So, I guess...you know, it’s not like I got all those Christmasy traditions for very long when I was a kid, right? I mean, we did stuff, but it wasn’t, you know, just us, doing little things throughout the month, watching movies, going skating, making popcorn garland, and all that, right? And I love doing all those things for and with Belle, I really do! But, also,” He hesitates a moment, because this feels too vulnerable. But it’s just Robin and Eddie, so, “I want that? To feel that wonder and magic she feels.”

“Steve”

Oh no, that was Robin’s concerned voice.

“You know what? I think I’m just being mopey. ‘Tis the season, right? So, just ignore me. I’m the parent, so it’s my job to create magical moments, not- Anyway! When are you guys getting to town?”

🎄🎄🎄

Robin couldn’t get work off until the week of Christmas, but Eddie’s book tour was suddenly redirected, so he was staying with Wayne for most of December. Steve was excited to have him in town, but also assumed Eddie would still be too busy to do much with him and Belle. Steve knows his friends love his kid, but he also knows that not everyone wants to hang out with a 6yo running amok, hanging off him, or trying to run off with strangers at the mall play place.

But oh, how wrong he was.

The moment Eddie got into town, he called to ask if Steve and Belle were free. Which, they were, so Eddie came right over to hang out while Steve did kid laundry. He took one look at the boxes in the living room and asked Belle if she wanted to help put up the tree and decorate the house. By the end of his visit, the whole house felt like Christmas. The tree lit up the room with glowing light, showing off six years of kid ornaments, and now, after an hour of crafting, a handful of Steve, Belle, and Eddie ornaments.

A few days later, Steve was at work when Eddie showed up bringing him a large hot chocolate and, somehow, leaving with Steve’s shopping list of gifts. He’s honestly still not sure how it happened, but either way Steve definitely didn’t expect to get home after school pickup to find Eddie at home working on dinner, and bags of gifts tucked away in Steve’s bedroom.

The next weekend, Steve had planned on taking Belle to see Santa at the mall, but the entire day had gone wrong. And Steve just could not imagine standing in an hour long line with a squiggly 6yo, even if it’s the only day that works if he wants to include the photos with their Christmas cards.

Just as he’s seriously thinking of calling it, there’s a knock at the door. Eddie had finished that day’s book signing at a local bookstore and driven by to see if he could catch them before they headed out. Somehow, just having Eddie there made going to the mall seem not too bad.

The line was just as long as Steve feared, but he and Eddie took turns walking Belle around while the other held their spot in line, so it really wasn’t too bad. Steve was getting close to the front when he saw Eddie and Belle coming through the crowd; She was holding Eddie’s hand, looking very serious about whatever she was saying, Eddie slightly bent over so he could hear her, and Steve felt his breath catch in his throat and his eyes suddenly stung with emotion. Oh.

Steve pulls Eddie in to join them for their family photo with Santa.

Driving home, Eddie detours around the neighborhood, slowing down at brightly decorated houses to ooh and ahh with Belle, pointing out snowmen and Santas and reindeer.

Steve looks at him and reaches a hand over. This is what he wants, what he’s been missing. Not some Christmas magic that suddenly fixes everything for him, but this, him. Smiling over at Steve, Eddie links their hands.

[angellayercake]

Finally home and ready to put some actual thoughts together about this week.

Obviously many many Skeletour spoilers ahead 😊

I am going to go song by song even though my memory is pretty terrible so I might get some things in the wrong order haha and I will be honest this is going to skew very Papa heavy. For me at least he is so magnetic when he is performing I barely have eyes for anyone else. Although I did pick up on a few ghoul antics.

Peacefield: It was a little risky to open with an unknown new song especially with how iconic Imperium into Kaisarion was but man did it pay off. I said it in another post but I know that it is instantly going to make me cry when I listen to it again on Friday because it really set the tone for the whole ritual and it is forever going to be associated with these shows for me now. It is such a hopeful reassuring song and by the third night I was easily singing a long to the chorus (please don't ask me what the lyrics are now haha) It was only at the third show that I realised they show Papa singing on the screen before the curtain came down but seeing him there at the fourth show of the tour with part of the crowd already starting to sing along was such a special moment. @ghelullu explained it so well here you should go and read that if you haven't already.

Lachryma: Every single night the crowd went crazy. It was here during the Manchester Ritual that I got to see him smile for the first time when he was being drowned out by everyone singing the chorus back to him. It is incredible live and I could really hear how the new half mask has changed how he sings on stage because he was just note perfect every night. I have always been impressed with how he managed to sing so beautifully in spite of the mask but now it is just on another level.

Spirit: Spirit is right up there with my top favourite songs and it was one I never expected to hear live in person. I believe Papa says something about us joining him on a hallucinogenic journey or something along those lines and even though the final lines always blow me away his voice again is just so powerful and clear it feels a little like it is taking over your own spirit.

From the Pinnacle to the Pit/Faith: In Manchester we had the Meliora trio but it was switched out for faith in London and Birmingham. I did think there would maybe be some switching out for new songs once the album dropped but this was a nice surprise. I wonder if the change is permanent or if other songs are going to get switched in as the tour progresses but only time will tell.

Phantom Moment: All three nights Phantom had a little moment with the crowd where he split us and started a who can cheer loudest competition. One thing I do enjoy about the ghouls but especially Phantom is how much they emote through the masks and not speaking at all and it was a very fun interlude while we waited for Papa to be ready for the next song.

Majesty: It took me such along time to figure out where the hell he was in Manchester and when I did pretty much all I could see was the top of his hat! Could see a little more of him in London but it was only in Birmingham that I could see the whole thing. The robes really are incredible and the way the hands move and catch the light in the gauntlets. I am almost 99% sure it was not him in the robes though but we never get a clear look at him and the screen footage is pre recorded. That being said Majesty was the PERFECT song for this and is another one I never expected to experience live. My only wish was that he was a little more visible because Tobias or not the spectacle of him floating up in those giant robes just needs to be seen. Seeing the giant grucifix begin to move was a highlight I don't have the technical knowledge to really go into detail but what was already an outstanding light show is now mind blowing. Everything about the stage set is just bigger and better.

Chatting: The stage goes dark and all is quiet, except for the thousands of people screaming and cheering of course then up comes the spot light and there he is! In Manchester I am pretty sure he was still wearing the leather jacket but in both London and Birmingham he came out in just the shirt. In Manchester and Birmingham we had him coyly telling us he was new but it went a little differently each night. In Manchester he explained that the ghouls knew what they were doing but he did not and when he asked if we would be gentle with him the answer was a resounding no. And this where we got our first taste of flirty V he asked if we were going to treat him rough and when we said yes he promised to hold us to that. In Birmingham he asked the same question and half the crowd said yes and half the crowd (the side we were in of course) said no and he pointed out that the other side was being much nicer and that we would have to fight it out in the parking lot to decide. In London we got a little bit about it being very hot and steamy in the venue. Each night he transitioned his little speech into talking about the future which leads us too....

The Future is a Foreign Land: I was so so hoping we would get this on the setlist. It is so uplifting and another part of the show where the crowd singing almost drowns him out. When you are part of such a crowd screaming this message all together it really does feel like everything will be ok. And I especially liked the change from 2024 to 2034 it just feels like a little nod to how things in the outside world are a getting scary at the moment but that we all have to hope that it is not always going to be this way. If he is not wearing a jacket the end of this song is a key part to pay attention for tummy flashes.

Devil Church: The Grucifix is absolutely mesmerizing here as it raises to reveal the new stained glass window set. It is so so beautiful and a transitions nicely to the part of the show where you do really feel like you are being taken to (satanic) church.

Cirice: Cirice is another one of my favourite songs and one that I always recommend people to start with when checking out Ghost. The choreography is very similar to Copia era however it felt like he takes it a lot more seriously than Copia did. (Controversial opinion time. I always thought Copia was a bit too silly during Cirice. I love that goofy man but this is probably the one song that I feel is Terzo through and through and IN MY OPINION Copia never even came anywhere close to matching Terzo and the way he performed Cirice but I am very biased.) V seems like he had the Copia choreography for the larger stage with the intensity (not intimacy though but that is more due to venue size than performance) of Terzo. The very lucky person who was ciriced got an extra long kiss blown to them in Birmingham and if you are not anywhere near the actual ciricing make sure you watch the screen because they show some beautiful close ups of his face and his eyes. We also got the sparkly mask here in London and in Birmingham.

Darkness at the Heart of my Love: This was another big setlist surprise for me and not the only song from Impera I thought we would end up with. It is a very big emotional moment however they still seem to be perfecting the performance. It has had the most lyric fluffs of any song this tour and in Birmingham he managed to miss the entire first line. During the breakdown he asks everyone to make little ch ch ch sounds along with the rhythm which is a sweet little audience participation moment.

Satanized: And then we are straight into Satanized. This is the only transition in the setlist that feels a little jarring it kinda works to lift you up after the emotional dip of DATHOML but it still gives you a little whiplash. It sounds absolutely incredible live though and another moment of the show where the audience almost drowns him out. Screaming Blasphemy! Heresy! at him did not get old at any of the shows and he reacted accordingly every time even going so far in Birmingham to cower against the drum riser steps during the solo. It is a very fun performance and was a highlight every night.

Ritual: A classic and one I hope stays on the setlist forever. Very little has changed he still introduces Dew at the beginning a lot of the choreography is the same. The Lords prayer sounded like they have stopped adding the effect to his voice. It wasn't as growly as it has been in the past and it sounded more like him talking in a lower register.

Umbra: I loved what I could hear of Umbra which wasn't a lot really. The mix was pretty shit every night but it is definitely a song to dance too! The tune of the chorus is super catchy and the guitar and synth solo goes so fucking hard. There was also a fair amount of Papa gyrating which is always enjoyable and seemed to get more obvious each show. At the beginning he pops out of a trap door brandishing the cowbell which he gestures with to Swiss before marching across the stage and handing it to him and only after he has checked he is properly using it does he head for centre stage. After the solo 'Papa' comes out and runs across the back of the stage except we realised in London it is definitely not him. If you don't believe me look at the arms and thighs during your ritual and I promise you you will see it. I don't know if there was a replacement in Manchester because if I remember there was a bit of a delay starting Year Zero and he came out without the hat but I know for certain it was a double for London and Birmingham.

Year Zero: For me Year Zero is where it becomes akin to religious experience. His whole demeanour is much more serious even down to his posture. The reveal of the back of his cassock and the skeletal embellishments was an insane moment in Manchester and I feel like everyone in the place simultaneously screamed he has a tail!!??! It is just as epic every single time I hear it and the fire and the drama just make you feel part of something so much bigger. I was a bit sad there is no ancient serpent deceiver any more but it does track with V's more straight performance and the epic destruction of the stained glass did make up for it slightly.

He is: Is always another highlight. I makes me feel how I think I was supposed to feel going to church as a child. I enjoyed watching the stained glass rebuild itself into depicting 'good upstanding Christians' and thumbs up rocket ship Jesus gave me a good giggle.

Rats: After Jesus goes to space the church collapses leaving us in a hellish landscape ready to be overrun by vermin. I can't remember anything much from Rats. He comes out in his silver jacket which has a very subtle embroidered Grucifix on the back and the plain silver mask back on. I think in Manchester we didn't get as much of a reaction during his 'No' moment but it got more pronounced each show but still nowhere near as dramatic as Copia.

Little Chat: This is where we got the infamous 'Do you like things that go boom Manchester?' moment which was a bit cringe given the venue history but I really think he just goofed and was talking about pyrotechnics only. In London we got the 'I will give you everything you want if you just follow me' speech which was so so incredibly hot . He has some how managed to make asking the crowd if they would like a kiss even more slutty and filthy sounding and I am so very here for it.

Kiss the Go Goat: I fucking love dancing to this song. There are many many Mwahs through out and I even noticed him a couple of times making a little butthole with his fingers and kissing it. I also managed to take notice of the Ghoulettes at this point and they look very very hot in the new costumes with their wings dancing away.

Mummy Dust: It is straight into Mummy Dust then which goes hard no matter what. In Manchester the Mummy Thrusts started a little bit tame and Copia's whore moment was nowhere to be see. The thrusts at the beginning were a little more aggressive in London but by Birmingham we had some very vigorous thrusting both in the introduction and during the breakdown. Two of the canons went off a little early in London and I noticed the Mummy Dust does not travel very far back any more so unless you are in the first couple of rows you are better off waiting until the end. The only night I managed to catch any was in Birmingham.

Ending Chat: Here we got the winding down speech. To my shame I can't really remember what he said in Manchester but in London he spoke about the first show they ever played in London and told us to go and check out the venue after the show and this is also where he referred to Primo as his Uncle. In Birmingham he told us off for shouting no when he said it would be the last song and jokingly called us shit. It was here in Manchester that I completely lost my shit when he said 'Conclusively I give you,' with such a shit eating anticipatory smile on his face while he let us scream because we knew what was coming next.

Monstrance Clock: The final song on my list that I never thought I would hear live. I love this song so fucking much and the nipple tweaking is gone from the 'lady revealed of cloak' part but the boob groping is very much still there and in Birmingham he even flashed his fuck you patch at someone in the crowd at this part. They orgy background is very fun and I especially loved the erotic alphabet that was used to show the lyrics to the choral refrain at the end. They are just fun little touches that bring a new spin to this song and I like that they chose to go this direction instead of trying to replicate Terzo's birds and bees speech in some way.

Encore: He doesn't keep us waiting long for our encore. In Manchester we got a little bit about him being confused about how things work and no one told him what he was supposed to do but he guesses he could give us a couple for songs. In London some people had started to leave which he pointed out that they had the right idea. In Birmingham I can't remember exactly what he said but there were a lot of what I would refer to now as V noises that basically were asking if we wanted more.

Mary on a cross: In Birmingham we got a 'This is a song my Daddy used to sing'. Unfortunately I can't remember exactly what he said the other two nights but it was variations on the same theme. I am guilty of not listening to it so much anymore because I did listen to it to death when I first started listening to ghost but live the harmonies are just so incredibly beautiful and I just get transported back to those first few months of getting immersed in this fandom and everything Ghost. I didn't notice during the first two but in Birmingham at the end when they extend the last note he was looking towards the drums and apparently straight into a camera and the smile on his face was probably the most beautiful thing ever. In Manchester he did the marijuana cross but in London he just said Mary on a before saying fuck it and going into Dance Macabre and in Birmingham he said marijuana before saying fuck it.

Dance Macabre: Wobbling is out but shaking is in. At least I think that is what he said where wobble wobble used to be. He is very mobile during this dancing around all over the place. If anything of note happened in Manchester or London I can't remember because all I can remember is Papa and Swiss smooching. He was over the left side of the stage on the podium and as he ran around towards Swiss he some how ended up almost kneeling in front of him while they were dancing together before he kind of started to shimmy up until their faces were close and then Papa went in for a kiss. We couldn't quite believe what we saw but I am very glad we were in the right place at the right time because we had the perfect side view.

Square hammer: Just the biggest party all three nights. The pink/purple jacket is beautiful and I am glad we get little V versions of these things. I am so happy that this was kept as the closer because I am not sure what song could top it (although I may eat my words when Skeleta comes out). We also got the return of once more up the poop chute in Birmingham.

The ending bows are almost exactly the same but now we get to see him smile and blow kisses at the crowd which just makes the whole thing even more emotional and then it is final bows and it is all over.

This week has been absolutely incredible but I am going to save all the mushy stuff for after my last ritual in Linköping because I know I am going to have even more to say. Little shout outs to @ghelullu @bonecloaks @thew0man @callmemamaemeritus @da-rulah @her-satanic-wiles @dolceterzo @onlyhereforghost @abusivegreed @preqvelle @osiiiris(even though we didn't quite manage to make it work) and all the other people I have met so far this tour you have all made it so much more special than it already would have been 💜💜

If you managed to get this far bless you and I hope you enjoy all your ritual adventures!

[two-white-butterflies]

hold on to the memories

Description: The Hightowers and the Targaryens spend New Year's Eve in Capri (all because Viserys hates the snow.) Trouble ensues. A prequel to gave you all my best me's.

Pairing: aemond targaryen/reader (modern!)

A/N: Late, but better late than never.

2025 | Targaryen Residence

JOIN US FOR COCKTAILS AND COUNT DOWN TO MIDNIGHT!

December 31st at 6pm. | RSVP to Harwin Strong | Dinner and drinks will be served.

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Fitting into this type of crowd has always been difficult for you, these people have been rich for generations, and they think of themselves as America's version of royalty. "Let's go," Aemond squeezes your hand three times before entering through the thick Narra doors of his family's ancestral home.

As you both enter the spacious foyer, a taxidermied statue of two barbary lions greets you. "We named these lions Nigel and Sugar. Aegon and I used to hide cigarettes inside of their mouths," Aemond chuckles—not all of his childhood memories are bitter.

The foyer is bigger than your primary residence—certainly bigger than the beach house where you met his family. The walls are off-white, littered with small murals of baby blue flowers. There is no main light—only downcast bulbs and plinth lights.

This house is decorated in beautiful taste.

"It's a nice home," you mumbled under your breath, but nice isn't enough of an adjective to describe its beauty. "I loved living here," he says with a slight frown... his eyes continue traveling the interior of the mansion. He can almost smell the delicious soup that the maids used to cook for him - he can almost hear the sound of laughter radiating off the walls as he and Lucerys run around.

But their laughter is silenced by his father's strict and firm voice.

It is a sin to have fun in his father's presence.

You continued to admire the decorations, though they simply looked out of place. The poinsettias did not look good against the black marble interior of the renovated foyer...it would look better against brick. "I love the decorations, they are so..." You admired.

"Gauche," Aemond snorts.

It was a big mistake having Harwin in charge of the decorations, he seriously has no experience decorating a mansion this big - and it is way too manly for someone with a feminine touch to embrace. Nevertheless, you and Aemond simply admired the decorations; they looked good in some lights, and it wasn't that bad for an amateur interior designer.

"Please look for Rhaenyra and Helaena, they will accompany you while I talk to a few friends," he smiles, staring off to the side to his Oxford brothers. You have nothing in common with those guys, and he loves you too much to make you spend time with them.

"Have fun, please, just don't get carried away," you smiled - reminding him of your birthday party where he got shitface drunk.

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Helaena gives you an appreciative smile.

"I was dying inside of there," she groaned, thankful that you pulled her away. "Aunt Ginevra was on her three-hour story about how Beverly Hills adjacent is not Beverly Hills," Helaena rolls her eyes.

You were happy to see that she wasn't the only one struggling with these upper-echelon folks. "By the way, Aegon and Baela are not talking to each other." Helaena whisper-shouts as the speaker plays some random jazz music on full-blast, nope, wait, those are not speakers, it's a live band.

"Why?" You raised an eyebrow, those cousins are thick as thieves. "Baela got two Eras Tour tickets, but instead of taking him, she's taking her girlfriend." Helaena giggles.

These people can buy an entire stadium, and they're not talking to each other because of concert tickets. "She's basically known her for a week, but she swears that they're soulmates because her sun is her girlfriend's moon." Helaena continues sharing.

"I don't even know what those words mean," your eyes narrowed, a little lost in the conversation. "Astrology shit," she pulled you into a more secluded part of the mansion.

She looked around for a second, reaching for one of the hors d'oeuvres, giving you a piece of it before helping you settle down on the empty couch. This part of the house is more quiet than the rest. She takes a sip of water from the Hydroflask that she's been holding.

"You promised to give me a brief on all of your relatives," you reminded. "God, where do I start..." Helaena stares at the ceiling. "- has Aemond not shared anything?" She raises an eyebrow.

"Aemond does not care about your Targaryen relatives beyond the money they give him for investments." You answered. "He's a Hightower through and through, which is probably why he went to Oxford instead of Harvard. By the way, 99% of the people on my father's side went to Harvard. The 1% is probably me and my siblings." She laughs.

"Rhaenyra went to Harvard," you reminded.

"Oh right," she frowns as if forgetting about that fact.

She leans forward, adjusting her glasses.

"My family has four sub-families. The Velaryons. The Hightowers. The Baratheons and the Arryns." Helaena tries her best to remember. She drags the word Arryn a little bit longer. "What's with the Arryn's?" You raised an eyebrow - the name is unfamiliar and unique.

"They're richer than God," Helaena says out loud. "The family is mostly based in Switzerland, they only come here when Rhaenyra asks - because her mom's an Arryn. They don't really talk to us or the entire Hightower clan, for that matter - only the Baratheons." Helaena adds, making the family sound like a nightmare.

"There's only three members of the family that come, Jon Arryn, who is basically the head honcho. Rosamund - who married the Prince of Monaco and Farleigh." Helaena swoons while mentioning a man's name. A snort comes out of your mouth, beginning to realize that she probably has a crush on him.

"That's your cousin," you teased.

"No, I'm not related to him - it's Rhaenyra, that is..." Helaena defends sharply. "- I've checked out his social media, and he leads an anti-global warming organization. He also lives in Bondi Beach." She continues swooning, already forgetting the purpose of this conversation.

"What about the other relatives?" You inquired.

"You don't have to worry about them, they know how to mind their business, especially the Velaryons and the Baratheons. It's just the Hightowers that you have to look out for - they're devout Catholics." She warns. The family closest to your husband...and they're the ones most likely to hate your guts.

"Okay, now we can talk about Farleigh." You teased, tickling her sides.

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ynprivate: absolutely beautiful with @helaenatargaryen @daerntrg @margarethzobel

liked by 7 others

>comments

daerntrg: we look so good @margarethzobel🥺😘 - margarethzobel: 😘 love u baby

egghightower: Teenagers should not have girlfriends 💀 - daerntrg: hate me cuz you aint me

margarethzobel: Thanks for the polaroid picture y/n! Love you lots. - ynprivate: Love you too Margs!

helaenatargaryen: They grow up so fast :(

ynprivate: @helaenatargaryen you look so much like your mom in this pic - helaenatargaryen: The resemblance is a little too uncanny somtimes

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"I've been looking for you." Aemond pops inside the gallery room. He got your message a few minutes ago, telling him that you were too nervous to hang out with the older members of his family. "We were just about to play UNO, care you join?" You offered.

"She's only inviting you because she knows she's losing," Daeron teases while placing another +4 down. Helaena giggles, placing another +4 in return and to your absolute shock, all the cards are back on your hands. Daeron chuckles.

Helaena places sixteen cards on your hands.

Aemond laughs, sitting opposite to you.

(Which means squished in between Daeron and Helaena.)

Your eyebrows merged. "You don't want to sit beside me?" You asked. He raises his hands in mock surrender. "- and not have a bed to sleep in? I'd rather not." He teases. Well, you do suppose that you get a little too competitive and sensitive when Aemond lays down a plus card in your direction.

You rolled your eyes.

Somehow, that action brings butterflies to your stomach. Even when playing a game, he has no desire to defeat you.

"I'm finished!" Daeron screams from the tops of his lungs. "Whoever loses gets to buy me ten pieces of chicken nuggets." He professes from the tops of his lungs, like a curse uttered by a witch.

Helaena huffs.

"You didn't even say Uno!" She complains.

"- and none of ya'll noticed." Daeron rolls his eyes.

Aegon glares at his youngest brother. "Stand up," the older brother demands. "You can't tell me what to do!" Daeron refuses.

Helaena lightly hits Daeron's nape, taking Aemond aback as he feels his sister's forearm gently brush against his back. "You asshole. Stop shoving cards up your ass." Helaena complains while standing up.

Daeron giggles, forced to stand up and to your surprise, he was sitting on five cards (collected in the span of five games).

A smile is plastered on your face.

This is what a home feels like.

"This family has a whole lot of cheaters," Aegon mumbles under his breath before chuckling as Daeron grabs ahold of him - using him as a shield from Helaena's wrath.

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yournametargaryen: happy new year, from my family to yours ❤️ tagged: @helaenatargaryen @daerntrg @egghightower @aemondtargaryen

liked by 2,129,912 others

comments

livinthatlife3: The way that they're just like us 😭

messifan88: HNY QUEEN!

wifemeup: not this picture being richer than the state of wyoming

[kingofpopmj]

Then, There Was You

Chapter 1

July 14, 1988

Michael had been on tour for about a year and it never had much of an effect on him until now. He couldn’t think straight. The hours were ticking by, launching him into a heart racing panic. On one hand he was excited to see her again, but on the other he was nervous. What is she doesn’t enjoy the show? What if he trips? What is his pants split open during a move? What if he forgets the lyrics? What if…

“You okay?” Karen asked, noticing his flustered state while she set up her equipment.

“Yeah. I think so. I’m— I don’t know. Nervous.” He felt like he was in grade school, hoping his crush would notice him wearing her favorite color. Shit. What’s her favorite color?

“Nervous? That’s new.”

“Yeah. It’s a big show.” He tried desperately not to give himself away, but him wiping his sweaty palms down his thighs made him easy to read.

“They are all big shows. Spill.” She looked at him inquisitively.

“We have royalty in attendance tonight.” He spoke as his knee bounced up and down uncontrollably.

“You’ll do great.” She smiled at him through the mirror and continued working on his hair. “You always do.”

“I met them last night actually. They were very kind.”

“I bet.” She knew by now how to tell if Michael needed to vent. After working for him for so many years she learned to listen— be a confidante. He didn’t like to be pestered with questions, he preferred someone to just listen.

“Princess Diana was very sweet.”

“I’ve heard she’s lovely.”

“Yeah.” He forced a cough as he readjusted in his seat. “Princess Y/N is as well. She’s so nice...”

“I’d expect nothing less.”

“She’s beautiful.”

“Is that so?” She smirked, raising her eyebrow at his shift from sheepish to pure excitement.

“Yes. She’s really funny too. She’s so easy to be around… you almost forget— I don’t know. When I was with her I felt like we were normal people, you know? There was no pressure. I felt like a real person— like a regular person with her.”

“She sounds incredible.”

“She is! We ran off and got to know each other. Well, more like she dragged me out of the event.” He chuckled at the memory. “She held my hand and I felt so— so happy. It was the best night I’ve had in a while… maybe ever.”

“You ran off together? Wow, that sounds exhilarating.”

“It was. We left the party and she took me up onto the rooftop of Buckingham Palace—”

“Wait, you were on a rooftop?”

“Yes! Me!”

“You’re terrified of heights.”

“I know!”

“Wow, I never thought I’d see the day.”

“Me either! I mean— goodness. It was incredible. I’m so happy I accepted that invitation. I’m so happy I met her.” He exhaled, shutting his eyes, but the calm was short lived. He jumped out of his seat. “What am I supposed to do? She’s going to be here tonight and I’m— I don’t want to make a fool of myself. What if, what if it meant more to me than it did to her?”

“Michael, I think—”

“What if she was just being nice? What if she just wants to be friends and I’m over here like some pathetic hopeless romantic thinking we could be more? What if she was just pitying me? What if she thinks I’m weird? Everyone else does, what if— what if she agrees with them?” By this point he was starting to hyperventilate.

“Michael, no, you aren’t weird. Woah, okay, you need to breathe. I’m sure she enjoyed your time together. The way you’re lighting up talking about her, there’s no way she didn’t feel it too. She’s going to be here tonight— it’s a sign. You should ask her out! If she’s into you, which I think she is, you can ask— she’s definitely giving you the green light.” Her hands rested on both his shoulders and she guided him back into his seat.

“Ask her on a date? That’s insane. I mean— She’s a princess.”

“She’s a person. A person who likes you.”

“We don’t know if she even likes me!”

“Oh, get real. Michael, stop doubting yourself. She held your hand— personally, I wouldn’t do that unless I was trying to drop a hint.”

“A hint?” Michael tilted his head as if that would help him understand what she was saying.

“Yes, you goon! Physical touch! She’s giving you the hint to go for it— to go for her.”

“I didn’t think of it that way. I mean I guess that could explain why she didn’t pull away when I kissed her—”

“What! Why didn’t you start with that!” She exclaimed, slapping his arm playfully.

“Is that important?”

“It’s the most important! Oh my goodness! Okay, what kind of kiss was it? Was it a peck or was it like a hungry, hands gripping at each other and—”

“Woah! Okay, that’s too much. It’s also private.” He stopped her, chuckling at her excitement.

“Such a gentleman.” Karen chuckled, rolling her eyes playfully. “Tell me this, did she kiss back? Did she match what you felt?”

“I was too scared to actually kiss her. I kissed her cheek technically, the corner of her lips and I felt her smile and she took a deep breath in like she was— like she…”

“Like she was savoring the moment?”

“Yeah.”

“Michael, all signs point to go for the girl.”

“Goodness Karen. I want to. I’ve never wanted anything more than I want her.”

“She left her mothers’ birthday celebration to spend the night with you on a roof. She chose to get to know you instead of taking part in some extravagant event. I know women Michael and that woman definitely wants you.”

“Karen, even if she does… she’s still a princess—”

“You’re making excuses. Above everything she is human. And, I’d assume she’s similar to you in hoping to be treating as such. I’m sure you found that in one other. She’s a person just like you. I think you should go for it.”

“She’s royalty and I’m just— I’m nothing compared to that. What could I do to win her over? There’s no way she’d actually go for me. I’m— she’s a princess and I’m… I’m wacko—”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence!”

“They all say it.” He sunk down in his chair and his head hung low. Karen studied him for a moment before leaning down next to him.

“You’re Michael. You’re Michael Jackson. That is your name. They do not define you, do you hear me? They don’t know the real you and they don’t deserve to. The only name they’ve made up for you that’s accurate is The King Of Pop. You’re the best person I know. You make everyone around you better— simply for knowing you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes! I’m never wrong!” Her voice went up what felt like ten octaves which really got his attention.

“You’re crazy.” He laughed, shaking his head as she did her little happy dance in front of him.

“Crazy right! Crazy on the money!”

“Oh gosh, here we go with the women’s intuition.”

“It’s true and I’m not going to stop pestering you until you go for it because I know this will work. She’ll be so good for you. Would that make you a prince? Oh my god! That’ll be so freaking cool.”

“I don’t know if—”

“Go for it.”

“Karen—”

“Go for it.”

“I don’t think—”

“Go for it.”

“Would you let me finish—”

“Not until you agree to go for it.”

“It’s not that simple—”

“Go for it.”

“But—”

“Go for it.”

“Well—”

“Go for it. You’re overthinking. You can’t let her get away. You’ll regret it for the rest of your life if you don’t try.”

“You’re right.”

“Go for it!”

“I’m going for it!” He said, laughing as Karen yelled out in excitement. She grabbed his arm, pulling him out of his chair to jump up and down with her in celebration.

Diana was over the moon watching her sister-in-law getting ready for the night. They had spent the better part of the day talking about the concert— more importantly, Michael. As excited as she was playing matchmaker, she felt overwhelmed too because she’d never seen the princess so nervous.

“That one is nice.” Di gave her date for the night a double thumbs up as she looked over the outfit laid out on the bed.

“No, it’s not right.” Y/N shook her head, waving her hands in the air and rushing back into the closet. The room filled with grunts of frustration as she began shoving clothing around. “I don’t have anything to wear!” She emerged from the closet, a mountain of clothes cradled in her arms before falling to the ground.

“Calm down.” Diana moved towards her, sweetly removing the wardrobe that seemed to be weighing her sister down.

“It’s not— nothing is good enough. I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know how to do this. Di, what am I doing?” Her eyes glossy as she gave into all her self doubt.

“No, don’t do that. It’ll come naturally. It is coming naturally, but you’re doubting yourself so much you can’t even see it. I promise he brings something out in you that I’ve never seen before. You’re nervous, which is understandable, but once you’re with him it all vanishes. I promise, he’s not going to care what you’re wearing.”

“I know, but I still want to look nice. I want— I want to look nice for him. I really want him to like me… the way I like him.”

“He does. Y/N, you’re overthinking this.”

“We don’t know if he— I don’t think he does. He could date supermodels— they are so beautiful and tall, I don’t stand a chance. He could have anyone he wants. He’s so kind. He’s funny and oh my goodness he has the best laugh. He’s beautiful in every possible way. I fear I’m going to look like a fool— he’s so far out of my league.”

“You two spent all night together on that dingy old roof. That is all the proof you need. You two spent hours talking and you didn’t get tired of the other. Do you understand how rare that is? Sweetie, you’re special, you’re in a league that he— I think you’re both right there with each other. It’s okay to be afraid of change, but you’ll never know what could be if you don’t put yourself out there. This change could be the best thing to ever happen to you, to us. I saw the way he gazed at you, like you were the most precious thing he’d ever laid his eyes on. I could feel the electricity between the two of you.”

“He was so sweet. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed that hard. Do you— do you really think he feels the same?”

“I don’t think. I know.”

“You’re the best.”

“I am. Thank you for admitting that. It’s very big of you. Now, let’s get you ready to see your betrothed.”

“Oh, shush!” Y/N pinched her arm as they got up and started sifting through the clothing.

When they arrived at Wembley Stadium, they were quickly guided backstage and were greeted by the entire crew waiting to welcome them. The noise from the photographers made it impossible to think. They shook hands and met what felt like hundreds of people before they reached the end of the line where Michael stood.

“Oo, tight pants.” Diana whispered in a teasing tone.

“Shut up.”

“Tight leather pants. Really tight.”

“Diana!”

“Oh, relax you’re the one drooling.” Diana joked, looking over and noticing how nervous Michael was. She moved to greet him first, pulling him into a hug.

“A hug and kiss on the cheek is appropriate, it won’t bring too much attention.” She muttered low enough for only him to hear. When she pulled away he looked at her like he was trying to figure out how she knew. “She’s nervous too.”

“I— I didn’t think she would be. I’m glad you’re both here.” He did his best to focus despite all the camera flashes.

“Just breathe.” She gave him a sympathetic smile and touched his shoulder briefly. “She loves your smile. Flash her a big one and she’ll melt.”

“Thank you.” He nodded shyly, bowing his head to try to conceal his blush as she stepped away to watch the interaction from afar.

“Hi. Michael, how are you?” It’s her. She’s standing right in front of him, her presence made his body vibrate with excitement.

He slowly lifted his head, his eyes traveling up from her feet, her legs, her body and landing on her face. Holy… She’s indescribable. Her smile. Her eyes were sparkling somehow. There was so much chaos surrounding them, but it didn’t matter. He was completely, truly, madly… under her spell.

“Hi. You look beautiful.” His arms wrapped around her waist before he could stop himself. “It’s so good to see you.”

“It’s been too long. What was it… a dreadful eight hours?” She giggled, hugging him back. “You look quite dashing.” She complimented with a sweet tone to her voice that danced against his neck and down his spine.

The camera flashes grew more intense and the yells for their attention brought him back to reality. If only they could stay in this moment a bit longer. He’d give anything to have another experience with her like last night— little did he know she was thinking the exact same thing.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t— I probably shouldn’t have done that.” He spoke stepped away from her. “It wasn’t appropriate.”

“I didn’t mind.” She clasped her hands together in front of her. “Your hugs are lovely.”

“You think?”

“Yes.” That melody of joy erupted from her mouth and he could’ve sworn his heart skipped a beat.

“Your laugh is the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard.”

“You’re a musician. I’m sure you heard better.”

“I haven’t.”

Her blush quickly overpowered her face and it made butterflies erupt in his stomach. They stood a foot apart, admiring each other’s smiles.

“You look like a biker.” She quipped, sucking her bottom lip in between her teeth. “I’m loving all the studs, chains and buckles.” She reached out, dragging her finger tips across his jacket. “You definitely look bad— in a good way.”

“I— yeah. Thank you. It’s actually quite heavy.” He couldn’t concentrate with her fingers lingering on his chest. All the charming lines he’d practiced were forgotten, it was a miracle he could formed any words at all.

“Well, it’s a good thing you’re strong.” She smiled, her hand retreating from his jacket. Oh, maybe he wasn’t sounding as stupid as he thought.

“Yeah, or maybe I’m just pretending to be strong to impress you.” He shrugged, sending a sweet smile her direction.

“You don’t have to pretend anything to impress me.” She felt more confident the longer she was near him. The nerves she felt transforming into flirtatious boldness.

“You know, if we weren’t surrounded by all these people I’d try to hold your hand.”

“You know, if we weren’t surrounded by all these people— actually it doesn’t bother me much I’d hold your hand in front of them.” She tilted her head, daring him to go for it and that surprised him.

“Are you sure?”

“Are you doubting me Mr. Jackson?”

“No, no, of course not.” He answered quickly, his fingers tickling her wrist as he pulled her hand closer to him.

“Good.” She took a step closer to him, her palm caressed his, it was soft and sweet, but nothing compared to her lips when they finally graced his cheek.

“That’ll definitely make the front pages.” Diana teased as she made our way over to the two. “Living dangerously tonight I see.”

“I was just wishing him good luck.” Y/N said nonchalantly, shifting her focus to her sister-in-law.

“Well, I’m terribly sorry to interrupt, but I’ve been informed it’s time for us to head to our seats.” The noise began to decline around them as the photographers and reporters were ushered out of the room. “Apparently, they pushed the show time back significantly for us.”

“I’m sorry. I— we had no idea our presence would cause such a disturbance—”

“I’d push the start time to next week if it meant I could spend more time with you.” Michael’s voice ignited goosebumps down her arms, his words wrapping around her like a security blanket.

“I wouldn’t object to that.” Her response made him eager to reach out, to be closer to her, but he knew he had to control himself.

“Oh… this is so sweet.” Diana squealed, clapping hands together gently. When both of their heads snapped in her direction, deep red hues covering their faces, she realized the intimate moment she’d intruded on. “Sorry— I didn’t mean to say that out loud. I’m going to… I’m going to go stand over there now.”

“We should probably get going.” Y/N spoke her hesitance evident as she smiled at him again.

“Wait!” Michael nearly shouted. “Wait here. I have something for you.” He ran a few feet away and retrieved a box.

“I’m sure you’d rather unwrap something else.” Diana whispered, chuckling as her sister watched his movements intently.

“Shut up.” She nudged the blonde who was attempting to muffle her laughter with her hands.

They were too busy bickering in hushed voices that they didn’t notice the musician return until he started talking.

“Here. It’s for both of you.” Michael held the box in front of them, a hopeful look on his face as he removed the lid. “It’s just a little something.”

“Oh my goodness. Michael, these are beautiful.” Y/N reached inside to touch the fabric before holding the jacket in the air. “How thoughtful of you. Thank you so much.”

“These are lovely. Thank you Michael.”

“It’s no problem.” He watched proudly as they admired the embroidery on the jacket. Y/N went on about how soft the inside was and he felt his hands begin to tingle at how happy she was. He made her happy— with a simple gesture of gifting her a bad tour jacket. And, it was so worth it.

“Excuse me, Lady Y/N, Lady Diana, we must be going.” A bodyguard walked up to the three and waited patiently for the women to follow him.

“Thank you again for the lovely gift. Good luck out there.” Diana smiled.

“You’re welcome. Thank you. I hope you enjoy the show.” He said, she nodded before stepping away with the bodyguard to give the two a minute of privacy.

“I can’t wait to see you perform.” The young royal gushed, the jacket now hanging on her shoulders.

“I’ll find you in the crowd.” He reached out, gently lifting her hair which had been tucked under the fabric.

“I’ll be the one with hearts in her eyes.” She winked leaning into him and kissing his cheek again. The kiss was longer this time, like she was committing every detail to memory. “Good luck biker boy.” She whispered into his ear before moving away from him, he stared at her as if in a daze. All he could do was stare.

And, he knew he’d never get tired of the view.

When the royal pair arrived at their seats they were met with a warm welcome. As they stood, one hand on the balcony rail and one waving in the air, the stadium erupted into applause.

“Imagine the reaction when they see the two of you together.” Diana muttered through her smile.

“We’re friends.”

“Friends don’t look at each other the way you two do. You’re flirty friends at least.”

“I suppose that’s true.” She shrugged, dipping her head to hide the blush on her cheeks.

“Did he, you know, did he ask you?”

“Ask me what?”

“On a date?”

“Oh. No, he didn’t.” Her eyes glazed over sadly as she attempted to ignore how that question made her really feel. “Was he supposed to? Was that the moment?”

“Hm.” Diana shifted in her seat, her mind clearly wondering.

“Oh my. That’s a bad sign isn’t it? W— What if I scared him off?”

“Calm down. He’s probably just focused on performing before his shows. Maybe he’ll ask after. He’d be crazy not to make a move.”

“He’s so handsome. I wasn’t even thinking. I— I kissed him on the cheek. Twice!” She gushed, holding two fingers in the air.

“I know. I thought I was going to have to pull you off of him.”

“I couldn’t help it. He smiles at me and I— oh, Diana…”

“What’s wrong?”

“I really care for him.” She ran her fingers through her hair, shaking her head gently. “He’s like no one I’ve ever met before. He’s special.”

“Breathe.” Diana reached over, taking her sister’s hand in hers. “Don’t let your feelings scare you. It’s a beautiful thing. It’ll work out. I just know it.”

Before Y/N had the chance to respond the lights shut off dramatically and the stadium erupted. The ground was shaking as the anticipation built by the second.

“Hello, London!” The audience cheered loudly as he spoke. “And, welcome to our royal guests!”

“How you doin’?” The ground rumbled in response. Thousands of people gathered in one place to enjoy the music. The energy was electric and there was this feeling of happiness in the air.

After the last song, Lady Y/N and Lady Diana were brought backstage. Diana made herself busy, getting to know the other musicians and trying to learn how to play the instruments. Y/N didn’t waste time, she was immediately escorted to Michael’s dressing room.

“That was incredible! You were amazing!” Y/N gushed, she was looking at him like he’d put all the stars in the sky and Karen certainly noticed.

“Go for it.” Karen hummed softly only for Michael to hear. He tensed up, but she spoke again before he could respond. “Oh! I gotta go— do that thing.” She threw her makeup brushes on the table and practically ran out the door.

It was just them.

And, Michael was freaking out.

“Excuse her. She’s crazy.”

“I apologize if I’ve interrupted your after show ritual. I can come back—”

“No!” His voice came out urgent, desperate even. They both stared at each other, unsure of what the next move should be. “Stay…”

“I really loved the show. Well, we both did.”

“Thank you. I think— I think it’s the best show I’ve ever had.” He fiddled with the buckles on his arm as he took a step towards her.

“Well, I’m honored to have witnessed it.” She smiled, moving closer to him, matching his eagerness to be near one another.

“Lady Y/N, knowing you were in the crowd, it brought something out in me I’ve never felt before.”

“You can call me Y/N.” She whispered.

“You’re the only thing that’s been on my mind. I can’t… and I don’t want to change that.”

“You’ve left quite the impression on me as well.”

“How— Can I spend more time with you?”

“Of course.”

“I don’t know the proper protocol—”

“Let’s just forget about protocol.”

“So, could I— may I say something?”

“Of course.”

“I’d really like to take you on a date.”

“Michael—”

“I know it’s crazy. I know that you probably wouldn’t want to be seen with me.” Her face twisted as he spoke, but he didn’t notice because he was staring at the ground. “I just… I feel that you’re really special, you made me feel… happy. And, I really wanted the opportunity to know you better. You’re incredible. You’re like no one I’ve ever met before, but I know that this, it’s probably forbidden. I’m sorry I shouldn’t have—”

“Michael, I’d love to.” She smiled, replaying his words in her head, remembering she said something very similar just a few hours ago.

“Really?”

“You’ve got a hold on me that I can’t even put into words.” She reached out, caressing his cheek. “I don’t care about protocol or rules, but I do care about you.”

[bubbles-for-all-of-us]

Okay! Sleep Token story request. Reader is Vessel’s girlfriend and they are on a very long road trip together. “Take Me Back to Eden” comes on the radio and it’s late at night while they’re driving down the freeway. Anyway… they start singing along to the really catchy middle part of the song while Vessel keeps the beat on the steering wheel as he drives and reader sticks her hand out of the open window as they blast the song. The highway is empty safe for their car.

Just us

It was something you did for years. Even before you were dating. It in a way worked perfectly. Vessel loved driving and you loved being the passenger princess. So there had been nights in your younger years where you would end up in a car at odd hours just driving around. And there would either be no words shared or you would talk till the sun would rise. Then road trips came into play.

The first time you went on one had been for your birthday and it had kickstarted the whole tradition that you had taken into your new relationship.

“So you want anything else?”, Vessel asked, hands full of snacks you two had gathered. You had stopped in a small town for a night. Slept in as much as you could before exploring bits of the town. And now the fun part, the night end of the trip awaited you. “Maybe this”, you pointed to the food options available making Vess chuckle, “You want cheese bites? What about a hot dog?”, you rolled your eyes, “Have one weenier in the car already”, Vessel snorted, shaking his head as he went to the register to pay.

Then the usual began. You two had fallen into an easy conversation, watching the sun slowly setting. “Open up”, you muttered, carefully handing Vessel a bit of food as he drove. “You’re too good for me”, he muttered, carefully taking the cheese bite out of your hands. He could easily eat on his own even driving. But there was something about the dynamic that was just so satisfying to him. It felt intimate in a way. Sharing food. Having his hand on your thigh. Or both of your legs over his lap as your back pressed against the door. Not that he allowed that often because of safety but…

“You excited for tonight?”, he muttered, “The sky seems pretty clear”. You hummed, “We’ll be out of the city too so we should be able to see so many stars”, and there it was that bright smile that made him want to drive for hours just to see it one more time. “We’re stopping at the lookout at about midnight, you can show me all the stars”, Vess turned to you slightly, watching you happily munching away. “But I already showed all of them to you”, you hummed, offering him another bite, “you can do it again”, he mused licking your finger clean from the sauce making you chuckle.

But nothing compared to the content silence once the sun settled. All windows open as you let the nice summer breeze surround you both. You knew that he needed this as much as you did. To unwind from the tour. To let go of the new album production. To just be. So the playlist you two had made at the start of your relationship was the thing filling the car with sound now. Songs have a nostalgic value. Bringing up a handful of memories.

You reached out, letting your fingers tangle in the hair on the back of the vessel’s neck. He quickly turned to the side kissing your wrist before focusing his eyes back on the road. Drumming his fingers on the wheel, humming along to the song playing. You watch him like this. Happy and relaxed. Smiling to yourself as you lean in to kiss his cheek before turning towards the open window on your side. Letting your fingers tangle in the wind kissing your skin. Listening to the sound of your boyfriend’s voice. The feeling of his fingers, the cold metal of his rings, pressing against your thigh. And it’s something you want to capture and keep for yourself forever. So you cast your eyes up to the sky watching the stars, thanking each one of them that you two had talked the gamble and started dating years ago.