#Lee or maybe John. Lee I think is quicker to hold me

[hyperionshipping]

I think I just want to curl up and be held. I just wanna be held and told I am loved and my f/os would do that

[m88n]

cayendo

part two of the playlist series

fluff, comedy, angst, college + fuckgirl au

johnny suh’s birthday party allowed for a serendipitous reconnection with mark lee, and you find yourself taking the precarious leap of faith in trying to be emotionally vulnerable, once more.

►listen to love affair - umi, kiss me more - doja cat, baby powder - jenevieve, restless - bibi, pink matter - frank ocean, forrest gump - frank ocean, cayendo - frank ocean

“You sure you got everything? Your keys, phone—condoms? Plural,”

You sigh into an endeared smile. “Yes, Jenjen, don’t worry about it, don’t think I’ll be getting it on tonight anyway,”

“Hey, better safe than sorry. You know how things could get with you.” Jennie warns you, then looking back into the bathroom mirror as she continues her skin routine, hair wrapped neatly in a towel.

You roll your eyes, smiling lovingly at your best friend, then briefly scrunching your face in your complete inability to talk back to her, “Okay, yeah, you have a point. Thanks for always keeping me in check Jen,”

“Always baby,” She mutters, still focused on the mirror, before craning her neck to check on you, “Don’t forget to text me when you arrive and when you leave his apartment, okay? Update me,”

“Okay, will do mom,” You chuckle, before opening your apartment door to finally catch your uber to Johnny’s apartment.

After a 30-minute uber ride, you finally arrive at your destination. The air outside is chilly during this time of the year, so you thank yourself for choosing to complete your black bodycon dress with an oversized brown teddy coat. Not wanting to appear too done up, you pair your look with thigh high socks and a pair of loafer shoes—all black. You walk closer to the entrance of Johnny’s apartment, before taking your phone out of your jacket pocket to dial his number.

“Yo, y/n, wassup,” He picks up, and you could hear faint sounds of laughter and cheering, assuming the party’s pretty much already started with several people present.

“Hey, I’m downstairs, come pick me up,” You respond.

“Gotcha. Hey guys, I’m gonna go down for a sec, y/n’s here, Hold up, kay?”

“Sure, thanks.”

After a few minutes, you see a familiar tall figure emerging from the lifts you’re able to see through the apartment’s automatic doors, and Johnny’s face lights up in a smile as he spots you in the entrance, walking his way quicker towards you. Briefly brushing his hair back as he beeps his card to let you in, you can’t help but think if he knows you find that habit of his incredibly attractive.

“Hey, hey, wassup, y/n, thanks for coming,” He says, wrapping you in a big hug.

“Hey, happy birthday John, thanks for inviting me,” You respond with a smile.

He sighs into a smile as he looks down at you. “You look good.”

“Thanks. You look great too, haha,” You say as your gaze sweeps across his body, and you wouldn’t be lying as his physique somehow always completes a simple collared shirt and a pair of jeans in the most appealing way. You decide that it’s probably thanks to his proportions—and obviously, the muscles do definitely play a part. You shake off your thoughts of your last meet with him, being reminded of several details—you’re here for a damned birthday celebration, y/n—you try to tell yourself.

You follow him to the lifts so he could take you both to the rooftop, and as you enter, you can’t help but maybe sense a tiny bit of tension between you two—and not the negative kind. You hold yourself from breaking out into a smile from the quietness between you two considering how your last meet went.

“If we weren’t having a party I’d probably push you against the walls of this lift right now,” He finally sputters.

“Johnny!” You warn him jokingly in the midst of chuckling, thinking to yourself that he indeed would be one to address the elephant in the room.

He joins you in your chuckling, looking at you in the eyes, “Am I wrong, though? I did say you look good,”

“Dude, oh my god,” You say, shaking your head with a smile plastered on your face, “Never said I disagree. But let’s keep it PG-13 tonight, yeah? Or at least try to, you’re a host,”

“I know, I know,” He sighs out exaggeratedly, “Just putting it out there cause I know we were both thinking it,”

You look at him with widened eyes, not believing the audacity of this man, before being interrupted by the ding of the lift.

“Oh, look, we’re here.” He says, smiling.

You chuckle to yourself, thinking how he’s always able to amuse you in any possible situation. You do appreciate him for that, as it comes real handy in defusing any sort of awkward tension. When he finally lets you into the venue, you could see that it really isn’t a big party at all, probably medium at best. It’s quite a spacious venue for the number of people that’s currently present. You take a look at the entirety at the venue, quickly spotting that there’s both an indoor and outdoor area—the indoors comprised of a well-lit area with plenty of couch space and two large bar tables, while the outdoors seems to have some large wooden tables and benches with a beautiful rooftop view overlooking the city skyline. Both areas are barely decorated in any way apart from the obvious preparation of drinks, cakes, and food all across the bar tables—which puts the focus of the party into the actual atmosphere of the celebration.

You spot a few people you recognize from the summer camp after taking a good look at the room, before feeling a gentle nudge on your arm.

“That one’s Mark, that one there, with the blue jean jacket on the sofa,” You feel Johnny’s whisper on your ear.

“Ooooh, gotcha, thanks for that.” You respond back in a whisper.

“All good, enjoy yourself, babe,” He winks at you as he walks away, needing to accommodate to the different groups of guests.

You chuckle to yourself, before making your way to the group comprised of people from the summer camp. Few are seated on the couch, while the majority of them are seated on the floor close to said couch, with plenty of throw pillows to cushion their seating. A few of them manages to notice you, as they greet you with overwhelming enthusiasm given the ongoing buzz of the party (and unsurprisingly, as you spot almost everyone with a red solo cup in their hands).

“Hey, y/n, how’s it going?” Ten greets you with a big smile, “I’ve missed you, you’ve totally gone off the radar after the camp,”

“I know right, I kept complaining to Ten that you won’t answer our camp group chat properly,” Chaeryeong adds, face lighting up from your presence, “But it’s all good, boo, I’m glad we get to meet again.”

“Yeah, can’t believe you disappeared, our two-sip y/n,” Ten remarks, earning some big laughter throughout the whole group from the nickname you’ve earned to dub your incredible lightweightedness.

You laugh along with them, though you can’t help but feel the heat of someone staring at you from a distance. Your eyes flicker towards Mark, and you notice he’s been looking at you, since you instantly snapped onto his gaze the moment your eyes move towards his. He nods at you with a hesitant smile in an attempt to greet you, and you respond by subtly waving at him.

“Oh shit, you don’t have a drink, babe, sit down, I’ll make you something—in the meantime, tell everyone about your story with John,” Ten says offhandedly as he rises from his seat, walking towards one of the bar counters with lightning speed as if he hasn’t dropped a dynamite prior to his exit. Everyone laughs at your bemused reaction.

“Ten, dude, what the fuck,” You say, scrunching your face, though laughing at his antics in an endeared way. You look for a vacant seat before making your way towards an empty spot on the floor near Mark.

“Baby, everyone kind of already expected it, it was so obvious how you two were vibing so much during camp,” Chaeryeong lays the truth on you with an innocent smile. “Ten and Johnny went to dinner few days ago and Ten just asked about it, so, yeah,”

“You don’t need to tell the whole thing if you don’t want to though babe, I’m just here to break the ice, that, you know, you both got it going on,” Ten says as he approaches his seat once more, handing you a red solo cup filled with some sort of alcoholic concoction.

You could only laugh at this whole scene unfolding, before finally taking a sip of your cup of liquid courage. You scrunch your nose, hit by the familiar taste of alcohol, before you finally continue to catch up with the rest of the group you haven’t been properly connecting with over the past few weeks.

After around a couple of hours talking with the group, you notice that everyone’s pretty much mildly intoxicated, including yourself, as the topic of the discussion’s started to become pretty scattered with plenty of slurred speeches. You’ve learned your lesson quite well over the summer camp—and decided that tonight you’re going to take it much easier on the drinking. As a result, your level of intoxication somewhat matches the rest of the group, perhaps even less this time, and you can’t help but feel pretty proud of yourself.

“You feeling alright?”

You turn to look at the source of the voice, before finding your face dangerously close with Mark’s. He’s apparently seated next to you now, finally retiring his spot over on the couch. You quickly look the other way, furiously blushing with the thought that you could’ve totally kissed him if you were any closer.

“Y-yeah, I’m good,” What are you, a high schooler? It would’ve just been an accident, and you’ve kissed plenty of men before, you hear your own thoughts speaking to you.

But perhaps it’s because there’s been some sort of undefined tension between the two of you tonight—both of you have been exchanging vague gazes, neither one talking to the other specifically despite wanting to.

“Haha, good, you’ve learned your lesson,” He remarks, “Was scared that you’d need to be carried home again or something,”

“Dude!” You look at him with a smile breaking across your face, “Dude, I swear, no one is letting me off the hook on that one, what, it’s been weeks, man, weeks,”

“Yeeah, don’t see that happening anytime soon, to be honest,” He chuckles at your discombobulated response, “How you been doing though since camp?”

“I mean… Nothing much really—”

“Apart from boning Johnny, at least,” He interrupts you, a devilish smile playing on his lips.

You gently push his arm, eyes wide.

“God, I swear, all y’all do is tease me,” You heave a big sigh.

“I mean, your responses are so cute, how can we not,” He responds.

You feel your face heat up in the slightest from his remark.

“Er—I mean, thanks, you’re cute yourself too,” You scramble to find a response. You’re not lying, he is incredibly cute. You couldn’t believe you’d forget the majority of your time with him after taking his features in—round marbled eyes gleaming through slightly curled black locks; thin, soft lips, a slightly dimpled, pretty smile, and a lean yet lightly toned frame—you decide that he really is very cute, indeed.

He lets out the biggest laughter he’s had tonight, leaving you questioning as to why he’d react that way—it’s not like you were cracking a joke.

He swipes his eye with one of his hands. “Dude, you said the exact same thing last time,”

“Wait, what?” You ask quickly, “I mean, I totally remember, yeah,” Your eyes quivering as those words leave your lips.

He finishes off laughing as he heaves a sigh, a big smile still pasted across his face, “You barely remember anything from last time, huh?”

You can’t tell him you remember almost nothing from your conversations with him during that night in camp, but barely is a good enough escape for you, for now, at least.

“Ah, ff, sorry man, I—I was kinda really fucked,” You respond, not being able to filter your words any longer.

“Kinda expected that, though,” He says, chuckling, though you could perhaps spot a hint of disappointment from the look of his eyes. “You were literally so out of it, you were a sobbing mess and all—not in a bad way though,” He quickly adds.

“Well, I mean, then that just means I’m being honest, am I not?” You cock your eyebrows playfully. You curse yourself internally afterwards, as your mind begins to fetch from the fuzzier contents of your memories, that you indeed, were crying in front of Mark during camp for the majority of that night.

“Yeah, you are.” He says with a smile, holding somewhat of a knowing gaze upon your eyes. You figure that he’s implying something from your conversations prior to this night, but you understand full well of your inability to do or say anything to further this exchange due to your spotty memory—but, for some reason, you find yourself gazing back at his eyes as you feel somewhat helplessly drawn into the intensity of his—almost as if you’re drowning in his presence.

You swear you might’ve seen a millisecond of Mark’s gaze flickering towards your lips, before he breaks eye contact with you—but you think that might just be your slightly intoxicated mind playing games on you.

In a slight attempt to defuse the tension, he lights up his phone to check the time, and the wallpaper shown on his display allows some unforeseen memories to pop its way back onto your mind.

“Oh my god, dude, Mark,” You shake your head in your remembrance of the memory, “That Justin Bieber wallpaper,”

His face lights up at your recollection, a big grin growing onto his face. “Yeaah, surely this one’s gonna make its way back into your brain.”

“Yeah, oh my god, I was the one who set that wallpaper, right?” You chuckle in disbelief, “Why haven’t you changed it?”

“I dunno man, it was just there,” He remarks with a smile, laughter threatening to break his reserves, “Didn’t feel like changing it,”

You laugh at him because you fully understand what he means, and he smiles back at you and eventually joins you, chuckling in the ridiculousness of the memory.

“I had a—” He starts.

“Chip on my shoulder had to let it gooo,” You both gesture to each other, reciting Justin Bieber’s line in the Monster music video, which became a meme you both developed within your conversations during camp. Both of you subsequently break into laughter remembering how you’ve somehow memed a supposedly somber music video in your moment of intoxication that time.

“Oh my god, Mark,” You say, still in between laughter, definitely on the verge of tears, “We talked about so much—I remember now,” You continue, “We had—have so many damn similarities it’s ridiculous,”

“Yeah,” He manages to breathe out, still laughing. “How’s your Naruto tattoo going? Kyuubi going to emerge anytime soon?”

You laugh even harder at his remark, recalling that you both definitely talked about your shared love for Naruto, and of your Naruto back tattoo in the form of the Kyuubi seal. “Nah, dude, you gotta knock on it before he does,”

He responds with another string of unsuppressed laughter, since that was also one of your running jokes during that night. “Oh, man,” He sighs out, swiping his tears with one of his hands. “Yeah, one of these days you gotta hang out at my place to play Naruto on the PS 4 like we talked about before,”

“Ohh yeah, we did talk about that,” Your eyes light up with excitement in your recollection, “Also a Spotify listening party, am I right? We talked about listening to DPR Live… Sik-K…. SZA, Doja Cat, stuff like that together,”

“Yeah man, we share so much of our music tastes together too it’s insane—” He says, before pausing in the midst of his sentence whilst snapping his finger excitedly, “Also—”

“Frank Ocean!” You both say at the same time.

“Dude, yeah, oh my god, he just released a new song yesterday, right? Finally,” You gush, “I haven’t listened to it, though.”

“Oh, I have.” He remarks, eyes wide.

“Was it—”

“Fucking good.” He interjects.

You flash the biggest grin at him, subsequently turning your eyes into beautiful crescents. You swear you could’ve seen his face flushing slightly pinker—and you find yourself wondering—and perhaps doubting, whether it would really be from the alcohol he’s long left on the surface of the table near the sofa.

But before you could further the conversation once more, Johnny approaches your group, as a good host supposedly should. As he makes his presence known, you swear you could somehow feel Mark sinking into his seat a little more than he has previously.

“Hey guys, how’s it going—y/n how you holding up?” Johnny asks with a grin, faint whiskers forming on his face. His remark stirs some laughter from the whole group.

“Dude, come on, it’s getting real old,” You say half-jokingly towards him, slightly lifting your arms to signify your disbelief.

“Look around you y/n, you think everyone else thinks so?” He jokes, “I’m kidding, I’m kidding, just making sure you’re all good, you know,”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’d like to know, right, John,” Ten teasingly exclaims from the other side of the sofa, your other friends follow suit in their snickers.

“Dude, host duties, come on,” He retaliates, “But good to see you in tip top shape, as you always are,” He says, winking at you. “When you’re not completely wasted, that is.”

You roll your eyes, grinning at him. “Alright, Johnny boy, whatever you say,”

You suddenly feel your phone vibrate in your jacket pocket, cutting your conversation with Johnny short. You quickly unlock it to see several rows of desperate texts addressed to you by none other than your best friend Jennie.

Jennie [9.42 pm]: okay, hope you’re having fun, stay safe Jennie [12.02 am]: babe Jennie [12.02 am]: bb Jennie [12.03 am]: y/n b Jennie [12.03 am]: so sorry but u still out? Jennie [12.03 am]: just remembered the next 2 days public holiday Jennie [12.03 am]: major supermarkets gn b closed Jennie [12.03 am]: fmlfml Jennie [12.04 am]: i forgot to stock up on bonne maman spread 😞 Jennie [12.04 am]: u kno hw i need my marmalade in the mornings Jennie [12.04 am]: n i saw on google that the supermarket few blocks away frm johnny’s place is still open till like 1 am Jennie [12.05 am]: can u pls grab it otw home im so sorry love ily ily ily ill make it up 2 u sometime

You scoff, shaking your head lovingly at your best friend’s messages. You definitely know how much she loves her marmalade in the mornings, and you really don’t want to deal with her sour mood over the next few days in the absence of them. It’s already pretty late anyway, some of your friends already made their way home, and you wouldn’t mind making her happy with a trip to the nearby supermarket. You give her a quick reply before putting your phone back into your pocket, deciding that you’d head home soon given the supermarket’s nearing its closing time.

“Hey, John, I gotta go soon,” You finally say, moving over closer to Johnny, gesturing to offer him a parting hug, “Thanks so much for tonight,”

“Aw,” He remarks, wrapping you in a big hug, “So soon?”

“Jennie needs her marmalade. Stores are closing soon, tomorrow’s a public holiday,” You say matter-of-factly.

“Alright, got it, Jennie needs her marmalade.” Johnny repeats, firmly looking at you in the eyes. “Okay, stay safe on your way home, okay? You need me to help you order an uber so I could track it for you?”

You shake your head. “Gotta walk to the supermarket first, remember?”

“I can take you home, y/n,” Mark lightly interjects, earning both of your attentions, “It’s getting late anyway, I should be going back soon too—Jaehyun’s gonna think I’m missing,” He jokes.

“Sure he will, dude,” Johnny chuckles, giving Mark a quick bro hug. “Alright, that’s all good then, I’ll leave you to it, take care you guys,”

Both you and Mark bid your last goodbyes to your friends—to Ten and Chaeryeong’s disappointment, you might add—before finally making your way back into the lift on your way down together.

“Thanks for wanting to take me home, Mark,” You say, breaking the silence within the lift.

“It’s all good, y/n. Honestly I still wanted to talk to you, so, it all works out,” He replies with a smile, turning to look at you. You smile back at him.

The lift finally arrives at the floor of the lobby, the loud ding reverberating in the narrow space that has fallen silent once more. Both of you saunter out of Johnny’s apartment, only quietly walking alongside each other. Delicate crimson patches bloom onto your cheeks as the cool, brisk air kisses the warmth off of your cheeks, the autumnal chill greeting you from your first step outside of the premises. The glimmering streetlights paint the city scape in your less-than-lonesome walk towards the supermarket a few blocks away, the only sounds you hear being both of your steps, the gentle rustle of fallen leaves, as well as your quiet breaths lightly tinting the deep indigo sky in shades of frosted white.

“Yeah, it’s fun talking to you,” You finally respond, after a few beats of comfortable silence.

He smiles at you in understanding. “So, Jennie’s your roommate?”

“Yeah, my best friend since first year of uni. Love her to death, to be honest, might not be an exaggeration that she’s helped keep me alive till this day,” You try to joke to keep the conversation relatively light, but you do know that you’re actually telling the truth.

Mark chuckles, “That’s cool, it’s great isn’t it when you find someone who could keep you in line,”

“Yeah, totally,” You respond, “I’m not the most organized type nor am I the most… Put-together type, and she sorta kinda really is, so, it works out, you know,”

“Hahaha, I get you. My roommate Jaehyun and I have a similar kinda dynamic, though we’re not as close as you two, I feel like,” He replies with sincerity, “In this case, Jae’s the y/n,”

You nudge him gently to warn him in a joking manner, as he quietly chuckles.

“Nah, but really, he’s probably really lucky he’s found you,” You say genuinely, “This world’s full of pretty shit people,”

“Yeah, I get you,” He responds, “I feel like, everyone’s probably insufferable in their own ways though—but how cool would it be to find that exact… insufferable-ness… fit with someone else’s… You get what I mean—what I’m trying to say,” Mark says, scrambling with his words.

“Yeah, dude, exactly,” You chuckle, “All of us—we have our imperfections, right, but you know, if you’re lucky, you might find people that could help build upon that in a constructive way, though they themselves are imperfect.”

“Yeah. Hundred percent.” He replies.

“Yeah, no, but I really am thankful for Jennie, though,” You repeat yourself, “—And Hyunjin, he’s my other best friend—honestly, they probably know me better than my family does,”

Mark chuckles to himself. “Yeah. I feel you on that one,” He breathes out quietly.

“.…Did we talk about this, too?” You ask, after a beat of silence.

He licks his lips, before nodding at you with a slight smile. “Yeah, yeah we sure did.”

“Mmmmm,” You hum in understanding as you purse your lips in thought, “We’re probably having a ’50 First Dates’ moment right now or something,” You chuckle.

“Yeah, but instead of legitimate amnesia, it’s you getting incredibly drunk on few bottles of soju,” He chuckles with you.

You heave a sigh, feeling a little guilty, “Yeah, dude, sorry about that, really,”

He smiles at you. “Don’t worry about it, y/n, it’ll come back real soon just like our Bieber convo, right,” He jokes, before abruptly stopping in his tracks. “Oh, we’re here.”

“Oh, shit, right, haha,” You finally notice, “Got so lost in the convo,”

You quickly make your way towards the spreads area, Mark following closely behind you. You finally spot the overly familiar jars of jam you always see tucked into the corner of your kitchen counter. Taking two for good measure, you head your way to the self-check counter, before Mark stops you in your tracks by firmly placing a hand your shoulder.

“Hold up, y/n, gotta get some essential sustenance,”

“….Okay,” You respond quizzically, not entirely sure what he’s implying.

He makes his way towards the produce area, quickly browsing the last of the ¼ cut watermelons available.

“Dude, are you serious,” You say.

“Wait, what? Watermelons are serious business,” He replies. “Jennie needs her marmalade, and Mark needs his watermelon—”

“No, dude, I get it, hundred percent, like—moments of luxury’s like when you’re watching anime with a bigass quarter watermelon on your lap, scooping on it with a damn spoon,”

A wide grin grows onto his face, “Of course you’d know what you’re talking about. Not gonna get any with me?”

“I’m all good dude, still got some at home.” You respond.

He chuckles, as he finally picks one out for himself. “Let’s go,” He announces, gesturing at the self-checkout area.

As you both finally make your way towards said area, you can’t help to notice the specific kind of peace during a midnight stroll in the city, looking at the way the lights illuminate the empty streets through the glass walls of the supermarket.

“Mark, this is such a Frank Ocean moment though, right,” You mutter as you continue to check out your jams.

He pauses whilst checking his item out to smile at you, before proceeding to pay for his purchase. “..How good would it be, if during every midnight stroll, when barely anyone’s there, there’d be an auto-BGM of Frank Ocean’s discography—like, in our ears,” He says, chuckling.

“Oh, man, that’d be so good though,” You respond, putting your items in a plastic bag.

“For real,” He responds, similarly putting his watermelon in a plastic bag. He pauses his movements for a brief second.

“You know, what, y/n,”

“What?”

“Does Jennie need her jams, like, right now?”

“No, Jennie needs her jams in the morning.”

“Come over to my place. Let’s listen to Frank Ocean and get chill. You haven’t heard his last release anyway right,” He proposes.

You smile warmly at him. “You know what, yeah. Let’s do that.”

He breaks out in small laughter from the excitement, before clapping his hands together. “Awesome. My place is around some 15–20-minute walk from here, though. You wanna take an uber?”

“Nah, let’s walk. We get to talk more that way,” You remark.

“True, alright, let’s roll then,” Mark responds in agreement as you both exit the supermarket, continuing to walk outside alongside each other as you have been doing earlier.

As you notice Mark’s evident attempts to deepen the relationship, you decide that it might not be a bad idea to try to do the same—you’ve probably done so with him previously anyway, despite not remembering much of it.

“So, the parents—um, trust thing,” You say, slightly redirecting the topic, deciding upon yourself that it’s still a little bit soon to talk about your family. “How much have I told you, really?”

“Hmm, doesn’t feel right if I were to be the one to remind you. Feels like it wouldn’t have been within your consent or something, you know, even though you were the one to tell me all that back then,” He chuckles.

“Haha, I appreciate that,” You respond, “I guess, as I was saying… It’s always been a little bit hard for me to trust others, I guess, so, I’m thankful of my best friends.”

“Right,” He responds, seemingly to have understood you prior to your revelation.

“I’m guessing that I’ve talked about my past experiences, like, with,… men, I guess,” You say, slightly hesitantly.

Mark chuckles fondly at your genuine attempts to open up. “You know, y/n, you don’t have to force it, right? You can talk about it whenever you’re comfortable enough to,”

“But I want to, Mark...” You say with conviction, “I wanna try,”

He looks at you with a tendered gaze, understanding your resolve. “Okay, well, then go ahead and try,”

“..I have a lot—I guess, but, I think, a huge impact was made from my last long-term relationship, I’d say..”

“Mhm,”

“We had a really toxic relationship… Like, we were high school sweethearts, and had to attend different unis in different states, so we were pretty much long-distancing.”

You look back at Mark, who has his gaze fixed onto you, whenever he’s not looking at the streets to see where he’s heading.

“Like I guess we had what you’d call innocent young love, you know, promise to get married, all that bullshit,”

He nods at you, his attention still fully focused onto you, if not on the streets.

“After a while, I guess he got tired of me, probably? Like I’d literally save up to visit him without my parents knowing, save up to buy him birthday presents. But he’s never given me a birthday present on the day of, you know. It’s always at least a month late… I’d hate to compare, too, but he was always on time for his ex…. And one time, when he got sick, his ex wanted to visit, told me, ‘Don’t be surprised if you bump into her on the way, okay,’. Though in the end she didn’t end up visiting, can’t believe I was just whatever about that,”

“..Fuck…,” Mark huffs at your story.

“….And he was never available for a call, much less video call. We probably called each other once a month if we’re lucky… He was always too busy for me,”

“..What is he, a prisoner who’s only got specific allocated times for a call? Damn,”

You chuckle at Mark’s remark pitifully, “Nah, unfortunately, he’s just a commerce uni student.. I’m assuming I haven’t told you about this,”

“I feel like you’ve told me quite a bit here and there—but not this, you haven’t.” He replies, and you could sense the anger from the tone of his voice.

You laugh at your own past fate. “Yeah, it was a shitty relationship I had with him. He was always telling me how to do things, too. Like we wouldn’t be able to do this right now if I were with him, you know, just walking alone conversing with a dude,”

Mark shakes his head in utter disbelief, and you could almost hear him cursing in his head.

“And every time I’d say we gotta review our relationship, or I’d try to send him my art or whatever, he’d only respond with one or two words or something. It was hard to let him go, too, cause he was too good at promising things when I needed to hear it… Delivering it was another thing, though.”

Mark continues to scoff at your story in its utter incredulousness.

“I really tried so, so hard to repair the ruptures we had. I couldn’t stop thinking that the downfall of the relationship was really all my fault. Cause in the beginning, okay, I had to rely on him a lot due to some family problems. I was going through things….” You say, swallowing thickly in an attempt to relieve a lump forming in your throat.

Mark notices this, looking over at you delicately. He seemingly was about to interrupt you from trying to recall those painful memories, before rescinding his decision to do so seeing as you’re doing your best to open up.

“….I lashed out on him, here and there…. Until one day, he just switched, and never returned. He just turned cold, and only warm whenever he feels the need to retain me, I guess.” You finally continue, feeling your own voice tremble from the weight of coaxing open a part of your innermost vulnerability. “Wasted all those years of my life with him, too, because I thought I could single-handedly return things to the way it was…. And now I’m stuck here, not being able to establish any real, trusting, genuine relationships because, I’m assuming, that’s the best way I’m protecting myself, that maybe, I think I might not deserve all that, and the worse thing is, I can’t help but think that way…. And it’s all my fault that I’m this screwed up.”

You’re taken aback as you suddenly feel wetness making their way down your cheeks, not even realizing that you’ve broken yourself open to the point of tears.

“…Oh my god, I’m so sorry, Mark, I—”

Mark quickly pulls you into a hug, placing his hand gently on your head. “...Don’t apologize, y/n. You’ve done such a great job in opening up, okay? ..Instead, let’s thank yourself for that,”

More tears continue to paint your dampened cheeks as you’ve felt as if you’ve been embraced—perhaps, quite literally—in all your vulnerability.

He takes a look at you with his rounded eyes, the glimmer of the city lights reflected onto the marbled surface of his dark irises.

“You don’t think I should blame myself...?” You ask him with a weakened voice, as your tears continue to fall with abandon.

“No, y/n, I don’t think you should.” Mark looks at you, retaining a firm gaze onto your eyes, “If anything, you should thank yourself for going through all that, and that you’re still standing strong today,”

“B-but I did all that, I l-lashed out on him—”

“And he gave late presents. And he almost never called you. Everyone makes mistakes, y/n, in fact, he made plenty—but okay, what I’m trying to say is that—things happen. And that’s okay. That’s how you figure out what’s good for you or not. Just like finding the perfect watermelon batch for your anime nights in, you gotta sort through the shittier ones, right?” He reassures you gently.

You look at him with glossed eyes full of tears, and the way he’s accepting you, and even encouraging you in all of your vulnerability—you can’t help but fall back onto his arms and sob even more onto his shoulder, effectively wetting his denim jacket.

He chuckles as he holds you in his embrace, “This doesn’t seem new to me,”

“Ugh, shut up, Mark... but, I mean, thank you….,” You try to form a coherent sentence as you continue to sniffle against his shoulder.

“I know, y/n, I know. It’s okay.” He responds as he continues to rub your back.

“God, now I’m just remembering that I wanted to purchase a Champion hoodie myself because you were wearing one during camp and I was crying on it, oh my god, I’m such a mess, I’m sorry,”

Mark laughs heartily. “Don’t apologize, y/n, don’t apologize. Though I still recommend the Champion hoodie, though. They’re real comfortable, good material, too.”

You cry even louder into his embrace, perhaps from immense relief, from being able to experience an overwhelming feeling of being cared for—a feeling that shakes you to the core, one that you’re not sure how to react to but to cry, and cry loud, due to the sheer amount of tenderness that’s become nothing but foreign to your entire body. You tempt yourself with the thought that perhaps, your decision to take the precarious leap in doing something indescribably fearful for yourself wouldn’t be that bad of an idea, at least, maybe not as much as you previously thought.

After Mark helps you calm down, subsequently making the rest of the trip back to his apartment, you finally arrive at his flat, entering his place, and you immediately notice the way Mark makes his way quickly over to the refrigerator to store his watermelon.

“..Shit, I’m so sorry, should’ve cried upon arrival or something,” You chuckle at yourself, genuinely regretting that you might’ve tampered with another man’s watermelon.

“That’s okay, y/n, deep convos know no time nor place, you feel me,” He lightly jokes. “And besides—come on, a watermelon’s a watermelon, all’s good in the hood,”

You chuckle at Mark’s constant attempts to lighten the mood—and a successful one at that.

“And I’m sure it’s fine, it’s only been a few extra minutes,” He finishes, before clapping his hands together. “So, let’s have a mini Spotify listening party, what do you say to that?”

“Yes! Yes please,” You eagerly respond.

Mark quickly looks over to what seems like the sliding door to Jaehyun’s room, seeing that his lights are off.

“Ah, I guess Jaehyun wasn’t waiting for me at all. Dude’s out too, haha, I guess it is a Saturday night after all,” He muses, “Alright, I guess that means we could use the TV here in the living room, got the speakers and all, too,”

You survey Mark’s living room set, complete with what you assume would be a couple of high-end speakers, with a large flat-screen smart TV. And of course, his PS 4 and other gaming consoles are perched right next to said TV.

“Jaehyun and I are kinda into music a bit too much, so when we moved in together we were set on buying some proper speakers for the living room. So even if we wanted to play smash, Naruto, or listen to some sick tunes, we’d be all set,” Mark says as he’s dragging the living room couch farther from the TV.

“Wait, what are you doing?” You ask.

“Sometimes when Jae and I are really feeling it, we’d do this thing when we’d make some space on the floor, lie down with these pillows, and just get really chill with music on or something,” He responds, pointing at the large throw pillows haphazardly strewn all across the carpeted floor.

“Ooh, I was wondering why you’d have so many pillows on the floor. Dude, isn’t this technically kinda like you and Jae’s mancave or some sort?” You joke, chuckling.

“Haha, I guess you’re kinda right. But hey, we welcome ladies—or anyone else really. It’s a… no judgment zone… everyone’s welcome to chill their brains out,” He responds, as he finally finishes preparing the space, moving to grab the TV remote and sort through his playlists.

“Awesome, do you have a specific playlist in mind?” You ask him, as you join him in looking through his playlists on the TV screen.

“Yeah, I have this chill kickback playlist, it has Frank Ocean and everything, including his new song, so it’ll eventually get there,” He says, finally selecting the playlist quite literally titled ‘chilled kickbacks’, and turning off the display of said TV right afterwards.

“Don’t ask—Jae was the one who titled this playlist,” He says, eyes briefly flickering towards yours. “Man’s a fan of Frank Ocean and other things, too,”

“Hey—No judgment zone,” You say as you lift your arms, earning a light chuckle from Mark.

You sit down on the floor, gathering some cushions so you could get comfortable. You see Mark moving towards the light switch, turning it off, and subsequently lighting up some scented candles placed on top of some of the medium-sized bookcases lined around a meter away from the TV.

“Oh, dang, got the full set and everything. Y’all light up the candles too when you do stuff like this?” You ask him, inhaling the pleasant scent of what you would assume to be a light, sweet citrusy scent, slightly weighted by a woodsy one.

“Sometimes, sometimes,” He says, chuckling. “It’s immaculate vibes, you know, why not. But not all the time, though,”

“Dude, you two should get married or something, ever considered that?” You lightly joke.

“We would, but unfortunately we both only like women,” He jokes back, hands on his pockets, after finally having lighted up the last of the scented candles. “We’re just two dudes hangin out having similar tastes, what can you say,”

You chuckle at him. “That sounds good to me,”

He looks down at you, smiling warmly. He’s right though, it really does create such an immaculate vibe. The audio blasting through Mark’s speakers seem to swallow the entirety of the dark, spacious living room, with the highlight of the ambience being the assortment of scented candles carefully perched on several bookcases, wafting its sweet yet intoxicating scent throughout the rest of the room, filling up the vacant spaces where brightness would’ve instead. You wouldn’t hesitate to agree if Mark were to possibly boast this whole set-up as a total sensory indulgence, because this is exactly that.

“Lie down, get comfortable,” You suddenly get slightly taken aback by the distance closed between you and Mark—and you’ve never realized the actual depth to his voice, until your other senses being taken away in this manner. You feel your face heat up, and you’re pretty sure Mark would be able to see your face turn slightly more crimson if the room was bright enough. You silently thank the room for being dark enough for you to only be able to see the faint outlines of Mark’s face.

“..Okay,” You comply, lying down on a spot you’ve created.

Mark settles down right next to you, and both of you just share this moment—in silence—being swallowed whole by this entire experience. Both of you look at the ceiling, ever so slightly brightened up only by the flickering flames from the assortment of candles Mark’s lit up. Just as you and Mark were getting comfortable on the carpeted floor, the playlist switches to Frank Ocean, as if on cue.

“Damn, immaculate vibes,” You mutter to yourself.

“Right?” Mark responds, and you could hear the slight brag from the tone of his voice.

“Totally,” You reply in complete honestly.

The playlist switches to the song ‘Ivy’ from Frank Ocean’s Blond album.

“..Favorite song off of Blond?” He asks.

“Hmmm. Difficult. I obviously love Ivy and Nights, but I think my favorite’s actually Futura Free,” You respond. “You?”

“I’m more of a Solo guy,” He replies, “Like, if anyone were to tell me to pick one song to listen to for the rest of my life, it would’ve been that.”

“I get it though, I too, love Solo,” You agree, “That moment when Frank Ocean shifts from kind of ad-libbing, kind of moaning or something, to the sound of wolves howling, not gonna lie, that almost made me cry once,”

Mark chuckles at your response. “Yeah, you’d get it.”

“Yeah, I really do.” You say, “Like, the way he embodies his emotions in his music, and how he takes us with him in his experiences—it creates such a raw, intimate, moment.”

“Yeah, exactly.” Mark responds, “Like the way he talks about his feelings and runs through them with you, like I’m not him, I’ve never been and I’ll never be him, but Solo really does make me emotional. Like you could feel the shared feeling of loneliness—and at the same time, it makes you feel less alone? Cause at that moment, someone else completely understands,”

You smile to yourself. “Yeah. It’s amazing how loneliness is such a personal feeling yet it’s more universal than ever,”

“Yeah,” Mark says, and you could hear the slight smile from the tone of his voice.

You continue to share a few moments in silence, as the playlist switches to the song ‘Forrest Gump’.

“You know, y/n, I’d hate to remind you of the stuff you’ve thought about earlier—” Mark starts, after a few beats of silence, seemingly mulling over whether or not it’d be fine to bring up some earlier topics. “And I always try to be objective with my advice for my friends, but I don’t know, I took your story a little personally, maybe.”

“Yeah?” You ask him.

“Although I completely understood where you’re coming from, I didn’t like how you’d think you won’t deserve those things, you know—real, genuine connections. Because I’m just lying here feeling like, we literally have only met twice, and both times, I’ve never been able to connect with anyone this much—not like this,”

“Not even with Jae?” You joke, as you usually would during more vulnerable moments.

“Nah, we just do things cause we like to. But this, this is different. This feels… Kind of real, to me. You’re so capable of real connections, y/n. Maybe even much more than you think. At least that’s how it is to me.”

You stay quiet, entirely immersed in Mark’s attempts to put his thoughts into words.

“And to me, like I’m not even sure this is even objective or anything, but I’m just being honest—to me, you deserve those things, and so much more, y/n. I don’t know, you have so much depth in you. The way I see it, you’re always looking for answers, for yourself, and also for everyone else around you, whether you realize it or not. And that warrants much more than just deserving of acceptance,”

You choose to keep yourself quiet, trying to digest Mark’s words that’s pretty much created a whole tornado within your gut and an unexplainable feeling of heat—perhaps, even warmth—all throughout your chest. You almost feel yourself choking up, despite having emptied your tears on your walk over to Mark’s place.

“…Mark..,” You finally say, “You’re gonna make me cry again,”

“Oh, oh, no y/n,” Mark responses panickedly, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“No, Mark. Thank you,” You say, and this time, with nothing but gratitude in your heart. For once, you’re being completely open, raw, and honest with someone else—you couldn’t recall the last time you’ve done this with anyone apart from your two best friends. The fear would normally swallow you whole, but something about this shared moment with Mark just creates a blanket of safety telling you that, for once, maybe things are going to be okay with you. Even if it’s just a maybe, even if only at this very moment. That to you, is already good enough, and much more than you could ever ask for.

The playlist switches over to a Frank Ocean song that sounds unexpectedly foreign to your ears. In this moment, you’ve felt something’s shifted.

“..Oh,” You let out.

“..Yeah,” Mark responds.

“..He’s singing in Spanish,”

“..Yeah,” Mark says.

“Oh my god,” You say.

“..Yeah,” Mark echoes once more.

You stay silent, and you notice Mark letting you take in the song in its entirety, the first listen, in such a fitting atmosphere. The song is so good. So, so good.

“I love it,” You say simply.

“It really is very, very good,” Mark responds.

“God I honestly don’t know what he’s singing about since I’ve just listened but… I feel… I feel so much,” You try to explain, turning your head to look at Mark, only to see him meeting your eyes right away.

He’s been looking your way, perhaps this entire time.

“Yeah, I get that,” Mark says, looking straight into your eyes.

You drink up Mark’s features like you’ve never had before—and this time you do so with no hesitation whatsoever. He seems to want to do the exact same, with you.

“Wonder what ‘Cayendo’ means,” You say quietly, your eyes burning the contours of Mark’s face onto the contents of your mind.

“...It means falling, ’Si puedo soportar lo que siento, ¿por qué me estoy cayendo?’” He sings along with the song, still keeping his eyes on you. “.…’If I can deal with my feelings, then why am I falling?’”

You feel heat radiating off of his face, and you’re just realizing the way your heart is hammering right through your chest. You wouldn’t be surprised if Mark’s able to hear your heartbeat given how that’s the only thing you could hear, apart from Frank singing his soul out to you both. Mark’s gaze flickers for a second towards your lips, and a lot less inconspicuously this time around. And as if it’s the most natural thing to do, both you and Mark move closer to each other’s faces, looking to slowly close the remaining space that’s left between your lips.

[talicat713]

It’s Always Been Molly

John Shelby x OC

Part Eighteen

*GIF CREDIT TO ORIGINAL POSTER*

A/N: 🎃Happy Halloween everyone🎃. I was a little MIA last week. Haven’t been feeling great so I didn’t feel like editing or writing. Here is the next part. Please bare with me on when Nineteen will be posted. I haven’t even started writing it yet. Let me know what you think of this part and happy reading!

Warnings: language, angst, breastfeeding, cursing, *sorry if I missed any*

READ PARTS 1-17 HERE

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Taglist: @haphazardhufflepuff   @pijoendios   @theshelbyclan   @wnygirl2012 @bekkimahonxx95 @pleasantlyspookycreation  @lovemissyhoneybee @shelundeadxxxx  @mt2413 @wolfofluna  @lotsoflovefromlea   @theunderlier   @envysorrows   @healthygirlsdoitbetter   @account71453  @blindedbypeaky   @xshinytrashcanx   @wednesdayqueen-18   @chaotichurricaneoffandoms   @jrdpdlcki @lettersshapes   @rosesandrap  @jenni-jones00  *if you would like to be added please let me know*

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Previously:

At the table, John pulled Molly’s chair out for her while she placed the babies back into their pram,” My apologies for returning late. They wanted to eat more than usual.”

Zilpha gives her a small smile,” No need to apologize dear. We women know when a baby is hungry, they must eat,” she paused for a moment,” Now that we are all here, I’ve come to a decision about both the marriage and the truce.” 

=====================================

The entire family was on the edges of their seats waiting for Zilpha to continue. However, Molly grew more nervous as the silence continued. The only thing she could think of was going back to her home with her babies and still have to be a single mother. 

Zilpha finally broke the silence by sighing,” After talking with Esme in private, she has convinced me that the best option for everyone involved would be to keep the truce we have between the family’s. It has continued to work these past months, even though the tension.”

Molly watched as Thomas physically relax knowing that truce was still going to stand and business will continue as usual. Molly was grateful that the truce was going to stay intact, but she physically started to shake as her nervousness increased. 

John noticed and grabbed her hands to stop them,” Love,” he whispered, grabbing her attention. Molly looked over at him, tears streaming down her face. John pulled her hands to his lips, kissing them,” Remember what I just told you,” he whispered,” Nothing is going to keep me away from you.”

Molly nodded as she dried her tears and continued to listen to Zilpha and Thomas talk about the truce. 

“Zilpha, we are all happy to hear you will keep the truce and continue to help with our business, but this isn’t the main reason why we are here today,” Thomas continued,” We all need to know about the marriage.”

“After listening to everything said here about the marriage and speaking with Esme, I agree that annulling the marriage would be the best option for all parties involved. So consider the marriage between John and Esme annulled.”

Molly’s eyes widened at Zilphas words. She musters up a new set of happy tears as she looks over at John who is also crying. Their eyes meet and John instantly pulls Molly up from the chair and spins her around happily,” That’s it love. I’m no longer married. We can finally be a family.” The rest of the Shelby’s watch as the two have their moment. The men were cheering and the women were crying happy tears. 

Zilpha clears her throat again, causing everyone to quiet down,” I’m glad everyone is happy with my decision, but I do want Esme to be married before this child is born. So Jacob,” she say, gesturing him over to her,” I think you have something to ask my daughter.” Zilpha handed Jacob a box with a ring in it. 

Jacob smiled, happy that he was being accepted as a suitable man to marry her daughter,” Well Es, it’s official. You are an unmarried woman. How about you marry me instead? ,” as he gets down on one knee, opening the box. 

Molly watches as her brother purposes to the women he loves with a giant smile on her face. She hadn’t seen Jacob this happy in a while. Molly felt John wrap his hands around her waist,” You know that will be us one of these days.” 

Molly chuckles,” You don’t need to ask me, you already know what I’ll say. Just put the ring on my finger when I’m sleeping and you're up taking care of the babies.” 

“She better have that ring on her finger as soon as you get home,” Polly says admiring how happy the two are.

“John, why don’t you go stay at Molly’s tonight? Karl and I will go stay at yours with the kids.,” Ada suggests,” Looks like those two are heading to party with the Lees,” pointing to Jacob and Esme. 

“I think that’s a great idea,” Molly smiles,” I’ll be right back.” John nods and watches Molly make her way to Jacob, Esme and Zilpha.

Jacob smiles as his sister makes his way over to him. He untangles himself from Esme to wrap his sister in a hug,” Hi sister, I want to introduce you to my fiancé.”

Molly chuckles rolling her eyes,” Ha ha very funny Jake, but the reason I came over was to congratulate you both, and thank Ms. Lee for taking everything said here today into consideration. If Jacob and Esme choose to stay in town, I will make sure he treats her with nothing but respect. I would also like to offer my midwifery services once everything is settled.” 

“You are welcome Molly. You and John seems to have a bond that cannot be broken and some spirits came to me to make sure I saw that,” Zilpha says, taking Molly’s hands,” One of the spirits wanted me to tell you that she is very happy that you and John will finally get your happily ever after. She also says to make sure her babies that she loves them and that she will always be with them.” Molly smiles and thanks Zilpha for the message. 

She waves to her brother as he and Esme climb into a wagon and watches as they ride off. She turns around to see John pushing the pram toward her,” We are all meeting back at the house to for a celebratory dinner and a drink. Then we will head to yours for the night.” 

Molly smiles and nods, following the rest of the family out of Charlie’s yard. This was the first time in a very long time she was truly happy and didn’t have to worry about being a single mother anymore. 

=====================================

After dinner, Molly and John went back to her home to put the babies to bed. The two then sat on the sofa for a while talking about how happy they were,” I’m a little sad I’ll have to leave this home. This house holds so many memories,” Molly says, cuddling into Johns side. 

“Love, me and the kids can move in here if that’s what you want,” John replies.

“I’m not asking you to do that. Your home is bigger and has one more bedroom. I just hope Jacob and Esme decide to live here. I would hate to have to sell it to someone.”

“You don’t think the two are going to settle down here? ,” John asks her.

“Esme likes to travel and Jacob will follow her anywhere. Maybe they can stay here until the baby is born. I would love to help her deliver the child here, like my gran and mum did,” Molly smiles, reaching up to kiss him,” but we will see. As long as I have you, I’m the happiest woman in the world.”

“I can’t wait to tell the kids. Katie is going to be so happy,” John says. 

“I can’t wait to have all the children in the same home,” Molly replies.

“Tomorrow we will tell them and then get you packed. I don’t want to spend another night without you future Mrs. Shelby.”

Molly kisses his cheek,” Then we best head to bed so tomorrow will come quicker.” 

John quickly lifts her from the sofa and carry’s her up the stairs to her bedroom. The two spend their night wrapped in each other’s embrace, where they both belong. 

=====================================

Molly woke up the next morning to the sound of her bedroom door opening and her babies crying,” Morning love, I tried to hold them off for as long as I could, but they soon figured out I don’t got the goods they are looking for,” John said entering the room. 

“Well bring them here and get back in bed,” she says as she sits up a little reaching out for the babies. “Good Morning my loves. Did daddy get you up this morning? ,” she says as she snuggled them close and gets them settled to feed.

John smiles watching his little family. He still couldn’t believe the events that happened the previous day. He was so excited that he will be able to have his whole family together under one roof. 

He crawls back into bed, pulling Molly into his side,” You ready to be a mother of six instead of a mother of two?”

Molly smiles,” I’m a little nervous, but excited at the same time. I’ve always wanted a big family.”

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing I have a lot of kids,” John chuckles.

“Zilpha gave me a message from a spirit yesterday,” Molly says quietly, making John give her a questionable look,” The spirit said she was happy you and I were finally getting our happily ever after. It was Martha, John. She told me to tell the children how much she loves them and that she watching over them. What if she doesn’t approve of how I’m going to raise them?” 

“Molly, she probably wouldn’t want anyone else raising her children. You are going to be a wonderful mother and role model for those kids,” John reassures her,” Should we get up and get ready to go have breakfast with the kids? ,” he asks changing the subject.  Molly nods adjusting the babies as she gets up from the bed. 

John watches as she takes the babies into their room to get them changed and dressed. He could tell she was still doubting herself. John got up from the bed and followed her into the nursery. 

Once she put the babies down, he wrapped his arms around her waist,” I’m sorry if I upset you. I know you are just scared, but you’ve already been a mother figure to my kids, it’s just going to be more official now. Martha would be so happy that you are raising her kids. She knows that my boys will learn how to treat a lady with respect because of you and that Katie will have a strong mother figure to look up to. I can feel her presence in my home, I know that she was angry that Esme was in my bed not you. Martha fought just as hard from the other side to get us together,” he paused for a moment as Molly turned herself around to lay her head on his chest,” I don’t think I ever told you this but I wasn’t supposed to be at the meeting we had when we all found out you were pregnant. Tommy said I needed to be with my wife and kids. Something pulled me to house that night and now I think it was Martha telling me to step up and fight for the love of my life. We did that and now look at us, getting ready to go to OUR home and tell OUR children that YOU are going to be their mother. You don’t need to worry about being a good mother because you already are and you have been for years. Taking care of Jacob after your mother’s death, taking care of those kids in London, taking care of Finn, those prove you already are a great mother. You are only going to get better from here.” 

Molly smiles, taking in all of his words. She then pulls away from him and kissed him,” Thank you. Your words are very reassuring. I’m ready to go tell our children that their baby siblings are coming home.” 

John smiles, squeezing her tight and places a kiss on her forehead,” Let me change and dress them then. You go get ready darling,” John suggests. Molly nods and makes her way back to her bedroom. John walks over to the babies in their bassinet, Ben and Ellie both giving him gummy smiles,” You hear that loves, you’re finally coming home. Your big brothers and sister are going to be so happy.” 

Once John finished getting the babies ready for the day, he walked out of the nursery to find Molly walking out of her room,” That was fast love! We ready to go? ,” he asked. 

“Yes, I’m starving, let’s go,” she answers eagerly. 

The two make their way downstairs and out the door toward Johns home. When they got there, Molly opened the door so John could push the pram into the home. She could hear Polly, Ada and the kids making breakfast,” Hello is anyone home? ,” she asked, grabbing the babies from the pram. 

“Molly! ,” four little voices said at the same time. Molly then heard little feet running toward her.

“Be careful, loves, I’ve got the babies,” Molly warned before they could run into her,” Give me a second to lay them, then I’ll give you all a cuddle.”

“Here love let me take them,” John says, reaching for the babies,” I’m so happy to know that none of my children are excited to see me.” He lays the babies in a bassinet, watching as all the kids line up to get cuddles from Molly.

While Molly was busy catching up with the children, John went over to the kitchen to help Polly and Ada finish breakfast. “Did you have a good night? ,” Ada asks, wiggling her eyebrows.

John rolls his eyes,” We had a great night, but not in the way you think. It was just nice to be able to hold her while we talked and then fell asleep.” 

“Well, I’m sure you eager to tell the kids and move her in,” Polly adds,” Come on kids, breakfast is ready.” 

All of the children ran to the table and sat in their seats. Halfway through breakfast, John thought it would be a good idea to tell the kids the news. He gave Molly a nudge on the shoulder and a nod, letting her know he was going to tell them. 

“So kids, you know how Benjamin and Eleanor have been living with Molly at her house, but they are your siblings,” John paused, watching the kids nod,” Well, what if I told you that they can start living here now, would you all be okay with that?”  All four kids got excited look on their faces and nodded their heads yes.

“What if I moved here with them? Would you all be okay with that? ,” Molly asked. Molly watched as four little smiles formed on each of their faces and they nodded their heads yes again. 

John turned and looked at Molly and smiled,” Well, I guess you're moving in. We better eat up because we are going to need all your help today.” Molly smiled back, happy that the children were okay with her and the babies moving in.

“Where is Esme going to live if Molly is moving here? ,” Katie asked, curiously.  Johns eyes widened and his mouth opened and closed as he tried to find the words.

Luckily Molly stepped in to answer,” Well darling, Esme is going to go live with my brother Jacob in my house.”

“Why? Isn’t she married to you daddy? ,” Katie asked again.  Molly and John then looked over to Polly to see if she could help explain.

“Katie, you know how yesterday you saw all of us leave to go to Uncle Charlie’s,” Polly started, as Katie nodded her head,” Well we all met with Esme’s family to talk about hers and your dads marriage. We all decided that it would be best if they didn’t stay married, and now this lets Molly and the babies move in here with all you and be a family.” 

Molly and John sent Polly thankful looks across the table. They could see that Katie was trying to understand what she was told but she was ultimately too young to understand. 

Molly cleared her throat,” Katie, I know you may not understand all of that information, but are you still okay with me moving in?”

“Yes,” Katie answers,” I want you to move in because your cooking is better than dads and Esme’s.”

“Excuse me, but my cooking is great, right boys,” John says, as he acts offended. The boys just look at him with wide eyes, not know what to say. 

Molly laughs,” It’s okay boys, he’s just joking,” Molly reassures them,” Well missy I’m glad you like my cooking, I’ve learned from the best,” pointing at Polly,” Once I am all settled and moved in, I’ll start teaching you some things.”

They all continued to talk about what was going to happen once Molly and the babies moved in. Molly was relived about how well the children took the news and she was excited for the future. 

After breakfast, the kids helped Ada clean up while Polly informed John and Molly that she and Ada were going to take the kids to the pictures while they started packing and moving. John agreed that that would be the best option since the nanny had the day off. 

Once Polly, Ada and the kids left, Molly got the babies ready to eat. She and John were sitting on the sofa when there was a knock at the door. Molly quickly grabbed a blanket to cover herself while John answered the door. 

Outside stood Esme and Jacob,” Sorry about knocking. Didn’t feel right to just come in like I used to,” Esme says as John ushers them inside. 

“No need to apologize, you do still live here,” John answers as they sit down in the parlor. 

“That’s what we came to talk about,” Jacob says,” I’m assuming you're moving in here right Molly?”

“Yes, our plan was to head over and pack my things after I finish feeding them,” Molly answers,” Are you to planning on staying here or are you going to go live with your family Esme?” 

“Jake and I spoke about that last night. We were hoping you would be okay with us staying in your family home at least until the baby arrives and then we can decide if a life on the road is a good idea,” Esme states,” Staying here will be easier for us to take you up on your offer, to be my midwife.” 

Molly smiles widely,” I would be honored to be your midwife and of course it’s okay for you to stay there. I was hoping you both would stay. I’m not ready to let my baby brother leave home just yet.” 

“I’m not a baby anymore, Molly,” Jacob whines.

“You’ll always be a baby,” Molly and Esme say at the same time as they both smile at each other. They all laugh and chat until the babies were finished eating. Molly then puts the babies down for a nap. 

“I’m going to head back to mine with Jake to start packing. I’m going to leave most of the nursery things there, that way we don’t have to move too much. The babies will be sleeping in our room until we all get settled,” Molly says, hugging John,” You’ll be okay with the babies for a little bit? Once Esme is finished, you can see if Thomas, Arthur and Finn will help move her stuff to mine. I should have the baby things packed by then.”

“I’ll be fine here, you go get packing. I’m way too excited to get you moved in,” John answers, kissing her. 

Molly smiles, then heads for the door,” Come on Jake. Time to go spend our last few hours as housemates.” Jacob chuckles as the two make their way back to their childhood home. 

Molly spent the next few hours packing her and the babies things, and placing the boxes and cases in the parlor. As she was packing the clothes from her wardrobe, she came across a box of her mother’s things. She sat on her bed and started looking through the box. There were a few photos of Molly and her grandmother in that box and some of her mother, Jake and herself. 

“You know you're supposed to be packing the box not unpacking it,” Jacob joked as he came into the room,” Is that moms stuff?”

Molly looked up,” Yeah, what’s left of her jewelry, some letters and photos. I think some of this stuff is Grandma Jeans as well. I’ll put it back in the wardrobe in a minute.” 

“No, you keep it and take it with you,” Jacob declines,” I’ve got all this other stuff to teach my son or daughter about our mum. I’ve pulled a few things from the kitchen I know mum would want you to have as well.”

Molly smiles,” You know I’m really proud of you. For stepping up to help me when I was pregnant and now stepping into the father role. Mum would be proud of you.” 

“She’d be proud of you too Molly,” Jacob adds,” Leaving the life you made in London to come back to the place you ran away from just for me. I don’t know if I would have done that, but after some bumps, we are all finally on the right track.” 

Molly gets up from the bed and hugs Jacob,” I love you, baby brother.” 

“I love you too sis,” Jacob replies,” Oh John called, Esme is finished packing. They are on their way with his brothers. He told me to tell you that the babies were not happy that he was the one they woke up too.” 

“That just means they are hungry and he don’t got the goods to feed them,” Molly laughs,” Send him up when he gets here. Everything should be all packed by then.”

Once John and Esme arrive, Molly and Esme sit on the sofa to chat about baby and motherhood things while she feeds her unhappy babies while John, Jacob, Thomas, Arthur, Finn and some Blinders carry all of Molly and the babies things back to Johns. 

Once the babies are finished, Molly excuses herself to take one last look around to make sure she doesn’t forget anything. After a few minutes, John finds Molly standing in her now old bedroom. 

“Hey love, Pol and Ada just got back with the kids, they’ve had dinner and are getting ready for bed,” John says as he makes his way into the room,” You got everything?”

Molly sighs and smiles,” I think so, but if I did forget something, at least I’m not miles away.”

“That’s very true,” John chuckles,” You ready to head home?” 

“Yeah, let’s go home,” Molly says smiling.

The two make their way downstairs and say goodbye to Esme and Jacob. John grabs Molly’s last suitcase while she pushes the pram. When the arrive home, John makes his way in first to help lift the pram into the house. Before Molly closes the door, she takes one last look down the lane at her childhood home. Smiling at all the memories, she makes her way into her new home. She is excited for what the future has in store for her on this new journey she gets to share with John and his family.

(posted 10/31/2020)

[omgnsfwisnsfw-blog]

Game #4 Kick in the Teeth

"Ow." It was perhaps the understatement of the year. Mike's body was trembling, and this annoyed her- it was an involuntary reaction to the level of pain she was in, something she was trying to express at a minimum. She was laying on her stomach on one of the two medical tables in the trainer’s room, ice packs placed at the points of impact on her back. She breathed in and out a few times through her teeth, producing a low hiss, before turning her head to her left, towards the other current occupant of the room. The person she'd taken the worst of this beating for, and had no regrets whatsoever about it. "...hey, buddy. You okay? Sorry I wasn't quicker..." There was a pained strain in her voice, and that annoyed her as well. She had to be stronger than this. John had just finished being examined by a doctor, and was sitting in a chair beside her. He wheezed with every breath -- coughing up spittle into a white towel, "I'm," a more pronounced fit, "okay." "No you're not." She took a few rattling breaths of her own, clenching her teeth together tightly. "F-fucking Garcia... 'm gonna kick his fucking ass in so bad he's g-gonna have to open his mouth to fucking change his underwear..." Her shaking just wasn’t from pain anymore. She could feel herself getting angrier by the second, and despite the icy cold on her back her body felt very hot. Frankly she was surprised the ice hadn’t all melted by now. Her fists tightened, short fingernails digging into the heels of her palms. Every thought of the smirking face of the tag team champion only stoked her rage. Rob Garcia had hurt her, yes. But he’d hurt her partner and that was completely unforgivable. Between the twin injustices walloped upon NSFW in the form of a deftly wielded steel chair, the New Yorker was so furious she could have spat napalm. “I’m gonna get ‘im back for us, buddy. I’m gonna get ‘im fuckin’ good. I got half a mind to drag my fuckin’ carcass out to the garage and cut his goddamn brake lines.” She’d like to say that she wasn’t serious about that. But honestly, she didn’t know. “At least your friend won.” “Yeah… yeah she did, didn’t she? Heh. Guess tonight hasn’t been a total fuckin’ bust. I mean, I guess we won too. Don’t really feel like it though.” She sighed, fists unclenching slightly. “And she’s not just my friend, you know. She likes you. Kinda makes her our friend, I think.” There was a knock at the door. Mike huffed a bit. She wanted to tell whoever it was to beat it, but there was a chance it could be the doc. Or even their newly victorious and always charming Ms. Natalie Young, whose presence was always welcome. She decided to chance it- “C’mon in!” -and immediately regretted her decision as NSFW’s least favorite backstage interviewer slunk into the trainer’s room, cheezy mustache and all with a cameraman in tow. Mike rolled her eyes. “Ugh. What do you want, Heart? Ain’t in the mood for bullshittery.” Ace turned towards the camera, not even acknowledging Mike’s shot across the bow. “Ladies and gentlemen, Dr. Pepper presents an EWC.com exclusive. We are moments after Monday Night Brawl’s exciting conclusion but many people are talking about the heinous attack perpetrated by Robert Garcia and Morgan Darkwater on...” He stepped aside to reveal Church and McGuire. “NSFW. Bishop Church? What happened -- nevermind. McGuire, what happened out there tonight?” “What happened? I’ll tell you what the fuck happened. Rob Garcia signed his goddamn death warrant, that’s what the fuck happened. And you’re next on the list if you don’t apologize. Now.” She gave him a look that could only be described as borderline homicidal. “Apologize for what?” “For blowing off my fucking partner, asshole. I’m fucking serious. Apologize or neither of us is saying another fuckng word to you ever again until the fucking apocalypse, and you’ll just look like some pornstached joker holding his mic in one hand and his dick in the other. Apologize.” John looked at her with a soft expression. “It’s … okay. He just --” “No. It’s not fucking okay, Church. It hasn’t been fucking okay from the goddamn get go. As long as I’ve been here, this fuck with glorified nose hair extensions has been treating you like dirt. And I am fucking sick of it. Hey, Heart. You every wonder why we fucking avoid you? Why you haven’t gotten any airplay from us for fucking weeks? Because you’re a fuckwit and we don’t want to talk to you, because of shit like this. Because of certain members of the journalism community, present company included, acting lower than mold on rat shit. Now. Apologize.” Mike’s jaw ticked. Were she psychic, her glare might have made the journalist’s head explode. For whatever reason, the camera now zoomed in on the interviewer’s reaction to this confrontation. He let out an exasperated sigh and mumbled. “I’m sorry.” “What was that? People in the fucking cheap seats didn’t hear you. I’m not playing here, douchebag. Apologize. Fuckin’ audible-like. And not to me- to him.” Ace looked directly at Bishop Church. There was a few more seconds of dead air before Ace finally clearly stated. “I’m sorry … for uh, how I acted when you first got here.” More silence. John looked to Mike and nodded slightly. “Right. He accepts your apology so I guess I fucking do too. Now. Ask your little questions. But don’t ask me, ask my partner. We’re a goddamn team, his input’s just’s valid as mine.” “Bishop Church. First, uh, congratulations on becoming television champion.” John stared at Ace blankly. “So rough night, huh?” “You know what, Mike? Why would they do this to us? What did we ever do to them?” Mike sighed, her expression softening a bit. She turns her gaze away from Ace and toward her partner, shaking her head a little. “Because Rob Garcia is a fucking waste of meat and breath. He’s a waste, and he’s fucking scared of us. He knows it’s a matter of time. So instead of training and preparing and, y’know, acting like an actual fucking competitor, he tries to lay us out early. We didn’t do shit to him. But that don’t matter at all to people like that.” She takes a breath in, exhaling it in another hiss. “Darkwater’s a piece of shit too. He may not’ve participated in the shit with the chairs, but he walloped us outta nowhere beforehand, an’ if he didn’t like what Garcia did he sure’s fuck didn’t help. Don’t get him off the hook none, inaction makes him just’s fuckin’ guilty.” “So despite all of this, I’ve gotten word from Dr. Hiro Lee that you have both been cleared for action next week for Monday Night Brawl in Milan, Italy. This is just one week before Bishop Church defends his Television Title against Orianna Johnson at Scars and Stripes. You two are in tag team action.” “Against who?” “Yeah, who? We get our title shot? Or maybe just another crack at those limpdicks? Ooooh, I can’t fuckin’ WAIT to get my hands on them. No more Mr. Nice Guy, I’m gonna fuck ‘em both up good.” Ace shook his head. “The match you two were victorious in was not officially sanctioned as a #1 contendership bout for the tag team championships. NSFW takes on up and coming tag team: Donkey Punch.” John looked up towards the tiles on the ceiling, “Oh. Okay.” “...you’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Donkey Punch. DONKEY PUNCH. DONKEY. FUCKING. PUNCH.” “Yes. Danny and Donny Madison. They’re your opponents.” “THEY’RE PIECES OF SHIT AND YOU KNOW IT.” “They seem nice.” “Donkey Punch and NSFW have both been victims of Rob Garcia’s reign of terror.” “Oh. Oh. Heart. Just when we were starting to fucking get along. Don’t you EVER compare us to that pair of idiots. EV-VER. This is a goddamn insult. I mean, you can’t possibly fucking think they’re even in the same league as us. They ain’t even playing the same fucking SPORT.” Her nails dug into her palms again, temper beginning to seethe. John looked the camera directly with a nervous expression before returning his gaze at Mike. “They have been teaming for quite some time. They, uh, put up a good fight against Mucho Grande. I’m sorry I guess I’m not in the mood to exclaim that.” “Bud, I really hate to disagree with you, but they kinda really didn’t. They got fuckin’ annihilated in three goddamn minutes. I mean, shit, some poor guy probably got up to get fucking chips and missed the whole fuckin’ thing.” “They gave it a good try, I guess.” Ace Heart piped in, “Win withstanding, I’d say that the Donkey Punch and NSFW are on the same level.” “And I’d say you ate paint chips as a child. We are serious fucking competitors. We know how to have a good time but we fucking love this business. We’re dedicated to it. We work our fucking asses off. What do they do? Derp around, pick and eat their own fucking boogers, and make fart jokes? Do they even have two fucking brain cells between them to rub together? This isn’t a goddamn game. This. Is NOT. A stupid fucking tiddlywink-ass game.” She bared her teeth, snarling. She looked like she might leap at Ace and tear out his jugular if provoked much further. “I used to play tiddlywinks when I was a boy.” She exhaled again, a bit of a fond chuckle escaping her. She had to hand it to her partner- he had an almost uncanny way of cooling her temper. She could be the angriest she could possibly be, and just a few words from him would de-escalate things. How he did it she had no idea, but it was damn effective. “Seems like…” Ace hesitated but maybe misunderstood Church’s level gaze at Mike. “Seems like he would fit right in with them.” And wouldn’t you know it, whatever calming effect that Church had on Mike was instantly undone. Mike’s emerald glare flared back up in all its fury, face twisted into something that could only be described as genuine, full-throated hatred. “Get out.” She lifted the ice packs- about two-thirds melted by now- off of her back and began to throw them, one by one, at the interviewer. “GET OUT! YOU FUCKING TURDMUNCHER! FUCK YOU!” The ice pack smacks right into Ace’s forehead and then lands at his feet. The other two sailed over his head. He looks as if he was about to retort in kind but he regained his composure with an adjustment of his collar.“You’re a nasty woman sometimes, Mike McGuire.” At this moment, John stood up from his chair. He loomed over Ace Heart. “Please leave.” His tone left nothing to interpretation. “You got your soundbytes. My partner politely -- well, no, she asked you to leave. I am asking you to leave. Mike isn’t in a good mood. You want to prod and prod to get reactions for your reels. That’s over. Fine. We’re facing the Madison brothers. And they’re a little unorthodox. Mike believes we should be in line for a shot at the tag team championships and I am inclined to agree with her on that sentiment. If the new management team wants to see NSFW roll in the mud - then so be it.” John stepped forward, forcing Ace into the doorway. “Now get out.” Outside the doorway now. “Alright, bud. I get it, just one more--” John slammed the door in Ace’s face. Interview over. Trembling, Mike grabbed a small pillow- given the setting, probably meant more for support than comfort- and slammed her face into it, her enraged screams sufficiently muffled as not to spread outside the confines of the makeshift infirmary. She really wanted to put her fist through something. Or someone. She was so angry and frustrated and hurt, but anything she really wanted to do was either pointless or illegal. Anything but this. So she kept screaming until she ran out of breath, and only then did she come up for air, panting. “...I hate everyone. Everybody but you. And Natalie. Everyone else can fuck off and die.” “You don’t mean that.” John leaned back on the door to the hallway, “All the wonderful people we met in the last few days. They were so friendly. The old woman. She invited us into her home. For some reason. I think she said I was her son. But her? No, I don’t believe you, Mike.” “Eh, you’re right, I don’t mean it.” She took a few deep breaths, wincing a bit as her back throbbed. “It just pisses me off so bad I can’t see stuff like that sometimes. So many shitty people crop up that I start forgetting that not everyone that isn’t us is like that. And it sucks because I WANT the world to be, y’know, not awful. Not indicative of the fuckin’ loudmouth minority.” “She made us eat that weird soup. What was it?” “Borcht, I think? The beet stuff served cold? Dunno if I liked it or not. Those jam blintzes were fuckin’ great though.” And then he whispered, despite them being alone in this room, “I may have indulged in one myself.” And Mike giggled, and whispered right back. “Don’t sweat it. I had like, five.” She sighed, again marvelling at how quickly her mood had cooled. Before now, before all this, it’d taken her hours or even days to truly calm down if something got her this hot. “Hey. Maybe this won’t be so bad. At least we get a trip to Italy out of it. And that is gonna be the trip of a lifetime. Rome, Venice, fine fuckin’ art, culture, and every fuckin’ delicious thing you can imagine. It’ll be good, even if we DO have to fight fuckin’ Donkey Punch.” She tapped her chin, and then nodded, giving her partner a pat on the shoulder. “Yeah. Everything’s gonna be okay.”