#and this is so much better and cuter than anticipated

[pharawee]

—MONSTER NEXT DOOR · พี่เขาบุกโลกของผม · Coming soon

[marloree]

𝙰 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚊𝚏é 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎

Pairing: boyfriend! Soobin × Reader

Genre: fluff

Word count: 0.78 k

You've been wanting to go to this new cute little café that just opened recently for a while now. Unfortunately, your and your boyfriend's tight schedules didn't let you run straight to the café on its opening day. But, on you way back home, you would observe it eagerly, wishing you could visit as soon as possible.

Luckily, the weekend didn't take so long to come and now you finally had some spare time to go to the lovely café you've been eyeing for the past week.

Despite it being Saturday, you woke up early, the excitement rushing through your veins made you unable to sleep for a second longer.

Well, you had some dignity to not wake up your boyfriend at 7 in the morning on one of his rare weekends, so you took your time getting ready.

Firstly, you finished all the work you had left and then began getting ready. While putting on the cutest outfit and making your hair, you felt the anticipation building inside you more and more.

Once you were done and checked the time, it was already almost 10 am. Quite the time to wake Soobin up, you thought.

You went into your shared bedroom, trying not to make too much noise to save the last precious moments of your boyfriend's sleep.

"Hey, Soob..", you whispered, lightly tapping his shoulder.

It didn't take him long to fully wake up. Looking at you, Soobin could see you beaming with joy and anticipation which made him smile, too. He knew how badly you wanted to go to the café and, to be fair, he wanted it almost just as badly. He missed your cute lovely dates: both being busy, you couldn't afford going out as much as you used to.

"I'm coming right away", Soobin nodded, letting out the last yawn before getting up and going to prepare as well.

You waited patiently for him to get ready as you looked out of the window, your gaze on the café on the other side of the street - the café you were going to. It was so prettily organised, you thought. Obviously you couldn't tell much about the inside since you haven't been in yet, but you could see just how lovely it looked from the sneaky glances you took from the outside.

Soobin, as promised, didn't take too long. Deciding to match up with your outfit, he also wore something cute: a fluffy jacket and baggy jeans.

"Ahh, I can't believe we're going there today, the week flew by so fast. You look almost as cute as the café itself, by the way", you let out a content giggle as you two headed straight to the café.

"You look even cuter, though", Soobin remarked, taking your hand in his as you made your way towards the café.

It took you less than 5 minutes to get inside. Honestly, the inside was ten times better than you could've ever imagined. Everything was so nicely organised: the tables, the chairs and the cute little sofas placed on the sides of the café, the paintings on the walls - everything together brought such a cozy vibe to the place.

Even without tasting the bakery yet, you were sure you'd come here often when you had the time. The atmosphere here was so relaxing and peaceful.

However, once you two settled down and took a look at the menu, you got only more delighted by the sight. It contained so many diverse peaces of bakery, you felt like it could please everyone's taste. Numerous muffins with different flavours, cupcakes, buns, cinnamon rolls and many many more made you want to try every single dessert they could offer.

Well, for now you had to pick a few that caught your eye the most of all. It's not like you could devour all the bakery they served even if you wanted to...

So, you picked a few of your most favourite desserts and so did Soobin.

While you waited for them to be done, you chatted, recalling the times you would sit like that at some other café. You both missed these days dearly and were happy to get a chance to spend your weekend just the way you used to once again.

However, once the bakery you ordered was brought to your table and you got a taste of it, your eyes sparkled even brighter. The taste was heavenly: not too sugary, containing just the perfect amount of cream, it was perfect. Now you could proudly call the café your favorite. You definitely wouldn't miss a chance to visit it again with your boyfriend in the future.

[jojikawa]

Muzan indulging in human pleasures with the divine being, Lilith. 🖤

Muzan x Lilith!reader Headcanons

Synopsis: The Demon King, Muzan, believes that he can find success in defeating all who oppose him, along with the location of blue spider lilies if he summons what is considered to be a goddess among demons. It seems that he doesn’t get what he believes he has bargained for. Warnings: mild season 1/2. season 3-1 spoilers.

⚜️

• Muzan summons you with the souls of the lower moon’s that has died and that he has killed. He knew fully well that he would probably be struck down and that you would ravage the earth in an angry stead as revenge for being (literally) demonized for your femininity…but that outcome was surely better than losing. He was tired of being failed by his own creations for hundreds of years.

• When you appear in your true form, even he is unable to comprehend what’s in front of him. Most mortals, demons, will never be able to wrap their heads around godhood.

• You manifested your physical body, bare and naked, resembling a vulnerable human woman.

“Lilith.” Muzan called sternly, trying to mask his fear of rejection and outright being destroyed. It seemed as though you were trying to get your bearings again. The earth hasn’t been corrupted by your presence since the beginning of time. “(y/n).” You said flatly. “I go by (y/n) now. It’s much cuter.”

You picked yourself up off of the ground, as you had fallen and could not walk when you assumed a more domestic form. “Find me something to wear, child.” You commanded, a small smile gracing your lips.

Were you…ordering Muzan around!?

You took a look around, not at all used to what you were seeing. You were in the “Infinite Castle” but, of course, you didn’t know that. Nearby, you saw an assortment of human-made things. A wooden table decorated with glass bottles, all with unusual shapes. They held clear liquids, red liquids, and a scent that you recognized to be blood. You then noticed that the feeble demon that summoned you had not moved yet.

You strode over to the desk, before reaching for once of the glass containers.

“Don’t touch that-“

Your head snapped over to Muzan. “I won’t repeat myself.” With a close eyed smile, you waved the demon to rid himself of his presence.

• Muzan quickly fetched you a kimono. The best he could find was the one who would wear when he would masquerade as a woman. You didn’t mind. It fit perfectly and smelled pleasant.

• The first thing Muzan asked was if blue spiders lilies could be found and if so, where were they? You didn’t seem obligated to help.

When you heard his question, you froze for a moment. Muzan’s jaw clenched with anticipation as he examined your face. You seemed to be thinking…perhaps some kind of divine knowledge would make his goals much more obtainable.

You giggled sweetly, as you had noticed the man stiffed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Your face. Your tone of voice. Your body language. It looked as if you were…lying to him. It felt as if he were being mocked, laughed at by a woman shaped demon.

• You would make Muzan work for his knowledge. You haven’t indulged in anything mortals had the pleasure of doing all the time. You would make him show you everything he had missed. The new job you had given him could be mistaken as being a lover. He seemed to be the strongest among his kind so you must keep him on a leash.

• You had him style your hair, satisfy your curiosity by answering anything you asked as honestly as he could and participate in any activity you found yourself wanting to do. This went on for a while. Longer than Muzan would admit. It seemed like he really wanted access to your wisdom.

• But you are the first woman. First wife of the first man that started humanity itself before you turned your back on God himself. You knew everything and now you knew Muzan. He was beginning to fall for you. Not many things you “forced” him to do was actually forced. You didn’t always need to order him around for him to do things you wanted.

• It wasn’t long until he introduced you to his subordinates. The “Upper Moons” he called them. They were humans that he turned into demons with his blood. His way of creating demons was like a dollar store version of how you created the first demons. You congratulated him, nonetheless, using your sexuality to make him behave the way you wanted him to.

• When you praised him, you nuzzled into him and rubbed your body on him like a feline in heat. It boosted his ego so much, having such a beautiful manifestation say such good things about him. It didn’t compare to the mortals that would say pleasant things about him.

• And you’ve yet to see him show his anger.

• The day came where he had a meeting with his subjects. They were unable to complete the tasks Muzan had given him. He got so angry that you could see his veins showing through his skin. The castle rumbled as he trembled with fury causing the glass bottles to crack and eventually break. Muzan said that they’re called “beakers.”

• The display gave you a new appreciation for him. He really was the strongest amount his kind.

After the Nakime sent everyone back to their respective places, you felt like it was time you began regulating Muzan’s mood.

He didn’t hear you come up behind him and place a dainty hand on his shoulder. His tense body eased and you felt the anger release from his body. “Muzan…” You called breathlessly. You wrapped your arms around his torso from behind. He let your hands roam his clothed chest before he opened his mouth to speak. He wanted to apologize for acting so indecently in your presence but—

“Muzan-sama~”

He was tall but if you stood on your toes then you could kiss the back of his neck. He thought that maybe this was joke. You were just playing another trick on him because you were bored.

“I’ve never seen a mortal get that angry before.” You laughed to yourself and nuzzled into his back. “I want to indulge in human pleasures now.”

Muzan felt your presence leave from behind him. You then suddenly appeared in front of him. You looked at all of the research he was going on the different types of blood. You felt like it was ultimately worthless. Once you felt like you had seen enough, you turned to him. “Have you ever eaten chocolate strawberries?” You asked innocently. You saw his eyes widen before narrowing sharply. You always framed your harmless questions as if you were finally going to tell him what he wanted.

“I prefer flesh.” Muzan simply replied, adjusting his clothes as you had nearly removed them from your stupid antics. You smiled. “of course you do.” You made a handful of strawberries in a box appear in your hand.

• Muzan had no choice but to let you do what you wanted. He let you feed him strawberries. He didn’t even like strawberries but as long as it brought you joy then he had to comply…even if it meant that your seat was on his lap.

• Your appearance and even your personality matched what he read In ancient texts. Sometimes, his situation didn’t feel real, like he would wake up and probably vow to never sleep again.

• Eventually, he becomes more comfortable with you, almost welcoming when you would come to him for affection. If he were correct, that means that you’ve probably never been with another man since the beginning of humanity. You were needy.

• Sometimes, he would try to get ahead by giving you affection on his own in hopes his ability to act first pleased you. He doted on in a way only a husband could to his wife.

• You make him stop his work to brush your hair and massage your feet.

You were watching him work again. If you weren’t going to be of any use, he might as well continue trying to reach his goals. He was frantic in his work, muttering to himself, getting frustrated and destroying more things when he seemed to reach a dead end. That’s when you would come in and invade his ears with your sweet voice. Your touch would send goosebumps down his body. He felt butterflies whenever you encouraged him to “keep going” or reassuring him that “he’s almost there.”

🔞

• Is unironically obsessed with your body. You can shape shift and look anyway you want but he prefers the body type that you arrived as.

• Believed that this is the one aspect he can have control over in the relationship but even in bed, you still order him around. A part of him doesn’t mind. He almost likes being told what to do because it gives him a sense of purpose. A purpose that differed from being Muzan Kibutsuji.

• He believes he enjoys being a top but that changes when you wrestle him onto the bed and show him something that no woman ever has. He becomes a switch at will after that.

• Has a breeding kink with you. He finds it extremely attractive to be able to have his seed carried by a powerful demoness such as yourself. Gets curious of what a child would look like with you.

[bowieandqueen11]

Can’t Lose Family / Joel Miller Imagine

Request: Joel request- him helping Reader get her medications and she repays him with a kiss even though they aren't together?

This turned into a much cuter found family fic than I meant it too lmao but also sorry not sorry  @miraclesabound!!

Warning: strong language, fighting infected, mentions of guns and knives, mentions of what happens with Sam and Henry, mentions of blood, and mentions of Sarah!

This one’s pushing 4,000 words lads which has to be my longest one shot - I spent all day writing this, so if you enjoyed please support me by commenting and reblogging!

(I do not own the Last of Us or its characters, all rights go to creators. Gif credit goes to @manny-jacinto.)

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°

If you found one more goddamn empty first aid kit, you were going to tear a clicker’s head clean off its stupid mushroom neck.

It hadn’t been an easy journey even getting to this point. Despite Ellie’s numerous protests, snide looks, and even grabs at your jacket with a ‘questioning your sanity’ kind of look, you and Joel had both agreed that a supermall was the best next place to look for the specific kind of medication you needed. 

‘It’s the only place left in this state we haven’t already scoured’, he had muttered from in front of you, pulling up Callus’ reigns and bringing the horse to a sudden halt. The building seemed to loom up from the corner of your eyes like a shooting spore; beams of light seemed to light up its cracks, spraying dust upwards through the shattered windows and clawed bricks until they flew out and danced across the sky. It whistled with every blow of wind, grumbled and heaved with the weight of its walls, howled with the furious screeches of the horde of infected that vacated the forgotten premises.

From where she was sandwiched between the two of you, Ellie managed to squeeze her head out past Joel’s shoulder and scoff. Your grip on her shoulders tightened as she tried to turn her head back to throw you an averse scowl. ‘If you guys go in there and make it back in one piece’, her words are jolted by her nose face planting into the back of Joel’s jacket, Callus rearing up his front legs and whinnying at the piercing cry of what sounded to be a recently turned runner convulsing about in horrendous pain. You straightened her back up on the saddle, and she let you wrap your arms around the top of her stomach to keep her balanced. ‘I swear, I’ll eat my backpack.’

Joel just looked past his shoulder to give her a bemused look.

‘Still would be better than having to hear another one of them lines from your joke book.’ Ellie slapped him on the shoulder, but she couldn’t hide the fact that she was looking down at the sprouting shoots breaking through the strewn concrete on the road to hide her growing smile. ‘Shut up old man. You can never escape Will Livingstone.’ 

You tapped Ellie’s shoulder, and when she turned to see the mischievous glint in your eye, she nodded with a grin. ‘Hey Joel’, you started, waiting for his grunt reply. ‘Do you know the last place I went before the outbreak was too a zoo?’

‘Is that so’, he sighs, not even bothering to turn his head with the foresight to realise where this was going. Hearing Ellie snicker into her hand, her other clutching into his shoulder with anticipation also brought some clarity.  ‘Yeah, the only animal there was a dog. It was a Shizu. Get it? Get it, a Shit-zo-’. Joel just gave a groan that erupted from the pit of his stomach, pretending not to laugh as Ellie erupted into giggles, throwing her head back against your chin.

Joel gazed forward, looking out past the large stretch of empty highway and over the impending treeline speckled in the distance towards the swirl of dull pink and sweet lavender that had begun to transfigure the sky. ‘Yeah, see, this is the problem’, he grunted, ‘maybe being a runner wouldn’t be so bad.’ He couldn’t hide the fact that he was beginning to grin too. 

Ellie snorted, and waved her hand out towards the upcoming building. ‘Well if you go in there, I think your wish will come true.’ Her words brought a fresh wave of silence over the three of you; the kind of forlorn, contemplative stillness that hadn’t shrouded itself over your little makeshift family since you all lost Sam and Henry-. You shuddered, not wanting to go back there anymore. It had been hard enough burying them, let alone trying to deal with the solitude of Ellie’s guilt and the barricading walls Joel had thrown back up at even the mention of the too small grave. It had been hard, the last few weeks, and you didn’t want the people you loved most in this derelict world to fall back into a hopelessness you had fought so hard to drag them out of. 

You didn’t miss the way Joel had glanced back down at his watch though, his face hardening as he steered Callus on.

‘It will be alright, Ellie’, you patted her shoulder and winced as the sound of more infected began to ring out through the dusk and pierce your ears. Ellie shook: not with fear of them, but with terror at the thought that it could take just one wrong move, one wrong moment in this life for her to be left alone again. To be left behind. To lose everyone she loved, yet again. 

But she was brave, and strong, and ready to fight for every scrap she had in spite of the world’s indifference. ‘I know,’ was all she whispered as the three of you came to a stop in front of the mall’s perimeter. The resignation didn’t last too long, though; as soon as Joel had given you his hand to help you down onto the curb, Ellie had started up again at the groans of the building’s floors constricting with the cold.

As Joel had given you a boost up past the half-blown brick wall leaking frost out from the west side of the building, Ellie had thrown her hands up in disgust. ‘Fine!’, she grabbed Callus’ reigns and led him over to a bent piece of iron fence at the edge of the perimeter. ‘If either of you fuckers decide to become infected, I’m gonna kick your shins!’ Even with the crossed arms and huff that followed, when you turned your head to look back at her, she had given you a silent, pleading nod warning you to both come back in one piece. With a final reassuring smile in her direction, you had left the girl stroking Callus’ back, and leant down to heave Joel over into the grave darkness.

The first thing you heard was the sound of sneakers pounding through the walls, the huffing and sliding of about ten bodies coming running towards you. Drawing out your knife from your back pocket, you readied yourself for the oncoming onslaught, but it never arrived. Instead, you were blinded by the sudden flash of gunfire as Joel stepped in front of you, using himself to shield himself from the infected unhinging their mouths and running into the gunfire. Only when he was sure the last one had stopped twitching on the ground did he lower his gun and turn to look at you, raging frenzy clear in his eyes. 

Yet he was so gentle. So, so gentle with you. He clicked on his torch and clipped it onto the lapel of Frank’s old plaid shirt, stained once again with the scent of blood. He reached out a hand towards you, chest heaving as he turned his back to the litter of bodies now staining the linoleum floor. 

‘Are you- are you alright?’ He didn’t know exactly what to do, bless him. So unsure as to how, or if he should show affection anymore. His face fell stern as he looked you up and down, yet his fingers itched against his thighs and clawed at his jeans, as if he were desperate to touch you and make sure himself. You reached out to him with one arm, and he tenderly took your wrist within his fingers. He couldn’t quite bring himself to hold your hand yet, to allow himself that sort of vulnerability, to ever give in to that sort of familiarity with another person again, but it was a step in the right direction.

‘Are you okay?’ The question was more desperate now, more sober, and the most genuine reflection of his pounding heart as he flipped your hand over and used his pointer finger to check your pulse. Sometimes, when the three of you got into tough scraps, it would be the only thing that could bring him back from that fear induced rage. You pretended not to feel his thumb shake against your wrist bone, instead nodding and dragging your fingers down to squeeze his own. ‘Let’s keep going. Ellie will be freaking out by now.’

‘Yes, I am! What the fuck was that!’, you heard echoing in from outside, the alarm in Ellie’s voice filling the vacuous hallway. 

Joel managed to huff out a laugh, before shouldering his gun back round his side and nodding at you. He swallowed thickly, but even as you brushed past him to head further towards the shops, you could see how desperately he was scrunching his lips to try and push away the worry that flickered in his eyes.

And now? After all that? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

You kick the empty case clear half way across the store, grunting in victory as you hear it smash against the legs of a frayed mannequin and toss it down onto the floor. An ash cloud of dust sprays up at the movement, making Joel cross his arm in front of his mouth and hack a cough as he’s sprayed in white.

‘We still haven’t tried the door behind the counter.’

‘Joel, we’ve tried every damn door in the country. Plus, it’s sealed shut, and I don’t see you packing any shivs to open it.’ You sigh and squat down to the ground, holding your head in your hands for a second. You only open them once you realise the thudding sound you hear is Joel moving over towards the back wall of the pharmacy, straight towards where a huge mass of spasming, bloated fungi seems to be pulsating on the wall.

‘Are you out of your damn mind?’, you seethe, as Joel reaches into his backpack to strap his gas mask on. 

‘On the contrary, I seem to be the only one in this room with any sense.’ Although his words seem to bite, you can hear the mocking tone drip through the crinkled words as they rasp out past the ventilator. Joel joins you in squatting down to the floor, although his movement is done a lot less gracefully and with a lot more complaining about sore joints. He moves the light away from where its strewn over the floorboards to land straight in the middle of the heaving mess, and the sight nearly makes you gag in shock.

‘Ugh, Jesus’, Joel mutters, his face contorting in disgust as he clenches his fist open and closed in preparation. The figure clenched into the wall in front of him was barely recognisable: it’s drooping face was now sprouting from behinds its eyelids, mouth open as if in a never-ending frozen scream, its lab coat caked in dried old blood that seemed to suggest he wasn’t the only one to die in this dank room. ‘Well, here goes nothing.’ Tentatively inching his hand forward, Joel waits for the poor bastard to come tearing off the wall and clamp its three teeth left around his fingers. Thankfully, both for his sake and your heart, which had decided to start pounding through your ears, Joel is successful in inching the infected’s hand out of the way. He reaches into the breast pocket, sighing in relief and turning towards round to your expectant face. 

Perched between his thumb and pointer finger is the rusted tip of a key.

‘Bingo’, he whistles as he stands up, stretching out his back and clicking his spine back into place. You shake your head as he heads off, following him round the counter edge and butting him out of the way once he reaches the back door. Shaking the handle one more time for good measure, you nab the key out of his hand and ignore the cry of indignation he gives you.

‘It’s my stuff we need, so I go first. Those are the rules.’

You slot the key into the lock and give it a firm twist. 

‘Absolutely not.’ You nearly jump when you feel Joel’s hand firmly clamp down on top of your own, effectively trapping you against the doorknob. You glare over at him, but feel the bitter remark you were about to whip out about how ‘he always puts himself in danger before me or Ellie’ dies on the tip of your tongue when you see how scared he looks. 

‘I go first.’ You tut. The grip on your hand grows firmer. His breath hitches as he bends and takes a step closer to you. He’s so close now, you can feel the rapid air escape his nose and brush over the side of your cheek. For a moment, neither of you are able to move; you’re both caught in some invisible entanglement, some building consequence the two of you have never been brave enough to breach before, some kind of tender understanding. You nod your head, realising now just how earnestly the two of you had been dancing around it: how the whole time you had known each other, one was always preparing to die for the other.

‘Please...I go first.’ His gaze drops to your lips, and then to your nose, and then finally settles, for the first time in a while, firmly on your eyes. Unwavering. Resolute. He lurches forward on the balls of his feet, and for a second you think he’s either about to headbutt you or kiss you. Instead, he gently uses his side to butt you out of the way, before turning his efforts to shouldering the door open in three abrupt pushes.

He lurches in, the door giving way before he expected it and taking his feet out from under him. He rolls to the floor, grunting with the effort as he nearly side rolls straight into the side of an empty rack of shelves. With the light in the musty room as bright as a grave, you’re left trying to figure out where Joel has gone by the sound of an empty pill bottle rolling across the room.

‘Joel? Joel! Where the fuck are you?’, you whisper, reaching your arms out and crouching down to try and find him in the darkness. ‘Shit, is that you? Are you alright?’ You grip onto something soft and squishy, Joel’s leg? It seems clad in denim, although slightly torn, as if he had skinned his whole knee slamming against the floor.

You realised your mistake only a second too late. Instead of the welcome, gravelly honey voice of one Joel Miller, and perhaps even the calloused fingers cupping your cheeks before taking your own to lurch himself back up, you were met by the spitting shriek straight into your face. ‘Oh, fuck!’ 

You roll backwards, slamming the back of your head straight into an iron railing. ‘Oh, doubley fu-’ Your shout is muffled by fingernails scraping over your forehead, a hand grasping onto your face and digging in until you could feel blood begin to run down the bridge of your nose. Grappling with your hand, you simultaneously try to pitch your knee up to stop the clicker from completely detaching from the wall and clambering on top of you, and wrestling past its bumpy elbow to reach the knife stuck behind your back. Gnashing teeth leaves drool dripping down onto your neck, and you groan with the effort of trying to stop them from tearing a chunk out of your jugular.

You finally manage to grasp onto the hilt of your knife, trying to lift up your backside to slide it out of your pocket and straight into the skull of the infected on top of you. It doesn’t matter though. A second later, it feels as if molten is being poured in gushes down onto your bare skin; you stifle a shudder as the blood leaks out from the clicker’s eye sockets and sprays over your shoulder blades. You squint, just about managing to make out the outline of Joel’s clenched teeth and furrowed brow as he pulls the crowbar he had managed to find out of the thing’s skull. Pushing it to the side, it flops unceremoniously onto the floor.

‘Jesus...’, you warble out, still slightly in shock that you had come so close to the end right there and then. So clumsily close. So stupidly.

Joel doesn’t give you a chance to finish your thought. You swear it must have hurt when he threw himself down onto the ground, not even pretending to be calm and collected as he comes sliding on his knees over to you. 

‘Are you hurt?’ 

‘H-huh?’

His hands are shaking as they reach up to roam over your face, his movements rapid and rushed and so carelessly unlike him that it only winds you deeper into your confused stupor. Before this - sure, he may have been concerned, but it was always hidden behind a thick wall of confidence and level headedness. But this, this was different. He was gripping onto the sides of your face as if the skin was about to peel away from your body in front of him; he was trembling in the way only a man marred by ghosts could be. As the flashlight blinked across the floor, the glass smashed into fractured shoots by Joel’s fall, all his mind can see with each glare is Sarah suspended in front of him.

‘Are you hurt?’ His voice is shaking as he speaks, tilting your face back and forth as if he’s scanning you for any scrabs and bites, yet his fingers are moving too quickly to truly take any of you in.

‘I’m fine, I’m fine. I just, ah-’, you cup his hands and bring them to rest within your own, both of you using each other’s weight to try and lever yourselves to a standing position again. ‘I think my ankle is twisted slightly.’ You watch his eyes widen, and try your best to shoot him a reassuring smile despite how shaken you were feeling. ‘It’s alright, it’ll be fine once I shake it off. Especially since I see another med-pack over there.’ You let go of one of his hands to point past his shoulder, finally coming back to yourself when you spot another plastic box hanging, squished in between the pharmacist's desk and the wall. 

Despite the elated glow that seems to suddenly gleam in your eyes as you hobble over bits of broken glass and clamber over the smashed up computer monitor, Joel doesn’t let go of you the whole way. Not even when you unclasp the lock and throw the lid back, tilting your head back and laughing in near hysteric delight when you see the full bottles still nestled in dust inside. They move from your hands, up your arms and around your shoulders, squeezing your biceps as the two of you make your way quietly back through the supermall and back out towards the hole to freedom.

‘Fuck me! I thought you guys were gonners for sure!’ For a second, as you glanced out and saw Ellie bent over with her hands on her hips with the relief of seeing the two of you dumbasses hobble back into view, you thought the young girl was going to collapse to the ground. Instead, she took a deep breath and turned back to you with a surprisingly serious look on her face. ‘Did you find any comics in there?!’

‘Are you kidding-’ Joel murmurs out with a huff, waving his hand at her in dismissal. Ellie only raises her hand in a shrug before flipping him off, but the two of them are both smiling as Joel offers you his hand. You take it easily, but before you drop down to the grass again, you surprise Joel Miller for about the third time that day.

Before he even has a chance to blink, you lean towards him and press your lips against the side of his stubbly cheek. His eyes widen, but even as you press a second, quicker kiss against his cheek, he seems too stoic to pull away. When you finally do, he raises two fingers up to the wet patch now gleaming on his skin, and looks at you with a rapturous confusion.

‘Thank you. For everything. For still being here’, is all you whisper with a final look back at him, before falling down through the sliver of dark orange that still falls like firelight between the breaks in the pine trees. Ellie welcomes you back energetically, nearly knocking you over with the speed in which she comes running towards you and wraps her arms around your midriff, squishing the side of her face into your chest.

Joel watches the two of you for a moment: the way Ellie looks up at you as if you were pure unbridled hope as she unlatches herself from you, the way you grab her hand and help her hop back up onto Callus’ back, coming to rest on the side of the saddle before animatedly falling into conversation with her, most likely checking up to make sure she was doing okay with all of this.

He blinks back the wistfulness from his eyes as he stands on the stone strewn crag of the building, the soft ground suddenly seeming so far away. As he watches you, he tries to figure out what he feels: love? Longing? Guilt? Before he even notices, he finds his gaze has drawn itself back down to his wrist, the shattered clock face seemingly staring him down and stifling whatever happiness he was trying to feel.

He covers it with his hands, rubbing his fingers over the side as if it were burning his skin and he couldn’t bear to carry the weight of it anymore. But then you call over to him, and Ellie waves her hand up and beckons him to come down with a bright grin and yell, and suddenly the heaviness seems to unburden, to unlatch its grip on his stomach. 

Sure, the misery of his past still haunted him, still dragged behind his head as he jumped and landed on the ground with a thump. But as he slowly jogged back over to the two of you, the shadows were beginning to lift. The light was beginning to break through, and Joel Miller couldn’t remember feeling so bullishly light in all his life.

[blissfulip]

Holiday Market

on AO3

Viktor x gn!reader

Rating: G

Tags: Friends to lovers?, 5+1 things (actually 4+1) awkward flirting, just tooth rotting fluff.

Cw: some cursing

Words: 3.7k

Happy Holidays from me to you  🎄

“We can agree to disagree there, Sky is such a pretty and sweet girl, and Viktor is very fond of her, so I’m sure if he wasn’t that oblivious he would’ve certainly noticed she was asking him out.” 

“Come on, he’s the smartest person both of us know, do you really think he didn’t notice? Why else would she offer to walk him to the dorm?” Jayce spoke passionately. 

This lighthearted argument you were having had been the topic of conversation for more than a month now. Every time Sky tried to do something to either flirt with Viktor or outright ask him out, he would either not notice or shut her down politely. To Jayce, it seemed like Viktor was simply not interested, to you, however, it looked like he was unknowingly shutting down her advances because he didn’t realize the romantic undertone in any of them. 

“He even said at some point he was grateful for Sky’s help, and he emphasized help.”

“See, I just think Sky is not his type.”

“Oh yeah? And what is his type?” You said this, crossing your arms and staring at him with a raised eyebrow and a half-ironic smile.  

“How would I know? It’s just a theory.” He said, shrugging, “You should try flirting with him and see how he reacts.”

“Why would I?”

“It’s definitely better than simply pining over him while you pretend to be okay with Sky flirting with him.”

“I’m not pretending, I think they look cute together.” Your voice came out much less firm than you anticipated, and it didn’t help that you unknowingly started to make small circles on the table with your free hand. 

“I think you would look even cuter with him.”

“You’re just saying that because I’m your friend, plus, how would my flirting with him conclude anything about our argument?”

"Well, if he also doesn’t notice you flirting, then you��d be right, and If he does notice, then It would mean I am right.” 

“Right, let’s assume he does in fact notice, what if he’s not into it?”

“You tell him it was a joke between us, but that’s unlikely.”

He knew something you didn’t, but you didn’t ask him what it was, it was dangerous for you to get hopeful. You didn’t bother to deny what he said earlier about you pining over him, because although talking about it openly was never really a necessity, the way you looked at Viktor when he wasn’t paying attention and the way you laughed a little louder at his jokes had never gone unnoticed by Jayce. He knew you well enough to not put you on the spot by asking about it, but he knew, and you knew that he knew.

In actuality, you had a sneaking suspicion that this little game of his was just Jayce’s not-so-secret plan to finally get you to make a move on his partner. He would never admit to it, and you would rather pretend to be unaware, after all, you’d be waiting for an excuse to do this. 

“If he doesn't notice by the third time I try, then I win.”

“Fifth.” 

“Fine.” You huffed. 

“And you have to be aggressive about it, subtlety will not do.”

“Don’t you worry, as soon as he gets here, you’ll see a master at work.” You said with a playful smirk. Although you had said that with an obviously joking tone, you were, as a matter of fact, perfectly confident in your ‘skills’. Flirting was fun to you, it made you feel pretty and playful, and as long as you kept it respectful, you could always tell that the other person, albeit bashful and sometimes surprised, usually felt as good as you did. 

I.

When Viktor got back into the room, your heart started to race, not so much in a way that worried you, but more like it does when you play sports, eat something tasty, or stand on the edge of a tall building. The intoxicating feeling of adrenaline filling your chest to the brim. When he noticed you there, leaning on the side of Jayce’s desk, he gave you a warm smile, and you walked over to greet him. 

“I thought you had given up on visiting the lab.” He said with a chuckle as you approached.

“Never, I would miss you too much.” You told him with a sickly sweet smile as you gave him a small hug, game on.

“Eh, well, I’m glad you came by, I’m sure Jayce is happy to have an excuse to stall.” There he was, it hadn’t been more than a minute, and he was already deflecting the attention from him. You looked at Jayce and pretended to laugh along, and he gave you a look that screamed ‘too subtle!’. It was fine, you could do better, so you turned back to face Viktor and looked at him intently. Head tilted to the side and a satisfied smirk that you wanted to make sure lingered for a second too long. 

The moment he noticed and his eyes landed on yours, you brought your hand up to brush some of his hair away from his face. The small strands in the front that sometimes cascaded over his forehead usually gave him a messy look that you personally adored, this time, however, they would serve a higher purpose. 

“Have I ever told you I love your hair? Its…so soft.” You cringed as soon as it left your mouth. ‘I like your hair’? What are you thinking? But you had to commit to it now, so you didn’t break eye contact.  

“Oh, hold on.” He said this as he sat down on his chair and started to write something on a small notepad. You glanced over at Jayce and noticed he was as confused as you were. No more than three seconds later, Viktor tore the piece of paper off the notepad and handed it to you.  

“What’s this?” 

“The conditioner brand I use—I almost couldn’t remember the name, but it came back to me.” He said this with such a sincere smile that you had to concede and admit you had been defeated, at least at that time. . 

“Thanks Vik.”  You said, unable to hold back a laugh. Jayce laughed as well, for nearly a minute after mouthing ‘a master, huh?’ at you after Viktor had turned his chair away.

II.

I’ll show him, alright. You thought to yourself as you left their lab to go back to work, you were already planning on what to do the next time you saw them, and you caught yourself smiling like an idiot as you worked, remembering his sweet little face as he handed you that piece of paper. How could you not fall head over heels for that? You didn’t know if it was his refusal to accept compliments or just his genuine interest in helping you get silky-smooth hair, but it didn’t matter, everything he did was absurdly endearing. 

Next time, though, as you pondered, I'll have to try a different angle. 

The opportunity presented itself a lot earlier than you expected when you went to the Academy kitchen about a week later and were pleasantly surprised to find both of your dearest friends there, Jayce sitting on one of the stools near the window and Viktor leaning against one of the counters. 

“Look at what the cat dragged in,” You said with a playful tone. “You two never come here, is the coffee machine in the lab broken?”

“Not quite, no. Jayce thought it would be a sensible idea to take a break over here.” He said, gesturing at Jayce with the face of someone who had already regretted his decision. Jayce simply looked at you and raised his eyebrows slightly. He knew you liked to come here to get coffee. 

“Well, he’s right, a change of scenery never hurt anybody,” you said, walking over to lean on the counter right next to him. “How’s work? Any significant progress lately?”

In any other circumstance, you would’ve listened to what he had to say attentively, but this time you were on a mission. He went on about the hex gates they were developing blueprints for, and you looked up at him through your lashes, making sure to take a quick but noticeable glance at his lips when he was looking back at you. For a second, it seemed like it worked, he stopped in his tracks and looked at you with slightly furrowed brows. Not angry, but as if he was trying to examine you and figure out what you had in mind.

“I apologize, eh...was I going too fast?” he chuckled.

Great, he just thinks I’m stupid.

“No, sorry, I just got distracted.” As you said this, you got an idea. You brought your hands up to the collar of his shirt, skimming over the lapel of his vest on your way there in the most casual manner you could muster. 

“Don’t worry about it,” He said lightheartedly. He didn’t seem to mind you touching him like this, so you didn’t take your hands back. 

“Work has been pretty tedious the past few weeks, you know?” You said while adjusting the collar, lightly brushing your fingers along the seams, and making sure the tip of your thumbs ‘accidentally’ and ever so delicately grazed over his neck. “Not all of us are geniuses working in the genius department making genius discoveries every day,” You teased him as your hands traveled up. 

“You give us too much credit,” He said with a shy laugh. “But you’re right in that regard; we have discoveries to make; come, Jayce, the genius department awaits us,” He joked as he picked up his cane and walked out of the kitchen with a relaxed smile. 

Jayce turned to look at you so fast that you were worried he would sprain a muscle. 

“You can’t tell me that was too subtle” You said with a bitter sigh. 

“You know, Mel is not really the flirty type, but if she ever did that to me, I would turn into a puddle.” He said half amused and half puzzled. “He’s a mystery, I'll tell you that.” 

“Well, how much more aggressive can I go without being weird?” Both of you thought about it in silence for a couple of minutes before Jayce spoke up. 

“I might have an idea, come by the lab tomorrow for lunch and follow my lead.”

“Normally that would scare me, but sure.”

III.

You suspected any food you ingested at that moment would swiftly be rejected by your stomach, this whole situation, which was initially supposed to be a laid-back fun thing, had turned you into an anxiety-induced mess. Technically, the way things were going was good for you, it proved what you said about Viktor being oblivious, and you loved being right, so why didn’t it feel good? 

Whatever it was, you knew one thing for sure: you were skipping lunch that day. You decided to go out a bit earlier than your usual lunchtime and stop by your favorite bakery. They had a chocolate and cinnamon roll cake that they only made around the holidays. You and the guys usually love them, so it should at least cheer you up. When you got to their lab, they both took your presence as a cue to stop working, almost as if they were expecting you.

“Great! We can get a second opinion.” You were visibly confused, which prompted Jayce to widen his eyes and raise his eyebrows, probably to remind you to ‘follow his lead’ before he continued speaking. “I was telling Viktor that Sky has been trying to flirt with him, and he doesn’t believe me. You see it too, right?”

Oh, I see what he’s doing.

“For sure, I can’t believe you haven’t noticed, Vik.”

“I have noticed the things Jayce mentioned, I just don’t believe they constitute flirting, and I also don’t see why she would be flirting with me.” 

You took this personally.

“Why wouldn’t she? You’re handsome, and sometimes you’re even tolerable, I don't see why not.” You were sure a compliment combined with some teasing should do it, you were wrong, as Viktor remained unmoved.

"Eh, sure, but I still believe she’s simply being nice, and if she were indeed flirting with me, I don't think she would do it in front of other people,” he said nonchalantly. 

“I don’t see why not, it’s not like her feelings for you are a secret to anyone, and maybe she’s being incredibly obvious with what she does in the hope someone will notice and tell you about it,” you said in a playful tone but sincerely.

“You do those things as well, you’ve always been naturally touchy and affectionate, so I don’t think those things are inherently romantic,” he shrugs.  

“Touché…”

It all made sense to you now, how all of your attempts at being intimate or complimenting him had gone unnoticed; they were lost in a sea of millions of other instances in which you had acted the same way. All of those came back, you remembered at least two other times when you had called him handsome and multiple times in which you were overtly touchy and showered him with compliments. 

You figured that Jayce’s intention with this whole conversation was for you to at least figure out what Viktor considered to be flirting, and at best, it would be an opportunity for you to openly compliment him. But you looked at Jayce and saw the realization dawn on him.

“Let me go grab some plates for the cake, help me get some cups too,” He told you, nudging you to come out of the room with him. 

“Well, I guess that’s it, he’ll never figure it out, so I win,” You said with a sly smile intended to hide the strange bitter feeling in your mouth as soon as you closed the door behind you. 

“Nope, this just helps us recalibrate. Now we know being touchy and just generally nice and affectionate will not work, so you need to try something else.”

“What else is there?”

“We have to come up with things for you to say and do that you would normally not say or do for someone other than a romantic partner.”

“Wouldn’t that basically be a confession?”

“At this point, I think you could very well confess, and he wouldn’t register it as such.” He chuckled. 

“Well, let me think.” And you walked in silence towards the kitchen for a couple of minutes before Jayce spoke again. 

“I think you need to go for some more obvious compliments. When people say he is smart and handsome, he just takes it as them stating a fact.”

“He’s a confident one, that’s for sure.” You said this as you smirked in contentment. 

“So, you’ll get him alone somehow to avoid that whole ‘she wouldn’t flirt in front of others’ thing, and you’ll compliment something about him that only a romantic interest would like. I’m 84% sure this one’s going to work out.”

“The odds are with me, I see”

IV. 

“I’m going to the holiday market, want to tag along?” You asked them on a Saturday afternoon.

“You should go, Vik, it would do you some good to breathe some fresh air.” 

“I don’t see how walking around the snow would fix this prototype.” He said with a disgruntled chuckle.

“It won’t, but it will give me some alone time to figure it out without you pestering me.”

“Ok, I get it. I’m going.” 

It had been close to a month since the last time you tried anything. Jayce and you agreed that you wouldn’t make any moves unless you were alone with him, so this was about to be your chance to do something. 

You had thought about it extensively since, playing and replaying your interactions in your head like a chess game. Perhaps the plan you had arrived at wouldn't work, perhaps you had been overthinking it, and once you tried it, the results would be catastrophic. But one thing was for sure, you were letting this consume you. The whole point of this experiment was to prove that Viktor was oblivious, and strictly speaking, the way things had been going proved you right, but it had morphed into more than that. 

You wanted him to notice, you wanted him to notice you.

“Are you planning to buy something?” He said snapping you out of your thoughts.

“Nothing in particular; I just really like coming here; it’s full of happy people in clothes that make them look like marshmallows, and the smell of the place is lovely.” 

“I admire the way you look at things, sometimes I feel like my vision of the world is so stale, yet you’re always finding beauty everywhere.”

"Well, let’s look together.” You told him, dragging him slowly out of the influx of people, to stand against a wall where you had a good vision of everything.  

“I think I get it, the people really seem to be happy.”

“At least they’re pretending to be,” you said with a cynical smile that got a low chuckle out of him. 

“And it does smell very nice around here.” 

“It does, but you smell better.” You said shrugging.

“I, eh, can give you the name of the lotion I use, I just don’t remem—”

By Janna, he is going to drive me insane. 

"Viktor, I don’t care for the damn lotion; I like the smell of it on you; I like your smell.” You said almost in an exasperated tone. 

“Oh.” He said, the corners of his mouth curving slightly upward. “Thank you?”

You walked together, sharing a comfortable silence for a couple more minutes, but you had to look back when you noticed Viktor wasn’t keeping up anymore. You were able to spot him leaning against a wall next to one of the stalls selling wood carvings, so you walked back to meet him. 

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, my leg just gets a bit sore after walking for a while when it’s too cold out.” 

“Oh duh,” You said, giving yourself a slap on the forehead. “I totally forgot about that, Vik, sorry. Let’s head back”

“We don’t have to, I just need to stretch it out a bit.”

“Don’t be silly, besides, I think we’ve seen enough happy people for today.” You told him with a playful frown. 

“Sure, eh, want me to take you home?”

"Yeah, you can take me home.” You told him with a cheeky smirk, and he simply laughed off the very obvious innuendo in that sentence. 

V. 

Jayce was not happy to hear you wanted to give up, but you were over it. After overthinking for 4 nights straight, you decided Viktor had definitely realized you were flirting with him, and feigning insanity was the most polite way he could find of rejecting your advances. Pushing it at this point felt like overkill, and you certainly did not want to make him uncomfortable. 

“Listen, trust me, I have an excellent feeling for this one. Not to mention, the deal was five times.”

“Jayce, there is no way on earth he hasn’t noticed, I’m sure he’s just ignoring it on purpose at this point. I’ll give you the win, just drop it, okay?” 

“It doesn’t count as a win if he hasn’t openly acknowledged it. I get not telling you, but he hasn’t even told me anything.”

“You know what? Fine. I’ll make it as obvious as I possibly can, I’ll embarrass myself if that’s what it takes, and then when he asks me to stop acting weird, we can drop this thing, happy?” 

“Go to the kitchen, I’ll send him over.”

And off you went, resigned to making a fool of yourself and dragging your feet with aggravated sadness. You weren’t sure when or how Jayce intended to send Viktor over to the kitchen, so you picked up a kettle and decided to brew some tea while you waited. The crackling sound of the stove and eventual whistling made the wait seem longer, but at long last you saw him come in. 

“Hey Vik” you said in a tone that conveyed more frustration than you intended it to. 

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I'm just tired.” You said with a forced chuckle. “You?”

“Eh, I’m positive Jayce is hiding something from me at the lab. He was very adamant on getting me out of there today, but I’ll figure it out eventually.” You scoffed in response. 

“Do you know something I don’t?” he questioned. 

Okay, let’s get this over with. 

“You tell me, pretty boy, I’m just glad you ended up here.” 

“Yes, it’s always fun to chat with you.” He said with an endearing smile. Endearing is not what you were hoping for. 

“So fun, but we could always do more than chatting.” 

Silence. Maddening silence for what felt like years. And then he walked over to where you were, painfully slow and keeping intense eye contact. When he got to you, he stood less than a hand’s distance away, stared down at you with a smug look, and spoke.

“Stop that,” he said in almost a whisper. “I know you think it’s so funny to mess with me like that, and I know Jayce thinks it’s hilarious as well, but you’re not going to think it’s so funny anymore when I flirt back, and it stops being a joke.”

Oh. 

“So… you knew the whole time?”

“It was funny the first time, but if you keep escalating, I might have to match your energy, and you won’t like it.” He said, a grin creeping up. 

“See, you think you’ve got it all figured out, but you’re wrong.”

“You intend to tell me you were not flirting with me? I’m not an idiot,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I was definitely flirting, but everything I said to you was true, and I wouldn’t mind you escalating.” You shrugged, trying to pretend this whole tirade was not affecting you. 

“I see.” He kept examining your expression, as if he were trying to find a weak spot in your posture to attack. “How does dinner tomorrow sound?”

It caught you by surprise, but it wasn’t an unwelcome one. 

[pandenewie]

06 - Not so Undercover Agent

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“Um Keeho… are you sure this is the right address?” Y/n asks as the three pull up to what they thought was Jay’s address. Although now they’re not sure as their car sits parked in front of a huge three story house - one far too fancy for a college student to own.

“I swear I, like, triple checked. This is the address Jake gave me.” Keeho claims, pulling out his phone to check once again. “My shitty car doesn’t belong in a neighbourhood like this.” Yunjin frowns, taking note of the multiple, much nicer cars that are parked around the street. “Well, unless Jake lied to me, this is definitely the place.” Keeho shrugs. “I’ll park around the block… somewhere I’m less likely to be hate crimed.” Yunjin laughs, driving a few streets down before putting the car in park.

“Okay, I got us something useful.” Keeho says, pulling three walkie talkies out of his bag and showing them proudly to the group. “Aren’t they cute?” He asks, earning deadpan expressions from his friends. “Why would we need those when we have phones?” Y/n asks. “Because these are so much cuter and more spy-like? I literally put stickers on them and everything so you bitches better use them.” Keeho scowls, handing a walkie talkie to each of his friends. “And where am I going to put this?” Yunjin asks, gesturing to her lack of pockets or bag. “Just shove it in your bra and go.” Y/n laughs.

Once everyone is situated, the group gets out of the car and starts walking back to Jay’s 

house. “So everyone remembers the plan, right?” Y/n asks, earning nods from their friends. “We each track down Jake, Sunghoon and Jay and grill them for information.” Yunjin nods. “And we all stay completely sober! We need to remember anything we get tonight.” Y/n says, looking at Keeho in particular. “I know you’re not looking at me, blacked-out-after-two-drinks over here.” He smirks, earning an eye roll from Y/n. "If anyone's gonna need a drink it's me." Yunjin sighs, already dreading the fact that she'll have to spend most of the night with Sunghoon.

Jay's house is busy - as expected from a party of this level. Now that they think about it, a three story house is the perfect place for a party. Plenty of room for guests to hang out, spaces to hookup, to escape from the loudness, there's a spot for everything. This also means that there's unfortunately plenty of places to hide. Finding anyone in this place is going to be a difficult task.

"You guys made it!" A voice calls over the loud music. The trio turn to find Jake waving obnoxiously to them from the kitchen, pushing a few people out of his way as he walks through the crowded living room. He’s clearly already a little tipsy, judging by the way he trips over his own feet and immediately clings onto Keeho’s arm for stability.

“Someone’s a little excited.” Keeho jokes. “Jay made cocktails! They literally just tasted like juice so I chugged like three a few minutes ago.” Jake giggles. “Speaking of Jay, where is he? You’d think the host would greet his guests at the door.” Y/n asks, looking around the room for any sign of the male.

“Last I checked he was playing beer pong upstairs with Sunghoon; could’ve moved though.” Jake shrugs, almost tripping on his feet once more despite standing still. “Why don’t we go get you another drink?” Keeho asks, Jake’s eyes lighting up at the mention of alcohol. The two stumble back towards the kitchen, leaving Y/n and Yunjin standing in the doorway.

Yunjin turns to look at Y/n, a displeased expression on her face as she comes to terms of what they have to do.

“Well… beer pong it is?”

Finding Jay and Sunghoon appeared to be a much simpler task than originally anticipated. As soon as the two made their way up the smooth concrete stairs, they were met with the sudden noise of cheering from a room down the hall.

Entering the room, they expected to see a much larger group than what they were greeted with - due to the noises they could hear from outside. Instead, their eyes land on Jay and Sunghoon battling it out as well as a handful of unfamiliar guys and girls watching from around the room.

Y/n and Yunjin quickly find their place in the chaos, standing separate from the rest of the group but just far enough from Jay and Sunghoon to not make things unnecessarily awkward. “How the hell are we supposed to grill them if they’re tossing around ping pong balls all night?” Yunjin asks. “We’ll just have to find a way to distract them from the game.” Y/n shrugs, watching as Jay lands a ball perfectly in one of the cups - pointing and laughing loudly as Sunghoon quickly chugs the liquid.

“What are the two of you doing over here all alone?” A sudden voice asks. The two turn towards the noise, immediately spotting the familiar face of Jooyeon, someone they’ve seen around campus a couple of times. “How are we alone if there’s two of us?” Yunjin asks, clearly shooting down whatever lines he’s trying to throw. Jooyeon, however, doesn’t seem to pick up on her blatant rejection, his gaze dropping to the lack-of-drinks in both their hands. “And without alcohol? Now that’s just sad, how about I get you two cuties something to drink? My buddy Gaon makes a mean Woo Woo.” He says enthusiastically, causing Y/n’s brows to furrow in confusion. “What the fuck is a Woo Woo?”

Y/n quickly realises that they should not have asked that question as Jooyeon begins to explain (in great detail) the step by step process of making a Woo Woo, from ingredients to historical origins - even mentioning some myths and legends about the great Captain Jimmy “Woo Woo” Harker.

“Leave them alone, Joo.” Jay suddenly calls out, his voice immediately bringing the excruciating conversation to a halt. “I’m not hurting anybody!” Jooyeon fires back, only earning a laugh from Jay. “You’re hurting their brains with all that Woo Woo nonsense, go tell someone else about it.” Despite clearly wanting to continue his conversation, Jooyeon listens to Jay and excuses himself from the conversation.

Now with the knowledge that Jay is, in fact, aware of Y/n’s existence - they use this as an opportunity to talk to him. Y/n gives a reassuring squeeze to Yunjin’s hand before walking towards the ping pong table, immediately taking place at Jay’s side.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know.” Y/n mumbles. Jay’s eyes are focused on the game but they can tell from the upturn of his lips that he heard them. “Would you prefer I let him talk your ear off?” He asks sarcastically. Y/n represses an eyeroll at his comment and instead focuses on the way Jay successfully sinks another ball with ease.

“You’re good at that.” They comment simply, watching as Sunghoon begins to complain about Jay not playing fair. “I don’t think I’d even hit the rim.” Jay laughs at this, finally turning to look Y/n in the eyes. It’s the first time he’s given Y/n his full attention and the way he does a quick scan of their body does not go unnoticed. “It takes practice… lucky for me, my friends are idiots who would rather practice their beer pong skills than do anything productive.” He says, his attention momentarily turning back to Sunghoon, who shoots and misses his shot. “It’s a shame I’m the only one who got better.” Jay adds, winking at Y/n before picking up the ball once more.

“You wanna try?” He asks, holding the plastic ball towards Y/n. “You’re prepared to lose your winning streak for me?” Y/n asks playfully. “Oh come on, you can’t be that bad.” Jay laughs, gently placing the ball in Y/n’s palm. “Hoon, grab someone else. We’re doing 2 v 2.” He calls, an idea immediately popping into Y/n’s head. “My friend Yunjin can play.” They say, pointing to Yunjin, who’s still in her previous spot. 

Sunghoon’s eyes seem to almost fall out of his head when they land on Yunjin, quickly beckoning her to join him at the other end of the table. “Are you any good?” Sunghoon asks, earning a scoff from Yunjin. “You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?” Yunjin says playfully, smirking at the way Sunghoon practically melts at her words. This is going to be so easy.

“Jesus Christ, man.” Keeho scolds, catching Jake once again as he attempts to run back onto the dance floor. “Let me go! They’re playing the Macarena.” Jake whines, earning an eye roll from Keeho. How he ended up babysitting a drunk Jake all night is still a mystery. “We’ll ask them to play it again later when you’re sober enough to stand.” Keeho says, sighing with relief when Jake gives in and settles next to him on the couch.

Jake is far gone. How the hell is Keeho supposed to get any useful information out of him if all he can think of is alcohol and the Macarena? He doesn’t even think that Jake would even remember if Jay had cheated in his current state. Just as he’s about to offer the Australian some water to sober up, he feels a sudden thud as Jake’s head falls to Keeho’s shoulder - soft snores escaping from his mouth. He’s in for a long night.

Sunghoon sucks at beer pong. He also sucks at holding his liquor, evident in the way he’s practically resting his full body weight against Yunjin - the only thing stopping him from falling to the floor.

“You giving up, Hoon?” Jay calls tauntingly. Sunghoon goes to mumble something in response, likely another complaint about Jay not playing fair, but ultimately decides not to. “He looks like he needs to lay down.” Y/n says worriedly. “He’ll be fine, a few glasses of water and he’ll be good as new.” Jay reassures. With his words, Yunjin wraps her arm securely around Sunghoon’s waist, walking him out of the room - presumably to get him something non-alcoholic to drink.

“I can’t believe I didn’t even have to drink once.” Y/n speaks in awe. Jay, of course, had sunk most of the balls. But it felt good to be on a winning team for once. “You wanna play one on one?” Jay asks smirking, his question causing Y/n to laugh in disbelief. “Are you trying to get me drunk, Jay Park?” Y/n accuses playfully. Jay raises his hands in surrender at this. “Just trying to show you a good time.” “Well, I hate to break it to you but I’m not drinking tonight.” Y/n shrugs. “Who says you need to be drunk to have fun?” Jay asks. “Your friends, probably.” Y/n deadpans, earning an eye roll from Jay. “Yeah well, they’re idiots.” Jay clarifies. “And yet you hang out with them?” Jay can only chuckle at Y/n’s clap-back, leaning back against the table. “They’re my idiots.”

Keeho has whiplash. One second ago, Jake was fast asleep on his shoulder and now he’s attempting to do the splits on the dancefloor. A few shots and some almost ripped pants later, Jake finds himself back on the couch with Keeho, passionately chatting about the cultural differences between Australia and Canada.

Just as Jake is about to explain the difference between kangaroos and wallabies, Keeho’s phone notification interrupts the conversation. “Ooh, who are you texting?” Jake teases, leaning to catch a glimpse of Keeho’s phone screen. “No one. It’s just a twitter notification from Kimmy.” Keeho shrugs, shoving his phone back in his pocket.

“Is she tweeting about Jay again?” Jake asks, causing Keeho’s eyes to widen. “You know about that?” He asks, shocked. “Everyone and their mother knows about it! She won’t shut up!” Jake exclaims, excessive hand gestures backing up his words. “Fucking hate that bitch.”

Keeho’s eyes widen even further, almost popping out of his skull at Jake’s words. Is this finally the chance to get some light on the whole cheating situation? “Why is she so pissed at Jay anyway?” Keeho asks, trying to be as subtle as possible. Jake sighs at the question. “I don’t know, man. She was always a little goofy in their relationship, hated it when he did or said certain things. It was dumb stuff, like getting angry when he would game with me and Sunghoon. And she would get so upset when he cheated, for some reason.” Jake rambles.

His drunken words cause alarm bells to go off in Keeho’s mind. Kimmy got upset when Jay cheated. Poor unsuspecting Jake doesn’t even realise what he’s just done.

“Y/n… Yunjin… I’ve got it. Let’s go.” 

Yunjin’s eyes widen at the sound of Keeho’s voice blaring through the walkie talkie that’s currently placed securely in her bra. Sunghoon is drunk, but clearly not enough to the point where he’s oblivious to his surroundings.

“... did your boobs just talk?” He asks, his eyes practically staring a hole through her shirt. Yunjin gives him the benefit of the doubt; there’s far too much alcohol in his system to understand social norms and decent respect. She’ll make sure to slap him for his comment later.

“Uh… woah, are they playing the Macarena right now?” Yunjin asks as a distraction, her question causing Sunghoon’s eyes to widen. “Oh my god, I need to find Jake.” He exclaims, suddenly sobering up enough to sprint out of the room to find his friend. Sighing in relief, Yunjin pulls out the walkie talkie. “These were a terrible idea.” She speaks into it before walking off to find her friends.

“Were you guys planning on robbing me or something?”

Y/n should have known the walkie talkies would get them in trouble. Jay plays with the device in his hand, gently smiling at the rainbow heart stickers before turning his attention back to Y/n - who stands there, sheepishly.

“We weren’t, I swear! Keeho just had some… business to do and he wanted to use walkie talkies to make it more fun. I find it hard to say no to him sometimes you know, especially cause he brought them specifically for this and then he got the stickers and everything-”

“-Y/n, Yunjin and I are at the front door. Are you done with Jay?”

The sound of the walkie talkie once again breaks through the noise, causing Y/n to face palm. Jay looks at Y/n suspiciously before bringing the walkie talkie up to his lips. “Y/n’s a little busy at the moment… they’ll get back to you soon.”

…

That sounded ominous. Y/n feels themself sink further under Jay’s gaze as their mind begins to wander to what is about to happen. Has he figured out why they’re here? Is he mad? The sudden feeling of the device being placed back in Y/n’s hand snaps them out of their thoughts. “Wait here… I just need to check something.” Jay mumbles before walking out of the room.

Y/n doesn’t even wait a second after Jay leaves before quickly looking around the room, analysing all options to escape. Running towards one of the big windows, they calculate the likelihood of falling to their death. It wouldn’t be the first time Y/n climbed out of a second-story window… and they’d likely only sustain a sprained ankle (and perhaps a concussion) if they fell mid-way. Seeming like the best bet, Y/n shares their plan through the walkie talkie before pushing open the window. They nervously glance back into the room to check the coast is clear before starting to climb down. So much for being subtle.

TAG LIST (open): @bringer-ofchaos @yenqa @fakeuwus @mrchweeee @jjongshrts @oldjws @jxp1-t3r @wildflowermooon @sunseeking-cryptid @miniature-tragedy

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2024: July Wrap-Up.

This month, I picked my knitting back up with a vengeance, started a Three Sentences Writing Challenge, AND participated in several work-adjacent Social Events (who am I, even), On Top Of accidentally nerfing myself with several brick-like books, so! This little stack isn't half bad. Photos and/or reviews linked below:

ORDINARY MONSTERS - ★★ This was a miss for me, y'all, AND it was a brick, so it took a hot minute to read. I wanted it to be better than it was, but it rambled and wandered Too Much (which, coming from me, you KNOW is bad). Salty also-rambly 1.5k review linked.

IF FOUND, RETURN TO HELL - ★★★½ Way cuter than I was expecting!! I had a good time with the second person. Hugely relatable (which. wild. all things considered.).

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE - ★★★½ Funnier than anticipated, and very readable for something out of the '50s! I see why it's a cornerstone of the (sub)genre. Glad I have a copy on hand now.

THE ACTOR AND THE TARGET - ★★★★★ This Rewired My Brain. It took me three (3) weeks to get through. It was so good. If you're a writer, definitely check this out, 10/10 recommend.

WHEN AMONG CROWS - ★★★½ I checked this out from the library because hardback novellas are Expensive if you're not sure you vibe with the author's style, but I had a good time! Witcher fans should descend on this, I think.

ALWAYS COMING HOME - 76*/618 pages read; will report back later. I asked the People about this one, and the People have Spoken (read: this won my What Do I Read Next Poll), but I may or may not have miscalcuated how many brain cells I have available lately between work and writing, so I may or may not be cutting this with library books. I'll finish it. Eventually. (*asterisk because she keeps referencing Other Pages In Line, and every time she does I jump ahead to read those pages instead and then come back to where I was. I'm dual wielding bookmarks through this tome, it's an Experience™ so far!)

Under the Cut: A Note About ~*★Stars★*~

Historically, I have been Very Bad™ about assigning things Star Ratings, because it's so Vibes Heavy for me and therefore Contingent Upon my Whims. I am refining this as I figure out my wrap up posts (epiphany of this month: I don't like that stars are Odd, because that makes three the midpoint and things are rarely so truly mid for me)(I have hacked my way around this with a ½). Here is, generally, how I conceptualize stars:

★ - This was Bad. I would actively recommend that you do NOT read this one, no redeeming qualities whatsoever, not worth the slog. Save Yourself, It's Too Late For Me. Book goes in the garbage (donate bin).

★★ - This was Not Good. I would not recommend it, but it wasn't a total waste or wash--something in here held my interest/kept my attention/sparked some joy. I will not be rereading this ever. Save Yourself (Or Join Me In Suffering, That Seems Like A Cool Bonding Activity).

★★★ - This was Good/Fine/Okay/Meh. I don't care about this enough to recommend it one way or another. Perfectly serviceable book, held my interest, I probably enjoyed myself (or at least didn't actively loathe the reading). I don't have especially strong feelings. You probably don't need to save yourself from this one--if it sounds like your jam, give it a shot! Just didn't resonate with me particularly powerfully. I probably won't reread this unless I'm after something in particular.

★★★½ - I liked this! I'll probably recommend it if I know it matches someone's vibes or specific requests, but I didn't commit to a star rating on Goodreads. More likely to reread, but not guaranteed.

★★★★ - I really enjoyed this!! I would recommend it (sometimes with caveats about content warnings or such--I tend to like weird fucked up funny shit, and I don't have many hard readerly NO's). Not a perfect book for me by any means, but Very Good. This is something I would reread! Join me!!

★★★★★ - I LOVED THE SHIT OUT OF THIS, IT REWIRED MY BRAIN, WILL RECOMMEND TO ANYONE AND EVERYONE AT THE SLIGHTEST PROVOCATION (content warning caveats still apply--see 4-star disclaimer). Excellent book, I'll reread it regularly, I'll buy copies for all my friends, I'll try to convince all of Booklr to read it, PLEASE join me!!

[madsdawls]

Neon Frights review:

Okay so Neon Frights aka the most anticipated Skulltimate Secrets line up and I finally have them all, so what do I honestly think of them? overall I would give this Skulltimate line a 7 out of 10. I loved this line a lot and it's personally my favorite of the 3 that have released but there are a few glaring issues that bring it down for me as a whole.  Anyway let's get into it!

The positives:

▪ The SHOES omg I love them so much I love how some of the pairs are comparable to Demonias which feels like a callback to MH's more alt fashion staples while keeping G3's new choice of styling of bold colors intact 

▪The pet themed hoodies were so adorable I love the mesh sleeves on them especially my only issue though is I wish they were more detailed and they were easier to get over the ghouls heads

▪Loved the bold designed pleather skirts all of them looked cool

▪Love the overall bold color schemes on the dolls and their lockers were even masterfully done

▪All of the character jewelry and accessories were super cute and showed off the element of each characters personalities super well

▪The makeup looks were soo fierce and cunty they added so much to the entire line

The negatives:

▪The poly hair every ghoul is cursed with in this line. I loved the bold cuts and colors but oh my gosh the hair quality is HORRIBLE. This line is $30 dollars there is no reason a doll worth that much should have worse hair quality than the MH budget dolls.

▪I'm more neutral on this but I personally did not like the harness gimmick they were very cute on Frankie and Draculaura but over all they don't match or really add anything to this line? idk I would have scrapped that for a different accessory.

▪Absolutely hated the two tone pleather shorts. They were totally boring and lifeless compared to the rest of the boldness of the line and doesn't really read as a relaxing considering how stiff they are on the dolls. I think if they were fabric and more styled they may have been cuter.

▪Another reoccurring issue I don't like about Skulltimate Secrets is how they managed to make the earrings all hang sticking out to the sides so awkwardly when the other dolls don't have the earrings set in like this.

Doll rating:

Twyla: ☆☆☆☆ I thought this doll was gorgeous from the dark makeup to her entire outfits and accessories the only thing I despised about the doll was the horrid dry poly hair quality it fell out and broke so badly everytime I brushed it to the point I am considering commissioning a reroot it bothers me that much :/

Ghoulia:☆☆☆☆ I just loved the gamer girl aesthetic they went with for Ghoulia and the shade of green on all of her accessories and clothes though her pixel glasses were bent from how they packaged her and so they wouldn't stay on and also I hated the two tone shorts and blue harness that didn't match.

Toralei: ☆☆☆ I loved her bold makeup and short hair and most of her clothes however I don't think they balanced her colors very good it was just too much orange and I didn't like how her tail was removable instead of having the clothes have the hole for it.

Frankie: ☆☆☆☆☆ I think Frankie knocked this line out of the park the bold colors suits their character so well and they did not disappoint! I love the hot pink color pop on the side shave and eyebrow piercing it stands out so well with all of the other colors. I am inlove from head to toe Frankie pops out being totally in their element :)

Draculaura: ☆☆☆ I was probably most disappointed with Draculaura honestly I think they half heartedly slapped a doll together of her to be included in just because she is a fan favorite and big seller (especially true since she is in every SS line up even the upcoming Ballerina one). I loved her shoes, the pink bat top, and the black skirt with yellow straps but aside from that the design falls kinda flat. I think with the reintroduction of yellow in her color pallet giving her full neon pink hair would have been better suited.

To sum it up I think this line is still one of the best G3 has come up with but as a whole I wish they would do away with polypropylene and put more effort in the clothing pieces for $30 dollars it feels a little disappointing when you pay a lot for a doll and aren't satisfied with the obvious cheap quality.

[kosomolski-dolls]

So... last year, I've been bad and got 2 Luts dolls that I planned to make into Hagi and Matsuda.

Matsuda, I wasn't too sure about at first, but the sculpt worked better than I had anticipated.

Hagi, I was sure would work, the Bliss sculpt has these droopy eyes and slight smile, and after making the wig, I was confident.

I only didn't really like that his eyes were soooo small, so I thought I'd open them up just a bit to make him look just a bit more awake...

Well, already after doing the mod, I got second-guesses about my decision because now he looked a lot cuter and younger.

But I thought, ok, let's try anyway, so I have him a faceup and... yeah. Very much second-guessing my choices 🥲 he looks very young and kinda too feminine (I know the face is also too round for Hagi, but since it worked for Hiro as well, I overlooked that).

So...

Yeah... we will see what I'll do now.

[ezlo-x]

ok...I went to the grocery store to buy food, went to the gas station cause my gas tank was empty, played w my dog and had fun, and finished my collegework and feel relieved. I think I have my thoughts abt the new totk trailer organized

tldr i have a lot of mixed feelings but I blame it on the way nintendo markets this game.

if you dont want negative opinions killing your hype and excitement for this game you are more than happy to just scroll off this post. I don't want to ruin it for you

ok to start off w the negative cause it actually makes me sad to be negative abt something that I've been anticipating for years. Just to end up being frustrated on how Nintendo has marketed this game and I realized how botw's marketing will never be topped. Remembering the showcasing how the ai of a horse would never crash on to a tree (that was hype back then i know it sounds funny now but ppl were so mind blown back then). The map, how you can jump, climb, eat, you could do basically anything. Anyways the way they announce new games like totk was pretty much predictable (except for that one time on twitter). Have almost an hour long direct showcase, make people anxious that there will not be new totk news, then suddenly they pull the "one last thing". And we only get less than 5 minutes of game footage where everything is so vague we don't know what's happening. Also just the pattern of being radio silent until a month before the release.

This trailer solidified this pattern and it annoys me. I want to see gameplay of this game idc for the story cause that could be lead to be a surprise you can keep the story vague on the trailers, that is fine by me. But the gameplay? Where is it? Those milliseconds of footage that you just showed? That's not enough because I don't know what is happening. I want to see gameplay I want to see what else you can do, what more you can do. Don't get me started how the official zelda twt account is currently showcasing small new things abt the game. Which yeah sure fine i'll give it a pass but would it hurt to also include that in the direct?

Anyways now lets actually talk abt that trailer that was basically a remix of the previous trailer.

Ganondorf's voice does not work. It doesn't it just not. It is not terrible it just doesn't work. His dialogue did not make things better he sounded corny as hell. Fucking cornier than OoT Ganondorf I honestly want to look at Oot Ganon's lines in game to see if he has said anything much cornier than whatever totk Ganondorf just said in the trailer.

The mechanics? Like the milliseconds of footage they decided to show of those flying things? They're alright w me actually you want to know why? Cause they're super vague about it and Idk what to think of those things!!!!!!!!

Now...to the positive the only positive thing that I could say. I am very excited for the new monsters. Apparently they're reintroducing an old nes monster similar to how they did w the Lynels (eventhough it was just a frame where you could see it I found that out thanks to twitter). The new Bokoblin that they also showed in a millisecond but showed the full artwork on twt is very cute, actually cuter than the regular old bokoblins idk why.

and thats all I have thanks

[munson-blurbs]

Thankful (Dad!Eddie x Mom!Reader)

You and Eddie celebrate Melody’s first Thanksgiving with the Hawkins crew.

Warnings: none

WC: 1.7k

Part I | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Taglist: @dylanmunson @tayhar811 @princess-eddie​ @briasnow-blog @eddielives1986 @lost-in-contingency @eddiesprincess86​

--

“Are you ready?” You hear Eddie whisper through the bedroom door; the man was never good at keeping his voice low. “C’mon, let’s go surprise Mommy!”

The record store is closed on holidays, which means Eddie’s home, which also means that you can sleep in. Motherhood is more exhausting than you had anticipated. It’s one thing to pull an all-nighter once in awhile to finish some work or have a movie marathon; it’s another to wake up every two hours to feed, change, or rock a screaming baby.

Your husband has been nothing short of an angel: balancing work, a newborn baby, and a wife who feels like she’s falling apart physically and emotionally. You take care of Melody while he’s at the store, but he’s holding her as soon as he gets home so you can take time to rest. 

You open one eye as the door opens and slip on your glasses. Eddie’s still in his pajamas, but he’s got Melody in an outfit you haven’t seen before.

“Hi, my loves,” you greet them sleepily. “Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Happy Thanksgiving, Mama Munson,” Eddie replies, carefully shuffling towards you. “Mel wants to show you something.”

“I hope it’s not another diaper explosion,” you give a small laugh, sitting up to get a better look at your little family.

“Nope. Had one of those already this morning, but Super Dad took care of it,” he grins proudly. “This is much better.”

He hands you your little baby, her dark blond curls tickling your chin as you pull her close for cuddles. She’s wearing an orange onesie with a cartoon turkey on it, and the text below it reads “My First Thanksgiving.”

“This is the most precious thing I’ve ever seen!” you exclaim as she takes your finger in her tiny fist. “Eds, where did you get this?”

“What are you talking about? You gave birth to her!” he teases, kissing your forehead.

“You know what I mean!”

“Ohhh, her Thanksgiving outfit,” Eddie says, making you smile even wider. “One of my regulars gave it to me last week. Been hiding so we could surprise you.”

“I swear, every time I think this kid couldn’t get any cuter,” you kiss her little fingernails, and she looks up at you with her wide eyes. “Right? Every time Mommy thinks you couldn’t be a more adorable little baby, you prove her wrong!”

Eddie’s heart leaps watching you be a mom. The last few weeks have been hard on you, but he’s so impressed with how naturally you fell into motherhood. On more than one occasion you’ve questioned whether or not you can do this, but he reassures you that the feeling is normal, especially when sleep deprived. And while you’ve had no shortage of visitors, you haven’t really left the house.

Today, however, the three of you are going to the Hopper-Byers house to celebrate with everyone—and you mean everyone: Jim Hopper, Joyce, Will, Jonathan, and Eleven will obviously be there, as well as Steve, Nancy, Andy, Robin, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Max. A full house.

Eddie crouches down so he’s eye-level with his daughter. “What’s that, Melly Bean?” he asks, cocking his head towards her. “You want Mommy to come out to the living room so we can watch the parade together?”

You roll your eyes and laugh. “Only for my little turkey,” you place her back in his waiting arms so you can stretch. “And because I have to get up anyway and make a casserole to bring to Joyce’s.”

“I thought Joyce said not to bring anything?” He furrows his brows.

“Well, I’m not going over empty-handed,” you reply. “Besides, it’ll feel good to cook something again.” Your friends and neighbors had brought food to you after Melody was born, and you’d been subsisting on that and take-out since you got home from the hospital.

Eddie nods. “Okay. Just take it easy.” You give him a warm smile, appreciating his concern without being overbearing. God, you love him.

~

You wrap the hot casserole dish in tinfoil just as Santa Claus makes his way down 34th Street, signaling the end of the parade.

“Look, Melly!” Eddie coos, though she’s sound asleep against his chest. “That’s Santa! He’s gonna come to our house next month and bring you so many gifts.” He looks over at you sheepishly. “Speaking of which, I should probably pick up some extra shifts.”

You feign ignorance for your own amusement. “Whatever for? I thought Santa was bringing everything for her.”

“You’re so lucky I’m holding her, or I’d throw a pillow at your head.” Instead, he opts to stick out his tongue, making you giggle.

“C’mon, let’s bundle her up and…Eddie!” you cry out when you see that he’s still in his pajamas, with his hair mussed and his face unshaven. “How are you not ready yet?”

“I think a better question is, how are you ready?” he gawps.

“I showered and got dressed while the casserole was in the oven,” you explain. “Just need to throw on some makeup, cover up these bags under my eyes, and I’m good to go.”

“Fuckin’ Wonder Woman, I’m tellin’ you, babe. That’s what you are,” he muses, standing slowly and putting Melody in her bassinet next to the couch. He walks back to the kitchen and presses a sloppy kiss to your temple. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, stinky man,” you wrinkle your nose dramatically as you pretend to lean in for a kiss but lick his lips instead. He retaliates quickly, pulling you close to him and licking your ear.

“You’re gross,” you mumble as his jaw drops.

“Me? You started this!” he retorts.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, babe. Now go get ready.”

~

You pull up to the house half an hour later than you’d hoped, but considering you had a four-week-old baby, you were impressed that you weren’t tardier. Eddie throws the car in park and shuts off the engine, and immediately you hear a voice call, “They’re here!”, followed by a parade of people vying to be the first to hold Melody.

“Whoa! Hey, guys!” Eddie calls as he steps out and opens the rear door to get the baby. “Just give us a sec to get settled in and then you can fight to the death for her.”

You sling the diaper bag over your shoulder as Eddie unhooks the car seat. Melody stirs slightly and lets out a cry.

“Sorry,” you mutter as you make a beeline for the front door, “she might be hungry.”

Joyce pushes through the crowd to get to you. “Breathe. It’s okay. Babies cry,” she rubs your back gently. “You’ll feed her, and she’ll be good as new.”

You take a deep breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth, and nod. “Thank you.”

There’s a soft tap on your shoulder as you walk in the house. “Uh, Y/N?” Mike Wheeler says. “I can give her a bottle, i-if you want. I used to help my mom when Holly was a baby.”

You’re reluctant to accept help, for the sake of your own pride, but you relinquish some control and smile. “That would be amazing, Mike.” The boy visibly relaxes as you bring him over to the kitchen so you can prepare the bottle.

Eddie places Melody in Mike’s arms, and she takes the bottle immediately. “She’s so cute,” Mike remarks, making silly faces at her while she drinks.

“Once that bottle is done, give her to me,” Dustin demands, and Max scoffs at him.

“You already got to meet her when she was born!” she argues, pushing him out of the way.

“Not my fault I’m a better friend than any of you are!”

“Hey, who says I’m giving her up?” Mike calls back from the sofa.

“Sheep!” Eddie’s voice stops their bickering immediately. “Here’s the deal: Wheeler’s gonna finish feeding her, then we’ll go in alphabetical order by people who haven’t met her yet,” he emphasizes, earning a glare from Dustin. “That means Eleven, then Jonathan, Lucas, Max, Robin, and Will.��

“So not fair,” Dustin mutters, but doesn’t put up more of a fight.

“Also, there’s a rule,” you add teasingly. “If she poops while you’re holding her, you have to change her diaper.” Surprisingly, no one seems fazed.

~

For the first time in nearly a month, you’re able to have adult conversations and eat a meal without having to tend to Melody. It feels strange, like a piece of you is missing, but you learn to enjoy the moments of freedom.

It’s Hopper’s turn to hold her, and he’s standing next to Eddie, who’s eating a slice of pie. You overhear a part of their conversation:

“Having a daughter is the best feeling, isn’t it?” Hopper asks him, waving a finger at Melody. She’s so good, you think with a smile.

Eddie nods vigorously. “I can’t believe that I get to be her dad. I feel like I don’t deserve it,” he admits.

Hopper glances over at Eleven before replying. “I know the feeling,” he agrees, “but trust me when I say that if anyone deserves this, it’s you.” You blink back tears, half because you don’t want to be crying at Thanksgiving, and half because you don’t want to get caught eavesdropping.

Joyce uses her hip to gently bump yours. “Look at our guys,” she says. “Almost hate to steal her away from them. Almost.” She marches over and motions for her husband to hand her the baby, heart melting the instant she holds her.

Eddie makes his way over to you, placing his empty plate on a nearby table. He brings his arm around your waist, and you rest your head on his chest.

“You good, baby?” he murmurs into your hair.

“Mhm,” you say. “I’m just really happy.”

He squeezes you even closer and brings his gaze back to his daughter, cooing in Joyce’s arms. “We made the cutest kid ever, didn’t we?”

“Oh, absolutely,” you agree. “Makes every other baby look bad.” You look up at him and he bends down slightly to kiss you.

Instead, you lick from his lower lip to the tip of his nose.

“Gotcha.”

[userholland]

getaway town | (two) t. holland

genre: summer love, strangers to lovers, domestic/fluff, mutual pining, light smut

pairing: actor!tom holland x female!reader

series summary: tom needs time away from the city and a break from acting so, he travels to a nice lake house in upstate new york for the rest of the summer (without having his cover blown). he finds the peace and quiet refreshing, along with his trips to the local market where he’s met with a beautiful smile from the girl behind the register.

warnings: reader & tom being adorable (?), tom being a complete flirt, mostly light and cheeky conversations!

word count: 2.3k

songs inspired: style by taylor swift

a/n: apologies for this part being a bit late. i was sick but super excited to write this part. usually i leave these series to be slow burns yet this one tells me 'instant romance'. i can only hope people are enjoying it and anticipate for me. thanks for so much of the reblogs, comments and likes!!! all the support warms my heart (':

series masterlist | main masterlist | wips

You couldn’t imagine living someplace else than Lake Moonlit. Sure, it was barely a tourist trap. The cash flow wasn’t much, the gossip was constant and the nearest grocery store was at least twenty miles away, but it was home for everyone. 

You had your routine down and you didn’t mind that other people knew too. Get up early morning at sunrise, have your morning brew in your favorite cup, walk down to the store, open up and wait for the group kids to arrive at nine o’clock on the dot. 

Sometimes Conner, the 83-year-old gas station owner, stopped by before lunch, and Dottie, one of the servers at the restaurant above the lake, dropped off her daughter before her shift at three. Sometimes a tourist would come by every other month, asking them the usual questions about them– but, Tom caught your eye in a different way.

His curls were freshly cut, so soft and naturally pushed back once he took that low cap off. There was a hazel tint to his iris– some would call it a natural sparkle in his eyes. Even his chuckle was endearing, not too breathy or harsh. 

“Is the population real? Do only an few people live here?” Tom asked, keeping attention on the surprisingly winding road.

You nodded, “Just about. It’s truly a small town. So, I know new faces. Especially someone so cute.” You attempted to flirt, immediate heat rise to your cheeks.

If anything, this instant connection felt more unreal than anything else you were talking about the on the drive. Tessa laid down in the backseat, her head resting on top of Tom’s backpack, and you leaned your elbow against the open window.

“Well, I’m glad I got met with an even cuter girl at the first place I go to in this abnormally small town.” He smiled, quickly glancing at you and already met with your beautiful smile.

A few minutes later, you arrive at the quaint restaurant that overlooked the lake and houses below it. As the sun’s orange glaze disappeared from the horizon, warm lights lit from the windows of those houses and ominously reflected perfectly off the lake– as if there was a world beneath with the same the huge, green trees and birds soaring into the night sky.

Tessa naturally followed behind him as the two of you walked to the front door. Like a gentleman, Tom opened the door for you and you exchanged a small smile. The atmosphere in the restaurant was low-lit, but the beautiful view of the lake was the charm. Just as you said, there was little to no one there which secretly comforted Tom.

There was a few tables by the window, and you two sat down at the one in the center of them. A small, white candle was lit to the side and a pink rose sat in a small, glass next to it. Oddly romantic, but a mood setter.

Tessa curled up next to Tom’s chair, laying herself comfortably underneath the table as the two of you pulled in your chairs.

“This is nice.” Tom looked around, “and people don’t come here?”

“We like to think of it as a tourist trap. In better words, it’s only restaurant in the area and great service from the lack of people? It’s really great food too, but the owners are the icing on the cake.” You explained.

“And I assume you know these owners.” Tom smirked.

You giggled, “Jeff and Sarah Banks. They’ve lived here and owned this place longer than I’ve been alive. I used to work here when I was going to school, but once my parents moved out of state and needed someone to watch the store, I was a shoo-in obviously.”

“Ah, and how did you get the part-time babysitting gig?” He asked as his eyes gazed over the two-page menu.

“Some people work out of town and they need someone to watch their kids so, I let them kayak and row out in the lake while I’m working. I’m able to keep an eye on them and they get a free lunch.” You grinned, taking a long look out at the lake again.

“Sounds fun.” Tom smiled to himself, sort of wishing he could live such a charming life.

Before you could continue, Jocelyn, another young waitress you had befriended, came over with two waters. Sweetly introducing herself, she set the glasses on the table and took your orders. Truthfully, Tom ordered the first meal that caught his eye because he was starved and hoped his stomach growls weren't going to get louder.

“So, what do you do when you’re not vacationing?” You asked, then sipped your water.

Tom panicked, all that years of learning improvising out the window.

“Um, I’m- I’m a… writer. Yeah, I’m taking a bit of a break from writing my novel.” 

“Oh, that’s cool. What’s it about?”

Shit, Tom thought.

“It’s about… a struggling actor. Not struggling in the industry, but mentally. But, uh, he leaves for a while only for his life to become like one of his action movies.” Tom trailed, “It’s a work in progress.”

You raised your eyebrows, “You’ll have to send me a copy.”

He chuckled, embarrassed at how he failed to make a better story in his head, but at least it covered his ass. All he could do is relax and go on pretending he was living a normal life.

Throughout the dinner, the conversations bounced off from topic to topic. The flow didn’t feel awkward and you two explored your hobbies and interests with barely a disagreement. A part of Tom thought he was purely dreaming, imagining a scenario where he wakes up in a cold sweet in his bed back in London and your kind self was a figment of his imagination.

Tom hadn’t genuinely laughed in so long, there was no question that you were his reason to believe there’s a right person at a right place and a right time. For him, this was that moment where fate seemed to make sense more than in a fictional, corny script.

“Was it as good as I told you?” You asked him, seeing his empty plate across the table.

“I think I’ll have this place out of business if I come here everyday for all three meals.” He joked, making you both let out warm chuckles.

You scrunched your nose, “I’m your suggestion expert, Tom the Tourist.”

Tom wasn’t one for nicknames, but this one was sticking.

When he pulled out his credit card, you peaked at his name on it. Tom S. Holland.

Your eyes narrowed a bit, the name sounding familiar, but you didn’t want him to notice so you looked back to the lake to your right side.

“I was supposed to stay for three weeks, but I think I’m gonna extend it a few more.” He said which pulled your eyes from the card.

“What changed your mind?” You batted your eyelashes, leaning in on the table.

He smirked once more, “My perspective’s changed a bit.” 

You lifted your glass of water, “I’m glad. It’s nice having your company.”

The flirting was natural, but more importantly, it felt natural. Yeah, you chit-chat and made small talk to people passing by like any friendly worker would, but Tom had a certain vibe to him. Less than five hours and you weren’t sure if you were falling for him or if it was an act.

After finishing your meals, Tom drove you back to the store with Tessa asleep in the backseat. For Tom, it didn’t feel like he arrived there that morning with nothing but doubt and thinking he was running away from his problems. The articles, the gossip, all of it got to his head until his eyes met yours.

He carefully pulled into the store’s stone parking lot, leaving the headlights aimed at the door for a clear path. Neither of you wanted the night to end, so you found yourself frozen

“I had a really nice time tonight.” 

You smiled, “I’m glad… because I did too.”

Tom had been through this many times. It’s the part in the script where the two main characters gaze into each other's eyes and meet for a passionate, zoomed-in kiss. Usually he had to fake the romance, digging deep in his emotions to reflect them through his acting, but this was the raw emotions he wish he could have.

The moonlight shined on the dashboard, coming through the sunroof and radiating on the top of your head– almost like a halo. He couldn’t help but keep his smile on his lips. You were just as happy, and mostly feeling the same way.

As his had gently reached your cheek, you didn’t pull away from his motion. Before your head could think before your heart, his lips softly planted on top of yours. There was a pause after your lips parted, as if the both of you were making sure this was real, but you connected your lips for another slow kiss then moved apart.

Tom’s head was buzzing while your heart was pounding against your chest. While an audible “wow” would describe how that was, you maintained your cool and opened the door.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, I hope.” You giggled, the burning on your face and neck a bit unbearable.

“Of course.” He replied before you closed the door.

You gave him a last look then headed into the store, walking to behind the counter and all you could do was cover your smile with your hand. A connection like this was rare so, you wanted to be optimistic about him. He was gorgeous with a beautiful smile, and hopefully not a heartbreaker.

♡ ♡ ♡

The next morning came and Tom woke up relaxed to his surprise. The soft sheets brushed against his bare chest as he pushed them off to look out the wide window facing the lake. A smile naturally up-turned on his face remembering the kiss with you last night. He hoped it wasn’t just some dream, already wondering what time he should see you today.

He left Tessa, sleeping and curled up, on the bed before heading downstairs. Heading to the kitchen, he opened a box he brought from home that had his cooking essentials in it, including his tea kettle.

After filling the pot then putting it over a high flame, Tom looked out at the lake again through the downstairs back doors. He slowly, and still groggy, walked over and opened the sliding door to meet a fresh breeze and perfect warm temperature against his body. He strolled down to the dock, walking down the fresh wood until the end of it with a small boat docked to the side by the ladder.

Tom stretched his arms over his hand, his bare abdomen leaning out as his back arched. The fresh smell of the lake kept him at peace and the sky was a pale blue before the sun rose. It was a beautiful view to wake up to, and not a single car horn was blaring or sea of people crowding the ways around here.

Just as he turned to go inside, Tom took a second look across his view. A woman was waving her arm side to side to side over her head, but not just any woman– it was you once he rubbed his eyes and could see your beaming smile.

Tom found your contact, pressing the call button and barely hear your ringtone across the lake.

“We have to stop meeting like this!” He jeered when he saw you hold the phone up to your ear.

“Talk about luck!” You grinned, crossing your arm under the other and putting your weight on your hip.

“Would you like to have some morning tea? The kettle’s already hot.” Tom said loudly, his thick accent coming off smooth and low.

You grinned, “I’ll be there in two minutes.” You hung up then walked off the dock and around your house.

Just across the lake? Another coincidence?, Tom thought.

He was going to enjoy the next few weeks. You didn’t know who he was, but it’s not all that mattered to him. It was just nice being treated normally yet loving to look in your eyes. A small town romance would be cliche, but it wasn’t off the table for him.

♡ ♡ ♡

After Tom dropped you off the night before, your curiosity was kept under wraps most of the dinner. There was something familiar about him, as if you’d met before but there wasn’t a time or place you could imagine him. Since he was a writer, you figured that you could use your laptop to snoop about his life— trying to convince yourself it wasn’t completely weird.

You turned on a few lights in your kitchen before sitting at the counter with your laptop. Opening googling and typing Tom’s name, you froze at his name already popping up as the first result. Hesitantly, you clicked it and there was an instant click to where you knew him. The ad campaign he had with an athleisure brand when you went out of town to visit the outlet mall. 

“What?” You said under you breath, scrolling through the relate articles with his name (most of them joined with the words: Tate, breakup, and hiatus).

You twisted your lips, taking your hand away from the trackpad. It felt like an invasion of Tom’s privacy even though he was obviously lying to you. He was no writer, he was a highly-praised actor who was in the heat of his own relationship or “crumbling relationship” as most of the articles would title.

You were faced with two options: call him out or keep pretending for his own wishes. Was it worth it to expose a celeb who you’d gotten to know in the past day, or let him lay low until whatever press finds him deep in your hometown.

Sadly, you thought you could fall for him, but it was better to keep him at a distance. You knew he wouldn’t tell you about who he is so, what’s the harm in putting up your wall now? Saves you both from being hurt in the end.

But, now you were both keeping a secret.

[heytherejulietx]

growth spurt - richie tozier

↳ a/n - ignore the lack of format at all. i’m writing this on my phone and lower caps looks cuter idc. technically requested by @bucky-j-barnes (although she only told me to write richie if it counts) anyways sara ily and enjoy <3

↳ content warning - strong language, dirty jokes.

↳ 1.2k words

y/n leaned back against the wall outside of school as she watched all of the people walking inside, trying to spot one of the losers (specifically her trashmouth boyfriend). y/n and her parents had been away in another state to see family for practically all of summer so she hadn’t seen any of the losers since may. she’d missed them all a lot, as she hadn’t really spoken to any of them through summer, though the anticipation to see them definitely made the school day better. somehow.

she hadn’t really changed too much over the summer. she’d cut her hair and changed up her style a little, though she had no major changes. nothing that people would notice. she’d stopped growing about a year ago so she was still the same height; annoyingly short. the only person she knew who was the same height as her was eddie, which she appreciated. she had someone who at least got bullied with her when richie went off on one.

“hey, sweet cheeks!”

she’d been too lost in her thoughts to see him approach, but she looked up at the voice she recognised all too well and holy fuck.

richie walked up towards her with his hands in his pockets, grinning his usual stupid grin. he was still wearing one of his hideously colourful shirts and still had glasses that covered the top half of his face. his hair was a mess as always and he was still carrying the same backpack he had since sixth grade. but somehow he had gotten so much taller. he was practically a giant. for a seventeen year old he was huge. it looked like he had literally been stretched upwards to be so tall.

y/n’s mouth dropped open as he moved to stand in front of her and his grin widened, arms loosely crossing over his chest.

“i know, i got even hotter.” he smirked, and she had to look up at him as he spoke.

he had always been tall, but so had all of the other boys she knew - aside from eddie, of course. but this was just insane. he wasn’t just tall - he was a fucking giant.

“how did you- since when- you’re so tall!” y/n gasped and richie laughed as he reached out to pat her head like she was a puppy.

“maybe you just got shorter.” he teased and y/n scowled, though she couldn’t help but smile as richie stepped forwards and put his arms around her, pulling her into himself. this new height was perfect for hugging him, she realised as he tucked her head right under his chin.

“missed you.” she mumbled into his disgusting pink shirt, and she relaxed against him as he held onto her a little tighter. she really had missed him all summer. it sucked not being around him for so long, especially outside of school. he was so different when it was just them. he was so much gentler.

“missed you more. it sucked being stuck with eddie for two months without you.” richie chuckled.

“hey what the fuck?”

y/n looked up to see eddie walking towards them and rolled her eyes, elbowing richie in the ribs when she realised he’d purposely said it so his best friend could hear.

“eddie! i missed you too!” y/n smiled and pulled away from her boyfriend to put her arms around the shorter boy instead, who initially stiffened though hugged her back after a moment.

“y/n thank fuck you’re back. richie has been completely unhinged all summer. now that you’re back maybe you can control him so he doesn’t go swimming in the disgusting river again.” eddie snapped at richie as she pulled away from the hug.

“oh come on, eddie spaghetti,” richie teased as he slung his arm around y/n’s shoulders. “it was a hot day! you’re just a fun sponge.”

“better that then contracting some sort of disease from the water. seriously, i feel like i’m the only person who cares about safety.” eddie scowled as he crossed his arms, speaking almost too fast for y/n to keep up.

“safety schmaftey. lighten up a bit, eds. sheesh you’re more wound up than my grandma.” he snorted.

“whatever, when you die from doing something stupid i won’t be surprised,” eddie huffed, adjusting the straps of his bag on his shoulders as he spoke. “i’ve gotta go and disinfect my locker before i use it, fuck knows what was in there last year,” he shuddered. “see you guys.” eddie shoved richie as he walked past before he went into the building, disappearing amongst the crowd.

“if i knew you’d almost kill yourself all summer i’d have probably stuck around.” y/n teased as she looked back up at him and richie rolled his eyes.

“i wasn’t even that bad, come on angel,” richie complained, and y/n had to stop herself from smiling at the nickname. “anyways, now that you’re back i can get unhinged in another way.” he wriggled his eyebrows at her suggestively and she groaned as she pushed his chest.

“in your dreams, tozier.” y/n scoffed and richie threw his head back and laughed at her expression.

“come on, snookums, not even a quick one? there’s probably an empty closet inside-“

y/n cut him off by lifting her hand to cover his mouth so he didn’t say anymore, though pulled it away with a gasp when she felt something wet against her fingers.

“did you just lick me?” she gasped, and richie started laughing again as he slung his arm back around her.

“there’s way more where that came from.” he winked, and she pulled a face and groaned as she wiped her hand off on her trousers.

“you’re disgusting.” she scowled.

“you still love me.” he grinned, tapping the end of her nose and causing her to scrunch it up slightly.

“somehow.” she sighed dramatically, though couldn’t hide her smile as she looked up at him. “we probably have to go inside in a minute.” she nodded towards the entrance of the school, and leaned up to kiss him for a moment before they went inside, though scowled as he was now too tall for her to reach.

richie grinned as she leaned up on her tiptoes towards him though just tipped his head up so she couldn’t reach, and she groaned as she smacked his chest again.

“rich.” she whined, tugging on his shirt, and he laughed as he finally leaned down to kiss her properly, resting his hands on her sides.

“you’re too cute,” he teased as he pulled away with a kiss to the end of her nose, and reached to take her hand instead as they started walking inside. “still wanna find that closet, though?”

“shut up.” y/n elbowed him again and he laughed, swinging their hands as they walked inside.

[justalarryblog]

Dinner Date by @pinky-heaven19 / pinky_heaven19 (3k) | Not Rated

“Sorry, what are you doing?” Louis managed to say, looking at him with his head cocked to the side, trying his best to sound more polite than intrusive.

“I'm on a date, apparently,” Harry replied with a smile so big that a dimple appeared on his cheek. Fuck. “I was at the bar and saw you here alone. People were giving you weird looks and I thought it wouldn't hurt to come here and pretend to be your date.”

OR the one where Louis gets stood up by his date and Harry comes to help him.

I Feel Safe With You by @comebackassholes / dimpled_halo (3k) | Explicit

Hey Marcel,

We’re definitely still on for tonight. Thanks for the information. I’ll keep it in mind when planning the scene for tonight.

I’ll see you soon,

Louis

Marcel bites his lip and checks the time. Only a few more hours before Louis comes over. It almost feels like the first time, but instead of anxiety, it’s all nervous anticipation. The last two scenes have been everything Marcel could ever ask for so he can only imagine what Louis will come up with today.

Part 3 of Dom Louis

may we all have a vision now and then by @gaycousinlarry / momentofclarity (4k) | Mature

On a cold December night, Louis meets Harry for the first time.

I Like It Better When It Hurts by @comebackassholes / dimpled_halo (6k) | Explicit

Dear Mr. Louis,

Hello. I’m Harry. I got your contact from a good friend of mine and was wondering if I can get your services. My 30th birthday is coming up and all I’ve ever wanted is to get spanked, maybe more?

If you’re interested, please contact me. I’d love to hear from you.

Sincerely,

Harry

Marcel reads over the words. He guesses there isn’t a much better way to ask for what he needs. He almost changes the name again but decides Harry is fine. It’s generic and nothing that can be traced to him. At least he doesn’t think so. Okay, he’s overthinking again so he clicks the send button before he can talk himself out of it. His heart races as soon as he does. He almost wants to take it back, figure out a way to undo it, but he takes a big gulp of his wine to calm down.

It’s fine. This is fine. He can do this.

Part 1 of Dom Louis

Kiss Me Again, You Fool by @wabadabadaba (6k) | Mature

“Louis, you’re cuter than a button. Will you be my valentine? Hm, no,” Marcel scowls. “It is true but no. ‘I love you a latte!’ But wait, does he drink coffee? Only sometimes so that doesn’t make sense.”

Marcel sticks his tongue out as he ices three more cookies.

“I go bananas for you,” Marcel giggles. “That’s cute, but not sophisticated enough. He’s the best designer on our floor, he deserves something better. ‘Right from the start, you stole my heart?’ No, I don’t want to scare him off. I should probably just speak from the heart, that’s always what mom says. But then Gemma says that’s lame, I don’t knooow,” Marcel groans.

or the one where Marcel has a huge crush on his coworker, Louis, and decides Valentine's Day is the day to put himself out there.

Love Is a Winning Game by @all-these-larrythings / Rearviewdreamer (47k) | Mature

Before their broken engagement, Harry had his head stuck so far in the clouds that he doesn’t even remember entering him and Louis for something as crazy as a couple's gameshow until a series of bad, post-breakup decisions puts Harry in the awkward position of needing the help of his ex-fiancé to try and fix the mess he has made.

Submarine from Hell by reader_chic_2 (76k) | Mature

I understand there are no heat/rut rooms and will not experience rut/heat for my time of service and up to two weeks after. I understand I will not let my gender interfere with my service and will follow the captain without question relating to my service and/or issues with my gender.

X____________________________________

. . .

Aka when Louis and Harry are the first omega and alpha, respectively, to become submariners, they have to find a way to survive lethally too strong suppressants while being forced to live in confined quarters with each others. In a submarine among betas, they decide to risk their blind noses by stopping all suppressants, but eventually, they must find a way to survive their heat and ruts, all while not getting killed in combat.

technicolor by @creamcoffeelou (81k) | Explicit

When the small town of Twin Lakes begins experiencing a string of serial murders, a team of detectives is called in to help. Louis is the head of the team and meets a hard-headed psychic who everyone else seems to believe is the one who will solve the case.

Louis isn't so sure.

OR

The slow-burn, hate-to-love, crime au where Harry is a psychic, Louis is a detective, and the world is against them.

The Woods are Lovely, Dark and Deep Series by @helloamhere (128k) | Teen And Up Audiences / Mature

Louis was a monster. But sometimes, even monsters get a Christmas.

🗓️ January Fic Rec 🗓️ February Fic Rec

Here is my tag for my Monthly Fic Rec and here are my fic tags! 💖

[connordavidscamera]

A Jealous Household | Connor Brashier

A/n: listen, I know it says y/n, but we all know it’s written about me, right? Okay, just wanna put that out there lol

Summary: Shawn and Brian want to have a party, but this party causes a few problems for Connor and y/n

Warnings: angst, underage drinking (for US standards, at least), pining

Word count: 7.5k, she’s a long one

***

“You want to have a party? When?” Y/n asks, closing her book and setting it in her lap.

“This weekend,” Shawn nods. “And it won’t be a big thing, I promise. Maybe fifteen, twenty people.”

“Thirty or forty, max,” Brian interjects.

I can’t help but laugh at that, neither can she as she says. “You know we can’t even fit thirty or forty people in the condo, right?”

“I know that, but that’s why we’ll have some of them in the backyard too.”

“So what’s the party even for?” She asks, leaning into my side. On instinct, I wrap my arm around her shoulders. 

They both shrug, “A house warming party? Does that still count if we’ve lived here for almost two months?” Shawn questions. 

She shrugs, “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t see why we couldn’t have one. We just have to be considerate of our neighbors. And nobody’s allowed in my room. If there’s alcohol, I’m not chancing anyone going into my room for a sloppy fuck.”

Shawn laughs, “So your sloppy fuck is gonna be in Connor’s room then?”

I roll my eyes at the comment. Shawn and Brian love to tease me about my crush on y/n. They have since the beginning. Shawn’s taunts are light hearted, but they’re plentiful now that we all live together. Brian’s at times feel almost malicious. But Brian also isn’t aware that I still have a crush on her, he thinks the feeling has passed. It definitely hasn’t. If anything, being in such tight quarters with her at all times has made me like her even more. Watching her move so effortlessly around our home - seeing her do her nightly routine, watching her polish her nails every Sunday like clockwork. I have undeniably fallen even deeper in love with her in just these few short weeks we’ve lived together and it’s killing me.

It’s killing me because we still haven’t talked about what she said to me a couple weeks ago when we were falling asleep together. I don’t even know if she remembers saying what she did. And I could have misinterpreted her words, I mean, she was falling asleep, her words were slurring. I could have misunderstood. At least, that’s what I’ve been telling myself every time the memory pops into my head. Which is about six times a day for the past three weeks.

Y/n gasps and tosses her book at him, "Asshole!"

He laughs, picking the book up off the floor from where it ricocheted off his chest. "I'm kidding. Kidding. But it's cool?"

She shrugs, "Yeah, whatever. Go nuts."

"Yes!" Shawn pumps his fist in the air before high fiving Brian. 

"We gotta get alcohol."

"Ah, wait. Before you two go broke buying drinks for the party, remember that we have bills to pay. So save us all a headache and make it BYOB."

Brian snaps and points at her with a click of his tongue. "This is why we keep you around."

She laughs, "Oh is that why?"

"Indeed," he nods.

"Okay, well can I have my book back, please?"

"Yeah, here," Shawn leans over the coffee table to hand it to her before disappearing to his room, Brian heading to the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" I ask, not looking up from my phone. I can sense that the wheels are turning in her head and she sighs dramatically.

"I don't remember which page I was on."

I force myself not to laugh. "243."

“Hmm?” She flips to that page and looks up at my side profile. “How’d you know that?”

I shrug, “I always memorize the page you’re on before you close the book, just in case.”

She smiles sheepishly and presses a kiss to my shoulder. “You’re cute,” she whispers before turning her attention back to the page in front of her and resting her head in the crook of my neck.

I squeeze her shoulder hoping she doesn’t look up and notice the growing blush on my cheeks, “You’re cuter.”

---

“Do you have any idea who’s coming to this?” Y/n asks as we move a cooler out to the backyard.

I shake my head, “Not really. I think Matt and his girlfriend, honestly, I have no idea. It’s Shawn, so there’s bound to be more people than we’re anticipating.”

“Lots of girls then.”

“Why do you say that?” I ask, setting the cooler down, providing her with my undivided attention (which she has always had). 

“He’s making a name for himself out here. Playing a few more gigs than at home. I noticed at the last one, he’s got a few groupies.”

I chuckle, “Oh really?”

She nods, “There were like five girls there just holding onto his every word. It was actually pretty cool to watch. But he got nervous. Started fidgeting with his necklace, so I had to get him out of there, which of course resulted in death glares from his adoring fans.”

“What? What do you mean? Death glares towards you?”

Y/n laughs, fixing the collar of her shirt that’s falling off her shoulder. “Yeah. I think they thought there was more there than there is,” she shrugs, “And if looks could kill, I would be dead five times over.”

I shake my head, I don’t like that thought, and I say as much. “I don’t like that thought.”

“What? Shawn having groupies?”

“No, girls staring daggers at you because you’re friends with him.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

I know it’s not, but the thought of someone not liking her is appalling to me. “I still don’t like it.”

“Is it because if something happened to me you’d be left to live alone with Shawn and Brian? Because that would make me sad too.”

I force a laugh, “That, and I’d be bored without you.”

She nods understandingly, “I get it. I am the light of your life,” she teases.

You are, I think to myself. “Yeah, yeah,” I say instead, stepping forward, wrapping my arm around her waist. “Let’s get inside, it’s hot as hell out here.”

Shawn and Brian are sitting on the floor in front of the TV, trying to get the wifi hooked up to it. We barely got wifi installed at the beginning of the week, but we’ve all been so busy, we haven’t had the chance to get everything hooked up to it. 

“It’s not working!” Brian complains, throwing his hands up in frustration.

“Well try again! That’s what the router says.” Shawn counters back.

“Let me see that,” Brian snatches the router out of his hands. “Dumbass! You’re reading me the product number! Not the fucking password!”

Y/n and I hide our faces to keep from bursting into a fit of laughter, but we both break when Shawn pouts when Brian puts the router back in his hands after successfully connecting the TV.

“Oh, what’s with the pouty face, rockstar?” y/n asks.

“Brian’s a dick,” he mutters, which causes Brian to punch his shoulder.

“Ow!” Shawn exclaims, reaching to hold his arm. “That hurt!”

“It was supposed to. Want me to do it again?”

“Craigen,” y/n shakes her head and before I can protest, she’s out of my grasp and I suddenly feel lonely without her body next to mine. “No more fighting.”

“Just one time in the face,” he tries to reason. “Just once. Come on, it’s a long time coming. I’ve wanted to punch him in the face since we were kids.”

“No,” she squats down behind Shawn, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, leaning her head against his. I watch Shawn fall into her touch and I’m envious of him. Even though she holds onto me in the exact same way, almost daily, she isn’t right now and it makes me long for it. Especially when I watch her start to massage his scalp and he hums because her head scratches feel like you’re in heaven. “You can’t punch him in the face. That’s the money maker,” she squishes his cheeks with her free hand and speaks in a mock baby voice, “And if he’s got a black eye how will he charm girls with his pretty face tonight?”

Shawn laughs and pushes her hand away, but he reaches back and pats her calf. “Sit down,” he says and she obliges, her legs spreading and bracketing Shawn’s. He falls back into her and takes her hand that was just squeezing him and brings it to his lips to kiss her knuckles before bringing it to his hair as well. “More head scratches.”

She rolls her eyes, but continues anyway. “So fucking needy.”

He hums, “Could fall asleep like this.”

She hums too and looks up at me with a smile that melts my heart, “Connor does all the time.”

I nod, “I do. Feels good. Your hands are magic.”

“How magic? Like you could get me off in three seconds?”

“Brian!” I growl. Yep, we can always count on him to ruin the mood.

But y/n’s laughing, “I’m sure I could, I mean, if you ask your first girlfriend, you only last five so I don’t think it’ll be difficult,” she answers.

Shawn’s hysterical in y/n’s arms, as am I as I fall to the floor, clutching my stomach. But Brian? Brian is livid.

“I can’t believe she told you that! She said she wouldn’t tell anyone!”

This only makes Shawn and I laugh harder. “Wait, did that actually happen?” I ask between fits. “Craigen, come on,” I groan when he’s silent. “Five seconds?”

“It was our first time!”

“And last, apparently,” y/n comments.

“Shut up!” he groans. “Fuck, I can’t stand you.”

She nods, “I know.”

“No, but seriously, when did she tell you that?”

Y/n breaks out into a wide grin. “She didn’t. But you just did. Thanks for that.”

He’s speechless. Absolutely speechless. And his face is so red; I don’t know if it’s in anger or embarrassment, but either way, Shawn pipes up. “Hey, if it makes you feel any better, my first time I only lasted like twenty seconds.”

“I lasted fifteen,” I confirm, but I immediately regret it when y/n’s face morphs into one of confusion. 

Oh, oh fuck. I never told her that I-

“Wait, you’ve had sex?”

“You didn’t know?” Shawn questions, looking back at her.

She shakes her head, “I guess not.”

I sigh and scratch the back of my head, “Yeah. It was… during that time where we weren’t really talking,” I mumble.

She nods slowly, scoffing, and I can’t quite pin her emotion, but it’s definitely a cross between anger and… is that jealousy? “Ah, good ol’ McKenzie,” she mutters under her breath. She exhales deeply out her nose and focuses her attention back to playing with Shawn’s hair. 

“I would have told-”

“We weren’t talking. I know,” she cuts me off. “And it’s none of my business. It wasn’t then, and it’s not now either.”

“Oh, right. Okay,” I nod once. “New subject.”

---

We’re tiptoeing around each other the rest of the day. Or more so, I’m tiptoeing around her. She somehow is coming off as completely unbothered, but at the same time completely bothered. I don’t know what to make of this situation. I don’t know if I should apologize for not telling her, or if she even wants me to apologize. I don’t know and it’s killing me not knowing what I can do to make this better for us tonight.

I’m helping Brian pour more ice into the cooler we have in the kitchen when she walks out of her room. “Where’s Shawn?” she asks.

I look up at her and my heart stops for a moment. She’s wearing red, my heart never knows what to do when she wears that color. Does it stop? Does it speed up? Yes. 

“He went to his car to get the beer we got this afternoon,” Brian answers, closing the lid. 

SHe nods, “I’ll go help him.”

I watch as she leaves, not taking a full breath until the door shuts behind her. 

“She still mad at you?” 

I shake my head, “I don’t know. I don’t even know if she is mad at me.”

“Well, it’s y/n. You kept something from her for almost three years. I’m willing to bet she’s a little upset.”

I sigh, “Yeah, I know. But I mean, how was I supposed to tell her. She would barely even look at me during that time, so -”

“Yeah, because McKenzie was a bitch to her. How was she supposed to look at you when she was practically threatened or called out or god know what when you weren’t listening. I’d hate to know what she actually said when none of us were there to listen.”

I exhale deeply. I know my ex was the worst to her - she’s the entire reason y/n and I weren’t talking. She told me not to hang out with her as much, so I didn’t (also because I was trying to prove to Brian that I didn’t have feelings for y/n anymore. That was a mistake.) “So, I should apologize.”

Brian shrugs, “We all know you’re gonna apologize. You can’t stand it when she’s mad at you. Honestly, we can’t either. We have no idea what to do when you two aren’t talking. And since we all live together now, it’ll be even more awkward for you two to not talk.”

I nod, “Yeah. I know. I’ll apologize later. You should go get ready. I can finish up out here.”

Brian claps my shoulder, “Thanks, man. I’ll be quick.” He disappears at the same time Shawn and y/n walk in the front door with the drinks. I make my way over to them.

“Here, let me get that for you,” I tell her, reaching to take the cases from her hands.

“Oh, it’s okay. I got it. You want these inside or out, rockstar?”

“In the fridge, in the back. Gotta keep the good stuff for us.” Shawn hands me a pottle of vodka, “Put this in the freezer? I got it for y/n, I’m gonna make her a new drink.”

“You’re gonna risk giving her alcohol poisoning?” I question, raising one eyebrow at him.

He rolls his eyes, “I’ve gotten better at making drinks, dickhead.”

I laugh and hold my hands up in surrender, “Alright, sure.”

“I’m gonna put these in my room for now, and then I’m gonna get ready.”

“Brian’s in the shower, you can use my bathroom,” I say as y/n moves past us to the kitchen. 

“Good looking out, thanks.”

And now it’s just me and her. It’s like any normal day. So why is my heart beating so quickly?

I watch her move some things around in the fridge to make room for the drinks, and I can’t help but smile. “You look pretty tonight,” I tell her, leaning against the counter.

She looks over at me and smiles softly, “Thanks.”

I clear my throat, “Hey, y/n?”

“Hmm?” she turns her attention back to her task at hand.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” she asks, closing the fridge.

“For not telling you that I slept with her.”

“Oh,” she nods. “It’s fine. It really is not any of my business who you have and haven’t slept with.”

“Well maybe not, but you are my best friend, and we tell each other everything. I know if we were on better terms when you were dating Noah, you would have told me that you-”

“I didn’t tell you because we didn’t sleep together.”

“What?” I stare at her with wide eyes. 

“Noah and I didn’t sleep together.”

“But I thought-”

“You assumed. But no, it didn’t happen. I wasn’t ready. I mean, I barely let him kiss me, so how the hell was I gonna sleep with him?”

I nod because I don’t know what else to do or even say. She’s right, I just assumed that they had sex because he always had his hands all over her. I almost scoff at the thought. I hated watching him hold her in the hallway, his hands in her back pockets as he pulled her closer to him. Seeing them together everyday made my heart clench every time because it should have been me. I wonder if that’s how she felt when I had a girlfriend. 

“Look, it doesn’t matter, okay? So, let’s just drop it. It’s not like I’m mad you had sex, I was just surprised to find out this way, that’s all.”

“Yeah, I get it. And I would have told you sooner, but there really was never a time, you know? And it was just with her a couple times, nothing since.”

“Connor, you really don’t need to explain it to me. Actually, if we could just stop talking about her all together, that’d be great.”

“No, yeah. Of course. It’s dropped.”

She nods, “Okay, good. So, you should go get dressed.”

“What do you mean? I’m wearing this,”  I gesture to my torn t-shirt and my sweatpants with paint stains up and down the legs from when we painted the living room a few weeks ago. I’m totally joking, but I want to see her reaction anyway.

She looks me up and down and scoffs, “Yeah, no. Go change. You’re not wearing that.”

I pout dramatically, “Why not?”

“One, those pants are a mess. Two, you know you run hot when you drink, so why would you wear sweatpants? And three, that shirt is literally falling apart. You are not wearing that, go change.”

I can’t fight the smile that tugs at my lips because just like that we’re back to normal. “Okay, I’m going. Do you have something you’d like for me to wear?”

“Yes, your black pants with the white tank top and your peachy cream shirt. The one you wore for our graduation party.”

I nod, “Yes, ma’am. You wanna do my hair?”

“Come find me when you’re done, and I’ll see what I can do.”

---

I’m talking to my friend Will out in the backyard as the party becomes bigger than anticipated. Yeah, definitely called that situation. 

“Bro, I wish I would have saved up more so I could have gotten a place like you guys did. I emailed my roommate last week to see what he wanted to get for the dorm and he straight up said, ‘I don’t plan to be roommates long, so nothing.’”

I can’t help but laugh, “Hey, we’d take you in over Brian, but he’d throw a bitch fit.”

He laughs too, twisting the cap off his beer. “So what’s it like living with y/n? Everything good?”

“Yeah, everything’s great. She knows how to run a household. She made a chore chart that goes on the fridge. Shawn had to beg her to take it down for the party because he was embarrassed.”

“Sounds like y/n. But that’s not what I meant.”

I take a swig of my beer and shrug, “There’s nothing else to say really. She’s nice to live with.”

“No progression between you two.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Right, right. Because you’re not in love with her, right.”

“Will, come on. Not tonight.”

“Okay, okay. I get it. We’re not in a teasing mood tonight.”

Or ever. Will is a great friend of mine, and I would take a bullet for him, but he asks me for y/n updates every time we’re together, and I never have any for him. When I told him we were moving in together, he was stoked, but less so when I told him we were moving with Shawn and Brian too. 

He - like Shawn - is an avid supporter of us getting together. Will found out about my so-called crush one night in high school, actually a couple weeks after my breakup with McKenzie. Y/n and I still weren’t talking. I was trying to mend things and  she was trying to push me further away. I don’t remember much of the night he found out because I got shit faced drunk, but I somehow admitted to him that I had feelings for her and he’s convinced himself that he knows the biggest secret in the world. He treats it like he holds the key to the universe. If anyone wants us together more than I do, it’s him.

“Just don’t want to risk her hearing anything,” I tell him. “I already made things awkward earlier.”

“What? How?”

I shake my head, “Let it slip that Kenz and I slept together.”

He blanches. “She didn’t know?!”

I shake my head, “No. I never found the right time to tell her. But she keeps saying it isn’t her business, so I don’t know if that means she’s hurt by it or if I’m imagining it because right now it seems like she doesn’t really care. But - I don’t know, I want her to, I guess.” 

He smirks, “She cares.”

“I don’t know,” I mutter, looking inside, lifting my bottle up to my lips, but halting when I see her standing near the sliding glass door with - “Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me.”

“What?” Will asks, turning toward the door. “What hap - is that? Wait, is that Noah? What is he doing here?”

My jaw clenches, just like the grip around the bottle in my hand. “Better question, why the hell is he so close to her?”

Will sucks in a breath, “Are they still friends?”

I don’t answer him because I don’t know. I’m 99% sure they aren’t, but that 1% that says yes is simply because I’m watching them right now and she’s hugging him and letting him kiss her cheek before he pulls away. “I didn’t think they were. She hasn’t brought him up since the breakup.”

I don’t take my eyes off them as I start chugging the rest of my beer. It was still pretty full, but at this moment, I need to finish it because I need something stronger. 

“I’m gonna go get a drink,” I mutter, tossing my bottle in the trashcan near the cooler. I walk inside, but neither of them notice me. I shake my head and walk to Shawn’s room where he hid most of the hard stuff. I find the bottle of tequila that he stashed because he knew if he put it out, it’d go fast. I twist the top off and take, maybe a little more than a shot. I cough into my elbow when I pull the bottle back because wow he got the strong stuff.

Shaking my head, I close the bottle back up and sneak out of Shawn’s room. When I enter the living room, they’re still standing there talking. Or, he’s talking, she’s nodding at something he’s saying. I click my tongue and walk into the kitchen to grab another beer. SHould I be mixing my alcohol? No, I should not. Is that going to stop me? No, it is not. 

My girl’s ex-boyfriend is over there talking to her and touching her like they’re best buds and I can’t stand it. I can’t stand him. 

I still remember the day she told us that she was going on a date with him. 

All four of us are sitting in our usual booth at the diner, everything seems to be going like it always has. Just us four, laughing and making our weekend plans. The difference though is that y/n and I aren’t sitting shoulder to shoulder right now. She’s pushed against the window, and I’m toward about as far left as I can get without it being noticeable, or falling. 

“So, we’re aiming for Saturday afternoon, right? Y/n, you’ll ride with me?” Shawn asks.

“Oh,” she sits up straight, “um, could we maybe do it on Sunday instead? I kind of already have plans on Saturday.”

“What?” Brian furrows his brows, “Without us?”

She nods, “Yeah,” she takes in a sharp breath beside me. “I um… I kinda, I have a date.”

At that exact moment, our heads whip in her direction - I’m pretty sure if I turned any faster I would have given myself whiplash.

“A date?” I ask as calmly as I can.

“With who?” Shawn questions.

She shrugs, “You know that guy Noah? I have him in like all of my AP classes? He asked me out after class this morning.”

I don’t think I can clench my jaw any harder. Noah. I hate him. I’ve never personally met him, but I hate him. “Cool,” I mutter, turning my head back to the table to reach for my drink. 

“Well?” Shawn prompts. “What are you gonna do? Where is he taking you?”

She clasps her hands in her lap and shrugs again. “I don’t know. He hasn’t told me. Said he wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Ooh, romantic,” Brian teases.

“You hate surprises,” I mumble into my cup.

Y/n clears her throat and shifts uncomfortably in her seat. “It’s just one date. Not a big deal.”

“Okay, sure,” Brian says. “So Sunday then?”

“And you’ll tell us all about it?”

“Sure.”

There are very few times that I wish I was deaf, but that day was one of them. I didn’t sleep that whole night. I couldn’t. And the night of her date? Forget it. I was up all night wondering what was happening. Did he hold her hand? Did he hug her? Did that bastard take her first kiss? The first kiss that was supposed to belong to me? 

And right now, as I watch him reach for her elbow again, I decide, fuck it. I don’t care if I look like a jealous asshole, I’m taking my girl away from him. I stride over to them and place my hand on her hip, “Hey, baby. Can you help me find the bottle opener? I can’t remember what drawer you put it in the other day, and I think my eyes are failing me.”

She shakes her head, “Um, yeah. It should be in the drawer closest  to the fridge.”

“I checked there, please, come help me look.”

She rolls her eyes and turns back to Noah who is staring daggers at my hand on her hip. I smirk. “Noah, it was good catching up with you. I’ll find you later. I’m gonna help him out.”

He looks back up at her and forces a smile, “Sure. Sounds good. Save me dance?”

Over my dead body. “Come on, baby,” I say, guiding her toward the kitchen.

She steps in front of me, mumbling a couple excuse me’s to the people blocking the kitchen. Then she b-line’s to the drawer closer to the fridge, which I definitely did not check because I wasn’t really looking for the bottle opener. I just needed an excuse to get her away from Noah.

“Here,” she holds it out to me. “Wait, I thought Shawn got twist tops.” She takes the bottle from my hand and laughs, “Bub, it twists off.” She says, taking the cap off the bottle. 

“Oh,” I chuckle. I knew it was a twist top, again, I just needed an excuse to get her away. “Whoopsies?” 

She puts the bottle opener back in the drawer and leans against the counter. “You having fun?”

I shrug, “I’m alright. So um… Noah’s here.”

Y/n nods slowly, “Yeah, he is.”

“Kinda weird that he showed up after we just talked about him,” I mutter.

“Yeah, I guess. He just tagged along with one of his friends.”

I nod, “Mhm. You two looked pretty cozy.”

“Excuse me?” 

“Nothing. Just, I mean, I haven’t heard you talk about him since the breakup,” I take a sip of the beer in my hand. “I didn’t realize you two were still so close.”

She tilts her head at me, “We’re not. We were just catching up. He didn’t know that I lived here too.”

“Uh-huh, so you haven’t talked to him recently?”

She scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest. “What’s with the third degree, huh?”

“You didn’t answer my question,” I mutter.

“No, Connor. I haven’t talked to him recently. In fact, I haven’t talked to him since the breakup. But what does that matter? Why does it matter who I do and do not talk to?”

“I just think it’s a little strange that he came here tonight.”

“Well, I didn’t invite him, if that’s what you’re insinuating. He came with a friend. He didn’t even know it was our party, or our house. He just showed up.”

“So he crashed it. Classy.”

“What is your deal?” She pushes herself off the counter and stands face to face with me, her forehead creasing as she glares at me. I want to smooth the crease and tell her not to do that because she’ll get a headache, but I refrain. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Please,” she scoffs, “you’re acting like a jealous boyfriend! Newsflash, Connor, you’re not my boyfriend.”

I recoil, because sure I know I’m not, but the words spew from her lips like venom. “I know that.”

“Do you? Because right now it doesn’t seem like you do. Now unless I completely missed the part where you asked me to be your girlfriend, you have no right to be upset over me talking to my ex-boyfriend.”

“He was an ass to you then.”

“How would you know?! We weren’t even talking then.”

“Because you didn’t want to! I was still trying to fix things with us but you were pushing me away.”

“No, I wasn’t pushing you away. I was protecting myself from getting hurt again.”

“But it wasn’t me, that was Kenzie, and -”

She groans in frustration, “Why are we talking about her again? Why? I can’t do this.”

“Do what?”

Y/n pinches the bridge of her nose. “Look, you’re my best friend, and I love you. But you have no right to be upset about Noah. You are not my boyfriend -”

“Why do you keep saying that?”

“Because you aren’t! You like to act like you are sometimes, but you’re not.”

“Do you want me to be?!” I exclaim, setting my bottle down.

She scoffs, shaking her head. “Not like this,” she says quietly, pushing past me.

“Y/n!” I call after her, but she ignores me. I, however, can’t ignore the eyes that are on me.

---

“He’s jealous?” Alessia asks, leaning back on her hands. We’re sitting on the grass in the backyard. It’s quieter out here, and far less crowded. “Does he even have a right to be?”

“That’s what I’m saying! He’s my best friend, but sometimes he acts like he’s my boyfriend and I just - I’m over it.”

She sighs, “You’re over him acting like your boyfriend.”

“Yes,” I say.

“Because you want him to actually be your boyfriend.”

“What? No! No,” I shake my head, “that’s not it.”

Les smiles, “Honey, it’s obvious the way you two look at each other. And you can deny it because you’re best friends, you live together. You don’t want to risk the integrity of the friendship that you have. And that is totally reasonable, but you two need to discuss what you are to each other. Because it’s clear that in his mind, you’re a little bit more than just ‘best friends.’ And well, you’ve always wanted to be more, so what’s so wrong with him being that?”

I sigh and pick at the grass beside me, “I don’t know if he feels this way genuinely or if it’s because I’m closer now. We live together, it seems almost easy or convenient for him to develop some tiny crush because of the proximity.”

At this she laughs, “Oh, honey. That is definitely not it.”

“How do you know?”

“Because that boy has been in love with you since before I even met you guys. It’s written all over his face and if you took a second to just stop and -”

“Hey, sorry to interrupt, guys,” Shawn says, breathlessly, pushing his curls out of his face. “Y/n, Connor’s drunk off his ass, and I need your help”

I sit up, “Okay, How much did he drink?”

“Like, the entire bottle of tequila I had in my room, plus however many beers he had.”

I stand up, swatting at the backs of my legs to get off any dirt, “Is he throwing up?”

“No, he’s just asking for you.”

I nod and look back to Alessia, “We’ll talk later, Les?”

“Mhm, go take care of your boy.”

“Why did he drink so much?” I ask Shawn, following him toward the sliding glass door. 

He shrugs, “I asked him. He said you were mad at him.”

I roll my eyes, “Well yeah, he was being an ass. But it still doesn’t make sense.If he drinks every time I get upset with him, he’d be an alcoholic ”

“All I know is that he was asking for you,” Shawn says just as we find Connor sitting outside my bedroom door, nursing another beer bottle. 

I shake my head, “God, he knows not to be switching between alcohol.”

“Connor, buddy?” Shawn says, squatting down next to him. “I got her. Why don’t you give me that beer, eh?” He goes to take it from his hands, but Connor’s quick to move it, spilling a bit of it on his shirt in the process.

“No, this is mine. Get your own,” he slurs

I sigh and squat down next to him, too. “I think you’ve had enough, bub. Come on, let me have it.”

He looks at me with heavy eyes and he pouts, dramatically. “Y/n… you’re so pretty.”

“Connor,” I shake my head. 

“I love you in red. God, you look so good. Could never get,” he hiccups, “tired of looking at you.”

I blush, looking over at Shawn who’s still sitting with us. “Okay, come on. Let’s get up. We need to get you to bed.”

He nods slowly, “Whatever you want, baby.”

I take the drink out of his hand and set on the floor beside us. “Shawn, help me get him up.”

Shawn nods, “You got it.” He does most of the heavy lifting, but when Connor’s on his feet, he leans into me, hugging my waist, burying his head in my neck. 

“I’m so sorry, y/n. So sorry.”

“I know, come on now. We’re going to your room.”

He groans into my skin, but helps me and Shawn take him to his room as best as he can, only stumbling once when we round the corner. We push his bedroom door open and walk further into the room, plopping him down on the bed. 

“Thanks, Shawn. I got it from here.”

“You sure?” 

I nod, moving to grab his trash can from next to his desk. “Yeah, we’re good. Thanks for coming to get me.”

He nods, “Of course. Come get me if you need anything else.”

Connor groans as Shawn slams the door shut behind him. I sigh and move around the room, turning on his bedside lamp and going to his desk chair where his outfit from earlier is laid out. “Okay, bub, I’m gonna need you to help me out, alright? I need you to get out of your clothes, I’m gonna put you in pajamas, okay?”

He shakes his head, his pout even heavier than usual, eyes struggling to stay open. “Too tired. You do it.”

I close my eyes, taking in a deep breath. Of course he’s gonna be difficult right now. I shake my head, throwing his clothes beside him, “Can you stand up?”

He mumbles something incoherent, but I’m pretty sure it’s somewhere along the lines of “The room is spinning.”

“Fuck, Connor, why did you drink so much?” I grumble, moving to the floor to take his shoes off.

“You’re mad at me,” he whines.

“Yes, I am. You know your limits. What were you gonna do if this didn’t happen at the house, hmm?”

“M’sorry.”

I roll my eyes, “Okay, sit up,” I reach for his hands to help pull him to a sitting position. 

He makes an unnecessary amount of groaning sounds as he moves around to accommodate me.

I push his shirt off his shoulders, it’s almost damp, he’s sweating so much. I throw it to the side, I’ll put it in the laundry room when I go get him some pain meds in a little bit. I take hold of the hem of his tank top, “Arms up,” I pat his side and he obliges, looking up at me with a sad smile on his lips. “What’s wrong?” I ask him, tossing his tank top off to the side too.

“I’m sorry I got mad earlier. About Noah.”

I shake my head, “It’s fine. Lay back, lift your hips for me.”

He lays back, but his pout still remains on his face as I lean forward to unbutton his pants.

“What now?” I question softly, pulling down his zipper, “Hips up.”

He’s looking at me with such sad eyes and it’s killing me. “This isn’t how I wanted you to undress me for the first time.”

My breath hitches, “What?”

“Wanna make love to you,” he slurs. 

I almost choke on his words, “Connor, you’re drunk,” I shake my head, pulling his pants off him and grabbing his sweats to pull up his legs instead. I decide to forgo the shirt because he’s already sweating a lot, I don't want to make him even hotter. “You don’t know what you’re saying. I’m gonna go get you some water and pain meds. Stay here.” I move the trash can closer to him, “The trash is right next to you if you feel like you’re gonna get sick.

I pick up his discarded clothes from the floor and walk to the door and out the room before he can say anything else he doesn’t mean. After tossing them in the hamper in the laundry room, I squeeze past the group of people still congregating in the hallway. I slip into my room and grab some of my pain meds from my book bag and quickly slip out again to head to the kitchen which is also crowded. I mumble out a general excuse me, and go to the fridge to grab Connor a bottle of water. 

On my way back, I stop and go to his bathroom which is thankfully empty, and grab a hand towel and wet it under the faucet to hopefully cool him down a bit. When I’m back in his room, he’s laying face down on his bed and I stop for a minute, admiring his smooth skin, and the way the muscles in his shoulders tense up when he moves his arm above his head. It’s not fair. No one man should look this good. 

I shake my head, focusing back on the task at hand. I close the door behind me gently. “Okay, Connor. I need you to sit up just one more time to take these pills and then you can go to bed, yeah?”

He groans, “I think I drank too much, baby,” he mumbles, pushing himself up and I'm once again in awe of how his muscles move with him. 

I scratch at my scalp and nod, holding out the pills for him. “Yeah, I think you did, too.” He takes them in his hand and I sit next to him, uncapping the water bottle before handing it to him as well.

“Thank you,” he hiccups.

“You’re welcome.” I look down at my hands as he takes the pills. He goes to hand me the water bottle back but I shake my head, “You need to drink it all. We’re trying to avoid a hangover.”

He just holds the bottle in his lap, not moving to drink anymore of it, so I look back up at him only to find him already staring at me. 

“You okay?” I ask.

He hums and reaches forward. He runs his thumb under my eye, “You got an eyelash. I got it,” he mumbles, but he keeps his hand cradling the side of my face. 

My eyes search his tired ones, they’re glossed over, but they always get that way when he drinks, making his eyes seem just a little more blue than green. 

“Have I told you tonight that you look pretty?” he asks quietly. 

“Multiple times,” I confirm. 

“Good, because you are… so, so pretty.”

I lick my lips and watch his eyes move from my eyes to my lips and back. I take in a shallow breath as he starts to lean closer. His eyes closed as his face inches toward mine. I push him back gently just before his lips have the chance to connect with mine, and I mean just before because I could feel his breath against my mouth. “What are you doing?” I question.

“I was… I was trying to kiss you. Did you, I thought you wanted to - when we were laying in bed a couple weeks ago, you said you wanted me to kiss you.”

“Well, I… Connor,” I shake my head. I didn’t think he heard me when I said that. “Not like this. Not tonight. Not when you’re drunk and not thinking clearly.” I stand up, pacing slowly in front of him. “If you’re gonna kiss me, I want you to be sober, and to actually want to do it. Not just because we got in a fight earlier. I don’t want this to be something you do now and then completely forget about or ignore, or fuck, even worse, regret in the morning. I don’t want that. I don’t deserve that. I don’t deserve to be led on by you again.”

“Again?” He asks, tilting his head at me. 

“Nevermind. I should go back out there, start cleaning up so it’s not so much tomorrow.”

“Wait, y/n, please. Stay here, please. Stay with me tonight.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I won’t try anything, I promise. Please, just stay?”

I sigh, “Just until you fall asleep.”

---

It’s nearing eleven in the morning when Shawn finally retreats from his room. He’s not nearly as hungover as I bet the other boys are going to be. If he’s even hungover at all, he doesn’t seem to be. 

He leans against the counter, watching me pull my second batch of cookies from the oven. “You’re stress baking,” he observes.

I scoff, “I made muffins too,” I nod in the direction of the counter in front of him where a plate of blueberry muffins sits. 

“Ooh,” he reaches forward and takes one, “Not that I like when you’re stressed, but this my favorite of your coping mechanisms.”

“For purely selfish, I presume.”

“Of course,” he says around a mouthful of muffin. “So,” he says after he swallows. “Does this sudden urge to bake have anything to do with what happened last night with Connor?”

I tense up at the memory of Connor leaning in to kiss me. Me pushing him away. “Maybe.”

“So what did happen after I left you two?”

“Nothing,” I shake my head.

“Well, the glorious smell of our kitchen and the spotless living room say otherwise.”

I close my eyes and rub my hands over my face. “He, god, he tried to kiss me.”

“What?” Shawn chokes. 

“Shh! You’ll wake them.”

“Oh please, Brain will be asleep until five. Nothing will wake him. He kissed you?! Well, how was it?”

“I said he tried. As in, I didn’t let him. I pushed him away before he could.”

“Why? Don’t you want him to?”

“Of course! But not like that! Not when he’s drunk and not himself. WHen he’s saying stupid things like he wants to make love to me, and that he wishes I was undressing him for the first time under different circumstances.”

“What? He said all of that?! Oh my god! Go, Connor!”

“No, not go Connor. Because he’s not going to remember any of this when he wakes up and I’m going to remember everything and have to pretend that he didn’t say anything or try to kiss me. And I’m stuck being led on once again, except this time he lives just down the hall and I have to see him everyday.”

Shawn sighs, “Okay, you’re right. So, what are you going to do?”

“Same thing I always do.”

He nods, “I’ll get my guitar.”

***

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[thefanficmonster]

Stranger In The Crowd

Corpse Husband x Reader (Female)

Warnings: None

Genre: FLUFF, Humor, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: Having recently ended the process of moving, Y/N is rightfully very tired but also very excited for the new chapter of her life. Funnily enough, this new chapter includes a newly formed long distance friendship/crush with a very special person from San Diego.

Requested by @boiled-onionrings Hi darling! Thank you so much for your wonderful request and I’m really sorry you’ve had to wait so long for it to be posted but here it finally is and I hope you enjoy the read! Love, Vy ❤

I let out a heavy sigh, relieved to finally be at home after such a long day of standing around in the Georgia heat with only a thin layer of fabric to protect my eyes and head from the scorching sun. Yeah, anyone who says that tent did well at protecting everyone under it today is nothing but a liar. I was in a short, strapless white summer dress, the fabric of which barely had any weight and consistency to provide heat of its own yet I still damn near melted. Ok, I’ll admit, some of the roasting heat probably came from the energy and force I put into singing the songs of my band’s new album ‘Starting At The End’. 

The mini concert we held in this large open field was meant as an introduction to the city of Savannah where all the band members - myself included - are actually from but we all moved to the West Coast to pursue our music career. And now that we’ve grown, and the majority of us are married, one of us is a father now as well, we’ve decided to return to our hometown. The decision was so spontaneous and was executed so quickly due to no one objecting to it that it still hasn’t me that I’m no longer in LA. The heat isn’t helping my ‘processing’ process but I’ll get to it eventually. Do I miss LA though? Not sure I do - I think I more miss the people I was closer to while I was there.

Suddenly, as if perfectly timed, my phone dings, notifying me that I’ve received a message. I don’t have to look to know it’s from - there’s only one person I actively text and his name is....

C ~ Your virtual buddy Corpse here, making sure you didn’t die of a heatstroke today. If you did indeed survive, just reply to this message, if not....don’t do anything, I guess.

I can’t help but giggle at the sight of the message. I promised Corpse I’d text him after the concert to let him know I was ok, but the even dragged out for longer than anticipated so I’m guessing he got worried.

How cute.

Me ~ Alive and well, but I do feel like a popped tire of an overloaded truck. Hope that’s a visually appealing description

Corpse and I met on the charity livestream Jacksepticeye organized and invited our band to so we could play Among Us with some of the best gamers and streamers on the internet. It was a huge honor and a ton of fun, definitely an event I’d like to repeat in the near future because I had such a good time and I know all my bandmates did too. We all got acquainted and even became official friends with the gamers that were practically our hosts, Corpse becoming the closest friends I’d earn. That livestream happened months ago and we still text just as consistently.

C ~ Oh I know EXACTLY what you mean. Anyway, as to not exhaust you further to force you into typing, how about you send me pictures to sum up your thoughts and emotions and plans for the evening

This is OUR THING trademark, mine and Corpse’s and no one can take it away from us. It’s a significant element of our friendship that enables us both to understand one another when one of us feels the way I described in my message - a popped tire or a deflated balloon. I’m usually the exhausted one - blame the many shows we do and the many meet-and-greets we organize for our lovely fans. It’s the type of exhaustion none of the band members mind at all, but we definitely need some time to recover from it.

As I go to sit down on my couch, the flower crown I’ve been wearing slips off the top of my head, falling on the floor, creating a soft noise that attracts the attention of one of my many cats - Sasha. She’s the youngest and most curious kitty in the family, always protected by the other four - Luna, Cassie, Silver and Lynn. Those four are far lazier and a lot more disinterested in comparison to Sasha who immediately runs over to see what’s fallen.

I smile to myself, taking the flower crown and undoing it to lessen it by a few stems to make it smaller, all the while being watched by the curious Sasha whose interest is rewarded in the end when I put the now adorably tiny flower crown on her head.

While she still hasn’t shaken the thing off I manage to snap a pic which I send to Corpse who opens it mere seconds after it was delivered. 

C ~ Sasha’s pulling off your aesthetic better than you. Sorry, someone had to let you know

I burst out laughing for two reasons - 1.The message itself, damn it! It’s hilarious; 2. Corpse has learnt the name of each one of my cats and never mixes them up - not even Luna and Lynn who look almost identical. That amount of attention to detail is astonishing and very meaningful to me, it genuinely warms my heart and that may or may not be dramatic but it’s definitely not exaggerated.

Me ~ You think I haven’t caught on yet? 

C ~ Well, if it makes you feel any better you pull off my aesthetic better than I do

He’s referring to the e-girl look I did for one show the band had in downtown LA one night. I was drunk and looking forward to trying new things so I improvised the hell out of my outfit but I apparently looked presentable enough to leave a good impression on Corpse despite the pic I sent him being a bit blurry and being a mirror selfie in the bathroom of the very bar we were performing in. It goes without saying that the mirror was dirty too - had a bunch of writing on it which Corpse said only added to the aesthetic. Looking back on it now I kinda agree, and luckily so did the fans in the comments of that same photo when I posted it on Instagram.

Me ~ Means a lot actually. Nowhere near enough to aid the burn of having a cat pull off cottagecore better than I do, but still helps XD

As if sensing that we’re talking about her, Sasha hops on the couch, poking her head over my phone to look down at the screen.

Now this is gonna be golden.

I take a selfie with my phone in my lap, the camera capturing both me and Sasha at a rather unflattering angle which has me losing my mind laughing when I send the picture to Corpse who immediately sends back a string of cry-laughing emojis.

C ~ I can’t tell which one of you is cuter

Me ~ If that was a compliment, I gotta say I appreciate it greatly

C ~ Just telling the truth ;)

It’s times like these that the butterflies in my stomach remind me just why I’ve started catching feelings for this man despite all the distance between us and despite barely knowing him - he knows me more than I know him but I don’t mind it, oddly enough.

I’m fond of our connection and though I sometimes dream of something more, I’m also content with what we already have considering that ‘something more’ seems rather unattainable as of now.

My phone dings again, clearing the fog of thoughts and presenting me with a new message from Corpse.

C ~ Oh, by the way, look what I got....

That message is followed up by a picture of a ticket. A plane ticket to Georgia! 

While I’m still busy stomaching this and dealing with my quickly rising excitement, he sends another message.

C ~ I hope to catch a The Silver Rays concert while I’m there. Heard they had an adorable frontwoman ;)

My breath catches in my throat as a wide grin spreads across my face. The thought of having Corpse so close to me sends those aforementioned butterflies in my stomach into a raving mood and they practically explode my insides with excitement and joy like I’ve never felt it before. I can’t wrap my brain around the fact that we’re about to go from having an entire country between us, to being just some ways away - him in the audience and me on stage without a single clue of who to look for. That’s part of the excitement though, I guess, part of the guessing game that’s gonna make our meeting all the more interesting.

He’ll be a stranger in the crowd and I’ll be a performer on a stage - seemingly two people who have no relation whatsoever. But damn does it go beyond that: No one has to know how hard I’m falling for that stranger in the crowd.

Me ~ I’ve heard so too, can’t confirm it though

If this is gonna be a guessing game, I’ll flip the tables a bit - I won’t take any guesses. I’ll let the answer come to me. I’ll give the first move over to the stranger in the crowd, let’s see what he does.

C ~ I’ll check and let you know, don’t worry

Not worried whatsoever, Corpsie. I’m not worried at all.

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