#all the more reason for paxton to be worried about him running in the house | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

forasecondtherewedwon · 3 years

Photo

Runaway Ride

Fandom: Never Have I Ever Pairing: Devi/Paxton Rating: T Word Count: 4889

Summary: Kamala gets herself into a pickle, Devi needs to go to her, and Paxton has a car. Problem-solving has never been so simple, but that's how it is when your new boyfriend is Paxton Hall-Yoshida. Throw in a little hand-holding on the highway and this family crisis might just be the best date Devi will ever have.

When they finally took a break from dancing—disconnecting hands from hips and shoulders, lips from lips—Devi stepped away in a dreamy headspace. She almost collided with Jonah, but he didn’t tell her to look where she was going, only offered a shrewd, indulgent smile.

Actually, everybody was treating her like that; every eye that caught hers on her way to the table where she’d left her stuff was unjudgmental, admiring, straight up fairy-godmotherly. Devi hadn’t received this much notice since her dad’s death and her subsequent paralysis. And those looks had been pitying, freaked out. Positive attention was new and cool and she wondered, as she grabbed her phone out of her turquoise clutch, whether her socials would show more of the same when she opened them. Would people have snapped stealthy pics of her and Paxton dancing now that she’d been vaulted into the pseudo-celebrity strata of the high school hierarchy? Would the Insta posts be captioned with hashtags of their ship name? Paxi? Daxton? Vishwall-Yoshumar?

Devi never got to check.

Unlocking her phone, she found two missed calls from her mother. Maybe two wouldn’t have seemed like a whole lot to someone else, but Devi knew that, in order for her mom to risk rudeness by stepping away from the company she was hosting at home not once but twice, she’d need to be pretty frantic. Two missed calls from Nalini Vishwakumar were the equivalent of six or seven from any other mother.

Skirting the edges of the gym as she headed away from DJ Humanoid—that nit-witted saboteur of slow dances—Devi was about to call her mom back when her screen changed to an incoming call from Kamala. She pressed her other hand to her ear and answered it.

“Hey. Do you know what’s going on with my mom? She called me twice and, honestly, she knows I’m at the d—”

“Devi, shut up. Sorry,” Kamala sighed. “But I may have kidnapped your history teacher and now I’m panicking a little.”

Devi stopped in her tracks.

“You did what? Why is the sound weird?”

As she was trying to identify the background noise coming from Kamala’s end, her eyes swept over the crowd of her classmates and landed on Fabiola’s. Her friend had been smiling, mid-sway as she held Eve from behind and chatted with Sasha, but it fell off her face like Devi off Dr. Jackson’s roof. Fab disentangled herself from her girlfriend and crossed the room to stand with Devi. She was frowning, silently asking for an explanation for Devi’s distress, but Devi didn’t really have one yet.

“We’re in his car on the highway,” her cousin was saying. “He was a little drunk, so I’m driving.”

Devi had imagined that Kamala was exaggerating, but no, this was really starting to sound like a kidnapping.

“You better be on hands-free right now,” she lectured. Then, because she wasn’t exactly a paragon of road safety herself—barely an hour ago, she’d walked right out in front of Paxton’s jeep—didn’t wait for confirmation. “What the hell happened? Context, Kamala!”

“Well, as soon as I snuck out of the house—”

“But why did you sneak out?!”

“Devi, I can’t talk about that right now!” Devi’s eyebrows shot up at the clear and abnormal hysteria in her cousin’s voice. “I ran out of the house,” Kamala continued, “totally directionless, and the first thing that popped into my head was Manish’s invitation for me to come to karaoke…”

“Ew, what the fuck, don’t call Mr. K that.”

What? Fab mouthed at her, but Devi shook her head.

“That is his name and what he asked me to call him. Anyway,” Kamala said, sounding strained, “I went to your school and met up with him and now I’m driving his car and I think I might have shut my sari in the car door, but I’m scared to pull over and check because if I stop the car, I’m going to have to confront things and I think I’d rather not do that yet.”

“Kamala,” Devi said in a heavy, careful voice. “You have to pull over. I totally get what you’re saying because it sounds like something I might do—minus the part where you kidnapped Mr. K—” Fabiola’s eyes went dramatically wide as she was adjusting her tiara. “—but this isn’t you. You don’t run away from your obligations and elope with my teachers!”

“Manish and I didn’t elope. It isn’t in any way romantic.”

“For sure though? It’s not?” Devi heard another voice in the car ask.

“Mr. K, back off! Kamala’s in the middle of a crisis!” she shouted. “And please be drunk enough to forget that I yelled at you.”

“Devi, what should I do?” Kamala asked, sounding desperate in a sad way now.

“Where are you?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Ok, well, which direction are you heading in?”

“Um, either north or south.”

“You’re a disaster,” Devi muttered.

“What was that?”

“Uh… I said, don’t drive any faster. Try to read the next sign you pass so you can tell me where you are.”

“Alright,” Kamala said.

Devi tilted her phone away from her mouth so her cousin wouldn’t hear her frustrated sigh. She locked eyes with Fabiola.

“Kamala panicked at her engagement dinner and ran off with Mr. K. They’re either headed for Mexico or Canada, but I’ll know more in a minute.”

Fab blinked.

“Wow.”

“I know. It’s a lot. And this is me talking,” Devi emphasized.

“I don’t know if you would do anything this big. Mainly because you don’t have a driver’s license.”

“True.”

“Santa Barbara in twenty-six miles,” Kamala said in her ear.

“Damn, you made good time.”

“The traffic was quite manageable.”

“Try to calm down a little and get off the highway when you can. Don’t go past Santa Barbara. I’m coming to talk you down in person,” Devi said. “Oh, and don’t answer any of my mom’s calls; she’ll just stress you out.”

“That doesn’t seem very responsible. How about I send her a text when I stop to let her know I’m ok?”

Devi rolled her eyes.

“Suit yourself.”

“Thank you, Devi. But how will you get here?”

“Let me worry about that. Text me when you stop so I know exactly where I’m going.”

“I will.”

“’K. I’ll see you in a bit.”

Devi hung up and sighed massively, slumping into the wall and feeling a streamer crumple against her back. She and Fabiola stared at each other.

“What are you gonna do?” Fab asked.

“Be the hero my family needs, but not the one they deserve.”

“Are you misquoting Batman to justify doing something reckless?”

“First of all, rescuing Kamala isn’t reckless, and second of all, the movie isn’t called Batman, it’s The Dark Knight. Young-ish Christian Bale, hello.”

Fabiola pointed a finger at her own face.

“Young-ish out-of-touch lesbian, hello. At least I was close.”

Devi sighed again while Fab smiled sadly at her in obvious sympathy.

“It’s after ten at night. How am I gonna get to Santa Barbara?”

“Assuming you’re not going to ask your mom—”

“No.”

“Then you need a ride.”

“You need a ride? I’ll drive you.”

It was Paxton, walking up and tentatively taking Devi’s hand while darting uncertain glances at Fabiola. Devi felt her entire face light up.

“You don’t want to know where or why?” she teased.

His expression said those were insignificant details. Wow. Devi’d never had a fantasy where Paxton joined forces with her, bounty hunter-style, to track down a flighty Kamala, but this felt oddly romantic. Passionate even? They’d see where the night took them.

“You wouldn’t wanna leave the dance unless it was serious,” Paxton reasoned. “So, I’ll drive you. You wanna go now?”

“I guess we better. Lemme just grab my…”

“I’ll get it,” Fab said, raising a hand like the nerd she was as she volunteered.

She darted back through the dancers to grab Devi’s things and Devi watched their classmates part for their Cricket Queen. She was so proud of Fab. Also, she felt kinda bad for ditching such a momentous occasion. But Kamala needed her, and would totally do the same for her if she ever went off the deep end and kidnapped a dude while fleeing a proposal. Not that Devi could see herself fleeing a proposal (she glanced at Paxton as she thought this, then quickly away, thinking, Way too soon!). Carrying out a kidnapping? With a sufficiently convincing pro-and-con list, anything was possible.

“Basically, Kamala freaked and drove to Santa Barbara with a drunken Mr. K,” Devi said, because Paxton might not have asked to be informed, but she wanted him to know what he was getting himself into. Beyond that, she wanted to give him the chance to say, No way, Devi. I came here to look hot and dance up on you, nothing more.

“Oh shit,” was what he said.

“Damn right, oh shit. You still want to drive? This is going to take a while.”

She should probably have felt guilty about trying to subtly persuade him with her eyes, but not only was Paxton the least complicated option, he was also her first choice. If she maintained eye contact long enough, Devi figured it might trigger some kind of boyfriend override that made going for a long drive at night just as appealing as staying here and dancing with her butt pressed thrillingly to his groin when the teacher-chaperones weren’t looking.

“As long as we can hit up the bathrooms first. I was going to, but then I got talking to Trent, and then Marcus was doing a handstand…”

“Definitely,” Devi assured him. “Good call. Empty the tank. Oh, actually, that reminds me… how much gas do you have in your jeep? If we need to stop at a gas station, I’ll have to factor that in to the ETA I give Kamala.”

Paxton shook his head at her, smiling in what she liked to think was affectionate amusement.

“I filled it up on the way here. I needed a minute to, uh…” To her epic astonishment, he ducked his head self-consciously, cheeks pinking. “You know. Get my shit together. Up here.” He tapped his temple with his index finger. “I wanted to show up for you, like, completely. You know?”

Right as Devi was at dangerously high risk of sagging to the floor in blissful bonelessness, Fabiola sprang to her side, shoving the rest of her possessions at her.

“Ok, ok!” Devi said, harried.

She had to dump it all on the bathroom counter a minute later anyway, but after she’d done her pre-road trip pee, she came out and gave Fab a better thank-you.

“Your Highness,” Paxton told Fabiola with a nod.

Fab nodded back, smiling wryly.

“Prosecutor.”

“I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship,” Devi assessed, “but we gotta go! Say congrats to Eve for me again!”

“Sure. Drive safe!”

Devi and Paxton pushed through the doors together, striding quickly with his hand wrapped around hers. In the parking lot, she glanced sideways to see him digging his keychain out of his front pocket.

“Oh,” she said, “so I wasn’t just feeling that you were very happy to dance with me.”

Until they got into the jeep, it was too dark to see whether she’d gotten him to blush again, but she liked to think that she had. He was definitely smiling.

They got in and Devi carefully tucked her skirt around her legs, mind on Kamala’s cautionary tale. At least it was until Paxton leaned forward to shrug out of his jacket and she saw his shoulder muscles jump beneath his fitted button-down, his narrow black tie swinging forward. Dang. Fifty shades of Hall-Yoshida.

“Santa Barbara?” Paxton double-checked once he was settled behind the wheel, steering out of the student lot.

“Santa Barbara.”

Until they were on the highway and heading out of Los Angeles, Devi did her best to keep her worry about Kamala’s situation contained to the way she flapped her phone against her thigh. Usually, she was stressing about the problems right in front of her (when she wasn’t blatantly ignoring them, only to have that approach bite her in the ass later), but with whatever was going on with Kamala, she kinda had to look ahead.

Had she wanted Kamala to get engaged to Prashant that badly? Well, the best thing about Prashant was that you never knew when having additional hot relatives would be to your benefit. (Devi was already hoping that Mr. K would get over the more nerve-wracking elements of this night and just remember having fun with her stunning cousin… and that this could possibly translate into at least a month of generous grades, if she could somehow spin these shenanigans as an intentional blind date arranged by herself.) However, an engaged Kamala was wholly different from a married Kamala. She wouldn’t be around to watch nonsensical episodes of Riverdale, or be duped into hijinks, or listen to Devi when her mom was too tired, or bitch about her shitty lab-mates in exchange for sitting through Devi bitching about her complicated feelings on the subject of Aneesa dating her ex. She wouldn’t live with them anymore, and the family that had begun to miraculously fill out after her dad had died would be back down to three. And the other two members of it would be old (Sorry, Mom, she thought) and not at all prepared to champion her dating life or the cleavage-accentuating formal dress currently buoying it.

So, yeah, Devi was looking ahead—eyes glazed over as the yellow lights of cars slipped around them to prevent her vision from fully adjusting to the blue-black sky—and feeling more than a little nervous and scared of the Kamala-shaped hole she’d have in her life if her dazzling, dorky cousin left her house for one she might eventually fill with the most beautiful children the world had ever seen.

Thankfully, Paxton was there. It startled her when he took one hand off the wheel and felt across her lap to grab hers, loosely interlacing their fingers. Devi quit hitting her phone against her leg. She sent off their updated location to Kamala and then let her phone fall flat.

“Did she say where she was?” Her boyfriend’s voice was quiet in the car and she realized for the first time that her head had been too crammed with thoughts to put on any music.

“Carpinteria State Beach. Do you know the exit?”

“We’ll find it.”

“And if you want me to drive while you rest on the way back…”

Paxton laughed.

“No way. Safety first.”

“Says the guy driving one-handed,” Devi countered, not that she was eager to surrender the hand warming hers.

He turned his head just long enough to shoot her a look.

“Whoa, pal, eyes on the road!” she said. (She had a half-baked plan to call her boyfriend ‘pal’ a few times and thereby de-weaponize the word in a memory that still felt like a fading bruise, an almost-gone sore spot in who she and Paxton were before they were openly a them.)

“Sorry,” he said, staring out the windshield again. He grinned. “You look gorgeous.”

“Really?”

“So gorgeous.” Paxton’s voice was softer this time, the underlying laugh it had carried since she’d offered to drive his jeep drained out of it. It was nearly a sigh.

“Thanks. So do you.”

“You know, I feel fucking awful for hitting you with my car, but I still think I mighta felt worse if I’d walked in and seen you dancing with somebody else.”

Devi twisted their hands, touching the back of his to her thigh so she was sandwiching it between leg and palm for a moment, aiming for reassuring.

“I wanna say I would never be that flaky, but my previous offenses speak for themselves.”

“So does doing this with me.”

“Uh,” she droned, “to recap, you left a fun thing to do a huge favour for me. You’re talking about it like this is my act of redemption. I feel like if you examine it for a sec, you’ll see how I’m actually kind of a dick for accepting your help.”

“I want us to be together,” he said bluntly. “Here we are. Together.”

“It’s that simple?”

“I don’t see why it can’t be.”

“Huh. I think you’re really gonna be good for my tendency to overcomplicate a situation.”

Paxton laughed and unthreaded his fingers from Devi’s. But it wasn’t to release her for pointing out that this date was, in actual fact, the coordinated response to a family crisis; his fingertips moved lightly over her palm, momentarily trapped when her fingers flinched inward in reaction to how it tickled, then traced along the thin skin of her inner wrist. He wasn’t trying to pull away. He was lingering. Though his touch when he sunk his hand into her hair or drew her closer by her waist had always been fairly gentle, it had often had the faint aggression of hastiness to it, clutching her as they made out in her room, always listening for footsteps in the hallway. How Paxton touched her now was pure, exploratory tenderness. It made the hairs on the back of Devi’s neck stand up as a wave of shivers rushed up her spine and crested somewhere around the nape of her neck.

He must’ve felt that wave break, the foamy aftereffects in some tic of her arm or quickening of her pulse while his fingers skimmed gradually up the inside of her arm towards her elbow, because he chanced another quick glance at her.

“That feels good,” she explained.

Paxton looked forward, nodding slowly, and shifted in the driver’s seat.

“Good.”

She thought it must have felt good for him too, knowing he’d made her shiver.

—

The miles were flicking past for Paxton—another, another, another, as fast and steady as the dashed lines painted between the lanes, his arms cutting the water on the front crawl. He wanted Devi, beside him, to believe that he was paying attention to his driving, but he was honestly kinda zoned out. Like that time he’d swum to San Diego, he let his body go through the motions (in this case, twitching the wheel, putting on cruise control when traffic thinned so he didn’t have to focus on the pedals) while his mind floated freely.

Where it floated was to his girlfriend.

At ten years old, he’d been the last kid in his swim class to jump off the 10m board. It was optional—a treat after getting water up their noses turning somersaults below the surface and doing egg-beater legs in between—but all the other boys in the group had done it eagerly, shrieking on their way down to sloppy pencil dives. Paxton had climbed the stairs all the way to the top easily enough, even stepped onto the wide platform, bordered by metal railings and rough under his bare feet. He’d walked out to the end and frozen to find himself so high above the pool.

He hadn’t feared the water, he’d feared the air. Being so exposed on his own at the end of the diving board. Eventually, he’d retreated, then surprised the coach waiting down at the poolside by turning around and taking the jump at a run. Few memories felt as good as the sensation of giving himself back to gravity and letting it reunite him with the water. He’d just had to get past the exposure.

Same thing tonight, going to find Devi at the dance. Holding her hand in his had been him reaching the platform, but when they stood together, just inside the school’s doors, Paxton hadn’t known for sure whether he would take the leap or retreat. And not just for a running start this time, but in a way that turned his sixteen-year-old present self back into one of those nervous ten-year-olds who wimped out and had to take the coward’s way down—descending each step they’d climbed. He might not have run, and yet he hadn’t needed to back up and race into their relationship either. Momentum hadn’t carried them inside for everyone they knew to see them. It had been a calm approach, even if he’d been shaking on the inside when he saw Trent staring at them.

So maybe Paxton had learned something in the last six years, or maybe it was harder to feel exposed with somebody right next to you.

She really did look gorgeous, like he’d said, and because he didn’t want her to worry about his focus if she spotted him gazing at the side of her face while she texted her cousin, the glances he stole were of the knee region. Her dress’s overlay sparkled when the high lights of eighteen-wheelers passed them and the specific teal of the dress itself reminded him of a river he’d swum in once during an out-of-state family vacation. Natural and deep and fresh, and exasperating for his parents because he’d accidentally doggy-paddled himself all the way to a small waterfall and hadn’t heard them calling him back for dinner around the campfire. He felt all that about Devi, except for hoping for a different reaction from his parents when they met her.

Holy shit. He was going to have to introduce his girlfriend to his embarrassing hippy parents. But then, she’d already met Rebecca, so maybe they were set? A sister’s approval should count for a ton.

No, no, no, Devi would have to meet his parents. He was doing this. The two of them were doing this. Paxton exhaled determinedly through his nose and made himself concentrate on the remaining miles he needed to cover. His mind, anyway. His hand continued to stroke and search, covering his girlfriend’s hand with his until he had her fingers tucked away protectively under his own, and then caressing all the way up to the crook of her elbow so suddenly that she made a noise between a laugh and a yelp because he’d unintentionally tickled her. Man, she was cute.

The very end of their journey required the most concentration from Paxton; he finally took back his hand to have both on the wheel as he steered them off the highway and Devi’s got lonely or something, because it chased across to where he was sitting and landed on his thigh. His jaw clenched. He could feel the heat of her palm through his pantleg and congratulated himself on being a driving legend for driving smoothly to where they needed to park for beach access.

Devi had a pink sweater that she put on, but Paxton grabbed his jacket out of the back as well in case she needed it. It was almost midnight and a breeze rolled up off the water, rippling his tie and swishing Devi’s dress. He didn’t have to ask what they should do next—there was just one other car parked nearby and Devi’s cousin was already standing outside of it, raising a hand to wave sheepishly as they got out of his jeep.

“Here,” he said, holding out his jacket for his girlfriend to put her arms through the sleeves. “You guys talk. I’ll be down at the beach.”

Devi turned her back to him as she accepted the jacket, but she glanced over her shoulder with a look of concern.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. You’ll want privacy. I need to stretch my legs anyway.”

“Just don’t swim away, ok?” she requested. “I don’t think I can handle more than one rescue mission per night.”

Paxton could tell by her expression that it wasn’t entirely a joke. He grinned and gripped his lapels, now on Devi, reeling her in.

“I promise. You’d probably take the opportunity to try to drive the jeep home, and I don’t want to risk that.”

“Me committing grand theft auto or me getting hurt?”

“I bet they tested you for smartness,” he said, “but you think they have a test for being a smartass? You’d score high, Vishwakumar.”

“I know, I know, you don’t want me to get hurt.”

She was so infuriatingly flippant, rolling her big brown eyes at him.

“That’s right,” Paxton said plainly. There he was, up on the platform again.

Devi straightened his tie and let her hand rest flat on his chest. He remembered how overwhelmed she’d looked the first time he’d placed her palm there, right on his skin. Even now, it almost made him laugh.

“Ok,” she said, and he was surrendering himself to the sweet strength of gravity, propelled down to the beach while Devi stayed to talk to Kamala.

—

Devi had heard that there were tidepools here, and she was nervous about stepping into one and spearing some aquatic animal on her high heel. Well, she couldn’t magically improve her night vision, but she could take her shoes off and remove the possibility of impalement. They dangled from her fingers as she picked her way down to the beach.

Her boyfriend was sitting in the sand, staring out at the ocean. It just looked so romantic—with the stars the sky was too bright to see at home, and the waves, and the back of Paxton’s white shirt in the moonlight—that Devi decided to slip into the scene without saying anything at all.

A mistake. Paxton gasped and jumped. Apparently, he hadn’t heard her over the noise of the water.

“Sorry, sorry!” she said.

He sighed and smiled, getting to his feet.

“How’d it go?”

“I think it went well. She was feeling calm enough to drive, so she’s on her way home now. She’s gonna cover for me until we get back.”

“That’s good… but what about Mr. Kulkarni?”

“He was passed out in the passenger’s seat,” Devi stated. “I guess he’s kind of a lightweight? Kamala said she’s going to drive back to our school and leave him and his car in the parking lot. She’s planning to call my mom for a ride home. If it were me, I think I’d take the bus and try to sneak back into the house as quietly as possible, but Kamala still has a lot to learn about how to thoroughly dodge your problems.”

“And maybe about how to climb to the second floor of your house from the outside?” Paxton suggested with a meaningful smirk.

She did her best to return it, but the odds were that it didn’t look nearly as sexy on her. Then again, she had moonlight and midnight and well-displayed cleavage on her side.

“How’d you learn to do that so quietly anyway?” Devi asked, tossing her shoes to the sand and stepping forward to boldly wrap her arms around Paxton’s waist.

He’d had his hands in his pockets, but as soon as she’d begun to move towards him, he’d pulled them out. His arms encircled her, his hands on the back of his own black jacket. Although Devi wanted to offer him the jacket back—he felt slightly chilly through his shirt—she didn’t want the two of them to separate. Besides, body heat was a thing. This was practically what it was for. So Devi just pressed herself closer, breathing the scent of the ocean and Paxton’s fading cologne.

“Trent,” he said.

“Yeah, actually, that checks out.”

Were there boundaries between warming someone up while having a conversation and just hugging them? It wasn’t clear to Devi, but it felt good when they both went quiet for a while. She stood unevenly on the cold sand and listened to the thud of Paxton’s heart.

“You never said yes,” he said eventually, quietly.

“Yes to what?”

“I told you I came to the dance as your boyfriend and you never actually agreed to be my girlfriend. We kinda just started making out.”

Devi lifted her cheek from his chest so she could look at him. He didn’t appear disappointed, more like he was making an observation. Maybe he’d been reflecting, out here in the dark, while she and Kamala had talked.

“In my books, that’s an obvious yes,” she said, grinning. “What more do you need?”

She could see him trying not to smile.

“A little atmosphere would be nice,” Paxton said. “Maybe a long drive, or the beach. A full moon. Romance me, Vishwakumar.”

Devi vibrated with silent laughter. Or her heart was just beating really, really freaking hard.

“Sounds like you’ve got some pretty big expectations there.”

“And stars,” he added. “There should be a shitload of stars.”

With that, he took one hand off her back to point far above them. Devi tipped her head back, the light of the stars a friendly blur as she tried to pick one to settle on, just one. Paxton’s face coming forward to hover over hers blotted them out. Her boyfriend kissed her, light and ghosting and then firm and slow.

“On the other hand,” he said, pulling back a little, “I think we were onto something with the making out.”

Devi smiled and dug her toes into the sand to make herself taller, lips at the ready and realigned with his.

“We did set a precedent.”

#my writing #Never Have I Ever #Never Have I Ever spoilers #NHIE #NHIE spoilers #Devi Vishwakumar #Paxton Hall-Yoshida #Devi x Paxton #Daxton #Fabiola Torres #Kamala Nandiwadal #couldn't find a gif I wanted and then all of a sudden I was making a moodboard

75 notes · View notes

boxboysandotherwhump · 4 years

Photo

Chapter 5 Paxton and Amal Series

Hey you guys.

Here is the next chapter of the Paxton and Amal series, in a written format this time.

@albino-whumpee amazing drawing had just inspired me so much that I couldn’t stop myself from starting the Chapter last night and finishing it up today.

So here we are. I hope you guys enjoy it nonetheless.

Tag list: @albino-whumpee @orchidscript @finder-of-rings please let me know if I forgot someone

CW: boxboy universe typical stuff, modern slavery, one character fainting and vomiting in the bathroom, mentioned past abuse, character talking negatively about their body, whumpee is forced to become caretaker, one very brief abelist comment coming up in a memory,

Night had found its way inside the small flat, where old floor boards creaked whisper silent around the curled up, young man on the orange sofa, as the old house settled unable to sleep just like him.

Paxton lay incredibly still, careful not to rustle the blankets and bother his masters, simultaneously overflowing with an all-enveloping warmth. Wrapped in softness he’d never known bevor and basking in the soft glow of the little night light his Master had plugged into one of the living room sockets. Its golden shimmer illuminated parts of the coffee colored walls, the self-build cat tree next to the door frame with the missing door, which had relieved Paxton tremendously, and fell on the plush striped carpet he would have been grateful to sleep on.

But bevor he could even have dared ask for such a privilege, his master had thrown a heap of blankets and pillows on the couch, a nearly apologetic look on his face.

“They’re not washed and probably smell a bit like me. I hope you don’t mind. If I had known that you- well- I would have definitely washed them. And bought a proper comforter. If those fleece blankets are not enough I can make you a warm water bottle. Just tell me if- ah- forget it.”

Paxton had just looked at him, as he had rushed into the small hallway and vanished into his room, leaving him confused and not daring to sit on the couch. It hadn’t felt like a trick, but his feet had stayed rooted to the spot on the ticklish soft carpet nonetheless.

Paxton still remembers the goosebumps that had spread over his entire body at the sound of boiling water from the kitchen and how he had forced himself to remain still. Spine straight and breathing as even as he could manage. He also remembers the little delighted sound that had escaped him as his master had shoved a warm pillow like thing into his hands, with warming cheeks. A warm water bottle as he had called it, with such genuine bafflement about Paxtons lack of knowledge that he couldn’t help but feel stupid.

That, however, hardly mattered now as he lay there, on a soft couch, soft blankets draped over him, his nose filled with the sweet smell of his new master, of Amal he tried to remember, (heat prickling in his cheeks at the intimacy of using masters name), and curling around the warm water bottle as if he’d die the moment he would let go of it.

Wishing, desperately, for this moment to never end Paxton fought against the ever growing heaviness of his eyes, creeping down his limbs and nestling warm under his ribs.

The sudden scrape of a door lets his eyes fly open.

When had he closed them?

Soft footfalls stumbled through the hallway, approaching the living room from the left.

It must be his master, then.

What could he want in the middle of the night?!

Paxton pulled the blankets up over his nose, cringing at their soft rustle, wide eyes fixed on the doorless doorframe.

The only reason for his old master to seek him out at night had been - A shiver wrecked his body accompanied by memories of merciless hands around his throat and canes breaking skin.

The scars on Paxtons hands began to itch as he pressed them closer to his trembling body, hiding them between the warm water bottle and his turning stomach. Knowing full well he would give them to his master, letting him do as he pleased. Would give his everything to him, at the first command.

He had to be good for him.

Would be good for him!

No matter how painful or scary it might be.

Ready to slip from the Couch onto the floor and kneel by master’s side, Paxtons eyes grew ever wider as Amal just staggered past the living room entrance, not even sparing him a glance.

If he craned his neck a bit, Paxton could see master fumbling with the bathroom door handle, finally prying it open and slipping inside.

Was it just him or had his master really swayed a little?

Face scrunched up in a frown?

No. It must have been the low shimmer of the night lamp playing tricks on him.

His master just needed to use the bathroom.

He wasn’t swaying. He wasn’t drunk and angry. He wouldn’t stop at Paxtons bed tonight and- No. Everything was fine. He was fine. His new master surely wouldn’t punish him without a reason. Surely. Hopefully. Please. Please don’t. Please just go to bed again. Please, please, please.

A loud thud, stopped his spiraling panic dead in its tracks.

He lifted his head gingerly from the pillow, straining his ears, trying to listen over his thundering heartbeat.

Barely audible shuffling sounded through the flats silence, followed by a heaving that turned Paxtons stomach in sympathy and fear alike as he bolted upright, feet hitting the carpet running.

He stopped short at the bathroom door, unsure how to proceed until a little whimper followed by more gurgling pushed him to knock. A nervous tap tap tap of scarred knuckles against white wood.

“M- Master? Are, are you alright?”

“Pax…? He- help-“

Cold raced up his arms at his master’s whine and he had the door wrenched open bevor he could think better of it. Wondering faintly, how a master’s voice could even sound so small, quivering miserably.

The sight of his master let his heart drop, heavy like a stone, forcing air out of his lungs in a shuddering exhale.

His master lay doubled over on the bathroom floor, underwear hastily pulled back up over his butt in a futile attempt to preserve at least a sliver of modesty and covered in vomit. Dry-heaving at Paxtons feet, hazy eyes fixed on the bile that had splattered the wall.

“Amal!”

Paxton held a water filled toothbrush cup to his masters trembling lips, faster than any of them could comprehend, cupping Amal’s head gently with his palm. Green unruly hair tickled Paxtons fingertips as Amal shuddered, pale face pressed against his chest.

It was then that Paxton realized, just how small his master was.

“Your legs. They’re… uhm… they’re getting all… all dirty.” Amal rasped out.

“I don’t mind.” a soft smile tugged at Paxtons lips, “I kneeled in my own vomit so often, I’m used to it.”

Amal’s lips twitched, at that, brows crumpling together and Paxton feared he would be sick again but shaking hands pushed him away instead and Amal propped himself up against the toilet seat.

“Thanks Pax. I-“, he swallowed around his burning throat. “I can handle the rest myself.”

Paxton wanted to protest at that, barely able to bite the words back that threatened to spill out but the last time he dared talk back to his master was forever etched into his face, an aching reminder to never ever do such a thing again.

So he just watched, wide eyed, as Amal pulled himself up, hands gripping the bathroom sink for dear life. Amal’s cheeks turned blotchy red as his legs shock eyes screwed shut bevor he took a tentative step and promptly slipped on the bile covered floor.

Paxton was up in an instant, catching him with a strength that surprised himself and sitting him down on the toilette seat.

“Kasi, stop fussing over me. I’m fine.” Grey irritated eyes stared up at him. Fever red face drawn into a pout.

Pain burst behind Paxtons eyes but he pushed it aside as best he could, focusing on his master instead. On the bashful smile curving master’s lips.

“That was close.”

“Please.” Paxtons voice was barely more than a shaky whisper. “Please would, would you let me help you, Sir?”

That’s what I’m for, after all.

Amal’s eyes lingered on him and Paxton shrunk under his master gaze, heart nearly bursting out of his chest.

“I- I know you told me to- that you would ha- handle this. I- I’m sorry I misspoke. It won’t happen again I promise I- “

“Hey no. It’s fine.” Amal sat up a bit straighter, face slowly returning to a healthier color. “Thank you for being there.”

Paxtons throat began to close up at Amal’s gentle smile.

“Could you get me some iced coffee from the fridge? It helps kick my circulation back into gear, when my stupid heart decides to act up. Again.” He huffed.

“Hey don’t worry? It’s looking worse than it is. Really.”

Eyeing the soiled floor warily Paxton hurried out of the room.

Face pressed into his hands and trying to muffle his groan, Amal allowed himself to wallow in his misery, until soft footfalls announced Paxtons return.

His face burned with humiliation as he gulped the coffee down, dizziness fading with every swig. He watched Paxton kneel on the floor, rug in hand and wiping up the mess he’d made.

Peeling himself out of his soiled night shirt, under Paxtons watchful eye, was an exercise in misery. Amal was incredibly glad his underwear had remained clean as he climbed into the shower, refusing – refusing - to take it off.

Grey disbelieving eyes wandered over Amals mastectomy scars, wincing in sympathy as he plucked the bath sponge from Paxtons hand and scrubbed over his chest, cleaning himself hastily.

A sudden self-conscious sigh escaped chapped lips. “What a night, hm?”

Paxton stopped whipping down his own leg with the cleaning rug. “What- uhm what had happened? Sir?”

Barking a little laugh, Amal leaned back against the tile wall, letting its cold seep into heated skin.

“Just my body trying to kill me again. Worthless thing.”

“You’re really reselling him, Boss?!” “Yeah my Tattoo artist needs someone to look after her sibling. Some worthless Crip, or something.”

Nails dug in scarred palms.

“Don’t say that.”

The unexpected volume of his own voice made Paxton flinch, letting it drop back into a whisper that didn’t lose any of its urgency. “Please don’t say something like that about yourself. You- you are an amazing person. The greatest master I ever had the privilege of meeting.”

An irritated huff escaped Amal, as he sat there half naked in his shower, washing the last bits of bile out of his hair, where he had landed face down in the testament off his own fragility, barley able to stand Paxtons adoring gaze.

Something stung in his throat, too deep for it to stem solely from vomiting all over the bathroom floor.

He felt the sudden urge to wrap himself in a towel, hide from those earnest eyes, which were trained solely on him.

Instead he turned his head studying a wandering water drop.

“How could you say that? You barley know me.”

For the first time in as long as he could remember Paxton wasn’t scared as he spoke:

“Because I know kindness when I see it.”

#Box Boy #box boys #boxboys #boxboy #box boy universe #box boy whump #box boy multiverse #whump #pet whump #caretaker whump #vomiting tw #sick whump #paxton and amal series #paxton and amal #paxton the box boy #amal and his really not so great night

110 notes · View notes

a-lockman5 · 4 years

Text

Lucky Love {Devi x Paxton}

A/N: Another request! More Devi and Paxton being adorable! I made a lot of jumps in this one and changed POV, so hopefully it is not too confusing. There was a lot of time together, and I really liked the pieces so I didn’t want to let them go, but also I would have written an entire novel of filler if I didn’t make time jumps. So ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Hope you enjoy!

Summary: Paxton doesn’t know what it is, but the more present Devi was in his life, the better things seem to be for him.

Warnings: Fluff.. that’s about it

Requests are closed at this time as I’m already like 4 behind (you guys are awesome!), but ask is open.

MASTERLIST

“Oh, hey, umm, I’m in your neighborhood. Thought maybe we could hang out, but uh, it seems like you’re busy, so… Uh… Anyway, you can give me a call or text. Whatever… Okay.”

The first time Devi listened to Paxton’s voicemail, she saved it, but told herself she wouldn’t listen to it again. She was with her mom and Kamala on their way home from Malibu. She’d just kissed Ben Gross, and Kamala, thankfully, distracted her mom long enough that Nalini was none the wiser. Devi’s mother wasn’t the reason she wouldn’t listen to the voicemail again though, Ben was. She just had the most amazing moment topped by the most amazing kiss with Ben freaking Gross. She could hardly believe it herself, but she wasn’t going to taint that by listening to a voicemail from another guy.

“Oh, hey, umm, I’m in your neighborhood…”

The second time she listened to Paxton’s voice crackle across the line, was when she was lying in bed trying to fall asleep. It was the same day that she promised herself she wouldn’t listen to it ever again. She lasted six hours, and honestly, she was proud of that. It was five and a half hours longer than she thought she would last. He sounded vague and detached, and she knew that. Ben was expressive and he wore all his emotions on his face. Why would she throw away such a great moment with Ben to listen Paxton ask her to hangout or whatever? Logically, it didn’t make any sense. She just needed to think about Ben and fall asleep.

“…Thought maybe we could hang out, but…”

The third time Paxton’s voicemail reached her ears was after she’d sat bolt right up in bed from a weird (not entirely bad) dream. Paxton and Ben were fighting over her. Not like fighting in the cafeteria though, no. Instead, it was a medieval joust, with horses and swords and giant sticks, and an amazingly detailed crown for her to wear. In the dream, she thought she gave Ben her favor, but after Paxton knocked him off his horse, he magically had her favor instead. She was so thrilled for his victory mid-dream that she didn’t question it. Then to top it all off, they kissed… again! Except, it was a dream this time, but it reminded her of the real time, and… well shit.

*Can we talk?* she sent the text without another thought.

*Yeah. On the phone?*

*In person. I’ll meet you at school?*

*Sounds good.*

“… uh, seems like you’re busy, so… Uh…”

The fourth time she listened to the voicemail Paxton left nine hours earlier, she hung up before it finished as the very person she dragged out of bed was getting out of a town car. He walked over with a bag full of Devi’s things, smiling sheepishly. When he reached her, she graciously took the bag from him and met his eye for the first time since they’d kissed. Almost instantly, she saw his face fall.

“You didn’t mean it, did you?”

“What? No, it’s not like that. I” –

“It’s okay, I get it. It was a big moment, you were emotional. It’s no big deal,” Ben told her.

“It was a big deal… and I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me the last couple weeks. I think I was just swept up in the moment or some other Hollywood cliché… I should have found a better way to say thank you.”

“I’m glad you told me. I care about you, I think you know that,” he nodded. “Nothin’ hurt.”

“You’re not mad?”

He sighed. “Can’t be mad at you for being honest. Now, if you make it weird and blow me off at school when we just started becoming friendly rivals, I’ll be mad. Friends?” he asked sticking his hand out.

“Friends,” she met him for a handshake. “Thanks, Gross.”

“Anyway, you can give me a call or text. Whatever… Okay.”

The fifth time she listened to Paxton’s voicemail, she recognized every nuance in his voice that slipped past her the previous listens. He was vulnerable. He came to her house to ask her to hangout even though the last time he came to her house, her mom called him an idiot. He was trying to sound aloof, but she could tell he was scared. Scared of what? Her mom? Or was he scared of her?

She didn’t want to waste another second waiting to find out so, at 9:30AM she found herself riding a scooter to the Hall-Yoshida residence. When she got there, she was about to knock at the door when Rebecca and her parents opened it, fully dressed. It looked like they were leaving.

“Devi?” Rebecca greeted quizzically. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey, Becca, Mr. and Mrs. Hall-Yoshida. Is Paxton here?”

Rebecca’s expression changed into a wide grin before she answered. “No, he has a swim meet this morning and is already at the pool. That’s where we’re going. Want to come?”

“Uh…” Devi hesitated, taking that moment to realize she didn’t even change out of her pajama pants which were adorned with several pink frosted donuts. “You know what, Becca? I will see you there. I’m going change into something a little…”

“Less pathetic?” she finished, as her parents stepped by them. Devi was sure she heard Mr. Hall-Yoshida snort in laughter at his daughter’s sass.

“Assessment noted. See you in a bit!” Devi called over her shoulder as she retreated to her scooter.

As soon as she got home again, she ran up to her room. Hair curly and half up? Done. Makeup? Applied. Red glitter on cheeks? Lightly brushed. Cricket stickers in place of eye black? Nailed it. Red knee-high socks? Donned. And the final touch – a white Sherman Oaks High School Crickets t-shirt cut into a cut-off and worn over her red tank top with denim shorts. She looked like a real-life superfan. Unfortunately, after perfecting her appearance, Devi realized she was late for the meet.

The next thing Devi realized was, while you always see people dressing up for football games, no one does that for swim meets. At least, not at Sherman Oaks High. Sure, there was plenty of red and white spirit wear, but nothing quite like what Devi had done. As she stood at the entrance to the aquatic center, Devi thought to run straight back home before anyone realized she was there. Besides, was a grand romantic gesture really what Paxton’s voicemail called for? It’s not like he poured his soul out to her. One could argue, he didn’t put himself out there at all. At most, he extended an olive branch after blowing her off before. Yep, sending him a text later today was a much better alternative to the embarrassment she was inevitably racing toward the longer she stood there. Devi turned on her heel, and immediately found herself face to face with Rebecca who held a mountain dew and an orange Gatorade.

“Devi!” she brightened up immediately, before taking in her outfit. “You look great!”

“Really?” If Rebecca was complimenting her outfit, then maybe she was wrong. Maybe she was just a trendsetter.

“I mean, it’s a little cringey for a swim meet, but it’s a look for sure,” she elaborated. After her shrewd assessment of Devi’s clothing choices for the second time that day, Rebecca’s eyes lit up. “Oh, will you take this to Paxton?”

“Me? I don’t know. I don’t think I” –

“Yes, you have to! He sucked in his first event, and he needs a boost,” she told her, thrusting the sports drink into Devi’s hands. “Look he’s right over there with Eddie waiting for their next race.”

Okay, Devi, deep breath. Own it. She told herself. With her thoughts racing, Devi attempted to strut toward the side opposite end of the pool where Paxton sat talking with Eddie Tan. As she got closer, she worried about stumbling in her steps, or tripping over a swim block. That fear was, of course, ridiculous because all the blocks were at the end of the pool, and she was walking down the side. No, this time she was not going to be clumsy. She was a different woman now. She’d kissed two boys in the last two weeks – she was a GD siren.

“Devi?”

“Paxton, hey,” his voice broke her from her internal monologue. She advanced the last few paces, as he stood to meet her. “Becca asked me to bring you this.”

“Thanks,” he breathed in a smile.

“Hey, are we finally getting cheerleaders?” Eddie asked, coming up beside Paxton. “You look fire.”

Devi’s smile grew tenfold. “Thanks, Eddie, but no, not a cheerleader. Just trying to be supportive,” she grinned looking at Paxton.

“Dope,” Eddie nodded, before being called away by their coach.

“Thanks for this,” Paxton told her as he uncapped the Gatorade and took a sip. “Hey, you know I came by your place yesterday?”

“Yeah, I know. I came by yours this morning. You were already gone.”

He nodded with a small smile. “Cool. Well, I better get back. My next event should be up soon.”

“Cool.”

***

Paxton took another gulp of the Gatorade as he watched Devi’s retreating form. She heard his voicemail, and now she was at his swim meet looking like she wanted him to give her his jersey. If he had one to give her, she’d be wearing it. He was nervous when he never heard from her yesterday, and if he was honest, he slept poorly because of it. He felt tired when he got to the pool this morning, and it showed during his backstroke race. Eddie was trying to get him out of his own head when Devi showed up.

“Yoshida!” Coach Bryant called down to him. “You’re up next for breaststroke. You good?”

“Yeah, coach,” he replied, capping his drink. “Good to go.”

After putting his earplugs in, pulling his goggles on, and securing his swim cap. Paxton was waiting behind his block for the previous heat to end. Five deep breaths, and he would be ready to go. 5…..4….3…2.. –

“Woo! Paxton!” he heard a cheer from the stands. When he looked up, he saw his favorite nerd in the bleachers, standing with his mom and sister. They started in on a rehearsed chant, each one yelling a different letter of his initials. “P! H! Y! – P! H! Y!”

He couldn’t fight the smile from his face as he stepped up to his block. Devi came to his house this morning. She dressed up for his swim meet today. She was sitting with his family, and they were enjoying her.

When the starting gun sounded, Paxton dove into the water. It was effortless – such a stark contrast from his previous race. He couldn’t even describe how he was gliding through the water. If he didn’t know any better, he would think Rebecca spiked his Gatorade. Before he knew it, he was finished.

Coach Bryant hoisted him out of the pool by one arm as people cheered all around him. “That’s a PR, kid! 58.8!”

Paxton pulled his cap and goggles off just before his coach wrapped him in a bruising hug. A moment later, he was thrust back, and Bryant landed a sound clap on his back. “I don’t know what changed between your first race and now, but don’t change a thing. Got me?”

Paxton’s eyes flickered over to Devi in the stands, she was beaming right back at him. “Got it, Coach.”

***

“Paxton, you were amazing!” Rebecca told him when he came out of the locker room.

“That breaststroke was Olympic qualifying time, kiddo,” his dad wrapped him in a one-arm hug, “at nearly 17! You keep that up, we’re going to be watching you win gold medals.”

His mom put an arm around Devi’s shoulders with a sly smile. “Well, if you ask me, I think Paxton had a good luck charm.”

“Oh, no,” Devi shook her head with a smile as her cheeks reddened. “I didn’t do anything.”

“I know one thing,” Mrs. Hall-Yoshida continued, “we would be happy for you to ride with us to Paxton’s meet on Tuesday.”

“Mom’s right, we can’t take any chances. As long as you’re free, Devi, we’d love to have you,” his dad nodded.

Paxton gave Devi a lopsided grin. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride home.”

“You were amazing. I mean, I’ve seen you swim before, but you were just so fast today. Becca said you struggled in your first race, but you looked fine to me,” Devi rambled as they climbed into the jeep, “better than fine. And what your dad said about the Olympics! Do you think you’ll try to qualify for 2024?”

He huffed out a smile. Her mind moved so quickly her mouth could barely keep up, and it always left him speechless. It embarrassed her, but it just reminded him of how smart she really was. “I don’t know.”

“Aren’t you excited? How are you so chill about this?”

He shrugged. “I just swam. I didn’t even try; I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Wow, you should not try more often,” she smiled.

Actually, he was planning to try a lot harder than he ever had before. “You want to get some food?”

Her smiled widened. “Sure.”

“Cool.”

They drove on for few minutes in silence, and he noticed Devi tapping furiously on her phone screen. For a moment, he wondered who she might be texting, but then he remembered.

“I’m guessing your mom doesn’t know where you are?”

“Yeah, she’s freaking out,” she scoffed before her eyes widened in alarm. “No, not because I’m with you! Just – I left this morning before she woke up. I’m just letting her know I went to the swim meet and that I’m going to Fabiola’s to study for history at 4:00.”

“Conveniently leaving out what you’re doing right now,” he pointed out.

He glanced over, and she drew her bottom lip between her teeth while she stared out at the road. Paxton could almost hear her thoughts pinballing in her head as she figured out what to say to him. Should he tell her how much her mother’s disapproval – no, that’s not quite right – her disdain for him, hurt his feelings? Well, not in those words certainly. Hurt his feelings? Yeah, right.

“I should tell you, I’m sorry,” she finally said, as they swung into the parking lot of a local burger joint. “I should have stuck up for you when you came to my house after Ben’s party.”

“You did,” he shrugged. “We’re cool.”

She shook her head. “I stuck up for me. I should have warned you about how she is with boys. To be fair, I don’t have a lot of experience yet myself, but I did know that she reminds me constantly, I can’t have a boyfriend until I’m old enough to rent a car. I knew that she would freak out if she knew I kissed you, but you didn’t.”

“It’s really okay. Not the first girl’s mom to not like me,” he grinned. It wasn’t true. He’d won over the mother of every other girl he’d gone out with. Some of them made him uncomfortable like Mrs. Harrison, but others just found him charming. Devi didn’t need to feel bad about it though. It’s not like she said those things, and like she said, it didn’t even have to do with him really. “Can we go in?”

She supplied a weak grin in return but nodded. Just as they were going to get out, it started raining. He watched his companion deflate as she watched the big raindrops plop on the windshield. Paxton grabbed around the backseat for his extra jacket, handing it to her once he had it. “Here, it’ll keep you dry.”

She nodded with a suppressed smile, pulling it on and putting the hood up. Without another word, they slid out of the vehicle and jogged into the restaurant. While they waited to be seated, Paxton turned to Devi. He noticed her shiver and clutch his jacket tighter around her. Between the downpour outside and the cranked AC inside, she was probably freezing. Without thinking, he placed a hand on each of her shoulders, rubbing them furiously in attempt to help warm her up.

“Thanks, but aren’t you cold?” she asked, subconsciously leaning into his touch. “You didn’t even put your hood up.”

“Me?” he replied with a devilish smirk. “Nah, I spent the whole morning in a pool. Besides, my hair was already wet,” he told her, shaking his head so drops of water showered her lightly. When a delighted laugh was her response, he smiled victoriously. He didn’t have to be smooth or suave with Devi. She liked him when he was raw, genuine, and dorky. If he was honest, it was a relief – no stress of trying to impress her because she already liked the real him.

He needed to tell her how he felt. Wasn’t that the whole point of going to her house yesterday? He wanted her to know that he liked her, that he was glad they kissed, that he didn’t care if her mom thought he was stupid. He liked her. They sat opposite each other in a booth after ordering their food. She hadn’t said a word since they sat down, but neither had he. The tension between them was running high as Paxton realized this was the first time things really felt like a date. In hopes of making their first date official, he reached across the table and covered her hand with his. Her eyes zeroed in on the action and grew wide. If she thought she was surprised now, just wait until she heard what Paxton was about to say.

“I kissed Ben!” Devi blurted.

Paxton’s head drooped as his brow furrowed in disbelief. “What? When?”

“Yesterday.”

He looked away from her as his hand dropped to his side. His face screwed up as he tried to process the information she gave him – mouth opening and closing as he fought to think of something to say. After a deep sigh, he hung his head until rubbing his face briskly with one hand. Finally, he made eye contact with her again. “So what? You guys together now or something?”

“No, it didn’t mean anything. I just – okay so yesterday, I almost missed spreading my dad’s ashes because I’ve been in a huge fight with my mom and ran away from home since the day after Ben’s party. My mom and cousin were in Malibu, and I wasn’t going to make it in time. Ben drove me all the way there, and I made it. And I made up with my mom. And we spread Dad’s ashes together, and I just got to really remember him. I got to remember him without it coming up at an inconvenient moment, without trying to push the memories away,” her eyes filled with tears. “I got to remember him with my mom, and I’ve been so unfair to her because she lost him too, and… and Ben was still there after we left the beach. He was still there waiting for me. And things have just been so hard, I’ve felt so abandoned and alone, and I probably would have kissed that little weasel Russia from model UN if he’d been there – I know you don’t know who that is, but the point is, the kiss wasn’t about Ben. I would have kissed anyone if they were there for me in that moment. I…” she trailed off, tears escaping and sweeping down her face. “I’m sorry.”

Paxton’s chest felt tight as he watched cry silently. His body moved of its own accord, carrying him over to her side of the booth and wrapping her in his arms. He pressed her head against his chest, before hushing her gently. “It’s okay… shh… I got you… you’re okay.” Tucking her head under his chin, he rested against her until he felt her body start to relax too. He scooted away when she started to pull her head up.

“Aren’t you mad at me?” she sniffled before chewing on her bottom lip.

“For what? Devi, if I hadn’t blown you off at school, I would have been the one in Malibu with you,” he told her. “You’ve been through a lot, and I’m done dumping on you. It’s not fair.”

She nodded with a weak smile. “Thank you,” she whispered.

He smiled back and slid back out to take his seat across from her again. “Can I tell you what I think?” he asked, waiting for her nod to continue. “If you really would have kissed anyone in that moment, and I believe you when you say you would have, then it doesn’t sound like you’re ready to have a boyfriend right now,” he watched her hang her head at his words. “Hey, this isn’t me telling you that I don’t like you. It’s the opposite of that. I like you. I like you a lot actually.”

“You do?” she asked perplexed, brow furrowing in a way that made him want to kiss her.

“Yeah, I do. That’s why I went to your house yesterday, but, Devi, I don’t want to date you if you’re not ready for that…”

Her voice was barely above a whisper as their food was placed on the table. “Yeah, that’s fair.”

Paxton thanked their server before turning his attention back to the girl across from him. She looked broken again. The only other time he’d ever seen her look that way was after Gross’s party. After her friends walked out on her. “Devi, I’m not going anywhere. I just want to be your friend while you figure stuff out. If we end up dating, I want you to be sure it’s what you want – not something to distract you from your problems.”

Things were silent between them for a few moments as they started in on their meals. Paxton glanced at her, and she was eating – he was glad of that – but she was still kind of sulking. An idea sparked in him as he tapped her foot under the table. “Hey,” he smiled. “You know what I could really use?”

“What?”

“Some help studying for the history test.”

“Well, I’m supposed to at Fabiola’s in forty-five minutes,” she reminded him.

“Right… do you think your friends would mind if I came along?”

For the first time since they sat down, Devi smiled.

***

“I got a B?” Paxton gaped at his own history test.

“A job well done, Mr. H – Y,” Mr. Shapiro nodded as he continued passing tests back.

“Dude!” Trent exclaimed, fist bumping Paxton. “You get a tutor?”

“I got three,” Paxton smiled, turning around to look at Devi. She was already smiling at him. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“I know,” she teased. “Seriously though, you did the work. I’m happy for you.”

“My mom was on to something, you know?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re my good luck charm. I stick with you, you’re gonna get me on the Stanford swim team.”

And she did. After that history test, Devi started unofficially tutoring him in all his classes. She was officially tutoring him as far as her mom was concerned, and therefore, it was a job, not her hanging out with a boy. They studied at the library, at either family’s dining tables or at Eleanor or Fabiola’s. The last time they had studied at Devi’s, her mom invited him to stay for dinner. If that wasn’t enough, she actually conversed with him about how much she had heard about his swimming career. Apparently, Coach Bryant’s wife worked at her Dr. Vishwakumar’s dermatology practice. It felt like a big victory to Paxton. A comparable victory was Devi’s help in preparing him for the SATs and a resulting 1300 score. He couldn’t believe how much things had turned around for him academically, but with Devi’s help and support, he felt unstoppable.

He ended up with a scholarship that covered 75% of his school fees to join the swim team, and his parents could not have been prouder. He wasn’t crazy about being five and a half hours from home, but he was thrilled, shocked even, to have gained admission to such a prestigious school. He knew that things were going to be challenging but was grateful when his new coach told him they had a team tutor. Devi suggested making sure he had a strong relationship with the tutor. As a collegiate athlete, he’d have a lot of pressure on him both in the pool and in the classroom.

“You’re smart though,” she told him as she helped him pack before move-in day. “Your SAT score shows that. Don’t second guess yourself, and don’t let people think you’re just a pretty face.”

Paxton smirked. Even after everything they’d been through, she wasn’t afraid to admit physical attraction. They never started dating after that conversation about making sure she was ready, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to. All he’d learned in the last two years was, Devi was far more special than he’d realized when their friendship began. Watching her heal after her father’s death and blossom into the woman he saw now was beautiful, and Paxton was just thankful to have a front row seat. Hearing her stories about Mohan and seeing how much she shared with her father made his heart swell, and he never missed an opportunity to tell her, her dad sounded a lot like her. He loved the smile she’d give him when he did too.

“I’m gonna miss you, Vishwakumar,” he murmured, pulling her close.

“Stop acting like you’re going off to war; it’s 2021. You can facetime me whenever you want,” she replied into his shoulder. She tried to pull away but stopped when his hold tightened.

“I’m going to hold you to that.”

“I’m counting on it.”

***

“Mom, come on, this is the only school I’m going to see without you.”

“Yes, khanna, I know this. That is why you must be prepared,” Devi’s mother responded, pages of her questions pouring out of the printer.

“I’ve gone on three other visits with you, mom, I know what to ask. And you’re going to ask the admissions office again if I decide this is what I want.”

“I do not know why you are even visiting this school. You are to go to an ivy league school.”

Devi groaned. “Mom, they have the number two law program in the country. They are every bit as prestigious as any of the ivy leagues and you know it.”

“Yes… and you are certain you want to be a lawyer?”

“I’m certain I have plenty of experience with fact-based arguments,” Devi smirked.

Her mom glared playfully at her. “They are usually riddled with emotion in my memory.”

“Part of the charm,” she smiled back. “It would be nice to be closer to you too, Mom.”

Her gaze softened before pulling Devi tight to her chest. “Just be safe, sweetie. I love you. I will see you on Monday.”

Sherman Oaks had two weekends per school year for upperclassmen where they were invited to take a long weekend for a college visit. Devi, Eleanor, and Fabiola decided to take this opportunity to visit the one school all three of them planned to apply to. Devi’s mom had taken a great deal of convincing, but in the last two years the relationship between Devi and Nalini had remarkably improved. They’d gone to therapy sessions together to process Mohan’s death – they learned how to be more open and sympathetic to each other along the way. They still argued. Nalini still had high expectations for Devi, but they never doubted that they loved each other. And Nalini’s trust in Devi had flourished as a result. Thank goodness, otherwise she never would have gotten the opportunity for an unsupervised college visit with her best friends.

Did they listen to way too many showtunes on the drive up for Devi’s taste? Yes. Yes, they did. Had Fabiola developed a weird taste for country music? Yes, she had. Thankfully, when a road trip is five and a half hours long, everyone gets a shot at picking the music. With plenty of snacks to go around, they were set for a great weekend.

Once arriving on campus, they congregated with other prospective students at the student union for the beginning of their visit. After a quick tour of the union, their next stop was housing and where they would be staying for the weekend. After housing, they toured the Cantor Arts Center, SLAC, Bing Concert Hall, and so many other destinations that it made Devi’s head spin. When they broke for the day, all three girls were happy to go rest in their room.

“Wow, this campus is like its own city,” Devi collapsed on a bed.

“You’re telling me! They have five different venues for their performing arts,” Eleanor gushed.

“And the number one engineering school in the state,” Fabiola agreed, “in one the most progressive areas in the country.”

After a few minutes of tired but enthralled conversation about the different things they liked about campus, the girls fell silent, all lying perpendicularly across the same twin bed. Devi was close to dozing off when Eleanor shifted beside her.

“So… have you told you know who that we’re here?”

Devi tried to suppress her smile. “No, I figured I would surprise him tomorrow after his meet.”

“Has he called yet?” Fabiola smiled.

Paxton and Devi had maintained a strong friendship through the recent months of his first semester and swim season at Stanford University. He facetimed her the night before every meet because “it’s the closest he could get to having his good luck charm with him.” She often told him, he was silly, but man, if she didn’t love every second of it.

“Nope, but he better hurry, otherwise I’ll be asleep,” she joked.

“Do you think he’ll recognize the dorms?” Fabiola asked.

“Good point…”

***

“What’s up, Pax? You seem tense,” Michael asked, tugging one of Paxton’s earbuds out.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “It’s stupid, just some superstition.”

“Didn’t talk to your girlfriend last night?” his friend smirked, tossing an arm over his shoulder to stretch.

Paxton smiled despite himself. “Shut up, man. She’s not my girlfriend.”

“You made her your woman-crush-Wednesday last week, and I didn’t even think people did that anymore.”

“Dude, whatever. She’s my best friend, and she’s the reason I’m here,” he shook his head as they both continued to stretch through their conversation.

It was true after all, at least in his opinion. If Devi had never approached him at the beginning of his junior year, his future may never have looked like this. She had mentioned before he moved up here, he could facetime her whenever he wanted. He systematically took advantage of that. Rationally, he knew that Devi could not affect how he swam. However, the more present Devi was in his life – the better things seem to be for Paxton, so he talked to her the night before every swim meet. Did it have to be deeper than that?

Of course, it did. Paxton had never let go of his feelings for Devi. In fact, they only grew. She’d changed him into a completely different person with her friendship. Or did she just let him be himself? Yeah, that’s what she did. Devi saw him more acutely than anyone else he’d ever met… and she liked him. He wanted to be better, smarter, more motivated because she believed he could be. It made him believe it too. Did her not picking up his call last night change any of that? Absolutely not, he knew that. Did it make him feel like something was missing, just like if he didn’t get to listen to his music during warmups? Yes. Yes, it did.

“Huh… maybe you’re the reason she’s here.”

Paxton’s brow furrowed at Michael, before the latter nodded over Paxton’s shoulder. Paxton turned, and there she was, just like that first meet when everything changed. She had her red knee-high socks, her Stanford t-shirt and her denim shorts. Eye black under her eyes, and he couldn’t tell for sure, but he suspected the vertical lines would prove to be redwood trees. He wasn’t sure when the smile spread across his face, but his cheeks were already hurting from how happy he was to see her there.

Fabiola and Eleanor were with her, dressed similarly, and it was Eleanor that saw him first. She waved happily with one hand while nudging Devi and pointing toward him with the other. Devi beamed at him with the biggest smile he’d ever seen her wear. He wanted to wave. Hell, he wanted to run over to them, and wrap Devi in his arms. He wanted her to know how much having her there meant to him. He didn’t do any of those things though. He was stuck in his own shock and his body felt warm everywhere, so he just smiled at her and didn’t stop until Michael finally nudged him again.

“Get movin man, you gotta be in the pool soon,” he said with a laugh. “Don’t want to tear a muscle in front of your girl.”

Paxton rolled his eyes, shoving Michael’s shoulder good-naturedly before returning to his stretches.

When it was time for him to assume his starting position in the pool for the backstroke, Paxton followed his same routine – five deep breaths. 5…..4….3…2.. –

“P! H! Y!”

Just like almost every meet for the last two years of high school, he could hear his initials being chanted. And just like all those other meets, he knew Devi was the one that started it. It tapered off quickly while the starter waited to give his command, but it took effect.

When the starting gun sounded, Paxton had an out of body experience. It was like magic how easily he glided through the water. Somehow the race felt faster than the few seconds it took for them to start. When he brought his head fully out of the water, he could hear the raucous, thunderous cheering. He saw his time flash across the board: 51.8. A world record. A world record.

The rest of the meet was a daze. His other events were good, but not world record good. His teammates were congratulating him and talking about the parties they would be throwing for him – away from the coaching staff, of course. That all was great, but Paxton only had one thing on his mind, one person really. As soon as coach had dismissed him and he had his sweats donned, he was out the door.

People were shaking his hand. Smiling at him. Pulling him into hugs. Some were friends, classmates, teachers. Some were strangers. Paxton offered polite smiles and thanks as he continued to push past them. She was lingering toward the back, leaning against a wall with her friends talking about something on Instagram. When he finally made it to where no one stood between them, she was still probably eight feet away, and he froze. In that moment, he took all the little things he loved about her all at once. Her beauty, her intelligence, her faith in him, the way she reached inside him and pulled his walls down, the way she laughed at his jokes, and even then how she pretended to bored and look casual, but was chewing her bottom lip, his favorite sign that she was excited and nervous to see him again.

“My girl,” he breathed out, just loud enough to catch her attention.

Her eyes lit up when she saw him, and they both closed the distance between them. He wrapped her in a soul-crushing hug. Anyone around them might think it had been years since they’d seen each other instead of the few short months. He pulled away just enough to lean in for the one thing that had been on his mind all day – but then he stopped short.

“You didn’t kiss anybody yesterday, did you?” he asked.

She shook her head ‘no,’ as her cheeks took on a pink hue.

“Good. You think you’re ready for a boyfriend?”

She grinned with a small nod.

He matched her grin with a toothy smile. “Cool,” and he dove in. Finally, after two long years of not feeling Devi Vishwakumar’s lips against his, there he was kissing her, and boy, was it worth the wait. One hand cradled her jaw, the other clutching her back, holding her close as though if he let go, she’d disappear. He couldn’t even begin to describe how the actual kiss felt. Instead, he was so caught up in the monumental fact that is was finally happening. There was no one else – no Ben Gross to get in their way. She’d grown so much over the last two years, and so had he. She was ready. They were ready.

“Wait,” he pulled away. “Just to be clear, you are ready for me to be your boyfriend, right?”

She smiled, rolling her eyes, and pushing him away playfully. “Yes, dork.”

It was then he heard the cheers coming from their friends. Behind Devi, Eleanor and Fabiola gave them a thumbs up. Over Paxton’s shoulder, Michael let out a low whistle. When Paxton caught his eye, he winked and said, “thought she was just your best friend.”

Paxton looked back at Devi, her eyes finding his again immediately. “She is so much more than that.”

***

“Paxton Hall-Yoshida has done it again! He’s broke his own record!”

Paxton overheard the highlights of his 100m backstroke earlier that day as he walked the tunnel to where they were waiting. It was better than he could have imagined. He told his parents that he really wanted to give Devi one of the tickets for his events today. When he told them why, they were happy to help fly her out to them. It was five years since he realized Devi Vishwakumar was his good luck charm. And sure enough, she came through for him again today – sealing a gold medal for the backstroke. He was going to come through for her too.

“Hey,” she said when she saw him before tilting her head to the side. “What are you wearing?”

He glanced down at the expensive suit he’d donned in the locker room – the best suit he owned. “This? It’s nothing,” he smiled as he reached her.

“Where’s your bag?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he told her as his left hand slipped into his pocket. “I have everything I need right here.”

“Paxton, you can’t leave your stuff – what are you doing?” she asked suddenly, as he knelt down in front of her. Her eyes grew wide when he popped open the ring box.

“I’m feeling lucky, Devi. What about you?”

#never have i ever #never have i ever netflix #nhie #nhie netflix #daxton #dexton #paxton hall yoshida #paxton hall yoshida fluff #devi vishwakumar #devi vishwakumar fluff #daxton fluff #dexton fluff

110 notes · View notes

supermantv · 4 years

Text

it’s fearless

a/n: i’m absolutely in love with these two losers.

Devi is, for lack of a better way to phrase it, an utter mess.

She is a train constantly on the verge of running off the tracks.

An absolutely devastating hurricane on legs.

The best thing to do, in Paxton's mind, is to put as much distance between himself and the impending disaster that is Devi Vishwakumar. It would be wise of him to avoid getting caught up in her violent wind and torrential downpour.

And yet somehow, this is not how things work out, because if he is honest, he's increasingly curious and reckless, so badly craving the experience of getting swept away in her unrelenting and unforgiving storm.

That's why he calls her. She doesn't pick up, and he hasn't put any thought into what he is going to say when his call is forwarded to her voicemail. He fumbles around his words like a fool, leaving her a message and hoping his desperation for her attention and company isn't present in his voice.

Devi doesn't call him back that day. Which is understandable, when one takes into consideration the way he coldly blew her off not too long ago, added on to the fact that she's undeniably got a lot on her plate, other things more worthy of her time right now. But still, Paxton grasps clumsily at the hope that she will still want to see him, be with him. And so he waits, restless and nervous, uncertain and wondering if he is expecting too much. He can't focus on anything else, constantly glancing at his phone every minute, as if his intense stare will magically make the screen come to life with an incoming call from her. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't work.

That night, he goes to bed anxious, worrying that he has gone too far and fucked things up between them for good. It takes him hours to fall asleep because all he can think about is Devi. She is stubborn and refuses to leave his head, taking up permanent residence in his thoughts. And when Paxton finally does doze off, she is there again, starring in all his dreams. She won't leave him alone. But it's not like he wants her to.

When he wakes up the next morning his first action is to reach for his phone that's placed on the nightstand. His eyes are still bleary and crusted, an unfortunate effect of waking up only two seconds ago, and the screen is nothing more than a blur for half a minute. Finally, his eyes adjust, and he sees he has one new message from Devi. He scrambles to type in his password to unlock his phone, fingers uncooperative and jerky in his haste. He doesn't care how eager and uncool he may be coming off right now. It's not like she's here to bear witness to how much just one new text from her excites him and makes him lose his cool.

The message is simple in content. She apologizes for missing his call yesterday, and explains there were some family issues that needed working through. (He knows she had been spending the past week at her once, but now no longer nemesis' house. Paxton pretends the idea of them sleeping under the same roof doesn't cause jealousy to swell within his chest.) Paxton continues scanning her message as Devi goes on to state that she's happy he called, and can't wait to hang out, and would after school work for him? It does work for him, but even if he'd made other plans, there would be no hesitation in cancelling.

He messages her a confirmation that, yeah, today is good, and he'll catch her later in class. His casual reply is an attempt to come off as chill, playing nonchalant all the while jumping for joy on the inside, because it's a date. Or, if she doesn't want to label it, they are two classmates going to hang out. They are going to talk and spend time together and maybe hold hands or kiss. And after acting like every popular douche in existence by shrugging off her advances and avoiding her, it might be the best he can expect. For now, he's content. Elated, even. Her friendship, as of right now, is enough. Even if he wants more, he can wait.

The day drags on, painstakingly boring and long, as Paxton counts the hours until school is over. He has History class with Devi, but he slides into his desk only two seconds before the bell, and thus is only able to shoot her a quick grin in greeting and a hushed 'hey' before the teacher starts the planned lesson, and there's no more time to talk for the rest of the period. He tries to catch her in the hallway, but she's nowhere to be found when he attempts to search for her.

He sees her again at lunch. They make eye contact across the courtyard. She beams at him and offers a small wave, which he returns with a dimpled smile of his own. She is with her friends and he's with his own, but part of him hopes that she'll make her way over to say a quick hello. She doesn't. But that's okay, because he knows she'd had a falling out with her friends a couple of weeks ago, and he understands that mending their friendship is the more pressing matter at the moment. Besides, it's only a couple more hours until she is all his. He can be patient for a little bit longer.

When the final bell rings he wastes no time in rushing out of the building to make it to his car to wait for her. He's nervous, palms gathering sweat, which is such an out of character thing to happen to him, he can't believe this girl has this much of a hold on him. He takes out his phone to distract himself. He's been with plenty of girls before. Devi shouldn't be any different, but for some unfathomable reason she is, and that fact is extremely unnerving.

"Paxton!"

The calling of his name rings out clearly, despite the obnoxious laughter and shouting voices of the other students gathered in the parking lot. He cranes his neck, glancing over his shoulder to find Devi excitedly racing toward him. Her hand is raised in the air, and the smile she wears is wide, undeniably happy as she displays all her teeth. It's infectious, and he smiles back.

"Hi," she says when she's right in front of him, cheeks glowing. She leans forward, and he thinks she might hug him, but she simply pushes against his shoulder, following it up with an overdramatic fluttering of her eyelashes, and Paxton thinks that Devi may be trying to flirt with him. But she is so dorky and a little clueless and he can't help but laugh because wow, she's so damn cute.

"Hey," he says, reaching out to flick her on the forehead. It's a friendly gesture, not very romantic, more brotherly than anything, but he doesn't want to push too hard and mess things up when they are both already unsure, wading deeper and deeper into uncharted territory.

"So," her eyes drift to his car. "Where are we headed?"

"Uh," Paxton starts, "I figured we could just hang out at my house. Maybe do some homework or study." Lame, lame, he's so fucking lame. He doesn't even study, what is he talking about? He's realizing he'd been too caught up in the idea of hanging out that he hadn't even focused on what they would be doing when they were together. "Or we could watch a movie. Or something." Or make out on his couch. He doesn't suggest that though, figuring it might be better to keep that thought to himself, at least for the time being.

"Yeah, that sounds cool!" Devi exclaims, eyes bright, and it's becoming evident that she'd been anticipating hanging out with him as well. Her eagerness allows him to relax a little, the tension that had been building up in his body dissipating. The fact that he's not alone in his nervous, but still excitable mood is reassuring. Nothing has changed. They can pick up where they left off. They're okay.

The car ride to his house is mostly quiet. Devi seems distracted somehow, chin perched on her right hand as she gazes out the window. She's contemplating something, her eyebrows drawn together and lips pulled down in the slightest frown. Whatever is on her mind is troubling her, that much is obvious. It is a far cry from her earlier attitude, and Paxton is concerned. He wants to ask what's wrong, but it's more than likely another family issue, and he doesn't want to pry and come off as nosy. If she wants Paxton to know, she'll tell him.

He makes idle small talk, trying to take her mind off whatever is bothering her. It seems to work as they engage in mindless chatter that deepens into flirtatious banter. Devi's left hand is resting on her thigh, and Paxton's eyes flick toward it every other minute. He wants to take it into his own and interlace their fingers. There's an urge to feel her skin against his, but the desire is innocent, not sexual, born from a curiosity to know whether her palms are smooth and pretty, or calloused and warm.

He doesn't have time to act on his latest impulsive thought because all too soon they are pulling into his driveway, and he is escorting her into his house. Devi flops onto the couch, relaxing easily into the cushions. Paxton is not so chill, but he tries to mirror her, forcing himself to lean back and lose his rigid posture.

"So," Devi begins, scooting closer so her bare knee brushes against his own jean-clad leg. "You said you wanted to watch a movie?"

"Yeah, yeah." Paxton swallows and mentally chides himself because he is better and smoother and more composed than this. For fuck's sake, he's acting like he's fourteen again, right after he'd felt his girlfriend's chest for the first time. He hops off the couch, and strides over to the cabinet where his family keeps their DVD's. "I mean, we don't really have an extensive movie collection." It's mostly horror, accompanied by excessive violence and an unnecessary amount of gore, or trashy romantic comedies with enough clichés packed into 90 minutes to fill an ocean. "You can come look, see if there's anything you'd wanna watch."

Devi doesn't spend much time browsing. Her eyes skim over the rows of movies quickly, and she reaches out at random to select a DVD case, passing it to him. He looks at the title and grimaces once he reads it. It's a slasher film with too many scenes of women in the shower and cringe-inducing dialogue that can't even be redeemed with the amount of body parts sawed off.

Paxton raises a brow and shows it to her. "You wanna watch this?"

Devi shrugs. "Sure. It looks like it could be interesting."

"There's no real plot and a gracious amount of skin on display at all times," he warns her.

Devi laughs and shakes her head, throwing herself back onto the couch. She stretches her legs out in front of her, and because he is a teenage boy with a mind that acts accordingly, his eyes are naturally drawn to admire her legs and the expanse of skin where her skirt ends. "I really don't care what movie we watch, Paxton. It's fine."

Paxton shrugs, smiling to himself, as he pops the movie into the DVD player.

Five minutes into the movie, and they have both tuned out whatever is happening on screen in favor of sneaking secret glances at the other out of the corner of their eyes. He knows she keeps looking at him, and he wonders if she can also feel his eyes boring into the side of her head when she faces forward again. He wants to kiss her. Wants to push her down, so that her back is flat on the couch and she rests under him, hair fanning out around her head in a gorgeous, unkempt mess. Wants to slip his hands under her shirt and feel her chest rise and fall in quick succession as she struggles to catch her breath. He wants her to crave him just as much as he is craving her. But that is likely impossible.

Paxton turns his head, opening his mouth to express to Devi that he no longer wishes to be just her friend, but he's not able to get a single syllable out before she loudly declares, "Ben and I kissed."

There is a pause, a long stretch of silence as the meaning of her words sink slowly in, rattling uselessly around his head. It's almost unbelievable, what she is saying. Devi being attracted to Ben is so ridiculous and implausible and of course it's not true, but there's no reason for her to lie. He stares at her, baffled, and she looks back, eyes wide and terrified, worried for his reaction.

Paxton clears his throat. He doesn't know what to say. "I uh- I didn't realize you two were, uh, interested in one another."

"We're not!" Devi says quickly, shaking her head vehemently. "He has a girlfriend, and I was grieving, and it was a spur of the moment, fueled by adrenaline sort of kiss, and it didn't mean anything."

"If it didn't mean anything, why are you telling me about it?"

He says it coldly, there's no real malice in his heart, but enough bite in his tone to make it clear that he's pissed and doesn't really want to deal with this. He's an absolute idiot. She's running around, swapping spit with other guys while he spends his time pining after her like some lovesick moron. She doesn't like him. At one point she had, but he'd blown his one and only chance at cementing a relationship with her already. Of course, it's not her fault he was acting like a douche and pushing her away, and she doesn't really deserve his anger, but he's so stupid and mad at himself and he can't help it.

"Actually," Paxton stands. "I think it'd be better if you just left."

He's a jackass, and hurting her isn't going to make him feel any better, but if she doesn't leave now he's definitely going to say something he'll immediately regret.

Devi scrambles to her feet, and stands directly in front of him, and he stubbornly refuses to look at her face.

"Paxton, I like you. I want to date you. And I want to hold hands, and kiss you and eventually have sex with you and-".

Her words escape her mouth in a frantic jumble, and he thinks dimly that she's a mess but he's an idiot, and if that's not a match made in heaven then he doesn't know what is. So he cuts her off with a chaste kiss, hands cupping her face as he tilts her chin upwards to gain better access to her lips. Her body is stiff against his before she relaxes, melting into the embrace as her arms come up to wrap around his shoulders, pulling him closer.

The kiss is short and sweet, somewhat reminiscent of their first kiss in that sense, and accomplishes Paxton's mission in getting Devi to stop spiraling in the form of word vomit. He breaks the kiss, and her lips cause his before forming a pout. He presses his forehead against hers. They are still so close and he can feel her breath fanning out across his cheeks, which results in his whole body feeling like it's on fire. And if he hasn't made his point clear enough for her he says, "I like you too, Devi. And I want to drive you home everyday, and watch crappy movies together on my couch, and I want to be able to call you my girlfriend."

She doesn't seem to hear him. Devi blinks, eyes distant and glossed over. "That was uh- you deserve an A+ for kissing."

Paxton chuckles, ducking his head closer to her again. "A+, huh?"

"Mm," she nods noncommittally, and she's so goofy and weird and amazing. And he wonders if she will react like this every time he kisses her. He likes knowing that he has the ability to render her speechless and dazed. He's not the only hopeless one.

"So," he prompts. "If I'm such a great kisser, is that enough to entice you to be my girlfriend? Or do you need a little more persuading?"

"It's more than enough to entice me," Devi smiles, but it disappears as she draws her lower lip into her mouth. "But, I don't think I'd make too great of a girlfriend."

Paxton shakes his head, leaning forward to murmur against her lips. "I don't care."

Devi laughs breathily, giddy and carefree. "Trust me, I'm not fit for a relationship right now." She pulls away from him slightly, but keeps her arms around his body. The frown she wore in the car has returned. "There's a lot of family stuff going on, and there's still things I have to work out with my friends, and I just-. I think I need to work on myself first before I'm ready to commit to anything, because I don't want you to regret being with me."

Paxton thinks it's highly unlikely he'd ever regret being with her, but he doesn't tell her that.

"Don't worry," he combs his fingers through her hair. "I understand. And when you figure out whatever you need to figure out, I'll still be here."

Devi grins cheekily. "You think I'm worth waiting for?"

He rolls his eyes, because she knows the answer already, she's just trying to embarrass him now.

"Sooo," she drawls, "If we're not dating, do I still get to kiss you?" She asks, half genuine curiosity and half flirtatious.

"Up to you, but let it be known, I'm not entirely opposed to the idea," he smirks at her.

"Good," Devi whispers.

"Excellent."

And with that, he leans forward, closing the gap between them for good.

#never have i ever #nhie #paxton x devi #daxton #Paxton is absolutely whipped you cannot convince me otherwise #h.l. writes

110 notes · View notes

heycoyotegirl · 4 years

Text

Safe to Shore

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24252283 Relationships: Paxton Hall-Yoshida/Devi Vishwakumar Additional Tags: Pre-Relationship, Panic Attacks, paxton is a soft boy and i will die on this hill, no beta we die like non-honors students, Mutual Pining Summary: Devi has a panic attack after falling into the pool. Paxton helps her through it. A/N: This is my first NHIE fic, so let me know if I got their voices right! It’s also unbetad, so please point out any mistakes.

Paxton was leading her somewhere. She wasn’t quite sure where. He’d said something—about clothes, maybe—but her ears felt like they were stuffed with cotton. And the party continued to rage around them. The bass of too loud music thumped through her body, shaking her bones and forcing her heartbeat to match the racing tempo.

The breeze against her damp skin made her shiver. Made her keep shivering. Hadn’t they just been inside? Why was there a breeze? Where—

Paxton’s hand left her lower back, and she found herself suddenly swaying on her feet. She hadn’t even realized that his hand had been there until its support was gone. What was happening to her that she hadn’t realized that Paxton was touching her? Was she dying? Her chest hurt with every inhale. The air stabbing into her lungs, trying to cut her to ribbons. Her heart was pounding, about to break free from her ribcage. And the world around her seemed muted and muffled and blurry. Weirdly distorted like she was—

Underwater.

Oh, God.

“Woah!”

She felt distant hands grab at her. Pulling her out of the water? Or pushing her deeper? The breeze was ice against her skin. Her pulse thudded in her ears, everything else drowned out by its roar. She had to find the surface, but her legs were numb, useless, paralyzed. Her lungs were caving in—or, no, filled with water. The pressure unbearable. Ribs cracking under the strain. Her throat tightened. She was choking. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t breathe and—

“Devi! Devi, hey, can you hear me? I’m right here. I’ve got you.”

Paxton. Paxton’s hand in her’s. Paxton’s face in her field of view. His eyebrows drawn together, lips tight with worry. Worry—for her?

She managed to nod her head, motions jerky. The motion unbalanced her. Set her head spinning. The rip current threatening to drag her deeper.

Paxton squeezed her hand. A lifebuoy. “Ok, can you name five things you can see for me?”

The world was still swimming. She felt disconnected, trapped at the bottom of a pool while everyone watched impassively from above. She was still shaking. Why couldn’t she stop shaking?

“Devi?” Paxton prompted, voice so soft it made her ache.

“Right.” Forcing that single word out through the water in her lungs was exhausting. But she couldn’t let Paxton down. Couldn’t disappoint him. The last person still in her life. Five things. “Um. Your eyes. Your jacket. The ground. My dress.” With each word spoken, the next came a little easier. But still, she hesitated for a second. Her voice dropped, nearly whispering, “Your lips.”

Said lips curved into a small smile. “Good. Now, what are four things you can feel?”

Her breath hitched, and her vision abruptly went blurry. Her eyes stung—chlorine? She blinked rapidly. Her hand darted to her leg, pinching her skin roughly, nails digging in hard enough to draw blood. “My—my legs. I can’t—I can’t feel—”

Paxton caught her hand, gently prying it away from her leg. He replaced it with his own, palm burning her skin like a brand. “I got you. I promise, your legs still work. Do you think you can tell me four things you feel?”

Devi managed another approximation of a nod. His thumb started to rub little circles by her knee, the repetitive motion soothing enough that she managed to take a deep—shuddering and painful—breath. Still, progress.

“Your hand—hands,” she said. Paxton’s grip on her tightened for a second. She met his gaze and found herself shuddering for a new reason. “Uh, the breeze. The pavement. My awful, wet dress.” She was starting to settle back into herself. Unfortunately, that meant she was all too aware of the way the damp fabric clung to her.

“Good. You’re almost done, and then we’ll get you out of that wet dress. What are three things you can hear?”

Devi stared at him silently for a moment, but if he realized what he said, he didn’t show it. Perhaps she was still more out of it than she’d thought. Eventually, she answered, “Your voice. The music. My heart.” The last, she said softly, like it was a confession. Maybe it was. The fear was receding, leaving bone deep fatigue in its place, but her heart continued to race.

Paxton smiled at her. Had he been that close a second ago? “Two things you can smell.”

“Chlorine and…”—her nose wrinkled—“chlorine.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I’ll give you that one. It really covers everything up.”

Devi smiled back at him. They were still holding hands. Could he feel her pulse fluttering like a hummingbird’s wings? She hoped her hand wasn’t too clammy.

“Last one: One thing you can taste. Or would like to taste.”

You. “Chlorine, again,” she said, sticking her tongue out in feigned disgust.

Paxton chuckled softly, the sound punching her straight in the gut. They were both silent for a moment. His breathing was slow and deep, and Devi found herself unconsciously matching him. He was the metronome, demanding her to keep time. Her lungs twinged as they expanded fully, but when Paxton paused for a beat between inhale and exhale, she mimicked him, relishing in the ache after the suffocating feeling from before.

His voice was quiet as he asked, “Are you feeling better?”

She glanced away, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Yeah. Thank you for that.”

“Of course.” His gaze was heavy when she looked up, and she nearly held her breath in anticipation. But she couldn’t afford to screw this up and lose yet another person. She slipped her hand out of his, making a futile attempt—mostly for show—to squeeze some of the water out of the hem of her dress.

“You said something about clothes?” Getting her out of that wet dress, to be specific. She pushed the thought away; she had to focus on being a good friend, not pining away hopelessly.

“Right.” He sounded—disappointed? Her head whipped up. He didn’t look disappointed. Wishful thinking, then. This “being a good friend” thing might be tougher than she’d thought. He gave her thigh one last squeeze—how had she missed the fact that his hand was still on her leg?—and stood, offering a hand to help her up. “I have some extra sweats in the car that you can wear.”

The thought of wearing Paxton’s clothes would have sent her into a tizzy any other day. Today, she was bone-deep exhausted. Which she realized when she stood and nearly face planted into Paxton’s chest. Her knees buckling threatened to send her spiraling again, but she could still feel them, feel the lead weights in all of her muscles and the throbbing from her ill-advised pinch.

Plus, Paxton’s hands were on her waist, saving her from breaking her nose on his sternum or tipping over backwards to crack her skull on his car. He was murmuring at her, not really saying anything, but tone and cadence soothing. It reminded her of someone talking to an injured wild animal they were trying to catch. These days, she often felt like a wild animal, cornered and scared and lashing out at the people trying to help her.

“Devi?”

She shook the thoughts off, starting slightly as she realized that Paxton’s hands were still on her waist and her hands were clutching his forearms. “Sorry,” she said, not moving her hands. “I kind of got lost in thought there.”

Paxton shrugged. “No worries. I should’ve realized that your blood sugar would be low. I’ve got snacks in the car. Think you can lean against the car and stay upright long enough for me to grab them?”

She nodded, albeit reluctantly. But only because his hands were warm and she was cold. Definitely not because standing like that made it very easy to fantasize about kissing him. She half listened to Paxton rattle off an implausibly long list of choices—was he running some sort of strange convenience store out of the back of his jeep?—eventually just letting him decide.

He’d returned quickly, snacks and sweats in hand and watched her like a hawk as she carefully lowered herself to sit leaning against the car’s tire. And thus, she found herself sitting on the ground outside Ben’s house—outside the biggest party of the year—in a wet dress, drinking a juice box and eating banana bread with Paxton Hall-Yoshida, the hottest guy in school. If her thigh didn’t still hurt, she’d be tempted to pinch herself again.

She was on her second slice—Paxton was on what seemed to be his second loaf—when the wind blew sharply, reminding her of the fact that she was still soaked. She shivered violently, and Paxton was on his feet instantly. “You should get changed,” he said, stepping around to the other side of the car. “Wouldn’t want to go to the hospital for hypothermia.”

She nodded and pulled his sweatshirt over her head so that she could maintain some amount of dignity while wiggling out of the clingy fabric. “Thanks for letting me borrow your sweats. This is so embarrassing; you keep having to rescue me at parties.”

“It’s not embarrassing for me.” He shot her a slight smile. “I always come out of it looking cool.”

#daxton #devi x paxton #paxton x devi #nhie #nhie netflix #nhie fic #my fic #my post #devi #paxton #paxton hall yoshida #paxton h y #devi vishwakumar

91 notes · View notes

cupcakesandtv · 4 years

Note

Omg, I saw your tag in the reblog (is this grammatically correct??idk) of the helpmywife post and can I just say that's so accurate?? Like I genuinely see this scene in my head, with devi raising her voice and paxton trying to calm her down lmao. Would you ever consider writing a fic based on this? Hope this isn't rude of me:/

shamelessly influenced by my current status of unpacking so many boxes and this post

It turns out that when moving, all the shit they owned had to be packed in boxes. And then all those boxes had to be walked onto a Uhaul, and then that Uhaul had to be driven across town to the house, the first house they bought together. And then those boxes had to be unloaded and unpacked and new homes for all of the shit in boxes had to be located and assigned. How did their one bedroom apartment have all this shit in it? They hadn’t been living in it for more than a year!

By the third day of being surrounded by boxes, Devi couldn’t take it anymore and had a whole bottle of wine by herself and then a couple more shots of tequila that wasn’t going to fit in the fridge once they’d done a big grocery shop that day so somebody had to drink it. And that’s how she ended up unpacking the box labeled “IMPORTANT PAPERS” while drunk.

Paxton had been mowing the lawn just as the sun set because the HOA was already on their asses and it had only been three days. But he came into see Devi surrounded by folders with “TAXES” written on the tabs and the year, his framed degree and teaching certificate, her medical licenses from the two states she’d practiced in before she came back home and finally agreed to marry him, and something in her hand.

“Oh, good, you’re here!” she shouted, standing up, swaying a little as she did.

Paxton tilted his head confused. She was a sight to see: her hair in a messy bun on top of her head, wearing her glasses askew and a hoodie of his, and no pants. When he’d gone outside an hour ago she was sober and now she was...not.

She was holding a long piece of official looking paper and it took him a minute to register what it was and what was happening before-

“Good luck trying to return me without the receipt!” she shouted, lifting a Bath and Body Works three wick, green apple, lit candle in front of her, dangling what he now saw was their marriage certificate over the flame.

“Devi, no!” He started to run for her but she moved the legal sized document closer to the flame so he froze. He knew he’d need a different strategy. “We need that!”

“So you can return me? Not a chance! You’re stuck now, sucka!”

Tomorrow, this would be a funny story. Today it was harrowing. The city records people were notorious to deal with in Los Angeles county. If you pissed off Delores in records, you had to go over her head to the state office and you had to do it before Delores called her friend there because then they’d stonewall you and you’d never get that official copy. (How did Paxton know all that? Because Devi made an off color joke about Delores at records reminding her of Delores the lunch lady at Sherman Oaks High and it had taken Paxton three days to sort it out just so they could get their marriage license.)

“It costs $25 to get a certified copy!”

As she’d gotten older, she had turned a little bit into her mother, worried about the smallest expenses, but her face didn’t change at all at the implication that it would cost money to replace the paper she was still dangling very close to an open flame.

“Why would we need this? The only reason is for you to try and return me!” Her eyes welled up with tears and Paxton’s shoulders dropped. “Devi, I’m not gonna return you,” he said, slowly taking a step towards her, hoping to at least get close enough to blow out the candle. “Being married to you has been the best year of my life, you hot nerd.”

Devi sniffed and lifted the paper a little ways away from the flame.

“You love me, right?” she asked, her voice quiet.

“So much,” Paxton said, taking two more steps towards her, gently taking the candle out of her hand and setting it on the end table, but keeping his eyes locked with hers.

Devi gulped and looked at the marriage certificate. “Fine, you can have it.”

“Not gonna return you,” he said, taking the paper and tossing it behind him and reaching to pull her into a hug.

“You smell disgusting,” she slurred into his neck. “Yeah, I mowed the lawn.” “Maybe I should return you.” Devi jumped, and he caught her as her legs wrapped around his waist. “You can’t, I have the marriage certificate now, this was my plan all along,” he said, carrying her towards the bedroom. “You’re a criminal mastermind!” she said, almost asleep against him.

#never have i ever #daxton #devi x paxton #nhie fic #daxtonet #fic #Anonymous

24 notes · View notes

elisaphoenix13 · 5 years

Text

Against All Odds (Ch. 14)

Quill's car was found abandoned at the grocery store and according to the police, and the news, the cameras showed him walking back to his car once he left the store and then he suddenly vanished into thin air. The video was somehow releases to the press and when they showed it on tv, it really was like Quill vanished. One second he was carrying a bag to his car and pulling his keys out of his pocket, and the next he was gone. Not even his bag of groceries was left behind as proof that he was there. Just his car. When Quill didn't return home after running an errand for his grandfather, the elder Quill went to the police to report him missing.

After just a month of active searching, the police had to call it off because they had no leads or evidence to work with. The remaining time Scott spent in high school was never the same after that. He regressed back to invisibility after everyone that bothered to remember he dated Quill graduated, and school was only bearable until Stephen graduated the next year. Actually life itself was only bearable because of his friend. Stephen always made sure to keep an eye on him and visit often during the long periods that Scott's parents weren't home.

When Scott finally graduated from high school, he started looking for a job because even though he was offered scholarships for his good grades, it wouldn't pay for everything. He didn't plan on going to college because he couldn't even apply for loans. His parents obviously didn't put anything aside for him so he had to jump straight into getting a job.

That was until Stephen came to his house one day with a letter. He said nothing as he handed it over to Scott and the younger read it with wide eyes. A full ride scholarship to a college of his choice. When Scott read who was offering it, his jaw dropped.

It was from Stark Industries.

"H-How...what…?!"

"Tony knows about your situation."

"How do you know Tony St--" Scott's eyes widen even more. "Are you dating him?! How long have you two been--?!"

"Since I was eighteen. Relax. I wanted to help you get away from here." Stephen says quietly.

It wasn't the only reason Stephen visited either. He looked distraught and when Scott asked him what was wrong, his friend actually burst into tears and told him that his sister was gone. That she drowned and he felt responsible for her death. Scott didn't know what to do besides hug Stephen and let him cry himself out. It was the very least he could do for him.

It wasn't the only time Stephen came through for him either. Scott had things that he couldn't take to college with him so they got him a storage unit for his things, and while the two packed his things, Scott came across the teddy bear that he threw into the far corner of his closet after Quill went missing and he stared at it for a couple of minutes. He never forgot about him, he couldn't, but having the teddy bear as a constant reminder of what he didn't have anymore? He had to put it somewhere he wouldn't see it. It only brought him pain whenever he saw it. Finding it in the closet was no different. Cinnamon went into the storage unit as well because Scott couldn't bring himself to throw him away. He could only handle the woven bracelet he still wore to this day. He almost never took it off.

He graduated college with a master's degree in electrical engineering and it was shortly after that when he met Maggie. She was the first person since Quill's disappearance to make Scott feel like living again. He told her about him too. About what his living situation was like up until he graduated high school and how supportive he and Stephen had been, and she accepted every bit of it. She understood why Scott always wore the black bracelet and never asked him to take it off. Even after they got married. Scott was finally happy again after years of going through life on autopilot.

When his daughter Cassie was born, Scott vowed to never neglect her like his parents did to him. He would always do what he could for her or die trying and Stephen had continued to be supportive. He was glad Scott found some normalcy in his life and often called if he couldn't visit (since Scott permanently stayed in San Francisco), and he and Tony sent gifts on proper birthdays and holidays for the family. Scott finally had a proper family.

Until money got tight.

Cassie was four when Scott turned to the life of a thief to support his family. He was good at it and it helped, but then he caught wind of Vista Corp practically robbing everyone so he hacked into the system to rob the company of millions of dollars to give back to the people...but he got caught. Even with Tony's influence, the billionaire could only have his sentence shortened to five years in prison. Halfway through the first year, Maggie sent him divorce papers and Scott broke all over again. First Quill, now Maggie? Was he not meant to be happy?

He asked Maggie why when she came to visit him to pick up the papers.

"It was a long time coming Scott. I can't be with someone who resorts to thievery to support his family, no matter how well you meant by it...and I know you loved me...but you didn't love me with all your heart."

Scott was shocked. "Of course I did! You and Cassie both!"

"Scott...we never should have gotten married in the first place. You couldn't love me with all your heart because part of it died when he did."

Quill was presumed dead ten years after his disappearance, and Maggie was right. When Scott heard the new update about Quill's cold case, part of his heart shriveled up and never recovered. That part of Scott was still hoping that his first love would turn up, but that announcement shattered what was left of his hope. Stephen called him that very day and stayed on until he was sure Scott would be okay.

Scott was out of prison after serving three of his five years and after trying to find a job with his record, he had to resort to stealing again when Maggie and her new husband kept him from seeing Cassie until he had a job and his own place. That was when he was pulled into being Antman. He helped Hank Pym and his daughter prevent Darren Cross from creating the Yellowjacket, went subatomic to protect Cassie from him, and managed to return from something supposedly he shouldn't have been able to return from.

Then there was the fight between the Avengers at the airport in Germany. Scott was just asked for his help and he took the Ant-Man suit to help Captain America and his friend. He didn't know he would be fighting against the very man that helped pay for his college education and get him out of an abusive home. Scott told Tony that when the billionaire visited them on the Raft and apologized, and Tony pulled some strings so Scott would get away with a couple years of house arrest.

Then Stephen got into a car accident shortly after and went missing, and he only knew that because Tony knew how much the doctor meant to Scott. At that point, Cassie was the only reason Scott kept going because someone else he cared for, loved as a brother, went missing too and he was sure that it would be Quill all over again. Thankfully that wasn't the case though, Stephen emailed him shortly after and told him he was okay and not to worry, and Scott heaved the biggest sigh of relief he made in his life.

Just a few days before his house arrest was over, Scott helped Hank and Hope with the Quantum tunnel to get Hope's mother back from the Quantum Realm. After barely managing to make it home before his parole officer, he was finally taken off house arrest and he and Cassie moved to New York when Maggie and Paxton asked Scott to take her in full time so they could travel. She was excited about the move and the fact that she would be able to see Stephen whenever she wanted, and when they made it to the tower, he was the first person they went to see.

Scott, of course, threw his arms around the older man the moment he saw Stephen, and the hug was reciprocated instantly.

In front of all of the Avengers. All of them. Even the ones that fought with Tony two years ago.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you." Scott whispers.

Sam clears his throat from the living room. "Um...why is Strange nice to Tic-tac?"

Tony snorts as he sips his coffee. "They have a history. Stephen practically raised him since he was fifteen."

"That sounds a little overdramatic." Clint says and Stephen looks over at him.

"Actually, it's extremely accurate."

"Please don't." Scott mumbles to the now sorcerer.

"We won't. Let's get you down to your floor and situated."

Scott nods and moves away from Stephen and he and Cassie follow the doctor to the elevator and down to Scott's personal floor. The sorcerer shows Cassie her room first and the men leave her to unpack her things and get comfortable while Stephen shows Scott the master bedroom. The moment he opened the door, the younger man froze when he saw what was sitting on the bed. It was Cinnamon. When Scott stepped closer to touch the teddy bear, he got a whiff of the spice the toy was named after and tears threatened to spill from golden-hazel eyes. Cinnamon looked brand new. Like he hadn't been in storage for eighteen years.

"There's a quirk to being the Sorcerer Supreme and protector of the Time Stone." Stephen says softly. "He looked a lot worse when Tony and I got your things out of storage."

For a few minutes, Scott was fifteen again. He just got home from Quill's house after Christmas and the teddy bear was just his boyfriend's temporary replacement until he visited again or saw him at school. The hallucination quickly died away though when he remembered that wasn't the case anymore. Scott would never see Quill again. Twenty years was too long to have hope your missing boyfriend would come home.

"He's dead Stephen." Scott finally says. "I'm not getting him back."

"I know. I just thought it could help you remember that I'm not the only reason you're where you are today. I'm convinced that you were close to...you know."

Scott nods. "...I think I was too. So thanks for saving me from myself."

"If you need anything just ask FRIDAY or Victor for me or Tony." Stephen says and Scott looks back over at him.

"Victor?"

"Tony made me an AI. I named him after my brother."

"Right...you mentioned the accident. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." Scott sighs and leans his head against Stephen's shoulder when the older man approaches him and hugs him again.

"It's okay. Tony was. I had you when I lost Donna...just like you had me when you lost him."

Scott was grateful for what Stephen did for him. He was grateful for Tony's generosity too. If it weren't for them, Scott would probably still be living at his parents house and mourning over Quill. In all honesty, he probably wouldn't even be alive right now. But he was, and he no longer felt neglected anymore. He may feel touch starved again, but he had people that cared about him and made sure he knew it.

As far as he knew, his parents never asked about him after he moved out while they were out of town again, and that thought only hurt Scott a little bit. They were never his family. Stephen and Quill were, and after Quill went missing, it was just Stephen. Then Tony, Maggie, Cassie...his family was growing little by little even if relationships never worked out. He didn't bother with Hope because she had her own catching up to do with her mother and Scott didn't want to only give her half of his heart like he did with Maggie. Scott could live with being single for the rest of his life as long as he could keep the family he had now.

"Daddy!" Cassie calls from Scott's bedroom door and he pulls away from Stephen to look at her. "I'm hungry."

"If you can wait a little longer you can have dinner upstairs with us." Stephen says as he walks over and crouches in front of her. "Spaghetti?"

"With garlic bread?" Cassie asks.

"Of course. My kids would throw a fit if I didn't make garlic bread too."

Scott's eyes widen when his best friend mentions having kids.

"Your kids?! I thought you didn't like kids? Wait...where was I when...I'm so confused." Scott blurts out.

"I'll explain at dinner." Stephen says with a smirk in Scott's direction. "One hour."

Stephen stands up and pats Cassie's head as he passes her. "Thank you Mama Bear!"

Scott gawks.

WHAT?!

11 notes · View notes

londoncapsule · 6 years

Text

Transcript of Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s interview on the Howard Stern Show

I put together a rough transcript of Jeff’s latest appearance on the Howard Stern Show on 9 April 2018.

Since it was an almost hour-long interview, it’s quite a long list and also due to the NSFW topics discussed, you can find the rest of the transcript under the ‘Keep reading’ bar.

During the interview Stern asked Jeff some highly personal questions as well, but Jeff answered all of them (and did so with class and humour, I think) so proceed at your own risk if you’re not comfortable with reading about such personal stuff.

On fans and fame

- Jeff lets his beard grow long now because he’s off work, “it’s my farm thing” and “hopefully people don’t stop me on the street to tell me to go to hell”, because he gets all sorts of stuff in the streets these days

- since he’s on The Walking Dead he has experienced a new level of fame with fans, paparazzi and autograph hunters even stalking him at the airport by buying a plane ticket and stalking him at the gate, there were even fights breaking out in Chicago when he refused to sign stuff for people who were trampling over other people at the airport

- while leaving Good Morning America that morning he was called a “motherfucker” for not stopping to sign when he was late for the Howard Stern Show, which really pissed him off because they were acting like he owed them somehow, but he was like “I don’t know you, guys”

- he doesn’t want to stop for selfies all the time, especially when he’s out and about with his wife and kids, the only time he sometimes makes an exception when it’s for a little kid (unless they are being manipulated by their parents standing behind them), the kids can get any but it’s the adults that are “super rude”, but he loves the fans and tries to be very good to them, it’s “the guys trying to make a living selling your autograph online” who bother him

On his farm

- their farm has “turned into more or less a rescue operation”, they take in a lot of alpaca and now have like 16 of them, because alpaca were thought to be the “it” animals some years ago and many people got rid of them later, they are really sweet animals except for shearing time once or twice a year when they spit on you, but they have to be sheared because they don’t shed and the summer heat is not good for them, Jeff has someone helping him with their shearing but he sits on top of them while they gets sheared and they process the wool and at some point they could have a little business of it, but for now they give the wool to friends who knit

- his six-month old baby donkey, Paxton is following him around the farm like a puppy, he got three donkeys last year for Father’s Day from Hil, and 2 days later there were four donkeys, they didn’t know that one of the donkeys was pregnant, he was there when Paxton was born and he imprinted on Jeff, before the press tour he had to “fix him” because Paxton just started getting amorous and he didn’t want him to breed with his mother, so Jeff’s not sure if upon his return Paxton will look him in the eye again

- he just wants to be a “gentleman farmer”, it’s now kinda turning into a more full-time thing for them, he has a total of 120 acres of land and “it’s neat” and “really beautiful”

- they are active in the community and still have the candy store they saved together with Paul Rudd

- Rhinebeck is an an hour and a half from New York City, “hour forty tops”

- when he was doing The Good Wife he took the train to go to work, because it takes him 12 minutes to get to the Poughkeepsie station from his farm and then he took the train to Penn Station every day

- Jeff invited Stern to visit him on the farm for the day to paint, but Stern was worried because they don’t know each other that well and “you are Negan”, but Jeff replied “I’m not really Negan in real life though man!”

- Stern was still worried about the idea, so Jeff offered to leave him the farm, or they can walk or drive around the farm, he has 40 acres of just woods, three houses on the property, he’s got a herd of highland kettle, every spring they bring in yearling melt cows with their mothers he raises and then they go to the milk farm and then he brings in another set

- Jeff loves the farm life so much that sometimes he doesn’t want to go back to acting, but he hasn’t made enough money yet to do that, Stern asked him how much money he would need to stop acting and just live on the farm comfortably and take care of his family, to which Jeff said that he wants the farm to be completely paid off and his kids to go to college, he doesn’t need a big number, “I don’t know, 20? But like taxed and for that you have to make 40″ but he doesn’t think he’s getting there

On his bromance with Norman

- Norman is “awesome” and he “loves him”, he’s family and was the first person to come and see Jeff’s baby after she was born

- Jeff and Norman met like 20 years ago, they hung out, were in the same circle but then he didn’t see or talk to him for 10 years at least and when Jeff joined the show they “were just joined at the hip”, Norman was super stoked that Jeff got the role and that he knew him, but had nothing to do with Jeff getting the role, they are together all the time, Norman bought a place up near Jeff’s farm in Rhinebeck, their bromance is ”solid” and Jeff’s happy that at almost 52 he has a best friend

- he was the type of guy with a guy best friend in his 20s but when he started dating and then met Hilarie that “all went out the fucking window” and since he lives on the farm now with his family there are “no boyfriends around anymore”

- Jeff and Norman live next to each other in Georgia and are there without significant others for most of their lives now, when they’re not working they are on their bikes and sometimes when Norman’s not working that day he would drive by the set (they live an hour away from the set) to meet Jeff and they would have some bro time, that’s their quality time together, but since they are on their bikes they are not talking to each other, but on the show Negan and Daryl "are totally not bro at all”

- Jeff confirmed that Norman and Diane Kruger are together and that “she’s beautiful” and “he’s very happy” and that Stern should have him on the show because he’s listening to him every day too

On riding motorbikes

- last year Jeff and Norman rode on Norman’s TV show Ride around Spain and this year in London (which was “kinda sucky because it rained the whole time”) and all over England and while shooting they follow the camera van so they don’t have to know the way or check the GPS

- Jeff is aware of the dangers of biking and has seen some bad stuff but has always ridden knock-on on that and has always been very lucky

- he has 7 bikes, is a Harley guy (Norman’s a Triumph guy), has wanted a Harley Davidson since he was a kid and has had a relationship with Harley Davidson ever since he could afford to buy his first one

- Jeff’s dad rides too, he has a Harley as well and Jeff just saw him three weeks before the interview, they were riding together out in Palm Desert

On acting

- Jeff still thinks about his former manager who had dropped him before he made his big break by landing Grey’s Anatomy, Supernatural and Weeds, and kinda hopes “she’s kicking herself in the balls” but he doesn’t run into her these days since he moved from California years ago and now lives in Upstate New York

- Howard asked his opinion on when a struggling actor should give up acting and Jeff said that he doesn’t know because he was there at that point when he was ready to give up but at 37 he didn’t know what to do, if should he go back to college (he dropped out of college after 1 month) and he survived by building decks and fences and had no fall-back plan (”I put all my eggs in one basket”), he didn’t own a home, had a room mate, his biggest concern was making sure his dog had food and he had rent on the table, his parents weren’t fully behind his plans either, since he only got minor roles (or he wasn’t even recognisable due to being masked as an alien) or roles in shows that got cancelled or were not picked up, so what kept him in the game was that he had nothing else to do and from the age of 30 on he kept extending the deadline by 1 more year of when he would give up, he did auditions but always almost got the role, he was always auditioning for Jon Hamm (”fucking Jon Hamm destroyed my shit for a while”)

- Jeff thinks that “we don’t make enough movies anymore”, there are huge blockbusters but not enough little art films out there with brilliant acting, it’s all going on TV now, Jeff loves TV but doesn’t know what’s going on anymore because there is so much of it, it’s hard to keep up, but he wants to start watching The Bachelor because Howard likes it so much

On The Walking Dead

- Jeff promised to get Stern a Lucille so he can bash some people over the head

- Stern hates that the night scenes on The Walking Dead are too dark and you can’t see anything and Jeff has a problem with that too and hates night shoots and would do anything but night shoots, and thinks that work suffers because of that for the acting and the crew, especially midway through the season (“you’re all hurtin’, everybody’s in bad shape”)

- when they killed of Carl he “wasn’t happy” and was “bummed” because he had been a fan of the comic book before taking on the show and one of his favourite storylines was the Carl-Negan relationship, it was one of the reasons he wanted to do the show and now it’s “fucking gone”

- Andy broke Jeff’s nose in the mid-season finale of season 8 during their fist fight, and Jeff knew that he was going to punch him because Andy gets so amped up before scenes, drinks a lot of coffee, gets excited, and they did rehearse the scene but Andy went from 50% during rehearsal to 130% when the cameras were rolling, Jeff knew immediately when the scene started that they were too close to each other in the scene, they were hitting each other and on the second hit Andy cracked him on the bridge of his nose, he dropped to a knee and his eyes watered and he was like “Ah, dude!”, Andy was more upset about it than Jeff, “he’s not an asshole at all, he’s a great dude”, they kept shooting, Jeff took a minute, put an ice pack on his nose and went back to shooting after 10 minutes, and Andy sent Jeff the a massage certificate and a facial the day after, but Jeff doesn’t do them, “Andy is one of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet in your life”, his nose was just popped back into place and had an X-ray done later but it was just a hairline fraction with a little bit of blood, but later in the season Jeff “kicked Andy in the nuts” which made him feel better

On the Negan vs Rick relationship

- they talked about Jeff saying on GMA that morning that he feels that on The Walking Dead Negan and Rick are equally bad, Howard said that Negan is way worse than Rick, because he forces women to marry him and fuck him, to which Jeff argued that “we never see him fuck, we don’t know”, but then they argued that he’s trying to get them pregnant, but Jeff said that “that was him getting in Dwight’s head” and Howard added that Negan irons the faces of people and burns them in the furnace as punishment and Rick would never do that, and he’s enslaving people, but Jeff argued that he isn’t enslaving them and they can go if they want

- Jeff mentioned the the kill ratio, Rick killed 50 of his people in their sleep and started the whole conflict, “Negan hasn’t done anything to Rick and his group” at that point, then Daryl took out another 20 of his guys with a bazooka, by this point Negan had lost like 70 people and then Negan killed Abraham as punishment, but because Norman/Daryl punched him, he sadly had to kill Glenn too, but Jeff “still blames Norman for that”

On Rampage and Dwayne Johnson

- Dwayne Johnson’s huge success is driving Jeff nuts “maybe a little bit”, he thinks Dwayne is such a big movie star because he’s got the ability to make fun of himself and is kinda self-deprecating and “as an audience we love that” and we all think that he’s a guy we could have a beer with, Dwayne works very hard, and Jeff wouldn’t be surprised if he ran for president, he thinks Dwayne is a very smart guy business wise, and Jeff calls him “Dwayne” or just “Rock”

- when Dwayne landed on him during a stunt while shooting the scene where the plane goes down he felt “like a freezer falling” on him but they have never worked out together

- they talked about the feud Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel had during shooting The Fast & Furious about Vin not coming out of his trailer, which neither Stern, nor Jeff understand (”it’s one of my peeves”), Jeff said he’s with Dwayne on this, because when he arrives on the set he’s ready to go and do the scene

- Rampage is “a popcorn movie at its finest” and “believe it or not it has some heart in there” and Dwayne and George are “cute as shit” in the movie

- Howard was wondering if George had a cock and massive balls in the movie but Jeff said no, later Howard’s looked up that an erect gorilla cock is 1 to 3 inches long only, and they were talking about cock sizes, to which Jeff added that “I’m all talk myself”

- they mentioned how hot Naomie Harris is, “she’s the real deal, a really cool chick”, Howard asked if she had a boyfriend and Jeff said no because she can’t meet any good men and she even asked Jeff if he knew anybody but he said that all the decent guys he knows are with somebody and “she’s gorgeous”, but maybe she’s too picky but Howard commented that Jeff should feel great around women like her being the greatest guy around them and that they eat their heart out that they can’t be with him because he’s married already, to which Jeff was just snickering

On his private life and family

- his first marriage didn’t end because he was a struggling actor but because his best friend had an affair with his wife, and he’s still his friend, it didn’t even faze him really, and wasn’t mad at her because “we shouldn’t have gotten married”, it was a stupid thing, they were married for like 3 months, but he was really disappointed with his buddy for breaking the bro code and didn’t talk to him for a year and then ended up with him in a fist fight at an audition at the Warner Brothers lot but then it was over and now they are buddies again, but his marriage was gonna get annulled regardless, they were both too young, too stupid and six years later they were friendly again with his ex-wife, it was a Vegas wedding because they didn’t have any money, and being married when you are broke is “ridiculous”, because he couldn’t even support himself or feed his dog

- he calls his new-born daughter Georgie, they named her after an episode of Bonanza (”A Girl Named George”) and Gus was named after Augustus McCrae in Lonesome Dove, because Jeff’s got “this western theme going” and thinks that “in my other life I must have been a cowboy of some sort”

- he could live without acting “a lot less”, he would be happy to do one movie a year, and do some writing and try directing at some point in his life, but he’s been so busy going from one job to the other and he feels like he’s missing out, he’s really feeling it now with Gus, when he leaves to work (he’s shooting The Walking Dead between the end of April until Thanksgiving) and he tries to get home on weekends but it’s not enough with an 8-year old and it gets really emotional, but with George “unless you have a boob with some milk in it, she doesn’t give a shit” and “she looks at me after like 5 minutes like ‘Where’s my mum? Give me my mum!’“

- Jeff doesn’t work out (”Dude, does it look like I work out? I throw around bails of hay around on the farm.”), he hasn’t seen the inside of a gym in 20 years, he works the farm as exercise, down in their basement they have a running machine but it just has 1 mile on and is “collecting dust”, Gus has a genetic disorder called PKU, his body can’t process protein so he eats a protein shake, which made Jeff’s and Hilarie’s diet much healthier, they watch what they eat, he walks his 120-acre farm as much as possible, he’s doing chores and dinking around, he chops a lot of wood, he heats his farm in the winter time with fire wood

- he doesn’t have a huge entourage, is “low maintenance”

- both of his kids were born at a hospital, not at home, he delivered them, cut the umbilical cord, had no idea what to do, thought he would be there just to lend support or hold a leg, but they had a midwife who pushed him in there as soon as the baby’s head was crowning, with Gus he waited too long and he got stuck in “no-man’s land” and “his head was shaped like a cone”, with George he was ready, and as soon as she crowned he grabbed her by the cheeks and pulled her right out perfectly

- Stern was wondering if having seen Hil give birth to their kids and the image of “the baby’s head poking through the vagina” is bothering Jeff sexually now, to which Jeff said that he has “seen a vagina before” and for some reason separates the two, it’s not the same thing, and Hil is “more beautiful than she’s ever been” and “was the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen while letting it all hang out”

- Stern asked if they went back right back into “banging” to which Jeff replied that it takes a little bit, a little healing and letting that rest, but “yeah, we do all right”

- Stern asked him if they wanted more kids, to which he said “Jeez, no! We’re tapping out. Oh, dude, I’m 52!”, it’s too perfect that they have a boy and a girl now, since they were trying for a second baby since Gus was born, it was a rough go, they lost a couple of babies, it was an emotional ride for them so now “we’re done” and he thinks he will "snip the balls”, if he did it to his donkey he “might as well do it to myself”, but he feels that now he’s almost so old it “maybe shouldn’t work anyway”, Stern suggested that he should wear a rubber, because it slows him down, to which Jeff replied “I got you, I feel you on that” and “I don’t know what we will do” and he’s gonna “Howard Stern my shit” and Stern added that fucking a woman is the greatest thing to which Jeff said it’s something magical, but they agreed to discuss this further together on a different occasion together with Norman

- during the farewells Jeff said to Stern that “I just love ya” and the thing he had been the most proud of in his career was being on the show before and he still has people coming up to him every day saying that his interview on Stern was the greatest thing they had ever heard

If you want to listen to the full interview, you can do it here.

#jdm #jeffrey dean morgan #howard stern #hilarie burton #gus morgan #norman reedus #dwayne johnson #twd #the walking dead #rampage

107 notes · View notes

multipleservicelisting · 4 years

Text

The Three Types of Republicans Donald Trump Created

Donald J. Trump departed the White House on Wednesday and left a Republican Party turned upside down.

Many Republicans tried not to let Mr. Trump change things, vowing never to vote for him or work in his administration — and to publicly shame those who did. Others bit their tongues and looked past his erratic behavior and racial grievances, justifying their indifference by pointing to the conservative policies he championed.

And there were others — comprising the most vocal segment of elected Republicans and a considerable portion of the voters who helped Mr. Trump win 10 million more votes than he did in 2016 — who are still with him, defying every last-straw prediction about the end of the iron grip Trump has on the G.O.P.

Here is a taxonomy of the types of Republicans Mr. Trump leaves in his wake.

Never Trumpers

They wrote open letters, boycotted the Republican National Convention twice, started podcasts and websites and raised millions of dollars for their efforts to defeat him.

The prospect of a Trump presidency was always unsettling to some Republicans who feared that his high self-regard and his nonchalance about the limits of political power were a recipe for disaster. But as his term wore on, this group came to include some surprising names like George Conway, whose wife, Kellyanne Conway, was one of the strategists who helped run Mr. Trump’s first campaign and remained loyal to him until the end of his presidency.

Mr. Conway found company with other Republicans whom the Trump wing of the party branded as “establishment” — a pejorative that recalled their work for previous presidential nominees like Senators John McCain and Mitt Romney. And their group, the Lincoln Project, worked for the past two years to convince Republican voters that Mr. Trump was a stain on their party.

The New ‘RINOs’

The term RINO used to mean “Republican in name only,” and it’s not a description that anyone was likely to use for Mark Brnovich, the conservative attorney general of Arizona.

That was before Mr. Trump and his loyalists redefined the term to mean any party official who dared to cross him.

Mr. Brnovich is a former Maricopa County prosecutor who has fought for Arizonans’ right to attend church during the pandemic and argued against relaxing rules for casting absentee ballots. Still, he drew the ire of Trump supporters when he made what he thought were two entirely reasonable decisions as his state’s chief law enforcement officer.

First, after investigating complaints about ballots that were supposedly ruined by bleeding marker ink, a conspiracy theory that became known as “Sharpie-gate” in the right-wing media, he determined there was nothing to it. Then, Mr. Brnovich refused to sign onto a far-fetched lawsuit by the state of Texas that called on the Supreme Court to throw out millions of votes in four swing states, including Arizona.

“It’s as simple as this,” Mr. Brnovich said in an interview. “It’s about the rule of law, not the rule of political expediency.”

Mr. Brnovich is not alone. Politicians whose names were once synonymous with the party’s hard right are now ridiculed as spineless and soft by Mr. Trump’s most faithful followers because they did not support his efforts to push state legislatures and Congress to declare Mr. Trump the winner.

In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger are now being targeted for defeat by Trump loyalists after Mr. Trump attacked them for refusing to go along with him.

Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, daughter of the former vice president and liberal arch-villain Dick Cheney, now faces a challenge to her leadership post in the House Republican conference for her impeachment vote against Mr. Trump. Vice President Mike Pence, who has been so loyal to Mr. Trump that his critics mocked him as a subservient yes man, was attacked as a traitor by people who called for his execution after he refused to interfere with the formal certification of the election.

After four years of keeping most of their disagreements with Mr. Trump private, a growing number of Republicans have taken a stand against the nominal leader of their party. And they say they worry about setting a precedent for elected officials to disregard the law if it suits them politically.

“I’m very concerned that we’re using the sophisticated and subtle tools of the law to bend what should not be bent in a direction we find politically preferable,” said Dave Yost, the attorney general of Ohio. As office holders whose power over the electoral process is significant though often overlooked, Mr. Yost said that officials like him “have to accept that there are constraints on their preferred outcomes.”

Like Mr. Brnovich in Arizona, Mr. Yost was one of only seven Republican state attorneys general who did not join an amicus brief in support of the ill-fated case brought by their colleague in Texas, Ken Paxton. They were among the small but pivotal minority of state and local office holders whose opposition helped thwart Mr. Trump and the Republicans who aided him in an attempt to deny Joseph R. Biden Jr. his victory.

The system held, but just barely.

Trump Republicans

Nowhere was Mr. Trump’s hold on Republican lawmakers as evident as it was in Washington on Jan. 6 at the demonstrations leading up to the storming of the Capitol. Republican state legislators from Missouri, West Virginia, Tennessee and other states were among those who gathered to cheer on Mr. Trump. Mr. Paxton, the Texas attorney general, was also there.

In one episode that many Republicans said was especially troubling, a political arm of the Republican Attorneys General Association, known as the Rule of Law Defense Fund, paid for a robocall before Jan. 6 that called on “patriots like you” to “march to the Capitol building and call on Congress to stop the steal.”

The existence of the call, which several Republican attorneys general have since disavowed and said they were unaware of, underscored the extent to which Mr. Trump’s die-hard supporters were leaning on elected officials to support his spurious fraud claims. Two people with direct knowledge of tense discussions that took place among the attorneys general after word of the call leaked said that a donor had demanded it and made a contribution contingent upon its release.

“We’ve come to a point where there are so many individuals with great wealth who will support even the most fringe ideas and candidates,” said Richard F. Holt, a Republican who has raised money for presidential candidates dating back to Richard Nixon.

“Now just about anybody, no matter how far out, can come up with half a million dollars,” Mr. Holt said. Party leaders and major donors now see threats that Republicans could face from obscure but well-funded candidates whose primary motivation for seeking office is that they are aggrieved over Mr. Trump’s defeat.

Geoffrey Kabaservice, a historian and the author of “Rule and Ruin,” which documents the waning influence of moderates in the Republican Party, said that while the far right had always been an important constituency for Republicans in elections, its power was usually diluted by mainstream influences. But that is much less the case today.

“The Republican Party needed those people at the grass roots so it could win,” Mr. Kabaservice said. “But it also knew it needed to keep those people under control so it could attract some moderate, business-friendly people.”

“And that’s fallen apart,” he added.

Who Wins?

The future of the party isn’t the Never Trumpers; they abandoned ship. It’s the war between the New RINOs and the Trump Republicans.

The anger and vitriol directed at lawmakers who broke with Mr. Trump has left few willing to speak up on even the most seemingly straightforward matters.

After Mr. Brnovich declined to challenge the Arizona results, commenters on far-right message boards said that he had destroyed any hope of a future in the Republican Party.

One Republican state legislator claimed to have secured $500,000 from a donor to fund an investigation of her own into Arizona’s ballots and also vowed to hinder the attorney general’s office in future election investigations by stripping it of the necessary funding.

Alex Jones, the far-right purveyor of disinformation, showed up at a rally in Maricopa County and warned of “another 1776” if Mr. Trump weren’t declared the winner.

At the Capitol riot, Trump supporters urging Congress to overrule the 81 million Americans who had voted for Mr. Biden were waving the yellow Gadsden flag — once a ubiquitous sight at Tea Party rallies where conservatives railed against government tyranny.

Mr. Brnovich said he couldn’t get past the hypocrisy of it. “We all claim that we’re federalists, and we don’t want overreach,” he said, adding in reference to his fellow Republican attorneys general: “I don’t know why anyone thought it would be a good idea to get involved in a federal election. It’s a stupid idea.”

Mr. Yost, the Ohio attorney general, initially opposed Mr. Trump in 2016 but eventually got past his misgivings for the sake of party unity. Now, he said, he is still thinking about the consequences of the robocall before the riot.

“There’s a guy named Brian Sicknick — he’s dead,” Mr. Yost said, referring to the Capitol Police officer who died after being hit in the head when the pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol. “I don’t know who swung that fire extinguisher, but I lie awake at night wondering whether or not it was one of the people who got that call.”

Multiple Service Listing for Business Owners | Tools to Grow Your Local Business

www.MultipleServiceListing.com

from Multiple Service Listing https://ift.tt/3sEx0jQ

#multiple #service #listing #news #local #business #ads #near #me

0 notes

resurgemus-hprp · 5 years

Photo

Welcome SCORPIUS and VALENTINO ! We’re so excited to have you back at Hogwarts. ADMIN S, please follow the new member checklist and send in your account in the next 24 hours or your role will be reopened.

Is that [SCORPIUS HYPERION MALFOY]! It’s so nice to see them back at Hogwarts! [HE] is [16 ], and a [SIXTH YEAR] [SLYTHERIN] and totally looks like the muggle [JAMES PAXTON]. They are known to be [INTELLIGENT], and [EMPATHETIC] but also have a tendency to be [SELF-DEPRECATING] and [NERVOUS]. There are whispers around the castle that in the unrest that is brewing they are [NEUTRAL]. [OTHER INFO: Slytherin keeper, sixth year prefect]

Is that [VALENTINO EMMANUEL DE LA CRUZ]! It’s so nice to see them back at Hogwarts! [HE] is [16], and a [SIXTH YEAR] [SLYTHERIN] and totally looks like the muggle [FROY GUTIERREZ]. They are known to be [DETERMINED], and [ASSERTIVE] but also have a tendency to be [SADISTIC] and [MANIPULATIVE]. There are whispers around the castle that in the unrest that is brewing they are [SIDING WITH THE NIGHT WALKERS]. [OTHER INFO: Slytherin beater, hitwizard for the Night Walkers]

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER IN CHARACTER - SCORPIUS:

What is your favourite childhood memory? Why is it your favourite?

The Slytherin smiles, leaning back a bit and closing his eyes as if to conjure the memory up better. "Oh it was wonderful... it was one of the last times mum was well-enough for us to all go out together. I think I was around 11. I'd just started Hogwarts, you see," he said, beaming. "Mum, dad and I went out during Christmas holiday and we went skating. We were freezing but we bundled up well and we all held hands and went in circles and stumbled around like idiots but... we had such a good laugh and I haven't seen dad look that happy since. It's been hard on him since mum's passed, you know?"

Do you think the Sorting Hat put you in the right house? Why or why not?

Scorpius bites his lip as he contemplates this question, tilting his head to the side. Eventually he begins to speak. "It's hard... I always wanted to be a Slytherin. It's my family's house and I have such admiration for the ambition and loyalty that Salazar valued. So I'm thrilled to be here and I know, consciously, that the Sorting Hat is never wrong but —" Here Scorpius pauses, curling in on himself a bit. "Sometimes I worry that I would've been better off in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. I mean I see my housemates and they're so assertive, and confident and I'm none of those things. I'm meek and I'm always buried in a book... I don't scream Slytherin but on the other hand, maybe that's a good thing? I hate the Slytherin stereotypes so if I can bust them, then so be it. It's complicated, I guess."

What are your career plans after school?

"Oh, this is easy!" Scorpius murmurs, straightening up as if he's about to answer a question in class. "I want to be a healer. Maybe specializing in curses or something... so that I can help other families like mine, and maybe a different child out there won't have to lose his mum like I did. I want to find a cure and I want to help people."

Where is one location that never fails to make you feel safe?

Scorpius turns the question over in his head for a bit. This is a bit tougher to answer. Malfoy Manor is home, but he also knows it has a dark history and without mum around, it's gotten darker, like some of the evil its walls had seen was starting to ooze out. Or maybe Scorpius was just growing older and more cynical. "Al's house," he says eventually. "He's been my best mate basically forever, and his house feels like a second home to me. His family's a bit mad, not going to lie, but I've always felt welcome there. And Mrs. Potter gives really good hugs and I've been sorely needing those since mum died. The Slytherin common room is pretty up there too."

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER IN CHARACTER - VALENTINO:

What is your favourite childhood memory? Why is it your favourite?

The Slytherin thinks for a moment, before a malevolent smile spreads across his face. "I'm not supposed to talk about what happened at Ilvermorny," he says quietly. "I don't even know if being twelve still qualifies as 'childhood'. Besides, the files were disposed of for a reason... and everyone involved has put the incident behind them. But... I don't regret it. What I did, I mean. I'd do it all again, and I'd do it /worse/," he said, eyes gleaming at the memory of the boy's cries, of the blood, the begging, the tears. "It just showed me a lot about the world. And my place in it."

Do you think the Sorting Hat put you in the right house? Why or why not?

The question has Valentino laughing. The Slytherin nearly falls off his chair, trying to imagine himself in a different house. "Of course it did. Slytherin's the only house worth being in," he said, still-snickering. "The others are so pathetic... it's all about books and brashness and being completely useless," he continued, rolling his eyes. "So yes, I'm in the right house. Like I always knew I'd be."

What are your career plans after school?

Valentino's life path had always been clear. His place was with his family, eventually taking the reins of his father's business, making sure their important work was never forgotten. He'd been studying his father's every move since he was old enough to know that one day, he would be the one making those choices. "I'm going to take over from my father, and keep the family's businesses running," he said, deliberately keeping what they did vague. No one else had to know what didn't concern them.

Where is one location that never fails to make you feel safe?

This was an easy one for Valentino. He knew where his favourite place to be was. "Our second home in Mexico," he explains easily. "Despite having settled in Europe, the de la Cruzes have never forgotten our roots, our homeland. The magic in our veins is different than that of most people here and going back to Mexico is always the best. It's like breathing in the air gives me this surge of energy I don't get anywhere else. And I can truly be myself there." He smiles, but there's something decidedly cold in it. "Besides, it's massive and in the middle of nowhere. There's so much we can do there that we can't anywhere else. It's always a blast. And it's so incredibly well-protected."

OOC INFO:

Name: Admin S Age: 24 Pronouns: she/her Timezone: EST Activity level: 8, I work full time but I'm also always on ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#hp rp #next gen rp #canon rp #oc rp #lsrp #new rp #r.accepted

0 notes

joycemerces · 5 years

Text

Excerpt ~ Top Secret by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy

Bestselling authors Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy return with their first Male / Male romance in 3 years.

LobsterShorts, 21

Jock. Secretly a science geek. Hot AF.

LobsterShorts: So. Here goes. For her birthday, my girlfriend wants…a threesome.

SinnerThree: Then you’ve come to the right hookup app.

LobsterShorts: Have you done this sort of thing before? With another guy?

SinnerThree: All the time. I’m an equal opportunity player. You?

LobsterShorts: [crickets!]

SinnerThree, 21

Finance major. Secretly a male dancer. Hot AF.

SinnerThree: Well, I’m down if you are. My life is kind of a mess right now. School, work, family stress. Oh, and I live next door to the most annoying dude in the world. I need the distraction. Are you sure you want this?

LobsterShorts: I might want it a little more than I’m willing to admit.

SinnerThree: Hey, nothing wrong with pushing your boundaries…

LobsterShorts: Tell that to my control-freak father. Anyway. What if this threesome is awkward?

SinnerThree: Then it’s awkward. It’s not like we’ll ever have to see each other again. Right? Just promise you won’t fall in love with me.

LobsterShorts: Now wouldn’t that be life-changing…

Q&A about Top Secret:

Q: Have we met these characters before in another book?

A: No! These guys are brand new, and we can’t wait for you to meet them.

Q: Is this story MM? Or is it a MMF / MFM / menage?

A: This book is MM.

Q: Is this a love triangle story?

A: Not really. You’ll see.

Goodreads: https://geni.us/TopSecretGoodreads

Apple: https://geni.us/TopSecretApple

Kobo: https://geni.us/TopSecretKobo

Nook: https://geni.us/TopSecretNook

TOP SECRET by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy

Chapter One

Keaton

“Look,” Annika whispers in my ear. Under the table, her small hand squeezes my thigh, while her cheek gently nudges my chin toward the doorway. “He’s cute.”

“Subtle,” I tease before giving the object of her attention a cursory glance. He’s just a tall guy with brown hair, nothing special as far as I can tell. “How about we save this conversation for later?”

She rolls her eyes. “We both know there won’t be a conversation, Keaton. You like playing along, but you won’t actually go through with it.” This time she forgets to lower her voice.

“Go through with what?” one of my frat brothers asks from across the table. Tanner, Judd, and I had popped into the campus Starbucks for a caffeine fix after practice. Annika’s next class is directly across the street, so she’d come to say hi before class.

“Nothing,” I tell Tanner.

If you can call your girlfriend wanting a threesome with another dude “nothing.”

Yup, my girlfriend wants a threesome. And here I’d thought that, after six years together, Annika couldn’t surprise me anymore.

She and I have been inseparable since junior year of high school. I know every last detail about her, from her food preferences to her pet peeves. I know she gets anxiety in long lines, that she sneezes any time she gets a whiff of cinnamon, that she loves the beach but hates skiing.

What I didn’t know was that my girlfriend fantasizes about threesomes. The first time she brought it up, I thought she was kidding around. Annika Schiffer, heiress to a home-furnishings fortune, wants to bang two guys at the same time? Yeah right.

My girl is the president of her sorority, wears a pearl necklace (and not the fun kind) on a daily basis, and made me wait until we were eighteen to lose our virginities to each other. Don’t get me wrong—she’s not some uptight rich bitch with a stick up her butt. She’s fun and warm and fierce when someone tries to mess with her or her loved ones.

But she’s also… I’ll just say it: vanilla.

I didn’t think she was serious about the threesome thing until last week, when I’d asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she brought up the idea again.

I move my lips to her ear so Tanner and Judd can’t overhear. “Don’t you worry, babe, there’ll be more than just a conversation,” I rasp.

She shivers, and then flashes me a dazzling smile. Her face is flawless. Classic features, pouty lips, and smooth skin that’s just the right amount of dewy. She works hard and spends a lot of money for that skin. I’ve been in her bathroom at the sorority house, so I’ve seen all the products she puts on her face to keep it looking so perfect. Not to mention the monthly facials, which require her to fly to New York every month because this little college town we live in doesn’t have a “competent aesthetician”—her words, not mine.

It helps that her father owns a helicopter that can accommodate her monthly treks. I’m not one to judge, though. My dad has his own jet.

“I can’t wait,” she says before hopping off my lap. “Come over tonight after practice, okay, baby? I have to go to class now.”

“I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, boys.” Annika’s hand flutters in a wave on her way to the door.

“Later!” Tanner calls after her. And if I’m not mistaken, he takes a longing look at her ass.

“Dude,” I say. “If you’re going to eye-fuck my girlfriend, you could at least be subtle about it.”

“Why?” Tanner argues. “She’d be flattered. And you should know how good you’ve got it. Besides, I’m harmless.” He flashes me a big smile. “What are we doing this weekend, anyway?” Tanner asks. “The Presidential Dance-off, right?”

I shake my head. “That’s, like, in two weeks, man.”

“Really? Why did I think it was sooner?”

“Because you’re stupid,” Judd offers helpfully.

Tanner gives him the finger, before turning back to me. “Do you know what you’re doing for yours yet?”

I have no clue. And no, dancing isn’t an actual requirement for our fraternity’s presidential race. But it used to be. A few decades ago, the candidates running for frat president decided a dance-off was the only way to decide who was more fit to lead. Hence, the Presidential Dance-off was born. On our living room walls, there are old photos of well-dressed men with slicked-back hair and girls in poodle skirts on their arms.

My fraternity has long-held traditions that began well before the invention of the red Solo cup. But these days, Alpha Delta has evolved. Or devolved, depending who you ask. Instead of perfecting his twist and his mashed potato, the presidential candidate is expected to dazzle the other members by planning a kickass event. I’m talking epic. Monumental. The kind of party that will be remembered for years to come.

Although, like dance moves, I’m not entirely sure that party planning is a solid indicator of what makes a good president. Sure, frats throw a lot of parties, but there’s a social committee for that.

The role of president is actually pretty lame, according to Reedsy, our current prez. He pulled me aside after I threw my name in the race and admitted that it’s a boring gig and that I should reconsider. “So much fucking responsibility on your shoulders, dude,” he’d bemoaned.

For a moment, I’d almost bailed. To be honest, I’m only running because my dad was president of Alpha Delt in his heyday, and my granddad before him. But that’s also the reason I couldn’t bail. My father would lose his shit if the Hayworth legacy ended with me.

So I have ten days to plan a legendary party.

“Maybe I can just hire an event planner?” I suggest.

“No way.” Judd’s response is immediate. “If that fuckhead Bailey finds out, he’ll have you impeached.”

“You can’t impeach someone until he’s elected,” Tanner points out.

Still, I don’t want to be accused of cheating. What a pain in the ass this whole thing is. “We can brainstorm about this on Sunday night. We have a game to win on Saturday.”

“Oh, we’re going to win,” Tanner promises.

But I’m not so sure. Not only am I worried about the Northern Mass offense, I think my father is driving up for the game. So winning isn’t even enough. If the Northern Mass players aren’t crying into their helmets after the fourth quarter, my father will still give me hell at brunch the next day.

And here I thought weekends were meant to be relaxing.

“Fine,” Judd says. “We’ll talk about your campaign after the other meeting on Sunday night.”

“What other meeting?” I search my brain and come up empty.

“Pledge Committee,” he says, gulping the last of his coffee.

Oh, phew. “I don’t have to go to that one. I’m not on PC this year.”

“But I sent you that email?” Judd whines. “I told you I need you there. Initiation night is coming up and my committee is lame.”

“Who’s on it, anyway? What do you have planned?” Note to self: be conveniently unavailable on Sunday night. There is no way I’m sitting on the Pledge Committee again. Dealing with last year’s pledge class was a total pain in the ass.

“There’s Ahmad, who’s smart but boring. Paul, who’s just boring. Owen, who’s fun but not exactly creative. And Paxton, who’s just a tool.” He sighs. “Whatever. At least Bailey isn’t on it this time. Remember what a buzz kill he was last year? I fucking hate that guy.”

No big secret there. Judd’s had it in for Luke Bailey ever since the guy rushed Alpha Delt sophomore year. And say what you will about Judd, but he’s not an asshole unless he feels you’ve given him a reason. He’s a bro to the core—he believes in male bonding, high fives, and, in his mind, a friendship isn’t official unless you’ve bled together, partied together, and nursed your twin hangovers the morning after.

Luke Bailey doesn’t subscribe to this philosophy. The moment he scoffed at Judd’s attempt at a fist bump, he earned himself an enemy in Judd Keller.

Since then, their tumultuous acquaintanceship has only gotten worse. Luke is a cocky ass when he wants to be, and Judd hates feeling like he’s being mocked or judged.

Oh, and then Bailey banged Judd’s ex. So there’s that.

“You exert too much mental energy on that guy,” Tanner informs Judd. Tanner’s a psych major, so he’s constantly dishing out (pretty good) advice that everyone mostly ignores. “Holding onto anger isn’t conducive to robust mental health.”

“First of all, say the word robust one more time and I’ll clock you. You know how I feel about that, bro.” Indignation flashes in Judd eyes. “And second of all, Luke Bailey screwed my girlfriend! I’m never not gonna be angry at that prick.”

“Ex-girlfriend,” I hedge, but it earns me a deep scowl from Judd. The two of us are teammates, and I do feel loyalty to him, but I’m also not afraid to call it like it is. “You and Therese were broken up for months.”

“Me and Therese are never broken up. Sure, we take short breaks, a hiatus or two. But she’s my girl,” Judd says tightly. “Everybody knows that.”

“Bailey says he didn’t,” Tanner says.

“That’s bullshit. He’s a liar. And now he’s trying to screw K over!” Judd growls. “He joined the presidential race to get back at me. I just know it.”

“You think?” Tanner looks skeptical. “Because that would be sociopathic lengths to go to just to spite you.”

“Yeah,” I agree with a chuckle. “Bailey’s a prick, but I can’t see him taking on the huge responsibility of running a fraternity just to flip you the metaphorical bird.” Although if I’m being honest, I don’t know why Luke Bailey is running for prez. The guy hasn’t shown much interest in frat activities since he joined us.

“He totally would,” Judd argues.

“Hey, we got class now,” Tanner reminds our sulking buddy. “We should book it over there.”

“Fine.” Judd scrapes his chair back and gets to his feet. His cloudy gaze meets mine again. “I’m serious, man. Bailey is bad news, and we need to kick his ass in this campaign. There’s no way I’m letting him be our president.”

“Don’t worry. He won’t be.”

Once my friends are gone, I let out a tired sigh. I don’t particularly care about Judd’s beef with Bailey at the moment. I have a football game to win, a campaign to plan, and a father to impress.

And a girlfriend to please.

I go up to the counter to get a refill, then settle in my cozy corner of the coffeehouse and open the app I downloaded last night. I hadn’t lied to Annika earlier—her birthday request is in the forefront of my mind. I just need to do some investigating first.

Welcome to Kink!

Add a profile pic.

Add bio.

I’d wanted to fill all this out last night, but my frat brothers suckered me into an epic session of Red Dead Redemption that lasted till three a.m. Now I quickly scroll through the camera roll on my phone until I find a suitable one. It’s of Annika and me, taken in Easthampton last summer. She looks smokin’ hot in a teeny string bikini, and my abs are looking tight, if I do say so myself. I crop out our faces and load the photo.

I skip the bio for now, because I’m feeling impatient. I want to see what this app has to offer more than I want to break my brain thinking of one hundred and forty-five characters to describe how my girlfriend wants to bang two men at the same time.

Actually, that’s pretty much the gist of it.

Still, I’m curious to check out the goods. Kink is more hookup app than dating app, and I’m pleased to discover it lets you search for users who’ve expressed interest in certain arrangements.

I click on the threesome box in the search section. There are an eye-opening number of options, combinations that hadn’t even occurred to me. Annika wants another guy, though, so I ponder the easiest combos.

m/f/m

m/m/f

My finger hovers over the m/f/m button. The other option means the men are allowed to touch, I think. It’s the moment of truth. Some guys would hate this idea. I don’t, though. I’m a scientist. Experimenting is what I do.

I even dreamt about sex with men once. Or twice. I never mentioned that to Annika. But why would I? I’ve also dreamt of meeting a dragon who smoked clove cigarettes. The things my brain invents while I’m sleeping aren’t newsworthy.

But I’d be lying if I said that Annika’s shocking birthday request turns me off. I’ll try anything once. And the app lets you click as many boxes as you want. So after looking over my shoulder once more just to make sure nobody I know is watching, I tap both options and usher in the possibility of taking a walk on the wild side.

The threesome has to be with a stranger, though. I’m certain that any one of my frat brothers would be down to help me give my girl a night to remember. Well, except Dan, who’s only down for dudes. And, well, Bailey, who thinks I’m an ass. I think he’s an ass, too, so I guess we’re even.

But I can’t do this with someone I know. What if the whole night is awkward as fuck? If it’s a brother, I’ll still have to live with him. If it’s a teammate, I’ll still have to see him in the locker room.

And then there’s the opposite scenario. What if it’s not awkward as fuck? What if I like it a whole lot?

Yeah, I don’t want my buddies judging me. A stranger for the win, then.

I lean back in my chair and start swiping.

from WordPress https://joycemerces.wordpress.com/2019/04/30/excerpt-top-secret-by-sarina-bowen-and-elle-kennedy/

#Excerpt Reveal #Uncategorized #Elle Kennedy #Sarina Bowen

0 notes