#and gay! (NOT ME!!! I MEANT PHONE!! I SWEAR GUYS!!! (lying))

[mofledowe]

BEASTIE READING YOUR TAGS AND

THESE ARE A THING 😳😳😳😳 MUTUAL I JUST KEEP ALL MY OC LORE IN A MASSIVE FILING FOLDER I REQUIRE THIS INFORMATION

breaking into your house to access those folders rn... 😈😈😈😈

[misha-moose-dean-burger-lover]

for @bend-me-shape-me 's SPN advent calendar 2020. prompt: phone calls and late night texts.

Cas isn't a serial texter.

And Dean's a-okay with it.

But for all that's worth, they sure seem to have a ridiculous amount of emotionally significant conversations via, or starting off as, texts. And most often, in the middle of the night.

*

>>> hello, dean. [12:07 am]

Dean jolts up at the sound, realizing he fell asleep still wearing his headphones, with the laptop on his lap (and a new episode of The Good Place playing) and rolls his eyes at himself, hitting pause before he can see what’s happening (because he has good reflexes, and because screw spoilers that’s why) and rummaging for his phone.

At this hour of the night, it has to be something important.

It doesn’t really strike him that Mechanical Engineering majors whose only other selfprofessed skill is air guitar aren't exactly the frontline warriors for midnight emergencies.

Cas's name shows up when he squints at the too-bright screen, and he sits up a little straighter.

<<< hey [12:09 am]

<<< you OK? [12:09 am]

The response is immediate.

>>> do you have peanut butter? [12:09 am]

And as if it's an afterthought, Cas adds.

>>> yes, I'm fine. how are you? [12:10 am]

Dean blinks.

<<< peachy. peanut butter? [12:10 am]

At least this time the response takes a while. Dean wonders if Cas realized it was midnight, and not exactly a time to run inventory on your best friend's stash of condiments.

>>> I ran out. [12:12 am]

Dean sighs, unable to help smiling.

It's not like he's a stranger to Cas's weird cravings when he's high. (There'd been this one time with pie and a traumatized Gas 'N Sip cashier that still sits heavy on Dean's conscience.) But he doesn't think Cas is supposed to be high right now — Dean's usually either invited or informed by an unspoken rule — which just means this is regular "jelly, not jam"-Cas, at his core a weird, persistently sleep-deprived economics major and astronomy nerd, that Dean may or may not have had a crush on for an embarrassingly long time, and who's also prone to grammatically perfect texting, deadpan, Disney references, and bluntness when the occasion calls for it.

<<< pretty sure i have some [12:14 am]

>>> :) [12:14 am]

>>> I'm coming over [12:14 am]

*

And weird as it may sound, that had turned out to be the night Cas told him he was gay. Said it had been a revelating moment, unprecedented and wholly unexpected — and apparently revelations come in pairs because it had been followed by an intense need for peanut butter, and the rest, he explained emphatically, was history.

Dean had just snorted, congratulated him, and brought out the fancier plates for sandwiches — shipped in from home instead of a sale at Target — all the while, repeating to himself in a loop, that this changed nothing between them, nothing at all, and Cas having the capacity to be attracted back to him didn't mean that he ever would be (or for hell's sake, he'd scoffed at his traitorous chick-flick-nonsense brain, is.)

*

The second time had been early — way, way too early and it was by pure chance that Dean was awake to respond at six friggin' am on a Sunday. Like, that’s practically nighttime. 

Goddamn stupidly-fit running-freak.

Dean picks up his phone blearily, tongue in cheek as he clicks on it.

>>> I miss you [6:28 am]

>>> I'd* miss you [6:29 am]

Dean's stomach twists, and he's not sure if it's in a good way, or a bad way, or what-the-sincere-fuck-are-you-talking-about way.

<<< what [6:32 am]

<<< wtf are you talking about? [6:32 am]

Nothing.

<<< cas? [6:33 am]

<<< dude [6:34 am]

<<< cas???? [6:34 am]

Dean swears at his screen, more queasy than irritated. He can't stop fidgeting, so gives up on lying down altogether and hoists himself to his feet. Better to get his friggin' toothbrush since he's already up, and now definitely awake. Cas was so paying for this later.

He comes back, mouth mint-fresh in theory but still tasting awful and of fear and dread, and practically sags when he sees his screen blare with two messages from Cas.

>>> sorry, I had to make a call. [6:42 am]

>>> I'm not taking the job. [6:42 am]

*

And that's how Dean finds out about Michael (Cas's oldest brother, entitled asshole) inviting Cas to join his and Lucifer's (second oldest, bag of dicks) firm the year he graduates — invite, of course, being a loosely used word here for expecting it blindly (out of some crap he calls 'loyalty') and being readily willing to manipulate him into it.

And it's how he finds out that Cas turned them down.

"It's not who I am anymore." Cas had repeated, third time probably, and surer than before, and Dean had nodded earnestly before realizing Cas couldn't see him through the phone, and humming his affirmation instead. "And if I go back there, I'm never getting out again."

Dean'd swallowed.

"I don't want to." Cas had said, voice trembling. "I am — my own person here. It shouldn't be like this but this is the first time I have autonomy, Dean. Here is free will, and here are you. I don't — I can't. I'm not going to let them take it away."

"Good." He'd sounded shaky to even himself. "Don't."

"Yes." Cas had promised. "I'm not going."

*

And eventually they'd moved past the heavy talk into why-didn't-I-hear-about-this-before territory, Dean being righteously annoyed at his best friend for keeping something so huge from him, and Cas making lame (but probably valid) excuses in the name of not knowing how to explain the situation until he knew himself what he was going to do, because Dean may've been the first person he'd confided in about the insane fuckery that been his childhood and adolescence, but that still didn't mean he'd understand this, broken and convoluted.

And then Cas had nicely segued himself out of Dean's target of irritation and added, "They asked Gabriel too, by the way."

"And?" Dean didn't ever have much care for Gabriel (third oldest brother, cares about Cas, still a jerk) but Cas shared an apartment with him, so he had to face him plenty.

"He's running off to Miami."

And Dean had thrown his head back and laughed until Cas had smoothly added, "And I was wondering if you would consider moving in with me." 

At which point, of course, he'd started coughing instead, because holy shit, it actually made sense (Sammy had left for Stanford two months back, and Dean lived alone in a space that had probably been two big even when there were two of them) and might actually happen, but Dean wasn't really sure how much longer he'd be able to hide his crush, sharing a friggin' kitchen with the guy.

*

The third time's after their first date.

(Because, well. It happened.

It happened with Dean leaning across the breakfast table to prove to Cas his bacon was superior (to cookie friggin' crunch, because goddamn is Cas a dork) and Cas taking a bite with their eyes fixed on each other's, and Dean turning red when Cas licked his lips and then, just like that, Cas swearing under his breath (definitely filed for later pondering, that bit), grabbing Dean, and kissing the living daylights out of him.

And Dean had kissed back with everything he had, hands cupping his face, and nearly melting in his arms - but then they'd separated for air and Cas had had an apologetic look on his face and when Dean had tried to lean in to kiss it away, he'd received half a smile and a shake of his head.

"Let's do it the way we're supposed to."

And Dean had known immediately what he'd meant. Let's not fuck this up by becoming best friends and roommates who sleep together. Let's...play safe.

"Okay. Uh," he'd rubbed the back of his neck. "Would you like to go on a date with me?"

"Thursday." Cas had promised with twinkling eyes, though Dean had already known he was going to say that since he knew Cas’s week at least as well as he knew his own, and two days and an anxious half of a thursday later, they went on their first date. Burgers and beer, and Led Zepp, and hands held in the Impala. Four hours later, they were back, and in their respective rooms, and Dean couldn't stop thinking about Cas.)

When his phone vibrates, Dean reaches for the bedside table.

It's at least midnight, it feels like he's been in bed for ages, and the only reason he isn't asleep is because all his brain seems to be capable of at the moment is thinking endlessly about the date. Fortunately, he's not the only one — although he's better at hiding it (practise, he'd say) because his heart is in his mouth the moment he reads Cas's text.

>>> I think I'm falling in love with you [11:43 pm]

>>> already. [11:43 pm]

Dean is very grateful for autocorrect as he types back with too-excited thumbs and a racing heart.

<<< so much for doing it the regular way cas mosby [11:44 pm]

>>> in my defense, it's been years. [11:44 pm]

<<< that part i get [11:44 pm]

<<< me too [11:44 pm]

<<< but youre supposed to wait three days before calling dumbass [11:45 pm]

Jesus, he'd never expected to blush cause of texts, but here they are.

>>> I'm texting. [11:46 pm]

And he guesses he'd never expected to giggle (he's alone there, sue him) cause of them either, but Cas apparently exists to prove him wrong about himself.

<<< good for you [11:46 pm]

He sends, biting his lip, and then lies in the silent darkness for a couple of minute, devoid of text notifications entirely, thinking uneasily — before he gives up.

They're idiots, sure, but nobody is this dumb.

<<< so when the fuck are you coming over then [11:50 pm]

>>> on my way <3 [11:50 pm]

And thinking about the lightening speed of that reply and the fucking heart emoji is enough to sustain him the entire one minute it takes Cas to get there, gently opening Dean's door, and climbing into bed — fitting in Dean's space like it's been made for him, and kissing him in greeting after leaving his phone on the table next to Dean's.

*

As it goes, with the confessions and the midnight cravings (and the grocery lists that keep getting piled onto through the day, and random pickup lines Cas decides are perfect to send Dean daily once he's found a website for puns, courtesy of Claire, and of course, pictures of Grease, which clog Dean's cloud in dozens whenever the ridiculously cute cat does something even slightly out of routine, god bless her lazy soul) Cas might just be a texter.

But Dean's pretty sure he's more than okay with it, so it doesn't really matter.

[samanthadalton]

Star Crossed Lovers (part 14)

Do my eyes deceive me???? part 14???? we did it. im so sorry its taken forever, i will try my best to be more consistent with my writing. love yall for being patient with me it means the most. thank you, thank you. 

warnings: throughout this fic there will be mentions of substance abuse, homophobia, sexual abuse, violence, NSFW, mentions of abandonment, depression and death including suicide

reader discretion is advised

warnings: angst, swearing (lots of it) 

taglist: @drmmyrs @cloud9in @somewillwin @save-me-the-last-dance @baexpoppy @stanzoeywade @ognenniyvolk @thepotatobleh @crazzyplays @fall3ngods @helpconfusedpersonhere @clowneryme @dopeyouth @boys-girls-i-cant-help-it-baby @vonda-b-real @uselesslesbianfr @veenast @cloakanddaggerthings @somethindarker (sorry again if ive missed anyone, if you wanna be added on this taglist or my general one just let me know 😊) 

word count: 4k (i feel like its short considering how long it took me to write but i still hope you guys enjoy) (also i didnt check for grammatical errors properly so sorry if you find any) 

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7 part 8 part 9 part 10 part 11 part 12 part 13

The first steps to moving on 

“Bea please,” Poppy whispers, a repentant look creeping up to her face as she looks away from her girlfriend. “It can’t wait.” 

Bea sighs, her shoulders slumping as the last remains of her anger disseminates from her body. “Okay fine, lead the way babe.” 

Poppy stiffens that the pet name but she doesn’t let her awkwardness slip as she leads Bea to a secluded classroom, far away from prying eyes. Both her and Bea turn to look at each other, and both simultaneously open their mouths to talk. 

“I know you wanted to tell-” 

“We need to talk-” 

Both clamp their lips shut, a mutual smile playing on their lips as they look at one another. 

“You go first,” Poppy gestures towards Bea, as she moves to sit on the edge of a desk. 

Bea inhales softly, her tongue darts out licking her lips as she looks down at the ground, her face calculating. “Why does Chloe hate me?” She looks up to Poppy, her eyes boring into the strawberry blonde’s, sadness swimming inside of them, “I just don’t get what I’ve done for her to hate me.” 

Poppy sighs heavily, her eyes awkwardly darting away from Bea’s. “It’s complicated Bea.” 

“Complicated?” Bea lets out a humourless laugh, “I almost just went off on Chloe after she gave her condolences for my mom dying because I just felt she wasn’t genuine and you wanna tell me it's complicated?” 

Poppy sharply inhales, contemplating for a few moments before saying, “it’s because of your mom.” 

Bea scrunches her brows up in confusion, “my mom? What the hell does she have to do with this?” 

Poppy ineptly plays with her hands, not being able to look Bea in her eyes, “at first it was just a classist thing. When you first came to Belvoire, she just wanted to make herself feel superior over you, but in the last year you’ve noticed her getting more mean right?” 

“Right.” Bea stares at Poppy, her expression emotionless. 

“Chloe’s parents have been fighting non stop recently, and it’s been affecting her a lot.” 

Bea’s brows furrow in confusion, “what does that have to do with me or my mom?” 

“Just let me explain first before you react, please.” Bea’s eyes bore into Poppy’s for a few seconds before she nods understandingly. “Her dad cheated on her mom. A lot of times actually. But he was blackmailed by one of the women he slept with.” Poppy pauses for a few seconds, “your mom.” 

Bea lets out a shaky breath, her eyes blinking in disbelief, “no, you’re lying.” 

Poppy nervously bites her bottom lip, “look Bea-” 

“How long have you known?”

Poppy’s face scrunches up in anger, “this isn’t my fault Bea. I only found out that day I went to talk to Chloe about us. Chloe made me promise not to say anything to you-” 

“Poppy! My mom OD and I don’t even know why. And now you’re telling me she was blackmailing the St James family and it doesn’t occur to you that might have had something to do with her death?” 

“They’re not the fucking mafia Bea, jesus. They were trying to settle it quietly by giving your mom some money and make her sign some stuff so she couldn't threaten them anymore.” 

The devastating ramification of Poppy’s admission hangs in the air as the two girls let the words settle into them. “Chloe really is sorry about your mom Bea, we all are.” 

Bea sighs, staring off into space, as a few tears begin to fill up in her eyes. “I just don’t know what to do.” Bea begins sniffling, but Poppy makes no movement to console her girlfriend. Bea notices and her expression sobers, “so, uh what did you wanna tell me?” Bea sniffs a few more times, before looking up at Poppy, giving her a small encouraging smile. 

Poppy looks away, guilt creeping up on her face, as she tries her damndest not to catch Bea’s small smile on her face. “Bea…”. Bea carefully assesses her girlfriend’s demeanour, noticing the similar body language during when they first asked to take a break, she thinks back to the last couple of days, she had barely heard from her girlfriend, and now she’s not affectionate, even after she almost had a mental breakdown in the middle of the hallway and her smile drops. “We have to break up,” Poppy says, her tone so monotone and dry as if she didn’t mean the words she was saying at all. 

“I don’t understand,” is all Bea can muster, evidently hurt by Poppy’s admission. Poppy winces slightly at Bea’s tone, finally breaking her robotic demeanour as she lets out a few sniffles. “So is that it? We have to break up,” Bea retorts mockingly, “is that all I get after all these years?” 

“Bea..” Poppy reaches out but Bea immediately takes a step back, tears flooding in her eyes. 

“No,” she holds her hands up, “I don’t get it, things are going good, or at least whatever twisted definition of good we’ve made up. Where the hell did this come from?” 

“Bea my dad-” 

“Of course! Hayden Min fucking Sinclair had something to do with this. Why do you still live under his shadow? You talk all this shit about breaking out of your father’s prison and wanting to achieve your own goals but he sucks you back in.” 

“That’s not fair Bea,” Poppy interjects, balling her hands up into fists in an attempt to subdue her trembling, “my dad has given me so much and he’s threatening to take it all away.” 

“Yeah, all you have to do is get rid of me. Me or the Min Sinclair name.” 

“Bea this is the life I have, okay I’m not like you, I’m not built like you.” 

“So what? I can grow up without a dad and now without a mom but it’s okay because I’m used to pain and disappointment?” 

“I didn’t mean it like that, you have a plan, things you can achieve, I need the Min Sinclair name, I’m nothing without it.” 

“Wow.” Bea shakes her head, “So I just meant nothing?” Bea wildy throws her arms in the air, anger bubbling under the surface of her demeanour. “We’ve practically been together since we were kids. And you’re just gonna fucking throw that away? And for what? Fuck you Poppy.” 

Poppy takes half a step back, dumbfounded by Bea’s outburst. She scrunches her brows, evidently hurt, “you don’t get it Bea. Even though your mom wasn’t the best, she still supported you, even if you didn’t know about it. My dad he- my mom what would she think?” 

“Your mom? Poppy what kind of shit is your dad brainwashing you with? Your mom is dead! You have no idea how she would react to having a gay daughter, but I know she’s probably disappointed in you.” 

“Fuck you Bea.”Poppy runs out of the classroom, tears streaming down her face, leaving Bea on her own. 

“Shit,” Bea whispers to herself before throwing a bunch of punches at the wall, each more cathartic than the last until she can’t physically hold herself up anymore. Bea defeatedly slides into a chair, cradling her head in between her hands, letting the tears free fall, as reality begins setting in that she lost the one thing in the world that was her everything. Poppy Min Sinclair was her rock, the girl who she gave her heart to, the love of her life and just in a matter of moments it was over. Maybe it was too good to be true. The beautiful, perky popular rich girl and the girl who had almost nothing, complete polar opposites, it never should’ve worked. But time and time again when faced against the world they persevered so why was this time different? Poppy had chosen her namesake over the love of her life. She chose the life of glitz and glamour over the girl who gave her her entire heart. Bea feels her entire world crashing down, how much more heartbreak could she take? Was her life always going to be so hard? So full of hurt? Full of pain? She winces at the thought, her head hammering as she comes to the realisation that she understood her mother’s pain more than she thought. 

…. 

Bea hops off her bike, parking it in front of her house, as she pulls her phone out to look at the time. ‘It’s lunch time,’ she thinks to herself. After the day she had today, school wasn’t the best option for her right now. She makes her way to her front door but stops in her tracks when she realises her front door is slightly ajar. Her survival instincts kick in as she effortlessly pulls out her pocket knife, carefully pushing the door fully open. As she steps into the living room, her eyes dart to the closed door of her mother’s room, but when she hears a creaking sound coming towards her bedroom, she cautiously moves towards the source of the noise, the grip on her knife tightening. As she creeps up, she sees the door of her room half opened, a hooded figure standing by her bed with their back facing her. 

Bea stealthily sneaks up to the figure placing the knife a few inches from their throat before lowering her voice to a threatening tone, “who are you and what the fuck are you doing?” The figure gasps, dropping a bag that’s in their hands with a deafening thud before raising their hands in a sign of surrender. 

“It’s me, it’s me,” the voice whimpers out. 

“AJ?” Bea raises her eyebrows, retracting the knife from his throat while pulling down his hood with her other hand. “What the fuck are you doing?” Bea takes a step back while AJ scrambles grabbing the bag he just dropped moments before. When he turns to face Bea, his eyes are wide, filled with fear as he clutches the bag closely to his chest. 

“I have to go,” he says as he attempts to run out of the room, but Bea pulls him back, her face crumpled in suspicion. 

“No we’re not doing this, give me the bag now,” Bea snatches the bag out of his hands before he can protest and opens the zipper to find it filled with cash. She grits her teeth, anger settling into her features as she whips her head up to AJ, “is this my fucking money?” 

“Bea, I- I can explain-” 

“What the fuck AJ!” Bea throws the bag onto the bed, the cash spilling out as she jabs an accusing finger at AJ’s chest. “You’re stealing from me now? I haven’t seen you in god knows how long, you don’t call, text nothing. Even after everything that’s been happening in the last few weeks but you have the audacity to fucking steal from me? Money that I’ve spent years saving? Money that I’ve bussed my fucking ass off for, are you serious right now?” Bea’s voice is filled with rage as she’s practically screaming, her voice now thundering. AJ winces, guiltily averting his gaze to the ground, unable to meet Bea’s eyes. 

“I’m sorry about your mom Bea, I wanted to visit-” AJ croaks out.

“But you didn’t,” Bea interjects, her voice lowered but filled with hurt. “And now you’re taking money- I mean what is so important you had to steal from me.” 

AJ paces towards the bed, hanging his head in shame, when he speaks his voice is quiet, full of fear, “I’m in some bad shit Bea. These guys aren’t playing around.” 

“I told you not to fall into the wrong crowd, I warned you this shit would happen.” 

“Bea please, I’ll pay you back I just need it.” 

“No! What the fuck, when will you pay me back huh? This is my college money, I’m not letting you give that away to your crackhead friends.” 

“Bea please,” AJ clasps his hands together, his tone pleading, “I don’t know what to do.” 

“AJ I have too much shit on my plate right now, I can’t deal with this. You need to find something else, I can’t help you.” 

AJ’s face pales but he stands up, and makes his way towards the door, before leaving he turns to look back at Bea, “I’m sorry about everything.” 

Bea keeps her eyes trained on her bed where the money is sprawled all over the mattress, “yeah me too,” she replies quietly. Bea hears the front door close and she collapses to the ground, letting the tears flow. 

……

A few days later, Bea sits in her dark living room, curtains shut and lights completely off as she wallows in her sadness, drinking from a bottle of cheap beer, as she stares absentmindedly at the ceiling, so drowned in her thoughts she doesn’t hear the resounding knocks on her door until she hears a voice call out, “Bea! Are you there?” 

Bea crumples her brows, forcing herself to stand as she makes her way to the door, she wearily makes her way to her front door only slightly opening the door before poking her head out. “Veronica?” Veronica gives the girl a wide smile before pushing the door more open, ushering the figure behind her into the house too, “Carter? What are you guys doing here?’ 

Veronica looks around the dark room, noticing the pile of empty beer bottles on the floor, “yikes, drinking on your own on a friday night Hughes? That’s really sad.” Carter stands near the edge of the living room, as if he’s an explorer, his eyes darting all over the living room as he assesses this new environment. 

Bea on the other hand scowls at Veronica, “what the hell do you want Veronica, I’m not in the mood.” 

Veronica frowns slightly, pouting her lips together, “we heard about you and Poppy.” 

Bea rolls her eyes, “yeah well I’m trying to forget about her.” Bea picks up her beer bottle from the ground and makes a show by exaggeratingly drinking from the bottle until it's empty. She discards the empty bottle along with the other ones before turning to look at Veronica and Carter, “so if you’ll excuse me.” 

Veronica steps towards Bea, wrapping her hand around the brunette’s arm, “we’re not here for Poppy stupid, we’re here for you.” 

Bea raises an eyebrow, “for me?” 

Veronica turns to look at Carter, beckoning him forward, Carter breaks out of reverie and clears his throat, “yeah uh, we wanted to take you to a party.” 

“A party?” Bea looks between them confused, “I’m not that interested guys.”

“Wait, wait, wait Bea,” Veronica pleads, pulling Bea closer to her, “you’ve never been to a Belvoire party and the year is almost over, we thought we should take you to at least.” 

“I don’t know guys,” Bea says skeptically, “a lot of people don’t like me.” 

“Who gives a shit? You just had your heart broken and you need to let loose.” 

Bea sighs, pulling away from Veronica, “I don’t think it’s a good idea.” 

“Come on, it beats drinking in the dark on your own.” 

Bea sighs, dropping her shoulders, “what about uh Poppy?” 

“Poppy?” Veronica arches a brow, “her and Chloe are staying in tonight, she said she needed to catch up on homework or something.” 

Bea purses her lips together in thought before sighing,  “fine.” Veronica cheers, “but,” Bea over enunciates, “only for a few hours and if I don’t like it I’m going home.” 

“Okay, deal,” Veronica squeals, wrapping Bea in a big hug. Carter chuckles as Veronica gestures for him to join the hug, he awkwardly wraps his arms around the two girls, before pulling away. 

“Okay, I’ll wait in the car while you girls get ready. Just uh don’t take too long.”

Veronica playfully rolls her eyes as she Bea towards her bedroom, yelling back “thanks Carter.” Giddy, she rushes to Bea’s closest, assessing her clothes until she finds a short red dress hidden in the back. “This!” 

“No, no, no,” Bea shakes her head, pulling the dress out of the ombre-haired girl’s hands. 

“Why not? It would look so hot on you,” Veronica’s eyes trail down Bea’s body, as she sharply inhales. “Bea, you’re single and sexy, stop holding yourself back okay?” 

“I’m not,” Bea pushes back defensively, “I just-” she sighs heavily, “no one at Belvoire has ever seen me dressed up, I’m just- I’m nervous I guess.” 

“Then we have to show them what they’ve been missing for the last three years,” Veronica gives Bea a devilish smile as she takes the dress from Bea’s hands, sliding the dress off the hanger before handing it over to Bea. 

“Uh you gonna stay in the room?” Bea nervously wrings her hands together. 

“Why, are you offering a show?” Veronica lifts a teasing brow, noticing Bea’s cheeks redden slightly, which prompts her to let out a small laugh, “I’m kidding, don’t worry I won’t look.” Veronica makes a show of raising her hands to cover her eyes. Bea laughs as she slips out of her clothes and into the dress, she awkwardly clears her throat, grabbing Veronica’s attention. 

“Hey, uh help a girl out with her zipper?” 

“Sure,” Veronica moves to stand behind Bea, her hands ghosting around Bea’s exposed back, her breath momentarily taken away. She sturdies herself and places one of her hands on the small of the brunette’s back while the other moves towards the zipper, zipping the girl up. Bea smooths the dress down with her hands appreciating herself in the mirror, “you look gorgeous,” Veronica whispers into the shell of her ear. 

Bea’s face completely flushes red and slightly jerks at Veronica’s admission, “uhh thanks.” 

Veronica notices the awkward shift in the atmosphere, and promptly changes the subject, “so where’s your sister?” 

Bea sits in front of her mirror, a comb in her hand as she brushes her long locks, “she’s staying at a friend’s tonight.” 

“Cool,” Veronica answers back but her tone falls flat. The girls bask in the awkward silence as Bea continues to get ready but when Veronica notices Bea struggling to do her winged eyeliner she breaks the silence. “Hey do you need help?” 

Bea smiles bashfully, “yeah.” She rubs the back of her head with her hand, “sorry Poppy used to help me with my makeup.” 

“Right,” Veronica’s face slightly falls but she quickly covers it up, ushering Bea to come and sit on the bed. “Come on, I don’t bite,” Veronica bites the bottom of her lip, “unless you want me too.” Bea laughs but obliges sitting on the edge of the bed. Veronica clambers onto her lap, her thighs settling on the sides of Bea’s legs, and in response, Bea’s eyes widen in surprise but she remains glued in her spot, too shocked to move. 

“V, what are you doing?” Bea whispers, her voice attempting to come across as reprimanding but it comes out as breathy. 

“Relax, I’m just doing your eyeliner.” Veronica plucks the wand from Bea’s hand and angles herself close to the brunette’s face, as she begins drawing on the wings on Bea’s eyelids. Bea steadies herself, as she feels the heat of Veronica’s body so close to hers and when Veronica is finished with putting the finishing touches on her eyelids, she hops off Bea’s lap, making her way towards the desk, scuffling through Bea’s makeup bag before taking up her place on Bea’s lap once again. “Now I think this colour would look good on you,” 

“You don’t think it’s too much red?” 

“Oh babe, red means power, dominance, you don’t wanna be thinking about Poppy the entire night, you wanna have all eyes on you Bea Hughes.” Veronica uncaps the lipstick, her eyes burning into Bea’s lips as she carefully applies the red colour to her lips. “Perfect.” 

Bea smacks her lips together, evenly spreading the red on her lips. “Thanks V.” 

Veronica’s eyes dart to Bea’s lips, her tongue slightly running along her bottom lips before she breaks out of her reverie flashing Bea a smirk, “don’t thank me yet, thank me when you’re having the time of your life at the party.” Veronica slides off Bea’s lap, holding her hand out, “come on let’s finish up because Carter’s been waiting for a while.” Bea smiles up at Veronica, taking her hand as she lets the ombre-haired girl pull her off the bed, as they continue getting ready. 

………

Once they arrive at the party, Carter drops the girls off at the front of the huge house before telling them he will park the car. Veronica’s gaze darts to Bea, who’s nervously toying with her hands, looking up at the intimidating house, the lights blaring and as the music echoes throughout, the bass thumping in their ears. Noticing the nerves settling into her, Veronica slips into Bea's, giving her a reassuring squeeze, “hey, it’s okay, it’s just a bunch of drunk, preppy uptight teenagers, nothing you don't usually face everyday.” 

Bea lets out a small laugh, “just in a big ass house,” she jests. 

“Yeah, just in a big ass house,” she gives Bea a light squeeze as she starts pulling Bea into the house with her. Automatically, they’re met with stares and whispers, as the students look astonished at Bea, some appraising her outfit, while others are confused about her presence. “Hey, just stay with me okay?” Veronica whispers over to Bea. Bea nods, her eyes roaming the room. “I’ll get us drinks.” The ombre-haired girl gives Bea a reassuring pat on her arm and leaves her side and Bea walks into the living room, observing the difference between the vibes of the party between the north and the south. Her thoughts then move to think about Poppy, how Poppy would love going to parties in the north but Bea couldn’t find the appeal in it. Poppy. Poppy, who broke up with her. She’s interrupted from her thoughts by a tap of her shoulder, and Bea turns around to see Veronica offering her a red solo cup, Bea takes a sip and winces. 

“What the hell is this crap?” 

“Yeah for a bunch of rich kids, their taste in beer isn’t the best,” Veronica jokes, slightly nudging Bea. 

“We have way better beer in the south side.” 

“That I can agree with.” Veronica looks over to Bea who looks lost in thought, “hey what are you thinking about?” 

Bea sighs heavily, “Poppy,” she mutters. 

Veronica nods once, “right, yeah.” 

“Poppy would’ve loved a party like this, big fancy house an-” 

“Bea,” Veronica says, her tone slightly agitated, “this,” she gestures around the room, “is a no Poppy zone. That means we don’t think about Poppy, only about fun.” 

Bea nods, “fun. I can do that.” Veronica lifts her cup in the air, “what are we cheering to?” 

Veronica gives Bea a smile, “here’s to the first steps in moving on.” The girls tap their cups together before downing their drinks. “Now if we wanna get drunk, we’re gonna need a lot more of these.” 

The party is still ongoing, and Bea sits in a circle with a few girls from the volleyball team and a few of the football team and other people she doesn’t recognise while Veronica sits beside her. 

“Bea you look so pretty,” one of her teammates says. 

“Yeah Bea your makeup is literally gorgeous,” another chimes in. 

“Who knew strip tease can clean up well,” Ford jests, but Bea slumps her shoulders a little, remembering that these people are not her friends. 

Carter enters the circle slapping Ford on the head as he goes, “shut up, Hughes is cool.” Bea gives Carter a nod of appreciation before looking down at the drink in her hands. Her thoughts move a million miles a minute, but there’s a constant one stuck in her brain, Poppy.

Veronica looks over at Bea, frowning. “Hey come with me.” She stands, excusing herself from the group and Bea follows her close behind. 

“Where are we going?” 

“We’re gonna play a private game of truth or drink.” 

[poisoned-peppermint]

Part 3 of incorrect quotes because people liked the other ones

~~~~~~~~~

Skeppy: I think I just figured something out. I got to go.

Bad: Aren't you forgetting something?

Skeppy: Uuh...*hesitantly kisses Bad's forehead before running out.*

Bad: No, pay your bill! Dang it, who raised you? 

~~~~~~~~

Bad: Well, Skeppy and I finally did it!

The rest of the squad: *gasps, shocked expressions, etc.*

Bad: That's right... We kissed!

~~~~~~~~

Skeppy: I love you.

Bad, not paying attention: What was that?

Skeppy: I said I’m selling you to the zOo-

~~~~~~~~

Skeppy: You’re not jealous, are you?

Bad: No!

Skeppy: Good, ‘cause I consider my fake relationship with you a lot more meaningful. 

~~~~~~~~

*Bad and Skeppy are in Paris.*

Bad: I'm...moved. I...I don't know what it is I'm feeling right now. I feel...destiny?

Skeppy: But...

Bad: I don't know what it is. I feel like... I just never thought I'd see it with my own two eyes. And here it is. It's just there. It's right in front of me, and...

Skeppy: This is what you wanted to see? The bridge from Inception?

Bad: Yeah.

Skeppy: But the Eiffel Tower is behind us, babe.

Bad: Yeah, but this is the bridge FROM INCEPTION.

Skeppy: Okay, alright

~~~~~~~~

Bad: Sorry I’m late, I was doing things.

Skeppy: Hi, I’m ‘things’

~~~~~~~~

Skeppy: Are you sure Bad's even gay? They barely even looked at me.

~~~~~~~

Bad: Ugh, crushes are so dumb.

Skeppy: I know. Whenever I’m near the person I like I just start acting stupid.

Bad: But you’re always acting stupid?

Skeppy: ...

Skeppy: Yeah, don’t think about that too hard.

~~~~~~~~

Bad: Can I have 2 straws with that milkshake?

Skeppy: Aww-

Bad: With 2 straws, I can drink it double as fast!

~~~~~~~

Bad: I’m going to defeat you with the power of friendship! ... And this knife I found

~~~~~~~

Bad: So... what would you do if you were in bed with me?

Skeppy: Depends. Is your bed comfortable?

Bad: Yes.

Skeppy: I'd sleep.

~~~~~~~~

Bad, to Skeppy: We had a date!

Bad: *aggressively points to Hello Kitty Coloring Book*

~~~~~~~~

Bad, at the slightest provocation: I came into this earth screaming and covered in someone else's blood and and I'm not afraid to leave the same way. 

~~~~~~~~

Skeppy: That was so hot, Bad.

Bad: I literally called the person who just flirted with you a degenerate dog and told them I hope they get dragged through the streets.

Skeppy: I'm so in love with you

~~~~~~~~

Dream: Where's Sapnap, Skeppy, and Bad?

George: They're playing hide and seek.

Dream: Where?

George: I don't think you get how this game works.

~~~~~~~

Skeppy: Good morning.

Bad: Good morning.

Sapnap: Good morning.

George: You all sound like robots, try spicing it up a bit.

Dream: MORNING MOTHERFUCKERS! 

~~~~~~~

Sapnap: You really put aside everything and came all this way for me? How did you even get here so fast?

George: Several traffic violations.

Dream: Three counts of resisting arrest.

Bad: Roughly thirteen cans of energy drinks.

Quackity: Also, that’s not our car.

~~~~~~~

Sapnap: Hi, could I ask how exactly does one accidentally set a lemon on fire??

Quackity: Microwave for 40 minutes. 😔

Bad: Why were you microwaving a lemon???

Quackity: I read boiling lemons helps cover up bad smells (I wanted to cover up the scent of burnt oranges) but I didn't own any pots.

Karl: Did you burn an orange too? How???

Quackity: Microwave for 40 minutes. 😔

~~~~~~

Tommy: Is stabbing someone immoral? Techno: Not if they consent to it. Wilbur: Depends who you’re stabbing. Phil: YES?!?

~~~~~~~

Tommy: *Screams*

Wilbur: *Screams louder to establish dominance*

Phil: Should we do something?

Techno: No, I want to see who wins.

~~~~~~~

Phil: Wake me up…

Techno: Before you go go!

Wilbur: When September ends…

Tommy: WAKE ME UP INSIDE-

~~~~~~~

Tommy: Techno isn’t answering their phone

Phil: I’ll call

Tommy: Wilbur and I have both tried six times each, what makes you thi-

Techno: Hello?

~~~~~~~

Cop: You’re receiving a ticket for having three people on one motorcycle.

Phil: Shit.

Techno: Wait, three?

Cop: Yeah?

Wilbur: OH MY GOD TOMMY FELL OFF!!!

~~~~~~~

Tommy: ARE YOU-

Wilbur: Fucking.

Tommy: KIDDING ME?! YOU-

Wilbur:Fucking.

Tommy: IDIOT!

Techno: …What was that?

Wilbur: Phil banned Tommy from swearing, so I’m helping them out.

~~~~~~~

Wilbur: *tapping fingers on table*

Techno: *taps fingers back furiously*

Tommy: …What’s going on?

Phil: Morse code. They’re talking.

Wilbur: -.-- ..- .-. / - …. . / -.-. ..- - . … -

Techno: *slams hands on table* YOU TAKE THAT BACK! 

~~~~~~~

Tommy: I'm bored.

Techno: Wanna commit first degree murder?

Tommy: Sure!

Phil, hearing them: No- Stop, don't do that! Put that knife down! Put Wilbur down!!

~~~~~~~

Wilbur: Oh god, they texted you ‘hi.’’ punctuation only means one thing, Phil. They're mad at you.

Phil: No, it's Tommy. They're just being grammatically correct!

*meanwhile*

Tommy: And then I used a period so they'd know that I'm mad at them.

Techno: A period doesn't say 'I'm mad', it says 'you're dead to me'.

Tommy: I stand by my choice.

~~~~~~~

Wilbur: Phil, we're hungry!

Techno: Phil! What's for dinner?

Tommy: We're hungry, Phil!

Phil, frying a bottle of ketchup over the stove: *screams* 

~~~~~~~

Wilbur, writing in a letter: "I'm going to kick.. your... ass."

Wilbur: THERE. Now send it.

Tommy:: Dude, your handwriting is terrible, are you sure you want to-

Wilbur: JUST DO IT!

later

Phil: So what does it say?

Techno, reading the letter: They say they're going to "lick my...."

Phil:

Techno:

Phil: Gross- 

~~~~~~~

Quackity: Karl, what do IDK, LY, and TTYL mean?

Karl: I don’t know, love you, talk to you later

Quackity: Ok, I love you too, I’ll just ask Sapnap.

~~~~~~~

Quackity: I love you guys, you're the best thing that's happened to me.

Karl: We're the best thing that's ever happened to you?

Quackity: Yes!

Sapnap: I'm starting to feel a little sorry for you.

~~~~~~~

Quackity: Sapnap and I were crossing the street, and this dude drove by and honked at us

Karl: *Sighing* What did Sapnap do?

Quackity: They chased him to the next red light, then reached into his window and...

Sapnap: Who wants a steering wheel?

~~~~~~~

Quackity: In my defense, I was left unsupervised.

Karl: Wasn't Sapnap with you?

Sapnap: In my defense, I was also left unsupervised. 

~~~~~~~~

Sapnap: Karl you can’t move in with Quackity. Karl: Why not? Sapnap: Well, um, how are you going to feel when they see you without any makeup? Karl: I’m not wearing makeup right now. Sapnap: Holy crap, you’re beautiful.

~~~~~~~

Sapnap: *is wearing silk pants* How does this look?

Quackity: Like its slips on and off really easily.

Sapnap:

Quackity: No, I didn't mean it like that-

Karl: We know what you meant. 

~~~~~~~

Quackity: I didn't drink that much last night.

Karl: You were flirting with Sapnap.

Quackity: So what? They're my Husband.

Karl: You asked if they were single.

Karl: And then you cried when they said they weren't.

~~~~~~~

Karl: Why doesn’t Sapnap find me sexy when I bite my lip?

Quackity: What do you look like when you bite your lip?

Karl: *bites lip*

Quackity: ...Have you considered biting your bottom lip instead? 

~~~~~~~

Bad: Are you trying to seduce me?

Skeppy: Why, are you seducible?

~~~~~~~

Bad: I don't need to go to bed. I'm not tired, I'll be fine.

Skeppy: But, darling, I'll be so lonely without you. Come curl up in my arms so I can feel whole again.

Bad: O-oh. Well. Are you trying to seduce me into healthy sleeping patterns??

Skeppy: Is it working? 

~~~~~~~

Skeppy: Relationships should be 50/50. Bad cooks us dinner while I sit on the kitchen counter looking pretty. 

~~~~~~~

Bad: I still have no idea how I’m attracted to you...

Skeppy: Yeah, well, you’re stuck with me, and no take backs, honey.

~~~~~~~

Bad: The first time I saw you, you stole my heart.

Skeppy: But I'm a kleptomaniac, so that doesn't mean anything. 

~~~~~~~

Bad: Valentine’s day is just a consumerist holiday that holds no real value other than drive people insane buying heart shaped chocolates for their significant others and pos-

Skeppy: I wrote you a poem.

Bad, already crying: You did?

~~~~~~~

Skeppy: This date is boring!

Bad: This isn't a date. I said I was going to the store.

Skeppy: Then why did you invite me?

Bad: I didn't, I specifically said "don't come with me" then you said " screw you Bad I'll do whatever I want!

~~~~~~~

Skeppy: When you said 'Magic in Bed', I wasn't expecting this...

Bad: *pulls out card from deck* Now, was this your card?

Skeppy: Holy moly- 

~~~~~~~

Bad: I owe you one.

Skeppy: That’s ok. You can just date me and we’ll call it even. 

~~~~~~~~

If this does as well as the others I’ll make another.

[brelione]

Love and Hate (The Best Boys)

dude come on. you said you’d upload the next chapter on christmas and now it’s been a whole week after and it’s still not out. :(, hi! when are you posting the next chapter of tbb??, tbb????, Are you posting the next chapter of best boys soon? I miss her, when will you be posting the next part of the best boys series??, Ok I’m over TBB I’m just gonna say she ends up with Blah Blah and they live happily ever after, the end. Thank you for the amazing read, it has been fun❤️, TBB is literally the last series I have to finish before I can finally peace out of the shithole that is the OBX fandom for good but like no rush or anything baby❤️,When do you think you’ll be posting the last chapters of TBB?, Hey queen how’s the writing for best boys going, 

Series Masterlist

SHES HEREEEE

Yes, im aware this chapter is all over the place. I went through writing four different versions of this chapter and this is the one that I decided to go with. I know that this one is kind of a little ahfioshviowenvionae but it all comes together next chapter (I already started writing the next chapter). Im so sorry that this is so late. I’ve been having issues for a little bit. My grandfather and my dog passed away and I recently had a relapse and I think that’s why it was taking me so long. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter <3

Warnings:Nothing really, swearing and unedited. Also im sorry if you dont like this chapter but like....yeah.

You were awoken to the sounds of screaming.Topper ended up at the foot of the bed, Kelce still clinging onto you.Rafe was absent from his spot but the mattress was still warm and had a slight dent which let you know that he hadnt been gone long.

You had spent most of the night trying to find the perfect spot on the mattress, one arm thrown over kelce and your heel against the back of Toppers thigh.It seemed like it hadnt been a super long time since the sun had risen which meant that it was probably around seven in the morning by now.

Your heart was thumping in your chest, trying to pay attention to what the voices were shouting.Something about a mess and irresponsibility but you couldnt hear much besides that.Rafe stomped up the stairs, opening his door.He was shirtless, face red from yelling and his eyes slightly watery.You sat up, making Kelce grumble.

 Rafe’s jaw was slightly dropped, his nose beginning to run and his body trembling.“Hey, what happened?”You asked, gaining Kelce’s attention.Topper’s eyes opened slightly, looking over at Rafe.The tall boy didnt say anything, he just dragged his feet across the room and sat back on the bed, mumbling.You were hesitant to grip his hand, squeezing lightly.

He just stared at a wrinkle in the blanket but the sound of something breaking downstairs told you that it had been more than just bickering.Kelce was worried, knowing that his parents had gotten home late last night and would see the mess he had created. “He doesnt want me living here anymore.”Rafe spoke up, a few tears rolling down his cheeks.

You pulled him closer to you, arms around his shoulders as he sobbed, your fingers rubbing against the back of his neck.He squeezed you tightly when he head footsteps coming up the stairs, silently praying to any god that would listen that it wouldnt be Ward.Kelce’s phone kept buzzing but he ignored it, knowing exactly what it was.

He knew that it was coming and he would be lying if he said that he didnt expect it, nervous the whole night as he waited for his phone to blow up.“What are you gonna do?”Topper asked.As much as you wanted to scold him for asking that when Rafe clearly didnt want to talk about it it was still something that you had also been wondering.

Rafe didnt answer, taking in a deep, shaky breath that hurt his ribs before picking up his head and looking over to his friend. “I dont know.”He admitted.His voice hurt your heart, the realisation kicking in that there wasnt really many places that he could go.

Kelce’s phone buzzed again, all of your eyes falling on him.He sighed, glancing at his screen.He had missed calls from his parents, dozens of text in all caps telling him to come home immediately. “They found the door.”He replied, keeping his voice calm.A new wave of silence washed over the room, not knowing what to say to that.

Your eyes watered as you remembered how simple life was a few weeks ago, all of you eating breakfast, watching criminal minds and laughing as Topper recorded it all on his snapchat.Now everything was completely falling apart.You didnt say anything, trying to think of a solution.Rafe couldnt go to Kelce’s house or Topper’s house since Topper’s mother had one of those security cameras outside of her home and she’d recognize him immediately.

She was still pissy about Topper’s accident, she’d explode if he let friends over. “SO what happens now?”Topper asked.You were all out of ideas.A simple drive or icecream or a movie couldnt solve any of this. “I mean...think about it.We’re adults, right?Child protective services cant stop us if we leave.”Kelce muttered.Rafe nodded, snapping his fingers.

 “Yeah, yeah!You’re right.”He agreed, causing your eyes to widen.They were acting insane. They couldnt be serious about just getting up and leaving forever, right? “No, no hes not.We cant just-we cant just leave!”You exclaimed.They were actually going crazy.How could they even think like that? “Why?What do you have here, (Y/N)?”He asked.You paused, thinking about it.

You didnt really have anything.You had your house of course but other than that you had nothing but memories and your boys.You didnt want to admit that he was right, letting out a quiet sigh. “But leaving forever isnt the answer.”You muttered.Rafe rubbed your back, shaking his head. “Doesnt have to be forever, baby.”He answered. 

“But- but just cause we arent kids doesnt mean we cant be registered as missing people.They’ll come after us.”You told them.You knew that nobody outside of this room actually cared about you enough to report you as missing but you were scrambling through your thoughts, desperately hunting for a reason to stay on the shitty island that you had learned to love so much.Topper shrugged, not really caring. 

“Guys, guys. Okay, look. You’re all fucked, ill admit it. But thats fine! Are you guys forgetting that I still have a house- you guys can just stay there until this whole thing blows over just like you always have!”You reminded them, hoping they’d agree. “This isnt gonna blow over, (Y/N). I cant come back here.”Rafe told you, becoming aggravated. 

“THEN MOVE IN! All of you guys, you can just move in, okay? You dont have to leave- I still have my moms money! We’ll figure it out as we go and…. And it’ll be fine.”You insisted. “Move in with you?”Rafe asked. You nodded, wiping your nose. “You practically live with me already, it wont be that different.”You told him, gripping his hand.

 It was a messy blur as Rafe packed his things, grabbing anything that he thought could be important. A photo of his mother, his birth certificate and diploma, laptop and ipad, the Frozen ll record. Kelce and Topper just watched, neither of them ready for anything like this so early in the morning. 

Maybe if you werent so tired and upset you wouldnt have said it, but here you were in Rafe’s truck, a dufflebag full of his things at your feet with the boys in the backseat as he drove to your house, a few tears rolling down his cheeks as the thoughts finally took over his brain. Kelce had got aggravated and shut down his phone entirely, staring out the window. 

The last thing you were expecting was to come down your road only to see a car that was practically falling apart already in your driveway, a tall man with his hands over his forehead as he tried to look in your windows. “What the fuck….”Rafe muttered, reaching for the door handle when you gripped his hand. “Dont, we dont know what he’s doing.”You told him, hoping he’d listen.

 Turns out he wasnt the one you had to worry about, Kelce swinging his door open and sprinting up your driveway before anyone could even stop him. Wherever Kelce went Topper went, the boy struggling to get the seatbelt over his cast before jumping out of the truck and nearly falling into a puddle. “ESCUSE ME! MR SIR! WHAT ARE YOU DOING LOOKING IN MY HOUSE?”Kelce shouted, purposely making his voice deeper.

 The man turned, confused as to why two half asleep teenage boys were walking towards him. “Your house?”The man asked. “Yes, sir. You ever heard of a gay couple before?”Topper asked, making Kelce break character for a moment. 

“Well, no, its not that. Its just that I thought this was someone elses house.”The man muttered, confused. You had slid down your seat, hoping that the man wouldnt see you. “He’s about to leave.”Rafe whispered. 

“Who’s the other guy in the car?”The man asked, pointing to Rafe’s figure. Kelce glanced over at Topper with wide eyes, trying to think. “Our son.”Kelce replied, cringing the moment he said it. The man only looked more confused, looking between the two boys. “How old are you guys?”The man asked, clearly not buying their story. 

“Excuse me? Are you saying that we’re too old to have a son? I did not spend years training for a medical degreee to have some random old man come and tell us how old our son can be!”Topper exclaimed.  “I didnt spend years trying to find a surrogate and figuring out a way to make a robot nanny for this!”He sighed, trying his best not to smile.

“Could you please leave the property before we call the police?”Kelce asked. The man was beyond confused at this point, quickly making his way to his shitty car before slowly backing out of the driveway, eyes still scanning the area before he gave up and went down the street. 

You let out a sigh of relief, moving to get up when Rafe placed his hand on top of your head to keep you down. “Hes coming around again.”He whispered to you, taking in a shaky breath and holding it in his lungs as the car passed a second time. Topper and Kelce were standing by the door, staring at Rafe almost as telling him to get out and make a run for it.

 “Open the door in 3...2…”You didnt wait, jumping out and running towards the house, typing in the key pad as quick as you could, Topper’s hand pushing you inside. “Here he comes again!”He exclaimed, coming in right behind you along with the others before Rafe slammed the door shut and locked it, letting out a laugh.

 “Oh god, that was scary.”He chuckled. Kelce and Topper nodded as well, eventually laughing. “Was that my dad?”You asked. “Maybe.”Topper answered. Now that you thought about it, your dad didnt same important. Nothing did. You lived on a huge rock that’s floating around space and you’re concerned about your dad when your boyfriends best friends are moving in.

 “What’d you tell him?”You asked. “We told him that we’re a gay couple, Topper’s a doctor and Rafe is our child.”Kelce replied. You giggled, snorting. “I mean, as you should.”You replied. “Hell yeah.”Kelce grinned. Topper tapped at his arm. “Bro, you wanna get married?”Topper asked. Kelce laughed again, nodding.

 “I’ll get baptised and get you guys married!”Rafe volunteered, all of you turning to look at him. “Did you just say baptised?”Kelce asked. Rafe nodded, eyebrows furrowing. “Is that not the right word?”He asked. Topper shook his head. “The word is ordained.”He informed the tall boy. “He’s trying his best.”You replied, sitting down on the chair that you werent used to sitting in. 

“You think he’s gonna come back?”You asked. Topper groaned, sitting down. “Well, I hope not. I dont want my husband and I to have to fight him.”He grinned. You rolled your eyes, changing positions in the chair. “Did he look like me?”You asked, leaning your head against the arm rest, groaning when Rafe pushed your legs aside and sat down with you.

 “Not really… he had rat tails for eyebrows.”Kelce replied, putting his fingers over his eyebrows. “Do I have rat tail eyebrows?”You asked, grinning when Rafe reached forward and poked your eyebrow, a chuckle slipping past his lips. “You wish.”He replied. “Fuck off.”You answered. “Dont be fucking rude.”He grinned, kissing you quickly before pulling away with a small smile. 

You were shocked, trying to hide your surprise. It wasnt like you werent used to kissing Rafe by now, it was just that he had never done it in front of the boys before. They looked nearly as confused as you, the thought of Rafe kissing you in front of them never even being a concern until now. They were used to him getting most of your love and attention but that had just stirred something within them. 

“So how are we gonna do this? I dont know about you guys but im not going back to my house anytime soon.”Kelce announced. Rafe lifted his head, looking over to the boy. “You could always sneak in your own window to grab your things...maybe wait until theyre at work. What about you, Top?”Rafe asked, turning his attention to the blonde boy. 

“What do I have at my house that I need? Like, really need.”He asked, grinning when none of you could answer. “Problem solved.”He replied. “What time is it?”Rafe asked, breaking the silence. “Ten.”Kelce replied, closing his eyes as he leaned against the couch. “Im going upstairs to take a nap then.”Topper yawned, slowly making his way down the hall into the first floor guest room. 

It was arguably the worst since it also worked as your moms office, a queen bed pushed into the corner. You wiggled out of Rafe’s grip, smiling when he whined. You went into the kitchen, grabbing a poptart. For the situation you felt rather calm, opening the silver package and taking a bite of one of the sweet pastries. 

The energy in the house felt different than it had yesterday. You werent sure why, maybe it was just the comfort of knowing that the boys were going to be living with you now and you wouldnt have to worry as much about Rafe or Topper’s relationship with his mom. 

“So how are we gonna handle this?”Kelce asked, confusing you. “The house, I mean. You have this whole house and like...30 million dollars. We can literally redecorate however we want, maybe even clean out your moms office if youre okay with it.”He suggested. 

You nodded, the idea of getting the memory of your mother cleansed from your life sounded appealing. His excitement took over as he opened his amazon prime app, looking for new decor. “How do you feel about your moms room?”He asked, not wanting to push your limits. You shrugged, swallowing part of the pastry. “Shes not using it.”You replied, surprised by how morbid you sounded. 

He simply nodded, shifting in his seat as he added things to his cart. “Can we redo your room? It’s been the same color since we were fourteen.”Rafe suggested. You shrugged, not really caring. You didnt spend a large amount of time in your bedroom anyways. You scrolled through your phone for a few minutes, seeing a little red bubble next to your messaging app that let you know that you had gotten a text. Curious, you opened it. 

As soon as you saw who it was a pit grew in your stomach, eyes widening. It was her. “Sweet words, (Y/N).”The text read. You knew that it was your uncle just trying to mess with you but it still caused your anxiety to skyrocket, deciding to block the number and place your phone between your thighs, taking in a deep breath through your nose. 

Topper dragged his feet, coming out of the room with a frown. “That’s the most uncomfortable bed in all of history.”He muttered, sitting down on the couch instead. “You can go upstairs.’You reminded him, feeling your phone buzz against your inner thigh. 

He just hummed, leaning his head against the back of the couch. “How long was I in there?”He asked. “Literally not even ten minutes.”Kelce replied, still scrolling. “Did I miss anything?”Topper asked. You didnt reply, breaking off another piece of the poptart. “We’re gonna redecorate the house.”Kelce answered. Topper nodded, lifting his head.

 “Does that mean that office too?”Topper asked. You nodded, staring at a spot on your carpet. “Does that mean we get to open the file cabinet in the guest room?”He asked, all of you looking over at him. The thought made you feel nauseous. Even if she wasnt here to yell at you you knew that opening the file cabinet would still scare you anyways. 

“If theres a dead body in there I swear to god-”You muttered, earning a chuckle from Rafe. “A body couldnt fit in there.”he replied, making your eyebrows furrow. “How do you know where bodies can fit?”You asked. “No, no. Like, its not….well...maybe a raccoon body.”He admitted. “Rafe!”You exclaimed, smacking his thigh. 

He rolled his eyes, pulling you into his lap. “There’s no raccoon body.”He answered. “I think theres a raccoon body.”Kelce replied. “Theres not.”You answered. Topper grinned, skipping into the room and beginning to open the cabinet, the three of you following him. “Okay, who votes raccoon body?”He asked, his hand on the knob. 

Kelce raised his hand, grabbing your arm to make you hold your hand up as well. “Ready?”Topper asked before pulling the door open, looking into it. His face fell immediately, not expecting this. “What?”You asked, stepping past Kelce and looking into the cabinet.Guns were being held by small metal pieces, multiple clear bags full of plants and needles on the floor, bullets on sashes hanging with the guns.

 The two of you just stared, ignoring Rafe and Kelce until they came up behind you, equally as confused. “What the fuck?”Rafe asked, seeing the bags. Kelce slammed the doors shut, locking it. “We’re not telling anyone about this, right?”He asked, looking at all of you. “What are we gonna do with all that? We cant just keep it here!”Topper argued. 

Rafe shrugged, resting his elbow on your shoulder. “We smoke the weed and throw the guns in the river, obviously.”Rafe answered. “We’re not smoking weed, Rafe.”You answered. “Well your mom didnt have a liscense to carry, right?”Kelce asked. You shook your head, figuring it would be hung up somewhere in the house to remind you of the power she had.

 “Right, okay. So we cant call the cops and we cant keep it here.”Kelce answered, clicking the lock on the cabinet. “What’d your mom even do for a living?”Topper asked. You frowned, thinking back. You never really knew what your mother did, you just stayed quiet and hoped you wouldnt make her angry. She’d disappear for months, money would appear in your bank account, she’d pay the bills aned thats all you needed to know. 

She’d have long phone calls with people in her office, grounding you if you even dared to listen. “I dont know.”You replied, cringing at how stupid you sounded. “She has these cabinets all over the house, doesnt she?”Kelce asked. “The one in her room is actual files.”You told him, hoping that there were no sorts of hidden things in her room.

 “Should we go check?” Rafe asked, out of the room with a grin before any of you could even answer. You sighed, slightly annoyed that he was treating this like a scavenger hunt. “Its been here this whole time, im sure nothings gonna happen.”Kelce assured you, patting you on the shoulder before his fingers tickled your arm and wrist, gripping your hand and bringing you upstairs. 

“I ordered some tapestries, succulents, fake vines and some new blankets for our new movie room.”He told you, nearly slipping up. “Movie room?”You asked, nearly slipping on the stairs. “Your mom has a big tv, I figured it could be like a second living room if you’re comfortable with that.”He answered, pausing at the top of the stairs so he could wait for you. 

Rafe was in your mother’s room, carefully pulling on the drawers, eventually finding out that the top one was locked. He looked over at you, silently asking if you knew where the key was. You shook your head, letting go of Kelce’s hand and opening the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet, the hairs on the back of your neck standing up. 

Your mother kept most of your medical documents and anything like that to herself along with basically everything that proved you existed. Baby photos, ultra sounds, old school tests. “We could just move it into the other guest room.”Rafe muttered, hoping he wasnt making you upset. You ignored him, looking through all the little colored tags, your eyes falling on a silver tag, your eyebrows furrowing. No other ones had that color. 

You picked it up, sitting down and reading it over. The words were all bundled together, ink scratches and smudges told you that it wasnt a serious document. The only word you could make out was ‘arsonist’. Nothing else was eligible. “Can we take it right now?”You asked, placing the paper on the floor and closing the drawer. Rafe nodded, Kelce grabbing one side while Rafe grabbed the other. Topper grinned, leaning against your mothers unused desk.

 “I would help but my arms broken.”he laughed, watching as Kelce struggled, walking backwards. “Some moral support would be great.”Kelce rolled his eyes. You grinned, slowly clapping. “Great job, guys. You’re doing great moving that illegal file cabinet.”You held back a laugh. They turned carefully, shuffling as they eventually got to the guest bedroom.

 “How do you feel about this?”Topper asked, sitting down on the chair. You sighed, shrugging. “I mean, you know. Its not that I dont love the idea of you guys being here but like… its the circumstances.”You answered, sighing when he pulled you closer with his good arm, rubbing your back. “Thanks a lot for this, though. Like in all seriousness im really grateful that you’re in my life.”He blushed, looking up at you. You smiled, kissing his nose lightly.

 “I mean, I do provide you with half of the drama in your life.”You giggled, kissing him gently. “Where does the other half come from?”He asked. You shrugged, sighing. “Probably you.”You answered. “I cant believe you’d say that to me! You know im at a bad place in life and you put me in this terrible situation when you know that!”He fake cried, bursting into laughter. 

“Kourtney dont laugh at me!”You exclaimed. You felt a vibration under your feet, hearing a loud, dramatic sigh and the sound of skin colliding. They had successfully moved the file cabinet, the door closing as their loud footsteps hit the floor as they entered your mother’s room again. Rafe took a moment to look around, sometimes forgetting that the room even existed. 

It was the biggest room in the house, the ceiling going up at least twenty feet with only glass separating the room from the outside world. His mind wandered, thinking of all the fun nights the two of you could have in here watching the stars or listening to the rain.

 The bed was large and still, the blankets and sheets unwrinkled and untouched. He understood why you were creeped out by the house now, feeling like he didnt belong in the room. You all took turns trying to figure out what the writing said, eventually deciding that it probably wasnt even in english. “Should we put it through google translate?”Rafe asked, staring at the paper. 

Kelce shook his head. “Nah, its not reliable. I tried using it for spanish class in freshman year and I got detention.”He replied. “Well thats definitely not spanish. Maybe its like…. Ancient text.”Topper suggested, causing you to frown. “I highly doubt that my mother would know an ancient text. 

Maybe we should just leave it.”You answered. Although you werent exactly satisfied with it you just didnt feel like spending your time trying to decode a random paper. They didnt seem satisfied either but didnt want to push you, putting the paper down on the desk where it would be safe from your footsteps. 

Of course the boys just couldnt stay at the same place for long periods of time, deciding to suggest that you guys go out to a store to get some paint for the boring walls. You agreed, the four of you getting into your car instead of Rafe’s truck, locking all the doors and windows before you left. 

Kelce didnt suggest a McDonalds run which caused you to frown, knowing that he was probably too stressed to want to eat. You guys went into Walmart with one goal, heading right for the paint section and looking at the wall of colors. “Lets get four colors and kind of just make it up as we go.”Kelce muttered, looking at all the different shades.

 “We could all pick one out.”Topper suggested, reaching forward and picking a bright green. You agreed, picking a shade of light purple, watching as Kelce picked the color toffee biscuits and Rafe went for cotton blue. You doubted any of the colors would actually look good together but that wasnt the point of the project. 

It was more about making the room look fun rather than nice. Kelce grabbed a few large paint brushes, the four of you leaving before you could get distracted by anything that you didnt need. Topper decided to get right to work, spilling some paint on the floor as he dragged the brush along the wall, creating bright stripes.

 “I have an artistic vision! Trust the process!”He exclaimed, feeling your judgemental eyes on him. You didnt say anything, watching Kelce struggle to connect his phone to your speaker, playing the first song on his playlist. 

Line without a hook. Topper looked over at you, almost like he was silently asking you if you had told the boys about his top secret playlist. You shrugged, not wanting to give anything away to the others.

 “Oh my god, I love this song.”Rafe dunked his brush in the light blue, making a smiley face on the wall. “Can I paint an onion?”He asked. You raised your eyebrows, not understanding why he wanted to put an onion on the wall. 

“Ogres are like onions! We have layers!”Kelce laughed. “Who is we? Are you an ogre, Kelce?”Topper asked, not taking his eyes off of the bright stripes, painting a circle on the top. “Topper Harry Katherine Thornton, are you painting a penis on my wall?”You asked, connecting the dots. 

He grinned, ignoring you. “Of course not.”He replied, painting frantically so that you couldnt stop him, green drops rolling down the wall. You picked up your paint brush, painting two circles quicklly before pushing the brush into the center of each, laughing to yourself.

 “Guys, really?”Rafe asked. “Cant we make the wall wholesome?”He asked. You shook your head, a smile on your face. “Says you of all people, Rafe.”You shook your head. “She got you there.”Topper replied, dragging the brush across the painting and blending it out so there was no longer a penis on your wall. 

“What are you doing now?”You asked, wanting to one up him. “What are you doing now?” He mocked you. Somehow you ended up splashing Topper with paint and getting tackled into the mattress as he held the paintbrush over you, trying to get the bright green liquid on your face while you held his arm back. 

“Im gonna murder you!”You laughed, rolling over under him so your face was against the mattress. “Im gonna paint your hair!”He laughed, holding the brush just above it. “Topper, dont mess with her hair.”Kelce took the brush away. 

Topper groaned, falling next to you on the mattress. His eyes were closed, the sun from the window casting a beautiful glow over his face, a small smile tugging at the side of his mouth. You pressed a kiss to his cheekbone, your arm resting on his torso. 

It didnt take long for painting to be forgotten, a few cheap bristles sticking to the wall with messes of colorful lines and unfilled shapes. The song changed, followed by a loud gasp from Rafe. “This is my favorite song!”He smiled, hitting his knees with his fists repeatedly. 

He didnt know what about it made him so happy, whenever he heard it it reminded him of you guys. “You know what we should do?”Topper asked. “No.”Kelce replied while Rafe rewinded the song to listen to his favorite part again. 

“We should make soup. Like, spicy soup with potatoes.”He replied, mouth watering. “We could just order soup.”Kelce replied, not in the mood to go downstairs and hunt for ingredients. “Order soup from where?”Topper asked. Kelce simply shrugged, shifting around and putting his arms under his body.

That had been a week ago. Since then a lot had happened. You guys had developed a system, Kelce could do his laundry on Saturdays, Rafe on Mondays and Topper’s just got mixed in with yours.

 It was a love and hate relationship to have them there with you. You didnt regret your decision but sometimes things would get difficult. Grocery shopping was the worst since nobody could decide what they wanted and you had all agreed not to eat out as much. 

“We need an actual meal, we cant just eat chips for everything.”Topper would grumble, realising he didnt even really know how to cook. That just lead to late flights of searching for recipes o pinterest and watching Gordon Ramsey tiktoks until they decided to try and make bake and shake chicken. That didnt really work out well, having to open all of your windows and get the smoke out of your house. 

Then you guys decided to take a new approach, finding a ton of frozen pizzas and ingredients for sushi. Kelce was the only one who had any idea of what he was doing since he had always been talented in the kitchen, specifically with breakfast. That became more of a safe meal for you guys, making extra food in the morning to eat later for dinner until you got sick of toast, eggs and bacon. 

Kelce ended up banishing you all to the pool so that he could decorate properly, vines hanging from the door ways and landscape tapestries hanging in your living room, hallway and your mother’s old bedroom. “How long do you think he’s gonna be?”You asked, floating on your back in the shallow end, letting out a yelp when Topper grabbed you and dragged you to the deep end. 

“I dont know, probably like three days.”He replied, finally letting go once you were in the middle of the pool. “We could survive three days in the pool.”You replied, watching Rafe shake his head. “With my allergy to the sun?”He asked, making you turn over, going underwater for a moment. “You dont even sunburn.”You told him, splashing water in his direction before swimming away quickly so that he couldnt get back at you.

 Kelce kept getting calls from his parents that were asking him to come home but he never did. They knew where he was, if they wanted him back so badly they’d drive over and take him away. “Guys, i’ve finished my creation.”Kelce announced, coming outside. “So we can come in now?”Topper asked, gripping the ledge of the pool and pulling himself out, falling onto his stomach as he struggled to get up.

 “Yes, you can come in now! Hurry!”Kelce yelled excitedly before going back inside, waiting impatiently for you guys to hurry. Rafe helped you out of the pool, tossing you your towel so that you wouldnt trail water through your house. “Guys! Come on!”Kelce shouted again, the three of you walking across the hot pavement quickly.

 “I’ll clean up the water after- just come see what I did!”He said again. You rolled your eyes, walking into the house. Goosebumps formed on y0our skin from the cool air, eyes widening as you looked at the kitchen. He had bought a plaid tablecloth for the table, vines hanging from the ceiling and doorways, a tie dye tapestry hanging in your living room. It looked like he had taken the time to wipe down every surface and vacuum any mess of broken spaghetti or eggshells that had been kicked under the fridge.

 “Do you like it?”He asked, unable to read your shocked expression. “Kelce, im gonna be honest with you. I feel like im in pixie hollow right now.”You grinned, making him smile. “I think thats a good thing- but upstairs is better!’He exclaimed before making his way up the stairs. He was right. 

There were marble heart shaped tiles hanging on the walls of the hall, a sign on the new hangout spot that was made out of drift wood. He opened the door, revealing bean bag chairs on the floor, a new carpet, a light yellow canopy hanging over the bed that had all new sheets and blankets on it as well. 

He had even somehow managed to fix the paint on the wall so that there were different colored polka dots all over it. The boys seemed equally impressed, still taking it in. You hugged Kelce, not even caring that you’d get his clothes wet. “So I did good?” He asked, hugging you back. “You always do good.”You replied, feeling him hug you tighter.

 “So you’re happy?”He asked, letting out a small sigh when you nodded. “I am happy, Kelce.”you replied, kissing him lightly. He smiled against you, taking in a deep breath. “I found a new recipe for fancy grilled cheese.”He told you, kissing your forehead. This was something that you loved about having them live with you.

@sweetlittlegingy​    @nicolefarley603 @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch @newsies-yeet​ @butgilinsky​ @jjjmaybank​ @gracelovesbroadway​  @one-stella @spn-marvel-nerd @lovelyelinor​ @chinamolina602  @sexytholland @28cnn  @popcrone818 @fttayla @cherryobx​ @n1ghtsh4d3-67​ @drewstarkeyobx​ @poguestyleskye​ @judayyyw​ @jjtheangel @jj-iz-bae@sunwardsss @meaganjm  @sarcasticsagittarius1998​ @natalie-kate-98​ @nxsmss​ @broken-jj @joshy-obx @classygirlything  @annmariek8​ @stupidpendeja​ @killjoyybsinner @pink-meringues @outerbongs​  @copper-boom​  @httpstarkey​ @teenwaywardasgardian   @simonsbluee  @deionswannabegirl​ @jiaraendgame  @khiaraaa-in-spacee​  @on-socks-off  @abbiesthings @kindahavefeelingskindaheartless @dmonchld​​@annmariek8 @harryswigss​ @ibookofstars​  @lostaurorax​​ @cheshirecat107​​​

[count-woe-laf]

You can’t spell stargaze without gays

I write? Since when? Yes I’m aware the title makes no sense, I’m uncreative. This was supposed to be a late birthday present for @me-a-mess-morelikelythanyouthink but it’s super late now, I still enjoyed writing it and planning it with her, I hope you’re having a great day, Silver. I’m sorry I got science facts wrong and I don’t know how to end things or how normal people talk

Logan and Virgil are hopeless pining gay idiots with horrible communication skills, but they’re working on it. (Romantic analogical, very background royality and platonic dukeceit.) 1850 words

"Bring me a diet coke!" Virgil called to Roman as he ran out of the truck, through the gravel parking lot, and towards the bright 7/11.

Logan let out a small laugh from next to him. "You know he's going to spend an hour flirting with the cashier and forget."

"Yeah I know, it's fine. Surprising that he's moved up from panicking around Patton to flirting with him, that's what I call character development."

"Character development that's gone on for ten too many seasons."

"True. But while he's in there I have more time to spend with you," Virgil replied with a smirk, Logan's cheeks reddening.

"You all are disgusting," called Remus from the backseat.

"I agree," Janus sighed. "Though I can do many things, understanding allos is not one of them."

"Then get out of my truck," Virgil jokingly glared into the rearview mirror.

"It's Roman's truck-" Logan started, Virgil shifted his glare towards him. "Ok yeah, get out."

"Think we can find bigfoot, Jan?"

"We're only half an hour away from the city, try again," but Janus let himself be dragged out into the nearby forest.

Logan and Virgil were left alone, thoughts of what had gone on the past week between them running through their heads. The hand brushes, the late night phone calls, the hoodies, the excessive amount of feelings that for once, neither of them minded. There was always more to say though.

"You can see lots of stars from out here," Virgil commented rather nervously. "You should come outside with me and look at them."

It was an offering just for Logan. He was the only one allowed to stargaze with Virgil while others were flirting in a 7/11 and being chaotic in a forest. Logan and Virgil in the bed of a truck staring at the night sky. ...Well, one of them was looking at the stars.

"You know to stargaze you actually have to look at them, right? You can just look at me, V."

"Who's saying you're not a star? 'Cause you definitely are, love."

"Love?" Logan tilted his head towards Virgil's red face.

"Uh-" Virgil looked away quickly. "What is that constellation? It looks like a spoon."

"Do you seriously not know? That's the big dipper, it's part of the constellation ursa major."

"You're the science-y one here, how would I know?" Logan just sighed. "You should keep talking though, I love your voice."

"Oh… Well that's the northern star…"

"Why is it called that?"

"Um, it's the most northern star, I believe astronomers base things off of it."

Virgil snoted, "wow. Star dudes sure are creative."

Logan looked over, an indescribable emotion on his face. "Pardon me, but did you just call astronomers, 'star dudes'?"

Virgil stared back, a teasing glint in his eyes. "Star. Dudes."

"...I will defenestrate you."

"Oh?"

"Do you even know what that means?"

"Yeah," Virgil said. "It means you pick me up and I get to simp over your muscles."

"It also means I throw you out of a window."

"I'll take what I can get." Logan let out a fond sigh. "Ok 'cause your constellations are boring and factual- don't worry I still love them- but I'm telling stories now."

"You're going to kill me."

"In your dreams, babe."

"What's that supposed to-"

"Over there is Elenor, it kinda looks like a bunny, I know. Their boyfriend is Jesse over there-"

"Virgil I swear, I'm leaving you in the forest." Logan's words gave a much different meaning when he was struggling to keep in his laugh.

Virgil chucked. "Oh Logan, so naive, there's so much more. Those three stars? Yeah they're Bo Peep's sheep."

Logan choked, the statement taking him by surprise. "Excuse me? You can't just…"

"Y'know, from Toy Story? Doesn't she have three sheep or something? I swear that was a plot point in one of the movies."

"The threat of being thrown out of a window still stands, Virge." 

"Good, now that star over there…"

"Her name is Jennifer, she got a constellation for making the best bean salad."

Virgil tried to hold in a laugh. "And what did you say that one was?"

Logan was so enamoured with Virgil's laugh that he almost didn't notice him intertwining their fingers. Almost. He still had to take a breath to regain his nearly non-existent composure. Although fifteen minutes couldn't have passed, Logan could tell that it was a good decision to accept Roman's offer for a fake road trip.

"That guy with the belt?" Logan continued. "He was the first person to invent clothes. Quite the fashion icon for his time."

"Oh yeah?" Virgil giggled and Logan's heart stuttered in his chest.

"Yeah, he was also the only straight man in his village. It was very controversial." Virgil hummed in response, trying to calm his laughter.

"We're pretty controversial."

"What do you mean by that?"

"We're lying in the bed of Roman's truck, well past midnight and the city limits, looking at stars. Janus and Remus are probably lost in the forest and Roman and Patton have probably gotten over their gay panic and are planning their wedding together."

"I'm not sure how that's controversial, but it is interesting that we've achieved nothing compared to them." Logan's eyes drifted back to the stars.

"I think not getting lost is a plus." He made a noise of agreement. "And uh… I know we're not as vocal about stuff like the others but… Dating you wouldn't be bad." It came out more like a question, causing Logan to look back at him.

"Fuck- I mean-" Virgil ran a hand down his face. "It would actually be really really nice if I could be your boyfriend because- ugh stop staring at me like that! It's just that you're really great and nice to be around and to talk to and I can't imagine you not being in my life. A-and I know we've been kinda sorta dating but you know how dumb we both are about romance and all that stuff- oh god this is romance, I can't believe that…

"I just really like you, Logan and I need to make sure you know that."

Virgil's words swirled into the air, into the sky, into that great expanse of stars and light.

They laid there and stared at the stars, thinking, considering, and a fair amount of staring on Logan's side.

He couldn't help it, really. He couldn't stop his eyes tracing the curve of his jaw, his bitten lips, the words that previously escaped them were still spinning through Logan's head. And Virgil's hair, his adorably messy hair that was usually hanging in front of his eyes, was pushed to the side, Logan could see a galaxy reflected in his beautiful eyes.

Virgil was his galaxy, his sun, his stars. He had kept him sane through years of school. He constantly went out of his way just to brighten Logan's day a little bit more, and brighten he did.

Virgil meant everything to him and he'd be damned if he went home tonight without showing him that.

"Didn't… Didn't you say you always wanted to go stargazing with your partner?"

"Uhh, yeah." Virgil replied hoarsely.

"I suppose you get to cross that off your list, then." Logan wondered how he suddenly had some semblance of smoothness to his words.

"Oh."

The stars seemed awfully bright that night, especially in the way they reflected off Virgil's freckles.

"Is… Is that a shooting star?" Virgil lifted his free hand, tracing the bright line across the map of stars.

"There's no such thing as shooting stars." Virgil rolled his eyes. "But, I… do believe that's a satellite."

"Then make a wish."

"That's stupid and makes no sense, wishing on a satellite has no affect on my life."

"Just do it, my northern star."

Logan's red face was a reflection off the far away street lights, nothing else. "Am I supposed to tell you what I wished for?"

"Not really, but you can. I'd love to know what goes on in that brilliant head of yours."

"My head is empty, unfortunately." Virgil laughed, he did that quite a bit around him. "I wished that we'd have a good relationship. Apologizes, is that weird, or too soon? I… just mean that we're both terrible at communicating, I hope that we can improve together as a couple."

“Oh."

Although Virgil may not have realized it, Logan noticed as he lightly brushed his thumb over his hand. It was stupidly endearing and soft, just as Virgil was.

"That's probably the cutest thing anyone's ever said that slightly regards me."

"Glad I can be of service, darling."

"So darling is what you go with?"

"Would you prefer something else?"

"...No. If I can call you my boyfriend you can call me whatever you want." Virgil smiled. "…You're my boyfriend. That's nice to say."

"It is. I wonder how I stumbled upon a boyfriend as good as you."

"You- you need to stop doing that," Virgil blushed.

"I'm not doing anything!" Logan shifted closer to him, for heating purposes of course, it was a little chilly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know full well."

"Do I really, Virgil?"

"Shut up and look at the stars."

"Make me."

"Logan I swear-"

"Fine, fine, I will." Virgil mumbled thanks under his breath. "But they aren't as pretty as you."

Virgil let out a noise, a mix between a screech and a cough. There was no way he was showing Logan how fluttery his words made his heart feel. (Although he felt it was common knowledge among them.)

"There's around twenty minutes until the others get back, that's twenty minutes to mess with you."

"I'm already regretting this, Lo."

"As you should, my love."

Yes, their friends may have interrupted their stargazing a few minutes later. Yes, Roman may have forced Patton to leave his shift early resulting in one too little seats and an angry boss. Yes, they may have almost ran out of gas on the way home. Yes, they may have bought fries as Janus looked for a gas station. Yes, they may have fallen onto the floor seconds later. Yes, Remus may have jumped out of the car afterwards because he said it looked fun and almost sprained his ankle. And yes, Roman did have to explain the situation five times to his parents because they couldn't stop laughing about all the shenanigans they got into that night.

Still, Virgil's arm stayed around Logan's waist like it was the most casual thing in the world. Still, they shared a milkshake once everyone had given up on the fallen fries. Still, they were both filled with such a bright happiness that it was impossible to drag them down. And maybe they fell asleep on a video call that night. Or maybe Logan stayed over and they woke up with their limbs tangled in each other's, feeling content and appreciative of the other as they slowly woke up. Honestly, who's to say? It was just a good night.

[anxiousstark]

S2 06 | Frenemy

BIG MASTERLIST | TW REWRITE

Stiles Stilinski x Reader! Half-sibling!Mccall

Word count: 2260

Warnings: Mentions of injuries, murder, swearing (always).

A/N: This is more likely a filler chapter. I swear as chapters go on they get better! I’m so excited for those ones to come out!

↪ PLEASE RESPECT MY WORK. DON’T COPY, TRANSLATE OR CLAIM THEM AS YOURS. NOT ON THIS WEBSITE OR ANOTHER. ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED.

"Couldn't get anything out of Danny." Scott got inside the Jeep after talking to the said boy, who was in the back of an ambulance. After I told them that Jackson was the kanima, they both ended up following him into a gay bar. Of course, not being a boy meant that I had to stay in the Jeep.

I was trying not to sit on Jackson as he was laying down on the back seats while I sat down on a little space in the middle, clutching into the front seats. Not safe.

"Okay, can we just get the hell outta here now, before one of my dad's deputies sees me?" Jackson had done some shit, and almost everyone inside ended up paralyzed or not being able to breathe properly. That's why now the outside of the club was full of ambulances and cops. Before Stiles could start his car, the Sheriff pulled over in front of us. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Could this get any worse?" As soon as he said that, Jackson started groaning, moving his head. Stiles turned around, yelling. "That was rhetorical!"

We started getting nervous. "Get rid of him." Scott bit his lower lip.

"Get rid of him? We're at a crime scene, and he's the sheriff."

"Do something." Stiles got frustrated by his friend's words, moving his arms aggressively on the air, and going out of the Jeep.

"What are they saying?" I asked the other McCall. Sometimes I was able to listen to conversations that were off my hearing range, but I couldn't control it, and I didn't know how to 'activate' it.

Jackson started groaning again, asking where he was. Scott asked him to be quiet, but he continued moaning, trying to sit up. "Not sorry about this." I punched him on the face. He fell unconscious. "That's for trying to drown me two times!" I grinned. To be honest, that felt great.

He sighed. "He told his father that he is gay."

I chuckled. "Not dressed like that." I could feel my half-brother's eyes on me, grinning. "What?"

"That's exactly what Mr. Stilisnki said."

After telling his father that they were there to accompany their friend Danny, we were free to go. Mr. Stilisnki saw me in the back of the car, sending me a smile while Stiles adjusted his body on his seat. I greeted him back, waving my hand.

"Uh, what about your house?"

"Not with my mom there. We need to take him somewhere where we can hold him long enough to figure out what to do with him. Or long enough to convince him he's dangerous."

"I still say we just kill him." Stiles looked through the rearview mirror, glancing at me, avoiding his best friend's gaze.

"Honestly," I interfered. "He tried to kill Stiles, and he tried to kill me two times so, payback is a bitch." The Hazel-eyed boy snickered at me, and I winked which made him blush a little, which in return made me blush.

"We're not killing him!"

"God, f - Okay, okay. I got an idea."

"Does it involve breaking the law?"

"By now, don't you think that's a given?" I sighed.

"I was just trying to be optimistic."

"Don't bother."

Stiles's idea was probably the worst. But at the same time, quite a good idea, and the only one we had. He stole the vehicle that was used to transport criminals to prison.

The three of us were in the woods, Jackson still unconscious while we tried to talk about what we had to do next.

"I'm going to go buy something for him to eat." He claimed that he would be fast due to his werewolf's abilities. "Keep an eye on him." We both nodded.

"So, you were trying to tell us that Jackson was the Kanima?" Stiles asked while resting his back against the trunk of a tree. I nodded, laughing a little. "I'm sorry. We were so busy freaking out that we didn't listen to you."

"It's okay, Stiles." I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to keep my body warm. "I wasn't sure if he was the Kanima." He glanced at me confused. "I mean," I swallowed. "I was almost entirely sure that it was him, but I had another person in mind."

"Who?"

"Me." I gulped again, a lump forming on my throat. It could still be me.

"You aren't the Ka-"

"We don't know that." I interrupted him. "Okay, last night, it was Jackson. We all saw him, but what about the other things that happened?" My hands went to my head, grasping my hair between my fingers. I stared at the ground, trying to ignore Stiles's gaze on me. "The times I drowned or that I was there with you guys, it's obvious that it was Jackson. But what about other times? At night nobody would see me. Jackson wasn't conscious of what he was doing. It could be the same with me." I finally looked him in the eyes. "There could be two Kanimas, Stiles. We were scratched by the same beast. We both are abnormalities and-"

"I'm stopping you right there." His hands grabbed mine, trying to take them off my hair so I wouldn't hurt myself. "You aren't THAT thing. Derek told you, he told you that you didn't smell like him. He would have told us the other night that you were one. You aren't a Kanima. I'm so sure. I'm sure you aren't." His eyes studied mine. "You aren't like that, okay? You have fought with us, not against us." I nodded my head. His thumbs were caressing my wrists. His voice was now a mere whisper. "We will find which amazing creature you are." He sweetly smiled at me, and I couldn't help but beam back.

"Thank you," I murmured.

His right hand stopped holding my left wrist, going to my cheek, caressing it. I had a tiny scar from fighting with the kanima. His eyes went from my eyes to my mouth. My heart started beating like crazy, and I was sure I could hear his own heartbeat. Both of them seemed to go at the same quick pace.

Whatever was going to happen was interrupted by Scott coming back with sandwiches, and Jackson shouting. I bit my lower lip, and Stiles groaned in frustration. "Let's go." Scott went back to school, trying to discover why Jackson would try to kill Danny.

"Scales? Like a fish." Jackson stared at us.

"No, more like a reptile. Um, and, uh, your claws have this liquid that paralyzes people, and you have a tail."

"I have a tail?" He calmly asked.

"Yeah, you have a tail."

"Mm. Does it do anything?"

"No, not that I know of."

Jackson moved forward, thankfully he was strained by cuffs, but I still got defensive thinking that he could hurt the boy sitting next to me. "Can I use it to strangle you?"

"Yeeeeeah, you still don't believe me. All right. The night of the semi-final game, what did you do right after?"

"I went home."

"Are you sure about that?" I asked while crossing my arms over my chest, resting even closer to Stiles. Our thighs touching.

"Yes, you idiot." He snapped at me, spitting. I glanced disgustingly at him, wiping my cheek. "What the hell else would I do?"

"You tried to drown her in the ice rink." Stiles pointed at me. "You attacked me and Derek at the school, and you trapped us in the pool," He again pointed at me. "Tried again to drown her. You also killed a mechanic, right in front of me, by the way. That was lovely. And one of Argent's hunters. Oh, and last night, you tried to kill Danny."

"Why would I want to kill my best friend?

I answered before Stiles could. "Well, that's what Scott's out trying to figure out right now."

"Mm. Well, maybe, he should be trying to figure out is how he's going to pay for a lawyer when I prosecute your asses all the way to jail!"

"All right, well, tell me this. On the night of the first full moon, what happened?"

"Nothing." He gazed at the floor. Bad move, Jackson. I know you are lying. "Nothing happened."

Allison had come to the forest, searching for us. They knew. Jackson's parents knew that he was missing. It seemed like Stiles texting him with Whittemore's phone hadn't worked out. This meant that we were completely fucked up.

"If Jackson doesn't remember being the kanima, he's definitely not gonna remember stealing Danny's tablet."

"Why would he steal the thing if he doesn't even know what's on it?"

"What if someone else took it?"

"Then somebody else knows what he is."

"Uh, which could mean someone's protecting him."

"Like the bestiary says, 'the kanima seeks a friend', right?" I wanted Allison to shut up. My mind was going crazy. Someone was trying to protect Jackson's identity.

It felt like my mind went back to the store; the first time I stepped in Beacon Hills. We both got attacked by the same creature, but what we were was modified by our minds. As Jackson had said before; everything had to with our mental health. I could tell you mine was fucked up. So could I be the one doing whatever it took to protect Jackson's Whittemore identity?

If he didn't have any memory of being the Kanima, why would I have any memory of helping him out? It could be me.

"Okay, hold on. So, somebody watches Jackson make a video of himself turning into the kanima, and then just erases part of it so he wouldn't know? I mean, who would do that?"

"Somebody who wanted to protect him?" My hands started trembling, my legs shaking. Stiles seemed to know what was going on as he clutched my hand discreetly, using his strength to keep me standing.

"There's something else. You said the only thing you found online about the Kanima it's that it goes after murderers. What if that's actually true?"

"No, it can't be. Tried to kill all of us, remember? I don't know about you two, but I haven't murdered anybody lately." I chuckled. He squeezed my hand, fingers now interlocked.

"But I - I don't think that it was actually trying to kill us. Remember when we were at Isaac's the first time, it just went right by us, didn't it?"

"You're right, it just ran off."

"And it didn't kill you in the mechanic's garage."

"Well, yeah, but it tried to kill me and Derek in the pool." He made a gesture with his head. "And it tried to kill her."

"Did it?"

"It would've. It was waiting for us to come out."

"What if it was trying to keep you in?"

"Why do I feel so violated all of a sudden?" Stiles' body shuddered.

"Wait," They all gazed at me. "Maybe it didn't try to kill you, but it tried to kill me. Two times if I'm correct."

"Three if we count when it threw you off the roof and you landed on me," Stiles added. I playfully glared at him, he apologized while stuttering.

"Did it tho?" Scott asked. His eyes went to our interlocked hands, a little grin forming on his head, but quickly disappearing. "Let's forget about the roof, okay. The water, both times in the water." He continued when he saw that the three of us were completely confused. "You said when it forced you inside the water, it demanded you to breathe, and you were able to do so."

"Gosh," Allison nodded. "It was trying to help you." I was dumbfounded. "I mean, okay. Maybe not the best way to help you out, but he was trying to show you what you are or what you can do."

I peered at Stiles who was now looking at me. "Now, I'm the one feeling violated." He nodded, grinning, moving a strand of hair out of my face. The simple touch made my heart speed.

Stiles suggested that we should kill Jackson, again. But Scott said something that made us think. He had risked his life to save us from Peter Hale, and we had to try and help him. The McCall boy mentioned Lydia, my fingers started trying to get away from Stiles's hand, but he grasped it firmly. Uh?

Scott and Allison went back to the car, wanting to have some time for themselves. I felt bad for them. Knowing they were meant to be together, but also being ripped apart by the Argents. I had heard Scott sob some nights in his room, while softly whispering how he wanted to be able to live harmoniously.

"Maybe we should tell our parents." Stiles snapped me back to reality. "Before anyone else gets hurt. I don't know." His dad was the only person he had, I meant blood-related.

I sighed. I couldn't completely understand. But know, I had Stiles, Scott, Allison, and even Lydia. I would do anything that I could to protect them. My heart ached thinking about something terrible happening to them.

I stepped closer to Stiles, my arms going around his waist, embracing him. My head resting on his chest, closing my eyes while I felt the vibrations of his chest as he hummed, pleased, hugging me back.

But our moment was interrupted. Jackson had escaped. A thought came into my mind. What if the Kanima was not being protected but controlled?

.

.

TAGLIST: @og-baby-ob14 - @savemypostcards - @cas-loves-pizza - @used-avocado - @mvrylee - @bilesxbilinskixlahey - @honeydoll-stark - @arieltheworldisamess - @softpeteparker - @kit-kat-katie99 - @thatsuperherosidekick - @bexbetterxthanxwords - @big-galaxy-chaos - @littlemiss-forgotten - @enchantedcruelsummer - @coldfreakeggsexpert - @merla123 - @sammypotato67 - @weirdowithnobeardo - @maggiesblogsblog - @itskindyl - @bobo-bush - @moongoddesskiana - @multifandxm353 - @irwxnhugsx - @xoprincessmel - @iclosetgeek - @andreagf956 - @niawoods - @anerroroccurrrrred - @perrytheplatypus11 - @trustfundparker - @nmriia - @steve-harringtonnn - @trustfundparker -

People in bold means it doesn’t let me tag them.

[emy-loves-you]

Wrong Numbers and Useless Gays Chapter 10

Protective Snek meets Tired Boi (With Flowers!)

Chapter 9 | Masterlist | Chapter 11

Warnings: crying, mentions of sex, mentions of lying and mistrust

(Jan 2nd)

V- (10:20 AM) Hey Pat, what do you want for your birthday?

P- (10:21 AM) I don’t need anything big, Kiddo. Just another drawing from you would be amazing :)

V- (10:21 AM) Is there nothing that you would be happy with me buying you?

P- (10:22 AM) Well, I like flowers!

L- (10:22 AM) No you don’t. None of us have gardening skills and you cry every time they wilt.

P- (10:22 AM) I still like them! We’ll just have to try harder this time!

Virgil thought for a few minutes before smirking. He exited the chat and opened up a chat with Janus and Remus.

V- (10:23 AM) Do either of you have the staff contacts from that charity event 2 months ago?

J- (10:23 AM) Perhaps

Re- (10:23 AM) Y the hell do you want them?

V- (10:24 AM) Do you remember the flowers that they were selling? I want to contact whoever they bought them from.

J- (10:24 AM) You mean like the one that Remus bought for me?

V- (10:25 AM) Yes, but less obscene colors.

Re- (10:25 AM) Wait let me guess

Re- (10:26 AM) “Princey’s” birthday was in July and “Lo” doesn’t seem like the flower type, so this is for “Pat,” isn’t it?

V- (10:26 AM) Do you have the fucking contact or not?

J- (10:27 AM) Even better. I have the address

V- (10:27 AM) Why the fuck do you have the address?

J- (10:27 AM) Remus TOTALLY didn’t break the original flower as soon as we got home.

Re- (10:28 AM) HEY! I tripped on YOUR stupid rug and it happened to end up crushed underneath me!

J- (10:28 AM) LEAVE THE RUG OUT OF THIS!

Virgil chuckled, eventually breaking up their argument so he could get the phone number and address. Once he had it, he called the shop and ordered a custom-made bouquet. They told him that it would be ready for pick-up in 2 weeks. He turned back to his crush’s chat.

V- (10:29 AM) Just finished ordering your gift.

P- (10:29 AM) What is it?!

V- (10:30 AM) It’s a surprise! Oh, and do you still have the vase that your chocolate bouquet was in?

P- (10:30 AM) Yeah, why?

V- (10:30 AM) You may wanna have it empty on your birthday :)

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(January 16th)

“So, where are we going?” Remus asked, chugging the rest of his Pepsi.

“To get Virgil’s flowers, darling. We’ve been over this.” Janus replied, adjusting his rearview mirror. Virgil laid in the back, fast asleep. Janus sighed. Virgil never got enough sleep, in his opinion. It was difficult to get Virgil fully asleep by 4 AM, and even then he was usually awake by 9 AM. Ever since he met his new “crushes,” Virgil had been getting better with his sleeping habits ( “Lo’s been trying to rope me into their sleeping schedule,” Virgil had admitted with a blush ); but he still didn’t sleep enough, in Janus’ humble opinion.

Speaking of crushes, Janus focused his eyes on the empty road as he thought about the three men who had stolen his best friend's heart. Pat, Lo, and Princey, Virgil called them. Not much to work with in terms of name, and no physical characteristics either. Janus was halfway convinced to stalk them (he knew where they lived, after all) but the thought of Virgil hating him for it shut up those thoughts immediately. Virgil already dealt with a ton of Janus bullshit without complaint, the least he could do is honor Virgil’s wish to keep his crushes anonymous. Even though Janus had no physical description to work off of, Virgil's offhand comments were enough for Janus to paint a decent picture of them.

"Princey," the first one that Virgil met. Extremely dramatic, probably light-headed and egotistical. The one that Janus ordered a katana for. A fucking katana. Why would he want a katana of all things? And those nicknames. His nicknames for Virgil were worse than Remus’, and that’s saying something. Though he was kind to Virgil in their interactions; at least, that’s what Virgil told him. Janus would have to keep a close eye on this one.

“Pat,” the one they were going to pick up flowers for. The so-called “Dad Friend” of the group. Called Virgil “Kiddo.” Mother-henned the shit out of him. Even though Virgil was their Sugar Daddy, Janus wouldn’t be surprised if they called Pat “Daddy” in bed. On the other hand, some of the things that Virgil said spoke otherwise. Pat’s love of stuffed animals, his goofy puns, his opinion against swearing; he sounded like a child in an adult body. An oxymoron, and someone that Janus will also have to keep an eye on.

And “Lo.” Possibly the one that Janus trusted the least out of the trio. Extremely serious. Chocolate addict. Has a fucking sleep schedule for his boyfriends. Probably a control freak. Works part-time at the library. Goes to the local college. More interested in space than the world around him. Probably even more egotistical than Princey. Spends the majority of his time arguing with others or chastising Virgil for spending money on them. Most likely to upset Virgil. One that Janus would definitely be keeping an eye on.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened. He would not let them hurt Virgil. And if they somehow did, well…

Some of Father’s old associates could still prove useful. They at least knew how to hide a body. Or three.

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(January 17th)

Janus triple-checked the address, making sure that he was at the right house. Virgil had needed a safe way to ship these flowers to Pat’s house without Pat finding out OR one of his crushes seeing his face. So, Janus agreed to be his delivery boy. It made sense; Deceit wore the most makeup AND he hissed every other line, so it was near impossible to be recognized out-of-costume. And if Janus got a good look at Virgil’s crushes… well, Virgil wasn’t here now, was he? Janus set the bouquet on the middle of the porch; far enough for the person to not accidentally knock it over on their way outside, but close enough to where it would be noticed and not accidentally fall off the edge. He tapped the door three times with the back of his knuckles and quickly turned around, making a beeline for his car. He intended on getting a glimpse of the man’s face as he drove away, hopefully seeing enough to be able to spot him off the college roster-

“Wait!” Janus stopped dead in his tracks. He didn’t expect him to be that fast. There was a moment of silence before Janus heard a sigh. “You’re not Virgil, are you?”

He smirked. “Yes, I’m definitely Virgil. I just decided to knock on your door and increase the chances of you seeing me when I could’ve just texted me.”

The man sighed again. “You must be Janus, then. I assume that since you arrived specifically when Patton wouldn’t be home today, you came to drop off his birthday present.” There was a slight pause, probably meant for Janus to respond. Suddenly. There was a soft “Oh.” Janus couldn’t take it anymore; he turned around and his jaw dropped.

The man was tall, taller than any of the Dark Sides. He had dark brown hair, brushed neatly out of his face. He wore a pair of square glasses, which perfectly framed his dark blue eyes. He wore a black button-up shirt and dark wash jeans. A navy blue tie hung loosely around his neck. But what caught Janus’ attention was the look of pure adoration on his face as he looked at the flowers on the porch. His face was so open and kind, something that Janus never expected him to look like. Is this the look that Janus gave Remus when they were alone? If so, Janus now understood why Virgil didn’t want to be in their relationship. Just the look on Lo’s face was enough to make Janus feel excluded from their relationship. Suddenly, the adoration turned to a more mischievous look. “That’s why he wanted Patton to clean out that vase,” he said fondly, before shaking his head. “Do I even want to know how much Virgil spent on this?”

“Nope.” Janus made sure to keep his voice nonchalant, not showing any sign of weakness. He watched curiously as Logan did the same, schooling his expression before looking up at Janus. His eyes briefly flickered over to Janus’ scar, but other than that he paid no mind to it. Janus felt something rise within him; whether respect or irritation, he couldn’t tell. “Now’s the time where I must ask: what are your intentions with Virgil?” He made sure to keep an even tone, not wanting to influence Lo’s response.

Lo blinked, looking almost surprised, before his eyes dropped back to the flowers. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “On one hand, Virgil is an amazing person that I’ve now known for several months. I know that the others have wanted to ask him to join our relationship for a while. On the other hand, we know very little about him. Unless Virgil inherited this money, there’s no possible way that his only profession is commissioning art. What else has he lied about? How can I trust him, much less love him, if I don’t know when he’s lying to me?”

Janus slowly raised his left hand, using his right to cover his heart. “My name is Janus Williams. I swear to you my full honesty. Ask me anything that you don’t believe other than Virgil’s profession, and I will answer to the best of my ability.”

Lo rubbed a hand against his face- fuck, the guy was actually crying. “That’s the problem. I want to believe him; I want to read his texts and not feel even the slightest bit of skepticism. I want to eagerly accept him into our relationship, no questions asked. But I can’t!” He looked back up at Janus, the look in his eyes something that will pierce Janus’ soul for a long time. “I’ve spent the past 8 years taking care of my boyfriends. I can’t have Virgil hurt them, accidentally or on purpose! I will do anything to keep them safe, even if it means keeping Virgil away.”

Janus sighed, pitying the man in front of him. “Would you like some advice, Lo?” At Lo’s nod, he turned to walk away. “Virgil has no intention of ever harming you. He originally lied to you so that he wouldn’t get hurt or used. He’s never had to tell anyone this secret, and he’s never been one to easily trust others. I know you’ve already waited a long time, but please, be patient. He’ll come to you when he’s ready, I swear.” And with that, Janus got in his car and drove away. Once he got to the nearest available parking spot (located at a sickeningly sweet bakery) he pulled out his phone to text Virgil.

J- (2:12 PM) Package delivered

V- (2:12 PM) Thanks, man. Did they see you?

Janus paused. Should he tell Virgil about their encounter? Something told him that Lo wouldn’t mention their interaction to Virgil. If he did, then Janus would come clean. If not…

J- (2:13 PM) No, Virgil. The secret identities of your boy toys are safe.

V- (2:13 PM) Cool. I’ll let them know that it’s there.

And with that, Janus drove back home, where he can watch shitty romcoms and hopefully forget about the tired look in Lo’s eyes.

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P- (5:04 PM) Oh my gosh, I love these Kiddo!

R- (5:04 PM) What did he get you?

P- (5:05 PM) [*Photo Attachment*]

[The photo shows the light blue vase that Patton’s chocolate bouquet was in. The vase was filled with beautiful glass roses. They were mainly clear, with the tips of each petal either red, navy blue, sky blue, or violet.]

V- (5:05 PM) Now you can have flowers that'll never die. Happy Birthday, Pat.

P- (5:06 PM) Thank you SO much, Virgil!

V- (5:06 PM) :)

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Taglist: @bisexualdisaster106 @self-taught-mess @itawalrus @arodynamic-enby @sanderssides-angst

[anotheronechicagobog]

The Crackship Sails To Molly’s-I’m Not A Nurse - Rheese - Connor Rhodes x Sarah Reese

written by: @anotheronechicagobog​

A/N: My second Halloween fic, and my first Rheese fic, hope you guys like it!

Warnings: swearing, mention of drugs, mention of how Halloween has been oversexualized, Protective!Ethan, seriously he threatens him and it’s a little intense

Sarah used to love Halloween. Her favourite nanny, Katya, used to be a seamstress and so she would hand make Sarah’s costumes. Sarah had loved it so much that she’d actually gotten the older woman to teach her how to sew, something that came in handy later in life for suturing, and she had been making her own costumes since Katya left to pursue another career. But as she got older new problems arose. Starting at fourteen she was expected to dress in... Revealing costumes. And Sarah did not like that, first of all, it was disgusting to expect women to dress in ‘slutty’ costumes, and second, it was appalling that the expectation was pressured on them so young. So the magic of Halloween she’d loved as a kid shattered, she didn’t even dress up for the holiday anymore unless it was for a costume party where she knew it would be appreciated. That Halloween, she was working in the ED. Even worse, it was the night shift. That meant the usual hell of calling time of death and cranky nurses, while also dealing with drunk morons who use Halloween as an excuse to fuck shit up.

Most of the usual ED staff wasn’t scheduled that night, they were here during the day which had been bad enough, but Sarah, Ethan, Connor, and Ava were all working doubles. Ethan was still avoiding April after their breakup and Noah was helping move her stuff out of their apartment that night before heading to Molly’s, Connor had requested it for some unknown reason, and Ava stayed because she and her girlfriend had gotten into a bad fight but she was using a patient’s touch-and-go condition as an excuse. Sarah downed her sixth coffee before stepping back out into the pits of hell. Connor wasn’t in the ED, probably went back up to the cardiology wing to help with Ava’s patient. Their relationship had improved drastically when Ava figured out she’s gay. It wasn’t something that was accepted in South Africa so she repressed it, even in Chicago, until she met Emily Foster. Ethan was sitting behind a computer with nurses bustling behind him, glaring at his computer screen. Sarah suspected it had less to do with whatever he was reading and more to do with whatever Doris was gossiping about right behind him.

Doris was an excellent nurse. Intelligent, experienced, and sympathetic when necessary. Unfortunately her sympathy did not extend to the other staff at MED whenever they were going through something gossip-worthy, read: deeply personal and often heartbreaking. Sarah had a basic amount of respect for her, but it didn’t expand past more than that since she heard her call Natalie the ‘ice princess’. The woman lost her husband and then found out she was pregnant a month later, had to deal with her mother-in-law constantly, all while continuing her fellowship, and Doris couldn’t say anything nice about her? And while she was right behind her. Another flaw of Doris’, she rarely kept stock of where anyone was in the ED at any given time so she usually ended up supplying MED’s gossip mill right in front of whoever it was about. It was distasteful, really.

“Dr. Reese, incoming, you’re going to treatment three.” 

“What do we have?” Sarah’s eyes began wandering them patient’s body, taking mental notes, as she listened to the debrief from Sylvie Brett and Gianna Mackey. “Male, 24, laceration on the forehead, we stopped the bleeding, but he lost consciousness once at the scene and three times on th way over. He was in a bar fight.”

“Okay, transfer on my count, 1, 2, 3. Good, thanks guys, be careful tonight.”

“You too, Reese.” And with that, the two paramedics left leaving her with a drunk patient and a couple of nurses. Sarah went through her usual checklist of examinations based on the physical exam, questions answered by the patient, and information from the paramedics. “Can you tell me your name?”

“My name’s Brad, am I terr yous anytingting yous wans tas know.”

“Well Brad, my name is Dr. Reese, does anything hurt?”

“Non, non, nona, yous a nurse, ot a-”

“I assure you Brad, I am a doctor, now can you please tell me if you’re feeling any pain and where?”

“Nursh, yous nursh. Where you fish nets? Ans I wants yous boobies.”

“Okay, let’s get him to CT and run a tox screen, his bandage is good for now and the wound is clear, I’ll stitch him up after we run the tests.”

“SOW ME YOUS BOOBIES!”

“... Are there any male nurses available?”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of Reese’s night went like that, drunken fools, high morons, and an absolutely swamped ED. Brad shockingly did not have a concussion, and was refusing to let Sarah stitch him up and send him out. She would have just let him sign out AMA, but his tox screen came back with copious amounts of alcohol and ecstasy in his system, so she couldn’t under good conscience let him sign out and leave without the proper treatment in his state. So he was moaning and groaning about... Everything and kept demanding a ‘real’ doctor. “Hey Sarah.” She turned to face him, her shoulder relaxing as she signed in relief at the sound of his voice. A beaming smile graced his features that immediately made Sarah’s day and she really wished that they could just stay like that for the rest of shift. Or eternity, either would do.

“Hi Connor, how are things up in cardiology?”

“Good, good, they don’t really need me up there so I came back down here. Were you scheduled for just the ED tonight or neuro aswell?”

“Just the ED for tonight, I’ve been putting in more hours up there recently so Ms. Goodwin suggested a couple of doubles to catch up.”

“Ah, hey have you seen the movie ‘Knives Out’ yet?” Connor had tensed slightly, and was giving an odd amount of attention to an old coffee mug sitting on the nurse’s station, and a nervous look drained onto his face as he glanced between Sarah and literally anything else. Honestly it bummed Srah out a little, working with Connor was the only silver lining she had while working the graveyard shift, and she’d be lying if she said that her heart didn’t hurt a little everytime Connor looked less than ecstatic. She’d also be lying if she said she wasn’t head over heels in love with him.

“No, I just haven’t had the time! I have to keep running out of the room anytime my housemates talk about the movie so I don’t get any spoilers.”

“I still haven’t seen it either, maybe we could make a day of it, grab some dinner at that Thai place you like and then head over to that theatre by Navy Pier to watch it?”

“You know what Connor, that sounds like a great idea.” And just like that, Connor perked up, his smile was back and so was Sarah’s.

“Really? I mean-”

“Nursh! NURSH! NURSH REESH!” Connor cocked his eyebrow in annoyance un the direction of Brad’s room. Both at the interruption and at the language the man was using.“I keep telling him I’m not a nurse but he just won’t listen to me. And he’s in detox right now so we can’t discharge him yet.”

“Do you want some back up?”

“No, I’m good Connor, but thanks.” So Connor stayed in place as she drifted over to treatment three, his lips pursed together in worry. “Reese’ll be fine, man, she can take care of herself. And did I overhear incorrectly, or did you FINALLY ask Sarah Reese, third year ED and neuro resident, out on a date?”

“... Shut up, Choi.” All the other man could do was let out a boisterous laugh, while Connor didn’t really appreciate that all the attention was on them now, or that he was being mocked for finally addressing his feelings, Connor had to admit, he hadn’t seen Choi laugh in a while, let alone so sincerely. So he cracked an embarrassed smile and chuckled along with him. “I’m happy that I won’t have to see you looking after like a lost puppy, but in all seriousness, Reese is like a little sister to me. I you hurt her I’ll string you up by your toes and make you eat your own kidney.” Choi’s eyes had gone completely devoid of amusement, they were hollow and dead serious, at that moment Choi looked how he did whenever he had to think about his time overseas. A pang of fear fluttered through his chest. “I’ll- ahm- I’ll keep that in mind.” Connor forced himself to break eye contact and Choi nodded definitively. The tension still hadn’t dissipated by the time Sarah got back. “You know, I used to love Halloween. I used to handmake all of y costumes. Now? Hate. It. Women are expected to dress in ‘slutty’ costumes, and everytime I work the day of, before, or after Halloween I get idiots who will ask why I’m not in my ‘proper uniform’, and some more idiots who are far to handsy. I just can’t wait for this shift to be over.” 

“I take it Brad is being a little too friendly, then?”

“Yeah, I just have to keep thinking ‘only one more hour, only one more hour’.”

“And you used to make your own costumes? They must have been great!”

“They were! When I was twelve I was Medusa, fourteen I was one of the Beauxbatons from ‘Harry Potter’, Poison Ivy when I was sixteen, I had a lot of awesom costumes over the years but those were my top three. Oh! I saved pictures to my phone, hold on.”

“Well why don’t you still dress up? You clearly love it, and those costumes are amazing.”

“Other people have certain expectations for Halloween, as I mentioned before, and I started to get a lot of negative attention for it. So unless I’m going to a Halloween party that hasn’t been thrown by horny teenagers masquarading as adults, I just don’t dress up anymore.”

“I’m sorry Sarah. It’s a bit too late for this year, I think you’ve inspired me to throw a Halloween party next year.”

“Connor, you don’t have to do that just for me.”

“I know, which is why I’ll also be doing it for me. I used to like Halloween too, but like you said, it just gets so... Pervy when you grow up. I think it’d be really nice to have a Halloween where I can get excited about costumes again, it used to be my favourite part, too.”

“I’ll right, well I’ll keep my calendar open. For that one day, three hundred and sixty-four days from now.”

“That’s great. I loo forward to it.”

“And as for our ‘Knives Out’ date, would you be free for it tonight?”

“Uh...” Connor was taken aback, he had asked her out, yes, but he wasn’t sure if it actually came across as a date. And he was too nervous to ask himself because he really liked Sarah, she had become one of his best friends and she truly had carbed out her own spot in Connor’s heart, something he welcomed. “Unless... You didn’t aske me out and I just and I just made everything super awkward...” Connor could see Sarah start to internally chastise herself, so he gently grabbed her elbow before she could walk away, hope blooming inside of him. “I did ask you out on a date, and tonight sounds perfect.”

“Really?” Sarah smiled up at him and Connor couldn’t help but wonder what exactly he did to be lucky enough to have her in his life. “Yeah, really.”

“Well, I guess I’ll see you later tonight, Connor.”

“Yeah, you will.” And twenty minutes later, after both of their shifts had ended and they were free to go, they left smiling, excited for the future and not despising a mutually memorable holiday as much as they did going in.

[not-rome]

And I know you’re scared because hearts get broken

Summary: Ethan thought coming out to his family meant they’d stop asking him if he was dating someone. He wanted a normal conversation with them, which meant no mention of if he was dating. The only problem was he never got that. Instead now he has to find a boyfriend before Christmas Eve, and Benny suggests that maybe they could pretend together.  Or, the one where Benny and Ethan fake date in attempt to convince people Ethan has a boyfriend.

Pairings: Benny Weir/Ethan Morgan, Sarah Fox/Erica Jones

Warnings: Swearing (barely that)

Word Count: 5.7k words

Notes: Holiday exchange gift for bennyxweir + title is from Golden – Harry Styles.

Ethan thought coming out to his family meant they’d stop asking him if he was dating someone. He wanted a normal conversation with them, which meant no mention of if he was dating. When he had came out, Jane asked if this meant he had a boyfriend and she then looked disappointed when he said no.

Ethan decided to go visit his mother one day when he wasn’t working at the Starbucks near his university and it was Christmas Break, so he didn’t have any classes that day either. He had called her to see if she had work and she said no, so he drove the 45 minutes to see her.

“So, Ethan, how has school been?” His mother asked as she brought him some water and herself some tea.

They were rarely able to catch up. The last time they had was two months ago, which was when he had come out as gay. No one was phased, it wasn’t expected but it wasn’t surprising. Ethan had secretly wanted for them all to be surprised and speechless, but he knew what happened was what Sarah had told him would happen.

“It’s going good,” he started before taking a drink of water. His eyes flickered to the family photos above the fireplace. “It’s getting harder, but I know I can do it. I do have your determination, don’t I?”

“Of course, you do.” His mother smiled and chuckled at him.

“They want me to start figuring out what specific field to go into. I’m thinking about specializing in cardiology when I become a Nurse Practitioner. What do you think?” He asked as he looked over to his mother who was drinking tea from her cup.

Ethan could tell she didn’t hear him and was zoned out thinking. He would be lying if he said it didn’t scare him. Silence fell between them as he stared at her and she stared into the fireplace.

“Found any boys?” She asked as she looked over at him and held himself back from groaning. He threw his head back though and looked up at the ceiling in annoyance.

“What’s with you and wanting me to be with someone? Am I not allowed to be single?” He asked before he looked back over at her.

“It’d be good for you to find someone. Jane has a boyfriend and she’s happy. I just want you happy,” she said, and Ethan felt bad for getting irritated with her.

He wanted to make her happy, but he didn’t know how.

She had been so excited to go to university and meet new people. Ethan had tried to do that his first year, but now in his seventh year of university and he still only had Benny, Sarah, Rory, and, sometimes, Erica. There had been times where he had met other people, but either Benny didn’t like them, or they just ghosted him. He couldn’t just tell her he was still a loser, even in university.

“Yeah, I found someone,” he said, not thinking.

“Oh really!” She exclaimed, and her eyes went bright and filled with excitement. “Tell me about him.”

Shit.

“W-well we’re not official or anything. I’m not really supposed to say anything,” Ethan stumbled out and she gave him an understanding look. Maybe she knew he was lying. “It’s hard in the beginning, so I couldn’t even picture how hard it is for you, honey.”

So, she couldn’t tell he was lying, and he had no idea what to say. The only time he had had a boyfriend was his second year of university, before he had picked his major, and that was a disaster.

Ethan didn’t know anything, but he wasn’t going to ever date a business major again and he would listen when Benny had a problem with a guy. The only good thing was he learned how to kiss, but even that wasn’t great.

“Yeah, I just don’t want to push the boundaries. I may think it’s more than it actually is,” he lied, and he felt sweaty. He hated lying, had never been good at it. It was even worse to be lying to his mother. “How about you invite him to Christmas Eve?”

Ethan’s eyes widen and he started to shake his head violently. He didn’t know if he could breathe because he was malfunctioning. How was he supposed to say no to the suggestion? “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I don’t want to– “

“Don’t be ridiculous, just invite him. It seems you don’t know where you two stand currently because you’re too scared to ask questions,” she said before taking a sip from her tea once again.

Ethan bit at his lip and nodded. Even if he didn’t have anyone this time, she was right about him being too scared. Relationships had always scared him because he didn’t know how to figure out boundaries or how to figure out people.

“O-okay.”

His phone vibrated and he quickly went to look at it. Benny had been calling him repeatedly and texting him profusely. For some reason, this was the first time he had been able to hear it go off.

“Mom, can we catch up more later? Benny needs me,” Ethan said as he looked over to her. She had a knowing smile on her face and nodded.

“Go check on him. If something really bad happened, then tell me and I’ll come as soon as I can,” she said, and he got up quickly.

They exchanged goodbyes and he called Benny to find out he had been locked out of their apartment. Benny had gone to work again and forgotten the key, which was fairly typical. The only times he never forgot his key is when he had class, because he believed naps in between classes was essential. Ethan told him to stop being ridiculous because Benny was computer programming major.

“I wish you were a warlock too so you could just be here with a snap of your fingers,” Benny said through the speakers of Ethan’s car.

“You can’t even do that. We wouldn’t be in this mess if you could,” Ethan said as he drove and there was a huff on the line.

“Yeah, but you’d probably be better at it than I am.”

The compliment made Ethan blush, and he wasn’t sure why. It hadn’t been anything special, but he had recently been struggling with old feelings he used to have for the other boy back in high school. He blamed it being close to the holidays and feeling like he didn’t have anyone special to be there. There was nothing more to it than just that.

“At least I’m not one then. You wouldn’t want me to show you up,” Ethan joked, trying to make it seem like he didn’t notice the compliment (if it was that).

There was a laugh on the other side of the line and then Benny went into a ramble of all the final class assignments he had done. Benny knows it’s what Ethan needs right now, even though Ethan didn’t tell him anything of what was discussed with his mother.

When he gets home, Benny is sitting in the hallway in front of their door and smiling really big. Ethan has to try to not let that flare up his old emotions either.

.............................

It’s about a week later when Ethan brings up that he lied to his mother to Benny. It was takeout night, so they both had their containers of Chinese and Benny was getting the couch ready to watch Star Trek.

“Instead of watching TV, I really need to talk to you,” Ethan said, and Benny looked over at him with an expression of concern and fear.

“Are you kicking me out?”

“Why the hell would I kick you out? You pay half the rent,” Ethan started with scrunched eyebrows before he shook his head. “I got myself in a situation and Sarah has been too busy for me to talk it her about it,” Ethan said, only to receive a fake look of hurt from Benny.

“I’m your supposed best friend and I’m not your first pick!” Benny exclaimed dramatically as he clutched his chest and Ethan rolled his eyes.

“You’re the first to hear about it though.”

Benny turned back to normal, even added a cute smile to the mix. “Okay good.”

“So, remember how I came out to my family?”

“Yeah. I’m still proud of you.”

“So, as I was catching up with my mom, she asked me if I was with someone. I told her yes.”

Benny halted his movements and looked over at Ethan with an expression he couldn’t fully read. His green eyes held confusion, but there was something else. Ethan just couldn’t tell what.

“You’re with someone?”

“No!” Ethan exclaimed and Benny’s expression dropped the thing Ethan couldn’t figure out. “I told my mom because I thought she’d stop asking.”

“You know that sounds stupid, right? Even I know that’s not how it works,” Benny said with a snort.

“I panicked, okay?” Ethan started before he took a bite of his chicken. “The main problem is she told me to ask him to come to Christmas Eve.”

“Why is that the main problem? Just say your imaginary boyfriend said no,” Benny said, and Ethan sighed.

“I had thought that would work, but when I told her that he said no; she told me to actually ask and not lie about it,” the brown eyed boy said with annoyance.

Benny started to laugh so hard he had to put his takeout down on the coffee table. Ethan pushed at him slightly, but he also knew it was kind of funny. His mother couldn’t tell he was lying about having a boyfriend but knew he was lying about him saying no.

“It’s not that funny, B!” Ethan exclaimed and Benny calmed down to look at Ethan. There was something in his look that made the brown eyed boy feel fuzzy all over. “I need to find a boyfriend in the next week.”

“Good luck with that. I think all the good ones are taken for the holidays,” Benny said with a snort and Ethan could tell he was trying his hardest to not laugh again.

“Maybe I could call Jacob again? He had been texting me a couple months ago wanting to meet up, but I told him no,” Ethan thought as he dug into his pocket to fetch out his phone.

“Don’t do that to yourself. We both know how creepy he can be, and he’d think you two would be getting married if he met your parents,” Benny said with a scrunched-up face and Ethan had somehow forgotten how much his best friend hated the business major.

“You’re right, but what do I do?”

Benny looked like wanted to say something so badly, but he didn’t. He shrugged before taking another bite of his food and Ethan groaned at his response. He needed help, not shrugs.

“Maybe you should ask someone close to you,” Benny suggested after the silence between them had been filled with the sounds of eating.

“I could ask Rory?” Ethan asked, mainly to himself. “Only problem is that he wouldn’t eat the food my mom made.”

“I could’ve told you Rory was a bad idea before you even mentioned him,” Benny stated before he stopped and just looked at Ethan.

Benny had changed a lot since high school. He didn’t speak until his thoughts were together, which annoyed everyone but Ethan. He brown eyed boy knew it took time for him to say the right thing. Benny looked away with scrunched eyebrows and a scared look in his eye that he was trying to hide from Ethan.

“I have an idea, but you may hate it.”

“It can’t be worse than Jacob or Rory,” Ethan joked only for Benny to bite his lip and dry laugh in response.

“What if I’m your fake boyfriend?”

Ethan felt himself stop breathing. His heart was racing and for some reason he couldn’t help but want it to not be fake. He hated the thought because he wasn’t supposed to think or feel that anymore, because that was his best friend.

“What?”

Benny’s eyes widened and he nearly dropped his food. Ethan hadn’t thought the calm tone in his voice would’ve been possible or even happen.

“It was just a suggestion, no need to take it. I know it’s probably a weird idea because we’re best friends. I’m sorry,” Benny rambled, and Ethan placed a finger against the other’s lips to shut him up.

“Hey, don’t apologize, but you’re Jewish, B,” Ethan said as he took his finger off the other’s lips.

The curly haired brunette let out a sigh of relief and put on his classic smirk. The smirk that always made Ethan feel weak in the knees, even if he didn’t want that.

“I can still celebrate it with you and your family. They’re practically my family already, so it won’t be awkward,” Benny rationalized, and Ethan chuckled.

“You do have a point, but I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“E, it’s my idea.”

If he was being honest, Ethan knew it would be a good idea. The two have known each other for years, and it would fit the friends-to-lovers trope everyone loved so much. His parents probably wouldn’t be surprised, and Jane definitely wouldn’t be.

“For it to work, we’d have to even tell Sarah, Erica, and Rory we’re dating because I know Sarah and Erica are coming to Christmas Eve,” Ethan said, and he finally placed his food down on the coffee table. “It’ll all turn into a shit show, because who will believe we’ll still live together when we break up? Those three were forced to ban Jacob from their lives, even though he wasn’t really in it to begin with.”

Benny placed a hand on Ethan’s tense shoulder, causing it to relax immediately. Ethan hated this effect he had on him, because it was so obvious, but Benny hadn’t noticed in nearly 10 years. Part of Ethan wanted to tell Benny he loved the idea, adored it because it meant they’d be together like sophomore Ethan would’ve loved.

“That’s fine. We’ll figure it out as it goes. We can always just say that we realized it didn’t work out because we’ve been friends for so long it was weird. It happens all the time with best friends,” Benny said, and Ethan looked unsure, but he nodded anyways.

“So, will we start with telling Sarah, Erica, and Rory when they come over for our holiday party?” Ethan asked and Benny nodded. “We have three days until that, so we better figure out how to seem like a real couple.”

Benny nodded at him slowly before cracking a small smile. He reached out and took Ethan’s hand, intertwining the fingers, and Ethan’s breath hitched. They had held hands before, but it had been in times of danger, and this felt different. He didn’t know how to describe it, but it just felt different.

“We’ll figure it out. Start off slow and work up to what we’ll do next week at the Christmas Eve,” Benny reassured him, and Ethan just nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

This was going to be hard if Benny just holding his hand made him speechless. How was he going to survive?

.............................

“They’re going to expect more than just hand holding, you know?” Benny asked as he referred to their friends that would be coming over in a couple hours. He was right and Ethan knew that, because he had kissed Jacob in front of them multiple times as they were dating.

Benny was more open with affection when he was with someone. It drove Ethan insane when they were younger, because he didn’t want to see Benny holding someone as he whispered soft words to them and kissed them gently. It had been really bad when Benny had his first love, Catherine, because all he did was talk about her. They were together all the time and Benny never listened to Ethan when he said he didn’t trust her.

“What do you say we do?” Ethan asked as he looked over to Benny, who was in the kitchen.

“They’re going to expect us to kiss, at least once,” Benny said, and Ethan was scared to kiss Benny if he was being honest. “Are you comfortable enough to do that?”

No, Ethan wanted to say. No, because then that’ll make this feel real and I can’t handle the future of us ‘breaking up’ if I fall in love again.

“I guess, should we test it out now?” Ethan asked and Benny hummed a yes as he walked over to the boy on the couch.

Benny was so close to him as he sat down, towering over him and the soft smile made Ethan’s heart accelerate. Benny slowly placed a hand on Ethan’s cheek, his thumb softly caressing he skin. “Is this okay?” Benny’s voice was low and soft, which made Ethan just nod in fear not being able to speak.

Benny leaned down and Ethan felt his eyes fluttering close and soon their lips were touching. Ethan expected it to be a peck, something simple, but Benny held him closer to him longer than the other thought would happen. Ethan’s hand gripped at Benny’s shirt as he started to move his lips and Benny followed suit.

He was warm all over, fuzzy and light. All he could feel was Benny, which was all that was going through Ethan’s brain as well. Ethan’s hands roamed up to the other’s hair and gripped at the hairs on the nape of the neck.

He needed Benny closer. He wanted them to feel like they had merged and have that connection he always dreamed of them having. Ethan was so in love with Benny and he didn’t want to be, because this would only break his heart in the end.

Ethan pulled away to breathe and Benny smiled at him. Something about the smile was different than his typical smiles, but Ethan didn’t say anything about it. He wanted to surge back up and kiss him again, but Benny dropped the hand cupping Ethan’s face.

Ethan’s hands came down to his sides and he expected this all to feel weird, but it didn’t. They were still Benny and Ethan, even with that near make-out.

“I think we’ve got this, don’t you?” Benny asked, and Ethan’s heart sank.

He had somehow forgotten that this wasn’t real; that they weren’t in love.

Ethan nodded shyly as he mumbled a soft ‘yeah.’ Soon enough Benny was back in the kitchen making food for their friends that would be there in an hour and a half.

He slowly stood up and felt heartbreak drench him. There was no reason to be hurt over this, over something that never actually happened, because Ethan knew they weren’t going to end up together. They weren’t going to fall in love and live happily ever after. He knew this was a bad idea, but he couldn’t say anything to Benny without revealing something on accident.

“Hey,” Ethan said as he turned to look at Benny, who was already staring at him. The attention made his cheeks burn slightly. “Maybe we should try to kiss again, but not as much? We don’t want to make a show for them, seems a bit rude.”

Benny set down whatever he had been holding and started to walk over to him. Ethan was scared at the silent nature of the other, because he would be trying to reassure him. So, the brown eyed boy believed he had crossed a line until he realized he hadn’t.

Benny wrapped an arm around his waist and held him close. Held him like he used to hold Catherine. Ethan could tell that Benny knew he had stopped breathing. It was the way he smirked down at him and Ethan couldn’t function.

“I’ll hold you like this when we pass,” Benny started as he squeezed back slightly. “Then I’ll place my hand on your cheek and lean in after a second.”

He placed a soft kiss on Ethan’s lips. Ethan kissed back slightly, but Benny pulled away after a few seconds. His smirk remained on his face while Ethan was bright red. He could just blame it on not being all that experienced in kissing, which was true, but that wasn’t the truth.

“I’ll kiss you softly and pull away,” Benny said, and the smirk turned into a smile. “No worries, it’ll be a lot faster when it actually happens.”

Ethan nodded, and Benny let go of his waist. He went back to the kitchen as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, and Ethan was angered by it.

He was angry Benny wasn’t affected by him like he was affected by Benny.

“He’s not affected, because he’s not in love with you,” Ethan thought bitterly.

Ethan left the room, unable to look at Benny right now without feeling so angry he could explode. He knew he loved Benny, and he hated it. He would always hate this feeling of unrequited love, but he knew it was the constant in their lives.

.............................

Ethan was the one who always opened the door when guests came over. Benny was always doing something he claimed to be more important than answering the door. It was just the one thing he always did, but Benny was next to him and an arm wrapped around his shoulders. It felt unnatural and he wondered if it looked unnatural too. There was no way they looked like a happy couple currently. Then again, it’s hard to look like a couple when you’re not.

“We have to make them believe from the get-go, baby,” Benny said, and Ethan was starting to regret this more and more.

He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to keep this a secret from Sarah.

Benny was the one to open the door, which was probably the first time since they moved into this apartment seven years ago. Sarah and Erica stood there, holding hands, and Sarah was holding most of the presents while Erica held one.

Sarah was smiling until she saw the arm wrapped around Ethan, as well as his expression. He could tell she wanted to say something, but she didn’t know what. So, her smile falter for a second before she fixed it, but this time it looked forced.

“Come on in,” Benny said right when Sarah looked like she was ready to say something.

Ethan was scared to look over at Erica, because if anyone was to figure out it was fake; it would be her. Maybe him being in love with Benny would confuse her, because one of them wouldn’t be acting.

“So,” Sarah drawled out as she and Erica walked into the small apartment. “Anything you two would like to share?”

“Yeah, seems you’re a lot closer than you were last time we saw you,” Erica said, and Ethan looked over at her to see her lower her sunglasses to look him in the eye.

“I’m glad you’ve noticed!” Benny exclaimed with an excited grin, but Ethan could see through him. Benny was scared too that this wasn’t going to work, but he somehow still kept the confidence. “Would you like to tell them, baby?”

Ethan blushed harder than before at the pet name, because this time it was said in front of others.

“B-Benny and I are d-dating,” Ethan stumbles out and he look at his hands to avoid the stares the girls would have.

“Okay, cool,” Sarah said, and he looked up to see her smiling at him. “I’m happy for you two.”

“Same,” Erica chimed as she sat on their couch and Sarah soon joined her.

Ethan went to follow the two, sit in their smaller chairs so they could keep the couch, but Benny pulled Ethan to where he was looking at him. Just like he had said earlier, he kissed him for three seconds before letting him sit down. Benny sat at the chair sitting across from Ethan and gave him a wink.

“So, what made you two realize you liked each other?” Sarah asked, and Ethan knew what to say; he and Benny had gone over it several times.

“It’s one of those things where you always know,” Ethan said with a chuckle. “He was singing as he cooked dinner, and I just finally said something.

“I had known before he said anything,” Benny started with a dreamy sigh. “Every Takeout Tuesday made me fall more and more with his shitty Star Trek commentary.”

Benny stopped, and Ethan stared at him as if to urge him to go on. Benny’s unsure expression made Sarah look between the two confused. Benny opened his mouth before closing them without saying anything.

“Baby, are you okay?” Ethan asked, and the pet name felt foreign on his tongue. Benny’s cheeks turned pink and he nodded.

“Yeah, I’m just a little caught up in how many times I knew.”

What was Benny doing? That wasn’t part of the script. Ethan knew his eyes were wide and confused, but no one commented on it. Benny looked like he was about to cry, but it was obvious no one knew what to do.

“What do you mean?”

Erica looked intrigued between the two of them and Ethan believed she knew they weren’t together. It was such an unlikely thing to happen that it made sense it wasn’t real. Sarah probably only believed it because she wanted Ethan to finally be with the boy he had always loved.

“There’s been many times I knew. So many times, and I’m just now realizing it.”

The other three remained silent, giving Benny all of their attention. He looked nervous, which was unlike him. The green-eyed boy typically looked cocky and sure of himself, but now he looked nervous and scared. He bit at his lip and rubbed his eyes before he spoke again.

“Times from high school when you’d talk about some guy you believed was your soulmate.”

That was you, Ethan thought, you were my soulmate.

“When you dated Jacob, I was so fucking jealous. I wanted to be him and kiss you like that. I wanted to be the one you adored, but you only looked at him.”

“Where is this coming from, Benny?” Ethan asked, and the other looked like he had finally realized what he had been saying. Realized they weren’t alone, because Erica and Sarah were watching him carefully.

“Sorry, I’m going to take a step outside,” Benny quickly said before scrambling to leave the apartment.

“I’m sorry you guys experienced that. It was really personal,” Ethan said, and Erica snorted.

“I’m just glad he’s finally realizing. It’s been painful watching him be confused and jealous for so long,” Erica said, and Ethan looked at her confused.

“What are you talking about?”

“Have you seriously never noticed?” Erica asked and Ethan shook his head. “He’s been trying to get your attention since his breakup with Catherine.”

“No he hasn’t,” he snapped. “He told me he had only realized last month, after I confessed to him how I feel.”

He knew Benny wasn’t in love with him, because he just couldn’t be. Ethan was used to being friends and loving him from a distance. He was used to the unrequited love trope known as his life, but he had repressed those feelings for so long. He had repressed those feelings until he felt sick at night with want. He didn’t want to hear about a different story.

He didn’t want there to be a whole lifetime of where he could’ve been with Benny. If there was, he wouldn’t know what to do.

“Benny started liking you since your sophomore year of high school,” Erica said with a matter of fact tone. “You came to school in an outfit Sarah and Jane had picked out for you, and he wouldn’t stop staring.”

“I probably looked different. I would’ve stared too.”

“Rory once had a crush on you,” Sarah said, and Ethan tilted his head with scrunched eyebrows.

“What? When?”

“It was your junior year, and we were all getting fro-yo while you were studying for the ACT,” Sarah started, and Ethan pouted at hearing he hadn’t been invited to get fro-yo even if it had been years ago. “You had just recently come out to us, and Rory made a comment about asking you out. Benny freaked out by telling Rory to back-off.”

“Why would he tell Rory to back off?”

“At the time, we thought he was just being overprotective, because you had just recently come out. After a couple years though, it wasn’t just because you had recently come out,” Sarah said, and Erica chuckled. He knew she was laughing about the fact Ethan had been so oblivious.

“Then why didn’t he do anything sooner?” He asked, and Erica sighed.

“I remember he was going to, he had a whole plan, but then you brought Jacob home and announced you two were dating,” the blonde said, and Ethan felt so stupid.

“Shit.”

“Yeah, you should go talk to him yourself, dumbass,” Erica said, but there was a soft smile on her face, which meant she didn’t mean it in a fully aggressive way.

He stood up and excused himself, but the girls paid no attention to him as they went into a conversation of their own.

The walk to the elevator felt too long and nerve-wracking for him this time around. Ethan pressed the level 1 option, but it was reluctant. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say once he saw Benny. Would Benny even be down there? Would he have taken a drive?

Benny was sitting in the lobby of their apartment building, staring at his phone. Ethan slowly went over and sat next to him. Benny jumped at him sitting down, and Ethan knew it was because he hadn’t said anything when he did so.

“Hey,” Benny said nervously, and Ethan grabbed the other’s hand tightly.

“Hey,” Ethan responded, but for once he didn’t sound nervous. He had no idea of what was about to happen, but he knew they’d always be Benny and Ethan.

“I’m sorry about what happened up there, I know it wasn’t according to plan,” Benny started. “I guess I haven’t been honest with you or myself in a long time.”

Ethan just continued to smile at him as he turned his body to be facing him more. Benny’s breath hitched so audibly it surprised the brown-eyed boy. He was focused on the green-eyed boy, and he could tell it made Benny even more nervous.

“You know that boy I believed was my soulmate?” Ethan asked, and Benny reluctantly nodded. “He was you. The only way to express my crush to more than just Sarah was to make up a name you’d never expect.”

Benny stared at him, and Ethan could tell he was trying to figure out what to say. Ethan would give him the time he needed like he always did, because Ethan knew he needed it. Benny’s eyes flickered from Ethan’s face to their intertwined fingers and he looked vulnerable.

“Catherine wasn’t my first love,” Benny whispered as if he was scared to talk any louder, and Ethan waited for him to continue. “You were, or I suppose are. I suggested to be your fake boyfriend so I could finally feel what it would be like.”

Ethan’s free hand was placed to Benny’s cheek. His thumb stroked the skin like Benny had done to him and he felt confidence in it. Felt confidence at the way the other started to blush and looked back down at their hands.

“Did you enjoy what it felt like?”

“Yes,” Benny started before taking a deep breath. “But it hurt. It still hurts to know you don’t want me to be with you, even when I’ve begged for this moment for years.”

“How do you know I don’t want to be with you? How are you so sure?” Ethan was leaning closer, but Benny hadn’t caught the hint yet.

“You didn’t seem to like the idea of me being the boyfriend.”

“Because I was scared the feelings I repressed would come back. I scared, because I believed you didn’t want me either.”

“Oh.”

Ethan was so close to Benny, he assumed the other could feel his breath on his lips, even though he was shorter than him. For once, he felt so in control of the situation, and he noticed Benny’s eyes fluttering close. So, he pulled him down and kissed him in the empty apartment complex lobby.

It was softer than the other kisses they shared, because this time they were finally on the same page. Ethan kissed with a fierceness to show the love he harbored for the other. The love that could be harbored by 100 people, but it was all in Ethan for Benny. He pulled away and looked up at the other with a smile.

“That was better than the other ones,” Benny commented immediately before turning bright red.

“You’re right, it definitely was,” Ethan said as he started to take his hand away from the other’s face, but Benny grabbed it and kept it there.

“Don’t let go,” Benny whispered. “If you don’t let go, then it’s not a dream.”

“I’ll never let go of you, because after nine years; I’m still hopelessly in love with you,” Ethan told him as his thumb stroked the skin once more. “What if we drop the fake part of the fake boyfriends title?”

“Are you sure I’m not dreaming?” Benny asked, and Ethan giggled slightly at the question. “Let’s drop it, please.”

“Okay, so you’re my boyfriend.”

Benny broke out in a wide smile before leaning down to kiss Ethan again and again and again. It felt so natural between them, like they had been living in the story line Ethan envied. When they got back to their apartment, Rory was there and talking to the girls, who looked over at the new couple with grins.

[casualmaraudering]

a little text fic, prompt provided by @starstruck4moony <3

Remus Lupin

Sunday, 10:15AM

Sirius Black: hey, a friend told me you have a dog to give away?

11:10AM

Remus Lupin: yeah! lily has mentioned she said something to a few people. i’m guessing you’re interested in taking him?

You can now message and call each other.

11:11AM

Sirius Black: YES!!! i love dogs sm

Sirius Black: what’s his name?? do you have pictures??

Sirius Black: i mean i love him already but i require pictures

Remus Lupin sent a photo.

Remus Lupin: oh i call him Archie! though he’s small enough that you can change it if you want to

Sirius Black: ARCHIE????? THATS SO CUTE HOLY FUCK

Sirius Black: im in love

marauder squad

11:13AM

pads: RED

pads: why didnt you tell me the puppy guy is hot?????

prongs: oh boy here we go again

pads: he’s so fucking gorgeous?????

pads: he has CURLS

pads: and FRECKLES!!!!

wormy: is sirius being gay again

pads: why didnt you ever mention you have a cute friend 

redhind: cause i knew you’d do this

pads: STILL

pads: im hopelessly homosexual lily he might be the love of my life 

redhind: see there’s the thing

pads: he’s straight isn’t he

redhind: i don’t know

redhind: i can try my best to find out for you

pads: i love you lily

prongs: oi

pads: you dont have any cute boy friends prongs, go away

prongs: >:(

Remus Lupin

11.20AM

Remus Lupin: so when do you wanna get him?

Sirius Black: does next week work?? im not at home til next Friday

Remus Lupin: ah yeah sure! 

Remus Lupin: holiday?

Sirius Black: wedding

Sirius Black: my uncle and his partner are getting married and i wouldn’t dare miss it

Sirius Black: and as a gay man he has a flare for blowing things out of proportion so instead of a regular wedding it’s a full week long getaway

Remus Lupin: god i wish

Remus Lupin: stuck in London studying for finals :/

Sirius Black: #cantrelate i’m an art student we don’t get those lol

Remus Lupin: rude

Sirius Black: what do you major?

Remus Lupin: English lit

Sirius Black: so you’re a nerd huh

Remus Lupin: i just like books

Sirius Black: nephew duties call, gotta go

Sirius Black: goodbye nerd boy

Remus Lupin

5:45PM

Sirius Black: how is my darling doing

Remus Lupin: he’s napping rn, we just came back from a walk

Sirius Black: that’s not what i asked

Remus Lupin: ??

Remus Lupin: oh

Sirius Black: ;)

Remus Lupin: do you always call strangers your darlings?

Sirius Black: only when they’re as gorgeous as you

Remus Lupin: now you’re just lying

Sirius Black:??? no i’m not

Sirius Black: as the homosexual of the group my opinion is the most trusted when it comes to cute boys

Sirius Black: and you my dear are cute as all fuck

Remus Lupin: that’s nice of you to say

Sirius Black: and it’s true. you’re both cute and hot and apparently smart too since eng lit, so don’t put yourself down

Sirius Black: and i mean since this is all out here already i’m not just saying it to be polite, i really am attracted to you and it’s been nice talking to you so far and i know it’s a long shot cause i don’t even know if you like guys but i wouldn’t mind getting coffee together someday if you want

Lily Evans

6:30PM

raging homosexual: FUCK

raging homosexual: LILY I FUCKED UP BAD

raging feminist: ???

raging homosexual: I ASKED THE PUPPY GUY OUT AND ITS BEEN LIKE HALF HOUR AND HE JUST LEFT ME ON READ

raging feminist: oh god sirius

raging homosexual: HES CUTE AND LIKES DOGS I PANICKED

Remus Lupin

7:50PM

Sirius Black: hey, i’m sorry about that, i didn’t mean to freak you out or anything, people do say i’m too impulsive at times haha

Sirius Black: can we please just forget that happened? i swear i won’t hit on you since it makes you uncomfortable

Sirius Black: i’ll get Archie next Friday and then you don’t have to see me again

James Potter

10:20PM

prongs: stop sulking

padfoot: i’m not sulking

prongs: i can see what you’re listening to on spotify y’know?

prongs: you’ve had ‘sad gay time’ on repeat for two hours

prongs: i know that dude is pretty or whatever but he’s not the last cute guy you’ll meet

padfoot: yeah i know

padfoot: idk it just hits me sometimes

padfoot: like it’s not even him it’s just,,,, im feeling like shit in general cause that made me think about my life

padfoot: you have lily and sometimes when i look at you i want something like that too and i’m worried i won’t ever get that

padfoot: im 19 and never even kissed anyone

prongs: and that’s normal, things take time sometimes

prongs: the right guy will come eventually, trust me

prongs: 19 is really young still, there’s literally ages for you to find the right guy for you

prongs: you’re the most amazing guy i know, you’ll find someone

padfoot: thanks james

prongs: come to my room? we can play mario kart

prongs: i have popcorn

padfoot: sure

Remus Lupin

Monday, 8.20AM

Remus Lupin: god i am so so sorry i just left like that i swear i didn’t mean to

Remus Lupin: i have this weird condition, and sometimes it acts up really unexpectedly to the point where i can’t even look at my phone cause i have such a bad migraine and i really meant to reply but it got so bad that i could barely move i am so sorry

Sirius Black: are you okay now??

Remus Lupin: yeah, it’s better

Remus Lupin: not amazing but better

Remus Lupin: that’s why i’m giving away Archie, too

Remus Lupin: an auntie gave him to me and while i’d love to have a dog, i can’t really care for one that well 

Remus Lupin: again, i’m so sorry, it was the worst timing possible

Sirius Black: it’s fine! i’m just glad you’re okay

Remus Lupin: and.. if the offer still stands, i’d really like to get coffee with you sometime

Sirius Black: really??

Remus Lupin: yeah

Remus Lupin: only for Archie’s sake, of course

Remus Lupin: he’s quite attached to me already, so i need to make sure you treat him well

Sirius Black: oh yes, absolutely

Sirius Black: you’ll have to stop by my flat, to see if it’s right for him

Remus Lupin: i hope your bed is soft enough for him, he hates sleeping alone

Sirius Black: you’ll just have to check for yourself

You changed Remus Lupin’s nickname to: cute puppy dad

Remus Lupin changed your nickname to: my puppy daddy

[the-angry-pixie]

camboy AU... but make it romantic

Camboy Bill AU feat. the OT7.

- basic stuff really

- Bill is a camboy (billoncam) on those websites that I don’t know enough about to be able to give a name.

- and he does sessions every few days in private chatrooms

- mostly solo stuff - either a vibrator or dildo in his ass whilst jacking it to the camera

- his fans love him because he is really chatty and responsive. and when he gets really turned on, he stutters. he always moans and thanks the person when someone sends him a tip - its like the tip button is directly connected to his vibrator, the way he moans every time it *dings*

- he has regulars. people who always seem to tune in and leave lots of tips. he comes to recognise their usernames.

- “welcome mikey-mike. i hope you’re having a good week.”

- “its good to see you again bigdickrich, what filthy things are you gonna say to me today?”

- stuff like that.

- he holds competitions among viewers - whoever gives him the most tips in a session gets to choose a name for him to call out when he cums

- as a result billoncam ends up moaning out “oh fuck carsforeddie! oh fuck you feel so good carsforeddie! oh fuck OH FUCK!” a lot.

- like previously stated, he’s known for his highly interactive solo stuff but every now and then his audience gets a guest appearance from other people. it always seems to be the same guys but we never get to see their faces 

- one has lovely golden skin that matches his golden curls that Bill loves to grab onto when he’s fucking him

- the other is this buff dude with dark blonde body hair that makes the most delicious sounds when he’s railing Bill

- thats right, billoncam be versatile as fuck

- even more versatile than first anticipated because one time during a session Bill is holding a photo on his phone up to show the camera and he accidentally swipes to the next photo which is of some redhead woman lying on a bed in lingerie

- the comment section goes wild and Bill is like “oh fuck, oh fuck you weren’t meant to see that, ah ha ha ha lets forget that happened pls” and he goes on with the session. trying to ignore all the questions hounding him about who the fuck that was and why was she on his bed??

- two days later when billoncam is next scheduled to cam it is immediately obvious that things are very different when the session starts on a shot of Bill sitting fully-clothed talking straight to camera

- “thanks for tuning in everyone. I just felt I wanted to do something a bit different today. There’s been lots of discussion and questions about what happened the other day and I’ve thought about it a lot and have decided that I would like to be honest with you. This is a part of who I am and I don’t want to feel ashamed of that. So the truth is... I’m bisexual. And this...”

- Bill holds up his phone showing a photo of Bill and the redhead from the lingerie photo hugging each other and smiling giddily at the camera

- “... this is Bev. She’s my girlfriend.”

- again, the comment section goes wild. Obviously Bill has been camming himself on a website for gay men and well... gays can still be mean and weird sometimes when it comes to bisexuality.

- “I know. I know. It’s not what you’ve come to expect from me. I’m sorry if you’re offended or something. Well actually I’m not sorry at all. I would never be sorry for being in love with Bev. She’s my rock. We’ve been together for so long and she means the world to me. And the only reason I’m showing her face on here is because she’s given me full permission. In fact she has her own camming channel. Which I can link you to if there are any fellow bi’s out there.”

- Because the internet is the internet, Bill notices he’s losing viewers quickly, but he’s kind of happy to note that some of his regulars are among the ones being super supportive

- sitonthis: you’re not really gay. get the fuckk outta here!

mikey-mike: thanks for being honest with us Bill. I’m bi too and some people on here need to be quiet and stop being rude.

erotic-cum-on-my-hole: where’s the dick??

bigdickrich: daaaaaaaaaaamn Bill. she’s fuckign hot! gimme dat link please >______>

br000ny: sick of these bi s trickin on us. im out.

carsforeddie: YO EVERYONE NEEDS TO SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LEAVE BILL ALOONE!@! WHO WOULDN’T WANT TO DATE BILL?! HE’S FUCKING GORGEOUS AND PERFECT!! I SWEAR TO GOD YOU ALL NEED TO MEET ME IN THE PARKING LOT RIGHT THE FUCK NNOW!!e@!

- but it doesn’t stop there. Bill has more to tell. He doesn’t get naked at all that session. But he does come clean about being polyamorous. Apparently Bill and Bev were together for years before she started dating Ben. Who then eventually started dating Bill as well (mystery solved on who buff dude is). And then a little while after that Bill started dating Stan who also began dating everyone else eventually (mystery number two solved on who golden curls is)

- of course to respect privacy Bill doesn’t give names or photos for those two (they’re not into camming and only ever fuck Bill on cam as a favour cause they know Bill loves it so much). But he does wax poetic for a further half an hour on just how much he loves all his partners and then unexpectedly signs off.

- billoncam disappears for awhile. his sessions just suddenly stop. his fans reckon its probably got to do with the negative response he got to coming out as bi. 

- they try to reach out to him on his social media but never with any luck. its funny, billoncam’s sessions have weirdly become a bit of community thing. its strange. the regulars all kind of know each other and it feels wrong to not be coming all together (pun not intended) a few times a week on Bill’s channel. but whatever, it doesn’t matter anymore because it seems billoncam is no more. he’s been scared away.

- struggling radio personality Richie Tozier is definitely not expecting to run into Bill aka. billoncam in a random Los Angeles Starbucks one day. But he does. Thats him. That’s totally fucking him. The only way Richie could be more sure is if Bill whipped his junk out in the middle of this cafe.

- Richie is so stunned he can’t even think what to say. How to approach this guy that he has been jacking off to for the last year or so. 

- He ends up chasing Bill down the street and kind of pouncing on him. 

- Bill is understandably wary at first. But of course he’s kind of charmed by this nervous motormouth with his ridiculously syrupy-looking frappuccino concoction. Its strange how familiar he seems. He almost whispers the name to himself just as Richie practically yells “Oh by the way. I’m bigdickrich. Did I mention that? I might have forgotten to mention that. Fuck!”

- And well, a week or two later... billoncam makes a comeback suddenly.

- And he’s got a companion. A companion who is showing his face. Bill’s regulars know they definitely haven’t seen this guy (or his body) before but they don’t mind at all since the session is so much more intense because they can see both participants for once. And this new guy is very cute. In a hairy, gangly, bedraggled kind of way.

- Bill introduces the guy as his new friend. He says his new friend convinced him to come back online. And his new friend even gave permission for their first time together to be filmed live.

- New Friend’s eyebrows wiggle at the camera behind his thick dark-framed glasses

- this sends a thrill through the audience obviously. such an intimate thing that theyre witnessing. New Friend doesnt seem to mind though. In fact he seems to lap up the attention and is very willing to take suggestions from the audience of just what he should do to Bill. 

- the vibrator and dildo remain untouched on the bed that day. 

- and its right at the end, still panting and sweating and coming down from their highs that Bill mentions that his New Friend is a previous audience member.

- “some of you might recognise the username. This is bigdickrich. Sooo... I guess we now know he wasn’t exaggerating with that name ha ha” to which Richie just grins at the camera holding his hands up under his chin.

- the comment section goes BONKERS!

- carsforeddie: THAT ANNOYING CRUDE SON OF A BITCH!! WHAT THE FUCK WHY IS THE UNIVERSE SO UNFAIR! FUCK!”

mikey-mike: good for you bigdickrich. you’re a real lucky guy. 

twinksfordays: i want to choke on bigdickrich’s cock

carsforeddie: HOW?! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! EW I JUST JACKED IT TO THAT ASSHOLE! FUCK I NEED TO SHOWER”

- Bill and Richie giggle and converse with the commenters for awhile and then sign off.

- billoncam returns to regularly camming again. much the way he was before. mostly solo. though sometimes with guest stars. and Richie becomes a more and more frequent feature. He’s the only one (besides Bev popping in now and then) who shows his face.

- and then, billoncam hits 100,000 subscribers

- and Bill. Well he has to make it special right? So he auctions himself off. There has to be some careful wording and labelling so that he can’t be done for prostitution but... essentially Bill auctions off the chance for him to travel and spend the night with the highest bidder.

- of course carsforeddie is not going to let this opportunity slide by him. He’s a successful businessman. He might only be 25 but he’s got money to burn and he’s been loving lusting after billoncam for a LONG TIME

- its undisclosed just how much Eddie Kaspbrak, luxury car rental business owner ends up paying for billoncam to fly to New York and spend the night with him - for legal reasons obviously. And no, Eddie does not give permission for the deed to be filmed.

- But! Its perfectly legal to say that the 2nd time Bill fucks Eddie - the 3rd, the 4th, the 5th and the 6th and all the times that follow - are done completely for free!

- Ben jokes to Richie privately about them going to need to move into a bigger house if Bill keeps adding people to this relationship.

- It becomes less of a joke and more of a reality as Eddie moves permanently to Los Angeles 6 months (and lots of trips to LA) later.

- And thats it. Theyre nearly there. There’s just one more thing missing. One more piece to the puzzle. Bill doesn’t know why he feels this way. He just does.

- Luckily Mike Hanlon (aka as mikey-mike) has been unknowingly working away on this very thing for months. Not that he would have dared to assume that anything would happen when he slid into billoncam’s DM’s 18 months ago.

- He’s just a country boy from bumfuck nowhere. There’s no reality in this universe where he and the likes of billoncam would ever cross paths. But he enjoys talking to him. They have a lot of laughs. And Bill is surprisingly sweet and very well spoken. They like a lot of the same things. The same literature, the same sports teams. Bill is always asking after the animals on Mike’s family’s farm. Mike wishes he could get to know him better. 

- Bill wants the same thing. He’d give anything to meet the sweet-souled farmboy from Maine who brightens Bill’s day whenever he gets a new message from him. I mean, it helps that he’s also gorgeous with the most wonderful smile, but thats beside the point.

- Bill ends up putting his money where his mouth is. Just enough to buy a return plane ticket to LA, so that Mike can come visit him, and cover the cost of a hotel room (ya know, in case he doesn’t want to stay with Bill and the rest of them. Bill would never want to make him uncomfortable).

- Needless to say Mike fits right into the family almost immediately. 

- its a couple of months later and billoncam still exists, but its like a relic now. Bill pours all his creative energy into his new channel “the-lucky-seven”. Its a channel shared by everyone and its outrageously popular. Sure there are still a few individuals who are too shy or anxious to show their faces but the audience doesn’t seem to care. There’s so much variety to be found on the channel. Different combinations of people doing a live cam nearly every second day. 

- they’re all unapologetic, they all love each other, and they don’t mind sharing it with the world. 

- :) :) :) :) B) :) :)

----

Did I really just write a romance story about camming? Why yes, I think I did. Ha Ha. Hope you enjoyed. :)

[blurglesmurfklaine]

Cornelia Street (8/9)

(+ an interlude i thought of after reading “Reeni”s comment. Idk who you are bc it was a guest comment, but thank you!)

A/N: oh my god they were quarantined

yes. It’s one of those fics.

AU, obvs

I’m posting as I go and idk how many parts this is going to be, likely won’t be very long but I literally don’t know what I’m doing and should i be starting yet another WIP? definitely not but fuck it lets fucking go

Title is from T-swizzles Lover album, I’m OBSESSED

Summary: Three years ago, Kurt and Blaine went on a disaster of a date and never quite got off on the right foot. Now, just before they graduate from NYADA, there’s a national outbreak and they’re both self-quarantined in a mutual friend’s apartment.

Read On AO3

On Tumblr: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Interlude

QueenJCedes replied to your story!

Kurt bites back a dopey grin when he opens Mercedes’s snapchat message. It’s a photo of her looking dubiously at the camera, a single eyebrow pointed up, with the caption: Quarantine buddies, huh?

He snaps back a quick photo of himself, eyes rolled upwards. What can I say, he won me over.

She sends back just a message this time—

Mercedes: Yeah, clearly. Mercedes: Head over feet, Alanis style!

—and then a bitmoji of Kurt falling through the air.

Kurt: I mean… You’re not wrong Kurt: He’s sort of everything Kurt: AND a fantastic kisser

Mercedes: OMG REALLY? I was just teasing, but if this is legit, I’m so happy for you!!!

He can’t help but giggle excitedly as he types a reply. 

Kurt: Yeah. me too.

*

New Snap from setroutymouth

Blaine rolls his eyes but still can't school the smile on his face into a neutral expression. This is going to be a lot, he already knows, but nevertheless, he swipes his thumb across the screen to unlock his phone.

Sam’s pacing through Mercedes’s childhood home in Ohio, phone in selfie mode, already rambling at a hundred miles a minute that Blaine’s sure he cut off a few words.

“—cedes just showed me Kurt’s snapchat story and I AM LOSING IT! Did something happen between you two? Oh my god, something totally happened, didn’t it!? BLAINE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED MERCEDES WON’T TELL ME AND I ALREADY FINISHED EVERY BINGABLE SHOW ON NETFLI—”

As expected, it was a lot. But still not enough to burst his happy little bubble. He doesn’t think anything could, at this point.

Through his smiles, he snaps back a picture of himself shrugging, trying to look as clueless as possible, and adds the caption: I have no idea what you’re talking about.

It’s not even a full moment before he gets another video back.

“BLAINE ANDERSON I AM BEGGING YOU—”

Blaine locks his phone shut, mostly because he knows it’ll drive Sam crazy. He can respond later. Right now, there are more important matters at hand.

*

Blaine’s in the kitchen, putting away what was left of the carton of Cookie Two-Step ice cream they’d demolished while watching another Netflix romcom, when Kurt’s phone lights up.

New Message: From: Adam I saw your sc story You know you could just be *my* quarantine buddy When are you coming?

Kurt actually growls as he types out a reply. How did he put up with this for nearly three years?

New Message: To: Adam I’m not.

Kurt. We both know how this ends.

Not this time. I meant it. We’re done.

Okay, whatever you say I’ll check in with you later When you change your mind

Kurt doesn’t even warrant that with a response, he’s too seething mad to even formulate one with enough bite to put Adam in his place.

But then the door opens, Blaine’s beaming at him, and Adam is completely irrelevant.

“I was just thinking,” Blaine muses aloud, slipping under the covers and snuggling up next to him in a way that Kurt knows will be way too easy for him to get used to. “Do you remember our Junior year when we had to partner up during Stagefighting for that Musical Choregraphy project?”

Kurt explodes into laughter. “Uh, yeah, that was pretty ridiculous. I remember hearing from Matthew that you said I dance like a pigeon that’d been chewed up and spit out by a cat.”

“What!?” Blaine exclaims, shocked. “I swear I never said that. Though, I do remember going on a tangent about how I didn’t know how I was supposed to concentrate when you insisted on wearing those pants with that tight fitted shirt and…”

He trails off, and Kurt can feel color rising to his cheeks. “Oh, that explains it, actually.”

“Explains what?”

“Matthew. He had a huge crush on you.”

Blaine’s eyes double in size. “He what!?”

Kurt lets out a chuckle. “You seriously didn’t know?”

“No! Nobody told me!”

“That’s not how crushes work, Blaine,” Kurt says through a stream of giggles. 

“Okay, why does it make more sense for me to just take a wild guess about how people feel about me instead of them telling me, or acting on it? Like, if you hadn’t have kissed me earlier, I would have never known how you felt and kissed you back.”

Kurt opens his mouth to argue that logic, but… he seriously cannot get over how oblivious Blaine is. “So you’re saying that if I hadn't accidentally kissed you then you really wouldn’t have known how I feel?”

“Yeah. And I would most definitely not have acted on my crush.”

“Aw,” Kurt teases. “You used to have a crush on me. That’s embarrassing.”

“And you watch too much Parks and Rec.” 

“I’m gonna kiss you again, now,” he announces.

Blaine just grins, eyes crinkling at the sides. “I think that’s a great idea.”

There wasn’t much of a choice because of the shelter in place, but based on the bright spark forming in his chest when their skin meets, Kurt could definitely get used to this living situation.

*

Blaine finally pulls away reluctantly. If he could stay attached to Kurt forever, stay connected to him, he would. He roams his eyes over Kurt’s face, like he could memorize it if he really, really tried, and notices a scar just above his eyebrow. It would be invisible to anyone else, anyone who wasn’t trying to intentionally map out the image of Kurt.

The scar doesn’t bother Blaine, but the idea that someone ever hurt Kurt bad enough to leave physical evidence that refuses to leave tugs achingly at his heart. Instinctively, he takes his hand from where it rests on the side of Kurt’s face, and gently traces over the scar with the pad of his index finger soothingly, as if it hasn’t been healed for years.

“Sophomore year… two years ago,” Kurt’s murmuring refocuses his attention.

That was a hazy time for Blaine, but he does have a vague memory of hearing from a friend of a friend that Kurt spent some time in the hospital, and he definitely remembers his rival-slash-partner being missing from their stage acting class for a while.

“What happened?” He asks.

Kurt is so calm, so steady when he answers. It leaves him in awe. “It was when all those gay bashings were happening…” he pauses, and Blaine immediately feels sick to his stomach because he knows where this is heading. “I was on my way home from school and saw these guys attacking some teenager, and… I had to help. I ran over and started shoving them, I guess. I didn’t really know what I was doing, but the kid got away. I didn’t. The last thing I remember after that was what I think might’ve been a brick hitting my head.”

“Jesus,” Blaine breathes. His initial reaction is to say I’m sorry, but something tells him that Kurt isn’t sorry about it at all. Instead, he says, “I had no idea. That–that was really brave of you.”

Kurt snorts out a laugh. “I’m glad you think so. I spent most of my hospital stay being berated by my dad about how irresponsible it was.”

“No,” Blaine shakes his head. “If anything it was over-responsible.”

“I’m not convinced that’s a word.”

“Me neither,” Blaine says breathlessly, amber gaze fixed on the boy lying across from him.

He really just can’t help but pull them together again. 

Blaine thinks Kurt is opening his mouth to deepen the kiss and, well, he’s certainly not going to complain. Until Kurt sucks in a deep breath and turns his head, chuckling through his yawn.

“Sorry, I really thought I could hold that yawn in.”

Blaine lets out a laugh of his own and glances over at the analog clock on the nightstand. “It’s only midnight, you grandpa,” he teases.

“Hey! Doing nothing all day is seriously draining.”

“I wouldn’t call what we did nothing,” Blaine says cheekily, causing Kurt to flush.

“I’m going to shower before I head to bed,” Kurt responds, sitting up and lifting his arms up over his head and exposing an inch or so of his midriff.

Blaine is trying so hard not to stare. Nevertheless, he can’t help it as he watches Kurt saunter off to the restroom. 

He tosses his head back onto the pillow with a satisfied grin on his face. Global crisis it may be, but if he got Kurt Hummel out of it… he could complain about worse things.

A bright ding from his right interrupts his thoughts. Blaine turns his head and sees the screen of Kurt’s phone light up, resting there on the nightstand.

He’s not snooping. He’s really not. It’s just sort of instinct to look in the direction of the sounds.

Then, he sees the succession of messages that make his stomach churn.

New Message: From: Adam Hurry and finish up with the rebound already I miss you Text me when you’re on your way

He stares at the screen for a few seconds before it fades back to black, feeling absolutely sick to his stomach. Of course Kurt was going to run back to his ex the first chance he got. It’s exactly what he did three years ago and Blaine was just kidding himself. This was all too good to be true.

Turns out it wasn’t.

Before he knows it, he’s grabbing his duffel bag and dialing Quinn’s number. 

He’s always welcomed there and New Haven isn’t all that far, after all.

Part 9

[demi-drawing]

a permanent hug from you - ash/hau/gladion

word count - 1678

read on ao3

ash steals shirts. you can pry this headcanon from my cold dead hands

thanks to @aro-ace-thetic for betaing this for me!!

Hau swears to Solgaleo he had more shirts than this.

He's been staring at his wardrobe for the past ten minutes. He had a red shirt. He knows he had a red shirt. He just isn't sure where it could have gone.

...Come to think of it, he had an orange shirt, too. He only ever wore it as pyjamas, but he still had it. And now it's gone, somehow. Maybe one of his pokémon stole it. He wouldn't be surprised if Raichu had some. But then, why would a pokémon need clothes…?

He's debating letting out all his pokémon in order to interrogate them when his phone, lying on his bed, buzzes, and he speed-crawls over to it to grab it and sit against his bed on the floor. It's a message from the group chat with both his boyfriends in it - Ash and Gladion.

edge 5000: my hoodie has disappeared

So Hau isn't the only one with missing clothes today.

malasada boy: Half of my shirts are gone

edge 5000: really?

edge 5000: who is doing this

malasada boy: I have no clue

malasada boy: You okay without your hoodie?

edge 5000: yeah i have a spare but it's blue

edge 5000: not dark blue either. blue

malasada boy: How horrifying that must be for you

edge 5000: shut upp

edge 5000: it's thinner and not as warm :(

malasada boy: :(

Gladion doesn't reply, so Hau figures that must be conversation over and leaves his phone face down on his duvet, going to get his pokéballs from where they're attached to his belt, which is currently lying on a pillow. Decidueye is already out, of course, but he's grooming himself, and Hau knows from experience not to interrupt that. Just before he grabs the belt, though, his phone buzzes again, and he stops to check it.

sunshine god child: HI

sunshine god child: sry i was trainin

sunshine god child: what r we talkin abt

edge 5000: how our clothes are gone somehow

sunshine god child: oh

sunshine god child: haha…

malasada boy: How are you worse at lying over text than irl

malasada boy: I already know you had something to do with this

sunshine god child: IM TRYING

edge 5000: what did you do with our clothes, gremlin version of arceus

sunshine god child: SWEATS

sunshine god child: ur not allowed 2 get mad at me bc u love me

malasada boy: Perhaps

edge 5000: depending on what you did with my hoodie i am willing to make an exception

sunshine god child: LISTEN

sunshine god child: hoodie warm soft… criminal brain took over

edge 5000: you stole my prized hoodie because you liked it

sunshine god child: im literally wearin it rn

Hau immediately visualises Ash in Gladion's hoodie and nearly melts into a puddle on his bedroom floor. Judging by the way Gladion has stopped responding entirely, he's the same.

malasada boy: What about my shirts

sunshine god child: SO MAYBE IM WEARIN ONE OF UR SHIRTS AS WELL!! WHATS IT 2 U

Hau's brain almost entirely short circuits, but he still (somehow) manages to reply.

malasada boy: Ash, babe, light of my life, I love you, however,

malasada boy: DID YOU TAKE HALF OF MY SHIRTS

sunshine god child: PERHAPS

malasada boy: WHY

sunshine god child: IDK?? NEEDED SHIRTS

malasada boy: YOU HAVE SHIRTS??

sunshine god child: yea but these smell like u

sunshine god child: hello?

sunshine god child: r u guys good

sunshine god child: that rlly killed both of u huh

It did. Hau doesn't know how Gladion's doing (not much better than he is, judging by the fact he still isn't replying) but he's a blushing mess. Ash has to know what he's doing, right? No one can be that oblivious.

malasada boy: Out of complete curiosity

malasada boy: Which shirt are you wearing

sunshine god child: it sure is orange!

malasada boy: A sh that's one of my pyjama shirts

sunshine god child: i think i look good in it

malasada boy: Oh I'm sure you do

sunshine god child: KFJKDJDKSKKFJDK

edge 5000: i am going to need my hoodie back though

malasada boy: I did not miss the fact you didn't respond for ages there Glads

sunshine god child: arceus's chosen one diagnoses u with gay

edge 5000: that sounds like the title of a joke asmr video

sunshine god child: FKSJDKSHSKAJ

edge 5000: in other news give me back my hoodie,

sunshine god child: but i liiiikkkeeeee it

edge 5000: i am so glad i am not with you in person because i would give you that hoodie in a heartbeat

edge 5000: luckily this is text so Give Me Back My Hoodie

malasada boy: Also my shirts?

sunshine god child: no!!

malasada boy: ...You can keep one?

sunshine god child: im fine w that, actually

edge 5000: FINE since you're so cute

edge 5000: you can have my spare hoodie if you give me back my black one

sunshine god child: :)!!!

malasada boy: He didn't even have to do anything

edge 5000: okay mr "you can keep one"

malasada boy: You're right, we're both fools

sunshine god child: u love me

edge 5000: that's the problem

---

Ash tells both of his boyfriends he'll meet them at Hau's (or, Kahuna Hala's, technically) and races out the door with his backpack full of shirts and no pokémon with him other than Pikachu on his shoulder. Professor Kukui stops him on his way out the door and asks if he's wearing Gladion's hoodie, and also where did he get that shirt. He answers yes to the first question, and says the shirt is Hau's. Professor Kukui rolls his eyes and lets him go.

He's sad to see the clothes go, including the hoodie. Though he's had the hoodie for less than twenty four hours, and is honestly surprised Gladion didn't discover it missing sooner, he wasn't lying when he said it was warm and soft - with only a few on purpose tears in the fabric! The main reason, of course, is the smell. It's all black coffee and a kind of minty undertone, which is the smell Ash has begun to associate with Gladion since he met him.

Meanwhile, Hau's shirts are something he's been stealing for the past month. With help from Pikachu, of course. He's walked out the door of Kahuna Hala's house wearing one before, and Hau didn't notice. (Of course, this meant he left his own shirt with Hau, and because he isn't a criminal he returned it immediately. That made Ash feel slightly guilty. But he moved past it pretty quick.) Hau's shirts smell like gingerbread and grass cuttings, which is a weird combination, but it's distinctly Hau and Ash adores it.

He makes his way into Iki Town, and down the well-worn path that leads to the Kahuna's house. Hau and Gladion are sitting on the steps outside waiting for him, talking and laughing away. Ash smiles at the sight, and then Gladion looks up, directly at him, and seems to stop mid-sentence. Hau looks at him questioningly, before following his gaze, and his eyes widen.

Ash supposes if he saw either of them wearing his clothes he would have the same reaction, but nonetheless he grins as he watches both their faces get gradually more red as he skips down the path until he's right in front of them. "Hey!" he says brightly, Pikachu on his shoulder chirping along with his greeting.

To his credit, Hau manages to get out a broken "Hi," while Decidueye greets Pikachu. Gladion just stares. Ash notices he's wearing a blue hoodie that's a shade lighter than his usual colour range. His usual colour range being black and dark grey, of course.

Ash knows he's enjoying this far too much, but he swings his bag from his shoulder in a practiced dance with Pikachu and takes out a stack of shirts. "I believe these are yours?" he says in a teasing tone, holding the stack out to Hau. He takes it, and their hands brush together. With the stack of shirts on his lap, Hau rubs his hand as if it were burned.

Ash takes off Gladion's hoodie slightly reluctantly, and Pikachu jumps up onto his hat, not even wanting to bother with that dance (even though they perfected it in Unova). "And this seems to be yours," he says, in the same tone as the shirts, holding out the hoodie to Gladion. He takes it, his eyes not leaving Ash. On his head, Pikachu suppresses a snicker.

Hau and Gladion continue to stare, until Ash waves a hand in front of both their faces. "Anyone in there?" he asks, but he knows he's grinning too hard to act at all worried, as if he could act in the first place.

That seems to snap both of them back, and while Hau gets up to shove his returned shirts in a drawer somewhere, Gladion wordlessly changes hoodies, and gives the blue one to Ash. He takes it excitedly, and immediately puts it on. It doesn't smell as much as the black one does, but seeing as it's a spare, and it's also Gladion's and that makes the entire thing better by principle, Ash is content with what he got. Hau comes back out - he's changed shirts to one of the ones that was stolen, for some reason - and kisses Ash on the cheek. "I hate you," he says, but he's smiling softly and Ash smiles right back.

"Love you too!" He skips back to the path and spins around to face both of his boyfriends. "You guys wanna go get malasadas?"

Hau's answer is, of course, a resounding yes, while Gladion just smiles and lets himself be lead along. He keeps ducking his head down to bury his face in his hoodie. Later, when they're sitting down, Ash asks why.

"It smells like you now," Gladion replies almost shyly.

Ash chokes on his malasada, and Hau and Pikachu laugh at how red his face gets.

[kieranblackthorn]

tell me something I don’t already know

A MALEC FANFIC

read it on ao3

Alexander Lightwood is a Law student who thinks he's made all the wrong choices in life. His internship, his major, his relationships... It all seems wrong. Alec definetely doesn't know how much he's worth. And maybe he needs a handsome guy called Magnus to throw out the window everything Alec thinks he knows... And shatter his heart, only to put the pieces back together again.

Chapter One

Alec’s idea of grabbing a quick lunch wasn’t buying a muffin at the bakery two blocks from work, but here he was. The muffin was fluffy and warm, filled with raisins and with a light cinnamon crust. He would never admit it to Simon out loud, but it tasted absolutely amazing.

“You’re a dude of simple tastes,” said Simon, glancing at his muffin “I can get behind that.”

Alec rolled his eyes. Simon definitely was anything but a man of simple tastes: he wore colorful and silly ties to work – today, it was one filled with tiny ice cream cones –, always spoke loudly, and was currently eating a huge slice of confetti cake.

“C'mon, man, you gotta say that I brought you to a great place!” continued Simon, swallowing a mouthful of cake. “I know you suggested that fancy salad bar, but it was my turn to choose.”

Alec took another bite of his muffin, feeling the grease sticking to his lips.

“This isn’t exactly healthy, tho,” answered Alec, frowning.

“Oh yeah, I know you love being all buff and fit, going to the gym five times a week and eating nothing but leaves. I swear your muscles will rip your suit any day now.”

Alec snorted. “Bennett would kill me in a heartbeat if I ever went to the office without a suit…”

“And I’d finally get to see a homicide trial I’ve been wishing for,” added Simon with a smile, licking frosting off his fingers.

“You probably wouldn’t get to see anything. They would bury you in meaningless paperwork about some petty case. I doubt you’d get a second in court to see his conviction,” he replied.

Alec hadn’t expected how boring would an internship at a law firm be. He had hoped he would at least get to watch some trials, maybe actually talk to the clients. But his job was mostly research and paperwork, sitting on his desk all day, hearing Simon talk about his latest gig with his band. He had thought he would feel like he was doing meaningful work at Bennett & Green Law Offices… but he felt small, powerless and useless. An ant buried in paperwork.

Alec’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a strange man, with a grin from ear to ear, sat down on the remaining chair at their table. He wore a refined bright purple suit, his fingers were filled with golden rings, and his eyes carried heavy, yet elegant, eyeliner.

“Can I help you…?” asked Alec, a little startled.

The man’s smile grew larger. God, Alec thought, he has a beautiful smile.

“You could help me by telling me how do you look so gorgeous so early in the morning…” the guy winked. He actually winked, and Alec didn’t know how to respond to this.

“It’s 11:30?” he answered, feeling a little confused. And also a little dazzled. The curve of his lips and the way he looked into Alec’s eyes were enough to make him feel dizzy.

“Precisely what I mean! This isn’t my finest hour, I must say.” Alec couldn’t even imagine how this man would look in his finest hour, if that was his worst shape. “I’m Magnus, by the way.”

“Alexander.” Alec held out his hand, hoping Magnus would shake it. Instead, he gently took it and pressed his lips against Alec’s hand.

Again, dizzy.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alexander. I was wondering if maybe I could get your number?”

Alec was so surprised he couldn’t get any words out of his mouth. This handsome guy – Magnus –, with his purple suit, wide smile and piercing eyes was trying to get his number? His number, when he had muffin crumbs all over his suit - that couldn’t have been more than 20 bucks –, looked like he hadn’t had a proper night of sleep in two days, and smelled like he had just hit the gym. Ew, Alec was only now realizing he should buy a new deodorant.

“Unless you aren’t interested?” Magnus raised an eyebrow, looking disappointed.

“Oh no, he will definitely give you his number!” Simon barged in, unlocking his cellphone, already with a pen in hand, and began quickly writing something down on a napkin.

“Oh yeah, yeah, sure,” Alec finally managed to say, fighting to stop staring awkwardly at Magnus. He took the napkin out of Simon’s hand, giving it a quick look. Alex noticed that along with his number, Simon wrote down his Instagram username. He sighed inside, not knowing if he would scream at Simon or thank him later.

“Magnus, we are fucking late!” yelled a deep voice across the bakery. It was coming from a tall man, with a crown of curly hair, standing next to the door, his arms crossed. It was almost funny how his black, sober suit contrasted with the pastel tones that decorated the walls and tables. “Let’s go!”

 Magnus took the napkin out of his hand, their fingers brushing for a brief moment.  

“I’m sorry, gorgeous, but I fear our conversation has been cut short by my cranky friend over there. He doesn’t really like to wait. Let’s continue this over text, shall we?” Magnus said, looking at Alec. “Nice meeting you as well,” he added, nodding at Simon.

And with another bright flash of his smile, Magnus walked out of the bakery’s door.

“Wow. He was quite a sight, wasn’t he?” Said Simon after a moment, taking a sip at his Coke.

Alec turned to Simon, a thought forming on his mind.

“How did you know I was gay? I’ve never told you that!” Alec looked accusingly at Simon.

He shrugged. “Lucky guess!” Simon slurped his Coke again. “Besides, if you don’t want to text him, I do! I meant it when I said he was something. He’s pretty damn cute, if you ask me.”

Alec shook his head in confusion. “Wait, are you… Are you gay?”

“Nah, man!” Simon didn’t seem bothered by the question. “I’m pan, actually.”

“I didn’t know that,” replied Alec, feeling a bit warm inside. He had met very few queer guys, mostly back in college. Knowing Simon was pan… It gave him a nice feeling of camaraderie.

“Well, you’ve never asked. And you also haven’t mentioned your sexuality to me before.” Simon grinned lightly “Besides, you haven’t looked  at my desk, because I have a pan flag there.”

“Oh, now you got me,” replied Alec, feeling a little embarrassed. Simon had picked up on the fact that Alec didn’t make a lot of effort to be friendly with him. He found himself feeling a little guilty.

“Your gaydar couldn’t be worse, my dude!” exclaimed Simon, wiping frosting off his mouth. “Should we get back to the office?”

 Alec spent the rest of the day at the office trying not to think of the purple suited guy, but he couldn’t help but check for new messages every twenty minutes or so. His experience with guys was limited, and he would never have the nerve to ask somebody out just like that. In the middle of a bakery, not knowing whether they were into guys. Although he’d had a few hookups, Alec had never thought of himself as attractive, desirable or… hot. God, even the thought of that word made him blush.

When he got home, he was totally spent. His entire body hurt from sitting and typing the whole day, his head hurt from staring at a screen… and also from hearing Simon’s relentless chatter. His suit was itchy, and he took off his jacket when he crossed the door.  

Jace looked up from where he was sitting. His brother was lying sloppily on the sofa with a bowl of cereal balanced on his legs. There was a neat pile of sheet music next to him, along with pens, highlighters and music theory books.

“Hard day at college?” Alec asked, sitting down next to him.

“Hard day at the office?” replied Jace, swinging his legs over Alec’s lap. Lazybones, thought Alec, rolling his eyes.

“You know, same old, same old. I’m growing tired of paperwork… And of my boss. Honestly, this whole Law School thing sucks.”

“Well, you could always get a degree in music with me,” offered Jace, half-joking. He knew Law School wasn’t everything his brother had dreamed of - Alec still wasn’t a knight in shining armor, coming to rescue the less fortunate.

“Yeah, because I’m an amazing singer. Or a piano player. Or a violin player. Maybe I could get into their rattle program,” Alec snorted.

“Seriously, man… You gotta hang on a bit. Getting into Law School was your thing for years. Honor your effort… Even though you’re in an office full of douche bags wearing tuxedos.”

“And Simon.”

“I thought Simon was the master douche?”

“He is actually a pretty decent guy… I think he just wants a friend, you know? I guess I have been a bit rude to him this whole time.” Alec hesitated. Even though he’d been out for years, he still felt uncomfortable talking about his sexuality. “He actually came out to me today. He’s pan. Has a flag at his table too, I just never bothered to look.”

“Do you think he’s cute?” asked Jace, raising an eyebrow.

Alec gave him a light punch on the shoulder. “Jace, I’ve told you that it isn’t because a guy is gay that I’m going to instantly make out with him.”

“I know, man, I’m just trying to be supportive here! God knows that you’ve been on a dry spell lately.”

“Can we please, please, not talk about my sex life?” begged Alec. Not that was much to talk about on that front – or anything, honestly.

“As you wish. But you know I’m always here for boy talk if you need it.” Jace gave him a small pat on the back, chewing his cereal loudly.

They both stared at the TV in silence for a couple of minutes, in absolute silence. Alec thought maybe he could talk about Magnus. Not that there was much to talk about, but still… He kept checking his phone to see if a message would pop up. He was getting anxious.

“Actually… A guy approached me at the bakery today.” Alec glanced at Jace. His brother was staring back, still eating. “And asked for my number.”

“That’s great, man! Did he text you? Let me read it!”

“Well, that’s the thing… It’s been seven hours and nothing. Radio silence.” Alec bit his lip, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“It’s still early. He was probably working, he’ll text you tonight,” Jace reassured him. “And still, if he doesn’t, that doesn’t change the fact that you’re great, alright? You know that, don’t you?”

“Kinda,” replied Alec, half-heartedly.

Jace threw a pillow at him.

“C'mon man, it’s early, I’m telling you he’s going to text! Let me play you something, that’ll cheer you up. Pick something!” said Jace, already standing up to sit at his piano. It was a beautiful, old upright piano, worn out by time. It was one of the few things Jace and Alec had brought all the way from their parents’ house, and its dark wood stood out from the bland decoration of their living room.

“Play me one of your original pieces. You know they are my favorite ones to hear.” Alec slipped into the sofa, closing his eyes. As Jace’s fingers started moving softly, Alec felt his mind drifting far away; listening to his brother play was his personal form of meditating. They had been doing that since they were kids: Alec would lie on their childhood bedroom floor, listening to Jace’s fingers play Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Liszt, Brahms, and eventually Jace’s own original music. Alec had never had any gift for music - his parents realized that soon enough, and left the music lessons for Jace –, but he surely could appreciate a piece that was well-played.

He lied there for what seemed like hours - and it might as well have been. Hos head felt light, like the music had brushed off his worries – work, Simon, Law School, handsome purple-suited guys… Eventually, he got up, made himself a quick omelet, washed the dishes and went to bed – after all, he still had classes the next day. Jace was still in the living room playing, and Alec knew he would be there until his fingers went dormant.

Lying in his bed, almost falling asleep. Alec couldn’t help but notice the light ping of his phone, already after midnight. He picked it up, eyes still half-closed. There, on the screen, was a single line:

“Hey, gorgeous!”

CHAPTER TWO: TO BE POSTED

[sawyer-saucee]

If You Had The Chance To Change Your Fate...

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Words: 3,992

Genre: Hurt/comfort

Pairings: Rociet, fatherly logince, fatherly lociet, platonic anxciet, brief brotherly mociet (blink and you miss it)

Warnings: Crying, self-doubt, panic (but no panic attacks), mentions of breakups/divorce, a good hearty dose of Deceit’s potty mouth (swearing), arguing, mentions of Nazis (as in, our boys hate them)

Summary: Devon Lee, a hopeless romantic who would never admit to it, and Roman Adelio, a man who’s long since given up on love, are destined to be together. Will fate do its job correctly, or will the pair defy the ides of fortune?

A/N: This is a story I wrote for @quoth-the-sparrow​!!!! It took longer than I intended because it ended up being a monster of a story (originally it was only going to be around 1,000 words of pure fluff, but we can all see how that turned out), so dad, I hope you like it! (And I hope everyone else likes it too!) <3

10 years, 4 months, 13 days, 11 hours, and 58 minutes. That was how long Devon Lee had been waiting for his soulmate. As a child, he’d always assumed the world was colorless, and that everyone saw it the way that he did. But, as it had been explained to him by his older brother Patton when he was nine years old, eventually, when you found that one person who was destined to be your perfect match, your world would change. It was hard to explain how when Dee couldn’t even begin to visualize what this “color” Patton spoke of looked like, but his brother made it sound so appealing. “Dee,” He’d said, “You know that feeling you feel when your favorite TV show comes on at just the right time? Or… oh! Or that feeling when someone gets you the perfect gift?” And Dee had nodded as Patton grinned and said, “That’s what the world looks like when you find your soulmate.”

So, ever since that moment 10 years, 4 months, 13 days 12 hours, and 2 minutes ago now, Devon had been waiting. And waiting. And waiting. At a certain point he quite honestly had become sick of waiting and had renounced the prospect of soulmates as a whole, but deep inside his chest there had always been a longing that he would never admit to - a secret timer keeping track of the 10 years, 4 months, 13 days 12 hours, and 2 minutes that he’d been waiting. Not that he was counting or anything.

Roman Adelio, on the other hand, didn’t believe in soulmates, not one bit. He hadn’t since the moment his mother had walked out the scuffed front door of the house he’d grown up in, leaving him behind with only a father with the words, “Have you seen a pair of blue ballet slippers anywhere?” tattooed on his chest and the knowledge that even though the first words of his mother were permanently etched onto his father’s skin, that hadn’t stopped them from falling apart. He never wanted to be like them. So, he took the whole theory if Occam’s razor to heart and decided that the simplest explanation was that love was simply a fraud that he would never participate in.

…12 years, 6 months, 24 days 12 hours, and 9 minutes.

That was how long it had been since Roman had given up on love.

His skin was devoid of cheesy first word tattoos, and he was determined to keep it that way.

— — — — —

“Dee, come on, you’re 5 minutes late for your meet-and-greet already!” Virgil, Dee’s ever-so-irritable manager called from ten feet in front of the tardy YouTuber. Devon sighed and propelled himself forward with slightly more urgency, the tires of his wheelchair squeaking over the tiled floor.

“We’re not late, we’re simply rebelling against the society-imposed definition of punctuality,” he deadpanned, rolling past Virgil through to the outside of the building. “I, for one, think it’s an inspiring display of anarchy.”

“You know, it’s real funny to see you playing hard to get when you’re already hard enough to like.” Virgil huffed in response, giving the back of Dee’s chair a playful shove to get him going faster. The man laughed and deliberately slowed down, thereby causing Virgil to let out a sort of half distressed croak/half irritated groan. It was terribly amusing, to say the least. After a moment of tense silence broken only by Virgil’s incessant nerve-amplified echolalia, (“An- anarch- anarchy- anarchy- fuck…”), the manager finally snapped.

“That’s it, I’m going ahead. I’ll let the fans know you’re gonna be late, but you’d better hurry your ass up and get over there, okay? You have five minutes before I flip my fucking lid, Dee.”

“That sounds entertaining, maybe I’ll take my time just for that!”

“You have a goddamn death wish, I swear to god!” Virgil yelled as he took off sprinting towards the building they were overdue at. Dee chuckled and kept rolling along, enjoying how warm the sun was that day. His friends often joked that he was cold-blooded for how intolerant he was to the cold and… in truth, he wouldn’t deny it. It fit his aesthetic.

“I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream…” As the wind picked up, Dee noticed the voice that it was carrying with it. He didn’t believe in magical creatures like sirens, and yet his first thought upon hearing that voice was that no human could possibly sing so beautifully. The song was meant for a high voice, like the princess in the movie, but somehow the rich bass tones of the voice he was hearing brought the melody new life. In other words, he would allow this man to step on him, no questions asked. Dee’s vivid gray eyes - well, he had no idea if they were actually gray, because everything else was, too, but regardless - scanned the grassy courtyard he was going past and eventually landed on the shape of a man twirling around in the center of the yard. He was just as attractive as his voice was, further solidifying Devon’s resolve to allow this man to step on him. The wheels on his chair protested as he rolled into the grass, but Dee was so mesmerized by the image of this tall, lanky - was that a dress he was wearing? - unabashedly effeminate man that he hardly noticed the barrage of bumps.

Dee blinked, finding his vision going a bit blurry all of a sudden. Dots began flashing in front of his vision as he drew closer to the man, and he shook his head, absently dismissing it as an effect of jet lag. As he neared the man, getting close enough to make out details like the spattering of freckles all over his body, the light streak in his otherwise dark hair, even the collection of bandaids scattered all over his body, a sure indicator that he was either clumsy (he had so much limb for just one man, after all) or just plain reckless, Dee noticed something that he wasn’t sure how to explain. A change in the man’s face. The grays he’d spent his whole life staring at were morphing into something unrecognizable, and-

“Holy goddamn motherfucking shit…”

— — — — —

Roman clamped his mouth shut and turned to face whoever had just ever-so-rudely thrown off his groove. The courtyard had been blissfully empty for the first time that day and though he loved his fans as much as they loved him, a moment alone to sing had been a welcome intermission. Especially since he’d been around so many people bragging about their soulmates all day.

It was to be expected, of course, since Roman’s YouTube channel was dedicated to music and he sang love songs almost exclusively, but people introducing their soulmates to him still made him uneasy. All of the “We met because we were both fans of you!” And “Our first words were lyrics from your song, look!” Were sweet, of course, but still…unnerving. Every time he saw those tattoos he was that eight-year-old kid again, watching everything he loved slip away.

And now that his moment of solitude had been interrupted, he wasn’t gonna lie - he was more than a little irritated

“Excuse me, I was singing here!” He protested, placing his hands on his hips and sticking out his bottom lip in an indignant pout. Foot tapping fervently on the grass, he waited for the man’s response - a man who, Roman noted, was far more attractive than he had any right to be. His eyes were the most beautiful shade of green, though one had flecks of gold ringing the pupil. Roman hadn’t even known that was possible, he’d only ever seen characters in his favorite books described that way. Aside from that, his hair was an array of sloppily dyed and removed colors, with gray fading into yellow and then into purple and pink and blue and bleached-out blonde… it was like the guy had just grabbed whatever random boxes of dye he could reach and went nuts. It was cute, though. A large wine-stain birthmark made his fairytale-esque golden eye stand out even more and wow was Roman gay. That didn’t change the fact that he was tempted to go full Kuzco on this guy. He felt a pinch on his neck and winced, bringing his hand up to rub at it while he continued, “It’s not very polite to interrupt a man in the middle of a serenade!”

The man’s face remained blank and he blinked a few times, his hands tap-tap-tapping on the rubber wheels of his wheelchair.

“…I’m going to be real here, a moment ago I was annoyed but now I’m a little creeped-”

“You’re my soulmate,” The man whispered, so quietly that Roman wasn’t sure he’d heard him right. He hoped he hadn’t heard him right.

“…What? You-”

“You’re my soulmate!” The man shouted, eyes lighting up. “My brother once told me that seeing color was beautiful, but I never quite understood what he meant until now!” A moment of silence passed between them, and just as Roman was about to open his mouth to say that no, there must be a mistake, he didn’t even have a tattoo- “I’d apologize for the tattoo, but I find it rather funny that you have  “holy goddamn motherfucking shit” permanently etched into your skin.”

Roman let out a fearful squeak as he fumbled to pull out his phone and check his face in the camera. His cheeks and forehead were clear, nothing on his arms…he was almost ready to berate the man for lying when he noticed the dark words written in clunky, nearly illegible cursive on his neck. ‘Holy goddamn motherfucking shit.’

“…What?” This made no sense at all. He didn’t even know what to say. This man seemed nice and all, but Roman had promised himself he would never let this happen to him. There must have been some kind of mistake. “I don’t… I don’t have a soulmate!” He blurted stupidly, rubbing at the writing on his neck.

Dee squinted, confused. “…Right, of course you don’t. It isn’t like the first words I said to you just appeared on your neck and I can see color now, something that only happens once you find your soulmate or anything. But you know. Of course I’m not your soulmate.”

“No, I-” Roman stammered, falling back a step. “I-I- I don’t have a soulmate. And even if I do, I don’t want one!”

“Don’t…” Dee blinked, trying to process what this man, his soulmate, had just said to him. After all this time… he’d waited 10 years, 4 months, 13 days 12 hours, and 24 minutes for this? A guy who wanted nothing to do with him? “Are you serious?”

“Yes! Look, you seem nice and all, but I-”

“No no no, I did not wait ten years for this-“

“Oh, so you expected your soulmate to just fall all over you the moment you met him? To sweep you away and live out a happily ever after with you? Is that it? Well, I’m sorry to destroy your fantasy, but I don’t do love, okay?”

A sigh broke past Devon’s lips as he crossed his arms, leaning forward to catch Roman’s eyes. “Geez, who the hell hurt you?” He asked flippantly, somehow missing the way the man’s face paled. “The universe matched us at birth and you’re not even going to speak to me?”

“The universe is bullshit!” Roman yelled, catching Devon off guard. “It’s all a fucked-up system that I don’t want to be a part of! I’m not letting some metaphysical Tinder ruin my life again!”

Among all of that dramatic ranting, one word stood out to Dee. “…Again?”

Roman blinked, mentally running back through everything he’d said. “I…” Dee noticed how hard his voice was shaking. “Just leave me alone. Please.” He whispered desperately, turning on his heel and sprinting away.

Dee watched the man run, the heeled boots he was wearing clacking against the smooth concrete like a heartbeat.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

That man was his soulmate.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

He wanted nothing to do with Dee… and there was a reason why. Something that man hadn’t been able to say. He knew it.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

But most importantly…

Ba-dum, ba-dum, creaaaak- the door of the nearest building opened and shut, the man’s face appearing once through the glass and then disappearing down a long hallway.

Someone had hurt him, and under no circumstances would Devon stand for that. With new resolve, he started painstakingly wheeling himself across the grass to follow his strange, sad new soulmate.

— — — — —

The moment Roman heard the door he’d run through shut behind him, he pushed into the closest bathroom and collapsed under the sinks. This was not possible by any stretch of the imagination. He’d come here to this goddamn con to have a good time and meet his fans and now he was, about to cry in a bathroom because some excited, well-meaning guy had come up to him and told him something that anyone else would be happy about. He let out a choked sob and covered his eyes, employing his fingers as little dams to keep the waterworks in. Going back out there with swollen eyes and a red nose was not an option.

What were his options, then? Avoid this guy for the rest of his life, not only subjecting himself to the constant fear of running into him again but the guilt of knowing that he’d deprived this guy of his (supposedly) one true partner, or accept it and live in constant fear of it all falling apart? He couldn’t do this right now. Hell, he couldn’t do this ever, what was meant to be the happiest moment of his life was making him feel things he hadn’t felt in years, things he’d never wanted to feel again.

“Anyone in here?” A voice called out, muffled through the flimsy wooden door of the bathroom.

“No!” Roman called back, mentally kicking himself for that stupid move.

“Good to know,” The voice replied, growing clearer as whoever it was pushed the door open. Roman heard the couple grunts and the squeak of rubber on tile, looking up for not even half a second to see his soulmate struggling to get the heavy wooden door open while his wheelchair kept rolling backward from the force of him pushing. “Stupid broken brakes…”

“What are you doing here?” Roman snarled, hastily wiping his eyes and retreating back further into the corner.

His soulmate shrugged as nonchalantly as a person could while fighting with a door, saying, “You seemed upset.”

“Yeah, because of you.” What was this guy’s problem? “I told you to leave me alone!”

“Well, I once told my brother that I wouldn’t come home from school until Aladdin came to pick me up on his magic carpet. We can’t all have what we want- a-ha!” He finally won the battle with the door, letting it shut behind him with a triumphant click! “Now, I believe we skipped some pleasantries. I’m Devon Lee. Or Dee, if you’d prefer. I didn’t catch your name.”

The bathroom went silent save for the shaky breathing of someone trying to stop crying and water echoing through the pipes overhead. Exchanging names would mean this man knew him. This man, with his mismatched eyes and crazy hair and obnoxiously bright yellow-and-green wheelchair (and people thought Roman was extra), would have a name to associate with his face. That would not do.

“I didn’t throw it.”

The excitement that flickered to life in Devon’s eyes was unexpected, and Roman nearly flinched when the man burst out, “Oh my god, that was not a Heathers reference!”

He got that? Most people only understood when he quoted the songs, not the script. “You know Heathers?”

“No, sweetheart, it’s not like I’m a die-hard musical theatre fan or anything.” Dee laughed, a sound that made Roman think of bubbles. “Heathers, Waitress, Hamilton, Rent, Sound of Music, you name it, I know-”

“You like the Sound of Music?” Roman gasped. He pushed himself up off the floor, forgetting for a moment why he was so upset. “Most people I bring it up to tell me it’s a girl’s show.”

Dee grinned. His smile was pearly white, though Roman didn’t miss the shiny gold teeth in place of his incisors. A brilliant smile, shiny gold fangs, a love of musical theatre almost as obsessive as Roman’s… what didn’t this guys have?

“Girl’s show?” He scoffed. “Please, gender is meaningless and Julie Andrews’s voice is a spiritual experience anyone would be blessed to hear.”

“Yes! Finally!” His hands twitched as he resisted the urge to happy-flap them. “I must know, though, who’s your favorite character?”

Dee pursed his lips, tugging thoughtfully at his hair for a moment before answering, “Leisl. I admire her capacity for deception.”

“Oh? You’re a fan of deception?” Roman’s eyebrows rose, and the fear that he’d forgotten about in the wave of that’s-my-hyperfixaiton joy bobbed back up to the surface like a shell being tossed around in the sea. “…why not Rolf, then? He was a classic liar, and a talented one too.”

“Rolf?” Dee folded over cackling, clutching his stomach as he fought to speak through incredulous giggles. “He was a Nazi! Not to mention that he betrayed Leisl, the girl who loved him, by trying to get her family murdered. You must think so little of me to even imagine that I could admire him!”

Though Dee kept laughing, Roman had long since fallen silent. This wasn’t okay. He wasn’t supposed to connect with Devon - or… well, technically he was supposed to, but he didn’t want to, even if the guy liked the Sound of Music and understood his Heather’s reference and had come after him when he was upset, even if Dee was attractive and seemed funny and kind… even if he appeared to be everything Roman had ever wished for, there was too much of a risk. Maybe Devon would expect too much or they’d have a long relationship until one day Roman’s heart was broken.

‘And I call myself brave,’ Roman’s mind scolded him. ‘Roman ‘Never Runs From a Challenge’ Adelio, a coward since the year of his birth, 1999.’

“Look, Devon…” he began. Dee stopped laughing immediately, turning to face Roman with a kind of intensity he’d never seen before. “I… you seem nice, but… I don’t… the rest of my life can’t be dictated by this,” his nails trailed over the tattoo. “I’ve seen the aftermath. It… it’s not good.”

Now, it was Devon’s turn to go quiet. Or it would have been, if he weren’t such a loudmouth. “Alright, I can’t say I don’t understand where you’re coming from,” Carefully, he rolled forward. “And I… while I want a soulmate, it wouldn’t be right for me to force you to have me. All I ask is this.”

Roman cowered at those words. Something bad always came after ‘all I ask.’ What would he want? His number? Sex? Something worse?

“Would you like to go on a date with me sometime?”

“…What?”

Devon smiled, repeating clearly, “Would you like to go on a date sometime?”

“I-” Had Devon not heard anything he’d just said? “I said I don’t… s-soulmates aren’t something I-”

“No, no, no, you misunderstand. Ignore the tattoo, ignore the colors thing, that never happened. I like you, no-name kid. You seem kind and genuine, not to mention that you’re a thespian and seem to be haunted by the ghosts of your past-” Roman laughed despite himself. “-all things I find incredibly attractive. Soulmate or not, I’d like to get to know you better. So, that said,” Devon folded his hands in his lap, sitting back and smiling that million-watt, gold-fanged smile. “Would you like to go on a date with me?”

And in that moment, that 15 seconds where he was faced with a choice he’d always dreaded having to make, Roman felt his racing heartbeat begin to slow. The panic-induced adrenaline drained from his system and he let out a heaving sigh. He still had two choices, but those choices had changed now. It was no longer a matter of fate. No longer a choice between being guilty or trapped. It was now option A) Go on a date with this cool guy who he kind of liked, or B) Turn down a date with this cool guy who he kind of liked. Well, Roman may have been a stubborn ass sometimes, but he was also incredibly gay.

“…You know what? Okay. One date.” Roman huffed, bouncing a red converse-clad foot on the tile floor.

“Excellent! I only need one more thing from you.”

“Oh?” Roman smirked, “Well, ask away.”

“Would you mind tossing your name now?”

Roman opened his mouth to acquiesce before promptly snapping it shut with a sly little smile and pulling a paper towel from the dispenser over the sink. “Sure thing.” A moment later, a slightly-crumpled tissue landed on Dee’s lap as Roman walked past. “I’ll see you around, Devon.”

Dee hastily smoothed out the paper, finding two lines of text written in broad, loopy block letters.

Roman Adelio

+1 618-0339-8875

“I can’t wait, Roman.”

— — — — —

“And that, my son, is how I met your father!” Roman finished with a flourish, wrapping his arms around Dee’s neck from his place on his husband’s lap. Logan, the ever-curious 7-year-old that he was, clung to Devon’s leg and asked,

“But why did you accept Pa’s date if you didn’t want a soulmate?”

Roman smiled, pulling his son up onto his and Dee’s lap (and chuckling as Devon shoved the pair of them off). “Well, your father was against nazis, so how could I say no?”

“…Daddy, that can’t be where the bar is.”

“It isn’t!” Devon was quick to cut in, playfully smacking Roman on the arm. “What are you teaching our small, impressionable child, Roman?”

“Alright, alright, calm down,” Roman yielded. His teasing expression softening as he gazed at Devon. “In truth, I still think soulmates are complete bullsh-” One glare from Devon washed his mouth out. “-I mean, completely fake. Logan, my little piece of stardust, listen to me.” He gathered the small boy in his arms, feeling his tiny heartbeat against his chest. “It is you and you alone who decides who you’re meant to be with. If that person is your soulmate, then that’s beautiful. If not, it’s just as beautiful to love someone else. Do you understand?”

Logan looked up into his father’s eyes, letting a small smile spread across his face before nodding. “Yeah. I understand.”

“Good,” With a sigh, Roman stood, planting a tender kiss on Devon’s lips as he did so. “You know, my dear,” He whispered, leaning his forehead against Devon’s. “I may not believe in soulmates, but perhaps, to some extent, I believe in fate.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, my darling, that soulmates or not…I know I was meant to be with you.”

“Daddy! Pa! Gross!” Logan whined, wedging himself in between his fathers in a truly archaic act of rebellion.

Devon laughed, pushing himself off of his chair to make a wiggly little cuddle pile on the floor. The three of them fit together like long-lost puzzle pieces, each from different puzzles but all cut from the same mold. They may not have been what they were “supposed” to be, but they were still able to make something truly beautiful.

And that was enough.