#THIS HAPPENED TO ME LAST NIGHT AND I THOUGHT DANISH BOY WAS ACTUALLY HAVING AN GENUINE QUESTION | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

mochegato · 3 years ago

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Even the Losers

Chapter 7

Chapter 1 Chapter 6

Marinette rubbed her head as though the action might actually have an effect on her throbbing headache. It hadn’t any time she’d tried it in the last hour, but it gave her brain the illusion that she was doing something to help other than just waiting for the painkillers to kick in. The action also gave her something to focus on other than the pounding hangover from not getting nearly drunk enough last night. Because somehow despite the massive amounts she, Jason, and Roy had drunk last night, all of her problems still existed. Utter bullshit, that. And now she still had to deal with all her problems and felt like crap on top of it. Double bullshit.

She adjusted her sunglasses again, fighting the urge to squint because squinting hurt. Although honestly, she wasn’t sure which hurt more, the florescent lights, the sunlight beaming through the hotel windows, or squinting. She was sure there was some way to settle the glasses on her face to block out all light, she just hadn’t been able to figure it out. She now realized why people significantly smarter than her wore those godawful, ugly glasses that wrap around their head and cut out all sun.

She took a deep breath and braced herself for the full blast of a suspiciously sunny Gotham morning. Gotham has like three sunny days a year and one of them is today? What the Hell did she do to Tikki to deserve the last few days? She wandered out of the hotel still contemplating revenge. How does one get revenge against a god anyway? How many ways can she destroy cookies?

She didn’t get more than a few steps before she sensed someone in front of her. She weaved slightly to the left but quickly realized there was someone there too. She weaved to the right and finally looked up when she realized there was someone there. There were people all around her, taking pictures of her, shoving phones in her face as they yelled questions at her.

She stumbled back a few steps and blinked at the group of reporters that had apparently been camping out in front of the hotel for her. She quickly plastered on one of Adrien’s patented PR smiles and nodded to them. She tried to push through them, expecting them to move out of her way, as they did in Paris for Adrien. But reporters in Gotham clearly did not show the same respect that Parisian reporters did because none of them moved out of her way.

Her smile strained slightly as she looked to the one in front of her. “Excuse me, please,” she requested in the most sickeningly sweet voice she could manage.

The reporter sent back an excited smile. “Ms. Dupain Cheng, would you care to comment on your relationship with your family? Perhaps explain why Gotham hadn’t had the pleasure of your presence before?”

Marinette looked the reporter up and down. She looked at the group surrounding her, noting how they had closed the circle to the point of touching her. She’d been to raves with more personal space. She moved to push through a small gap between reporters, but stopped when they quickly closed the gap. Marinette gritted her teeth and widened her smile. “There’s a reason we’ve chosen not to speak about this and that reason was NOT to discuss it in an exclusive with you at this exact moment. Now if you will excuse me, I would very, very much like to get some coffee. I’m sure you can understand the difficulty of starting a day without it.”

She gave them a conspiratorial smile, hoping if they felt like they were in on the joke they would let her through. Instead, her response emboldened the reporters, who started shouting out her name and more questions.

“Will you attend more Wayne functions now?”

Marinette didn’t even know which reporter shouted the question to address them if she wanted. She huffed and decided to give up on pleasantries. She was hung over. She was hungry. She wanted coffee. “Why would people change a relationship that doesn’t involve you because you know about it?” she grunted as she tried to push through the cracks between people.

The reporters closed ranks tighter around her, making it impossible for her to break through without injuring someone, which she was sure was the plan of at least a few of them. Whether it was to get a more salacious story or to sue Bruce Wayne, she wasn’t sure. Probably both. She looked back to the hotel lobby hoping the concierge would see her predicament and help her, but he was determinedly ignoring the scene in front of the hotel.

She set her jaw and prepared herself to create a scene channeling her best imitation of an irate Chloe Bourgeoisie. She’d deal with the fallout later. Right now, she needed to get out of this situation before someone actually did push a little too hard and tiny gods decided to curse the city. She opened her mouth to yell but instead heard someone else’s voice boom through the crowd.

“I think my sister told you to leave her the fuck alone.”

Marinette looked around to try to find the source of the voice but couldn’t see past the wall of reporters. She didn’t have to wait long for him to push his way through the crowd like a wrecking ball, not worrying about injuring anyone as he shoved his way through. Jason stopped in front of her with a smirk. “She just says it in a much more polite way than I do.” He held up a bag and a tray of coffee. “I come bearing gifts so you don’t have to deal with this shit out there somewhere.”

Marinette shot him a grateful smile and turned back toward the hotel. “That sounds brilliant. Thank you.”

Jason winked at her. “I got you.”

They didn’t stop or even look at each other until the elevator doors closed behind them. Marinette leaned against the wall and finally took a full breath. She looked over to Jason with another grateful smile. “Thank you. I wasn’t expecting that and I…” She looked down for a moment to collect her thoughts. “I wasn’t prepared. I’ll do better next time.”

Jason’s eyes softened. The press was a lot for all of them to get used to. None of them had taken naturally to it, especially Gotham’s press. They at least had the advantage of starting young and knowing what to expect, not to mention since they were kids, the press didn’t have a lot of chances to get to them. Marinette had just been thrown out there without a life preserver. Bruce didn’t even send any guards. “Don’t worry about it. I thought you could use the save.”

Marinette laughed and narrowed her eyes at him. “That was a socially acceptable version of a kidnapping. I had no way of getting out of that without exposing that there is no relationship.”

“Should have just exposed it then,” he shrugged, not remotely nonplussed by her comment. “I just thought you could use some sustenance after last night.” He held up the bag for her as they exited the elevator and made their way to her room. “I know you must be used to fancy French food so I got a variety of food from the best bakery in town. And I didn’t know how you take your coffee or if you prefer tea so I got both and lots of sugar and creamer.”

Marinette giggled as she opened her door. “You’re not wrong. My parents owned a patisserie. I grew up on the best baked goods in France.”

Jason blinked a few times at her before setting the drinks and food on the coffee table. “That’s it, next family reunion is at your place.”

“Not so sure that’s going to be a thing,” she said quietly. She reached for one of the croissants and ripped off a small piece, popping it in her mouth. “Not really sure I count as family. That’s kind of been made clear.”

“Yeah well, we didn’t know and we’d like to get to know you, if you’re okay with it,” he said biting off a chunk of cheese Danish. “Look, I’m not looking for family dinners and brunches and shit, I just… want to make sure you’re okay.” He looked up at her earnestly for a moment before his eyes turned mischievous. “Although if you grew up in a bakery, I might want all that at your parents’ place.”

“At least you’re asking. That’s something anyway,” she grumbled as she took another small bite.

“Speaking of family, where is model boy?”

Marinette puckered her lips in disapproval as she watched the crumbs fall from Jason’s mouth as he spoke. She looked away before she snapped at him. “He and Max went apartment hunting.”

“Without you?” Jason asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Neither of them were suffering from a raging hangover that took double the normal dosage of painkillers just to take the edge off of,” she said pointedly.

“Coffee,” Jason grunted, motioning toward the coffee. “Lots of coffee and food and water.” He pushed the bag toward her. “Not the bird bites you’ve been taking.”

She studied the croissant in front of her with a furrowed brow as though it had some kind of answers for her. She nearly dropped it when she heard a knock on the door. She looked through the peephole and gasped, flinching back from the door. Jason immediately jumped up and ran over to her. “What is it? Another reporter?”

“No,” Marinette rasped out, her eyes never leaving the door. “Worse.” Her heart started racing and her breathing became labored. She wasn’t ready for this. She wasn’t ready to speak with him. What was she supposed to say? How was she supposed to speak with him? She didn’t even know how she felt yet. She hadn’t sorted through this all yet. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes. She wasn’t ready. This was happening too fast.

She flinched visibly when he knocked again. He’d had time to prepare. He’d had time to think this through. He knew how he felt about this. He’d had time to plan and prepare. She had none of that and here he was on her doorstep. He knew about her and she knew nothing about him. He was ready and she wasn’t given that chance.

She was just expected to deal with it. She was just expected to handle it. She was just expected to accept it. He’d created this entire situation and she was left to pick up the pieces and move on. And now he was here. He was on her figurative doorstep in person and now she had to deal with it, on his timetable, according to his preference, because yet again it all had to be done on his terms. Her preferences didn’t matter. Her feelings didn’t matter. Her opinion didn’t matter.

“Want me to kick their ass out?” Jason offered already reaching for the handle.

Marinette shook her head and let out a calming breath. He thinks he can come in after twenty years gone and act like everything is fine and expect her to play nice, he has another thing coming. He wanted a detached relationship? She could do that. She’d seen it enough growing up with Adrien and Chloe’s parents. She knew how to play the game.

She shook her hands to get the tension out before finally reaching out to open the door. “Mr. Wayne. This is an unexpected pl… experience,” she stuttered. She mentally grimaced. She was showing weakness. She needed to be strong. She plastered on a clearly fake smile. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of being weak. She wouldn’t cry for him. She hadn’t cried because of him in the twenty years he’d been absent, she wouldn’t do it now.

Bruce took a breath. “Marinette…” He froze for a second. He hadn’t thought hard enough about this. He knew what he wanted to say, what he wanted to tell her, but he hadn’t thought about how to tell her, how to lead into it. “I was hoping to speak with you,” he rushed out, wincing internally at the sound of it.

“Well, that’s a first,” she scoffed before she could stop herself. She slapped her hand over her mouth and mentally berated herself. What was she doing? She was supposed to be calm not cruel. She was losing this game!

Jason grinned and propped his arms behind his head as he kicked out his legs, the very picture of relaxed. “I like her. I’m keeping her.”

Marinette shot him an appreciative smile but Bruce did a double take, frowning at the sight. His mind raced as to what it meant that Jason was there. Was it good? It was good, wasn’t it? She was getting close to one of her brothers already. But that brother was Jason, and despite the fact that he loved Jason, he was well aware their relationship was still contentious at best. Not exactly the best brother for her to get close to. And he was already encouraging her hostility against him. Not that he didn’t deserve it, he knew he did, it was just that any of the other brothers would help mitigate that hostility. Jason would fan it. “Jason, what are you doing here?”

“Brought baked goods and coffee,” he answered casually, a smirk making its way onto his face. “You?”

Bruce let out a heavy sigh through his nose and smoothed out his face. Getting annoyed now would do nothing for his goal. If Marinette was connecting to Jason, getting frustrated with him would just push her further away. “As I mentioned, I was hoping I could speak with Marinette about the… situation. I wanted…”

“‘The situation’,” Jason mocked shaking his head at Bruce. God was he always this bad with his kids? He thought it was just him. “Way to sound sincere, B.”

Bruce’s lips pursed until they were no longer visible. He didn’t need Jason sabotaging him right now. He was doing a good enough job of it on his own. “I’d like to speak with Marinette on our own, please. Why don’t you go home?”

Marinette’s eyes went wide and her chest clenched. She didn't want Jason to leave. She wasn't ready for Jason to leave. Once Jason left it was just her and him. Just thinking about it suddenly she couldn't breathe. Suddenly the air felt too thin and too heavy at the same time. No. She needed somebody else here.

Jason shot a look over to Marinette, letting his eyes pass over Marinette like he hadn’t been noting her body language. He let his eyes wander for a second before returning to Bruce with a tilt to his head. “No. I’m witnessing this, unless Pixie tells me to go home.”

Marinette could have kissed him… on the cheek. Because he was her br… it was complicated. But she was beyond grateful he had spoken up for her. She let out the breath she’d been holding and raised an eyebrow at him. “Pixie?”

“Small, violent,” Jason grinned at her.

Marinette laughed and playfully narrowed her eyes at him. “Fine, whatever, Goliath.”

Jason leaned back again. “Oh, no, that one’s already taken. By a dragon bat, no less.”

Marinette’s face scrunched in confusion. She tried to search through her Americanisms for what a dragon bat could be. It had to be a species of bat right? Maybe? But then again it was American English so for all she knew it could be a flower. “A what?”

“Jason!” Bruce admonished. He was really not looking forward to trying to explain what a dragon bat was or how Damian came to be in possession of one.

Jason rose up enough to grab one of the croissants and shove half of it into his mouth before he spoke. “I’ll introduce you sometime, or Damian will have to actually… which he won’t. I’ll show you a picture, you seem like the kind of person who likes terrifying animals as long as they’re fuzzy.”

“I… fair,” Marinette conceded easily.

“If I can bring us back to the topic at hand,” Bruce interjected loudly, cutting off any more discussion of dragon bats.

“Family bonding, right?” Jason cut him off with a pointed look. “Isn’t that what we were doing?”

Bruce glared at Jason for a few seconds, which did nothing to wipe the smug smirk off his face. Giving up on Jason, Bruce focused on Marinette. “At the gala you mentioned you didn’t plan on being in town much longer, leaving today actually. I was hoping I could convince you to stay a bit longer.”

Marinette examined him with a dour curiosity. She cocked her head to the side. “And why might that be? You don’t need me here to make an announcement that we prefer to keep our relationship private, hence they didn’t know about me.”

Bruce let out a deep sigh. That was fair. It was a fair response. Sabine had warned him she would be suspicious of him. “This isn’t for the public,” he assured her.

“Isn’t it?” She blinked a few times at him, her face blank. “Are you sure? It feels like it is.” She turned to Jason. “Doesn’t it feel like it is to you?”

“It does indeed,” Jason nodded in agreement, keeping eye contact with Bruce as he did.

“Jason…” he started threateningly.

“Oh, I’m sorry, were you relying on me to make fixing your fuck up easier for you? Wrong kid. You’re looking for Dick or Tim… actually I wouldn’t rely on Tim for help explaining why being an absentee father isn’t actually that bad.”

“Jason, I think it’s time for you to go home,” Bruce growled.

Marinette straightened up and moved between him and Jason. She wasn’t going to let him bully Jason for standing up for her. “I don’t think so. So far he’s the only member of my family I like.”

“Ooh, you should totally give Cass and Steph and Duke a chance too,” Jason offered with a faked enthusiasm as though the confrontation with Bruce didn’t just happen. He kept his eyes on Marinette but relished the increasingly frustrated scowl on Bruce’s face as they ignored him.

Marinette nodded. “I’ll consider it.”

“Oh and Alfred… and I guess Tim too. He’s a prick but he’s alright I guess,” Jason continued.

Marinette blinked at him. It was like a never ending list of people. An ongoing list of people he had taken in after walking away from her. A long list of people he’d cared about and for without having to be pressured into it by the press. A mile long list of people he wasn’t pretending to care about. “How many brothers and sisters do you have?”

“We have a lot,” Jason corrected her. They were in this together and he’d remind her of that as many times as she needed. “Alfred isn’t a sibling though. He’s like a grandfather.”

Marinette paused at that. She hadn’t considered that. Another grandfather figure. Another grandfather that didn’t want anything to do with her. Sure now Grand-père Roland loved her but for the first fifteen years, he’d known about her and didn’t care. Maybe it was her. It had to be her right? Two grandparents, that isn’t coincidence. That’s a pattern and the only commonality was her. She pursed her lips together to focus on something other than the tears welling up behind her eyes. “Sounds like the kind of person who definitely would have known about me.”

Jason’s eyes widened. “I… don’t know the answer to that,” he answered slowly.

Marinette nodded, slowly going numb. “So, what I’m getting from this so far is I have a another grandfather-type figure that knew about me and didn’t feel any kind of interest in me and a ton of people that my father decided were worthy of his love and affection when I wasn’t. So it isn’t that my father didn’t want to be a father, just that he didn’t want to be my father.”

“That isn’t…” Jason started. This was going down the wrong path. He was trying to show her he had her back, not remind her about the pain. But instead, now Marinette was getting hurt, remembering the pain. She’d lost her sass and impertinence and now was moving toward hurt. And she was blaming Alfred. Alfred was one of the only good things about being a Wayne!

“Jason! I think it’s time for you to go home. Now!” Bruce roared.

Marinette contemplated Bruce coldly, numbness consuming her fears and insecurities and morphing into cold, analytic contemplation. He was blaming Jason. Her frustration wasn’t because of Jason or anything he said. Her pain wasn’t because of Jason, it was because of him, because of his decisions. And instead of taking responsibility for it, he was blaming Jason.

Jason blinked a few times, no longer certain of his role in this interaction. He looked back and forth between Marinette and Bruce, noting Marinette’s hardening features. She was getting ready for a fight. He could see it developing, but he wasn’t at all sure Bruce did. He held up his hands in surrender and sat back down calmly. “I promised I wouldn’t leave unless Pixie asked me to. I intend to keep my promise to her,” he said calmly.

Bruce glared at him again and faced back to Marinette, a fake smile plastered on. “As I was saying. I’d like a chance to get to know you, if you would let me.”

“And how many members of the press did you want to be there when you do?” she inquired sharply.

Bruce sighed and rubbed his forehead. “That’s not fair.”

Marinette’s mouth dropped and she shook her head at him incredulously. “Wow. Way to pull the rich, white guy entitlement card. ‘I know everything about this situation has been unbelievably unfair to you, but now I’m being inconvenienced in the mildest way possible and I don’t like it,’” she mocked. She rocked back on her heels and narrowed her eyes at him. “Rest assured M. Wayne, I do not intend to speak out against you. Your reputation will not be harmed by me. Tell the press whatever you want. I won’t contradict you. You can relax.”

“Marinette…” he started, unsure of where to go. Everything she had said was so far from the truth, he didn’t know where to start. Her view of the situation was so skewed, he didn’t know how to put it back on kilter. His shoulders sagged in defeat. “This has nothing to do with the press. I had put plans in motion to get in contact with you before any of this started. Mr. Fox will confirm that for you if you don’t trust me. You seem like quite an impressive young lady and I would like to get to know you better, if you’ll give me the chance.”

His tone was contrite and quiet, but Marinette wasn’t done being upset yet. She wasn’t ready to move on and let go of the anger. “And if I wasn’t, you would continue to ignore me? If I was a problem child, if I had social issues, if I couldn’t find a job, you’d continue to treat me like I never existed? I’ve finally done enough to gain your attention. Oh thank you so much for letting me know.”

“That isn’t what I said,” Bruce rushed to assure her. “I meant to compliment you not say you had to earn my attention.”

Marinette pursed her lips and looked over to Jason. He was looking back at her with sympathetic, concerned eyes. She let out a long sigh and looked away from them both. “Look, I meant what I told the press earlier. I had no intention of you seeing me at the gala. I had no intention of anyone finding out about me. I didn’t even know there was anything to find out when I made the plan to come here. And I have no expectation of anything about our relationship changing.”

Bruce perked up slightly, but focused on keeping his body language the same, so she wouldn’t see the difference. That was an opening; expectation instead of intention. It wasn’t that she intended not to change it, it’s that she didn’t expect it. “I do,” he assured her, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice, keeping it calm and even. “I would like to change our relationship. I would like the chance to explain and try to start to make it up to you. If you would like to try.

“If you’re open to it, I can extend your reservation until you are ready to move on, or if you would prefer, you are more than welcome to stay at the manor. I would love to have you stay with us but I understand that may be overwhelming. Or, WE has have some flats available, with multiple bedrooms. You and your friends could stay there for a while. Your friend is going to need a place to stay while he looks for an apartment, right?

“I’ll leave the choice to you. Whether we pursue a relationship, if you stay, where you stay; they’re all your choice. Here,” he handed her a paper with several numbers hand written on it. “These are my numbers; office, home office, cell phone, manor. You can use any of them to contact me.”

Marinette took the paper impassively. She squeezed her other hand in an effort to keep the tremble from being too obvious. “Thank you, M. Wayne. I will consider your words.”

Bruce nodded, letting the very formal use of his name wash away. This was still progress. This was still movement in the right direction, even if it wasn’t as much as he would want. He knew it could take a long time. He knew he wouldn’t be able to fix this today. “Thank you, Marinette. That’s all I can ask for. And I’m sorry for ambushing you here. I tried to call and text you all yesterday to set up a time to talk in person so you could prepare but it seems like your phone was off.”

He let out a small breath seeing her eyes widen at his admission. That had to be a good sign. Maybe he actually said the right thing for once. He nodded to her and left her to think, hoping Jason would urge her to call. He seemed to want a relationship with her as well. Hopefully, he would realize this was the best way to get that.

Jason sighed and looked up at her as soon as the door closed behind Bruce. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m not. It’s… it’s a lot. I think I want to be alone,” Marinette said absently staring at the numbers in her hand.

Jason nodded. “It is. I understand. If you want to talk, at all, about anything. About where to drink in town, best burger, anything, give me a call.” He gently took the paper Bruce had handed her out of hand, letting her decide if she gave it to him or not. When she let go, he put his number on it as well. “I only have one number, but now you have it.”

Marinette nodded at him. “Thank you, Jason.”

Jason hesitated briefly. “For what it’s worth, if you decide to stay you should take him up on the flat. The hotel is stupid expensive and WE offers the flat to visiting collaborators all the time, so it’s not like it’s all that special… if you want to avoid being treated special.”

Marinette nodded at his words, barely taking them in as her mind tried to fight the numbing process. Jason watched her tentatively. “You look like a hugger,” he said uncertainly. “Did you… do you want a, um, a hug?”

Marinette looked over at him and blinked a few times, not sure how to take his words, partly because he seemed unsure of them himself, but partly because things were having a harder time permeating her brain right now. Jason took her curious look as doubt. “Oh come on. It’s fine. I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t mean it. Trust me. I tell Dick to fuck off enough when he tries to hug me. I have no problem saying no to hugs I don’t want. I’m offering because I mean it.”

Marinette blinked a few more times but finally nodded vacantly. Jason pulled her into a warm, comforting hug. After a few moments he pulled away. “It will all be okay. No matter what you decide, it will all be okay. And no matter what you decide, I’m here. Nobody’s replacing you as my sister. So get ready for some completely inappropriate Christmas presents this year.”

Marinette smiled absently at his joke, her eyes never meeting his. “Thanks, Jason.” She leaned against the door after she closed it behind him and slid down it, staring blankly at nothing. The room felt colder than it was before, but she couldn’t manage to care enough to get up and get a blanket. She thought there might have been ambient noise going on around her but none of it registered. Nothing registered. Not the numbing sensation that was rapidly overtaking her body from her fingers and toes up to her head until she stopped feeling anything. Not even the point she was staring at. She didn’t know how long she stared at the nothingness before black overtook her vision and she passed out.

Chapter 8

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kareofbears · 4 years ago

Text

long lines and cold nights

“Sakamoto-san!” the voice of a gruff middle-aged man a few spots behind Akira yells out. Akira’s smile splits even wider, knowing what will happen next. “Is that the Akira you keep telling us about?”

———

Akira visits Ryuji at work and witnesses how he interacts with his customers.

read on ao3 or below the cut :)

Akira didn’t think that bread would be so popular during Christmas.

It’s evening, and every store in Tokyo seemed to be flashing with multicolored fairy lights. The roads have long since turned the snow to slush, but the sidewalk still had white flurries piled high on top of each other. No matter where anyone looks, there are shoppers lugging around gift bags and wearing thick mittens, all eager to hide away from the freezing temperatures and numbing fingers. Despite the hustle, there’s a collective attitude from everyone present that exudes a certain liveliness that’s only ever present during the holiday season.

He’s next in line to get into the bakery, a thick, bright-red scarf wrapped tight around his neck and hands clutching a heavy paper bag. The scent of baked goods wafts from where he’s standing, and it makes him salivate just a little. Akira’s been standing here for half an hour now, the line moving at a horrifically sluggish pace that would get employees crucified during the holiday shopping rush. Yet, for some reason, the line doesn’t ever seem to get impatient.

The bakery exudes warm lighting through its glass windows, and Akira glances inside. It hasn’t changed much since he came in here last, but now it’s slathered with pine-colored wreaths and garlands, all twisted with bright-red ribbons and over-the-top bows that would have been ridiculous had he not known who put them up in the first place. Now, it’s just endearing.

An old woman hobbles to the glass door from the inside, hands full with bags of brioche, and just as Akira is about to open the door for her, it swings open—

“Oh! So kind of you, Sakamoto-kun!”

“Don’t worry about it, ma’am. I’m sure neither of us can take the heartbreak if that bread of yours hits the concrete, huh?”

They both share a genuine laugh, and Ryuji holds the door open as the woman shuffles away, still smiling. Instrumental Christmas music is playing from inside, and with it comes a burst of heat that’s packaged with every bakery during the wintertime.

Akira presses his lips together. “Does that mean I can come in now?”

Ryuji blinks, before his head jerks towards him, eyes wide. “Akira!”

This is probably his second favorite part of visiting Ryuji when he works; with a white button-up and khakis topped off with a red apron, he looks incredibly endearing in a way that Akira can’t begin to describe. It’s only ever improved during December, when he chooses to wear reindeer antlers for a more festive look. (His words. Apparently, the regulars love it.)

“Ryuji.” He can’t hold it back anymore—a smile splits wide across his face. “Looking good.”

“Looking hot you mean,” he gives Akira a slow spin. “Bet you’ve never seen anyone rock an apron this hard.”

He meant it as a joke, but it still rings true. Both of them are older now. A little taller, a little broader than they were in high school, but there’s something in the way that Ryuji’s changed that makes people flock to him. His hair is still bleached blond (there’s no getting rid of that one), but he has an undercut that shows his natural hair underneath, and he has bright red studs on both earlobes that have the tendency to catch light when he’s at the right angle.

When he smiles, it’s bigger than it was. When he laughs, it fills in every empty crevice in the room. When he speaks, it’s with a little more confidence.

But despite everything that had changed, when his eyes meet Akira’s, it’s still the loveliest feeling in the world.

“Nope,” he answers honestly, despite seeing him in that apron dozens of times before. “And I’ll never get tired of it.”

“Wait, the Kurusu Akira?” Someone else pipes in—a girl in her early twenties. “Huh, you’re right! He’s just as good-looking as you said he was.”

“Thank you for your kind words,” Akira replies, but his eyes are trained on the boy in front of him, refusing to look embarrassed. “That’s really nice of you to say.”

“Aw, and he seems like such a sweetheart, too. How’s the cafe doing? Heard you got promoted to assistant manager there recently. Good on you!”

He gives Ryuji an amused look. “Is there anything you haven’t told them about me?”

“When have I ever learned to shut up when it came to you?” he shrugs. “Pretty sure even the bookstore next door knows about your promotion too, by now.”

“Kurusu-kun, congrats on finishing your essay! Foreign policy is a tough thing to write on, you know.”

“Oh Kurusu-san, you’re absolutely going to adore what Sakamoto-chan got you for Christmas! He worked so hard on it, you’re going to love it to shreds.”

“Hold on, I thought you worked Thursday nights, Kurusu-kun. What are you doing here?”

It seems that even Ryuji has a breaking point—his face has grown scarlet, and his eyes are flittering away. It’s mind-numbingly charming. When Akira responds, his small smile has worked up to become a full-on grin. “I just got off work, actually.”

“Guys,” Ryuji groans loudly and leans over to give the long line a stern look. “We can’t keep doing this every time Akira comes over, it’s getting embarrassing.” Laughter rumbles through the lineup, warm and familiar and not a hint of maliciousness to be heard.

He clears his throat, but his soft voice does little to carry over the bustle of the city’s shoppers during their prime. “Sorry, I just wanted to drop something off for him. I didn’t mean to hold up the line or anything—”

“Dear,” an aging woman cuts him off. “Trust me when I say that we love seeing Sakamoto-san here be happy. After everything he’s done for us, this must be the least that we can do.”

“Yeah! He’s always giving us scones when there’s too many—”

“—and croissants—!”

“—once, he gave me a danish for free—”

Ryuji shushes them, panicked. “Quit yelling it out like that, or I might get fired.”

“As if we’d let that happen to you!” someone snorts, and there’s a chorus of agreements that ripple from the crowd.

Belatedly, Akira realizes that his cheeks are starting to hurt, but this wouldn’t be the first time this happened. Or the second. Or the tenth.

This is his favorite part about visiting him at work—to see him at work, to see him play the role of working in customer service.

But it never feels like that. When Ryuji’s speaking to customers, it doesn’t matter what they’re buying or how busy they are; he gets to know them. He could give less of a damn about the product they sell; it’s less about the selling, and more about reaching out to them and to make sure that they’re doing alright. He takes the time to talk to them, to learn their names and their preferences and who they are.

It just so happens that they also get to know him in return.

“I should go,” Akira mummers. “You’ll never get through this line if I keep distracting you like this.”

He rolls his eyes. “Sure, blame me and not the actual gang of people bullying a poor bakery sales associate.”

“They love you, Sakamoto-san,” he teases.

“Oh, shut up.”

“I just wanted to drop by to say hi, and also—” Akira holds up the still-warm bag in his hand. “To drop off some ramen, in case you got sick of eating bread during your break.”

Ryuji’s eyes are sparkling. Quickly glancing inside the bakery to make sure his manager isn’t watching, he pecks his cheek. He smells like sugar glaze and warmth.

“I love you,” he whispers, ignoring the small cheer behind them like some sort of romcom.

“And I love you. Go kick some ass, and I’ll pick you up at 8:30, okay?”

“Yes, sir,” Ryuji salutes, taking the weight off his hands, before turning to the person behind Akira. “Saito-san, welcome back! Two loaves of the Country Grain, right?”

Akira moves out of the way to finally let the line flow, touching Ryuji’s shoulder as he passes by. He takes one last look behind him and feels a pang of sympathy.

He’s been here enough times, has eaten enough of this bakery’s products to know that there really isn’t anything special about it. The food is fine; the scones are good, but he’s had better. Sometimes the flour loaf is tasty, but it’s hit or miss. The danishes are sweet and fluffy, but it’s guaranteed to be sold out by the time it hits noon.

It’s a mediocre bakery in the middle of Tokyo. You could find five more just like it down the street, and three better ones if you’re willing to take the bus. But, for some reason, there are also very few bakeries with this long of a line-up during the busiest time of the year.

Akira was the first person to line up for Sakamoto Ryuji’s attention all those years ago and it’s ridiculous that it’s taken this long for more people to start doing the same thing.

#mine #fic tag #persona 5 #akiryu #pegoryu #remember when i said i was gonna write a bakery au?#anyway this is my last fic for the year and ill probably make an emotional post later #ryuji sakamoto #akira kurusu #happy holidays!

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alexhandersen-marcoilsoe-fandom · 4 years ago

Text

Chapter V : Inopportune moment

This moodboard is just wow. Thank you so much @flowers-in-your-hayr, you are such a talent!!

a/n: After a lot of smut and a bit BDSM from the last chapter, I wanted a little more drama and fluff. This chapter was the result. I hope you like it, like I do. Sorry for mistakes, English is not my first language.

Pairing: ALEX x Reader X MARCO

Word: 2758

Spotify: Kiana Ledé & Jacquees - Only Fan

Warning: more fluff than the other chapters and always a bit of smut, +18

Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV

Summary: Something is bothering you, but you don't know how to address it. Your relationship is being tested, maybe unfounded?!

You've been working a lot lately. Also had a lot of night shifts, so you didn't see the guys very often. During the day you always slept and in the evening before work you attended the Danish course. Your Danish was pretty good by now. Nevertheless, Alex and Marco were still joking about your pronunciation, which wasn't very good.

"When are you coming to the pub tonight? You know we're all going.’’ asked Marco. You had to work in the evening, so you planned to go after that.

‘’Without overtime I should be there at 11pm.’’ You ran through the apartment and quickly put on your shoes. You were a little late and had to hurry. Marco packed the prepared food for you and and gave you a little kiss.

“Thank you, baby. See you Alex, byee’’. You called stressed and closed the door behind you.

“She's so cute when she's in a hurry’’ commented Alex.

******

After work you took a detour and stopped at home to freshen up before going to the pub. You walked into the pub and it already smelled strongly of beer and a few were already slightly drunk. You took off your coat and looked out for your boys. In one corner you recognized Marco between the flashing lights, who was playing beer pong with Jordan. You already knew most of their friends, but they didn't know that you also had a relationship with Marco. You pushed yourself through the crowd until you got to him and covered his eyes with your cold hands. Marco had his back to you, so he couldn’t see you

"Hey baby, how's the party going?" You said in an erotic tone. He turned around and hugged you tightly.

“Hey baby, I thought you'd never come. Should I get you a Martini or do you want a beer too?” He didn't want to let go of you anymore and was still holding you by the waist. It was always very hard for him not to kiss you.

“I'll have your beer. We always share everything, don't we? '' You winked at him.

"You look so sexy tonight baby; dark blue looks great on you. I actually have a couple of kisses; I want to give you after the party.’’ Jordan came back from the bar bringing more beer, so that Marco couldn't answer.

"Hey Jordan, how are you? Haven't seen you in a long time.'' He was so drunk that he stepped on your feet when he greeted you.

"Where's Alex actually?" You asked curiously.

"He's over there," Jordan pointed to a corner. You saw Alicia, Clara and Georgia dancing around him.

"Marco, what the hell is Clara doing here?" You looked at him angrily.

"She's the best friend of Georgia, what am I supposed to do?" You were really pissed off because he didn't tell you everything about her, but you couldn't show it openly. Out of frustration you tore his beer out of your hand and drank it all at once.

“Damn, this girl is tougher than you Marco. I would like Georgia to be like that too.'' Jordan chuckled.

After a while, Alex noticed that you were in the pub too. He moved away from Alicia and came towards you with a smile on his face.

“Elskede, where have you been for so long?” He kissed you, but you didn't return the kiss.

“I missed you so much. I worry every time you're in this big hospital. You should stop working there. You don't even have to go to work. We can take care of you.''

You put your hands on his cheeks and smiled at him. “Aleex, what’s the matter with you, suddenly so worried. I like my work and our team is great, you know it. So do not worry.'' His reaction surprised you. He never had any problems with your work. He even found it attractive to have a nurse as a girlfriend.

“Do you feel good? Don't you want to sit down? Should I get you something to drink?'' You denied, because you recently drank Marco's beer.

“What are you drinking there? Beer? You shouldn't drink beer! '' He took the empty glass out of your hand and put it on the counter.

"Can I get a juice please?" He ordered from the bartender.

"Alex, what's wrong with you? What are you doing? I don't want any juice, let that be '' He pressed the orange juice into your hand.

"Take this, this is healthier". You put the juice back on the counter and were annoyed by his behavior.

,,What has come over you, Alex? I was so happy to see you, and you act so childish.’’ He just said something, but you didn't want to hear anymore. You turned back to Marco and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Marco, can we go somewhere else please, Alex is going crazy." You rolled your eyes and hoped he would go with you.

,,Sure’’ He said goodbye to Jordan, put the coat over your shoulders and opened the door for you.

"Is everything ok baby?" He put his arm around you and you walked down the street. You just nodded.

“I know where we could go. Do you remember Mermaid's pub? It's near here.’’ You looked at him and waited for his reaction.

“I should have spoken to you first instead of Alex. I still regret it today.'’

You didn't know what to say, so you kept quiet. You knew he had feelings for you, but you didn't expect him to be so open about it. You have never spoken directly about your feelings or your relationship. It was never clearly defined who is with whom. Nobody complained about the situation, so you left it that way.

******

As always, it was full of people. Marco took you by the hand so as not to lose you

and pulled you through the crowd. He is taller than you, so you couldn't see where he was going. Finally, you found one free bar stool.

,, The seat is for you, you can sit down.” You were so happy about the seat, your feet were already aching from your high heels. He ordered a beer and a Martini for you.

“I don't know what's wrong with him either. But let's forget about that now. Let's enjoy the time together.'' Commented Marco after you told him what happened.

Marco stood next to you and had his hand on your thigh and was stroking you. He kissed you on the cheek near your lips. You closed your eyes and felt how he hid your hair back with his nose. "You're so beautiful." He said in a hushed tone while his hand squeezed your inner thigh.You held you onto his arm and tugged at him, so that he couldn't go away.

,, What do you think if we stay the night away today? We could go to the hotel where I stayed with Janina last time. I don't feel like going home. ''

Out of the corner of your eye, you could see he was smiling. He put his hands on your hips drawing you closer.

"I would even kidnap you and go very far away, where only the two of us exist ". He couldn't take it anymore and kissed you passionately. Marco gave you his hand and helped you get up from the chair. There weren't that many people in the pub anymore, so you could easily walk out. He held you by the waist and followed you.

Your feet hurt so much that the short walk to the hotel seemed like an eternity. You stopped, leaned against a cold wall and took off your high heels; the party was over anyway.

"Baby are you serious? It's so cold and you want to walk barefoot."

"My feet hurt so much; I hardly feel them anymore."

,,I’ll carry you''. Marco held one hand on your upper body and the other on the back of your knee and picked you up.

********

Marco took the most beautiful room of the whole hotel and it was breathtaking. The large bed was covered by many fluffy pillows, just as you liked. In the middle was a bouquet of aquamarine colored flowers.

"They're at least as beautiful as you baby" you blushed.

"Thank you" you mumble and smell the flowers. You were so ashamed that you didn't dare look him in the eyes.

The bathroom was huge and had a rain shower. You took off your gray velvet dress and put it on the sink, your underwear lay on the floor. You did not pay attention to what Marco was doing or thinking.

The thin, gentle jets of water slowly wet your skin. Your lipstick was washed away by the warm water. Your wet hair defined the contours of your face. It sensitized your senses. You closed your eyes and heard the water running down your body.

"Are you ok baby?" Murmured Marco and embraced you.

You turned around and kissed him without saying anything. His lips were made for kissing. You felt a deep love. You didn't miss anything and could let yourself go completely. His kisses and touches made you feel like a feather. His tongue slid over your neck, down over your breasts. He caressed your curves symmetrically with both hands. He wasn't pushy at all and made sure you liked it too. You lifted your leg up and then the other so that you wrapped them around his hips.He propped you up against the shower wall. You pushed him closer to you, because you wanted to feel his cock deeper. He moaned lightly in your mouth. Marco gave you the time and you felt your slowgasm coming closer. A wave of heat flowed all over your body, causing your nails to sink into his skin and bite into his lip. He twitched slightly. It was an uncontrollable urge, you just had to do it.

******

It was morning and Marco woke you up. You lay on your side and he gently stroked your shoulder. "Hey baby, they brought breakfast."

You were so tired that you couldn't give a clear answer. He took your hair off your face and caressed your cheek.

"Baby! Look at your back, what have I done to you!" You were scared, ran to the mirror and saw a lot of bruises.

"It's not that bad, nobody can't see it." You giggled. The serving trolley was standing right next to you and smelled wonderfully. You grabbed the serving tray and took it back to bed.

Do you love me baby? " you asked with coffee in hand.

"Yes of course".

“And will you always stay with me? "

,,Yes of course." He replied confidently.

"No matter what happens?"

"No matter what!"

,,Are you sure?"

“I'm absolutely sure. You are the first woman I feel loved by. You won't get rid of me, don't be afraid "

,,I have to tell you something..." He dropped the bread and looked at you.

"Tell me!" He realized it was something serious and got nervous. You played with the coffee spoon and didn't have the courage to say it.

"I haven't got my period yet" You said the sentence very quickly and mumbling, but Marco understood it very clearly.

“What does that mean you haven't got your period yet? Are you pregnant?” He took your hand and looked at you.

"Hey baby talk to me!" He grabbed your chin. You saw his worried face and you started crying. He got up and took you in his arms.

" Let's sit down over there.” He held your hands.

,, So tell me everything from the beginning now. I won't leave you no matter what, I promise."

,, I’m waiting for my period for five days. I made a pregnancy test two days ago and it was negative. But the period is still not here and that worries me so much. I don't know what to do now…I have started a new job; I am in a foreign country and I don't even know who the father is. You both have your career too, and definitely no time for a baby…“ Tears ran down your cheeks while telling the story.

,,But you said that the test was negative, then it is negative. And above all you had a lot of night shifts. You just need a little more patience baby. But if you want, we can do another test together.” He gave you a kiss on the forehead hoping that it would make you feel better.

Your things were packed, and you were ready to go when your cell phone vibrated.

“Elskede, where are you? Is Marco with you? please call me back!” That was one of 6 messages and 8 calls you had from Alex. You showed Marco the text messages.

“I told you, Alex is going completely crazy’’

"Let's go and do the things we wanted to do, then we'll go home, and I'll talk to him." He placed his hand your ass cheek and led you out of the room.

********

You didn't want to see the result first, so you gave it to Marco straight away. You were so tense that you could feel your heart beating in your throat.

You finished getting dressed again when he called: "Baby, it's negative." He knocked on the bathroom door. You were speechless and did not know whether you heard him correctly.

"Baby do you hear me? It's negative. I said it'll be all right. ''

You came out and were relieved "I want to go shopping now."

"Although a baby would have made me happy.’’ chuckled Marco. You punched him in the chest.

,,Marco, shut up'' you giggled. "I need new high heels. Let’s go!"

********

In the afternoon you arrived at home and opened the door. Alex ran to you.

"Where have you been?" He kissed you and hugged you, but you weren't that emotional as he'd hoped.

"We went to another pub, slept in a hotel and Marco bought me new high heels."

"I said you shouldn't drink alcohol." You immediately got mad again.

“Are you starting again with that drama? Really?! You're annoying me!''

You went to your room. But you couldn't close the door, because he placed his foot in the door gap. "Come here we have to talk."He said briskly.

"No, we don't! Go away Alex!"

"Hey Alex, stop, leave her alone." You heard Marco trying to calm Alex down. They discussed in Danish and the situation did not seem to ease.

,, Y / N, I know you are pregnant. I found an empty pack from a pregnancy test in the trash can.'' He yelled and knocked at your door.

"No, she isn’t" Marco replied totally relaxed and has to pull him away.

"You cannot know it Marco, so let me talk to her." He insisted.

,, I know it, believe me, she is not pregnant,… '' Marco wanted to continue but you came out of your room. You wanted to explain yourself. Alex looked very desperate. His elbows resting on the table and his hands were clenched in front of his face. You sat down next to him and took his hand.

“Hey! I'm not pregnant, I did two tests because I haven't got my period yet. The pack you found was the first test and I did the second test today with Marco and both were negative. So, you can calm down! '' You noticed how his mood relaxed and looked at you confused.

,, Is that why you were so anxious about me?’’

,, Elskede, I'm so sorry, I just ... ''

,,I wanted to tell you, but you became so intrusive and I felt so patronized.’’ He showed remorse and knew exactly that he had exaggerated.

"Do you accept my apology?" He felt ashamed. You looked straight into his deep blue eyes .

"Yes I do. You have to trust me more. I would’ve told you, but it was an inopportune moment. ‘’ You kissed him and everything was forgotten again.

Chapter VII: Blurry truth

#vikings #ivar the boneless #alex hogh andersen #alex&marco #alex x reader #hvitserk #hvitserk ragnarsson #hvitserk x reader #marco ilsø #marco x reader #alex x reader x marco #fanfiction #hbovikings #vikings cast #alex høgh #alex høgh andersen #marco

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leafs-lover · 4 years ago

Text

Because Two People Got Drunk: 20

Series Masterlist

Chapter 20

A/N: I went and made some small changes and didn’t hit the spell check button, so sorry! Italics are your thoughts

Summary: The season has ended and you both have some friends visit before you head to Denmark for a few weeks.

Warnings: Swearing, smut, oral (male and female) masturbation

Word Count: 4500

June 12, 2023

You stand in the laundry room folding clothes when you hear voices in the living room. You walk out to greet them.

“Hey (Y/N)” you hear Mitch and Auston say as you walk over to hug them.

The playoffs have ended for both teams, and Fred invited his old teammates down for a few days before summer kicks off.

“Wow you’re so big" Auston says as Oliver comes running over to greet them.

“Yeah well look at his dad, I had no doubt he would be tall" you joke. After hanging out for a few minutes you wander to finish the laundry you started leaving the boys to catch up. As you fold and put away the laundry you hear parts of the conversation, but you’re trying not to eavesdrop.

“Yeah, I don’t really know when we got together. Some time around new years, maybe a little later." a smile comes across your face as you can hear Fred’s excitement.

“We had a bump or two. But everything is really good now”

“She moved back in a few weeks ago"

“Where do you see things going?

You keep working away at the laundry when hear the boys laughing and talking to Oliver. Thinking it’s safe and you won’t interrupt any conversations about you, you join the boys in the living room. You see all boys on their hands and knees, playing mini sticks.

“Now that an adult is here I’m going to get changed” Fred says kissing your head.

“Dude I’m an adult!” Mitch exclaims, Fred throws his head back laughing as he leaves the room. “So how are you (Y/N/N)?”

“Things are good, sometimes a little crazy with an 18 month old but good.”

“How has it been since coming back here?” Auston asks.

“It’s been really good. I think it’s been really good for him too” you say nodding to Oliver. “He would get super upset when he would have to leave one of us, when he would come back to my place he wouldn’t leave my side for almost an entire day. I was actually getting worried about how he would be as he got older. But now we are both around all the time he is better, not such a momma's boy" you joke.

“That’s good; don’t want all the other babies making fun of you for being a momma’s boy” Auston says tickling Oliver.

“Says the biggest momma’s boy ever" Fred says returning to the living room causing everyone to laugh. “Ready guys?”

Fred kisses Oliver goodbye before turning to you to place a kiss on your lips. The boys head out for a round of golf leaving you and Oliver alone. You head to the park, and enjoy the summer weather that is beginning in Pittsburgh.

A few nights later you are sitting on the balcony enjoying some drinks. Oliver is asleep in his crib, and Mitch left earlier in the day leaving you two and Auston who is planning to leave the following morning. Auston leaves to get another drink; Fred pulls you onto his lap you can smell the whiskey on his breath.

Fred places a sloppy kiss on your lips, you pull back and smile at him.

“What” he asks placing a strand of hair behind your ear.

“Nothing” you respond kissing his nose, noticing the redness in his cheeks. “You’re a little drunk eh?” you tease.

Fred leans in and kisses you, ignoring your comment “I can’t wait to show you how much you mean to me tonight” he says stroking your hair. It sends shivers down your spine as wetness pools in your core. With the boys here you haven’t had much time alone, and you haven’t done anything with your time for fear of being heard.

“Babe Auston is here" you respond.

“Pretty sure he knows we have sex dear.” Just as you’re about to respond you hear laughing behind you, as the screen door closes. “Yeah kind of figured that out when you got pregnant (Y/N/N).”

“See nothing to worry about" Freddie chuckles in your ear.

“Yeah he knows but he doesn’t need to hear us" you laugh.

“Yeah I’d rather not, I -"

“How else am I supposed to put another baby in you if we don’t have sex babe?” Your eyes go wide at his words. You haven’t had any discussions of a second baby, you just moved back in.

“Are you guys trying for a second baby?” Auston asks sitting down, handing Fred another drink.

“No we are not!” you quickly exclaim. “I guess you could say we are practicing, all the fun but still using protection.”

“Yeah but we could stop, you know pull the goalie and see what happens” he chuckles at his own pun.

You roll your eyes. “I know what will happen Fred, it happened once before. He is 19 months, looks identical to you, has your gorgeous brown eyes and red hair" you say running your hands through his hair.

“Yeah and the next one will be a little girl with your (Y/H/C) hair, and your beautiful (Y/E/C) eyes, your smile just a mini version of you. Only thing she’ll take from me is my last name” he says kissing your neck.

“You sure you want a daughter that looks like me around? There are boys who grow up to be like Auston?” you tease.

“Hey!”

You and Fred laugh. “She’d be fine, if she is anything like you she’ll put boys like him in their place no problem.”

“I’m literally right here guys” Auston scoffs. You laugh again as you lean into Fred’s chest.

“Just get really drunk, worked last time” Auston jokes.

Fred laughs “I do get her drunk, she changed her birth control. Now it doesn’t matter what happens she is always protected.”

“Well the last time I screwed up a baby came. I don’t want another one until I’m ready. Always imagined I’d be married, have the same last name as my kids.” “I can go get ordained right now if you’d like” Auston quickly jokes.

“I’ll put a ring on your finger one day babe don’t you worry. I just think Ollie should be a big brother, he’d be the best big brother” Fred starts. “There is such as gap with me and my siblings I don’t want that for mine. And I’m going to be 34, you’ll be 33. Seems like we should get cracking if we want more babies.”

You scoff “did you just use my biological clock against me?”

The three of you sit outside and continue laughing and drinking. A little while later you all head in for the night, you walk into the bathroom and begin your night routine. You notice Fred is leaning in the doorway watching you wash your face.

You stick your ass out a little farther as you bend over to rinse water on your face. You head Fred grumble some swear words and quickly feel his hand on your hips. You stand up ignoring Fred and reach for the towel to dry your face, Fred leans down to your ear “I know what you’re doing” we growls.

You make eye contact with him in the mirror “I have no idea what you’re talking about” you respond hanging up the towel. He spins you around into his chest and smirks down at you. Without breaking eye contact he pulls his t-shirt off revealing his toned chest. You take a deep breath and swallow, trying to act unfazed by his actions.

Fred see’s through you though and knows he has you practically falling over him. “I’m gonna shower” he says dropping his shorts and boxers “wanna join me?”

You giggle as you peel your shirt over your head following him in. When he closes the door he pulls you in for a deep kiss as your hand slides down to his hardening member and you begin stroking it. He moans into the kiss as his hand strokes over your folds.

You know that the shower will likely cover some of the sounds, but you only came inside 5 minutes ago. You don’t know Auston that much, and would rather he not hear you having sex right now. You also know that Fred has been hard for the past couple days, and has been trying to find a moment to sneak away with you, but you have rejected his attempts. Not without some teasing first though.

Because of your teasing you know he is painfully hard, and if you let him he will fuck you hard into the tile wall. Before he has the opportunity to slide his large fingers in, and make you forget all logic to not doing that you drop to your knees.

You hear him mumble as you stare at his hard member. Thick and throbbing; white pre-cum leaking out the top. You bring your tongue to his tip licking it off. You stare up at him through your lashes as you see him brace himself on the shower wall.

You lick a stripe up the underside of him, his head falls back. You pull your mouth off and suck on his pubic bone. You pepper kisses all around his cock before you finally return to him. You place a light kiss to the tip, before sliding him fully inside your mouth.

You begin to bob on his hard cock as he moans out. He grabs your hair and pulls it back from your face so he can better watch as you continue still looking up at him. His eyes close as Danish swear words fall from his mouth. You feel your arousal pooling in your core so you slide two fingers down to your folds. You slide them across your heat gathering up your juices before slipping them in as you moan around his cock. You start thrusting inside yourself as you swirl around his dick, him hitting the back of your throat.

You reach around to his ass giving it a light squeeze as he chuckles, then you lightly push him forward. He takes the hint and begins to slowly fuck into your mouth, hitting your tonsils.

You increase the speed of your fingers, but you know it will be a while before you reach your orgasm. Your two fingers pale in comparison to Fred’s. His large hands have actually made it difficult for you to masturbate as you just can’t get the same stretch of the walls.

You decide to slide a third finger in. As you slide it in, Fred snaps his hips forward causing you to gag slightly. Spit is dribbling down your chin as you continue pumping your fingers in and out.

The third finger was just what you needed; you feel your orgasm slowly approaching as Fred grips tightly on your hair, indicating he is almost done. You bring your thumb up to rub your clit, moaning loudly around him.

Your moan causes Freddie to look down past your face “babe…are you -" he can barely form words.

“Hmm” you hum around his dick as he continues to fuck into your mouth.

“Fuck hell babe, you close?” “Mhm” you hum in response as you take your hand from his ass and bring it to massage his balls. You feel his warm cum hit the back of your throat as your orgasm washes over you. You moan loudly around his dick as you keep your fingers inside you.

You pump your fingers, drawing out your high as Fred’s hips slow. You lick the remaining cum from him and pull your fingers out of you.

“Fuck your something else” he says pulling you to your feet to wash your hair.

When you crawl into bed you should be tired from the drinking and your shower activities. But you can’t turn your brain off.

Another kid?

Was he just drunk? He doesn’t normally drink that much whiskey, and the last time you saw him, it lead to Oliver. So many his judgment was clouded.

But it seemed like he had given it some thought before tonight.

You hadn’t really thought much of it, yeah you had known each other for over two years, had a kid together. But really you only had been together for 5 months or so, maybe even less. If you went from the time you gave him a key then it was only 4 months.

It’s hard to pinpoint the day. Crazy to think of kids after that short of a time. In any other relationship you would run if someone mentioned having kids that soon. But this wasn’t any normal relationship, you already had a kid together.

You lie awake for a few hours, you listen to Fred’s soft snores as they fill the room. Normally listening to his breathing will calm your anxiety, but right now nothing will. You think a run could help, but at this time of night you know it’s a bad idea.

You stare at the ceiling, lost in your thoughts. You don’t know when, but eventually you manage to doze off.

June 22, 2023

You are waiting at the airport when you hear “(Y/N/N)!” You look up to see Allie and Carlee running towards you.

“You didn’t bring Oliver?” Allie questions wrapping you in a hug first.

“No he is at home napping, figured it would be easier without him to get lunch.”

The women protest slightly because they want to see Oliver first but eventually agree. You help them load their bags before pulling out of the parking garage. You pull up to a restaurant overlooking the beach, you are currently in Los Angeles.

“Yeah we got here a little under a week ago. We came for the US open which was on Father’s day weekend. We decided to stay a little bit before we head to Denmark next week.”

“So how is the little guy doing?”

“Oh he is great, excited to see you guys. He runs full speed all the time, tries to climb everything, he is talking pretty good now too. Pretty smart boy” you say smiling.

“That’s crazy, how has Freddie been?” Allie asks.

“Oh he is amazing, but he always has been a terrific dad. He is always playing with him, he can’t wait to get him in some hockey skates soon” you chuckle.

“But how are things with him?” Like with you two?” Carlee questions.

“They are great. We’ve been together a few months now and it’s been amazing. We have a great relationship; it doesn’t feel like we’ve been together for like four months.”

“Well yeah that’s because it’s been more than 4 months, you had almost 2 years before that” Carlee replies.

“No we haven’t been. We weren’t like together that whole time” you respond.

“You weren’t dating then, but you hooked up all the time. And I know that you didn’t sleep with anyone else for that entire time” Carlee responds.

“Or for a bit before that, it’s been almost 3 years since you slept with someone else” Allie adds.

“Exactly. It’s not a 4 month relationship; it’s so much more than that. You just need to realize that.”

You take a sip from your drink staring at them.

“What aren’t you saying?” Carlee asks. “I’ve known you for 29 years; I know when you are keeping something from me.”

You sigh and sit up straight in your chair. “Last week before we came here we had Auston and Mitch down to visit in Pittsburgh. Well the last night we were all hanging around drinking and Fred mentioned wanting another kid.”

The girls stare at each other before Allie speaks up. “I know you think it’s only been 4 months, but it has been so much more (Y/N/N/). When you were pregnant and told us you were going to Denmark to meet his family I knew then, that you would end up with him. I thought it would happen sooner, but you just needed to get out of your head. Whether you want to admit it or not you have basically been together 2 years. At 2 years it wouldn’t be crazy to be thinking about marriage and babies.”

“But we already have a baby” you reply. “I don’t want to have one just because it’s been 2 years, or so that Oliver can be close in age to his siblings.”

“You honestly think that’s why he wants to have a baby with you?” Carlee asks. “He wants another baby with you because he is ridiculously in love with you. He loves seeing you as a mother, and he wants your love and family to grow.”

“We’re not trying to convince you have another baby” Allie says lightly. “We just want to help you understand his logic and reasoning.” “We also don’t want you to run away again” Carlee jokes causing you to laugh.

“Well I’m not going anywhere, I want this and I want him. But there is still so much to figure out. His family doesn’t really know me, and I don’t think they like me all that much. His mom added me on Instagram, but I think that was just to see Oliver since Fred doesn’t post a lot. And my grandparents are less than understanding about the situation.”

“John and Debbie can fuck off” Carlee replies causing you to chuckle. “They need to recognize its 2023, and families aren’t traditional anymore. You worried about going to Denmark?”

“Yeah. Fred repaired his relationship with his family. I haven’t had much of an opportunity to do that. He also invited my grandparents for a couple days which will be great” you mumble. “His parents came down for some of the playoff games, but it was when I was dealing with the movers so I didn’t get to spend much time with them. Fred didn’t want the distraction either so he put them in a hotel. Now that we are actually together I hope his dad accepts me.”

The next 3 days with your girlfriends goes by well. Fred was always the DD so you could enjoy time with your friends. But also so he could get them drunk so they would tell him stories from nights you’ll never outlive.

“Can’t believe you got arrested" Fred says kissing your collarbone while you brush your teeth one night.

“They released me an hour later and never charged me so it didn’t really count” you say staring at him in the mirror.

“Still, it’s hot” he mumbles “You in the back of a cop car. Handcuffs…”he says trailing his finger down your spine. You lean forward to spit out your toothpaste when your ass grinds against his very hard dick.

He groans, slipping a hand in your shorts sliding his fingers toward your core. You’re eyes go wide “Fred they will hear" you whisper. When planning the trip you thought it would be better to get a house rental because you would be there for over 2 weeks. Since your friends are down the hall, one of them sharing a wall with your bed you haven’t had sex, making you regret that choice.

“You just have to be quiet" he whispers, his hand dancing around your clit.

“I’ve had too many drinks for that” you giggle. “I’m going to shower before bed.” You say walking away to turn on the water.

“Sounds like a good idea” Fred smirks. He pulls his shirt and pants off, leaving him completely naked. He attaches his mouth to your spot below your ear.

“We can’t Fred” you whisper.

He smirks at you before peels your clothes from you and pushes you into the shower.

When he closes the door he pulls you in for a deep kiss as his fingers slide down to your folds. They gently play with your entrance and you immediately forget all reasons to not do this. Your hand slides down his chest to his hardened member, you begin stroking it.

He slips two fingers inside you and begins pumping them, your rock your hips setting a pace.

“Yeah use my hand babe. Fuck my fingers skat” he whispers in your ear. His mouth slides down to your sweet spot and begins to lightly suck on you as you continue rocking into him.

“Fred” you groan, your head falling back.

“Hmm” he says still sucking on your neck. His slips a third finger inside you “this what you want?” he asks gently nips your shoulder.

“Fuck” you mumble. His fingers pull out of you and you bring your eyes to his, a devlish smirk is on his face as he falls to his knees. He brings one of your legs over his shoulder as his mouth clamps on your clit, his lips warm and hot. His tongue parts your folds, he slides his tongue inside you. He begins to lick up your walls as your back is pressed against the cool tile wall.

His tongue swirls around inside of you, painting swirls on your clit as you gently grab his hair. He pushes his tongue fully inside you, beard scraping your legs and his nose is pressed hard into your clit. His tongue continues to do work on you as you moan. His ridged tongue continues to nudge your clit over and over again as you softly pant his name.

You feel the orgasm slowly building inside you, your hand tightens its grip on his hair causing Fred’s tongue to pick up its pace. He is licking up inside you, curling his tongue hitting your sweet spot. He brings his arm over your leg and begins pressing his thumb into your clit.

Your orgasm come crashing over you and Fred’s tongue doesn’t stop until you do. Your gripping his hair so tightly you think you might pull some out. Your eyes roll back into your head as Fred continues working you through your high. Eventually he pulls his face back and looks up to you, you losen your grip on his hair and he lets your leg down.

Your legs are weak as you place a hand on the wall to steady yourself, Fred chuckles standing up to support you. His face is now in the stream of the shower and has washed the remaining juices from his beard. Your head falls onto his chest as he runs a hand through your wet hair.

You stand there for a moment, catching your breath and allowing your legs times to stabilize. Just as you have regained strength he picks you up and pushes you against the cool tile wall before sliding into you. He kisses you to muffle your sounds as you wrap your legs around him moving in unison before climaxing together.

Today is your girlfriends last day with flights leaving around 6pm that night. You wake up at 6:30 that morning and realize Fred’s side is cold and empty, you wander into the kitchen and the lights are off, Fred’s car is still parked in the driveway. You make coffee and check your phone and don’t see a message from him. You are sitting on the couch when you hear the door open and Freddie enters in his workout gear, sweat dripping down him.

“I thought I’d be back before you woke up” he explains. “I wanted to get a run in before everyone woke up” he explains bending down to kiss you.

“You need to shower babe” you joke pulling away from him. He leans forward wrapping his arms around you pinning you to the couch as he kisses you. “Babe you’re gross” you joke as you feel his sweaty arms tightly wrap around you. He picks you up “I think you need a shower too” he says.

“I believe I had one last night” you grin at him as you wrap your legs around him as he leads you to the room.

He pulls you tight to his chest “weird you have sweat on you now” he says smirking.

After your shower Fred gets dressed as you stay behind to blow dry your hair. You look at the clock it’s almost 8am now and Oliver is likely awake. You head to the living room and see him on Allie’s lap as she reads to him. Ollie see’s you and his face lights up “Oh, is mommy done having fun with daddy?” she quips as your cheeks go red.

“We were thinking heading to the beach for lunch” Fred says saving you from your friend’s embarrassment.

“Sounds like a great idea” you respond as your friends exchange glances on the couch.

You pack everything and dress Oliver in his bathing suit with a t-shirt and a bucket hat. You settle down on the blankets and set up the umbrella and chairs before pulling your dress over your head leaving you standing in your red bikini. It is a string bikini that hugs your curves and hangs low on your hips. The fabric covering your chest is tight, showing off your breasts.

“Jesus” Fred says lightly with a huge smile on his face. Your friends hear and look up.

“How do you look that good? You don’t look like you had a baby, ever” Carlee scoffs.

“I think dating an athlete helps” you respond.

Fred shakes his head “No, this is all you.” His eyes still haven’t left you.

“Well chasing this guy helps" you say kissing Oliver before rubbing sunscreen on him.

You sit on the beach making sandcastles and playing with Oliver throughout the day. Oliver is sitting in the sand, “I think he is bringing half the beach back with him” you joke resting your head on Fred’s shoulder. He looks over to see your friends have wandered to the bathroom, leaving you alone. He uses a finger to tilt your head up to his and he places a soft kiss on your lips you move to deepen it when you hear Oliver laughing to himself.

“I’m going to take him to the water, try and rinse some of the sand off before putting him in the car” Fred says kissing your forehead. You sit up, removing your head from his shoulder as he grabs Oliver and runs with him to the water.

When they get to the water Fred sets him down, and walks in with him. He is a little scared of the waves at first but quickly gets over his fear. Fred continues to play with him, splashing him, and pretending to fall over when Oliver tackles him in the water.

You sit on the beach watching the interaction unfold as Fred keeps playing with him in the shallow water. A huge smile is on Fred’s face, while Oliver’s laughter fills the air.

“Oh my god that’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. How do you not want another kid with him?” Allie questions sitting down beside you.

“If you don’t want to I’ll do it” Carlee jokes.

Sitting there you can’t stop smiling, seeing Fred as a dad is the greatest thing you’ve ever experienced. And you do want more kids with him, just a bit more in the future. You snap a few pictures of them, capturing the large smiles on both their faces before posting them on Instagram with the caption My boys <3.

Next Chapter

#frederik andersen #Freddie Andersen #fred andersen #frederik andersen fic #frederik andersen smut #freddie andersen smut #freddie andersen x reader #frederik andersen x reader #freddie andersen fic #fred andersen smut #Fred Andersen Fic #fred andersen x reader #nhl smut #nhl fic #fredzilla #because two people got drunk #my writing

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bunnyywritings · 4 years ago

Text

anything for you

ushijima wakatoshi x gn!reader

day 7: coffee shops

word count: 1.7k

𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬; 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟔 - 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 - 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭; 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟖

[a/n: uhm this one is a bit long...I am in LOVE with my sweet baby boy ushiwaka🥺 so yeah, enjoy a late day 7! -yours truly, bunnyy]

Regret.

That’s all that buzzed in his mind...well that and caffeine.

“Oh? You’re still awake? I thought you had an early lecture in-” Tendou pulled his phone from his pocket to check the time. “Like three hours.”

“I still have a 6am class but I had two large uhm cold brew coffees today...well yesterday?” Ushijima confessed, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment as Tendou stared at him in mild amusement.

“But you don’t drink coffee.” He said matter of factly.

“Now I do. Twice a day apparently.”

Tendou was in disbelief as he changed into some sweats and jumped onto his bed. “And why the sudden need for so much caffeine Ushiwaka?” He knew for a fact that THE Ushijima Wakatoshi didn’t need coffee for energy. He was the healthiest man, like ever. There had to be some other reason.

“Just wanted to try it out.” The big man blushed as he settled back against his pillows.

“Oh yeah?” Tendou snickered. “And how’s that going for you.”

“Great.”

“I’m glad to hear that but I’m-” Tendou yawned dramatically. “I’m pooped, so I’m going to bed. Sweet dreams Ushiwaka~” He sang before shutting off the lights. There was a point if Ushijima couldn’t tell if the darkness he was seeing was the darkness of the room or the dark behind his eyes. What he did know was that the lights had come on way too quickly for his liking.

“Wakey wakey Ushi! It’s time for class~”

“Why’re you awake so early?” He groaned, rubbing his eyes.

“I just thought we could stop by for some coffee.” There was mischief in his friends’ eyes, mischief that he wasn’t ready for so early in the morning.

So the two got ready and made their way over to the campus cafe. While they walked, Tenodu could tell that his friend was getting more and more nervous the closer they got to the establishment.

The bell on the door rang as someone walked in. A smile grew on your lips as you knew who it was, the only person that would walk in five minutes after opening.

“Good morning Toshi! The usual again?” You turned and were face to face with Wakatoshi and someone else. “Oh good morning! Welcome to the campus cafe!” You smiled once more.

It wasn’t until you had made eye contact with “Toshi” that the gears in Tendou’s head began to click, your eyes conveying more than just friendly customer service.

“Yeah, I’ll take the usual (y/n).” At his confirmation, you put the order into the register then looked over expectantly at Tendou.

“Oh I’ll just take a large iced americano and a croissant please, (y/n).” The way he basically purred your name caused a red tint to cover your cheeks.

“O-Okay.” The red head smirked as you put the order in and they watched the total go from $10.65 to $8.50. “That’ll be $8.50.” You sent Ushijima a sly wink before reaching out to grab his card that was held between his index and middle finger.

“Thank you (y/n).” His rumbling deep voice always sent shivers down your spine. A blush blooming on your face once more as you sheepishly nodded and got to working on the drinks.

“So, Toshi, they must really have a thing for you if you’re getting their employee discount.” Tendou teased, snickering in his seat as Ushijima sat across from him.

“(Y/n) is just very nice, that’s all.”

“Oh come on! You and I both know that was more than just friendly ol’ customer service.”

Choosing to ignore his friend, Ushijima found his eyes drift over to you. The way you looked in your work uniform made his heart thump in his chest. Sure it was as simple as a school pullover and a purple apron and hat but you could be wearing a potato sack and he’d still find his heart trying to escape his ribcage. Your name pin scrawled in the handwriting that he had now grown accustomed to seeing. You’d stick a post-it note on his cup with a nice note sometimes, or on the off chance that he ordered a pastry, you’d write on the little bag it came in.

“Toshi! Your order is ready!”

Both guys stood up and made their way over to the counter. “Iced Americano and croissant.” You handed the items to Tendou. “And one cold brew and a danish.”

Lightheartedly rolling his eyes, Ushijima grabbed both items as well. “You didn’t have to.”

“I know.” You smiled. “But I also know that you won’t eat anything between now and 12 because you have practice after that and you need energy.”

‘So that’s where he would disappear off to before practice.’ Tendou thought as he sipped his coffee, watching the interaction happening in front of him.

“And are you going to stop by and watch like you said you would last time?”

“I get off at 1 and I have a class after that at 1:30.”

“Practice starts at 2 and ends at 5.” He added, olive colored eyes searching yours hopefully.

“Okay, then I’ll definitely stop by.” You grinned, bidding them a last goodbye before they left.

“So this is why you’re drinking coffee now? Because you’re in love ~” Tendou wiggled his eyebrows.

“I’m not- well, I don’t think I am. I’m actually not sure.”

That’s where the conversation had ended as Tendou dropped him off at the business building and went off to sleep as much as he could before his own class started.

You found yourself getting more and more excited as the end of your shift approached. You couldn’t even focus on your professor’s lecture, basically sprinting out of the building once he dismissed the class. You stopped by the cafe to get yourself some lunch and a ‘protein box’ before heading over to the gym where the volleyball team practices.

Standing at the entrance, you couldn’t help but ogle at how good Toshi looked in his volleyball uniform…’did his thighs always look this good?’

The suddenness of the shrill whistle jolted you from your drooling, and you watched as the team dispersed for a little break. You watched as the red-head this morning, as you now learned his name was Tendou, said something to Toshi and he had turned, a small smile gracing his lips as he caught sight of you.

He grabbed the hem of his shirt and brought it up to wipe the sweat from his face, inadvertently making you almost pass out since he flashed you his beautifully toned abs.

“Hey (y/n), glad you could make it.” He sighed as he was now in front of you before he had gestured to the bag in your hand. “What’s that?”

“Oh! Uhm it’s my lunch. I also brought y-you a snack and some water.” There was a small and slightly tense silence. “Would you like to eat with me?”

“I’d love to.”

Blushing, you followed him into the gym and over into the bleachers. Sitting beside you and muttering a thank you as you handed him the protein box.

“How was your day?” The gentleness and genuine interest in his voice made your heart swell.

He listened to every detail, no matter how small or mundane it was. He enjoyed the adorable facial expressions and hand movements you made as you recounted a particularly humorous customer interaction.

Tendou and the others sneakily watched. It was almost painful to see how clueless Ushijima really was about his feelings. Especially when you mentioned how talented he was at playing volleyball and he offered to teach you how to receive a ball. He apparently hadn’t noticed your beet red face as he had your back pressed up against his chest and his arms around you as he fixed the placement of your arms.

You had stayed the rest of the hour and a half left of practice which made Ushijima nervous. He had a strange urge to impress you. Which usually wasn’t very hard for him but you were very distracting.

You shivered a bit as the chilly air bit at your skin.

“Oh, here you go. You must be freezing.” Before you could protest, he draped his team jacket over your shoulder. “Would you like me to accompany you to your dorm?”

Your brain was a little fuzzy with the fact that he had given you his jacket before you finally processed his question. “No, no. It’s okay. It’s the opposite way.”

Tendou sighed dramatically from inside the gym. “Just do it already Ushiwaka! Tell them that- OW! WHAT THE HECK SEMI?!”

“W-What did you want to tell me Toshi?” You asked.

“That I’m in love with you.” Your breath hitched in your throat at his direct confession. “Or I think I am. I’m not really sure. It’s just-” you stood silently as he sorted through his words. “You make me feel things I’ve never felt before. Tendou says that it means I’m falling in love with you.”

“Well I hope Tendou was right because I think I’m falling in love with you too Toshi...“

He reached forward and gently took your hands into his. “C-Can I kiss you?”

Smiling fondly at his sudden nervousness, you nodded. “Yeah, you can.”

You leaned forward, eyes closing as you met his lips half way. Lips moving experimentally against yours before gaining enough courage to pull you closer to him and deepen the kiss but the both of you ended up bumping noses instead and smiling into the kiss.

“Does this mean you’ll stop torturing yourself all the time?” Tendou’s voice came out of nowhere once more, making you jump before frowning.

“T-Torturing yourself?”

“Oh right.” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked anywhere but your eyes. “I uhm, I had never drunken coffee before but I started because y-you recommended it the first time I went to the cafe.” It was safe to say your eyes were almost bulging out of your head.

“You never had coffee before that?! But cold brew is so strong!” You were in disbelief. “Why would you do that?”

“Because it was at that moment that I realized I’d do anything for you.” His voice held no hesitation as he said that and it made the butterflies in your tummy go absolutely wild.

Smiling, you basically threw your arms around his neck and kissed him once more while Tendou jokingly made gagging and throwing up noises behind the both of you.

This was a win win for Ushijima. He now could get a normal night's sleep without being hopped up on caffeine AND he now had you, his everything.

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭(open): @soul-of-rwby @randomesk-yuku @angeltsukkis

#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x gn!reader #ushijima wakatoshi x reader #ushijima x reader #ushijima x gn!reader #ushijima wakatoshi x gn!reader #ushijima wakatoshi #shiratorizawa x reader #haikyuu fluff #fluffvember 2020 #fluffvember

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kerwritesthings · 5 years ago

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South Of The Equator

Summary: Gestures of love are woven in the fabric of relationships, especially ones built around the priority of your love

Word Count: literally juuuuust shy of 5.8k

Warning: pining, love and fluff

Author Notes: Muse fell in love with this photo last week when Bre threw it out onto my dash, spit out stupid notes at midnight that night for it along with about 350ish words and then didn’t touch it until again yesterday evening where I proceeded to crank out about 5.8k in less than 24 hours. Oops?

This falls well later into the verse, like the latest I’ve taken it thus far. It just felt right to bring this into that part of the timeline with the premise and where the muse was taking this. Can be read as a standalone but diving into the verse and the masterlist would give a little bit more understanding.

It was not in the plans. Whatsoever. A whim. A lot of longing. A lot of missing connections. A lot of feeling that this was a sync you just wouldn’t be able to get. That scares the both of you, more than either of you will let on especially to the other. You both promise that this would be the longest stretch on this very last swing – something like 48 or 50 days depending on travel for both of you, that a somewhere between 12 and 14-hour plane ride at best for a long weekend made no sense. You’re in Bucharest when he starts the swing in Mexico. What was thought to be a few days off for him to come home to see you between the last Mexico show and the venture further south becomes non-existent, with surprise pop up concerts in both Costa Rica and Panama along with hoopla surrounding them on either side that the label drops last minute. You initially think you’d be able to make the last shows, but there was a potential work trip to Hong Kong hanging over your head, so you both agree not book anything.

Well, love makes you do some stupid and irresponsibly crazy things. When the Asia client pushes their timeline back, things change completely. Which is why you find yourself on the phone, trying to make arrangements while juggling 7 open browser tabs on your laptop at nearly 1am. This is what you do for each other. It’s been established. It’s been done for each other on numerous occasions throughout your relationship. But it’s never been something like this. This grand and involved.

“Up for a bit of a challenge?” you start. “What’s the actual schedule like between Buenos and Rio and Santiago?”

“Flip it around. Chile first. Then Buenos then Sao Paulo. Finish off in Rio,” Beatriz laughs. “Don’t book the wrong flight. Cause. This is where it’s going isn’t it? This bugger is so lucky to have you. He best appreciate this. He’s been whiny. More to Cez then me. Andrew too, but he trusts Cez more when it comes to you.”

“He’s not the only one,” you sigh. “Dee’s taken to sending me videos and photos of Tali every day before I call to bitch to her to try to ease my tension. We’ve done longer, when we first got together. This one though. We’re just not taking it well, either of us. It feels off. He can’t come to me, so I have to go to him.”

“There’s doubles now in Santiago, not just in Buenos and Rio. Only the one in Sao Paulo. Days off scattered through, but definitely some between the city jumps. Are you really going to try to do just a weekend down here?” she asks.

“Work remote if I can swing it. Then bank out on some time off. I’m due after the extra hours to lock in the Danish project and the haul to Bucharest for basically a 48-hour lookie loo from them with no commitments. Boss lady is great as long as my work gets done and I don’t pull the ask for ‘but my famous boyfriend’ very often, if at all,” you explain, poking away at the keys of your laptop.

“Ooh Denmark, so you going to get out for that one?” Beatriz questions. “Do you have a lam for this tour? Should we get you another?”

“I think I can, timing looks ok and I may be able to drag Shawn with me for once since it’s after all this hoopla,” you mutter, poking at Kayak and cursing. “I think I do, snag one just in case if it’s not too much trouble. It looks like Air Canada has a direct from Pearson to Santiago at 11 hours of flight time and an overnight red-eye. Bless it. No layovers. Less chance for him to even let on. Y’all can sneak me in on the flights between yeah?”

“Shawn is gonna shit you know this right?” she laughs. “I heard about your surprises you both have pulled on each other before, but this is something else. Duh girl, yes of course. He’d have you sit on his lap the whole flight if he had to, but we definitely have the room. Give me the flight info. I’ll make Cez book it. Do not even think about clicking that buy button that I know you’re hovering over.”

“Bea...” you begin.

“No, not hearing it. Cez blocked out travel budget for him to go home and you know that didn’t happen, so your flight there and then back with him at the end it is instead,” Beatriz interjects. “I’ll loop in C for sure. Maybe Andrew. Less folks who know the better, we need to keep this on lock down.”

“Beatriz, you’re the best. I owe you big time. I’m so glad you’re on this rag tag motley crew,” you thank her. “Let Cez know if he needs anything when he’s booking, if they don’t have it saved to just let me know.”

“Bottle of Bulleit and you finally spill the recipe for those kitchen sink bars the boys are always raving about and inhaling, we’ll call it even,” she deadpans. “But no really, I’m glad to help. As much as I tease that boy of yours, I’ve got a soft spot for him. We need to figure an epic reveal. It’s late. I’ll fire off a text to Cez and we’ll be on it tomorrow. Off with you. Night!”

You have a week between that call and your flight down to get all your things in order luckily. Work is understanding and accommodating, your boss practically sending out the out of office email for you after she hears your plans. He meanwhile has a few shows in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia ahead of him within that same time frame.

“There’s that face I adore,” you smile through FaceTime as you’re tucked in bed, two nights before you’re due to leave. “Hi you. How was the show? Where are you now?”

“Just out of the shower in the hotel and about to fall face first into bed, but I needed a dose of my pretty girl before I do,” he exhales, running a hand though his mess of wet curls. “Good, crowds down here are something else. Beyond the first time I swung through, on the last tour. And them singing back in perfect English still breaks my brain a little. Tired though. Looking forward to the break. Day break here, then like a half one off in Santiago before the last few shows. It’s so crazy to think we’re there already.”

“I can’t believe it’s almost over,” you murmur. “You did it baby, an entire circle of the globe. I’m beyond proud of you.”

“As much as I love this, I’m ready for just me, you and our bed. At least for a week straight, if not a few of them,” he chuckles. “Remind me of how tired I am now when I start to say I’m twitchy or bored, ok?”

“If you say so,” you say sleepily. “Just remember, I get to drag you with me on some my work trips next. Denmark for sure. Hong Kong perhaps since that’s still a moving target. Maybe Prague. Wanna be a silly romantic tourist with you for a bit. Just me and you”

“Always me and you, sweetheart. Go get some sleep. You’ve got work in the morning,” he whispers. “We can talk more tomorrow, promise.”

“You sure?” you fight back a yawn, eyes starting to flutter. “Can you sing to me though? Please? I miss you. Be like you’re here.”

He starts humming at first, the eases into a slowed down, Shawn-esque version of Sam Smith’s Latch. You want to stay awake to hear the whole thing, but he sounds like he’s there singing it right into your ear while he’s got your back against his chest. It’s so pretty, easy and dream like that you drift off in moments. He watches you for a few minutes after he finishes the song, making sure you’re truly asleep. Plus, he just wants to feel like he’s next to you in bed.

“Goodnight and sleep well, baby,” he whispers before disconnecting from FaceTime, a small smile slipping across his lips.

“He still has no clue by the way, so you’ve done a bang-up job,” Cez explains as he rings you while you’re in the car on the way to Pearson. “You’re still running on time from what we checked so you’re good. We’ve got everything square. Bea will come snag you from the airport, you’ll have time to hit the hotel, she’ll have the extra room key for you so you can get some actual rest and then get ready. Figure we’ll grab you while he’s doing Q&A. Do you want to surprise him before the show? After?”

“During?” you laugh, leaning your head back against the headrest as the car makes its way down the 401. “Maximum effect. Con would be on my side too you know, epic footage.”

“Of course, you do,” he retorts. “I should have known. Don’t forget, I’m on your side too. I’m glad this worked. I know it’s been a long stretch. For the both of you. I’ve seen it wear on him, but he’s put up a good front minus a few nights where he ends up with me until he needs to get to sleep, just needing someone who understands to talk to.”

“I’m glad he has you, that we both have you. You are a gift, Cez, really,” you reply as the car slows to ease up to the terminal. “I’m just about to hop out. I’ll text you and Bea when I land in the morning, customs will probably take a bit to get through. Thank you again.”

“Fly safe, dear. Try to get some rest and we’ll see you tomorrow,” he responds.

Check in was easy, of course they went above and beyond on the flight. You text Cez and Bea a photo of a cookie from the lounge with your ticket telling them they did not need to and thanking them. Cez responds first.

Again, you know if he found out we flew you like in row 24 on a flight that long, he would pitch a fit. I’m not up for a Shawn fit this late into the last of the last legs of tour. Enjoy the space and the lay flat. Sunshine and that boy awaits you.

Beatriz chimes in next.

Label owes you and the pain in the arse, so enjoy it! Have one for me. I’ll be there for you tomorrow with bells on and a tea in hand. Cannot wait for this – so epic. You two are nauseatingly adorbs.

The flight wasn’t crowded thankfully and the room to stretch fully is a welcome bonus. You are able to wind down a lot easier than expected and get a decent amount of sleep especially given it was on a flight, lay flat or not. Despite an extra circle, you land only a few minutes past your initial arrival time, make it through customs quickly and thankfully your luggage is waiting for you once you’re done.

“There she is,” Beatriz calls out as you head out to the open concourse. “And in one piece too with all your bits and bobbles. Good, the boss won’t be angry. And as promised, your tea!”

“Which one?” you chuckle, snagging the iced chai before hugging her.

“I can handle Cez, your man though,” she rolls her eyes as you walk out to the sprinter van. “He tried you last night when we were coming back from dinner, couldn’t get through even though we all told him it was late. He got all sad puppy. You were just about taking off, so it made sense. If he only knew what today is bringing him. I’ll drop you at the hotel, sleep, shower, eat, do whatever. I’ll be round to grab you about 4.”

As soon as you step into his room, you are overwhelmed just by the sheer sense of being back in his space again, despite him not even being there at the moment. You drop your suitcase, strip and crawl immediately into his still unmade bed to surround yourself in the smell of him. Setting your alarm before you drift off, you curl yourself around his pillow and exhale. Only a few more hours and you’ll be able to wrap your arms around him instead of a goose down that carries whiffs of his scent. A deep breath, an inhale you hold just for a moment before letting it go carefully and you’re drifting away.

You wake shortly before the alarm and to a couple texts from Shawn.

Miss you pretty girl. Almost there.

FaceTime after the show tonight? Even just for a few, I can tuck you in from here again like the other night.

Saw this on the drive over before, couldn’t help but think of you.

It was a slightly angled photo out the car window, but it was of a park with a fountain surrounded by high bushes littered with flowers.

I wish I could press you into those blooms and kiss you. Would make such a pretty picture. Love you baby.

You will yourself not to cry. That sweet, sentimental boy of yours. You’ll have time, you need to make that happen tomorrow.

I miss you sweetheart, so much. Yes to tonight, I’d love a tuck in from you. We’re so close. Love you <3

A shower, some primping and a good battle with both your blow dryer and your travel steamer later, you’re finally ready to head out.

“He’s a lucky bastard this one,” Beatriz whistles before handing over your new credential as you slide the van door closed behind you. “Don’t you have any sisters you can send my way? Cousins?”

“Sorry Bea, only child,” you laugh, as the van pulls away. “Cousins are stateside and not your type.”

“He was happy to hear from you before. Stopped in the middle of sound check to look at his phone. Got all stupid smiley and googly eyed,” she rolls her eyes. “He’s so gone on you if it wasn’t so bloody sweet to see him so gushy, it would make me ill.”

“Just wait ‘till later. I should apologize now,” you explain.

“Why there’s no plans for post-show, dearie. We knew better,” she giggles. “Shawn’s not going to want to share.”

You can’t help but smile as you pass the park he sent you the photo of earlier, it’s prettier than his shot let on. You definitely have to go there tomorrow. From that point, it’s a windy way through the streets of Santiago to the arena.

“He should just be wrapping up,” Beatriz prattles, looking at her watch as you make your way through the bowels of the building. “Which is good, I can sneak you into Cez’s room without him sniffing about. You, he, Jake and Con still need to hash everything out yeah?”

“Kind of. It’s the fine tuning of details at this point,” you say, flipping the pass around in your hands before slipping it around your neck as you walk, still not fully grasping you’re going to see him as soon as you are. “It’s a matter of where to go in the pit during his walk up to stage where I won’t be spotted too easily, but also not be in the way of everything either. I think it’ll work, totally up to Jake though. Worse case, we’ll do it just before rally or he hits the stage. Better visuals, and Con will agree with me, but it’s Jake and Cez who have final call.”

“It’s brilliant, all of it. However, here is where I leave you for now,” Beatriz nudges you through the door into Cez’s makeshift office for the next two days. “Need to make sure the sound techs have everything. Fridge is stocked, so steal what you need. He should be back in a few. They’re due to be walking your man now. His room isn’t far, so stay put. I’ll let C know you’re here. Toodles!”

Shortly after you settle in on the couch, engrossing yourself in your inbox, you feel someone settle down next to you.

“Thank god you’re here, I cannot do the sad Shawn shit anymore,” Connor sighs, throwing an arm around your shoulder. “I love him like a brother but damn, this go has been a beast when he’s feeling it like that.”

“Hi Connor, I’ve missed you too Connor, it’s good to see you Connor,” you roll your eyes, pushing his arm off you with a poke.

“Yeah yeah, all that too,” he smiles, sliding his arm back into place and kissing your cheek. “It’s good to have you here, all that aside. Despite all that, missed you around these parts.”

“Considering Central America took away our long weekend together, with no warning. It’s just been a hard go this swing. For both of us. May just be the wear and tear of a tour this long finally hitting. Even with as much as we’ve made it a priority to stay more connected and grounded. You guys are lucky it’s the end and it didn’t happen in like the middle of Europe, or the US leg. Though that would have been easier to get to than an almost 11-hour flight,” you fight out.

“You’re too good for him you know?” he teases. “Remember, he has friends if you ever need to bail.”

“Not any of y’all that’s for sure. No way. And, it’s the other way around, Con,” you reply, poking at his knee. “So, you’ve seen the setup, what’s going to make the most sense?”

“We’re going to do whatever you want, missus,” Jake chimes in as the door shuts behind him and Cez. “Only thing I require is a hug.”

“I think that can be arranged,” you say happily, ducking around Connor to get to Jake. “Con, stop being in the way.”

“Thank you,” you murmur to Jake as he pulls you into an embrace.

“We should be thanking you,” he whispers hugging you tightly. “And seriously. We’ll make it all happen. Kid needs this as much as you do.”

You pull away, smiling. “Ok guys so here’s what I’m thinking. Let’s surprise him on the walk out.”

The details come together quickly as well as easily. You’re happy, the team is comfortable with it all. It also helps he’s not expecting a thing. Everyone’s on board.

“So,” Cez begins, rolling a bottle of water around in his hands as everyone else filters out. “Hop a flight on a whim in the states or Canada is one thing. Cross the pond, a little more effort, but doable. This is something else entirely, even for the two of you.”

“I don’t know why this one is so different; I wish I knew; believe me I do. It would have saved me an 11-hour flight,” you utter. “It’s not like we’ve not done it before. We got through this, worse even, when he went out on last leg of the last tour and I had no leverage to take time off to come out other than that last show. We were only together a little bit at that point.”

Cez smiles his all-knowing smile, looking down at your hands playing with your credential. “I think you do, somewhere in there. I think he does too, well I know he does.”

“What are you talking about?” you ask inquisitively. “We’re good, really good. Minus this blip and it’s just us being a little more emotionally wound together. More in the groove than we’ve ever been. It’s been great, actually.”

He smiles yet again, making you wonder even more, and picks up his hand pointing to a certain finger.

“No,” you shake your head.

He nods, still smiling. “You’re practically there already. We were honestly all surprised it didn’t happen before tour, or at break. Especially after Japan. I knew though not the holidays, it’s too cliché and not him, or you. He’s asked me a few things, more recently. Won’t give away more than that, but it kind of all makes sense. At least to me.”

“I just. Like. Shit Cez,” you sigh, looking down at the lam in your hands. “We’ve talked about it before, couple times. We want it, both of us. He’s it for me, and vice versa. He knows I’ll say yes. I’ve told him as much. But I’m also not that girl that needs the pretty on her hand to know where we stand in our relationship. He’s also not that overly possessive man who needs to prove he’s got me like that to the world, even in his crazy whirlwind of a life.”

“I think it’s both of you really ready for what’s next and this just all happens to be in the way right now. But, you’re here now, which not only is he going to be over the moon about, the rest of us are pretty happy as well. Not just because he’ll be in better spirits, it’s because we love you just as much too,” he states plainly. “You’re as much a part of this, a part of the family. I’m personally glad you’re here for these last few. This run’s been special, you should be here for the end of it.”

“Do not make me ruin my makeup, damnit,” you half laugh, half bite back a sob. “I’m so glad he has you, not just on the road, but in general. I know how much he loves you. I do, too.”

His phone pings rapidly.

“Ten-minute warning for fetching him. Let’s go get you out and set. Phil’s on you until Jake walks out with Shawn,” he states, reaching for his headset in one hand, for you with his other.

You carefully walk down the back hallway towards the stage together. Jake and Phil meet you at the back corner of the build out. Jake hands you off a fresh pair of earplugs.

“You’re going to need these,” he reminds you. “It’s his usual walk, so he won’t expect a thing. Especially seeing Phil at that junction of the barricade, once Phil gets the signal from me that we’re going, he’ll shift behind you so Shawn can spot you.”

You throw him a thumbs up as you wedge the plugs into place. Phil takes your arm in his, his other hand patting your forearm.

“Let’s go surprise him,” he says, leading you out to the pit.

For some reason, probably your conversation with Cez if you’re being honest with yourself, has your stomach set off with butterflies. You’ve not been like this since the early days of your relationship. Excited, always. Happy, without a doubt. Nervous though? No. You try to not shift about, instead closing your eyes to take in the moment. The crowd is loud, you can smell the remnants of the smoke machine test earlier lingering in the air.

Phil taps your shoulder, sliding you into place in front of him.

“He’s walking,” he mouths with a wink.

The house lights come down and the stage lights start to just warm. You exhale and lean back onto Phil slightly, whose hands come to rest comfortably on your shoulders. The opening video starts to roll and the lights hit the pit walk so you know you’ve got about 30 seconds at best before he comes into view. Phil pushes you forward just a touch just as you spot Jake and Shawn with Connor shuffling just behind to get the right angle for the surprise.

He’s in his pre-show zone, not taking in much around him. Jake nudges him though and his eyes shoot up. Shawn looks over towards you, taking a moment for things to register, and when it does his smile is as bright as you’ve seen. His eyes grow wide, he turns to Jake, who nods with a grin and then Shawn takes off in a sprint.

“Surprise!” you try to scream, but he’s already got you in his hold lifting you to swing you around.

“Tell me I’m not dreaming, please,” he utters in your ear before pulling you closer, finally getting you back on your feet.

You slide your hands from his shoulders, one to the nape of his neck fingering the wispy curls there, the other to nudge his one in-ear out.

“Not a dream, baby. Very much here, very much real. You got me for the rest of the run, love,” you say directly into his ear. “Go be my Rockstar. I’ll watch side stage, be there waiting for you after the show.”

You pop his in-ear back into place then cup his cheek, watching his eyes roll back slightly.

“I love you so damn much,” he yells before kissing you soundly. “I am so lucky you’re mine.”

Shawn rubs his nose against yours before sneaking in another kiss, then runs up to the stage with Jake on his heels. Jake winks as he passes, throwing a double thumbs up before Phil takes you towards the back staircase so you can set up on the rolling case you know is waiting for you.

The show is electric as always, but he’s got a special energy tonight. You can’t help but feel a bit happy as to probably being the reason why. He’s smiling, sweaty and disheveled, running back towards you in the break before the encore.

“You’re a mess,” you quip with a smile, handing him a bottle of water and a towel.

“Never minded that before,” he retorts back, running a hand through the mess of his hair after wiping his face down with the towel.

“Not the place Shawn Peter,” you say, shooing him away. “Go finish, I’m not going anywhere.”

He drops the water bottle down on the case next to you, stealing another kiss before bopping his way back out.

You hop off the case and head out towards the curtain line to get a better view. His encore covers have been something else this tour. He’s been leaning hard into Tom Petty’s Free Fallin’ and it’s a stunner, especially just him and the piano.

“I had a surprise tonight delivered to me just before the show, a really amazing one actually,” he begins as he settles into playing the piano. “So, if you all don’t mind, I’m going to play something a little special before I get into my last two songs.”

Once he hits the first few chords, your jaw drops immediately.

“You lift my heart up when the rest of me is down. You, you enchant me, even when you're not around. If there are boundaries, I will try to knock them down. I'm latching on babe now I know what I have found,” he sings and you can’t help but inch closer to the edge as far as you can go without being spotted or seen. “I feel we're close enough, I wanna lock in your love. I think we're close enough, could I lock in your love, baby? Now I got you in my space, I won't let go of you. Got you shackled in my embrace; I'm latching on to you.”

You didn’t expect this the other night, so you very much don’t expect it tonight. You can’t do anything but watch him, enamored and amazed. He sounds breathtaking. The whole song just gives you goosebumps, especially in a setting like this. Damn this boy.

“Thanks for indulging me tonight, Santiago,” he says and you can see the flush spreading across his cheeks, even from there. He immediately segues into Free Fallin’ to get his encore moving, before finishing completely with If I Can’t Have You.

He’s got a hold of your hands the moment he’s out of sight of the audience.

“Did you like it?” he asks, dipping his head down to kiss you, feather soft.

“Love it, love you,” you reply, dusting kisses across his knuckles. “Come on, let’s get you back there before they start to think we’re defiling a case on the stage.”

He chuckles, tangling his fingers deeper with yours before leading you towards his dressing room. As you hit the main hallway, most of the band and the crew are waiting there and start whooping and clapping the moment the two of you come into view.

“What the hell?” you question, as he holds your hand tighter trying to make your way down the hall. He shakes his head, cheeks pink as he bites his bottom lip.

“Hold up,” Jake stops you both just before the doorway to his room, arms crossing against his chest and a shit eating grin spread across his face. “Believe you owe this lady a thank you.”

“Hello, the song, on stage, the encore? In front of the whole damn audience,” he retorts, running his free hand through his curls before tugging you towards him and the door without getting you covered in post-show sweat. “Now I’d like to shower, get the heck out of here so I can spend some time with her. Without an audience.”

You can hear the snickers and wolf whistles, it’s your turn to flush. Jake shakes his head no.

“You know what you assholes, fine,” Shawn sighs before rolling his eyes.

“Don’t even with me kid,” Jake smirks.

“I know what you’re…” he trails off but tugs your hand, so you stand closer to him. “Shit. C’mere baby.”

The next thing you know he’s cupping your neck and kissing the breath straight out of you. Your hands fly up, one gripping his shoulder the other tangling in his hair. He pulls away first, just as breathless as you’re feeling.

“You all happy now? Can I please get into my room?” he asks.

Jake moves aside, patting him on the shoulder. He snatches your hand and tugs you into the room, shutting and locking the door behind you both.

“Do I even want to know?” you say, leaning back against the door as he toes off his boots.

“Grander the gesture, bigger the thank you,” he replies, stripping off his button down next, his tank and jeans follow. “They like to tease, you know this. Especially when you and I start getting the way we do. It’s all in good fun, but not when you pull the most epic surprise and I’ve run through a whole damn show. I haven’t seen you in how long and I still haven’t really held you or loved on you the way I want to.”

“Then you best go shower, sweetheart,” you tease. “You know feeling is mutual.”

He darts over to kiss you again, “Be right back.”

He’s quick, which you appreciate, and even more that he’s just in a pair of threadbare, low slung navy sweats when he heads back out to you. He drops the towel in his hand to snag yours, pulling you towards the couch. He flops down first and pulls you immediately down on top of him. He kisses your forehead before scooting you down so your head can rest comfortably on his shoulder. He smells fresh, clean, warm, like him and like home.

“Hi baby,” he murmurs against your lips before kissing you slowly and thoroughly. “Fuck, how I missed you. I can’t believe you’re here. I’m so damn happy that you’re here. You’re amazing you know that? How did you pull this off?”

“Once Hong Kong pushed timeline, I had a little wiggle room, but I wouldn’t be sure until Denmark signed off,” you explain, finger carefully tracing back and forth against his collarbone and shoulder. “I didn’t want to get either of our hopes up, so I didn’t say anything. Then like a week and a half ago? That night we just couldn’t get timing together I think you were in Panama still. I was up and cranky at stupid o’clock, said screw it. I knew I had some comp time due, had a little vacation time left, plus after Bucharest debacle on their part, they kind of owe me to boot. Called Bea, looped in Cez and voila.”

“You’re making it harder to even come remotely close to do for you what you do for me,” he presses his lips against your hair. “I’m so grateful for you.”

“There’s not a tally, sweetheart. We do for each other, you know this,” you remind him. “You and me, always right?”

There’s a knock on the door and jingling of keys, you go to move but Shawn holds you to him.

“Just gonna be C, we’re not doing anything. You stay put,” he wraps his arms around your waist and nuzzles your ear.

“Sorry kids, time to get a move on,” Cez calls out from the doorway. “Can I come in? Are you at least PG?”

“It’s cuddling man, that’s all,” Shawn barks out with a laugh as you bury your head into his neck.

“You’ve got about 10 minutes to get yourselves together before the sprinter gets here,” he reminds you both. “We’ve got a curfew in the building overall, so we can’t be late on this one.”

“I’ll make sure he’s ready,” you reply, trying to wiggle out of his hold. “Let’s go, you. Need to get your stuff together. Can’t be late.”

“Listen to your girl, Shawn,” Cez remarks. “She’s right. Plus, you’ll be free of us and interruptions once you’re back at the hotel. Late call tomorrow since we’re already set here. I’m leaving the door unlocked and open so no funny bunny ok?”

“Thanks, Cez. See you in a few,” you say, trying to nudge at Shawn.

“You know that means we can go to that park in the morning,” you whisper, kissing his chin once Cez is back out in the hallway. “Upsy daisy dear.”

He sighs dramatically, but with a smile, “Only if you promise a little morning love, breakfast in bed and that park in the morning.”

“You drive such a hard bargain,” you giggle. “It’s a deal.”

He kisses you quickly and loudly before sitting up with you still in his hold, “I can’t wait to get you alone alone tonight.”

“Which would be sooner if you got a move on,” you roll your eyes, poking at his chest while his hands palm you ass.

He stops for a moment though, looks at you softly while not taking his eyes off of you.

“Love you pretty girl,” he declares, hand pushing stray strands of your hair away from your cheek, before holding it in his palm.

“Love you too, Shawn.”

#shawn mendes #shawn peter raul mendes #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes imagines #shawn mendes fic #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn mendes fanfiction #shawn mendes story #shawn mendes stories #shawn mendes oneshot #shawn mendes fluff

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chappedandfadedvds · 4 years ago

Text

Oct 25th, Sunday 14:07

There was a loud thud on the other side of the door, that let Jens flinch and step a bit back from it. It was soon followed by a burst of giggling though and to his surprise it was Yasmina who opened the door with a slight reddish tint to her cheeks. He most definetly hadn’t expected her to be here. Anyone really, but her.

„Sorry I kinda hit my knee on the cabinet and knocked over a vew things. Come in.“

Jens nodded confused but chuckled nonetheless seeing the little mess on the floor. He followed her in and was met with a strong scent of cinnamon reaching him from the kitchen. Yasmina simply started to pick up the items and placing them back, while he took off his jacket, feeling too warm as soon as he had stepped inside. Jens was a bit lost however on where to put his jacket, as it appeared at least two dozen others already occupied the hangers on the wall. He threw it over the one orange coat, he was sure was Robbe’s, and found Yasmina had walked back into the kitchen. Only her head peaked around the corner again to gesture him he should join her too.

Even though he was here to see Robbe, at least he could say hello, Jens figured. And contrary to his believe, when his best friend had asked him to come over to chill, the kitchen was packed. And more voices spilled out from the living room next to them. He had more or less expected the apartment to be empty.

„Hi!“ Milan declared cheerfuly, checking up on something in the oven, that certainly caused what filled the kitchen in a sweet vanilla-cinnamon cloud. Impressed he looked at Milan, hoping to be able to get a taste of it. Just behind him at the table sat Aaron and now Yasmina.

„Amber and me came over to visit, and Yasmina slept over, because of... Actually I don’t remember, but yeah, Amber is in the living room with Zoë, Senne and Robbe.“ Aaron explained, while fist bumping Jens, before going back to type something on his phone. That was the moment Milan seemed to be done for now with the content of the oven and threw an arm over Jens’s shoulders, settling close next to his side. He shook his head smiling, placing his own arm on the lower back of the older boy.

„This is the third weekend in a row of everyone gathering in this apartment, we may have to move to a bigger place, because this is getting out of hand.“ Milan complained, both of them leaving the kitchen, to go over to the living room, not before he let Milan check the time in a book on the counter, to know when to take out whatever he put in. He continued chatting, letting Jens relax a bit, as he did not had to decide what to say or to do for the moment. Something Jens actually noticed he appreciated greatly. The last months it seemed like he had more and more responsibilities at home and was contemplating what to do every single day. He remembered that Milan was still talking to him and quickly began to go back to actually listen to what was being said.

„... Lisa mentioned to come back next summer. I mean Senne moved in with Zoë last year, and now it seems like Sander did too with Robbe. I think, since the end of the lockdown, he may visit his parents once a week to return with even more art supplies to set up all over the place. He claimed a part of the bookshelf just last week. He washes most of his clothes here too. We may as well add him on the payroll for rent.“ Milan went on complaining as they reached the living room, finding the others chatting around the livingroom table. It was full of sweets and fruits and cups of tea. Jens immidiately loved having decided to take up Robbe’s invitation.

„Hey, Jens!“ Senne greeted happily.

„You made it!“ Amber smiled at him warmly.

„You lucky asshole, being late an hour and we just filled up the pot again, so you actually get fresh and hot tea.“ That was Robbe patting the spot next to him on the floor, while Amber, Zoë and Senne had cuddled up on the sofa under a blanket. Zoë mainly sitting on top of Senne’s lap, her head buried in the curve of his neck. How they didn’t die a heat death, was a mystery to Jens. It was at least 30 degrees in here it felt like. Taking off his sweater, earning him some loud whoo’s from the others, he settled next to Robbe, nudging him in the process.

„I thought we were alone.“ Jens tried to accuse Robbe, feighing disappointment, but followed almost immidiately with a smirk, as Robbe had lost his smile for a second. The younger one definitely worries too much. As if Jens could ever really get super mad at him.

„Ah fuck you, Jens.“ He turned his head towards said boy, a hand placed on Jen’s thigh before he continued: „Though we probably could have arranged that, if you wanted me all to yourself. I mean, we could just kick them all out.“

Robbe definitely had found his confidence since being with Sander and grew more comfortable being himself every day. Jens really liked watching that development happen in front of him.

There was a suggestive wiggle of Robbe’s brows that made Jens laugh and push Robbe’s face away from him.

„Where is Sander than? I thought you become joined at the hips if you leave school properties.“

Jens sort of regretted having said that, as Robbe’s bubbly, happy expression faltered. He caught himself quick, not fast enough though for Jens to ignore. It worried him that something had happend.

Robbe seemed to notice that and quickly shook his head to calm Jens.

„Nothing bad, Sander just hadn’t caught any sleep over the last couple nights, so he is basically knocked out since this morning. Maybe depression, but I’m not sure yet, hadn’t had a chance to talk to him. That’s actually why I asked you to come over. I didnt know that it was getting that crowded today.“ Robbe explained, leaning his head on Jens’s shoulder as he fished for some cookies on the table in front of them.

Giving him a bit of best friend support, Jens moved his arm over behind them, lifting his hand to stroke lightly up and down Robbe’s back. He felt Robbe relax next to him, apparently he had been a bit tense before. Though the boy never voiced it, Jens knew that it was hard for him to watch Sander like this sometimes. He believed that Robbe might be reminded of his mother in these moments. He kissed the mop of hair on his right shoulder, earning him a smile in return.

Milan in the meantime had poured Jens a fresh cup of tea and sat down on the armchair to their left.

„Yasmina, Zoë and me had planned to drive to an exhibition opening about the history of medicine, that was scheduled for today in Brussels, but as they had two positive Corona cases yesterday it was cancelled. Fortunately for us just as we had gotten into the car. Hence this big party here.“ Senne threw up one hand with a grin, waving about in a circular motion to indicate their gathering, as if Jens couldn’t put two and two together.

They all chatted away, being joined by Yasmina and Aaron, who somehow still managed to squeeze next to Amber on the already crowded sofa. They talked about the party from friday and the spanish exchange student Jens had flirted with. She was cute, long dark brown hair, green eyes, petit body. Her name was Camila and simply because they had talked a while, danced and kissed in the end, he now was somehow expceted by everyone else to take her out on a date. Which he declined politely, telling them to screw themselvees.

They talked about Sander’s upcoming school exhibition in two weeks, that they all planned to attend and would make sure to embarrass the shit out of him.

Last but not least the topic fell on the mysterious new student they’d meet tomorrow and a couple of non-serious consipiracy theories started to emerge, one odder than the one before. Nothing was off limits. Not even Aaron throwing the Dutch royal family into the mix.

Just right after Aaron’s suggestion Lucas van der Heijden could be the illegitimate son of a prince of some sort, Milan jumped up screaming about the danish thing he forgot about. He stormed off, almost tripping over his own feet on his way over to the kitchen in a panic, while laughs and cheers from everyone else filled the apartment, rooting for Milan to make it in time. Luckily it wasn’t burned and thus ended up being eaten in a haste, only one piece surviving by Robbe guarding it with his live. Sander would apparently kill him, if Robbe wouldn’t bring him some of Milan’s great baked goods.

To his defence, they were incredibly delicious.

#week 1 #wtfock #skam #vds #jens stoffels #lucas van der heijden #chapped and faded

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capesandshapes · 4 years ago

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The Last Resort: Chapter 2 (Adrinette)

Summary: After an akuma attack goes wrong, Adrien finally learns Ladybug's secret identity and finds himself falling even deeper in love with his friend. He thinks he's finally gotten lucky when she declares to him that she's currently in the business of falling love with anyone but her previous crush... until that crush turns out to be him. Now Adrien has to somehow convince the girl of his dreams to fall back in love with him, while keeping his own identity a secret from her. Well, if there was one thing his father taught him, it was how to multitask. Chapter Summary: The Cat's Out of the Trunk, Good Morning Beautiful. Marinette explains why she refuses to date Chat, Adrien begins a new morning routine, and it turns out old emotions may die harder than habits.

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

Alya closed the distance between her and Marinette quickly, her arms wrapping around her smaller friend and her face burying in the girl’s hair while Adrien could only watch. The two girls stayed like that for a moment, Marinette’s eyes closing in what seemed to be thankfulness as her hand slowly patted Alya’s back. But it was only a moment, Then Alya pulled back to face her friend, her face shaped into a wicked grin.

Alya pressed her lips to her friend’s forehead with an overexaggerated mwah, a loud pop resounding as she quickly pulled back. “Well, you know what, I love you,” she declared, “and someday Adrien’s going to wake up and realize that he does too... if he hasn’t already.”

Marinette snorted, rolling back from Alya with a bemused smile, “you’re the worst.”

“I’m the best,” Alya proclaimed. “The best listener, the best blogger, and your best friend.” Leaning her weight on the side of Marinette’s chair, Alya asked, “speaking of being your best friend, and seeing as how I don’t see anything that could possibly keep you busy… Maybe we could have a sleepover tonight? Possibly run through all my theories, some Adrien related and others not?”

And while Adrien would have loved to hear those theories and possibly see his lady’s reaction, the thought of remaining in a dark trunk didn’t exactly sit well with him, nor did the fact that he could only hold up his transformation for so long. A loud groan escaped his mouth without permission, gaining Alya’s attention and suddenly startling Marinette.

“What was that--” Alya began to ask.

“Floor!” Marinette immediately yelled, suddenly hoping up from her desk chair and walking in front of the trunk. She gestured to the floor with her back turned to Adrien, and he could only imagine the look on her face. “You know, the floors in these old houses! What are you going to do? I mean its Paris, its 2020, everyone’s having a housing crisis--Can’t fix all the floors! Even if you wanted to fix them and make them less noisy and less inconvenient. Those floors!” She quickly sat on the trunk, crossing her legs and no doubt posing herself in an innocent manner. “But um… Sleepover. You here, with me, alone. Tonight.” Her nerves were evident in her voice, “Can’t do it, really busy...Making a raincoat for a friend.”

Alya let out a laugh, “Which friend?”

“Wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you.”

More laughter, Adrien heard the floor actually creak as Alya neared closer. “Alright,” she said, “you have fun with that. I’ll keep my eyes out for it on your Instagram.”

“Of course,” Marinette gave a strained reply as the trap door in her room creaked.

A moment passed in which she no doubt listened to Alya’s footsteps going down the staircase, much like Adrien was doing. He could hear her stand up from the trunk as the footsteps faded further away, a heavy inhale audible from outside. Suddenly, the lid of the chest opened entirely, Marinette’s face coming into view.

“Don’t. Say. A. Word.” Marinette immediately spat.

Adrien’s eyebrows raised, his legs hooking over the side of the trunk as he used it for leverage to pop out of the confining space. After taking in her dead serious expression, he couldn’t help but grin, “I don’t know what you’re referring to…”

She shot him an unimpressed glare.

“I guess the cat’s out of the bag,” he laughed, “or trunk, more like it.”

“And I’m going in it,” Marinette deadpanned, placing a foot in the trunk before stating rather over dramatically, “close the trunk and bury me in it.” After a moment of thought, she said, “and don’t forget to take the earrings off first.”

“No can do, m’lady,” he replied, his hand wrapping around her wrist as he pulled her closer, his grin stretching ear to ear like some sort of Cheshire Cat rip off. “You like him,” he stated, more for his pleasure than to inform her. “You like Adrien Agreste.” It felt electric and absolutely invigorating to say while looking at her, his Ladybug, and watching the pink bloom over her cheeks.

“I don’t!” She replied, “Not anymore!” But when the color left her face, she decided to correct the statement, “I mean I do, as a friend. I like Adrien as a friend now, only a friend. I don’t love h--”

He couldn’t let her say it. He cut her off before she could finish the statement, saying in an almost teasing tone, “Then prove it. You don’t even have to know who I am, just date me instead.” He rested his chin between his thumb and pointer finger with a devilish look, his other hand pulling her closer as he almost dared her to actually look at him, “I think I’m a little more handsome than the Agreste boy, wouldn’t you agree?”

Marinette jerked back her hand from his, her eyebrows knitting close to each other as she replied a simple, “No.”

He deflated slightly.

“You just don’t get it because you love doing this so much, but I…”

“You...?” Adrien’s face fell.

Marinette looked away from him. “I want a lot more than this, you know?” She cringed at her wording before clarifying, “I mean you and I could never date like normal people. We could never have picnics, watch movies at each other’s houses, go out to dinner, go to school dances, or spend a single peaceful night together.” Seeing how his face contorted in thought, she carried on, “I mean patrolling and beating up bad guys together is one thing, but there’s so much more to love. Could you even imagine Chat Noir walking me to school? That’s not something that can happen, kitty.”

“But if you let me tell you who I am--”

“Then I’ll love you just because you’re Chat Noir,” her hand drifted to his cheek, her thumb creating circles on his skin. “No one else would have a chance to know me like you do, and I might miss out on something great.” Her eyes were sincere as she stated, “If I fall in love, I want it to be as a civilian, just a normal girl. If you take off that mask right now, then I won’t get that.”

He sighed, his head leaning into her touch as he slowly closed his eyes, seemingly admitted defeat, “fine.”

*****************************************

“So tell me again why you’re forcing me to wake up a whole hour early,” Plagg yawned, but it did not diminish the audible nature of his irritation, “When you already show up at school well before everyone else.”

Adrien sighed, placing his head against the glass of his car door window as he also fought the urge to return to sleeping. “We’ve gone over this, Plagg. I talked to Nathalie, and she said that this was the only way she could imagine making room in my schedule for this. If this is what Marinette really wants, then…”

“Then you should walk her home instead,” Plagg whined, “so it’s not too suspicious. Heck, you could even give her a ride, maybe she’d like that.”

“Plagg.”

“You know that girl’s late all the time anyway!” Plagg reminded Adrien, “and your father said that if you show up even a minute late to one of your classes, then it’s another day of no school for you. You’re seriously putting things at risk here.”

“And?”

“And?!” Plagg’s voice grew louder but trailed off quickly. In a mere moment, the cat’s demeanor changed, his ears perking and his tail drooping as his nose pointed up in the air.

Adrien’s did as well, enticing smells filling the street as the Dupain-Cheng bakery came into view. Mrs. Cheng stood outside, propping the door open as she flipped the sign, clapping to herself with a pleased look on her face as the streets of Paris began to fill with the smell of freshly baked bread. Passerby quickly began to file off the street and into line as the scent grew, each hoping to grab some of Paris’s greatest baking before it ran out.

“Cream cheese danish-- No, a cheesy croissant-- No, a cheesy quiche…” Plagg began to demand, “or all of the above.” With a lick of his lips, the Kwami declared, “maybe you trying to date bakery girl won’t be such a bad thing…”

“I’ll say…” Adrien agreed, his mouth partially falling open at how enticing the smell of a just-opened bakery was. No wonder Ladybug always smelt so good; her parents had managed to create an aromatic paradise with mixtures of flour and yeast every morning.

The car rolled to a stop in front of the bakery, the Gorilla quickly hopping out of the driver’s seat to open Adrien’s door before he could manage to do it himself. The Gorilla nodded his head to the bakery as he opened Adrien’s door, hinting that at least one banana cream eclair would be required for the boy to carry out his plan. Adrien nodded in response as he got out of the car, giving his bodyguard a quick thumbs up and grinning as the man returned the action. Adrien was fortunate that his father paid him well, especially if he had to provide treats for his bodyguard and Plagg every day he insisted on walking with Marinette.

Pulling the strap of his messenger bag a little bit tighter and straightening his back, Adrien inhaled hard before getting in line. Keeping his head down and his hand angled on his forehead so that it blocked the majority of his face, he waited peacefully in the quick-moving line, mentally practicing what he would say to see Marinette at such an early hour a million times.

He was on a million and one when he got close enough for Tom Dupain to notice him, only three people between him and the counter.

“Adrien!” The baker’s voice greeted from behind the counter. Heads turned with his greeting, but the man paid them no mind as he quickly exited the kitchen to place a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “What are you doing waiting in line? You know you’re one of Marinette’s friends now; you hardly have to go through the bakery doors. You can use the back entrance like Alya.” Shrugging his shoulders and seeming to not realize even part of the reason Adrien was there, Tom added, “you can drop whatever you have for her on the kitchen counter; she’ll probably be up in a few hours.”

“Um, actually,” Adrien blinked, overwhelmed by the man. “I was hoping to get some of your pastries, you are the best baker in town. And then, you know…” Tom’s akumatization as Weredad flashed before his eyes, causing Adrien to mumble his words too lightly for the man to hear.

“Excuse me, son. I couldn’t hear that last part!” Tom smiled.

“I said…” The words were lost once more in the bustle of the bakery.

“Just a little bit louder, Adrien!”

“I was hoping to walk Marinette to school!” Adrien yelled.

Tom inhaled and Adrien flinched, unsure of how the man would react after the absolute trainwreck that was brunch with Chat Noir.

“Sabine, did you hear that?!” Tom called across the bakery, his arm snaking around Adrien’s shoulder and holding the boy closer to him like one would a son. “Adrien is walking our daughter, Marinette, to school!” His expression was practically blissful as he called to his wife, “pack up one of everything!” He swiveled back to Adrien, his face filled with so much genuine glee that Adrien almost thought that he should be the one selling happiness on billboards instead of the blond. “Now you go up there and, no matter what she says or how grumpy she may seem, wake Marinette up. I’m sure she’ll be delighted to see you once she comes to.”

**********************

The light blue light of early morning streamed in through Marinette’s windows when Adrien entered her room, providing just enough light for him to get up her staircase without hassle and sit at the edge of her bed. Still, even with the dip of his body sitting on her mattress the girl did not move, her eyes still shut tight to the morning.

Marinette released a small sigh as her body flipped his way, her feet seeking the warmth of his legs as she nestled in sweetly to her bed. Her long eyelashes fluttered only once as her knees raised back into the fetal position, murmuring words softly to herself. It would be easy to watch her, but it wasn’t exactly his place, and Adrien currently had a deadline to fulfill.

“Marinette~,” he cooed, setting a hand down on her waist to shake her gently. “Wake uuuuuup.”

“Mbleg,” Marinette responded.

“Marinetteeeee,” he tried again.

“Nuh-bluh,” she said, half-asleep.

He held back the chuckle that tickled the back of his throat, his voice teasing as he continued, “Marinette, it’s Adrien Agreste.”

“Nuh.”

“I’m here to walk you to school.”

“Un-mn.”

He rolled his eyes with a grin, allowing his side to fall against the bed as he faced her, his body filling in all the spaces where hers curved. With his face just inches from hers, he leaned forward, pressing his forehead against hers momentarily before enacting his evil plan.

Puckering his lips, he grabbed her shoulders and, taking advantage of the short distance but never fully touching her, blew a gust of air up her nose.

Marinette’s eyes flew open and she sprang back, screaming, “AH!” And then, noticing Adrien, she screamed again, “AAAAH!” Her hand slapped down on his shoulder as her screaming stopped, once, twice, and again; her eyes scrutinizing him as if she was worried he’d bite her or something.

Adrien flinched at the contact, but couldn’t help but laugh, “Marinette!”

“Adrien!” She finally acknowledged, her jaw immediately falling open. “It’s you! You’re in my bed! Now! With me!” Her eyes widened, “Oh my god, I just hit you.”

“Your parents sent me to wake you up,” he explained.

“They sent you to wake me up?” Marinette repeated, her eyes drifting down from him to her pillow. Her mouth stretched wide as she tried to paint a distracting smile, immediately grabbing the pillow near Adrien that she’d previously been resting on and flipping it over, as if he hadn’t just seen her drooling seconds before. “I mean, that’s just-- wow, what an occasion, you waking me up and all.”

Adrien nodded, “Yeah, I was just in the neighborhood picking up pastries, can’t beat one of your father’s croissants, and then I thought, maybe I should walk with Marinette to school today?” He twinkled at her, adding innocently, “if you want to, that is.”

It was adorable when she was awestruck. “Walk? With you?” Adrien nodded and there it was, a deep blush that Marinette had likely been holding back. “Let me just get dressed, and then we’ll…” She nodded to herself as if affirming this was real before springing to her feet. Taking in Adrien with even wider eyes, she looked between him and her bed, only seeming to inhale and never exhale. “You stay here. I’ll get dressed but, you stay here,” she stated, and it hit him that she was obviously afraid that he’d disappear into thin air.

“I’ll stay here, right here, on your bed, and I’ll wait for you. Okay?” He chuckled.

“Okay,” she finally exhaled, casting him a nervous look as she approached her stairs. He beamed at her in return and she immediately looked down, her face a ruby red as she disappeared down the stairs.

"...Don’t like Adrien anymore,” he muttered as she disappeared, rolling onto his back to grin even wider at the ceiling. “Right,” he laughed.

#adrinette #adrienette #adrien agreste #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous ladybug #ml fanfic #mlb fanfic #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #my fanfic #no beta we live hard we die harder

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chiropteracupola · 4 years ago

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TREASURE ISLAND MUSICALS, OR AT LEAST THE ONES I COULD SORT OF FIND IN A FIVE-MINUTE INTERNET SEARCH: Rated by Me, Sometime Late Last Night, In A Haze of Confusion and Banana Bread. Do not expect coherence, and please take all judgments with a grain of salt.

Folketeatret 2019 (The Glorious One) - These people know what they’re doing. Glorious sets and costumes, and the songs that I can find range from fair to excellent. From what I can see, the characterization is pretty good as well! Can’t really find enough of it to make judgements about the plot. Fairly sure I could find a full version if I googled about for a bit, but I’m so tired and I want to go to sleeeeep... Lots of fog and ominousness, with a suitably scary Flint and Silver. I want to see more of this, and will now have to start learning Danish in order to figure out what they’re singing about. 8/10.

Burning Coal Theatre 2018 (The Chaotic One) - It is …fun, at times. The songs are good and reasonably catchy, but the characterization is iffy at best. Unclear what they thought they were doing, Silver is pretty good but everyone else is a mess and a half. The production team has clearly seen Treasure Planet many times, as seen in its lack of Trelawney and frankly distressing Livesey, among many other suspect decisions. Plot has a great deal of awkwardness, but makes great use of the “Anyone Who Could Even Vaguely Be Considered A Father Figure Is Now My Dad” thing. Second act goes sideways, downhill, and a lot of other places I would rather it not have gone. My eyebrows got a workout, but I did get a few laughs out of it. Two hours of my life I probably could have spent better. 5/10.

Muppets Treasure Island (The Classic One) - I have tried, tried so very hard, to say something other than positive about Muppets Treasure Island. I still get the songs in my head sometimes despite the fact I haven’t heard most of them in years. I’m listening to Shiver My Timbers, which is probably the best Piratical Song I’ve ever heard. And I’ve heard a lot of Piratical Songs. Plot does some Things, but the pacing actually seems to run better than the original in the second half. It’s beautiful. It’s a classic. It’s the Muppets’ show now, and possibly forever. 9/10.

Arkansas Repertory Theatre 2013 (The Incomprehensible One) - Sweet Bob Ross in heaven, something happened here. I can only find bits and pieces of the production, and an interview with the production team that sounds like one of those Monster Factory “Every Time Griffin And Justin Say ‘Boy’” compilations, except less fun. I think this might be a production of The Sea-Cook: A Story For Boys. Style is interesting, looks kind of like some kind of pirate metal band? Fun to look at, but I genuinely can’t tell if these people know what a boat is, which is very worrying. Songs are a bit of a disaster. 2/10.

Music Theater International (The Mysterious One) - May or may not be real. I can find only the vaguest references to its existence, but apparently there’s a song called “Cheese! Cheese!”. From that alone I trust that these people know what they’re doing. 3/10.

I do not think I ever want to see a Treasure Island musical again, unless it’s Muppets Treasure Island. I am done, so very very done.

#why did I do this #it did strange things to my mind #treasure island #muppets treasure island

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khnstllflwr · 4 years ago

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Tell Me A Story - khnsllflwr

TW// All payne, no Liam.

"Louis Tomlinson, singer song-writer, ex member of the legendary band, one direction and his long-time girlfriend, model, fashion blogger, and social media influencer, Eleanor Calder just announced their engagement this morning, they said that the awaited wedding would be broadcasted in the 28th of Septem--"

"Tss. The 28th, huh. Really?" Harry tutted before shutting off the telly. He stood up from the couch walked around it, heading to the kitchen. He made himself a cuppa with that ridiculous tea he always liked, not that Harry liked it, but the other one just made him liked it 'more like forced me to like it' he thought. Thoughts came flooding down like the showers that are danish, they were flooding down on Harry while he stares at the brand of tea, before he even indulges into deep memories and start bawling his eyes out, his phone rang, thankfully, it rang.

Fetching his phone by the coffee table, he took a quick glance at the telly then back to his phone, "Gemma❤️" was calling.

"Hey sis, what's up?" Harry answered the call.

"Hey Harold, I was wondering if I can leave Darcy over there, Michal and I are going to a business trip to LA but she doesn't want to go with us, she said she's rather stay with you, is that okay?" Gemma asked, he smiles.

"That's actually really wonderful, I would love to take Darcy in, when are you leaving for LA? When are you going to drop Darcy?" A hint of excitement is running up to Harry's stomach, he always loved kids, and always wished he could have one. He missed his niece although he's in London he didn't get a chance to see Darcy because of work.

"Our flight is actually tonight so is it okay to drop her in later? In the afternoon maybe?"

"Oh that would be really lovely actually, I'll wait for you guys then."

"Are you still in London? Are you in Hampstead?" Harry's smile faded, his shoulders dropped, he hesitated for a bit then answered.

"I-im in Barnet" Harry choked. There's a few seconds of awkward silence before Gemma answered.

"You mean in Royal Drive? Are you in Princess Park?" She asked, bewildered, a bit quietly, or so Harry thought, but it's definitely quieter than before.

"Yes....." Harry answered very quietly.

"Okay then... I'll drop her in later, okay? Love you, take care" a breath of relief for Harry when Gemma answered in her usual tone.

"Love you too sis, take care, tell Darcy I'm excited to see her" Gemma chuckled before answering "okay" and hanging up the phone.

There's a few minutes of silence before he looks around the living room, he arrived there last night, tired, sho he immediately went to sleep but now that he's awake he could fully see the whole manor, the memories, everything, everything and nothing that happened here. All those days and nights that they shared, the fun, the happiness, the sadness, but especially the love.

Harry spent the whole morning looking around the manor and changing what needs to be changed (like there's anything that needs changing), Cleaning what needs to be cleaned (like there's even something to clean), and unpacking the baggage he left last night lying out and about his bedroom floor. Harry is now in the kitchen cooking something very nostalgic, when the doorbell rang, 'it must be them', he thought before taking off his apron, turning off the stove, and skipping to the bloody door.

"Uncle Haz!" Darcy immediately came running off to his uncle's arms when the door opened.

"She missed you a lot" Gemma chuckled, Harry invited them inside.

"Wow your house looks like a castle" Darcy said, amazed.

"Would you like to stay for lunch?" Harry asked while his 5-year-old niece is hanging off his back.

"Oh no we're okay, we need to do something important here before flying to LA" Michal said, Gemma's husband.

"That's a waste then, but its okay" Harry answered while Darcy is playing with his hair.

"Darcy darling, would you mind getting down Uncle Haz's back? Mummy needs to talk to him" Gemma asked her daughter politely, with a little "okay mummy" Harry bends down and Darcy climbs down and goes running for her dad, Gemma pulled Harry to the kitchen.

"Are you okay? I just read the article shortly after you hung up the phone, is everything okay?" Gemma asked in a very elderly sister-y way.

"Never been better" Harry answered and gave her a reassuring smile, actually ot was more of a fake smile than a reassuring one but nonetheless. Gemma noticed, she always notices.

"I know that you probably don't want to talk about it, but I'm worried about you okay? And if you want someone to talk to I'm here, Harry. I'm always here" Gemma gave him a heart warming smile and gave him a hug, a hug that Harry needed the most, he hugs her back and they stood like that for a few seconds until Gemma lets go, it's always the other person who lets go, but Harry, Harry never does.

After talking and reminding for a few minutes Gemma and Michal bade goodbye to Darcy and they both gave her a goodbye kiss to the cheeks.

"What are you making Uncle Haz?" Darcy asked when they're both in the kitchen. Harry smiles sadly and looks down at what he's making.

"Well, this-- this, I'm making Chicken stuffed with Mozzarella wrapped in Parma ham with a side of mash Potatoes" Harry chuckles at what he just said.

"That's a lot of words, but it sounds delicious, is there anyway you can shorten the name?" She asks still looking at Harry dead in the eyes while her hands are cupped to her cheeks.

" I reckon it's actually pretty long," he chuckles, " then let's call it Louis Bleu" he smiles.

After they've finished eating, with Darcy blabbering over and over again that 'Louis Bleu' is now her favourite dish and would ask her mum to make it for her when she's back, they spent the whole day watching cartoons and playing games. They even went to a nearby park and played with the swings, they fetched themselves some chocolate and ice cream in the nearby convenience store on their way back. It was a really nice day.

"Uncle Haz, Can you tell me a story?" Darcy asked when night fell and its bedtime.

"Sure love, what kind of story do you want me to tell?" Harry obliged, fixing her blankets while he sat at the edge of her bed.

"Can you tell me a fairytale story, or even a love story? About a prince and a princess?" She asked, smiling, he looks at her, smiling, but now with the sparkles in his eyes.

"Well, I don't know any love story about a prince and a princess, but I do have a story about a prince and his soulmate, the little one with the cheekbones" thoughts and memories started rushing and filling up his head and his smile gets wider, he does his little fond nose crunch at the memories.

"What's a soulmate?" This little girl asked.

"Its a--," Harry hesitated, "Well-- It's like a bestfriend but more, its that one person in the world that knows you better than anyone else." Harry looks up and spaces out with thoughts in his mind, thoughts that are begging to come back. "It's someone who makes you a better person, no-- actually they dont make you a better person than you than yourself, its because they inspire you," he stops to breath, and he looks down.

"A soulmate is someone who-- who knew you and accepted you and believe in you before anyone else did or when no one else would. And no matter what happen, you'll always love them. Nothing could ever change that." Harry finally finishes, his eyes a bit glassy he feels like he's about to cry but then he felt Darcy's embrace 'she truly is Gemma's daughter' he thought.

"Don't cry uncle Hazza, im sure that soulmates are really beautiful and happy" she says while patting her uncle on the back, Harry chuckles.

"I know love, it really is, now let's go on to the story" Darcy lets go of him and starts to climb to bed again.

"So-- there once was a prince, he was a bit lonely and he's not very confident, he really loves to sing and would love to perform around the world, one day he met this boy in the loo," he chuckles, Darcy does the same, "This boy..... Is the little one with the cheekbones," Harry stops, just to see Darcy's reaction but she didnt react at all, "Aren't you surprised that the prince's soulmate is a boy?" He asked, a bit taken aback.

"Well, no, Mum told me that we can love who ever we want even if it's a boy or a girl" she answered. Harry felt so much happiness he thought he was about to explode but he pulled himself together and continued the story.

"The little one with the cheekbones has magnificent beautiful blue eyes and an attractive smile, the prince fell in love then and there, when they first locked eyes with each other" " After that they've spent a lot of time with each other because they both have the same interests, they wanted to sing and they wanted to travel and perform around the world, they wanted to be free. They both were put in a band or a group with three other boys, the irish princess, the bradford badboy, and leeroy" the nicknames made Darcy laugh out loud, it took a few minutes to calm him down.

"Okay the five of them were very close with each other, they were always together, they were best of friends but the prince-- the prince felt a lot more affection for the little one with the cheekbones, he's his favourite out of the boys. There came a point were he realized he loved the little one, but he was scared to tell him because he might push him away"

Darcy interrupted, "Why would he be scared? If he loves him he should tell him right away right? Because someone might take him away?"

'I know' Harry thought 'but there's some things that people are too afraid to lose that's why they don't say it, That's what I also regret, I didn't tell him sooner.'

"Yes, you should but don't worry. As the the days go by they've become closer and closer together, and the prince fell harder each day, he was really in love with the little one with the cheekbones, little did he know he likes him too" Darcy gave an unholy shriek of excitement, Harry, although startled, gave a smile.

"So one day the prince couldn't take all the love anymore he felt like he was going to burst, so he confessed his love for the boy, and he was surprised to find out that he loves him too, from the first they that they met," Harry game a teary smile, "They decided to live together, in a castle."

"Just like here? Like this house? It really looks like a castle" Darcy asked

'Exactly here, they lived exactly here'

"Yes, just like this one" Harry answered sniffing a little bit.

"So did they live happily ever after?" She asked with excitement, her eyes glistening with curiousity.

"They lived happily, sure, but there were some bad people who wanted them apart, that's why they had to hide their love from others, they were forced to stop interacting with each other when people are around so they do it in secret"

"Why? But they love each other, isn't that enough? They dont have to hide it right?" Darcy asked, a bit teary eyed.

'We do love each other, I also wished we didn't need to hide it' he thought, but he brushed those thoughts away.

"They also didn't want to hide it, but it's their only choice or else the bad people will break them up. So they chose to hide it when their outside so they won't take them apart. They will do anything they say, just so they could stay together."

"Just like soulmates." She said absent-mindedly.

"Yes, just like soulmates. They did everything together, they travelled the world, they performed, they sang, even though they can't show their love to other people, they still show it in little ways like quick glances, secret touches, and cheeky holding hands. They also made their skin like paper, all the things they can't say they write or draw it in their skin, because no one can erase them, it will forever be there." Harry touches his arms full of tattoos.

"Just like yours?" Darcy asked.

"Just like mine. They also have a lot of matching drawings, Do you know what's my favourite of all?" Harry asked, she shakes her head. " The prince has a ship drawn in his left arm," he touches his left arm where the tattoo is located, "and the little one with the cheekbones has a compass that points ships to home drawn in the inside of his right arm, it means that the boy will always be the prince's home away from home" Harry smiles, a little bitterly, with a hint of pain.

"That's really sweet" she says sweetly, butterflies filling her stomach.

"It is, They feel safe around each other's arms and feels happy in the presence of one another. They faced every storm together, and also faced every sunny day together," Harry stops, smiling, staring at nothing, trying to remember everything, all the memories, "and even when they're apart from each other the universe always finds a way for them to meet, to get back at each other's arms. They were soulmates" Harry smiled at Darcy.

"They really fell in love, didn't they?" She asked.

"Yes, yes they did."

"But what happened after? Are they still together now? Did they fight the bad people? Are they gone?" She bombarded him with questions one after the other.

"Well the bad people got into the little one with the cheekbones, so in the end, he let the prince go, but the prince didn't, he never does, he's still holding on. Now the little one with the cheekbones is getting married to a beautiful princess while the prince is left alone but he was happy because he got to meet his soulmate, the little one with the cheekbones." Harry finishes his story, a single tear escaping and rolling down his cheek.

"So the little one with the cheekbones loved the prince after all." She stopped,

"But he let go? Doesn't he love the prince anymore?" She asked sadly. 'I really hope he still loves him, but I believe that he already truly let go, all the prince wants is for the boy to be happy, even if it's not with him'

"No one knows, not even the prince," Harry answered, 'but he's still hoping that maybe the universe will put them back together, if they really are soulmates, or if he just assumed it' Harry whispered audible only to himself.

"But you said that they're soulmates, Im sure the universe will find a way to get them back together right? Even if it takes a long time?" Harry smiled, then nodded.

"Could you tell me their names?" Darcy asked curiously. "The prince's name is Harry and the little one with the cheekbones is named Louis" he answered, Darcy smiled a little sleepily, she pulled the covers up to her chin and said,

"Well, Harry and Louis' love story is the greatest one I've ever heard, even if it didn't end with a happily ever after." Before closing her eyes and falling to sleep.

Harry answered, tears falling down one after the other.

"Yes. Yes, it is."

The end.

A/n: Hey guys! So this is my first ever larry fanfic. I am in no way trying to Disrespect Harry or Louis, I just believed that they fell inlove at some point of their life, even if its just a split second. And I believe that they're love story is the greatest it's actually the only reason I actually believe in love. I wrote this fanfiction because I was bored and the power cut off, so I wrote a story on my notebook it was inspired by 2 Larry edits: 'They fell in love, didn't they?" And 'What are soulmates?' from the og larry editor in youtube her channel is GossipSmile check her out! She's really great. The name Darcy is also inspired by a girl from Tiktok who does POV's and she does Darcy Styles check her out guys! There's the link. Love you all, spread love, TPWK xxx

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yilingradishfairy · 4 years ago

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Little Match-Seller

Link to AO3 (1502 words)

Written for Day 22 of the Untamed Fall Fest 2020 - Warmth. Thanks again @fytheuntamed for hosting these; they’re so much fun!

Summary: A-Yuan lights matches from a box he’s certain Wei-gege must have tampered with. He is visited by three warm visions and a ghost that has come to take him to his family.

(or, the Little Match Seller AU. What it says on the tin.)

A/N: I’ve been wanting to rewrite more fairy tales! This fic is based on the Little Match Girl story, committed to paper by Danish author Han Christian Andersen in the mid-19th century. And mid-19th century Denmark has like nothing in common with *hand-wave* xianxia-time Ancient China. So I’ve sort of mashed the two universes together to create one where canon events are happening and flying cultivators are a thing, but matches are also a thing. And match-sellers. And Christmas. Hey, if you can’t have everything you want in life, write fanfiction!

Skrrrrch!

A-Yuan gasped, almost dropping the match he had just lit. The flame flickered, and he immediately moved to shield it from the bitter night wind. Tiny though it was, it instantly filled his little alcove with warmth, providing more heat than any match he’d ever used before. He was so distracted by the sudden relief from the cold that it took him a second to notice the stove that had appeared with it.

It was a giant brick stove, and so much like the one he faintly remembered his mother using. It was so bright and so warm, and it felt just like home! A-Yuan tentatively stretched one bare foot towards it. He had lost his little slipper much earlier in the day. Usually, whenever he went out selling, he would go with Ning-ge. The last time his shoe had fallen apart, Ning-ge simply carried him around for the rest of the day. But they were all gone now. They left yesterday: Qing-jie, Ning-ge, Uncle Four, Granny. They had told him to stay behind and hide like a good boy, and he did. He hid all night, wrapped up in the cover of a hollow tree. Then, in the morning, he set out with their wares like Ning-ge always did.

There was only so much that the adults would let him help with, so he was determined to sell the entire matchbox today. But, cold as it was, nobody seemed to want his matches. The people of Yiling rushed around with nervous, fearful looks on their faces. A-Yuan shuffled stubbornly through the muddy snow, hoping that when it got colder, people would finally take notice. Unfortunately, the only person who noticed him was the little girl who stole his left shoe, the one that hadn’t fallen apart. Still, he trudged onward, until the cold wind grew so unbearable, A-Yuan was forced to take shelter in the corner between houses. And that was where he lit the match.

He was leaning closer to the stove, working up the courage to reach out and touch it, when the match suddenly went out. In its absence, the cold felt even harsher than before. A-Yuan missed the bright flame immediately. And the stove that had so mysteriously appeared. He wondered if Wei-gege had messed with it. Qing-jie kept telling him not to play with the matches, but Wei-gege doesn’t always listen. But he always makes funny things happen, so maybe he had done something to the matches.

A-Yuan debated whether he should light another match. On the one hand, Qing-jie would be upset that he was wasting matches. But then again, she might be upset that he’s still out in the village selling when he should have finished and gone home by now. They should have finished and come home by now, he thought resentfully. They shouldn’t have left me behind. With that thought, he lit the second match.

Skrrrrch!

Wei-gege definitely messed with these matches, A-Yuan thought. This tiny flame was just too warm and too bright. And, in addition to the unnatural warmth, the match brought another vision. From the light of the match, A-Yuan watched a large feast blossom before him. Not only could he see it, but he could smell it, too. He couldn’t remember ever seeing that much food at one time. It reminded him of the day he had met Rich-gege. He had taken him and Wei-gege to a fancy restaurant and let them order whatever they wanted. When Wei-gege had taken A-Yuan back home, they discovered a feast there, too. They had let him eat as much as he wanted that night. But this feast made that one look like table scraps. His stomach rumbled, and he reached out towards the bowl of soup (maybe it would be as good as the one Ning-ge had brought home once), when the match suddenly sputtered out.

The darkness swarmed back in, leeching away the warmth of the match like it had never been there. A-Yuan didn’t think twice about lighting a third match.

Skrrrrch!

Warmth bloomed again, and this time, a giant Christmas tree flickered into being. It was so tall, A-Yuan thought it must be as high as a mountain. The colorful ornaments adorning the tree sparkled merrily, and A-Yuan let himself slide into familiar daydreams about his family. He couldn’t remember much about them, though he knew their faces from photographs. His favorite one was all of them laughing and hugging in front of a Christmas tree. He would stare at the photo and try to remember how their laughs sounded and how their hugs felt. He missed them so much. But he tried not to think about it, because whenever he would think about it, he would talk about it. And whenever he would talk about it, it seemed to make Wei-gege and Qing-jie and Ning-ge sad. But he couldn’t help missing them, whenever he passed those merrily lit shopkeepers’ windows.

He had just reached out to touch one of the fancy colored pictures hanging off a branch when the match went out. But he could still see the Christmas lights. They rose higher and higher until they melted into the sky, joining the stars. Then, one of the stars zipped down, trailing a line of fire across the dark sky. That would be someone dying, he thought, remembering what Qing-jie had told him. When a star falls down from heaven, a soul goes up to replace it. He remembered her pointing out which ones his mom and dad and sister had become. He remembered all those nights watching shooting stars, wondering whose souls would be replacing them. He remembered searching the sky a week ago for the star that was about to fall. The one Wei-gege would replace.

This star was different from others he had watched, though. This one kept falling and falling and falling, seeming to fall right towards him. Maybe this is the star I will replace, A-Yuan thought. Turning to the wall with new determination, he struck another match.

Skrrrrch!

The warmth bloomed immediately, though nothing seemed to accompany it. The star in the sky was still shooting towards him, except now it has fallen right on top of him and taken the form of …

“Rich-gege!” A-Yuan cried. There he was, standing on his sword, floating impossibly in the air. He looked more magnificent than ever, scary but in an I’ll-protect-you way. A-Yuan’s lip trembled, and he tried really hard not to bawl again like he had the first time they met.

“Oh, Rich-gege, please don’t go!” He wanted to lurch forward and cling to his leg, but he didn’t want to let go of the match. He couldn’t let this vision disappear.

“A-Yuan?” Rich-gege knelt down in front of him in concern. A-Yuan realized that his body was shaking. “Tell me what is wrong,” he said, and A-Yuan sniffled.

“The m-match … it’s gonna go out … it'll burn out soon,” he tried to explain, his words tripping and tumbling over each other. “And then you’re gonna leave me, just like the stove and the food and the tree!” And Wei-gege and Qing-jie and Ning-ge and … “You can’t leave, Rich-gege!” In a panic, he quickly struck all the matches against the wall, producing a loud skrrrrch!

Rich-gege’s eyes widened. “A-Yuan!” He knocked the burning matches out of his hands and into the snow, where they began sputtering.

“No! No!” A-Yuan scrambled to try to save Wei-gege’s matches, but Rich-gege gently pulled him away from the smoking pile of ash and snow. A-Yuan clung to him, pressing his face into Rich-gege’s white robes. “Don’t leave me, don’t leave me, don’t leave me,” he chanted.

Rich-gege tightened his arms around him. “Shhh, don’t worry,” he whispered. “I won’t leave you.”

Then the last of the matches burned out with a hiss.

A-Yuan hiccupped a few times, then forced himself to pull away. He looked at the charred snow, and he knew his magic had run out. The last of Wei-gege’s matches were gone.

But he still felt warm. Like, the cold couldn’t touch him anymore.

Oh.

“A-Yuan, you can’t stay here anymore,” Rich-gege whispered to him. But A-Yuan already knew that. “I’m to bring you to your family. They’re all waiting for you.” A-Yuan perked up. He hasn’t seen them in so long. Maybe this won’t be as bad as they make it sound.

“Are you ready?” Rich-gege motioned up into the sky, towards the stars.

A-Yuan took one last look around at the village, and he whispered a quiet goodbye to the world he had known. Then, turning back to Rich-gege, he nodded. “I’m ready.” He was proud that his voice didn’t shake at all. Rich-gege nodded back and carefully gathered him up in his arms. Stepping onto his sword, he flew them both into the sky.

As they soared among the stars, A-Yuan looked around and wondered which one he would replace. He hoped his spot was right next to his family.

Don’t worry, this is a happy ending! LWJ really was there and saved A-Yuan and is taking him home. And he’ll let him have a Christmas tree all the time now if he wants.

A-Yuan is a smart cookie, but he’s not familiar with magic, so he drew some dark and inaccurate conclusions at the end. Well, they were wrong conclusions in this story, if not canon. Originally, I wanted the story to follow canon events, but then LWJ told A-Yuan he was bringing him home to WWX. And I said, wait, no, you can’t do that, because he’s dead. And LWJ said no, actually, I’m going to save everybody and you can’t do anything about it.

Aaaaand I can’t do anything about it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So, WWX is recovering from whatever was killing him last week and all of the Wen remnants (including WQ and WN) are saved, and they really are waiting for LWJ to bring the living A-Yuan home to them.

#untamed fall fest #mdzs fic #cql fic #the untamed fanfic #lan sizhui fic #my writing #wow #ive only written two stories so far #for this fest #and they're both so angsty!#what kind of mood am i in

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yuthoe · 4 years ago

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To-Go: 2+1 (PENTAGON: Yan An)

or “The Two times Yanan Tries to Ask You Out and The One Time He Succeeds.”

So this was requested a while ago, and at first I thought they were asking for baker!reader, but I reread the ask and saw it was actually the opposite so I had to rework the plot in my brain. Regardless, in both versions, Yanan is adorably awkward.

This turned out so long and I swear I didn’t mean for it to get to 2k words lol, it just happened. Also it seems that i HAVE to add a dash of mild angst whenever i write my fluff. apologies if this turns out bad--i’ve been out of it lately, and i guess exploring my writing style. also i’ve been busy trying to become a #contentcreator on youtube lmao.

hope you guys like it!

WARNING: a dash of angst. WORD COUNT: 2,223.

Master List

---

Yanan pulls his head up from putting freshly baked strawberry and chocolate Danishes in the display rack at the jingle of bells. The “welcome” dies on his lips at the sight of you, and he quickly makes to straighten up, only to bang his head on the underside of the top shelf. He rubs his slightly throbbing head as he wobbles to the kitchen.

Depositing the empty tray and tongs on a table, he desperately says, “Help! She’s here!”

“Ooohh,” his friend Changgu says, closing the oven door on a new batch of baguettes before turning fully to Yanan. “So what are you doing here, then? Shouldn’t you be out there at the counter?” he asks, one eyebrow raised and a playful smile on his flour-dusted face.

Yanan just groans. “Yeah, but I don’t know what to say!”

Changgu shrugs, takes the rag from the belt of his apron and wipes his hands with it. “The usual, maybe? ‘Is this all, or would you like a coffee with that? Will you have these to go?’ Come on, you’ve said it tons of times before--,”

“Not that, Changgu!” the taller man said, waving a hand in front of his face, as if swatting a fly away. “I meant about asking her out! I have no idea how to ask her! I’m not exactly the most suave person out there.”

The baker laughs, hearty and clearly amused. “Just be yourself, Yanan, what’s the harm in that?” Changgu takes the few steps to the refrigerator to get another batch of dough. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some bagels to make.”

Yanan lets out a pained sigh before turning and exiting the kitchen, mentally thanking his friend for that unhelpful advice.

Just in time too, as you’re stepping up to the register with a tray of goods. You smile at him and wave as you set the tray on the counter.

“‘Afternoon, Y/N,” Yanan asks, quickly punching in the codes for three chocolate-filled croissants, two lemon curd Danishes, a pack of miniature cookies, and a baguette loaf; two years working at a bakery as the frontman leaves him no choice but to memorize product codes even for the least popular baked good. “Would you like a coffee with these?”

You hum, already scanning your prospects at the menu board above him before he asked. You squint, pursing your lips in concentration and Yanan thinks it’s the most adorable thing. And then you smile and turn back to him. “Yep, a medium caramel macchiato, please!”

“All righty,” he says, punching it in. “To go as always, I’m assuming?” he asks, smiling shyly.

“You know me so well, Yanan,” you reply, smiling back. “I’ve got a few friends coming by tonight, so I’m doing some shopping.”

“Ah, hence the baguette?” Yanan asks, before rattling off the price for everything.

You root into your bag for your wallet and hand him a bill before saying, “Yep, gots to have that bread for the cheese board.” Yanan gently puts the change into your upturned palm before turning to the coffee machine behind him.

“Don’t cheese boards usually have crackers?” The whir of the coffee grinder almost drowns out his voice, but thankfully you can still hear him.

“Yeah, but sometimes you just need more carbs.” Yanan sputters a laugh as he presses the shot button on the machine and turns back to see you smiling at the joke.

And then Yanan just decides to go for it. “Does this wine and cheese party have room for one more?” he says as he turns his attention to making your coffee. He feels his ears burn--from embarrassment or dread, he’s not sure.

You’re unable to bite back a smile, and then a loud laugh. “Mm, sorry, Yanan, I’m afraid it’s girls’ night tonight. But you know, sometimes one of our guy friends tags along too, just for the cheesy rom-coms, so I can ask. If you want.”

Yanan sets the hot paper cup in front of you and waves a hand. “Ah, no, you don’t have to; I was just joking.” He hopes the laugh he lets out is believable.

“Oh,” you say, taking the cup and the paper bag in both hands. “Well, let me know if you change your mind about that, ‘kay?” You turn for the door. “Thanks for this, Yanan! I’ll see you!” you say, and you disappear once again with the jingle of bells.

Yanan stares at the closed door, then sighs and deflates until he’s crouching behind the register, resisting the urge to just bang his head into it.

***

You reappear the next Monday, just as Yanan finishes putting up freshly packaged dinner bread on a shelf. The bells’ chimes welcome in a gust of wind from the chilly morning, and Yanan shivers, just a tad, and rolls down the sweater sleeves he wears under the bakery’s navy blue linen apron. He takes the empty tray he’d brought in and retreats once again behind the counter, sneaking glances at you from the corner of his eye.

He doesn’t mean to be creepy, and he hopes he doesn’t come off as too chummy when he asked if he could join your get-together the previous Friday. He doesn’t usually do that, nor does he even usually have a need to ask someone out; he spends all his free time in the bakery and all the customers, while nice and respectful (except of course, for the one-in-ten nasty ones), are more like family to him.

And then you came along one summer afternoon for a mocha iced coffee and a bagel, and after taking a sip said, “Is the mocha iced coffee this good usually, or is it just because you made it?” Yanan’s face turned as pink as his hair back then and stuttered through the rest of the transaction.

The next time you came in a few days later, you made no mention of the iced coffee thing, but still managed to strike up a conversation with the introverted boy. Yanan was grateful for it--he was too flustered to reply properly, after all--and from that short exchange about strawberry jam blossomed a casual acquaintanceship.

Everything was going fine and dandy until one closing time when Changgu said, “So when are you going to ask Y/N out?” At Yanan’s expression of incredulous surprise, the baker continued, “What? She comes by the bakery more than once every week and talks to you everytime. She even asked the part-timer once if it was your day off when she came in and you weren’t there. All signs point to her liking you, man.”

Yanan had been helping put away trays and bolts, but at his friends words he froze, party scared of the idea that someone might be interested in him and he had no idea how to go about it, and partly excited that someone might be interested in him and that hadn’t really happened or been brought to his attention since elementary school.

And he does suppose it’s time he puts himself out there since Changgu has been pestering him about taking less shifts because he’s getting sick of seeing him all the time. Plus, he needs to get out more anyway. Two birds with one stone, right?

“Thanks, Yanan,” your voice snaps him out of his reverie. “I’ll see you later!” He registers your goodbye too late, tries to make words come out of his mouth, raises a hand at the door swinging closed behind you.

He really just went on autopilot while being consumed by his thoughts, huh? Yanan groans inwardly, deciding to make himself an espresso to distract him from his abysmal flirting skills.

***

You push the heavy door open and inhale the distinct smell of freshly baked bread. It’s been a few days since you stopped by--work had been demanding lately and required you to clock in earlier and punch out later, so your routine got disrupted. But yesterday you submitted that finance report and could finally take your time getting that good, good coffee. And yeah, maybe a snack for later.

There are a couple of people milling about, trays full of bread, or holding a bag of rolls. You make a beeline towards the display case of confections; if you could, you’d spend all day here, just looking at the golden-brown baked dough, some lightly glazed with sugar, colorful from the fruit fillings you know they make in-store. The chocolate chip cookies are a crowd favorite--big and chunky and guaranteed to have an ample amount of chocolate in every bite. You however, are partial to their oatmeal cranberry cookies.

The way this bakery makes them gives the cookies a crunch (you suspect they put rock salt in there or something, but you aren’t a baker so what would you know?), the tartness of dried cranberries gets dialed down by the oatmeal, and the cinnamon adds a depth to the fruity flavor. It’s your favorite to-go item here, and you immediately take a medium-sized bag. You tell yourself to save these and not just devour them in one sitting this time.

A customer is getting his items rung up when you get to the counter, already seeing Yanan’s head bob up and down as he reaches for the baked goods. “Sometimes being tall is tiring,” he told you once. “Like here, I have to bend a bit to ring up the food because the counter is too low for me. But don’t tell Changgu I told you that, he’d hold it over me forever.” You both laughed at that.

“Thank you for your patronage,” you hear Yanan say now, handing the paper bag of food to the man in front of you. “Take care, and come again!” He waves to the man before turning to you.

“‘Morning, Yanan,” you say, handing him the bag of cookies. “Are you feeling okay today?” You noticed when you last came in that he was oddly quiet and subdued. You weren’t quite sure why he was so down, so you didn’t attempt to make conversation; your mouth is sometimes too fast for your brain and you didn’t want to end up saying something to accidentally offend him.

“Hey, Y/N,” he says, greets you with a soft smile, but you see he’s trying to avoid looking at you. “Yeah, I’m fine. Can I get you a coffee?”

“Yeah, a large hot mochaccino, please.” You hand him a bill and he returns your change. “I’m glad,” you say, fiddling with your wallet as Yanan works the coffee machine. “You seemed kinda down last week.”

You see him start, then press the button on the machine before turning to you. “Did I?” He bites his lip. “Sorry, I… I was just thinking.” He taps his long fingers on the wooden counter, the whirring of the machine and soft jazz emanating from the speakers the only sounds for a moment, before Yanan speaks again. “About last Friday… I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to overstep, I just thought it would be a funny joke, but I actually half-meant it, but I wasn’t really expecting you to say yes to me, and even if you did I didn’t want to trouble you, but I just thought it would be kinda nice to hang out with you, you know, outside the shop, I mean, ‘cause like, you’re really fun to talk to, and I’d like to--,”

“Woah, woah, wait, Yanan, wait a minute,” you say, interrupting his rambling, an amused smile on your face. Yanan clamps his mouth shut and busies himself with making your coffee. You think you see a sweep of pink on his cheeks. “I… was actually serious about that--inviting you to hang out, I mean. I think you’re great to talk to, and I. I wanna get to know you more, too.” You can feel your face heat up as you fix your eyes on the grains of the countertop.

You hear a soft tap in front of you, just as the fragrance of espresso and chocolate assault your nose. The green paper cup sits in front of you, and you raise your eyes slowly--up Yanan’s clasped hands, to the linen apron stamped with the bakery’s logo, and landing on his eyes, shy and worried but hopeful.

“So,” he says, almost too softly that if you weren’t paying attention, you wouldn’t have caught it. Yanan takes a deep breath. “Do you… want to have dinner sometime?”

You think you must have misheard it. But you saw his lips moving, heard the sound come out of his mouth, so it must be real.

You’re nodding before you realize it, smiling before you notice your cheeks are hurting. “Yeah. Yeah, I’d love to.” A relieved smile breaks out on Yanan’s face, and you briefly wonder how you didn’t realize he’s beautiful when he smiles.

He lets out the breath he’s holding as he pushes the cup of coffee to you. “Here’s your coffee, to go.” You reach out to take it, and make sure to brush your fingers against his. Electricity rushes up your hand, and you feel it buzzing as you say your goodbyes. as you exit the shop and step out into the chilly morning. as you remember him everytime you take a sip of the delicious coffee.

#pentagon #pentagon yanan #yanan #kim yanan #pentagon yanan scenario #pentagon scenario #pentagon imagines #universe net #uninet #fic: yanan #fic: mine #fic: not spicy

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luci-in-trenchcoats · 5 years ago

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The Girl Next Door (Part 6) - Brothers

Summary: Dean and the reader have their first proper date out and the reader makes a visit to see her brother...

The Girl Next Door Masterlist

Pairing: Neighbor/Mechanic!Dean x baker!reader

Word Count: 6,000ish

Warnings: language, angst, discussed past suicide attempt

A/N: Enjoy!

Reader’s POV

“Dean?” you asked when Dean had been driving for nearly half an hour that Sunday night for your date out. He hadn’t given you any hints before he’d left your house that morning, simply told you to wear something comfortable on your feet. “Where are we going?”

“Music festival,” he said with a smile. “They got food, beer, music. You’ll love it. I swear.”

“Thanks,” you said once you got a wristband at the gate and were wandering around with Dean about fifteen minutes later. He was munching on something called a donut burger but you weren’t daring enough to try that one out. You got some fried dough to snack on as you walked around, waiting for the music to start. Something touched your hand and it took a moment to realize it was Dean’s. He kept brushing it up against yours, not looking at you but you let yours bump back twice before he grabbed it and laced your fingers together.

You walked until you found a spot to watch the first act come out, done with your food by then and Dean returning to wrap his arms around you. You smiled, nuzzling back into his chest.

“Warmer?” he asked.

“I don’t remember the last time I got a hug was is all,” you said. You felt him squeeze you again, relaxing his arms as he lazily kept them around you. He moved a little to the music, even if the band playing was only the opener to the opener. After a while though he snuck off and returned with a box of cheesy fries, smiling as you shared them between the switch of bands.

“You know…” he said, popping a fry in his mouth. “This whole not getting hugs thing, totally not cool with me. You should get one at least once a day.”

“Are you volunteering your services?” you teased.

“Naturally,” he said, eating another fry. You rubbed your bare arm as the sun was starting to go down, Dean shrugging out of his flannel. He held it out and it took a moment for you to realize he was giving it to you. It was far too large but it smelled nice and was soft and warm around you. “Not get along with your family?”

“Jack, not so much,” you said, nibbling on a fry. “Our parents aren’t around anymore.”

“Sorry to hear that,” he said.

“Jack’s...not the most stable of people lately. We agreed that when he was better, I’d give him his half of what they left behind for us but…”

“But Jack didn’t seem so great this morning,” said Dean.

“He hasn’t been great a long time,” you said. “He’s better than he was though which is saying something.”

“Well I hope he gets the help he needs,” said Dean.

“Me too,” you said. Dean reached over and moved a piece of hair the wind had caught and tucked it behind your ear. He let his finger linger over your cheek, pulling it away to get more food. “Thanks for getting me out of the house.”

“Thanks for getting me out of the house,” he said.

“Sam doing okay?” you asked.

“Mhm. Told me about your jedi mind trick you did on him after I ran out with Avy. Thank you,” he said.

“I was just trying to help,” you said with a shrug.

“You know this music festival is here next weekend too if you’d like to come back,” he said. “Different bands and all that.”

“You think you’re getting a second date, Winchester?” you said. He shrugged, a shit eating grin on his face. “I’d love to.”

“Perfect,” he said.

You went back over to the stage when the next act came on, Dean’s arms around you again. The music was better this time around and you moved to the beat slowly, Dean following your lead as you stood in place. By the time the main act was up, you were glad Dean had given you his shirt, still toasty warm. You’d have to remember to bring something the next weekend. You nuzzled your cheek against his arm, forgetting where you were for a moment. Dean didn’t say anything though and simply kissed the top of your head.

“Want to head home?” he asked as the last song was ending. You nodded, taking your time to walk back to his car, holding hands once again.

The drive home felt much shorter and soon Dean was walking you to your door, giving your cheek a kiss.

“Goodnight, Y/N,” he said.

“Goodnight, Dean,” you said, giving one back. His lips twitched up, an ever so subtle tinge of pink on his face. “Dean?”

“Hm?” he hummed, halfway towards turning away. You’d taken off his flannel and were holding it out to him, Dean looking to it and back to you. “S’better on you anyways.”

“I mean obviously but…” you teased.

“Cute,” he said, flashing you a smirk. “See you around, sweetheart.”

“Later, Dean.”

“Please don’t, please don’t, please don’t,” you said, the box slipping from your hand the next morning. It was raining and you’d tried to rush as you tucked them away in your car but you were about five seconds away from losing the entire batch. You went down to your knee in the driveway, feeling it scrape open but you were able to rest it against the ground and get a better grip on the boxes. You winced as you stood up and got the boxes safely away in the back. “Ow. Fuck.”

“Hidy ho, neighbor,” teased Dean, he and Sam popping around the other side of the car, a pair of raincoats on them.

“Hey guys,” you said, slamming the trunk shut. “Taking a walk in the rain?”

“Sammy’s this close to going all Misery on me if I don’t take him out for fresh air every once in while,” said Dean, Sam narrowing his eyes at him.

“The doctors said light physical activity is good for me. Plus I’m not so dizzy anymore,” he said.

“Wait. You’re not dizzy when you’re regularly taking your medicine and resting? Who’d a thought?” teased Dean again.

“Oh come on, Sam. You really weren’t taking your stuff when you were supposed to?” you said. “No wonder you felt like shit.”

“No one ever said the Winchesters weren’t a stubborn bunch. God, Jess used to tell me that all the time,” he said.

“Shocking,” you said, both sets of eyes going down to your knee. “I gotta run and do these deliveries. Summer kid took the day off again.”

“Let’s get that taken care of first?” said Dean, nodding to your cut. You rolled your eyes but waved them onto the porch out of the weather, both of them humming at the smell coming through the open front door. “That smells amazing.”

“Always smells extra good in here on rainy days,” you said, heading back to the kitchen. You stuck a band aid on your knee, both of them cocking their heads from the front door. You groaned and ripped it off, getting a bottle of alcohol and cleaned off the cut in view of them, slapping a bigger bandage on. “You two happy now?”

“For the most part,” said Dean. You popped back outside and locked up the front door, throwing up your hood under the porch. You were slower on your knee, Dean turning to Sam. “Hey, Y/N. Want some company this morning? Free manual labor in it for ya. This one could do for a field trip.”

“Dean. We annoy Y/N enough as it is,” said Sam.

“Well my track record this morning isn’t so great. As long as Sam doesn’t do any lifting, you guys can tag along. Kind of boring is all,” you said.

“I mean, I will take literally any kind of adult interaction I can get,” said Sam.

“Alright then. Hop in.”

“Ah, Sinful Sweets. Best part of my day,” said Teddy, giving you a smile when Dean set down a box of mixed pastries on the counter.

“I always thought the cafe here made their own desserts,” said Dean.

“Eh, we used to. We’re more restaurant now than back then. We still get the avid morning crowd that wants a danish to bring to work though,” he said. Dean hummed and you headed out, getting a tsk from him once you were outside and heading for the car.

“You really sell your stuff in there and let them claim it as their own?” said Dean.

“They’re a consistent customer,” you said with a shrug.

“Doesn’t seem right, with how hard you work and all,” he said.

“I don’t need a big bakery with all the overhead. The way things work now is fine,” you said.

“Alright. Where’s our next stop?” he asked.

“I got a platter of cookies to deliver to the barber shop and then I was probably going to grab lunch at the diner,” you said. “You can join if you’d like. I got...stuff I’d rather do on my own after that though.”

“Maybe Sammy and I’ll go have lunch with the boys at the garage,” said Dean as he smiled at you. “I got a feeling we may be starting to actually annoy you.”

“No. I’m just...busy this afternoon,” you said. “I’ll take the company any other time though, seriously.”

“Well, uh, let’s do this last delivery so we can grab some grub, hm?”

You took a deep breath as you walked into the waiting room two hours later, signing in and barely sitting down before a nurse grabbed you. You followed her back down the hall, entering the room and taking a seat on the couch by Jack. He picked at a thread on the pillow, doing his best to pretend you weren’t there.

“Hey,” you said.

“Did you really have to call them on me? Do you know how much trouble you got me in?” he said, shoving the pillow aside as he glared at you.

“If you had rang my doorbell and politely asked about your share of the inheritance, I wouldn’t have needed to,” you shot back.

“They questioned me if I’m a danger to myself or others,” he said.

“Are you?” you asked.

“No!” he shouted, just in time for a doctor to walk in the room. “Great. Dr. Evil is here.”

“Everything alright in here?” asked Dr. Hank, taking a seat across from you both.

“Peachy,” grumbled Jack.

“Jack. We’re here today to talk about what happened yesterday morning. You showed up at your sister’s home unannounced,” he said.

“Lots of people drop by families houses unannounced all the time,” said Jack.

“You aren’t allowed to do that and you know that,” he said.

“Why not?” you asked. You caught the flash of surprise on Jack’s face as the doctor turned his attention on you. “He does kind of have a point. People do that.”

“Yes but we are trying to put structure back in Jack’s life here-”

“Control,” mumbled Jack.

“...Structure in Jack’s life,” said the doctor with what looked like a glare in Jack’s direction. “Your brother has certain rules, as do all our patients, when it comes to day passes.”

“Listen. I get it. I think Jack gets that we aren’t at that point in our relationship to be free to walk in and out of each other’s spaces,” you said, Jack staring at the floor. “But the reason I came here is to understand why you wanted your share of the money right then and there.”

Jack shrugged, the doctor sighing.

“Your sister asked a question, Jack.”

“I’m the older brother,” mumbled Jack.

“Do you need help with something?” you asked. Jack laughed, staring at you.

“Help? I want to go home. I’m tired of doing what other people tell me all day long. You say one little sarcastic thing here you get locked in your room for the day with nothing to do or you get privileges revoked or they make you feel like an idiot. Structure? I’m not even allowed to choose when to go sleep, when to wake up, when I can eat, what I can eat. I have no control over anything in my life and the second I try and get some here, I get in trouble and- ”

“That’s enough Jack,” said Dr. Hank. You looked at Jack, saw the way he was staring at you. You’d seen it before.

The way Sam looked up at Dean in the backyard after the fire. The way Sam looked up at you in Avy’s room on Saturday night. The way Jack had looked at you the night you came to the decision to send him to that facility.

He was asking for your help. Only this time he wanted help with something else.

To leave.

“I will not give you your inheritance,” you said, Jack blank faced. “But I will take you out of here and you can stay with me if you listen to my rules and I mean all of them.”

“I don’t think-”

“Quiet,” you shot at the doctor. “I sent my brother here to get help. It’s been a year. You’re clearly not helping so I’m taking him.”

“He may be a threat to-”

“Jack. Do you want to live? Yes or no?” you asked.

“Yes,” he said quietly.

“You gonna hurt me if I yell at you for breaking a rule?” you asked. He shook his head.

“No. Never,” he said.

“Great. No threat. Now I’m taking him home right now or I’m getting my neighbor’s law firm on the phone. Your choice.”

“Jack,” you said, rubbing your temples as you drove him back to your house. “Yesterday. You don’t want the money do you. You wanted to runaway. That’s what you wanted it for. Isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled from the passenger seat.

“Why didn’t you say something?” you asked. “I could have done something.”

“Cause you hate me,” he said, staring out the window.

“I don’t hate you,” you said.

“I hate me.”

You pulled over on the highway, Jack frowning at you.

“Our first new rule is you talk to me. You didn’t talk to me, didn’t talk to anyone back then. I’m not going to let that happen again, alright?” you said.

“I’m older. I’m supposed to take care of you, not the other way around,” he said.

“I don’t care. Besides, you’re only two years older, doofus,” you said. “Second rule. You will go to a therapist we pick out together, daily.”

“Y/N. I didn’t like-”

“Third rule. You don’t have to be scared. Crack a joke or make a comment. You can still be you, Jack. Eat what you want when you want. Stay up late and sleep in. You decide those things. I don’t want some mindless thing running around. I want my brother. I want a happy big brother. That’s all,” you said. “And I’m sorry I haven’t been by to visit since Christmas. That was wrong of me.”

“I did sort of yell at you last time. It’s okay,” he said, running his hands up and down his thighs. “I’m sorry.”

“I forgive you,” you said. He froze, swallowing hard. “I forgive you, Jack. Nothing you did was your fault. Let’s go home now, okay? We can run to the store and get you anything you want on the way. Some new clothes, maybe some food you’d like in the house. I got a whole bunch of lemon cookies on the counter. You love those.”

“You can’t possibly forgive me,” he said quietly.

“I’ve had a pretty good reminder lately of how siblings are supposed to treat one another. We’ve been doing a shitty job of it for years. So we go home and we start over,” you said. “Deal?”

“Just don’t send me back there and you got whatever you want.”

“I want you to get a job too, Jack,” you said, getting out of the car a few hours later, bags in hand. “Something part-time right now.”

“A job?” he asked.

“Yes. You need money to buy yourself things you want and I want you back out in the real world, not whatever crap they’ve been shoving down your throat the past year,” you said.

“You could have left me there,” he said, stopping halfway up the driveway.

“Once you settle in, I want us two to talk. Something...something seems really off about that place and with you Jack. I want you to stop taking any medicine they gave you until you see a new doctor. We can look tomorrow,” you said.

“Do we have to?” he groaned.

“Until I’m not afraid that every time I leave the house I’m going to come home and find something horrifying, then yeah, you’re seeing a therapist. I think it’ll be good for you,” you said. “Come on. We’ll order pizza, get you moved in.”

You both watched a soccer ball come rolling up to you a few seconds later, Avy and Dean out in the front yard, Sam laughing from the front porch, probably at Dean for kicking it so hard if you had to guess.

“Nosey neighbor?” asked Jack.

“Those are the Winchesters. I just started dating the one walking over here so play nicer than you did yesterday, please,” you said.

“Hey,” said Dean, nodding when he saw you and Jack standing there. “Sorry about that. I forget my own strength sometimes.”

You giggled, cutting it off when you saw Dean staring at Jack.

“I’m moving in,” blurted out Jack. Dean hummed, giving him a smile. “Until I’m...better. Feeling better. On my own two feet.”

“Alright. Be nice to your sister for me. You ever need somethin’, just come on over. We’re going through our own thing right now but Y/N’s had our backs more than once. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of you, Jack,” said Dean. Jack nodded, Dean doing the same back. “Y/N we uh, wanted to invite you over for dinner. Sammy’s in the mood to cook with some supervision of course. Jack, you’re welcome to join us.”

“Y/N can go. I can get...” he trailed off when he caught your face.

“We’ll be over in a little while if that’s okay?” you asked. Dean smiled and pecked a quick kiss on your lips before he headed back with the ball. “You just can’t stand to go like, four hours without seeing me, can you?”

“Even four hours is too long, sweetheart!” he laughed, kicking the ball back across the yards and over to Avy.

“He’s a dork,” you said, waving Jack with you to the front porch. “We’ll get pizza tomorrow. I promise.”

Half an hour later, Jack had his room settled and knew the ground rules you’d set for him. He would go to therapy every day during the work week and he’d find a part-time job to work at. You’d help him get a car if he decided he wanted one in a little while but for now you were driving him around. His curfew was nine during the week and ten on the weekends unless he was out with you and he most certainly did not want to find out what happened if he lied to you.

“Jack? You ready to go to dinner?” you shouted from the bottom of the stairs.

“Do I have to?” asked Jack.

“Yes,” you said, leaning against the door to his new room.

“Why? It’s your boyfriend and his family,” he said.

“Because Dean was nice enough to invite you. He would very much like you to feel good again too,” you said. Jack lifted his chin. “No, I didn’t tell him anything specific. Just said you had some stuff going on.”

“What? Don’t want your boyfriend to know your brother tried to off himself?” he said, smirking as he walked down the stairs. You shut your eyes and took a deep breath. “That was a joke by the way.”

“I haven’t known Dean very long. I don’t share things like that yet and it’s not really mine to share,” you said as you followed after him.

“You like this guy, huh,” he said. “You seem different from Christmas. Happier.”

“Slowly getting there. The Winchesters...their family has their own problems but they stick together. I figured...maybe we could try that,” you said.

“Y/N,” said Jack with a smile. “What happened...that’s not something I don’t think I can ever get over. I have to live with it.”

“Yeah. You do. But you’re going to live with it. You’re not leaving me too, you got it? Or else I’m going to kick your ghost ass,” you said.

“You always lost when we wrestled,” he said.

“Maybe I just let you win,” you said, grabbing the container off the front table. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” he said.

“It’s only three of them,” you said as you locked up after the two of you and cut across the yards. “Sam’s the tall guy in the beanie. Avy’s Sam’s six year old daughter. Dean’s temporarily living with them while Sam’s recovering from a car accident.”

“Must have been pretty serious,” said Jack, pausing at the bottom of their porch.

“It was. Come on, Jackie,” you said, holding out your hand.

“You haven’t called me that in a decade,” he said.

“Better get used to it again,” you said, tugging him up the steps. You rang the doorbell, Avy popping around the corner, giving you a smile. “Hey, cutie. I brought some lemon cookies for dessert.”

“You’re the best neighbor ever,” she said, opening the door for you. You laughed and handed her the container, stepping inside and slipping off your shoes. “Hi.”

“Hi,” said Jack, taking off his sneakers. “Uh, I’m Jack, Y/N’s brother.”

“Do you make cookies too?” she asked.

“No. Y/N’s the baker,” he said, giving her a smile. She took off for the kitchen, the both of you heading over to it, Dean watching Sam like a hawk from the countertop.

“Dean. There is such a thing as personal space,” said Sam while he worked over the stove.

“I mean, we’re all used to that horrendously ugly mug of yours but if you decide to pass out, I’d rather we not go to the hospital for the third time in a week, hm?” said Dean.

“I loathe you,” said Sam.

“Yup. These guys are definitely brothers,” said Jack. Sam turned away, Dean nudging him that he’d take over. Sam gave him a nod when Dean hopped to the ground and swapped places with him. “I’m Jack. Dean said it was cool if I stopped by.”

“No, no. That’s great. Y/N’s family is plenty welcome,” said Sam. “Dean said you’re moving in?”

“Yeah, for a while,” said Jack, glancing at you. “Until my new warden says I’m allowed to go.”

“I got one of those too,” said Sam, pointing over his shoulder at Dean.

“Maybe we can swap sometime,” said Jack. Sam laughed, Dean narrowing his eyes at Sam when he spun around.

“Hey, meat’s done. Finish making your tacos yourself. We’re hungry,” said Dean, patting Sam’s arm.

“Alright, bossy,” said Sam. Jack raised an eyebrow in your direction but you shook your head. “I had a bit of head trauma. Tonight’s the first night I’ve been allowed to actually cook since it happened. Dean’s a worrier if you couldn’t tell.”

“I think I got that part,” said Jack. Dean rolled his eyes and went over to get a cookie but Avy frowned and shook her head at him.

“Come on, Avy. One?” he asked.

“You’ll spoil your dinner,” she said, walking past him, Sam giving her a fist bump along the way.

“That’s my girl,” he said. “Avy, you help Uncle Dean with the plates while I whip these up.”

“You got it,” she said. You got a drink for Jack and yourself from the fridge, Dean nodding for everybody to eat outside on the back porch. It took a few trips but eventually everything made it out there.

Jack and Dean were both pretty quiet, mostly listening to Avy talk about her summer camp, Sam asking questions every so often. She got bored quickly though and went over to her swing set, playing on it while Sam kept an eye on her from his seat.

“Medicine?” asked Dean. Sam sighed and stood up, returning after a minute. “Good boy.”

“So, Jack. What do you do for a living?” asked Sam.

“Nothing at the moment. I need a part time job. I’m looking for one,” said Jack quickly.

“You ever work on cars?” asked Dean. Jack shook his head but Dean shrugged. “I work at Hunter’s over on main. Our old boss just retired last week and we could use a guy. As long as you’re not a complete idiot and got a clean driving record, we could-”

“I don’t know anything about cars,” he said. Dean stared at him.

“Eh, we’ll keep you to the basics at first. Pays pretty good, even part time.”

“Yeah, I think that sounds good for you, Jack,” you said.

“Uh, thank you. I appreciate it,” said Jack.

“Great. Now Benny will get off my ass about finding extra help,” teased Dean.

“You know, I really don’t need-” started Sam, Dean cutting him off.

“Sammy,” said Dean. “Enough. You’re not working in the garage.”

“Sorry,” mumbled Sam, staring out at the yard.

“So this is your house Sam?” asked Jack after a moment. Sam hummed, giving Jack a soft smile.

“Yeah. I was a lawyer before all this. My wife and I...our old house had a fire, about four years ago. Avy and I moved in here after that. We crashed at Dean’s for a month or so,” said Sam. “It’s a beautiful neighborhood. S’nice place to recover from stuff in.”

“I hope so,” said Jack. Sam raised an eyebrow, Jack looking to you. “Just tell your friends about me already.”

“If you want to, you can but you don’t have to,” you said.

“I tried to kill myself about a year ago,” said Jack. Sam blinked a few times and nodded, Dean remaining quiet from his corner of the table. “I got in a nasty fight with our parents. I don’t even remember what over. I left their place and went back to mine. Y/N and I didn’t talk so much then. She was off being a med student and the good child and I was...depression runs in our family apparently. Dad had it, kept it quiet. Life seemed...it seemed better if I went away. So I took a bunch of stuff...and I got a text from Y/N saying I better call her because I’d really scared her based on what mom and dad had said when they’d just talked. I thought what had I just done but I could already feel it all...stuff was shutting down. I called for an ambulance and called my parents and I guess they sped over and it was rainy out and…”

“And our parents caused the big pile up on Highway 12 last year,” you said, resting your head in your hand.

“That’s why you left med school,” said Dean.

“I saw so much that night and thought what idiot was speeding in the rain like that,” you said. “Turned out it was our parents and they came in...I had to identify them...and then I find Jack in stall twenty mid-overdose and it’s a miracle he had no permanent damage,” you said, Jack looking down at the table. “I sent him away to get help but when I went there today, I realized I just put him somewhere I wouldn’t have to deal with him. He wasn’t getting help there. Jack, you barely look up when people are talking to you anymore. I bet that place made you feel even shittier about yourself, not better.”

“Jack,” said Sam, putting his hand on the table. “I’m sorry if this is too personal but were you at Bryerwood by any chance? Up north a ways?”

“Actually, yeah,” said Jack, turning his head. “Why?”

“Nothing,” said Sam, shaking his head. “I can’t disclose other cases.”

“That’s lawyer talk for that place is sketchy,” said Dean.

“Jack...if you ever felt...inappropriate things took place there or you experienced them, I’d like to put you in contact with another lawyer at our firm. This may be...a possible class action type of situation,” he said.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what those things would have been. I don’t think I could tell the difference right now,” said Jack. You closed your eyes, Dean’s hand sneaking under the table to give your free hand a squeeze.

“Well I’m sure your sister will get your head on right. Hell, she’s been helping me do it and she probably didn’t even notice,” said Dean. You opened your mouth but Jack beat you to it.

“But you’re not nuts,” said Jack.

“You’re not nuts either, Jack,” you said. “You were sad and lonely and I was a workaholic and so were mom and dad and...we screwed up and didn’t help you. Their tough love crap made it impossible to talk to them about what we needed or wanted. I get that. I didn’t even want to be a doctor, Jack. You were brave enough to at least go your own way. I’m sorry none of us helped you and that I basically ignored you the past year.”

“You were going through your own stuff,” said Jack. “It’s not your fault. I’m the one with the messed up head.”

“Can we talk about something else?” you asked. Dean started asking Jack a few things about cars and music. You tuned them out, Sam’s voice piping in every so often. You heard a laugh, one of them belonging to Jack. Something was nudging you and you realized it was Dean poking you in the ribs.

“Want to take a walk? Jack’s going to hang back with Sam and Avy,” said Dean. You stood up with him, glad to get some time alone. You were partway down the block when Dean wrapped his hand around yours. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Sorry. That was...sorry. That was way more family drama than you needed to hear,” you said, taking a deep breath. A finger tapped under your chin and you moved your head up, Dean offering a sweet smile to you.

“Hey. You’ve been there for us with our crap. We can be there for you and Jack’s crap too,” he said.

“People aren’t as sweet as you, you know,” you said.

“Yeah they are. Thankfully I got my own sweetie right here,” he said, bumping your hip. You let out a small laugh, Dean walking closer to you. “I think it takes a lot of guts to help out your brother like that.”

“I should have-”

“Should have what? You had trauma that night too from the sounds of it. I’m sure you were trying to do the best thing for him, send him to a place that would help him. You weren’t in the right frame of mind to take care of him. Now...maybe you are,” he said.

“Yesterday morning, I thought he was just pissed off Jack again. He was asking me to get him out of there and I didn’t realize.”

“Jack’s a big boy. He could have spoken up,” said Dean.

“Who knows what they’ve been drilling in his head the past year though. He didn’t used to be so timid. Always a little innocent but...then Sam said-”

“Hey. Jack’s not there anymore and maybe once he starts talking to a good doctor, he’ll want to share some of those things but right now, just focus on the fact that Jack is probably happy tonight for the first time in a long time,” said Dean.

“I don’t know if he even knows what happy is anymore,” you said. Dean shrugged, kicking a rock with his sneaker.

“He’ll learn,” said Dean. “How are you holding up?”

“Me? I’m fine,” you said.

“Ah. Well. I’m fine too,” he said. You twitched up your lip, leaning your head against his shoulder. “You know, all that stuff you guys were talking about, it wasn’t your fault either.”

“There were so many things I could have done differently,” you said.

“You know Sammy’s accident? We had a little fight before that,” said Dean. You lifted your head, Dean swinging your hands together. “Avy was already in bed. I called him and bitched him out, told him to get his ass home and stop working so much. Sammy got pissed and I got pissed and he said fine and then got in his car. If I hadn’t of done that...Sammy wouldn’t have been in that accident.”

“But you had no control over that other driver,” you said. “Or that Sam would choose that moment to leave work.”

“Just like you have no control over an argument you weren’t involved in and a brother that never told you how low he felt and parents that decided to speed in the rain and the rest of it. Neither one of us had control. I’ll be honest, I was feeling pretty shitty about that whole thing until I started hanging out with you. So you don’t feel shitty either, alright?”

“Okay,” you said, squeezing his hand.

“Okay then,” he said. “You know...there’s a practice in town that’s a pretty good. Our parents went to him when they had marriage problems.”

“Your parents don’t seem the type,” you said.

“My deep seeded fear of commitment comes from them,” said Dean.

“Yet we’re dating,” you said.

“You must be extra special then,” he said. You cocked your head, Dean darting his eyes down to your lips. “I moved in to take care of my brother, not fall for the girl next door you know.”

“How’s that working out for ya?” you asked.

“Horrible,” he said, pressing his lips to yours. “You taste like sugar. How do you always taste like sugar…”

“Fancy thing called chapstick,” you teased.

“Never heard of it,” he laughed, spinning you around before walking again.

“Dean,” you said, grabbing his arm and wrapping yours around.

“Mhm?”

“I’m very happy I met you,” you said.

“Me too, sweetheart.”

A/N: Read Part 7 here!

#spn #supernatural #dean x reader #dean winchester #dean #spn fanfiction #supernatural fanfiction #spn reader insert #au #mechanic!dean #dean winchester x reader

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sassyhazelowl · 5 years ago

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Title: Of Chlorine, Nephews and Things Getting Better Pairing: stingue Word Count: 3, 400 Rating: PG Warnings: none A/N: @blackbloodrose20 I’m your secret Valentine for the exchange hosted by @ft-fairyexchanges. I hope you enjoy the story! It got a bit away from me, as this pairing tends to do, but I think it works.

This was not Rogue’s day.

“That was so embarrassing, Uncle!”

Rogue ignored the faint smells of wet clothing and chlorine that permeated the car and the soft croon of the radio, fingers gripped tightly around the steering wheel in mortification. His clothing clung to his skin and his hair to his scalp. When he’d slipped on the side of the pool and fell in, he hadn’t been planning to take a dip.

Shut up, shut up, shut up.

This was said silently in his mind of course. Neil, his nephew, already had reason to doubt his sanity after what happened this afternoon. No reason to give the poor boy more evidence. Really, he probably shouldn’t even be driving, the shaking made things a bit unsteady and it was hard to focus on the road.

“For you or me?” Rogue replied archly, a beat too late.

Lips burning, he took a hand off the wheel and scrubbed the back of it across them, hard. It felt good, for a second, then the burn came back. It had been a long while since he’d had a man’s lips on his.

The pre-teen in the passenger seat stopped to consider the question seriously, as he always did. Unfortunately for him, he was very much like Rogue was at that age. Awkward, quiet and serious. He tended to fade into the background of things, like a child-shaped shadow. He’d been like that for as long as Rogue had known him, which was about two months.

Neil flipped his too-long bangs from his eyes, peering over, “Are you okay?”

“Just wet.”

“You did fall in a swimming pool,” Neil pointed out and Rogue could feel his stare at the obvious and lame answer. “And Mr. Eucliffe had to pull you out and give you mouth-to-mouth.”

Rogue nearly hit his forehead on the steering wheel at the reminder but the last thing he needed today was to be pulled over.

When Neil had brought home a permission slip and interest for swimming, Rogue’s friend really pushed for Rogue to let the boy join. Yukino seemed to have these sorts of things all figured out - at least where Neil was concerned. She said the boy needed a confidence boost and something to keep him busy. Rogue really just signed it because he thought that would buy him an extra hour three times a week alone - he didn’t realize those three hours would be spent in a damp, smelly building surrounded by a handful of middle aged moms on their cellphones.

And he definitely hadn’t thought he’d be fished out of the pool like a drowned rat in front of everyone. Then kissed -- no, not kissed, mouth-to-mouth, absolutely not a kiss, it was a valid, medical procedure.

It was a violent flashback to high school times. Stomach heaving, he shoved those thoughts away. That was the past. It was the past, and it couldn’t hurt him anymore. He was past that now, in a better - ok, well, different, anyway, place.

“I’m fine,” Rogue repeated numbly, realizing with dawning horror that the next swimming practice was sooner than he could handle. All those people were there. Mr. Eucliffe would be there too. High school never ended, did it? “It’s fine.”

Everything was fine.

What was another emergency visit to the therapist?

“Hey! You’re that guy from Swimland!”

If Rogue’s shoulders could creep up any higher, he’d be an actual turtle hiding in his shell. Lacking a shell and a retractable neck in general, he winced and slowly pivoted around, life-sustaining coffee in one hand and an indulgent raspberry danish in the other.

“You are! Everything good?”

The overenthusiastic swim instructor’s bright blue eyes twinkled and his smile gleamed. Too bright, too shiny… too loud. Suddenly, the burning on his lips returned, along with the butterflies. That danish was expensive, flicked across his mind, which was a shame because he’d most certainly not be able to eat it now.

I hate my body, Rogue thought to himself crossly. He’d really, desperately needed a sweet treat for the week he was having.

“Hello, yes, I’m fine, now, uh, thanks.”

“No problem.” Wink. Smile. Rogue’s stomach squirmed a bit more. “Not every day I get to save someone like you.”

“What does that mean?”

The swim instructor blinked, taken aback by Rogue’s tone shift. He reared back a bit, shifting an eyebrow and becoming more guarded. Some of the shine hid behind those clouds, the sunshine more bearable when he frowned instead of smiled.

“Uh… sorry?”

Rogue sighed, blowing the air out with a mix of regret and irritation at himself. He was fairly certain he wasn’t misreading the intent, but what if this guy really was just cluelessly friendly and a natural flirt? He probably had a girlfriend at home and was just nice with all the parents who paid his salary, so once again, Rogue was blowing things out of proportion. Rubbing the bridge of his nose and taking several deep breaths, he forced a smile with more teeth than cheer.

“No, I’m sorry. I’ve been having a bad week… month… several months, actually. Can I buy your coffee as an apology?” Rogue really, truly couldn’t afford that, but he’d also feel terrible for the rest of the day if he didn’t at least offer.

“If you’re having a bad week, maybe I should’ve bought you a coffee. I’m Sting Eucliffe, by the way. I’m sure you probably know that --” Rogue didn’t, which made him feel worse -- “But I really came up on you like a pal instead of someone I haven’t officially met yet. My friends say I can come on strong. And you are?”

“Rogue, Rogue Cheney, Neil’s uncle. I’d shake but…” He held up his coffee and danish.

Sting looked him up and down with a tug of a smile that made his stomach flutter even more, “You’ve got your hands full. Uncle, huh? Neil’s a good kid; good swimmer too. Say, might be coming on too strong again, but you look like you need to talk. I’ve got a few hours before work… fair warning, I talk a lot, you might get sick of listening.”

Rogue sincerely doubted that. It would be like getting sick of the sun.

But Mr. Eucliffe might get sick of him. He didn’t have a lot of cheerful and chipper topics at the moment. Broke up with his long-term boyfriend, rather violently at that, last year on Valentine’s Day. Something about him being too brooding and not into fun. Lost his job to office politics, scrabbling to collect unemployment and find a new one. Hence why he was at the coffee shop in the first place, laptop waiting and white mocha in hand. Acquired a pre-teen ward, one he didn’t even know existed until he got a phone call two months ago. Rogue wasn’t close with his family after the falling out, but his sister had always been fond of him. Still, he’d spent long nights wondering why Neil was with him and not their parents. He was too afraid to call and ask.

He looked up into that hopeful, puppydog look and felt the resistance on the tip of his tongue disappear.

“...Sure.”

“Hey! Mr. Cheney!”

Rogue looked up, startled, nearly but not quite losing his balance. It was tempting, for a split second, to fall in. But at some point Mr. Eucliffe would realize Rogue was not only a proficient swimmer, but had won many competitions in college. Plus, he’d just regained his reputation with the moms - they hadn’t harassed or teased him too much about it. But falling in seemed to have broken some ice and more than once he’d been invited into their little gossip circle. It felt nice to belong, even if it was just a group of bored moms that would go their merry ways after their boys lost interest in swimming and moved on to the next sport.

Rogue had gotten in the habit of showing up a little early because Neil wanted to help set up. Today was the big meet, and Neil had been anxious all morning.

“Congrats, man. Neil told me.”

Rogue felt a smile slip onto his face, although he wasn’t sure if it was the warm congratulations or the fact Neil was starting to open up to people. He’d taken a particular shine to Mr. Eucliffe, and Rogue found it nice to have someone who seemed to care as much about his nephew as he did - Neil gave them an excuse to talk. A coffee date here, some time after a meet there, before practice started during set-up.

“Thank you, Mr. Eucliffe.”

“I’ve told you this a million times, it’s just Sting. I don’t stand on ceremony.”

That was true enough. Rogue had been regaled with many exciting stories of Sting, the globetrotter, getting in trouble for his lack of decor. Swim instructor was just the latest in a long career of job hopping and city changing lifestyle. Rogue had to wonder how long… how long before Sting grew bored and moved on. Like sunlight, he never stayed in one place.

Swallowing the lump that formed, he tried not to choke on his smile. He should be happy; he finally found a job. And it was a good job, a better job than his last one too. Things were looking up. It was too soon to be fretting about the future, like his therapist always told him.

“Thank you… Sting. You’ve been… you’ve been a big help. I probably couldn’t have done it without your support.”

“Aww,” Sting flushed an adorable shade of pink, his normally cocky look taking on a more boyish cast with embarrassment. Rogue had to fight back a blush of his own.

Neil stared between them with a look only a teenager could pull off but he didn’t make any quips.

“Good luck out there, kid,” Sting said to him, giving him a friendly punch to the shoulder. Ducking his head, Neil mumbled in response before slipping away to get changed. He turned to Rogue, rubbing the back of his neck, “I guess this is it, huh? The last big meet.”

Rogue’s smile slipped this time but he didn’t say anything. What was there to say? This little bubble of happiness wasn’t going to last forever after all. Happy things didn’t last in Rogue’s life.

“Yeah.”

“Since it's the last meet, we should celebrate. Take the kid out for some pizza, get wasted on root beer. It can be a little party.”

“For the group?”

Sting cocked his head, doing that thing that made Rogue feel like he was trying to read him. He shrugged, trying to pass it off nonchalantly, “I was thinking just the three of us. Love the other kiddos, of course, but there is a team party on Saturday. After this meet, I’m not the coach anymore anyway.”

Rogue sensed a trap. That anxious feel was creeping up on him, little and lurking, something wasn’t right, something was coming, he needed to do something, anything, because something wasn’t right, something was coming, he needed to do…

“No.” Rogue’s reply came out a little too sharp, a little too shrill. He backtracked, staring away at the unnaturally blue pool water as he mumbled, “No, um, sorry, Neil and I already have plans with Yukino.”

“Oh.”

Rogue didn’t say more or look before retreating to the bleachers, waving to Amara and Nicole as they stomped in, armed to the teeth with entertainment for younger siblings and bags full of supplies so their families didn’t starve. He knew within minutes the husbands would troop in, having gone to park the car, and then the rest of the crowd would follow to get a seat. For once, timing was on his side.

He had an easy out, and like a coward, he took it.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Rogue’s friend Yukino was eyeing him with a soft, concerned expression.

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

She fiddled with the end of the blanket a moment, debating, before sighing, “Well, you keep inviting me over or out for coffee or to take Neil out, and that’s great and no problem. But it’s kind of weird? And you’ve been mopey. I thought things were going well with the new job.”

“It is.” It was. The new job was great. It paid the bills, his bosses appreciated him and he enjoyed the work. It was a big step up from being stuck under his old boss’s micromanaging and unethical thumb.

Neil, who had been quietly watching the movie Yukino and Rogue abandoned from the shadowy chair, piped up, “He’s sad because swim season is over. I told him I want to do it next time too but he’s still unhappy.”

Yukino wasn’t a fool. Armed with the new information, her gaze sharpened and she narrowed in, dropping the kid gloves behind her.

“Oh, so it’s about that. I see. And what have you done, exactly, since swim season ended besides moping and trying to use me to distract you?”

Rogue had nothing to say for himself that wouldn’t be damning.

Yukino smiled a smile he wasn’t the biggest fan of and remarked, “Valentine’s Day is in a few days. I know you are the Scrooge of V-day after He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named…”

“Voldemort?” Neil blinked in confusion and a laugh of surprise barked out of Rogue, breaking him out of what was the beginning of a spiral at the mention of his ex. Doggedly, sensing he was now part of a grownup conversation, Neil pressed on, “I didn’t know you liked Harry Potter, Uncle Rogue.”

“Your Uncle is the biggest Harry Potter nerd, Neil,” Yukino confirmed. “But that’s not who we’re talking about.”

“Oh, okay. Maybe we can talk about Harry Potter later though, Uncle Rogue?” Neil asked hopefully. Rogue felt stabbed through the heart. Was this the same withdrawn, sulky child he picked up from the bus station with a backpack and small rolling suitcase?

“Absolutely.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” It was the easiest promise Rogue had ever made and he hadn’t hesitated for even an instant.

“Great,” Yukino clapped her hands together, “Now the task at hand. Uncle Rogue is going to take some initiative!”

“With Mr. Eucliffe?” Rogue winced, thinking fast how to explain things to Neil, feeling things crumple. But the boy added quickly, “I hope it’s with Mr. Eucliffe. Uncle Rogue, you’re always so happy around him, and I want you to be happy. Plus, he’s always so happy when he sees you too.”

“It’s settled. Let’s get to work.”

His finger hovered over the bell. He’d only been here twice before, once with Sting’s car broke and he needed a ride and another when Sting got wasted at a bar crawl calling Rogue’s number by accident. Neither situation was particularly romantic, and Rogue hadn’t the nerve to cross the threshold then.

Sucking in a deep breath from between his lips, he shoved the bell, torn between hoping no one answered the door and desperately hoping someone did.

When the door opened, he swallowed, hard. An intimidating woman answered the door with cutting edge fashion, perfect make-up and an expression that made Rogue want to close the door like he was in a horror movie. She looked him up and down with the interest of a large predator gauging meal or toy. Sting never mentioned a girlfriend! In fact, Rogue had hinted about it more than once and Sting always insisted he was single and free. Who was this? Did Rogue go to the wrong house? Did Sting go get someone to take away the pain of Rogue’s rejection?

“Is this the Eucliffe residence?”

“It is.”

Pursing her lips, she raked him up and down, before stepping aside and motioning in. Even her heels clicked judgmentally on the foyer’s tiles. So not a girlfriend? Definitely not a sister or at least not a full sister.

“We are roommates. I’m not surprised Sting did not mention it. I ate his last boyfriend alive. So you are here for some groveling I see, along with Valentine’s gifts. Smart. You better not have cheated on him, or I will eat you alive too.”

Rogue felt a full body flushing coming on, pausing to listen to the well-manicured roommate’s dirge of information. Sting had literally talked for hours and hours and never mentioned a roommate, an ex or the fact that they were apparently dating?

“We are dating?” slipped out of Rogue’s mouth. A wicked smile curved her lips in a less-than-reassuring way and she offered a slender hand, “I am Minerva Orlando. It is a pleasure to finally meet the man of the legend in person, Rogue Cheney.”

“Min? Who’re you talking to? I thought you were getting ready to go out on your date!”

“Maybe you should get out of your boxers, put the tissues away and worry about your own date, moron. Your boyfriend’s here looking dapper with a box of candy and some roses after all.”

Rogue wasn’t sure about that, but it sounded better than what he actually looked like, so he kept quiet. He had the feeling she was hassling her roommate at his expense and enjoying every second of it.

“What?” Sting yelped from the other room, followed by the sound of crashing and stumbling then a hefty body hitting the wall so hard it shook at the impact. Much to Rogue’s relief, he did not appear in his boxers. Hair wild and in a hideous pair of sweats, Sting was shedding a trail of candy wrappers and swears behind him as he tore into the doorway. Seeing Rogue, his face went through a myriad of emotions before settling on sheepish for a long moment then he ran his fingers through his hair, trying for suave.

Minerva rolled her eyes, “Okay Casanova. I am going out on my date. No sex on the table.”

“Wha--” Sting sputtered, eyes wide, and Rogue wanted to melt into the shadows forever. That had definitely not been on his mind 3 seconds ago, and now he was having trouble focusing on what he came to do, remembering all those times he’d seen Sting in swim trunks and only swim trunks.

“Uh, hi,” Sting said uncertainly. “I kind of… thought you were done with me. I mean, at the swim meet… you were pretty clear.”

“We are dating?” was the only intelligent thing Rogue could say in response, everything all jumbled up.

Sting scratched his cheek, “Ignore her. It sucks, but anytime I have a friend, she assumes I’m dating. Hazards of being gay with an aggressively supportive roommate, I guess.”

The front door slammed noisily, confirming Minerva had left the building.

“I brought you these… as an apology,” Rogue abruptly changed the subject, shoving the sweets and flowers at Sting unceremoniously. Not chocolates, not roses, that’d be Too Much, but it was a start. Sting took them awkwardly, that megawatt grin of his lighting up the room as he admitted while smelling the gift, “Never gotten flowers before. What do you do with them? Min! Min! Oh wait, she left… shit.”

Snapping his fingers, he made a wait-here motion, disappearing back through the doorway and leaving Rogue standing in the hallway. Just as he was about to peer through the door, Sting returned, flowers shoved into a coffee mug with a crass saying printed across the front, still in the plastic sleeve and looking a bit bedraggled. He handed the whole thing back, making another motion, and disappearing in another direction.

The next time he emerged, he was changed and presentable.

“So… ready to go on a real date?” he asked with a smooth and causal tone that Rogue envied. Sting really did do things on the fly. “And I’m not just saying that because of Min. I was going to ask you at the pizza place weeks ago if you wanted to go out for real. Also, I’ve seriously been jonesing to kiss you this whole time, not going to lie. Your lips have been on my mind since day one.”

“Maybe you should fix that before we go out on our first real date then,” Rogue replied with a rare giddiness pulling the other man in to indulge in his fantasies.

This was totally Rogue’s day, and he was going to make the most of it.

#fairy tail #fanfic #stingue #fairyhearts2020

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