#and mariana and him running down to her little house

[nameless-network]

i know the potential misclick duo qsmp stream is more than likely just gonna be slime and mariana messing around on the server but the possibility of codeflippa lore/content has me like

[staytinyville]

OUTLAW (29)

ATEEZ poly!ot8 x Reader

Cowboy AU / Wild West

Series Masterlist

Warning: we back with our parents to talk, heated confrontations (we back at it)

A/N BETA READ (@mariana-mmtz). YALL. I missed the update. My bad! I was out visiting family this week. However because I've been starting to want to write a lot of other things, I might start changing the updates. Nothing too large. I think I'm going to do Monday's and Thursday updates.

Standing in front of the home you had known since forever felt intimidating to say the least. The last couple of times you had been in the house, it was spent having panic attacks and running away from your parents. You were worried about how things were going to go this time around, but the heavyweight resting within your palm made you feel like you could conquer everything. 

“You ready for this?” You heard Yeosang ask you, hand squeezing your own. 

“Who's ever ready for marriage talk?” You snorted. 

“I'm going to be there the whole time.” He spoke, moving in front of you. “I promise you.” He whispered, rubbing his thumb along your hand. 

“I'm not worried about you, Yeo.” You sighed. 

“We'll take it slow.” He began to move towards your home. “Should things go wrong, I'll take you out of there.”

You gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

The tight feeling in your chest got worse the closer you got to the front door. Your hand squeezed Yeosang’s causing the boy to look back at you. He gave you a reassuring smile, knocking on the door. 

Your mother was quick to answer, a small smile on her face. She moved to the side, allowing both of you to walk in. 

“You're home, (Y/N).” She spoke up. 

“Hi, mom.” You nodded your head. Yeosang gave his own greeting, your mother acknowledging him as well. 

You watched as she shuffled towards the dining room, the rest of your family waiting. You brothers were sitting at the table, waiting for your mother to bring out the food. Your sister was already bringing out the side dishes, giving you a smile as she passed by. 

“Would you like some help?” You asked, looking at your mom. 

“No, not at all.” She waved you off, pointing to the chairs. “Take a seat. We are just about done.” She placed her hands on your shoulders, wanting you to listen. 

Yeosand moved your chair to help you sit, taking the spot to the right of you. Your youngest brother sat to your left, eyes on Yeosang. The 6-year-old had his lips pursed waiting for someone to speak up. 

“Hello. My name is Yeosang.” The boy finally broke the silence, looking at your three siblings. 

Your oldest brother, who was 20, kept his arms crossed as he gave you both a dark stare. Your sister gave Yeosang a kind smile and a nod of her head. The youngest only kicked his legs as he watched Yeosang. 

“My older brother told me not to like you because you took (Y/N) away from us.” He said.

“(B/N)!” Your sister hissed, poking at the little boy next to you. “He didn't take (Y/N) away from us. He's just marrying her.”

Your mother had come out with the main course at that point, lips sealed tight to keep from making a face. You looked down, feeling your fathers stare on you. 

“I don't wish to do that.” Yeosang told your little brother. “She is your sister first and I shall respect that.”

Your mother gave Yeosang a warm smile, thinking about how he must be treating you. Your father only sighed, looking down at his plate. They all knew that Yeosang was a kind boy, he wouldn’t do anything that would put your reputation in shambles. 

“Let's have dinner then, shall we.” Your mother began. 

Dinner went along normally, with small talk here and there. Most of it was from your youngest brother asking Yeosang what it was like to work at the hotel or what kind of things they liked. He seemed to enjoy the older man, which made you smile at how excitable he got as dinner progressed. 

Once everyone had finished, your sister and mother had both gotten up to take the plates to wash. You had gotten up as well, moving to help them. 

“Allow me to help.” You tried to take the plates from your sister. 

“No need.” She told you. She glanced behind her at your father, giving you a tight lip smile. “You should probably stay. Good luck.”

You took in a deep sigh, moving to sit back down. Your mother was quick to come out, sitting next at your father’s side. Your older brother had taken your youngest brother out of the room in order for you all to talk. 

“How was your rest? I hope good.” Your mother tried to start. 

“We're done.” Your dad spoke up. “Why are you here, Yeosang?” He asked. “Wasn't this all just a lie to get me to let go of (Y/N)? It's done– it's over with. You don't need to continue.” He stressed out.

“On the contrary, I do.” Yeosang responded. “I have asked (Y/N) to marry me a few days ago. I know this is not the right way to go about things, but times are changing.”

“Is this true?” Your father turned to face you, but you avoided his eyes. “Why?” He looked back at Yeosang. 

“I'm sorry?” Yeosang suddenly frowned. “Are you asking me why I want to marry your daughter?” He asked. When your father only gave him a pointed stare, Yeosang decided to continue.  

“As her parents, you should know her more than anyone else.” He began. “I admire her because she's strong headed and has an amazing personality. I refuse to believe no man has ever wanted to conquer her.”

Your eyebrows furrowed as you listened to him. Your hands clenched onto your skirts as his words seemed to make your heart soar. You would never have guessed anyone would talk about you the way Yeosang was. 

“A selfless person. Someone who will take action if it means saving others first.” He looked at you smiling as you both knew what he meant. “She will worry about the well-being of those she cares about with all her heart. Even when they don't deserve it, she'll always show mercy. And because of those things, she is the most beautiful woman I have ever got the chance to know.”

Your hand reached out to grab onto Yeosang’s, tears welling in your eyes. Your heart was beating rapidly in your chest, you worried he could hear it. 

“You haven't said anything.” Your father turned to you. “That's not like you.”

“You're my parents and I respect you.” You took a deep breath. “But I cannot stand to look at you after you accused me of such nasty rumors.” You looked at Yeosang, a dreamy smile on your face. “I don't care if you say I can't marry Yeosang. I'm an adult and I want to be with him.”

Your mother’s lips pulled up into a smile as she watched you look at Yeosang. He had such a soft look that made your mother think about when your father had looked at her that way. Yeosang cared deeply for you, that much was obvious. And it seemed as though your father could see it as well.

“I need time to think.” Your father sighed. 

“We'll be on our way then.” You nodded your head at your parents. “We'll see you in the morning. Tell the others I said goodnight.”

“Goodnight ma'am. Sir.” Yeosang bowed his head, holding out his hand. Your father hesitantly shook his hand, but bowed his head as well. 

With a goodbye hug to your mother, Yeosang waited for you at the bottom of the porch before placing a hand at the bottom of your back. As you reached the edge of the forest where Yeosang had left the horse, you let go of a choked sob. Turning to Yeosang, you quickly wrapped your arms around his middle, feeling him pull you closer. 

“It's okay.” Yeosang kissed the top of your head. “You did amazing.” He whispered. 

You sniffled, looking up at him. “Did you mean it? All those things in there—did you mean it?”

“We all do.” Yeosang moved to hold your cheeks between his hands. “It's what we think of you, and it's what we always will. You've left such an impression on us, we can't let you go. We just want to see you happy.”

“Even if it's not just you?” You asked. 

“They are my brothers in every life we live. I will never give them up and they will do the same. If we have to share you, it's not a problem—we will always stick together.”

He spoke about all the other boys as well. You had your doubts about the whole ordeal, but every time it was brought up, each one of the boys seemed to always bring up the others. They knew what it was you were feeling before you even did. They were a family that worked well together. That’s why they knew what to tell you.

“Kiss me.” You whispered. 

And so he did. Yeosang leaned down, lightly placing his lips to yours. He knew that you had asked him for it, but he wanted to allow you to lean further into him. He wanted you to have a strong need for him to hold you. Not only that, but he was asking you to enter his own territory. He kissed like Mingi; however, he knew what he was doing. It was sweet, like he wanted you to feel every emotion through his skin. 

One of his hands moved from your cheek down to your waist, pulling you closer to him. As you moved to lock your arms behind his neck, Yeosang placed his hands around you, pushing you up further. You let out a moan from the squeeze, causing him to chuckle into your mouth. 

He leaned down a bit, palms skimming over your bottom and to your thighs. He quickly scrunches up your skirts in order to pick you up and wrap your legs around his waist. You didn’t shy away from the position this time, having already gotten used to the boy’s heated kisses. 

Your legs immediately locked behind him, thighs clenching as his body was placed between them. He moved backwards, wedging you between his body and a tree trunk. Your hands made quick work of feeling under Yeosang’s shirt, finding yourself wanting to feel his skin against your hands. 

You could feel your legs start to heat up, your body temperature rising with each lick and breathless moan against Yeosang’s lips. His hands kept squeezing at your skirts, feeling you through the fabric. One of his hands moved on your legs towards where it was connected with his waist. He quickly moved your skirts up, feeling your bare skin. 

Your legs began to shiver from the cold air, but still you moved to unclench your legs to allow him room to feel for more. Yeosang’s breathing became hard as he moved closer and hovered over you. His fingers clenched at your skin, restraining himself from going further up. One of his hands placed themselves against the tree. 

His breath hit your lips, your tongue moving out to swipe against them. When you opened your eyes to look at him, you could see the soft emotions swirling within his irises. 

“You make us feel things we have never thought about feeling.” He told you breathlessly. “We don't want to give that up.”

Series Masterlist

@thefrog3223 , @iarayara , @0rangemilk , @explorewithd , @detectivedoodle , @bangtanxberm , @a1i33a , @loveforred , @drunken-deitence , @0325tiny , @the-ghostest-with-the-mostest , @atinyreads , @atinytinaa , @lexiigom , @smilingtokki , @mismatchfluffysocks , @brain-empty-only-draken , @sousydive , @alex-tinyy , @h3arteyes4mingi , @onedumbho3 , @popcatx0 , @blue1amory , @mommahwa1117 , @sunnyhokyu , @cloudieclair , @araknoid , @starjoongi1117 , @chel-awingcherry , @puppyminnnie ,

[couldawouldashoulda50]

The Rabbit versus Kevin Fiala

Part 5 - No Contest

A/N - Well, here's part 5 of 5. @ladylooch - I honest to goodness had only thought of doing a lil blurb initially...apparently I just couldn't stop talking. But I'm happy to have learned even more about Kevin after I swooned over him with Sam in B's Letters in your Last Name fic. Thank you to the anons that sent in such encouraging words and to anyone else that stopped by, I really appreciate it very much. As always, to @misshoneyimhome and to B, thank you for your uplifting notes...it really helped calm the anxiousness I had about this story. Warnings/Notes - 18+, general smuttiness, oral (fem receiving), intercourse p in v, fluff, swearing. B - I had written a smutty little submission to you anonymously asking if what I had written sounded like any of your AU couples; you mentioned it was a little like Liv and Luca but it could maybe stand in it's own, so I included excerpts in this 😉 Word count 5.6k Mariana awoke to the sound of a vehicle starting in the distance.  Still curled up in the front seat of her car, she looked to see that the driver’s seat was empty, with her car still running.

She lifted her head slightly and she watched Kevin pull his Porsche out onto the street in front of her car.  Coming back to Mariana’s car, he hopped back in, shifted into gear, and slowly pulled it forward through the gate into his driveway.  

With the car still running, he started looking for something around the dashboard.  

Mariana gently put her hand over his and guided it toward a switch that would slide the automatic top of the convertible back in place.

Kevin chuckled, kissing her hand.  “Be right back,” he said, as he got out of the car.  

Mariana adjusted her seat to sit upright, and got out of the passenger side to see Kevin pulling his car into what little space was remaining in the small driveway.

Kevin closed the gate, which had Mariana’s car secured on one side, and Kevin’s car being less secured on the other.  “Thank you so much for switching the cars around.  I’m trying not to be paranoid with something happening to her, but you never know. I really appreciate it, Rico,” she said.

Mariana opened the trunk to retrieve their bags.  While she leaned forward, Kevin came up behind her and cupped her ass cheek as he reached past to grab the bag for her.  

She almost let an audible groan out as every erogenous zone on her body lit up.  

Kevin placed his hand on Mariana’s back as he guided her towards the main entrance of the house.  He handed back her keys to her car and he said towards her ear, “Thanks for letting me drive.  That’s a really nice ride.”

Mariana threw her head back in a show of exasperation from his “nice ride” comment, followed by a deep, guttural moan.  “Jesus Rico, you’re fucking killing me,” she laughed.

Kevin opened the door and guided Mariana in first.  “Was it something I said?” he feigned innocence as he closed the door.  

Mariana bit her lip trying not to smile.  “You know what you said,” she purred, as she set her bag down by the door.

Kevin tossed his keys onto the console table as he slowly stepped towards Mariana until his hands were lightly gripping her hips. She responded by running her fingers up the back of his scalp, as he lowered his head closer to hers.  “What….all I said was ‘really nice ride’.”  Between his velvet tone and his Swiss accent, Mariana felt her arousal beginning to seep into her panties, as her clit swelled in desperation for Kevin.

Kevin pressed Mariana's body against the front door and guided her thigh open allowing him to grind himself against her centre.  Each dizzying kiss and every shared breath fueled their desperation and pushed any self-control they might have, off a cliff.  

Gone were the bashful glances and subtle flirtations.  Her hands grasped the fabric of his sweater before she reached underneath to feel his beautifully toned torso.  As he reached behind his head to pull his sweater off, Mariana's hands were splayed wide feeling each muscle flex along his flank.  

Mariana grabbed the belt loops on Kevin’s pants and then slid her fingers towards the button.   “I guess I’m hoping you’ll be even more impressed with my ride,” she cooed.  While working the button open with one hand, Mariana snaked her other hand around his neck, kissing him so deeply that Kevin felt his 6-foot frame might just crumble to the ground.  

Then she did it.  She nearly pushed him past the point of sanity when she palmed his erection through his pants, then dipped her hand down inside to stroke his still shrouded cock.  

Kevin’s briefs were wet where the concealed tip of his rigid dick stood almost straight out.  Mariana was salivating in her mind with thoughts of tasting every delicious inch of his swollen member.  That was going to have to wait; right now, her engorged pussy needed to feel his thick shaft buried inside of her.  

Mariana slid down his pants and his briefs and her pussy ached with the sight of Kevin’s fully erect penis.  She stared at his length and girth and nearly climaxed with the thought of riding hard on such a sizable cock until it satiated every one of her deepest desires.

Mariana raked her fingernails down Kevin’s chest, looking at his face with total adoration.  “You’re so gorgeous, in every way imaginable,” she said, uttering the words so softly and so genuinely, it made Kevin’s heart swell.  

The fervour Kevin felt when Mariana touched his cock for the first time was otherworldly; but as he helped Mariana out of her clothes and looked at every contour and curve of her exquisite body, he worried he was never going to last more than a minute inside of her.  

Kevin reached into the bag that he had used that day that was tossed nearby and fished out a box of condoms.  Mariana smiled watching Kevin’s movements and at the difference of skintone between Kevin’s tanned parts, and the parts that had not been kissed by the sun’s rays. 

Kevin reached out for Mariana’s hand and pulled her in for another steamy and sensual kiss. 

Ripping open the condom wrapper behind Mariana’s back with her body against his, she began to stroke his shaft while kissing his neck and down across his collarbone.  “Fuck, you feel so fucking good, I can barely concentrate to get this fucking thing out of the package,” Kevin grunted.

Mariana stopped stroking him as his mouth tasted hers once more; his lips kissing a trail down her neck, with the sensation of the soft whiskers of his moustache making her walls clench.  

With the condom on, Kevin sat at the end of the couch; his cock was rigid and it pointed to the ceiling as he guided Mariana to straddle him.  He looked at her face with a longing he had never felt before as he swept back her long and flowering dark hair.  He wrapped one muscular arm around her waist, while his other hand began to explore the wetness between her thighs.  Mariana moaned as Kevin’s mouth latched onto her nipple, sending a jolt of need straight to her core, which he now had his middle finger deep inside of.  She clenched repeatedly around his finger as he alternated between breasts, lapping at the sensitive peaks of her taut nipples.   

The motion of her hips began to slide her clit up and down along his shaft and Mariana could hardly withstand the pressure building between her legs.  As her moans became louder and longer, she buried her face in the crook of Kevin’s neck and gasped that she needed him inside of her now.  “Please Kevin, I - I can’t fucking take this.  I need it - please…please put your cock inside of me.”  Her voice was shaking as she whimpered in his ear.  Kevin had wound Mariana up so much that every touch was like a tiny electric shock, making her body jolt.      

Kevin kissed her passionately as he lowered her onto his cock.  Mariana clutched the back of the couch as they both moaned “fuuuuck” loudly as she adjusted to his size.   

Slowly, she began to rise and fall; her pussy walls were tight and gripped every inch of Kevin’s length.  Kevin leaned his head back between Mariana’s hands; her knuckles had turned white as she clasped onto the couch frame.  The palms of Kevin’s hands felt rugged as he stroked Mariana’s flank and her defined back muscles as she began to increase her pace.  His hands then slid around to the soft, fleshy tops of her ass,  squeezing her cheeks as he drove into her.  

Mariana cried out in ecstasy when she slid down to the base of his cock.  The sensation was mind-bending as she bounced and grinded on top of him; her urges were all over the map between her pussy desperately clenching his cock and the need to press her own thighs together.  Kevin moaned and panted profanities when Mariana reached around to stroke his balls as she rode him, using her own arousal that pooled around his base as lubricant.    

With her other hand, she let it roam over Kevin’s chest and shoulders, while he began to stroke Mariana’s clit that was so eager to be teased.  

Kevin loved watching Mariana’s facial expressions.  Her lips curved into a smile when he kissed and sucked her nipples.  When he’d grab her ass to encourage her grinding, her mouth would fall open and her brows would furrow as she closed her eyes.  But the minute he thumbed her clit faster, while she bounced on him like she was riding a stallion bareback, her eyes would open wildly and her head would snap backwards as she moaned Kevin’s name again and again.  Kevin knew more about Mariana’s desires in ten minutes than he ever could figure out with any of his past lovers.  She was simply magnificent.

Mariana’s contours gleamed with sweat in the low light of Kevin’s living room as her imminent orgasm gripped her, and body moved totally on instinct from this point.  She loved the way Kevin’s cock felt when she bounced and slid her tight pussy up and down along its length.  But when he held her hips firmly and she grinded on his dick rapidly, pushing the limits of how much deeper it would go, she completely unravelled.  She worried if she held onto Kevin’s shoulders that she’d hurt him so she clasped onto the back of the couch again, sliding her hips back and forth as fast as she could.  

Mariana’s moans and panting and calling Kevin’s name pushed him over the edge and with a long guttural moan, his cock spurted and spilled cum into the condom, just as Mariana’s entire body clenched with her own climax.  

Kevin loved the feeling of an exhausted Mariana holding onto him, and he continued to stroke her back and hips.  “Are you ok?” he smiled as he spoke into her neck.  “Mariana, that was fucking amazing - absolutely incredible,” Kevin said softly, gathering up her hair that was matted with sweat.  

All she could do was nod, but he could feel her wide smile as she buried her face against him.  

Mariana began to dismount slowly, and release his cock from her core.   

As she stood in front of Kevin, he leaned forward from the couch and ran his hands over the softness of her stomach.  She held his hands as they roamed her body and he revelled in her beauty.  

They walked together into Kevin’s bedroom and Mariana teasingly looked at the bed, wiggling her eyebrows and biting her bottom lip.  

Kevin looked at her with one of the cockiest grins she had ever seen, and in one swoop as she faced him, he lifted her up holding her under her ass and carried her to the bathroom counter.  “You’re looking for more right now?  

Mariana yelped and giggled when he set her down and her cheeks felt the cold marble.  “I would love more - but I would love just to lie with you; figure out where my favourite places are to kiss your body.  Maybe “more” can wait until tomorrow,” she said softly, kissing up and down his neck.

Kevin leaned his forehead against hers and nodded as he stood between her legs.  After removing the condom and cleaning himself up, he laid out some essentials for Mariana, gave her a sweet kiss and exited the bathroom to give her some privacy.  

When Mariana emerged modestly wrapped in a towel, Kevin's eyes were soft as he gazed at her from his bed.  

He reached over to the pillow on the opposite side, and handed her the t-shirt he had folded and left for her.  “I wasn't sure if you liked to sleep with something on or not?”

Mariana’s eyes lit up when she unfolded the t-shirt.  Back at the Kopitar’s, all the guests had received gift bags full of team issued attire, and she was thrilled that her collection of merchandise was growing rapidly.  But the t-shirt had ‘Fiala’ and his number 22 on the back, and if she was meant to keep it, the sentimental value of it, no matter what might transpire between them in the future, was immeasurable.  

She turned away from Kevin slightly, pulled the t-shirt over top of the towel and let the towel fall, folding it up and setting it off to the side.  Kevin watched Mariana climb onto the bed next to him; his heart rate ramping up quickly as his desire to touch and kiss her again took hold.  She seemed a little nervous, and if he was being honest with himself, he was a little too.   Whether it was a mix of anticipation of the next minute, hour or day that they might spend together or the fact that they really had not known each other for more than five minutes, everything between them seemed to fit so perfectly.

Kevin shifted onto his side and adjusted himself to allow Mariana to snuggle in close.  He felt his cock responding to her body being pressed against his.  As much as he wanted to be inside of her again, he wanted to take the time to get a sense of what Mariana is like when it’s quiet and it’s just the two of them.  Kevin felt that he didn’t need to know everything about Mariana immediately; getting to know someone is ongoing and fluid and it takes time, and he looked forward to spending that time with her.  But lying in bed, talking, or just being quiet together is something Kevin valued greatly.

In Mariana’s head, she could hardly believe that she could love being pulled into a man’s chest as much as she did in that moment.  She felt warm, safe and cared for and it was something she realised had been entirely missing from her previous life.  

When Mariana’s hands ceased to move after caressing his back muscles, Kevin kissed Mariana’s forehead and mumbled into her skin if she was falling asleep.   She let out a light moan and nodded her head, as she lightly kissed his chest.  

Kevin kept his one arm wrapped around Mariana as he reached behind him to switch the light off.  He looked down at Mariana as her thumb stroked his face, and the two kissed each other softly, wished each other sweet dreams, and promptly drifted off to sleep.

◈◈◈◈

A car horn blares in the distance, waking Mariana from a deep sleep.  The room is dark but there are flashes of daylight as the drawn curtains flap from the ocean breeze. 

She rolls onto her side and sees an empty space next to her in the bed.  Before her heart can drop or flip, she sees her phone laying on Kevin’s pillow.  Propping herself up on one elbow, she opens her phone and looks at the time, first groaning audibly of how late it is in the morning, for her anyway.  There are a few text messages, but the most recent is from Kevin.  Anxiously, she taps on the message, which is a picture of her sleeping.  The text read:

Rico Sauvé Good morning beautiful. I didn’t want to wake you - just gone out to pick up some things.  Be right back.  Hope you had a good sleep 

Mariana flopped back onto her pillow and just beamed from happiness.  She took a few moments to wake up some more, and try to stop her mind from racing and just enjoy the feeling of the moment.  

As she looked around the room, she could see Kevin had not lived in this house for long.  It was exceptionally tidy but there were not many personal touches or belongings that were on display.  Mariana was now more curious to hear his version of what transpired in his last relationship but she would not nudge him for even a crumb of information, unless she was 100% sure he wanted to talk about it.  

Getting out of bed, she walked softly into the ensuite and smiled as she saw her reflection with Kevin’s t-shirt on.  She freshened up and brushed her teeth; she giggled to herself that Kevin had even thought to leave her a spare toothbrush.  

Not long after she had wandered back to bed, she could hear music from a car radio close by.   The music then abruptly stopped and she heard a car door open and close.  Her heart began to race in anticipation of Kevin’s return and she tried her best to contain her excitement to see him.  

Sure enough, the front door opened and closed, and she heard his keys drop onto the same table that was next to her as she stripped naked for him the night before.  

Mariana’s eyes danced when she saw him walk towards her, wearing nothing particularly special but because it was Kevin, she had never seen a more incredible looking man.

In his hands, he carried 4 cups; two coffees and two green drinks with straws, and he balanced a box on top.  He brought everything over to the nightstand next to Mariana, and she helped set everything down.  He remained bent over and he leaned towards Mariana’s face.  “Good morning Beautiful,” Kevin said, kissing her longingly.   

She touched his face while they continued their kiss, the tips of their tongues meeting and rekindling a need that lay dormant only while they slept.  

Kevin began to kiss Mariana softly around her mouth and across her cheek that was growing hotter by the second.  Kevin stood up and smiled, “I took a chance and picked up coffee and smoothies, and a few pastries that I thought you might like. When I woke up this morning, I remembered I had no food and nothing really to give to you - only water,” he winked.  

Kevin climbed onto the other side of the bed and leaned in close next to Mariana. 

Her eyes lit up with amazement and appreciation as she looked at Kevin’s smiling face.  “Mmmm  - A picnic in bed….Jesus, Rico…honestly, I feel so spoiled.  You are so thoughtful….”  

Mariana handed Kevin his smoothie and she grabbed her own.  Kevin’s mouth began to curl into a smile.  “You know what I realised, when you called me Rico just now?” 

Mariana covered her face apologetically as she chuckled.  “Seriously, I’ll try to stop…it just comes out and I don’t even realise it half the time.”

“No, please don’t…I wasn’t saying that.  I actually thought about it this morning while I was out and I just remembered now.”  Kevin seemed to be pausing for effect, just enough to have Mariana twisting to know what he was on about.  

Kevin cleared his throat and took a sip of his smoothie, taking his time before he spoke again before Mariana nudged him and laughed, “C’mon…you’re killing me here.” 

Kevin smirked, “Oh, right….where was I,” his further delay made Mariana roll her eyes and put her face in her hands.  “I realised that last night when we were…out in the living room,” Kevin snickered watching Mariana squirm in anticipation, “that you never called me Rico while we made love, like not even once.  From the time we met,  you had never, ever called me Kevin, but all throughout our fun last night, you just called - well moaned Kevin the entire time. I just thought it was sort of interesting.”

Mariana glanced over at Kevin, her cheeks turning beet red.  She thought for a moment and looked like she made a connection in her mind to another moment.  “I actually realised the same thing the other night when I was….” Mariana stopped mid-sentence and squinted as she kicked her own ass mentally having mistakenly brought up her night with the Rabbit.

Kevin was quick and knew exactly what she was referring to, so he decided to have a little fun.

“When you were…what?” 

“Please don't make me say it….I know you know what I was doing…” Mariana put her face in her hands, shaking her head.

It excited Kevin to no end to know that she pleasured herself while thinking of him.  He knew it was a little mean, but he wanted to hear her say it.

“You said you were testing out a new power tool…what was it again?  A hammer drill, I think is what you said, right?” Kevin said coyly.

Mariana groaned, her palms pressed firmly against her face.  “Pleeeeeaase stop,” Mariana let out a muffled laugh.  

Kevin had a tiny smirk on his face during his interrogation, but his heart expanded in his chest even more while he watched her turn fifty shades of red.

“Yes…ok, fine…I thought of you during - while I was taking care of business…is that what you’re looking for?” Mariana admitted as she laughed.  

“So…what was it….what did you use when you were thinking about me,” Kevin teased.

“Oh my god…really?” Mariana giggled in disbelief.  “It’s just called the Rabbit - it’s sorta the new high tech version with a bunch of bells and whistles. Are you satisfied now?” 

Kevin’s expression shifted slightly as he nodded his head, his eyes trailing down to her mouth.  He gently took Mariana’s smoothie from her hand and set it aside on the nightstand, along with his.  Letting his eyes and hands do the talking, he lifted her shirt over her head, and leaned Mariana back onto the mattress.  

“Let’s see if I’m better than the Rabbit,” Kevin said as he pressed his lips against Mariana’s.

Kevin’s kisses were first soft and sensual as Mariana’s mouth responded to every luscious touch and tease of his tongue.  Her hands moved across the expanse of Kevin’s back muscles and up his spine, and he responded by pulling himself on top of her and stretching her legs wide.

Kevin kneeled in front of her and the two worked to quickly discard his clothing, leaving his briefs on.  Mariana’s throat tightened with excitement and anticipation as she stared as his cock, still concealed under the cotton fabric, jutted out between his legs.  He kissed her passionately and while laying her back once more, their kisses reached a fever pitch, full of lust and wanting.  Together, they began to move in sync as Kevin grinded his clothed dick against Mariana’s pussy with the fabric of his briefs soaking wet from their heightened arousal.  They moaned mid-kiss as they shared prolonged and hungry stares while Mariana’s fingernails lightly grazed the flesh all over Kevin’s body.  

Kevin felt there were moments where he might actually lose his mind with the effect Mariana had on him.   He had experienced his fair share of women in the past, however, between hidden agendas, lack of chemistry or just not the right time, Kevin was unable to find a deep connection with someone special.  And what’s more was Kevin knew, without a doubt in his mind, Mariana felt the same about him.  There was no guesswork involved when the two of them were together.

Kevin’s mouth moved from Mariana’s lips, and began to devour her neck as their bodies were tightly intertwined, wracked with intense and heated passion.  Mariana’s hands no longer lightly caressed Kevin’s skin like they had been; they held on tightly to his body, sliding constantly from his biceps, shoulders, neck and back. Their bodies rocked, grinding their incessant need between their legs.  

“Mariana…holy fuck….,,” Kevin gasped into her ear.  Mariana could feel his erection pressing hard against her folds, almost driving her mad with desire for him.

He came to his senses enough to begin working his way down her body, licking and sucking her nipples as he descended down her hourglass figure.  Kevin paid attention to kissing places along her hips and the indent of her waist where no one has ever bothered to kiss before.

When Kevin reached Mariana’s small patch at the top of her pussy, Mariana inhaled sharply and began to shift uncomfortably underneath him.  Her former partner had fractured her confidence and self-esteem, often withholding affection and intimacy when he was upset with her.  The gaslighting and manipulation was almost a daily occurrence before she caught him cheating. and the start of the end of her former world began. 

She wasn't even aware how deep her anxieties were until that very moment with Kevin, and she worried something about her would turn him off.

“Kev - Kevin - I'm….not really….I'm worried that you're not going to….that something will be wrong with me down there and you’ll go off me completely,” Mariana said, her voice slightly trembling and was barely above a whisper.  

Kevin stopped and looked up at Mariana's face and felt her embarrassment; he wasn't going to assume he knew all the reasons she felt this way, but he was fairly certain it began with her ex-boyfriend.

Kevin spoke softly and reassuringly as he kissed and stroked her skin.  “Please - can I please try first?  I’ll take it slowly….just breathe and try to relax.  I already know I’m going to love the way you taste. But if you tell me to stop, I promise. I will.” 

Mariana apprehensively nodded her head “ok” as she laid back and tried to relax with a deep exhale.  Kevin kissed her abdomen gently and murmured into her skin of how perfect she is to him. He moved further down, kissing the insides of her thighs and he spoke gentle words of encouragement with some added direction.  

He licked a long and steady strip up between her folds and began to repeat that over and again, applying a little more pressure each time.  Kevin smiled to himself when he heard Mariana moaning his name.   Kevin wrapped his mouth around her outer lips of her pussy, moving his head so his moustache was tickling the area around Mariana’s clit.  Kevin’s mouth gently sucked and licked her entire core, while making her cry out when he inserted his finger and curved it deep inside of her.

Mariana’s hands alternated between running her fingers through his hair and grasping his hands which held her hips in place.  She began to feel her entire body begin to tingle, and then shudder, and her moans became longer, and eventually louder.  She could feel the intense warmth and extreme pressure of pleasure building in her lower body, as Kevin moaned how great she tasted while licking every part of her cunt.  

Once the hilt of her orgasm took hold, Mariana’s eyes shot open as she let out a loud and strained “Fuck yes!”. Her extremities quivered and Kevin held her legs apart as he continued to push her limits with his mouth.  More wails from Mariana could be heard while she clung to and twisted the sheets.   Kevin guided Mariana through her first-ever orgasm by mouth, and eventually her body began to unclench and relax, and the quaking in her legs began to subside.    

The houses in Kevin’s neighbourhood were stacked incredibly close to one another.  Even still,  Mariana and Kevin weren’t expecting to hear a group of women cheering and chanting nearby that were within earshot of their activities.  “Yaaaaaaaaaaas!!!  Get after it guuuurl….I need me somma that….Woooooooohooooooooo!! Yesssssssir….”  

Mariana covered her mouth and closed her legs as she rolled onto her side, giggling as she released her euphoria which now was mixed with a smidge of embarrassment.  Kevin discreetly wiped his mouth with a discarded shirt as he peppered Mariana’s body with kisses while repositioning their bodies under the blankets together.  No words were spoken as the two began to kiss and hands began to travel over each other’s bodies.  Mariana slowly rolled Kevin onto his back as she salivated with the thoughts of having him deep inside of her mouth, tasting the distinct flavour of his arousal.  

Kevin smiled and shook his head.  “I promise there’ll be plenty of opportunities for that in the future,” he chuckled “but right now, I’m dying to be inside of you again.”

Mariana smiled and kissed his broad and tanned chest while Kevin reached for a condom.  Mariana lay beside him, kissing his bicep and stroking his thigh as he rolled the condom down his shaft.

He turned to Mariana and kissed her deeply as he rolled her onto her back.  Spreading her legs wide, Kevin watched Mariana’s eyes close as he slowly slid his thick length inside of her.  They kissed slowly and passionately as Kevin began to pump his cock deep inside of her.  Kevin and Mariana gazed at each other as Kevin began to move more rapidly, smiling and whispering to each other as their pleasure took hold.   Kevin shifted her one leg over his shoulder, and he moved his hands to cradle the back of Mariana’s head and neck, bringing her even closer than before.  She lightly gripped his arms and his thighs as he began to pound into her core harder.  

That familiar sensation quickly took hold inside of her, and she began to stroke her clit while Kevin watched, his groans turning into short but loud grunts.  

The walls of Mariana’s pussy clenched Kevin's shaft as pressed her head back into the pillow.  Kevin was so deep in her core; he bucked his hips in short, rapid motions making Mariana’s toes curl.  

Another huge wave of an orgasm gripped her insides and she gritted her teeth trying to control her volume as soft wails and moans still sounded deep from within.  .  

“I think I need to scream,” she said to Kevin, in an exhausted half-whisper, “but I'm afraid we still have an audience.”  

Kevin slowed his pace.  “I don't mind…it's okay, I'll make nice with the neighbours.  I wanna hear you so bad,” Kevin groaned near Mariana’s ear, then smoothing back her damp hair from her face.

Mariana's wide eyes were fixed on Kevin's as she nodded and smiled, followed by a soft “you're amazing…” and a kiss to his lips.  

He quickly regained his rhythm and pace, and Mariana fingers dug into his muscular frame.   Unrelenting cries of bliss filled the room and the sounds of damp skin clapping together was intoxicating.  Kevin switched to pumping her cunt in deep and steady motions as leaned his forehead against hers.  Mariana’s body began to clench and the entire length of her legs shook as once again, the pressure began to build in her core.  When the tight coil inside of her was stretched until it snapped, Mariana bellowed in the midst of an orgasm so intense, she could barely believe that sound came from her.  

Kevin had a firm hold on Mariana’s body as she wanted to buck and arch her back from the profound exhilaration she felt.  He was reaching the height of his own rapture; perspiration dotted his face as he closed his eyes while the feeling of his own fierce orgasm twisted inside of him.  Kevin grasped the back of Mariana’s hair and he gazed at her spellbinding face as her heavy eyes looked longingly at him.  She continued to watch Kevin’s face while he fucked her deep and hard, running her hands over his wet skin as he let go of any remaining control that he had.  Kevin gritted his teeth as his hips bucked wildly into her.  Mariana could tell when he orgasm hit him hard; his strong body nearly collapsed and pressed his head against her jawline, hollering expletives while riding the heights of his climax.   

After a moment, he lifted his head.  “Holy Fuck - woooo….dizzy….,” Kevin said as he began to move slowly and gingerly, kissing Mariana softly.  

On cue, the ladies from nearby could be heard saying “Oh…..that's right, Daddy…you can c'mon over here next…I’ll be so good to you….I'm good to go all day long….,”.

Mariana and Kevin shot each other a knowing look as Kevin scoffed at the comments, shaking his head.

After Kevin disposed of the latex sheath, he and Mariana laid together with their glistening bodies intertwined as the still cool morning breeze swept in.  

With their appetites raging after a quick shower and a quick sheet change, the pair resumed their morning picnic on Kevin’s bed.   

Mariana smiled as she kissed away the crumbs in his moustache.  “So….did you want to hear the verdict of the Rabbit versus Kevin Fiala?”  

Kevin thought for a moment and motioned for Mariana to hand over her coffee cup to him.  Setting them aside, he paused, and with no warning, he tickled Mariana on the backs of her thighs, rendering her defenceless.  She tried to get away but Kevin had her lightly pinned with his body between her legs and her arms above her head.  He took Mariana’s breath away with the way he gazed down at her and she kissed him adoringly.  

“Kevin - there’s no fucking contest,” Mariana said, breaking her hands free and moving them down to squeeze his ass cheeks. “You’ve already spoiled me beyond my wildest fantasies, so I guess it’s gonna have to be you and only you in every single way.”

Kevin’s deep and dark eyes softened as he kissed Mariana again.  “You could use it while I’m away," he paused and feigned pouting as he added, "I’m leaving for Australia next week, and some of these roadies during the season are pretty long.”

“I guess if I have to…I’ve already named it Kevin anyway,” Mariana grinned.  “I might just let the urges build for when you get back,” Mariana paused as she leaned over to Kevin seductively, rolled him on his back and placed open mouthed kisses down his body. “I’ll be waiting up to show you again, and again, and again, just how much I missed you.”

[sugahyeon]

/!\ Angst/Hc /!\

Guiding a child down the path to hell is always a heartbreak. Bad knew that. He led Trump, Tilín and Juanaflippa there, holding their little hands, too small for his, short fingers just gripping at his pinkie. He gave them a hug, listened to their fears, their last wishes, their forever unrealized dreams. He whispered sweet little nothings in their ear when they cried in his arms, promised he would look after their parents, their siblings, after everyone they had ever cared for.

And when the moment came, he let them walk towards Her, waving them goodbye until they were out of sight, before turning around and breaking down.

Because a child's death cannot be fair.

And he has no power over it.

Guiding a child down the path to hell is always a heartbreak. Bad knew that better than anyone.

When he had to guide Dapper halfway throught, he couldn't stop his hands from shaking. For the first time, he thought that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't cut out for this job.

And he begged, begged Her to let him take his son back, to not have to let him halfway through this path. He had been a good worker, the best one perhaps, didn't he deserve a chance? A prize for all of his hard work?

But death isn't fair.

And Bad left his son's soul on the flowery path.

His hands were still shaking a week later. His heartbeat had been too erratic for him to run for a few days. His eyes were red and heavy and oh so tired from crying too much.

But Dapper was still here, right? He had one more life after all, they would be fine, wouldn't they? Life was just the same!

And they continued everything they ever started to do, no matter the danger, no matter the eggs' death multiplying day after day, no matter the federation, no matter the code, no matter anything but them.

Bad thought he had escaped his fate, at least for a few years. He ran, as fast as he could, made them move house every now and then, built an entire web of waypoints. They would be fine, they had to be.

He did everything right.

They did everything right.

And he forgot.

Forgot the injustice.

Forgot the shake of his hands.

Forgot the dryness of his eyes.

Forgot the pain.

Forgot the horror.

One day, Bad didn't get up in the morning.

There were no need to anymore.

The house was cold, the machines in the room besides his weren't buzzing as they always used to, the bed next to his was still undone, keeping the shape of Dapper's last morning.

It didn't made sense to get out of bed.

So Bad didn't.

By instinct, he opened the book laying besides his bed. The blank pages smiled at him: there's no more tasks to do.

So when people started sending him messages, asking to talk, or to visit their new house, or to babysit their egg, or to come help in a dungeon or any now meaningless requests, Bad closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Why go outside?

Why talk?

Why look through his window?

Why make his bed?

Why eat?

Why drink?

Why shower?

Why breath?

Why wake up?

Meanwhile, the outside world is in panic.

No one is here to babysit Tallulah when she doesn't wake up in time for Philza.

No one re-fills Chayanne's ingredient stash when he runs out.

No one plays with Ramón when he gets up without his dad.

No one talks Forever out of his panic phases.

No one keeps Baghera up to date with the server's happening.

No one push Foolish off his builds.

No one steals Maximus' chair.

No one tells Mariana he's pretty in his new clothes.

No one sees Dapper's new machines.

There's no new machines.

Outside, the world starts to move again.

There's potato crates on his porch and Venus' sibling is hanging out in his garden.

There's two paintings hanging on the wall besides his waystone.

There's a statue of Dapper in the middle of the farm.

There's some new armour, foods, books filled with love, lore and tears, blue furniture, a new scarf,

And an egg, stopping by every day after his dad is gone, just to look through the window of his best friend.

But Bad doesn't get out of bed so he doesn't know.

He can't bring himself to see Dapper's machines rusting because he doesn't know how to care for them, to see the farm his son planted, to see the animals they searched for for so long.

The eggs look like him, Leo in their long legs, Tallulah in her pointy chin, Chayanne in the way he adjusts his bangs, Pomme in her handwriting, Ramón in his smile.

Dapper's ghost is everywhere he lays his eyes upon.

Guiding a child down the path to hell is always a heartbreak.

Dapper didn't cry when Bad came to finish the travel.

He didn't shake, he didn't run, he hadn't ask for anything.

Maybe that was worse, to see the flick of fatality dancing in your children's eyes. To wonder where you had failed. To see your reflection in their pupils. To not be able to stand the sight of your mere silhouette in their soon-to-be-dull orbits.

She gave them some time to say goodbye.

Death isn't fair but death isn't inherentely evil.

It just exists.

They talked for a little bit, about the future, about their best memories, about the art gallery and the struggle to complete it, about what they would have for dinner tonight. For a few minutes, it didn't matter that Dapper wouldn't go home at the end of the day. That Bad would go to bed and no get out before a long time. That the world was now cold and dark.

In this instant, only them mattered.

And then time was up.

An entire lifetime worth of love had to fit in a few minutes.

Billions of years wouldn't be enough.

Bad would kill dozens of men for one more second.

He ignored the water in his eyes and his trembling chin, just to cup his son's face one last time. He was beautiful, with long and dark hair, his top hat and his big eyes. His hands were small, his knees scratched and he had one tooth missing.

Dapper was a kid. Just a little kid. It wasn't fair. But Bad has no power over death.

So he just let go of his son and guide him gently back onto the path, nodding when his child look at him with doubts.

Dapper looked at Her, glanced at him again, before bursting in tears. He's scared. He wants to go home. He wants his dad, always, forever, not this unknown scary giant lady. But he doesn't say anything, his hands busy gripping at his shirt.

"-It's ok Dapper, you'll be safe. She's really nice, you know? And you'll see Bobby there! It's gonna be tons of fun, alright?"

The small boy nodded, tears still streaming down his face, before getting out of his father's embrace. He didn't look back this time. He wouldn't have been able to get away.

Bad watched his son walk along the path, now on his own. He barely allowed himself to blink, in hope to keep his image imprinted under his eyelids.

He waved goodbye until the horizon swallowed the frail body, until shadows were the only things left for him to wave at.

Until small hands carried one last message.

"I love you dad!"

"I love you, son."

[sirensea14]

HAHAHAHAHA MY AUUUUUUUUU

WHO'S YOUR ROMEO?

(dont mind the blurry letters above them, theyre descriptions of what they wear so i can visualize them--)

My Royalty au is originally called Julieta au (bcoz this is inspired of "Juliet" song by lipxlip which is the op song heroine run the show) and i switched it to 'medieval au' but doesn't suit it since Bendy's clothes doesn't match the era (and i have no plan on changing it cuz im too lazy WHAHAHAHA), so i changed it to Royalty Au, plus it involved kingdoms, knights, monsters, demons, angels, kings, queens, princes and princesses, magic etc. It was supposed to be a love triangle of us...

But then i added more characters

Here they are. And yes--MUGMAN HAS HAIR (ignore the arrows)

So here are their descriptions:

Cuphead the Ace - prince, prodigy knight of Calix Animi, foster father: king of Dish, King Kettle (or elder kettle behind the doors). He and mugs were found by Kettle when their house was raided by goblins, evil fae and elves bcoz of their potential magic powers. Kettle was a knight and king at the same time, he rescued them. Their parents are dead (not sure if it will be cannikin and demitasse from inky mystery) and so is the Queen, thats why Kettle vowed to protect people from monsters and is very serious abt it. He is the heir to the throne, his smaller twin brother is Mugman. Like King Kettle, he is also brutal towards monsters, he is 24 yrs old. He is infatuated to a woman who is queen of the oceans

Mugman the Beast Tamer - (beast tamer title is inspired by Cannikin) younger twin brother of The Ace, very close to king kettle, he has heart of gold, he has a girlfriend who lives by the sea, 24 yrs old

The Legendary Chalice - or Ms. Chalice is the general (or any rank called, she's a higher up) of the Calix Animi Knights. She was referred to as "Legendary" due to her skills and experience being so vast. She is 26 yrs old

Siren of the Sea - and that's me! (lol, cringe, ok lets do this in 3rd person pov) she is the isolated queen of the sea who rules every bit of seas and oceans. Seas sounds cooler that ocean right? And smaller too, so every kings and queens have underestimated her power. And also her looks, she prefers minimal jewelries and accessories, another reason for people to belittle her. Tho dont mess with her as she can get a little brutal when she gets angry. She likes the pacific ocean and atlantic ocean a lot. Specifically the Mariana trench, its full of monsters and leviathans down there. She had a stoned heart and always looked tired but she met 2 men who eventually softened her, tho she is torn between the Knight and the Demon, 25 yrs old physically, she was sitting on the throne lately, no one knew what her real age is

Cala Maria the Mergon (mermaid+ gorgon lol) - she is isolated as she is known to have gorgon blood. She was saved by a brave knight named Mugman so she gave him a metal ring with a chain holding a fish hook, she's happy seeing mugman wearing it. They had mutual feelings for each other. She knows Siren and is slightly afraid of her, tho she tries her best to befriend her. 26 yrs old

Alice Angel - sent from above, the princess of the Heavens and a healer. People always says that even tho she has horns. She has bright white wings which made her look more angelic aside from her beauty and kindness. She is vibrant yet calm and isnt shaken by Siren's cold attitude, instead, she always talks to her. Over time, siren seemed to respond to her. And thats when they began being friends. 25 yrs old, She is currently inlove with a wolf. And despite all her feminine traits, she won't hesitate to defend those in need when attacked, or help her friends who are troubled. She's a feisty Angel after all.

Boris the Wolf - a handyman who can do everything ; hunter, chef, play the clarinet, scavenger, messanger--anything u can think is something he can do. He is also a quick learner, thats why. He is close friends to a certain Demon and a lover to an Angel, 28 yrs old, he is calm and wise

(okay lemme explain this real quick--I ship Alice angel and boris, not based on Twisted alice and buddy boris, but rather on Tom Boris and Allison Angel. Theyre married in batim/batdr right? And theyre portrayed as Boris and Alice clones so i dont see why not--)

Bendy the Devil Darlin' or Bendy the Ink Demon - known as the Prince of Hell and next to the Throne, he has a playful yet dangerous attitude towards people, which made them fear him. They always obeyed his orders, and when something goes wrong well u might not like it. The only person who seemed to defy him was the Queen of the Seas, she perked his interest and somehow evolved into something demons cannot feel, love. He is 26 physically, but 257 chronologically, his race--Demons--has an ongoing cold war with the dishes

Holly the Sorceress - a character from inky mystery (i added her bcoz i love her so much), she is known as an archeologist, who continues to learn and discover the unknown. She loves playing with runes and runs a shop that sells potions, food and weapons that will help knights and adventurers alike. She's basically like a merchant famously known to play with dangerous runes. Enthusiastic, ambitious and curious, she is 23 yrs old (i aged her up a bit) and has a pearl necklace given to her by a mermaid friend, Cala Maria, when she helped her walk on land. She has her interest on Siren, a mysterious siren who acts cold. She visited her once to buy something, but she was busy playing with runes so she didn't get much hold of it, also she blabbers about how amazing runes and magic are despite her being a human. Whenever night strikes, she rides a broom and flies. She turns to a witch named 'Mayhem'. People say they were the same but some were defending Holly. Holly don't know about this either, so life continues. Little did she know that Mayhem is her Alter ego, she also has a magic cog from a mysterious machinery she has obtained during one of her digs (note: she only digs sites ALONE so this is her own discovery), tho it is very small.

(the Cog from inky mystery is inspired by the Gear in Batim/batdr, however in this au the ink machine does not exist--or might have been but crumbled to dust, anyways it does not serve something in the au)

Now the setting or place of it all? I dunno aesthetics but i like to imagine it as... Just ur usual generic medieval castle stuff, kingdoms. Also there are many kingdoms here, mainly:

Angels : hovering the sky

Demons: below(hell)

Dish : on land, apparently their land is huge and vast, but is surrounded by water

Sea monsters/leviathans: under the sea and oceans of course, full of corals

Normal humans (but they have access to magic) witch, wizards, animal toons etc : land, but separated from the Dish kingdom

For me, its hard to create kingdoms, but maybe i can get a sketch outta my head? That is if im in the mood

Some people of their races move or migrate to other kingdoms, for example, Holly moved to the Dish Kingdom.

I imagine this au to take place mainly on Dish Kingdom but i dunnoooo maybe it will be changed? Not sure

These are my thoughts abt it so far...

I may make some heavy art abt this (i mean, the FINISHED art and not a sketch one) tho im not sureeee since its hard to draw when ur using only a phone, and im drawing digitally using my thumb, but well i guess im gonna adjust myself, thank u for reading all this nonsense and make it up to the end. Ta-ta!

[maniacalgenius]

heyyyyy!!!

so it's been a while. since saturday before last i think -_- anyways quick recap!!

last saturday was the day after my exam and none of the new material was published so i just chilled and hung out w my best friend watching my favorite show and we also moved some stuff from my old apt back to my house. also she explained to me her system for eating skittles 😂

last sunday, i went to church in the morning and then spent the afternoon running errands with another friend who is going to be one of my roommates this fall. we moved some of her stuff to my mom’s house to store and she bought me a snowball because i hunted down a package for her when she was out of town the other day 😋 she is my (unofficial) adopted big sister and i love her <3 then i picked up groceries and made dinner - found a new recipe that i like! (those are few and far between bc i have so many food issues lol)

my memory is currently blanking on what i did last monday-wednesday except go to class and spend time w big sister/future roomie. i tried to get a lot of studying done bc one of my "littles" in a student org came to town to do something on campus friday and she stayed at my house thursday-sunday. we watched a lot of Harry Potter (one through almost the end of four!) and went dancing which was… not the best time i’ve ever had dancing but it was still fun 😂 and then she left after church yesterday. then i did some more note taking and hung out with big sister again, studying and doing errands and taking her stuff to my house.

today i slept in, went to class, went to office hours and got problem set 3 done, (problem sets 3 and 4 are on exam 2) and then had Bible study w my mentor who i know through the same student org. then future roomie and i moved the rest of her stuff to my house (she leaves tomorrow) and got ice cream and i'm now making quizlets at her apt while listening to harry potter and the order of the phoenix.

basically for this exam here are the things i’ve got done:

✅ made quizlet 6

✅ written out objectives for part 7 and part 8

✅ problem set 3

✅ made quizlet 7

✅ started a knitting project for my friend (baby blanket for her friend)

so… not great 😂 but it will be fine bc i’ve found lots of new songs to vibe to as i make quizlets!!

however! my best friend’s birthday is approaching and one of my presents for her is that i am painting a little collage of inside jokes we have and stuff that represents our friendship. i’m almost done w the first item, which is the character “oh” voiced by jim parsons from the movie home, because the character has a line where he says “what is the meaning of your face?” and my friend and i quote that to each other all the time. so here is my little oh!!! very happy with how he came out. (yes i’m aware he looks terrifying without pupils, i’m going to add them i swear, it’s just that i had to do so many layers of white for it to actually show up and haven’t gone back to add the pupils yet hehe 😋) i'm going to take a fine tip black marker and write "what is the meaning of your face?" either next to him or across him.

pls don't sue me for copyright infringement, dreamworks <3

also i am verrrrry excited to be getting rid of two rather large balls of yarn making the baby blanket for my friend. they have been sitting in my knitting basket for literally two years (since we moved to this house) and i don't even remember why i had them in the first place. yay for purging myself of useless things without being wasteful!!

☙ song on loop: “haven’t had enough” by marianas trench 🫶🏻 (this was on repeat yesterday at home after church while i was writing out my objectives 7 and 8)

☙ current book: still rereading sorcerer’s stone on my phone when i’m eepy. but almost done!

i have allergy testing tomorrow morning before class :[ not looking forward to it. but i haven't been tested since i was little and i'm hoping to get my allergies under control to improve my quality of life. and i think this appointment has been in the works since... november??? so a long time coming. i'll be glad to get it over with!

hopefully the next update will be quicker than this one… and with lots more stuff done 🫶🏻

xx

[bunnakit]

Wip game: The Lyrebird King 👀❕

ask me about my wips 🌸

aaaaa Dav bless you for this!!

so The Lyrebird King is my own original novel i'm working on and you can read the chapters i have finished so far here

it features Caius who was one of my D&D characters for an old campaign that actually helped me realize i'm genderfluid, so he's very near and dear to my heart. last year while working on the novel i had a gorgeous cover commissioned from the amazing artist Cameron McCafferty (who i originally saw during a fan art segment of Critical Role and decided to reach out to)

the novel takes a lot of inspiration from Fire Emblem: Three Houses (particularly Yuri of the Ashen Wolves,) Skyrim (Riften's Thieves Guild,) Dragon Age 2, and obviously Dungeons and Dragons. i've crafted my own little world with it's own Gods and religion (based around the Major Arcana in tarot.)

there's also a playlist for it here that helps me get in the mood to write them and sets a lot of the tone. (we have it all and dear wormwood are the perfect songs for the overall story, battle cry is aries' song, and dancing after death is caius'.)

the story features Caius and Aries, two societal outcases with secrets that run deeper than the Mariana trench. they begin a friends with benefits relationship while transforming a set of ancient ruins into a safe haven for those "othered" by society. Caius works to bring down the corrupt members of the upper echelon, spurred on by unknown motivations but with an obvious grudge bared. Aries is hopelessly loyal to Caius, wishing he could find a way to bridge the gap between friends with benefits into something more.

i don't have anything for chapter 4 just yet buuuutttt (and i've never done this before) i'll put some of my future notes below the read more (CONTAINS SOME HUGE ASS SPOILERS)

Caius' mother killed by the king's advisor

After finding her dead Caius stumbles home to Aries covered in blood ("is that all yours?! Caius why aren't you saying anything, what happened?") and for the first time he falls completely apart, wailing his grief and clinging to Aries for comfort

Aries holds him close "I've got you, I have you" and simply lets him cry and scream and process, but Caius changes after that, is cold and distant and terrifying in his determination. Aries swears he'll do anything to keep Caius from feeling this way ever again

Every time Caius spends a night or has a very intimate moment with Aries he taps over his chest, over his heart, 3 times before he leaves or goes to sleep

When Caius confesses he loves Aries, Aries says he knows and when Caius asks how he could possibly know that Aries says "you tell me every time you tap over my heart. I don't think you realized you were doing it, but you do it each time, carefully and thoughtfully, and that's how I know"

[schoolbusgraveyard]

¿Cómo crees que actuarían los padres si conocieran a Jasmine (si fuera redimida) y supieran que gracias a ella sus hijos estaban encerrados en ese mundo fantasma?

(Siempre imagino escenarios graciosos xd, ninguno es trágico, pero siempre es Los padres de Ash en mi imaginación quienes tendrán esa mirada de "corre y no mires atrás" cuando vean a Jasmine y ella temiendo por su vida terminan con una sonrisa incómoda y viendo la posibilidad de huir para no ser asesinada por dos ex. soldados, aunque no le harían daño)

Honestly, I think about them seeing Jasmine and one of the kids being like "Uhm. That's the Sorrel Weed House lady? Hey?" fairly often so I actually have a few ideas for how that might go!!

Mike & Emma (Ashlyn's parents): I think they would look at her pretty threateningly, too. If it were the case that she defected from the Paper Cranes and actively tried to help the kids, then I think that they would still be really tense about it. I don't think they would trust her at all. I think she would try to explain her position, what she was trying to do, and try to say that she never intended for all of the kids to interact with the rift. And then awkwardly laugh and be like "well, your kid's kind of a weird one with it anyway, pretty strong connection there. Sorry?" They might run her off, they might not. I think it would depend on how much help she could offer and was willing to offer.

Daniel and Jessica (Aiden's parents): Tired. I think they would be exhausted already. Ask her why. Maybe Daniel might yell at her for it, threaten to sue (I get the strange feeling that this would not be a viable court case, though). I don't really have the best read on them, honestly.

Naomi and William (Ben's parents): I think they would be so, so confused and hurt. Why? Why Ben? He's such a good kid, he's made mistakes but he's trying to do better. She would have to explain that, well, he wasn't supposed to get pulled into the situation with Ashlyn. I can't really imagine the conversation of, "Sorry, your son was essentially collateral damage" would go over well. I imagine they would both be in tears.

Mariana (Tyler and Taylor's parents): I think she would also be in tears, but a mix of anger and heartbreak. Not only did her son have a stroke in the normal dimension from being killed in the phantom dimension, but he's still stuck there, and so is her daughter. I think she would be rightfully angry with Jasmine.

Mary and James (Logan's grandparents): Well. I can't imagine Mary would leave this conversation without throwing something at her or hitting her at least once, not with how she talks and acts (we constantly see her wishing Logan would act more like Aiden, be more rebellious and push back). If she didn't, then I would assume James managed to calm her down enough to talk about it rationally with Jasmine. I do think he would be hurt to meet her, too, though--they both love their grandson so much and want him to be safe and alright, but James does seem to be a little bit more soft in terms of personality to me than Mary. Mary seems very confrontational.

[thecoddaughter]

QSMP - I'd Hate Me Too by Susannah Joffe

again, I am here with a written concept in replacement for the animatics that live in my brain... i am cursed with not being an animator (but I am a writer, so deal with this chaos) Everything is below the line break <3

When we last spoke I was a dog with a broken leg

Flashes of Charlie, Wilbur, and Cellbit, each flash is a different expression

I couldn't run to you, so l'd bite 'til you'd shoot me dead

Juana pointing a gun at the screen, which glitches into Sunny holding her hand out

I am a coward but first I was a kid

Tallulah holding a wavering sword while being swarmed, which glitches to her holding a flower, still being swarmed

Lost you like a sore loser with my tail between my legs

Little kid Bagi looking scared, which glitches to adult Bagi looking furious

Mary please let me repent

Zooming into the church, through stained glass of Felps, to see Tina praying

Broke my own limb and blamed you for the limp

Richas and Pepito standing with the statue of Bobby looming behind them

And like a spoiled only child I thought l'd be forgiven

the camera spins around Sunny and Leo standing back to back

I lied through my canines and I pulled at your hair

the camera spins around Bad and Foolish standing back to back

I wanted you to hate me, so, you'd know l was still there

Tubbo (whos features are shifting slightly to look like Etoiles and Pac) standing above FitPac with flyers raining down on them

I wanted you to hate me

Flashes/Glitches of all the hybrid experiments faces (Jaiden, Bags, Phil, etc)

Told the world that you kicked me to the curb but l'll admit

Tallulah standing on the grounds of her old house, tears on her cheeks, wind in her hair

I said it just so you'd see how bad I hurt

Wilbur standing in the same spot, reading the notes in his mail, confusion on his face.

I whined and cried so all the neighbors heard

Wilbur and Tallulah's faces flashing back and force as they scream at Phil

And like a skinhead Christian, I screamed my cherry-picked words

Phil staring at piles of books and letters, crying after both are gone.

Mary, your name makes my guilt simmer like that summer's sunburn

Tina looks up and sees Bad's hand on her shoulder. Both their horns visible.

Broke my own limb and blamed you for the limp

The new eggs with the older eggs standing behind them kinda menacingly

And like a spoiled only child I thought l'd be forgiven

the camera spins around Jaiden and Roier, standing back to back

I lied through my canines and I pulled at your hair

Cucuchro staring forward, slowly tilting their head

I wanted you to hate me so you'd know I was still there

Mariana and Charlie scream fighting. Charlie glitching into code with CodeFlippa behind him. Mariana is crying, Pepito and Sunny behind him.

I wanted you to hate me

Em looking at all the pictures of Jaiden in people's homes

If I were you, l'd hate me too

Sunny sitting on the dock, staring at an unmoving Lenay

I'd hate me too if I were you

Bagi smashing a photo of her and Cellbit as kids

If I were you, l'd hate me too

Fit and Ramón watching Pac build when a cat crawls into Fit's lap

I'd hate me too if I were you

Leo and Foolish staring up at the statue of Vegetta

[heavenlyhoundoom]

Knd x AWISC au part 11.

(It is Saturday, September eighth, Monty and Benedict get to spend the day at Carter's house as well as Linda.)

Benedict in thought: (Today's the day Monty, Linda, and I go to Carter's house for the first time since we started high school three years ago(Americans usually start high school at the age of fourteen), I spend extra time brushing my wool, put on my cleanest clothes, and even put on a bit of cologne. I have to be presentable for everyone, especially Linda since I accidentally confessed my love for her yesterday.)

(Benedict goes down stairs and sees that Monty and their mother had already finished their breakfast.)

Mariana: Now I see why you came down here a little later than usual.

Benedict: Yeah, I took a little extra time to make sure I looked presentable, it has been three years.

Monty: Well I think it payed off, because you look great.

Benedict: Thanks, Monty.

Monty: You're welcome, Benedict.

(The three of them get in the car and drive to Carter's house out on the countryside.)

Mariana: Did you sleep well, my little lamb pup?

Benedict: I actually did, instead of having my usual nightmare where I accidentally run someone over, I had a dream where I saved the school from a giant shadowy figure while I was wearing a wolf costume.

Mariana: It's good to hear that you've had a good dream for once.

(The three of them arrive at Carter's house where Carter was running up to meet them.)

Carter:(excited) Hi, Monty. Hi Benedict.

Monty: Hey, Carter.

Benedict: It's good to see you, Carter.

Carter: It's good to see you too. Might I say, you look very nice today.

Benedict: Thank, you. I took a little extra time getting ready this morning.

(Linda pulls up in her parents' car.(her dad was sick and her mother was too busy tending to him to drive Linda to Carter's house.)

Linda: Hello, everybody.

Benedict: Hello, Linda....

(Benedict blushes after he saw that Linda was wearing a pink, sleeveless, turtleneck dress with a magenta bow belt.)

Benedict: You look so...beautiful...

Linda: Thank you...

(Linda blushes in response of what Benedict said.)

Linda: I wanted to look presentable for everyone.

Linda in thought: (Especially for you, Benedict.)

Carter: How about I reintroduce you guys to my family, it has been three years after all.

(Carter brings Monty, Linda, and Benedict into the house with Mariana not far behind.)

Annabelle(Carter's mom): (excited) Mariana!

Mariana:(excited) Annabelle!

(The two mothers hug, not having seen eachother in person for three years.)

Mariana: How have you been, the last time I saw you, you were two months pregnant with Dolly.

Annabelle: I'm doing great, I even gave birth to my seventh and final kid, Nola this February.

Mariana: So, you have seven kids now?

Annabelle: Yep, I have three sons and four daughters.

Mariana: You must have a lot of work on your hands, I don't think I could handle raising more than two kids.

Hank(Carter's dad): It can get a bit chaotic at times, but Annabelle and I always manage to be there for all seven of our kids.

(The three talk four a couple hours, they saw goodbye at around noon, Mariana then drove off after saying goodbye to her sons.)

The end of part 11

[nxttheendxfthestxry]

Solo Para: There Goes My Life (Fabian)

“We’re going to make this work,” A sixteen-year-old Fabian murmurs softly to the bundle in his arms.

There weren’t words to explain how absolutely screwed his situation was. But he looks down at the little baby in his arms-- Irene-- and he knows with absolute certainty he’s right, they’ll make it work.

He has to get her home. His family could help, and he’d figure it out there. He has to.

Mariana’s coming home, too. Misses the family, she says. He feels like it’s his fault, but he doesn’t say it.

                                                            --//--

He never allows himself to regret it. And he doesn’t. The first steps, that bright little smile, Irene is his entire world and he wouldn’t change it for anything. He somehow manages with school within the Encanto, balancing school and Irene. Balancing it well enough for him to be surprised but relieved when his acceptance letter from Illedale arrives.

Fabian doesn’t want to uproot Irene until he has a plan of some sort, though.

He works out a plan with Tio Antonio. He’s going to move to Addersfield, and Irene is going to stay with the family without him until her fifth birthday. He had about a year to stabilize his situation in town or move back home. Then, he either came back home for good, or he came for her birthday and took her back with him.

Now on the eve of Irene’s fifth birthday, Fabian smiles softly at the spirit in the door when Casita opens up for him as he approaches. Only a small backpack on his back for what he’d need for the next few days, and, judging by the madness awaiting when he walks through the door, Irene’s things were in fact mostly together already.

Thunderclap, his head turns and Fabian laughs, calling up. “Abuela! You’re not going all out without me, are you?!”

His grandmother peers over the railing and lights up. “Fabian, you’re home!”

Fabian smiles and laughs, going to answer when he hears a particularly favorite voice of his.

“Papá!”

He lights up, dropping his bag and taking off at a run for the little girl. “Irene, mi angel!”

Casita’s tiles raise with every step Irene takes, putting her at his height when they reach each other. Irene hugs onto his neck, and he hugs her back just as tightly, pulling her to him and spinning her around. She squeals and giggles, clinging to him.

As he comes to a stop, he presses his head against hers, smiling. “Oh, I’ve missed you.” He closes his eyes and relaxes into just holding her a moment.

He wouldn’t regret this. Not ever.

Irene’s hand slips into his, and he squeezes it reassuringly as they make their way towards baggage claim.

Auradon was a whole new world to her. A different life. “Papá, I’m scared.”

He hears it clear as day as if she were standing at his level beside him and saying it into his ear directly. He knows she more than likely barely whispered it.

“It’s okay, mi angel,” he answers softly, squeezing her hand. “Would I ever let anything happen to you?”

She looks up at him, squeezing her stuffed animal closer and shaking her head. Apparently, the jaguar had been made by Mirabel for Tio Antonio when he was Irene’s age. They’d both agreed it was in good hands going to Irene. Fabian was very much inclined to agree.

“We’re going to pick up your bags and we’ll be on our way to my house in Addersfield. You’ll like it. Even if it’s not as fancy and alive as Casita.” He chuckles softly. It’d be a good experience for her.

He’d balance school and Irene again. He could do it. For her, he could do anything. And he had.

[xmadeoflightningx]

Mariana chuckles softly handing over the wayward sock. "I can imagine. After a while, some things like matching socks don't seem that important. I doubt anyone even catches on." She smiles and reaches to shake her hand. "Nice to meet you both, I'm Mariana. I'd love to walk with you if you don't mind if we sweep by my house to pick up my little nugget, well fur nugget. I usually grab him for my cool down, he's a jack russell so his little legs can't generally take my runs."

Short walks in the morning helped Rowan gather herself. Without the movement she would feel groggy until noon. Poppy squinted at her stroller’s canopy, dark eyes searching for her every so often. Rowan was too focused looking between the baby and bushes ahead to notice the sock fall onto the sidewalk. She looked at the little piece of wrinkled pink cotton and shook her head. “Honestly, I stopped matching her socks last months because of this — thank you,” Rowan said. She stuck the sock into the stroller’s cupholder and held out her hand. “I’m Rowan, and this nugget is Poppy. You’re welcome to walk with us; I could use some adult company to wake me up.”

[youwontlikethisblog]

Nicolas Mora is Better Than You

Up to this point Armando has been getting heavily manipulated by Mario a lot. However I find it wonky this time around how many times Mario changes tactic.

One moment he brings out the emotional part of it all by joking that Armando looks heartbroken and distraught over their[Betty and Armando's] breakup which just annoys Armando. When he realizes that this isn't working he bring the whole "The company! Millions of dollars! Your family!" and when Armando rebuts this by saying he can't take it anymore, the guilt and that he doesn't want to hurt Betty Mario strikes for the ego.

"Turns out, Nicolas Mora is better than you." he says and Armando reacts furious. "Yeah that hurt didn't it? Well just imagine how much it'll hurt when Betty and Nicolas take away Eco Moda and your entire family finds out you handed it to them."

The conversations goes in circles and Armando argues that he can't take any more kisses, he begs that he can't take kissing her anymore.

Let's go back to a few scenes, in that exact day, when Mario and Armando were in production talking about the plan like they didn't have hundreds of witnesses hearing them talk about it. Mario pointed out that Armando hadn't been complaining at all over the kisses, at least not like before "I think you're starting to like this a little too much."

"No you see, it's like boxing. At first the first hits hurt but by round two you're already numbed to it so it doesn't hurt. The most important thing is to make it to round three."

"Yeah but you can still get knocked out before."

If Armando is saying that he is numbed to it, though we know that he's no longer focused on the physical aspect of Betty but rather what he feels when he kisses her(I mentioned this in the post La Arrogancia De La Niña), though he sometimes still struggles to accept her "ugliness" when he kisses her, why does he say "No more kisses!"?

These kisses are awakening something in him that he has been unaware of until now. They make him feel guilty for enjoying them because he feels like he is doing so in only a malicious way. They are kisses of deception and cruelty and here he is finding something in them that make him feel something deeply in him and he enjoyes it.

The begging for them to no longer happen is not really for the "ugliness" of Betty but the ugliness of what he's doing to get those kisses and how deeply they are affecting him in his life(when he kissed Marcela after the first sober kiss with Betty. I talk about in the post La Arrogancia De La Niña) and he no longer wants to feel what he feels. He is refusing to feel what he feels. He tells Mario that he had wanted to fix everything with Betty in the office for that reason but before Betty left he told her he wanted to drive her home so they could talk on their way there. Again, Armando continues to contradict himself when he talks to Mario about the situation.

Mario then repeats the same thing Armando told him except he compares it to a dentist.

He's numb to it by now. He pumps up Armando and he leaves.

Ever since Betty broke up with him he's been off. He has been somber, like he was the day that it was official that Terra Moda was moving forward with the seizure against Eco moda.

This following scene is honestly the whole reason why I even went back from the start to pick apart Armando's character because up to that point I wanted to bury him after I made him dig his own grave.

Armando calls Betty's house phone and her dad picks up.

Betty had been talking to Nicolas and lecturing him about the cell phone and was helping to set up the table for dinner when Don. Hermes tells her her boss is on the phone asking for her.

As they speak on the phone Don. Hermes tells Betty that if they are going to speak that he needs to come in, Nicolas then says "Yeah tell him to come in we'll invite him for something to eat."(he is so sweet) and Armando asks who she's with.

"My dad and Nicolas."

"Ah, What a shame, am I interrupting something?" he asks rather aggressive.

Hours before he heard Betty get upset with Nicolas because some other woman had answered his cell phone.

I think it's extremely important to note that Armando isn't aware at all that Betty isn't in love with Nicolas, that she isn't fawning over him, and that they are honestly just a really cute pair of friends who deeply care for one another. He wholeheartedly believes what Bertha told him regarding Betty's love life. So Nicolas isn't just a potential boyfriend but in his mind, Betty's soulmate and because of what Mariana said he also believes that they will end up together and even if he doesn't understand why that upsets him to the degree it does, he is sure that he doesn't want that to happen, not only for the sake of Eco Moda(his distrust in Nicolas(Post Nicolas Mora, Un Amigo and part 1-2 of Betty, My Betty!)) but for the sake of his heart. So his dislike of Nicolas is a very serious one that he has been harboring since the day he found out about him being a romantic partner to Betty(which has been like little over a week lol or am I missing some time stamps here?).

As Betty leaves her house to speak to him she seems nervous and anxious while trying to stay composed. She doesn't go into his car and instead by his door she squats down to speak to him but Armando orders for her to get in, not as her boss, but as her boyfriend and this is where we begin to see a very... como se dice, important red flag. This harboring of feelings against Nicolas and his refusal to understand his feelings towards Betty ultimately are what drives him mad and not his love for Betty. His love for Betty is what made him feel alive but the fact he harbored so much animosity and hatred against Nicolas, his distrust of Betty's faithfulness, and his refusal to understand his feelings towards her are what really made it all explode.

This is where we begin so if you want to take a break, take one. It's a long one.

Armando holds the picture of AA and takes a drink from his bff(whisky bottle). Betty steps out and walks down to his car and he watches her until she makes it to him.

"What can I help you with?"

"Why don't you get in the car?"

"See what happe-"

"Betty get in."

"Yes sir."

"Betty why are you avoiding me?" he does seem honest in asking this question and it sound heart felt.

"Sir I think what I said in the office still stands, we have nothing to talk about." She says looking at her house in turn Armando turns to her house as well. "Nothing has happened between us. It's best that we continue just like before."

"Betty but how can you say that to me like that, so cold?" He looks her down. "Do you not have a heart? How are you capable of telling me to just forget, that nothing happened between us?" He asks hurt while Betty continues to look at her house. "Are you listening to me?" He asks frustrated.

"Yes sir, I am listening to you."

"Well it doesn't look like it." He throws his hands in the air and drops them with a slap onto his lap and stares at her, hurt. "You're worried about your house, looking over there the whole time. What? Does it bother you that Nicolas can see us? Or what?" he crosses his arms over his chest.

"Nonono, Sir. It isn't that. It's just that my dad said if we were going to chat for us to go inside."

Armando asks her if she wants him to go in there so they can talk about their relationship in front of her father and Nicolas.

"No sir. It's best if we leave here."

"Are you sure it's because of your father." He looks down at her. "Or Nicolas." he says with his mouth tight.

"No because of my father. Nicolas knows I'm out here talking with you."

"What did you tell him?" he ask rather quick with a angry tone.

"Mhmm nothing." Betty shakes her head. "we were talking about other things when you got here." Betty looks behind to her house.

"And what? He's waiting for you?"

"Yes but that doesn't matter. Lets go."

Before he turns on his car he turns to the front, then turns back to stare at Betty and then back to turn on his car, whoever the expression remains the same; anger. At first he was solemn, he wanted to talk to her but as soon as he heard Nicolas was in her house(when he heard his voice through the phone) he was in a terrible mood. When Betty stepped out he order her to get in his car. When she got in he was willing to talk but as he saw Betty's nervousness he attributed this to her being nervous that Nicolas would catch them, therefore confirming that she had something going on with him so he's pissed.

Armando pulls onto the side of some street "And what Betty? Will it be that you feel more at peace here and can concentrate in the conversation, hmm?" she nods.

As they talk Armando sounds very rehearsed. Like he knows exactly what he saying and has thought it all through, which is a very different tone of voice he had in the office and the previous times.

Betty again tries to reason and tell him that what they're doing isn't correct.

"[..]I also feel like I'm in hell whenever I run into Ms. Marcela I feel like I'm burning," Armando stares at her intently, he has a slight crease between his brows and seems surprised to hear Betty confess that she feels guilty every time she sees Marcela, a woman who has treated her so poorly. "condemning myself when I see what I'm breaking up. When I see I'm betraying so many people. No, sir, I feel really bad."

"What's stronger? What you feel for me and what we've lived?" At the end of his question his expression changes to a hopeful one, to one that is sweet as his glisten and there's a slight upturn to the corners of his mouth.

"Of course what I feel for you." She says.

In his response you can hear that manipulation at work. You can hear how rehearsed and detached from emotion everything is.

When he leans in to kiss her at first, for a second he seems hesitant but soon he gives into the kiss. Take into account that he hasn't looked at the picture of AA since he was waiting for Betty outside of her house.

Now they kiss and they kiss for a good ol' while until Betty taps his shoulder repeatedly for a second or two and he pulls away. Armando tries to reason with her as to why they should continue their affair, he tries to explain that he can't break up with Marcela and why. His body language is all indicating his satisfaction with how things are turning out. He tries to play the concerned and pained expression because he can't break up with Marcela soon but when he begins to talk about the company's struggles you hear that sincerity and see it as well. He feels confident that he's go it all under control. However, Betty refuses once more to get back together. As Betty agrees now and tells him that it would be terrible if Marcela ever found out and they broke up because of it; he turns his face away from her and smirks.

"I understand sir, that's why it's best we end this." Now he turns more towards her and pulls from his seat as he stares at her with flared nostrils and wide eyes.

Armando gets frustrated and tells her "I'm not saying let's end things, Beatriz" He says between clenched teeth. "I'm saying we have to be careful. Let's understand things, yeah?"

Armando has had all day to marinate in the situation and think of how to get her back. He has definitely dealt with his guilty conscious which is what pushes him to not want to continue the relationship built on deception and lies and this scene shows us the nature of his manipulation and how good he's at it. If you aren't paying attention you truthfully think this man is just coming up with it on the spot but he shows his true colors sooner rather than later.

"It's better for us to end things before it gets worse."

"N-no Beatriz don't leave me."he pleads and in a millisecond his tone of voice changes and he repeats. "Betty don't leave me, please don't leave me" and he leans closer to her and kisses her and they start kissing again ;)

Now this is what really made me go back. He no longer is behaving cocky and being manipulative in just this short lived sentence he has a look of plea in his eyes, he places his fingers on Betty's lips and stares at her and then he resumes to seduction.

In a matter of seconds as he realizes that Betty is not convinced to get back together there's something inside of him that screams for her and the need to be close to her and again we are shown this and shown how good Armando is at avoiding his feelings in an instant. He begs for her to not leave him and we get two very different "Don't leave me" in an instant to be able to determine which was the honest plea and which was the manipulative/seductive plea.

This time however they're interrupted by Roman and Co. as they start to make fun of Betty and say very disrespectful things like she's the ugliest woman in the world, that she had to get somebody else from a different neighborhood to notice her ect.

Armando get's out of the car and listens to what they're saying(I do believe that he is a hypocrite because he listens to his best friend make the same jokes and he doesn't do anything except sit there and take it. I mean he does get mad at him but he never says anything about it. Maybe the reason why he got so angry here is left over anger from Calderon?) as the keep making these jokes. After one of them mentions that Nicolas was the one that was courting Betty and that he now had competition Armando walks around his car and removes his glasses(the true victims of this show tbh Both Betty and Armando's glasses are.)

"No seriously how did you get such a man? […] What are you seeing her devine?" and badabim badabom fists are thrown, kicks are thrown, mans is being held back by two other goofs while some short dude punches him, he frees himself, Betty is trying to get the mans some help and then Don Hermes shows up and fights them off like a true hero.

Betty stands behind them, closer to Armando while Don. Hermes shares words with Roman and Co.

When they run off Don Hermes asks what happened.

"The thing is they were being very disrespectful to Betty and I couldn't allow that so I got out of the car and a fight broke out"

"But what did they tell you?"

"Ay Dad, you know they always bother me for...being ugly." Both Armando and Betty share a loot.

I truthfully feel for Betty. I think anyone who has been bullied at one point or the other feels embarrassment for how they were treated9like it's our fault people are so cruel and superficial? Nah it's the fault for being so ugly on the inside) , especially when it happens in front of someone you like. Betty's self-esteem is really non-existent and for her to have something that she's used to happening to her happen in front of someone she thinks so highly of is mortifying and you can see that in the way she looks at him, embarrassed. It comes to no surprised that Betty decided to change her look after this night.

"I couldn't allow that. Betty must be respected, above anything, well I'll make her be respected." He says with authority. "You know?"

Don Hermes then tells Armando how embarrassing it is and that for that exact reason he doesn't allow Betty to leave the house so that she can avoid problems like those. It paints a very scary picture because it's true.

Don Hermes loves Betty a lot. She is his jewel but because of his distrust in people he keeps his daughter on a tight leash. As Betty mentioned at the start of the show that he[Don Hermes] wanted a good girl so he took her out of regular school and put her in a convent, that he wanted a smart and studious daughter and he got that. That it was time she started to live her life for herself, that she wanted to experience life. Even when Betty has lied and said she's stayed out for work related reasons he still gets upset and demands for her to be home at all times.

I'm not saying Don Hermes is a bad father, the contrary he's an amazing father however there must be a balance and ironically even though he has done so much to take care of his precious daughter Betty has still suffered tremendously because of love.

"[...] that's why I told you to make him go in so you could avoid these kinds of problems, Betty."

"No I was just passing by, it isn't Betty's fault Don Hermes."

"She knows this very well because I have prohibited her to be out here in the streets(she ain't for the skreets) it isn't the first time that we have problems with those guys. Nicolas has had to fight them before because of it-"

"Oh really?" He shifts on his feet and moves his hands from his hips to be clasped in front of him. "Nicolas?" he asks agitated.

"Yes and I've had to fight them myself too."

As they walk towards Armando's car Don. Hermes mentions that he wouldn't want his[A] girlfriend to find out about the fight and Armando tells Betty to continue to the car. He now starts to avoid the topic of Marcela being his GF in front of Betty since he now knows how much it hurts her.

When he drops them off at their house Betty stays for a moment longer in his car so they can talk.

"You shouldn't have gotten in a fight like that for me, it wasn't worth it."

"Betty, please, it was worth it," He sounds genuine. "I couldn't take it...for them to say those barbarities in front of you, for them to make fun of you. I don't know what happened to me I -I have never felt like that. I was so furious." Armando speaks of this like it was an outer body experience and he was trying to understand it himself as he told it. "I couldn't take it. They had to respect you." he now sounds angry again as he says that between clenched teeth.

Again as he says "me tenían que respetarla" is a possessive term. Armando implies that by disrespecting Betty in turn they were disrespecting him i.e. "what they do to you they do to me.".

Then his jealousy pokes through as he turns to her and asks:

"Hey eh, seems like Nicolas already defended you once before..."

"Um yes." He looks away from her and down(to his keys or hands). "Once before."

"So like, I've got competition... because that's what they said that before Nicolas was courting you and now it's me." His tone here is curious but timid as he asks her these questions. Unlike before when he first asked Betty about her having a boyfriend(Betty, My Betty! post) he sounded very angry as he asked her these questions, though curious, his tone later changed to calm and pretending to just be curious however we later saw him enter Calderon's office very happy and his tone reminds me of that. He isn't angry here but he is curious and timid to ask her this because he doesn't want to show jealousy or ask her the direct question that he wants: "Are you with Nicolas? Are you two together and in love?" because he knows he's asked this before and Betty always tells him there's nothing happening.

"Don't listen to them, Sir. They say that just to mortify, to playa round."

"Of course." Armando nods, unconvinced. He turns to Betty's house and then back to her. "What? Is he still in there? " he points with his head while staring at Betty who looks at her house.

"I imagine so but it won't be long before he leaves. He always leaves early." Armando hasn't taken his eyes off of her. It shows that he's really paying attention to any tail sign that would indicate that she's lying to him.

"Ah that's good, very good." He looks away from her. "Well I'll leave then." he turns to look at her again as if hoping for something else.

"Okay, are you sure you're fine, Sir?" He turns away from her and looks thoughtful for a second, debating whether to tell her or not. He finally decides to.

"No. No, I'm not fine." He says being vulnerable. "How am I going to be fine, Beatriz? I came here to talk with you because I've been really worried, I wanted us to reconcile, Beatriz. For us to get back together, for you to not leave me. I wanted us to fix everything and look at what happened...I'm leaving empty handed and with a face full of bruises." he chuckles in disbelief at the end.

"Sir you're not leaving empty handed." The music now changes to a "DUN" sound. "because I don't want to leave you either. We just have to be more careful. We can't go out as much. We have to restrain ourselves." Betty nods.

Now Armando's act of bravery and macho man has moved Betty. It has made her want him more. Why is that?

It's not hard to understand where Betty is coming from. In her respective work field she is confident in what she can and cannot do but when it comes to her person and her appearance she lacks any confidence. While she was stubborn to stick to her morals and her ethics at the beginning and not continuing the affair, now after his display of macho man she is weak.

She no longer cares about how badly it hurts her or how guilty she feels for the betrayal she's inflicting on so many people because her knight in shinning armor has defended her and hasn't made her feel guilty for it. Betty yet he has expressed how he couldn't take it, that he felt like if by disrespecting her they were disrespecting him. He made it so personal that Betty throws all caution to the window and decided to continue the affair.

"Betty... I-I feel so happy, so marvelous with everything you're saying. Betty we-we're going to have some time later on so we can be together." Armando is right back to being a liar, a stinkin' liar.

Betty lets out a sigh and nods. "Yes Sir because I get nightmares just thinking about Ms. Marcela finding out." Armando looks away with wide eyes and lets out a sigh of his own. "Um" Betty clears her throat. "Sir, Does Nicolas bother you a lot?" Armando searches her eyes and Betty continues. "It's 'cause I've noticed that whenever I or somebody mentions him you get indisposed."

He looks thoughtful for a second before responding "Look Beatriz, if you're telling me that there's nothing boing on between you two I-I don't feel bad." Notice how he doesn't make eye contact with her which is something he often does when he feels guilty for lying to her.

"I swear to you, Sir."

"Yeah?" She nods while he stares at her, again trying to find a tail sign that she's lying to him. "Betty, Betty, all of this makes me so happy." He reaches to caress her face with the back of his fingers. "your love..." his tone again changes here.

He tells her that from now on she'll tell everyone that Nicola's is her boyfriend that way Marcela isn't suspicious of them or anyone for that fact. Betty agrees to it but she herself doesn't feel uncomfortable with that.

"Well, I'd kiss you here but your dad could see us and well..." He looks at her relieved but trying to play it off.

Betty nods and looks behind him and then at him and leans to give him a quick peck on the corner of the lips. As she turns to exit his car he touches his lips and looks contentment.

As she walks to the side of his car to wave good-bye he watches her and shows a genuine smile and waves good-bye as well.

You know how I keep mentioning the drop off when Betty leaves and waves bye and how Armando behaves. Little by little we see the fake smile turns to a genuine one. We see him no longer look ready to bolt but him staying for a second longer, him staring and watching Betty with a look of peace and happiness.

What do we get from all of this?

While Armando did have time to rehearse what he wanted to say and most of his responses to Betty sound very rehearsed we get this moments where he is genuine and honest with her and you can clearly tell which of those moments are and which aren't.

Did he want the relationship to end? Yes. The guilt of hurting Betty is a lot and the interesting to note here is that while in the past he didn't care if he used his models for a quick affair with Betty he feels differently and the only logical reason for that is that he cares for her, like actually does, but that doesn't mean he's in love because he's not.

Betty here exposes her true weakness and that's her desire to be loved so even when she feels uncomfortable with certain things like Armando telling her to lie that Nicolas is her boyfriend, she agrees. Again this shows the power dynamic in the relationship and that Betty hasn't learned how to voice her feelings.

Betty's life is no longer changing just in her profession but a lot in her emotional and persona life and it isn't just because Armando is dating her but because these small things aren't normal in a healthy relationship. In this relationship with Armando she has learned to cater to all of his wants and wishes and at this point of the relationship Armando isn't focused so much on what Betty wants.

At this point it's' all very egoistical of him. He feels that Betty belongs to him and due to his ego he goes after her. He feels that Betty is only meant to be special toward him so he gets pissed at "knowing" that she could be that way with somebody else. He feels offended that Betty would think of him as a superficial man. He has made it all about him and though his guilt pushes him to want to not deceive her his ego is bigger than him.

In some redeeming way we know that Armando does in fact have feelings for her and that each and every time they spend time together those feelings just continue to grow and we steady but surely see that change.

However Betty needs a change asap and let her wishes and desires be known and respected just as she does for him and that's why it was so important for her to take him off that pedestal she had him in otherwise that relationship at some point would have ended even if she never found that letter.

[EDIT:]

Armando's rivalry with Nicolas is highlighted in these scenes. Here someone has done what he has just done. Here someone spends time in her house with her family while he doesn't. Nicolas is part of Betty's personal life and he experiences it while he doesn't. He only gets glimpse of it and instead of voicing any of this he just tells Betty that he believes her and drops the subject but Mario's words ring truth here.

Nicolas is better than him. Nicolas has defended Betty before he was in the picture. Nicolas has made himself part of Betty's personal life as a friend. Nicolas makes his[Armando's] money increase each day and the worth of Terra Moda as well. Nicolas manages to be inside Betty's house with her father, who doesn't trust anyone with his daughter, while he can't do any of that.

The harboring and animosity just continues to grow even when Betty says she isn't in a relationship with Nicolas, Armando hates him because he feels that in every aspect of the word Nicolas is a competition to him.

[EDIT 2:

When Betty said that he couldn't be interested in her because she didn't fit his ideal type of conquest he seemed offended, even when he told Mario that Betty had said that he seemed offended.

To Armando based on what Mariana, Bertha, and Mario have told him, Nicolas is Betty's soulmate and in the middle of riches they will end up together and there is a mutual attraction between Nicolas and Betty.

So if Nicolas finds Betty attractive as is(the night of the new collection launch when Nicolas went to pick her up with her dad he sent an urgent memo that he was Betty's boyfriend and was there to pick her up. Both Mario and Armando were witnesses to the door man delivering that memo to Betty and when she left Mario said that a man that desperate to pick up a woman as ugly as Betty only had one reason to sound that urgent; that the attraction was mutual) and he shows to be a lot smarter than him, a ladies man, and still takes notice of Betty, why wouldn't he feel like Nicolas is a competition?

This with the reasons mentioned above are a good cause for him to feel hurt over Mario telling him that Nicolas is better than him. They are fuel enough for him to continue with this sinister plan, despite the guilt.

[couldawouldashoulda50]

What line of work does Mariana end up in next? Are her and Kevin end game? Can we get a glimpse into their future 👀

I apologize – this is going to be a long-winded answer, as my mind often wandered thinking about the future Mariana and Kevin.

At the time this fic took place, Kevin would soon be leaving for Australia for the Global Series between LA and Arizona.  I feel that despite the obvious heat between these two, they utilize the time that Kevin’s away to just breathe, process, and get their bearings with what has quickly transpired between them. 

They are intensely committed to getting to know one another.  Especially with Kevin’s travel, they can pace themselves a little more.  They learn to miss each other, and their connection only deepens each time Kevin returns from his road trips. 

In terms of Mariana, she takes some time to evaluate what is really “in her” to do.  She’s independently wealthy obviously with the buy out so she relishes this moment in time to learn about Kevin’s career.  Mariana is wide-eyed and fascinated with learning about hockey.  After her first live game as a hockey neophyte, watching Kevin play has her completely hooked on the game.   She’s like a sponge, and Kevin adoringly answers every hockey questions she throws his way.

I felt that the building and the restoration gig is just in Mariana’s bones.  She’s so skilled and talented in various trades so I thought it would be a neat idea if she paid that knowledge forward.  She could run workshops for kids to spark an interest in working with their hands/in the trades.  She could lend her abilities to some community-run charities for affordable housing.  Even a consultant on a committee for historical buildings. 

I can see down the road where Kevin and Mariana move in with one another.  They decide on a fixer-upper which Mariana oversees the whole process – but Kevin wants to be part of the sweat equity too.  The trouble is, Mariana looking at Kevin all sweaty and shirtless, wearing old cargo shorts and grubby work boots is a total turn on for her; oftentimes, she has to either leave the room or banish him to go to do something else while she gets a grip.     Thank you so much for dropping by! ❤️

[corvus--rex]

Another one that's been put down for a nap. I actually have the four planned chapters outlined, it just takes a particular head space to write. It's a 90's au, which means that there is period-typical homophobia involved. Our boys are musicians still in the town they grew up in. Note: they both smoke (I'm sorry), and there's a brief mention of underage sex (both are high school seniors).

@jilli-bean, this is more of the au my paragraph came from. I remembered you asked if I would tag you when I wrote more of it. Here it is so far!

~*~*~*~

~~*~~ present day – June, 1997 ~~*~~

“So, like, I guess he’s gay or whatever. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just, like, y’know?”

The voice belonged to a girl in a sundress talking to her two friends while walking by. Keith stayed where he was leaning against the side of the building and flicked the ash off the end of his cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke in a sigh. Saying “there’s nothing wrong with that” was just the same as saying “no offense” and then being offensive. He’d lost patience for that phrase a long time ago. But even as done with it as he was, it was still better than getting kicked out of his last foster home three weeks before his eighteenth birthday after being outed by the family’s biological son.

The boys were the same age, and Keith’s foster brother Wyatt was upset at the time for Keith having better grades and, more importantly, attracting the attention of the girl Wyatt had a crush on. The ensuing fight over the girl led to Keith confessing his sexuality, and petty jealousy led to Wyatt telling his parents. His social worker was a godsend, and after a conversation with his best friend’s parents, Keith found himself moving in with them that night. The guest room became his permanently after that. He’d moved out into his own apartment with his best friend Lance McClain-Sandoval when he started college, but the McClain-Sandovals were one of the closest things to a real family he’d ever known. That first night felt like coming home for a second time, and the midnight conversation they had while lying on Lance’s bedroom floor would be forever burned into memory.

~~*~~ October, 1991 ~~*~~

They were supposed to be in bed already. The next day was a school day and both boys knew that Mariana would have their asses if she knew they were still up, but they didn’t care. Lance knew how bad Keith’s foster family was and had nearly crushed his mother in a hug when she got off the phone with Keith’s social worker. He had been the one to pick Keith up from his social worker’s office. And he’d been the one to drive to the Jacksons’ house with him to retrieve everything Keith had left behind. They found it all boxed up on the front step with a note reminding him that they just couldn’t have “someone like him” in their home and around their children. Keith, and Lance, took great pleasure in watching that note go up in flames in the fire pit in Lance’s backyard.

Keith had been fostered in the same large town of Arus for the last three years, and he and Lance had been friends since the first day Keith transferred to Arus High School only two months after the beginning of their freshman year. They had come out to each other in the summer after sophomore year, both relieved that they wouldn’t lose their best friend. They were even more relieved when Lance’s parents Mariana and Diego told the boys that they would love them both no matter what, and that it was no one’s business who they loved. Now it was only one month into their senior year and life was changing again.

“Tomorrow’s gonna suck,” Keith sighed.

“Yeah, it probably will. Wyatt’s an asshole and he’ll tell everyone. Probably starting with what’s-her-tits and blowing any chance he has with her,” Lance agreed.

Keith couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up. “Michelle? Yeah, little fucker never had a chance with her to begin with. She’s been banging Chris Proctor all summer. Won’t shut the fuck up about it, even when she’s hitting on me.”

That made Lance roll to face his best friend. “Wait, seriously? I thought she hated him. Something about basketball players not being as good as football players.”

Keith rolled onto his side. “Yeah, that’s what I’d heard, but I guess she doesn’t hate his dick.”

Lance snorted, but when he saw how the strings of fairy lights lit Keith’s face and the sparkle of laughter in his deep violet eyes, his breath caught. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew it was a bad idea. It had been only hours since Keith was kicked out of the Jackson house, and this wasn’t some summer sleepover spent fantasizing about the future. The crush he’d been nursing for his best friend burst into full bloom, and he couldn’t stop himself.

Noticing the change, Keith’s brows furrowed. “Lance? What? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he said, shaking his head, “You’re beautiful, y’know that? I’ve been wanting to tell you that for so long.”

Keith’s expression softened. Lance confessing to feeling something more than just being best friends made a warmth settle into his bones. He’d thought his own crush would go unrequited forever and had begun to adjust into the idea that they would remain best friends and nothing more. Lance had just given him hope, and he wasn’t going to let the moment pass.

“Yeah? So are you. I thought I wouldn’t ever get to say it. But if we’re confessing…”

Impulse overrode higher thought, and Lance found himself inches away Keith’s face before he realized what happened. “Can I?” he asked in a soft whisper.

“Whenever you want,” Keith answered just as quietly.

Their first kiss was soft, gentle. It carried the relief of finally knowing how the other felt, and the promise of exploring those feelings. It was hesitant, nervous. It felt as though they were both worried that it was nothing more than a dream and that they’d wake up sore from falling asleep on Lance’s bedroom floor. But the very physical sensation of touch – Lance’s fingers threaded through soft black hair, the light touch of his thumb across high cheekbones, Keith’s hand sliding up soft t-shirt fabric, gripping the lean, compact muscle – it reminded them that they were very much awake, and that their kiss was very much real. When they separated, Lance pulled them back down, Keith nuzzling into his neck.

“I never thought kissing my best friend was something I’d ever do,” Lance said, basking in the afterglow of their kiss and the feeling of Keith in his arms.

“Mm, maybe not, but what about a boyfriend?” Keith asked, delicate fingertips tracing patterns into the t-shirt he had been holding so desperately only moments before.

“Yeah, I could get used to that.”

~~*~~ present day – June, 1997 ~~*~~

Keith was so lost in the memory of his first kiss with Lance he didn’t notice he was no longer alone until there was an arm on his shoulder and the cigarette was gone from his hand. He startled, then realized it was Lance. Keith was well aware how much Lance loved his leather jacket rocker look. It went well with the core of his music taste – a little punk, a little grunge, a splash of metal, a healthy dose of rock. He didn’t look it, but Lance’s tastes ran pretty much the same; it was one of the things they became friends over. But as much as Lance loved Keith’s daily wardrobe, Keith loved Lance’s more casual outfits, almost always topped off with the denim jacket whose back panel he had painted with a dragon and phoenix before gifting it to his boyfriend for his 18th birthday.

“Fucking hell, don’t do that!” he hissed. “Also, excuse you, that was mine.”

Lance just laughed through the smoke. “What, you worried about germs? We do a lot more than just swap spit, babe.”

Keith heaved a sigh, shaking his head at his boyfriend. “Yeah. I know that, and you know that, but I don’t think all of Arus needs to know that.”

“I’m pretty sure they’ve figured it out by now. I’m not exactly subtle, and almost the whole town knows about you after senior year of high school.”

“Fuck I still hate that asswipe. Ok, I’m done talking about him. You, me, Mario Kart, and the six-pack in the fridge.”

Lance crushed the cigarette butt under his sneaker. “Ooh, Mario Kart and pizza night. I still need to beat your ass at Rainbow Road.”

“Not gonna happen,” Keith threw over his shoulder as he walked away. He took off running when Lance gave chase, barely beating him to the truck.

As much as Keith’s true passions lay in art and music, he was also a skilled mechanic thanks to his foster father Carlos. He’d been with the Villalobos family for two years before a family emergency meant that they had to leave California for their parents’ native Mexico. If there was any other family that had felt like home, it was theirs. Carlos and Pilar treated him like one of their own children, and Keith got along with Daniela and Alejandro (Alex to his friends) like real siblings. They were back in California now, and he’d been able to reconnect with them and fill them in on what had happened with the Jacksons and how it had ended well despite them. After hearing about what had happened after they left, Carlos and Pilar had immediately called Lance’s parents, and now the two couples were good friends, the Villalobos slipping seamlessly back into Keith's life.

Keith had worked his way through college, and kept him working currently, thanks to the skills Carlos taught him. It was also those skills that got him his second most prized possession, the first being his his guitars. Keith had been working when the truck’s first and only owner brought it in on the back of a tow truck. He had bought it new, but the transmission on the ’94 Toyota Pickup blew out, and it wasn’t worth fixing. Keith said that it was a total waste of an otherwise solid pickup, and the owner told him that he could keep it if he promised to fully repair it. Six months of working on it in his spare time, and Keith had a rebuilt transmission and a fully working Garnet Red Pearl, extended cab Toyota Pickup.

~*~*~*~

Links to the rest of the series:

1 | 2 | 3* | 4 | 5* | 6* | 7 | 8 | 9* | 10 | 11 | 12* | 13 | 14 | 15* | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19*

[tommodirection]

After All This Time

Liam Payne x Reader

Word Count: 7.8k (I don’t know what happened guys)

Warnings: swearing, mentions of divorce, bullying, angst (but only with one t), not proofread

Masterlist

When your mum had told you that she and your little sister were moving up to Wolverhampton, you had thought she was joking.

But when your father came into the room and confirmed that they were separating, and that you were meant to go with her, you knew she really wasn’t. You had protested profoundly at first, not wanting to move away from your mates, but your mother was firm in her choice, and so, off you went to Wolverhampton, a town you didn’t even know existed.

The day you were moving in, you sat on the curb, pouting and refusing to help. It was childish, you would admit, but you were only twelve at the time. Your little sister, Mariana, looked up to you, and followed in your footsteps, so you were joined by her a few minutes after they began moving boxes inside.

You had both sat, you were glaring at the road in front of you, and Mariana was copying, although she kept looking at you out of the corner of her eye, seeing if you had stopped yet.

“Y/N! Mariana! It’s time to start unpacking!” Your mother shouted from the door. You stayed put, as did Mariana, watching the large truck pull out of the driveway.

You weren’t sure if you were more upset about your parents separating, or moving to a whole new town, one across the country from your father. Mariana was nine at the time, not much younger than you. She was a sweetheart, she looked almost identical to your mother, same eyes and hair, even the same nose.

“If you don’t come inside in the next thrity seconds, you won’t get any cookies!” Your mother shouted again.

They were probably just store bought ones, there was no way she had already unpacked all of her supplies and made something, so you stayed. Mariana did too, for the first ten seconds, and then she broke, running into the house to get cookies. You shook your head, you knew she’d break.

“Y/N, love, are you coming in?” Your mother asked, and you didn’t respond, you kept looking ahead of you. You heard her let out an exhausted sigh, and seconds later, you heard the door close.

You tucked your head into your knees and sat, pushing back tears even though you were alone. You weren’t sure how long you were sitting out there, could’ve been a few minutes, could’ve been a few hours, but what you do remember about that day, was meeting him.

He had approached you, a little plate in his hands. He had tapped you on your shoulder, and you had quickly stood, brushing yourself off.

“Can I help you?” You asked, your voice wavering a bit.

“Hi,” he gave you a shy smile, “My family lives next door, and my mum told me to bring your family this,” he gestured to the plate.

“Oh uhm, yeah,” you tucked your hair behind your ear, “You can just bring that up to my mum, she’ll take care of it,” you pointed to the door, and sat back down.

You tucked your head back into your knees, expecting the boy to go drop the plate off and go back to his house, but instead, he sat next to you, setting the plate aside.You looked up, giving him a small smile and turning back towards the road.

“Are you alright?” He asked, and you let out a small laugh, which probably threw him off.

“I don’t know, I guess,” you shrugged, and he squinted at you.

“I don’t think someone who was okay would be sitting on the curb when the sun’s about to set,” he chided and you flushed. His accent was delightful, something you’d never heard before, different from where you were from, a good different.

“I guess you’re right,” you admitted, and turned to the boy, sticking your hand out. “Y/N,” you introduced.

He shook your hand, “Liam, Liam Payne,” he smiled and you bit back a giggle. “So, Y/N, what are you doing out here?” He asked, leaning forward on his knees.

You took a second to answer. What were you doing out here? “I don’t know, protesting, I guess,” you shrugged again, suddenly embarrassed of your behavior.

“Protesting what?” He probed further, you didn’t blame him.

“I don’t want to be here. I want to be back home, where we were fine, and where my dad was,” you picked at your jeans, feeling tears swelling again.

You had known their marriage wasn’t a perfect one. You were twelve, you weren’t dumb, but you had tried to ignore it. You had tried to block the endless fights and countless hours of lost sleep out of your mind.

He was cheating on her, well, that’s what you had picked up from their fights. It’s not like you were trying to eavesdrop, their voices echoed through the whole house. You usually sacrificed the one pair of sound-proof headphones to your sister, trying to protect her.

“Well, there must be some sort of reason you’re here, it can’t be for nothing,” he reasoned and you shook your head.

“I don’t think there's a reason.”

“I can be a reason,” he offered. You quickly looked at him and saw his face turn pink, “That’s, that’s not what I meant! I meant I can try to make moving here nice, try to make it better!” He explained and you laughed.

“Yeah, I guess that would be nice,” you agreed, and he raised a playful eyebrow.

“You guess, or you know?” He teased and you gave him a light shove. He chuckled and sighed. You heard a light voice call for him, assumingly his mother. “I’ve got to go, I wasn’t meant to be out this late,” he stood, offering his hand to help you up.

You took it, and he pulled you off the ground. You grabbed the plate, a plate full of sweets. “Thank you, Liam,” you whispered, and he nodded.

“No problem, Y/N, now I’ve got to get going, or she’ll have my head, you’re going to St Peter’s, right? Year eight?” You nodded in confirmation. “Great! I’ll see you tomorrow then! Goodnight!” He yelled as he ran away, you looked at the small plate of food in your hands. You looked up at the new house, finally deciding to go inside.

You stepped inside, the house already smelling of your mother’s candles, a few were scattered around the house. Laughter echoed through the hallway, coming from the kitchen. You made your way in, your sister’s face lighting up when she saw you.

“Y/N!” She yelled, running to wrap you in a hug. Your mother turned, smiling at you, and then her eyes settled on the plate, concerning quickly overcoming her face.

“Where’d you get that?” She inquired, and you felt a smile tug at your lips.

“The neighbor boy, Liam, he says it’s from his mum,” you handed her the plate, and she instantly relaxed.

“Well isn’t that just sweet!” She exclaimed, setting the plate on the counter beside her. “We’ll have to go thank them later, but now,” she narrowed her eyes at you, “little Ana was nice enough to bring your boxes to your room, along with hers. You’ll be sharing a room for now. Would you mind going to go unpack, my dear? Or at least get your school stuff set up?” She asked, cocking her head to the side.

You nodded, not wanting to argue further. Mariana led you down the hallway, all the way to the room you’d be sharing for a few more years.

She had already unpacked, her Madonna poster on the wall above the bed she’d claimed as hers. Your boxes were all stacked neatly, your comforter already on the bed, and the closet already half full of Mariana’s clothes.

You sighed, beginning to unpack all of the boxes. The first box was just full of clothes and hangers, most of the boxes having similar content. You hung all of them up on your side of the closet, putting your folded pants on a shelf towards the bottom. You set aside the new school uniform, putting it on the nightstand next to your bed.The rest of the boxes were filled with decorations, a Mariah Carey poster, going above your bed like your sister’s. You had a few pictures, setting the one of your family at the zoo, years ago, on your nightstand.

About two hours later, you had fully unpacked, not that there was much. You had a dinner break in the middle, but then went back to work.

Now, you had pajamas on, and teeth already brushed. You went to bed that night, well, you tried. You honestly tried, but sleep just didn’t want to welcome you.You laid awake, staring at the ceiling, drumming your fingers on your blanket. You heard Mariana shuffling a bit, but brushed it off, she always moved in her sleep.

The next morning was a rush, your mother was hurrying to have both of you dressed and ready, quite a struggle when you had two kids and you had never done this type of thing alone before.

You had tried to be as helpful as possible, getting dressed and ready quickly, you even tried to help make breakfast, but when you had burnt the toast, you had been instructed to help Mariana get dressed and ready.

You walked into the shared room and saw Mariana, her polo and skirt on, but nothing else, not her vest, socks, or headband.

“Alright, Mariana, you’re nine, you should be able to get dressed on your own,” you scolded lightly, and pulled her vest and socks out, grabbing the headband from her nightstand. “What’s up?” You asked when you saw her frowning and staring at the ground.

“What if they don’t like me?” She asked, gently swaying her feet. You had felt like this was going to happen.

“Listen, Ana, they’re going to love you, you know how I know?” You asked and she shook her head. “I know because I love you, you’re pretty, funny, smart, kind, there’s no reason they won’t like you, alright? But if someone doesn’t like you, don’t let it bother you, but let me know, okay?” You asked again, and she nodded, giggling lightly.

You handed her the vest and she slipped it on over her head, adjusting it. You put in her socks, grabbed the black Mary Janes from the end of her bed. You slipped them on quickly, and she stood, running to get out the door.

“Ana! Aren’t you forgetting something?” You held up the headband and she giggled, quickly running over to you. You placed it on her, making sure all of her hair was brushed and out of her face. “Perfect!” You complimented, “Now let’s go!” You grabbed her hand and ran to the kitchen, inhaling your breakfast.

Your mother was slipping on a pair of heels, dressed for her interviews today. She grabbed her purse and ushered both of you out the door and into the car.

She dropped Mariana off at the primary school, giving her a kiss and a small hug before setting her off to a teacher for help. Once she took off again, she asked you the routine questions, about if you were nervous, if you knew your schedule, if you knew anyone yet, the only question you were able to truthfully answer.

You couldn’t get out of the car soon enough. You ran inside, gripping your backpack straps as you looked for Liam in the crowd.

You were quickly giving up, not seeing a single brunette in the crowd, a little odd.

Someone tapped on your shoulder, and you spun around, smiling when you saw Liam standing there. You quickly wrapped your arms around his neck, giving him a long hug. You pulled away, Liam was blushing profoundly and a wide grin was spread across his face.

“Hey,” you greeted and he laughed.

“Quite a greeting,” he teased and you playfully rolled your eyes.

He was smiling at you, until he looked over your shoulder, his smile dropping. You were about to turn around, but he grabbed your arm, “Hey! How about we go this way?” He jerked his head in that direction and began leading you away, but someone stepped in front of him before you got far. “Shit,” you heard him mumble under his breath.

The boy in front of you wasn’t very big, definitely shorter than Liam, bright blonde hair and his sleeves on his uniform were pulled up, almost in an attempt to look cool. He really looked like an angry three year old at church.

“Hey Liam,” he smirked and Liam took a deep breath.

“Can we just head to class?” You whispered in his ear and he shook his head.

“Y/N, you should go to class, I’ll just meet you there,” he said, desperation clear in his voice.

“Liam, I’m not leaving,” you said, detecting a bit of fear in his voice.

“Yeah, why don’t you just leave me and little Liam alone for a bit?” The boy sneered, hooking an arm around Liam.

The student body continued doing their business, almost as if they were used to whatever was going on.

“Little?” You spat, looking the boy up and down.

“Yeah, he’s little Liam, loves to sing,” he added, squeezing Liam’s cheeks, Liam was obviously trying to pull away, but another boy was standing behind him, this one a bit taller than Liam. He held him in place.

You had never actually witnessed bullying, you were just taught about it and how to avoid it and how to address it if needed. This was nothing like the movies about bullying you’d been forced to watch. Those bullies were dedicated, relentless. These bullies just seemed lazy.

“Little Liam who loves to sing? What kind of half-assed name is that?” You asked, and the short blonde was clearly thrown off guard. “He’s certainly not little, he’s a whole foot taller than you, so I don’t think you really get to speak,” you scoffed and the blonde glared at you.

“I call him what I want! I-“ you interrupted him.

“Why is that? Why do you call him what you want? Did he say you could call him that?” You prompted and you saw the boy becoming more furious with each second.

“I-“ he began. “Just shut up!” He hissed and you laughed. This dude was like, three feet tall, why the hell did he think he could tell you what to do?

“No, I won’t shut up! Back to the half-assed insult, why is it bad he likes to sing? If he likes to sing, then get off his back. You listen to people on the radio, they all started where he is at one point. Don’t make fun of someone for a hobby,” you watched as he became embarrassed, the tips of his ears turning red.

He stayed silent for a few moments, trying to come up with a witty comeback. “Why do you even care if I mess with him, eh? Is your little boyfriend or something?”

You didn’t see why that should bother you, “I care because you’re being a dick,” he reeled at that word, “he’s my mate, and just cause you hate yourself, doesn’t give you a right to belittle him.”

It was such a second-grade argument, and you were winning. You had learned a trick from your mother, she had been a lawyer before the divorce. You always question their points, you try to point out faults in their stance, and nine times out of ten, it worked.

“Now, if you’ll stop acting like an eight year old, I’d like to go to class with my friend,” you finished, a polite, fake, smile on your face. He scoffed and walked away, the other kid following behind him closely.

Liam walked next to you, his head low, he seemed embarrassed that that had just happened.

“Why did you tell me to leave?” You asked and he turned his head, trying to avoid your eyes.

He mumbled something, but you didn’t hear it, so he repeated himself. “I didn’t want you to see that, I didn’t want you to think any less of me,” he continued looking down at his feet.

“Liam, I would never think any less of you, unless you became famous or something and started acting like that blonde little Rumplestilskin,” you joked and you saw him smile out of the corner of your eye. “It takes a lot of bravery and strength to tolerate that, I admire that. I don’t think any less of you. In fact, I respect you a lot more now,” you reassured him.

“Thank you Y/N,” he said, his voice light.

“Anytime, Liam.”

Two years later, Liam went on the X-Factor for the first time, and you were there with him, well, for his audition.

You had stood outside, waiting with his family as he went in. You knew Liam was an amazing singer, he was funny, charming, attractive, they were going to love him. You were proven right when he came out of the audition room, a wide smile on his face.

“Three yeses,” he said, and all of you erupted into cheers.

You were the first to hug him, wrapping your arms around him and bringing him close. He buried his head in your neck, laughing as you squealed.

But just as you watched him succeed, you had to watch him come crashing down.

He had went home from the judge’s house, absolutely crushed. He stayed at your house for a week, mostly staying in bed and crying while he was curled into you.

Time had been a bitch. Less than a year later, your mother lost her job.

You knew she was struggling with money, which is why you had gotten a job, trying to help with the bills as much as possible, but two minimum wage jobs couldn’t pay the bills. You had to move again. This time to Paris, where your mother had found a job.

You had tried to convince her to let you stay, to let you buy your own place, you even offered to stay with Liam, but there you were, right back at the start, packing your stuff again. Liam had helped you, he cried when he found out. You’d been fighting off his bullies for the past two and a half years, he was afraid of what was going to happen.

That wasn’t the only thing. He was going to miss you, you were his best friend after all. His parents had allowed him to stay at your house for the week before you left. He spent every night in your bed, despite your sister’s teasing. You knew you wouldn’t completely lose contact, you had each other’s numbers, and followed each other on Twitter, something you hoped would keep you close.

You’d never admit it to anyone, not even Mariana, but you had fallen in love with Liam. Maybe it wasn’t love, you were only fourteen, you didn’t know what love was, maybe.

Moving day was the worst. Worse than the last one. Your image of your dad had been ruined, but you still loved Liam, he had become one of the most important people in your life, arguably more important than Mariana. The truck was already packed, as was the car. Your sister and mum were sitting in the car, waiting for you to finish. You had been holding onto each other for the past thirty minutes. His head buried in your shoulder as you rocked back and forth.

“I don’t want you to go,” he mumbled for the millionth time.

“I don’t want me to either,” you felt your voice crack.

“I wish we had more time,” he whispered, and you broke.

“Me too, Liam, me too,” you cried and pulled away, knowing if you didn’t leave now, you never would. You pressed your forehead against his head. “I’ll miss you, so much Liam,” you said and he blinked back tears.

“You have no idea how much I’ll miss you,” he let out a shaky sigh.

“I want you to promise me one thing,” you said, waiting for him to look you in the eyes, “I want you to keep singing. I don’t care what those dickwads at our school say. You have talent, Liam, and you can’t give up on that. Okay? You’re too amazing for that,” you ordered and he nodded rapidly.

“I promise,” he placed his hands on your cheeks. Your heart sped up, the possibility of him kissing you making your body buzz. Instead, he placed a small kiss on your forehead.

“Bye, Liam,” you said, pulling away from him, turning to walk towards the car, more tears brewing in your eyes.

“Y/N-“ he started, and when you turned to look at him, tears strolling down your face, he pursed his lips, “Take care.”

You smiled at him, nodding before climbing into the car. Your mother began driving away, you looked out the window as you watched your world fade away with each passing second.

For a few weeks, you had kept in contact, talking every night, but as activities started consuming both of you, your already short conversations became even shorter. Soon, it just turned into birthday texts. That’s how it was for a year after you moved, but it started to change, slowly, but change nonetheless.

You had been sitting in your bedroom, one you now shared with your mum and sister, working on an essay. In the middle of the third paragraph, your mother had excitedly called you, her voice an octave higher than it usually was. You had rushed into the living room, scared something had happened, but instead, you saw your best friend on screen, standing in front of the X-Factor judges once again. You sat down next to your mother, watching the TV in awe. A sense of pride had washed up in you, but you pushed it down, there was no way he was doing this for you. The judges began asking him the routine questions, who he was, yada yada.

“Why did you come back?” Simon asked, leaning forward on the table.

Liam smiled at the ground before looking back up, “I made a promise to someone,” and you saw one of the judge’s put a hand on her heart.

You melted. He really was doing this for you. That cheeky son of a bitch. You had raced to your phone, immediately opening his contact and sending him a text, not expecting a response anytime soon.

You heard his voice echo through the living room, a voice you loved dearly. You and your mother both began screaming in excitement when he got four yeses, although you had expected that. You glanced down at your text, maybe it was too random, maybe too arrogant.

Y/N: You kept your promise :)

Deciding that it was good enough, you set your phone aside. You settled back into the couch next to your mother. You watched a few more performers, quite a few of them were extremely talented, but none of them even compared to Liam, at least, from your perspective.

You went to bed that night, your essay completely forgotten. You were about to drift off, when your phone went off, your ringtone echoing through the small room.

“Ay! Could you at least turn the ringer off?” Mariana complained and you heard your mother grunt in agreement.

“Sorry,” you whispered, quickly turning the ringer off before looking at it. Liam had responded.

Liam: Of course, I always keep them

You smiled down at his message, tucking your lip into your mouth.

Y/N: I’m really proud of you, L

The response was almost instant.

Liam: Thank you, that really means a lot, I wish you were here with me though, it was cold without you :(

You felt a pout beginning to tug on your smile.

Y/N: I do too

That was the last text message you’d received from him for a couple more years.

Soon after that, he went on to become a part One Direction. You had sent him a few congratulatory texts, never receiving a response, but you didn’t care.

He was caught up in the rush, he was busy, you understood that. You watched him and the band work their way through the competition, getting a bit frustrated when they lost.

You still felt an overwhelming sense of pride fill you, that was your childhood best mate, smashing it.

About a year later, you were driving, on your way to your university dorm, and had the music on, blaring through your speakers.

You almost stopped the car when you heard Liam’s voice. You thought it was maybe a coincidence, but no one’s voice sounded like he did.

You felt a smile spread across your face, once you had finally reached your dorm, you pulled over, scrambling for your phone, sending another text to him.

Y/N: I just heard your song on the radio! Almost crashed the car! I’m so proud of you, bubs! I can’t wait until the album comes out!

You didn’t receive a response then either.

For the next few years, you had followed One Direction’s story, almost always being the first one to memorize a song, or buy an album. Yet, you hadn’t bought a concert ticket, you couldn’t afford it.

Liam’s success overwhelmed you, and you were just watching from the outside, so you couldn’t even imagine what it was like for them.

You had begun to worry he had forgotten about you, but you were proved wrong when the Story of My Life music video was released.

Mariana, now seventeen, had rushed to the kitchen, phone held tightly in her hand, she seemed out of breath.

“What’s up, Ana?” You asked, your eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“You’re not gonna believe this!” She exclaimed and shoved the phone in your face. The Story of My Life music video.

“Why are you showing me this?” You asked, watching as the song began playing out, Liam’s voice still giving you chills.

“Just watch!” She ordered and you turned your attention back to the screen.

The video was recreating a picture from each of the boys’ past. Liam’s part came up, and you smiled, looking at his family, his sisters grown now. He stepped away, picking up a picture frame, and you nearly dropped Mariana’s phone.

It was a photo of you.

Well, you and Liam. It was your first concert together, your parents made you take a picture together before you all went on the road. He’d been wearing the band’s shirt, and some black jeans. You had some skinny jeans and a nice blouse on, your face flushed and hair pulled back.

What you’d give to go back.

“Thank you for showing me, Ana,” you handed her the phone and left the room, not waiting to hear what she had to say.

You rushed to your phone once again, wanting to text him.You opened his contact, scrolling through the messages you had sent that hadn’t received responses. You bit your lip, turning your phone off and throwing it back on your bed.

If he wanted to know what you thought, he would’ve texted first. You were done chasing someone who didn’t care, at least, that’s what you thought.

You didn’t know that Liam had been on high-alert for several weeks following the release of that video, he was waiting for you.

A few months later, Liam finally decided to text you. You had been baking with Mariana, trying to make a cake for your mother’s birthday. Mariana didn’t know what she was doing. She had already dropped something fours times, smiling sheepishly after she did so.

Your phone had been playing music, mostly One Direction, and you both heard it vibrate. You had quickly wiped off your hands, giving Mariana a playful glare.

“Don’t break anything when I turn my back!” She rolled her eyes and got back to baking, much to your terror. You shook your head and picked up your phone, opening your messages.

It was Liam.

You almost didn’t read it. After all this time, now he wanted to talk? But you knew if you didn’t read it, you’d regret it. You hesitantly clicked on his contact, sucking in a short breath before reading his message.

Liam: Hey Y/N! It’s me! But you probably already know that! Anyways, I’m sorry I haven’t responded to you, I really want to explain, but I can’t do that over the phone, so, I have two backstage passes for you and Ana for our show in Paris, if you want them! Also, normal tickets are included, front row!

You set your phone down, running your hands over your face. Of course you wanted to go, and you knew Mariana would want to go too, but you were scared. You were scared that Liam had turned into the blonde bully from all those years ago, maybe he just wanted to shove it in your face. The Liam you knew wouldn’t do that, but you weren’t sure what to expect. You knew that fame changed people, and you were scared to find out how it had changed Liam.

Mariana sensed the tension, and leaned over your shoulder. She was eighteen now, a full adult. “What’s wrong?”

“Liam wants to talk, he got us backstage passes,” you grumbled and her face lit up.

“Really! That’s awesome! Why do you sound so upset?” She began talking her finger against the counter, a nervous habit of hers you had picked up on.

“Just a little scared s’all,” you mumbled, pinching the bridge of your nose.

She seemed to pick on it immediately, “Listen, I know you probably are scared about his attitude and stuff, but if he becomes a problem, not that I think he will, we’ll just leave! Simple!” She clapped, and you nodded.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“I’m always right, now, tell him we’ll be there, and help me finish these cupcakes!”

That’s how you ended up here, front stage of a One Direction concert a week later, Mariana clutching your arm with one hand, holding a box of cupcakes in another.She had insisted on bringing them, claiming she was an expert now after having made them once. She looked gorgeous, as always. She was wearing simple jeans, but ones that fit her perfectly. The shirt had taken over an hour to pick, but she settled on a yellow crop top, with a little bee on it and the word kind written under it. She had a black and yellow bandana pushing back her hair.

You knew she’d dress up for Harry, she wouldn’t stop talking about him. She was bouncing up and down, trying her best not to shake the cupcakes. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, some lyrics, some nonsense. Meanwhile, you were watching Liam as he danced around the stage, waving at some fans as he sang. A sense of pride washed over you, he had really made it this far.

You had missed him, no doubt in your mind. None of the friends you had made since moving to Paris even amounted to him. You had tried going on dates, but nothing clicked for you, not like it did with Liam. It was stupid, you knew it was. You were young, you shouldn’t have compared everything to him, but you did anyway, no matter how hard you tried to avoid the thought of him.

He really was everywhere. Your house, decorated with pictures of the two of you, he was on the radio, he was on billboards, he was on magazines in the store, he was on your social media, everywhere. You couldn’t avoid him. Eventually, you just gave up on trying to stop your intrusive thoughts of him.

Now here you were, a place you had always hoped you’d be, but you’d never imagined that it’d be this big.

They were in between songs at the moment, Harry and Liam entertaining the crowd while the others set up. Liam was collecting stuff that fans were throwing on stage, modeling some of them, catwalk included. He walked towards you and Mariana, a tiara on his head. He waved and Mariana held up her box. His face lit up and he crouched at the edge of the stage.

He reached out for the box, nearly falling over. Mariana did her best to pass the box to him, leaning over the rail a bit to reach him.“Got it!” He yelled in triumph, opening the box to see the cupcakes, only a few of them remained intact. He laughed at them and turned back to both of you, “Thank you Y/N and Ana, I’m sure we’ll enjoy these,” he gestured to the cupcakes, and the crowd erupted in confusion, the boys all looked at Liam at once, more confused as the audience.

“What?” He asked, freezing when he saw everyone looking at them.

“Oh Payno,” Louis mumbled and cringed, looking away quickly.

Liam continued looking between the boys, still confused as to why they were staring at him. He locked eyes with Harry and they stared at each other for a few seconds.

Harry raised his eyebrows at him and sighed into the microphone, more of a laugh. “How the hell do you know their names?” He asked, laughing.

You saw Liam flush as he realized what he had done, “Ah,” he said, the audience roaring behind you, mostly questions. He cleared his throat and gave a nervous laugh, “Well, you see, uhm, Y/N’s my childhood best mate, I guess you could call it, and little Mariana here is her sister, well,” he laughed, looking quickly at Ana, “She isn’t that little anymore!” He threw his hands up, and laughter echoed through the stadium.

“Wait a minute mate, is this the Y/N who…” Louis trailed off, spinning his finger.

“Yes, yes that is this Y/N,” Liam rushed and you watched Louis begin to smirk.

“Nice to meet you,” he smiled and you gave a polite smile back.

Why did he smirk? What had Liam told him?

The boys continued their show shortly after. Liam and Louis behaved themselves, well, as much as they usually did. But then I Should’ve Kissed You came on.

Every time Liam began singing, or the chorus came around, Louis would begin elbowing Liam, a shit-eating grin on his face as he nodded in your direction each time.

What the hell was happening?

Harry had kept walking back towards you guys for the rest of the concert, each time he would wink at Mariana. He was towards the edge of the stage during Kiss You, one of Mariana’s favorites from Take Me Home.

“You can get, get anything that you want,” Harry winked at Mariana again, grabbing his crotch as he shuffled past.

You looked over to see her reaction, she was biting her fucking lip. You slapped her shoulder lightly and she looked over at you, giving you an innocent pout.

“What was that for,” she yelled over the crowd.

“Are you really thinking about sleeping with him?” You said into her ear.

She grabbed your hand, “Let’s go to the bathroom quick!” You were about to protest, but she was already leading you into the aisle. She found the bathroom only about a minute after you left your seats, impressive for never having been in that arena. She ushered you into the unisex bathroom and quickly locked the door, turning to you with a satisfied smile.

“Now, no one will hear us,” she grinned and put the toilet seat lid down, taking a seat. “What were you saying earlier?”

“I asked if you were really thinking about sleeping with Harry,” you crossed your arms over your chest, deciding to lean against the sink.

“Okay, listen, if Harry fucking Styles wants me to ride his dick, I will not hesitate to do so,” she answered, quite confidently.

You scrunched your nose in disgust, “Ana, you’re only-“ she cut you off.

“I’m eighteen, Y/N, and I love you and everything, but this is my decision to make. I’m an adult now, whether you think so or not. If I want to sleep with Harry, I’m going to do it,” she said, no longer tapping on her legs, she wasn’t nervous.

“I know you’re right, I’m sorry,” you apologized, “I still just see you as my little sister who needed help making breakfast in the morning,” you admitted shyly.

She stood and opened her arms. You walked over and she wrapped you in a hug, “Don’t worry, I still need help making breakfast in the morning,” she mumbled in your ear, causing both of you to laugh.

“Let’s head back,” you said, grabbing her hand as she led you back to your seats.

The rest of the concert was fun, the songs combined with the boys’ chaotic energy really gave it it’s own special appeal, one you wouldn’t trade anything for. Next came the part you were the most nervous for. Time to talk to Liam.

The boys disappeared beneath the stage, girls beginning to pour out of the arena, several shoving you on the way out, you couldn’t help but feel as though it was intentional.

You and Mariana pulled your passes out of your bags, you didn’t want them stolen, so they were kept at the bottom below your jackets. You fidgeted with the pass, hesitantly slipping it over your head. Mariana was already admiring her pass, a small smile on her face. She was much more confident than she had been seven years ago, the last time Liam had seen her.

You were much more shy than the last time Liam had seen you, you became quieter and less demanding than you had been before.

Mariana practically skipped through the hallway leading you to security. She waited for you at the conveyor belt, setting her bag down in a bin. She turned to look back at you, a wide grin across her face. You came up behind her, setting your bag in a different bin, pushing it in when hers came out on the other side.

She stepped through the metal detector, collecting her things when she was cleared. You stepped through when the guard waved you in. You held your breath, an irrational anxiety creeping up your spine, this happened every time you went through security. After clearing the security guards, you were led backstage to the lounge area.

“The boys will be right out, they’re just changing,” the guard told you, walking away before he even finished his sentence.

“Let’s sit!” Mariana waved and sat on a leather couch against the wall. You sat down next to her and rubbed your hands on your thighs.

“Okay, listen,” Mariana turned her attention to you, completely serious. “If tonight doesn’t go well, just look at the bright side, one of us will get laid,” she nodded, and you chuckled. She sensed your nerves and put her hand on your knee. “But seriously, if tonight doesn’t go well, I’m willing to ditch with you.”

“You’d leave Harry fucking Styles for me?” You placed a hand on your chest, faking surprise, quoting her words from earlier.

“Definitely, but if you tell him I said that, I won’t hesitate to kill you,” she promised and you held your hands up in mock surrender.

“I would completely understand,” you nodded and she gave a low chuckle.

She was about to say something, but you heard five rowdy voices and footsteps coming from down the hall. You both immediately straightened your backs, Mariana touching up her lipstick as you adjusted your sleeve.

The boys walked through the door, Liam being the last one to enter. Harry was front and center, currently devouring one of Mariana’s cupcakes. You both stood, smiling at the boys. They walked towards you, Liam giving you a big bear hug, nearly knocking you over. He pulled away, giving Mariana a small hug and a pat on the back. Meanwhile, Louis was running his tongue along the inside of his bottom lip, looking between you and Liam.

Liam cleared his throat and pointed behind him, “Do you wanna go talk?” He asked, biting the inside of his cheek.Your breath caught in your throat, preventing you from talking, so you just nodded.

“Whatcha gunna talk about, mate?” Louis asked Liam, smirking at him.

Liam was about to answer, but Mariana answered for him, “Probably about how he’s been in love with her since they were fourteen,” she blurted.

The room was silent, just for a second. Louis let out a loud laugh, placing his hand on his stomach. Niall’s obvious laugh encompasses the room. Zayn smiled and shook his head, all while Harry was looking at your sister, with what looked like admiration in his eyes.

“This one,” he pointed to her, beaming, “I like this one, let’s keep her.”

“I would be completely fine with that,” she said, making Niall laugh even harder.

You finally came to your senses, “Mariana Kate!” You scolded, you rarely used her middle name.

She shrugged, “I’m just telling the truth.”

You sent her a playful glare, turning back to Liam, “Sorry about her, she’s a little horny, and when she’s horny, she’s brutally honest.” You heard her gasp as you said that, and seconds later, she had thrown a pillow at you, you held your hand out, preventing it from hitting you.

“Let’s just,” you pointed to the door, and Liam led you out of the room, both of you doing your best to ignore the cheers and catcalls coming from the boys and your sister. Liam led you to what you assumed was his dressing room. He opened the door for you, allowing you to go in first, ever the gentleman. You sat on a small futon, smiling fondly at the small mess in the room.

He began picking up the clothes, throwing them all in a corner, “Sorry, I’m sharing a room with Louis right now, we’re a bit messy,” he chuckled and you bit your lip.

“It’s fine, I like it, it makes you seem more human,” you admitted and he cringed.

“About what your sister said earlier-“ he started.

“Don’t worry about her, she’s horny and just wants to get in Harry’s pants,” you tried to excuse your behavior.

Liam snickered, shaking his head, “I assure you, Harry’s feelings are mutual,” this caused you both to giggle. “But I was going to say, she isn’t really wrong,” he looked you in the eyes, rubbing his hands together.

“What?” You asked, not quite believing what he was saying.

“I fell in love with you when we’re fourteen, and I never really stopped loving you,” his eyes never left yours.

No fucking way. He had loved you too, and he still did? You knew Liam was the one for you, no competition, but for him, there were millions of other girls who’d kill just to date him, and he wanted you?

“Did you write a song about me?” You quipped, trying to lighten the mood.

“Actually, yes,” which is the best answer.

“Oh really?” You asked, genuinely shocked. “Which one?”

He broke eye contact with you, looking down at his hands before looking back at you, “I Should’ve Kissed You,” he said, a small smile settling on his face.

“Is that about the day I left?” The pieces started coming together now.

He nodded, “You’re taking the news of someone being in love with you extremely well,” he teased.

“It makes it easier when you never stopped loving them either,” you confessed, and his whole face lit up, he shot out of his seat.

“Are you serious right now?” He questioned, frozen in place.

You stood, taking a few steps to be in front of him. “I don’t joke about this type of stuff, Liam.”

“Are you sure this isn’t just because of fame and money and stuff? Not that I think you’d do that, but I just never know,” he mumbled, bringing you back to the day you met him.

“Liam, I fell in love with the boy who was bullied and didn’t want anyone to know cause he was scared, I fell in love with the boy who would scream Mariah Carey lyrics with me, I fell in love with the boy who loves my family almost as much as I do, I fell in love with the boy who made me feel at home,” you placed your hands on either side of his face.

“I make you feel like home?” He asked, his voice a whisper. You nodded, tears sweeping up in your eyes.

“I don’t want to miss my chance again, can I kiss you this time?” He asked, his breath fanning your face, but you didn’t mind. Instead of answering, you wrapped your arms around his neck bringing him closer until his lips met yours. It was like your missing puzzle piece had finally been found, his lips moved perfectly with yours, your bodies molding together. It wasn’t desperate or needy, you both knew now, you had all the time in the world. You pulled away first, placing your forehead against his this time.

“N/N, can you make me a promise?” Liam asked, his hands on your waist.

“Of course, L,” you whispered.

“Promise me you won’t leave me this time, promise you’ll stay,” his voice lightly shook.

“I promise Liam.” And like Liam, you never break your promises.

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