#actually you can say whatever you want lisa. its a perk of being one of my favorite customers

[tenebrous-dream]

lisa you cant just walk into a store and say this

[1soos]

Wasting Time: Part Deux

type: slice of life, best friends to lovers, eventual smut

pairing: namjoon x reader

warnings/things to look for: there’s a moment where something homophobic could happen, but doesn’t. drug and alcohol use, cursing, eventual sex, movie and music references,   other than that this is some real soft 

length: 5.3k

summary: Namjoon is your best friend and that comes with a lot of perks and privileges.

a/n: it’s been the hottest minute, but here’s part 2. I do not have it in me to angst this up. Read part one here if you wanna.

Namjoon was gone when you woke up; the spare blanket he’d used in the night folded thoughtfully over the back of the couch. He’d cleared away the chicken containers and the beer bottles and moved the weed to the middle of the coffee table. His delicate care and thoughtfulness sits heavy in your chest, making you feel weird and wishing like hell that it didn’t.

You scoop your piece off the table and take a hit while you make your coffee. You don’t work at the boutique until noon and you aren’t scheduled for the park today, so you decide on a chill morning scrolling through memes on insta. You get stuck on a Raimi Spiderman thread, scrolling endlessly through screenshots of The Goth Dance Moment (^TM) when Lisa throws open the apartment door, the long strap of her purse getting caught on the handle. “I have been fucking for the past 7 hours. I need coffee.”

“Nice,” you say, genuinely impressed and point to the percolator.

Lisa throws her miniscule ‘going out’ purse (really the length of the handle is not proportionate to the actual size of the bag and the ridiculousness of it amuses you) to the floor and whispers, “bless,” as she downs half a cup in one go. She tops herself off and lowers herself gently into the chair across from you.

You sit in silence, every once in a while, turning your phone in her direction when you come across particularly relevant Baby Yoda memes. The moment is broken when Lisa groans dramatically and asks you if she’s on the schedule at the boutique like she’s suddenly remembering that she works there.

You tell her to pull up the spreadsheet that your boss sends to you a week in advance (truly the most organized woman you know) and Lisa tells you, “no.”

Instead of having it turn into A Thing, you open the schedule on your phone. You scan quickly for Lisa’s name color coded in bright blue. “You go in at 5,” you tell her. Kind of disappointed, but not surprised that Sunmi scheduled you in different time slots. Something about not having two crackhead, meme lords in one shift.

“Ugh, fuck. Okay, so I’m going to be dead until at least 4:45. Do not attempt to revive me or I will kill you.”

“That’s a lot of negative death imagery you’re using there.”

“I said what I said."

And like that, she disappears into her room and you’re left overthinking every tiny noise you make until you leave the apartment.

 …

 One of the things you love about working at the boutique is trying on the clothes. You do a dramatic turn in front of the tri-fold mirror and strike a pose while the extremely see-through, sparkly, tulle skirt shifts around you.

Your co-worker, Bambam, stands behind you, switching between gassing you up and, “wow that skirt does nothing for you. Take it off; I’m gonna try it on.”

“Rude.” You work the elastic of the waistband down over your hips, careful to avoid taking your leggings off with it, and throw the skirt at his head. The fabric muffling the curses he shoots your way. The bell above the shop door chimes, announcing the presence of a potential customer so you leave Bambam to figure his own way out of the mess of tulle.

You put on your best ‘I work in retail and get paid on commission’ smile. “Good afternoon! Welcome to Siren’s! Please let me know if there’s anything I can help you find.” The woman smiles good naturedly back at you and says she’s just looking. She already has some shopping bags loaded up her arms, so you’re feeling pretty good about a sale and place yourself equidistant between her and the cash register while eyeing Bambam over in the corner still struggling with the skirt.

The bell goes off again, to your surprise as there is hardly ever more than one person in at a time.

“Joon?” His presence shocks you and for a moment, you forget about last night. The smile that jumps out is too real; genuine joy filling you up and spilling out. He looks slightly stunned himself.

“What are you up to?” he asks, and you look around at the over-priced clothes all around you and then back to him a little confused.

“Working?”

He blushes and your chest hurts. “Ah, I mean, do you have plans for lunch? Um, I think we need to talk.”

Your stomach feels like its going to fall out of your ass and your thoughts spin around and take off like Road Runner.

Beep beep, bitch.

He wants to tell you how weird last night was. There is this horrible feeling that persists; that he knows how you feel and now he’s uncomfortable. He’s probably going to tell you that he doesn’t see you That Way and that you should just continue being friends. Which is fine; you can take that and so could your friendship. Besides, you haven’t really had the time to examine your feelings for him past the fact that he’s your best friend whom you also might want to kiss right now (and constantly) because he’s being awkward and it’s unfortunately adorable. And that you’re scared, kind of. Whatever is going on between you feels major; like, life altering. You feel a duty to yourself and Namjoon to handle the situation with care, so yeah, you think that talking would probably be good.

You smile again at him, more weighted this time and softly say, “okay.”

Caught in your own feelings, you don’t notice Bambam gliding over to you both.

“Knew it would look better on me.” The fabric flutters beautifully around him though he stopped walking several moments before and you have to admit that it does give him the ethereal look that you were hoping to achieve. You nod, conceding the point.

You subtly try to will him away, but his eyes focus on Namjoon. You can see the moment that Bam recognizes him. Bam doesn’t really run in the same group as Namjoon, but there are a few mutual friends and enough shared drunken moments for him to say hi.

“Woah, Namjoon! What’s up, man? I haven’t seen you since Jackson’s.” Bam wiggles his eyes, dramatically suggestive, making you wonder exactly what happened at Jackson’s.

Namjoon’s eyes go wide and he responds quickly. “Nothing much. Just working. You?”

Bam shrugs and gestures around the boutique. Your eyes follow his hands and you notice that the customer is looking at the skirt that Bambam has on and you really do hope it’s because she wants to buy it. “Did I overhear that you’re going to take this one,”—he points at you and you give an annoyed ‘hey’— “to lunch?”

“Trying to anyway.”

“I forgot about Bam,”—“rude!”—"I don’t want to leave him to work alone.” Bambam once again looks around the almost empty store and then back with an incredulous look at you and a pitying one at Namjoon.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” the woman says, but doesn’t actually look very sorry at all. The way she’s eyeing Bambam looks like she’s about to say some shit about the skirt. Your eyes find Bam’s, but he looks ready to do battle. Your adrenaline kicks up a notch and you prepare to throw this expensive looking woman out on her ass if she tries to pull any bullshit. “I noticed you wearing this skirt.” You stop breathing and Bambam goes very still. You fist your hand into the back of his shirt to let him know you’re there, barely registering that Namjoon has placed his hand in the middle of your back in much the same manner. “And I just wanted to say, it looks so good on you! You have a really interesting look. Do you model?”

The collective anxiety that the three of you felt leeches away almost at once. You sag back against Namjoon and he rubs your back. Bambam lights up and tells the woman, “I’ve walked a few runways.” Liar. The most he’d done was a photo shoot for one of those coupon books that goes in the middle of the Sunday paper.

The woman smiles. “Well, if you’d like to walk a few more,” she trails off and hands Bam her card. He raises his eyebrows at the name written there. “Do you have some time right now to talk?”

“Yes!” You interject. “He does. He was just about to go on break.” The woman and Bambam look pleased and as they head out the door, Bam turns, eyes wide and sparkling, and mouths ‘thank you.’

The door chimes shut behind them and you sigh, leaning even further onto Namjoon for a moment, your body giving in to the comfort it wants before your brain reminds you that you shouldn’t be taking advantage. You step away from him and immediately feel colder.

You cough awkwardly and immediately cringe. “Sorry about lunch.”

He smiles down at you and tells you not to worry about it. “I’ve got a plan b. Be right back.”

He drags his hand down your arm as a parting gesture and you try really hard to suppress the shiver that the small act sends through you.

…

While Namjoon is gone, your only customers are two women. One model tall and the other almost a head shorter, holding hands and smiling at each other.

After giving your standard “Welcome to Siren’s” speech, they tell you that their looking for party clothes, you take them to the rack with sparkly dresses and tailored pants and ask them to let you know if they need anything before giving them space.

They go through the rack; the tall woman, seeming to have more fun looking at the clothes than the other who had her clothes picked out in under 5 minutes, balks at the price of a bright sequined number that she had been considering. The other woman places her hand at the small of her back. You can only just hear her ask in a low voice, “do you like it?”

The woman takes a long look at the dress, running her fingers across the sequins. After a moment of consideration, she nods, and the shorter woman takes the dress from her and puts it over her arm where the clothes she’s chosen for herself lay.

They come up to you at the counter and the short woman smiles at you, “just these, thank you.”

You ring up the clothes and give the total. The tall woman looks embarrassed while the other pays with a matte black credit card.

You hand over the bag and tell them to have a good rest of their day and to come back anytime; giving them a genuine smile that most patrons do not get from you.

As they exit, the taller woman says, “I’ll pay you back.”

The other shrugs and says, “okay,” and taps her finger to her pouted lips.

“That’s not what I meant,” she grouses, but the woman pouts harder and taps her lips again. There is an audible sigh and the tall woman leans down and presses a short, sweet kiss into the other’s lips.

They leave and the bell above the door doesn’t ring again until it’s Namjoon that’s coming through it. His dimples pop out as he drops the bag of food onto the counter. The smell hits you and you already know that he’s gone to the Indian restaurant down the street.

“Please tell me that there’s aloo gobi in here,” you say, even as you’re digging through the knotted bag and the excess of napkins that cover the takeout boxes. “Yes!” you exclaim when you open the top container and find the curry dish inside. There’s a brief moment where you wonder if it’s too hot outside to eat something so heavy, but you forget to care, placing your face directly into the Styrofoam container. “You really know me,” you intone dramatically through a comforting mouth full of potatoes and cauliflower.

He huffs, “yeah, I do,” through his own mouthful of what looks like vindaloo.

“What do I owe you?” and even as you ask, your mind supplies a pouty Namjoon asking cutely for a kiss and you flush, eyes almost watering with how much your body craves that contact.

He waves his hand that holds the fork around, brushing away your question, “I was the one who asked. You don’t owe me anything.”

Your brain must short circuit because the words that come out of your mouth cannot be stopped, “But what if I want to owe you something?”

“Are you really about to fight me over, like, eight dollars?”

You stare intently at your food, separating the cauliflower from the potatoes rather than answer.

“Hey,” he says, trying to get your attention. You look up and his eyebrows are scrunched, and lips pursed, an overall confused Namjoon. So fucking cute, lord help you. He looks like his brain is working overtime, but he keeps his mouth shut until he’s chosen what he wants to say. Completely the opposite of you and a quality of his that you usually admire, you really should take a page or two out of his book, but right now you’re on tender hooks waiting for what comes next.

He un-scrunches and looks at you, “What exactly do you want to owe me?”

“I don’t know,” you skirt.

“Hmm.” He stares at you like he’s trying to decipher your soul. It’s…intense.

He looks so serious; it’s intimidating and so much of you doesn’t want to give away your feelings even though you’ve already hyped yourself up to do just that. And no matter how much you want to shut down and deflect, you owe it to yourself and to him to be honest.

You set down your fork and swallow your food. “Okay, so please keep in mind that you’re my best friend in the entire world and you matter more to me than my own feelings.” He straightens up and opens his mouth to say something, but you put up your hand to stop him. “I don’t think I’ll be able to do this if I don’t get it all out in one go.” He nods tightly. “I guess I’ll start with the obvious,” you take a deep breath and looks down at your hands knotting and twisting together in a physical manifestation of your anxiety, “I like you. Not in a platonic way. I like you like I’ve had to stop myself from wanting to kiss you at least 3 times in the last hour. I like you like I want to hold your hand and tell you you’re cute when you’re being cute; like I want you to sleep in bed next to me and not on the couch when you stay over. I like you so much that I’ve been trying really hard not to notice it, but I think that last night changed something between us and I think that you noticed too and that’s why you wanted to have lunch with me today.

If that’s not the reason and you wanted to talk to me about something else and you don’t like me the way I like you, I will be really fucking embarrassed, but that’s okay. I can deal with my own feelings, okay?” You stop because you don’t think you can say anymore without accidentally making yourself cry.

“My turn?” he asks after a few moments of silence. You nod and brace yourself. “You said that you wanted to kiss me?” You nod again, daring to look up at him, wanting to see his face even if it might break you. He considers your confirmation. ��Something did change last night. I think, that for me, it was the hope that you saw me as something more than a buddy to kick around with because I more than like you.” And then, it’s the way that he breathes out your name that makes a tear slip out and down your cheek. He says it with so much care that you can feel it.

Food forgotten, you move around the counter and into his space, wrapping your arms around his middle and squeezing tightly. “I more than like you,” you say with your face smushed into the warmth of his chest.

His hands come up to frame your face and guides you to look up at him. “When did you want to kiss me?” he asks, and you let out a wet laugh.

“Right now.” You tap your lips and pout and he laughs too, but he leans down and presses his lips to yours. Your eyes close after a moment; he’s too close for you to see properly anyway. It a sweet first kiss, mouths opening just a little, testing boundaries that have been in place for so long that it feels strange to be kissing him.

You’re kissing Namjoon.

You confessed and he likes you back and now you’re kissing and it’s weird, but nice and you feel like you’re going to explode you’re so happy.

You go up on your tiptoes to press more firmly into him and he presses his hands into the small of your back, helping you arch yourself closer. You can feel the difference between your bodies, the plush give of yours to the hard planes of his and all you can think is, “Does this mean I can see your tattoos?” you say against his mouth, words coming out slurred as your lips catch against his, and tug on his shirt so he gets your meaning.

“Baby,” he warns with a smile, and you close your eyes at the pet name, but it makes you remember that, while the store may be empty currently, you are still in public and actually on the clock. “You can look at whatever you like for as long as you like.”

You hide your face in his neck and wonder if he can feel your smile against his skin. You drop a kiss there, at his collar bone because now you can. “I’m really happy. You make me happy.”

He taps your shoulder to get you to look at him. He kisses you softly, barely anything at all and it makes you unsteady. “Always.” The implication of forever makes you want to fall apart in his arms; you want him to make you feel the weight of his forever which is kind of embarrassing. You note that Namjoon Kim makes you disgustingly sentimental.

“Shut up,” you mumble, face red.

“Cute.”

You smack his side until his grip loosens and you’re really looking at each other. “You need to go before I get in trouble.”

He pouts and it’s just so fucking adorable. It’s emotional terrorism is what it is. “Is this how it’s going to be?”

You take your pointer finger and push his lower lip in toward his teeth. “Yeah, I wasn’t allowed to kiss you before, so.”

He smiles and your finger hits his teeth before he grabs that hand and manipulates it into holding his. “You were always allowed; you just didn’t know it.”

You let out an undignified screech and he laughs. “You gotta go, for real.”

He concedes, but not without stealing another kiss. “I’ll see you tonight? I don’t want to wait until tomorrow. I think we still need to talk about some things.”

“Your place?” you ask.

“Yeah,” he agrees as he backs his way through the doors, eyes on you, smiling like an idiot, but you know you are too, the bell chiming as he exits.

…

Bam makes it back before the end of your shift, coming in with a big shit-eating grin on his face. He’s landed an actual modeling gig for an actual brand that you’ve actually heard of and you couldn’t be happier for him.

You part ways at the end of your shift, trading the guard with Lisa and Chung-ha. Lisa slips you some fresh Star Wars prequel memes and you drop that there’s some Indian food up for grabs in the communal fridge.

You don’t say anything about Namjoon. The knowledge your talk brought this afternoon sits so warm and comfortable in your chest you feel like you’re glowing, and you need to keep that cheesy ass sentimental shit to yourself. You can’t stop yourself from wondering about the reactions from your friend group, though. You would think that they’d mostly be positive considering how many times you’d been asked if the two of you were secretly dating.

Damn. Hindsight really is 20/20.

Heading over to his place is different than usual; your stomach full of nervous butterflies. Which is gross and wonderful at the same time. The fact that you could get used to kissing him and being with him the way you want to is so absurd and fantastic that just the thought of being next to him carries you all the way to his apartment.

Even knocking on his door borders bizarre. He opens the door and seeing his face opens you up.

The amount of smiling both of you have done today is obscene—it really is destroying your Bad Bitch persona— but you can’t stop your mouth from turning up, cheeks pushing your eyes almost closed. The good news is Namjoon looks just about the same as he ushers you into the same apartment you’ve visited a million times before.

Once you stop smiling, the anxiety that follows you into new situations starts to pool out from your stomach. You clench your hands together and squeeze, knowing what you want to do with them, but not sure if you should.

“Hi,” he says, stirring the quiet. He reaches his hand out to you, fingers spread in invitation. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding and link your fingers with his. It feels weird, but good to squeeze his hand instead of your own.

He leads you over to the couch. He sits first and then you, making sure that there’s a respectable amount of space between you.

Both of you are facing forward, only chancing glances at each other every so often. The awkward silence between you stretches until you can’t take it anymore; feeling like it’s your fault, or rather your duty, to fill the silence.

“So,” you say and trail off. A strong start. “You said we should talk, and I think that’s a good idea.”

He nods but doesn’t add anything.

“It’s kind of strange, right? We’re transitioning from one thing that we’ve been for a really long time, into another, so it’s weird?” He uses his other hand to play with your intwined fingers while you speak, and it distracts you from your nerves. “It feels like it’s happening really fast and like I got so comfortable with the idea of us being more than best friends so quickly and that’s the weird part?” You kind of hate that everything is coming out like a question. You want to say things with certainty, but, fuck, if it wasn’t difficult.

“I think it would help me to know what you’re thinking about all of this,” you finish.

Your hands jostle between you as he shifts his body to look at you. His eyes like magnets, pulling you to mirror his posture; leg tucked under you and fully facing each other.

“It’s weird, but I like it.” It’s your turn to nod, communicating that you feel the same and want him to continue. “I think it’s something that I’ve spent more time thinking about than you. I was fine with how things were, but I’d hoped that we could be more for a while.”

You held his gaze for as long as you could before staring down at both of your hands. Yours almost completely dwarfed by his; long, inked, and beautiful. You think about yesterday, when you were high and tracing his tattoos and how you had no idea that less than 24 hours later you would be holding his hand without needing an excuse.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” He asks as you bring his hand up to your lips.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t- “you stop because you were going to say that you didn’t know he felt this way, but you’re not sure if that’s true and that just makes you feel worse. You start again. “I’m sorry that I didn’t do anything about it. I’m not sure that I didn’t know that you had feelings, you know? And I’m even more sorry that I ignored the way I feel about you for so long. And I’m scared, but I can’t ignore this,” you shake your tangled hands between you. “I’m sorry you had to wait for me.”

He kisses the corner of your mouth quickly, smiling as he draws back. “I have to apologize for doing the same thing then. I didn’t know your feelings for sure and we’ve always been really close, so it was hard. I had to convince myself that every touch and smile and moment that we got too close was just how we were as friends. But I’m not sure that I didn’t know that you had feelings, either. I think we’re both afraid of the same thing. That things will change; that we’ll be different with each other and we won’t work.

I can’t say that won’t happen because nothing is certain, but I know you and I know us. I think we’ll be okay.”

“God, I really like you.”

Namjoon laughs happily and somehow over the next few moments manhandles you onto his lap. Your arms come naturally around his shoulders just as his go around your waist.

The kiss that comes next feels more reckless than the mini make-out session in Siren’s. You know from the moment he teases your mouth open and slides his tongue in to taste you that you’re his. Every swipe of his tongue feels like a brand making you melt into him.

You break the searing kiss to scoot forward in his lap, pressing yourself against him hip to chest. You wiggle and wish that you could help the gasp that escapes you when you feel him. He’s not even fully hard and you already know that he’s going to be a lot for you to handle. The thought of him inside you, stretching you to your limit, filling you up like you deserve, makes you shy.

You tuck your face into the curve of his neck to hide your rising blush and the want in your eyes.

“Talk to me, baby. What’s going through that head of yours?” He asks, mouth pressed to the top of your head.

You groan and move your hips to try and make it clear what’s going through your head, so you don’t have to say it out loud. The feeling of your underwear moving uncomfortably against your slick folds sending another round of blood to your already heated cheeks. You’re so worked up already and it’s embarrassing. Which seems to be the fucking theme of your life right now. But his hands on your hips tighten, stopping all movement.

You whine and try to move, but his grip is strong. Flitting thoughts of him holding you down with the same strength in his tattooed arms are enough to make you try again for any friction.

And again, he stops you.

“Hey,” he whispers. “I need you to talk to me.”

You lean back and see the tension on his face, the softness that’s usually there, sharpened and dark. A look that you’re not familiar with. You’re struck by how fast this is going. How quickly you went from oblivious to this moment, dry humping your best friend (your boyfriend?).

You feel needy, the unbridled want coursing through you and the ocean in your panties is evidence enough of that but is it too soon to make this jump from platonic to…decidedly not platonic?

Namjoon waits in silence for you to speak. Always handling you with care.

You frame his face with your hands, rubbing the apples of his cheeks with your thumbs. “I’m scared that if we talk about what we’re about to do, we’ll realize that we’re going too fast.”

“Are we?” he asks with real concern, pushing you further down his hips, away from his heat.

“I don’t know,” you say, pouting. For fuck’s sake. You don’t want to have to dissect every move you two make. It doesn’t feel wrong, just weird. “I know that I want you, but if it’s too soon, I can wait until it’s not so odd.” And as much as you don’t want to, you know that you will because, “You’re worth waiting for, Joonie.”

He hugs you and it’s nice. It feels comfortable; not sexually charged, but beautiful. You can feel yourself calming down, the moment of intense need fading into something softer.

“I do want you. I’ve wanted you for a long time. I just- I feel like this is a big step and maybe we should think about it.”

You sigh and kiss him quickly twice before hoping off his lap. “Okay, do you want to watch a movie?”

He smiles and agrees easily.

You shift in your seat and remember the slick between your thighs. “Pick a movie while I change?”

“Sure. Any requests?”

“Not Leon,” he scoffs, and you feel the familiarity of your dynamic. You slip into his room and rifle through his drawers for a pair of sweatpants and band t-shirt before going to his bathroom to clean yourself up.

When you emerge, clean and comfy, the main menu for Howl’s Moving Castle is pulled up on the TV. Namjoon is lying across the couch on his side with enough space for you to be little spoon. You feel giddy at his choice of movie, your favorite, and his choice of position. Even though sex is not on the table tonight, you feel the thoughtful intimacy in his deliberateness.

“Hey baby,” he says when he notices you watching him. You marvel at how quickly he fell into calling you the pet name and how quickly you’ve taken to hearing it. Maybe you should pick one for him, too.

You press play and the subtitle button until you see brackets down at the bottom explaining that title music is playing. It’s how Joon likes to watch movies and you’ve watched enough movies with him at this point to prefer it as well.

He pats the empty space in front of him and you go, pushing yourself against him in a different way that still had your heart soaring. You put your head on his bicep and he cages you in, wrapping one arm around your shoulders and the other around your middle so there’s no danger of you falling off. You shove your legs back to tangle with his and settle in.

Neither one of you says anything until Namjoon says, “that’s my girl,” in synch with Howl and you shiver. You had never been quiet about your crush on Howl or about how hot you found those words.

You turn your head slightly and glare at him. “Are you trying to seduce me with the greatest movie of all time?”

He honest to god smirks and says, “I’ve always wanted to say it to you. And now you are my girl, so I’m not not going to say it.”

“Oh.” He watches you fidget and turn pink.

“Cute,” he says, kisses your burning cheek.

masterlist

a/n: Kim Namjoon cured my two year long writer’s block.

[horansqueenandpaynesqueen]

Next-Door Neighbours: Chapter Seven

A Liam Fanfic, A Niall Fanfic, MA Rating

New neighbours, new drama. Sometimes what you need is the last thing you’re looking for.

CHAPTER 1 | CHAPTER 2 | CHAPTER 3 || CHAPTER 4 || CHAPTER 5 | CHAPTER 6 |

+NOTES+

1- This fic is written by Julie ( @paynesqueen​ ) & Livia ( @horansqueen​ ) 2- Julie will write the odd chapters and Livia the even chapters 3- This fic will have romance, drama and smut.

Chapter Seven by Julie (paynesqueen)

“So what do you want to do tonight?” Julie asked Liam as she sat on his couch.

It had been a week since the awkward movie night at her place. No one was talking about it, but he knew something went down between her sister and Niall; he just didn’t know what and he didn’t pry since no one wanted to share.

“We could watch a movie? I mean, without Livia and Louis quoting every word from it.” He laughed thinking of the previous night.

Julie had invited him again and this time he made sure not to invite unannounced guest. They had watched Die Hard and it was apparently a movie Livia and Louis knew by heart and they wouldn’t shut up through it all. It ended with him and Julie throwing popcorn at them and them just quoting some more laughing at us. Overall, it ended up much better than the first one.

“That sounds good.” She agreed. “So... How did it go today?”

The ‘it’ she was referring to was his meeting with Lisa. Throughout the past week, he had met with Lisa several times. They had talked more than they ever did before about them and he came to realize that a lot of things he thought were okay were not. But he wasn’t ready to decide if he actually wanted to get back with her. He knew part of that hesitation was the girl sitting on his couch right now.

Julie and him also spent most nights together. He enjoyed her company a lot and they had taken the habit of falling asleep together too. Nothing was going on other than sleep, but honestly, he felt like he could easily fall for her given the time. The only problem was her no relationship rule.

“It was okay.” He replied like always.

It was just strange to talk to her about it now that he had started to talk to his ex again. He didn’t know what Julie wanted to hear. Did she want him to get back with Lisa or was she hoping that the spark was gone and he was not going back? There was no way to tell with her expression.

“That answer is getting a little bit boring, Payno.” She sighed.

“Well what answer are you expecting then? What do you want to hear about my conversations with Lisa? That we are still getting along? How we realized how some stuff in our relationship wasn’t working and we realized how we should have seen the signs? How I still love her even though I don’t know if I want to give her another chance? Tell me what you want me to tell.”

Okay, that was a bit dramatic, but he was annoyed with her, too and what his meetings with Lisa had thought him was the necessity to let your emotions come out. He was annoyed not by the fact she wouldn’t have sex with him, but the fact that she was the one deciding whether or not he was ready to move on or not.

He was mostly thinking that it was her own problems stopping whatever could happen between them. Yes, Lisa and him had history and perhaps, he wasn’t completely over her, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t fall for someone else or at least enjoy the company of other girls just because he wasn’t going to commit in the next few weeks.

“Liam, it’s not about me.” She groaned standing up. “I thought... You know what? Never mind; it’s none of my business and I shouldn’t have pushed it.”

Oh no, they were not done talking. She was obviously trying to avoid whatever she was about to tell him and he wasn’t going to have it. They were going to get over this issue now.

“No, we open this can or worms so let’s talk. I’m going to be asking you a question this time. If I decided not to get back with Lisa, what would it mean for us, Julie? Would you give us a chance? Would y-”

“Li-”

“I’m not finished. You wanted me to express myself so I am. I may still be torn about what I want with Lisa. I can’t give you a definite answer for that, but I also know that there’s something between us. Maybe it’s just lust and maybe it’s the potential for more, but the only person in this room stopping us from actually finding out is you.”

And she was well aware of it, too. Liam was the first guy in the past six years who made her feel so intensely. She had considered in the past week to have sex with him hoping to get rid of that sexual tension between them, but she was also scared that it wouldn’t go away. That thought paralyzed her more than she cared to admit. Pushing him towards his ex-girlfriend seemed like the only safe way to ensure that she wouldn’t have to make that decision.

But she dreaded each time she knew he met with her that he would tell that that Lisa and him were giving their relationship another chance. She hated the uncertainty and it was something she wished she could just get rid of. Her walls were starting to crumble and it had only been a few weeks. That shouldn’t have happen. Feeling this way that quickly only happens in movies or books. In real life, no one should be able to. Okay, she was panicking and her thoughts were reacting to her emotions. Liam looked at her, waiting for her to say something. She could have said a lot of things. Tell him exactly what she feared, but instead, she told him the same thing she told him before.

“You know how I feel about relationships, Liam.”

“It’s not an answer, Julie. You told me that you felt like you were fading when you were with someone, but I wouldn’t let it happen and you know it. No, you told me that part of the reason because the real reason is still hidden within you. Perhaps you are not ready to share it with me or anyone, but from now on, whatever happens, I only ask one thing of you.” He retorted.

“And what is that?”

“It’s that you stop using the excuse that I’m not over Lisa to stop from whatever could happen with us. You don’t want to face that there could be something between, just say it. Don’t hide behind that excuse anymore. I let it slide over and over again, but not anymore. I won’t let it be the sole reason why you didn’t want to take the next step.” He stated.

She simply nodded because she knew that he was right. She held on to that reason for as long as she could, but even she could tell that it was losing its power. For a moment, neither of them said anything and she actually expected him to ask her to leave. He surprised her by pulling her into his arms and she wrapped her arms around him.

“I’m sorry.” She said softly.

“Don’t. It’s all out now. Now we just wait and see.”

Of course, Liam knew that it was far from being a closed case. He still needed to decide if he was giving Lisa another chance and Julie had to work through whatever issues she had about relationships. Maybe he wasn’t the one for her and her for him, but if he could help her overcome whatever caused that need to stop believing in love for her, at least it will be that.

+++

A few more days passed and Julie and Livia both sat in the living room watching Harry Potter. They had both agreed that a night without guys was in need and so they had bought junk food, ordered pizzas and started this Harry Potter marathon. The subject of boys was forbidden unless they were talking about celebrities or characters.

“So have you checked for our upcoming trip?” Livia asked her as she got up to put the fourth movie in the DVD.

“Yeah, but the prices are still high. Don’t worry, I’m all over it.” Julie answered her.

She worked for a traveling agency and even if she wished her job was more exciting; it had its perks sometimes. Livia and her had wanted to go to Japan for a long time now. They were so many places they actually wanted to travel to so when they decided to organize their first big trip they decided to let faith decide for them which of their dream destinations to hit first with a dart and a map. If a lot of throws had been missed hits, it finally landed on one of their dream countries.

“Wonder if we should invite Louis to come with us.” She said as she sat back down.

“You mentioned a boy. Drink up.”

She laughed and took her shot of Tequila. Julie hated that stuff so she was trying hard not to mention Liam because he was the only the guy on her mind at the moment. They hadn’t spoken much, mostly due to her avoiding him. She wasn’t fond of how he was seeing through a lot of her bullshit about relationships and she still didn’t know whether or not she ought to just let herself actually go for something she wants.

There was a knock on the door and Livia got up to answer it. Julie didn’t see who was on the other side, but Livia’s body expression changed quickly.

“I’m having a movie night with my sister.” She heard her say. “I don’t...”

“Please.” The voice belonged to Niall, Julie was sure.

Julie suddenly felt like their movie night was about to end and as if on cue, Livia returned with Niall. The sisters didn’t exchange any words but their eyes communicated just as if they did. Livia led Niall towards her bedroom and closed the door behind them.

Julie was intrigued about what was her sister’s situation regarding Louis and Niall. Louis had not, to her knowledge, made more progress as he did before. Julie felt like her sister might know of Louis’ feelings for her, but that she also didn’t know the depth of them.

As for Niall, she knew there was a lot of sexual tension between them, but she didn’t know much more. Her sister had kept to herself on that front and Julie couldn’t blame her when she wasn’t that upfront about what was going on with Liam.

She tried to keep on watching the movie, but soon realized she was no longer paying attention to it. She turned off the TV and pondered about whether or not she should go and see Liam. She knew that avoiding him was childish and she needed to apologize for that.

+++

Liam and Lisa were watching TV when there was a knock on his door. He paused the movie and got up to answer it. He wasn’t expecting to see Julie on the other side of the door as she had been mostly avoiding him since their argument. He just wished she hadn’t picked that night to come and see him.

“Hi! Am I bothering you?” She asked unsure.

“Uhm... Well-”

“Babe, who’s at the door?” Lisa asked and Liam suddenly felt really uneasy at what was about to happen next.

Lisa came and stood next to him. She was unaware of the tension in the room that’s for sure. She was all smiles for Julie, oblivious to their situation. Julie’s eyes went from him and Lisa, but he couldn’t read her face.

“Lisa, meet my neighbour Julie. She and her sister moved in at the same time as me. Julie, meet my girlfriend Lisa.” He made the introductions.

Yes, he had made his decision last night. Lisa had come over and they had talked and she had asked again for another chance. She had looked at him with such hope and a big part of him wanted to believe they could make through their problems so he decided to give Lisa another chance. He still loved her and they were good together before the cheating. He had to believe that what they had was worth trying to save.

“Nice meeting you.” Julie said to her shaking her hand. “Well...I won’t bother you two any longer than I already have. See you around.”

Julie was quite polite and Liam hated that she had such a poker face when she wanted to. In all honesty, he wished he would have been alone with her to tell her the decision he made. When he watched her go back to her flat without even another glance from her, he felt something break inside of him.

“She seems nice.” Lisa said. “Come on, let’s go finish that movie.”

He nodded and closed the door making the decision he would go and talk to Julie tomorrow. Because even with his decision taken, he felt like there were still some unsolved problems between him and Julie.

+++

Julie’s face fell the moment she closed her door. She had not expected that and yet, she knew it was a possibility that it would. She hated that feeling and it was a feeling she had never wanted to have to feel again. God, she had known him for two damn weeks; it shouldn’t be hurting that he chose the girl with who he had been for years. Julie had trained herself to never let any guy get that close to her heart again. She had met some guys who only wanted her body and she had met some, who wanted more, but it had never occurred to her then that she’d change her mind about it; in her mind it was clear that there wasn’t going to be a future with any of these guys.

The walls she had built around her heart were no longer sufficient to keep those feelings at bay. Maybe nothing was ever meant to happen with Liam, but he was still the reason why she could no longer hide what she had succeeded to hide for so long.

A laugh escaped her as she thought she might be feeling this intense because she hadn’t felt that way for the past six years. A stupid thought probably but it helped her trying to rationalize her intense reaction to this situation.

Livia was still with Niall and she didn’t want to bother them, but she couldn’t be alone tonight. She quickly texted Louis to tell him she was on her way. She grabbed her jacket and keys and left the apartment. The chill air of the evening hit her as she stepped outside and she walked fast to reach her destination.

Louis was standing outside for her when she arrived and she quickly dived into his arms. She needed her best friend tonight. Even he didn’t have the certainty of it; he knew that Julie’s mood was because of Liam. He didn’t know what happened, but he held her. She didn’t cry though; she wasn’t a crier to begin with, but he could feel his best friend’s pain.

“Come on, let’s get your drunk.” He said. “Then maybe you can tell me what happened.”

She was good with the getting drunk part, but she didn’t know whether or not she wanted to talk about it. She just nodded and followed him to his place. When he opened the door, she noticed the various bottles on the coffee table.

“You weren’t kidding.”

“I felt it in your text that you needed a drink.” He said. “I can guess it has to do with Liam, but knowing you, you won’t admit it so let’s get your drunk.”

She had to stop herself from just grabbing a bottle and drink from it, but a few hours later, she felt like she had done just that. Louis and her didn’t talk about what happened tonight, but he was there holding her and trying to distract her with stories with some customers. By the end of the night, Louis took her back to his room for her to sleep it off and that was the last thing she remembered before everything seemed to blackout.

[jojos-stardew-adventure]

stars and stardrops

A/N: new chapter! i think this is the best one so far OvO

this chapter reader’s nimbo-ness almost comes out full force, almost

-----

Ao3 Link

chapter 5: cows and slime ( click for chapter 1 )

<<last chapter | next chapter>>

Summary: you meet a cow and go to the mines

-----

Ever since Bruno gifted you your fishing pole you've been fishing almost anywhere, any chance you could. It required a lot of patience but you were actually getting the hang of it and had even caught a few things. You also found it very relaxing, spending most of it waiting and staring off into the distance.

Today, your main focus was fishing at a pond you had seen on the map. Who knew what you could catch there, but first you were making a stop to a place nearby.

On your map, not too far from the pond, was a spot labeled Reimi's Farm. One of the multiple buildings in town you still haven’t been to yet.

When you get there you immediately notice a cabin a distance away. That was strange. There's no marking for it on the map. Well, guess you have two places to visit now!

You head up to the ranch and a cow greets you with a ‘moo’ as you walk past the gated area attached to the ranch. It ambles towards you. You didn't know cows were the curious type or maybe this one was just an anomaly?

"Hi..." 

The cow moos again in response.

I’m a cow whisper.

"Hello!"

You whip your head to the side. Why do people keep sneaking up on you?

An older woman with wavy pink hair stood next to you. "Looks like you and Moodonna are getting along well.”

You giggle a little at the name before you can stop it. "Sorry. I think so? I didn't know cows could be curious."

"It's actually pretty common. They can also be quite friendly too! I'm Reimi by the way and you're ___ . " She smiles and holds a hand out for you to shake. "Nice to meet you."

You grab her warm, calloused hand and return a smile of your own. "I was actually coming over to introduce myself since I was walking to the pond, but I've been beaten again--first Bruno, now you!"

Reimi gives you a curious look.

"Ah, nevermind," you say.

Reimi looks as she’s considering something before she speaks again. "Have you ever wanted a chicken farmer?"

You pause from the sudden question. "What? Like to eat?"

She laughs. “No hun, for eggs!”

"Oh!” You feel your face heating up. “No, sorry, I never really thought about that?"

"Well it would be very profitable for you as a farmer if you did get some. Along with some cows... Maybe some ducks too!"

“D-Ducks?”

She did have a point but you'd never taken care of a house pet, let alone a farm animal.

"I don't really know how to though."

"No worries ___, I'll be there to help you out," she states. “Whenever you're ready just visit me.”

"Uh okay, sure!"

After saying bye to Reimi you head to your next stop--the cabin. 

You knock on the door and wait a moment but nothing happens. Maybe whoever lived there was out at the moment? You’d just have to visit another day.

-----

A few days ago you spent some time at Trattoria Trussardi with ‘The Bucci Gang’, as you fondly referred to them--of course they didn’t know that.

“I can't believe Speedwagon is allowing the removal of that boulder,” Abbacchio grumbled.

"The one closing the mines?" Fugo asked.

Narancia perked up at this, “REALLY!?”

Abba, sighed at the boy's tone. "That place is dangerous and you three know it!"

"We never actually go down though! It's fine," Mista waved him off.

"Why would you three even go into the mine cave?" Giorno asks, curious.

Fugo rests his head against his hand. "Narancia liked the echoes of his music there and we just keep him company."

"Oh man I can’t wait to go back there! It’s been too long," Narancia smiled, completely ignoring Abbachio's warning look.

You listened quietly, intrigued. 

After wandering around town, you finally find the mines. Abbacchio could not find out about this ever. 

You walk through the wooden entrance of the mine and into an opened area of dirt, scattered with rocks and boulders. The lanterns perched on the walls light the space in a dim glow. 

What you aren’t expecting to see but aren’t exactly surprised by are Narnicia, Mista, and Fugo sitting among the rocks.

“Guys you shouldn’t be here! Abbacchio is gonna get all huffy if he finds out.”

“Pshh, that's not going to happen cause he’s not going to! And even if he does he most likely won’t do anything….maybe,” Narancia says.

“You should be more worried about yourself. Why are you even here?” Fugo asks.

“Okay calm down there sassy pants.” You cross your arms, “I’m just passing by….”

Mista smirks, “You’re such a shit liar.”

You pout, “....JUST LEAVE!”

All three of them laugh but to your surprise move to leave the mines.

“Wow y’all are actually listening to me?” You hadn’t known them for that long but in the last two weeks you realized pretty quickly that they did whatever they felt like unless Bruno was involved.

“We were about to leave anyway,” Narancia says. 

“He already went through two albums of his annoying music,” Mista adds.

Narancia huffs at him in offense. “It’s not annoying!”

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Fugo warns.

And with that they exit the mines.

You sigh and walk further into the mine. There's a ladder descending into a hole near a pile of rocks. You also notice the elevator at the back.

After waiting for a while, you realize that pressing the up button does nothing.

Part of you wants to go down the ladder and see what's waiting at the end but you don't know how sturdy it is. You're already taking a risk being in a mine that's entrance apparently collapsed at one point.

Reluctantly, you decide to just head back before something bad happens and Abbacchio chews you out for it, but as you walk towards the exit the elevator behind you pings and you turn to see a tall brunette exit it.

"Hey!" You raise your brow when he points a finger at you. "What are you doing?" He squints, “...and who are you?"

You freeze under his skeptical look. "...I’m ___."

"I don't know any ___."

You rush to explain yourself. "The new farmer who moved in!" For some reason you felt nervous, like a child caught eating sugar. 

The man continues to stare you down before realization crosses his face. 

"Oh!" He adjusts his scarf, "It's great that you're here then cause I totally forgot to deliver that letter Lisa Lisa asked me to!" He scratches at the back of his neck.

"...Huh?" This had to be your strangest interaction in town so far.

"I’m Joseph by the way. Joseph Joestar."

"I’m ___."

"You already said that."

"Oh yea."

"I swear not this dense! Usually just a regular level of dense." You fiddle with your overall straps. 

"Oh man, I was worried you’d be a stick in the mud like Caesar but you seem chill! You should totally join our guild."

You blink. "What guild?"

"The adventure guild obviously! You haven't heard of us? Haven't you've been here for over a week?" He continues without waiting for answers. "Anyways, it's a guild where we go into the mines to kick the shit out of monsters and pretty much keep them from over running the mines. It’s been awhile since we’ve actually gotten to do that though..."

You gawk. "Monsters?" This man couldn't be serious. “There're monsters in these mines? T-Those exist?"

“Yep and they're super scary!”

You swallow nervously. Why would you want to be involved with something like that?

"Kidding! They're mainly cute slimes, pesky bugs and bats until you get deeper. Then they start to get really weird."

"You're making me seem super old! I'm only like 26 so just call me Joseph. The mines really aren't that bad though." The way this man switches from one topic to another would take some getting used to. 

He reaches to his side where a sword hangs, unhooks it and holds it out to you. 

You make no move to grab it.

"Why don't you try the first couple of levels? I promise you probably won't die. The elevator will bring you back up whenever you get tired."

He pushes the sword into your hand. "When you're done just visit the building next door. I’ll leave it open for ya!" 

After that he leaves.

Were you supposed to go right now? You stare at the rusty sword in your hand.

Well you wouldn't even be in Pelican Town unless you didn't take risks. (And you actually wanted to go down, you just had an excuse to do so now.)

You ignore the logical side of your brain saying that that wasn't comparable to going down into a monster filled mine and head towards the ladder.

This is really dumb.

-----

The gelatinous mass of a pissed off giant, green slime lunges at you. You barely manage to get into a defensive position and block its hit towards your body.

Your arms shake as you push your weight forward and shove the green blob backwards with the side of your sword. Blood runs from the fresh cut you just gained across your palm due to your careless grip on the sword’s blade. Ignoring the sting, you quickly raise the sword knowing the slime will lunge again.

When it rushes at you, you bring your weapon down as hard as you can. It was slightly late but fortunately, the sword’s blade easily slices through its soft, green body and manages to catch it in the center. The blob’s movement abruptly stops as it struggles to keep its consistency. 

A second passes before green slime rushes past your whole body. You accidentally get some in your mouth.

After the slime starts to settle, you cough and wipe at your face, trying to get it away from your eyes. 

‘Cute slimes’ my ass.

While you grumble about Joseph's lack of warning, you try to get the slime off your hands. This distracts you enough that a small slime manages to jump onto your leg. You swiftly shake it off then realize small slimes are forming from the goo around your boots. 

After you handle them, you high tail it to the elevator door before more crap tries to attack you.

You’ve definitely had enough for today.

-----

You enter the wooden building covered in dirt and drying goop--you were taking a long shower after this.

"OH MY GOD YOU ACTUALLY DID IT!?" Joseph's loud accented voice makes you jump. 

He's sitting near the counter. A lady behind it with long brunette hair and sunglasses looks at you. Why she was wearing sunglasses indoors, you didn’t know but they looked good on her.

"Uhhh yea… Wasn’t that the point?"

"I didn't think you’d actually go down there you mad lad!"

You open your mouth but no words come out in your confusion.

"Jesus Christ Joseph can you shut the hell up!" A voice comes from a room in the back.

A blonde man with a colorful headband comes through the door. "Why are you being so loud for anyway-" His eyes land on your slime covered form.

He immediately turns towards the brunette man. "What did you do?" He says, irritation clear in his voice.

"What! You're already blaming me!?"

"Yes because only you would cause something like this!”

You stare at the two bickering worried that they might actually get physical.

"Boys."

They both quiet down immediately. 

You brows raise in surprise.

The lady stands up from the chair looking directly at you. Her smooth, authoritative voice continues. "Looks like you've got what it takes to fight. Even though I told Joseph to keep watch--"

You see Caesar shoot said man a glare. Joseph only smiles and looks away.

"--you handled it on your own though and right away at that."

She removes her glasses from her face. "Are you ready to start your initiation?"

[royalskarsgard]

Once in a Lifetime

Billy Hargrove X Reader

Summary: Is it harder to love the man who broke your heart or to forgive him?

A/N: This is sooooooo overdue, and I’m so sorry. Family issues got in the way. And a whole lot of writer's block. But I hope you can forgive me, it’s super long to account for how long I went missing! Thanks to the loml for helping me through this @hotstuffhargrove

Sequel to ‘Love You, Goodbye.’

Warnings: one swear word

Word count: 2.4k

“Fucking Harrington! Get your dirty clothes out of the bathroom,” you groaned. He always did this after work, he always left his dirty uniforms on the bathroom floor. He claimed he was too exhausted after work to bring them to the correct place. Yet, a sudden burst of energy always appeared when his “study buddy” called to meet him at the library. 

“I’ll get them later! I’m actually. Headed out to meet Lisa at the library. I’ll catch you tomorrow!” He rushed out. You rolled your eyes, wondering why Steve thought his lies were believable. He’s clearly in love. 

Love was cruel and not worth anything in the end. It’s just a consumeristic ploy that gets you to buy movie tickets and to sell chocolate on Valentine’s Day. It wasn’t real. It was all lust, love at first sight? Fake, what they're really thinking is, ‘my god, that person really is fuckable.’

Sighing, you went into your powder pink bathroom. Feet slipping on the water Steve had left after his shower. When all his clothes were in the correct hampers, you quickly passed the kitchen, deciding to skip dinner. You weren’t that hungry, working at a diner was hard, but the free food was a good perk. Especially for a broke college student. 

Your room was dark, the door screamed against its hinges as you shut it. As much as you loved Steve, you were glad he was always gone. In part because it’s what you preferred and you didn’t want to infect in with your sadness. Was it really that pathetic that you were currently reaching for a half-empty bottle of cologne to spay onto your sheets? That in two minutes, you would light three cigarettes and hold them near your pillow? Maybe, but it was the only thing keeping you afloat. Especially now. 

With the cigarettes burning in your hand, you picked up your favorite picture of him. It was a rare one, he was actually smiling. It wasn’t one of those signature smirks he always gave. It was real. The real billy. No one really gave the real Billy a chance. They wrote him off as a punk as soon as they saw him. People are quick to judge when they don’t know the whole story. Just like love, the truth was more painful than what they told us growing up.

“Why can’t I move on?” You whispered to yourself. You took a drag of the cigarette that sat lit between your fingertips. A coughing attack took over, and you groaned reaching for some water. You couldn’t understand his appeal for them, never had, and never will. After all three were burnt, you laid down in your bed that was now plastered in his scent. It wasn’t perfect. Your sheets weren’t mixed with his shampoo, his hairspray or the way his skin smelled after a basketball game. But it was close enough to lull you to sleep for a few hours. 

“Hey! Wake up, we gotta go. It’s an emergency. Pack a bag we’re going to the airport,” Steve shook your shoulders ripping you away from a peaceful sleep. Your heart climbed into your throat and made you sick to your stomach. When you finally gained full consciousness, you watched as Steve ran around the room putting things he thinks you like in a bag. 

He motioned for you to hurry and rushed to his own room to do the same. Grabbing more essentials and getting dressed, you found Steve waiting in the living room for you. He had a toothbrush in his mouth, the paste dribbling down his chin. His shoulder held the phone close to his ear, confirming two flights to LAX. It was two am, and it was officially proven that Steve Harrington was crazy. 

~~

Three days earlier

Billy’s eyes widened as he saw a brown-eyed boy with a bowl cut standing in front of him.  A chill ran up his spine, he knew this kid. The boy smiled before he took a small step back. 

“Will Byers, Jonathan's brother, I was a friend of Max’s?” Billy nodded, finally putting the pieces together. They weren’t friends by any means, but he’d seen him around. He never tried to date Max, so there was no point in getting to know him. 

“How are you alive? We all saw you die, you sacrificed yourself to the mind flayer. How did you survive? Did El bring you back to life?” Rather than frightened, the boy looked confused. He looked as if Billy being brought back to life was an acceptable answer. There was no fear, only confusion, and genuine concern. And for some reason deep down, Billy didn’t feel afraid to tell him the truth, so that’s what he did. 

“Everything was dark, it was Hawkins but with the life taken out of it. It was so cold. No matter what I did, I could never get warm. Sometimes I was in a dark room with water, and I saw that girl you know there too. I tried to get to her, but she left before I could reach her,” with every word he said Billy got more and more withdrawn. A cold breeze running through his body. Will shivered the more he talked 

“We call it The Upside Down, I’ve been there too. When they thought I was missing, that’s where I was. The thing that you saw down there, and what died in the mall was a mind flayer,” the young boy sighed knowing this was information overload. But he also knew that Billy deserved answers. 

“It possessed me too, except I wasn’t stuck in the upside-down. I’m not sure how that happened. A couple of years ago, the U.S. government used Hawkins as one giant experiment, trying to find out that the supernatural existed, to use it as a weapon. Things turned sour, and it left a big mess for my friends, it’s how we found El. She’s the girl you saw down there.” 

On any regular basis, billy would’ve told the young child to go fuck off and give some insult about how he was crazy. But Billy heard the stories about Will Byers, the boy who came back to life. He’d once found an old missing poster with him on it. So for now, he didn’t find it that crazy, especially paired with Billy’s own experiences 

“I saw her touching me.. not me per se but, whatever looked like me. I was sitting on my bed in my room, and she was real and apparently so was I. I tried to yell, to run to get there but nothing was enough. Now it just feels like it’s watching me, following me.”

��We’re connected to it now, to the mind flayer. Even in death, I can still feel it. Maybe it will never leave, maybe it will go away. It’s terrifying, but I don’t want it to control my life. Do you?” A simple question, yet it caught him off guard. He had moved on, things were going fine he had a job, a home, and a small group of friends. But if he asked himself if he was truly happy, he probably would’ve said no. He was scared shitless. 

“Can I ask you for a favor?” Billy whispered. The boy nodded, knowing that despite everything, the two young men would do anything for each other. 

“Can you call someone for me?” 

~~~

Present:

The car moved shook with the bumps along the pavement. The smell of sea salt was becoming stronger, the closer you got to the beach. It was beautiful, that’s what Steve said at least. Your mind was racing, your heart stopped, and your chest slowly moving. You didn’t know how to feel. When you touched down in Los Angeles, you figured something was off, but when Steve started driving towards Palos Verdes, you knew something major must be wrong. You had begged and pleaded to know if El and the rest of the Byers family were okay. It terrified you to no end when Steve remained silent. It took you screaming your lungs out for Steve to finally pull over to a local diner. 

Now you sat in the passenger seat tears streaming down your cheeks. You didn’t know what to say, you couldn’t breathe, you couldn’t even blink. Billy was alive. Steve told you everything on the side of the highway, at first you thought you heard him wrong because of all the cars driving past. But Steve stood there barely looking you in the eyes like he felt guilty for giving you the information. He hasn’t said much either since you stepped in the car. Explaining it all either drained him or he was afraid to say anything more.

“Billy Hargrove died in the Starcourt Mall from a freak gas leak. If that’s not true, that means the truth is more painful than what actually happened” Steve sighed, he had no idea how to comfort you. He couldn’t tell you everything was okay or it would be fine because it wasn’t. 

Billy was alive, you knew that in your heart. You prayed for so many nights it was all a joke and Billy was pissing his pants from how funny it was. That he would pick you up from work and drive you home. That the man you all thought had died just looked a lot like Billy, and you didn’t know who he really was. 

Yet somehow the truth was much worse than that. Billy knew your heart was shattered, he knew that you were in pain, and he was the only one who could save you. Instead of coming back and risking questions, he walked away. He walked away from you, Max, and everyone else. He watched you and decided you weren’t enough of a reason to come back. He lived it up in California while you got to hold max when she cried herself to sleep every night. Maybe everyone was right, he wasn’t redeemable he was just an asshole. 

“Do you want to see him?” Steve asked you, the beach was only a few minutes away, and your anxiety grew with each mile closer. 

“How am I supposed to look at him after everything. I thought he died in my arms and it turns out he was alive the whole time? Why didn’t he come to me?” A small part of you knew why he did what he did, he was scared and alone. 

“You’re the only person who’s looked at him with pure kindness, he was confused and had nowhere to go. Can you blame him for running away?” He reached over and grabbed your hand. A small gesture that brought you great comfort. 

“How many people know?” 

“Only you, me and Will. Billy wanted to make sure you knew before the others. I’m not sure if he ever plans on telling the others.” He pulled into the beaches parking lot. The glow of the setting sun burned your eyes. He was down there, in the flesh for the first time in over a year. 

You figured out later that the last time you saw the unflayed Billy was the night of the accident. He had just dropped you off, and he said he would see you tomorrow, that he loved you and to be safe. He kissed you and smiled before getting into his car and driving away. After that, Billy started pushing you away, using you only for sex. Until that stopped too and he barely spoke to you. Then he died. You’d felt guilty for so long for not seeing the signs. 

“What if I can’t forgive him?” the whispered confession left your lips in shame. Was it fair to have spent a year grieving for this man only to push him away when you finally got him back? 

“Then you move on, but you won’t know until you see him. So go, he’s waiting.” that was his gentle way of kicking you out of his car. 

You stepped onto the hot pavement. The heat immediately suffocating you, this wasn’t Hawkins anymore. You saw Will standing close the steps, silently greeting you. He gave you a warm smile like he was telling you everything was going to be okay. Will nodded towards the water before going to sit in Steve’s car. 

Taking a deep breath of the salty air, you made your way down to the water. The hot sand sinking underneath your feet. Billy was here, this was the moment. Was he still the same? Would you still love him? Had he moved on? Was he just as broken as you? Your mind flooded with all these questions as you kept walking. Billy wasn’t there yet, giving you a small second of relief to catch your breath. 

A small tap on your shoulder broke you from your thoughts, it was hesitant, and he was obviously just as nervous as you were. There he was. When you turned around, the man you loved more than anything was again standing in front of you. He had been kissed by the sun, and his hair was wilder than ever before. His green eyes were bright against his now tanned skin. 

A surge of anger ran through you as you shoved him away, again and again, and again. He took all of it. He grabbed your wrists when you started beating his chest. Bruises would appear later, but Billy knew full well he deserved all of it and more. 

“I’m so sorry,” he begged. His heart was beating so fast against his chest; he was afraid it would kill him before he could get the words out. You looked so perfect, he never doubted you would, but after a year you weren’t just in his dreams anymore. Your face was perfectly clear, the nightmares about forgetting your face vanished. 

He caught you before you fell to your knees into the sand and lowered his own body to you. He ran his fingers through your hair and held you close to his chest. Repeating that he was sorry and that he loved you so much. He begged you to forgive him. 

As he held you, your lungs filled with the smell of cigarettes, his cologne, and the smell of dried sea salt against his skin. He was back, he was warm, life was coursing through his veins. Every image of his cold body being whisked into a black back was replaced. You loved him, he was your one and only. The only man you could ever think of loving. Forgiveness was already given,   and explanations could wait until later. You had all the time in the world, nothing would separate the two of you again. He would always be there for you, he was your forever and always, and you were his.

Tagged: @hotstuffhargrove @asheseiler

[stillthewordgirl]

LOT/CC fic: Cleanup on Aisle Four

For this week’s @ficcingcaptaincanary prompt: Shopping. I actually wrote most of this back in the fall and then abandoned it because I decided it was too silly.

It’s still silly. And fluffy. But what the hell, right?

Thanks to @larielromeniel for the beta. Can also be read here at AO3 and here at FF.net.

Mick has it all planned out.

Haircut, the professor, and the captain are off consulting with one of Haircut’s former colleagues at a university somewhere here in River City, 2017. They probably won’t be back until tonight. Everyone else on the ship is occupied in some way, even the Boss. It’s perfect timing, really.

(He shakes his head at the name. Old habits…they die hard.)

He saunters along the corridor, trying for an air of nonchalance. But right as he gets to the hatch, he hears the step behind him.

“Going somewhere?”

With a sigh, he stops. Turns. Shakes his head at the duo who’ve appeared out of nowhere in the hallway behind him. Both of them move too damn quietly. Who would have thought the Boss would ever hook up with someone so goddamn like himself?

“I thought you two were still in Snart’s room, swapping spit.”

The Boss…Snart…narrows his eyes at Mick’s words, but Sara just laughs.

“We took a break,” she drawls. Oh great, now they’re starting to sound like each other. “But where are you going? Off to find a bar without us? I’m hurt, Mick.”

Oh, like the two of you aren’t always vanishing without me these days? But he doesn’t say it. Whatever fragile peace they’ve found in each other, he’s glad of it. They’re all damaged goods in their own way. “Nah.” He glances around, realizes that somehow, he’s become sensitive to hurting the feelings of a goddamn AI, and sighs again. “I’m sick of all the sugar-free horse crap on board.”

Sara perks up immediately. “Grocery run?”

“Yeah.” He lifts an eyebrow at Snart. “You gonna play mother hen again?”

Snart’s lips twitch. It’s Sara’s turn to raise an eyebrow.

“Oh?” she says inquisitively. “Do I want to know about this?”

“Boss here used to make sure that Lisa ate something other than junk and sometimes he forgot that his responsibility didn’t extend to other adults.” He modulates his voice into a Snart-like drawl. “Mick, beer is not a food group. Mick, did you buy anything with a main ingredient that isn’t salt or sugar? Mick, where the fuck are the vegetables?”

He’s trying to annoy the other man, but Snart just looks amused.  “Someone,” he drawls in response, “had to be the responsible adult. You both would have lived on chips and soda if I hadn’t stepped in, cooked something else from time to time.”

Sara looks intrigued. “Wait. You can cook?” She studies Snart like he���s just confessed to being an actual law-abiding citizen.

“More or less.” He jerks a finger at Mick. “And he’s acting the asshole, but he can actually grill.”

“Well. Give me an open flame and I can do things. Sometimes they're even good things.”

“Mmm.” Sara licks her lips. “I think we need steaks, then. Something that didn’t come from Gideon’s stores and hydroponics. No offense, Gideon.”

“None taken, Mrs. Lance.” The AI’s voice actually sounds interested. “Mr. Rory, I cannot allow an open flame on the Waverider…”

“So you’ve told me…”

“…but it would do none of you any harm to, for this stop, eat some food that is different from what I can provide.” Gideon’s voice goes a touch prim again. “Although I would, as always, recommend against partaking of too much sugar, sodium, and alcohol. Not that anyone listens to me on that last, even the captain.”

“It’s OK, Gideon, at the rate we’re going, he’ll be out in a month.”

“You have not yet found it all, Mr. Snart.”

“Oh?” But the gleam in Snart’s eyes at a new challenge changes as Sara puts her hand on his arm.

“Down, boy. I want steak. And chocolate. And veggies that grew in actual dirt.”

“Hmmph.” But he backs down. Mick shakes his head in amusement.

“OK. There’s a grocery store that looks good not too far away. We can get…”

“You’re taking me with you.”

Somehow, the discussion had been involved enough that even one of the less stealthy members of the team has been able to sneak up on the three of them. Jax stands in the corridor, arms crossed, trying to look imposing but really managing only desperate.

“Why wouldn’t we?” Sara asks the air rhetorically. “Sure. More arms to carry stuff.”

Met with acceptance instead of opposition, Jax deflates. “Great. I’d do a lot to get off this ship for a while. But let’s go before Kendra finds out or she’ll want us to buy…”

“I’d want you to buy what?”

It’s almost funny how Jax freezes. OK, it is funny. Their sometimes-winged teammate eyes him with a smile, then shakes her head. “I don’t care what sort of junk you buy. But I’d kill for some fresh fruit. Or sushi. Even grocery store sushi.”

And just like that, it’s an expedition.

For a group of people who’ve been used to quick forays to dive bars and tiny, often-old-fashioned convenience stores or Mom-and-Pops – if that -- during most Waverider pit stops, the giant, modern grocery store is paradise.

Kendra starts determinedly for the produce section, while Mick heads for the meat department with Jax trailing behind. Sara mutters something about chocolate and sets out, a woman on a mission.

Snart follows her with a touch of bemusement, wondering about the last time he’s done anything even remotely this domestic. Quite a while ago, he thinks. When they—he, Mick, Lisa—had all been much younger, certainly.

By the time he’s caught up to her, Sara’s found the candy aisle and selected a bar of dark chocolate about as big as his two hands together. Perusing the selection, she shrugs and picks up another one, grinning at him. “Heaven knows when we’ll get another shopping run, right?”

“Right.”  He picks up a package of peppermint gum. “What else did you want?”

“Mick’s grabbing the steaks, right? I do want to take a look at the produce section. Maybe some beer, something different. You?”

“That all sounds good.” He shrugs. “Lead on.”

But she hesitates, just a moment. He lifts an eyebrow at her as she steps closer to him, leans in conspiratorially, and says, sotto voce, “Do we have money? Or...?”

“Sara, I haven’t shopli…” he takes a quick look around, “….acquired groceries in that fashion since I was a teenager. I have cash.”

“Ah, but was it legally obtained cash?”

“Does it matter?”

“Nope.” She grins at him…he will never stop enjoying the sight of that smile…and goes up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

“Humph!”

They both look around to see a sour-faced older woman glaring at them from the end of the aisle. From her entire demeanor—arms crossed, head tilted back so she can look down her nose at them—it’s abundantly clear that they’re the target of her righteous condemnation.

So it’s inevitable that Sara’s next action is to laugh, grab him by the collar of his jacket, drag his head down to hers and kiss him even more thoroughly. With tongue.

“Huummph!!!”

Now their onlooker looks downright aghast. As if two consenting adults kissing each other in the grocery store is an absolute harbinger of the end of polite society as we know it. Privately, Leonard wonders why she just doesn’t walk away.

But because a Sara Lance who’s been “humph”ed twice over PDA in a grocery store is a Sara Lance who may very well progress to jumping him right in the candy aisle, he decides to take matters into his own hands. Before she, ah, does.

Meeting her eyes—one does not surprise the assassin—he steps toward her, reaches out, and pulls her into his arms, dipping her back into a kiss that bends her nearly down to the floor. And because she’s Sara, and she’s amazingly flexible, she curves a leg up and around his waist as he does so.

“HUMPH!”

But there’s applause over the sound of disapproval, and he feels his face heat as he stands them both up, realizing that they’re acquired a smiling, although rapidly dispersing audience.  The “humph”er, apparently dismayed by public approval, is gone.

Sara is grinning from ear to ear. “Well. That was fun!” She tucks an errant piece of hair behind her ear and takes a closer look at him. “Len…you’re blushing!”

“Yeah, well, don’t tell Mick.”

“Maaayyyybe. If you make it worth my while.” She laces her fingers with his as they walk to the produce section, where she chooses a bag of locally grown apples and Leonard picks out, despite mild teasing, a few bundles of fresh asparagus that he insists they can grill with the steaks.

“Hey, look. Mick’s thinking ahead.” Sara points, and Len glances over her head to see his friend approaching them from the far end of the produce section. The other man, Jax trailing along just behind him, is pushing a cart loaded with goods from the butcher department…and a small grill and several bags of charcoal.

“That’s good. Gideon gets a little pissy if she thinks you’re asking for frivolous…crap!”

“What?” Sara spins back around. “Oooh.”

Mick’s path through the twists and turns of the produce section has been blocked. And they can both see the impending eruption from here.

If the other cart had been neatly pulled over to the side, its user standing out of the way to look at the selection of bagged salads, there would have been no issue for anyone wishing to pass. That is not the case.

Instead, the cart is parked askew in the aisle, blocking the entire thing, while its apparent user is peering at the lettuce, oblivious to the world, chatting away on his cell phone while blocking Mick and Jax from the only convenient path into the department.

As Sara and Leonard start in that direction, they can tell that Jax says something, his body language vaguely conciliatory. (Whether toward the oblivious shopper or Mick is anyone’s guess.) The man glances at him vaguely, then away, merely ratcheting up the volume on his discussion of the failings of the local football team.

Jax repeats himself. (Mick's gaze promises fire and death.) This time, the other shopper—apparently born without any innate sense of self-preservation—looks right at him...and moves the cart a bit to more thoroughly block the aisle.

Now Jax looks pissed too. Peachy. Mick's eyes are narrowed. Leonard sees him take a breath...he's not going to get there in time...

And Sara dodges in, smoothly, forcibly checking the cart out of the way, jarring Captain Oblivious into dropping his bag of spring mix. Jax grabs their cart and steers it through the gap and out of harm's way; Mick, deflating, follows with a quiet "Thanks, Blondie."

The fellow recovers, turns to glare at the small blonde who's watching him with arms folded and a steely glare. He opens his mouth...Sara's eyes narrow further...

Watching, Leonard sees the moment the fellow's hindbrain kicks in and tells him, "Oh, hell, not a good idea." The man actually takes a step backward, bumping into his cart, as he stares at Sara likes she's going to stab him with the loaf of French bread in his cart.

Sara takes another step toward him, and then, then gives him a sunny smile and turns with a little wave, strolling back to where Leonard's waiting with amusement. The whole thing takes less than a minute.

“Crisis averted. And thanks,” he sighs. “Thank god Mick doesn’t have the temper he used to.” He gives her a smile. “Can you imagine what it was like shopping with him and my sister when we were younger?”

“Well, I haven’t met your sister yet, but from what I’ve heard…you have my sympathy.”

"Thanks."

The five of them converge at the front of the store, Kendra unloading her armload of produce and sushi and chocolate chip cookies--"What?" she says—into the cart as they all pool cash and squabble over who has to wait in line.

A ruckus at the service counter, though, cuts through even that, and Sara can feel Leonard's attention being caught and held as she turns to look too.

A well-dressed man is leaning well into the space of the small woman behind the counter, spraying spittle and increasingly loud invective as he waves a receipt at her.

“I’m sorry, sir. There are no returns on these," she says gamely. "It says right on the racks. And I can return the bottled water, but it is taxed in this state. No, sir...."

Leonard's tensing and on the verge of heading over there (Sara puts a hand on his shoulder, but can't decide whether to stop him or not) when the man, red-faced and still visibly seething, throws the paper in the cashier's face and turns to walk away, into the store...then spins and fires back what he obviously thinks is a real zinger: “Get a real job, you bitch!”

The woman, her mouth a thin line that speaks as much of held-back tears as the way she’s rapidly blinking, squares her shoulders and, pasting a falsely bright smile on her face, turns back to help the next customer.

Sara sighs, and looks at Leonard, only to blink at the sheer depth of anger in his eyes.

“You know, my mother worked at a grocery store for a while,” he says shortly. “Second job, or third. Trying to make sure we could keep the power on and a few groceries in the house even when Lewis was in Iron Heights or drinking away whatever paycheck he was earning, if there was one.

“She came home more than one night utterly defeated...well, more so than she already was. People think they can treat retail workers like shit."

“You’re not kidding, man.” Jax is frowning. “My mom did that for a bit and, wow, did she have some tales."

Leonard is still studying the young woman. “My guess...she's a single mom. And a college student. Trying to juggle both and work."

Sara gives him a questioning look.

“No ring, and that pin on her smock is definitely a product of a preschool kid. And there are ink stains on her hands. She’s exhausted, and that’s not hung-over or out-partying-all-night exhaustion.” He gives her a thin smile. “I pay attention."

He looks back at the young woman and seems to come to a decision. "Jax, think you can find the front-end manager in here, get a read on him or her?

The younger man blinks. "Uh. Sure. What do you want to know?"

"Decent human being or another asshole. And if the former, rule-follower or someone who’s willing to…bend things a bit, in a good cause. Sara…” He pulls out his wallet. “Would you run over to the department store next door, get me a suit coat and a pair of reading glasses, wire rims, the weaker the better? And then set the bag just behind that display of pumpkins outdoors."

She takes the offered bills. “What are you up to?”

He just smiles. "Mick, text me when asshole there leaves. Now..."

Kendra puts up a hand. "I was a barista," she reminds him. "Customer service, remember? What can I do to help? "

"Check out with the groceries." He smiles at her. "If something goes south, you can bail us out."

With a grumbled "I never get to have any fun," Kendra goes to get in line. Sara gives Leonard one more long look, then turns to head for the department store, as Mick, chortling, heads back into the store and Jax follows him. Leonard casts a practiced look at the security cameras, then, smiling, strolls toward the exit.

Asshole leaves not long later, casually tossing abuse toward the cashier who checks out his pricey fancy beer and departing for the parking lot. A few moments later, a rather professorial type saunters back in the same set of doors.

The man who walks back into the store is obviously Leonard Snart, if you know what you're looking for, but with the leather jacket swapped out for a suit coat and wire-rimmed glasses. Watching from near the front of the store, Sara hums to herself in speculative admiration. Kendra shakes her head at her friend, but lifts an eyebrow herself, studying the crook with a faint grin on her face.

Snart circles into the store, tracing a path that lets him avoid cameras, then makes his way back to the front end, studying things momentarily before making a beeline for a middle-aged woman Jax has texted him about, who’s standing there studying what seems to be a schedule.

Sara can’t hear the first words he says to her, but she watches him extend a hand that that the woman shakes, then moves just enough to listen in.

"The young woman," he tells the manager seriously, "the one at the service counter… you should know in case he complains, but she showed great grace under fire just a little bit ago…”

Sara frowns at the anger at the woman’s face, then realizes it’s not anger at the young employee, but rage on her behalf. Jax has called their target well.

She’s missed the next few moments of conversation, but when she refocuses again, the manager is staring at Snart, holding an envelope with an expression of amazement on her face.

“Sir, this is too much…”

He shakes his head at her though, gesturing to the envelope. “Please,” Sara hears him say smoothly, “let me make someone's day. In memory of my own mother.”

The manager looks at him another moment...and then smiles. "Yes, sir," she says. "And may I say 'thank you' for doing so. She's a good worker and, well, she's had a hard time of it. Everyone needs a little hope from time to time.”

Snart agrees soberly, then nods to her, takes one more glance at the young woman, and—still avoiding video cameras—sees himself out. One by one, his compatriots follow him.

By the time they all meet outside, he’s ditched the jacket and glasses in a charity clothing bin and retrieved his own jacket from wherever he’d hidden it. The smirk, too, is firmly in place.

“Use the money from Asshole’s wallet?” Mick asks him with a mirroring smirk.

“Yep.” He brandishes the item in question. “He should’ve known better than to carry that much cash. Paid for most of our grocery run too. Prick.” He shrugs. “He was driving one of those compensating-for-something gigantic pick-up trucks. Thought about planting something, but he already had coke hidden under the passenger seat.” Distaste crosses his expression. “At any rate, the cops should be picking him up any time now. Sure they’ll be fascinated at his lack of ID.”

Mick laughs. Jax just shakes his head.

"I don't care what anyone says, Snart," he avers solemnly. "You are a hero."

"Bite your tongue, kid." But he smiles a little as Sara goes up on her toes to kiss him, and even Kendra squeezes his arm.

Leonard leaves the wallet, complete with ID and credit cards if minus cash, in the bushes on the way back to the Waverider.

When Rip, Ray, and Stein return, they find their cohorts relaxing in the park near the parked ship, steaks tended by Mick on the grill and accoutrements ready to go. Rip, appeased with the knowledge that no one had been arrested and the fact that they'd bought him a steak, rolls his eyes and breaks out a bottle of whiskey to share.

And a struggling single mom opens a card that night in her tiny apartment, small son sleeping in the next room, finds three $50 gift cards and a message of encouragement—and bursts into tears.

All in all, a good day's work.

Note: The Asshole Incident is based on one that happened to a friend (a single mom working her way through college) back in my own retail days. Little bit of belated wish fulfillment, there. ;)