#The Observer Mitch

[i-needserotonin]

my unpopular villains series opinion is that Victor was manipulating and using Syd in Vicious, and that he only really started to show care or "affection" at the end of the book and in Vengeful.

[pinkyjulien]

Valentin & Mitch | 619/?? | AZ Nomad Market, private clinic Seeing each other after weeks of not being able to

[tehaspy-spec-evoposting]

After some observation, I have come to the conclusion that the internet has it's own dialect of english. I'll call it Nettic English, and I'll write down some differences I've seen from Not Nettic english.

Question marks are now a type of tone indicator

This one's kind of self explanatory, but I'll say it anyway. Question marks are marking when your voice goes up like this? This is contrary to it's mainland use where it marks a question.

Tone indicators

Tone indicators (/s, /srs, /j, etc.) are another unique part of nettic english, where they mark how the sentence is supposed to be read. However, only the mainstream ones shall be recognized as part of the dialect, unless the lesser used ones become more intuitive (like /lh, it apparently means lighthearted, but I still don't know how to take it. See also, Jan Misali's or @hbmmaster's {sorry that I pinged you} video on /hj).

The use of Capitalization as Emphasis

I'm not talking about ALL CAPS FOR YELLING, although it is a part of it. I'm talking about The Front Letters. This phenomenon seems unique to nettic english, so it's mentioned here.

The change in "it's"

It is becoming more socially acceptable to use "it's" in any context, not just to abbreviate "it is"

Periods are now context sensitive

I'm not talking about how punctuation works in general, I'm talking about how when two sentences aren't in the same line, you can just Not Add One

Please send me more examples of how nettic english has diverged from normal (not nettic) english, as I probably missed a lot more evidence for this.

[1d1195]

Sunflower

~7.2 k words

From Me: Requested by my 🍓-anon. Sorry it took some time. I took a couple liberties (mostly because I love food a lot so I couldn't make it taste bad hahahaha) I hope you like it! I'm going to post your ask with the request tomorrow. 💕 Right now it's just the one part (but I feel like some may want a second).

Warnings: fluffy and a bit of jealous Harry. Nothing too angsty though this time around.

Summary: Harry has a high paying job that allows him to eat at some of the finest restaurants in the city. But the little bistro that has good drinks and a great staff is by far his favorite. Or maybe it's the waitress he can't get out of his head that has him coming back so often.

“Are you sure this is the place?” Sarah looked skeptical.

“I swear,” Mitch smiled. “I know it doesn’t look like much, but the drinks are good and so are the apps.”

Harry watched the banter of his two best friends. “How did you even come across this place?” Sarah asked as Mitch held the door open for her to enter. Harry took hold of it so Mitch could follow after her. There were no more than fifteen tables and a bar. It was fairly dark but in a good way.

If anything, it contrasted sharply with the sunflowers at nearly every turn. There was a mural painted on the back wall of bright flowers against the dark paint. Each table had a bright blue glass vase with a single sunflower stem in the middle of the table. The aprons the staff wore were covered in a floral print of a garden of sunflowers. It was stunning. Bright and beautiful.

“Aptly named,” Sarah smirked.

Harry chuckled. “S’nice,” he agreed.

Harry and Sarah continued their observation while Mitch waited patiently at the host stand. “I came here for lunch with a client,” he said answering Sarah’s earlier question. “Their friend owns it.” After another moment they were brought to a table. There weren’t many people there; given they were there at two in the afternoon on a Saturday it wasn’t so surprising. The bar was nearly filled, several patrons seemed to be regulars as they got a say in what sporting event got to be on the TV. Only two other tables were filled and there was no need for a bustling staff. “I came for dinner, and it was full capacity with a line. But when you know the owner, you get a table early. They have a little outdoor patio around back too but it’s seasonal.”

The three of them looked over the menu in silence. Until Sarah broached the subject of getting one of every type of appetizer and then there was their daily debate of which appetizer was best and maybe they would have to do one of each since they wouldn’t be able to decide which was best.

Their debate was interrupted by the waitress coming over to introduce herself.

“Hi everyone, welcome to The Sunflower Bistro, have you been here before?”

“I have,” Mitch smiled. “We’re arguing over an appetizer, what do you think?”

Without pausing, she didn’t help the debate. “Oh, one of each,” she giggled.

“See! I told you!” Sarah lightly smacked Mitch’s arm.

This only made her smile grow. “Can I take your drink order while you narrow your choices?” She asked.

There was an exchange of words. Words Harry didn’t hear. But then Sarah and Mitch were looking at him expectantly.

“Harry?” Mitch asked.

“A drink, hello?” Sarah laughed.

Quickly he shook his head. “Sorry,” he cleared his throat, his eyes glancing down at the menu but unable to read anything. “Just water for now,” he murmured unable to make eye contact with her.

“I’ll be right back,” her voice was sweet and pretty.

“Are you alright?” Mitch asked.

“She’s beautiful,” Harry mumbled. “I can’t even look at her.”

When he saw her approach, he was immediately tongue-tied. Overwhelmed. It was like seeing the ocean for the first time. Or a garden. Or a painting in a museum. There wasn’t a way to pinpoint what made her so beautiful. It seemed to be everything. The way her hair was clipped behind her head and just a few soft pieces framed her cheeks. Her bright smile. Her sparkling eyes. The way the sunflower apron cinched her hips. All of it. Or none of it. She was beautiful. Overwhelmingly so. Harry swore he forgot how to breathe. He had been in love before—at least he thought he had been. This wasn’t comparable.

So he couldn’t even look at her.

Sarah giggled. Enjoying the way her friend’s face turned pink at the admission. Mitch smiled. “Aw Harry’s got a crush!”

“Shut up, she’ll hear!” Harry snapped and put the menu in front of his face, hiding from the rest of the restaurant.

“Oh my God,” Sarah laughed. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“I could not look at her,” Harry mumbled putting the menu over his face.

“She’s very pretty,” Sarah agreed and reached out to squeeze Harry’s arm. “But you have to look at her.”

Harry’s heart was racing. Like he was sprinting on the treadmill or in the middle of a phone call with an important client. Harry had been nervous before. The exams in college, his first interview, on-boarding new clients. This wasn’t comparable either. “I really don’t think I can, Sarah.”

“Did we make any decisions?” Her kind voice returned, and Harry scanned the menu eagerly, his cheeks still flushed, he was sure.

“Honestly, no,” Sarah laughed. “We’ve been admiring how beautiful this place is.”

And you, Harry thought.

“Oh, I know, it’s practically dreamy working here. The sunflowers are the perfect flower. It’s so sunny and fun,” she explained.

“Have you worked here long?” Mitch asked.

“Yes, since it opened. My friend owns it. It’s like a family kind of thing around here. It’s so nice,” she looked so happy to talk about this place. Passionate. “Niall’s really nice about me going to school and getting me the shifts I want.”

“Oh, that’s so nice! What are you studying?”

Harry wanted to involve himself in the conversation, but he was so speechless by her kind sweet presence, it was impossible to think of a word to say to her. He was grateful his two friends were there to carry the flow of dialogue because it was apparent Harry was going to be useless in that regard.

“Harry also went for a degree in finance,” Sarah segued to look at Harry. He missed her response. That was evident. He would ask when she went back to place their orders what was said specifically.

He looked at her, fully. He hoped he wasn’t staring at her to the point that she wanted to hide and run away from him because he was being a creep. After a pause that was a brief longer than he would have liked, he cleared his throat. “I graduated a couple years ago. I work for a large accounting firm,” it was a miracle he didn’t stutter from how nervous he was. He was holding the menu still to keep his hands from shaking.

Her smile brightened. She looked genuinely happy for Harry. He imagined she was anything but disingenuous, but still. For a complete stranger, who could barely utter two sentences to her, she bubbled with excitement at this knowledge of getting to know him. “Oh! That’s amazing! Nice to meet you, Harry. I’m graduating this spring,” she explained. “I’m super nervous about the whole internship process...I feel like it’s super difficult and overwhelming.”

“Harry’s still in touch with the person he did his internship with,” Mitch volunteered.

He wasn’t. At least...not to the degree that Mitch was suggesting. “Well, I’ll have to give you my card,” she winked at him. “I’ll give you a few more minutes to decide on appetizers.”

Harry felt some kind of crushing relief to watch her walk away. Which was ridiculous because the moment she was gone, he realized how badly and stupidly he wanted her to come back. He could barely even talk to her, but her presence made him happy. Deliriously so.

Sighing, he turned to Sarah. “Am I ruining m’first impression?” He asked.

Sarah smiled and shook her head. “Not at all.”

Harry really hoped not. “I’ve never felt like this,” he mumbled and decided bare minimum, he needed to pick something to eat. At least he could repeat it in his head a few times before she returned and not embarrass himself while ordering.

Hopefully.

*

Like the perfect waitress, she came back to check their food was good and their drinks were refilled. Mitch was right. The drinks were good and so was the food. “Can I get you guys anything else?” She asked sweetly. Fortunately, Harry managed to order his own food without Sarah or Mitch’s help. He didn’t stammer and didn’t make a fool of himself in front of her.

“No thank you,” Sarah turned to Harry. “Did you want to give her your card as well?” She asked. Harry felt like he was having an allergic reaction. His skin felt hot, and he thought that his throat was closing. Part of him wanted to kick Sarah beneath the table but a small piece of him was grateful for her direction and encouragement because it was evident he couldn’t do this on his own. He was prepared to give her his whole wallet. Credit cards, cash, anything in there was hers.

“Er...right,” Harry fumbled, his hands shaking as he opened it.

Harry tried to keep his breath under control as their fingers brushed when she took the card from him. His heart was working triple the beating time it was supposed to from the soft touch that couldn’t have lasted more than a second. “Oh goodness, my card doesn’t look anything like this,” she frowned. “Please don’t judge how ridiculous it is, I thought it was cute and memorable,” she pulled a few cards from her apron pocket.

It was cute and memorable. He didn’t want her to change a thing. The top corners were webbed with a little sunflower vine. Otherwise, the card was white with a half-print, half-cursive font covered in blue. “Well, aren’t you a Jane-of-all-trades,” Sarah laughed. She had listed tutoring, babysitting, painting, lawn-mowing, cleaning, etc.

“Gotta pay the bills somehow,” she admitted. She sighed. “I’m grateful to Niall as I’ve steered away from most of those odd jobs that my dad taught me,” she laughed again. “Waitressing, despite everything, is a lot more stable while I’m still in school. I made that when I was fresh out of high school. It needs a serious update.”

“Harry, where did you make your business cards?” Mitch asked.

If this were a regular day and Harry wasn’t so tongue-tied and nervous, he probably would have thanked his friends for their effort to support him in being his wingman and wingwoman. But he was so out of sorts, so unbelievably captivated and captured by her, he couldn’t fully use his brain. It was embarrassing. If she had even an inkling that he liked her, she probably wasn’t going to reciprocate merely because he was so embarrassing to listen to. There was no way someone so pretty would like him and his inability to speak.

What would their dates even look like? Her voice was so nice, like a song he hadn’t heard since he was young. The kind of song that made him believe in love even though he was young. Her laugh was probably adorable. Her smile was adorable so it could only be so. But she would want conversation. Right? Was she just to chat about her day and her feelings and Harry wouldn’t be able to do anything but stare at her? Admiring how pretty she was?

Actually, that sounded like a pretty decent plan for Harry. But she deserved more.

So instead, he cleared his throat once more. “S’online. I’d have t’look up the website. But yours is memorable,” he assured her. “I like the colors.”

“Thanks, Harry,” God he loved the sound of her voice saying his name. Her adorable smile was so sweet he felt his heart melting. “It definitely needs an update now that I’m about to graduate though, please let me know if you find the website.”

Harry wanted to tell her that he would give her whatever she wanted for as long as they lived and then in their next life too. But instead, he simply nodded and tucked her card safely into his wallet.

*

“This is insane,” he mumbled to himself as he pulled the door out of the way. It had been two days since he left The Sunflower Bistro and the pretty, sunflowery girl he was completely enamored with after hardly speaking to her. While her phone number weighed heavily in his wallet, he couldn’t bring himself to call her. Worried he wouldn’t be able to get a word out when she answered.

How he thought he was going to talk to her without Sarah and Mitch as a buffer was beyond him, but he couldn’t walk past this place either knowing he could see her and try to make up for his tragic first impression. “Hey Harry!” She said walking by the hostess stand. “Nice to see you again! Niall, can you put him in my section?” She asked.

Harry felt the words die in his throat, so he was glad he didn’t have to speak to Niall.

“A regular, hmm? Took you long enough,” Niall called after her.

“Had to hold out for a good one!” She shouted back and disappeared behind a door.

Harry wondered if all those times he had been in love before were real. His chest was fluttering with some emotion he hadn’t felt before then. It was a longing that filled every ounce of his lungs, every cell of his blood. Every inch of him. Like some kind of homing sound was coming from her and echoing in his body. He felt so unbelievably whole when he looked at her. Like he was seen.

Niall brought Harry to a table and smiled at him as he left.

“Hey! I was hoping you’d text or call, I figured it was my crummy card that deterred you. Or maybe it was unreadable,” that laugh of hers was a melody Harry wasn’t going to forget for the rest of his life. She leaned on the opposite side of the booth looking at him. Her hair was pulled back the same way as it was the other night. Silky and pretty. Harry wanted to slide his fingers through it more than anything. Her smile that had haunted all his thoughts at work and made him grin at his computer screen like a lunatic was also still just as earth shatteringly beautiful as last time. Made him tongue-tied just as he was last time.

“Um...yeah, no...,” he managed to smile at her joke. “M’jus’...” he shook his head trying to think of a reasonable excuse that would make any sense as to why he hadn’t called the pretty girl yet.

“Hey, no worries; I’m sure work keeps you busy!” Her voice was cheerful. “I’m glad to see you, is all. Are your friends coming?” His heart nearly stopped that she was glad to see him.

“Not this time,” he hoped that wouldn’t disappoint her because then he would call Mitch and Sarah and order them over. He still had a right mind to do so. Seemed to be the only way he would be able to talk to her more than a few mumbled words.

“Alright, well I’ll let you mull over the menu while I grab you a water. Unless you want something else?”

Drinking alcohol around her might make him fully mute. Or make him spill every thought he had. Without his friends as a buffer, both seemed heinous. “Water’s good.”

“I’ll be right back,” she flitted off like she was floating. Harry believed she was an angel so that made sense.

“C’mon Harry,” he mumbled to himself looking over the menu deciding what he would try today. He was fortunate the food was so good, and it would give him an excuse to come back more times than probably necessary so he could see her again.

“Here you are!” She practically chirped, setting his glass of water in front of him. She leaned against the opposite side of the booth again. “Anything look good?” She asked.

Her.

“Um...m’a fan of street corn,” he scanned the menu again.

“That’s probably my favorite app on there—or the pretzel bites with queso. It shouldn’t work but it does. The veggie soup here is criminally underrated but it’s not really soup season so no fault there. I’ll give you a couple more minutes,” she sauntered off again with her kind smile.

Harry wondered what her favorite song was and why she got into finance. He wanted to ask her what her least favorite subject was in school and what kind of music she listened to while she was cooking. Knowing her favorite candle and what kind of shampoo she used seemed like critical information he needed to know. He wanted to know how many siblings she had and whether or not she would want two kids or three.

All of which was ridiculous.

And further proof Harry had never been in love with anyone before he saw her.

*

Harry visited on Mondays and Fridays. It was a good way to start his week and a great way to end his week. Seeing her bookended by the workweek was nothing short of perfect.

He did this for three weeks. Niall merely smiled, as if he knew why he was there. Harry could feel his cheeks turn pink each time the staff gave him a knowing smile. It was obvious he was there to see her. To be placed in her section. “Hey Harry!” She chirped when he sat at his regular table.

Mitch and Sarah joined him twice more since the day they brought him. He was less tongue-tied but nearly just as shy. They gave him an immense amount of shit for being so smitten. But Sarah thought it was adorable. “You could just ask her out.”

“S’creepy,” he grumbled. “I doubt a waitress wants t’be hit on by their customer.”

“Right, coming twice a week just to see her isn’t creepy,” Mitch eyed him suspiciously as he sipped his drink.

Harry sighed in frustration and rubbed the heel of his hand into his eye. “I jus’—”

“Hey guys,” she nearly cooed so sweetly. Her cheeks turned pink. “I’m running a little behind today. I’m really sorry. This has been the longest double in the world,” her smile was still adorable. But she did look tired. Poor thing. “We’re down a server. And a line cook,” the exhaustion she felt was palpable.

“Oh, you poor thing,” Sarah cooed. “Harry, scoot over, let her sit,” she ordered.

Harry did immediately. Simultaneously terrified and excited to be so close to her. “Oh, it’s alright. I just—”

“Seriously, darling,” Mitch smiled. “Sit,” he encouraged.

She did.

The warmth of her body rolled off her and wafted over Harry in waves. It was like a gentle hug. His heart was rapidly beating, as it always did but somehow even faster now that she was so close to him. “Thank you, my feet are killing me,” she sighed. “I need new shoes, but my car just ate up a big chunk of my paycheck,” she frowned. “When it rains it pours right?”

Harry was trying to figure out the best course of action to help her on every front. He already imagined her tip was going to be exorbitant and he hoped she wouldn’t be upset by that—because he truly wanted to help her. “Have y’eaten yet?” He asked softly.

She bit the inside of her cheek. “No, I have been running around like crazy. Totally missed my chance at lunch.”

“S’not good, love,” Harry frowned. He wanted to call her Miss Sunflower or something similar, but he had one neuron still keeping him sane and decided ‘love’ was more neutral than not.

She nodded in agreement. “I know, I shouldn’t even be sitting. I’m sorry to lay all that on you guys. You’re just the first nice group I’ve had all day. It’s like a break in itself—not that I won’t do what you need and—”

“Oh please,” Sarah rolled her eyes. “We can just fill this table for you if that will make your life easier. Don’t worry about us,” she assured her.

The relief on her face was so sweet. Harry struggled to not wrap her in a hug beside him. “Thank you guys. It’s so nice to see you. I’ve never had my own regulars before,” her smile was so cute Harry wanted to kiss every inch of her face. His skin felt warm sitting so close to her. Snaking his arm around her waist would be so easy, so effortless. “I’ll get you a round of drinks?” She asked as she stood from her seat beside Harry. “Anything to start with today?”

“Pretzel bites,” Harry blurted quickly. “Please.”

He hoped he could convince her to sit and have a few when they came to the table. “My favorite,” she grinned knowingly.

*

When Harry sat in her section, she knew it was going to be a good day. His sweet smile, his easy-going nature, and just his kind presence made her shift immensely better. “He’s here again,” Niall sang as he headed to the kitchen where she was putting together a to-go order for one of her tables.

Her cheeks warmed under Niall’s sing-song tone. “If your food wasn’t so good he wouldn’t be here.”

“Darling, he’s not here for the food,” Niall sounded the slightest bit exasperated. He had repeated himself of the same notion since the second time Harry showed up to be seated in her section. “If he was truly here for the food, would he have left you a massive tip like that to get new shoes?”

The implication was there, and maybe she was having a little more trouble ignoring it after getting way more money from him and his friends than she had ever gotten while waitressing. Her achy feet felt so much better with new shoes too. So, part of her struggled to ignore the fact that Harry was maybe, possibly, there because she was.

Harry never made her feel uncomfortable. In fact, she felt nothing but comfort by seeing him. He was quiet, sweet, and very easy to look at. It took considerable strength for her to not stand at his table forthe entire time he was seated in her section. Mondays and Fridays were her favorite days of the week. Chatting with him (even if he seemed a little shy at times) was the best part of her shifts. His smile was so charming. She wanted to tell him everything about her reflexively. It was completely disarming. Or maybe it was how green and deep his eyes were that nearly made her voice die in her throat. It took a lot of effort to remember her job was to go get drinks and food for him at regular intervals.

She really thought he wanted no part of her when she didn’t even get a text message from him after procuring one of her lame cards. Certainly, with silly little flowers and dumb odd jobs listed, he wanted to steer clear of her. But instead, he showed up a few days later in her section. It made her stomach twist with nervous butterflies flitting inside. There were a thousand thoughts running through her head as she admired her handsome customer from afar.

“Hi Harry,” she smiled sweetly as she approached his table. “How are you?” She asked politely.

“Good, how are you?” He answered.

“Good,” she responded. “I got new shoes,” she pointed a toe toward him for him to look at the new sneakers she chose. “That was extremely kind and overwhelming. You didn’t need to do that,” she bit the inside of her lip. “I tried to stop you guys from leaving once I realized, but Niall—”

“S’nothing, love,” his cheeks turned the lightest shade of pink at the compliment. Her heart skipped a beat at how adorable he was and looked. “Was a long day for you. I jus’ wanted t’help a little.”

She nodded feeling gratitude overwhelm her—it was thick in her throat. “Seriously, thank you,” she hoped he understood how appreciative she was. “No one’s ever done something like that for me before.”

“S’really no trouble,” he assured her with a smile that melted each of her organs to a puddle. She was lucky she stayed upright.

“I’ll...I’ll be right back,” she turned and bumped into the table that was behind her causing the chair to scrape across the floor.

“Are y’okay, love?” Harry asked suddenly behind her. He gently touched the back of her arm creating a plethora of fireworks on her skin and in her heart. She shook her head and blushed nervously.

“I’m good. Clumsy me. I’ll get you your drink,” she nearly sprinted toward the bar so as not to embarrass herself further.

*

She was chatting with Harry, leaning against the booth. It was easy. Harry wasn’t a man of many words, but he was a great listener and when he did talk, everything he said was so kind and genuine. It was like talking to an old friend. Someone who just knew what she was thinking without her having to say much. There was this familiarity that was so warm it wrapped around her like a blanket. It made her feel so comfortable in his presence.

She never wanted to stop talking to him. Which was probably why she didn’t. Poor Harry listened to her chat his ear off for hours during the time he came to visit over the couple months of the semester. His quiet, “what’s that like?” Or, “do you enjoy this class?” And, “do you have a recommendation?” just kept her talking and talking.

It was hard for her to fathom Harry was there for her. Harry was graduated, had a real job, and made a ton of money it seemed if he was willing to tip a poor waitress an obscene amount of money for new sneakers. His clothes were nice, and his hair was perfectly styled. He always looked like he was ready for a business call.

His friends were extremely nice and friendly. They were also put together in a way that she never dreamed she could be so it was hard to imagine a situation in which Harry might possibly, kind of, have a crush on her the way she had one on him.

She was mid conversation with Harry. The fall semester had end and she was going to pick up more shifts somehow but was definitely going to catch up on sleep as well. She was praying that Harry would put her out of her pining misery and tell her he had a girlfriend one of these days. “You have to try this new dish! It has the brussels sprouts you like and—”

She was swept directly off the floor mid-sentence and was wrapped in a hug. It was familiar in a way that was different than the familiarity of Harry. Because she was used to this kind of hug. “Hey beautiful,” he cooed in her ear.

She smiled excitedly. “Hi, Jake! I thought you weren’t starting till this weekend!”

“I’m not, but I was nearby and thought I could use a dose of pretty,” he winked and headed toward the kitchen without another word.

She blushed and shook her head. “Sorry,” she murmured and turned to look at Harry again and finish the sentence she had started. “Anyway, the brussels spr—”

Harry had come to the restaurant in a lot of moods over the last few months. Tired, frustrated, happy, stressed, excited...she was pretty good at reading his expression and deciding what he needed or wanted to make his day better. This expression was unreadable. His jaw was tensed creating a sharp angle at his jawline she was sure it could have cut glass. His eyes were blank but watching her intensely. All of his muscles appeared taut—his posture ramrod straight. It almost looked uncomfortable. “Are you okay?” She asked softly.

Harry blinked, shook his head quickly, and cleared his throat. “Uh...yeah. Sorry,” he reached for his glass of water and took a large gulp. “Y’were saying something ‘bout brussels sprouts,” he reminded her.

She bit the inside of her lip feeling a shift in the air around them. Something she couldn’t quite pinpoint. “Oh, right...just...I think you’ll like the special.”

He nodded. Still completely unreadable. “I’ll try it, thank you.”

“I’ll go...put that in,” she murmured and headed toward the kitchen.

The kitchen was still greeting Jake when she entered. Everyone was listening to him recount his semester abroad. “Whoa, did you see a ghost?” Niall asked, doing a double take when she entered.

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “No, it’s nothing,” she punched her code into the computer and tapped the meal for Harry.

“Did Harry tell you he has a girlfriend?” Niall pressed.

“No,” she muttered, her cheeks burning red. She grabbed a plate off the shelf for the other table she was waiting on and made sure it had all the extra sides and things. She grabbed the second dish and placed it on her arm.

“Who’s Harry?” Jake asked.

“The love of her life,” Niall told him.

“Shut up, Niall.”

He chuckled. “Oh? Were you going to tell me about him?”

“I’m a bit busy right now.”

“You couldn’t text me?” Jake asked. Jake had been her best friend on the job since Niall opened the sunflowery place. They were a great dynamic duo. But Jake was into dating a lot of different women and that was totally fine and his prerogative. She didn’t judge him at all for being young and doing what he wanted. But she wanted no part of his love life. So they remained friends and it was truly better that way. He would bail her out if a customer was being rude or coming on too strong. She helped him with his math homework and made sure he remembered to drink something other than protein shakes and alcohol on the weekend.

“There’s nothing to write home about,” she mumbled, lying through her teeth and feeling devastated that something in the air shifted between them in a matter of seconds.

Niall snorted in disbelief. She glared at him. Jake smiled impishly while she gathered the final fixings for the table. “Where is he?” He asked as she pushed on the door.

“Jake,” she choked nearly losing the plate in her left hand.

“Niall, do you know him?” He looked expectantly at him. He smirked, opening his mouth to give him the details.

“Uh—”

“Niall!” She snapped. Niall closed his mouth immediately and shrugged at Jake.

She sighed with relief and pushed through to the restaurant floor. “Table thirty-four!” he shouted, muffled by the closed door. She glanced back to see him hovering over the computer.

It took every ounce of self-control to hold onto the dishes in her arms. She wanted to scream. She hurried to her table to deliver the food, prayed they wouldn’t ask for anything additionally, and then she nearly took out another waiter while running for Harry’s table on the other side of the restaurant.

Jake was letting go of Harry’s hand as she approached, and she shoved Jake out of the way. “I don’t know what he said but it’s not true.”

Harry smirked, a good sign of his normal smile and demeanor. “Y’not friends?” He questioned.

She punched Jake in the arm who barely registered the motion other than lightly rubbing his arm without breaking eye contact with Harry. “Not anymore,” she grumbled.

“She’s my work wife,” Jake said wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “Can’t get her to commit to being my actual wife.”

“Don’t want any diseases,” she muttered. The blank, cold stare in Harry’s eyes returned and she felt so warm she tried to push against Jake but was unsuccessful. “Harry is also in finance,” she explained. “He offered to help me make a new business card—”

“Thank God,” Jake interrupted.

“—and he might know someone for an internship.”

Harry’s answer was gentle even though the cold stare didn’t waver. “Don’t think y’need t’change the business card all that much, love. S’sweet.”

“Childish and unprofessional,” she said pointedly.

“Agreed,” Jake squeezed her to his side. “Thanks for keeping her company while I was gone,” he said. Harry wasn’t a man of many words. But his facial expressions made up for it. He smiled politely, nodded, and glanced at his phone ringing.

“I have t’take this,” his voice was tight, apologetic.

“Of course, let’s go,” she yanked on Jake and headed toward the kitchen again.

“Not sure why you like him, he’s pretty cold,” Jake taunted as they returned to the kitchen.

“Cold?” Niall asked. “Harry makes her feel all warm and fuzzy,” he teased. She wrinkled her nose and definitely felt warm at the insinuation.

“He’s... not himself today,” she admitted. “I don’t know why,” she frowned and turned to Niall. “It’s weird.”

“Darling, you can’t be this brilliant and that stupid at the same time,” Niall pinched the bridge of his nose.

Her frowned deepened and she felt resentment for the notion of being stupid. “What are you—”

“He’s jealous.”

“Of what?”

“Of Jake,” Niall rolled his eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

She snorted. “Why?” She blinked.

“Look at me,” Jake smiled proudly and gestured toward himself self-assuredly.

She eyed him briefly up and down. “What? You look like a tool who’s been abroad,” she remarked.

Jake shook his head, unaffected by her insult. “Think Harry might think I’m competition.”

“Why would he think that?”

“I mean, I did call you my wife.”

Niall laughed. “Oh God, poor Harry.”

Her face flamed. “I said we were friends!” She pouted. “Oh my God. Go back abroad,” she shoved him toward the door. “You are the worst.”

“Easy, love,” Jake continued to taunt, this time in Harry’s accent. “I can fix it,” he offered and headed back for Harry’s table quicker than she could catch him. But when they got there, his table was empty. A note scribbled on a napkin in Harry’s writing. Family emergency. Sorry :( Was looking forward to the brussels sprouts. You can have it on me. Next time. He left cash for the food and a tip anyway. Even though he never got his meal.

She pocketed the money and punched Jake in the arm one more time for good measure.

*

“You’re being ridiculous, you know that, right?” Sarah asked. “I know we aren’t best friends with her or anything, but she’s really nice. She wouldn’t lead you on like that.”

Harry knew that. Really, he did. But the emotion he was feeling wasn’t rational. Jake called her his wife and had his arm around her. He hugged her like he loved her. Harry was certain Jake loved her. Even in a way that wasn’t necessarily romantic, but it was...unfair. Unfair that Harry hadn’t told her he liked her. Nervous that he would make her uncomfortable by hitting on her while she was working.

“She wasn’t leading me on at all,” Harry murmured.

“All the more of a reason to not be ridiculous,” Sarah and Mitch had taken turns telling him it was childish to ignore her after all those months of chatting with her and entrenching himself as a regular and then to just not because he was jealous.

“Just because you’re jealous—”

“M’not jealous,” he grumbled.

“Right, because someone who’s not jealous would leave before he got his food because her friend called her his work wife. Someone who’s not jealous would suddenly stop being her regular after months.”

Like clockwork.

Harry was lying on the couch at Sarah and Mitch’s place face down trying to ignore the feeling of his heart breaking. No one said anything for several minutes. Sarah was working on cleaning the kitchen when Harry arrived, and Mitch suggested getting pizza. Harry wasn’t even hungry. Well, he was, but he wanted brussels sprouts.

“I might be jealous,” he admitted.

“Hallelujah,” Sarah sighed. “Talk to her.”

“Don’t y’think she’ll be grossed out that ‘ve basically been...stalking her because I like her?”

“Hello!” Sarah nearly shouted. “She likes you too!”

Harry was flooded with warmth at the idea. “She’s never said anything,” he mumbled.

“You’re her customer,” Mitch rolled his eyes. “As worried you’ve been about flirting with her while she’s working. She’s probably just as worried.”

It couldn’t have been that easy or simple.

Could it?

*

Harry was reading his schedule for the day on his computer. They were regular appointments with clients that he had in on a regular basis. He had just returned from the breakroom after an hour-long meeting and was seeing what was next or if he would have some downtime for paperwork in before his next client. The schedule looked normal. Except for the one meeting blocked off for ten-thirty. “Hey, Kate,” he called to his secretary outside his office. “Do y’know who scheduled—”

But Harry wasn’t paying attention to the time, and it was already ten-twenty-five and she walked into his office.

He dropped the pen he was holding above the calendar. His lips parted as she entered.

“Your ten-thirty is here!” Kate called.

Harry was going to fire her.

It had been two weeks since he had seen her. He wasn’t sure how it was possible, but she looked more beautiful. Or maybe it was because his office was light, mostly the sun coming through the windows and made her practically glow. Like she really was a sunflower. “Hi,” he murmured.

She wasn’t in her typical waitressing uniform. Her hair wasn’t pulled back. Harry didn’t know she could be more beautiful than when she was waitressing, but she was wearing regular clothes, a blue dress that fell to her knees and she seriously took on the beauty of a sunflower, it was astounding. “Hi,” she said.

“Y’can close the door,” he offered. “D’you want something t’drink?” He turned away from her and heard the door click shut. He went to the mini fridge on the back windowsill in the corner of his office holding a few small bottles of water. “Y’can sit,” he gestured to the chair. She did. He placed the bottle in front of her and sat across from her behind his desk. They were both silent for a moment. Harry took a deep breath. “I’m sorry,” he murmured.

“Harry, I have this absurd love for numbers. People have looked at me funny since I was young. It’s like this really complicated puzzle in my head and I just want to solve it. None of the little parts make sense together until they do. The answer is so beautiful when all those pieces click, and the flow of your logic comes down to this one singular answer and it’s just perfect.”

Harry wondered if there had ever been a poem written about numbers. Or if what she said was the very first one. Harry was pretty passionate about his work, and he was glad he made pretty good money. But he didn’t think he could ever chat about numbers the way she did.

“I feel that way when I’m around you. That all this logic just beautifully clicks into place. You make me feel normal for liking numbers. You’re extremely kind and you don’t...” she bit the inside of her lip and looked at her hands in her lap. “I don’t know why I feel this way but you...you stopped coming to eat, I don’t know why, and I don’t know what I did. I want to fix it because I’ve enjoyed getting to know you and I thought we were friends. Then we weren’t. I liked picking out which special of the week you would enjoy. Maybe I’m too young or something to be friends? I can’t help that. Maybe it was because Jake called me child—”

“Don’t,” he shook his head unable to hear the name.

“So it is about him,” she frowned. “I don’t...Harry, it’s not fair to keep me out of the loop about what you’re feeling! I can’t fix whatever I did—”

“You didn’t do anything.”

“Then why did you stop coming to eat?” her voice cracked.

Harry wanted to jump out a window for making her feel insecure and nervous. If she cried he was done for. He sighed exasperated with his own miscommunication. His cheeks felt warm as they always did when he embarrassed himself around her. “Y’not too young,” he looked at her, but it felt like he was looking right through her. Like he could see right into her brain and read every word that was waiting to exit her mouth. “You’re not childish,” he affirmed. “You are...” He shook his head. “You are perfect,” he assured her. “I didn’t want t’ask y’out while y’were working. S’kinda rude. Then Jake called you his wife—”

“I’m gonna kill him,” she whispered.

Harry ignored her comment (even though it made his heart feel the slightest bit better). “—I really like you. I think you’re way too smart for me. Way too kind. And y’work in a place surrounded with beautiful sunflowers and I can’t stop looking at you,” his heart felt heavy, the butterflies in his stomach were trying to escape. He used every ounce of his effort to read her unreadable expression as he watched her process everything he said.

“You think I’m beautiful?” She whispered.

He snorted. Of all the things she could focus on at a moment like that. “Love, y’have t’know you are.”

She shook her head. “I’m always sweaty and working when you see me.”

“Well seems y’had some proper prep time today,” he looked at her with a soft gaze that he hoped didn’t seem too excessive. “Y’look more beautiful.”

Her eyes seemed to melt with relief. “You were jealous?” She asked.

“Course I was,” he nodded easily. Like it made the most sense in the world.

“But... you never said anything.”

“I didn’t want t’make you uncomfortable,” he repeated. “I can’t imagine how many people hit on you while you’re working.”

She frowned. “Naturally not the person I want,” she grumbled cutely. Harry felt lighter. He smiled.

“Sorry,” he whispered.

She shifted awkwardly in her seat but smiled. “I uh...I came here to tell you off.”

He chuckled. “I would deserve that,” he agreed. “I... I have something for you,” he opened the top right drawer to his desk. “Saw it, and...it's not much, but it reminded me of you," his eyes were so gentle it made her heart skip a beat. He held out the little cardboard rectangle. It might not have "been much" but it was everything. A thin gold chain, a sunflower crystal pendant the lightest shade of yellow. "Love?" he asked quietly after a moment of her staring at the most thoughtful gift she had ever received. For another moment they just gazed at one another. Unmoving. Harry was wearing a button down, rolled up to his elbows. He looked at ease, finally. His cheeks flushed. His eyes so green and beautiful. She could barely breathe.

Then finally, Harry spoke again.

"Would you like t'go out with me?"

--

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[austronauts]

my dear siblings in arms last night we gained an unlikely but welcome ally for the mitch marner defense squad

he showed up in a cloud of mist then leapt into hand-in-hand combat vs. the leafs uncles who want to do a variety of things to mitch, ranging from cyberbullying him out of town to "healthy scratch[ing] him for 2 months so he wants to leave" (an actual idea someone thought to post publicly).

without further ado, i present: [cue gladiator soundtrack] Jfresh.

some additional observations:

if u look at the timestamps for these he was fully in the trenches battling from 3pm-1am.

his calm replies make the uncles look even more obtusely deranged than they already are

he may be doing this with the ulterior motive of trying to get mitch on the penguins and honestly....let's fuckin go

[senditcolton]

Can I please request some soft smut with William Nylander? I know you don’t write for him that much, but I love your writing so much!!

Finally, Finally, Finally

a/n: my dear anon!! thank you for requesting this because it is true, I don't write much for William but I do love him. so this is a wonderful push for me to write some more Willy Styles content. (I know I do at least have one other fic planned out with him, courtesy of my Mamma Mia series [gotta have the Swedes represented for obvious reasons]).

Word Count: 3.4k Warnings: smut! heavy makeout session, fingering, handjob, unprotected penetrative sex. but very sweet and loving smut, as requested!!

You gaze, peaceful, from your spot on the couch at your boyfriend William across the living room. The beer bottle in your hands still cool to touch as you watch him move around your space, vinyl record in his hand. It’s a simple beautiful moment to observe; how he carefully removes the pressing from its sleeve and places it on the turn table. His elegant fingers drop the needle precisely and the small scratch of static hits your ears before the sound of mellow guitars fills the air.

There was a part of you that still didn’t believe this was your life. You certainly didn’t expect it a year ago.

One year to the date, you were sitting in this same living room, playing guitar and trying to take your mind off of the fact that you were alone. Again. Another breakup, another night of wallowing in self-pity. That is, until your friend Stephanie called, inviting you to a local bar with her, Mitch, and a few of their friends. You almost said no. Now, you’re glad you didn’t. Because that was where you met William.

He was charming, sweet, kind. A night you had originally thought would include one or two drinks in one or two hours ended up lasting until last call. That night Will pulled you out to the makeshift dancefloor, spun you in time with the music from the jukebox. He ran through the streets with you in the rain to get to his car. He drove you home and you left him with a kiss on the cheek and your number in his pocket.  

A year. An entire year since that first night and even back then, both of you knew that you shared some special connection, as if the universe planned for you all to meet in that specific moment at that specific place. That’s why earlier tonight, you went to that same bar for the anniversary of the night you met – the night things changed.

Those memories fill you with happiness and contentment, a gentle smile playing at your lips as you watch William turn back to you, a similar expression on his face. He doesn’t say anything, choosing instead to walk over to you sprawled out on the couch before coming to a stop in front of you.

Your head tilts in a silent question, one that is answered by Will holding out his hand to you, upturned palm warm and inviting.

“Dance with me?”

The answer is an obvious one, so blatant that you don’t bother giving a verbal reply. You simply take a final sip of your beer and place it on the coffee table before reaching out to him. Your hand slips into his, your skin brushing against the callouses and William’s fingers tighten around you. He helps lift you up onto your feet before guiding you to the empty space of your living room.

Everything about being with William is easy, so it’s no surprise how easy it is to fall into his hold, your arms lifting up to rest on his shoulders as his wrap around your waist. Your eyes take in the sight of him; his bright blue irises, his blonde hair even more golden in the low lamplight of the room, the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

“What are you thinking about?” he whispers, slowly swaying you as the music continues.

“Nothing really,” you reply with a gentle shrug. “Just thinking about how lucky I am. How handsome you are. The usual things.”

Your gentle joke pulls a chuckle from William’s chest, his body moving closer to you. You let yourself sink deeper into his hold, your head coming to rest on his chest, breathing in the scent of his cologne, matching your heartbeat to his.

“We are pretty lucky,” he muses, the sound of his voice vibrating through his chest. “I sometimes still can’t believe I was lucky enough to meet you. And that you took an interest in me.”

His statement causes you to pull your head back, looking at him with a confused expression on your face. It sounded odd, coming from his mouth: the doubt. William sees your bewilderment, offering a gentle smile before he continues.

“Steph told me that you had recently broke up with your ex. That you might not show up. That you weren’t really looking for anything serious. Imagine how it felt, starting the night with that information. Imagine my bewilderment with how the night ended.”

He grins at you, those memories running through his head with the same crystal-clear vision that they had been playing in yours. You return his smile, your hand coming up to cradle his jawline, your thumb gently brushing over the stubble on his cheek.

“It was hard to resist you. Even if I wanted to.”

Your quiet confession dances through the air, mixing with the acoustic guitar still pouring from the speakers. The sound of it hits William’s eardrums and the look he directs your way tells you that it’s the sweetest melody that he has ever heard.

There is no stopping it, the way the two of you lean into each other, your lips meeting in a gentle kiss.

Even though you had shared many kisses in the year you had been dating, you knew that you would never get tired of kissing William. He tasted like summer; like green apples and the promise of something more.

Will’s hands tighten around your body, pulling you impossibly closer to him. Your mouth opens in a sigh and he takes the initiative to kiss you deeper, his tongue dancing against yours. It was always impossible to stop the gravity of him, to resist the temptation of falling into his orbit. Not that you ever wanted to.

It is almost blind, the way that William and you stumble back to the couch, lips and bodies still pressed against one another. You only separate when the back of his calves hit the couch cushions, his body sinking onto the sofa while you remain standing. His eyes look up at you, staring at you like you were the most exquisite human in the world. Which, to him, was the truth.

You offer him a slightly mischievous smirk as your hands drop to the hem of your shirt, slowly peeling the fabric from your frame, exposing more of your skin to him. He keeps his gaze locked onto you, the only evident indication of his desire being the way his irises darken when you throw your shirt to the side. You are tempted to kiss him again; to climb into his lap and have him hold you close but you push against that need for a moment. Instead of your hands falling to William like you want them to, they find the button of your jeans, undoing the clasp and zipper before you push them down your thighs.

Finally, you lean forward, your hands resting on Will’s shoulders as you step completely out of your jeans. Will steadies you, his strong hands holding onto your hips, preventing you from tripping on the discarded fabric until you are completely settled in his lap, your legs resting on the outside of his thighs, knees digging into the couch cushions. You smile at him again, your hands drifting up to gently play with the long strands of his hair.

“You’re absolutely gorgeous,” he whispers, his eyes still staring into yours. You weren’t planning on stopping the smile that appears on your face at his words, but even if you were, it would have been in vain. This is the way William loved you; he always stated it as a fact. The sky is blue, the earth is round, you are beautiful, and he loves you.

It was just a list of undeniable truths.

“You’re pretty stunning yourself,” you giggle, leaning in to kiss him again, relishing the way you could feel his smile through the kiss.

The hands that were on your hips start to wander, first moving down to trace over the curve of your ass and down your thighs before retracing their path and continuing upwards. His thumbs caress the cut of your ribcage, the curve of the bone guiding his touch up to your breasts. You can’t help but whimper into the kiss when he traces the outline of your bra, each new edge his fingertips encounter pulling him in a different direction. It’s the most exquisite form of torture, his hands all over your body but never truly touching you.

His fingers move towards your back, tracing up and down your spine once – twice – before he finally grips your bra and effortlessly unclasps it, the fabric loosening. The two of you break away just long enough for you to let the garment fall away. William doesn’t hesitate to lean in, kissing you only once before his lips descend down the column of your throat, across your collarbones and decolletage. You sigh, leaning your head back as he slowly marks you, claiming you as his; a fact that you had never refuted.

One of your hands tangles deeper in his hair, keeping him close to you while the other descends, crossing the planes of his back, gliding over the ridges of his shoulder blades and the cut of his muscles. It’s when Will takes one of your nipples into his mouth that your fingers twist into the fabric of his shirt, a soft whisper of a moan escaping you.

Through the haze of your pleasure, it slowly dawns on you at how unfair the current situation is: you, sitting on William’s lap with your underwear being the only thing preventing you from being completely naked while he was still fully clothed. You start to tug at the fabric of his shirt, slowly inching it up his back until he eventually registers your movements and tears his mouth away from your body. He grins at you, one of his eyebrows raised in a teasing silent question.

“You’re wearing too many clothes,” you pout, continuing to pull at his t-shirt. Will simply chuckles at your words before his hands fall from yours and grip the cotton, pulling his shirt off his body.

“Better?”

“Much,” you reply, capturing his lips in a kiss again as your hands now dance across the newly exposed skin. William’s own hands come to rest at your hips, content to switch roles and let you explore his body, which you gladly do.

Your fingers trace his chest, pausing briefly to play with the golden chains still hanging from his neck, before dropping down. The kisses you give move from his lips to his neck as your hands continue to dip lower, nails gently tracing over his abs, his stomach tightening in response. It isn’t long until your fingers find the waistband of his own jeans, tracing over the edge before gliding over the bulge of him, palming the stiff outline of his cock through the denim. You can feel the vibrations of a groan that rises from his chest as you continue your movements, your own hips rolling in response.

“Baby… älskling… please.”

The gentle whines that escape from William’s throat are enough for you to return to the waistline of his jeans, your fingers deftly undoing the button and the zipper. You slip you hand underneath the fabric covering him, finally contacting his silken skin. Another moan emulates from his chest, his own grip tightening against your hips as you curl your fingers around his length, gently stroking him.

“Fuck, you feel so good,” he praises, the words just making the fire inside you roar even brighter. You continue your languid movements against his cock, your lips retracing up the curve of his throat before hovering against the shell of his ear.

“I feel even better wrapped around you.”

You pull your face away, your sultry whisper still lingering in his ears as your eyes connect with his, a playful spark in your irises. William is simply staring at you as if he couldn’t believe you were real – a statement that he had said to you, multiple times before. You grin, your hand stroking him once again. It’s as if that sensation brings him back to the moment, his head falling against the couch cushions briefly before his eyes reconnect with yours, your grin now reflected on his lips.

“Show me,” he dares and that’s all it takes for you to lean in and kiss him once more. William’s hands rest gently on your thighs while your hands move away from his skin to grip at the waistband of his jeans and underwear, tugging both downward.

Underneath your body, you feel his hips lift, his hands and lips falling from you as he assists you in removing the remaining material from him. You busy yourself by reattaching your own lips to his neck, gently sucking and nipping at the skin, impatiently waiting for him to kick away the denim and cotton. Your actions partially distract Will but also spur him on and it isn’t long before his hands find your waist once more, holding you tight and guiding your hips down to meet his.

A mutual groan escapes both of you at the feeling of him pressed against your hot core, one of his hands lifting to cradle your head and pull you back to his lips. His other hand, still steady on your waist, gently tugs you forward and you oblige is silent request, rolling your hips against his. Every gasp and moan you utter is swallowed by him as you continue to gently rock back and forth on his lap, the fabric of your now soaked underwear creating a beautiful friction.

“I can feel how wet you are älskling,” Will whispers against your lips, his statement as staccato as your breathing, his need clearly as powerful as yours. “Already ruined, always so needy.”

“It’s all because of you,” you whine, your forehead pressed against his as your hips continue to move. “Always make me feel so good.”

“Wanna make you feel better,” he groans, his hands tightening to still your movements. You whimper at the loss of sensation but William doesn’t leave you hanging long as he lifts your hips off of his.

One of his hands glides down your leg before curling around to the inside of your thigh, tracing upwards before connecting with your core. You gasp, your eyes flying open to connect to his when you feel his fingers hook around the damp fabric, pulling it sharply to the side and exposing your slit to the cool air. Will just shoots you a grin as his fingers move again, the rough calloused skin finally connecting to your soaked folds.

You can’t stop the way your eyelids flutter shut as his fingers glide over you, meeting no resistance as they move up before connecting with your clit. You whine, your hands tightening on his shoulders as he rubs his fingertips against the bundle of nerves, every movement making your cunt pulse with need.

“William, please – I want you. Wanna feel you, please,” you beg, every ministration of his hand pulling you closer to that edge but never quite far enough. The sound of his quiet hum hits your ears before his hand falls away from your core. You open your eyes and lock gaze with him, seeing that pure admiration in his own pupils – admiration that would normally have you melting right then and there if you weren’t already so high-strung.

“Anything for you, min käraste,” he replies, the hand still on your body gently urging you to sink down onto him.

It is all encompassing, the feeling of him pressing into you, filling you up. Your mouth drops in a silent moan at the sensation. The sound that falls from William is more audible but just as satisfied as his grip tightens around you, the heat of his breath fanning across your cheekbones. You blindly chase his lips, capturing his mouth in yours and swallowing his moans, your hands tangling in his hair.

You feel his fingers flex against your skin – a silent demand that you are all too willing to obey – and you start to move your hips, slowing finding a gentle rhythm. Each roll of your body shoots another blaze of fire up your spine as you and Will messily kiss, the pleasure almost too overwhelming for you both.

A gasp falls from you as Will moves his hips up to meet yours, grazing that damnable spot within you that has you seeing stars. There is no stopping how your head falls back, lifting up towards the ceiling. Never deterred, William reattaches his lips to your collarbones, shoulders, and breasts as you two continue to move against each other.

It’s intoxicating: how he makes you feel, every movement of him inside you, every touch of his hands, every kiss he presses against your skin. That delectable pleasure builds within you, your movements faltering as Will continues to bring you to that peak.

“Let go, älskling. Let me feel you,” he whispers, the sentence punctuated by his hand slipping back between your thighs, pressing against your clit once more. The sensation has your head snapping back to look down at him, your chest and face surely flushed, your eyes filled with desire and pleasure and absolute love for the man in front of you.

It is a perfectly timed thrust combined with a skilled stroke of his fingers against you that has you coming undone, your body stilling as your orgasm thrums through you. Your head falls further down, burying itself into the juncture of his neck and shoulder, your teeth gently grazing the strong muscle there as William continues to move, prolonging your release.

He soon stills, always the attentive lover, letting you recover even though you can still feel him painfully hard within you. You sigh into his skin, kissing his neck before your hips roll again. A sharp gasp falls from him in response to your movements, the pleasurable sensation of you warm and wet around him somehow ratcheted up even more after you’ve come.

“Please, William,” you purr into his ear as your hips continue to roll, albeit less steady than before, your muscles feeling weak thanks to your prior motions and resulting orgasm. You mouth soft kisses against his jawline, your hands still tangled in his blond hair, nails gently scraping against his scalp. “I want to feel you come inside me. Please, min kärlek.”

The sound of those syllables, the sound of you speaking his native tongue, especially when coupled with your gentle pleas has his body stiffening beneath you, his own orgasm crashing into him. You moan at the sensation of him spilling within you, a newer feeling but one you knew you would never tire of as William wraps his arms around you, holding you close, his own moans hot against your ear.

The two of you stay there for a moment in the afterglow, bodies pressed against one another. You can feel Will’s fingers gently tracing up and down your spine while your own fiddle with the hair at the nape of his neck. You slowly lift yourself up, a small smile tugging at the corner of your mouth when you spy the darkening love bites scattered across his skin, William shooting a similar smirk, no doubt at the matching evidence on your decolletage.

Your hand falls from his hair to cup his jaw, thumb gently running over his cheek as you take in the sight of him, practically golden and glowing beneath you.

“I love you,” you whisper.

“I love you too, min käraste,” Will replies, bringing his own hand up to gently grasp your chin, pulling your lips to his in a tender kiss.

While the vocalization of those words may have been somewhat recent, it felt as if you and William had exchanged them long ago: before this moment, before the first time you said them to each other, even before the two of you became exclusive. Those words sang their truth from both of your hearts on that very first night you met.

You knew you would be forever thankful for the universe for sending him to you a year ago. He was everything you wanted – everything you never knew you needed. But now, one thing was for certain; you had finally found that one person that made it safe for you to fall.

tagging: @thewintersoldierdisaster because I know you are in your Nylander era and @laurenairay who signed up with my new taglist... which you can SIGN UP FOR HERE!!

[cuteandhughesy]

Yours | William Nylander

summary: you enlist williams help in trying to get his best friends kasperi kapanen’s attention. with a combination of practice dates, dating lessons, injuries and hiccups, william is determined to get you the guy - if you still want him that is. (in a world where covid didn't exist)

[word count] 19.6K

warnings: MATURE! friends to lovers | practice dating | unmutual pining | angst | descriptions of blood (reader gets injured) | descriptions of puke (reader gets thrown up on) | mean!kasperi kapanen | accidental groping | kissing | read at your own discretion.

🎵 all I wanted by paramore

───────── ౨ৎ ─────────

February 2021

"sorry man, traffic was crazy." the voice of kasperi kapanen has william looking up from the crisp white linen tablecloth and into the eyes of his finnish friend. he smiles, standing up to greet kappy in a proper hug, patting his shoulder twice before separating.

"no worries," willy nods, "I got here just 5 minutes ago."

kappy laughs out a breath, taking his seat. "good."

simultaneously they both pluck out the leather bounded menus from their slot, bouncing off recommendations and ideas within the walls of their shared favourite toronto restaurant.

their small chat and hushed laughter is silenced when a body stops infront of their two person table, and both sets of blue eyes landed on their waitress. smiling back at them was a tiny brunette with painted pink lips and long lashes fluttering along her cheeks. "hey, what can we get started for you guys?"

kappy's eyes dart down to her name tag before meeting her eyes again, "hello, lena, i'll take number 5 but replace the fries with steamed asparagus. just an ice water to drink."

the brunette jots down the order on her notepad before turning towards william. "and for you?"

she's blinking a him slowly and it has him clearing his throat, "i'll do the exact same, thank you."

he smiles politely while the waitress nods, grabbing their menus and leaving their table with a toothy grin.

william watches as his friend eyes the brunettes retreating figure, a low whistle blowing past his lips. kappy turns back towards the blond with raised eyebrows, "she's a rocket, no?"

william just shrugs, chuckling awkwardly.

"alright," kappy laughs, holding up his hands in defense. "how is everybody? the team, their families?"

william smiles at the thought of his teammates. "everybody is good. we miss you down here man."

"it's great to be back," the finland native says. he props a head on his fist, eyeing his friend suspiciously. "how's y/n?"

william's fingers still from where they were unwrapping the silk napkin from his cutlery, eyes darting up to find his friends. "what?"

kappy smirks, "I just haven't talked to her since like, before I got traded. you guys are still friends, right? how is she?"

william chuckles awkwardly, a blush creeping up his muscled chest. "well, actually..."

January 2020

your fingers are cold as they hold on to the mixing straw, twirling it through your vodka cranberry as your eyes observe the crowd infront of you.

a sigh leaves your lips gently. you're currently the only one sitting at your table, the VIP section that mitch marner always booked was elevated at the back of the club. it was slightly private, but still had a great view of the bar, the dj and the entire dance floor.

you're not left wallowing by yourself much longer, your good friend zach plopping down beside you, slightly sweaty and smelling of tequila. his breathlessness has you furrowing your brows, "you dancing that hard zachary?"

the leafs winger laughs, chugging down somebodies bottled water before turning back towards you. "what's up with you?"

you try not to frown, keeping a neutral expression as you look into his eyes. zach hyman was one of your best friends. the hymans grew up in the house next door to yours and because there wasn't many kids in your neighborhood, zach and yourself bonded quickly, a friendship blooming despite the four year age gap. the two of you stayed close even when zach went to high school, leaving you behind in middle school to fend for yourself, often crying about mean girls and bullies to him after the school day. despite it all, you two stayed friends. you met his now wife and grew close with her. you celebrated birthdays together, holidays together and watched with pride when zach got drafted and then traded to the leafs.

you loved him like a brother, and he loved you like a little sister. the two of you couldn't stay apart for long, and zach was determined for all his teammates to be your friends too. it wasn't long before he was dragging you to parties and events with his team: and it wasn't long before you were taken in by the group of NHLers. mitch and steph always inviting you first to halloween get togethers, morgan reilly making sure you came out to the bars and clubs, auston claiming you as a plus one to events held by the organization. it was like a small family - and you were so thankful.

surprisingly enough, you never actually wanted to date any of them. which was odd, because usually tall strong athletes were your weakness, but something about this group of guys felt different. that was until kasperi kapanen came along. you don't know exactly what changed within you, but you had the biggest crush on the finnish winger. maybe it was his curly hair, or possibly his plump lips, but you were smitten anytime he so much as smiled in your direction.

obviously, you told zach and alanna immediately, your feelings too strong and overwhelming you couldn't keep them in. "go for it!," zach had smiled, shaking your shoulders in excitement, but you denied.

I need time.

I don't want to ruin our friendship.

what if it goes wrong?

those excuses were running through your mind always when thinking about kappy. so you pushed your feelings away, choosing to admire from a distance. after awhile, zach and his wife stopped asking, and your crush became more manageable - easier to hide.

your best friends brown eyes were still burning into yours, snapping you from your own thoughts and back into the reality of the bustling club. "i'm fine," you smile.

zach sends you a look but you choose to ignore him, tilting your head back to catch the rest of your alcoholic drink to finish it off completely, the ice splashing on your mouth and nose.

"y/n." he says, his tone all too familiar. he's pitying you.

"oh look at that," you smile, wiping your face from the liquid, "I'm empty, i'm going to get another drink."

a couple people join you and zach back at the table just as you're standing up from your booth side seat.

"where you going?" morgan teases, taking a seat beside mitch and steph, auston not too far behind.

"drink," you mumble, sneaking between auston and the back of kerfoots unoccupied chair, escaping any further questions. you leave the VIP section with the feeling of zach's eyes burning into your exposed back.

you mumble apologies as you squeeze through dancing and moving bodies, trying your best not to trip over others feet as you begin your destination to the large bar. it sat circle style in the middle of the dance floor, so it doesn't take long before you make it over, flagging down the male bartender and placing your order.

this time you opt for something stronger, a shot of vodka and some fruity cocktail that caught your eye.

"cheers," you mumble to yourself, downing the shot with a full body shudder: using your cocktail as a chaser. you look out into the busy crowd for a momentary distraction but like usual, gravitational pull grabs you, and your eyes find kappy's dancing figure. he's laughing with a girl, which has you frowning, but his face distracts you from your tiny spurge of jealously, his angelic smile and bright eyes swooning you like usual.

"who are you staring at?"

you jump at the sudden voice and start choking on your drink - leaving you a coughing mess, catching your breath between each fit.

"fuck my bad," william nylander laughs, thumping his hand against your back until you can collect yourself.

"you scared me." once your body relaxes, you scold your friend, sending his cheeky smile a hard glare.

"I can tell."

you shrug, taking a slow sip of your drink to soothe your now raw throat. without much thought, you look back at your friend out on the dance floor, kappy still oblivious to your admiration.

"who are you staring at?" william asks again, straining his words in a way that has him sounding almost concerned: astonished.

you blink hard, eyes leaving kappy's figure to jump over to william's. "nobody!"

william's eyes widen at your tone but then he starts laughing that typical way he does and it has you glaring at the swede.

"what's so funny?" you seeth.

he takes a breath, "you're clearly watching somebody. you've got that sad...love sick look on your face - i've seen it before."

"what?" you screech, eyes wide from his call out.

william doesn't give you much of a chance to further question his statement, looking out into the crowd, eyes squinting as he searches the mass of people. "alright, y/n, point them out, who is it? i'll be your wing - man."

you can hear kappy's laugh in the crowd and your stomach drops as you see your mutual friend moving towards the both of you.

in a panic, you grab willy's chin between your thumb and two fingers, bringing his face back to yours. "don't look."

"why not?" his light eyebrows draw together, face slightly squished from your grip.

"willy-"

"hey guys," you're interrupted, kappy sliding up beside the two of you at the bar, "am I interrupting something?"

kappy laughs which has you blushing, dropping william's face. "no! absolutely not." you say, "you know us...just goofing around." you trail off, immediately cursing yourself for being so flustered.

"okay crazy," kappy laughs and it has you floating, the sound no doubt giving you that smitten look on your face william was seeing earlier - even with the unflattering nickname. kappy ruffles your hair and you might as well just pass away.

he flags down the bartender before ordering a beer and a margarita. "see that girl?" kappy gestures to the same one he was dancing with when you first spotted him, "she's hot right?"

you're pretty sure he's talking to william, because why would he care about your opinion on some girl, but you respond regardless, "oh yeah! super hot."

your voice is louder than anticipated and it has william nudging your thigh with his knee. even with his nudge, willy vocalizes an agreement.

"hopefully I get lucky," kappy smirks, grabbing the two drinks in between his big hands before bidding goodbye, moving through the dance floor and back towards that girl, your eyes not once leaving him.

that is, until you hear william gasp slightly. that bubble of panick is back swirling in your chest, and it has you spinning around to meet william's wide eyes. "kappy?" he asks you, his attempt at a quiet whisper very much failing.

you shush him loudly, smacking his peck with your open palm. "stop. quiet, I don't want to talk about it."

"is that who you were staring at with that face." he makes a weird gesture towards your head and it has you slapping his hand out of the air.

"please, willy, you can't say anything! only zach knows about my stupid crush, and it's embarrassing okay? look at that girl out there! he would never go for me, and that's okay! i'm okay with just admiring from afar and just strictly crushing. so please, keep this to yourself - I'll get over it-"

william slaps a hand over your mouth which has you effectively shutting up, your rambling being put to a halt. you are sending willam daggers because of his action, an unimpressed pull to yours eyebrows. but william isn't worried about that. he's looking at you gently, with what you can only assume is pity for you and your stupid feelings. "don't talk yourself down like that," he says.

your shoulders drop slightly. his press on your mouth eases up enough for you to slip your tongue out, prodding the palm of his large hand. he just smirks at your attempt to gross him out and it has you becoming even more annoyed with his hold on you. not long passing until you're mustering the strength to grab his wrist and pull his hand down. "why didn't you remove your hand?"

he just shrugs before wiping his hand against his shirt. "a little spit never hurt anybody."

william's attempt at trying to make you laugh is unsuccessful. you're still staring up at him with a worried expression, knawing the inside of your cheek. your eyes dart out into the crowd before back into his. "promise me," you whisper, "don't say anything."

william nods gently, your anxiety practically leaking out your pores and seeping into his own. his stomach swoops. "I would never." your face still holds a look of being unsure and it has him breathing out a laugh, "I promise."

that has you sighing, your body visibly relaxing at his words of a promise. without much thought,  for what feels like the millionth time that night, your eyes slowly make their way back to your mutual friend on the dance floor, still laughing and dancing with that smooth legged blonde girl. it has you frowning once more, your fragile heart cracking.

william can see it on your face, the way it drops in uncertainty. the look of longing and unrequited love swimming in your eyes. he knows all too well. without thinking much more, he blurts out, "I'll help you."

shoulders still deflated you turn your body back towards william completely. "what are you talking about?"

william leans his body against the bar top, "there's no reason that it shouldn't be you he's with, right? you're just as beautiful and capable as that girl he's with now. if you want kappy, i'll help you get him."

your brows are raised slightly, the disbelief evident. "how?"

william shrugs at first, because he really hadn't thought that far ahead. "im his best friend," he settles on, "I know everything about him. what he likes, what he doesn't...his type and what he looks for in a girl. we can meet up when we can...and i'll show you where he likes to go on dates and what he likes, essentially preparing you for when its the real thing with him."

"really?" you ask gently, "why would you do that?"

he shrugs again, "he needs somebody to whip him into shape, who better than you?" something changes in his eyes and he laughs gently, "plus I won't have to see your love sick face anymore."

you smile softly, pushing his shoulder without much force. "okay," your words are hopeful, "but I feel like I owe you-"

william shakes his head, "no no," his hands held up in defense.

he can see your thoughts turning in your head, and then your smiling brightly. "yes, yes. elizabeth! you think she's hot right?"

william gulps. you and elizabeth had been friends since college, and most of the time she joined you on nights like these with the team. glued to your side at bars, clubs and dinners: the team was familiar with her soft face. she was very beautiful, any single guy into woman would think so. "yeah, she's nice." william agrees.

"okay! so, i'll help you." you're smiling, hands grasped together. "you've been single for so long, willy, this is your chance. i'll help you with elizabeth if you help me with kappy."

"okay," william says after a beat. your smile gets larger and it has him mimicking you, his shiny teeth smiling back at you. "I would've done this regardless, even if elizabeth wasn't involved though."

"i know," you down the last bit of your drink, "but I felt bad- and now we are helping each other."

william just nods, watching as you swallow. the cold drink slipping down the corner of your mouth and down your chin until you're wiping it away. "alright," he says, hand extending out infront of him, "we got a deal."

you place your hand into his, shaking it twice. "we got a deal." you repeat.

—

it's not until two weeks later when willy texts you and asks to meet up. you're almost shocked at first, thinking that nights conversation was a fluke. him promising to help you get through to kappy was long forgotten - but clearly not.

willy

hey, we have an off day. wanna get

food and talk kappy plans ??

y/n

oh right

y/n

sure!

y/n

i mean if you want to !

willy

haha 🤣

his next text is the location of what looks to be a sandwich place, only 10 minutes from your apartment. you speed getting ready, throwing on the first thing you deem presentable in your closet before throwing your hair up in a ponytail, not bothering with much else before heading out the door, making the short drive to the address you'd been sent.

you're slightly breathless when you get there, pulling open the glass door only for your nostrils to be assaulted by the scent of fresh bread and coffee beans. the low light ambiance grabbing your attention immediately, a feeling of calmness flowing into your senses.

william is already there, his eyes catch yours from where he is ordering at the register. "there she is," he mumbles, "hey, what do you want?" he's beckoning you over to the cash, his loud voice catching the ears of others, which immediately has you blushing, speeding over to your friend to ensure he wouldn't yell out again.

"I can pay," you tell him.

william shakes his head, "don't worry about that - just order whatever you want."

you smile politely and give your order to the young woman behind the counter and you do let william pay, which has him smiling triumphantly. not long after your drinks are being called out, william leaving the small table the two of you had coined to collect the order.

when he returns, you're just slipping your jacket off, leaving you in your light gray mock neck top. he slides your cappuccino as well as an unknown bag towards you - which is holding a croissant sandwich that you definitely didn't order. "This isn't mine."

willy has an identical sandwich that's he's already starting biting into, "Oh, I ordered it before you walked over, I wasn't expecting you to be here so soon."

you nod, "I wasn't expecting you to be here so soon...or at all." william is chewing slowly, brows furrowed at your confession, "I just, I thought maybe you had forgotten about this whole..."

"plan kappy." he finishes after a swallow.

you nod, "yeah."

"I promised I would help you," william says, "I was just collecting my data." you roll your eyes playfully when he stars to chuckle. you're wringing your hands nervously, eyes surveying the restaurant moving around you.

william sighs, pushing the sandwich closer to you. the crinkle of the paper snapping you out of your own head and back to him and the cheesy sandwich. "you're fine, just eat before you get hangry."

you scoff, "I don't get - "

william gives you a looks that has you cutting yourself off, because yes, you did get hangry. in that moment, you stomach betrays any argument you may of had, rumbling at the thought of food. grabbing the sandwich, you don't hesitate, taking a very unattractive bite. you moan out, licking some mayo off your thumb.

william laughs gently. "i'm sorry it took so long for me to reach out. the teams been really busy and i've been so exhausted. fucking time zones."

"it's okay," you say between chewing. you could understand the pure exhaustion that would come with playing a physically demanding game all while trying to be awake and adapt to the east coast time change.

"it's not really," william sucks some spinach looking drink up through his straw, "I should've at least told you I was busy and planned a meet up. I hope I didn't make you feel like, i don't know...shitty."

"it's fine," you reiterate, "we never even set a timeline, honestly! for a little bit, I thought I dreamed that whole conversation, which was a whole thing." your rambling has william nodding along with an amused smile. "but then you texted me today so I was definitely certain it was real...so now i feel less crazy." the look he's giving you has you stopping, covering you eyes. "sorry, i'm just feeling anxious about this whole thing. i'm so clueless."

"you're not clueless," william says. "we will figure it out."

you gulp, dropping your hands from your face, "what do I do?"

"first things first," william says, dusting his hands off before leaning into the table and closer towards you. "kappy isn't the best when it comes to girls - sure, he can flirt but he's not a boyfriend kind of man, more of a one night stand...enthusiast. I assume you don't want to be a one night stand?"

you shake your head no, "okay, so. how should I act? how should I dress?"

"act like yourself," william says immediately, "you have the best personality. you just need to be more confident when it comes to him. kappy likes confidence."

"confidence, okay. fake it till i make it."

he smiles, "fake it till you make it." willam agrees. "I picked this place because kappy likes this spot. he comes here for breakfast a lot. so if you can, bring it up in conversation."

you smile, "I can do that."

william finished his last bit of food. "saturday night, we were planning on going out for a couple drinks to celebrate mango's birthday."

you nod, taking another huge bite of your sandwich, seemingly unaware of what william was suggesting. "okay." you hum through your mouthful of tomato and cheese.

he laughs, "okay, so, come. kappy will be there and we can start this whole thing."

"right! okay." you try to suppress the nervous butterflies fluttering around your belly, bashing against your sides in a way that has you feeling weak. "you'll be there too, right? In case I need your help."

"you'll be great, don't worry." he says, "and If i wasn't going to be there I wouldn't of invited you," william holds a teasing grin.

"right," you hum, rubbing the back of your neck. "what should I wear?"

william shrugs, "whatever you want. he likes the colour red...if that's any help."

"red, okay." you're already taking mental notes of what's in your closet, flashes of articles dyed those ruby tones you needed. "I can do that."

"alright, now," william stands from his set, his chair scraping along the tiled floor loud enough to leave you cringing. "let's go around the city for a bit, i'll show you some of his favourite spots."

you're still sitting at the table, a bit dumbfounded as you watch him slip his puffer coat back over his broad shoulders. william chuckles, grabbing your garbage off the table, "are you coming? or am i going by myself."

"shut up," you hit his bicep, standing up less than gracefully. "you're so impatient."

"you hurt me, y/n," he feins pains, grasping his left peck like his heart was broken, "after all I've done for you."

you're laughing beside him which has william stopping his antics, releasing his chest while smiling down at you.

"okay, drama queen, where to next?"

william leads you through the city for the rest of the day, pointing out kappy's favourite boutiques, eateries, bars and anything in between. the two of you walk until dusk settles over the sky, william treating you to another meal before the two of you part ways, a promise from william that he will text you before the weekend with the finalized plans.

you got to bed that night happy with a stomach full of mouth watering chinese food (which you successfully convinced willy to get, claiming he could be unhealthy just for one day.) a smile adorned your face as you close your eyes, your plan with willy feeling successful- and it hasn't even begun.

you couldn't wait for saturday.

—

william does text you in the days leading up to saturday. offering you a couple more quips about his best friend as well as keeping you updated about plans and game schedules alike. it's friday night, just after 11p.m, when william texts you the finalized location and who's all going and so on and so forth.

the thought of the following evening has you giddy, brushing your teeth for bed with a little extra sway in your hips, not even caring when toothpaste falls from your tube and lands on your top.

you wake up saturday in the same mood, a smile adorning your face even though the nerves were running ramped through your veins.

you force yourself to eat a brunch, eggs and real cheese smooshed in between your last everything bagel, along with orange juice poured over a concerning amount of ice that you would inevitably knaw on once the liquid was drank.

your phone bings, bringing you out of your quiet meal.

zachary

hey. what are you doing tonight? did you want to come watch thatnew movie we've been talking about seeing?

you frown at your phone, the message from your best friend pushing down at your heart until it feels heavy. without meaning to, you hadn't texted or talked to zach in a week. the combination of two busy schedules along with yourself and williams escapades, zach had been put on your back burner.

y/n

hey

y/n

i'm actually going out

y/n

for mango's thing

y/n

william invited me

y/n

i'm sorry

zachary

don't apologize! it will be fun

we can do movie night another

night 😊

zachary

so...william invited you? 😏🧐

y/n

yes

y/n

don't send me those emojis!😤

y/n

william and I are friends

y/n

actually i'm helping him with something

zachary

oh yeah? and what's that

y/n

i'll tell you when i see you next

zachary

oh god

the conversation with zach lasts a little longer, and then you have to shower, so you bid goodbye to your oldest friend with a promise to hang next time he had a free evening.

you take your time getting ready, blow drying your hair straight until the heat has you sweating, leaving you to stand naked in the star fish pose in front of your stand alone fan until you can cool down.

as you're finishing up your makeup, swiping your pen along your eyelid to create a black wing, you almost wish kappy was there - that way he would be able to see all the effort you were putting in for him: for his attention and affection.

you were kind of left exhausted before you got dressed.

you slip on your favourite black mom jeans, the denim immediately hugging and wrapping around the curves of your hips. a top is strappy in the back, exposed your tanned skin from the neck down, the cherry red tank top sitting loose and plain on your front. you're stumbling over yourself as you try and zip up your black booties on your way to the front door, grabbing your bag and your thin wind breaker that definitely wasn't a match for the canadian winter air, and head out the door.

you arrive at the bar 15 minutes later, tipping your uber before exiting the warmth of the car and into the early february air.

you do a half run half walk to the front door, pulling open the heavy slate of oak until the warmth and sticky sweet smell envelope you, sucking you into the bar with ease.

"fuck," you mumble, your teeth chattering at the last bit of cold. you slip off your next to nothing jacket and hang it over your bent arm. you try your best to fix your hair in the terribly scratched mirror that hangs on the wall next to you, checking your teeth for any lipstick or seeds from your bagel earlier.

the clock alerts you that it's 8:45 p.m., 5 minutes after the time william said kappy would be there. with a sigh, you decided your presentable enough, moving around the small group gathered near the front and walking further into the bar.

"there she is!" you hear the distinctive voice of andreas johnsson call out to you, his deep accent bringing a smile to his face. you find them almost instantly, a smile tugging up at your mouth until your moving, joining your friends at the high table and chairs they've taken over.

"happy birthday," you sing song once you get to them, wrapping andreas in a hug until he kisses your cheek, squeezing you tight before releasing you.

"thank you," he laughs, "you look smokin," he teases, spinning you around until you're both laughing.

"whatever," you mumble. "oh," you gasp, hands pulling at your bag until you can reach inside, "I have something for you!" your fingers latch onto the crisp envelope that holds a birthday card, pulling it out and slipping it infront of him. "you don't need to open it now, but I didn't want to forget."

"you're too kind," johnsson says, giving you one more squeeze.

william is already standing when you meet his eyes, and he sends you a knowing smirk before pulling you into a hug. "he's at the bar," his words are whispered against the shell of you ear. it has you nodding, pulling away.

you greet timothy liligren and rasmus sandin who are accompanying the other chairs: warm greetings sent your way from your swedish friends. william takes your bag and coat from where they are draped over your arm, hanging them on the back of the empty chair beside him.

you go to take your seat but willy nudges you, eyes darting over to the bar. you see kappy - he's laughing with mitch and some brunette girl, all sipping drinks as they converse.

the hint was taken, "i'm going to grab a drink," you say, making your way over until you're standing in front of them.

mitch sees you first, "hey! how's it going?" he pulls you into a brief hug, which you return delicately.

"good, good," you nod, releasing mitch. before you can freak yourself out and over analyze everything about yourself, you're turning your body so your entire front is facing kappy. you're so close to him, if you lean in anymore than an inch, your boobs would be pressed against his bicep.

"hey kappy," you smile.

he doesn't move to hug you but he smirks all syrupy at you, eyes flicking down to your top. it give you a boost of confidence, a blush creeping up your chest and burning the tips of you ears.

"hey crazy," he teases, "you look good."

you breathe out a laugh, blinking a few times. "thanks," then you think about what willy said: confidence. so you decide to say, "I know I do."

once you say it, immediately you know that's not the right thing to say and definitely the wrong kind of confidence: more cocky if anything. it's confirmed by the look mitch sends your way, the mysterious brunette girl snorting into her drink.

"I mean...no. I don't know I do - or, no! yes, thank you."

kappy laughs, gripping your shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. "you want a drink?"

you nod, saving yourself any more embarrassment by staying silent. kappy flags down the bartender, ordering you a drink. a moment later, he's passing you a corona and you send him a tight lipped smile - taking a sip of the bitter drink and praying that your disgust isn't evident on your face.

mitch has left in the time your drink was ordered, leaving yourself with your crush and that same girl, who still hasn't introduced herself but instead orders another drink for herself. when she turns back around to face you, you are smiling expectantly at her but she just looks down into her drink.

you sigh, "hey, i'm y/n."

she finally meets your eyes, "lacy."

you try not to scoff at her attitude, raising your brows high. kappy doesn't seem to mind his...friends? attitude, talking over his shoulder at liligren.

"hey, did you want to dance?" the words leave your mouth before you can think it through. kappy looks back down at you.

"dance?"

"yeah!" you smile, "I love to dance! do you like dancing?"

kappy runs a hand through his hair, "i'm a terrible dancer."

"me too, that's what makes it fun."

"alright," kappy smiles. he grabs your hand, holding your palm against his own. immediately your knees go weak, letting him pull you away from the bar and out onto the makeshift dance floor. it isn't too busy, just enough people to make you not feel like you're being watched.

he dances fine, you think. his hands placed on your body appropriately, spinning and twirling you around until you're laughing, blushing and sweating.

over his shoulder, you catch the steel blue eyes of willy, who smiles encouragingly, tossing you a thumbs up that has your eyes widening, gesturing back and forth between him and the man you were dancing with: like a kid trying to tell their parent to stop embarrassing them.

william laughs, you can hear it from where you are. it has you joining in, rolling your eyes playfully and throwing him your middle finger subtly.

"you good?" kappy asks, his breath tickling your hairline.

your face falls, like you've been caught doing something you shouldn't. "yeah."

you're looking up at him when his eyes flicker away, looking behind you...and then he's pulling away. "lacy is calling me over -i'm going to grab another drink."

"oh," he's already walking away before you can finish, "okay. sounds good."

your face falls in a slight disappointment, standing alone in the middle of the dance floor while couples and friends move sound you. once again, you catch williams eyes.

his brows pull together in question which earns a shrug from you. your actions clearly enough communication for him and then you're watching the blond stand from his seat, slipping in between bodies until he's front of you. "what happened?"

"I don't know," you whine, "he said lacy was calling him over- said something about getting another drink."

"you didn't want to join them?"

you scoff, "lacy is kind of a bitch."

william laughs deeply. saved from the embarrassment of standing on the dance floor, he's pulling you into his body, hand resting heavy on your waist while his other clasp's one of yours, swaying the two of you to the sound tequila.

"should I go up there?" your question has william sighing.

"no. give it a minute. you don't want to look too...I don't know...clingy."

a frown pulls at your lips, "but I am clingy."

your words sound so genuine it has william smirking down at you. "that's okay, but he won't like that."

you nod, eyes surveying the room around you. the air grows silent between the two of you for a few minutes, the both of you just bathing in the calmness of one another's presence. it's you who breaks the silence though, a distant look on your face. "why is it he's always with somebody else?"

william looks at you sadly, which has you immediately regretting your question. you almost want to take it back but then he's sighing, "kappy is...complicated. he likes the attention."

"do I not give enough?"

he looks at you in shock, "what? you give enough. he's just...," he trails off, taking a deep breath before continuing, "too clueless to see what's right in front of him."

you don't say anything, too busy watching the way williams eyes soften.

he clears his throat, "that's you, by the way."

his tease has you giggling. "thank you, I would've had no idea who you were talking about if you didn't clear that up."

your banter has him smirking, sending a quick pinch to the dip of your hip where his hand is sitting. "loser," william whispers, his usual grin softly adorning his face. his face changes just as the song does, "also did I see you drinking a beer? you hate beer."

the reminder of your beverage has you groaning, that sour taste attacking your tastebuds once again. "oh my god yes," your head lulls down, "don't remind me." he laughs.

"wanna get something new to get your mind off it?"

you're gasping at that, "yes, I thought you'd never ask."

then the two of you disconnect. the dance floor has become more crowded since you first walked out onto it, bodies pushed together that effectively block a clear path. william's hooking a finger through the belt loop on your jeans, dragging you behind him as he uses his sheer size to make way through the crowd, bringing you both to the bar. you're not sure why you're blushing.

"done dancing?" kappy teases when he sees you again. you laugh awkwardly, shrugging.

"yeah, my partner kept stepping on my feet."

william scoffs, "whatever." but then he's laughing, flagging down the same bartender from earlier in the night until he catches their attention, ordering himself a diet coke and you a vodka cranberry. your mouth is salivating in anticipation at the thought of your favourite drink.

"he's always been a terrible dancer," kappy teases his friend, bumping williams shoulder with his own.

expect william doesn't laugh too hard, only a breath of a small chuckle leaving his lips. "at least I don't leave my partner on the dance floor."

his tone has you gulping, eyes darting between the two hockey players. "willy," your words come out between a forceful whisper and a shaky scold.

kappy throws his hands up in surrender, a smirk still on his face. "I was being summoned."

for the first time, lacy speaks up. "yeah that's totally my bad...I was lonely." her voice is more slurred then the last time you heard it, eyelids falling heavy in a way that very much gave away the state of her intoxication. "I just didn't want to stand alone, you get it, right girl?"

yeah, you think, you do get it because you were left standing alone in the middle of the dance floor because she was lonely - but you just nod, too sober to argue with a drunk girl.

william hands you your freshly made drink, to which you take roughly, chugging the entire thing in one go. the next few moments are kind of a blur. you place your empty glass on the counter, leaning close to lacy to do so. lacy grabs your arm, mumbling something incoherent in between quiet burps and then she spews. literally spews.

you jump away but it's no use, lacy had thrown up the contents of the night all over your front, the hot liquid soaking into your clothing and sticking to your skin. you can feel the colour drain from your face. "oh my god," you cry.

"oh shit, are you okay?" kappy asks, hands hovering over lacy's back.

"i'm sorry," lacy mumbles, wiping her mouth with the back of her tanned hand, "I didn't feel well."

"oh my god." you repeat.

"are you okay?" william is the one asking this time, expect he's asking you, the recipient of the vomit attack.

you take a deep breath through your mouth, too scared to use your nose. you look down and see you are completely covered, all the way down to your black shoes. vomit puddles on the floor below you and you start panicking, shaking your hands in despair.

"I need to go outside."

"yeah, okay," william nods, guiding you by the back of your neck towards the exit. this time, he doesn't need to use his body to make a path, the pure stench and look of you has people clearing the way.

you can hear kappy flagging down some help for a clean up just as william is opening the door, a wave a cold air hitting you. your wet clothes immediately feel 10 times worse. "what do I do?" you cry. you can also assume you're standing like a robot, making sure none of your limbs touch one another. "I have emtaphobia."

"emta- what?" willy asks, eyes swimming with a look you can't decipher.

"I'm scared of puke, william." the use of his full name has his eyes growing wide. "what do I do? I can't keep these clothes on."

"no, you're right," he trails off, looking around frantically for a moment, "okay! I have some clothes in my car. you can change."

your panick is still swirling deep in your stomach, your fear so badly taking over. you try to distract yourself with the press william had on your back as he guides you to his car, taking shaky deep breaths as best you can.

the beep of the car is another distraction, the lights momentarily shocking you. william rounds you both to the trunk, popping the hatch open. it's relatively clean back there, a few rolls of hockey tape and some loose articles of clothing spewn about, not doubt thrown astray form driving. "okay, just take what you need."

you nod.

"do you need help?"

you survey yourself again, "no, umm, I think I got it. just...don't leave. turn around or something."

he turns around.

"no peeking," you try and joke, laughing awkwardly at yourself to save yourself from crying.

"I would never," williams teasing has you feeling a bit more relaxed, your hands that were previously shaking now much more manageable. you pull your tank top off, and miraculously avoid getting any of lacy's vomit in your hair. your bra is also affected, which has you surveying the dark parking lot to make sure nobody could see you. the coast is clear and you unclip the undergarment, letting it fall to the ground along with your tank top. you quickly grab a blue hoodie, the maple leaf logo embroidered on the front. you pull it over your head, the number 88 sitting heavy on your collarbone.

you make quick work of your jeans, throwing on a pair of sweatpants after you kicked off your shoes, leaving you standing in just your socks. "okay, i'm done."

william turns around to see you standing there, a sad look on your face. your hands are gripping his sweatpants tightly, preventing them from falling down.  "i'm so embarrassed," you finally say, tears brimming your waterline.

"don't be," he strains.

"why did it have to happen infront of kappy? I probably looked ridiculous."

"if it's any consolation," william says, "everybody looks ridiculous covered in puke."

that has you laughing slightly, a single tear falling down your cheek that has you using your shoulder to wipe it away. "can you - umm, call me a cab?"

"no," william says quickly. your brows raise, ready to lay into him. "i'll drive you home."

"you don't have to."

"I want to." he doesn't look at you when he says it, busy shutting the trunk of his vehicle. willy steps over the pile of pukey clothes by your feet, "here's my keys, start the car and i'll go get our stuff from inside."

you don't argue, feet too cold from the frosted concrete. that has you getting into the passenger seat and letting the car warm up. it isn't 5 minutes later that william walks back out of the bar, your jacket and purse over his shoulder, a plastic bag in his hand. you don't see where he goes as he rounds the back of his car, the sound of the trunk opening and closing just before you see that head of blonde hair again, william walking over to the driver's side and getting in.

"i'll wash them for you," he is rubbing his hands together, trying to warm them up, "don't even worry about it."

he's talking about your clothes. your red top and favourite pair of jeans. you feel like crying again. "thank you." you sniffle as he's putting the car into drive, "I would've just thrown them out."

he laughs lightly, "no doubt."

the drive is silent for the first 5 minutes but then william is sighing, pulling up to a red light. "i'm sorry that happened to you. I hope you're not scarred from ever accepting my invitations to go out again."

"never," you laugh, "well, as long as lacy isn't there." despite your laughter, your voice is very much serious and william doesn't doubt it.

"lacy, never again. got it."

"thank you for helping me, willy." you whisper a few minutes later. you recognize that your close to your apartment complex, the neighbouring buildings providing a sense of familiarity.

"always," he says, "promise."

you nod at him softly, a sweet smile on your face.

—

the next morning when you wake up it's with a groan, the memories of the night before heavy on your brain. after william dropped you off, you obviously showered, your damp hair against the pillows a reminder that you are clean - your momentary surge of panic ending.

but then your embarrassment comes back. you can only imagine the sheer terror on your face the moment you were douced in throw up - the miniature freak out that followed with it. kappy hadn't even checked in on you: when it happened or after the fact.

you groan again, tossing back your blanket at the same time you grab your phone off the night stand: frowning at the lack of texts from kappy once more. suddenly you're hit with a wave of loneliness, wanting nothing more than the comfort of your best friend.

y/n

can you come over ?

y/n

something I want to tell you about

the phone dings a moment later

zachary

of course. want a sandwich from tony's?

y/n

yes

y/n

please

zachary

bacon egg and cheese okay?

y/n

yes please 👍🏼

when zach lets himself into your apartment, you're lounging on the couch, still wearing your pyjamas and glasses, slippers covering your feet.

"hey," he calls out, kicking the door shut with his foot. you push to sit up, grabbing the drink tray from his arm that's also holding a paper bag with yummy breakfast sandwiches. the puke incident still has you feeling a bit weary of eating but you do your best to ignore it, thanking zach as he takes a seat beside you.

he must be able to feel your anxious energy. "something happen last night?" his voice is cautious, unwrapping his food.

you take a deep breath, taking a small bite of your sandwich and chewing it slowly. "I got fucking puked on."

he sucks in some air, "you okay? how did that happen?"

you nod, "i'm fine. it was this girl..."

there's something you aren't saying, zach call tell. the way you won't meet his eyes, running your hand through your un-brushed hair. "what else?"

he knows you too well, you think. "I got puked on...in front of kappy and totally, like, panicked. I had to fucking strip down in the parking lot behind willy's car. oh my god, and the girl, lacy, was totally there with kappy and I just," you take a deep breath, "i'm so embarrassed. I looked so stupid standing there infront of him covered in his dates vomit."

as if zach can sense your feelings, he moves closer, pulling you into his side for a much appreciated hug. you love him so much, you think. because instead of your best friend teasing you about how you were still crushing on his teammate, zach was empathetic with you. "don't be embarrassed," he says, "anybody would look silly covered in puke."

you laugh, "that's pretty much what willy said."

zach raises his brows, "we know you too well I suppose."

you nod gently, bringing your thumb to your lips and beginning to pick. "there's something else."

zach just nods, urging you to continue.

"willy, he umm, he's helping me with," you ponder wording, "getting kappy to ask me out."

"what?"

"he's essentially like, training me for a date with kappy." zach laughs which has you joining in. "I know it sounds stupid! but it's kind of working! he danced with me for a bit last night - he did leave me on the dance floor though which was a whole different thing-"

"he left you alone on the dance floor?" zach sounds angry.

you shake your head, "it's okay, though. willy saved me - anyways, besides the point. willy is helping me with kappy and in return I told him I'd get him a date with liz."

"liz?" zach asks, brows raised. "like your friend elizabeth?"

you nod.

"does liz know?"

you shake your head, "absolutely not. I don't want her to feel like a pawn."

zach breaths a laugh, "she is a pawn."

"no! well, yes," you nod, "but no! because willy didn't even ask! I was the one who offered after he mentioned helping me."

"hold on," he says, eyes squinting, "willy just...offered to help you get with his best friend?"

you purse your lips, "pretty much."

"a bit weird, don't you think?"

your brows draw together, "no. we are friends! he's just helping me out."

"okay."

"why? do you think it's a bad idea?"

"no. not if you're happy with it."

"I am," you smile automatically, "I think it will work."

zach mimicks your expression, "then I think it's a great idea." he takes another bite of his food.

"okay now help me get my mind off last night," you shiver, taking another hesitant bite of your breakfast.

zach laughs around his mouthful, "have you watched the new episode of love is blind yet?"

and then he's diving into an explanation, insisting you both watch the episode before he has to go back home for his pre-game meal and nap. the conversation between the two of light hearted and a much needed healer for your brain rot. it's nice and even after zach leaves, you don't think about the night before, sucked into the rest of the show.

the next couple days are pretty quiet. the leafs have a few games back to back at the beginning of the week, and you're pretty swamped at your job as well. but then wednesday comes, and the leafs have an early afternoon game - leaving the evening open.

that's how you end up at williams apartment wednesday night: feasting on a balanced meal william insisted you would enjoy (it was actually really delicious but you kept teasing him that it wasn't- news flash: he saw right through you).

"why are we watching this movie?" you question, slouched down on the plush couch cushions of williams expensive sectional, one of his dogs curled up at your feet.

"it's kappy's favourite," william says. he's in the same slouched position as you, shoulder almost pushing into yours.

you groan, "seriously? the godfather is his favourite movie."

you can't hide you look of distaste, and it has william giggling at your expression. he shrugs, "that's what he says." he pauses, rolling his head against the cushion so he can look at your face, "what's yours?"

you ponder for a moment and then smirk. "you can't judge me."

"never," he promises automatically.

"if I had to just pick one... it would be tinkerbell."

you expect him to laugh at you, call you a baby and then explain why something like fight club is a much more suitable film. but instead he nods, "respectable."

"think so?" you ask, brows raised in a slight disbelief.

"yeah," he laughs slightly. "is that alright tinkerbell?" william is back to his usual teasing laugh and that has you sighing, a playful roll to your eyes.

"if anything, you're tinkerbell - not me."

william laughs loudly, "well I wasn't going to say it but..."

you giggle, pushing his shoulder gently. "what's your favourite movie?"

"I don't have one." he says after a few beats.

you gasp, turning your head towards him. william is still looking at you, a small smirk tugging at his lips. it has you taking a shallow gulp. "okay, well then i'm going to tell people it's tinkerbell as well."

you expect a protest but instead, "okay." that same expression on williams face, all soft and gooey until your stomach flips. "hey," he whispers, "we have the family skate friday. you should come."

"should I?" you tease.

"I want you to." as if william realized what he said, he sits up quickly, cleaning his throat, "kappy will be there after all."

you follow suit, sitting up, "right, of course."

he smiles, "i'll pick you up friday then."

you can't help but smile in return, "alright."

the clock that hangs on the wall tells you that it's late, well past midnight and it has you sighing: already dreading your early work day tomorrow. "I should probably go..." you start to push the blanket off, "I work early."

"what time? i'll drive you before skate." william says immediately, "i mean, you can stay over. like you said, it's late and maybe you shouldn't drive."

your heart flutters twice against your rib cage. "I work at 7, but it's fine, really, I don't want to intrude."

he shakes his head, "tuck yourself back in and watch the movie."

you snicker and do what he suggest, snuggling back under the fuzzy blanket that you shared with the blonde beside you. "bossy," you remark. willy just laughs into your shoulder.

a few minutes later you jolt, "an alarm." you say, your hands searching frantically under the cover. you finally locate your cell, but then willy hisses gently, jerking his body away from yours in a way that has you panicking.

"that's not your phone." he laughs awkwardly.

your face drops, "oh my god." you had totally just grabbed your friends dick in mistaking it for your phone. then you blush, "i'm so sorry!"

he just laughs at your panick, hand slipping out from under the blanket with your phone, "here's your phone."

you take it from him gingerly, closing your eyes with embarrassment. "willy, I-"

"it's okay," he smiles, "it's not like it was the worse thing in the world." his face falls when he realizes what he says, "no! that came out wrong, I didn't mean to sound so creepy."

his embarrassment is clear and it has you laughing gently, "now we are both embarrassed."

willy just smiles at you in a way that if you two weren't just friends, you would mistaken for lovingly. "yeah," he says gently.

you just look back towards the tv with a gentle smile.

you never did set your alarm.

—

"do you know how to skate?" william teases. he's wearing his practice gear still, just without his gloves. his bare hands placed on his hips as he observes you.

you give him a look, your hands gripping onto the outdoor rinks wall, skate covered feet still flat on the black padding of the makeshift bench area. he laughs at your unbothered expression, skating in a small circle before going still again. "yes, I know how to skate."

you still don't make a move to step out onto the ice, fingers going cold against the ledge.

"alright," william skates to the left slightly, "come on then."

you nod, gulping slightly when john tavares skates past you, his kid tucked between his legs as they zip through. your eyes meet william's again, "alright, I will."

without much more thought, you take a hesitant step onto the sheet of ice, your one foot quickly followed by the other. you still have a hold on the ledge but it doesn't seem that willy minds your pace, still waiting patiently behind you.

your head whips around when snow hits your jeans, zach coming to quick stop and effectively snowing your lower half. "hey!" you screech.

your best friend just laughs, "you're skating?"

you scoff, eyes squinting his direction. "yeah"

"y/n. you can't skate."

your mouth hangs open, another scoff escaping.

"I thought you said you could," william teases.

"I can!" you say in a tone of disbelief, still giving your giggling best friend a look, "just," you trial off, eyes moving around the rink as players and their families skate laps, "not well."

zach just laughs louder at your confession, and then he pats william on his shoulder, "good luck."

all you can do is laugh in pure shock, your best friends words still ringing in your ears. william just laughs along, which was...rude. he skates forward until he's close enough to touch, "c'mon."

his hand is extended towards you, an invitation to grab on. "i can skate just fine, I promise. I just suck with balance."

"I believe you," he smiles, "just grab my hand and i'll drag you along."

you look at his hands again, "okay, just...don't go too fast."

your cold hands grasp onto his, your grip tight on his much larger palms. "I won't."

immediately he takes off backwards, doing what he claimed and pulling you along, starting to take you both around for your first lap. even though he's skating backwards, he's dodging and zipping between the people effortlessly.

"i'm kind of impressed," you laugh, "you're really good at skating."

he gives you a look, "you do know i'm a professional, right?"

you laugh loudly, head falling back briefly. "okay! it's still impressive. don't make fun of me, i'm giving you a compliment."

"wouldn't dream of it," william insists, "thanks for the compliment." the two of you are almost back to where you started the lap. you can tell william is going slower than he could be for your sake, his teammates passing you both without effort. "okay," william starts, slowing down, "now your turn to try."

"what? no," william is already dropping your hands, somehow manoeuvring out of your death grip so that your standing alone. he doesn't leave you, but skates a couple meters back. "willy!" you whisper shout, arms out in front of you like bambi.

"skate towards me," he says.

you shake your head, "no, i'll fall."

"you won't," william assures, "and if you do, i'll catch you."

at the same time william finishes his scentence, rasmus is whirling past, laughing when you screech at the sounds of his skates tearing up the ice beside you.

"you got it," william says, effectively grabbing your attention again, "and then after this you can hold onto me again."

"promise?"

he laughs gently, "I promise."

"okay," you mumble to yourself, you look down at your feet but then remember every time zach had tried to teach you, hammering the rule that you definitely shouldn't look down when you're skating.

you meet williams eyes once again, using your left foot to push off, followed by your right foot. your arms are still trying to keep your balance, stuck out your sides. you're sure you resemble a baby giraffe learning to walk, but you can't find yourself caring, your feet still moving you towards william. "i'm doing it?"

your voice comes out as a question and it has him giggling, "you are. bend your knees a little more."

you smile brightly, almost close enough that you could reach out and grab onto the white jersey covering willy's shoulder pads. you're still feeling wobbly, just barley gliding on the ice, but it's still working - you hadn't fallen over. "there you go!"

"yeah, I think i'm -" your suddenly panicking, the pick of your skate catching a small dip on the ice's surface. then you arms are flailing at your sides, desperately trying to keep your balance so your face doesn't smack into the ice. but, you're already slipping, preparing yourself for the pain of falling.

"woah," william says, hands grabbing around your sides, fingers pressing under your rib cage to pull you up straight, effortlessly stopping your accident before it happens. "you okay?"

his eyes are filled with concern, dancing over your face as if to look for any injuries - even though there was no possible way. after all, he did save you.

you're slightly breathless, hands holding on tightly to william's biceps. "yeah...yeah i'm okay." looking around, you see a couple people's eyes linger, small smirks on their lips.

"want to stop?" william whispers, slightly crouched so he can look into your eyes.

you blush, "no, just keep skating with me before I die of embarrassment."

he laughs gently, breath tickling your frost bitten cheeks. "okay," he nods, immediately fulfilling your wishes. his hands leave your ribs, dragging down the underside of your arms until he's gripping your hands, skating backwards with you once again.

your eyes are still wandering, checking the people around you with your lip between your teeth, brows pulled together.

as if william can sense your worries, he tugs on your hands to grab your attention. "nobody is looking at you."

"what if - "

"- or making fun of you," he interrupts, "I promise."

you nod and willam smiles, changing direction so that you're the one now moving backwards, william skating forward as he pushes you gently along. the change of direction has him holding onto your waist, a better position for the movement. he can feel your grip on his muscles tighten, but you don't say anything, even a small laugh bubbling out as he spins you two quickly.

"oh gosh, willy!" your laughter is like music as you scold him, your words holding no bite with that smile beaming on your face - william effectively taking any lingering embarrassment you had been feeling and throwing it away. "you're going to make me dizzy."

he laughs, "you will be fine - " william starts, but his words are cut short, not watching where the two of we're going until he's backing you into a person, stopping all three of you from skating at the collision.

kappy grunts at the impact, his hands grabbing your shoulder from behind to stop you all from tumbling over. immediately, william lets go of you, and you spin around the best you can with your still shaky balance.

"woah," the finnish native mumbles, his deep tone burning your ears.

the sight of kappy's face as you blinking hard, your brain reminding you of why willy invited you to the family skate in the first place: and here he was in front of you.

"kappy, hey." you're breathing out. "sorry, we didn't mean-"

"my bad," william interrupts, his earlier chipper tone gone.

you nod gently, arms crossing over your chest but immediately dropping back to your sides, the loss of stability causing you to teeter slightly.

"all good," kappy says, "you guys having fun?"

"oh yeah," you smile brightly, blinking up at him slowly, "this is great fun."

"I saw your almost fall earlier," kappy laughs and it has your smile falling, "are you always that clumsy? first the vomit and then the slipping, you're full of surprises huh?"

you laugh awkwardly, "oh, umm-“

william says sharply, "she's not clumsy."

you send the blonde a harsh look, "no it's okay. I am," you turn back towards kappy, "-clumsy. very clumsy."

"no," william laughs in disbelief, "you're not-"

"heads up!" a voice calls out from somewhere on the rink. you look over to try and find the source of the commotion, but just as you do, a puck smacks fast into the boards, hitting a dip in the ice and flinging back through the air, smacking you right in the face.

you scream out, hands immediately flying to your nose. you can feel the hot liquid seep through your fingers, your blood dripping onto your coat.

"oh fuck," kappy gasps.

you can feel a hand press gently against your back, a slight rubbing movement over your white puffer.

"here," william says, "move your hands."

william has taken off his jersey, holding it right under your hands. when you take them away, he's immediately pressing the material to your face, catching the blood before it can hit the ice.

a small crowd has gathered around you, looks of concern and words of worry all flying around that have your head spinning. "fuck," you whine when willy applies some extra pressure.

"I know, sorry," he says quickly.

"i'm sorry!" the words are falling from jake muzzin's mouth, "my kids were fucking around and the puck just, like, flew through the air."

"it's okay," you wince, "i'll be fine."

"the medical staff are still here," aryne tavares says beside you. "you should get that checked out...that's a lot of blood. it might be broken."

her words have you groaning, tears welling up in your eyes.

"let me help you off the ice," william says. he's crouching down again so he can look into your eyes. all you can muster is a gentle nod, which makes william throw his free hand around your waist, helping you skate over to the exit with his jersey still held to your face.

the medical staff take notice of you two immediately, springing into action at the sight of your blood, taking you away from william and beginning their work.

by the time there putting a strip on your nose, the bleeding has mostly stopped. one of the medical personnel has put the cotton plugs up your nostrils, catching any lingering traces of bleeding. thankfully your nose isn't broken, just bruised and the next few days are to be expected with soreness and discolouration.

"how's it feel?" william joins you once again, still only wearing his shoulder and chest pad. you had been separated while the medical staff cleaned you up but now that they were done, he joined you once more.

"it's sore," you mumble. you don't even want to think how stupid you look with a bandaged nose and what you can also assume swollen face. "but i'll survive."

"you're so brave," his tone is teasing, sitting beside you gently. "i'm sorry."

"it's not your fault," you say, "it's nobody's fault."

he nods in agreement, "no but if I saw it coming I would've sacrificed my back to save your nose."

you giggle, which makes him smile. you wince at your face moving, fingers hovering over your nose. you sigh, "I can't believe i've been covered in another bodily fluid infront of the guy I like."

william just sighs gently. "don't worry about him right now."

"I can't help it," you groan. a beat passes, "everybody was definitely looking at me that time, huh."

william laughs in disbelief, "loser."

"yeah but i'm you're favourite loser," you lean in closer, bumping your side against his, "so you can't complain."

"you're right," he nods, "what would I do without you."

you laugh, "who knows."

the sound of zach calling out your name has your and willy's eye contact ending, your gaze now meeting your best friends as he approaches in a hurry. "are you okay, y/n?! I didn't even know you got hurt."

"i'm fine," you sigh, "just a little bloody."

"yeah," zach breathes, eyes darting down to you stained white coat and back, "I can see that."

then kappy comes up behind zach, a raise to his eyebrows as he takes in your face. he whistles lowly, "shit," he says, hands on his hips, "those black eyes are going to be knarly."

you don't take notice to the way williams jaw clenches.

"i'll look badass," you say.

kappy shrugs, "something like that."

zach covers his face in disbelief at your words, sending you a slight smile. "you're insane, y/n."

you just shrug. zach starts to talk with somebody on the medical team, assumingly grilling them with questions about your injury. kappy gets distracted by one of his teammates by the boards, walking off to join a conversation without another word.

you turn to willy, "can you get my boots?"

he just laughs gently, "yeah."

wasting no time in jogging to the bench where you both left your things, returning no less then two minutes later with your winter shoes in his hand. wordlessly, william leans down in front of you, fingers expertly untying your laces until their loose enough for him to slip off your skates.

your foot is tucked between his thighs while he tugs your boot on, patting the sides of your ankle once it was secure.

"thanks," you whisper, dropping your foot back to the ground.

your face starts to hurt a little more as time passes, and you can only dread how much it will ache when you wake up the following morning- already preparing the looks of shock from your co-workers.

william stands up from his crouched position. he's even taller on his skates as he looks down at you, a ghost of a smirk tugging his lips. he opens his mouth as if to say something but then he stops, pulling out his phone.

you fight the urge to scoff, about to tell him not to leave you hanging like that, but then he is pointing the phone at you, the click of the camera button alerting you to a photo being taken. "hey!" you say.

william laughs, observing the photo of you looking all pouty for a few more seconds before pocketing his phone.

"collecting future blackmail?" you ask with a laugh, an unimpressed raise to your brows.

"no." he shakes his head, "you just look cute."

oh.

you gulp.

"want to go home?" he asks you.

you shake your head slightly, clearing your throat. "yes."

william extends a hand to you, which you take immediately, letting him pull you to your feet. for the rest of the day you think about that damn picture and the reason it was taken.

you look cute.

—

a week passes before you see william again. the day after getting smacked in the nose with a hockey puck, zach and alanna kept you company at your apartment. you were jacked up on pain meds, which lead to a few loopy conversations with your two friends, most of them ending with you crying and feeling embarrassed in front of kappy - zach and his wife laughing awkwardly at your high state.

safe to say after your third venting session, you slept the rest of the day away - barley remembering the conversations you had (that is until zach calls you and laughs about it all: you hate him.)

liz visits you 4 days after the incident and you finally get a chance to talk to her about the idea of going out with william. she says maybe, and promises to think about it - which was a win as far as your concerned.

7 days after, william texts you and says he's growing bored without seeing your face, asking you for breakfast to talk about the kappy plans. you were already agreeing at the promise of a grilled cheese form your favourite cafe.

you pull open the heavy car door of williams vehicle, a bright smile on your face, cheeks rosy from the cold late february day. "hey."

"hi," william says, tossing his phone down as you take your seat. "you're healing nicely."

"I thought so" you agree. you are only left with the last stages of your black eyes, no marks or bruises on your nose anymore, barely tender when you touch it.

william puts the car in drive, pulling away from the curb and onto the busy toronto street. you grab the loose aux cord that was lying in the empty cup holder, immediately plugging it into your phone and queuing your favourite songs.

"so," willy starts, eyes darting over to your face quickly before they go back to the road, "there's something I want to talk about."

"you're making me a bit nervous," you admit, a light laugh emerging from your chest.

willy shakes his head, "no, nothing bad. it's just...," he takes a sigh, a beat passing, "I want you to be completely honest with me."

"always," you promise.

he takes another deep sigh, "what do you see in kappy?"

you blink hard at his question but stay silent.

"like I know he's my best friend," continues willy, "and I love him to death but he's not the most...loving person. he doesn't like relationships and he's not driven in that sense, like...at all. and if i'm being completely honest he's kind of a dick around you."

"what?" you whisper.

william looks empathetic, "he doesn't treat you the nicest way he could, don't you see that?"

you blink again because, no, you really haven't noticed anything bad when you're talking to kappy or anything odd when you're hanging around him. but then you think of the way that zach loves you, or the way andreas talks to you and how willy cares for you and kappy really doesn't stand out. you gulp, "I mean...he's maybe not the most affectionate but that doesn't mean he hates me-"

"no," william interrupts, "he doesn't hate you he just...doesn't treat you the way he should. and I don't want to upset you but I don't think you should continue pursuing him. i'm only saying this because you deserve better than my best friends shitty attitude."

you gulp.

"but with that being said - i'll still help you, y/n. if you still want him and you know kappy is what you want - i'll bud out. we will continue doing this," william looks over to you, "just tell me what you want."

you bite your lip, william's blue eye burning into yours before he has to look back to the road. you don't turn away though, eyes still studying his side profile. his sharp jaw and sloped nose, the way his earring shines in the sunlight.

you think about what he said, and all of it was true. you can see it now. you honestly don't know what to say. you would feel guilty if you had to tell william to stop, all of his time he spent helping you would be wasted. you're not sure you want to continue. that crush was much more fun when it was just a crush from afar, without the puke and the blood and the being left on the dance floor.

but it's working, you think. kappy and you feels different than it has in the past. with william around to help, something was changing.

"I want to keep doing this," you decide.

william just nods. "then we will keep doing it."

the tense moment is cut when the song changes, the familiar chords of ABBA flowing through the speakers quietly. william just smirks, bopping his head along to the beat until your smiling gently.

just as the chorus starts, william hits the steering wheel like a drum, turning briefly to you, "look into his angel eyes, one look and you're hypnotized!" he sings loudly.

your mouth hangs open in shock, a few laughs bubbling up your throat at his performance.

"he'll take your heart and you must pay the price - look into his angel eyes - "

you join in, "you'll think you're in paradise !"

you're both laughing for the entire song, belting the lyrics to one another as you cruise through the city. the song finishes and a new one starts, both of you breathless and smiling.

a beat passes, "thank you willy."

his smile flatters slightly and he swallows, "you don't have to thank me."

you just nod.

the gps alerts you both that you're only 3 minutes away from the eatery, directions telling william to get into the left lane as you approach the stop light.

your phone dings in your lap, pulling your gaze away from where you were still staring at william's side profile.

liz

i thought about it and i think i want to do it. i'll go out with william.

your face falls slightly. despite your unknown disappointment, you text back with as much enthusiasm you can rely through your phone.

y/n

oh okay !

y/n

want me to give you his number

y/n

i'm with him rn

liz

actually i was thinking we could maybe do a double date?youve been getting closer to kasperi, right? i dont know willy that well and you guys are friends! so i think it would be better that way

y/n

yeah

y/n

that sounds good

y/n

i'll let willy know

y/n

and he can let kappy know

y/n

okay 🥰

liz

kk let me know.

love u

willy is just parking against the curb in front of the cafe as you send your last text to liz. once the car is off, you turn towards him with a grin.

he laughs, "yes?"

"guess what I just got you."

williams brows furrow, "what?"

"a date with liz!," william tries to keep his smile on his face. "well, a double date. how does that new Teppanyaki place sound? you, liz, kappy and me?"

william blinks and nods, "umm, yeah. sounds good."

"okay," you mutter, "should I text kappy and ask or should you?"

"I can," william says, "it's easier to convince him when i'm able to guilt trip him."

you nod, "alright. it will be fun I think."

your stomach growls and that has the conversation ending, both of you heading in for a meal, setting plans in stone for the upcoming double date.

—

"are you excited?" your tone is hopeful as you look over to your left, hands gripping the steering wheel as you navigated the city.

you can see liz nod once before you have to look back to the street. she rubs her lips together, "i'm sure it will be good."

"you don't sound excited," you laugh awkwardly. out of the corner of your eye you can see her shoulders deflate. "you sound uninterested."

"I promise i'm interested," liz says, "it's just," she stops herself, eyes darting over to you. she watches the way you knaw on your lip, eyebrows pulled together in thought. "it's nothing. first date jitters I suppose."

you're still not to convinced, flicking on your turn signal. "okay."

liz clears her throat, "anything I should know about willy before we get there?"

you hum. "what do you mean?"

"like, I don't know," liz laughs, "what's his favourite food? or favourite movie? what's his favourite colour? something I can causally bring up so he knows i'm paying attention."

you swallow and take a sharp breath. "oh, umm," you laugh, "well his favourite movie is tinkerbell."

"really?"

you laugh again, "well, no. he says he doesn't have a favourite movie. I told him mine was tinkerbell and therefore I was going to tell people it was his too," you take a pause, "his favourite food is steak, but he's also big into any breakfast food. oh and he likes the colour purple."

liz is staring at you with an amused smile.

you continue, "you don't have to feel nervous, liz. willy is....the best."

"y/n.." liz wants to say something, you can tell by the tone of her voice. it has you laughing, pulling the car over as you reach the restaurant.

"looks like we are here!" thankfully, you snag a parking spot right infront of the Teppanyaki style restaurant, switching the car off once you park.

"willy said we can just walk in, there's no reservation or anything."

"alright," liz nods, following suit and unbuckling her seatbelt.

"dude, why do you look so nervous?" kappy's voice has william looking away form the door, the leg that was previously bouncing under the table top coming to a halt.

"i'm not nervous," william argues, "i'm just...aren't you nervous? this is a date."

kappy just shrugs adjacent to him, "it's just y/n...we're friends. why would I be nervous."

william's jaw ticks, "it's not just - "

"hey!" the sound of your bright voice as william stopping, turning around his in chair to see you and liz walking towards them.

william stands, "hey," he swallows as he takes you in, the nerves he was definitely feeling earlier are still there, butterflies fighting in the lining of his stomach. "how are you guys?"

"good," you smile. liz agrees, her smile just as bright and flattering as yours, but william doesn't notice it.

"saved you a spot, y/n/n," the voice of kappy has willy exhaling, blinking hard as your eyes widen at the finnish accent.

you squeeze the blondes shoulder as you sneak past him, taking the empty stool beside kappy. you watch the way william smiles at liz, bringing her into a friendly hug. suddenly your stomach turns and you have to look away as they chat. eventually they sit down, liz on the corner beside you and william next to her.

"you look nice," kappy's words are gentle on your side, two fingers picking a piece of your hair and dropping it over your shoulder. "who's got you all dressed up like this?"

you shrug, "oh I don't know," his smirk has you laughing gently, "why? do you think I should dress like this more often?"

his eyes dart down to your top, that familiar shade of red adorning your chest. "red's my favourite colour." kappy smirks.

"really?" you fane innocence.

william clears his throat loudly and it has your eyes darting over to find his but you're only met with his face in the menu, not even a glance in your direction. you frown gently at that.

liz nudges you, eyes quickly meeting yours. "what are you going to get?"

"I don't know," you admit, picking up the menu infront of you. all of you are silent for a few minutes, reading over the menu trying to ignore the unreadable tension that looms around the four of you.

the flames in front of you ignite, the warmth of the fire has you moving back - snapping you out of your own mind bubble. you wouldn't be surprised if -

"oh my god," liz whispers.

"what?" you ask quickly, dropping your menu.

her eyes are on you, an expression on her face that has your stomach plummeting. "that totally singed your brows."

you eyes widen, "what?"

kappy laughs as you pull out your phone, the cell acting as a mirror as you look over your face. you're met with your brows, very much looking crispy. you whine, brushing away any loose hairs.

"are you hurt?" william asks.

"no," you say. you're thankful you filled your brows in, any areas of natural brow hairs that may be now be splotchy, are coating in a thick pomade. "i'm okay."

"honestly, you can't really tell now that the singed hairs are gone." liz's tone is hopeful and it has you nodding, pocketing your phone.

the cook at your table finally makes his way to your groups corner, platting up the mouth watering range of food.

"are you sure you're okay?" william asks you again and you nod harshly.

"i'm fine." you meet his worried expression and immediately regret your tone of voice. he doesn't look away. "I promise."

then you all start eating, small talk and laughter bounces between all of you. kappy's hand keeps grazing your arm, which in theory means he's flirting with you, which is why you are surprised when your body doesn't react. in fact, you almost feel nothing at the way his fingers tickle your skin.

liz gives you a subtle wink when she notices the way kappy's arm dangles across the back of your chair so you force a smile. but then you meet williams eyes, and your smile falls. he looks away, back towards kappy and their conversation.

a phone buzzes and it has you looking over just as kappy's phone is lit up, an array of notifications flood his lock screen, but the top one catches your attention.

lacy

wanna come over ?

you blink, looking away. kappy grabs it quick, wordlessly typing out his response with a small smirk - but you catch it.

suddenly you feel icky, and once again you feel like you're standing alone out on a dance floor. tears are gathering in your waterline, you can feel them as they brim and it has you clearing your throat softy. you reach out for your cup of water, but you go in too fast and way too quickly, smacking the side of cup so that all its contents spill out, covering your lap.

your sudden stand as william and liz stopping their conversation, worried eyes finding you standing with a soaked pair of pants.

"sorry," you don't even know who are are apologizing to, hurriedly grabbing a napkin and trying to soak up the liquid from your jeans.

a few tears roll down your cheeks and you don't dare look up, still rubbing furiously at your pants. "sorry, i'm just," then as if you can feel them, you look up and meet williams eyes, swimming with what could only be pity for you - being clumsy again and running your chances with kappy. "i'm going to go to the bathroom," you finally mumble, speeding away from the table and through the busy restaurant.

you round the corner of the bathroom hallway, and once you're out of eye sight you break down - not even making it into the actual bathroom before you're crying, covering your face. you feel so embarrassed. why is it, you think, anytime you're progressing with kappy something has to go wrong.

even worse, when he's giving you attention you don't feel anything anymore. what is wrong with you?

quick footsteps have you looking up. william comes to a halt, stopping right in front of you.

you sniff, "sorry, do you need to use the bathroom?" you side step him, moving over so he could push open the door.

but he doesn't move. "no," willy shakes his head, "I came to make sure you were okay."

"oh," you mumble.

"are you? okay?"

you feel a fresh roll of new tears fall down your cheeks and you don't even want to think how much of a mess you look. "no."

"c'mon," william whispers, nodding towards the bathroom door. you follow him wordlessly into the single use bathroom, letting him lock the door behind you both.

the bathroom is rather spacious, but it was a fancy restaurant, so you're not sure what else you would expect. it was painted a warm colour, a long granite counter top with a sink and fancy soaps. a bidet toilet, which if you weren't so miserable would've had you giggling, always finding the idea funny. the bathroom was darker than a normal bathroom, it was actually really relaxing.

"i'll dry your pants." william's words have you snapping out of your thoughts. he's standing by the hand dryer patiently.

you give him a gentle nod. without thinking much of it, you unbutton your jeans, wiggling out of the wet denim until they hit the floor around your ankles. you don't even feel embarrassed as you stand in your zebra print underwear. you had already taken your shoes off before your pants, leaving you to walk bare foot towards willy, your wet jeans in your grip.

he doesn't say anything, eyes burning into yours when he takes the pants.

the hum of hand dryer starts moments after, the quiet ambiance of the bathroom filled with the loud wind. you wipe your face before lifting yourself to sit on the counter top. the cold temperature of the surface has your bare legs shivering, but you don't show it, quietly watching william as he dries your clothes.

5 minutes later the dryer stops. "thankfully they weren't too soaked, would've taken longer to dry." willy says, walking towards you with your very much dry jeans.

"thanks," you say with a sad smile, taking the pants from his hands. "i've ruined your date."

your statement has william frowning, "you did not ruin my date. you could never ruin anything for me."

"but i've embarrassed you - and myself!," you head falls back against the mirror, "my fucking eyebrows are burnt, i spilt water on my crotch so it looked like i pissed myself - and kappy isn't even interested...he was texting lacy," you look down, "and I don't even care about that honestly, i'm just...feeling defeated. I can't believe I was stupid enough to think this would work. I probably look ridiculous."

william's jaw clenched. he steps into your personal space, his jordan's now visible in your sight. it has you looking up gently, meeting his face only mere inches from yours. "you look beautiful."

you gulp. willy's thick thighs bump against your bare knee caps and it has your legs separating more than they had been, welcoming his body between them.

willy's eyes dance over your face before he gently grabs your cheeks, keeping you in place as you tilt up to look at him. "I hate hearing you talk badly about yourself."

all you can muster is a gentle nod, your cheeks rubbing against his palms at the movement. his thumb brushes against your cheek bone and it has you taking a shaky breath, one of your hands reaching up the rest on his chest.

just when you think he may lean in, there's a knock on the door, bursting the two out of your bubble. william jumps back as you slip off the counter, pulling your jeans on.

"you guys okay?" liz's voice is muffled through the door.

you brush past willy, pulling open the door to meet you worried friends expression.

"we are fine. william was just drying my jeans for me. thanks again."

he just nods breathlessly.

"are you sure you're okay?' liz asks you and you push a smile.

"yeah, but I think I want to head home," you clear your throat, running a hand through your hair. "I can give you some money, william, for my portion of the bill."

"no," he says quickly, "don't. it's on kappy and I."

you don't respond. "liz, are you going to come back with me?"

"absolutely," she says. and then you leave the bathroom, bidding goodbye to kappy before you and liz leave, driving silently while you drown in your own head, the events of the night whirling in a pool inside your brain.

20 minutes later you pull up outside liz's apartment.

the blond unbuckled her seatbelt but she doesn't open the door, only turns fully towards you with a sad expression. "i'm sorry about tonight."

you shrug, "nothing to be sorry about."

after a beat of silence, liz sighs, pulling on the handle of the door until it opens. "he's like totally into you, you know that, right?"

"he was literally answering another girl beside me, liz."

she furrows her brows. "what? no, not kappy." liz sighs, "willy."

"what? no. we are just good friends."

she laughs like she doesn't believe you, "seriously? i'm not buying that."

shocked, you huff, "well buy it. if he liked me why on gods green earth would he offer to help me get with his best friend?"

a moment passed, "y/n, he probably just wanted to spend more time with you."

you gulp and don't say anything. you feel like you could cry again.

"it's okay," liz says, "I was never really into him and if i'm being honest, I only agreed to go on this double date so you'd be happy. i'm sorry."

you sniffle, "don't be sorry. it's okay."

she just smiles softly, "okay," a beat passes, "and I think you might like him too."

and then she leaves.

1:58 a.m.

willy 💙

im sorry if i made you uncomfortable. it's the last thing i want to do

y/n

you didn't

y/n

i'm sorry too

willy 💙

what are you sorry for?

y/n

if i made it awkward

y/n

i feel like it got really tense in the bathroom

willy 💙

tense?

y/n

yeah

y/n

i was just really upset and i felt unwanted

y/n

i shouldn't of touched you like that

y/n

and i should've kept my pants on lol

y/n

let's just forget it happened

willy 💙

you want to forget it happened?

y/n

yes

willy 💙

okay.

—

not once had you forgotten about your conversation with liz since the double date. not a minute goes by without being reminded of what happened - or almost happened- in the bathroom with willy.

there was no way william liked you. you had thought over every interaction you two had had, and you can't see a reason why he would think of you of anything more than a friend. and he was a great friend, you loved the swede for it. he cared for you and was patient with you and he was your number one wing man. just like he promised he would that night when he came up with the plan, he has helped you with kapseri kapanen.

kappy had texted you a week and two days after the date, talking about the leafs charity gala and how he wants you to go with him.

you respond enthusiastically, accepting his invitation. even if you weren't ending up with kappy as your date, you're positive you would've been some other leafs date - just like usual. when zach brought it up three days after kappy asked you, you told him about kappy and zach had been happy for you: the plan was working. but you didn't feel happy, you felt sort of empty.

you hadn't texted, spoken to or met with willy since he texted you late after the double date. the conversation ended with a pit laying heavy in your stomach, sleep not coming easy thinking of his response.

you've embarrassed him, you think. you have truly pushed it with all this kappy stuff and you've embarrassed yourself and him. so you don't reach out, and he doesn't either, leaving you feeling nothing short of heartbroken.

the leafs gala raising money for cancer research was only a week away. you panic texted zach and alanna that you had nothing to wear and begged for them to join you and help you pick a dress suitable for the event.

so that next afternoon you and alanna browsed through the colourful racks of some expensive dress shop, the blond pulling out options she deemed suitable and passing them to the sales clerk, who adds them to your growing dressing room.

zach isn't close, currently scrolling his phone as he lounges on one of those boyfriend designated couches. you make sure he isn't in earshot and then you turn towards alanna, "remember last week when liz and I went on a double date with kappy and willy?"

she laughs lightly, "yes i remember."

"well, something happened."

alanna gives you an suspicious glance, passing a ruffled red dress to the clerk, "what?"

you clear your throat, "after i spilt my water on myself, and willy helped me dry them, we umm, I think we almost kissed."

her eyes goes wide, "you and willy?"

you sigh, fingers playing with the silky material of a lilac dress, "yeah and i'm pretty sure i freaked him out and put him in an awkward situation and...i feel like i fucked it all up."

"i'm sorry," she pulls you into her side, "have you talked to him?"

"not since we texted that night. I said we can forget about the whole situation and he just said okay. it just felt tense and i kind of miss him."

"I think maybe you should reach out," alanna says gently, "tell him how you feel." her eyes dart behind you, and her smile flatters. "or you could tell him now." her words are whispered out the side of her mouth.

"what?" you whisper, spinning around. you see william walking into the dress shop, a gentle smile on his face as zach greets him. "how is he here?"

"hey guys!" zach calls out, "I invited willy to help."

"great!" alanna calls back. you and william send each other a tight lipped smile, the two boys making their way over to you and alanna. zach seems to be oblivious to the tension, smiling as they approach.

"need any more help picking out options? willy and I are the best dressers I know."

you grab the purple dress you had been previously fiddling with, "no, actually, i've just chosen my last one."

the sales clerk rushes over and takes it from you.

"okay," zach smiles, "well let's start this fashion show!" he claps his hands.

"zach, maybe - " alanna starts but zach is already walking away, willy following in his steps, hands shoved awkwardly into his puffer coat.

you don't look at willy before entering the dressing room, pulling the curtain closed so even if he wanted to say anything, he wouldn't have the chance. not that you wanted to shun him, you just didn't want to face the embarrassment.

you slip on a green dress, you don't love it but alanna does, vocalizing her feelings as soon as you draw back the curtain. "i do love it but i think courtney is wearing that colour."

you just nod, stepping back into the room to try something different. your next option is the red one, with a big skirt that is way to prom-like for the gala, but you pull back to curtain anyways.

"it's cute!" alanna exclaims, but her face is hesitant.

zach must agree because he winces, "it's a bit...out there."

you spin in the mirror, observing the back.

"I like the colour," she continues, "what do you think?"

you hum, "I feel like i'm going to prom."

zach laughs, throwing his head back. "I wasn't going to say it."

"red isn't your colour," william interrupted.

oh.

all you can muster is quick nod, walking back into your changing room. changing out of the puffy dress quickly before slipping into the silk material of a different one.

when you head back into the main area, you're only met with the bright eyes of william, zach and alanna nowhere in sight.

"where'd they go?" you ask, eyes looking down at your feet as you make your way infront of the mirrors.

william shakes his head slightly, "they went off back into the retail section."

you just hum, observing yourself and the dress. it was absolutely stunning. for only grabbing it as a distraction, it was the most perfect dress you'd ever worn. the light purple shade complemented you skin wonderfully. the silk wrapped up around one shoulder, giving a unique shape - but the dress was still appropriate enough for the event. you knew it was the one.

"you look amazing," williams words are pretty much a whisper. you met his eyes through the mirror and he's looking at you so gently it has your stomach flipping.

"thank you," you say just as gently. you spin around to face him. in a moment of boldness you step of the slightly raised pedestal, walking until you are standing right in front of him. "why did you come?"

"zach asked me to."

you huff, "yeah but why did you agree?"

his brows pull together, "why are you annoyed?"

"i'm just asking, willy. why are you here?"

he stands, "that's a great question, actually. why am i here?" you swallow but don't speak, willy continues, "I don't really know what I did for you to brush me off  this past week but you could of at least talked to me about it."

you scoff, "i'm sorry but i'm not the only one to blame for our lack of communication, william. i'm just trying to make you comfortable! i told you we can forget about it and move on but clearly that's not enough. you're also stopping communication from me."

"you're not even making sense," willy huffs. "I backed off for you!"

"backed off? why on earth would you even need to back off?"

his adam apple bobs in his throat, eyes reaching yours frantically as if to try and analyze what you were feeling. "the reason why we're even in this situation is because of kappy," willy breathes, "that's what this is. an exchange of a stupid promise to help you get kappy."

"a stupid promise? are you seriously saying this to me. it's not just about - "

willy interrupts with a sarcastic chuckle, "and look at you right now. trying on fucking dresses for a gala that he invited you to. so it worked, you got kappy. we can stop this now."

you fight the urge to cry, anger and disappointment bubbling deep in your chest. "I don't want - "

he stops you, "to answer your question, I don't know why i'm here so i'll just leave. i'll see you at the gala."

willy turns on his heels, grabbing his discarded coat from the couch. just before he leaves the area he looks at you again, his tone bitter "you should get the red...it is his favourite colour after all."

and then he leaves you by yourself.

you frown, wiping at your eyes before any tears have a chance to fall.

—

you decide to meet kappy at the scotiabank arena. it gives you time to collect your thoughts before seeing willy again, which you very much needed.

you get ready in silence, emotionless as you curl your hair and apply your makeup. slipping into the silk purple dress and nude heels.

the mid march air is still chilly, prompting you to grab your nicest jacket before leaving your place and making the familiar drive to the leafs arena.

kappy meets you in the sporting garage, complementing you nicely and guiding you with a hand on your lower back as you both made your way into the event. you smiled brightly for photos, laughing with zach and posing with kappy.

the gala is so beautiful. the usual hockey ice covered with a beautiful flooring, the arena decorated appropriately with tables and chairs all around, sponsors, coaches, staff and players all in attendance. for what it was worth, you were having a good time.

"alright," you huff, placing down your vodka cranberry and pushing up off the table, "it's time to dance."

kappy groans, laughing when he throws his head back.

"I wouldn't argue," zach laughs but there's a heavy underlay to his words. it works though, kappy joining you to stand and guiding you into the dance floor around his teammates and coaching staff alike.

a slow taylor swift song was dripping through the speakers, her gentle voice soothing you as kappy grabs your waist, your arms filling suit as the move up towards his shoulders, loosely resting around his neck.

the two of you move slowly, swaying to the music. "i'm surprised that you didn't come with willy."

you try not to scoff. "well, you are the one who asked me."

kappy's eyebrows draw together, "only because he told me that he wasn't going to ask you."

you mimick his confused expression.

kappy continues, "he was the one who told me to reach out and ask you. I like you, y/n and you're a great friend and i mean no offence when I say i probably wouldn't have asked you if he didn't mention anything."

"oh," you hum. his words don't bother you as much as they once would have, "no offence taken. you're a great friend, kappy. i'm sorry anytime we hang out something embarrassing happens."

he laughs at that, "I don't mind. after all willy was always there to save the day - nothing embarrassing about that."

all you can do is nod. in that moment you think of what kappy just said, and you realize even if you and willy hadn't fought and the kappy plan was still in motion - it wouldn't go anywhere. kappy saw you as a friend, and for the first time in awhile that didn't stab a dagger through your heart. if anything, you felt relived. you think kappy and you are better off as friends and that has you laughing.

"what's so funny?" the finnish native inquires.

"nothing really," you mumble, "just - "

you stop yourself, stomach falling to the floor. you watch as willy dances with a girl, both laughing and swaying to the music only mere feet from you.

"ah shit," kappy mumbles.

you won't let yourself get upset, you think. so you look away harshly, back into kappy's eyes. he can tell your smile is forced, but he doesn't mention anything - your eyes say enough. "i'm fine."

it's not long after you initially spot him, you find william again. your eyes meet across the dance floor and almost simultaneously both of your smiles drop. but before he can blink, you're looking away. willy is only left watching your purple dress move aorund your ankles.

a few hours later you exit the bathroom, eyes downcast as you fiddle with your bengals covering your wrist. you come to a stop as you brush somebodies chest, dragging your eyes up until you're looking into a familiar shade of blue.

"sorry," you mumble, side stepping his path.

william grabs your arm, stopping you from walking away. "you're wearing purple."

you don't let your emotions come through, only shrugging. "it was the best dress." you look at him harshly, "you asked kappy to take me tonight?"

william just sighs at your question, shoulders deflating.

"not only that, but you had to lie in order for him to ask me. why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to upset you."

"out of everything you've said to me in the past two weeks, that would've been the nicest possible thing."

he sighs sadly again. "I didn't want it to hurt you," willy's voice is strained, hands held out in your direction like he was approaching a scared kitten.

"then maybe you should've asked me instead."

he looks taken back but you can't even find it in yourself to be embarrassed at your confession. you were done hiding these emotions and feeling embarrassed for being yourself.

"y/n...I need to - "

"william?" a feminine voice calls down the hallway, heels clicking as the same woman he was dancing with approaches you both, a sweet smile on her face. "sorry to interrupt." she says.

you laugh, "no it's okay, he's all yours."

you push past, shoulder bumping into his as you leave, walking away from william with your heart breaking along the way.

—

march 17th 10:43 a.m.

willy 💙

i'm sorry. i fucked up

and i hate fighting with you

willy 💙

you don't have to respond

but i needed to apologize

—

april 17th

you meet up with zach and tell him about you're feelings for william. you start with the family skate and vent about the bathroom, the fight at the dress store and the conversation at the gala. zach holds you while you cry.

playoffs are cut short once again for the leafs and it puts an ever bigger damper on willy's mood. everyday he wakes up and see if you've responded to his texts, only to be met with read.

—

may 17th

you go out with the team for drinks. now that the seasons over, they can let loose a bit more than they typically would. you dance with steph all night, avoiding willy at all costs.

you get so drunk that zach has to take you home early.

willy can't keep his eyes off you, even when he's pulled into a conversation, he always ends up watching you. he regrets not going up to you.

willy goes home alone.

—

june 17th

you still haven't responded to williams messages and you haven't seen him in person for longer than a fleeting second. you think about him every day.

willy thinks about reaching out again, but he doesn't want to push. he also thinks about watching tinkerbell, but he decides against it. he thinks about you every day.

—

july 17th

you go on a date with a new guy from work. the whole time you think of blonde hair and blue eyes. you don't see him again.

kappy tries to set willy up with one of his friends, but he declines.

—

august 17th

you almost reach out to willy - you are tired of pretending you're over him.

willy visits the cafe where the two of you first discussed your plans, ordering the same cheesy croissant sandwich. he almost sends you a picture of the food. he misses you.

kapseri kapanen gets traded to the pittsburg penguins.

—

august 20th

3:13a.m.

y/n

in swijdiu

y/n

sorreyu

y/n

sorry

y/n

i'm a litytle drunbk

y/n

i miass youu do musch willy

y/n

si shouydve repsonde when u txted me in apriul

y/n

i wabnt u

y/n

my swo sorry

the next morning you wake up with a pounding head, vision blurry when you try and look around. miracles must exist, you think, because even in your drunk state you had taken off your makeup and changed out of your bar clothes.

you groan, pulling back your covers so you can stumble to the bathroom. you pop some ibuprofen and turn on the shower, the steam warming the room and soothing your aches and pains.

you don't remember a thing from the night before, your drunk escapades with steph and sydney falling short, your memories blurry. all you can be happy about is that you actually made it home in one piece.

the shower has made you feel 100 times better, enabling you to successfully dress yourself and make something to eat without wanting to crawl back into bed and just rot away.

mid way through dishes a knock sounds at your door. you hadn't even checked your phone all morning, expecting it to be one of the girls to be stopping by. you stop cleaning, pulling open your front door.

willy stands there, eyes wide as he takes you in. "I texted you."

you gasp slightly, eyes blown wide as you take him in. your face falls, thinking about his texts back from april that you left on read. "i know."

he sighs gently, running a hand through his messy hair. "you never answered." he looks at you sadly.

"i know..." you sigh. you think about the last time you and him talked, the way you walked away from him and that girl at the gala.  "who was that girl at the gala." you're knawing at your lip as you await his answer.

"some random girl auston knows...I haven't even talked to her since then." you don't say anything so he speaks again, "I messaged you this morning."

you frown at his confession, "why?"

"you texted me first." he says quickly.

flashes of your night pass by then. you vaguely remember crying about the swede to your two friends, crying even harder as you texted on your phone.

your face pales. "I was really drunk. I don't know what I said but i'm sorry - "

he takes a step forward, entering your apartment and shutting the door behind him. you let him in your space wordlessly, neck tilted back so you can look up at him.

willy takes a deep breath, "I fucked up, y/n. I shouldn't have been so mean to you and there's no excuse for the way I acted. I regret the conversation we had at the dress shop and the one at the gala - i haven't stopped thinking about them in months."

"no, willy, I shouldn't of been so cold towards you. I should've talked to you -"

"don't even apologize. it was my fault, I..," he pauses, taking a deep breath, "I was angry because I didn't want to forget about what happened in the bathroom. I wasn't even angry you - i was angry with myself for not telling you how I was feeling."

"what are you saying?" your whisper holds a little hope, arms dropping limp at your sides as you take in the man before you.

"i love you," william breaths a laugh, "i love that you never text in paragraphs and separate sentences that dont need to be. i love that you're scared of vomit, and i love it when you get hangry and i love it even more when you take enormous bites and get food all over yourself.

I love how beautiful you are, how smart you are, how brave you are and how confident you are. I love how much you care about me and even when it was about kappy you were always thinking of me, finding comfort in me, listening to me."

"willy..." you words hold disbelief.

"i'm not done," he says gently, "nothing about you ever needed to change - especially for some guy who honestly, didn't give you the time of day you deserve. I love you for you! you're clingy and like the tinkerbell movie and wear animal print underwear. I love everything that makes you you, and anytime you would change yourself for kappy I wanted to tell you all this - but I didn't because I wanted to make you happy. and he made you happy...so i budded out."

your eyes fill with tears. mouth opening and closing like a fish while you take in his confession.

"i've been in love with you this whole time, y/n, I would do anything for you. so that's why I helped you with kappy, not because I wanted you to be with him but because I wanted to see you happy."

his final confession as you melting because the guy you fell in love with - the guy you pushed yourself away from in fear of not being loved back - has been in love with you since before you even knew it.

"do you mean it?"

he laughs awkwardly, moving towards you until he can touch you. william holds your face, looking down at you the way he always does. "I do."

"promise me."

he shakes his head in amused disbelief, "I promise." his thumbs wipe away at your tears, gently stroking your skin.

you push up on your toes, hands sliding up williams chest until they reach his neck, interlocking fingers behind his head for leverage as you bring your lips to his.

kissing william was nothing short of perfect. his lips were gentle with you, slotting between yours like a perfect puzzle. you two mold together like you've done it before: the kiss came easy. you moan into his mouth when he sucks on your bottom lip.

you drop back to the heels of your feet, willy's lips chasing yours as you move.

you're smiling when you pull away, both of you breathing deeply as you regain composure. william laughs gently, his breath tickling your nose and it has you smiling wider.

"I love you so much," you finally say. although willy wasn't expecting a confession back, he was relived to hear one from you, shoulders deflating with a happy sigh. "willy, I stopped liking kappy after the bar. I just didn't realize it until it was too late. I'm sorry for not talking to you about how I was feeling.

i'm even more sorry for putting you through plans that involved me trying to get with your best friend. i'm also sorry for not kissing you in the bathroom because...I really wanted to."

he just laughs, shaking his forehead against yours, "it's okay - you're kissing me now."

you smirk, "yeah," you push back up and nudge your nose against his perfectly sloped one, "and i'm going to do it again."

—

February 2021

william chuckles awkwardly, a blush creeping up his muscled chest. "well, actually...we're sort of dating."

willy expects kappy to be shocked, maybe react loudly and laugh in disbelief but he doesn't. his friend just smirks at him across the table, brows raised as if urging willy to continue.

"no. not sort of, actually. i'm in love with her and she's in love with me and we've been dating since august."

"so you finally grew a pair and asked her out?" kappy teases.

william just laughs, "well, she kind of asked me. I just word vomited a love confession at her and she took control and...well, now we are here."

"I knew you liked her." kappy says after a moment of silence, the same teasing smirk still on his face.

"how?"

"that picture of her with the busted up nose has been your home screen since you took it."

damn, willy thinks, kappy has him there.

the conversation continues between them, sharing laughs and catching up over their dinner until they need to part ways. they would see each other tomorrow when the penguins hit the ice to play the leafs, so their goodbye isn't all too bad.

willy arrives home just after 9, stomach full with a smile on his face. his two dogs rush to his aid, jumping up against his legs in search of affection and kisses from their dad.

"hey," the sound of your voice as willy looking up just as your round the corner, clad in sweats and your glasses. "how was dinner?"

he pulls you into his side, "was good," his words are mumbled against your lips, willy bringing you into a toe - curling kiss that had your stomach doing flips.

"i missed you when you were gone," you giggle.

he raises a brow at you, dogs now sitting peacefully at both your feet. "you promise?"

you throw you head back with a laugh at his question, the position giving willy free access to attack your neck in kisses. "I promise."

───────── ౨ৎ ─────────

[obriengf]

How would the characters react to their partner who is usually smiley and happy, stop smiling because of a bad day or something happened

please send me some dylan characters and headcanons! TEMPORARILY CLOSED

stiles: the moment he sees your saddened face, his would drop too. your smile would be his driving force and without it, all energy would be drained. stiles would be desperate to know the source of what made you lose your sparkle but he also knew that comfort needs to come first, and questions asked later. stiles loves hugs - so immediately, you would be wrapped within his arms and he would hold you until he deemed enough. if you cried, his hand would rub your back. if you were just dejected, he would whisper stupid jokes in your ear until you laughed. he wouldn't try using his detective skills on what made you upset until he knew you were looked after.

mitch: if you were his work partner, mitch wouldn't know what to do if you were sad. usually, you were kickass and didn't let anything bother you, keeping your emotions at bay like the CIA taught you both so well to do. you would finish a mission, and the relief wouldn't be evident as it usually was - and that was mitch's first clue. he wouldn't ask what was wrong, but probably pat your shoulder awkwardly, and try to distract you with promises of drinks or packing up your belongings for the jet ride home. if you were his lover, he would feel emotional distress of his own seeing you upset. he would hold you tight, and try to coax out the reason for your sadness. if it was a person, mitch would definitely handle it.

thomas: he had spent so long making sure everybody was safe and happy in the safe haven, so it was only natural that his determination continued if he saw you downhearted. thomas wouldn't ask why until you were ready, but he would try to distract you. he'd probably convince you to go on a run with him to clear your mind, stopping for a break at one of the small cliffsides up the mountain as you both took in the view. he'd try to make you smile and happy, then probably make a comment like 'there's that smile I've been missing'. after a while, he would ask what was wrong. and despite possible protests, he would do whatever he could to make sure he could resolve it.

stuart: he didn't have the best social skills, and probably wouldn't notice you were sad until someone else mentioned it and it caught his attention. he would be awkward around the situation, but he wasn't heartless. stuart just rolling his seat over to yours and sitting silently until you looked over to him - he would smile nervously, probably reach out to lightly pat you shoulder and it would make your face screw up in confusion. but he wouldn't leave you as he started making small talk, asking if you needed anything, or wanted help with work. stuart wouldn't ask what was wrong but he would try be be accommodating, and that was more than enough for you.

joel: he is extremely empathetic - if you were upset, he would be on you in seconds asking what happened. joel would want to know so he could figure out the best way to make you feel better. you need comfort? sit back and he would make you some soup to 'warm your soul'. you need consolation? he would stick to your side, hugging you or just holding you to him as he rocked you slowly. you want to be left alone? he understood that, and he would let you cool off but he wouldn't be far away as he observed to make sure you were alright. joel would never be too far away... as long as he would be able to make you smile again.

sam: sam would begin with being slightly anxious - a part of him would worry if he did something wrong, the other part would be about whether he could fix whatever was wrong. this aspect of him drove gentle questioning about what led to you being upset, and once he knew the answer, he jumped straight into caring protective mode. he would have careful movements as he held you, or led you to a comfortable place. sam getting you a warm drink to give you a bit of pep, or if you are incredibly upset he would make you drink a glass of cold water to calm your nerves. he would assess whether you need to talk it through, and act accordingly.

richie: richie doesn't always think rationally, which is why anger would be at the forefront of his mind. the fact that something or someone made you upset was utterly appalling, and they needed to be taken down. he would find out what happened, and either send someone to deal with it on behalf of him as he looked after you, or he would go deal with it himself so that they felt the despair that provoked you to collapse sad and upset in his arms. he never showed this side of him in public, but behind closed doors he would absolutely dote over you - loving hugs and reassurance, a soft tender side that only came out for you. whispering sweet nothings in your ear, and promises like 'they will think twice next time they decide to mess with my girl again'.

[its-rat-time-babey]

One detail I really like about Mitch is that he’s not exaggerating or overcompensating when it comes to his skills.

Like I’ve seen so, SO many characters like that, where they act tough, claim they have all the skill in the world and have an ego the size of the sun because of that, only for them to fold the second things get tough because they’re all talk.

And to an outside observer, Mitch seems to be in the perfect position for this.

He’s the self proclaimed leader and number one tech in Bailley.

He’s obsessed with keeping himself at the top.

He has an ego so large it can be seen from space

He frequently steals xp from other techs.

He’s a dick.

If you’re going off of just that information about Mitch it would be so easy to guess that he’s not actually as skilled as he seems and only maintains that lead by stealing kills from other, more skilled techs. Like it’s such a common trope in other media that it’s almost obvious.

But that’s the thing. Mitch really IS as strong as he claims, give or take a bit. He takes down extremely powerful glitches on the regular and if he says he can beat something, there’s like an 80% chance he’s not joking. That massive ego isn’t misplaced, he’s earned it.

He doesn’t steal glitches to maintain a lead over the others, he steals glitches because he’s a dick.

[sweet-creature101]

Kiwi

Summary: Harry recently started his solo carrier and Sarah recommmeds y/n as his lead guitarist. Harry finds himself intimidated by y/n and y/n could not care less.

famous!harry ; an enemies to lovers trope

part two

warnings: mention of alcohol. Swearing. Suggestive language and sexual tension.

“Come on Harry trust me on this. It won’t go downhill. She’s really good.” Sarah pleaded her case for the tenth time since the past one hour. Harry was certain she would talk his ear off.

“What was her name again?” Mitch asked Sarah.

“Y/n.”

“Sarah, I don’t know about this. I’ve known you all since a long time and it’s easy to work with you.” Harry said, slightly skeptical about a new addition to his team.

Harry knew who you were, a very successful songwriter and one hell of a guitar player. He knew you worked with bands like 5sos, 21 Pilots and even wrote a few songs on Taylor’s swifts album, Reputation. He saw you at a concert once and immediately fell in love with the way your presence consumed the concert wholly. No one cared about who was singing because everyone’s eyes were fixated on the young seductress clad in black leather and playing her instrument as if her life depended on it.

“You can only grow if you’re out of your comfort zone.” Sarah firmly stated, crossing her arms over her chest huffing out a breath.

Harry thought about it for a good minute. He needed someone with experience and you seemed to have it. You knew how to write and what to write. Perhaps a little experiment wouldn’t be so bad.

“Okay. I’m trusting your judgement on this.” Harry said nodding.

“Great because y/n’s in the elevator right now.” Sarah said giggling slightly. “Thank God you didn’t say no. Would’ve been a difficult conversation.” She mumbled, relived at how the situation panned out.

The apartment bell rang and Sarah jumped out of her seat startling Mitch who was sitting next to her. She took long strides towards the door.

“Y/n! Oh my gosh, it’s been ages! You look wonderful!” Sarah said hugging you. You smiled and hugged her back, glad to meet her once again after what seemed like a century.

“Thank you. How’ve you been?” You asked her, not bothering to take note of the two men who seemed to scrutinise your interaction with quite a lot of concentration.

“Same ol’ same ol” Sarah chuckled as she let you in.

“Harry, Mitch meet y/n.” Sarah introduced you to them. You found yourself in an awkward postion so you simply gave a wave and a loose smile.

If Harry was a ball of sunshine then you were a raging hurricane. The two of you were polar opposites. Harry radiated warmth and seemed to be the kind of person whom other people could talk to. Meanwhile you on the other hand were someone who kept to themselves.

Harry couldn’t help but notice your sweeping eyeliner. He observed it quite attentively, how it was winged at the edge of your eye and in the inner corner as well in a feline manner. You wore low waisted jeans with a fitted graphic black tee shirt that ended just below your navel, showing a silver of skin.

“So y/n, what’s your work like?” Mitch asked you.

“I write mainly rock but I’m open to new suggestions.” You said. Sarah nodded as if to say ‘awesome.’

Your voice was firm and authoritative as you answered the question. Harry found himself completly entranced by this complexity of a person that stood in front of him. He figured it out the minute you walked into the room with your head held high that working with you wouldn’t be easy.

“Do you have any questions Harry?” Sarah asked him. Harry only nodded no.

“Great. Im going out for a smoke.” You said leaving the three of them alone again.

“She’s scary.” Harry said once the door shut. Sarah rolled her eyes in response. “She’s a no nonsense person Harry.”

“And scary.” He added again.

“I know you’re not used to people like her. Just because you’re both literal opposites doesn’t mean she’ll eat you alive.” Sarah snorted. “You like her, don’t you Mitch?” Sarah asked him. Mitch only swallowed and replied, “I like her better on stage.”

“Oh hush both of you. Give her time.”

——————————————

“It doesn’t sound good.” Harry huffed out impatiently, staring at the lyrics he scribbled. It had been more than a week since everyone started to work on his debut album.

Harry began to habour a certain disliking for you, owing to lack of your participation and one word answers. You would sit away from everyone, scribble in your diary and would rarely look up from its pages.

“You know what guys, let’s just take a breather yeah?” Jeff, Harry’s manager said getting up from his chair and stretching his legs.

“I’m going out for a walk.” Sarah said, pulling Mitch to his feet as well. Harry was about to get up as well but Sarah mouthed to him; ‘talk to her’ as she gestured towards you. Harry looked at her with wide eyes and was ready to protest but Sarah was quick on her feet.

“Y/n.” Harry called out your name. You looked up at him, the loose strands strands of your braid fell down framing your face. You raised your eyebrows as if to say ‘speak on.’

Harry cleared his throat. “What are you writing?”

“Nothing much. Just an idea.” You said. That was the most you had spoken.

Harry noticed that today, there was no eyeliner but smudged kohl lining your eyes. You opted for a plain white tank top and a pair of mini cargo shorts. A surprise for Harry who was much too used to seeing you in black.

“I think, everyone would appreciate it if you would participate more you know?” Harry said. You only nodded and went back to scribbling.

“See! This is what you do y/n. You don’t talk. You’re so busy doing God knows what. I get it, you know you’re talented but that doesn’t mean you’re better than us.” Harry exploded. You shut your dairy hard and stared at him with rage.

“It’s been almost two weeks since you joined us. Have you contributed in any way?” Harry added, his voice reaching a higher octave and getting louder by the second.

“First of all, I don’t think I’m fucking better than you and second of all, instead of blaming me why don’t you recognise the fact that you’re scared and absolutely clueless.” You spat at him.

“I’m not scared.” Harry said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yeah right.” You scoffed rolling your eyes. “You’re so scared that you’re putting the blame on me just because I’m the newbie. This solo carrier is new to you and that terrifies the shit out of you Harry. So much that you can’t even work. If I have to be the punching bag then I’m fucking leaving.” You stated grabbing your bag.

“You don’t know shit y/n.”

You didnt care about what Harry said next as you walked out of the room.

—————————————————

“Was it really necessary Harry?” Jeff said, rubbing his head with his hands. The stress of not having completed the album began to increase.

“I told you, ‘give her some time.’ Did you do that Harry? No. You just had to say something.” Sarah said, flinging her arms in the air.

“I mean, was Harry wrong though? Y/n was… just there you know. She didn’t talk, she didn’t help. Good riddance I say.” Mitch said.

The whole group was torn up over this. Harry began to feel guilt overpower him, but the rage he felt at your words was far too much for him to hone. He knew you were right and he hated you for that. He hated you for the fact that you were so good at reading him. Harry knew that you didn’t talk because you were shy but because you never found yourself as engaged as the others. You were aloof, and gave the impression that nothing bothered you at all.

“It’s been what; six days since she stormed off?” Jeff asked harry.

“Seven.”

“Jesus.”

Harry was certain that you overreacted to the situation. Granted, you didn’t want to be here and Harry left no stone unturned when it came to reminding you his dislike for you.

The door bell rang, Harry got up to look through the key hole. He felt the colour drain from his face. It was you. Standing in front of the door.

“It’s her.” Harry whispered with his eyes wide.

“You know I can hear you, ya dick. Open the door or I’m leaving.” You, irritation lacing your face.

You began to hate Harry or at least develop an aggressive aversion towards him as time passed. You hated how he seemed to have enough energy throughout the day to burst into a song. You hated that he was all smiles and giggles every second of the day. The only one thing you liked about him was how intimadated he was by you. But you knew that he could be much more terrifying than you when the time came.

“Pick your poison.” Mitch said.

Harry opened the door to meet your black smudged eyes. You push him as you enter the room and slam the diary on the centre table with a loud thud.

“Here you go. You said Im no help at all. Well I beg to differ. I’ve written three songs.” You said. Harry picked up the diary and flipped through the pages.

Kiwi

Medicine

Only angel

Strange names for such explicit songs.

Harry passed the diary to Sarah who looked at the songs with amazement.

“Harry we’ve got to add these.” Sarah said, excitement lacing her eyes.

“I don’t need anyone to plead my case. If he likes them, good enough.” You said, your voice unwavering as you looked at Harry who narrowed his eyes at you.

“I like them.”

—————————————

Within a week, all recordings were done and the album was ready to launch. Jeff suggested that the four of you should to go out, let off some steam because life would never be the same once the album got released.

Everyone was quite surprised when you suggested a place to party. You were quite intent on getting shit faced because the past month had been a whirlwind to say the least.

You wore a black mini dress, encased with sequins that was backless. Your eyes were lined with heavy kohl and mascara. Your whole face was bare other than your eyes.

“Johnnieeeee!” You exclaim to the large bouncer, a smile on your face as you high five him.

“Y/n been a long time. I see you’ve got friends.” He said, eyeing the people behind you.

Sarah felt that the club you brought them to too was far too dark and dingy for her liking. It was dark and the music was blaring. The club smelt of sex, drugs and alcohol. Your natural habitat. She held Mitchs hand in hers who was amused at her behaviour.

“I promise I’ll be good.” You say, looking up at him with doe eyes and a sly smile. John chuckled and let you in the club.

“We have go to do shots.” You exclaim to all three of them. Harry was surprised at your behaviour to say the least, he never would’ve pegged you as someone who even had the ability to smile let alone laugh.

“Nope. I’m driving.” Sarah said throwing her hands up in the air.

“Jeez such a buzzkill.” You said making Sarah roll her eyes. You stuck your tongue out at her as you made your way to the bar with Harry and Mitch.

“Don’t stop till your at least ten shots down.” You said with a cunning smile and excited eyes.

“Ten?!” Mitch exclaimed.

“Six.” Harry interjected.

“Deal.”

Harry learnt a great deal about that night. Especially the fact that you have a tendency to dance with almost anyone and everyone.

He saw you make your way to the dancefloor, not bothered about the fact that you had no one to dance with. You swayed your hips to the song, your arms moving and a bright smile etched on your face. You were surrounded by men and women. Harry saw you dance with a man whom you didn’t know, he wished you would be that carefree with him.

After an hour of drinking and talking, Harry found you dancing on the table with a few other people.

“Is this normal?” He asked Sarah who snickered in response. “Yep. She’s a fun drunk.”

You spot Harry and get down from the table, stumbling forward. The strap of your heel loosened and Harry quickly caught hold of you.

“Wait a second.” Harry said, as he kneeled down to fix your strap. Once he got up he saw your glassy eyes laiden with lust and simply smirked.

“You like watching me get down on my knees for you, huh?” Harry whispered in your ear, his grip harsh around your waist as he pulled you towards himself . You felt heat rise up your thighs and stomach.

“Isn’t that what men are good for anways?” You whispered, closing any gap you two had as you put one hand behind his neck, tugging him closer to you. “Don’t think this changes anything betwen us Styles. You’re still a nightmare.” You whispered to him in his ear slowly.

You stood so close to each other that you could feel each others heat radiate. Harry’s heart raced as his eyes met yours. You were cautious with your gaze, afraid that if you looked any longer in his eyes, he might spot the hunger in yours just as you might see his making you lose any self control you exercised.

“I have someone waiting for me.” You spoke, breaking the silence. Harry raised his eyebrows in amusement as his hands wandered down your waist to your lower back. He buried his face in the crook of your neck as he left a bite there. You let out a soft moan, turning into complete putty in his grip.

“I could fuck you much better y/n.” He said, his voice dangerously low.

“I don’t want to be fucked missionary style that’ll leave me unsatisfied.”

“Your moan said otherwise.”

Two can play this game.

You wiggled out of his grip, ignoring the throbbing between your legs as you sauntered towards the dance floor, blowing a kiss at Harry from a distance.

——————————————

“Hello?” Your groggy voice spoke into the microphone of your phone. Your head throbbing due to last night.

“Y/n. Where are you?” Jeff asked you.

“Home.”

“Come over to Harry’s. Got something to discuss.”

“I’ll be there in five.” You said before hanging up on the phone.

You washed your face, put on a large tee shirt and an oversized pair of sunglasses. You brushed your hair and slipped into your slippers. It was a ten minute drive to Harry’s house. The radio was silent. The windows were rolled down because you needed fresh air now more than ever.

You reached his flat and rang the doorbell.

“My my look who’s here.” Harry taunted as he opened the door to see you in an oversized tee shirt, legs bare and slippers. He couldn’t control all the thoughts that seemed to slip in and out his head as he saw your legs.

“Show me your eyes love.” Harry snickered knowing they must be bloodshot. You flipped him off and plopped down on the bean bag, groaning as you held your head.

“You seemed to have a lot of fun last night.” Mitch said, getting a stare from Sarah. “You should see the videos.” He added. Your head shot up at his words.

“Videos?”

“Yep. They’re too good.” He snickered. You removed your sunglasses and pounced at Harry who began to play videos of you dancing on table tops.

“Give. Me. The. Damn. Phone.” You said in between breathes as you attempted to strangle Harry. You were about to smack Harry but he picked you up by your waist, throwing you on his shoulder.

“Put me down.” You stated firmly.

“Only if you don’t strangle me.” Harry said chuckling at your sorry state.

“I don’t make promises Styles.”

“Too bad. I’ll post it if you continue to be a brat.” He said.

“Fine.”

Harry put you down, running a hand through your messy hair which you swatted off. He noticed how young you looked without lining your eyes, a different girl, perhaps even innocent. You looked like a doe. You looked beautiful.

“You’re drolling on the carpet Styles.” You said rolling your eyes at him.

“Am I supposed to deny that I find you attractive?” He questioned, his voice low and alluring. He spoke slow enough to make your thighs quiver. Your mind suddenly flashed you images of how his large hand felt against your waist last night.

“I’m too hungover for this.” The only defense left.

This was new to you. This feeling of loathing someone to no extent but also finding them undeniably attractive. Attractive enough to make your thoughts wander off to forbidden places and scenarios.

“What happened to your neck?” Sarah said, noticing the love bite that Harry left the other night. You rolled your head back as you rubbed your eyes with a yawn. Harry felt proud to say the least, he smirked and winked at you while you barely controlled the urge to smash his face in the table neck to him.

“Why am I even here?” You said groaning. “The work is done. The albums done. What do you possibly need for me now?” You added.

“Come to tour with us.” Jeff said, his manager persona now showing.

“What?”

“Yes.”

“It wasn’t in the contract Jeff.”

“Consider this, an impromptu decision.” He reasoned with you.

“I’ll do only concerts. No interviews. No playing for videos and no recordings.” You said.

“Deal.”

You huffed a breath as you reached for the glass of water next to you. “That’s mine!” Harry whined. You flipped him off as you wore your sunglasses and went to sleep.

“Oh y/n what’s your Instagram?” Jeff asked. You scoffed at his question, “don’t have one.” You simply said. “Well, Harry follows his band members so-”

“No.” and with that you went to sleep.

—————————————

The album was a success to say the least. Everyone seemed to recognise Harry as Harry styles and not as Harry from One Direction. It was bitter sweet to say the least. Harry was excited and enthralled to be able to embark a whole new journey.

The album release party was a success. But you weren’t there, Harry had called you not once but twice asking you why you weren’t there.

“Y/n, it’s already six, why aren’t you at the party?” Harry asked you on call.

“Because I didn’t plan on going.” A short answer. Your one word answers now began to become a bit longer but they annoyed Harry nonetheless.

“The whole band’s here.”

“I’m not part of your band Harry. I helped you write your songs.” You stated.

“But you’re going to tour with us.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

And now as Harry stood in front of the stage, waiting for the crowd to pour in, he wondered where you were. You had insisted on driving to the show venue on your own instead of travelling with the band. Harry tried to persuade you but you didn’t budge.

“Is she here?” Harry asked Jeff who only nodded no. Harry was getting worried now. He was supposed to get ready, but he was much to engaged in wondering about your whereabouts. It was his first show and your words about him being scared rang in his head.

“She’ll be here don’t worry.” Jeff said.

By the time Harry got ready, he spotted you, a cigarette in your mouth as you look towards the stage. You wore a latex, dark emerald coloured waistcoat that resembled a corset. It pushed your breasts together and ended just above the curve of your waist. You wore low waisted black bell bottoms. The waistcoat and the bell bottoms gave off the illusion of an hourglass figure. Your eyes were covered in your signature feline eyeliner, curving in the inner and outer corner of your eye.

“Y/n!” Harry called your name. You looked up at him, a lazy smile on your face as you disposed the cigarette.

“My my look at you styles. A fucking prince you are.” You said snickering. Harry stuck his tongue out at you. He wore a red blazer clad with black flowers and the same pattern was all over his trousers. His hair were unruly yet only added to his charm.

“Ya scared?” You asked him.

“No. I mean, I’m just…. excited yet scared you know?”

“Hmm.”

“You stick out like a sore thumb.” Harry said, his eyebrows raised at you as he scanned you up and down.

“Excuse me for not wanting to dress up as a fucking rainbow.” You said scowling at Harry who passed you a smile. “Y’know what would really go well with your top?” Harry said, his eyes twinkling. “What?”

“Wait.” Harry ran off of to his dressing room, fetching a silver cross necklace. The cross was heavy and large, engraved with swirls and very small rubies decorating it. Harry gestured you to turn around, his hands brushed against your skin as he snapped it’s lock in place. The cross rested against the curve of your breasts, demanding attention and praise. “How about a hickey to tie your look together?” Harry questioned.

“From you? Not even in your dreams Styles.” You said. Harry smirked at you and went towards the stage.

—————————————

Harry felt alive. He felt free and invincible on stage. But you, you were the personification of sex. The minute Kiwi began to play, the crowds focus shifted from Harry to you.

You whipped your hair back and forth, your back arching, a cigarette encased in your pink lips, sweat gleaming down the curves of your waist, breasts and arms. The crowd went absolutely wild as you winked at them. Harry’s photographer, Lloyd was entranced with you. He couldn’t help but photograph you. Your eyebrows were sinched together in focus, your eyes closed, your mouth slightly open and your body fully arched.

After the first concert, the fans and media were deep diving into who you were and tried to uncover your identity. As the tour progressed, the crowd began to make posters stating things like “we’re here for y/n!” “Give us y/n!”

There were pictures of you everywhere, playing the guitar as your face morphed into an expression which Harry called your “orgasm face.”

Harry was asked about you during interviews as well, the media was left questioning about your identity and they found themselves allured by a recent stunt you pulled at a concert.

You jumped off the stage during Medicine and went up to a man, roughly around your age if not older. The man lit the cigarette in your mouth with his lighter as you winked at him and murmured “thank you love.”

—————————————

The tour had finally ended. You were in your dressing room, your chest heaving up and down. The adrenaline after the show still lingering in your blood stream. You removed your top and were standing in your bra, the minute Harry barged in.

“Knock on my door ya’dick!” You said, crossing your arms over your chest which did nothing at all to ease Harry since your breasts were pushed up.

After months of sexual tension, Harry finally felt himself crack.

“Got to teach you some manners.” You murmured.

“Really?” He tutted, pulling you by the loop of your jeans.

You understood where this was heading. “Hmm.” You hummed, moving your hands slowly on the buttons of his shirt. Harry caught your wrist making you look up at him. He looked in your eyes, deep and seriously as if to contemplate his actions. You pulled him by his neck, close enough that your foreheads touched.

“M’gonna regret this.” He whispered. He didn’t give you a chance to respond as he connected his lips to yours, his tongue swirling in your mouth. His hands wandered down the curve of your spine and lingered there. You deepened the kiss, letting your hunger overpower you. He wasn’t close enough, you needed his skin next to yours, rubbing, you needed to feel him, you needed him.

There was a knock on the door, you immediately recoil away from Harry although his hands were still on your bare back. “Y/n, Vanessa’s here for you.” Laura, his assistant said.

Vanessa and you were supposed to head out to paris the next morning. Harry felt a hole cave in his chest, remembering about your departure.

“I’ll be there.” You said.

You kissed Harry, a sweet and soulful kiss. Not the one that was ruled with consumption and the urge to mark.

“You should stay.” Harry whispered, holding you.

“I never stay anywhere for too long.”

Harry looked at you, his eyes staring into yours as you squeezed his hand. “Who’re you gonna strangle now?” You laughed remembering all the times you tried to strangle and choke him, resting your head on his chest.

“I’ve got to go.” You said, slipping out of his grip, slipping on a tee shirt as you picked up your stuff.

Harry looked at you with a look of longing. How stupid. How cruel. How unfair. He thought to himself as he saw you leave.

“When will I see you again?” He asked you.

“When it’s the right time.” You said, kissing his cheek.

——————————————

Authors note; how are we feeling about a part two? let me know in the comments section <3

[webweabings]

THE PLEASURE OF SIN IS SOON GONE, BUT THE STING REMAINS.

Saadi Shirazi; // "The Rumi Collection: An Anthology of Translations of Mevlana Jalâluddin Rumi", by Jaläl al-Din Rumi (Maulana). tr. Kabir Helminski and Andrew Harvey; // "Mind is a Myth: Disquieting Conversations with the Man Called U.G", by U.G. Krishnamurti; // "The Five People You Meet in Heaven", by Mitch Albom; // Roger L'Estrange; // "Suicide: A Study in Sociology", by Emile Durkheim; // "Wit and Wisdom of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle: Being a Treasury of Thousands of Glorious, Inspiring and Imperishable Thoughts, Views and Observations of the Three Great Greek Philosophers, Classified Under about Four Hundred Subjects for Comparative Study", by Socrates, Plato, Aristotle; // "The Maze Maker", by Michael Ayrton

[3416]

thanks to @glovehearts observations this morning... i was watching for it for today's game and he's waiting for the little behind the back high five from mitch too.... help

[wheelsnipecelebrini]

I failed at not throwing my hat into the ring about That Article. Whoops!

It's truly been fascinating to see the number of angles from which the writer has managed to piss people off. Like damn! That was not a brief post, but I could probably write 6x its word count and not be done saying things about it, and frankly none of them are particularly kind. It's hard to know where to start.

But I think neonfretra hit the nail on the head when they said that probably a core reason this article is pissing everyone off is that it's not doing what it asserted. It's not in any way a successful analysis of masculinity in hockey, "changing" or otherwise, because that's ultimately not what it's about. Of course its gender analysis is flimsy as hell and its dashed-off references to race and xenophobia feel emptily perfunctory and it seemingly thinks the writer and his friends invented woman+ interest in sports and its supporting proof of hockey's changing standards (my guy are you seriously asserting the boston bruins invented goalie head taps or whatever in 2022) all seem to be from three years ago, because it's about a particular subset of stan twitter trying to make sense of and defend their love of the game and the fandom. Which imho is actually a good thing; I think self-reflection is great, but in order to do that successfully you have to be clear on what you're looking at. "Why do I like this thing?" is a different question than "why is this thing so gay, actually?" I'm a gay person, I can make anything gay. Me making it gay and it being gay are not the same thing, actually, and it's a real unforced error to confuse the two. The piece itself comes off as pretty confused on that point despite defining the distinction in its preamble.

So that's one thing that I'm stuck on, the way these assessments of gender and queerness seem to take for granted that they're grounded in factual observation / serious study and not projection.

I don't know how you look at a group of like-minded people all deciding Quinn Hughes is eldest daughter-coded and never entertain the idea that this says a lot about those people and really nothing at all about Quinn Hughes. Fixating on the idea of Mitch Marner being the first male victim of misogyny is pretty shallow and unserious in part because that's kind of one of the core foundations of the enforcement of masculinity, that the worst thing a man can be is a woman; neither hockey nor sports generally invented it and the last few years of hockey fandom didn't invent calling it out. Mitch Marner is not remotely close to the first male person who gets shit shoveled at him because he's perceived to be doing personhood in a feminine way, and I shouldn't need to explain that to someone who is positing that they've unlocked hockey gender with One Weird Trick.

I'm not the first to point out that the writer confidently describing Brock Boeser's reaction to his "Mr. Sensitive" nickname as "playful" seems like a serious misreading. You can be very happy to see something in your favorite fixations that makes you feel seen etc, but you feeling seen or validated does not mean that that's what's on offer. I'm glad that people find it relatable, interesting, and wonderful to see men crying, but I'm uncomfortable that they seemingly haven't entertained the idea that the crying men perhaps conceive of their public tears quite differently than the gender studies enthusiast and/or fandom critter observing them might. Do you get what I mean? It feels, to me, akin to someone without prompting telling a fat person that the bravery they exhibit by wearing a crop top and not hiding their belly rolls makes them, someone seeing said fat person, feel better about their own bodily imperfections. Like maybe that's true, but you might wanna sit with that for a second and also conclude that it's an inside thought. "You're so brave for not being able to stifle tears about your dying father, it makes me feel like your gender is getting less problematic to enjoy" -- thanks I guess??? In some ways, all of this is basically agreeing with the regressive enforcement and conceptions of gender but doing it with a thumbs up. "Yeah man we all agree Mitch Marner is a girly little fruit, but when I say it I'm being approving."

Again, you can have these conversations, you can force-femme hockey players to the ends of gender and back with any degree of sincerity that appeals to you. These are public people, you ain't hunting them for sport. Go ahead! It's fun! But being convinced that your identification with or fixation on a public figure you do not know says something definitive about them or the milieu in which they exist and were formed is not particularly, uh. Good. To say nothing of the fact that "man is the Bad Gender and being Less Man is intrinsically Better" plays into some really, really tired transphobic nonsense. If you need to mitigate the man-ness of your blorbos in order to feel like you're enjoying them in a god-honoring way, then that's a you thing and I think it might be preferable to leave Johnny Gaudreau out of it. Somewhat relatedly, a cursory skimming of more than the last few years might have lead you to the treasure trove of fics and other fandom errata about the dainty woman-coded sensitivity of a certain player formerly on the Chicago Blackhawks, and I think we all know how insightful that perception ended up being. Many such cases, as they say.

I could go on and on and on in What The Hell Are They Teaching In Gender Studies Classes These Days and so many other ways, but I think it's probably good to cut myself off here, especially because it's all already been talked to death. Dear god do not release the next two parts, this is not the enrichment any of us need in any of our enclosures.

[austonwithan-o]

“We’re parents? Like actually parents?”

No warnings really… pregnancy ig if that’s a trigger

You sat on the bathroom floor. The cold tiles sending chills throughout your body, the pregnancy test on the counter sat there. Your period was late. You hadn’t told Auston mostly because you just realized it that day but you also didn’t want to freak him out, he already had so much going on during off season. Training and planning for the season to start, it was a lot and the last thing you wanted to do was stress him out. You were shaking, praying for a good outcome but you didn’t know what a good outcome was. Auston and you always talked about getting married first before having kids. That’s just the way you were raised and how you pictured your future. Starting a family was one of your biggest dreams and you had expressed it many times with him but with his career and everything going on for him, he wanted to wait a few more years. On the other hand you wouldn’t mind having a mini you or a mini him running around playing floor hockey until you were confident enough to get them in skates, imagining Auston as a dad made your heart ache longingly for those days but you had no idea how Auston would react to it being so soon. You looked down at your phone. The 3 minute timer rang loudly in your ears and you slowly stood up. Grabbing the packaging you peeled the wrapper back revealing two pink lines. Your breath was caught in your throat. You felt nauseous and shaky. Quiet sobs left your mouth but you covered your mouth because you knew you wouldn’t be able to stop once the crying really started. Your mind started racing with every outcome, truthfully you were happy but god you were terrified what Auston would think. You put the pregnancy test back in the box and threw it in the trash grabbing a wad of toilet paper and throwing it in to cover it. Auston wasn’t too observant thankfully. You knew he’d never look in the trash can and it bought you some time to think about how you would break the news to him.

You washed your hands and wiped your eye’s making yourself look presentable. It was almost 5 and he’d be home from playing golf with Mitch and Willy. Walking out of the bathroom and making your way downstairs you saw Auston pull into the driveway. You watched as the three piled out of the car grabbing their gear out of the back, you sat at the bar scrolling through instagram trying to distract yourself. The front door opening letting the warm Arizona air drift in.

“Hey baby how did the golfing go?” You asked not looking up from your phone.

“Absolutely crushed these goons.” He said laughing. He walked over lightly grabbing the side of your face, planting a kiss to your temple grabbing a beer from the fridge. Your anxiety was through the roof at this point and he knew something was up.

“Man I don’t even care, I’ve won the last 3 games buddy I just let you win this time.” Mitch said throwing his hat on the dining room table. “Sauce me a beer will ya?” Everyone was gathered around the bar at this point chatting and talking about their game mostly making fun of each other laughing.

“Mitch no one likes a sore loser bud.” Willy said cracking the beer open taking a long sip.

“I’m not a sore loser I’m just saying I won the last 3 times. This one win doesn’t mean anything.” You couldn’t help but laugh at their childish banter.

“Baby you want a drink?” Auston asked grabbing a white claw from your side of the drink fridge.

“Oh I’m okay! I’m not thirsty.” You said giving him a small smile, finally looking at him he gave you a weird look putting the drink back in the fridge. He went on with his conversation with the boys who were completely oblivious to the slight tension between you two.

You got up from the bar area heading back up to your room. Auston’s eyes not leaving your figure walking up the marble stairs, you could feel his eyes burning into the back of your head. You laid in your bed with Felix staring at the ceiling, you were so exhausted you slowly drifted off to sleep.

You woke up to it being pitch dark outside and a warm spot from where Felix was laying beside you. You checked your phone and checked the time, 9:55pm, “holy shit y/n… 5 hours?” You rolled your eyes slightly annoyed with yourself for sleeping so long. You definitely weren’t getting any sleep tonight. You got up from the bed walking into the bathroom to brush your teeth and at least get ready for the night and the trash can was spilled onto the floor. Felix had a tendency to go through the trash can and you were mentally punching yourself for not shutting the door this morning. Horror filled your mind as you realized the pregnancy test was missing.

“Fucking hell Felix!” You whispered under your breath. You were certain Auston was probably taking a night swim or watching tv downstairs. All you had to do was find Felix and get the test before Auston could find it. You tiptoed downstairs and found him sitting on the couch watching TV. His back was facing towards you. Felix’s head perked up from the couch, Auston didn’t move and neither did you.

“You wanna talk about it?” His voice was raspy. You could tell he had been crying and your heart broke at the sound of it.

He finally turned around holding the test. His face showed no emotion. Slowly walking towards him the tears started streaming down your face again.

“Auston I didn’t mean to hide it from you I swear. I - I just needed time to process it, I was going to tell you I swear.” Your voice wash shaky and small, he lightly grabbed your wrists bring you down to his lap. His eyes were glossy and his lips curved into a slight smile.

“Y/n I love you with my whole entire being God I can’t even imagine my life without you. I know we weren’t planning this but I’m ready to be a dad if you’re ready to be a mom. I want to grow old with you, I want to raise a little family, teach our kids how to skate, how to play hockey.” He was crying and his words made you cry as well. His hands travelled from your hips to your tummy. His tattooed hand rested onto your tummy lightly rubbing it. Your cheeks were on fire. The feeling of everything was so surreal.

“Auston we’re gonna be parents now…like actual parents!” Tears still poured out of your eyes but a wide smile spread across your face. He placed a kiss on your forehead placing it against yours. “You know I kind of guessed it earlier.” A cocky grin was plastered on his tear stained face. You rolled your eyes.

“Oh yeah? How’s that?” You asked now playing with the chain around his neck.

“You refused a white claw for starters and I know when you start your period and it’s been a week since you usually start. I put two and two together and when Felix brought the test to me it just confirmed it.”

“I’m mildly impressed that you pieced that together.” He just laughed. Lifting your chin up and kissing you. He scanned your features. He was so lucky and he knew it.

———————

[1shortnsweet]

Hi! I was wondering if you’d be willing to write a one shot relating to any Dylan O’brien character?

Unspoken Lines

Warnings- 18+, use of y/n, weapons mentioned, blood/cuts mentioned, slight smut (no actual sex)?, cleaning of wound.

Summary- Mitch and y/n are assigned to a mission in Berlin together. Neither of them like each other, but when the mission takes an unexpected turn, you find yourselves in an unlikely situation full of tension and suprise.

Disclaimer- This is not proofread! I just went off the request and winged it!

—————————————————

Mitch didn't trust anyone. That was the one rule he'd lived by since the moment he entered the CIA. Trust was a curse that got people killed. He had enough bad memories to know that leaning on someone else was asking for disaster. So, when he was paired with you for a mission in Berlin, he was hesitant.

You were good at your job. Ever since the situation where you ended up as a hostage and were beaten but managed to get out, you had a respected reputation. You could get in and out of high-risk situations with little to no error. Mitch didn't like you. You didn’t like him. Every time you had to work together was a chore, and the bickering never ended. Now, you were assigned to a new mission together, which meant more arguing and a miserable time.

You met up in a CIA safe house in Berlin. Mitch had already been there for a few days, observing the target- a Russian dealer with ties to terrorist organizations. This mission was sacred. Everything had to go perfectly and failure was not an option. There were too many moving parts to risk anything out of place.

"Rapp," you said, walking into the room, already dreading the circumstances. All you could see was his back as Mitch didn't look up from the map spread out in front of him on the table as he answered you.

"If you're here to lecture me, y/n, save it,” Mitch said with his back to you. He was not in the mood for your attitude. You rolled your eyes and tried to be civil.

“I was gonna ask how you were doing, and what the plan was, but sure, fuck you too I guess,” your voice was monotonous with an undertone of annoyance. Mitch rolled his eyes, explaining the plan and how it was going down, giving no room for suggested improvements or changes.

“You have an issue with the plan, you can leave. Otherwise, look through those files and see what you can find out about him,” he said referring to the target. You sat on the bed behind him, tucking your hair behind your ears and flipping through the files and taking notes on important points.

“You are far too used to having things go your way Mitch. Loosen up a little and get used to being around me. We work for the same company, need I remind you,” you said meeting his gaze. You didn’t like him, but you couldn’t help but stare at him from across the room. Mitch leaned back into his chair with his jaw clenched before replying.

“I do just fine on my own. Actually not sure why you felt the need to take this particular job,” Mitch said standing up and walking towards you, now standing directly in front of you. You felt like you were in a standoff you couldn’t win. You got up, turning on your heels, and walking out of the room to work in the dining room, alone. He wasn’t sure why his chest felt tight and his breath had hitched, but it did. He was pissed, but he couldn’t help but stare at you as you walked out of the room and out of sight.

A few days later, the two of you walked out of the front door of the house, prepped and dressed for the mission. You were wearing jet black cargo pants with weapons holstered in your belt, a navy long sleeve and a bulletproof vest. Mitch couldn’t help but realize his eyes lingered on you as you walked in front of him to the car. He shook his head and walked around to the drivers side.

When you got to the warehouse, you snuck around back of the building and pressed your backs to the wall by the door. Mitch didn’t want to admit it out loud, but you were good. Too good. You were constantly ready for any movement, checking every corner and turn with no hesitation. You may not have gotten along, but you both could work together and get shit done. Mitch gave you the look, signaling he would kick down the door and you would enter the building. Rushing in, a gun was immediately pointed at your head. Your blood ran cold and Mitch pointed his gun at the guard threatening to shoot you. Fear ran through your body as the gun pressed harder into the back of your head and you squinted your eyes shut preparing for the worst.

“Shoot her, you’re dead in five seconds,” Mitch said through gritted teeth, white knuckling his own gun. You could tell by the tone in his voice he meant what he said. Without hesitation, you kicked the guards knee in, and dove out of the way. You ended up faced with another massive guard, getting into a fight. He hit you multiple times, giving you a busted lip and a now bloody nose. You turned to see Mitch fighting another, his arm getting cut in the process.

“Shit!” Mitch yelled as he dove, unintentionally brushing his arm against your waist as he crashed into a stack of crates. “Y/n go back to the car. Now!” He yelled from across the stacks.

“Are you insane? Not without you!” You yelled back, not willing to leaving him there to die. You didn’t always like him, but you weren’t heartless. Your heart was racing with nervousness for the first time in your career. Even as a hostage you were confident you would find a way out. Your response made Mitch switch into fight mode. Giving each other a nod, you silently agreed you both would try to escape without getting hit or shot.

Sprinting past the remaining guards who were still shooting, Mitch made a beeline for the back door. Without looking back, he heard your boots hitting the ground close behind signaling you hadn’t got caught up. You were moving in complete sync, whether you both liked it or not. Bursting through the door, you made it back to the car, narrowly missing bullets. Both Mitch and yourself were gasping for air, leaning into the seats.

“Nice work. You really knocked that guard off,” Mitch said from the drivers seat as he sped back through the streets of Berlin.

“You too. Didn’t know you had that in you,” you replied from the passenger side, smirking to yourself in the seat, knowing you’d get a reaction out of that. You were still thinking about the way his hand brushed your waist in the warehouse. You knew it didn’t mean anything, but your brain couldn’t let it go.

“The hell is that supposed mean?” Mitch asked, eyes narrowed.

“You’re not as bad as I remember. Still, would rather do this without you in my presence,” you replied with a smile. Mitch scoffed at the reply, but something about your tone and the way you smiled when saying it made his heart rate pick up just slightly. The rest of the ride back was silent. He often found himself glancing at you as you stared out the passenger window. The tension had grown thicker as time went on, but neither of you acknowledged it.

The house was quiet as you walked in. Mitch was physically drained, his arm throbbing- but his mind was still racing. You guys had barely made it out, but you made it, together. He disappeared into the living room to patch up his cut. You were standing near the kitchen table, emotionally exhausted. You weren’t used to the target already being prepared. It threw you off your game, leaving you on edge. All you could think about was the gun pressed to the back of your head and the way Mitch looked at you. You were both so tired, the friction between you softened just a little.

“You know, you should let me clean that up,” Mitch said motioning to your cut open forehead, “before it gets infected.” He could tell you were on edge, opposite of your usual cocky self. You forced a smile in return. He walked to the bathroom, hearing you following behind. You propped yourself up on the bathroom counter as he opened the first aid kit directly next to your leg.

He was opening the kit when he asked, “You alright? Like seriously?” You smiled and nodded your head. Silence, and tension grew as he prepped a bandage and got ready to patch you up.

“Maybe I was wrong about you,” you said as he dabbed the cut with hydrogen peroxide, wincing at the sting.

Mitch raised an eyebrow, “Oh yeah? And what exactly were you wrong about?” You tilted your head to look at him, not feeling any sort of annoyance towards him. You found yourself lost in his hazel eyes.

“I don’t totally hate working with you, in fact, I might actually consider a partnership in the future,” you said with slight sarcasm. The humor was there, but your eyes were tired and Mitch could tell.

His mouth turned upward, “Don’t get used to it y/n, I don’t do partnerships.” Mitch smiled as you held your gaze on his face while he placed the bandage on your forehead, feeling warmth growing from your chest.

“You should do that more often, smile, makes you look less angry.” You were hinting at the fact that you weren’t miserable being in his presence. A circumstance that almost never occurred.

Mitch’s gaze was now fixed on you. His hand grazed the side of your thigh delicately, yet purposefully, making you shiver on the countertop. For the first time in a while, neither of you were complaining or aggravated at the other. Both of you were now silent, looking at each other with desire. Somehow all of the frustration and anger had flown out the window within seconds. He didn’t want to let his guard down, but the tension was essentially unbearable.

His face was so close to yours, you could feel his breath on your cheek. “We shouldn’t,” you said quietly.

“I don’t care.” Suddenly, his lips crashed onto yours, taking you by surprise. The release of the tension that had been lingering for days finally broke, and neither of you were going to stop. Mitch’s hand ended up behind your back, making you lean into him from the edge of the counter.

“We really shouldn’t,” you said in between kisses as Mitch guided you off the counter, walking you backward to the bedroom. You weren’t stopping him.

“Don’t lie. You’ve been waiting for this.” He pushed you back, your body landing against the mattress. Mitch leaned over top of you, his leg between both of yours, hands in your hair.

“Never said I wasn’t.” He then invoked an involuntary gasp from you, smirking at what he accomplished and moving a hand to your thigh. He reached the waistband of your pants and tugged.

Mitch only broke the kiss to take off your shirt as well as his own, immediately connecting with your lips again. His lips moved to your neck and you knew there would be bruises tomorrow. A quiet moan from escaped from your mouth. He pushed against you, making you lift your hips in response, getting a slight groan from him. His hand was lingering on your inner thigh, trailing closer to your center. You were both beyond eager, rushing as his lips were back against yours.

He reached for the waistband of your underwear before his phone started ringing, full blast. This earns a groan out of him, and you threw your head back on the pillow in frustration. He didn’t move from above you as the call goes to voicemail. As he leaned back in to kiss you and pick up where you left off, it started ringing again.

Mitch began to stand up from his position above you, “I still don’t like you,” he says with a smirk on his face as he got up, throwing his t-shirt back over his head and throwing your own at you. He knew he didn’t mean it, but he couldn’t let you think you won him over.

“Right back at you,” you reply, putting on your long sleeve. You didn’t mean what you said. You were in disbelief of what just happened between you, and surprisingly disappointed it had to end. You knew you’d break him eventually.